Computations at next-to-leading order in the Standard Model offer new technical challenges in presence of higher dimensional operators. We introduce a framework that, starting from the top-quark effective field theory at dimension six, allows to make predictions for cross sections as well as distributions in a fully automatic way. As an application, we present the first complete results at NLO in QCD for flavor changing neutral interactions including parton shower effects, for $tZ$, $th$, $t\gamma$ associated production at the LHC.


This paper aims at promoting a debate on some questions related to the biographical making at present and in the field of Physical Education – by presenting some scientific research conducted by researchers in this area – and showing some possible alternatives in order to consolidate this literary genre. Reasons for the retaking of the genre in the publishing setting, their main focus of interest and their significantly structural aspects are presented. We do not advocate presenting canonical formulae in the biographical making, but pointing to some possible gaps and suggesting certain possible alternatives for its making.


This paper presents a thorough experimental analysis to investigate the behavior of neural network classifier for classification of multispectral satellite images. For this series of experiments have been performed to study the effect of various neural network parameters upon classification accuracy. It is per pixel supervised classification using spectral bands (original feature space). The parameters considered are: initial weight, training set size, number of hidden layer neurons and number of input layer nodes. Based on 1050 number of experiments, it is concluded that for good classification accuracy and speed, following two critical issues needs to be addressed: 1) selection of most discriminative spectral bands and 2) determination of optimal number of nodes in hidden layer. The accuracy obtained with ANN classifier is compared with that of traditional classifiers like MLC and Euclidean classifier using Xie-Beni and ? indexes.


In Reply.— The decision to recommend measles vaccination for migrant children as young as 6 months of age during the Texas outbreak was reached after careful consideration of (1) the impact of measles in children aged 6 to 11 months; (2) the risk of measles to children of this age in the migrant population; (3) the potential consequences of vaccinating children this young; and (4) alternative means of measles prophylaxis. Measles can be particularly severe in children younger than 1 year. Infants have consistently had the highest mortality rates and the highest death-to-case ratios. 1-3 Thus, it is important to protect them when they are at high risk of exposure to measles. At the time of the outbreak, Texas was experiencing its most severe measles outbreak in three years. The outbreak began among children seen at migrant health clinics. Many cases occurred in infants who had a high frequency of


In this study, the concept of the Fracture Energy (FE) Index was explored as a fracture parameter to characterize and quantify the cracking resistance potential of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixes subjected to monotonic loading in the laboratory. Mathematically, the FE Index was defined as a parametric ratio of the total FE to the HMA tensile strength and tensile strain at peak failure load per unit crack length. The concept was put into practice by testing commonly used Texas HMA mixes, with cracking resistance potential ranging from poor to good, under the Overlay Tester -monotonic loading setup (OT(subscript M)) along with two other more commonly used monotonic loading tests, namely: the Indirect Tensile Test (IDT) and the Semi-Circular Bending Test (SCB). Corresponding results indicated that the FE Index has promising potential to be used as a fracture parameter to discriminate and rank the cracking resistance potential of HMA mixes in the laboratory. As expected of monotonic loading crack tests, variability was within acceptable tolerances, except for the SCB that exhibited high variability, particularly at higher asphalt-binder contents. The FE Index also exhibited sensitivity to HMA mix-design variables such as the asphalt-binder content, particulalry for the OT(subscript M) and IDT tests. Overall, the OT(subscript M) and the IDT tests exhibited supperiority over the SCB test and would readily serve as surrogate crack tests for routine HMA mix-design and screening in the laboratory. For room temperature testing at 25°C, the SCB test appeared to be better suited for low asphalt-binder content mixes.


Maize is a food security crop cultivated in the African savannas that are vulnerable to the occurrence of drought stress and Striga hermonthica infestation. The co-occurrence of these stresses can severely damage crop growth and productivity of maize. Until recently, maize breeding in International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has focused on the development of either drought tolerant or S. hermonthica resistant germplasm using independent screening protocols. The present study was therefore conducted to examine the extent to which maize hybrids simultaneously expressing resistance to S. hermonthica and tolerance to drought (DTSTR) could be developed through sequential selection of parental lines using the two screening protocols. Regional trials involving 77 DTSTR and 22 commercial benchmark hybrids (STR and non-DTSTR) were then conducted under Striga-infested and non-infested conditions, managed drought stress and fully irrigated conditions as well as in multiple rainfed environments for 5 years. The observed yield reductions of 61% under managed drought stress and 23% under Striga-infestation created desirable stress levels leading to the detection of significant differences in grain yield among hybrids at individual stress and non-stress conditions. On average, the DTSTR hybrids out-yielded the STR and non-DTSTR commercial hybrids by 13–19% under managed drought stress and fully irrigated conditions and by −4 to 70% under Striga-infested and non-infested conditions. Among the DTSTR hybrids included in the regional trials, 33 were high yielders with better adaptability across environments under all stressful and non-stressful testing conditions. Twenty-four of the 33 DTSTR hybrids also yielded well across diverse rainfed environments. The genetic correlations of grain yield under managed drought stress with yield under Striga-infestation and multiple rainfed environments were 0.51 and 0.57, respectively. Also, a genetic correlation between yields under Striga-infestation with that recorded in multiple rainfed environments was 0.58. These results suggest that the sequential selection scheme offers an opportunity to accumulate desirable stress-related traits in parents contributing to superior agronomic performance in hybrids across stressful and diverse rainfed field environments that are commonly encountered in the tropical savannas of Africa.


In this paper we investigate the possibility of modeling a single antenna alone and in close proximity to a physical object by means of discrete point source scatterers. The scatter point model allows joint modeling of a physical antenna and the human body as a single extended object with direction dependent scattering coefficients for the scatter points. We introduce the term extended antenna describing antenna and human body together. To investigate the identifiability of the model parameters we make use of ultrawideband channel measurements and accurate ground truth position and orientation measurements obtained with an optical tracking system. By comparing measurements of the antenna attached directly to the user with measurements for the antenna without the user nearby, we show the shadowing and scattering effects of the human body and the antenna.


Photopic spectral sensitivities for a foveal target on a white background are measured for 18 normal eyes, and the results are explained in terms of the function of retinal ganglion cells. Averaged results for diseases such as glaucoma, optic atrophy, tobacco amblyopia, and retrobulbar neuritis are reviewed, and an analysis of the change in shape of the spectral sensitivity curve in these diseases is presented. It is shown how the location of disease sites may be related to characteristic changes in spectral sensitivity.


Asymmetric lithium-ion supercapacitors have been obtaining great attention, owing to their significantly increased energy density. However, transition-metal-oxide-based electrode materials with poor conductivity and sluggish electrode kinetics often sacrifice power performance and cycling stability. Herein, we report the in situ growth of V2O5 nanorods on highly conductive graphene sheets as anode materials with high specific capacitance and excellent rate capability, which is mainly attributed to the intimate contact between the nanorods and graphene sheets. The asymmetric supercapacitor based on graphene/V2O5 composites and activated carbon is fabricated and evaluated, where a high energy density of approximately 50 Wh kg−1 can be achieved at a power density of 136.4 W kg−1, as well as long cycling stability. This work provides an effective and efficient method for the fabrication of high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.


Activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in the distal nephron by its ligand, aldosterone, plays an important role in sodium reabsorption and blood pressure regulation. However, expression of the MR goes beyond the kidney. It is expressed in a variety of other tissues in which its activation could lead to tissue injury. Indeed, MR activation in the cardiovascular (CV) system has been shown to promote hypertension, fibrosis, and inflammation. Pharmacological blockade of the MR has protective effects in several animal models of CV disease. Furthermore, the use of MR antagonists is beneficial for heart failure patients, preventing mortality and morbidity. A better understanding of the implications of the MR in the setting of CV diseases is critical for refining treatments and improving patient care. The mechanisms involved in the deleterious effects of MR activation are complex and include oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis. This review will discuss the pathological role of the MR in the CV system and the major mechanisms underlying it.


This study evaluated the effects of pair-housing on several operant (trained) behaviors in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Sixteen young, male, individually housed rhesus monkeys (age, 2.5 to 5.5 years) performed a battery of behaviors consisting of motivation (progressive ratio, PR), short-term memory and attention (delayed matching-to-sample, DMTS), color and position discrimination (conditioned position responding, CPR), and learning (incremental repeated acquisition, IRA) tasks. Behavioral assessments occurred 5 days/week, with the PR, IRA, and CPR tasks presented on one test day, and the DMTS task presented on the next test day. Thus, each task was performed two or three days/week. Eight subjects then were pair-housed, while eight age-matched controls remained individually housed. Pair-housed monkeys were separated for behavior testing and feeding but allowed access to each other approximately 20 h/day. The performance of the two groups of monkeys were compared for the 2 months prior to pairing, for a 2-month transition period as the pairs adjusted to the new housing situation, and for a 2-month period after the pairs had been established. Performance of the CPR and IRA tasks did not change over time in either group. For the PR and DMTS tasks, the number of trials completed increased over the course of the study in the controls but not in the pair-housed monkeys. In conclusion, pair-housing monkeys is feasible for studies involving operant behavior testing as a model for a variety of complex brain functions. However, housing condition may affect some test parameters, and this must be taken into consideration during experimental design.


Opuntia stricta is a rich source of phenolic compounds. This species generally has strong antioxidant activities in vitro and in vivo. This study aimed to analyze the antioxidant properties of phenolic compounds isolated from Opuntia stricta, including its radical scavenging activities and preventive action against Cd-induced oxidative stress in rats. To assess the protection of prickly pear juice extract (PPJE) against Cd-induced hepato-nephrotoxicity and testicular damage, male albino rats received PPJE (250 mg kg−1) and/or Cd (1 mg kg−1) by oral administration and injection, respectively, for five consecutive weeks. The preventive action of PPJE was estimated using biochemical markers of kidney and liver tissues, antioxidant status, and histological examinations. In the present study, the lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, antioxidant status, and metallothionein levels were determined in different tissues. The chromatographic analysis indicated that PPJE extract is very rich in phenolic compounds such as verbascoside, catechin hydrate, and oleuropein. Our results showed that PPJE-treated rats had significantly (p < 0.05) decreased Cd levels in liver and kidney tissues. In addition, the administration of PPJE induced a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in lipid peroxidation of 30.5, 54.54, and 40.8 in the liver, kidney, and testicle, respectively, and an increase in antioxidant status in these tissues. Additionally, PPJE showed a strong ability to protect renal, hepatic, and testicular architectures against Cd exposure. This study revealed that PPJE protects against the toxic effects of Cd, possibly through its free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities.


The cardiovascular effects of Org 9487 during isoflurane anaesthesia have been evaluated using three doses around its ED90 for neuromuscular blockade, i.e. 1 mg kg-1, 2 mg kg-1 and 3 mg kg-1. Heart rate increased to 110%, 115% and 118% in patients receiving 1 mg kg-1, 2 mg kg-1 and 3 mg kg-1 respectively. There were no significant effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressures for the two lower dose groups. Patients receiving Org 9487 3 mg kg-1 displayed significant decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (91% and 82% of the control values respectively). Except for heart rate in the group receiving 3 mg kg-1, all measurements returned to baseline after a maximum of 15 min. Six patients experienced a transient increase in airway pressure after administration of Org 9487, which was accompanied by a decrease in oxygen saturation in two out of six subjects, but there was no audible wheezing. These episodes were self-limiting and required no treatment. There were no other adverse reactions to this drug during this study.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of green marketing on green purchase behavior. The research was conducted in an explanatory, and using quantitative. The study sample was 66 of the participants in the environmental care activities. The sampling technique used in this study is purposive sampling. The results showed that the variables of green marketing, brand image and environmental knowledge simultaneously and partially had a positive effect on green purchase behavior. While brand image and environmental knowledge variables can increase the influence of green marketing on purchasing decisions.


Introduction: The primary objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of maintenance therapy with pemetrexed (Pem) compared with observation, each with best supportive care, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have completed, without progression, at least four cycles of first-line platinum chemotherapy, particularly in those with nonsquamous cell histology. Secondary comparisons included Pem with erlotinib (Erl) or Pem with bevacizumab (Bev). Methods: A semi-Markov model was developed to compare the 3-year impact of Pem with three other alternatives for maintenance therapy from a United States payer perspective. Data from randomized controlled clinical trials provided clinical inputs. Medicare reimbursement rates were used to determine drug costs. A retrospective claims database analysis was used to obtain estimates of other direct NSCLC-related costs. Results: In the prespecified subset of patients with nonsquamous cell histology only, the incremental cost per life-year gained was $122,371 for Pem to observation and $150,260 for Pem to Erl, and Bev was dominated by Pem. In all patients with advanced NSCLC regardless of histologic subtype, using Pem as maintenance therapy led to an incremental cost per life-year gained of $205,597 compared with observation and $312,341 compared with Erl. Conclusions: Compared with observation and other agents used and/or reimbursed for maintenance therapy in advanced NSCLC, Pem may be considered cost-effective, particularly in patients with nonsquamous cell histology. This analysis is the first to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of maintenance therapy in advanced NSCLC and emphasizes the importance of histology in identifying the appropriate patient for Pem maintenance therapy.


High-temperature models for origin of the carbonates in Martian meteorite ALH84001 are implausible. The impact metasomatism model, invoking reaction between CO2 rich fluid and the host orthopyroxenite, requires conversion of olivine into orthopyroxene, yet olivine in ALH84001 shows no depletion in carbonate-rich areas; or else conversion of orthopyroxene into silica, which should have yielded a higher silica/carbonate ratio. The impact melt model implies that the fracture-linked carbonates, as products of melt injection, should appear as continuous planar veins, but in many areas they do not. Both vapor deposition and impact melting seem inconsistent with the zoned poikilotopic texture of many large carbonates. The popular hydrothermal model is inconsistent with the virtual absence of secondary hydrated silicates in ALH84001. Prior brecciation should have facilitated alteration. Hydrothermal fluids would be warm, and rate of hydration of mafic silicates obeys an Arrhenius law, at least up to approximately 100 degrees C. Most important, hydrothermal episodes tend to last for many years. Many areas of the ancient Martian crust show evidence for massive flooding. I propose that the carbonates formed as evaporite deposits from floodwaters that percolated through the fractures of ALH84001, but only briefly, as evaporation and groundwater flow caused the water table to quickly recede beneath the level of this rock during the later stages of the flood episode. The setting might have been a layer of megaregolith beneath a surface catchment of pooled floodwater, analogous to a playa lake. Carbonate precipitation would occur in response to evaporative concentration of the water. To explain the scarcity of sulfates in ALH84001, the water table must be assumed to recede quickly relative to the rate of evaporation. During the period when ALH84001 was above the water table, evaporation would have slowed, as the evaporation front passed beneath the surface of the debris layer, and possibly earlier, if the shrinking pool of surface water developed a porous sulfate crust. Alternatively, ALH84001 may have developed as a Martian form of calcrete, i.e., the evaporating flood(s) may have been entirely below ground as it (they) passed slowly through ALH84001. The greatest advantage of the flood evaporite model is that it exposes ALH84001 to carbonate precipitation without prolonged exposure to aqueous alteration. The model also seems consistent with the heavy and extremely heterogeneous oxygen isotopic compositions of the carbonates. However, this hypothesis seems no more than marginally consistent with the suggestion of McKay et al. [1996] that the carbonates are biogenic.


We study the effects of dipping beds on a borehole gravimeter (BHGM) survey. A dipping bed solution is presented which uses an anomalous bed density in a regional framework. A method of application is shown which provides an estimate of the regional framework density and dip angle of the beds. The method of application requires measuring local formation density independently.


Two young Jacob sheep which presented with severe ataxia and torticollis had abnormally formed atlanto-occipital joints. Postmortem examination revealed marked dissimilarity in size between the left and right occipital condyles, with reduction in size of the foramen magnum. The atlantoaxial joint and dens were normally formed, and were not abnormally positioned in radiographs taken of one lamb. Histological evaluation of the cervicomedullary junction demonstrated extensive loss of axons and myelin, gliosis, and mild hydromyelia in one lamb.


Fifteen collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) were exposed to a lyophilized oral rabies vaccine designed to immunize wild carnivore populations. No animals contracted rabies from the vaccine as determined by the absence of clinical signs after 37 days and lack of rabies virus in brain tissue determined by the fluorescent antibody (FA) test. These results suggest that collared lemmings would not contract rabies if they ingested this lyophilized vaccine in the wild during bait vaccination programs for arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus).


Recent research has demonstrated that ternary aluminum-boron-iodine (Al-B-I 2 ) materials prepared by mechanical milling are effective in generating biocidal combustion products. Such reactive materials are of interest for the munitions aimed to defeat stockpiles of biological weapons. In this research, ternary Mg∙B∙I 2 composites were synthesized using two-stage milling. The first stage consisted of a binary B∙I 2 powder prepared by mechanical milling, followed by addition of magnesium for iodine stabilization. Specific compositions for each ternary material were varied. Stability of the samples was assessed by their heating in argon at a constant rate using Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and observing weight loss. Oxidation of the prepared powders was also studied by TGA. Ternary Mg∙B∙I 2 composite powders prepared by two-stage milling were more stable than any of the previously prepared iodine-bearing materials with the same concentration of iodine (20 wt %). Particle size distributions were measured using low-angle laser light scattering. Powders were ignited using in an air-acetylene flame and in a constant volume explosion apparatus. Particle burn times and temperatures were measured optically. Substantially longer burn times and lower temperatures were observed for the prepared materials compared to the reference pure Mg powder.


This paper introduces the application of a stochastic search technique, known as simulated annealing, to the problem of tuning electric drive speed controllers. Tuning by conventional analysis methods is complicated by the presence of a significant nonlinearity caused by saturation of the current controller. The nonlinearity ensures that optimum controller settings depend on the form of the input stimulus, for example the magnitude of a step change in speed demand. For the purposes of illustration, the paper concentrates on finding the settings for the parameters of a proportional-integral (PI) speed controller which minimise the integral of absolute speed error following a step change in speed demand. After describing the basic principles of simulated annealing, the paper presents results showing the development of optimum controller settings. Simulated annealing avoids the requirement for mathematical modelling of the drive and its load and is able to deal with the inherent nonlinearities of the system. The approach described is applicable to both off-line and on-line tuning of a wide variety of controller configurations.


The role of extracellular calcium in hormone-induced glycogenolysis was examined in a rat liver perfusion system by manipulating the perfusate calcium concentration and by using calcium antagonistic drugs. When the perfusate contained 1 mM CaCl2, 5 microM phenylephrine, 20 nM vasopressin, and 10 nM angiotensin II caused a persistent increase in glucose output and phosphorylase activity as well as a transient increase in 45Ca efflux from 45Ca preloaded liver. Verapamil hydrochloride (20-100 microM) inhibited the activation of glucose output by these hormones in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibitory effect was also associated with the inhibition of hormone-induced activation of phosphorylase and 45Ca efflux. In the absence of CaCl2 in the perfusate, the glycogenolytic effect of phenylephrine and its inhibition by verapamil were obtained equally as in the presence of CaCl2. However, the effects of vasopressin and angiotensin II were markedly attenuated and were not inhibited any further by verapamil. The substitution of diltiazem hydrochloride for verapamil produced essentially identical results. Cyclic AMP concentrations in the tissue did not change under any of these test conditions. The results indicate that the glycogenolytic effect of alpha-adrenergic agonists depends on intracellular calcium but those of vasopressin and angiotensin II on extracellular calcium, and support the concept that calcium antagonistic drugs inhibit the glycogenolytic effects of calcium-dependent hormones at least by inhibiting the mobilization of calcium ion from cellular pools.


The microbial electrochemical cell (MEC) is a promising waste treatment technology to accomplish simultaneous alternative energy production and degradation of organic matters. Potato pulp waste (PPW) from a potato processing plant contains a large amount of carbohydrates that need be degradated before discharge into the environment. Here, we describe electricity generation in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using PPW. Different organic loadings of PPW influenced obviously the power output of MFCs. The maximum power density of 32.1 ± 0.5 W m−3 was obtained in a MFC fed with 10 g L−1 PPW. Microbial community analysis based on high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene indicated that the predominant populations were obviously different in the MFCs. The syntrophic interactions between polysaccharide-degrading bacteria and exoelectrogens in the anode biofilms drove the cascade utilization of potato pulp waste in MFCs.


The effects of both a straight and a curved wall on the two-point space-time velocity correlations of a turbulent jet are documented. From the correlations, isocorrelation contours are constructed which allow a picture of the various flow patterns to be determined. Autoand cross-correlations of the fluctuating concentration field are also obtained for the different flow configurations. The confining surfaces served to radically change the flow pattern for the freely expanding turbulent jet. The velocity measurements are made with a laser Doppler velocimeter in conjunction with a phase locked-loop processor, while the concentration field is monitored with a laser light-scattering technique.


The diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation (AF) is a lengthy and expensive procedure that often requires visual inspection of ECG signals by experts. In order to improve patient management and reduce healthcare costs, automated detection of these pathologies is of utmost importance. In this study, we classify short segments of ECG into four classes (AF, normal, other rhythms or noise) as part of the Physionet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2017. We compare a state-of-the-art feature-based classifier with a convolutional neural network approach. Both methods were trained using the challenge data, supplemented with an additional database derived from Physionet. The feature-based classifier obtained an Fi score of 72.0% on the training set (5-fold cross-validation), and 79% on the hidden test set. Similarly, the convolutional neural network scored 72.1% on the augmented database and 83% on the test set. The latter method resulted on a final score of 79% at the competition. Developed routines and pre-trained models are freely available under a GNU GPLv3 license.


Modern transient electromagnetic (TEM) surveys, either ground-based or airborne, may yield thousands of line kilometers of data. Parts of these data, especially in areas with dense infrastructure, are often disturbed by electromagnetic couplings due to infrastructure, e.g., power cables and fences. In most cases and in particular when working in a hydro-geological context, such coupled data must be culled before inversion. The process of identifying and culling coupled data is a manual task, requiring specialists to examine and process the data in detail. Manual data processing is subjective, difficult to reproduce, and time-consuming. To automate the complex data processing workflows, we propose an expert system based on a deep convolutional auto-encoder to identify couplings in the data. We configure the auto-encoder to learn an encoded representation of TEM data in a latent space. A reconstruction part that decodes the encoded representation is also trained, aiming to reconstruct input data. If the data unaffected by electromagnetic couplings are observed by the auto-encoder, the reconstructed output will have low error to the input. However, when having couplings in the data, the reconstruction error is elevated, indicating a nongeologic anomaly. The size of the anomaly is based on the relative error between the input data and the reconstructed output normalized by the data standard deviation. We show that the proposed approach displays high-quality data processing within a fraction of a second for a ground-based and an airborne system, which is either ready for inversion or requires minimal further quality inspection.


We have previously reviewed alterations to basement membrane laminin in psoriasis and how disruption of this layer could lead to at least some of the pathological changes observed. We here postulate that basement membrane laminin is the key antigen in driving psoriasis, inducing a T cell‐mediated autoimmune response. For laminin to be considered as the key autoantigen in psoriasis, it would be reasonable to expect the following to be demonstrable: (1) that autoantigens are present in psoriatic inflammation; (2) that basement membrane laminin is perturbed in involved and uninvolved skin, and that some of the pathological changes associated with psoriasis could be predicted as a sequel to this; (3) that disruption of the basement membrane is among the earliest events in the evolution of psoriatic lesions; (4) that as streptococcal pharyngitis is the most clearly defined event to trigger or exacerbate psoriasis, then a T cell‐mediated autoimmune response to laminin should be anticipated as a potential sequelae to streptococcal pharyngitis; (5) that T cells in psoriasis can be shown to react to peptides with homology to laminin; (6) that HLACw6, as the most closely related gene associated with psoriasis and which is involved in antigen expression, should be preferentially expressed within lesional psoriasis towards the basement membrane, together with other proximal associated immune activity; and (7) that there is some association between antilaminin pemphigoid, a humorally mediated autoimmune disease to skin basement membrane laminin, and psoriasis. We here review the data relevant to each of these requirements.


A bounded random process (BRP) model was developed in this paper to interpret why approximate entropy (ApEn) can not describe the stochastic characteristic of Brownian motion time series correctly. Low ApEn value, generally implying presence of determinacy, also existed in Brownian motion series, a stochastic process. The BRP model investigated this phenomenon through quantifying the relationship between ApEn and a parameter of BRP model. BRP model was then applied to analyze electrocardiograph (ECG) time series from 60 healthy subjects and 60 myocardial infarction (MI) patients. ApEn of the healthy group had a close relationship with the parameter of BRP model, while this relationship could not be found in MI patient group. Grounded on combination of BRP and ApEn, a classifier was designed to assist to diagnose the MI patients. ROC curve and classification figures verified the classifier.

 Key words: Bounded random process, approximate entropy, Brownian motion, heart rate variability.


ABSTRACT Background In typical development, primarily contextual factors at the family level are clearly associated with child developmental outcomes. In contrast, knowledge about the contextual factors influencing the developmental characteristics of children (0–12 years) with severe to profound intellectual disability is scarce. Method Through computerised searches of 4 bibliographic databases, 54 studies were identified. Results The included studies were characterised by the use of small study populations and nonvalidated research instruments, as well as by strong research designs and detailed reporting of individual results. The majority of the studies evaluated procedures based on behaviourist learning theory, mostly aimed at reducing nonadaptive behaviour or stimulating choice behaviour. The studied factors proved to be generally effective. Conclusions Family and parenting factors are one of the most striking gaps in the current literature about the development of children with intellectual disability. Also, further research on long-term developmental changes and bidirectional influences is necessary.


Abstract Multiple myeloma treatment has evolved with approvals of new immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs), monoclonal antibodies (MoABs), and proteasome inhibitors (PIs). We characterized U.S. treatment trends and survival from 2011 to 2019 using Flatiron data from multiple myeloma patients followed from treatment index until death/end of data. Patients (n = 10,553) were primarily (88%) treated in community centers. Frontline PI-IMiD-dexamethasone use increased over time, while IMiD-dexamethasone and PI-dexamethasone use decreased. MoAB-IMiD-dexamethasone use increased in relapsed/refractory disease. In all lines, use of doublets decreased and triplets increased, with triplets becoming the most prescribed combination by 2018–2019, especially in first line (62%). Monotherapy use decreased in first line (19% to 10%) but remained steady in relapsed/refractory disease (∼20%). With each increasing line of therapy, median overall survival decreased (60, 48, 36, 29, 23 months). Survival increased with more recent diagnosis. Our results indicate that the multiple myeloma landscape has evolved significantly in the last decade.


The con ducting behavior of an amorphous Li+ conductor B2O3-0.7Li2O-0.7LiCl-0.1Al2O3 has been measured continuously and automatically by using the a.c. Volt-Ampere method in the isothermal treatment process at a certain temperature below its transition temperature. It was found that the conductivities of specimens increased at the initial stage and decreased monotonically after passing a maximum, and then two flat steps appeared. Comparing these results with that obtained by DSC and XRD analysis, we confirmed that the presence of the maximum of the conductivities is principally due to the amorphous phase separation, and the flat steps on the diagram of the conductivities are due to the amorphous crystallization. These results were discussed preliminarily in the view of the interface effects between different phases.


BACKGROUND
The Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) is a caregiver report questionnaire that is suitable for use with children who wear hearing aids. It is available in both a Diary format and a Rating Scale format. Following a critical review of subjective outcome evaluation tools for infants, toddlers, and preschool children (Bagatto, Moodie, Seewald et al, 2011), the Rating Scale version of the PEACH was included in a recently developed guideline for monitoring real-world auditory performance of children who have hearing loss (Bagatto, Moodie, Malandrino et al, 2011). Normative data exist only for the PEACH Diary, not the Rating Scale.

PURPOSE
This article evaluates whether published normative data for the PEACH Diary (Ching and Hill, 2007) are replicated on a different sample of children using the PEACH Rating Scale.

RESEARCH DESIGN
Fifty-nine children with normal hearing aged 2 mo to 83 mo and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Caregivers completed the PEACH Rating Scale for each child with normal hearing.

RESULTS
Results indicated close agreement to existing normative data collected with the PEACH Diary, with no differences in scores between males and females and good internal consistency. Age-related trends published for the Diary version were replicated using the Rating Scale version, as significantly lower scores were observed for children 20 mo of age and younger compared to those older than 20 mo of age.

CONCLUSIONS
The currently published norms for the PEACH Diary are valid for use with the PEACH Rating Scale with caregivers of normal hearing children. This validation work adds to the evidence base of the PEACH Rating Scale and supports its use in clinical practice.


We investigated the equilibrium crystal shape of BaZrO3 and the space charge formation in an O-terminated (011) surface by using ab-initio thermodynamics. Twenty-two low-indexed (001), (011), and (111) surfaces were calculated to analyze their surface Gibbs-free energy under the stable condition of BaZrO3. Based on the Gibbs-Wulff theorem, the equilibrium crystal shape of BaZrO3 changed from cubic to decaoctahedral with decreasing Ba chemical potential. The dominant facets of BaZrO3 were {001} and {011}, which were well consistent with experimental observations. The space charge formation in the (011) surface was evaluated using the space-charge model. We found that the (011) surface was even more resistive than the (001) surface.


Spatial positioning of pericentric chromosome regions in human lymphocyte cell nuclei was investigated during repair after H(2)O(2)/L-histidine treatment. Fifteen to three-hundred minutes after treatment, these regions of chromosomes 1, 15, and X were labeled by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The relative locus distances (LL-distances), the relative distances to the nuclear center (LC-distances), and the locus-nuclear center-locus angles (LCL-angles) were measured in approximately 5000 nuclei after two-dimensional microscopy. Experimental frequency histograms were compared to control data from untreated stimulated and quiescent (G(0)) nuclei and to a theoretical two-dimensional projection from random points. Based on the frequency distributions of the LL-distances and the LCL-angles, an increase of closely associated labeled regions was found shortly after repair activation. For longer repair times this effect decreased. After 300 min the frequency distribution of the LL-distances was found to be compatible with the random distance distribution again. The LL-distance frequency histograms for quiescent nuclei did not significantly differ from the theoretical random distribution, although this was the case for the stimulated control of chromosomes 15 and X. It may be inferred that, concerning the distances, homologous pericentric regions appear not to be randomly distributed during S-phase, and are subjected to dynamic processes during replication and repair.


A concept for mitigating the adverse effects of jet vorticity and lift-off at high blowing ratios for turbine film cooling flows has been developed and studied at NASA Glenn Research Center. This "anti-vortex" film cooling concept proposes the addition of two branched holes from each primary hole in order to produce a vorticity counter to the detrimental kidney vortices from the main jet. These vortices typically entrain hot freestream gas and are associated with jet separation from the turbine blade surface. The anti-vortex design is unique in that it requires only easily machinable round holes, unlike shaped film cooling holes and other advanced concepts. The anti-vortex film cooling hole concept has been modeled computationally for a single row of 30 degree angled holes on a flat surface using the 3D Navier-Stokes solver Glenn-HT. A modification of the anti-vortex concept whereby the branched holes exit adjacent to the main hole has been studied computationally for blowing ratios of 1.0 and 2.0 and at density ratios of 1.0 and 2.0. This modified concept was selected because it has shown the most promise in recent experimental studies. The computational results show that the modified design improves the film cooling effectiveness relative to the round hole baseline and previous anti-vortex cases, in confirmation of the experimental studies.


Individual land acquired by the government because they do not have enough land in the area that planned for development. Furthermore land acquisition also needed to avoid transaction problems that taking a long time if play by the existing rules. Therefore land acquisition cannot be avoided and government has to take the land to ensure developments that have been planned workable. Land acquisition also should be done by the rules that were prescribed in Land Acquisition Act 1960. This is because if there are abuses of power, it will cause land acquisition void and landlord could be challenging applicant agency in court. The problems will also cause negative impact to development that want to be implemented. Land acquisition must do in period of time that was prescribed. This is because delay will cause the other development phase getting problems. Land consultant was one of the alternatives that can be applied by government to help them to accelerate land acquisition process that was carried out. When land acquisition was able done according to prescribed period, so development planned also feasible. This will ensure the government's wish to prioritize people will participate achieved


The panel AC power, the largest portion of power consumption of data driver circuits in TFT-LCDs, comes from charging and discharging quite large capacitive loads, data lines. The proposed stepwise data driving method can reduce the panel AC power consumption into only a few percent of that of conventional ones if the number of step is large enough. In the proposed driving method, external capacitors supply charge to loads in stepwise manner, and the charge returns to the capacitors instead of being discharged to ground. This charge recycling is the basis of reduction of the panel AC power. The effect of the proposed driving scheme has been analyzed by HSPICE simulation, and more than 75% saving of power consumption has been confirmed by measurement of the fabricated test circuits with 5-stepwise driving in a 0.6 /spl mu/m-standard CMOS technology.


I use the non-public decennial censuses in 1970 to investigate the effect of the Head Start program on maternal labor supply and schooling in its early years. I exploit a discontinuity in county-level Head Start funding beginning in the late 1960s to explore differences in countylevel maternal employment and maternal schooling. The results provide suggestive evidence that the more availability of Head Start led to an increase the nursery school enrollment of children and a decrease in maternal labor supply. In addition, the ITT estimates imply a relatively large, negative effect of enrollment on maternal labor supply. However, the estimates are somewhat sensitive to addition of covariates and the standard errors are also large to draw firm inferences.


Measurement invariance is assessed in the factor analytic framework by testing differences in model fit of a sequential series of models; however, the statistical significance of these differences is influenced by many factors, including sample size. Effect sizes are independent of sample size and can be used to determine the magnitude and practical importance of an effect. We developed four new effect size measures of measurement non-invariance for continuous outcomes. To test the properties of these effect sizes and of two existing effect sizes of non-invariance, we conducted a simulation study. We varied group sample sizes, location of the latent distributions, magnitude of non-invariance and type of non-invariance (e.g., metric invariance). Three of the effect sizes were unbiased in all conditions and all six were consistent. Recommendations for their use and future directions are discussed.


In this short paper the problem of finding a minimal left inverse of a linear time-invariant system for nonzero initial conditions is considered. It is shown that this problem is equivalent to finding a minimal dynamical cover. As a result of this, the minimal inverse problem can be solved immediately using the previous results on dynamic covers. No restriction other than invertibility is assumed on the original system.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Double balloon endoscopy (DBE) diagnoses are difficult because of the frequent occurrence of tiny lesions or longitudinally arranged erythema, which may result from true pathologies or contact trauma during DBE insertion. This study was performed to explore interobserver agreement for DBE assessment and to determine whether this can be improved by educating endoscopists.

METHODOLOGY
Three experienced endoscopists independently evaluated DBE pictures of an initial training set, consisting of 124 lesions in 78 patients with suspected small bowel bleeding. Each endoscopist made DBE diagnoses independently and assessed whether each lesion was or was not a source of bleeding. Tiny lesions were assessed twice, assuming they had been detected during DBE insertion and/or DBE withdrawal. After two sessions of consensus review by the endoscopists, they evaluated a second, validation set consisting of an additional 43 lesions in 30 patients.

RESULTS
Inter-observer agreement with respect to DBE assessment was moderate in the initial training set, but improved to good in the second validation set. The proportion of diagnoses changed to DBE contact lesions when they were assumed to be detected during DBE withdrawal decreased in the second validation set.

CONCLUSIONS
Although inter-observer agreement for DBE assessment is not excellent, it can be improved by education of endoscopists.


Abstract. We investigate sea ice conditions during the 2020 melt season, when warm air temperature anomalies in spring led to early melt onset, an extended melt season, and the second-lowest September minimum Arctic ice extent observed. We focus on the region of the most persistent ice cover and examine melt pond depth retrieved from Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) using two distinct algorithms in concert with a time series of melt pond fraction and ice concentration derived from Sentinel-2 imagery to obtain insights about the melting ice surface in three dimensions. We find the melt pond fraction derived from Sentinel-2 in the study region increased rapidly in June, with the mean melt pond fraction peaking at 16 % ± 6 % on 24 June 2020, followed by a slow decrease to 8 % ± 6 % by 3 July, and remained below 10 % for the remainder of the season through 15 September. Sea ice concentration was consistently high (>95 %) at the beginning of the melt season until 4 July, and as floes disintegrated, it decreased to a minimum of 70 % on 30 July and then became more variable, ranging from 75 % to 90 % for the remainder of the melt season. Pond depth increased steadily from a median depth of 0.40 m ± 0.17 m in early June and peaked at 0.97 m ± 0.51 m on 16 July, even as melt pond fraction had already started to decrease. Our results demonstrate that by combining high-resolution passive and active remote sensing we now have the ability to track evolving melt conditions and observe changes in the sea ice cover throughout the summer season.


The scientific article points out that 40 sessions of HIFU prostate ablation have been performed for estimation of clinical efficiency. Average frequency of influences presents 628164 impulses average volume of tissues subjected to influence during one procedure is 33,816,3 smі (132 %) of prostate volume average operation time constitutes 150 minutes (from 90 to 200 minutes). During the operation no complications have been occurred. In the first days after the session of HIFU there was a peak of PSA increase and then during 1,5-3 months there was decrease to the lowest index. Minimal PSA level was reached in 10-12 weeks after treatment and it constituted from 0,04 till 1,1 ng\ml depending on the disease state. Reduction of prostate volume occurred in average from the 30th day of postoperative period and lasted for 6 months, reaching in average 50 % from initial volume. Postoperative period varied from 10 till 16 days and constituted in average 120,8 days. Thus application of high-intensity focused ultrasonic ablation allows treating successfully various stages of prostate cancer with minimal number of side-effects and makes possible the early estimation of treatment efficiency.


Resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs) are very fast non linear circuit elements which have been integrated with transistors to create novel quantum devices and circuits. They are today considered the most mature type of quantum-effect devices, already operating at room temperature, and being promising candidates for future nanoscale integration. The incorporation of tunnel diodes into transistor technologies has demonstrated improved circuit performance: higher circuit speed, reduced component count, and/or lowered power consumption (Mazumder et al., 1998), (Broekaert et al., 1998; Sano et al., 2001; Kawano et al., 2003). Thus, RTD based circuits has been receiving a great amount of interest in the last years. Most of the reported working circuits have been fabricated in III/V materials while Si-based tunnelling diodes compatible to standard CMOS fabs are currently an area of active research (Sudirgo et al., 2004). In fact, it has been claimed that augmenting CMOS with RTDs could be the way to extend the lifetime of CMOS and fully exploiting its huge economical investments (Sudirgo et al., 2004). Recent advances in the development of those Si-based RTDs have raised a renewed interest on circuit design using RTDs and transistors.


This study was conducted to investigate the normal maturation process of erythriod lineage in bone marrow of adult Iraqi goat. Five healthy adult male goats aged 26-34 months were chosen for this study. A simple technique used for obtaining marrow from goats, employs sedation  xylazine hydrochloride 0.1 mg/kg body weight. Skin incision was made over the iliac crest. Marrow was aspirated with a syringe and smears were made directly.  Erythropoiesis in the bone marrow of an adult goat included a successive morphological alteration resulting in production of erythrocytes. The lineage of erythroid of bone marrow of adult goat comprises; Rubriblast , Prorubricytes, Rubricytes, Metarubricytes, and Reticulocyte. The final cellular lineage of the erythropoiesis bone marrow of the goat was the formation of non-nucleated erythrocytes.


In contrast to the book reviewed above, which was very much concerned with the theory and philosophy of instrumentation, this work is devoted exclusively to the electronic instruments themselves. With a broad field to be covered the author has little choice but to present a catalogue of electronic instrument types and techniques. The pitfalls are fairly obvious; new techniques emerge overnight and render `state of the art' descriptions obsolete; much detailed information is proprietary and is not made public by an instrument manufacturer; the field is so broad that authors often resort to reproducing manufacturers' literature. Also, in catalogues, each item of information tends to be given equal weight. It would not be appropriate in this review to describe the book chapter by chapter; in essence they are all rather similar in approach. Each chapter is devoted to a particular class of instrument e.g. oscilloscopes, counters, signal sources, logic analysers, or fields of application e.g. transmission measurements. The contents of each chapter are then largely qualitative descriptions of the techniques used in that class, based mainly on manufacturers' literature or on articles in the electronics press (EDN and the like). As a compendium of instrument techniques assembled together in one place, the book could be quite useful until it is rendered out-of-date by new developments. It could provide a useful reference source for the young electronic engineer at the start of a professional career; it is not the sort of book this reviewer would have recommended as an electronic engineering degree course textbook: operational principles are not presented in sufficient depth to be understood by those who have not already gained some background in the field. Also lacking is that element of decision making: why choose that particular type of instrument for a particular measurement? There is also, as mentioned above, the bias towards a qualitative rather than quantitative treatment. It will possibly be found useful on training courses to impart an appreciation of the field of electronic measuring instruments.


Simulation and Control of a Ball Screw System Actuated by a Stepper Motor with Feedback John Charles Cloutier Advisor: University of Guelph, 2014 Professor M. Biglarbeigan Professor M. Hassan This thesis presents an investigation on motion control of a ball screw system actuated by a permanent magnet stepper motor (PMSM). Using a PMSM for high speed application to operate in feedforward mode is difficult; therefore, a servo system needs to be developed to allow operations at those velocities. To convert a PMSM into a servo system, a linearizing program called a preprocessing filter (PPF) is used to convert the controller signal into a velocity signal the stepper driver can use. The filter was developed along with the methods for extraction of the PPF parameters. Vibrations information, obtained from the rotational velocities, was gathered in order to ensure optimal design and performance of the PPF. The system velocity causing the critical vibrations was excluded. Using the PPF, two types of controllers, Proportional (P) and Proportional Derivative (PD), were designed and implemented for precise displacement of the PSMS. It was found that the PD controller is superior to the P controller in terms of settling time to peak for the PMSM system. As well, the P controller for the FDS outperformed the PD controller in terms of settling time.


A new approach for encoding DNA sequences as input for DNA sequence analysis is proposed using the error correction coding theory of communication engineering. The encoder was designed as a convolutional code model whose generator matrix is designed based on the degeneracy of codons, with a codon treated in the model as an informational unit. The utility of the proposed model was demonstrated through the analysis of twelve prokaryote and nine eukaryote DNA sequences having different GC contents. Distinct differences in code distances were observed near the initiation and termination sites in the open reading frame, which provided a well-regulated characterization of the DNA sequences. Clearly distinguished period-3 features appeared in the coding regions, and the characteristic average code distances of the analyzed sequences were approximately proportional to their GC contents, particularly in the selected prokaryotic organisms, presenting the potential utility as an added taxonomic characteristic for use in studying the relationships of living organisms.


BACKGROUND
Animal studies suggest that cell transplantation, including bone marrow-derived cells, can ameliorate left ventricular remodeling following myocardial ischemia. Clinical evaluation of the potential benefits of this approach is limited by the lack of safety and feasibility studies. We have assessed the safety and feasibility of intramyocardial transplantation of autologous bone marrow-derived cells in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Between December 2001 and May 2002 7 patients, scheduled for CABG, consented to the trial. All had CABG using hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cold cardioplegic arrest. An average of 21 10(6) (8.6 10(6) to 35.1 10(6)) nucleated cells, and 4.2 10(4) (2.5 10(4) to 8.1 10(4)) CD34+ cells were injected into the anterior-lateral wall of the left ventricle, after discontinuation of cardiopulmonary bypass. The end points to assess safety included death, massive bleeding, electrocardiographic or biochemical evidence of myocardial infarction, ventricular dysrhythmia, myocardial perfusion, ventricular function, and the patients' functional status. All patients recovered well without ventricular arrhythmia, bleeding, or other major peri-operative complications. The average intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay was 1 and 7 days, respectively. Repeat Technetium-99m myocardial perfusion stress imaging and echocardiography 6 weeks after surgery showed improvement in tissue perfusion, and an average improvement of left ventricular function of 13.5% +/- 11.54% (the mean pre- and post-operative left ventricular EF were 32.5% +/- 15.46% and 46% +/- 18.55%, respectively). Twenty-four hours Holter monitoring showed no significant arrhythmia, 3 months post-operatively. All patients with narrow QRS complex showed no evidence of late potential, on signal-averaged electrocardiogram. At 4 to 9 months after surgery patients were in NYHA functional class "I".

CONCLUSIONS
This early clinical experience shows that autologous bone marrow-derived cell transplantation into myocardium is feasible and relatively safe. Further clinical trials to assess the role of cell transplantation for myocardial repair are required.


In recent years, developments in the semiconductor and electronic industries have brought a rapid increase in the use of large size silicon. However, for many companies, it is hard to produce 400mm or 450mm wafers, because of excesive funds for exchange the equipments. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate 300mm wafer to obtain a better efficiency and a good property rate. Polishing is one of the important methods in manufacturing of Si wafers and in thinning of completed device wafers. This research investigated the surface characteristics that apply variable machining conditions and Taguchi Method was used to obtain more flexible and optimal condition. In this study, the machining conditions have head speed, oscillation speed and polishing time. By using optimum condition, it achieves a ultra precision mirror like surface.


ABSTRACT Objective: The Residents in Action Trial (RiAT; ACTRN12616001177448) was a 16-week motivationally-embellished peer-led walking intervention designed to increase walking, reduce sitting, and improve mental health and well-being in insufficiently active residents in retirement villages. In this paper we report on 1) trial feasibility and acceptability, and 2) evaluate the processes involved in the implementation of the intervention using the RE-AIM framework. Method: A mixed methods design was employed, consisting of data from accelerometers, surveys, (individual, pair-based and focus group) interviews, and participant logbooks. Participants included 116 walkers (M(SD) age = 78.37(8.30); 92% female), 8 peer leaders (i.e. ambassadors) and 3 retirement village managers from 14 retirement villages. Descriptives and linear mixed modelling were used to analyse the quantitative data and inductive thematic analyses were employed to analyse the interview data. Results: The intended cluster randomised controlled design became quasi-experimental due to insufficient numbers of recruited ambassadors. The perceived burden of the number and frequency of research assessments was a frequently mentioned reason for a poor recruitment. Facilitators to walking maintenance were the use of self-monitoring, goal setting, social support, and having a routine. Reach was modest (about 14% of eligible participants were recruited from each village), but retention was excellent (92%). The motivational strategies taught appeared to have been implemented, at least in part, by the ambassadors. The walkers in the main experimental condition increased marginally their step counts, but there were no group differences on mental health and well-being outcomes, partly because of low statistical power. Conclusions: Walkers and ambassadors who did take part in the study suggested that they enjoyed the programme and found it useful in terms of becoming more active and making social connections. However, the group format was not appealing to some participants, hence, other delivery options should be explored in the future.


About 15 microquasars have been discovered up to now. Since 1992, we have established a long-term program to monitor in optical and near-infrared bands the variability of 20 X-ray binaries, including several microquasars. The main goal of this program is to search for clues of the interaction between compact stars and their mass-donor stars, and to learn more about the multiwavelenth properties of X-ray binaries. We present the preliminary results of the observations of three microquasars in the optical band during our long-term program.


1. Evolution of Civilization Life with Energy Revolutions The industrial revolution started with the invention of steam engine by James Watt in 1765. However, technological maturity from R & D to market penetration, usually takes 1530 years. The steam ship and the steam locomotive fueled by coal were developed in the 19th century. The same is true during the petroleum age, that is, Etienne Lenoir's invention of the internal combustion engine was in 1860 [1], but the petroleum age bloomed in 20th century with the development of gasoline engines for the automobile and the airplane. Figure 1 shows the changes in civilization with form of the energy resource since the start of the industrial revolution. Energy expenditures for the three main fossil fuels are plotted separately up to the year of 2000, and their future prospects are also predicted (the dashed lines in the figure) by following the renewable energy promotion scenario. From the observation of the relation between the industrial developments and their origins of energy resources, coal → oil → gases including LNG and recent LPG, the key issues are the convenience to respond to mass consumption of energy, that is, mass production technology, and ease of transport and storage. The driving force in the energy revolution is based upon the so called "the Great Principle of Economy". With this economy of usage reason, the form of primary energy resources have evolved from solid, liquid to gases. Another reasons originate from the environmental load. As can be seen from Table 1[2], the pollutant emission factor for electricity generation per kWh.on the unit of carbon equivalent gram is 322.8 for coal, 258.5 for oil and 178.0 for LNG, respectively. According to the recent energy analysis survey [3], the electricity generation factor in secondary energy is more than 40% in developed countries, and will increase to New Energy Option for 21st Century Recent Progress in Solar Photovoltaic Energy Conversion


Stable van der Waals clusters of tryptophan molecules, (Trp)n, of up to n=5, were produced in a seeded supersonic beam expansion from a laser desorption nozzle source. Translational beam temperatures of van der Waals tryptophan clusters were measured using a fast optical imaging device. Estimated beam temperatures in carrier argon gas were 27 K for tryptophan dimers (n=2) and 41 K for tryptophan trimers (n=3). A preliminary experiment showed that no significant difference was observed in the yield of van der Waals clusters for L-, D- and racemic-tryptophan molecules.


The late spring/early summer flooding that occurred in the American Midwest between May and June 2008 resulted from a combination of large‐scale atmospheric circulation patterns that supported a steady influx of moisture into the area. A low pressure system centered over the central‐western United States steered a strong jet and associated storms along its eastern edge from the west to southwest and an anomalously strong Great Plains Low Level Jet brought continuous warm and moist air into the area from the Gulf of Mexico into the area. We examine and quantify here the impact these circulation patterns had on the hydroclimatology of the Midwest highlighting the magnitude, frequency, geographic distribution, and temporal evolution of precipitation that ultimately magnified the flooding. Historical precipitation records were used to assess the regional rainfall characteristics at various geographic and time scales. Five distinct hydroclimatic characteristics contributed to the definition of the 2008 flood including persistent high surface soil moisture conditions prior to flooding exasperated by anomalously high rainfall, extreme rainfall totals covering extensive areas, increased frequency of shorter‐term, smaller‐magnitude events, persistent multiday heavy precipitation events, and extreme flood‐producing rain storms. The major flooding lasted for approximately 24 days and most greatly impacted the state of Iowa, southern Wisconsin, and central Indiana. Its occurrence during the May–June period makes the event especially unusual for this region.


Abstract The former Imperial State of Iran was a critical actor and deal-broker in orchestrating the Asian Games Federation's admission of the All-China Sports Federation and expulsion of the Republic of China Olympic Committee in 1973 and enabling China's Asian Games debut in Tehran in September 1974. Notably, it achieved this disruptive and historic outcome largely through offering good offices and adhering to institutionalism. In particular, Iran convinced the IOC to retain its patronage to the AGF and facilitated fruitful negotiations between the People's Republic of China and the international sport governing bodies to ensure the issuance of event permits. Despite the occasionally provocative statements of Iranian officials against the IOC and IFs while playing the role of communist China's advocate, Tehran also managed to persuade Beijing to make seemingly small but actually critical comprises while interacting with international governing bodies. These compromises proved essential to China's eventual rehabilitation in international sport.


The terms loose, compressible or organic refer to the soils that comprise the surface layers of the soil, including soil, sludge, peat, organic soils, as well as soils that have come from land fillings with unconcentrated homogeneous or non-homogeneous materials. By the term improvement or strengthening of a soil material, be it natural or breakable, we mean the processing of this material which is aimed at improving its geotechnical properties (durability, erosion, compressibility, permeability, porosity, physical characteristics, mechanical properties etc.). Many degraded areas in terms of soil characteristics, are used for construction works, either due to a lack of space (peri-urban areas) or because of increased requirements for the geometric characteristics of large infrastructure projects. For the use of these soils, in such or other cases, methods of improving and enhancing their geotechnical properties are necessary to be used.


A thriving region until the early 1990s, Slavonia, the eastern region of Croatia, has been confronted with stagnation and decline, ageing and outmigration as well as impoverishment ever since. This followed Croatia's homeland war of 1991-1995, with Slavonia one of the frontlines, economic restructuring of its state-led economy during the 1990s and 2000s and the global economic crisis of the late 2000s. More recently, after Croatia's EU accession in 2013 and coinciding with the economic upswing since 2014 in Croatia and the EU, Slavonia's labor market has started to tighten, with registered vacancies now exceeding the number of job seekers for highly educated as well as some unskilled and semi-skilled occupations. However, inactivity and unemployment remain high. In 2017, the share of the working-age population in work was only 51 percent, 10 percentage points below the rest of Croatia (61 percent) and 17 percentage points below the 2017 EU28 average. A legacy of war, limited availability of care services, and especially lower education levels explain an important part of Slavonia's much higher inactivity and unemployment. On the demand side, labor productivity in Slavonia's firms is systematically lower than in the rest of the country (except in agriculture and forestry), also consistent with Slavonia's sizeablewage gap. This, together with general disenchantment of the Slavonian population with the economicand business environment, has prompted outmigration. At the same time, a small number of firms alsooutperform their sectoral competitors elsewhere in Croatia, signaling Slavonia's potential.Looking ahead, private sector job creation remains a top priority, especially focusing on Slavonia's lower educated, who make up the bulk of the unemployed and inactive. This especially requires a reduction in the regulatory burden and an increase in Slavonian firms' competitiveness, which will also help to close the substantial wage gap with the rest of Croatia. Given the large share of its population in agriculture and forestry-related activities (close to 30 percent), Program Slavonia's current focus on agriculture and forestry is clearly warranted. With Slavonia's longstanding history and labor force experience in manufacturing and the rising number of vacancies in this sector, so is attention to manufacturing.


The responsibility of the obstetrician is to identify during the first trimester women who are carriers for thalassemia. When she has been identified, the father of the baby should be screened and if he is also a carrier, the couple should be offered prenatal diagnosis. In the majority of cases, prenatal diagnosis can identify the homozygous fetus, thus allowing the family a choice in continuing the pregnancy.


The paper presents a procedure for detecting a pair of outliers in multivariate data. The procedure involves a reduction of the dimensionality of the dataset to only two dimensions along outlier displaying components, and then determines the orientation of a least squares ellipse that fits the scatter of points of the two dimensional dataset. Finally, the reduced data is projected unto a vector which is determined in terms of the orientation of the ellipse. The results show that if two observations constitute a pair of outliers in a data set, then the pair is extreme at either ends of the one-dimensional projection and separated clearly from the remaining observations. If the two outliers are not distinct on such a one-dimensional projection, three key rules are prescribed for successful determination of the right pair of outliers. Key words: Multiple Outlier Detection; Outlier Displaying Component


Compost air permeability controls air flow through compost during composting or when using compost as biofilter material. Air permeability is therefore an important characteristic of compost. The relationships between air permeability (ka) in compost and compost dry bulk density (ρb), gravimetric water content (ω), and volumetric air content (ε) was investigated for two types of composts. The composts used were produced from a digested sewage sludge—straw mixture and from garden waste and measurements were conducted on sieved and repacked 100 cm3 compost samples. Results showed a linear relation between log(ka) and ρb at constant values of ω for both composts, indicating an exponential relationship between ka and ρb. The slopes of these relationships generally became more negative with increasing ρb. The results further showed a linear relationship between log(ka) and log(ε) for both composts as also often observed for soils. It was observed that the log(ka) and log(ε) relationships for the garden waste compost all intercepted at the same location despite having very different slopes. This means that it is possible to predict the entire ka—ε relationship using only one measurement of corresponding (ka, ε) for garden waste. It was not possible to determine whether this was also the case for the sewage sludge compost due to difficulties in sample preparation at low and high water content.


This chapter examines the link between firm productivity and the population composition of the areas in which firms operate. We combine annual firm-level microdata on production, covering a large proportion of the New Zealand economy, with area-level workforce characteristics obtained from population censuses. Overall, the results support the existence of agglomeration effects that operate through labour markets. We find evidence of productive spillovers from operating in areas with high-skilled workers, and with high population density. A high-skilled local workforce benefits firms in high-skilled and high-research and development industries, and small firms. The benefits of local population density are strongest for firms in dense areas, and for small and new firms. Firms providing local services are more productive in areas with high shares of migrants and new entrants, consistent with local demand factors.


— The aim of this study is to determine the effect of strategic management implementations on the institutionalization levels. In this regard a field study has been made over 31 stone quarry enterprises in cement producing sector in Konya by using survey method. In this study, institutionalization levels of the enterprises have been evaluated regarding three dimensions: professionalization, management approach, participation in decisions and delegation of authority. According to the results of the survey, there is a highly positive and statistically significant relationship between the strategic management implementations and institutionalization levels of the enterprises. Additionally,-considering the results of regression analysis made for establishing the relationship between strategic management and institutionalization levels- it has been determined that strategic management implementations of the enterprises can be used as a variable to explain the institutionalization levels of them, and also strategic management implementations of the enterprises increase the institutionalization levels of them.


We develop a nonlinear semi-parametric Gaussian process model to estimate periods of Miras with sparsely sampled light curves. The model uses a sinusoidal basis for the periodic variation and a Gaussian process for the stochastic changes. We use maximum likelihood to estimate the period and the parameters of the Gaussian process, while integrating out the effects of other nuisance parameters in the model with respect to a suitable prior distribution obtained from earlier studies. Since the likelihood is highly multimodal for period, we implement a hybrid method that applies the quasi-Newton algorithm for Gaussian process parameters and search the period/frequency parameter space over a dense grid. A large-scale, high-fidelity simulation is conducted to mimic the sampling quality of Mira light curves obtained by the M33 Synoptic Stellar Survey. The simulated data set is publicly available and can serve as a testbed for future evaluation of different period estimation methods. The semi-parametric model outperforms an existing algorithm on this simulated test data set as measured by period recovery rate and quality of the resulting period–luminosity relations.


Proportional hazards are often used to model event time data subject to censoring. Samples involving discrete covariates with strong effects can lead to infinite maximum partial likelihood estimates. A methodology is presented for eliminating nuisance parameters estimated at infinity using approximate conditional inference. Of primary interest is testing in cases in which the parameter of primary interest has a finite estimate, but in which other parameters are estimated at infinity.


We report the genetic and physical analysis by pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in three Brassica diploid genomes for a cluster of five genes characterized in a selected segment of 15 kb on chromosome 3 of Arabidopsis thaliana, encoding a Bradyrhizobium CycJ homologue (At1), a rat p67 translation factor homologue (At2), an Em-like (early methionine) protein (At3), chlorophyll synthase (At4) and a yeast Sac1 homologue (A5). The Arabidopsis gene array was found to be conserved on a single linkage group in each of the Brassica genomes. However, partial complexes were found to be duplicated in other chromosome segments on the same or other linkage groups. Some of the At genes, which could not be genetically mapped because of lack of polymorphism, were assigned to their respective linkage groups by physical mapping. The presence of multiple copies of the A. thaliana gene cluster in the three Brassica genomes further establishes their complex nature, which results from extensive duplication and chromosomal rearrangement. In general, genetic distances between the At genes agreed with values expected for the physical distances determined in Brassica.


This is the first in-depth analysis of the excystation of Giardia lamblia cysts prepared in vitro. Its goals were both to achieve efficient excystation and to gain insights into this crucial but poorly understood process. To identify the critical elements of excystation, we tested the sequential low-pH induction and protease treatments which had been reported to be important for excystation of fecal cysts. The optimal pH for induction of excystation was 4.0. Emergence was greatly (approximately 10-fold) stimulated by subsequent exposure of in vitro-derived cysts to chymotrypsin, trypsin, or human pancreatic fluid. The stimulatory activity of each was abolished by soybean trypsin inhibitor, demonstrating that the activity of pancreatic fluid was due to these proteases. Excystation of in vitro-derived cysts was approximately 10 to 38%. Although the walls of in vitro-derived cysts were partially digested by protease treatment, trophozoites emerged only from one pole, as observed with fecal cysts. The conditions of encystation also determined the efficiency of excystation. Specifically, encystation in the presence of lactic acid, a major metabolite of colonic bacteria, stimulated excystation approximately fourfold, although it did not increase the total numbers of cysts. These experiments have shown that excystation of in vitro-derived cysts reflects that of cysts purified from human feces in that it is dependent upon conditions which simulate the passage of cysts through the human stomach (low pH) and into the small intestine (pancreatic proteases).


The Covid-19 pandemic affected the operational risk of organizations, requiring its management through Internal Control Systems (ICS). The tourism sector in Portugal, one of the largest and most competitive, was also one of the most affected by the pandemic, which emerged in March 2020. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the perception of tourism managers about the relationship between the existence of internal control and risk mitigation in their companies. We present a quantitative study carried out by questionnaire, sent to 830 managers from tourism companies in the region of Porto, Portugal. Most participants consider crucial the implementation of ICS and a competitive advantage in the current pandemic context. They also consider that the implementation of ICS is not accessible to all companies, but its absence does not necessarily make them more fragile. The study also concludes that besides internal control, the role of the Portuguese Government was crucial to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic and to ensure companies' recovery. Financial support from the government allows companies to invest in procedures to overcome the pandemic situation, such as strengthening cleanliness measures, focusing on new technologies and creating products and/or services more attractive to consumers. This study contributes to the perception of tourism managers about internal control, highlight the need to implement risk analysis routines to manage risks that may threaten the company activities and highlight the government´s role in business recovery.


The objectives of this study are to investigate the benefits of a "home care" program for cardiac patients, evaluate the effectiveness of that program, and make an assessment of the health services rendered in the Municipality of Melissia, laying emphasis on healthcare provided to the cardiac patients of the Municipality in close collaboration with the medical and nursing staff. The originality of this diploma thesis lies in the fact that this is the first time an applied research project (field study) is carried out in Greece, in order to study home care provided to a special group of patients (cardiac patients). It is worth noting that there is lack of references to this particular subject both in the national and international literature; thus, the Internet has been our unique source of information at theoretical level. This is a pilot epidemiological study whose sample are 22 cardiac patients, 11 men and 11 women, 65-85 years of age, who have been enrolled in the "home care" program of the Municipality of Melissia. The study was commenced in January 2010 and was completed in July 2010. For the study to be completed, the cardiac patients were asked to fill in the EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire with regard to their quality of life and "Minnesota living with heart failure" questionnaire concerning the symptoms and restraints caused by heart failure. The questionnaires were answered both in the beginning and at the end of the study.


This study examines the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on performance of selected small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Nigeria. The problems that led to this study include, inadequate access to finance, poor infrastructure, inconsistency with government policy, poor support (business development work), inadequate sales, too many taxes and obsolete technologies leading to massive failures. It has not been found that the epileptic growth of SMEs in Southeast Nigeria is not only due to the problems but also from the entrepreneurial orientation. The survey research method was employed in this study and the study relied on secondary and primary data. The population of this study was drawn from SMEs in the five states in the Southeast Nigeria. The study was done using three hundred and sixty six small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Complete enumeration was adopted. Simple regression analysis was used to analysis the hypotheses. The study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between pro-activeness, innovativeness and risk taking on performance of SMEs in Southeast Nigeria. The study concluded that entrepreneurial-oriented firms tend to lead the industry with innovations, performing things in a better approach to satisfy customers and give the firm a better leverage. The study recommends that SMEs owners and managers should be committed to process and radical innovation in their dealings so as to increase and expand their customer base.


Abstract AIM: To identify whether cutting neck tissues or cutting major blood vessels initiates the mechanisms responsible for electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to slaughter by ventral-neck incision without prior stunning in halothane-anaesthetised calves. METHODS: Calves were assigned to two groups, viz transection of neck tissues with intact blood circulation through the brain (n=10), or transection of the major blood vessels of the neck but not most other neck tissues (n=7). They were minimally anaesthetised with halothane, using an established anaesthesia protocol. The animals in the neck-tissue transection group had their carotid arteries and jugular veins exposed and cannulated proximal and distal to the proposed site of subsequent ventral-neck incision; this diverted blood fl ow through these vessels so that cerebral perfusion and drainage were preserved. In animals in the blood-vessel transection group, the carotid arteries and jugular veins were exposed bilaterally by surgical dissection. They were then transected without further damage to the remaining structures of the neck. Changes in the median frequency (F50), 95% spectral edge frequency (F95), total power of the EEG (Ptot), and arterial blood pressure were compared within each group before and after neck-tissue or blood-vessel transection, and between groups following treatments. RESULTS: Neck-tissue transection resulted in little overall change in the F50, an increase in the F95, and an initial increase in Ptot followed by a transient decrease and eventual return to pre-treatment values. There was between-animal variation in these EEG parameters. Transection of the major blood vessels of the neck resulted in a decrease in F50 in most animals; changes in F95 were highly variable, and there was a decrease in Ptot. CONCLUSIONS: The EEG responses seen following necktissue and blood-vessel transection were qualitatively distinct, and suggested that cutting neck tissues caused greater noxious sensory input than transection of only the major blood vessels of the neck. These observations support the conclusion that the EEG responses seen after ventral-neck incision in intact animals are primarily due to noxious stimulation as a result of incision of ventral-neck tissues and not mainly as a result of loss of blood flow through the brain.


Sorption equilibrium and kinetics of NpO2+on dispersed particles of Na-montmorillonite were experimentally investigated by using a°batch technique and a°spectroscopic method, respectively. Considering the heterogeneity of sorption sites, we investigated the affinity spectra for the sorption of NpO2+ . It was found that the spectrum for NpO2+was monomodal but asymmetrical and that the half-width at half-maximum of the spectrum was relatively broad, indicating that the sorption sites of surface of Na-montmorillonite are strongly heterogeneous. From the kinetic spectrum for NpO2+ , two sorption processes could be distinguished. It was considered that the fast process is attributable to the sorption of NpO2+on the easily accessible outer surface of Na-montmorillonite particles and that the slower process is assigned to the sorption on the interlayer surface. Mean apparent activation enthalpies for the fast and the slow processes were evaluated as 19 ± 2 kJ/mol and 23 ± 3 kJ/mol, respectively.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of commitment to mediate the influence of motivation on the performance of waste bank managers in Denpasar City. The research is causal in nature to provide an explanation and understanding of the relationship between the motivation variable and the manager's commitment and performance variables. The research population is all managers of Denpasar City waste bank which are still active, totaling 94 managers. The sampling technique was carried out using the saturated sample technique. Questionnaires that have been tested for validity and reliability were given to 94 respondents. Methods of data collection through: observation, interviews, documentation, and literature, questionnaires. The method of analysis using descriptive analysis and inferential analysis with Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. The results of the study show that direct motivation significant positive effect on the commitment and performance of managers, and commitment plays a partial role in mediating the influence of motivation on the performance of managers. The research implication is the need for motivation to produce work according to standards. The research suggestion is that motivation needs to be increased again by giving awards to managers to form awareness to be more enthusiastic and motivated and committed to work so that they can improve performance at the Denpasar City Waste Bank.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
eGFR on the basis of creatinine (eGFRcre) associates differently with cardiovascular disease and mortality than eGFR on the basis of cystatin C (eGFRcys). This may be related to risk factors affecting the level of creatinine and cystatin C along non-GFR pathways, which may confound the association between eGFR and outcome. Nontraditional risk factors are usually not measured in epidemiologic studies of eGFR and cannot be adjusted for to reduce confounding. We examined whether the inflammatory markers soluble TNF receptor type 2 (sTNFR2), C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen associated differently with eGFR than with measured GFR (mGFR).

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
GFR was measured by iohexol clearance in 1627 middle-aged participants without kidney disease, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease enrolled in the Renal Iohexol Clearance Survey Study from the Sixth Tromsø Study between 2007 and 2009. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess the residual associations between eGFR (eGFRcre, eGFRcys, and eGFR on the basis of creatinine and cystatin C) and the inflammatory markers relative to mGFR.

RESULTS
sTNFR2, CRP, and fibrinogen were associated with a higher eGFRcre after accounting for mGFR in multivariable-adjusted models (2.63 ml/min per 1.73 m(2); 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.1 to 3.2 per SD increase in sTNFR2, 0.93 ml/min per 1.73 m(2); 95% CI, 0.3 to 1.5 per SD increase in log CRP, and 1.19 ml/min per 1.73 m(2); 95% CI, 0.6 to 1.8 per SD increase in fibrinogen). sTNFR2 and CRP were inversely associated with eGFRcys (-1.4 ml/min per 1.73 m(2); 95% CI, -2.1 to -0.6 per SD increase in sTNFR2, and -0.76 ml/min per 1.73 m(2); 95% CI, -1.4 to -0.1 per SD increase in log CRP).

CONCLUSIONS
eGFRcre and eGFRcys are associated with inflammatory factors after accounting for mGFR but in opposite directions. These non-GFR-related associations may bias risk estimates by eGFR and, in part, explain the different risks predicted by eGFRcre and eGFRcys in longitudinal studies.


Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an understudied chronic illness most prevalent in elderly individuals. PAD patients experience substantial walking impairment due to symptoms of limb ischemia that significantly diminishes quality of life (QOL). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality is increased in this population because of aggressive atherosclerosis resulting from untreated CVD risk factors. Despite current national guidelines recommending intensive CVD risk factor management for PAD patients, untreated CVD risk factors are common. Interventions that bridge this gap are imperative. The Vascular Insufficiency – Goals for Optimal Risk Reduction (VIGOR2) study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that examines the effectiveness of a long-term multifactor CVD risk reduction program on walking and quality of life in patients with PAD. The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed description of the design and methods of VIGOR2. Clinical Trial Registration – URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00537225


The classical positive Corona Discharge theory in a cylindrical axisymmetric configuration is revisited in order to find analytically the influence of gas properties and thermodynamic conditions on the corona current. The matched asymptotic expansion of Durbin and Turyn [J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 20, 1490–1495 (1987)] of a simplified but self-consistent problem is performed and explicit analytical solutions are derived. The mathematical derivation enables us to express a new positive DC corona current-voltage characteristic, choosing either a dimensionless or dimensional formulation. In dimensional variables, the current voltage law and the corona inception voltage explicitly depend on the electrode size and physical gas properties such as ionization and photoionization parameters. The analytical predictions are successfully confronted with experiments and Peek's and Townsend's laws. An analytical expression of the corona inception voltage φ o n is proposed, which depends on the known values of physical parameters without adjustable parameters. As a proof of consistency, the classical Townsend current-voltage law I = C φ ( φ − φ o n ) is retrieved by linearizing the non-dimensional analytical solution. A brief parametric study showcases the interest in this analytical current model, especially for exploring small corona wires or considering various thermodynamic conditions.The classical positive Corona Discharge theory in a cylindrical axisymmetric configuration is revisited in order to find analytically the influence of gas properties and thermodynamic conditions on the corona current. The matched asymptotic expansion of Durbin and Turyn [J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 20, 1490–1495 (1987)] of a simplified but self-consistent problem is performed and explicit analytical solutions are derived. The mathematical derivation enables us to express a new positive DC corona current-voltage characteristic, choosing either a dimensionless or dimensional formulation. In dimensional variables, the current voltage law and the corona inception voltage explicitly depend on the electrode size and physical gas properties such as ionization and photoionization parameters. The analytical predictions are successfully confronted with experiments and Peek's and Townsend's laws. An analytical expression of the corona inception voltage φ o n is proposed, which depends on the known values of physica...


This study was conducted to determine the effect of different nitrogen and phosphorus doses on yield and yield parameters of safflower. Experiment designed in split plots of randomized complete blocks with three replications. The treatments consisted of four nitrogen doses 0, 4, 8, 12 kg N/da as the main plots and four phosphorus doses (0, 4, 8, 12 kg P2O5/da) as the subplots. According to the results, nitrogen and phosphorus doses change has positive effects on day of rosette stage, flowering date, day of maturity, plant height, number of side branches, number of table, weight per thousand seeds and seed yield. It was determined that, plant height, number of branches, head number, head diameter, 1000 seed weight, hull-kernell ratio, yield, and crude oil rate ranged from 48.5 -54.5 cm, 2.6-3.6, 3.6-4.7, 19.73-22.28 mm, 34.79-37.43 g, 57.06%-59.37%, 82.17-182.23 kg/da, and 35.35%-38.59% respectively. The highest yield was determined as 182.23 kg/da from 12kg N/da+12 kg P2O5/da fertilizer doses.


Abstract The simple Kelvin-Helmholtz model for shear zones in the atmosphere is modified, by introducing a solid boundary below to account for the effect of the ground. The new characteristics of neutral and unstable waves that can exist in such configuration are analyzed for various values of wind velocity, depth of the bottom layer, and Brunt-Vaisala frequency. It is shown that the presence of the ground considerably destabilizes waves with long horizontal wavelengths. In particular, long wavelengths are always unstable, so that no neutral stability boundary exists. Furthermore, the solid lower boundary introduces an infinite number of neutral modes, all of which correspond to evanescent waves in the top layer. Finally, the model with the ground is used to calculate the characteristics of the most unstable waves that would be generated for some well-documented observed cases and the calculated values are found to be in reasonable agreement with observations.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Human cancer is caused by the accumulation of genetic alterations in cells. Of special importance are changes that occur early during malignant transformation because they may result in oncogene addiction and represent promising targets for therapeutic intervention. We have previously described a computational approach, called Retracing the Evolutionary Steps in Cancer (RESIC), to determine the temporal sequence of genetic alterations during tumorigenesis from cross-sectional genomic data of tumors at their fully transformed stage (1). This approach was based on data of alterations in individual genes. Since specific mutational events may not be necessary to cause an oncogenic phenotype and alterations within the set of genes belonging to a particular signaling pathway may have similar or equivalent effects, we apply a pathway-based systems biology approach to the RESIC methodology. This methodology is used to determine whether alterations in specific pathways develop early or late in malignant transformation. When applied to glioblastoma multiforme copy number data from The Cancer Genome Atlas project (2), we find a consistent temporal order of common genetic alterations and the pathways to which the genes belong. These results are also consistent with experimental results that high level EGFR amplification occurs late during gliomagenesis (3–4). This extension to the RESIC methodology provides an evolutionary mathematical approach to identify the temporal sequence of pathway changes driving tumorigenesis and may be useful in guiding the understanding of signaling rearrangements in cancer development.

1. Attolini CS-O, et al. (2010) A mathematical framework to determine the temporal sequence of somatic genetic events in cancer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:17604–17609.

2. TCGA (2008) Comprehensive genomic characterization defines human glioblastoma genes and core pathways. Nature 455(7216):1061–1068.

3. Bachoo RM, et al. (2002) Epidermal growth factor receptor and Ink4a/Arf: convergent mechanisms governing terminal differentiation and transformation along the neural stem cell to astrocyte axis. Cancer Cell 1(3):269–277.

4. Zhu H, et al. (2009) Oncogenic EGFR signaling cooperates with loss of tumor suppressor gene functions in gliomagenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(8):2712–2716.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-26. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-LB-26