Most species of subterranean termite house and care for larvae in specialised chambers or complex nurseries. In addition to these chambers, the genus Reticulitermes also keeps larvae at sites where foragers are feeding, a trait more commonly found in damp wood and dry wood termites. This phenomenon of holding larvae at foraging sites is quite well known among researchers who work with Reticulitermes, yet it has not been investigated to any extent. Consequently, the underlying causes of larvae placement at foraging sites are only poorly understood. During assessments of the resistance of materials to Reticulitermes flavipes attack at the Harrison Experimental Forest, near Saucier, Mississippi, USA, significant numbers of 1 and 2 stage larvae were often found in Pinus spp bait wood stakes. This paper describes the results from the first of a series of ongoing experiments to test whether food resources affected termite presence and larval placement. The experiment used a variable number of pine stakes in eight plots (four in stands of pine, four in grassy forest clearings) where termites were offered a choice of food resources of different size (bundles of 1 to 4 pine stakes of equal size). The number of larvae recorded from feeding sites was a close reflection of the number of workers attracted to a given food source. The more substantial and suitable a food source is, the more foragers will visit it, and in turn the more likely that they will transport larvae and eggs to these feeding sites.


Background: Scholastic backwardness is called as the learning achievement which is below the expected for a given age, cognitive skills, and schooling. Early identification and remedial measures are to be initiated at school level to control its lifelong impact. Objective: The objective of this study is to evolve an early individualized, remedial educational intervention model for the scholastic backwardness among upper primary students at the school level by the resource teachers. Materials and Methods: Whole upper primary students of the four government schools of the South Maararikkulam Grama Panchayath constituted the study population. The scholastic backwardness among them was identified and referred to specially trained resource teachers who were appointed in the schools under Maanasa project. They were graded as mild, moderate and severe category based on the level of scholastic backwardness. Children were given 1 academic year of individualized educational intervention along with inclusive education. Apart from these interventions, families of the identified students were given psychosocial interventions to create a learning-friendly atmosphere in their families. Learning skills of the scholastically backward students were re-assessed at the end of academic year. Results: Out of total 629 students, 147 had scholastic backwardness (23.7%). Among these, 68 had mild, 60 moderate, and 19 had severe scholastic backwardness on reading skill grading. Psychosocial problems including alcoholism, domestic violence, quarrelsome events, and abandoned family were noticed among 48.7% of the parents of scholastically backward students. Reassessment at the end of academic year showed improvement of scholastic skill among 52.38% of the students. Conclusion: The present study proves that scholastic backwardness can be successfully approached and intervened at school level itself by imparting individualized educational interventions by trained resource teachers. The parents should be taken into confidence for successful intervention.


Agricultural biotechnology is being rapidly adopted as evidenced by the acreage of genetically modified (GM) crops planted and tonnes of product (grain and fiber) harvested. Concurrent with this technological progress, is a growing concern that the worlds biological diversity is coming under increasing threat from human activities. As such, ecological risk assessment approaches are being developed for GM crop plants as international agreements regulating the transboundary movements of these products are being implemented. This paper reviews the ecological risk assessment approach that has been used to date to approve GM crops to date. The process has been case-by-case, using a comparative, science-based approach balancing the potential risks and benefits of the new technology versus those present with the currently accepted practices. The approach used to evaluate and approve these products is consistent with the conditions and requirements outlined in the Cartagena Protocol.


Magnetic turbulence in accretion disks under ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) conditions is expected to be driven by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) followed by secondary parasitic instabilities. We develop a three-dimensional ideal MHD code that can accurately resolve turbulent structures, and carry out simulations with a net vertical magnetic field in a local shearing box disk model to investigate the role of parasitic instabilities in the formation process of magnetic turbulence. Our simulations reveal that a highly anisotropic Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) mode parasitic instability evolves just before the first peak in turbulent stress and then breaks large-scale shear flows created by MRI. The wavenumber of the enhanced parasitic instability is larger than the theoretical estimate, because the shear flow layers sometimes become thinner than those assumed in the linear analysis. We also find that interaction between antiparallel vortices caused by the K–H mode parasitic instability induces small-scale waves that break the shear flows. On the other hand, at repeated peaks in the nonlinear phase, anisotropic wavenumber spectra are observed only in the small wavenumber region and isotropic waves dominate at large wavenumbers unlike for the first peak. Restructured channel flows due to MRI at the peaks in nonlinear phase seem to be collapsed by the advection of small-scale shear structures into the restructured flow and resultant mixing.


Bandar Abbas is the capital city of Hormozgan province, is the south of Iran. The city has witnessed rapid growth in the last three decades, mostly because of its economic, commercial and social attractions. However, forms and operations of urban sprawl may vary in important manners according to determine geographical and historical characteristics, and these difference need to be reviewed with creation geodatabase of spatial and attribute data during past periods until now of urban formation and expansion. We implemented this research to understand Bandar Abbas city growth dynamic during last six decades using aerial photo, Remote Sensing (RS) data and Geographical Information System (GIS), to investigate its sprawl for the during six decades and to prepare a basis for urban planning and management. We calibrated it with geospatial data derived from a time series of aerial photos and satellite images. Treated remote sensing data covering the six decades were used to calculate land use/cover and urban growth. The application of classification techniques to the remote sensing data enabled the extraction of eight main types of land use: agricultural, barren, coastal, hole, river, rocky hill, urban, and built-up. Growth was calculated through Shannon's entropy model. The urbanized area increased from 403.77 ha to 4959.59 ha from 1956 to 2012, a rate almost five times that of the population growth observed in the same period. Such findings make the case of Bandar Abbas important for several reasons. First, Bandar Abbas has undergone a rapid increase in urban sprawl according to urban growth indicators. Second, the urban sprawl quickly grew from medium-sized to large a process considered inappropriate according to physical and structural limitations on urban growth. Lastly, the excessive extension of the built-up boundary in the city resulted in the loss of coastal land and open space, two main sources of tourist attraction and economic sustainable development.


Abstract. To assist atmospheric monitoring at high-alpine sites, a statistical approach for distinguishing between the dominant air masses was developed. This approach was based on a principal component analysis using five gas-phase and two meteorological variables. The analysis focused on the Schneefernerhaus site at Zugspitze Mountain, Germany. The investigated year was divided into 2-month periods, for which the analysis was repeated. Using the 33.3 % and 66.6 % percentiles of the first two principal components, nine air mass regimes were defined. These regimes were interpreted with respect to vertical transport and assigned to the BL (recent contact with the boundary layer), UFT/SIN (undisturbed free troposphere or stratospheric intrusion), and HYBRID (influences of both the boundary layer and the free troposphere or ambiguous) air mass classes. The input data were available for 78 % of the investigated year. BL accounted for 31 % of the cases with similar frequencies in all seasons. UFT/SIN comprised 14 % of the cases but was not found from April to July. HYBRID (55 %) mostly exhibited intermediate characteristics, whereby 17 % of the HYBRID class suggested an influence from the marine boundary layer or the lower free troposphere. The statistical approach was compared to a mechanistic approach using the ceilometer-based mixing layer height from a nearby valley site and a detection scheme for thermally induced mountain winds. Due to data gaps, only 25 % of the cases could be classified using the mechanistic approach. Both approaches agreed well, except in the rare cases of thermally induced uplift. The statistical approach is a promising step towards a real-time classification of air masses. Future work is necessary to assess the uncertainty arising from the standardization of real-time data.


Immune responses to pathogens in the liver are uniquely characterized by a tolerogenic feature as a result of constant exposure to bacterial constituents and food-derived antigens. Little is known about how the immune dysregulation in the liver contributes to persistent viral infection. Specifically, it is important to understand how the site of antigen delivery impacts the quality of CD8+ T cells either trafficked to or generated within the liver. In this study, we show that subcutaneous (SC) adenovirus infection results in the trafficking of CD8+ T cells to the liver with effective antiviral function. In contrast, when antigen is delivered directly to the liver during intravenous (IV) adenovirus infection, intrahepatic CD8+ T cell responses are defective in their ability to produce inflammatory cytokines and lyse target cells. Further, these intrahepatic CD8+ T cells express elevated levels of PD-1, downregulate TCR, and exhibit increased apoptosis. IV adenovirus infection distinctively results in local intrahepatic antigen presentation responsible for limiting the CD8+ T cell immune response. These findings not only have applications for expanding the field of knowledge on chronic liver infections, but they also demonstrate that the delivery route of vaccine can orchestrate the quality of immune mediators present in the liver. NIH Grants DK063222 and Training Fellowship T32 AI007496 supported this work.


In this paper we consider linear, time dependent Schrodinger equations of the form $i \partial_t \psi = K_0 \psi + V(t) \psi $, where $K_0$ is a positive self-adjoint operator with discrete spectrum and whose spectral gaps are asymptotically constant.
We give a strategy to construct bounded perturbations $V(t)$ such that the Hamiltonian $K_0 + V(t)$ generates unbounded orbits. We apply our abstract construction to three cases: (i) the Harmonic oscillator on $\mathbb R$, (ii) the half-wave equation on $\mathbb T$ and (iii) the Dirac-Schrodinger equation on the sphere. In each case, $V(t)$ is a smooth and periodic in time pseudodifferential operator and the Schrodinger equation has solutions fulfilling $\| \psi(t) \|_r \gtrsim |t|^{r }$ as $|t| \gg 1$.


Partamona is a Neotropical genus of stingless bees that comprises 33 species distributed from Mexico to southern Brazil. These bees are well-adapted to anthropic environments and build their nests in several substrates. In this study, 66 colonies of Partamona helleri from five localities in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (São Miguel do Anta, Teixeiras, Porto Firme, Viçosa and Rio Vermelho) were analyzed using nine microsatellite loci in order to assess their genetic variability. Low levels of observed (Ho = 0.099-0.137) and expected (H e = 0.128-0.145) heterozygosity were encountered and revealed discrete genetic differentiation among the populations (F ST = 0.025). AMOVA further showed that most of the total genetic variation (94.24%) in P. helleri was explained by the variability within local populations.


Do people believe the votes they cast are truly secret? Novel items added to a nationally representative survey show that 25 per cent of respondents report not believing their ballot choices are kept secret and over 70 per cent report sharing their vote choices with others. These findings suggest that standard models of candidate choice should account for the potential effects of doubts about ballot secrecy. Consistent with this view, regression analysis shows that social forces appear to have a greater effect on vote choices among people who doubt the formal secrecy of the ballot. This analysis supports the broader claim that the intended benefits of institutional rules may not be realized if people's perceptions of these rules differ from their formal characteristics.


BackgroundGrowing evidence shows that targeting the integrated stress response (ISR) through the inhibition of phosphorylation of eIF2α provides beneficial effects in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, those results are inconsistent and somehow conflicting likely due to the important role of ISR in both cell death and survival. Aβ-triggered pathologies including microvascular hypoxia, neuronal hyperactivation, neuroinflammation are common inducers of the ISR. The small-molecule inhibitor of the ISR called ISRIB, which only partially restores protein synthesis and confers neuroprotection without adverse effects on the pancreas most probably due to its state-dependent action, remarkably enhances cognition in animals.MethodsTo elucidate the roles of ISR in AD pathogenesis, we systemically treated exogenous Aβ-injected animals with ISRIB. Both Aβ-facilitated long-term depression (LTD) and Morris water maze were used to characterize Aβ-induced dysfunction. ResultsAcute treatment with ISRIB prevented Aβ-facilitated LTD and repeated treatment abrogated the spatial learning and memory deficits in exogenous Aβ-injected animals. Moreover, ISRIB restored aberrant high level of ATF4 to normal but did not affect the aberrant high level of phosphorylated eIF2α in the hippocampus of exogenous Aβ-injected rats. ConclusionsTargeting the ISR by suppressing the eIF2α cascade with ISRIB may provide protective effects against the synaptic and cognitive disruptive effects of Aβ which likely mediate the early stage of sporadic AD.


Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) remains the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. The available diagnostic tools and biomarkers for PAC fail at early detection and suffer from low specificity and sensitivity. Advances in the isolation, recovery, and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) offer hope for the development of noninvasive techniques for disease detection, monitoring, and biomarker discovery. While CTC enumeration provides prognostic information in patients with various cancer types, the biological characterization of CTCs may offer insight into the molecular determinants of disease progression. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and cytokeratin (CK) dependent CTC technologies fare poorly in the metastatic PAC setting, due to altered phenotypes acquired during epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). The links between EMT, plectin-1, mesothelin and metastatic progression of PAC are emerging and underscore the need for biomarker information in real time. Here we used ApoStream™, a novel, antibody-independent device which uses dielectrophoretic (DEP) technology in a continuous flow system to isolate CTCs from the blood of patients with metastatic PAC and expand their phenotypic characterization in order to elucidate the population heterogeneity and characterize pancreatic specific markers (CA19-9, KRAS, plectin-1 and mesothelin). This prospective study will evaluate thirty patients. Paired blood samples from 11 metastatic PAC patients were analyzed by CellSearch® and ApoStream™. Collected cells were immunostained using antibodies against CK, CD45, DAPI, CA19-9, plectin-1 and mesothelin. CTC enumeration was performed using laser scanning cytometry (LSC). A multiplexed immunofluorescent assay and LSC analysis were applied to identify cell phenotypes based on combinations of CK, CD45, plectin-1 and mesothelin marker expression. Results:The detection of CK+/CD45−/DAPI+ cells was comparable between CellSearch® and ApoStream™ with counts ranging from 1-10 CTCs/7.5 mL blood in 50% of patients. In addition, ApoStream™, recovered CK−/CD45−/DAPI+ cells in 100% of patients with counts in the range of 12-166 cells/7.5 mL of blood. CA19-9+ cells were identified in both CK+/CD45−/DAPI+ and CK−/CD45−/DAPI+ subpopulations isolated by ApoStream™. KRAS, plectin-1 and mesothelin analysis is pending. Conclusions: ApoStream™ recovers putative CTCs with multiple phenotypes in patients with metastatic PAC. Preliminary data is encouraging and if confirmed in a larger sample size of PAC patients, ApoStream™ could prove to be a sensitive method for isolating and detecting biomarkers in CTCs of PAC patients. Acknowledgments: Supported in part by the Lockton Fund. Citation Format: Gauri Varadhachary, James Abbruzzese, Rachna Shroff, Vladislava Melnikova, Vishal Gupta, Chris Neal, Miguel Garza, David K. Hasegawa, Kenna L. Anderes, Darren Davis, Robert A. Wolff. ApoStream™, a new dielectrophoretic device for antibody-independent isolation and recovery of circulating tumor cells from blood of patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1449. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1449


Bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family are dual bromodomain-containing proteins that play an important role in transcription regulation. ABBV-075 is a small molecule BET bromodomain inhibitor currently in phase 1 clinical trials. Here we report the identification of Hexim1 and other BET-responsive genes as robust pharmacodynamic markers for monitoring ABBV-075 target engagement in tumors and in surrogate tissues such as whole blood and skin. Transcription profiling of cancer cell lines for their responses to BET inhibitors identified a set of 9 BET-regulated genes, including Hexim1, that responded to BET inhibition across cancer cell lines and in xenograft tumors. Further characterization of BET-responsive genes in surrogate tissues such as mouse skin, mouse/human PBMCs and whole blood revealed that the mRNA level of Hexim1 exhibited the best response to BETi treatment across different settings. A dose-dependent increase of Hexim1 expression was detected in the whole blood of ABBV-075 treated tumor bearing mice, and the Hexim1 response was closely correlated with the plasma drug concentration and largely reflected the anti-tumor efficacy at various dose levels of ABBV-075. Hexim1 is part of a protein/RNA complex that sequesters pTEFb and prevents its recruitment by BRD4. It also reportedly mediates the anti-proliferative activity of BRD4 in AML. Taken together, Hexim1 could serve as a functional relevant pharmacodynamic marker for monitoring ABBV-075 target engagement in animal models and in the clinical setting. Citation Format: Xiaoli Huang, Xiaoyu Lin, Leiming Li, Rongqi Wang, Lisa Roberts, Paul Hessler, Tamar Uziel, Lloyd Lam, Terry Magoc, Daniel H. Albert, Steven W. Elmore, Guowei Fang, Saul H. Rosenberg, Keith McDaniel, Warren Kati, Yu Shen. HEXIM1 as a pharmacodynamic marker for monitoring target engagement of ABBV-075. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3770.


This study aims at investigating experimentally the effects of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)−gasoline blends on the performance and CO emissions of a spark ignition engine. The blends are prepared by blending 5, 10, 15, and 20 vol % of MTBE with a specified amount of base gasoline. Base, leaded, and unleaded gasolines are also used in the study. The experiments were conducted under various engine speeds, spark timings, and compression ratios. The engine was operated under wide open throttle conditions. The results of the study show that a 10 vol % of MTBE addition to the base gasoline yields the best engine performance and the least CO emissions while the blend containing 15% MTBE and 85% base gasoline suggests the best performance in terms of the brake thermal efficiency.


Since 1992 on, in the framework of celebration of the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture, the International Symposium "Slavic World in the Third Millennium" has been held. The Symposium was founded by the Slavic Fund of the Russian Federation, the State Academy of Slavic Culture and the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2019, it was organised by the Institute of Slavic Studies of the RAS, the Institute of Slavic Culture of the Kosygin Russian State University and the Moscow House of Nationalities. The Symposium was held at the Moscow House of Nationalities on May 30, 2019.The main focus of this symposium was on the current situation in the Slavic world and problems of integration and disintegration in Slavic countries, politics and culture. Among participants, there were Slavists from a number of institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as university professors. The papers were devoted to the problems of the history and culture of Ancient Rus', Medieval Europe and the Balkans from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century as well as relevant contemporary topics in the fi eld of art history, the history of Russian music and philosophy, Slavic studies abroad and the traditional culture of the Old Believers.


The development of new and pioneering multifunctional nanodevices relies on the
possibility of the miniaturization and the assembly of nanometric building blocks with
specific configurations. The size, shape and properties of these nanocomponents as
well as the possibility of their integration and combination are crucial in order to
fabricate clever devices that interface small assemblies of nanoobjects with
macro(nano)scaled electrodes. The challenge then is twofold: first, the manipulation
and characterization of novel materials at the nanoscale and second, their organization
onto surfaces and/or their assembly to create heterostructured multifunctional
materials.
The two aspects of this challenge will be covered in this thesis by the manipulation,
organization and characterization of two types of novel nanomaterials: twodimensional
(2D) atomic crystals and molecular-based nanoparticles.
This manuscript is divided in two main parts:
The first part deals with the manipulation of the two kinds of afore mentioned
nanomaterials. The aim of this section is to efficiently produce and transfer onto
surfaces these nanoobjects in controllable ways, and one step forward, their
manipulation to generate heterostructures. This part comprises three chapters: The first
chapter (chapter 1) is a general overview of micro and nanolithography. Three types
of alternative lithographic methods will be explained as they will be used in chapters
2 and 3: Local oxidation nanolithography (LON) performed with atomic force
microscopy (AFM), dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) and soft lithography.
In chapter 2, a feasible route for the creation of heterostructured materials will be
proposed which involves an accurate chemical manipulation of atomic monolayers of
metallic transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) by means of LON. In this line, a
new AFM-LON mode, coined as static-tip LON, will be presented that will allow the
creation of reproducible oxidation of very low-profile motifs on monolayers of TaS2.
This general method will be also applied to other three types of metallic TMDCs:
TaSe2, NbS2 and NbSe2. A detailed study of the oxidation growth processes on each
material will be presented. Besides, a new method for the micromechanical exfoliation
of atomically thin layers of 2D layered materials is developed which tries to overcome
the limitations of the Scotch Tape method for exfoliating metallic TMDCs. This new
method it will allow the transference of the delaminated thin patches to a variety of
substrates, as well.
In chapter 3, the three lithographic methods introduced in chapter 1, will be used for
the accurate and reproducible organization of magnetic Prusian blue analogue
nanoparticles (PBA-NPs) which are an important class of molecular-based materials
exhibiting tunable magnetic properties. This tunability together with an easy chemical
synthesis makes PBA-NPs good candidates for their integration into new electronic or
spintronic devices. As a previous step, the development of proper techniques for their
structuration on surfaces with control over their positioning, and organization is a
crucial issue. This will be achievable by applying hybrid nanoscale patterning
strategies to fabricate nanopatterns onto functionalized surfaces combining top down
with bottom up approaches. The organization will be performed onto very specific
positions of the surface by means of LON and DPN, while large area patternings of
several cm2 will be achieved via soft lithography. Detailed and dedicated studies of the
three methods and their results will be presented.
For the proper assembling and integration of these molecular-based NPs on devices,
the maintenance and manipulation of their properties once organized onto the surface
is crucial. The second part of the thesis is then devoted to the magnetic
characterization and tuning of the above mentioned PBA-NPs by low temperature
magnetic force microscopy. This part is also divided in three chapters.
Chapter 4 is a brief introduction of the characterization of magnetic NPs on surfaces in
general by means of very different magnetic characterization techniques, and in
particular it will be introduced the magnetic force microscopy (MFM) as a powerful
tool to characterize the PBA-NPs at low temperature.
In chapter 5, a detailed study of the size-dependence and temperature-dependence of
the magnetic properties of single and isolated PBA-NPs will be presented. As well, the
different magnetization reversal mechanisms of the NPs derived from the different
sizes will be studied by variable field MFM at 4.2 K. The calibration of the magnetic
tip as well as other issues related with the measurements at low temperature will be
also discussed. The in-situ functionalization of the magnetic tip by the attachment of a
unique NP onto it will permit the assignment of the magnetization directions of the
magnetic moments of individual NPs.
Finally, in chapter 6, it will be presented the magnetic characterization of ordered
arrays of PBA-NPs organized by soft lithography. The magnetic interaction between
the closed packed NPs and the influence of the organization in the reversibility of the
individual NPs inside the patterned lines will be studied. This will be possible by
working at low temperatures and with variable applied field.


BACKGROUND
Despite progress in antiviral chemotherapy, cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among pharmacologically immunosuppressed organ transplant recipients, frequently engaging the clinician in a struggle to balance graft preservation with control of CMV disease. Leflunomide, an inhibitor of protein kinase activity and pyrimidine synthesis, is an experimental immunosuppressive agent effective against acute and chronic allograft rejection in animal models. Because a number of CMV proteins are known to be phosphorylated, we tested the hypothesis that this agent might exert inhibitory activity against CMV.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Plaque assays demonstrated dramatic dose-dependent attenuation of production of multiple clinical CMV isolates in leflunomide-treated human fibroblasts and endothelial cells, common targets for CMV infection in vivo. As shown by Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemical staining, leflunomide neither interferes with transcription of immediate early or late viral genes, nor with expression of corresponding proteins. CMV-specific DNA dot blots and biochemical enzyme assays indicated that, in contrast to currently approved anti-CMV drugs, leflunomide exerts no inhibitory effect on the accumulation of viral DNA in infected cells, or on viral DNA polymerase activity. Rather, as visualized by transmission electron microscopy, this agent appears to act at a late stage in virion assembly by preventing tegument acquisition by viral nucleocapsids. Finally we have demonstrated equivalent inhibitory activity of leflunomide against multi-drug-resistant CMV isolates.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings imply that leflunomide, an effective immunosuppressive agent, shows potential to concurrently attenuate a major complication of immunosuppression, CMV disease, by a novel mechanism of antiviral activity.


We present a novel adaptation of the random subspace learning approach to regression analysis and classification of high dimension low sample size data, in which the use of the individual strength of each explanatory variable is harnessed to achieve a consistent selection of a predictively optimal collection of base learners. In the context of random subspace learning, random forest (RF) occupies a prominent place as can be seen by the vast number of extensions of the random forest idea and the multiplicity of machine learning applications of random forest. The adaptation of random subspace learning presented in this paper differs from random forest in the following ways: (a) instead of using trees as RF does, we use multiple linear regression (MLR) as our regression base learner and the generalized linear model (GLM) as our classification base learner and (b) rather than selecting the subset of variables uniformly as RF does, we present the new concept of sampling variables based on a multinomial distribution with weights (success 'probabilities') driven through p independent one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests on the predictor variables. The proposed framework achieves two substantial benefits, namely, (1) the avoidance of the extra computational burden brought by the permutations needed by RF to de-correlate the predictor variables, and (2) the substantial reduction in the average test error gained with the base learners used.


Background There are many factors that affect negatively mobility and daily life activity of older people. Fraility is one of these. frailty is a state of decline in physiologic reserve capacity and resiliency due to impairment in multiple physiological systems, thereby causing vulnerability to death and adverse health outcomes. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyse gender differences in frailty, mobility and daily life activity score. Methods The study included 173 women, 124 men total 197 persons aged 65 years and older. The demographic information including age, height and weight, the individuals marital status, educational state, chronic diseases were taken. Elderly Mobility Scale (EMS), Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) and KATZ were used to evaluate mobility, fraility and daily life activities level, respectively. Individuals were divided into groups according to their gender. Results There was significant difference between women and men in EMS (p=0.001), EFS (p<0.001) and KATZ scores (0.048). Fraility score were lower, mobility score and daily life activity score higher than women in men. In both men and women were found positively a relation between mobility and daily life activity (p<0.001), were found negatively a relation between fraility and mobility, daily life activity (p<0.001). Conclusions It was seen that female gender affected mobility, fraility and daily life activity. It is important that Strategies for preventing or delaying the predisposing factor of frailty need to address gender differences and determinants among women. References [1] Fried, L.P., Ferrucci, L., Darer, J., Williamson, J.D., & Anderson, G. (2004). Untangling the concepts of disability, frailty, and co-morbidity: Implications for improved targeting and care. Journal of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 59(3), 255–63. [2] Alexandre, Tiago da S., et al. "Gender differences in the incidence and determinants of components of the fraility phenotype among older adults: findings from the SABE study."Journal of aging and health30.2 (2018): 190–212. Disclosure of Interest None declared


[1] In situ measurements of terrestrial radiation from the C-130 aircraft during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are used to quantify the effect of a strong dust outbreak on radiance and brightness temperatures. The dust gives a distinct spectral signature in upwelling and downwelling terrestrial radiation when high spectral resolution data for a dusty day is compared to data from a clear day. A radiative transfer model is used together with a size distribution retrieved from Sun photometers and atmospheric profiles from dropsondes to simulate the radiance data and provide a constraint on the refractive indices of Saharan dust in the terrestrial part of the spectrum. The degree of agreement between observed and simulated brightness temperatures is dominated by the choice of refractive index, the mass loading, and the altitude of the dust layer. The uncertainties in size distribution appear to have less of an effect so long as large particles (radius greater than 1 μm) are included. In the terrestrial spectrum the dust produced a relative warming rate of up to 0.5 K/day below the dust and a relative cooling of up to 0.5 K/day within the dust layer itself. The effect on irradiance due to this dust outbreak was a decrease in upwelling terrestrial radiation at the top of the atmosphere of 6.5 Wm−2 and an increase in downwelling terrestrial radiation at the surface of 11.5 Wm−2. The dust led to decreases in brightness temperature of 2–4 K in the window region, consistent with apparent features in the sea surface temperature retrieved from the advanced very high resolution radiometer.


ABSTRACT In the last decade, a rising number of opportunities for IT-based solutions in manufacturing have emerged. Often these opportunities are linked to terms like Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, Cyber-Physical Production Systems or Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing and address different fields of action to achieve improvements in manufacturing. These include increased productivity, improved energy and resource efficiency, predictive maintenance or quality management support. However, current implementations of corresponding improvement measures often lack a common structure of the underlying IT systems, so that each of the measures is often planned and implemented as a stand-alone solution. Possible consequences include redundancies within the IT infrastructure and software functions as well as high efforts for later extensions. Against this background, an approach for a system architecture to implement different IT-based support measures based on a shared versatile system has been developed in order to gain synergy potentials and foster the reuse of software functions. Furthermore, an approach for the planning and implementation is given. This includes the design of the system architecture as well as the conception and implementation of the IT-based improvement measures. An exemplary application case within a factory for pneumatic valves demonstrates the applicability of the approaches.


It was a surprise to everyone, including director Eric Rohmer, that "My Night at Maud's" was a success. The film violated almost all the rules of popular filmmaking. It had no crime, no explicit sex, no violence, and no action. As English Showalter points out in his excellent introduction to the volume, half the film was spent on one scene in which three characters seem to talk endlessly about subjects of little interest to a general audience--religion (Catholicism in particular), philosophy, Pascal, morality, even mathematics. The film explores the unexpectedly complex relationships between two men and two women, and seems to end with the affirmation of traditional values such as chastity, piety, and the family. All this at the end of the sixties, when other popular French films by directors such as Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, and Varda were attempting to comment on and were succeeding in reflecting turbulent times and ideas in their work.Showalter discusses the film in the context of Rohmer's conservative film theory and explains its relationship to the other films in the director's series of "Six Moral Tales." He shows how Rohmer's sense of place and his techniques of film narration develop the theme of moral choice in a story about love and chance encounters with a delightfully ironic conclusion. The volume also contains a selection of background and critical materials, including interviews with Rohmer and pertinent statements by him, reviews of the film from several countries, and important criticism of the film from the past twenty years. A brief biography, filmography, and selected bibliography are also included. This volume will be indispensable for anyone studying this important film, and will delight those who just want to enjoy it.


We study the role of ascent, descent, and closedness of operator ranges in the ergodic behaviour of linear operators with respect to various operator topologies.


See also blog post 'In sickness and in health - protecting and supporting public investment in Europe' The provisions in the EU fiscal framework to support public investment are very weak.The recently inserted 'investment clause' is almost no help. In the short term, exclusion of national co-funding of EU-supported investments from the fiscal indicators considered in the Stability and Growth Pact would be sensible. In the medium term, the EU fiscal framework should be extended with an asymmetric 'golden rule' to further protect public investment in bad times, while limiting adverse incentives in good times. During a downturn, a European investment programme is needed and the European Semester should encourage greater investment by member states with healthy public finances and low public investment rates. Reform and harmonisation of budgeting, accounting, transparency and project assessment is also needed to improve the quality of public investment.


One of the reasons for the low effectiveness of the European Union's policy in the Mediterranean is the discrepancy between the EU's international identity and the national interests of its Member States. The EU has been building its international identity on values that are proper to political idealism. In large measure, however, the EU's declared aims have not been consistent with the national interests of its Member States. In effect, while Member States are able to adopt general guidelines for the EU foreign policy, translating such guidelines into specific actions often proves impossible. The aim of this article is to analyse the low effectiveness of the EU's policy in the Mediterranean region in terms of the discrepancies between the idealistic concept deriving from the EU's international identity on the one hand, and its realistic actions based on the EU's Member States' national interests, on the other. As the European Union's foreign policy is shaped at the intergovernmental level, national interests tend to take the upper hand. The Mediterranean policy of five EU-Member States will be analysed - France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.


Recent studies indicated that some highly resistant strains of E. coli can be common contaminants of broiler meat, and resistance determinants can be of importance for the food production and human health. However, much less is known about their virulence determinants, and detailed genetic analyses of antimicrobial resistance and virulence are especially missing in E. coli from newly hatched broiler chicks.
We aimed to provide a comparative description of antimicrobial resistance and virulence of E. coli isolates from young chicks from farms and from fresh broiler meat.
A total of 70 E. coli isolates characterized here derived from different poultry sources: raw meat (28), young chicks from farms (represented by 11 intestinal- and 11 extraintestinal strains) and 20 E. coli isolates from newly hatched chicks. Resistance and virulence genotyping was performed using high throughput PCR microarray systems, AMR05 and Ec03 respectively.
The tetra-resistant phenotype of streptomycin-nalidixic acid-sulfonamide-tetracycline commonly occured among E. coli strains from different chicken sources. The antimicrobial resistance genotype of E. coli strains from raw meet showed the highest similarity with the intestinal strains from young chicks. The high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes related to the flexible genome indicate the commonly high distribution of certain mobile genetic elements in poultry E. coli. Obviously, the predominance of the virulence genes in the extraintestinal E. coli strains was not surprising, however some of the virulence genes (iss, tsh, iutA) showed high prevalence in commensal isolates from newly hatched chicks and from the meat.
Results indicate that E. coli from newly hathed chicks may represent a reservoir for multiresistance and virulence for both pathogenic and commensal E. coli strains of young chicks and of poultry meat.
Acknowledgement: This work was supported by EU FP7 Collaborative Project PROMISE. Ama Szmolka is a holder of Janos Bolyai Research Scholarship of the HAS.


Macroscopic quantum phenomena and superconducting glass state have been observed simultaneously in a random system of linked Josephson junctions in lumps of suitable high temperature superconducting ceramics Y-Ba-Cu-O. This multiply connected Josephson medium was used for radio-frequency SQUID operation at temperatures up to 90 K. The effect of nonergodic glass state on SQUID behaviour readily was observed. The presence of a wide range of relaxation times in glass state leads to an appreciable noise of 1/f type in the SQUID output signal at f 103 Hz.


Maize stover was explored as a sole substrate of carbon for the extra cellular production of cellulase under solid-state conditions by an actinobacterium, Streptomyces enissocaesilis DQ026641. The upsurge production of cellulase was optimized manually regulating important process variables such as substrate (particle size, moisture content), organism (inoculum size), physicochemical attributes (pH, temperature) and mineral salts (NaCl, MgSO4, FeSO4) following one factor at a time approach. The maximum production (71.10 IU/ml) of cellulase was obtained at particle size 2 mm, moisture content 1.25%, temperature 45°C, inoculum size 1 × 108 and NaCl 1.5%. Enhanced production (79 IU/ml) of cellulase was achieved by following Response Surface Methodology with Centre Composite Design, considering pH 6.5, temperature 45°C and sodium chloride 1.5% as critical process variables. The quadratic impact of pH, temperature and sodium chloride significantly contributed for the production of cellulase under solid-state conditions from maize stover mediated by S. enissocaesilis DQ026641.


Aims: To evaluate the effects of systemically administered Alendronate sodium on osteoclastic activity and osteoblast accumulation. Materials and Methods: Fourty eight micro-screw implant, twelve adult rabbits were used in this study, the rabbits divided into two main groups, treated and control group, which further subdivided into three subgroups according to the healing periods after 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks. All animal were treated with alendronate sodium. Eight micro-screw implants instilled in tibiaes of each tested subgroup and six instilled in tibiaes of control subgroups, the tissue facing the micro-screw implant subjected to histological evaluation for the tested subgroups and control subgroups including the number of active osteoblast and osteoclast. Results: A significant differences between subgroups 0WT, 2WT and 4WT, were more prominent for 2WT and 4WT subgroups from 0WT subgroups which showed score (+++), further no significant difference for control subgroups were all showed score (+++) for osteoblastic activity. For the active osteoclast a significant differences detected between subgroups of experimental and control sample, were score (+) noticed in the 0WT subgroups, score (+) in 2 readings and (++) in 6 readings of4WT subgroups and score (+++) for 4WT subgroups with no significant difference between experimental and control samples in 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks healing periods .Conclusions: According to the result of histological evaluation, no estimated differences in the bone remodeling process had been detected between treated and the control group, which may need longer period of drug administration to probably induce effect on bone.


We report the realization of high-sensitivity ion-selective field-effect transistors (ISFETs) using nanoporous polysilicon on the gate region. Owing to the presence of a nanoporous film, the effective area of the exposed surface becomes larger than that of the channel area of a regular transistor. The response of such transistors to pH has been measured for a wide range from four to nine, showing a different behavior from regular ISFETs where a change in the threshold voltage is recorded. A relative current-based sensitivity can be adapted for such devices. A high sensitivity on the order of 300 mV/pH is reported, owing to the presence of 3-D nanostructures.


Significance The mammalian central nervous system contains unique projections from the cerebral cortex thought to underpin complex motor and cognitive skills, including the corticospinal tract and corpus callosum. The neurons giving rise to these projections—corticospinal and callosal projection neurons—develop from the same progenitors, but acquire strikingly different fates. The broad evolutionary conservation of known genes controlling cortical projection neuron fates raises the question of how the more narrowly conserved corticospinal and callosal projections evolved. We identify a microRNA cluster selectively expressed by corticospinal projection neurons and exclusive to placental mammals. One of these microRNAs promotes corticospinal fate via regulation of the callosal gene LMO4, suggesting a mechanism whereby microRNA regulation during development promotes evolution of neuronal diversity. The corticospinal tract is unique to mammals and the corpus callosum is unique to placental mammals (eutherians). The emergence of these structures is thought to underpin the evolutionary acquisition of complex motor and cognitive skills. Corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) and callosal projection neurons (CPN) are the archetypal projection neurons of the corticospinal tract and corpus callosum, respectively. Although a number of conserved transcriptional regulators of CSMN and CPN development have been identified in vertebrates, none are unique to mammals and most are coexpressed across multiple projection neuron subtypes. Here, we discover 17 CSMN-enriched microRNAs (miRNAs), 15 of which map to a single genomic cluster that is exclusive to eutherians. One of these, miR-409-3p, promotes CSMN subtype identity in part via repression of LMO4, a key transcriptional regulator of CPN development. In vivo, miR-409-3p is sufficient to convert deep-layer CPN into CSMN. This is a demonstration of an evolutionarily acquired miRNA in eutherians that refines cortical projection neuron subtype development. Our findings implicate miRNAs in the eutherians' increase in neuronal subtype and projection diversity, the anatomic underpinnings of their complex behavior.


Fluoride-18 scintigraphy is a simple, safe method for evaluating perfusion to bone, and obviates objections to earlier techniques. The scintillation camera with positron detection represents a unique instrumentation system because of its tomographic effect, relative insensitivity to vascular radioactivity in the surrounding skeleton, and excellent spatial resolution despite low counting efficiency. In 75 patients with avascular disorders about the hip, knee, elbow, foot and hand, the impressions obtained from fluoride-18 scintigraphy were correlated with clinical findings and roentgenograms and when possible confirmed by tetracycline labeling and histological examination. Fluoride-18 scintigraphy was useful: in determining the vascularity of the femoral head following femoral neck fractures; in determining results of treatment; and in diagnosing early the various avascular necrotic disorders of the bone.


Metal nanoparticles play a key role in sensing and imaging. Here we demonstrate the detection of metal particles down to 5 nm in size with a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼7 using interferometric cross-polarization microscopy at ultralow excitation powers (∼1 μW) compatible with single molecule detection. The method is background-free and induces no heating as it operates far from plasmonic resonance. The combination of unlimited observation time and protein-sized metal nanoparticles has great potential for biophysical applications.

acs-specific: authorchoice/editors choice usage agreement


A nuclear data-based uncertainty propagation methodology is extended to enable propagation of manufacturing/technological data (TD) uncertainties in a burn-up calculation problem, taking into account correlation terms between Boltzmann and Bateman terms. The methodology is applied to reactivity and power distributions in a Material Testing Reactor benchmark. Due to the inherent statistical behavior of manufacturing tolerances, Monte Carlo sampling method is used for determining output perturbations on integral quantities. A global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is performed for each manufacturing parameter and allows identifying and ranking the influential parameters whose tolerances need to be better controlled. We show that the overall impact of some TD uncertainties, such as uranium enrichment, or fuel plate thickness, on the reactivity is negligible because the different core areas induce compensating effects on the global quantity. However, local quantities, such as power distributions, are strongly impacted by TD uncertainty propagations. For isotopic concentrations, no clear trends appear on the results.


This paper assesses the economic benefits of 57 World Bank Group-sponsored hydropower dam plant investments. Hydropower dams are among the main sources for producing electricity and the largest renewable source for power generation throughout the world. Hydropower dams are often a lower-cost option for power generation in Clean Energy Transition for addressing global climate change. Despite its conspicuous aspects, constructing hydropower dams has been controversial. Considering the World Bank's long history as the largest hydropower development financier, this study investigates its performance in supporting hydropower dams. The outcomes of this study apply to the wider hydropower development community. Of the projects in this study, 70% experienced a cost overrun, and more than 80% of projects experienced time overruns, incurring potential additional costs as a result. Despite the high cost and time overruns, this hydropower portfolio of dams produced a present value of net economic benefits by 2016 of over half a trillion USD. Based on our findings, the evaluated hydropower portfolio helped avoid over a billion tonnes of CO2 for an estimated global environmental benefit valued at nearly USD 350 billion. The projects' additional environmental benefits raise the real rate of return from 15.4% to 17.3%. The implication for hydropower developers is that the projects' assessment should consider cost and time overrun and factor them into the project-planning contingency scenarios. There is a considerable benefit for developing countries to exploit their hydropower resources if they can be developed according to industry practices and international standards. The case for developing hydropower may be stronger when considering its climate benefits. The net economic benefits of hydropower can be even higher if there is a greater effort to manage cost and time overruns.


The objective of this research is to validate the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT) snow emission model and evaluate it's efficiency for snow water equivalent (SWE) estimation in a Canadian boreal forest environment. The model validation over the BOREAS study area shows a correlation (R/sup 2//spl ges/0.4) between the errors in the simulated brightness temperatures and the snow grain size, which controls the snow cover extinction behavior in the HUT model. Therefore, we propose a different empirical relationship for the extinction coefficient of the snow cover for the environment considered. Better predictions of brightness temperatures at 18 and 37 GHz in both polarizations were obtained using this relation. The accuracy of SWE estimated by inverse modeling based on minimization techniques was also improved, with a mean retrieval error on SWE of less than 15 mm and negligible bias. In comparison, conventional empirical algorithms, based on brightness temperature gradients, tend to underestimate SWE in boreal conditions with a mean retrieval error in the order of 20 to 30 mm.


Actor Nerys Hughes (left) presented Wyn Griffiths with a canvassed photograph to commemorate her appointment as President of Allied Medicare Nursing Services, the company she founded 19 years ago. The presentation was made at a national seminar which was organised by the company recently.


BACKGROUND
There is a lack of real-life clinical data for biosimilar etanercept, an anti-TNF blocking fusion protein. We describe the comparable efficacy and safety of originator and biosimilar etanercept in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in a real-life clinical setting. Our data confirm that a biosimilar etanercept can be safely used as first-line treatment as well as in patients switched from a previous originator compound.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the efficacy and safety of originator and biosimilar etanercept in a cohort of RA patients attending two Italian hospitals.

METHODS
The study involved 81 consecutive adult RA patients treated for at least 6 months with originator or biosimilar etanercept and considered their clinical and laboratory data, concomitant medications, and adverse events at baseline, and after 3 and 6 months of treatment.

RESULTS
Group 1 included 51 patients taking originator etanercept; group 2 included 30 taking biosimilar etanercept, including 19 who had been switched from the reference product. Despite a significant baseline difference in clinical disease activity, one-way analysis of variance showed that the two groups were clinically comparable after 6 months of treatment, and the same was true when only those receiving etanercept as first-line biological treatment were considered. Nine patients discontinued the treatment due to inefficacy or adverse events, which were never serious and were only reported in group 1.

CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy and safety profiles of originator and biosimilar etanercept are comparable in RA patients in a real-life clinical setting. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.


Background: Nowadays, zirconia ceramic implants are widely used as a kind of hip prosthesis material because of their excellent biocompatibility and long-term wear resistance. However, the hip joint is one of the major joints with complex 3D morphological structure and greatly individual differences, which usually causes great material waste during the process of surgical selection of prosthesis. Methods: In this paper, by combining ceramic 3D printing technology with antibacterial nano-modification, zirconia ceramic implant material was obtained with precise 3D structure and effective antibacterial properties. Among which, two technical problems (fragile and sintering induced irregular shrinkage) of 3D printed ceramics were effectively minimized by optimizing the reaction conditions and selective area inversing compensation. Through in vivo and in vitro experiments, it was confirmed that the as prepared hip prosthesis could precisely matched the corresponding parts, which also exhibited good biocompatibility and impressive antibacterial activities. Results: 1) Two inherent technical problems (fragile and sintering induced irregular shrinkage) of 3D printed ceramics were effectively minimized by optimizing the reaction conditions and selective area inversing compensation. 2) It could be seen that the surface of the ZrO2 material was covered with a layer of ZnO nano-particles. A universal testing machine was used to measure the tensile, bending and compression experiments of ceramic samples. It could be found that the proposed ZnO modification had no significant effect on the mechanical properties of ZrO2 ceramics. 3) According to the plate counting results, ceramics modified with ZnO exhibited significantly higher antibacterial efficiency than pure ZrO2 ceramics, the ZrO2-ZnO ceramics had a significant killing effect 8 hours. 4) The removed implants and the tissue surrounding the implant were subjected to HE staining. For ZrO2-ZnO ceramics, inflammation was slight, while for pure ZrO2 ceramics, the inflammatory response could be seen that the antibacterial rate of the ZrO2-ZnO ceramics was significantly better than that of the pure ZrO2 ceramics group. 5) It could be seen that the cytotoxicity did not increase proportionally with the increase of concentration, all of viability were still above 80%. This suggested that our materials were safe and could be applied as a type of potential biomaterial in the future. 6) Further animal studies demonstrated that the implant was in good position without dislocation. This resulted implied that the proposed method can achieve accurate 3D printing preparation of ceramic joints. In addition, the femurs and surrounding muscles around the implant were then sectioned and HE stained. Results of muscle tissue sections further showed no significant tissue abnormalities, and the growth of new bone tissue was observed in the sections of bone tissue. Conclusion: 1) The ceramic 3D printing technology combined with antibacterial nano-modification can quickly customize the ideal implant material with precise structure, wear-resistant and effective antibacterial properties. 2) Two inherent technical problems (fragile and sintering induced irregular shrinkage) of 3D printed ceramics were effectively minimized by optimizing the reaction conditions and selective area inversing compensation. 3) ZnO nano-materials were modified on the ceramic surface, which could effectively killing pathogenic bacteria.


The rehabilitative curcumin effect on visual system function was investigated in studies conducted on awake, unanesthetized rabbits. Analysis of the results obtained showed that after curcumin administration, certain changes in the evoked activity of the retina, superior colliculus, lateral geniculate body, and primary visual cortex were observed in the model of retinal dystrophy. The neuronal apparatus of the glial layer of the retina damaged in moderate retinal dystrophy led to functional disintegration of the mechanisms of electrogenesis. The curcumin administration led to an increase in the amplitude parameters of evoked potentials in all structures. The most pronounced curcumin effect was observed in the potentials of the visual cortex evoked by light stimuli, where certain changes in the configuration of evoked responses were noted.


We present a case of a 13 years old boy who was hospitalized with a 10 months history of progressive pain and weakness in his lower extremities. The laboratory tests revealed slightly decreased phosphate and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, high alkaline phosphatase, normal calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple patchy lesions indicating bone destruction in the metaphyses and epiphyses of the left knee. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) revealed a generalized decrease of bone density in axial bones with slightly increased 18F-FDG metabolism. Whole body technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) scintigraphy revealed multiple areas of increased uptake at costochondral junctions of the ribs bilaterally suggesting a rachitic rosary and at the metaphyses of the bones of the limbs. Based on these findings we suggested the diagnosis of hypophosphatemic rickets (HPR). Phosphate and vitamin D substitution resulted in clinical improvement of the symptoms after 3 months.


Rabbits immunized with an artificial VX-antigen could survive 1 x LD95 of VX challenge on the 7th day and the 31st day after the last immunization. One hundred microliters of rabbit anti-VX antiserum given intravenously immediately before 1 x LD95 of VX or 200 microliters of antiserum intraperitoneally 1-10 days before 1 x LD95 VX protected all the tested mice from death. The antiserum could prevent the in vitro inhibition of Torpedo AChE activity by VX and reduced its effect on brain AChE activity in vivo. No protective effect of the antiserum was observed on the Torpedo AChE activity inhibited by sarin and soman.


AIMS
Although transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) is officially indicated for severe aortic stenosis (AS) patients at intermediate or higher surgical risk, the procedure is increasingly being performed in patients who are at low surgical risk as well, data on the benefit of TAVI in this patient population is limited.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies with propensity score matching (PSM) of TAVI vs. surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients who are at low surgical risk (mean STS score <4% and/or logistic EuroScore <10%). The primary outcome was mortality (examined at 30 days, year and longest available follow up). The secondary outcomes included procedural complications. Nine studies (n=6,124) were included. TAVI was associated with a numerically, but not statistically significant reduced mortality at 30 days (1.45 vs. 2.1%, p=0.05), and similar mortality at 1 year (5.1% vs. 5.0%, p=0.74),and a median of 2 years (10.8% vs. 9.8%, p=0.15). For both time points, there was significant heterogeneity between RCT/PSM studies, with the former suggesting survival advantage for TAVI and the latter for SAVR. In terms of periprocedural complications, TAVI was associated with reduced risk for stroke, bleeding and renal failure and an increase in vascular complications and Pacemaker implantation.

CONCLUSIONS
in patients who are at low surgical risk, TAVI seems to be associated with equivalent mortality up to a median follow up of 2 years compared to SAVR. More data is required before TAVI can be routinely considered as an alternative for SAVR in low risk patients.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to quantify the lobar lung function using the novel PET Galligas ([68Ga]-carbon nanoparticle) ventilation imaging and the investigational CT ventilation imaging in lung cancer patients pre-treatment.

METHODS
We present results on our first three lung cancer patients (2 male, mean age 78 years) as part of an ongoing ethics approved study. For each patient a PET Galligas ventilation (PET-V) image and a pair of breath hold CT images (end-exhale and end-inhale tidal volumes) were acquired using a Siemens Biograph PET CT. CT-ventilation (CT-V) images were created from the pair of CT images using deformable image registration (DIR) algorithms and the Hounsfield Unit (HU) ventilation metric. A comparison of ventilation quantification from each modality was done on the lobar level and the voxel level. A Bland-Altman plot was used to assess the difference in mean percentage contribution of each lobe to the total lung function between the two modalities. For each patient, a voxel-wise Spearmans correlation was calculated for the whole lungs between the two modalities.

RESULTS
The Bland-Altman plot demonstrated strong agreement between PET-V and CT-V for assessment of lobar function (r=0.99, p<0.001; range mean difference: -5.5 to 3.0). The correlation between PET-V and CT-V at the voxel level was moderate(r=0.60, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION
This preliminary study on the three patients data sets demonstrated strong agreement between PET and CT ventilation imaging for the assessment of pre-treatment lung function at the lobar level. Agreement was only moderate at the level of voxel correlations. These results indicate that CT ventilation imaging has potential for assessing pre-treatment lobar lung function in lung cancer patients.


Uptake and esterification of fatty acids from micellar lipid solutions by human small intestinal mucosa was studied in vitro. Small bowel biopsies, obtained during endoscopy, were incubated at 37 C in RPMI 1640 medium containing various concentrations of micellar lipids (sodium taurocholate, oleate and monoolein). Oleate uptake from the micellar solution was enhanced and correlated positively with micellar ingredient concentration at a range of 2.4 to 9.6 mmol/l taurocholate. Triglyceride (TG) synthesis during incubation was affected by micellar bile salt concentration, as well as by micellar concentration of oleate and monoolein. At a high concentration of bile salt, TG synthesis was decreased. Boiling of tissue specimens resulted in complete inhibition of TG synthesis, but did not affect oleate uptake. When intestinal biopsy tissue was incubated in a micellar lipid solution and subsequently organ-cultured, gradual depletion of tissue oleate and TG content was evident, concomitant with TG secretion to the medium. TG secretion persisted during 24 h of organ culture, but decreased with time. Intestinal TG synthesis was not affected by methylprednisolone, pentagastrin, nicotinic acid or insulin, but was decreased by cimetidine.


In recent years, a growing number of actors and institutions, in different countries, have begun using the notion of Agroecology, which has led to an expansion of its polysemy and its controversies. Taking this into account, this paper analyzes, based on the Brazilian and French experiences, the peculiarities of Agroecology in four different fields: science, social movements, government policies, and education. It also discusses three other issues: the analytical, programmatic and normative discourses; the different definitions, in the fields of science and education, of the object of study of Agroecology; and the different formulations regarding its fundamental principles. It is argued that, in this new context, recognition of this pluralism and the controversies acquires a central role in the construction of knowledge in the various fields linked to Agroecology.


A number of highway projects are in progress in Korea to accommodate increasing transportation demands. As the highway route becomes more complex, some projects include tunneling through unconsolidated sedimentary rock. Since an unconsolidated sedimentary rock mainly consists of rock and ground mass, the behavior and characteristics in unconsolidated sedimentary rock tunnel are quite different from typical rock tunnel. However, construction case histories and rock classifications method on unconsolidated sedimentary rock tunnel had not been developed or studied domestically. Consequently the case studies and rock classification system for unconsolidated sedimentary rock are required to better understand its behavior for tunneling. In this study, rock mass classification method is proposed to identify unconsolidated sedimentary rock based on point load and slake durability tests. Based on this, the proposed method of unconsolidated sedimentary rock can be applied well through comparisons with the results of convergence measurement.


Abstract This study sought to evaluate the number of those overweight and the rate of obesity among 6- and 7-year-olds living in Poland with regard to their place of residence, the parental level of education and the number of children in the family. The analysis was based on a survey of 64 544 children (33 051 boys and 31 493 girls) living in Poland. Overweight and obesity were defined based on body mass index (BMI) using the IOTF cut-off points. To evaluate the rates of overweight and obesity occurrence in children with regard to family socio-economic status, parental level of education, the number of children in the family, and the place of residence (divided into city and village) was used. 'Only children' were the most likely group to be overweight or obese. These children were twice as likely to be obese as their peers living in families with four or more children. Overweight and obesity occurred more often amongst children living in cities rather than those living in rural areas. Moreover, these conditions were more frequent among children whose parents had higher levels of education. The most significant predictors of childhood overweight and obesity were the number of children in the family and the educational level of the mother


Hydrogenation of silicon materials has great advantages for its photovoltaic properties and is the key to elimination of crystalline defects during basaltic growth of the crystal. It is therefore interesting to characterize the plasma by optical emission spectroscopy methods in order to study hydrogenation of silicon particles during their treatment by an inductive thermal plasma burning in the Ar–H2 mixture. Excited states of atomic hydrogen n′ = 3–8, which are responsible for silicon hydrogenation, have been detected by the optical emission spectroscopy of the Balmer series lines. These hydrogen lines have been used to determine electronic density on the plasma axis. Furthermore, Ar I lines were used to estimate the electronic temperature by the Boltzmann plot method. The deviation from the local thermodynamic equilibrium of the plasma has also been estimated.


In order for a real-world tool and virtual space to interact naturally, we propose a new approach to provide the user with a sense of operation close to reality. Not only tactile feedback but also visual feedback is important for the interaction, and we have to create special devices. In this research, we present a system that makes it possible to use familiar hand-held tools as an operational interface. For example, painting on the surface of a virtual object with an actual spray, turning a virtual object with an actual screwdriver.


Using a hierarchical construction, we develop methods for a wide and flexible class of models by taking a fully parametric approach to generalized linear mixed models with complex covariance dependence. The Laplace approximation is used to marginally estimate covariance parameters while integrating out all fixed and latent random effects. The Laplace approximation relies on Newton-Raphson updates, which also leads to predictions for the latent random effects. We develop methodology for complete marginal inference, from estimating covariance parameters and fixed effects to making predictions for unobserved data, for any patterned covariance matrix in the hierarchical generalized linear mixed models framework. The marginal likelihood is developed for six distributions that are often used for binary, count, and positive continuous data, and our framework is easily extended to other distributions. The methods are illustrated with simulations from stochastic processes with known parameters, and their efficacy in terms of bias and interval coverage is shown through simulation experiments. Examples with binary and proportional data on election results, count data for marine mammals, and positive-continuous data on heavy metal concentration in the environment are used to illustrate all six distributions with a variety of patterned covariance structures that include spatial models (e.g., geostatistical and areal models), time series models (e.g., first-order autoregressive models), and mixtures with typical random intercepts based on grouping.


Many audio processing algorithms have optimal performance for specific signal statistical distributions that may not be fulfilled for all signals. When the original signal is available, we propose to add an inaudible noise so that the distribution of the signal-plus-noise mixture is as close as possible to a given target distribution. The proposed generic algorithm (independent from the application) adds iteratively a low-power white noise to a flat-spectrum version of the signal, until the target distribution or the noise audibility is reached. The latter is assessed through a frequency masking model. Two implementations of this sound reshaping are described, according to the level of the targeted transformation and to the foreseen application: histogram global reshaping (HGR) to change the global shape of the histogram and histogram local reshaping (HLR) to locally "chisel" the histogram, but keeping the global shape unchanged. These two variants are illustrated by two applications, where the inaudibility of the noise generated by the algorithm is required: "sparsification" for source separation and low-pass filtering of the histogram for application of the quantization theorem, respectively. In both cases, the target histogram is reached or almost reached, and the transformation is inaudible. The experiments show that the source separation performs better with HGR and that the HLR allows a better application of the quantization theorem.


The formation of Dirac cones in electronic band structures via isomorphous transformation is demonstrated in 2D planar SiC sheets. Our combined density functional and tight-binding calculations show that 2D SiC featuring C-C and Si-Si atom pairs possesses Dirac cones (DCs), whereas an alternative arrangement of C and Si leads to a finite band gap. The origin of Dirac points is attributed to bare interactions between Si-Si bonding states (valence bands, VBs) and C-C antibonding states (conduction bands, CBs), while the VB-CB coupling opens up band gaps elsewhere. A mechanism of atom pair coupling is proposed, and the conditions required for DC formation are discussed, enabling one to design a class of 2D binary Dirac fermion systems on the basis of DF calculations solely for pure and alternative binary structures.


Changes in the proportions of male and female flowers in monoecious plants in response to external environmental conditions are directly related to the reproductive fitness of plants. The monoecious cucumber (Cucumber sativus) plant was used in this study to assess the responses of sex differentiation and the breeding process to nutrient supply and the degree of artificial pollination using pollen solutions of different concentrations. We found that the nutrient supply significantly improved the number of female flowers, while pollination treatments did not obviously increase the number of male flowers. Continuous pollination changed the number of female flowers especially in the later stage of the pollination experiment. Therefore, pollination changed the ratio of male and female flowers in the flowering stage of cucumber. Pollination treatment affected the fruit growth, seed set, and fruit yield. The number of fruit, fruit set percentage, and total seeds per plant did not increase with the pollination level, but individual fruit weight and seed number in one fruit did increase. The differentiation of male and female flowers in the flowering stage of cucumber is a response to nutrient and pollination resources, but this response is not the optimal resource allocation for subsequent fruit development and seed maturity, which suggests that the response of plants to external environment resources is short-term and direct.


Adolescent girls must contend with several sets of competing expectations at the discursive intersection of sexuality, age, gender, and race. This article examines how a feminist mentorship program for early adolescent girls engaged the issue of sexuality. Despite the program's self-described feminist orientation, ethnographic analysis revealed its reliance on moralistic, age-based standards of appropriate sexual interest and behavior; the suppression of sexuality; and girl-as-victim discourse. These data bolster the call for reformed, sex-positive approaches to adolescent sexuality and reveal some of the complexities involved in cross-generational feminist interventions.


Background People with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) who live in remote and rural areas are often not aware of the benefits of proper health care. The time taken for these people to reach a health care professional in major cities is a prohibiting factor, as they are unable to travel by themselves and require assistance, mostly from close family members. Another prohibiting factor for these people is the financial crisis that has affected a great number of people, both due to unemployment and a reduction in the amount of money given to pensioners. This group of fellow citizens may also have decreased awareness of the services that are available to them, by social services and by health professionals. The health professionals would be able to therefore improve the quality of life for these people who do not have access to basic medical treatment. This was one of the main goals of Cosmos-Rheuma+ which is a newly formed association, comprised of health professionals involved in the rehabilitation of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Objectives Due to the above reasons, a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) comprised of six different health care professions, decided to provide their services on a voluntary basis to people living in remote areas, mostly in the mountainous areas. The main goals of this team was to provide immediate treatment to this vulnerable group of people, educate them on various aspects of health care, increase their awareness of their diseases and advise them about their health care. The MDT would be able to set up referral pathways for further evaluation should this be necessary. Methods Members of various professional bodies were approached by the representative of each professional body, informing them about the planned projects. Each professional body was responsible for collecting the necessary materials needed for treating the patients. Additionally, representatives of the communities in interest were contacted, to ensure that the locals would be informed accordingly. The pilot project was held in September 2013, where 98 people were assessed and treated. The second project was held in January 2014, where more than 150 were assessed, treated and given advice on their general health care regime. Results Following the success of the pilot project, a second project was planned. Sponsorship for the project was gained, and this enabled the volunteers to provide the old-age people with reading material and assistive devices such as walking sticks. A greater number of health professionals participated in the second project which allowed for more people to be screened and treated. Conclusions The multi-disciplinary team of health professional volunteers plans to continue with the above projects and reach out to an even greater number of people with RMDs and old-age pensioners living in remote rural areas. The projects will be carried out every two months. Future plans include revisiting the communities to re-assess the people who had been treated and educated either verbally or with printed material. Demographic data will also be collected for further study and interpretation. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5332


In chemometrics traditional calibration in case of spectral measurements express a quantity of interest (e.g. a concentration) as a linear combination of the spectral measurements at a number of wavelengths. Often the spectral measurements are performed at a large number of wavelengths and in this case the number of coefficients in the linear combination is magnitudes larger than the number of observations. Traditional approaches to handling this problem includes principal components, partial least squares, ridge regression, LASSO, and other shrinkage methods. As a continuous-wavelength alternative we suggest replacing the linear combination by an integral over the range of the wavelength of a unknown coefficient-function multiplied by the spectral measurements. We then approximate the unknown function by a linear combination of some basis functions, e.g.B-splines. The method is illustrated by an example in which the octane number of gasoline is related to near infrared spectral measurements. The performance is found to be much better that for the traditional calibration methods.


The Uinta basin of Utah is going into its 5th year of oil production. To date there is one field, Red Wash, of importance with nearly 8,000 acres proven and 24 producing wells which yield around 5,000 barrels daily. Most of the production is choked down until transportation can take care of the situation. Nearly 100 holes have been drilled, resulting in the discovery of five oil fields, two possible oil fields, and two gas fields. The discovery rate is 7 out of 70 or one producer, or potential producer, out of 10 tests. With the 8,000 square miles in the basin, the average dry-hole density is one hole to 110 square miles. However, with the proximity of dry holes to the nearby fields, the ratio is more nearly one to 400. There are nearly 20 square miles of proved area, or one square mile proved to 400 unproved. Nearly all the fields are due to stratigraphic traps so that the situation for new discoveries is unique in that new fields should be of the same type. The south rim of the basin has two gas fields in the Wasatch and in the Mesaverde beds. Conditions there are similar to those in the San Juan basin. It is possible that a major gas area may be developed on the south rim of the basin. Drilling and operating costs are high in the basin due to transportation, and to the oil carrying high proportions of wax, 20-50%, with pour points of 90°-110°. When drilling costs are reduced and when there is a solution to the handling of the oil, the Uinta basin should be an important producer with numerous new gas and oil fields. End_of_Article - Last_Page 953------------


In this work, the ion-matrix sheaths near planar targets with infinitely long, semicylindrical grooves are studied analytically to optimize ion implantation, concerning a broad range of industrial products. The potential profiles inside and outside the groove are derived and the velocity components inside the groove are estimated. The variation of the angle of incidence on the surface of the groove and the constant potential contours outside the groove are obtained. Results are observed to be in good agreement with the numerical simulations. Finally, suggestions for improving the uniformity of implantation on the surfaces of such grooves are stated.


The study aims at establishing the urban design problems along Ndia Kuu, ahistoric street located within the conservation ar ea of the Old Town of Mombasa.A case study approach is used to identify the urban design elements that havebeen incorporated within the historic Stone Town of Zanzibar and the historicCity of Chandigarh. The elements studied include the historical backg round andurban design characteristics such as building functions, building height,vegetation, material use, the nodes, the paths, the edges and the landmarks. Anurban design proposal is formulated in form of design recommendations andconclusions based on the established urban design problems along Ndia Kuu andin view of incorporating the conclusions arrived at in Part I of this thesis.The study therefore proposes the re -organisation of circulation patterns, the re -organisation of nodes and the empha sis of existing landmarks in order to solve theproblems established. Specific urban elements established in Part I of this thesis,such as the width of the Street, the average building height, number of columnsper meter and height of windows from the fl oor have been incorporated in thedesign proposal to enhance the characteristics of the spaces. The urban designproposal recognizes the existing attributes such as the historical context, thelandmarks and the Swahili culture as a way of creating a more s ustainable urbanenvironment.


72 1024x768 72 1024x768 Normal 0 14 While in the 1950s Soviet output grew faster than most other industrial countries, the early 1960s has seen a noticeable slowing down in growth. The present paper puts these economic developments into perspective to judge the efficacy of Soviet policy in its attempt to achieve maximum growth and transform an underdeveloped into a developed country. The author first assesses Soviet performance and policy at different stages of development, before assessing the level attained. The purposes for which output is used and the major factors responsible for Soviet performance are then analysed. Finally, likely future developments are considered. Normal 0 14


Chaffinches Fringilla coelebs were introduced to New Zealand from Great Britain over 100 years ago, and since then their songs have diverged from British ones in both syllable structure and basic organization of syllable sequences. The New Zealand populations seem to be unique in that their songs have undergone differentiation of trill segments by progressive elaboration of syllable morphology and hp ascending and descending changes of pitch. Published sonagrams of British song types have significantly more trill phrases and significantly fewer syllables in the end phrase than do Yew Zealand ones. Many New Zealand song types have much elaborated end phrases and concomitantly simpler trill segments, with songs quite commonly having only one trill phrase. This reversal of complexity between the trill and end phrase in New Zealand seems to have been derived by progressive reduction of the ultimate trill phrase to one syllable, and by recombination of end phrase syllables from different song types into one compound end phrase. The significance of the increased complexity in the end phrases of many song types may relate to the sound transmission properties of dense pine forests in New Zealand, in which Chaffinches are ubiquitous. Elaborate end phrases degrade much less from reverberation in pine forests because individual syllables have more dispersed temporal patterning.

Recombination of syllables to form new song types is a major mechanism of song differentiation in New Zealand. Although whole song copying is the predominant mode of replication, very few song types in a locality sample are composed of a unique set of syllables. Rather, song types in an area are interconnected by different combinations of shared syllables, suggesting that the incorporation of some local syllables in a bird's repertoire is sufficient to signal its status as a member of a neighbourhood and also allows the evolution of broadcast complexity.


There is a vast body of research based on 2D:4D finger ratio measurements within the fields of medicine, physiology, and several other disciplines. There are well-known conventions for how such finger measures should be conducted, and all such measurements are to this date manual. Manual measurements are time consuming and prone to human error, different practices and subjective influences. This study proposes a novel algorithm for automatically computing the 2D:4D finger ratios using images of hand pairs. The algorithm is simple to implement and robust to image noise. Initial experimental assessments indicate that the algorithm successfully manages to accurately determine 2D:4D finger ratios. The proposed algorithm could help improve the research fields that make use of digit ratio measurements. Areas of algorithm improvements are also identified.


Context: Obesity is associated with subclinical white adipose tissue inflammation, as defined by the presence of crown-like structures (CLSs) consisting of dead or dying adipocytes encircled by macrophages. In humans, bariatric surgery-induced weight loss leads to a decrease in CLSs, but the effects of rapid diet-induced weight loss on CLSs and metabolism are unclear. Objective: To determine the effects of rapid very-low-calorie diet-induced weight loss on CLS density, systemic biomarkers of inflammation, and metabolism in obese postmenopausal women. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Rockefeller University Hospital, New York, NY. Participants: Ten obese, postmenopausal women with a mean age of 60.6 years (standard deviation, ±3.6 years). Main Outcome Measures: Effects on CLS density and gene expression in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, cardiometabolic risk factors, white blood count, circulating metabolites, and oxidative stress (urinary isoprostane-M) were measured. Results: Obese subjects lost approximately 10% body weight over a mean of 46 days. CLS density increased in subcutaneous adipose tissue without an associated increase in proinflammatory gene expression. Weight loss was accompanied by decreased fasting blood levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, glucose, lactate, and kynurenine, and increased circulating levels of free fatty acids, glycerol, β-hydroxybutyrate, and 25 hydroxyvitamin D. Levels of urinary isoprostane-M declined. Conclusion: Rapid weight loss stimulated lipolysis and an increase in CLS density in subcutaneous adipose tissue in association with changes in levels of circulating metabolites, and improved systemic biomarkers of inflammation and insulin resistance. The observed change in levels of metabolites (i.e., lactate, β-hydroxybutyrate, 25 hydroxyvitamin D) may contribute to the anti-inflammatory effect of rapid weight loss.


This study investigates self-efficacy and emotional intelligence as predictors of factory workers job performance in manufacturing companies in Lagos state Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey research design; Simple random sampling technique was used to select five hundred factory workers from twenty randomly selected manufacturing companies in Lagos state Nigeria. Instruments used were Job Performance Rating Scale (JPRS), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT). Two research questions were answered at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analysed using Multiple Regression statistical tool. The independent variables accounted for 62.1% of the total variance on employees' job performance. In order of magnitude, in terms of magnitude of the contribution: Emotional Intelligence has more predictive influence on employees' job performance followed by self-efficacy on employees' job performance. Therefore, Employers should ensure their employees are made to embark on training to improve on their ability, competence and social emotional skills that will enable them to adapt well to their environmental and career challenges. Also, employers should make available counselling and psychotherapeutic services for their employees to help manage maladjustment and maladaptive behaviour that could negatively affect their level of job performance.


This paper examines the effect of CEO compensation contracts on misreporting. We find that the sensitivity of the CEO's option portfolio to stock price is significantly positively related to the propensity to misreport. We do not find that the sensitivity of other components of CEO compensation, i.e., equity, restricted stock, long-term incentive payouts and salary and bonus have any significant impact on the propensity to misreport. Relative to other components of compensation, stock options are associated with stronger incentives to misreport because convexity in CEO wealth introduced by stock options limits the downside risk on detection of the misreporting.


*This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible.In this article, we propose a 3-D synthetic aperture imaging method with spherical antenna scanning to identify scatterers located close to an antenna array, such as fixtures or support of the antenna. Previous studies have shown that 2-D and 3-D synthetic aperture imaging techniques with planar, circular, and cylindrical scanning can successfully reconstruct spatial images of near-field scatterers. The spherical scanning approach considered in this article is expected to improve the 3-D image resolution because more angular diversity can be achieved in the elevation direction. However, as we show in this study, simple extension of the previous techniques to the spherical case results in undesired blur artifacts in the reconstructed image. To overcome this problem, we introduce a correction factor in the image reconstruction. The proposed imaging algorithm is validated by numerical electromagnetic simulation based on the method of moments.


Although the use of fibre-reinforced composites has spread increasingly in the design of primary structures, the prediction of the behaviour and damage until the final failure of structure subjected to complex multiaxial loadings still remains a major problem in the design of composite parts. An advanced damage and failure approach, which permits to predict accurately the damage and failure of composite structures subjected to complex multiaxial 3D loadings, has been proposed. This approach has been compared successfully with test results on laminates subjected to multiaxial loadings extracted from the literature or performed at Onera. Moreover, finite element simulations on different structures subjected to complex loadings have also been performed to determine the predictive capabilities of such an approach.


This article analyzes the influence of family, school, media and peers on knowledge, in the sense of separation and the behavior of separation of materials for recycling by university students. To this end, the review makes a theoretical connection between the last stage of consumer behavior, which includes the separation of materials for recycling, and the agents of socialization that have been studied as influences on other types of behavior. A model and seven hypotheses were proposed by the authors. The research was divided into two stages. The first is characterized as a qualitative exploratory stage. The second, quantitative stage, was conducted with 351 university students. The quantitative analysis used the structural equation modeling to verify the proposed model. The results show that the four agents influence behavior during separation of materials for recycling either directly or indirectly. The behavior is influenced directly by personal contact (family and peers). But indirectly, the school, the media and peers impinge on feelings, serving as an antecedent of behavior.


This thesis examined differences between men and women with heart failure. First, it was shown that biological sex is a strong modulator in the clinical expression of various cardiomyopathies. In the general population it was shown that men are more likely to develop heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and also at a younger age. This is mainly due to myocardial infarction. On the other hand, women are at higher risk of developing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, especially with older age and with atrial fibrillation. In chronic heart failure female sex is strongly associated with specific clinical features, such as advanced age, hypertension, a preserved ejection fraction, and they often have symptoms of congestion. Regardless of these differences, women have a better prognosis. However, it is unclear whether the biological background affects this survival benefit in women. Inflammation parameters and other biomarkers were significantly lower in women compared to men with heart failure, and some also have a gender prognostic value. In acute heart failure women have specific co-morbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes and depression, compared with men. During hospitalization for acute heart failure the biological status of heart failure is less advanced in women compared to men and this could possibly explain the differences in prognosis. It also appears that female sex is an independent predictor of relief from dyspnea, regardless of other factors.


When a workpiece to be polished is placed on the carrier of a polishing machine, it is pressed down to the polishing pad. Large abrasives make contact between the pad and the workpiece before the smaller ones. The larger abrasives are pressed into the pad and indented into the workpiece. These particles are the active abrasives and participate in material removal. The abrasives with a size less than the gap between the pad and the workpiece move freely in the valleys/voids of the pad and are inactive. As the gap decreases during the polishing process, smaller abrasives trapped between the pad and the workpiece become active in polishing. Thus, the process of chemical-mechanical polishing is dynamic, while all previous modeling is static. This paper establishes a dynamic model for the abrasives. The modeling considers the transient motion of the workpiece/particle/pad in the vertical direction and the change of the roughness of the workpiece. A study of the transient motion shows an increasing number of active particles and a changing polishing rate in the first 2 min. It also demonstrates that the viscoelastic properties of the pad and the workpiece surface roughness are important factors in determining the polishing rate. This paper also shows that when the average particle size is smaller than an optimum size, the polishing rate increases with increasing particle size for the same particle density or same wt% abrasives. Yet, if the average particle size is larger than the optimum size, the polishing rate decreases with increasing particle size.