An experimental program was carried out in Tasmanian buttongrass moorlands to develop fire behaviour prediction models for improving fire management. This paper describes the results of the fuel moisture modelling section of this project. A range of previously developed fuel moisture prediction models are examined and three empirical dead fuel moisture prediction models are developed. McArthur's grassland fuel moisture model gave equally good predictions as a linear regression model using humidity and dew-point temperature. The regression model was preferred as a prediction model as it is inherently more robust. A prediction model based on hazard sticks was found to have strong seasonal effects which need further investigation before hazard sticks can be used operationally.


Background Previous studies have shown that pelvimetry can be valuable in predicting surgical difficulties in rectal cancer operations. However, its usability in predicting circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement remains debatable. This study investigated the factors affecting CRM status and the importance of computed tomography (CT) pelvimetry in predicting CRM involvement in laparoscopic resection of middle and lower rectal cancer. Methodology In this study, we retrospectively investigated the data of 111 patients who underwent a laparoscopic operation for middle and lower rectum cancer at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgical Oncology between January 2014 and January 2020. The predictive value of CT pelvimetry and other variables on the CRM status was analyzed. Results The following four pelvic parameters differed significantly between the genders: transverse diameter of the pelvic inlet (p = 0.024), anteroposterior diameter of the pelvic outlet (p = 0.003), transverse diameter of the pelvic outlet (p < 0.001), and pelvic depth (p < 0.001). The effect of pelvic anatomic parameters on CRM involvement was not found to be significant. It was found that tumor height from the anal verge (p = 0.004), tumor size (p < 0.001), and gender (p = 0.033) were significant risk factors for CRM involvement. Survival was poor in patients with male gender (p = 0.032), perineural invasion (p < 0.001), and grade 3 tumor. Conclusions In this study, no benefit was found in predicting CRM positivity from CT pelvimetry in the laparoscopic resection of middle and lower rectal cancer. Besides, tumor height from the anal verge, tumor size, and gender were important factors for CRM positivity. Although our study sheds light on this issue, prospective randomized studies with larger sample sizes are needed.


Monoamines are able to increase the thyroid iodine organification in vitro. A predominance of the A form of monoamine oxidase (MAO) has been previously demonstrated to exist in bovine thyroid tissue. In the present study we have investigated the form of MAO that could be involved in the iodotyrosine formation induced by tyramine, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and beta-phenylethylamine (PEA) in a bovine thyroid subcellular fraction. The relative capacity of these monoamines to generate H2O2 and to incorporate iodine into tyrosine has also been studied. The MAO A inhibitor clorgyline (10(-9) M) produced a strong inhibition on the iodotyrosine formation induced by tyramine, 5-HT and PEA. In contrast, only a slight reduction was observed with deprenyl as MAO B inhibitor. Among the three monoamines, tyramine produced the highest H2O2 generation and iodotyrosine formation. The lowest Km value obtained was for 5-HT and the highest for PEA. Regarding the Vmax, the lowest value was for 5-HT and the highest for tyramine. The amount of iodine incorporated to tyrosine was not equivalent to the H2O2 generated by the monoamines nor to that exogenously added. Our results indicate that in bovine thyroid tissue mainly the A form of MAO is involved in the monoamine metabolism.


THE EFFECTS OF BILATERAL AND REGIONAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS ON THE FDI INFLOWS INTO ASEAN COUNTRIES Sarasin Booppanon, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2007 Dissertation Director: Dr. Kenneth A. Reinert The competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) has resulted in many developing countries resorting to international investment agreements (IIAs) as a legal mechanism to encourage FDI based on the basis that these international commitments are more credible than domestic policy choices for the cost of reneging on them is more costly. IIAs are legal instruments that contain a set of rules governing FDI and specifying the rights and obligations of foreign investors, investing countries and recipient countries. The proliferation of IIAs over the years illustrates the belief of the policymakers in the efficacy of these policy instruments in helping to attract FDI. However, there is still very limited empirical evidence to support the claim of their positive role. The aim of the research is to contribute to the existing empirical literature on FDI by incorporating international FDI policies that to date have not yet been thoroughly studied. It employs Dunning's ownership-location-internalization (OLI) framework to investigate the extent to which investment agreements play a role in attracting FDI inflows from within ASEAN and outside ASEAN to the countries and compare these influences with those of other macroeconomic and institutional factors over time. The analysis is undertaken using a panel data set covering ten ASEAN countries over the period 1980-2005. The findings demonstrate that BITs or the bilateral type of IIAs made with developed countries have a positive impact on FDI inflows into ASEAN countries and confirm the crucial role played by the quality of domestic institutions. The results are robust to changes in model specification. The empirical results also indicate that BITs function as a complement rather than a substitute for domestic institutional quality. However, there is no evidence that the ASEAN Investment Area, which is a regional type of IIA made among ASEAN nations serves to stimulate intra-regional or inter-regional FDI flows to the region.


Reductions in CO2 emissions have a significant effect on the transportation sector, and there is increasing interest in developing green cars such as electric cars. To prepare for the advent of the electric car era, it will be necessary to predict the increase in electricity demand owing to the spread of electric cars and determine the policy approaches. Therefore, the analysis was performed to promote the use of electric car that helps reduce CO2 emissions. This study establishes a mode choice model using the stated preference method. To improve the predictive power of the model, some revealed preference data were also examined to consider the characteristics of the commuters and the extent of current electric car technology to determine and verify the parameters of the mode choice models. This was used to estimate changes in CO2 emissions owing to the introduction of electric cars and present effective policy approaches to reduce CO2 emissions.


PURPOSE
To compare the retention forces of implant overdenture patrices (ball, bar, and TiSi.snap) to conventional (O-ring, metal housing, and clip) and polyvinyl siloxane (PVS)-based silicone (retention.sil 200, 400, and 600; Mucopren Soft; and GC Reline Soft) matrix materials.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two implant analogs, in which the patrices were to be placed, were embedded parallel to each other in polyethylene blocks, and the matrices were placed in heatpolymerized acrylic blocks that were fabricated as overdentures. Ten samples were prepared for each attachment type, and 180 samples were obtained from 18 groups. All samples were placed in a chewing simulator for occlusal force application and for insertion and removal of the pieces. Retention measurements were performed with a universal testing device at the initial (10 cycles), simulated first-year (1,825 cycles), and simulated second-year (3,650 cycles) periods, assuming that the patients would insert and remove their overdenture five times daily.

RESULTS
Loss of retention occurred in all the attachment systems at the end of 3,650 cycles (P < .05). The PVS matrix materials showed less retention than the O-ring and metal matrices when a ball patrix was used, while they had higher retention than bar clips when the Hader bar patrix was used (P < .05). Among the PVS matrix materials, retention.sil 200 produced the lowest retention values, whereas retention.sil 600 generated the highest.

CONCLUSION
PVS matrix materials show higher retention than that achieved by yellow plastic bar matrices. However, these materials exhibit lower retention than with plastic and metal matrices of ball abutments.


This paper studies the provision of public goods in open-source software support forums. Data from the Italian TeX Users Group were analysed to find individual motives for offering help. Using this methodology, we were able to split the forum participants into a small intrinsically motivated core group and a much larger group motivated mainly on the basis of reciprocity. The motives of the two groups were largely complementary and jointly produced a situation where the overwhelming majority of questions received an appropriate answer. At the same time, the core group played a fundamental role and was the key in explaining the forum's success. Without this group, the forum's performance would have been considerably diminished, probably down to a level that would not justify its existence.


Segmental mobility dynamic peculiarities of poly(U), poly(A) and poly(C) synthetic polymers and their complexes were investigated by spin-label method. Imidazolide spin-label was introduced into 2'-oxi-groups of polymer ribose in correlation: one spin-label on 18-20 bases. Formation of complexes was observed by ESR spectra at two pH: 4.2 and 7.2. Segmental mobility of only single strand spin-labelled polymer segment and in the complex was evaluated by measuring rotational correlation time (tau) determined by dependence of distances between outer wide extrema in ESR spectra from solvent viscosity at different temperatures. It turned out that correlation time tau of single strand structures in a high degree depend on pH and temperature. For three strand structures abrupt increase of tau because of appearance of rigidity was observed. It is possible to evaluate part of triple complexes poly(U.A.A) and poly(U.U.A) existing in dynamic equilibrium depending on pH and temperature by the form of outer wide extrema. Adding of dye to complex of poly(U).poly(A) causes an increase of rigidity of the supermolecular structure. Quantitative characteristics of formed complexes were obtained by simulation of ESR spectra on computer.


The possibility is presented that the current collaborative versus conventional medical debate may be a consumer-driven continuation of the biomedical versus biopsychosocial controversy first proposed by George Engel 25 years ago. If true, we may all be actors in a genuine Kuhnian paradigmatic shift destined to occur whether we appreciate our roles therein or approve of the ultimate outcome. At the very least, however, it is important to recognize the evidence that at least some patients suffering from chronic conditions may be choosing collaborative therapies for different reasons than for those for which they seek conventional medical care. For these patients, at least, it is important that the quality of the collaborative care they receive be judged on outcomes capable of reflecting these alternative objectives. Finally, whether we are in the midst of a paradigmatic shift in medicine or not, it is essential that we all, as providers of clinical care or as investigators of clinical efficacy, adopt a collaborative role to ensure the provision of both good medicine and good science.


This paper aims to analyze the perception organizations identify the usefulness of internships and level of employability of graduates as part of a strategy for sustainable development both universities and the business environment. The goal of this study is to analyze companies on the Romanian market perception of internships and level of employability of graduates. For that purpose a exploratory quantitative research was made, questionnaires distributed to 40 legal entities. Among the results of the research we found out that perception of utility organizations identify internships and degree of employability of graduates is part of a strategy for sustainable development both universities and the business environment. In this way it is a real connection between the current and the future requirements of a modern society. For companies and universities to achieve their objectives is necessary the dialogue between them take place continuously. Both universities and companies need to understand better idea of partnership materialized through better design of curricula and through an open attitude towards the organization of internships.


Summary

The properties of 64 heterokaryotic strains of Phlebiopsis gigantea, isolated mostly from Norway spruce stumps, were tested for asexual spore production, growth rate and competitive ability against Heterobasidion spp. on agar medium, and for growth rate in spruce wood. Eighteen isolates were also tested for the efficacy of control against Heterobasidion spp. in stem pieces of spruce. The results revealed high variation in traits between different P. gigantea isolates. The efficacy of control against Heterobasidion spp. and the growth rate in spruce wood were closely related to each other (r = 0.727, p < 0.001). These preliminary tests indicate that the growth rate of a P. gigantea strain in spruce wood is the most important characteristic determining its efficiency in controlling the infection and spread of Heterobasidion spp. in spruce stumps.


Results of an international comparison of iodine absorption cells organized by the BIPM are reported. Ten of the thirteen member laboratories of the Comite Consultatif pour la Definition du Metre (CCDM) participated. Two experimental methods were used to estimate the purity of the iodine in the cells: first, the cells were incorporated in BIPM He-Ne lasers and the laser frequencies thus obtained at λ = 633 nm were compared by the beat frequency method with those of the BIPM reference lasers and, second, direct measurements of iodine purity by a laser-induced fluorescence method were made at λ = 502 nm. Of the thirty-nine cells investigated, more than half are pure enough to realize a frequency reproducibility to within 10 kHz (2 parts in 1011 in relative terms). A contamination of 129I2 has been observed in certain cells containing 127I2. The comparison confirms that observed frequency shifts of the hyperfine components in iodine are strongly linked to impurities in the iodine cells.


AIMS: To investigate wet heat pretreatment (pressure cooking) as a means of antigen retrieval for demonstration of MyoD1 in paraffin wax embedded tissue. METHODS: Routinely processed tissue sections of transmission electron microscope confirmed cases of rhabdomyosarcoma were stained immunohistochemically with the MyoD1 antibody. Antigen retrieval was achieved by wet heat pretreatment of the tissue sections. RESULTS: MyoD1 was stained successfully in all seven cases. The protein was localised to nuclei and cytoplasm depending on the type of tumour cell. CONCLUSIONS: Wet heat pretreatment for antigen retrieval from routinely processed tissue sections permits excellent subsequent immunostaining for MyoD1 in rhabdomyoblasts.


We report on measurements made of the levels of stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering in a long-scalelength preformed plasma. The effectiveness of a random phase plate and an induced spatial incoherence system to suppress these instabilities by reducing the coherence of the laser beam have been studied. It has been found that both these methods give rise to a significant reduction in the levels of the Raman and Brillouin instabilities under these experimental conditions.


We formulate and solve the equations governing the transonic behaviour of a general relativistic black-hole accretion disc with non-zero advection velocity. We demonstrate that a relativistic Rankine–Hugoniot shock may form leading to the formation of accretion powered outflow. We show that the critical points of transonic discs generally do not coincide with the corresponding sonic points. The collection of such sonic points forms an axisymmetric hypersurface, generators of which are the acoustic null geodesics, i.e. the phonon trajectories. Such a surface is shown to be identical to an acoustic event horizon. The acoustic surface gravity and the corresponding analogue horizon temperature TAH at the acoustic horizon are then computed in terms of fundamental accretion parameters. Physically, the analogue temperature is associated with the thermal phonon radiation, analogous to the Hawking radiation of the black-hole horizon. Thus, an axisymmetric black-hole accretion disc is established as a natural example of the classical analogue gravity model, for which two kinds of horizons exist simultaneously. We have shown that for some values of astrophysically relevant accretion parameters, the analogue temperature exceeds the corresponding Hawking temperature. We point out that acoustic white holes can also be generated for a multi-transonic black-hole accretion with a shock. Such a white hole, produced at the shock, is always flanked by two acoustic black holes generated at the inner and the outer sonic points. Finally, we discuss possible applications of our work to other astrophysical events which may exhibit analogue effects.


Introduction Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programmes have been shown to reduce symptoms and improve exercise tolerance in COPD. Improving rates of attendance at PR sessions is vital to ensuring a cost-effective service. The role of seasonality in attendance at PR programmes has not previously been evaluated. Methods Attendance rates, between 2007 and 2010, at a PR programme in one London borough were reviewed. The number of patients attending assessment and subsequent bi weekly PR sessions was examined and demographic information collected. The data were divided by season – winter months incorporating October to March and summer months, April to September. The null hypothesis that there would be no difference between attendance rates in summer months compared to winter months was tested using a Mann–Whitney U test. The attendance data were correlated, using Pearson′s product-moment correlation coefficient, with local monthly weather data, obtained from the Met Office, for temperature, hours of sunshine and rainfall over the time period. Results In total 506 assessment appointments were made to achieve 258 attendances, an attendance rate of 51%. For assessments, there was no difference in attendance between the winter and summer months (50 and 51% respectively). For the group PR sessions, 2325 appointments were made to achieve 1613 attendances (69%). The overall attendance rate at group sessions during winter was 64% compared to 74% during summer. Non-parametric testing of the data revealed the seasonal difference to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Attendance rates show weak, positive correlation with maximum and minimum temperatures (r =+0.51, +0.44 respectively) and sunlight hours (r =+0.55), and weak negative correlation with amount of rainfall (r =−0.33). Conclusion Attendance rates were significantly worse during winter compared to summer. This needs to be taken into account when planning PR services and in local efforts to maximise patient participation. The weak correlation between attendance and specific weather indicators suggests that weather conditions may contribute to this pattern. Confounding patient factors such as illness exacerbation and environmental issues such as transport need to be further evaluated in the context of seasonality to better understand this relationship.


Growth inhibitory effects of neocarzinostatin (NCS), and its conjugated derivative with poly (styrene-maleic acid), SMANCS, were examined on various tissue culture cells consisting of 13 lymphatic and 7 non-lymphatic cells (15 cell lines, 5 primary culture cells; 14 in suspension culture cells, 6 in monolayer cells). Both agents showed almost similar concentrations for the growth inhibition against 5 non-lymphatic cell lines (an average minimum growth inhibitory concentration of NCS, 0.076 microgram/ml, and SMANCS, 0.094 microgram/ml, a ratio of 1 : 1.24 (W/W), or 1.0 : 0.9 (mol/mol]. However, SMANCS showed a much less growth inhibitory effects against lymphatic 10 cell lines than NCS. Namely, an average 50% growth inhibitory concentration of NCS was 0.019 microgram/ml whereas that of SMANCS was 0.091 microgram/ml (a ratio of 1 : 4.79). From the consideration of each molecular weight, this ratio is 1 : 3.6. Similar results were obtained in experiments in which 2 primary non-lymphatic cells and 3 primary lymphatic cells were used. Although the largest drawback with NCS was known to be leukopenia, present results indicated the less toxicity of SMANCS than NCS on lymphatic cells and may provide a positive aspect of the new derivative, such as less incidence of leukopenia.


Aim This study evaluated serum levels of zinc in patient with CD compare to healthy subjects. Background Celiac disease (CD) is characterized by small intestinal malabsorption of nutrients as a consequence of ingestion of wheat gluten. Zinc is an essential trace element that it has vital biological functions. Patients and methods Sera of 30 celiac cases and 30 healthy normal cohorts as control group were obtained. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was employed for estimating serum zinc level. Results Zinc concentrations in patients diagnosed with CD were significantly lower than healthy subjects (75.97±12 compared with 92.83±18, P-value < 0.0001). Conclusion The result of this study shows that serum zinc concentration is decreased in celiac patients compare to healthy controls. Serum zinc may thus be a marker of CD in adults presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms.


Low oil prices over the past few years have led oil and gas organizations to embrace digital transformation to improve the efficiency and quality of well design. Nowadays, digital transformation and reducing well construction can have significant impact on determining the financial viability of a discovery. Teamwork and the collaboration of numerous experts in different disciplines are required to achieve a properly engineered well design that can be executed with minimal risks.
 Present-day well planning uses several increasingly obsolete techniques, including maintaining spreadsheets as risk registers, sharing multiple design iterations between disciplines, drilling, and geological concerns, manually replanning to accommodate changes, and people working in "silos"—often from different offices or from home. Along with this, planning software, when installed on a computer, may be difficult to maintain and update with new software releases. Often an expert in one discipline will not have visibility on the work done by other engineers, impeding collaboration. Many linear processes lead not only to increased well planning time but also to suboptimal well design resulting in higher planning and execution costs (Bello et al. 2014).
 Today, the oil and gas industry lag in the adoption of digital technologies and most of the ones that exist are not used commercially. Often, the reason is that these solutions address only a very small part of the entire well construction workflow. They are not fully matured, have a poor user interface, and require heavy computing power. Operators, on the other hand, are looking for a full-suite solution and they do not have the resources or expertise to connect various digital solutions existing in the market from different vendors. The need of the hour is an integrated solution that is easy to adopt, provides a collaborative work environment, is cloud-based to leverage computing power (Tanaka et al. 2018), and most importantly supports all the major well design workflows.
 In this paper, we discuss the first commercial application of a digital cloud-based well-planning solution in the Middle East region, which enabled Crescent Petroleum to become the first operator to adopt the system in UAE.


The authors present measurements of the anisotropy between the longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistance in a number of Fe1-xZrx (0.08<or=x<or=0.11) metallic glasses in fields ( mu 0 Ha) up to 1 T at a number of fixed temperatures between 1.5 and 300 K, and in a single, low field ( approximately 5 mT) as a function of temperature. The influence of hydrogen loading was also studied. A low-field (remanent-field) resistive anisotropy (RFRA) first appears at a temperature very close to the Curie temperature (TC) (found from previous AC susceptibility measurements on the same specimens), confirming the emergence of a substantial, non-local exchange field at this temperature. A linear increase of the RFRA with decreasing temperature immediately below TC (i.e. as A(TC-T)/TC) is reported for the first time, and a semiquantitative explanation for such an increase proposed. Structure in the RFRA has also been observed at temperatures well below TC, although no definite correlation between it and the proposed re-entrant transition in this system could be established.


A paraffin embedding method to prepare whole rabbit knee joints for histological examination is described. This method provides good quality microscopic sections thin enough for the study of cellular detail and does not require prolonged processing. When examining pathologic changes in experimental arthritis, it is advantageous to be able to examine the intact joint with the structural relations of the joint components preserved. Sections of the whole joint provide numerous areas where bone, cartilage and synovium are contiguous for examination. Having obtained poor results using methods recommended for small bony specimens, we modified several existing procedures to obtain a reliable method for preparing excellent microscopic sections of the whole rabbit knee joint.


Industry academia collaboration plays paramount role for both stakeholders and there are numerous benefits of that collaboration. This study aims to determine the role of this collaboration and its potential advantages for both the parties. The respondents for this study were 40 working engineers from two engineering organizations of Pakistan. Purposive sampling method was used to draw the participants. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 15.0) to draw percentages for each variable such as gap between technical and non technical skills at workplace and communication skills in engineering curriculum that assists engineering graduates to perform workplace jobs efficiently following graduation at workplace. The results of the study suggest that there is a gap between technical and non technical skills at workplace and the subject of English or communication skills taught to engineering students does not significantly improve communication skills of engineering students. The findings of the study can be used as a guideline to overcome prevailing technical and non technical skills gap at workplace and to add more communication skill subjects in engineering curriculum in order to better train future engineers for the workplace which has become more demanding in terms of skills of engineers compared to past decade engineers. Keywords: Collaboration, Industry, Engineering Universities


Abstract Objectives Radioactive iodine therapy is considered for patients with certain clinicopathological factors that predict a significant risk of recurrence, distant metastases of thyroid cancer or disease-specific mortality. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms of genes, products of which are involved in the processes of DNA damage response and autophagy, and the adverse reactions of radioiodine therapy in thyroid cancer patients. Methods The study included 181 patients (37 men, 144 women; median age 56 [41; 66.3] years) with histologically confirmed thyroid cancer and a history of thyroidectomy who received radioiodine therapy. NFKB1, ATM, ATG16L2, ATG10, TGFB1, and TNF polymorphisms were determined by allele-specific realtime-PCR. Results The frequency of adverse reactions was the following: gastrointestinal symptoms – 57.9 %, local symptoms – 65.8 %, cerebral symptoms – 46.8 %, fatigue – 54.4 %; signs of sialoadenitis six months after radioiodine therapy – 25.2 %. TT genotype carriers of ATG10 rs1864183 had higher frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms (vs. CC+CT), the CC genotype carriers of ATG10 rs10514231 had significantly more frequent cerebral symptoms (vs. CT+TT), as well as AA genotype carriers of TGFB1 rs1800469 (vs. AG+GG). CC genotype of ATG10 rs10514231 increased the incidence of radioiodine-induced fatigue, whereas GA genotype of the ATM rs11212570 had a protective role against fatigue. TGFB1 rs1800469 was associated with signs of sialoadenitis six months after radioiodine therapy. Conclusions Genetic factors may contribute to the occurrence of adverse reactions of radioiodine therapy in thyroid cancer patients.


The aim of this work is to establish the mineralogical (XRD) composition of the Permo-Triassic claystone known as Moro clay. Particular emphasis is placed on the compositional variations along the litostratigraphic section. Bulk rock XRD analysis shows a homogeneous composition dominated by quartz, phyllosilicates and hematite. Minor components (< 5%) include potassium feldspar, dolomite and calcite. The clay minerals assemblage is formed by illite +/- kaolin +/- chlorite +/- mixed-layer +/- illite-smectite +/- mixed-layer chlorite-smectite and reveals a sedimentary distribution pattern. The study of the lithological section allows the identification and valuation of changes in the mineralogical characteristics of the raw material. Results provide evidence for the importance of mineralogical analysis in the control of raw materials and hence their use in industrial processes.


CASE
Hip dislocations with associated acetabular fracture are rare events usually associated with high-energy trauma. We describe an unusual case of low-energy acetabular fracture dislocation sustained by a 30-year-old athletic male athlete during a high-intensity training program.

CONCLUSION
Correct execution of training programs is important. Healthcare professionals as well as participants and instructors of extreme conditioning programs should be aware of this serious complication. Avoidance of this injury may be possible with increased interval recovery and improved technique.


A key architectural element of future quantum photonic networks is an efficient light-matter interface to connect electronic and photonic qubit systems. Nanophotonic resonators can be fabricated on-chip to provide such interfaces for atomic-like defect centers in diamond, which are leading qubit candidates. Fabrication advancements have recently lead to the construction of high quality diamond microdisk resonators, which show potential to reach enhancements with Purcell factor CNV ∼ 50. Here, a room-temperature experimental apparatus integrating free space and visible wavelength fiber-taper measurement capabilities is built to characterize diamond microdisk resonators. Using this setup, microdisk wisphering gallery modes with quality factors at visible wavelengths resonant with defect centers as high as Q ∼ 1× 105, are observed for the first time. Spectral filtering effects of the taper on the microdisk are analysed to reveal that coupling to these disks may be limited by phase matching requirements. By thinning these disks it should be possible to improve coupling while lowering mode volumes, as desired to optimize Purcell factors.


SUMMARY: Chiari malformations are a diverse group of abnormalities of the brain, craniovertebral junction, and the spine. Chiari 0, I, and 1.5 malformations, likely a spectrum of the same malformation with increasing severity, are due to the inadequacy of the para-axial mesoderm, which leads to insufficient development of occipital somites. Chiari II malformation is possibly due to nonclosure of the caudal end of the neuropore, with similar pathogenesis in the rostral end, which causes a Chiari III malformation. There have been significant developments in the understanding of this complex entity owing to insights into the pathogenesis and advancements in imaging modalities and neurosurgical techniques. This article aims to review the different types and pathophysiology of the Chiari malformations, along with a description of the various associated abnormalities. We also highlight the role of ante- and postnatal imaging, with a focus on the newer techniques in the presurgical evaluation, with a brief mention of the surgical procedures and the associated postsurgical complications.


BackgroundRecently, an increasing number of studies have reported the roles of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, which include the liver, kidney, heart, brain, and intestine. However, the functions and mechanisms of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which serve as ceRNA networks in intestinal I/R injury, are still unclear. MethodsIn this study, bioinformatics methods were used to filter and construct the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks in intestinal I/R injury. RNA expression data were retrieved from NCBI GEO datasets, the expression profiles between mouse small intestine with superior mesenteric artery occlusion and Sham operation was analyzed, and 189 microRNA differential expressed genes(miDEGs) were discovered successfully from miRNA GEO dataset (GSE83701). Next, targeted lncRNAs and mRNA in the database were matched based on miDEGs. Then, lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks were constructed with Cytoscape. The hub lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks were selected via Cytoscape plug-in CytoHubba and intersected mRNAs of datasets GSE96733 and GSE83701. Finally, the vital nodes of the ceRNA networks were validated by qPCR. ResultsThe 1700020114Rik/mmu-miR-7a-5p/Klf4 axis was postulated to play a potential role in intestinal I/R injury.ConclusionThe results shed novel insight into the molecular mechanism of ceRNA networks in intestinal I/R injury and highlighted the potential of 170002700020114Rik/mmu-miR-7a-5p/Klf4 ceRNA network in the prevention and treatment of intestinal I/R injury.


Title: A hybrid genetic algorithm to solve a lot-sizing and scheduling problem Abstract: This paper reports a lot-sizing and scheduling problem, which minimizes inventory and backlog costs on m parallel machines with sequence-dependent set-up times over t periods. Problem solutions are represented as product subsets ordered and/or unordered for each machine m at each period t. The optimal lot sizes are determined applying a linear program. A genetic algorithm searches either over ordered or over unordered subsets (which are implicitly ordered using a fast ATSP- type heuristic) to identify an overall optimal solution. Initial computational results are presented, comparing the speed and solution quality of the ordered and unordered genetic algorithm approaches.


A vast amount of research has found links between anxiety and attention biases towards threatening stimuli. Theoretical models of attention in anxiety focus on two main attentional pathways; these are selective attention to threat(e.g., Mogg & Bradley, 1998), where attention is automatically capture by threatening stimuli, and hypervigilance for threat (e.g., Richards, & Hadwin, 2011), where attention is spread across the visual field and threat is detected and processed by covert attention. Attentional control is argued to have a moderating role in the relationship between anxiety and attention biases to threat (i.e. attention biases to threat are most evident in anxious individual with low attentional control). In addition, research indicates that reduced attentional control and attention biases for threat stimuli are associated with poor social adjustment across development,including poor peer relationships and atypical social behaviour. The current thesis used an eye-movement paradigm to explore the relationship between anxiety, attention to threat and social adjustment in youths and adults. The remote distractor paradigm was used to measure attentional capture, as well as hypervigilance, for threat. In this paradigm, rapid eye movements to the angry face distractor provide evidence of attentional capture to threat. Slower latencies to initiate eye movements to the target in the presence of an angry distractor face provide evidence of hypervigilance for threat. Across three studies the results showed that anxious behaviour was unrelated to selective attention for threat. Instead the results showed that neuroticism (i.e. a personality trait characterised by increased levels of anxiety) was associated with hypervigilance for angry (but not happy or neutral) faces. In addition the current experiments revealed links between internalising traits (trait anxiety and neuroticism) and impaired inhibition of threat and social adjustment difficulties including poor performance during social interaction and low socio-metric status. The results from the current experiments are in line with previous research suggesting that anxiety is characterised by impaired inhibition of threat, where this is facilitated by a broad attentional beam. In addition, the current result fit theoretical models and empirical findings that highlight links between attentional mechanisms and poor social adjustment.


In quantitative uncertainty analysis, it is essential to define rigorously the endpoint or target of the assessment. Two distinctly different approaches using Monte Carlo methods are discussed: (1) the end point is a fixed but unknown value (e.g., the maximally exposed individual, the average individual, or a specific individual) or (2) the end point is an unknown distribution of values (e.g., the variability of exposures among unspecified individuals in the population). In the first case, values are sampled at random from distributions representing various "degrees of belief" about the unknown "fixed" values of the parameters to produce a distribution of model results. The distribution of model results represents a subjective confidence statement about the true but unknown assessment end point. The important input parameters are those that contribute most to the spread in the distribution of the model results. In the second case, Monte Carlo calculations are performed in two dimensions producing numerous alternative representations of the true but unknown distribution. These alternative distributions permit subject confidence statements to be made from two perspectives: (1) for the individual exposure occurring at a specified fractile of the distribution or (2) for the fractile of the distribution associated with a specified level of individual exposure. The relative importance of input parameters will depend on the fractile or exposure level of interest. The quantification of uncertainty for the simulation of a true but unknown distribution of values represents the state-of-the-art in assessment modeling.


Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti were isolated from 35 of 51 white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) captured on two Narragansett Bay, R.I., islands inhabited by deer, the principal host for the adult stages of the vector tick, Ixodes dammini. Immature ticks parasitized mice from both islands. From 105 mice captured on four other islands not inhabited by deer neither pathogen was isolated, nor were I. dammini found.


practically all what civil society is about. We are encouraged in the same way as we encourage Abstract The concept of solidarity is certainly one of the most challenging among the concepts forming the constellation of social and political thought. Not only because of its use in a variety of discourses, but also because it is one of the most influential concepts despite the fact that it is still undertheorized. At the heart of the complexity is the ambiguity between the normative and descriptive usages of the concept. It seems that this ambiguity is clearly reflected in this time of Covid-19 pandemic which has revealed that both individuals and nations can demonstrate both solidary and anti-solidary actions simultaneously. This paper is an attempt to understand these contradictory conducts in the light of the history and development of the concept. Thus, the following questions are addressed: First, at a macro level, why do many countries behave towards each other in an anti-solidary manner? Second, why do individuals, despite their denomination and learning show a lack of solidarity towards the most unfortunate people? Solidarity ethics appears in religious, philosophical, and humanitarian discourses, so, what makes these discourses extremely ineffective in times when solidarity is most needed? Received: 19/12/2021


In this paper, a vision of classifying denitrification electricity price of various denitrification unit based on different relative efficiency of denitrification is put forward. First of all, take 46 denitrification unit sample of randomly selected nationwide to be the calculation object, using the method of operating period electricity price to calculate denitrification electricity price of each sample; and then regarding total costs (operating costs + financial expenses + depreciation expense) of each denitrification unit as inputs, removal amount as output, use DEA to calculate the relative efficiency of each sample project; finally, according to the calculated relative efficiency use cluster analysis to classify denitrification sample, so as to determine the classified denitrification electricity price. Classifying the denitrification unit based on the relative efficiency is the beneficial trial of denitrification electricity price classification pricing, and this classification will help to solve denitrification electricity price compensation going "inequality", also it is of great significance to enhance denitrification efficiency. Index Terms - DEA, the method of operating period electricity price, classifying denitrification electricity price.


Extracts from the inner stem bark of Berberis vulgaris were analyzed for their antioxidant activity using the 1,1-dipheny-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and compared with ascorbic acid (AA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The most active extracts were analyzed for their chemical composition using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Acetone extract was found to be the most active as an antioxidant agent at 98.61%, which was higher than the value of vitamin C (93.03%) at the concentration of 0.16 mg/mL. The major components identified in the acetone extract were tetracosanoic acid, methyl ester (26.36%), followed by phthalic acid, diisooctyl ester (20.93%), 1,2-bis(trimethylsiloxy) ethane (10.26%), and 1,2-benzendicarboxylic acid, diisononyl ester (8.70%). The dissolved water:methanol (1:1 v/v) partitioned from acetone extract afforded 12 fractions; among them, fraction F11 was found to have good antioxidant activity (95.41%) at the concentration of 0.16 mg/mL. The major compounds identified in F11 were N-methyl-4-(hydroxybenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoloine (28.82%), 9-α-hydroxy-17β-(trimethylsilyl-oxy)-4-anderostene-3-methyloxime (13.97%), ribitol, pentaacetate (9.76%), 1-methyl-4-[4,5-dihydroxyphenyl]-hexahydropyridine (6.83%), and 2-ethylacridine (4.77%).


There is evidence to suggest that survival following surgery for colorectal cancer is improving. Audits undertaken in a single institution between 1974-1979 and 1991-1994 provide the opportunity to evaluate the extent to which earlier diagnosis and better surgery contribute to the improvement in survival. There was little evidence that patients were presenting at an earlier stage during the latter period. In contrast, more patients had a potentially curative resection. This analysis confirmed that, over this period, there has been a substantial improvement in survival following surgery for colorectal cancer; this improvement was largely due to better surgery rather than earlier presentation.


This paper reports the fabrication and evaluation of Mo/Al and Mo/Si multilayer films (MLs) for a wavelength of 18.5 nm. Calculated reflectivities of Mo/Al MLs at an incident angle of 10 degrees were about 7% higher than those of Mo/Si MLs. MLs were fabricated using an RF-magnetron sputtering deposition system. The measured reflectivity of Mo/Al MLs was 33.5%. The cause of the decreasing reflectivity was supposed to be the surface and interfacial roughness. In the surface observation utilizing atomic force microscopy, the surface roughness of Mo/Al MLs was dominated by the Al layer. Therefore, the conditions for fabricating Al films were optimized.


In this thesis it is studied according to the literature review and my personal research
the application of fuel LNG ships Ro-Pax, as it is defined by the title ("The
implementation of LNG as fuel in the Ro-Pax shipping").
Although the availability of natural gas LNG at international level remains high, the
growth rate in oil levels down. Moreover, the evolution of the global network of
existing and planned LNG supply facilities and the development of the LNG carrier
fleet is significant with respect to the supply of ships using LNG. However, they
require a dense network because of supply flexibility of terminals for liquefied gas or
small tankers.
According to classification societies and research of marine machinery manufacturers,
application LNG helps reduce exhaust emissions, making it a viable alternative
embodiment, even for hybrid marine engine models, which produce zero emissions of
pollutants. Of course, first is a fuel efficient shipping, secondly we should not
overlook the conversion costs or installation of the machine, the cost of the storage
container, operating costs, maintenance costs and end the environmental costs in the
context of upcoming MBM (environmental charge or stock exchange of pollutants).
In general, then, is an attractive proposition, especially in vessels intended to travel in
specially protected areas (ECA, SECA) (Hardy & Basdanis, 2013).


There is an increment on the complexity of the information systems derived from new paradigms, for example Semantic Web, Big Data, e-government, etc. which require high quality solutions to tackle complex problems such as information integration. This quality is widely determined by the conceptual level. In this work, we present crowd as a novel tool for designing both conceptual models and ontologies based on visual representations with assistance of logic-based reasoning services. The challenge and the intention behind this work is to define graphicallogical methodologies as effective solutions for the description of interest domains at conceptual level. We detail the tool and demonstrate the usage of an initial prototype with some simple examples. Moreover, we identify limitations and potential issues about modelling and propose some partial solutions to tackle them. Currently, we are working to release the first beta version of crowd.


A direct adaptive control scheme is proposed for nonminimum-phase systems in which controller parameters are estimated from the recursive least-squares algorithm and additional auxiliary parameters are obtained from the proposed polynomial identity. A local convergence is guaranteed without any extra condition. Integral action is incorporated into the adaptive controller to eliminate the steady-state error and to satisfy a condition of the unique solution for the polynomial identity. The control law used in this scheme is based on the set-point-on-I-only proportional-integral-derivative (PID) structure. >


The Bousquet 2 mine is a deformed pyritic polymetallic Archean gold deposit located within a zone of intense ductile-brittle deformation composed of highly sheared and altered metamorphic tectonites of contrasting rheological properties. The ore occurs in a metamorphosed zone of aluminous alteration and is composed of foliation-parallel massive and semimassive pyritic lenses overprinted by late en echelon extensional veinlets containing Au-Ag-Cu mineralization.Structural and textural analyses show that the gold-bearing sulfide bodies and enclosing host rocks contain discrete tectono-metamorphic features resulting from two principal episodes of metamorphism, M 1 and M 2 . The earlier prograde event, M 1 , and coeval regional deformation, D 1 , were accompanied by overall ductile deformation of sulfides and by recrystallization and remobilization of the mineralization parallel to foliation. M 1 caused development of a pervasive east-west-trending metamorphic layering of the pyritic mineralization, transposition and elongation of the pyritic bodies parallel to mineral stretching L 1 lineations, meter-scale folding of sulfides, sulfide brecciation, coarsening and annealing recrystallization of pyrite, and ductile remobilization of incompetent sulfides and gold into interstices and triple-point junctions of juxtaposed pyrite grains. Extensive differential remobilization of ductile sulfides (mainly sphalerite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, and bornite) and gold took place during M 1 and gave rise to planar zones enriched in Au-Ag-Cu mineralization along the interfaces of pyritic lenses and their adjacent silicate rocks.M 2 metamorphism is chronologically related to a late brittle incremental stage of the progressive deformation and is characterized by high fluid influx, pervasive retrogression of peak metamorphic minerals, and remobilization of sulfides and gold into transgressive structures. The retrograde mineralization displays a wide range of small-scale structures resulting from fluid-assisted remobilization of ductile sulfides, including piercement and injection structures, as well as foliation-oblique extensional veinlets. Metamorphic remobilization of ore constituents took place mainly at ore-wall rock interfaces. Fe-, Pb-Zn-, and Au-Ag-Cu- bearing extensional veinlets generally occur in foliation-parallel protores of similar mineralogical composition and are interpreted as having resulted from in situ metamorphic remobilization.Gold and copper show a corelationship throughout the deposit; the highest gold and copper values occur within extensional veins overprinting previously Au-Cu-enriched planar zones. Mineralogical zoning in the sulfide masses is structurally controlled and can be related directly to abundant Au-Cu-bearing veinlets that represent mineralized segments of a systematic joint system.Structural and textural evidence suggests that gold mineralization with its present textural relations formed during M 1 and M 2 , but that a large proportion of the structurally controlled vein mineralization resulted from in situ remobilization rather than from additions from an external source.


To explore new antifungal agents for rice blast control, the antifungal activity of a series of novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives against Magnaporthe oryzae has been evaluated. The antifungal activity was determined by using in vitro mycelial growth inhibition tests. Among the 19 test compounds, we found that the compound 1-(4-phenoxymethyl-2-phenyl-(1,3)dioxolan-2-ylmethyl)-1H-1,2,4- triazole (Gj) displayed potent antifungal activity against M. oryzae. The IC 50 value was found approximately 3.8±0.5 μM and the IC 50 value of propiconazole was found to be approximately 3.7±0.2 μM, respectively. Structure-activity relationship studies on aromatic ring structures provided insight and information about the structural requirements for antifungal activity of this synthetic series against M. oryzae.


The construction sector lags other industries when it comes to the implementation of sustainability. This paper highlights some of the key barriers in implementing sustainability within the construction industry sector and proposes recommendations to address them. The paper suggests that the four main barriers faced by the construction industry in implementing sustainability are unclear definitions of sustainable construction, ineffectiveness of sustainability reporting tools (SRTs), slow adoption of 'green' technology and the negligence of human resource management. This paper provides an original perspective and challenges current practices (or lack thereof) which hinders the successful implementation of sustainability in construction. It will be of interest to project owners, contractors, academics and other construction practitioners who are interested in the outlook of sustainability within the property and construction industry.


Precipitation of silver ions simultaneously with chloride and bromide ions in ethylene glycol at a mild temperature (e.g., 60 °C) has been successfully demonstrated for the synthesis of silver chlorobromide (AgClxBr1−x, 0 < x < 1) nanoparticles, which is realized by injecting a AgNO3 solution into a solution containing both halogen ions. The injection rate of the AgNO3 solution has been determined to be critical for controlling the uniformity of AgClxBr1−x nanoparticles. Time-resolved in situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction has been applied, for the first time, to quantitatively monitor the reaction kinetics of nanocrystal formation. The real-time results shed light on the fact that the injection rate of AgNO3 solution significantly influences the nucleation and growth processes, and thus the quality of resulting AgClxBr1−x nanoparticles. Specifically, fast injection enables the complete addition of AgNO3 solution to the reaction solution before the nucleation process starts, leading to a good separation of nucleation and growth and thus the formation of uniform AgClxBr1−x nanocubes with well-defined composition and narrow size distribution. By contrast, slow injection results in a continuous addition of AgNO3 solution to the reaction solution even after nucleation starts, leading to continuous multiple nucleation/growth processes and thus the formation of AgClxBr1−x nanoparticles with broad dimensional and morphological distributions.


Involvement of the retinal microvascular vessels is an almost inevitable consequence of long standing diabetes. In the only large scale epidemiology study of a Caucasian population Klein et al. found some degree of retinopathy in up to 97% of patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) after about 15 years diabetes duration and in about 60% of insulin treated patients of older onset, presumably non-insulin dependent diabetic patients (NIDDM). The presence of retinopathy does not indicate impending visual loss in all patients. Thus in IDDM the sight threatening forms of retinopathy is most commonly associated with neovascularization; up to 60% of patients develop this lesion after 20 years diabetes duration, while in the older age group new vessels are far less common. In clinic populations the commonest cause of visual loss in NIDDM is associated with macular oedema but in the population studies of Klein, prevalence of macular oedema was almost as common in IDDM as in NIDDM patients.


The air-aging process at 120°C and the thermooxidative degradation of peroxide prevulcanized natural rubber latex (PPVL) film were studied with FTIR and thermal gravity (TG) and differential thermal gravity (DTG) analysis, respectively. The result of FTIR shows that the OH and COOH absorption of the rubber molecules at IR spectrum 3600–3200 cm−1, the CO absorption at 1708 cm−1, and the COH absorption of alcohol at 1105 and 1060 cm−1 increased continuously with extension of the aging time, but the CH3 absorption of saturated hydrocarbon at 2966 and 2868 cm−1, the CH3 absorption at 1447 and 1378 cm−1, and the CC absorption at 835 cm−1 decreased gradually. The result of TG-DTG shows that the thermal degradation reaction of PPVL film in air atmosphere is a two-stage reaction. The reaction order (n) of the first stage of thermooxidation reaction is 1.5; the activation energy of reaction (E) increases linearly with the increment of the heating rate, and the apparent activation energy (E0) is 191.6 kJ mol−1. The temperature at 5% weight loss (T0.05), the temperature at maximum rate of weight loss (Tp), and the temperature at final weight loss (Tf) in the first stage of degradation reaction move toward the high temperature side as the heating rate quickened. The weight loss rate increases significantly with increment of heating rate; the correlation between the weight loss rate (αp) of DTG peak and the heating rate is not obvious. The weight loss rate in the first stage (αf1) rises as the heating rate increases. The final weight loss rate in second stage (αf2) has no reference to heating rate; the weight loss rate of the rubber film is 99.9% at that time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3196–3200, 2004


Intraperitoneal administration of 100 ng of synthetic LH-RH to castrated male rats, produces a significant elevation of plasma LH values, as determined by RIA. A greater increase is obtained, by administrating 400 ng of LH-RH. Intrayugular injection of physiologic saline reduces basal values of plasma LH. This pattern is not modified by administration of 10 microgram or 100 microgram of PGF2alpha. On the other hand 10 microgram of PGE2 compensates the fall and 100 microgram significantly increases plasma LH over the basal values. Intracarotidly a similar pattern is observed. Plasma LH values decreases in the control group and no modification is observed by the administration of 10 microgram of PGF2alpha. By injecting the same amount of PGE2, plasma LH values remains constant, compensating the fall observed in the controls. Our results show a stimulatory effect of PGE2 and no effect of PGF2alpha on LH secretion in the castrated male rat.


Cavitation erosion prediction for the hydraulic machines is very important in the hydraulics research because that cavitation erosion is a source of failure of pumps water turbine blade, pipelines and other hydraulic devices. In this paper new kinds of theoretical volume loss rate curve of erosion cavitation progress is proposed. The analytical models describing this new kind of erosion curves give a new vision of the volume loss rate curve and produce a good concordance between the experimental and theoretical data if there is a good choice of theoretical model. Instead of using a unique analytical (universal) model for all materials, we give the possibility of a good choice between the proposed models. There may also appear some open problem such as optimally correlating this analytical cavitation erosion models with the properties of the implied materials.


The process for analyzing and extracting useful information from a large database that employs one or more machine learning techniques is Data Mining. There are many data mining methods that can be used in a variety of data patterns. One of them is prediction modeling. This study compares several data mining performance methods for prediction such as Naïve Bayes, Random Tree, J48, and Rough Set to get the most powerful classifier to extract the knowledge of air pollution data. The parameters being used for observation in the performance of the prediction methods are correctly and incorrectly classified instances, the time taken, and kappa statistic. The experimental result reveals that Rough Set is extremely good for classifying the Air Pollutant Index (API) data from Malaysia and Singapore. Rough Set has the lowest error and the highest performance compared to other methods with the accuracy more than 97%.


Abstract : A generalizable procedure for the analysis and design of information systems is described in the context of allied and supporting data methods, design assessment, and project management considerations. This procedure follows from a view of information systems development as a complex series of goal- directed iterations, rather than a well-ordered sequence of simple steps. In each iteration, tentative design alternatives are progressively narrowed, better defined, carefully assessed, and revised until a workable, user-responsive solution is operationally activated. The analysis and design procedure is developed in two forms: A comprehensive discussion of the basic concepts, rationale, and constructive operations supported by detailed flow diagrams; A simplified, convenient working tool (TRACE), illustrated with two sample system design problems of widely different complexity.


One of the factors that influence turnover intention is job characteristic. This study is aimed to determine the relationship of job characteristic to employee turnover intention in PT. XY. Hypothesis that proposed in this research is that there is a relationship between job characteristic and turnover intention. 60 Workers from PT. XY participated in this study which obtained by total sampling technique.  Data is obtained from the scale to measure job characteristic and turnover intention. A Product moment correlation test was used to analyze the data.  The result of data analysis shown that the correlation coefficient is -0.524 with sig. of 0.000 (p <0.05). This study shows that there is a negative relationship between job characteristic to turnover intention and the effective correlation (contribution) that is given from turnover intention is 27.5% and the other 72.5% is affected by other factors. Base on the result ini this study, it can be concluded that the hypothesis is accepted and there is a relationship between job characteristic and turnover intention.


This paper proposed a new GIS symbolize process, called virtual machine based symbolize process. It is a new method to create and share map symbol libraries in different GIS platform by using symbol virtual machine, which screened the difference of the concrete GIS platform, and provide a uniform symbol interface for the GIS symbols designer, thus the symbols made by this method can be used in different GIS platforms, and achieve the same representation results.


We reflected on our experience in applying for, operating, and renewing a Research Experience for Undergraduates Site program in computational biology from 2016 to 2021 at a metropolitan public university, funded by the National Science Foundation of the U.S.A. Our mistakes during the application process were avoidable in retrospect. Our Interdisciplinary Computational Biology, iCompBio, REU site was a 10-week summer research program that included R and Python coding bootcamps at the beginning and short workshops on various topics interspersed throughout the program. ICompBio was in-person in 2019 and virtual in 2020 and 2021. ICompBio was fortunate to have a team of faculty mentors that were committed to undergraduate research training and recognized the importance of diversity in computational biology. Many students and faculty mentors turned the challenges in virtual REU programs into learning opportunities and had fulfilling research experiences. ICompBio participants reported learning gains higher than average in a 2020 external evaluation for virtual REU sites, particularly in the aspects of Research Self-Efficacy, Science Identity, and Life Utility. Our lessons and experiences may be helpful to other faculty and researchers that are interested in similar programs at their own institutions.


Protein aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD), and, thus, α-Syn aggregates are a potentially promising candidate biomarker for PD diagnosis. Here, we describe a simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor to monitor the aggregation of α-Syn for early PD diagnosis. The sensor utilizes methylene blue (MB)-tagged aptamer (Apt) adsorbed on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) by π–π stacking. The binding of α-Syn oligomer to the Apt induces desorption of the Apt from the ERGO surface, which leads to the electrochemical signal change. The resulting sensor allowed the highly sensitive and selective detection of α-Syn oligomer according to the voltammetric change. Under optimized conditions, the linear range of detection was observed to be from 1 fM to 1 nM of the α-Syn oligomer and the limit of detection (LOD) was estimated to be 0.64 fM based on S/N = 3. The sensor also showed good reproducibility and stability, enabling real sample analysis of the α-Syn oligomer in human blood serum. With its ultrasensitivity and good performance for α-Syn oligomer detection, the sensor provides one promising tool for the early diagnosis of PD.


I was brought up near the sea. Gravesend, in England, lies at the mouth of the Thames, which remains one of the world's busiest sea lanes even though the materialistic sun is setting on the British Empire. My home town had a schizophrenic quality. The riverside area had the dirty ugliness yet heady invigoration which characterizes most shipping towns. The business district, however, had the elegance of the regency and the air of having been drawn by Cruickshank and populated by Dickens, who lived his later years 4 miles away in Gads Hill House, a fine example of Victorian architecture which has a subterranean passage leading to a walled garden where he is reputed to have done much of his writing. Gads Hill House has now fallen to its final indignity and is a private school for girls. All this part of Kent is full of Dickens—from Rotherhithe where Bill


Psychosocial environment and relationships with parents, peers, and siblings of 115 prepubertal children were measured by interview with their parent(s) for the three-month period preceding the assessment. The children had a current diagnosis of major depression (52 children) or nondepressed neurotic disorder (23) or were assessed to be normal (40). Most aspects of psychosocial relationships were found to be significantly impaired in the psychiatric groups. This impairment was generally worse in the depressives and significantly worse for aspects of verbal and affective communication with parents and siblings. Prepubertal children with major depressive disorder regularly present social relation deficits in which two components can be distinguished: one general to childhood psychiatric disorder and another specific to major depression.


Damage of using a synchronous machine in a power plant cannot be avoided especially when there is vibration produced by the machine. The loss incurred may lead to significant losses in the production process. Though maintaining an electrical machine in ideal condition is preferred, defect in machine fabrication cannot be avoided. Those defects may lead to friction between moving parts and produce vibration on the machine. Thus, to reduce losses and control the vibration of the system, vibration analysis of the device need to be done.
 For the reasons mentioned above, the author attempts to analyze the vibration as well as to minimize the losses incurred in the case of vibration exceeding the normal threshold. Predictive maintenance is expected to occur due to vibration disturbance in the generator. The research was carried out in PLTU Kaltim Teluk Balikpapan 2 x 110 MW. The analytical method used in this analysis is first, the monitoring method condition, which monitors the state of the engine through the data captured. Secondly, comparing the data obtained with the previous data to observe the changes occurring in the device. Lastly, analyzing the vibration categories based on ISO standard vibration (ISO 7919). From the operation data, alteration in the generator load will affect the temperature and vibration of the alternator. With a higher load, the vibration and temperature of the rotary generator will also have a higher value. By displaying the higher-direction vibration data of 131.7 μm with a load of 59.6 MW and a temperature of 64.6 ° C. From observation and data analysis, it is concluded that due to the uneven distribution of temperature in the rotor, synchronous generators undergo reversible thermal sensitivity symptoms.


Research in the family practice setting can make unique contributions to our understanding of health, illness, and disease at the level of the individual patient as well as the population. In November 1990 a family practice research network (SASPREN) was established in South Africa. The network consists of sentinel practitioners who have volunteered to provide information on patients seen in their practices. This article describes the development of the network, focusing particularly on its accomplishments in the first 3 years. It is hoped that SASPREN will help overcome some of the obstacles to research encountered by family doctors and ultimately improve the care of patients in the community.


We investigated whether loss of myocardial protection after ischemic preconditioning (IP) is related to the extent of deactivation of activated ecto-5'-nucleotidase. The coronary arteries of mongrel dogs were occluded four times for 5 min separated by 5 min of reperfusion (IP). Five (IP1), 30 (IP2), 60 (IP3), and 120 min (IP4) after the fourth 5-min coronary occlusion or after a corresponding nonischemic period (control groups), the coronary arteries were occluded for 90 min followed by 6 h of reperfusion. The infarct size-limited effect of IP gradually disappeared in the IP2 (21.6 +/- 3.9%) and IP3 (33.8 +/- 3.6%) groups compared with the IP1 group (8.3 +/- 1.6%) and returned to the control level in the IP4 group (39.9 +/- 5.2%). The increased ecto-5' -nucleotidase activity due to the IP procedure decreased according to the order of IP1 to IP4 groups. Infarct size was inversely correlated with ecto-5'-nucleotidase activity (P < 0.001). An inhibitor of ecto-5'-nucleotidase blunted the infarct size-limiting effect of IP. The infarct size-limiting effect of IP decreased as the activation of ecto-5'-nucleotidase was blunted. These results suggest that ecto-5'-nucleotidase activity plays a key role in the cardioprotection of IP.


The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of impregnation with imersol-aqua on the bending strength of some solid wood materials. For this aim, Oriental beech(Fagus orientalis Lipsky), oak(Quercus petrea Liebl.), Scotch pine(Pinus sylvestris Lipsky), Uludag fir(Abies Bornmulleriana Lipsky), Oriental spruce(Picea orientalis Lipsky) and poplar(Populus nigra Lipsky) wood samples were prepared according to TS EN 408 and impregnated with Imersol-aqua by the method of short, medium and long-term of dipping according to ASTM D 1413 and producersÂ' definition. After the impregnation process, bending strength was measured according to TS EN 408. Consequently, among the non-impregnated wood samples, bending strength was found to be the highest in oriental beech, (138.617N.mm-2) and the lowest in poplar (61.021N.mm-2). As for the period of dipping, the highest bending strength was obtained in shortterm dipping and the lowest in long-term dipping. Considering the interaction of wood type and period of impregnation, the highest bending strength was obtained in Oriental beech with short term dipping (118.404 N.mm-2) whereas the lowest was in poplar with long-term dipping (53.510 N.mm-2). In consequence, in the massive constructions and furniture elements that the bending strength after the impregnation is of great concern, short term impregnation of Oriental beech and Scotch pine wood materials could be recommended.


This study reports a novel, multifunctional, and easily obtained modifier to support the rapid advancements in the field of filtration. Polydopamine (PDA) particles (PDAPs) have been reported as a filler for constructing polymer composites, but because of their poor thermal stability, the use of PDAPs in high-temperature blend melt systems to construct antifouling membranes was rare. In this paper, high-thermal-stability methoxy polyethylene glycol amine (mPEG-NH2)-functionalized PDA nanoparticles (mPDAPs) were first used as a modifier in high-temperature blend melt polymer composites to construct antifouling composite membranes. First, high-thermal-stability mPDAPs with an average diameter of about 390 nm were prepared by immobilized mPEG-NH2 on the PDAP surface, then melt blend mPDAPs with ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene/liquid paraffin (LP) solution and thermally reduced phase separation (TIPS) to construct antifouling membranes. A combination of properties including mechanical properties, filtration efficiency, and antifouling properties of hybrid composite membranes was investigated and demonstrated that mPDAPs were an efficient modifier for high-temperature melt blending systems. The aim of this study was to provide an effective approach to improve the membrane filtration performance by bulk hybrid modification of multifunctional nanoparticles.


The structure of a methylamine sorption complex of fully dehydrated fully Ca2+-exchanged zeolite X, |Ca46(CH3NH2)16|[Si100Al92O384]-FAU, has been determined in the cubic space group Fd3 at 21(1) degrees C (a = 24.994(4) angstroms) by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The crystal was prepared by ion exchange in a flowing stream of 0.05 M aqueous Ca(NO3)2 for 3 days, followed by dehydration at 480 degrees C and 2 x 10(-6) Torr for 2 days, and exposure to 160 Torr of zeolitically dry methylamine gas at 21(1) degrees C. The structure was determined in this atmosphere and was refined, using the 739 reflections for which I > 0, to the final error indices R1 = 0.152 and R2 = 0.061. In this structure, Ca2+ ions occupy three crystallographic sites. Sixteen Ca2+ ions fill the octahedral site at the centers of hexagonal prisms (Ca-O = 2.429(7) angstroms). The remaining 30 Ca2+ ions are found at two nonequivalent sites II (in the supercages) with occupancies of 14 and 16 ions. Each of these Ca2+ ions coordinates to three framework oxygens, either at 2.296(7) or 2.334(7) angstroms, respectively. Sixteen methylamine molecules have been sorbed per unit cell, two per supercage. Each coordinates to one of the latter 16 site-II Ca2+ ions: N-Ca = 2.30(9) angstroms. The imprecisely determined N-C bond length, 1.48(23) angstroms, differs insignificantly from that in methylamine(g), 1.474(5) angstroms. The positions of the hydrogen atoms were calculated. One of the amino hydrogen atoms hydrogen bonds to a 6-ring oxygen, and the other forms a bifurcated hydrogen bond to two other 6-ring oxygens. The methyl group does not hydrogen bond to anything.


The efficacy of cancer therapies is limited to a great extent by immunosuppressive mechanisms within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Numerous immune escape mechanisms have been identified. These include not only processes associated with tumor, immune or stromal cells, but also humoral, metabolic, genetic and epigenetic factors within the TME. The identification of immune escape mechanisms has enabled the development of small molecules, nanomedicines, immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell and epigenetic therapies that can reprogram the TME and shift the host immune response towards promoting an antitumor effect. These approaches have translated into series of breakthroughs in cancer therapies, some of which have already been implemented in clinical practice. In the present article the authors provide an overview of some of the most important mechanisms of immunosuppression within the TME and the implications for targeted therapies against different cancers.


A new technology of resist trimming in a gate etch process using organic bottom antireflective coating (BARC) for accurate and stable gate critical dimension (CD) control of sub-0.18-mum node technology is presented in this paper. The new method uses an in situ CF4 plasma treatment following an HBr/O2 plasma treatment step as a part of the gate etch process to achieve a stable gate CD. The new method controls gate CD by trimming the photo resist masking gate line by reducing the effect of etch by-products, the source of CD variation, after etching organic BARC with HBr/O2 plasma. It shows the markedly improved gate CD capability over the conventional one using just an HBr/O2 plasma treatment for the CD control. We confirm that this new method is very useful and effective for the accurate gate CD control for sub-0.18-mum node metal-oxide semiconductor technology


We experimentally demonstrate a fundamentally new type of intrinsic optical bistability that requires no resonant optical cavity. Operation is based on mutual self-focusing of counterpropagating laser beams in a nonlinear medium.


Although the statement of Whitehead, asserting that European philosophy may be seen as footnotes to Plato, is exaggerated, it does provide us with a challenge to explain the element of truth in it. This article investigates a number of philosophical issues surfacing already in pre-Platonic thought in order to show how Plato mediated their impact upon subsequent philosophical developments and philosophical trends within some special sciences. The quest for a principle of origin explored alternative modes of explanation, such as number (the Pythagorean claim that everything is number), the metaphysics of space (Parmenides), the struggle with constancy and change (Heraclitus and Plato) as well as contemplating the limits of conceptual knowledge in Plato's dialogue, Parmenides. Owing to the philosophical roots of the special sciences, a more detailed account is given of the influence of Platonism upon the disciplines of mathematics, physics and theology.


The paper presents usage of an artificial neural network (ANN) for the on-line determination of the ready reserve (RR) required for compensation of power deficit in power systems. The power deficit usually results after generator outage or failure of the other means of ensuring the operational reserve. RR consists of rapid start-up generating units such as gas turbines and hydro plants. Due to the stochastic nature of the power system operation, the amount of ready reserve is essential for balancing the power system operating states in perturbed conditions. For that purpose, an ANN using back-propagation learning rule could yield the amount of ready reserve. Prompt assessment of the appropriate amount of RR minimizes the potential reduction of quality of electrical energy delivered to customers and, consequently, maintains a high reliability of the power system as a whole.


Software applications in automotive systems are comprised of communicating real-time tasks, described by cause-effect chains. To guarantee functional correctness, it is mandatory to verify end-to-end timing latencies of the cause-effect chains. The analysis of end-to-end latencies highly depends on the communication method. Implicit communication is standardized in the AUTOSAR Timing Specification and ensures data consistency. To abstract communication from the actual execution behavior of tasks, logical execution time (LET) has been proposed. However, the determinism that is provided by LET comes at the cost of increased end-to-end latencies. In industry-grade systems, periodic and sporadic tasks using LET and implicit communication co-exist. Hence, end-to-end latency analyses should cover such heterogeneous cause-effect chains. In this work, we present the first formal analysis framework for end-to-end analysis of cause-effect chains that allows heterogeneous types of recurrent tasks and different communication mechanisms, i.e., (i) a mixed setup of sporadic and periodic tasks that (ii) communicate by a mixed setup of LET and implicit communication mechanism. In this regard, we uncover the principles that homogeneous analyses are built from and discuss how these principles can be transferred to the heterogeneous case. In particular, we cut the cause-effect chain into homogeneous parts which results in 3 different analyses: one baseline approach, one that directly uses the homogeneous results, and one that reduces the pessimism for changes of communication means. Our evaluation shows that for some systems the two more sophisticated approaches outperform the baseline significantly, while for other systems the baseline is already satisfactory.


In this article, the investigators present a new method using a deep learning approach to diagnose schizophrenia. In the experiment presented, the investigators have used a secondary dataset provided by National Institutes of Health. The aforementioned experimentation involves analyzing this dataset for existence of schizophrenia using traditional machine learning approaches such as logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest. This is followed by application of deep learning techniques using three hidden layers in the model. The results obtained indicate that deep learning provides state-of-the-art accuracy in diagnosing schizophrenia. Based on these observations, there is a possibility that deep learning may provide a paradigm shift in diagnosing schizophrenia.


Multi-layered materials provide fascinating platforms to realize various functional properties, possibly leading to future electronic devices controlled by external fields. In particular, layered magnets coupled with conducting layers have been extensively studied recently for possible control of their transport properties via the spin structure. Successful control of quantum-transport properties in the materials with antiferromagnetic (AFM) layers, so-called natural spin-valve structure, has been reported for the Dirac Fermion and topological/axion materials. However, a bulk crystal in which magnetic and superconducting layers are alternately stacked has not been realized until now, and the search for functional properties in it is an interesting yet unexplored field in material science. Here, we discover superconductivity providing such an ideal platform in EuSn2As2 with the van der Waals stacking of magnetic Eu layers and superconducting Sn-As layers, and present the first demonstration of a natural spin-valve effect on the superconducting current. Below the superconducting transition temperature (Tc), the electrical resistivity becomes zero in the in-plane direction. In contrast, it, surprisingly, remains finite down to the lowest temperature in the out-of-plane direction, mostly due to the structure of intrinsic magnetic Josephson junctions in EuSn2As2. The magnetic order of the Eu layers (or natural spin-valve) is observed to be extremely soft, allowing one to easy control of the out-of-plane to in-plane resistivities ratio from 1 to infinity by weak external magnetic fields. The concept of multi-functional materials with stacked magnetic-superconducting layers will open a new pathway to develop novel spintronic devices with magnetically controllable superconductivity.


Environment is the sum of all social, physical, chemical, biological or economical factors which constitute the surroundings of man to both his creator and moulders of environment. This paper discusses on global warming and green house effect and suggests the way to control global warming and the steps to be taken to reduce the temperature of the earth. The produced CO 2 from industries and from several other sources is to be sent through separate pipe lines to glass chambers kept in open atmosphere and sunlight is to be supplied to it. When chlorophyll pigments are supplied through plant sources or through algae that survive in anaerobic conditions to the glass chamber, the incoming CO 2 will get converted into oxygen due to photosynthesis. The outgoing oxygen can be collected through outlets and can be used in hospitals and several other places. In this way we can control the level of CO 2 in atmosphere and thus reducing global warming.


Introduction While premature coronary artery disease (PCAD) is associated with an adverse prognosis, limited data are available in the public health system population. Little is certain with respect to cardiac risk factors (CRFs), short-term mortality and long-term outcomes with or without coronary revascularization. Hence we explored the prevalence of CRFs and predictors of mortality in patients with PCAD and characterized the effect of revascularization on survival in a public health system patient cohort. Methods Data from 416 consecutive patients ≤ 40 yrs of age undergoing coronary angiography at Cook County Hospital (1993-2001) were compiled prospectively and analyzed as an open, retrospective cohort. The primary outcome measure was mortality analyzed via Kaplan-Meier analysis. Risk of CAD (defined as ≥ 50% stenosis in ≥ 1 coronary artery) by cardiac risk factors were estimated using logistic regression. Angiographic data were adjudicated by blinded film review. Results 1,444 pt-yrs of follow-up were attained. Of 416 patients, 33% (136) had premature CAD, of which 96% (131) had severe CAD (≥ 70% stenosis). The prevalence of risk factors as follows was higher than previously reported: DM 18.2%, smoking 50.9%, dyslipidemia 14.3%, family history 22.4% and hypertension 52.5%. Total mortality at 3.47 years mean follow-up was 5.8% and was higher with severe CAD (9.2% if CAD vs. 4.2% if no CAD, p = 0.044). Diabetes mellitus (O.R. 3.71 [1.13-12.2], p = 0.031) and systolic dysfunction (O.R. 3.13 [1.0-9.81], p = 0.05) each independently predicted mortality. Of the 136 patients with PCAD, 82 patients (60.3%) underwent revascularization: 48 (35.3%) PTCA, 38 (27.9%) stenting, 17 (12.5%) both PTCA and stenting, and 13 (9.6%) CABG. Of the total 12 (9.9%) deaths, there was a trend towards lower mortality in revascularized patients (8.5% vs. non-revascularized patients 12.5%, p = 0.17). Kaplan-Meier survival curves by revascularization status were clearly divergent (p value NS). Conclusions Diabetes, smoking, dyslipidemia and older age were predictive of PCAD. Diabetes and left ventricular dysfunction were independent predictors of overall mortality even after adjusting for the effect of PCAD. There was a trend towards improved survival in PCAD patients undergoing revascularization.


The two nouns involved a s ' goal ' and ' theme ' seldom are at the same level on the hierarchy in terms of t h e i r l ex i ca l features, and the one that is higher thhn the other is always the goal. Thus in (59) and (60) --irrespective of the surface order in the passive--'Mgryl is analyzed as peal and I t he book as themo . Some readers no doubt may wonder why we have bothered to write rules that depassivize13 sen tences . The answer is t h a t we wish to get optimum eff ic iency and accuracy out of our paradigms without indefinitely p r o l i f @rating their number. The paradigms are s e t up t o assign functional relations to the marked and unmarked noufl phrases occurring i n a c t i v e declarative s t ruc tures . By first revers ing t h e r e s u l t s of deleti .on transformat i o n s , question trans£ ormations and other movement transformations (e .g . p a s s i v e ) , w e are a b l e t o use a minimum nun\bes of paradigms t o assign accurate functional l a b e l s to a l l o f the noun phrases i n a sen tence . The paradigms f o r t r a n s f e r verbs j u s t d i scussed above w i t h respect t o the passive t r ans format ion are also involved i n another movement transformation which w e refer to 8 s 'goal f o c u s ' 13we are for the moment ignoring potential ambiguities and changes of meaning caused by changes of quan t iF ie r o rder ing i n a c t i v e and passive sentences such as those which Chossky has pointed o u t (1965) . e.g. (I) Everyone i n the room speaks two languages. (can be I n t e r p r e t e d as being d i f f e r e n t languages f o r each person) (2) Two languages are spoken by everyone i n the room. etends to be interpreted as two specific languages t h a t everyone speaks) To explain t h i a transformation be m u s t f irs t establ ish the difference between iumediate source8 and goals on the one hand, and remote sources and goals on the other. With verbs of transfer ip the active voice, the surface subject is a source, goal, or causal a c t a n t , The theme i s the surface object . Other aspects of the motLon or transfer are usually impl ied . The following examples illustrate t h i s : (62) Johd s o l d the house. 7 (Implied: to some 'Goal ' ) 7 Source meme (63') Harry bought a dune buggy. zeal Theme ( 6 4 ) Sam brought the beer. ~ a z l Theme Ac tant (Implied: from some 'Source') (Implied: from so'Source' and to some 'Goal') Verbs l i k e 'buy' (e .g. , get, obtain, acquire, fetch, borrow, etc , ) and verbs like 'sell' (e.g., teach, serve, donate, g ive , l e n d , e t c . ) have an ilmnedtate goal and an immediate source in subject poa i t ion respectively. In addition, they may exgrass a remote goal or a remote source, b v t h of which g e t marked with the preposition "for " The following examples show that , i f I 1 the subject embodies the function source," the optional "for" phrase will also embody (remote-) the function of source. If the subject expresses the function "goal, then the optional "for" phrase may express (remotely) e l the r the funotion "goal" 11 or the function source. 11 ( 6 5 ) John sold the-house f a r Harr , 1 m 7 m e m e d u r c e source (66) Harr bought a dune b -8 f o r h i s son 1e Remote goal goal or Remote source Trans fe r verbs like ' b r i n g 1 that oxpress B causal a c t a n t in subject p o s i t i o n and LqpLy both source and goal are a l s o I t ambiguous when occurring with an o p t i o n a l f or1' phrase unless it is clear from the contest that the c a u s a l ac tan t i s functioning on behalf of a lremote source o r f o r the b e n e f i t o f a


Abstract Background Perturbation in cell adhesion and growth factor signalling in satellite cells results in decreased muscle regenerative capacity. Cdon (also called Cdo) is a component of cell adhesion complexes implicated in myogenic differentiation, but its role in muscle regeneration remains to be determined. Methods We generated inducible satellite cell‐specific Cdon ablation in mice by utilizing a conditional Cdon allele and Pax7 CreERT2. To induce Cdon ablation, mice were intraperitoneally injected with tamoxifen (tmx). Using cardiotoxin‐induced muscle injury, the effect of Cdon depletion on satellite cell function was examined by histochemistry, immunostaining, and 5‐ethynyl‐2'‐deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay. Isolated myofibers or myoblasts were utilized to determine stem cell function and senescence. To determine pathways related to Cdon deletion, injured muscles were subjected to RNA sequencing analysis. Results Satellite cell‐specific Cdon ablation causes impaired muscle regeneration with fibrosis, likely attributable to decreased proliferation, and senescence, of satellite cells. Cultured Cdon‐depleted myofibers exhibited 32 ± 9.6% of EdU‐positive satellite cells compared with 58 ± 4.4% satellite cells in control myofibers (P < 0.05). About 32.5 ± 3.7% Cdon‐ablated myoblasts were positive for senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐β‐gal) while only 3.6 ± 0.5% of control satellite cells were positive (P < 0.001). Transcriptome analysis of muscles at post‐injury Day 4 revealed alterations in genes related to mitogen‐activated protein kinase signalling (P < 8.29 e−5) and extracellular matrix (P < 2.65 e−24). Consistent with this, Cdon‐depleted tibialis anterior muscles had reduced phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (p‐ERK) protein levels and expression of ERK targets, such as Fos (0.23‐fold) and Egr1 (0.31‐fold), relative to mock‐treated control muscles (P < 0.001). Cdon‐depleted myoblasts exhibited impaired ERK activation in response to basic fibroblast growth factor. Cdon ablation resulted in decreased and/or mislocalized integrin β1 activation in satellite cells (weak or mislocalized integrin1 in tmx = 38.7 ± 1.9%, mock = 21.5 ± 6%, P < 0.05), previously linked with reduced fibroblast growth factor (FGF) responsiveness in aged satellite cells. In mechanistic studies, Cdon interacted with and regulated cell surface localization of FGFR1 and FGFR4, likely contributing to FGF responsiveness of satellite cells. Satellite cells from a progeria model, Zmpste24 −/− myofibers, showed decreased Cdon levels (Cdon‐positive cells in Zmpste24−/− = 63.3 ± 11%, wild type = 90 ± 7.7%, P < 0.05) and integrin β1 activation (weak or mislocalized integrin β1 in Zmpste24−/− = 64 ± 6.9%, wild type = 17.4 ± 5.9%, P < 0.01). Conclusions Cdon deficiency in satellite cells causes impaired proliferation of satellite cells and muscle regeneration via aberrant integrin and FGFR signalling.


The involvement of endothelial cell-stimulating angiogenic factor (ESAF) in capillary growth was studied in adult rat skeletal muscles (tibialis anterior, TA, and extensor digitorum longus, EDL) in which capillary growth was induced by chronic unilateral electrical stimulation (10 Hz, 8 h/day for 7 days), and in sham-operated and unoperated control muscles. ESAF was assayed by its ability to activate latent collagenase in units per hour per milligram protein. Anatomical capillary density (CD, number of capillaries per mm2) and capillary per fibre ratio (C/F) were estimated in frozen sections from the same muscles after staining for endothelial alkaline phosphatase. In control muscles, ESAF levels were inversely related to capillary supply, being highest (1.82 +/- 0.25 units) in the glycolytic cortex of TA (CD 273 +/- 18/mm2, C/F 1.26 +/- 0.07), lowest (1.04 +/- 0.02 units) in its oxidative highly capillarized core (CD 862 +/- 60/mm2, C/F 2.05 +/- 0.04), and intermediate in EDL (ESAF 1.59 +/- 0.37 units, CD 527 +/- 26/mm2, C/F 1.44 +/- 0.06). Neither capillary supply nor ESAF levels were affected by sham operation. However, chronic electrical stimulation increased capillary supply significantly in EDL (CD 61% greater than in controls, C/F 45% greater) and ESAF levels were elevated 3-fold to 4.77 +/- 0.74 units. In TA muscles, stimulation increased capillary supply specifically in the glycolytic cortex (C/F 2.51 +/- 0.09, p < 0.0001 vs. control) and ESAF levels were increased significantly in this region to 3.19 +/- 0.55 units (p < 0.05, vs. control). C/F ratio and ESAF in the oxidative core of TA (2.31 +/- 0.05 and 1.48 +/- 0.23 units, respectively) were not significantly different from control values. Thus, chronic electrical stimulation, which is known to increase both shear stress and wall tension in capillaries and induce angiogenesis, also increased ESAF activity.


Physician-assisted death (PAD) has been enacted in a number of international jurisdictions, with several extending access to PAD for persons whose condition is not terminal, including those with a mental disorder. We argue that based on the state of the literature, it is too early to make well-defined recommendations on how relevant fields can proceed legally, ethically, and clinically, particularly with regard to PAD for persons with a mental disorder. The aim of this paper is to introduce a framework for further discussions on PAD for persons with a mental disorder to stimulate thoughtful and considered debate in our field. We provide a brief discussion of the principles that guide regulatory frameworks on PAD practices worldwide, including a discussion of jurisdictions in Europe and North America that allow PAD for those suffering from an incurable nonterminal disease, illness, or disability. Next, we present a conceptual framework as a series of questions that address legal, ethical, and clinical dilemmas arising from this trend. We conclude with a summary of guidelines on the practice of PAD from international jurisdictions to assist in the development of potential legal and professional regulations.


A new method is described for routing multimedia traffic in a frequency-hop (FH) store-and-forward packet radio network. The method is illustrated for traffic of two types, each type having its own throughput, delay, and error-rate requirements. A typical application is the routing of voice and data packets in a distributed multiple-hop network. In such an application, voice packets cannot tolerate much delay, but they are allowed to contain a small number of frame erasures while data packets must be delivered error-free even if a moderate delay is required to do so. The fully distributed routing protocol presented in the paper takes into account the type of service required for each type of traffic, and it adapts to the interference as seen by the FH radio receivers in the network. Our approach to multimedia routing is based on least-resistance routing with different link and path resistance metrics for different message types. Each of the resistance metrics for a link reflects the ability of the link to provide the service required by the one of the message types. This includes, but is not limited to, a measure of the likelihood of successful reception by the FH radio receiver for that link. The route selection for a particular type of packet depends on the resistances of the links along the routes from that packet's source to its destination. In general, different routes may be selected for different types of packets. The primary conclusion of this paper is that the quality of service increases for each of the two types of multimedia traffic if the routing protocol accounts for the type of message that is being relayed.


Multipath profiling is to characterize multipath components of wireless channels, which can be done using Channel State Information (CSI) from WiFi devices. To do so with satisfactory accuracy, recent studies rely on either a large number of receiving antenna or large bandwidth. However, it is difficult for commodity WiFi devices to meet these requirements. In this paper, we propose a scheme, WiZoom, that can perform accurate multipath profiling using single-band CSI from commodity WiFi devices. In order to achieve accurate multipath profiling with limited bandwidth, WiZoom first incorporates the MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm with CSI to estimate ToAs of multipath components, and then combines multiple antenna to improve the resolution of ToA estimation. WiZoom further estimates attenuations and phase shifts for multipath components using the ToAs. So far, multipath components are fully characterized, and all these estimated parameters form the multipath profile. We evaluate the performance of WiZoom using commodity WiFi devices in real environment, and results show that WiZoom achieves high accuracy in multipath profiling.