A chemical oxygen—iodine laser with fast flow of the active medium along the optic axis was constructed. Lasing with an output power of 186 W and a chemical efficiency in excess of 20% were achieved.


This article shows how a lighting shielding study of a large plant can be completed based on limited available data, such as 3D screen shots, plan view drawings and elevations of the tallest structures. The shielding study was carried out using a highly efficient 3-D graphics-based lightning interception surface rendering method [4], based on the Electro-geometric Model (EGM) defined in IEC 62305 [1], with a strike radius of 45.0 m, which corresponds to a Class III lightning protection system. Calculations and design of the shielding system were carried out with the SESShield-3D module of the CDEGS software package [2]. A number of zones, some separated by large distances, required lightning shielding designs. The design of one such zone is discussed in this article.


s Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are promising eco-friendly energy conversion system due to their high efficiency, low pollutant emission and fuel flexibility. High operating temperatures, however, leads to the crucial drawbacks such as incompatibility between the components and high thermal stress. Proton-conducting ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) with proton-conducting oxide (PCO) materials are new types of fuel cells that can solve the problems of conventional SOFCs. Many studies have been proceeded to improve the performance of electrolytes and electrodes, and triple conductive oxides (TCOs) have attracted significant attention as high performance PCFC electrodes.


In Asian philosophy, the concept of Yin Yang is used to describe how seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only exist in relation to each other. Wallerian degeneration is a cascade of stereotype cellular events and molecular alterations distal to injury of nerve fibers including upregulation of inflammatory mediators like cytokines. These events may prepare conditions for both regeneration of damaged axons and induction of neuropathic pain. The goal of our present experiments was to study IL-6 and its signaling molecules in the model of peripheral nerve injury in relation to regrowing axons and induction of neuropathic pain. Unilateral chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve was performed aseptically in sixty four rats. Neuropathic pain induction was tested by withdrawal threshold of mechanoallodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Expression of IL-6, IL-6R, gp130, STAT-3 and SOCS3 were investigated bilaterally in the sciatic nerve as well as in both lumbar (L4-5) and cervical (C7-8) dorsal root ganglia (DRG) following CCI for 1, 3, 7 and 14 days. Regrowing axons were detected simultaneously by GAP-43 immunostaining. The results of immunofluorescence staining revealed that activated Schwann cells distal to nerve constriction and satellite glial cells of DRG are robust source for IL-6 and molecules for its signal transduction and regulation. Activated Schwann cells that displayed IL-6 protein and its signal molecules were found in close contact with growing axons as well as in contralateral homonymous nerve. Activated satellite glial cells producing inflammatory mediators are involved in ectopic activation of the primary sensory neurons or their neuroprotection. Both beneficial and detrimental effects of IL6 distal to nerve injury and in DRG have to be considered in a strategy of axon promotion on one side and suppression of the initial stages of neuropathic pain on other side. Some recent knowledge on this topic is stressed.


From tissue culture to final analysis, cell culture is a group of techniques used in the majority of life science laboratories. There are numerous standard methodologies, but many of the techniques used are continuously changing and evolving. From cell preparation and growth to final analysis, the cell culture workflow encompasses many areas of expertise, making it difficult for a researcher to be an authority in all of them. Properly optimizing workflows and utilizing the latest best practices are the keys to obtaining consistent results and advancing scientific research. Join this webinar to learn the latest tips and tricks of the trade from the experts.


High availability applications typically count on the network's ability to reconfigure in case of a failure. Since the precision time protocol (PTP) measures the delay of communication paths, it has to cope with network topology changes. The concept of peer-to-peer transparent clocks (TC), introduced with PTP version 2, facilitates the handling of path switchover by measuring the link delays from each node to its neighbors in advance. The parallel redundancy protocol (PRP) follows a different approach from the well-known reconfiguration protocols. It makes use of two independent Ethernet networks. Frames are replicated by the sending node and transmitted over both networks. Duplicates are discarded by the receiving node. There is no distinction between a working and a backup path. The combination of PTP and PRP is studied in this paper. Different models are presented and evaluated with respect to synchronization switchover and implementation issues. An experimental implementation is outlined. The results show that master clock failure as well as network failures can be handled with very low impact on synchronization quality.


Though a very interesting and informative study, this writer also notes that the nature of the studied sample should be clearly stated. A part of the statements in the abstract section describes  "… a total of 123 subjects ----", while in the Material and Methods section states that  'consecutive patients attending AKUH for an executive medical check-up during the months of August and October 1998 were surveyed for their sleeping habits. All the patients completed a sleep questionnaire. ----" If the study is based on 123 subjects in that particular period of time for 'executive medical check up', then actually it is not for any 'patients'.  The definition of 'executive' needs to be specified. It seems to suggest that this is intended to be a descriptive study generalizable to another specific population. The data are clearly not suited to that purpose.  Therefore it is not a good sampling of the Pakistani population as stated on the title. Regarding the section of 'Material and Methods', there are some questions. How were the patients selected? What was the process by which patients ended up in an 'executive medical check up' in the hospital?  All these questions deserve clearer answers. As noted in the paragraph on statistics in the section of Material and Methods: ' Statistical analysis was by chi square test, t-test and Fisher's exact test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.' the main analysis seems to be an estimation of prevalence of snoring and sleep disordered breathing and the cross-tabulation of these two conditions in a specific 'executive medical check –up' clinic of that specific hospital-based population. But what does this mean and how does this scientifically generalize to any other population, such as what has been stated in the title of this article, namely " Pakistani population",  especially when the non-executive portion of the population with different age groups are considered? As to the section of the  "Result" and "discussion" of this article, certainly just as the authors state that the reported prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) varies in different communities, 1-3  these discrepancies have largely been ascribed to the methodological difficulties in characterizing these syndromes in large populations. 4 This article is the first preliminary report that has evaluated the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in the subjects in a specific population, who attended the AFUH clinic for executive medical check-up for that particular period of time. The prevalence of snoring, snoring with apnea, and snoring with apnea and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) are found "very similar to those of Western studies that show a prevalence of OSA as 9% for women and 24% for men----"  1 , reported by Young et al.  It is worthwhile to note that the one reported by Young, T. et al is from Universityof Wisconsin, School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin, U S is using data from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. It is a longitudinal study of the natural history of cardiopulmonary disorders of sleep, which were applied to estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed sleep-disordered breathing among adults and address its importance to the public health.  The study was from a random sample of 602 employed (including but not limited to executive) men and women 30 to 60 years old who were studied by overnight polysomno-graphy to determine the frequency of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour of sleep (the apnea-hypopnea score).  Before one can really make a comparison between Young, T. et al's report with that of this (Haqqee et al's) study, one should take into consideration that the former is a randomized sample, with the size of sample almost 5 times larger than that of the latter (Haqqee et al's study). There are about 12 major prevalence studies of obstructive sleep aponea (OSA) 5 at the time when this study was published. Most of them used a sleep questionnaire followed by an evaluation of sleep disordered breathing by overnight polysomnography or oximetry. The authors of this study have already humbly raised a critique for their own methodology, which would state two important issues, firstly, they used only the questionnaire and secondly, most published studies are drawn from large populations, whereas this study used only their own executive 'patients' as a sample of their own population.  In addition, this writer raises a third issue of the importance of randomization of sample, as the randomized controlled trial is the strongest research design for evaluating net effect of intervention, knowing that there are limitations for randomized trial such as coverage for medical payment, time and cost. 6 With respect to the study according to Lugaresi et al's   report, which was published in 1980, snoring has been a common phenomenon seen in about 20% of the adult population, and in about 60% of men over 40 years of age  7 .  In this (Haqqee et al's) study, snoring was reported in 46% of the sample population of 123 subjects and tended to increase with advancing age.  It is worthwhile to note that in this study that the mean of ages for the snorers is 46.6±10.5, while that for non-snorers is 40±12.4 years old. As a contrast, hypertension has been associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in large population based studies, 8  such as what was reported by Hla et al.  Since this association is independent of age, therefore the means of ages, which are noted in this study, should not make any much discrepancy. As noted in the section on Material and Methods, in this study statistical analysis was by Chi square test, t-test and Fisher's Exact Test.  Among these tests, t-test is the simplistic one. With respect to Fisher's Exact Test, it is a procedure that one can use for data in a two by two contingency table. It is an alternative to the Chi-square test in this study, since the total number of subject is 123, which does not require Yates correction. The Chi-square test relies on a large sample approximation. Therefore, one may prefer to use Fisher's Exact Test in situations where a large sample approximation is inappropriate. There is really no lower limit on the amount of data that is needed for Fisher's Exact Test.  One does have to have at least one data value in each row and one data value in each column. If an entire row or column is zero, then one does not really have any 2 by 2 table, which is not the situation in this study. On the other hand, Fisher's Exact Test is also very useful for highly imbalanced tables. If one or two of the cells in a two by two table have numbers in the thousands (which certainly is not the situation in this study either), and one or two of the other cells has numbers less than 5, one can still use Fisher's Exact Test. Once decision has been made to use Fisher Exact Test, such as in this study, whether a one or two tailed version may misrepresent the statistical significance of data. A uniform specification statement should be required in order to prevent such a potential errors in interpretation. 9-12  Unfortunately, it appears that there is no such a statement found in the report of this study. In summary, allow this writer taking the liberty to congratulate the authors for their find quality of effort in preparing this preliminary study, and certainly also looks forward to reading their final study with inclusion of a more objective evaluation of subjects' symptoms and signs, an expansion to a larger sample size without selection of subjects' occupations and ages from the population  13 , and a specific statement of whether one- or two-tailed version when Fisher Exact Test is contemplated.


ABSTRACT This article reports the validation of the Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-set (APQ), a newly developed instrument, adapted from the well-established Psychotherapy Q-Set (PQS) and the Child Psychotherapy Q-set (CPQ). The APQ aims to describe the psychotherapy process in the treatment of adolescents in a form suitable for quantitative comparison and analysis. The validation was conducted with the ratings of 70 audio-recorded youth psychotherapy sessions from a range of therapists, patients, and treatment stages, using two therapeutic approaches (Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Data analysis included intraclass correlation coefficients, Q-factor analysis, nonparametric mean differences, and Pearson correlations. Results suggest that the APQ has good levels of interrater reliability, is able to identify differences and similarities of two therapeutic approaches, and good convergent and discriminant validity with a widely-used measure of therapist behaviors (the Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale). The APQ reported good levels of validity and reliability. It is hoped that it will contribute to new ways of investigating the mechanisms of therapeutic change for those working with adolescents.


The Scale Navigator is a graphical interface implementation of Dmitri Tymoczko's scale network designed to help generate algorithmic harmony and harmonically synchronize performers in a laptop or electro-acoustic orchestra. The user manipulates the Scale Navigator to direct harmony on a chord-to-chord level and on a scale-to-scale level. In a live performance setting, the interface broadcasts control data, MIDI, and real-time notation to an ensemble of live electronic performers, sight-reading improvisers, and musical generative algorithms.


The growth of Hebeloma cylindrosporum Romagn. on nitrate medium is associated with nitrate reductase activity equivalent to that measured in herbaceous angiosperms. Nitrate is not indispensable for the induction of NR, as thalli cultivated in ammonium have the same NR activity as thalli cultured on nitrate. However, the simultaneous presence in the culture medium of ammonium with an organic acid such as malate, citrate or succinate causes a diminution of NR activity. Glutamine or asparagine, by-products in the assimilation of ammonium and malate, could intervene in the regulation of this enzyme. The data suggest that the absence of nitrogen or the presence of a nitrogen source, such as ammonium, inappropriate for growth derepresses nitrate reductase in this fungus.


Abstract : This document represents the proceedings of a symposium, The Interaction of Non-Nuclear Munitions with Structures, U. S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, May 10-13, 1983. The symposium was sponsored by the following U. S. Air Force agencies: Armament Laboratory, Eglin AFB, FL; Engineering and Services Laboratory, Tyndall AFB, FL; Office of Scientific Research, Bolling AFB, DC; Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM. The symposium was coordinated through the University of Florida Graduate Engineering Center, Eglin AFB, FL, under USAF contract No. F08635-81-C-0302. Dr. C. A. Ross served as the symposium coordinator.


OVERVIEW: An innovation portfolio, which is focused on early-stage ideas whose role in the overall strategy is still evolving, is very different from a project portfolio, which is focused on managing products in development. Our company sought to implement an innovation portfolio program to manage the development of concepts from initial idea to the front end of the project portfolio. The design of the innovation portfolio was motivated by the desire to increase the number and quality of projects entering into the project portfolio process. The innovation portfolio must allow for an evolving strategy as the most promising concepts emerge, leveraged by incremental investments. Unlike a project portfolio, attrition in the innovation portfolio will be very high, with concepts being shelved at each phase of analysis. The innovation portfolio is still in the process of thorough evaluation, but initial results are encouraging.


CONTEXT
The 46,XX male syndrome represents a rare, poorly characterized form of male hypogonadism.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to distinguish the 46,XX male syndrome from the more frequent 47,XXY-Klinefelter syndrome in regard to clinical, hormonal, and epigenetic features.

DESIGN
This was a case-control study.

SETTING
The study was conducted at a university-based reproductive medicine and andrology institution.

PATIENTS
Eleven SRY-positive 46,XX males were compared with age-matched controls: 101 47,XXY Klinefelter patients, 78 healthy men, and 157 healthy women [latter all heterozygous for androgen receptor (AR) alleles].

INTERVENTIONS
There were no interventions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
There was a comparison of phenotype, endocrine profiles, and X-chromosomal inactivation patterns of AR alleles.

RESULTS
The 46,XX males were significantly smaller than Klinefelter patients or healthy men, resembling female controls in height and weight. The incidence of maldescended testes was significantly higher than that in Klinefelter patients and controls. Gynecomastia was more frequent in comparison with controls, whereas there was a nonsignificant trend in comparison with Klinefelter patients. All XX males were infertile and most were hypogonadal. The inactivation patterns of AR alleles in XX males were significantly more skewed than in Klinefelter patients and women. Seven of 10 heterozygous XX male patients displayed an extreme skewing of more than 80% with no preference toward the shorter or longer AR allele. The length of the AR CAG repeat polymorphism was positively related to traits of hypogonadism.

CONCLUSIONS
XX males are distinctly different from Klinefelter patients in terms of clinical and epigenetic features. Nonrandom X chromosome inactivation ratios are common in XX males, possibly due to the translocated SRY gene. The existence of a Y-chromosomal, growth-related gene is discussed.


Background: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys have become increasingly important in both improving patient care and assessing outcomes. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to evaluate which variables are associated with compliance with completing PRO surveys in patients who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The authors hypothesized that older patient age and longer time since ACLR would be associated with lower completion rates of PRO surveys preoperatively and at postoperative time points. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: All patients who underwent ACLR by a sports medicine fellowship–trained orthopaedic surgeon at a single institution and were electronically assigned PRO surveys through a data collection system preoperatively between December 2013 and March 2015 were included. Postoperatively, PRO surveys were sent to patients' email addresses at 6, 12, and 24 months. Demographics, history, and operative and postoperative information were evaluated for an association with survey completion rates. Results: A total of 256 patients met the inclusion criteria. There were 140 (54.7%) male and 116 (45.3%) female patients, with an overall mean age of 28.6 ± 11.9 years. Only 19 (7.4%) patients completed all preoperative and postoperative surveys at all time points. Less than half of the patients (n = 104; 40.6%) completed both the preoperative survey and at least 1 postoperative survey. There was a steady decrease in the completion rate of PRO surveys postoperatively over time (Pearson r = –0.995, P = .005). Male patients had significantly worse compliance with completing PRO surveys preoperatively and at a minimum of 1 time point postoperatively (P = .044). Patients who did not identify as athletes or report frequent exercise (≥3 times/wk) had significantly worse compliance with completing any PRO surveys (P = .046). Lower body mass index was associated with greater odds of compliance with completing the preoperative survey and 24-month postoperative survey (odds ratio, 0.902; P = .029). Conclusion: An inverse relationship was found between the surgery-to-survey period and percentage of those completing PRO surveys, with poor overall compliance. Male sex and not self-identifying as an athlete or performing frequent physical exercise were associated with lower completion rates of PRO surveys, while lower body mass index was associated with a greater rate of completion.


Serum eye drops contain growth and neurotrophic factors, fibronectin and vitamin A that promote corneal epithelialisation and nerve healing and are a well-established treatment for ocular surface disorders.1 Though normally derived from autologous blood, not all patients can be donors for reasons such as infancy, poor venous access and comorbidities. Also, autologous serum from some patients could potentially contain concentrations of drugs,2 or possibly, inflammatory mediators, harmful to the eye. Allogeneic drops are an alternative in such circumstances.

Complex mechanisms make the eye an immunologically privileged site.3 Cornea and conjunctiva bear ABO antigens and some HLA.4 Serum contains antibodies and complement. Nevertheless, successful treatment with ABO-unselected allogeneic serum is …


The text concerns the literary presentation of experiencing time that was characteristic of Romantics. In his latest book, Piotr Śniedziewski mentions time as a problem considered by 19th-century artists several times. The article presents this issue using the current reflection on the experience (Frank Ankersmit's "historical sublime experience") and the findings concerning the impact of photography that has been developing rapidly since 1839, on the way the literary represented world is shaped, as well as the use of photography as a tool of analysing time ("the visual model of time").


Abstract The noise around the airport, the comfort degree of passengers, the stealth of the aircraft and so on are the important aspects in the design of aircraft. All these requirements need to reduce the noise level of the engine dramatically. Although the micro-perforated plate (MPP) gradually becomes one of the most promising and commonly used noise reduction measures, the fact that the stiffness of the MPP isn't strong enough for several situations can't be ignored. The composite structure made of MPP and honeycomb core was put forward to make up for this shortage [1] . In addition, based on the Helmholtz resonator principle [2] , the honeycomb core attached behind the MPP also improves the overall acoustical properties of the composite structure. Nowadays, the studies of the liner's acoustical properties are usually based on theoretical derivation [3-5] . However, these theoretical formulas introduce several simplifying assumptions inevitably, so more exact methods need to be studied for better prediction of the liner's characteristics. And we choose to use the numerical simulation method to study the composite structure's acoustical properties. In this paper, since it is costly in time and economy to take the geometry of the whole structure into account during the simulation, considering the air on the back of the MPP is divided into periodical spaces by the honeycomb, a unit-cell model is extracted from the structure to study the acoustical properties of the composite structure, as Figure 1 shows. First, the reliability of the unit-cell model was verified by comparing the Helmholtz resonator frequency in the internal air cavity with the theoretical values. Then, based on the same unit-cell model, the sound insulation performance of the composite structure was simulated. After that, in order to determine the sound absorption coefficient of the composite structure, a rigid standing wave tube was placed in the upper side of the unit-cell to obtain the standing wave in it. The new unit-cell model was used to approximately simulate the standing wave ratio test. Final, the influences of structural parameters (aperture, porosity, thickness of the MPP etc.) on the sound insulation performance and the sound absorption coefficient were discussed to describe the acoustical properties of the composite structure.


Despite the fact that human Brodmann area 6 (BA6), a traditional "motor" area, is active during higher motor control involving various cognitive operations, the functional specialization within BA6 in the cognitive domain is essentially unknown. Furthermore, its functional relevance in cognition has been questioned because brain activity in BA6 during cognitive tasks has often been explained away as a concomitant, latent motor process. Therefore, we examined the structural-functional relationship of human BA6 in nonmotor cognitive functions and its functional relevance using both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Subjects performed mental-operation (MO) tasks in which they serially updated verbal and spatial mental representations (MO-v and MO-s). In the fMRI experiments, activity in the medial BA6 was more increased in MO-v, whereas the activity in the lateral BA6 in both hemispheres was more in MO-s. Low-frequency rTMS to the medial BA6 disrupted only the performance of MO-v, whereas rTMS to the lateral BA6 in both hemispheres disrupted only MO-s. Hence the converging results demonstrate a functional double dissociation in which medial BA6 has a critical role in updating verbal information and lateral BA6 has a role in updating spatial information. The present study provides direct physiological evidence of modality-specific cognitive function within human BA6.


Abstract Objective. Pectoral muscle flaps (PMF) are effective in terminating protracted sternal wound infections (SWI) but long-term outcome remains uncertain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcome in patients treated with PMF. Design. Thirty-four of 263 patients revised because of deep SWI from 1991–2005 were treated with PMF. Of the 21 patients alive, 11 had left-sided, two right-sided and eight bilateral procedures. Sternal debridement without closure of the sternum was done in 17 patients. Nineteen of 21 patients responded to a questionnaire. Results. At follow-up on average 5.9 years (range 1.9–14.8 years) after surgery 63% (12/19) experienced unstable chest. Two thirds (12/18) reported problems carrying a grocery bag and 37% (7/19) had problems putting on a coat. Reduction of power and mobility was more common in the right arm and shoulder even in patients with left-sided PMF. Thirty-two percent (6/19) would have preferred alternative treatment if possible to avoid sternal instability even if healing had been substantially delayed. Conclusions. Surgery with PMF and sternal debridement was associated with long-term disability, which appeared to be significant in one third of the patients. The function of the right arm and shoulder was affected more often despite the majority of procedures being left-sided suggesting that loss of skeletal continuity of the chest wall is more disabling than loss of pectoral muscle function.


Background: Alcohol use and its abuse is gradually becoming a global concern because its use is deeply rooted in many societies and cultures. In recent years there have been changes in drinking patterns across the globe with increases in the rates of consumption and drinking to excess among the general population. Nevertheless, the abuse of alcohol carries a risk of adverse health and social consequences related to its toxicity and dependence-producing properties. The abuse or harmful use of alcohol is a well-known risk factor for disability and premature mortality. This study was conducted to determine the awareness and prevalence of alcohol use and its abuse among residents of Amassoma community, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional randomized study design was conducted among residents of Amassoma community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Data collection was carried out using both self-administered and interview-administered questionnaires. One hundred and fifty seven (157) respondents were selected for the study. Results: Data obtained from this study revealed that the majority of the respondents take alcohol or have taken it at one point in their life. Palm wine was the most frequently-used alcoholic beverage (21.7%), followed by beer and red wine (20.4%) which was usually taken for pleasure or during occasions/festivals. Majority of the respondents (69.4%) reported that their siblings take alcohol whereas 48.4% said their parents take alcohol in their presence.Conclusion: The risk factors for the use of the alcohol in the Amassoma community are being a female, single or young adult, cultural practices and beliefs of the populace.


Alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro benzo (b) thiophene-2-amino-3-carboxylate by ethanolic sodium hydroxide resulted into the corresponding 3-carboxylic acid which upon microwave irradiation with succinic and maleic anhydrides yielded amic acids. The antiinflammatory activity of these compounds was evaluated by rat hind paw edema method on albino rats. An in-vitro COX-1 and COX-2 enzyme inhibition assay was also performed. The results confirmed the synthesized derivatives as potential anti-inflammatory drugs and support the prototype model of the arachidonic acid binding site of cyclooxygenase enzyme proposed by Peter Gund and T. Y. Shen. The novel derivatives have been characterized by 1H NMR, mass, and IR spectroscopic studies.


Separating decision modelling from the processes modelling concern recently gained significant support in literature, as incorporating both concerns into a single model impairs the scalability, maintainability, flexibility, and understandability of both processes and decisions. Most notably the introduction of the Decision Model and Notation (DMN) standard by the Object Management Group provides a suitable solution for externalising decisions from processes and automating decision enactments for processes. This article introduces a systematic way of tackling the separation of the decision modelling concern from process modelling by providing a Decision as a Service (DaaS) layered Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) which approaches decisions as automated and externalised services that processes need to invoke on demand to obtain the decision outcome. The DaaS mechanism is elucidated by a formalisation of DMN constructs and the relevant layer elements. Furthermore, DaaS is evaluated against the fundamental characteristics of the SOA paradigm, proving its contribution in terms of abstraction, reusability, loose coupling, and other pertinent SOA principles. Additionally, the benefits of the DaaS design on process-decision modelling and mining are discussed. Finally, the DaaS design is illustrated on a real-life event log of a bank loan application and approval process, and the SOA maturity of DaaS is assessed.


Foreword by Amar Mohanty. Part 1. Introduction. Chapter 1. Bioplastics and Biocomposites and Their Applications: A Overview (Srikanth Pilla). Part 2. Processing of Bioplastics and Biocomposites. Chapter 2. The Handling of Various Forms of Dry Ingredients in Bioplastics Manufacturing and Processing Applications (Andy Kovats). Chapter 3. Modeling the Processing of Natural Fiber Composites Made Using Liquid Composite Molding (Krishna M. Pillai). Part 3. Engineering Applications of Bioplastics & Biocomposites. Packaging Applications. Chapter 4. Bioplastic Based Nanocomposites for Packaging Applications (Patricia Krawczak). Chapter 5. Biobased Materials in Food Packaging Applications (Siddaramaiah). Chapter 6. PLA Foams for Packaging Applications (Kate Parker). Chapter 7. Polyvinyl Modified Guar-gum Bioplastics for Packaging Applications (Ashutosh Tiwari). Chapter 8. Starch Based Composites for Packaging Applications (K. M. Gupta). Chapter 9. Vegetable Oil-based Rigid Foam Composites (Chad Ulven). Chapter 10. Sustainable Biocomposites Based for Construction Applications (Hazizan Akil). Chapter 11. Starch as a Biopolymer in Construction and Civil Engineering (Chandan Datta). Chapter 12. Cellulose Based Green Bioplastics for Biomedical Engineering (Ajay Mishra). Chapter 13. Chitin and Chitosan Polymer Nanofibrous Membranes and Their Biological Applications (Ahsanulhaq Qurashi). Automotive Applications. Chapter 14. Microcellular Processed PHBV Foams for Automotive Applications (Alireza Javadi & Shaoqin Gong). Chapter 15. Bioplastics and Vegetal Fibre Reinforced Bioplastics in Automotive Applications (Patricia Krawczak). General Engineering Applications. Chapter 16. Cellulose Nanofibers Reinforced Bioplastics and Their Applications (Susheel Kalia). Chapter 17. Nanocomposites Based on Starch and Fibers of Natural Origin (Fernando Wypych). Chapter 18. Biogenic Precursors for Polyphenol, Polyester and Polyurethane Resins (Harlin Ali). Chapter 19. Long Biofibres & Engineered Pulps for High Performance Bioplastics & Biocomposites (Alan Fernyhough).


The seventy-kilometre-long Herbert Gorge of northeastern Australia preserves a record of past floods in slackwater deposits and palaeostage indicators. Step-backwater modelling of water-surface profiles indicates that discharges ranging from 11000 to 17000 m3s−1 have occurred six times in the gorge during the last 900 years. These flood reconstructions provide insight into the role of extreme flows in shaping bedrock channel morphology. In particular, the hydraulics of extreme flows can be related to boulder transport, and to the location of large boulder bars.

Large boulder bars occur throughout the Herbert Gorge, being best developed at loci of stream power minima along the inside of bends, at tributary junctions, and at obstructions in the channel caused by bedrock highs. Only the flows exceeding approximately 8000 m3 s−1 are competent to transport the boulders which constitute the bars. In the straight channel reaches, the boulder accumulations and bedrock highs have a fairly regular spacing which appears to be independent of lithologic or structural controls. The bars provide an efficient means of energy dissipation, and they are interpreted as a result of the inherent high turbulence of flow in a steep channel. The regular spacing of the bars, and their correspondence with the hydraulics of large flows, suggest that the bars and associated bedrock highs may represent a self-regulating mechanism akin to the pool-riffle sequence of alluvial channels. It may therefore be appropriate to view bedrock channels as deformable on the timescale of extreme discharges.


This investigation highlights novel surface modification techniques of aluminium by titanium nitride deposition to increase adhesion characteristics of aluminium, when fabricated by polyimide adhesive (PI) and its durability under aerospace environments. The aluminium substrate surface when modified by titanium nitride deposition under physical vapour deposition (PVD), its adhesion strength increases considerably. Incorporation of nano particles in to the polyimide adhesive increases cohesive properties of the adhesive up to a great extent. It is observed that surface modified aluminium shows better adhesion properties in comparison to unmodified aluminium surface because surface modified aluminium results strong interfacial force of attraction with the polyimide adhesive. Addition of silica nano powder increases the adhesive bond strength considerably. However, it is observed that adhesive bond strength increases up to an optimum dispersion of silica nano powder and thereafter it decreases. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) reveals that there is an improvement of thermal stability of the adhesive due to dispersion of silica nano powder. Effects of surface modification of aluminium and reinforced nanoparticles on durability were analysed. It is observed that due to titanium nitride deposition on aluminium and dispersion of silica nano powder in to the polyimide adhesive increases the durability of the adhesive joint up to certain extent. Failure analysis under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) reveals that there is interfacial failure of adhesive bonded joints of unmodified aluminium and in the case of titanium nitride deposited aluminium, the adhesive joint fails cohesively resulting in significant increase in adhesive bond strength.


Background and objectives: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare connective tissue disorder that affects approximately 1:60,000 - 1:20,000in general population and 1:30,000 - 1:25,000 in obstetric patient. The objective of this report is to present rare case of parturient with severe type of OI. A case report: A Thai 25-year -old pregnant female, gestational age of 38-week with OI was scheduled for elective cesarean delivery due to cephalopelvic disproportion. The patient had severe form of OI with moderately severe pulmonary restriction. The general anesthesia with rapid sequence induction was conducted without any complications and patient was discharged in postoperative day 2. Conclusion: General anesthesia is one of the safe alternative techniques for cesarean delivery for OI patient. However, the proper pre-anesthetic consideration and preparation are essential and eventually improve the outcomes in these patients.


Our early studies showed that tissue diffusion coefficient (Dt) of small solute sodium fluorescein (0.45 nm radius) in frog mesentery is 30% of its free diffusion coefficient (Dfree) in aqueous solution. We test here the hypothesis that because of its size-limiting structure the interstitium would provide larger resistance to larger solute α-lactalbumin (2.0 nm radius). We extended our previous method by using laser-scanning confocal microscopy to measure both solute capillary permeability (P) and solute tissue diffusion coefficients (Dt) from the rate of tissue solute accumulation and the radial concentration gradients around individually perfused microvessels in frog mesentery. pα-lactalbumin was 1.7 ± 0.7 (SD) × 10−6 cm/s (n = 6). Dt/Dfree was 27% ± 5% (SD) (n = 6). This value is comparable to that for small solute sodium fluorescein. Our results indicate that frog mesenteric interstitium is less selective to larger solute α-lactalbumin than the microvessel wall.


Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men in the US. The skeleton is the most common site for prostate cancer metastasis, which often results in osteoblastic lesions. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ), which is a multifunctional cytokine, is important for the regulation of bone mass and matrix properties. Our group has recently shown that TGFβ signaling helps in promoting osteoblastic tumor growth by a novel human prostate cancer cell line, PacMetUT1. However, the mechanism by which prostate cancer cells metastasize to bone and how they induce formation of osteoblastic lesions remains to be intensively investigated. Bone cells such as osteoblasts express aromatase, which is the enzyme required for estrogen biosynthesis in humans. Recent data further implicates an aberrant aromatase expression and estrogen signaling in the development of prostate malignancy. Hence we hypothesize that TGFβ and other growth factors released from tumor cells can induce aromatase gene expression and activity in bone cells leading to an enhanced estradiol synthesis which would in turn lead to an increase in bone formation as estrogen is a known osteogenic factor. We examined the effect of TGFβ superfamily ligands on aromatase expression in pre-osteoblastic cells. Treatment with TGFβ1 and BMP-4/7 resulted in an increase in aromatase expression in both mouse pre-osteoblasts and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC9s). This increase in aromatase expression was abrogated after transient knockdown of Smad9s in MSC9s. Treatment with letrozole (aromatase inhibitor) as well as an anti-estrogen (ICI 182, 780) resulted in a decrease in osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells as measured by alkaline phosphatase activity assay and expression of osteogenic markers by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Furthermore, PacMetUT1 cells were found to be responsive to 17-β estradiol treatment. 17-β estradiol treatment of PacMetUT1 cells resulted in an enhanced anchorage- dependent and independent cell growth in vitro. 17-β estradiol also induced a change in cell morphology of PacMetUT1 cells with a reduction in E-cadherin expression and an increase in Vimentin expression at both protein and mRNA level. This affect was abrogated after stable estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) knockdown in PacMetUT1 cells. Our results demonstrate an aromatase-mediated induction of osteogenesis by TGFβ superfamily ligands in the pre-osteoblastic cells and a stimulatory effect of estrogen signaling on PacMetUT1 cell tumorigencity in vitro. Future studies will delineate whether the induction of aromatase mediates osteoblastic bone metastasis of prostate cancer cells in vivo and if combination treatment of TGFβ and aromatase inhibitors can be used as a novel therapeutic strategy to alleviate bone metastasis in prostate cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5317. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5317


Abstract Background: High doses of bone resorption inhibitors are currently evaluated for the treatment of malignant primary bone tumors. The impact of such an intensive treatment on growing skeleton is a critical question in the context of pediatric oncology. Methods: Protocols adapted from pediatric treatments were developed for mice (a total of 4 or 5 injections of Zoledronic acid (50 μg/kg) or IKK-22.5 antibody (50 μg/injection) every two or three days). Their impact on tibias, skull bones and teeth growth was analyzed by micro-CT and histology up to 3 months after the last injection. Potential disparities between mouse strains were evaluated using both CD1 and C57BL/6J mice, as was the possible synergic effect of the two inhibitors. Results: In both mouse strains, bone resorption inhibitors administrations induced a transient delay of tibia and skull bone growth. Indeed, three months after the last injection all bone parameters were back to normal. Regarding tooth eruption and root elongation, both were severely impaired in C57BL/6J mouse whatever the inhibitor considered while in CD1 mouse highly more important doses are necessary to observe similar effects. Combination of both inhibitors, at half-doses in CD1 mouse, induced severe delay of tooth eruption demonstrating the existence of synergic effect between the two inhibitors. Conclusions: In mouse, high doses of bone resorption inhibitors disturbed teeth eruption and elongation, and delayed tibias and skull bone formation. Difference of sensitivity to these inhibitors was observed between mouse strains which understanding will require further studies. A synergic effect was also observed for these inhibitors. In human, similar treatments may impact the permanent teeth eruption. These observations are crucial for the follow-up of pediatric patients treated with high doses of bone resorption inhibitors in ongoing European and American protocols. Citation Format: Frederic P. Lezot, Benjamin Navet, YongWon Choi, Hideo Yagita, Ariane Berdal, Christopher G. Mueller, Francoise Redini, Dominique Heymann. Skeletal consequences of bone resorption inhibitors (zoledronic acid and RANKL blocking antibody) injections during growth: mouse strain disparities and synergic effect. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3289. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3289


In the past few decades, opioid use for the treatment of chronic noncancer pain has slowly gained acceptance. With this increase in prescription opioid use, there has also been an increase in prescription opioid abuse. To help detect aberrant drug related behaviors, clinicians have utilized urine drug screens to determine patient noncompliance in outpatient pain clinics. The primary objective is to determine how the use of urine drug testing (UDT) affects health care outcomes. The secondary outcome is to evaluate these findings as it relates to pharmacoeconomics and aberrant behaviors in an outpatient clinical setting. In this study we will determine if UDT influences prescribing practices among physicians. Patients at an academic center's chronic pain outpatient clinic were categorized as having urine screens that were "normal" (expected findings based on their prescribed drugs) or abnormal. Abnormal findings were those with either 1) the absence of a prescribed opioid, 2) the presence of an additional nonprescribed controlled substance, 3) detection of an illicit substance, or 4) an adulterated urine sample. We examined the incidence of such aberrant behaviors as well as concomitant pain diagnoses, psychiatric comorbidities, and the ultimate effect upon the prescribing patterns of the physicians in this clinic. Results of the study showed that the patients exhibiting aberrant drug behaviors have similar pain and psychiatric diagnoses as other chronic pain patients. The most common aberrancy detected was an abnormal urine drug screen, often with the presence of illegal substances. However, in the great majority of aberrancies detected, providers chose to continue prescribing opioids. We speculate on the reasons for this, and discuss the role of the urine drug screen in influencing prescriber behaviors.


Intimate partner violence is a prevalent yet highly underreported issue in the United States. Religious leaders are in a key position to help victims, particularly those who will not disclose the abuse to secular professionals such as police officers, doctors, and social workers. Church leaders tend to have close and trusting relationships, access to families' homes, are familiar with families' histories, and many times are the support to which victims turn. This study examines nine protestant pastors' perceptions of and responses to intimate partner violence as an exploratory study. Data were collected and analyzed through semistructured interviews and Strauss and Corbin's Grounded Theory. The findings illustrated that the majority of pastors perceive intimate partner violence as occurring to middle-aged women and being physical, emotional, and verbal in nature. The pastors reported that they assess, refer, and counsel the victims (and sometimes the couple together) and support divorce if necessary. The participants' avoidance toward intimate partner violence issues among their congregants were connected to their lack of training and access to resources. Implications for merging victim empowering counseling and pastoral counseling are discussed.


Although education is generally considered to be an important part of the welfare state, it is largely absent in the comparative welfare state literature. This article tries to fill this void by applying the central concepts of welfare state analysis of decommodification and stratification, as proposed by Esping-Andersen, to the field of higher education. The article tests whether there are systematic differences in higher education policies across 19 developed western countries that are usually categorized in a social democratic, a liberal or a conservative welfare regime. Based on a secondary analysis of the available literature and crosscountry statistics, we construct indices for decommodification and for stratification in higher education. The countries studied cluster in three groups that correspond roughly with the classical categorization. The countries in these clusters do not, however, meet all expectations regarding the level of decommodification and stratification. We conclude that countries belonging to the social democratic regime follow the principles of the prototypical social-democratic welfare regime well with respect to higher education. However, the higher education systems in liberal and conservative countries only share some of the characteristics of a prototypical conservative or liberal welfare state. We conclude that including higher education in comparative welfare states analysis might result in a less clear-cut categorization of welfare regimes than when the analysis is restricted to social protection and labour market policies.


The consumption of soy protein was shown to reduce blood lipids in humans and other animal species. Furthermore, it was shown that the ingestion of soy protein maintains normal insulinemia. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether soy protein affects the synthesis of lipids in the liver through sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) due to modulation of insulin levels. We first conducted a short-term study in which rats were fed a diet containing 18 g/100 g soy protein or casein for 10 d. Rats fed soy protein had significantly lower serum insulin concentrations than rats fed casein, and this response was accompanied by an elevation in hepatic SREBP-1 mRNA that was 53% lower than that in rats fed casein at d 10. The increase in SREBP-1 mRNA occurred 30 min after consumption of the casein mean, and increased steadily for the next 2 h. We then conducted a second study to assess the long-term effect of soy protein consumption for 150 d on hepatic SREBP-1 expression. Long-term consumption of soy protein maintained normal insulin concentrations compared with rats fed casein, which were hyperinsulinemic. Thus, rats fed the soy protein diet had significantly lower expression of SREBP-1 mRNA than rats fed the casein diet. Soy protein intake also reduced the expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and malic enzyme, leading to low hepatic lipid depots of triglycerides and cholesterol, whereas rats fed the casein diet developed fatty liver. These data suggest that soy protein regulates SREBP-1 expression by modulating serum insulin concentration, thus preventing the development of fatty liver.


This study examined different individual and parental factors that affect children's achievement motivation. For an analysis, perceived competence, intrinsic locus of control were included in individual variables. For parental variables, parental support and achievement pressure and marital conflict were examined. The sample consisted of 561 fifth and sixth grade children. Statistics and methods used for the data analysis were Cronbach's alpha, Factor analysis, frequency, percentage, Pearson's correlation, and Hierarchical Regression. Several major results were found from the analysis. First, girl's achievement motivation was higher than boys. No age difference was found between fifth and sixth grade. Second, boy's and girl's achievement motivation had a positive correlation with perceived competence, intrinsic locus of control, parental support and achievement pressure but a negative correlation with parental marital conflict. Third, important variables predicting boy's and girl's achievement motivation were perceived academic competence, parental achievement pressure and perceived social competence. Important variables predicting boy's individual and social oriented achievement motivation were perceived academic competence and parental achievement pressure. On the other hand, important variables predicting girl's individual oriented achievement motivation were perceived social competence, perceived academic competence, intrinsic locus of control and parental achievement pressure. Important variables predicting girl's social oriented achievement motivation were parental achievement pressure, perceived academic competence and mother's support.


Introduction: Ventilator-induced Lung Injury Acute Lung Injury (VILI) is characterized by increased-permeability pulmonary due to excessive alveolar distention by positive-pressure mechanical ventilation. With the exception of lung-protective ventilation, no pharmacologic treatment exists.

Aims: To determine the role of Simvastatin (HMGCoA reductase inhibitor) as a therapeutic agent in VILI.

Methods: Adult male C57BL6 mice (n=10/group) received protective (8mL/kg) or injurious (25mL/kg) ventilation with Simvastatin (20mg/kg) starting 2 days pre- ventilation or saline intraperitoneally (ip) for four hours. Following lung mechanics' evaluation with a small animal ventilator (FlexiVent, Scireq), animals were sacrificed and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), arterial blood and lung tissue, either snap frozen in liquid nitrogen or formalin-fixed, were obtained.

Results: Simvastatin administration prevented lung injury, caused by high tidal volume ventilation (HVt). The untreated group (Un) exhibited at least a 2-fold alteration in lung mechanics values as opposed to the treated group (Tr) which maintained baseline (Bs) values (e.g.Elastance, Tr:35.22 cmH2O/ml, Un: 86.76 cmH2O/ml, Bs: 30 cmH2O/ml). Moreover drug administration attenuated inflammation as pleiocytosis and protein content in BALF were reduced (e.g.%Neutrophils in BALF, Un: 6.8% Tr: 2.7%, Bs:3%). Additionally, levels of cytokines in plasma, such as interleukine-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), were not altered, suggesting maintained lung integrity (TNF Un:92.95 pg/ml, Tr: 25.85 pg/ml, Bs: 30 pg/ml).

Conclusions: HMGCoA reductase inhibition can reverse the pathophysiology of HVt mechanical ventilation, signifying Simvastatin as a restorative agent in VILI.


This paper surveys the two images of the global order, which are described as the images of power and culture. The article describes the power and cultural images of the global order and then tests the applicability of the two images by comparing their plausibility. The image of power is held by the realists who describe the international system as power determined or power laden, although individual scholars disagree on several dimensions of the international system. The debate between the defensive and aggressive realists is symptomatic of such disagreement and becomes the basis of the analysis here of the realism-inspired power image of the system.


Bjerkandera sp. strain BOS55, a newly isolated wild-type white rot fungus, produced lignin peroxidase (LiP) in nitrogen (N)-sufficient glucose-peptone medium, whereas no LiP was detectable in N-limited medium. The production of LiP was induced by the peptide-containing components of this medium and also by soy bean protein. Furthermore, the production of manganese-dependent peroxidase was stimulated by organic N sources, although lower production was also evident in N-limited medium. Further research showed that the induction of LiP depended on the combination of pH and the type of N source. An amino acid mixture and ammonium induced LiP only at either pH 6 or 7.3, respectively. Peptone induced LiP activity at all pH values tested; however, the highest activity was observed at pH 7.3. The results presented here indicate that Bjerkandera spp. are distinct from the model white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, which produces ligninolytic peroxidases in response to N limitation.


This report provides technical data regarding the reuse of excess foundry sand. The report addresses three topics: (1) a statistically sound evaluation of the characterization of foundry sand, (2) a laboratory investigation to qualify excess foundry sand as a major component in controlled low-strength material (CLSM), and (3) the identification of the best methods for using foundry sand as a replacement for natural aggregates for construction purposes, specifically in asphalt paving materials. The survival analysis statistical technique was used to characterize foundry sand over a full spectrum of general chemical parameters, metallic elements, and organic compounds regarding bulk analysis and leachate characterization. Not limited to characterization and environmental impact, foundry sand was evaluated by factor analyses, which contributes to proper selection of factor and maximization of the reuse marketplace for foundry sand. Regarding the integration of foundry sand into CLSM, excavatable CLSM and structural CLSM containing different types of excess foundry sands were investigated through laboratory experiments. Foundry sand was approved to constitute a major component in CLSM. Regarding the integration of foundry sand into asphalt paving materials, the optimum asphalt content was determined for each mixture, as well as the bulk density, maximum density, asphalt absorption, and air voids at N{sub ini}, N{sub des}, and N{sub max}. It was found that foundry sands can be used as an aggregate in hot-mix asphalt production, but each sand should be evaluated individually. Foundry sands tend to lower the strength of mixtures and also may make them more susceptible to moisture damage. Finally, traditional anti-stripping additives may decrease the moisture sensitivity of a mixture containing foundry sand, but not to the level allowed by most highway agencies.


Background:
The 20-item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test; Pontes et al., 2014) was developed based on the proposed diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in the 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It consists of six core components of addiction (i.e., salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse), which were not all covered in existing Chinese IGD measures. This study aimed to examine psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the IGD-20 Test.
Methods:
The survey recruited 485 Chinese university students with Internet gaming experience who completed an anonymous questionnaire (IGD-20 Test, the modified Young's Internet Addiction Test [YIAT], and background information items).
Findings:
The confirmatory factor analysis results showed that, after removing one item with low factor loading, the original six-factor model provided good model fit, χ2 (137) = 449.5, p < .001; CFI =0.937; TLI= 0.921; RMSEA=0.069, 90% CI [.062, .076]; SRMR=0.039. It also showed better fit than the one-factor model. Criterion-related and concurrent validity were supported by the positive association between IGD-20 scores and weekly gameplay (r = .44, p<.001) and the YIAT scores (r =.88, p<.001) respectively. The internal consistencies of the IGD-20 Test (α=.93) and the subscales (αs=.62 to .83) were acceptable.
Discussion:
This study validated a Chinese version of the IGD-20 Test, and confirmed its six-factor structure among Chinese students. This Chinese version facilitates future research of IGD. Future study may examine its psychometric properties among other age groups.


MUCH has been written concerning the occurrence of cholelithiasis in patients with congenital hemolytic anemia, but cholelithiasis complicating sickle-cell anemia is rarely encountered. Weems,1in 1945, pointed out that gallstones were occasionally found at autopsy in patients with sickle-cell disease, and he described two adults and a 13-year-old boy in whom gallstones had definitely been demonstrated by x-ray. Although no statement was made, it seems fairly safe to assume that these patients had been treated with multiple transfusions, as it is only recently that the trend away from this type of therapy has occurred. In a review of autopsy findings from 44 cases in the literature Weems found 12 instances of cholelithiasis, only one of which was in the age group from 11 to 20 years. He advanced the theory that cholelithiasis was responsible for some of the acute and chronic abdominal symptoms in these cases. Tomlinson2also


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Although interactions between fat soluble micronutrients and lipid metabolism in relation to absorption, status and body composition have been well described, there is new evidence to suggest that key genes have profound effects on how micronutrients and lipids are handled in a range of cells and organs. This review highlights the importance of genetic variation in folate, selenium, zinc and carotenoid metabolism and the recent findings of micro-macro nutrient interactions.

RECENT FINDINGS
Although the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene has been linked to CVD for some time, recent findings indicate that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene are also linked to diabetes and may influence the pathogenesis of this disease through elevated alanine amino transferase concentrations. A recent selenium supplementation trial showed that SNPs can affect responses of GPx4, GPx1 and GPx3 protein expression or activity in response to Se supplementation or withdrawal. There is convincing evidence to suggest that the high variability of plasma carotenoids seen in human populations is at least partly caused by multiple genetic variations in genes involved in lipoprotein metabolism and lipid transfer. The most striking evidence of an interaction between carotenoid and lipid metabolism, however, comes from the observation that BCMO1 mice develop liver steatosis independent of the vitamin A content of the diet, and the discovery of common SNPs in this gene indicates that this interaction might be of clinical significance.

SUMMARY
Knowledge of genetic variants that affect micronutrient metabolism and responses to micronutrient supplementation were until recently largely limited to methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. However, identification of novel functional SNPs in BCMO1, the critical enzyme of beta-carotene metabolism, and in several key selenoproteins indicates the potential importance of micronutrient-gene interactions.


This paper is the last part of a three-fold article aimed at some efficient numerical methods for solving the Poisson problem i n threedimensional prismatic and axisymmetric domains. In the first and second parts [7][8], the Fourier singular complement method (FSCM) was introduced and analysed for prismatic and axisymmetric domains with reentrant edges, as well as for the axisymmetric domains with sharp conical vertices. In this paper we shall mainly conduct numerical experiments to check and compare the accuracies and efficiencies of FSCM and some other related numerical methods for solving the Poisson problem in the aforementioned domains. In the case of prismatic domains with a reentrant edge, we shall compare the convergence rates of three numerical methods: 3D finite element method using prismatic elements, FSCM, and the 3D finite element method combined with the FSCM. For axisymmetric domains with a non-convex edge or a sharp conical vertex we investigate the convergence rates of the Fourier finite element method (FFEM) and the FSCM, where the FFEM will be implemented on both quasi-uniform meshes and locally graded meshes. The complexities of the considered algorithms are also analysed.


Through Scott's tubes, intraventricular administration of amynoglucoside antibiotics was given to two groups of patients: a) ten children with purulent meningitis and ventricular ependymitis due to gram - negative germs without malformation of the central nervous system (CNS) and b) sixteen children with ventricular ependymitis and malformation of the CNS. The duration of treatment was three weeks and no deaths issued in the first group. In the second group, there were four therapeutic failures related with the existence of encephalodysplasia or intraventricular wailing. The results described are very encouraging and allow to foresee a marked drop in the lethality of ventricular ependymitis.


Stock market mutual funds offer investors diversified stock market portfolios, but there are several types. Actively managed funds attempt to "beat" the market by using research, forecasts, and judgment to pick stocks with the best growth prospects. Passively managed funds attempt to replicate the market by buying a representative sample of the stocks on a specific stock market index. Which to choose? This issue of Page One Economics explains the efficient market hypothesis and how it might influence your investment decisions.


Background and aim: radiotherapy (RT) is essential in the treatment of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, lung radiosensitivity is the main limitation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of radiation pneumonitis and possible markers for early detection Methods: 14 patients with NSCLC treated with chemotherapy-radiotherapy were enrolled in a prospective study between 2011 and 2013. Anthropometric values, lung function, tumor features and RT dosimetric data were collected. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in both lungs before RT and at the third week of treatment. Radiation pneumonitis was scored according the "Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0". Patients with pneumonitis grade 1 and 3 were selected to perform the molecular analysis by using "Human Cytokine Array Panel A" (R&D Systems). Results: 35.75% of the patients had pneumonitis grade 1, 20% grade 2, 35.75% grade 3 and 6.66% grade 4. 4 patients developed pneumonitis in the lung without tumour. Lung diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was the most sensitive parameter for determining the existence of early lung damage (p=0.04). Development of radiation pneumonitis was not associated with lung function or dosimetric data. BAL protein expression before RT differs from the lung that develops grade 1 pneumonitis and grade 3. In both cases, RT induces changes in bilateral BAL protein expression, mainly PAI-1, IL-1ra, MIF, and CXCL-1. Conclusion: Incidence of radiation pneumonitis is greater than previously reported. DLCO is the most sensitive parameter for its early detection. Risk could have a relationship with the basal lung biomolecular condition. RT induces biological changes in both lungs.


Aim: To find out the prevalence of smoking in young armed forces officers of Pakistan who attended various courses at Quetta. Methods: One thousand young officers of Pakistan Army of age group 20-30 years who attended various courses at SI &T, Quetta were included in the study. Structured questionnaires were distributed among these officers in their central classes and they were requested to fill up the questionnaires without disclosing their identity. The questionnaires were collected by instructor at the end of central classes. Finally the data was compiled and categorized according to the age, rank and services. All this information was then analyzed with the help of SPSS 8.0. Out of 1000 questionnaires, 04 were not included in the analysis because they were not properly filled the questionnaire. So 996 were included in the analysis. Results: Out of 996 officers, 512(51.4%) were found to be smokers and 484(48.5%) were non – smokers. Among smokers, 458 (89.5%) were regular smokers and (10.5%) were occasional smokers (those who smoke <5 Cigarettes/week). It is revealed that 216(47.4%) were smokers in age group 2025 years and 296 smokers (54.8%) were in age group 26-30 years. Data suggested high prevalence of smoking in the rank of a captain as compared to lieutenant. The prevalence of smoking is also higher in the young officers with more service. In our data, out of 512 smokers, 458(89.5%) were regular smokers. Out of 458 regular smokers, 83 (18.1%), 256(55.9%) and 119 (25.9%) were found to be mild, moderate and heavy smokers respectively. Date was also analyzed for main factors responsible for initiation and persistence of smoking. It revealed that company of friends was the leading factor for initiation of smoking i.e. 47.1% (n-214) followed by stressful environment of army i.e. 24.6% (n-126), media campaign i.e. 18.2% (n-93) and parent's smoking i.e. 10.2% (n=52). Out 996 officers, 873 (87.6%) officers had option that army atmosphere encourage smoking. 100% smokers had the opinion that smoking is harmful to health. All the smokers responded that their smoking is also harmful to other non-smokers and children.


We previously demonstrated that parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) 1-84 knockin (Pthrp KI) mice, which lacked a PTHrP nuclear localization sequence (NLS) and C-terminus, displayed early senescence, defective osteoblastic bone formation, and skeletal growth retardation. However, the mechanism of action of the PTHrP NLS and C-terminus in regulating development of skeleton is still unclear. In this study, we examined alterations of oxidative stress and DNA damage response-related molecules in Pthrp KI skeletal tissue. We found that ROS levels, protein expression levels of γ-H2AX, a DNA damage marker, and the DNA damage response markers p-Chk2 and p53 were up-regulated, whereas gene expression levels of anti-oxidative enzymes were down-regulated significantly. We therefore further disrupted the DNA damage response pathway by deleting the Chk2 in Pthrp KI (Chk2-/-KI) mice and did comparison with WT, Chk2-/- and Pthrp KI littermates. The Pthrp KI mice with Chk2 deletion exhibited a longer lifespan, improvement in osteoblastic bone formation and skeletal growth including width of growth plates and length of long bones, trabecular and epiphyseal bone volume, BMD, osteoblast numbers, type I collagen and ALP positive bone areas, the numbers of total colony-forming unit fibroblasts (CFU-f), ALP+ CFU-f and the expression levels of osteogenic genes. In addition, the genes associated with anti-oxidative enzymes were up-regulated significantly, whereas the tumor suppressor genes related to senescence were down-regulated in Chk2-/- KI mice compared to Pthrp KI mice. Our results suggest that Chk2 deletion in Pthrp KI mice can somewhat rescue defects in osteoblastic bone formation and skeletal growth by enhancing endochondral bone formation and osteogenesis. These studies therefore indicate that the DNA damage checkpoint pathway may be a target for the nuclear action of PTHrP to regulate skeletal development and growth.


Erythema induced by ultraviolet (UV)B light is a common skin reaction. Currently, three techniques, the Chromameter® CR‐400, the Mexameter® MX16 and full‐field laser perfusion imaging (FLPI), are widely used for dermatological evaluation of UVB‐induced erythema. However, there is little known about the comparative performance of these three techniques. This study was therefore designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the three techniques. Our findings showed that the performance of Chromameter and Mexameter for measurement of UVB‐induced erythema was very similar, while FLPI indicated acute erythema at D1 with the greatest fold change. Further studies of UVB dose‐dependence need to be carried out.


Dimensionality reduction is an essential pre-processing technique in many of the data analysis tasks. Popular approaches for dimensionality reduction are Feature Selection (FS) and Feature Extraction (FE). Till now, these approaches are often studied separately or independently so that the final result contains either original or transformed features. In our work, we propose to bridge these two approaches with the aim of finding reduced feature set to contain both kinds (original as well as transformed) of features. A new framework, called Minimum Projection error Minimum Redundancy (MPeMR), is introduced to obtain this result while maintaining orthogonality property among selected original and linear combinations of features. A unified iterative algorithm, for both supervised and unsupervised cases, is also developed under this framework. For each case, the performance of the proposed algorithm is successfully compared with the state-of-the-art methods on real-life data sets.


Forest duikers (Cephalophinae) are important targets of the bushmeat trade but a reliable and efficient assessment of these shy animals is often regarded as problematic. Using a power analysis approach, we assessed the performance of three established methods (diurnal, nocturnal and indirect dung surveys) in producing density estimates for the blue and the Ogilby's duiker (Cephalophus monticola, Cephalophus ogilbyi ogilbyi) in a 16 km² section of primary forest, systematically sampled using line transects. Direct survey methods (diurnal and nocturnal) yielded density estimates between 8.3 and 6.8 (blue duiker) and 6.5 and 4.3 animals/ km² (Ogilby's). The coefficients of variation of density estimates implied a resolution of 44% density change detectable in diurnal surveys but only of 140% in nocturnal surveys. Density estimates derived from the dung survey were lower than those of direct surveys (1.5 animals/ km² and 1.4 animals/ km², respectively). Associated coefficients of variation imply a resolution of change in density estimates detectable for changes far larger than 100%. However, dung pile density was susceptible to variation in key parameters (decay and production rates) and difficulties in data acquisition lead us to reject the dung survey as a suitable method in our particular setting. Our results suggest that diurnal direct surveying from line transects can be reliable and effective even for shy forest ungulates under (some) hunting pressure.


The mitefauna associated to Merlot and Chardonnay grapevine cultivars and associated plants in the municipalities of Bento Goncalves and Candiota, Rio Grande do Sul was investigated. The study was developed between October 2006 and September 2007, where 20 grapevine plants were randomly chosen from each municipality and monthly sampled. Three leaves of each plant were taken. A total of 11,598 mites belonging to 14 families and to 52 species were found. Fifty-nine percent of the total specimens were collected in Candiota, being 93% associated to the Merlot cultivar. Higher species richness was observed on associated plants. Phytoseiidae showed the highest species richness, with ten species, and Eriophyidae showed the highest abundance, with 8,675 specimens. Calepitrimerus vitis (Nalepa, 1905) and Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) were the most common phytophagous mites, while Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor, 1954) and Pronematus anconai (Baker ,1943) were the most common predators.


Abstract This paper presents an exact estimation of the PSF size for both noisy and noiseless images that is essential for good quality image restoration. Having accurately estimated the PSF, the paper also proposes a fast double updating algorithm for improving the quality of the restored image. It is based on minimizing some largest errors between the blurred image and its equivalent computed as the 2-D convolution of the estimated restored image and the estimated PSF. Simulation results have been given to verify that the proposed technique manages to correctly estimate the PSF size for noisy and noiseless cases as well as yielding a sharpened image with higher PSNR than classical approaches.


The defeat European constitutionalism has experienced in the French and the Dutch referendum has many reasons. The deficiency this contribution addresses is the lack sensitivity for the historical dimensions of the integration project in general and the darker legacies of law in particular. Three exploratory steps are undertaken: (1) The first deals with the diversity of European pasts. It is submitted that European constitutionalism must respect this diversity and promote toleration rather than homogeneity. (2) The second discusses the presence of European pasts in two fields. One is the controversy over "social Europe" which is traced back to divergent national histories, memories and anxieties. The other concerns the search for a European identity and citizenship. (3) The reluctance of Europeans to confront the darker side of their pasts, including the failures and fragility of law and legal institutions, has many good and bad reasons. We risk getting involved in a bitter politicisation of our memories. The contest over memories seems, however, not only unavoidable; it might become a constructive exercise. The search for a new future in post war Europe was a response to the atrocities of the Nazi period. That legacy is still alive and can be revitalized. The readiness to face Europe's past can be understood as a European vocation which may provide the integration project with an unheard of specific legitimacy. In his comment Dario Castiglione discusses Christian Joerges's ideas of deliberative supranationalism and of the 'conflict of disciplines'; and suggests that his analysis of the relevance of the past can be extended by distinguishing between three different modes in which the past can be used: as present in the modern predicament; as a form of public discourse; and as a way of shaping and confronting one's own identity.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the therapeutic results of endoscopic orbital decompression for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

METHOD
The records of nine patients (twelve orbits) received endoscopic orbital decompression for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy were analyzed for changes in visual acuity, intraocular pressure, proptosis, corneal ulceration and movement. The follow-ups ranged from two months to thirty-six months.

RESULT
Twelve orbits (100%) had improvement in visual acuity (range 0.1-0.7). Ten orbits (83.3%) decreased in intraocular pressure (range 0.2-21.4 mm Hg). Eight orbits (66.70%) decreased in proptosis (one-five mm). The orbit with corneal ulcer was healed after decompression. Diplopia was cured in one of four patients.

CONCLUSION
Endoscopic orbital decompression is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.


PurposeThis study locates one surprisingly powerful ally of neoliberalism enabling its proliferation in certain contexts, the discursive notion of the "long term" (LT). Earlier literature has shown that neoliberalism is concerned with investors' decision-making that has been claimed to be based on LT forecasts. This research explains this focus on the "long term."Design/methodology/approachShare-based compensation (SBC) is investigated in one case company. The data consist of interviews with executives, board members, analysts and owners and also of archival data on the executives' performance measurement and compensation.FindingsMuch research equates "share-based compensation" with "long-term compensation," and the present study terms this relation "the myth of long-term compensation." It is demonstrated that multiple features of share-based plans, characteristics of the management in question and contextual factors of the company and its governance tie in with the time orientation of such compensation. Multiple contradictions and irregularities in the literature on SBC are analyzed, undermining the claim that SBC is invariably LT oriented. Relying on Barthes' work, the study illustrates how LT SBC is a myth contributing to the ideology of neoliberalism.Research limitations/implicationsIt is proposed that the terms "share-based compensation" and "long term" be distinguished from each other for analytical and practical purposes. SBC, and thus neoliberalism, can sometimes be linked to the short term.Originality/value"Long term" is illustrated as a significant instrument for deploying ideologies.


PURPOSE
This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of giant dentin tubules or microcanals in primary maxillary anterior teeth.

METHODS
One hundred sixty eight extracted or exfoliated primary maxillary anterior teeth were sectioned and examined by optical microscopy and image analysis. Differences in the proportion of teeth with microcanals among tooth types were tested by using the Pearson chi-square test.

RESULTS
Microcanals, having the appearance of enlarged dentin tubules, were found in approximately 20% of primary central and lateral incisors, but were significantly less prevalent (3%) in primary cuspids. Microcanals occurred in a mesial distal axial plane and ran between the DEJ and the pulp chamber. When present they numbered between 1 and 43, with mean numbers of 20 and 16 in central and lateral incisors, respectively. The microcanals ranged in size between 5 and 70 microns, compared to normal dentin tubule diameters of approximately 1 micron.

CONCLUSIONS
Microcanals are relatively common in primary maxillary incisors, but uncommon in primary cuspids. Additional work is needed to establish their prevalence in various teeth of both primary and permanent dentition.


Field deployed electronics us often subjected to a combination of thermal aging and thermal cycling. The thermal cycle magnitudes may vary over the lifetime of the product. Long-life systems may be re-deployed several times over the use life of the product. Aging has been previously shown to effect the reliability and constitutive behaviour of second-level leadfree interconnects. Often the equipment may not have any macro-indicators of damage such as cracks or delamination. The ability to identify impending failures in systems and their sub-components has great potential to mitigate the risks of unanticipated failures and reduce the support costs. The presented approach in this paper is intended to address the need for tools and techniques for prognosticating the prior accrued damage and the remaining useful life of the product prior to redeployment. Leadfree assemblies with Sn3Ag0.5Cu solder have been subjected to various duration-combinations of thermal aging at 125°C, thermal cycling from -40°C to 125°C and thermal cycling from 0°C to 100°C. The presented methodology uses leading indicators of failure based on micro-structural evolution of damage to identify accrued damage in electronic systems subjected to sequential stresses of thermal aging and thermal cycling. Leading indicators studied in this paper include the phase growth parameter and the intermetallic thickness. Damage equivalency relationships have been developed to map damage accrued in thermal aging to the reduction in thermo-mechanical cyclic life based on damage proxies. Accrued damage between different thermal cyclic magnitudes has also been mapped for -40°C to 125°C and 0°C to 100°C thermal cycles. The presented method for interrogation of the accrued damage for the field deployed electronics, significantly prior to failure, may allow insight into the damage initiation and progression of the deployed system. The expected error with interrogation of system state and assessment of residual life has been quantified.


Waveform relaxation has been shown to provide an efficient way to evaluate the transient response of transmission line systems through the generalisation of the method of characteristics. This method has been extended to the simulation of coupled transmission line sets connected in cascade. The algorithms proposed have been applied to systems with linear and nonlinear terminations and the results are consistent with those found by the time-stepping method with speed improvement of at least 75 times.


Cognitive radio networks(CRNs)is new paradigm that provides the capability to share or use the spectrum is an opportunistic manner. It ability to sense the unused spectrum at a specific time and location (spectrum hole).Cognitive Radio (CR) technology is a promising solution to enhance the spectrum utilization by enabling unlicensed users to exploit the licensed spectrum in an opportunistic manner. In this paper, sequential channel sensing problems for single and multiple secondary users (SUs) networks are powerfully modeled through finite state Markovian processes. The objective of this paper is to maximize the throughput for secondary user and reduced the number of handovers. A model for single user case is introduced and its performance is validated through analytical analysis. A modified p-persistent access (MPPA) protocol is proposed for multiple user. Since the method utilized experiences a high level of collision among the SUs, to mitigate the problem appropriately, p-persistent random access (PPRA) protocol is considered, which offers higher average throughput for SUs. The structure of the proposed scheme is discussed in detail, and its efficiencies are verified through a set of illustrative numerical result.


Cognates are variants of the same lexical form across different languages; for example "fonema" in Spanish and "phoneme" in English are cognates, both of which mean "a unit of sound". The task of automatic detection of cognates among any two languages can help downstream NLP tasks such as Cross-lingual Information Retrieval, Computational Phylogenetics, and Machine Translation. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of cross-lingual word embeddings for detecting cognates among fourteen Indian Languages. Our approach introduces the use of context from a knowledge graph to generate improved feature representations for cognate detection. We, then, evaluate the impact of our cognate detection mechanism on neural machine translation (NMT), as a downstream task. We evaluate our methods to detect cognates on a challenging dataset of twelve Indian languages, namely, Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Oriya, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, and Malayalam. Additionally, we create evaluation datasets for two more Indian languages, Konkani and Nepali. We observe an improvement of up to 18% points, in terms of F-score, for cognate detection. Furthermore, we observe that cognates extracted using our method help improve NMT quality by up to 2.76 BLEU. We also release our code, newly constructed datasets and cross-lingual models publicly.


The autoencoder is an effective unsupervised learning model which is widely used in deep learning. It is well known that an autoencoder with a single fully-connected hidden layer, a linear activation function and a squared error cost function trains weights that span the same subspace as the one spanned by the principal component loading vectors, but that they are not identical to the loading vectors. In this paper, we show how to recover the loading vectors from the autoencoder weights.


Optical Internet has become the main conduit for all types of virtually sharing communications around the world as it continues its phenomenal growth in traffic volumes and reaches using dedicated optical networks. To support bursty traffic on the Internet efficiently, Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is proposed as a way to streamline both protocol and hardware in building the future generation Optical Internet. By leveraging the attractive properties of optical burst switching and at the same time, taking into account its security. In this paper, identifies that the OBS node in an Optical Internet is suffering from the new-fangled security threat named as Burst Hijacking Attack, which causes the authentication of data and denial of service. In addition, this paper dealt with the novel solution for the same using the ns2 simulator with modified nOBS patch for simulation and verification of the security parameters.


… Objective: To determine feto maternal outcome in patients with cesarean section and comparing outcome following TOLAC and elective repeat cesarean delivery. Study Design: Descriptive, Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Kahuta Research Laboratory (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad. Period: 10 th September 2019 to 9 th March 2020. Material & Methods: 93 pregnant women of gestational age 37-42 weeks with previous transverse cesarean section were included. Patients with a history of multiple pregnancies, ruptured uterus, placenta previa, polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios, and fetal malpresentation were excluded. In each patient, the labor trial was done; if not possible, then a cesarean section was done on the elective list. Each case was done by the researcher herself in the presence of a consultant gynecologist and the mode of delivery (vaginal/cesarean), was noted. After this fetal outcome i.e. live birth (yes/no), NICU admission (yes/no), and Apgar score >6 at 5 minutes (yes/no) was noted. Results: Maternal outcomes in a previous cesarean section was found to be a cesarean section in 60 (64.52%) and VBAC in 33 (35.48%), an APGAR score >6 at 5 minutes after VBAC was seen in 100.0% and after elective cesarean delivery in 81.67% of neonates. NICU admission is 0.0% in TOLAC compared to 20.0% with elective repeat LSCS. Live birth after emergency cesarean delivery was seen in 93.33% and 100% after VBAC. Conclusion: This study concluded that the maternal outcome in a previous cesarean section was found to be a cesarean section in 64.52% and VBAC in 35.48% of women and fetomaternal outcome following TOLAC is better.


Louise Kretzschmar has served society, the church and academia as a person who has shaped minds in the fields of Christian spirituality, leadership and ethics. This article seeks to celebrate Kretzschmar's work as she retires from full-time academia. This article describes Kretzschmar's notion of a good life, asks why Christians fail in following this good life and concludes by outlining the social-ethical contribution Kretzschmar's approach can make in society.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article addresses the question of social ethics and its relationship with the processes of spiritual formation and leadership. The argument is based in the Christian faith conviction, with specific reference to the theological position argued by Prof. Louise Kretzschmar.


The physical and mechanical parameters of the rotten rice straw (RRS), rice husk biochar (RHB), and the mixture of the two materials (the substrate) were calibrated by Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken experiments to obtain the parameters for simulation of the forming of the Gentiana seedling substrate mat (GSSM). The particle contact parameters were calibrated, and the repose angle was taken as the response value based on the Hertz-Mindlin approach with the JKR contact model of discrete element method (DEM). A quadratic regression model was established and optimized using Design-Expert software. The parameters that most affected the substrate repose angle were the restitution coefficient of RRS of 0.20, the rolling friction coefficient of RRS of 0.04, the surface energy of RRS for JKR of 0.53, and the surface energy of RHB-RRS for JKR of 2.11. The simulated repose angle of the substrate and the bending strength of GSSM were compared with that of the verified experimental values respectively based on the optimal parameters. The relative errors of repose angles and bending strengths between the values of the simulation and the measurement were 0.71% and 1.39% respectively, indicating that the parameters obtained in this study can provide a reliable reference for the forming of GSSM.


In order to account for our engagements with fiction, several philosophers have recently introduced a class of novel mental states which they have designated as 'i-desires' or 'desire-like imaginings'. Others argue against this claim by denying the existence of i-desire. In this article, I argue that genuine desires fail to make sense of our attitudes towards real objects in fictional situations, and that i-desire is psychologically indispensable in explaining our attitudes in such cases.


The existing evaluations of the semiconducting/metallic properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) synthesis do not take into account CNT variation and simply characterize the material with only one parameter psemi: the percentage of semiconducting CNTs. Specifically, this psemi figure of merit does not consider intermediate-on–off-ratio CNTs (semiconducting CNTs with poor Ion/Ioff), and yet, such CNTs can have a large impact on device- and circuit-level performance. Inspired by the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) community, we address this inadequacy by considering intermediate-on–off-ratio CNTs and other CNT variations by offering a holistic view of CNT characterization through parameter distributions. In this paper, a new methodology, called single-tube characterization (STC), is presented, which directly observes and evaluates the distributions of CNT material properties. Such holistic distributions not only enable more accurate characterization and analyses of the material properties and variations, but they also further enable analyses to accurately predict performance and variation at the device- and circuit-levels.


Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and their gene-engineered cells display great application prospects in tumor immunotherapy. The timing of CTL-induced molecular events in tumor cells is unclear, and we also unknow whether the killing efficiency of CTLs is restrained in the liver, an immunotolerant organ with a high tumor incidence. Methods: We used intravital imaging to dynamically monitor the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) signals of caspase-3 and calcium sensor in tumor cells after transferring CTLs into tumor-bearing mice. Results: Our data show that several CTLs attacked on one tumor cell, and on average each CTL killed 1.24 ± 0.11 tumor cells per day in the liver, which was much less efficient than that in the spleen (3.18 ± 0.26 tumor cells/CTL/day). The killing efficiency of CTLs is restrained in the liver and can be reversed by blocking immunosuppressive cytokine. Tumor cells exposed to CTLs appeared to have prolonged calcium influx, which occurred dozens of minutes before caspase-3 activity. Conclusion: The quantitative characterization of these molecular and cellular events provides accurate information to evaluate the efficiency of cellular immunotherapy against tumors and understand the impact of an organ's immune status.


The article provides a comprehensive description of the epidemiological situation in the surgical wards of a multidisciplinary hospital in the long-term dynamics and identified the epidemiological features of nosocomial infections. Set the average annual incidence rate of hospital-acquired infections is purulent-septic 18,03 100 operated, the incidence of GD according to official statistics for the reporting period was 0,11 per 100 operated patients. Established dominance in the structure of nosocomial urinary tract lesion (50,2%), generalized forms of septic hospital infections were not recorded. Presented etiological structure infections in surgical wards, set the prevailing role S. aureus, S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa, E. Coli, Enterococcus. This change of the leading agents in the etiological structure infections in 2008 by S. Epidermidis (26%) in 2010 to K. Pneumonia (28%). High prevalence of resistance to antibiotics (amoxicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cephalosporins) and chlorine-containing disinfectants («Javel Clayden», «Zhavelion», «Pyurzhavel»), especially in the leading types S. epidermidis, Kl. Pneumonia (16,3±3,7%), while remaining sensitive to only to imipenem and meropenem (98%) and to action «Septustin M». According to the research substantiated ways to improve surveillance, including monitoring and microbiological monitoring of microbial resistance to disinfectants.


Latest technological improvements increased the quality of transportation. New data-driven approaches bring out a new research direction for all control-based systems, e.g., in transportation, robotics, IoT and power systems. Combining data-driven applications with transportation systems plays a key role in recent transportation applications. In this paper, the latest deep reinforcement learning (RL) based traffic control applications are surveyed. Specifically, traffic signal control (TSC) applications based on (deep) RL, which have been studied extensively in the literature, are discussed in detail. Different problem formulations, RL parameters, and simulation environments for TSC are discussed comprehensively. In the literature, there are also several autonomous driving applications studied with deep RL models. Our survey extensively summarizes existing works in this field by categorizing them with respect to application types, control models and studied algorithms. In the end, we discuss the challenges and open questions regarding deep RL-based transportation applications.


In this work, a novel germanate-based orange-emitting long persistent luminescent (PersL) phosphor, K4CaGe3O9(KCGO):Mn2+,Yb3+, has been successfully synthesized via a solid-state reaction. The special nanostructures of KCGO:Mn2+ and KCGO:Mn2+,Yb3+ were indicated by transmission electron microscope (TEM) images, where the block particles of these samples are shown to consist of many irregular spherical nanoparticles and the size of these spherical particles is less than 10 nm. This special nanostructure contains many defects and could provide the preconditions for the PersL properties of KCGO:Mn2+. Furthermore, after co-doping with Yb3+, the PersL properties are effectively improved due to the high concentration of new traps caused by the non-equivalent substitution of Yb3+. With the optimum doping concentration and sufficient excitation with UV light, the afterglow of KCGO:0.02Mn2+,0.015Yb3+ can persist over 5 h above the recognizable intensity level (≧0.32 mcd m−2). Both the fluorescence and phosphorescence spectra of KCGO:Mn2+,Yb3+ exhibit only one broad emission band, which belongs to the 4T1(G)–6A1(S) transition of Mn2+. In addition, with the help of thermoluminescence (TL) curves, the processes and possible mechanism are studied and discussed.