In the last decade, numerous studies have analysed society's perception of eating safety and, in particular, the social representations of risk. Most of these studies attempt to explain why the negative perception that people have of certain technological applications in food and, in general, of industrial food has increased just when food is abundant, the food chain is under greater control than ever before, life expectancy is at an all time high and food-related health problems, although they still exist, have less dramatic consequences than in previous ages. It is stressed, however, that today we know less or little about what we eat. Although it is true that this negative assessment is partly due to the changes in the new ways of life and the fact that the activities of the population have become separated from food production or preparation, it is also partly due to the succession of food-related incidents and crises that have taken place in the European context and the important political, economic and social consequences that they have had. In this respect, the public debate that has arisen around genetically modified organisms and, particularly, transgenic food is a paradigmatic case that illustrates the cultural diversity in relation to their acceptability or repulse from the anthropological perspective.


Questions concerning association and possible accompanying causeand-effect relationships are of great interest to practicing statisticians. They are interested in knowing under which circumstances the observed association among variables may be regarded as cause-and-effect relationships. This is a question that the subject matter of design of experiments attempts to address. In this book, the author promises to present "a new mathematical and philosophical foundation for probability and show how this foundation can help understand causality" (p. xv). Thus the book should be of interest to readers of Technometrics, although the author states in his preface that his ideas need to be expanded to deal with practical issues that arise in the design of experiments and observational studies. The book consists of 16 chapters and several well-chosen appendixes in which the relevant classical theories of probability and graph-and-order theories are reviewed. The first 13 of these chapters concern stating the definitions and laying the groundwork for making causal conjectures and inferences. The sheer plethora of definitions and notations contained in the earlier chapters seemed to me to be overwhelming, but, when one tries to advance a new theory from the very beginning as the author purports to do, this may be inevitable to some extent. Chapter 14 has the same heading as that of the book, and the title of Chapter 15, in which the question of giving causal interpretations to observed statistical associations is discussed, is "Causal Models." I suspect that the contents of these two chapters are what will interest a practically motivated statistician the most. In Chapter 14, page 301, the author lays out eight maxims for making causal conjectures. I reproduce them as follows:


ABSTRACT The carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) of lung collectin surfactant protein D (SP-D) recognize sugar patterns on the surface of lung pathogens and promote phagocytosis. Using Haemophilus influenzae Eagan strains expressing well-characterized lipopolysaccharide (LPS) surface structures of various levels of complexity, we show that bacterial recognition and binding by SP-D is inversely related to LPS chain extent and complexity. The crystal structure of a biologically active recombinant trimeric SP-D CRD complexed with a delipidated Eagan 4A LPS suggests that efficient LPS recognition by SP-D requires multiple binding interactions utilizing the three major ligand-binding determinants in the SP-D binding pocket, with Ca-dependent binding of inner-core heptose accompanied by interaction of anhydro-Kdo (4,7-anhydro-3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid) with Arg343 and Asp325. Combined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) binding analyses, our results show that extended LPS structures previously thought to be targets for collectins are important in shielding the more vulnerable sites in the LPS core, revealing a mechanism by which pathogens with complex LPS extensions efficiently evade a first-line mucosal innate immune defense. The structure also reveals for the first time the dominant form of anhydro-Kdo.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiological agent for tuberculosis in humans. The studies related to survival of this pathogen in the human host and development of drugs against reveal that the organism uses a complex physiology to adapt to the host environment. Many studies were targeted to key enzymes that allow this pathogen to either survive or remain latent within the host. Most of the models, which address the survival of pathogen, have evaluated limited dissolved oxygen and prevailing stress conditions. Hence, the truncated citric acid cycle, with the glyoxylate shunt was suggested as an option for survival of the pathogen and pathogenesis. We propose that the precursors to support this pathway could also be generated via enzymatic conversion involving poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). We have used available genome sequence data and analyzed for the possible enzymatic conversions that can generate glyoxylate, acetyl CoA, and other enolases that can also be useful for various fatty acid transformations. The enzymes for accumulation and further hydrolysis of PHB were examined in sequence data analysis. The target enzymes were searched for in the genome using identified conserved domains. Using M. tuberculosis H37Rv as a model bacterium a supportive pathway has been envisaged and integrated with glyoxylate cycle to provide a complete option to pathogen for sustainable consumption of available carbon source(s). The study proposes that the enzymes of PHB synthesis and hydrolysis are possible targets for drug design, and that this should be considered when evaluating isocitrate lyase and malate synthase as targets.


A data warehouse is a collection of data for supporting of decision making process. Data cubes and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) have become very popular techniques to help users analyze data in a warehouse. Even though previous studies on a data warehouse and data cube have been proposed and developed, as new applications emerging, there are still technical challenges which have not been addressed well.
We propose effective and efficient solutions to the challenging problems in the areas of (1) mining iceberg cube from multiple tables, (2) online answering ad-hoc aggregate queries on data streams, and (3) warehousing pattern-based clusters.
Firstly, we argue that the materialized base table assumption in most of the previous studies on computing iceberg cubes is often infeasible in practice. Instead, a data warehouse is often organized with multiple tables in schemas such as star schema, snowflake schema, and constellation schema. We propose a novel approach to compute an iceberg cube from multiple tables in a data warehouse in order to avoid costly materialization of a base table. Secondly, it is infeasible to compute a full data cube for answering ad-hoc aggregate queries on data streams due to a rapid data input and the huge size of data. We develop a new method to answer online ad-hoc aggregate queries on data streams, which is to maintain and index a small subset of aggregate cells on a designed data structure. Last, we extend the data warehousing and OLAP techniques to tackle pattern-based clusters. We propose an efficient method to construct a data warehouse of non-redundant pattern-based clusters.


Inspired by the movement of a turtle in nature, a low-budget turtle-like robot was designed and developed to operate on natural terrain. Applying affordable additive manufacturing (3D printing) leads into creating unique 3-D structure with potential of flexibility, multi-functionality and multi-movement. By implementing solar panels, the energy from the sun is used, which makes the robot self-sustainable. The robot is controlled remotely with an android application designed for the need of this work.
 The bio-inspired robot can play an interesting role in real-life applications, such as monitoring in hardly accessible terrain, video and data collection for environmental friendly application, animals' observation and others. The main application of the robot is for animal observation in the zoo, so it will often need to move across not even landscape in order to allow surveillance of that area. By implementing smart materials, the movement of the turtle can be improved.
 This paper presents the design concepts and functionality, together with CAD model of the robot, the prototyping (hardware, control and application design) and the results from the measurements.


This research is to analyze the effect of capital flow's path on the return of the stock market in the United States. First, eight variables are tested using Pearson Correlations to explore the relationships between stock market return and Standard Multiple Regression is conducted to investigate the prediction ability. Second, Pearson Correlations are repeated to find out whether the eight variables and stock market return have lead-lag relationships and run a regression again. Third, the data set is divided into two panels representing different investment environments. Panel A is when the growth rate of M1 greater than the growth rate of M2 while Panel B is when the growth rate of M2 greater than the growth rate of M1. The findings of this research show that six out of eight variables have lead-lag relationships with the stock market return. When dividing into two panels, most of the eight variables have a more slightly correlated relation with the stock market return and the prediction ability of the variables is stronger than the original data set.


The current investigation examined changes in working memory (WM) component processes following total sleep deprivation (TSD) in a sample of healthy young persons. Forty subjects were administered a verbal form of a continuous recognition test (CRT) before and after 42 hr of TSD. Parameters of a computational model of the CRT reflecting attention, WM span, and rate of episodic memory encoding were estimated for each individual. Subjects made more errors on the test following sleep deprivation. Analysis of model parameters revealed statistically independent declines in both the attention and WM span parameters, with a larger effect observed for the decline in WM span. Examination of individual profiles suggested that the effects of TSD on verbal WM component processes vary from person to person. Declines in global verbal WM functioning appear to be primarily driven by reduced WM span and attention; however, these effects may be individual-specific. Further applications of the computational model for examining WM component processes with sleep deprivation and other clinical populations are discussed.


We analyse the MHD, Radiation and chemical reaction effects on unsteady flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics in a viscous, incompressible and electrically conducting fluid over a semi infinite vertical porous plate through porous media in presence of inclined magnetic field. The porous plate is subjected to a transverse variable suction velocity. The transient, non-linear and coupled governing equations have been solved adopting a perturbative series expansion about a small parameter, Iµ. The effects of governing parameters on the flow variables are discussed graphically.


This section introduces readers to Woodrow Wilson and the magnitude of the global problems he faced as World War I raged—eventually with formal American participation—with no clear end in sight. More than a statement of war aims, Wilson's Fourteen Points were a full-throated call for a new world order, one capable of surmounting the inherent problems that had plagued society and international affairs for generations. So profound were Wilson's words and so great his legacy that historians no longer ask whether subsequent presidents were or were not Wilsonian in their foreign policies and worldviews. We ask how Wilsonian were they? The introduction also previews the fourteen solutions humbly offered in Wilson's honor for our own times.


INTRODUCTION
In routine clinical practice a physical examination should include an assessment of ability/function. The use of a scale or index in low back pain (LBP) is mainly used to categorize patients and to measure syndrome severity. For this reason we developed an easy and quick to perform standardised measuring procedure of impairment in patients with LBP without using inclinometers. The new "Backache Index" (BAI) is applied in order to help therapists, doctors, and surgeons perform physical examinations easily. The factor of presence or absence of pain with respect to different lumbar movements is elaborated for the patient with LBP, standing in an erect position. This resulted in outcome scores (0-3) for five impairment examinations of the trunk from which the sum of the scores gives the BAI (max. 15 points).

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to develop the linguistic adaptation and to explore the reliability of this new Backache Index translated in a Spanish version called "indice de Dolor de Espalda" or IDE, which can fulfil the existing need for a reliable routine examination in the clinical environment for Spanish speaking clinicians and patients.

METHODS
Two independent translations were made by two separate professional translators to Spanish. Both versions were compared and consensus resulted in a single translation. In a pain center patients were asked to participate in this project as volunteers. The exclusion criteria have been used in patients with LBP suffering of severe spinal pathology or having deseases. In total 46 patients (67% females, age = 52 ± 13 years) underwent the physical examination at the first session (IDE-1) and were retested without any treatment after 3 days (IDE-2).

RESULTS
The two translations submitted by respective experts were identical and the final IDE was used in futher clinical examinations. The test-retest after 3 days of the same group revailed that the reliability for the 5 outcome scores was good (ICC ⩾ 0.73). No significant difference was found between IDE-1 (4.65 ± 4.15 ) and IDE-2 (4.72 ± 4.20) and the absolute reliability was perfect with an ICC=0.97.

CONCLUSIONS
The IDE form facilitates a better diffusion under the Spanish speaking population, allowing it to maintain the degree of homogenenity and acceptance that the "Indice de Dolor de Espalda" or IDE has in clinical practice, helping to spread among the Hispanic world one of the objectives that the creator of this index raised when it was developed.


We study the optical variability of a sample of candidate low-mass (dwarf and Seyfert) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using Zwicky Transient Facility g-band light curves. Our sample is compiled from broad-line AGNs in dwarf galaxies reported in the literature with single-epoch virial black hole (BH) masses in the range MBH ∼ 104 − 108 M⊙. We measure the characteristic "damping" timescale of the optical variability τDRW, beyond which the power spectral density flattens, of a final sample of 79 candidate low-mass AGNs with high-quality light curves. Our results provide further confirmation of the MBH − τDRW relation from previous work within 1σ agreement, adding 78 new low-mass AGNs to the relation. The agreement suggests that the virial BH mass estimates for these AGNs are generally reasonable. We expect that the optical light curve of an accreting intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) to vary with a rest-frame damping timescale of ∼ tens of hours, which could enable detection and direct mass estimation of accreting IMBHs in wide-field time-domain imaging surveys with sufficient cadence like with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.


Approximately five million people were forcefully displaced by the civil war in Colombia. The 2011 Colombian Victims' Law is intended to provide property restitution to some of the individuals displaced as a result of human rights and humanitarian law violations. During the conflict, however, land titles and property rights were transferred to corporations, including foreign corporations protected by international investment law. The impact of the restitution process outlined in the Victims' Law on foreign corporations raises concerns that international investment law may inhibit the full realisation of the Victims' Law's restitution process. This article uses the Colombian context to explore broader issues of the impact investment law's protection of foreign corporations can have on transitional justice initiatives aimed at remedying and redressing serious and systematic human rights and humanitarian law violations.


The in vitro and in vivo activities of Sm-1652 were compared with those of other cephalosporins. SM-1652 possessed a wide antibacterial spectrum which included activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It also exhibited potent antibacterial activities against gram-positive cocci and clinical isolates of glucose nonfermentative bacteria. Most notably, its activity against glucose nonfermentative bacteria was the highest of all of the drugs tested. The bactericidal activity of SM-1652 was compared with that of cefoperazone. The difference between the minimum bactericidal concentration and the minimum inhibitory concentration of SM-1652 was actually smaller than that of cefoperazone for Escherichia coli and clinical isolates of indole-positive Proteus spp. SM-1652 was stable for most cephalosporinases but was hydrolyzed to some extent by penicillinases. The in vivo therapeutic effect of SM-1652 against infections in mice was better than those of cefazolin and cefoxitin. The in vivo antipseudomonal activity of SM-1652 was second to that of cefsulodin.


Richard Eager and Sebastian Franco introduced a change of basis transformation on the F-polynomials of Fomin and Zelevinsky, corresponding to rewriting them in the basis given by fractional brane charges rather than quiver gauge groups. This transformation seems to display a surprising stabilization property, apparently causing the first few terms of the polynomials at each step of the mutation sequence to coincide. Eager and Franco conjecture that this transformation will always cause the polynomials to converge to a formal power series as the number of mutations goes to infinity, at least for quivers possessing certain symmetries and along periodic mutation sequences respecting such symmetries. In this paper, we verify this convergence in the case of the Kronecker and Conifold quivers. We also investigate convergence in the $F_0$ quiver. We provide a combinatorial interpretation for the stable cluster variables in each appropriate case.


The purpose of this study is to explore the social estimation of Gisaeng(妓生) and its social activities during the period of Japanese colonialism started in the early 20th century. Also I examine the Gisaeng"s view of social life and one"s truthful appreciation as a full-fledged member of society. In addition, although Gisaeng was treated in a low social rank and negative cognition of those days, I want to better understand how they succeeded to the traditional culture and participated in social movements of nationalism, gender equality, patriotic movement etc. During the Japanese occupation Gisaeng by being exposed to the abolition of caste system and modern capitalism represented differently than in the Choson Dynasty. So, they made it possible to advance their social status to the professional women by overcoming the traditional role of women. They were the pioneers in that they adopted a modern performing art into the traditional art world. Taking the form and structure from colonialism and gaining knowledge from tradition they overcame the colonial interruptions and furthered to their own way. The roles of Gisaeng and Gweonbeon(券番) in those days could be understood not as an unilateral process of colonization but as a multi-layered process in which the colonized subjects continually resisted, challenged, recreated, and negotiated in the process of colonization and modernization. By doing so, they attempted to confirm their identities and establish independent subjectivities. But it is true that there is a paucity of study with social activities of Gisaeng even though their various art activities. So this study is to emphasize the fact that Gisaeng developed various kinds of activities not a lowly status but as a member of the nation in those days. It also emphasizes objective recognition and appraisal for Gisaeng"s participation to the society. At that time, the diverse social activities made Gisaeng strengthen their roles in various social movements such as "use of domestic products, " "no-smoking exercise, " and "relief activity for Koreans overseas." By the emancipation from the lowest rank Gisaeng began to take part in society as an equal membership. Using their distinctive talents, performing art skills, they realized that they could help others. By doing so they kept having positive attitudes. The fact that Gisaeng were involved in the March First Independence Movement showed the nationalism of Gisaeng or an example of accomplishment of righteous Gisaeng. The Gisaeng"s various social activities represent the resistance against the colonial capitalism and joining the current social issues as a Gisaeng with a solid conviction like this. They also represent the expression of their will for social development and declaration for security of their identity as a member of society. Therefore the objective recognition and assessment about social activities of Gisaeng have an important meaning in the colonial period in that their activities give the important clue for understanding of the social conditions of the time. I hope this study trigger the study of then Gisaeng and, by extension, become the cornerstone of the recognition and the assessment of Gisaeng"s social activities.


I study the effect of a formative experience on political beliefs in a distant country. This paper looks at the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986 and voters' response in West Germany. The analysis uses a diff-in-diff estimation which exploits variation in proximity to the nearest nuclear power plant (NPP) across 301 counties. Proximity is used as proxy for the shock from perceived risk of a nuclear accident. Using data over almost 40 years and 11 elections, my results indicate that living closer to an NPP benefited the explicitly anti- and pro-nuclear parties, the Greens and the Conservatives. The findings are persistent and robust to the inclusion of several socioeconomic controls as well as checks for the validity of the identifying assumptions. The gains of the Greens are similar across social groups and in line with home-voter effects. The effect of proximity on the conservatives increases with education and the number of adolescents in their impressionable years. I argue that this can be explained by political belief formation and differences in assessing the economic benefits from nuclear power over the actual risk of an accident. Using variation in the scheduling of subsequent state elections, I can also show that the pro-nuclear response was stronger in counties which did not vote in the immediate aftermath of Chernobyl and thus had more time for a rational electoral choice.


Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major etiological agents for the hand, foot, and month disease (HFMD) and is causing frequent, widespread occurrence in the mainland of China. The single positive-stranded RNA genome of EV71 is translated into a single polyprotein which is autocleavaged into structural and nonstructural proteins. The functions of many nonstructural proteins characterized in the life cycle of virus are potential targets for blocking viral replication. This article reviews the studies of the structures and functions of nonstructural proteins of EV71 and the anti-enterovirus 71 drugs targeting on these nonstructural proteins.


A series of UV curable flame retardant resins were obtained by blending bis(2-acryloxyethyl) 2.6.7-trioxa-1-phosphabicyclo[2.2.2.]octane-4-methylol-1-oxide phosphate (MDMPE) in certain ratios with a commercial polyurethane acrylate (PUA). It has been found that the cured film shows good flame retardancy when the MDMPE is at 30% additive level. The cone calorimeter results show that the heat release rate decreases in comparison with the pure PUA. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and real time Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements (RTFTIR) results show that the phosphate group in MDMPE first degrades to form poly(phosphoric acid) before the degradation of PUA. Then, the formed poly(phosphoric acid) effectively promotes the conversion of PUA to form char, which prevents the sample from further burning. It can be concluded that MDMPE could catalyze the degradation of PUA to form char residue, and could be used as a UV curable flame retardant which acts by a condensed phase mechanism.


Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Cercosporella dolichandrae from Dolichandra unguiscati, Seiridium podocarpi from Podocarpus latifolius, Pseudocercospora parapseudarthriae from Pseudarthria hookeri, Neodevriesia coryneliae from Corynelia uberata on leaves of Afrocarpus falcatus, Ramichloridium eucleae from Euclea undulata and Stachybotrys aloeticola from Aloe sp. (South Africa), as novel member of the Stachybotriaceae fam. nov. Several species were also described from Zambia, and these include Chaetomella zambiensis on unknown Fabaceae, Schizoparme pseudogranati from Terminalia stuhlmannii, Diaporthe isoberliniae from Isoberlinia angolensis, Peyronellaea combreti from Combretum mossambiciensis, Zasmidium rothmanniae and Phaeococcomyces rothmanniae from Rothmannia engleriana, Diaporthe vangueriae from Vangueria infausta and Diaporthe parapterocarpi from Pterocarpus brenanii. Novel species from the Netherlands include: Stagonospora trichophoricola, Keissleriella trichophoricola and Dinemasporium trichophoricola from Trichophorum cespitosum, Phaeosphaeria poae, Keissleriella poagena, Phaeosphaeria poagena, Parastagonospora poagena and Pyrenochaetopsis poae from Poa sp., Septoriella oudemansii from Phragmites australis and Dendryphion europaeum from Hedera helix (Germany) and Heracleum sphondylium (the Netherlands). Novel species from Australia include: Anungitea eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus leaf litter, Beltraniopsis neolitseae and Acrodontium neolitseae from Neolitsea australiensis, Beltraniella endiandrae from Endiandra introrsa, Phaeophleospora parsoniae from Parsonia straminea, Penicillifer martinii from Cynodon dactylon, Ochroconis macrozamiae from Macrozamia leaf litter, Triposporium cycadicola, Circinotrichum cycadis, Cladosporium cycadicola and Acrocalymma cycadis from Cycas spp. Furthermore, Vermiculariopsiella dichapetali is described from Dichapetalum rhodesicum (Botswana), Ophiognomonia acadiensis from Picea rubens (Canada), Setophoma vernoniae from Vernonia polyanthes and Penicillium restingae from soil (Brazil), Pseudolachnella guaviyunis from Myrcianthes pungens (Uruguay) and Pseudocercospora neriicola from Nerium oleander (Italy). Novelties from Spain include: Dendryphiella eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus globulus, Conioscypha minutispora from dead wood, Diplogelasinospora moalensis and Pseudoneurospora canariensis from soil and Inocybe lanatopurpurea from reforested woodland of Pinus spp. Novelties from France include: Kellermania triseptata from Agave angustifolia, Zetiasplozna acaciae from Acacia melanoxylon, Pyrenochaeta pinicola from Pinus sp. and Pseudonectria rusci from Ruscus aculeatus. New species from China include: Dematiocladium celtidicola from Celtis bungeana, Beltrania pseudorhombica, Chaetopsina beijingensis and Toxicocladosporium pini from Pinus spp. and Setophaeosphaeria badalingensis from Hemerocallis fulva. Novel genera of Ascomycetes include Alfaria from Cyperus esculentus (Spain), Rinaldiella from a contaminated human lesion (Georgia), Hyalocladosporiella from Tectona grandis (Brazil), Pseudoacremonium from Saccharum spontaneum and Melnikomyces from leaf litter (Vietnam), Annellosympodiella from Juniperus procera (Ethiopia), Neoceratosperma from Eucalyptus leaves (Thailand), Ramopenidiella from Cycas calcicola (Australia), Cephalotrichiella from air in the Netherlands, Neocamarosporium from Mesembryanthemum sp. and Acervuloseptoria from Ziziphus mucronata (South Africa) and Setophaeosphaeria from Hemerocallis fulva (China). Several novel combinations are also introduced, namely for Phaeosphaeria setosa as Setophaeosphaeria setosa, Phoma heteroderae as Peyronellaea heteroderae and Phyllosticta maydis as Peyronellaea maydis. Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.


It is now an accepted fact that, in the absence of tachycardia, pulsus alternans in cardiac or cardiorenal disease indicates a grave prognosis. Lewis 1 says: Alternation of the pulse belongs to a small group of phenomena witnessed by those who attend the sick, which, treated as isolated signals, are in themselves emphatic and portentous. It ranks with subsultus tendinum, with optic neuritis, with the risus sardonicus, and other ill omened messengers. It is the faint cry of an anguished and fast failing muscle, which, when it comes, all should strain to hear, for it is not long repeated. A few months, a few years at most, and the end comes. A perusal of the litearture is apt to convey the impression that pulsus alternans is uncommon and that a tracing of the radial pulse is necessary for its detection. Vaquez 2 refers to it as "at once the rarest


This paper presents a novel inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging method by exploiting the inherent continuity of the scatterers on the target scene to obtain enhanced target images within a Bayesian framework. A simplified radar system is utilized by transmitting the sparse probing frequency signal, where the ISAR imaging problem can be converted into one dealing with under-determined linear inverse scattering. Following the Bayesian compressive sensing theory, a hierarchical Bayesian prior is employed to model the scatterers in the rangeDoppler plane. In contrast to the independent prior on each scatterer in conventional Bayesian compressive sensing, a correlated prior is proposed to statistically encourage the continuity structure of the scatterers in the target region. To overcome the intractability of the posterior distribution, the Gibbs sampling strategy is used for Bayesian inference. The parameters of the signal model are inferred efficiently from samples obtained by the Gibbs sampler. Because the proposed method is a data-driven learning process, the tedious parameter tuning process required by the convex optimization based approaches can be avoided. Both the synthetic and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve substantial improvements in the scenarios of limited measurements and low signal-to-noise ratio compared with other reported algorithms for ISAR imaging problems.


A main concern in high intensity rings is the evaluation of uncontrolled losses and their minimization using collimation systems. A two-stage system is foreseen for the PS2. The fundamental design strategy for the collimation design is presented, including machine apertures and collimator materials. The dependence of the collimator system efficiency on the primary scraper length and the impact parameter of the particle is evaluated for different collimator locations. Beam loss maps are finally produced displaying the detailed power load deposited around the ring.


Recent studies have shown that high consumption of processed meat may be associated with increasing risk of metabolic syndrome, which have been suggested as a predictor of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, limited studies have investigated this association in Korean population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association between processed meat/unprocessed (beef, pork, chicken) intakes and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Using data from 2007-2008 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), we analyzed data including 5,545 men and women who were aged older than 20 years, and who were free of chronic disease such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Subjects who frequently consumed processed meat tended to be younger and more likely to be current smokers. In addition, men were more likely to consume processed meat than women. Although higher processed/unprocessed meat intakes were significantly associated with the lower risk of metabolic syndrome in a crude model, these associations were no longer significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors. For example, comparing subjects in the highest intake quartile of processed meat with the lowest intake group, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of metabolic syndrome was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.58-1.46) for processed meat, 1.09 (95% CI: 0.76-1.56) for beef, 1.10 (95% CI: 0.74-1.62) for pork and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.51-1.12) for chicken. In conclusion, we found no evidence of any adverse effects of frequent processed or unprocessed meat intakes on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults at the exposure levels seen in this study.


Purpose
Wine tourism is spreading from the "old world" wine countries to Asia. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the GLOW framework capturing the tension of homogenization and globalization of touristic experiences, the tourists' rising environmental concerns and their conflict of searching for authentic experience with new sensations.

Design/methodology/approach
In a mixed-method procedure, evidence describing the wine tourists' perceptions and motivations is assessed using a quantitative survey and fitting a structural equation model using the PLS algorithm. Complementing evidence through qualitative interviews with Indian entrepreneurs on designing a glocalized experience is analyzed.

Findings
Spillover from international travel is the most relevant driver of wine tourism in India. However, types of wines and the experiences are adjusted to the local conditions. The winemakers are remarkably advanced in implementing environmentally sustainable production and avoiding over tourism which perfectly meets their clients' expectations.

Research limitations/implications
Entrepreneurial creation theory as described by Alvarez and Barney (2007) is illustrated in the Asian glocalisation context giving special attention to the entrepreneur's individual capabilities as called by Helfat and Peteraf (2015) and Liñán et al. (2020).

Practical implications
Conservation of biodiversity and the aesthetics of the local landscape are essential for the vividness of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the attractiveness for the guests.

Social implications
Local adaptation of the touristic experience in terms of entertainment, indigenous cuisines and local specialty supports sustainable development of all the stakeholders.

Originality/value
Novelty arises from the projection of the visitors considering the wine cellar experience as an alternative to international travels in combination with analyzing how the entrepreneurs create entrepreneurial opportunities by carving out an authentic experience for their guests.


ABSTRACT In this paper we discuss metaphors and rhetoric characterizing rationalizations of past banking practices after the global financial crisis of 2008. We draw on qualitative data from six Nordic banks, 2008–2012. Financial advisers and managers sourced their accounts from everyday materials, including popular metaphors and symbols that patterned thought and practice in financial institutions, even in these outposts of the global economy. Vivid metaphors taken from folk tales, nature, food, drink and the spiritual realm were highly suggestive in terms of guiding thought and action and enabling changes in sensemaking and impression management. Metaphors were used both to highlight and to hide phenomena, structures and agency. The analysis provides three main interpretative templates or frames co-constituted by a variety of metaphors, utilized to legitimize banking practices; 'naturalization', 'normalization' and 'neutralization', demonstrating in different ways the practice of doing good, while also revealing unethical practices.


– A good supply chain relationship quality (RQ) is a crucial precursor for any stable exchange relationship which ensures relationship continuity. Although empirical research suggests that strengthening RQ improves supply chain performance (SCP), most studies have focused on dyadic business relationships. To fully understand the relational behaviour of a firm embedded in a supply chain, we need to look beyond the dyad into triads. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how SCP is influenced by RQ in a triadic agribusiness supply chain. , – Evidence is drawn from a quantitative survey of 150 agribusiness firms in the maize supply chain in Uganda. Data were collected in triadic context from 50 direct supply chains each composing of a supplier, focal firm and customer. Multi-group structural equations modelling (SEM) was used to assess the differences in perception on the influence of RQ on SCP amongst the supply chain members. , – Results provides empirical support for the positive influence of RQ on SCP. SEM reveals differences in perception between the upstream and downstream and amongst the supply chains members. While focal firms considered conflict, coercive power, commitment and trust to be important; suppliers considered trust, dependency and non-coercive power; and customers considered trust, dependency and coercive power to be important RQ factors affecting SCP. , – For agribusiness managers to enhance business performance there is need to cultivate strong and mutual relationship with supply chain members. It is also important to know how to handle conflicts and use of power so as to realise the benefits of supply chain relationships. , – The paper is novel in that it assesses SCP in a triadic context in an agribusiness sector from a developing country context. The authors used novel approaches including analysis of a triad, and multiple groups SEM to assess perceptions of each supply chain member's.


Due to the scattered nature of DDoS attacks and advancement of new technologies such as cloud-assisted WBAN, it becomes challenging to detect malicious activities by relying on conventional security mechanisms. The detection of such attacks demands an adaptive and incremental learning classifier capable of accurate decision making with less computation. Hence, the DDoS attack detection using existing machine learning techniques requires full data set to be stored in the memory and are not appropriate for real-time network traffic. To overcome these shortcomings, Very Fast Decision Tree (VFDT) algorithm has been proposed in the past that can handle high speed streaming data efficiently. Whilst considering the data generated by WBAN sensors, noise is an obvious aspect that severely affects the accuracy and increases false alarms. In this paper, an enhanced VFDT (EVFDT) is proposed to efficiently detect the occurrence of DDoS attack in cloud-assisted WBAN. EVFDT uses an adaptive tie-breaking threshold for node splitting. To resolve the tree size expansion under extreme noise, a lightweight iterative pruning technique is proposed. To analyze the performance of EVFDT, four metrics are evaluated: classification accuracy, tree size, time, and memory. Simulation results show that EVFDT attains significantly high detection accuracy with fewer false alarms.


We discuss the optical stochastic cooling (OSC) method in applications to the beams of charged particles, circulating in accelerators and storage rings. In this publication we concentrated on various OSC schemes in a diluted beam approximation, when the heating of selected particle by its neighboring ones could be neglected. Even so, this approximation allows us to identify important features in the beam cooling. In the forthcoming publication, on the basis of approach developed here, we will include effects of heating in the dynamics of cooling.


THE MANAGEMENT of chronic venous insufficiency of the lower extremity, particularly the postphlebitic type, has been the subject of considerable discussion for several years and has in many instances proved to be a perplexing problem to the physician. The various forms of simple or extensive surgical procedures and of local conservative therapy which have been advocated are evidence of the fact that no one type of therapy is adequate in all cases. A rational approach to the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency must include adequate knowledge of the status of the deep, communicating, and superficial venous systems, with reference to the patency of the venous channels and the competence of the valves. Past history and clinical examination may at times fail to provide an accurate evaluation of the venous return from the lower extremities. We have found ascending phlebography performed with the patient in the erect position to be of


The microstructural effects of mixed spectrum neutron irradiation at 250 °C and 300 °C, for 2.7 dpa, 8.4 dpa, and 16.3 dpa doses, have been investigated in standard Eurofer97 (0.12 C, 9 Cr, 0.48 Mn, 0.2 V, 1.08 W, 0.14 Ta wt%) by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) compared with un-irradiated Eurofer97. The observed SANS effects are attributed to the development of micro-voids, also detected by electron microscopy. The micro-voids distributions have been obtained by an improved transformation method of the SANS cross-sections providing consistent results both before and after subtraction of the un-irradiated reference. Mono-disperse micro-voids distributions are found, with average radii increasing with the dose, namely 4.4 Å for irradiation to 2.7 dpa at 300 °C, 6.6 Å for 8.4 dpa at 300 °C, and 12.9 Å for 16.4 dpa at 250 °C; the corresponding volume fractions are 0.001, 0.006, and 0.004, respectively. The differences in such distributions might reflect different damage evolution mechanisms for the different irradiation conditions, as also suggested by the comparison with a Eurofer97 sample irradiated under fast spectrum. A good resistance of Eurofer97 to micro-structural radiation damage, at least under these irradiation conditions, is suggested by the analysis of these experimental results.


Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) inhibit the expansion of tumor antigen-specific effector CD8+ T cells via arginase, transforming growth factor – β (TGF – β) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Recently, MDSCs were found to over-express hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) which is required for their differentiation. An essential transcriptional target of HIF-1α is 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) which synthesizes fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, an allosteric stimulator of glycolysis and of proliferation via stimulation of cyclin dependent kinase-1 (CDK1). We hypothesized that MDSCs might over-express PFKFB3 which in turn might be required for their function as T cell suppressors. We demonstrate that monocytic MDSCs (M-MDSCs) induced by co-culture with A375 melanoma cells express increased PFKFB3 and that exposure to the PFKFB3 inhibitor, PFK-158, blocks the suppressive function of these M-MDSCs on T cell activation. Furthermore, we analyzed three advanced cancer patients for circulating MDSCs before and after PFK-158 administration as part of a multi-center phase 1 clinical trial. And, we found that the MDSCs were markedly reduced in each patient. Taken together, these data indicate that selective inhibition of PFKFB3 may be a novel approach to target MDSCs and combinations of PFKFB3 inhibitors with immunotherapies may be a rational strategy to promote durable immune-mediated remissions in cancer patients.


: A comprehensive Bayesian analysis has been carried out in the context of informative and non-informative priors for the shape parameter of the Burr type X distribution under different symmetric and asymmetric loss functions. Elicitation of hyperparameter through prior predictive approach is also discussed. Also we derive the expression for posterior predictive distributions, predictive intervals and the credible Intervals. As an illustration, comparisons of these estimators are made through simulation study.


Polyazanes (that is, higher nuclearity homologues of hydrazines) with increasing numbers of bound nitrogen atoms (from 3 to 5) were prepared via additions of lower order polyazanes to diazo reagents, including the first pentazane ever described . A structure was obtained. It was shown that the polynitrogen chains adopt a helical conformation. DFT modeling shows that the arrangement subsists in solution. While the polyazanes are all reducing agents, they become less so with the increasing number of nitrogens.


While airbags have saved many lives and are clearly beneficial overall, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) powder produced by the inflation reaction can cause significant alkali ocular injury if not irrigated promptly. Here we report a case of severe airbag related ocular alkali injury as a way to bring attention to the need for prompt ocular irrigation following motor vehicle accidents (MVA) with airbag deployment. A 47-year-old man was involved in a MVA with airbag deployment in a rural setting. Attention was paid to several other life-threatening traumatic injuries, however, ocular irrigation was not performed until some 6-7 hours after the MVA. Over the course of 6 months, airbag related alkali injury caused severe limbal ischemia, conjunctivalization of the cornea, corneal epithelial defects, cicatricial scarring, haze, and corneal/limbal vascularization despite amniotic membrane graft. Awareness of the importance of ocular irrigation following airbag deployment must be raised both in the ophthalmology and emergency medicine communities.


RANS and time averaged URANS simulations of a pin bank are compared quantitatively and qualitatively to full 3D mean velocity field data obtained using magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV). The ability of the CFD to match MRV velocity profiles through the pin bank is evaluated using the SST turbulence model. Quantitative comparisons of the velocity profiles showed an overprediction of peak velocity by the CFD at the first pin rows, and a smaller oscillatory error that diminishes as it moves through the pins, resulting in better matching towards the exit.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


This paper proposes a scheme for embedding patterns onto the Hyperbolic-valued Hopfield Neural Networks (HHNNs). This scheme is based on gradient descent learning (GDL), in which the connection weights among neurons are gradually modified by iterative applications of patterns to be embedded. The performances of the proposed scheme are evaluated though several types of numerical experiments, as compared to projection rule (PR) for HHNNs. Experimental results show that pattern embedding by the proposed GDL is still possible for large number of patterns, in which the embedding by PR often fails. It is also shown that the proposed GDL can be improved, in terms both of stability of embedded patterns and of computational costs, by configuring the initial connection weights by PR and then by modifying the connection weights by GDL.


The increase in population in cities has led to increased pressure on available sport facilities. As a result, natural grass fields are converted to artificial turf, because fields with artificial turf can be used more frequently. Downsides of these artificial turf fields are the increase in surface temperature and the decrease in infiltration of precipitation resulting in faster discharge. Artificial turf can reach very high surface temperatures leading to unplayable fields and health risks, but also contributing to the urban heat island effect. To counteract these high temperatures, irrigation of the fields is needed, which leads to high water demands. In this study, a system to store precipitation below the fields and to enable evaporation to cool the artificial turf was tested. The system consists of water-storing units below the field, a capillary shockpad that enables water transport to the artificial turf and a natural infill from where water can evaporate. To quantify the effects on temperature and evaporation of the system, four test sites were created with natural grass, conventional artificial turf and two versions of the cooled artificial turf (non-infill and standard). All sites were equipped to measure evaporation, surface temperature, net radiation and water levels below the fields. A separate weather station was installed to measure other meteorological variables (e.g. precipitation, air temperature, wind). During the summer of 2020 on days with a maximum air temperature around 30°C, surface temperature reached 37°C at the cooled standard artificial grass, whereas it reached 62.5°C at the conventional artificial turf. The measured surface temperature for the cooled turf was less than 2°C warmer than the surface temperature at the natural grass site (35.3°C). Evaporation from the cooled artificial turf reached maximum values around 4 mm/d during the summer and was about half of the evaporation from natural grass, whereas evaporation from conventional artificial turf was close to zero. These results show that the system is successful in lowering the surface temperature by evaporation. This reduction in surface temperature is important to maintain playable conditions, but also helps to mitigate the heat island effect. In addition, the water storage below the fields reduces peak discharges during high-intensity precipitation. By combining these functions, the cooled artifical turf fields can help cities adapt to climate change.


Ordinary chemical reactions with which we are most familiar are usually considered as occurring in a very definite manner, the addition of one substance to another leading to the formation of one or more new substances. But it is also a fact that if the proper conditions are produced such a reaction can be made to take place in a reverse manner, the resulting substance or substances being made to yield the substances from which they were originally produced. Recent work has developed the fact that enzyme action is also capable of reversibility, so that when proper conditions exist the products of the hydrolytic splitting, if such has been the change, are reunited by the same enzyme that separated them into the original, more complex molecule. This newly observed property is probably destined to explain many important problems in physiology and pathology, and as so far the literature dealing with


REopt is NREL's energy planning platform offering concurrent, multi-technology integration and optimization capabilities to help clients meet their cost savings and energy performance goals. The REopt platform provides techno-economic decision-support analysis throughout the energy planning process, from agency-level screening and macro planning to project development to energy asset operation. REopt employs an integrated approach to optimizing a site?s energy costs by considering electricity and thermal consumption, resource availability, complex tariff structures including time-of-use, demand and sell-back rates, incentives, net-metering, and interconnection limits. Formulated as a mixed integer linear program, REopt recommends an optimally-sized mix of conventional and renewable energy, and energy storage technologies; estimates the net present value associated with implementing those technologies; and provides the cost-optimal dispatch strategy for operating them at maximum economic efficiency. The REopt platform can be customized to address a variety of energy optimization scenarios including policy, microgrid, and operational energy applications. This paper presents the REopt techno-economic model along with two examples of recently completed analysis projects.


We use data from the Young Lives longitudinal survey to analyse the effect of socioeconomic conditions and gender on the educational performance of young children in India. In particular, we use data for standardised scores on two cognitive tests: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and a maths test. Our results show that there are significant gender differences in the way that household wealth affects the educational performance of children. Specifically, boys born into wealthier households perform significantly better in maths than those from worse-off economic backgrounds. The effect of wealth on the PPVT is stronger for girls than it is for boys. The results are robust across a range of specifications. The effect of household wealth on performance differed between the genders, even when we focused our analysis on the bottom 10% and top 10% of the performance distribution. One possible explanation for these differences is parental aspirations. We tested this hypothesis and found that boys from wealthier households with higher parental educational aspirations are positively and significantly associated with higher maths scores. Further analysis showed that the moderating role of parents' educational aspirations was more pronounced at the top of the test score distribution, an indication that more able children are associated with wealthier and more ambitious parents. a rich longitudinal cohort study of childhood poverty for low-to-middle-in-come countries. We observed analysed how socioeconomic factors such as household wealth have affected the educational outcomes experienced by children. We focused our attention on performance, as measured by standardised scores on two cognitive tests: the PPVT and maths test. Our results show that household wealth is an important predictor of a child's performance in both types of cognitive tests: children from wealthier households tend to achieve higher grades in both types of these tests. We also, however, find that there are significant gender differences in the way that household wealth affects the educational performance of children. In nearly all of the estimations, household wealth was found to have a consistently stronger effect for boys, particularly in maths test. The effect of wealth differed between the two genders, even when we focused our analysis on the bottom and top 10% of the performance distribution. In particular, we found clear and persistent gender differences in test performance, with boys tending to systematically perform better in maths than girls. This finding is consistent with suggestions that family background may encourage girls and boys to value different aspect and subjects of education differently (Sullivan and Brown, 2015).


SAVI (Systematic Analysis of Vulnerability to Intrusion) is a new PC-based software package for modeling physical protection systems (PPS). SAVI utilizes a path analysis approach based on the Adversary Sequence Diagram (ASD) methodology. A highly interactive interface allows the user to accurately model complex facilities, maintain a library of these models on disk, and calculate the most vulnerable paths through any facility. Recommendations help the user choose facility upgrades which should reduce identified path vulnerabilities. Pop-up windows throughout SAVI are used for the input and display of information. A menu at the top of the screen presents all options to the user. These options are further explained on a message line directly below the menu. A diagram on the screen graphically represents the current protection system model. All input is checked for errors, and data are presented in a logical and clear manner. Print utilities provide the user with hard copies of all information and calculated results.


Brown adipocytes mainly utilize glucose and fatty acids to produce energy, which play key roles in thermogenesis. Furthermore, brown adipocytes also utilize other substrates, such as amino acids, for energy expenditure in various conditions. Here, we report the new physiological roles of proton-coupled amino acid transporters, SLC36A2 and SLC36A3, on global energy metabolism. The relative mRNA expression levels of both Slc36a2 and Slc36a3 were all highest in brown adipose tissue. We then generated global Slc36a2 and Slc36a3 knockout mice to investigate their functions in metabolism. Neither loss of Slc36a2 nor Slc36a3 affected the body weight and body composition of the mice. Slc36a2 knockout mice exhibited increased oxygen consumption during the daytime. After cold treatment, inhibition of Slc36a2 significantly decreased the mass of brown adipose tissue compared to wildtype mice, while it lowered the expression level of Cpt1a. Moreover, the serum lipid levels and liver mass were also decreased in Slc36a2 knockout mice after cold treatment. On the contrary, Slc36a3 knockout impaired glucose tolerance and up-regulated serum LDL-cholesterol concentration. Thus, SLC36A2 and SLC36A3 play central and different roles in the energy metabolism of the mice.


Any noisy amplifier can be represented by an equivalent noiseless amplifier plus two noise generators either at the input or the output of the amplifier. The choice of two particular noise generators (the equivalent short-circuit noise voltage and the open-circuit noise current) to characterize a noisy amplifier has a number of advantages over the concept of noise figure. The noise generators can easily be measured separately from the source noise, and the optimum source impedance and the noise figure at any source impedance can then be calculated. Since the amplifier noise is measured separately from the source noise, low noise figures can be easily measured. The optimum source impedance equals the quotient of the two noise generators, and the noise figure depends upon their product. Neither feedback nor input impedance is a consideration in determining noise figure and optimum source impedance. Several transistor noise diagrams show how the two noise generators are affected by emitter current, collector voltage, and frequency. Noise diagrams can be used to select the most suitable amplifying devices and optimum operating conditions for various applications.


A long running challenge in both large and small organizations has been aligning information systems services with business needs. Good alignment is assumed to lead to good business results, but there is a need for good instruments to assess strategic alignment and business success in practice. Based on existing information management theories, we develop the I-Fit model and the I-Fit tool. The model assumes causal relationships between four main areas: 'IT governance', 'Strategic Alignment, 'Information Quality', and 'Business Performance'. The tool consists of 40 questions that are used to quick scan alignment. We apply the iFit tool in nine organizations in the Netherlands in order to validate the instrument. Further steps of the project are discussed, including tools for drilling down into the four main areas with greater depth.


As an ecotone, the region between the Amazon Rainforest and Tropical Savanna (Cerrado) biomes is, by definition, more susceptible to climate change. Therefore, understanding palaeoenvironmental dynamics is essential to address the future responses of such transition areas to climatic fluctuations. In this context, we present a new sediment record for the Late-Holocene retrieved from Barro-Preto, currently an oxbow lake located in an ecotone at the southern Brazilian Amazon border. Our multi-proxy data include carbon and nitrogen isotopes, as well as bulk TOC, chlorophyll derivatives, grain-size and microcharcoal analyses, all anchored on a radiocarbon-dated chronology. The sedimentary process recorded at the Barro-Preto Lake responded to both local and regional climate dynamics. It was influenced by river excursions associated to local responses to precipitation changes by the activation of the palaeochannel connecting the main-stem river and the Barro-Preto lake. This activation was evidenced by the presence of different colour lithology laminations accompanied by coarser sediments and also by climate conditions known to influence the Amazon region. Depositional processes linked to lake dynamics and different oxbow lake cycle stages were also important to explain the changes verified in the Barro-Preto record, endorsing the use of this lake formation for palaeoclimatic reconstructions. The record indicated a rising humidity trend, reflected by a progressive increase in lacustrine productivity, in accordance to other studies carried out in the Amazon region concerning the Late-Holocene, associated with a more southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Despite this rising humidity trend, dry episodic events during the Late-Holocene were evidenced by charcoal data, also coherent with regional Amazon studies, albeit exhibiting increased intensity, suggesting that the transitional nature of the environment might have influenced susceptibility to fires.


Background: The Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptors play a major role in inducing proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis by activating intracellular PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling events in different solid tumors and therefore represent attractive targets in tumor therapy. Recently we showed a PDGF-induced activation of metabolism and proliferation in HT29 colon cancer cells in the absence of specific PDGF receptors. The aim of this study was to analyze PDGFR and VEGFR expression and possible alternative PDGF binding partners in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Human HT29 colon cancer cells were cultured and stimulated with PDGF in a time-dependent manner. Additionally, VEGFR2 and EGFR inhibition was performed to analyze alternative PDGF signaling events. Whole cell or RNA extracts were analyzed by Western Blot and RT-q-PCR for receptors and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. To investigate the effects of specific receptor inhibition on proliferation, MTS proliferation assays were performed. Moreover, mRNA levels of PDGFR and VEGFR in tumors from patients with CRC were analyzed by RT-qPCR. Results: Human UICC stage I-IV tumors exhibited a significantly increased PDGFRβ and VEGFR1,2 gene expression. As observed previously, HT29 colon cancer cells showed only positivity for VEGFR1,2, but no PDGFR protein expression. Despite that, stimulation with PDGF resulted in increased proliferation and metabolic changes. In contrast, Caco-2 and SW480 colon cancer cells showed PDGFR and VEGFR expression on protein level. Interestingly, PDGF stimulation increased VEGFR1 and 2 gene expression in HT29 colon cancer cells and secondly inhibition of VEGFR2 and EGFR showed alterations in proliferation and Akt signaling in PDGF stimulated cancer cells. Conclusion: Despite the absence of PDGF receptors in HT29 colon cancer cells, PDGF induced proliferating and metabolic effects in the tumor cells, suggesting an alternative binding partner on the tumor cell surface. Further investigation of the alternative PDGF binding partners could be of clinical relevance in CRC. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Romana Moench, Tanja Grimmig, Christoph-Thomas Germer, Ana Maria Waaga-Gasser, Martin Gasser. PDGF induces cell growth and changes in glucose metabolism in colon cancer in the absence of PDGF receptors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1237. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1237


We describe a point-intercept sampling technique that reduces the time and therefore the cost associated with hand sorting biomass extracted from soil cores. Typically, organic material that has been extracted from soil cores is painstakingly separated into categories such as roots, leaves, and unidentifiable organic matter so that each can be weighed. With the point-intercept method, we spread the extracted organic material over a grid and record the category of randomly located point intercepts within grid cells. The proportion of each category determined via point intercepts is then attributed to the total dry mass of the organic material. With a subset of our data, we determined ordinary least squares regression relationships between hand-sorted (census) and point-intercept (sample) estimates of the belowground biomass components roots, aboveground detritus, and soil organic matter. We then applied these regression models to the remainder of our data, which had been hand sorted to serve as a validation dataset. Using bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals of the ordinary least squares (OLS) bisector slope estimate, we found no significant differences between the point-intercept and hand-sorted values for all three belowground biomass components. The time saved sorting belowground biomass by the point-intercept method (,15 min core 21 ) allowed us to process 43% more cores during the same period. We applied the same technique to components of aboveground herbaceous biomass, but with less success because these pools tended to be less uniformly distributed throughout the sample layer. We recommend the approach for sorting belowground biomass components from soil cores, but the method requires more development before being used to sort other ecosystem components.


Personal experience in the treatment of the tracheal-esophageal non-neoplastic fistula is reported. In the last years, three cases of FTE, concerning some cannula tracheal-stomachal beare patients from 14, 2, 1 months have been examined. In two cases the patients were in spontaneous ventilation, on the contrary a mechanical ventilation was employed in the third. In two patients the fistular way was located correspondingly of the decubitus point of the tracheal stomachal cannula, on the membranaceous pars, and it was not associated with concomitant tracheal stenosis. The first stage of the treatment was removal of the nasogastric probe, supporting the decubitus phenomenon subtending the establishment and the extension of the FTE, then the preparation of a gastrostomy to assure the drainage of secretions under the fistula and a jejunum anastomosis to allow a suitable feeding and recovery of the patients. In these three cases the restoring operation was accomplished by a cervicotomy with a direct opening of the fistula, a suture of the esophageal wall, a suture of the membranaceous pars on the healthy tissue and then a protection of these sutures by interposition, between trachea and esophagus, of the prethyroid muscles transposed and fixed to the prevertebral band. In two cases the post-operative course did not present complications, while the patients kept in assisted ventilation during the postoperative course showed a relapse of the FTE on the twelfth day and then the progressive establishment of a septic state and the exitus on the twentieth day. It is underlined how the success of the reparation of the fistula is largely conditioned by the respiratory autonomy of the patient that guarantees the recurrence of decubitus and infection phenomena causing the lesion.


In this study, energy and exergy analyses of a new SAHs with circular-type turbulators are performed. Experiments are conducted for 0.0023, 0.0033, 0.0044 and 0.0055 kg/s, respectively. While the energy efficiency values are obtained between 28.6% and 79.5%, the exergy efficiency values are calculated between 8.1% and 42.4%. Type II, which has 45° obstacle relief angle and 0.0055 kg/s mass flow rate, shows the highest energy and exergy efficiencies among all the considered cases. The lowest energy and exergy efficiencies are obtained in Type I case, which has no obstacles and has a 0.0023 kg/s mass flow rate. According to the uncertainty analyses that are made, uncertainties of energy efficiencies are obtained between 0.53% and 1.06% whereas uncertainties for exergy efficiencies are varied between 0.27% and 5.4% for all the investigated cases. In addition, the obtained energy and exergy efficiency results are compared with results given in the literature.


In order to satisfy the higher control performance requirement of the industrial steam turbine governing system, the electro-hydraulic servo system and turbine governor based on fuzzy PID control are researched. Since the electric and the heat load models of the turbine always have uncertain dynamics and cross coupling influencing factors, the simple linear or nonlinear differential equations can not sufficiently represent corresponding practical system. And many conventional control methods based on mathematical models are limited in their abilities to improve the tracking performance. This study presents a nonlinear self-adaptive fuzzy PID controller adopting fuzzy rule and inference to adjust PID parameters on-line, which greatly improves the robustness, the dynamic and static properties of the system. Additionally, the idea of variable universe is employed to improve the disadvantage that the membership functions and the control rules can never be modified once they are defined. The proposed fuzzy controller shows excellent robustness against variations of system parameters and external disturbances by comparison with the commonly used classical PID controller or the fixed fuzzy controller via simulations and experiments, which is useful for the future theory research and practice in hydraulic turbine regulation.


Westat. Jessica Hausman served as the contracting officer's representative. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education.


Microsatellite markers can yield high-resolution genetic profiles for individual identification, and for parentage analysis, when evaluating gene dispersal in populations. Fagus crenata is an important dominant species in the cool temperate forests in Japan, and although many studies on the species have been conducted the patterns of gene dispersal via pollen and seeds are poorly understood. In order to be better informed about gene dispersal in Fagus crenata, we have developed 16 new microsatellite loci from an enriched library of genomic DNA. These 16 loci were highly variable, with 3–40 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity value of 0.11–0.98.


This paper presents a soft input/soft output linear equalizer for Alamouti encoded MIMO signals. The derived structure allows for simultaneous equalization of MIMO channels and decoding of Alamouti coded signals. The equalizer/decoder is here used within the turbo equalization framework to exploit the complex and rich characteristics of the acoustic underwater channel. Such schemes can operate ate very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels enabling high transmission rates over long distances. We investigate the viability of the technique by using a simulation example and by studying its behavior for a real scenario, using data collected in the Baltic Sea


A common engineering practice is the use of approximation models in place of expensive computer simulations to drive a multidisciplinary design process based on nonlinear programming techniques. The use of approximation strategies is designed to reduce the number of detailed, costly computer simulations required during optimization while maintaining the pertinent features of the design problem. To date the primary focus of most approximate optimization strategies is that application of the method should lead to improved designs. This is a laudable attribute and certainly relevant for practicing designers. However to date few researchers have focused on the development of approximate optimization strategies that are assured of converging to a solution of the original problem. Recent works based on trust region model management strategies have shown promise in managing convergence in unconstrained approximate minimization. In this research we extend these well established notions from the literature on trust-region methods to manage the convergence of the more general approximate optimization problem where equality, inequality and variable bound constraints are present. The primary concern addressed in this study is how to manage the interaction between the optimization and the fidelity of the approximation models to ensure that the process converges to a solution of the original constrained design problem. Using a trust-region model management strategy, coupled with an augmented Lagrangian approach for constrained approximate optimization, one can show that the optimization process converges to a solution of the original problem. In this research an approximate optimization strategy is developed in which a cumulative response surface approximation of the augmented Lagrangian is sequentially optimized subject to a trust region constraint. Results for several test problems are presented in which convergence to a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) point is observed.


Tilt casting is a process with the unique feature that, in principle, liquid metal can be transferred into a mould by simple mechanical means under the action of gravity, but without surface turbulence. It therefore has the potential to produce very high quality castings. Even so, the process is not often optimised in the industrial environment. This investigation represents an attempt to investigate some fundamental problems associated with the process. A computer controlled, programmable roll-over casting wheel with a diameter of 1 m was used to produce sand castings in an Al-4.5% Cu alloy. The filling of the mould was studied using realtime X-ray radiography. Real-time X-ray radiography revealed that the molten metal could exhibit tranquil, turbulent or chaotic flow into the mould during tilt casting, depending on (i) the angle of tilt of the mould at the start of casting, and (ii) the tilting speed. Essentially horizontal transfer of the melt could achieve tranquil filling of the mould with minimum surface turbulence by a tilt starting position above the horizontal. The tensile properties of castings made using various starting conditions and rotation rates were measured and the results analysed using Weibull statistics to quantify reliability. Results are summarised on a map of the various operating regimes for tilt casting. An operational window for the production of reliable castings has been defined for the first time.


What is already known about this topic? The annual rates of newly diagnosed cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are increasing in China, yet the annual number of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infected through injection drug use (IDU) is decreasing. What is added by this report? Newly diagnosed cases of HIV infected through IDU in China from 2012 to 2019 show decreases year over year, but the risk of new infections through injecting drugs still exists. What are the implications for public health practice? This study highlighted that new HIV infections through IDU continue to be at a low level. However, individuals that are newly diagnosed as HIV-positive through IDU need to have their baseline CD4 T+ lymphocytes (CD4) cell counts monitored and have their sources of infections traced.


To help improve services for parents with psychotic disorders, patients with such disorders in three treatment agencies in Queensland, Australia, were surveyed about whether they were parents, how much contact they had with their offspring, and who provided assistance with child care. Of the 342 individuals with psychotic disorders who participated in the study, 124 were parents. Forty-eight parents in the study had children under age 16, and 20 of these parents (42 percent) had their children living with them. Most parents relied on relatives or friends for assistance with child care. Barriers to child care services identified by parents were inability to pay, lack of local services, and fear of losing custody of children.


Polymers are increasingly used in impact and complex high rate loading applications. Generally, the mechanical response of glassy polymers under high strain rates has been determined in compression. Some research programs have studied the combined effects of temperature and strain rate, still primarily in compression, providing better understanding of the physics behind the observed response and enhancing the models for these materials. However, limited data are available in tension, and even more limited are data describing both the compressive and tensile response of the same glassy polymer. This paper investigates the compressive and tensile response of glassy polymers across a range of stain rates from quasi-static to dynamic. Experimental results from dynamic mechanical analysis, quasi-static compression and tension, and split Hopkinson tension/pressure bars on several representative glassy polymers will be presented. The pressure dependant yield in these materials will be discussed through comparison of the tensile and compressive yield stresses.


2006 was the first election for president in Mexico that took place under an administration that was not controlled by the PRI, and these elections were characterized by a hard-fought competition and the strong presence of the candidates in mass media.
Three citizens' organizations, Dialogues for Mexico, Citizens' Magnifying Glass, and Evaluate and Decide stood out because they tried to limit the tendency of the candidates and parties to exaggerate their electoral promises. The proposed initiatives of these groups included first, reducing the negative consequences of sloppy party platforms (improvisation); and second, offering information that would promote a more reasoned decision on the part of the voter by following through on the electoral promises so that they could answer questions such as, "Are these solid proposals? Did they improve?" The objective of this project
is to allow citizens and political actors to evaluate the performance of elected officials in the next elections. Because of this experience and by examining the initiatives to be able to influence general policies, these citizen-based groups were able to present suggestions
for civic organizations to monitor more effectively representative institutions in
Mexico.


A differentially pumped pressure cell has been developed to enable in situ low-energy ion scattering (LEIS) analysis of catalysts during chemical reactions. The cell is fully compatible with an electrostatic analyzer and is, therefore, very well suited to study rough, highly dispersed catalysts. The pressure cell is a continuous flow cell (space velocity 1.2×103 s−1) and allows observation of dynamic surface reactions with various, perfectly mixed gases at fully controlled partial pressures and temperatures up to 800 K. The design decreases the pressure gap by three orders of magnitude. This offers ample opportunities such as the determination of specific adsorption sites, surface coverages of different species during reactions, and information on growth processes, poisoning or chemically induced segregation. As an example, an in situ LEIS study of the CO oxidation over Pt is presented. By combining in situ LEIS and quadrupole mass spectroscopy, both the surface and gas composition could be monitored duri...


In this paper, we present a local motion planning algorithm for character animation. We focus on motion planning between two distant postures where linear interpolation leads to penetrations. Our framework has two stages. The motion planning problem is first solved as a Boundary Value Problem (BVP) on an energy graph which encodes penetrations, motion smoothness and user control. Having established a mapping from the configuration space to the energy graph, a fast and robust local motion planning algorithm is introduced to solve the BVP to generate motions that could only previously be computed by global planning methods. In the second stage, a projection of the solution motion onto a constraint manifold is proposed for more user control. Our method can be integrated into current keyframing techniques. It also has potential applications in motion planning problems in robotics.


Physical properties of the composite yarn using low-melting(LM) polyester/Tencel were investigated with air-jet texturing conditions such as temperature, take-up overfeed, yarn speed and air pressure. Surface morphology, microstructure, tensile property, glossiness were evaluated. Surface morphology of a composite yarn had more damaged and loosened structure according to increase of take-up overfeed, yarn speed and air pressure. Crystallinity was affected by parameters such as temperature, yarn speed, take-up overfeed and air pressure and especially, yarn speed was most effective for increase of crystallinity. Also, it was found that temperature and air pressure had significantly affected tensile properties of a composite yarn. The glossiness of yarn increased with increase of temperature, yarn speed and air pressure.


Abstract Del Mar manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa Eastw. subsp. crassifolia (Jeps.) P.V. Wells) is a federally listed endangered shrub found in San Diego County, California and Baja California, Mexico. This manzanita forms part of the imperiled southern maritime chaparral of southwestern California and adjacent Baja California, Mexico. Del Mar manzanita is problematic to identify because of morphological intergradation with other subspecies of A. glandulosa. Such intergradation could result from biological phenomena, such as gene flow among subspecies. Alternatively, it could be that the current circumscription of the Del Mar manzanita is not correct, and that the morphological characters used to diagnose this subspecies are inaccurate indicators of underlying genetics. This situation leads to problems for conservation planning, where accurate identification of individual plants is essential. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing of restriction-site associated DNA markers (RADseq) to develop single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for a large sample of putative Del Mar manzanita, and a small sample of closely related subspecies of A. glandulosa. We analyzed genetic relationships using a total of 65,964 SNPs, with the aim of testing whether morphological traits used to identify Del Mar manzanita are an accurate reflection of underlying genetic patterns. We conclude that vegetative morphology is a poor predictor of genetic patterns, and that the current morphology-based circumscription of Del Mar manzanita is probably in need of some change. However, due to the limited sampling of A. glandulosa subspecies in this study, it is not possible to determine the taxonomic limits of Del Mar manzanita using our SNP data.


ABSTRACT Background: To clarify physicians' actual practice in treating agitation in the nursing home and to elucidate the relationship between background factors, familiarity with interventions, and practice. Methods: A survey of actual practice for agitation in persons with dementia was administered to 67 physicians aged 31–70+ working in nursing homes in Israel. Questionnaires were administered by personal interview, self-completed, or a combination of the two. Results: Psychotropic medications are prescribed by 92.5% of physicians for treating agitation, most notably, Haloperidol (39%). Non-pharmacological treatment was also reported to be common, though to a lesser extent, with environmental change being the most prevalent non-pharmacological intervention. Generally, physicians showed low familiarity levels with non-pharmacological interventions, with higher levels noted for physicians with a specialty in geriatrics compared to those who were non-specialized. Physicians who were non-Israeli and younger also reported higher familiarity levels compared to their respective counterparts (i.e. Israeli and older) but this difference did not reach significance. Conclusion: The findings indicate that, despite current guidelines, psychotropic medications are the treatment of choice among nursing home physicians in Israel. While rates of use of non-pharmacological interventions are substantial, their in-practice application may be hindered by lack of familiarity as well as system barriers. The results have implications for system and education changes.


Purpose Reduced or delayed neovascularization is a major obstacle with regard to tissue-engineered constructs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early microvascular response to a novel degradable ε-caprolactone terpolymer matrix. Methods ε-caprolactone terpolymer matrices (Suprathel Plus®; Institute of Textile and Process Engineering, Denkendorf, Germany) were implanted into dorsal skinfold chambers of balb/c mice (n=10). Microcirculatory changes were observed by intravital fluorescence microscopy. Scaffolding matrices from PEGT/PBT copolymer were used as controls (n=10). Results The formation of de novo vascular networks within both scaffolding matrices was noted throughout the experiment. A vascular ingrowth of perfused microvessels into the matrices up to 600 μm apart from the edge was noted within 10 days of implantation. The earliest signs of neoangiogenesis were visible in ε-caprolactone terpolymer matrices on day 1. In both scaffolds the new developed vessels extended centripetally from the border of the matrices towards the center and anastomosed to form a perfused microvascular network. There was significantly earlier onset of vascularization, increased vascularized area and higher vessel density in ε-caprolactone terpolymer matrices compared to PEGT/PBT copolymer matrices were observed. Conclusions The scaffolding matrix from ε-caprolactone terpolymer allowed for an earlier and more intense induction of angiogenesis and displayed the tendency to vascularize more rapidly within a shorter period of time after transplantation compared to PEGT/PBT copolymer scaffolds, thus indicating its potential application for tissue engineering purposes.


A new Mn-based Heusler alloy Mn 2 CuAl has been synthesized by the melt-spinning method. It has an ordered bcc structure and is a ferrimagnet with a saturation moment of 1.44 μ B /f.u. at 5 K. The magnetization mainly comes from the contributions of the antiparallel aligned Mn spin moments. A compensation point is observed at 630 K, indicating the antiferromagnetism between the two Mn sublattices. The Curie temperature of the ribbons is 690 K. When heated to 740 K, the Mn 2 CuAl ribbons completely decompose to a mixture of a tetragonal phase and a Cu 9 Al 4 phase.


Summary
Circular dichroism studies (CD) of turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) nucleoprotein and of its isolated RNA and capsid revealed that: (i) the nucleic acid structure, which comprises a considerable amount of base pairing and/or stacking, remains essentially unchanged irrespective of whether the RNA is encapsidated or free; (ii) the secondary structure of the protein component is mainly accounted for by β- and irregular forms without appreciable amounts of α-helix; (iii) the interaction of capsid protein and RNA induces some conformational changes in the protein probably involving a decrease of β-structure and a perturbation of the microenvironment of some aromatic residues. The influence of temperature on the CD spectra of virus nucleoprotein, RNA and capsid was also investigated. The results are discussed in connection with particle stability.


A reliable algorithm is presented for the evaluation of a quadratic performance index and its gradients with respect to the controller design parameters. The algorithm is a part of a design algorithm for optimal linear dynamic output-feedback controller that minimizes a finite-time quadratic performance index. The numerical scheme is particularly robust when it is applied to the control-law synthesis for systems with densely packed modes and where there is a high likelihood of encountering degeneracies in the closed-loop eigensystem. This approach through the use of an accurate Pade series approximation does not require the closed-loop system matrix to be diagonalizable. The algorithm was included in a control design package for optimal robust low-order controllers. Usefulness of the proposed numerical algorithm was demonstrated using numerous practical design cases where degeneracies occur frequently in the closed-loop system under an arbitrary controller design initialization and during the numerical search.


In situ hybridization was used to detect albumin mRNA in normal liver and hepatocellular neoplasms in 20 male B6C3F1 mice between 17 and 24 months of age. Positive signals for albumin were observed consistently in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes in normal liver, particularly in periportal areas. No signals were observed in other cells, such as Kupffer's cells, mesenchymal cells, or bile duct epithelium. Of hepatocellular adenomas, 11/11 (100%) stained positively for albumin mRNA, whereas 14/15 (93%) of primary hepatocellular carcinomas showed positive expression. Albumin mRNA was also detected in extrahepatic metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma, including 9/15 (60%) of pulmonary neoplasms and 5/12 (42%) of metastases at other sites. The pulmonary metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma frequently exhibited a glandular, papillary, or sarcomatous histologic appearance. The presence of albumin in these tumors, lacking characteristic hepatocellular phenotype, is a potential determinant of hepatic lineage. We conclude that in situ hybridization for albumin mRNA in mice is a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly in the case of pulmonary metastasis. This technique may also enable recognition of hepatocyte differentiation in glandular structures with phenotypic features of biliary cells, as seen in mixed hepatocellular-cholangial neoplasms.


Background and Purpose: Brain trauma injury is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world among all injuries related to the central nervous system. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death under the age of 40 and accounts for a significant percentage of traumatic deaths. This damage leads to a series of events that depend in part on the nature and location of the injury. Trauma to the head due to the death of neurons in the limbic system, especially the hippocampus, can impair mem ory and learning function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lifetime aerobic exercise training on memory and cytokine IL-1beta in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of NMRI mice with brain trauma. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 40 male NMRI laboratory rats with an approximate age of 20 days and weighing eight to nine grams were prepared from the Pasteur Institute of Iran and divided into four groups: non- exercise + mTBI, non- exercise, exercise and exercise + mTBI. Rats from 28 days to 80 days of age did aerobic exercise for eight weeks (56 days). At the end of the eighth week after the completion of the exercise protocol, induction of the brain trauma model by weight loss was performed. 10 days after mTBI induction, rats were assessed for spatial memory by maze Y behavioral test. The cytokine IL-1β was evaluated in the hippocampus and peripheral cortex of mTBI mice by ELISA. After checking the normality of the data by Shapiro-Wilk Test and checking the homogeneity of variances by Leven test, One-way anal ysis of variance was performed by Tukey post hoc test at the significance level of P ≤ 0.05, using SPSS software version 22. Results: The results showed that aerobic exercise had an effect on the memory of mice with brain trauma (P = 0.001). Also, aerobic exercise has an effect on the cytokine IL-1beta in the hippocampus of mice with brain trauma (P = 0.03). In addition, aerobic exercise was shown to have an effect on IL-1beta cytokine in the prefrontal cortex of mice with brain trauma (P = 0.001). Conclusion: This reduction may be due to mechanisms such as low- and high-density lipoproteins, the systemic effects of exercise on neuroprotection, and the reduction of B and T lymphocytes. However, more studies are needed to accurately express the mechanisms of effectiveness. It seems that the exercises used in this study can be used as a therapeutic approach in the treatment of injury and inflammation.


We report multiperiodicity in five small‐amplitude pulsating red giants: RZ Ari, V523 Mon, BC CMi, UX Lyn, and FS Com. For each of these stars, two or three periods recur in each season of our 5000 day database of V observations. The periods and their ratios are consistent with low‐order radial pulsation modes. The amplitudes of the modes change significantly on timescales of 1–5 yr; specifically, the amplitudes of the dominant periods vary on timescales of 2000–3500 days. Most often, the amplitudes of the modes in a given star rise and fall in unison.


A whole-cell catalyst using Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) as a host, expressing L- threonine dehydratase from Escherichia coli, and co-expressing leucine dehydrogenase from Bacillus cereus and glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis for cofactor regeneration, was constructed and used for one-pot production of L-2-aminobutyric acid (L-ABA) and D- gluconic acid from L-threonine and D-glucose. We used shake-flask culture to study the whole-cell catalytic condition including temperature, pH, proper permeabilization of cells and optimal wet cells amount. Moreover, the whole-cell catalyst was cultured in 5-L fermentor by fed-batch fermentation, and 164 g/L L-threonine and 248 g/L D-glucose were converted to 141.6 g/L L-ABA and 269.4 g/L D-gluconic acid. The whole-cell catalyst is promising to fulfill industrial requirements for L-ABA and D-gluconic acid.


Termites consume an estimated 3–7 billion tonnes of lignocellulose annually, a role in nature which is unique for a single order of invertebrates. Their food is digested with the help of microbial symbionts, a relationship that has been recognized for 200 years and actively researched for at least a century. Although DNA- and RNA-based approaches have greatly refined the details of the process and the identities of the participants, the allocation of roles in space and time remains unclear. To resolve this issue, a pioneer study is reported using metabolomics to chart the in situ catabolism of 13C-cellulose fed to the dampwood species Hodotermopsis sjostedti. The results confirm that the secretion of endogenous cellulases by the host may be significant to the digestive process and indicate that a major contribution by hindgut bacteria is phosphorolysis of cellodextrins or cellobiose. This study provides evidence that essential amino acid acquisition by termites occurs following the lysis of microbial tissue obtained via proctodaeal trophallaxis.


Renewable energy is the most economic solution for new grid-connected capacity in areas with good resources. The RES power variation and their unpredictable nature may decrease the grids reliability. In this regard, this paper presents an enhanced control method for battery energy storage systems (BESS) to support the frequency of MG and with the ability of disconnecting from the MG to supplying in the island mode a local consumer. The combination of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with a hierarchical control of the resources provides a solution to overcome the frequency control issues within an MG. Within the BESS, a power electronics converter interfaces the energy storage unit with a single or three-phase MG. The power converters operation in two states, namely MG-tied or islanded, is an important feature to improve the MG flexibility and feasibility. The BESS may also provide voltage support in the point of common coupling with the MG. The proposed BESS may compensate the power absorbed by the local loads in order to improve the MG frequency response. When the MG power quality worsens under a certain stage, in terms of voltage and frequency, the BESS detaches from the MG and continues to operate islanded. The reconnection is accomplished a smoothly resynchronization of the local voltage with the MG, without troubling the local loads supply. In this proposed method, by proper maintenance of charging and discharging of battery, it enhances the lifetime of battery and it also provides the uninterrupted supply of load.


Context: The human fetal adrenal (HFA) is an integral component of the fetoplacental unit and important for the maintenance of pregnancy. Low kisspeptin levels during pregnancy are associated with miscarriage, and kisspeptin and its receptor are expressed in the HFA. However, the role of kisspeptin in fetal adrenal function remains unknown. Objective: To determine the role of kisspeptin in the developing HFA. Design: Experiments using H295R and primary HFA cells as in vitro models of the fetal adrenal. Association of plasma kisspeptin levels with HFA size in a longitudinal clinical study. Setting: Academic research center and tertiary fetal medicine unit. Participants: Thirty‐three healthy pregnant women were recruited at their 12‐week routine antenatal ultrasound scan. Main Outcome Measures: The spatiotemporal expression of Kiss1R in the HFA. The production of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) from HFA cells after kisspeptin treatment, alone or in combination with adrenocorticotropic hormone or corticotropin‐releasing hormone. Fetal adrenal volume (FAV) and kisspeptin levels at four antenatal visits (˜20, 28, 34, and 38 weeks' gestation). Results: Expression of Kiss1R was present in the HFA from 8 weeks after conception to term and was shown in the inner fetal zone. Kisspeptin significantly increased DHEAS production in H295R and second‐trimester HFA cells. Serial measurements of kisspeptin confirmed a correlation with FAV growth in the second trimester, independent of sex or estimated fetal weight. Conclusions: Kisspeptin plays a key role in the regulation of the HFA and thus the fetoplacental unit, particularly in the second trimester of pregnancy.