We introduce an improved solution to the neural image-based rendering problem in computer vision. Given a set of images taken from a freely moving camera at train time, the proposed approach could synthesize a realistic image of the scene from a novel viewpoint at test time. The key ideas presented in this paper are (i) Recovering accurate camera parameters via a robust pipeline from unposed day-to-day images is equally crucial in neural novel view synthesis problem; (ii) It is rather more practical to model object's content at different resolutions since dramatic camera motion is highly likely in day-to-day unposed images. To incorporate the key ideas, we leverage the fundamentals of scene rigidity, multi-scale neural scene representation, and single-image depth prediction. Concretely, the proposed approach makes the camera parameters as learnable in a neural fields-based modeling framework. By assuming per view depth prediction is given up to scale, we constrain the relative pose between successive frames. From the relative poses, absolute camera pose estimation is modeled via a graph-neural network-based multiple motion averaging within the multi-scale neural-fields network, leading to a single loss function. Optimizing the introduced loss function provides camera intrinsic, extrinsic, and image rendering from unposed images. We demonstrate, with examples, that for a unified framework to accurately model multiscale neural scene representation from day-to-day acquired unposed multi-view images, it is equally essential to have precise camera-pose estimates within the scene representation framework. Without considering robustness measures in the camera pose estimation pipeline, modeling for multi-scale aliasing artifacts can be counterproductive. We present extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets to demonstrate the suitability of our approach.


COVID-19 is a major public health problem that has been seriously affecting the global community. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of infection due to being directly involved in diagnosing and taking care of patients. Due to this, they were prioritized to receive the initial supply of vaccines. However, vaccine hesitancy has been identified as a major global public health threat. Therefore, this review aimed to synthesize pieces of evidence on the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and determinate factors among HCWs. A systematic search of published articles was identified using PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for relevant studies of vaccine acceptance and determinant factors among HCWs. Published articles were identified using abstracts and titles of the articles, and articles were assessed for eligibility criteria. The review process was conducted according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). An electronic database search identified 365 articles, from which 33 full-text articles were included in the systematic review. In this review, the highest rate of vaccine acceptance was reported at 95% and the lowest rate of vaccine acceptance was found at 21%. Factors such as sex (male), age, profession (medical doctors), and previous influenza vaccination were the main positive predictors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs. Concerns about vaccine safety, efficacy, and effectiveness were the main barriers and drivers for vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, to improve the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs, governments, public health authorities, and private healthcare systems should work together to provide continuous professional development and training on the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.


Abstract A relatively new method for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms is the use of denaturing highperformance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). DHPLC was used to analyse the transcobalamin II 776C>G polymorphism in DNA from 159 healthy elderly. Furthermore, cobalamin, folate, homocysteine and holotranscobalamin II (holo-TC II) were measured. The allele frequency of the G-allele was 17% with n = 55 harbouring the CC genotype, n = 77 being heterozygous and n = 27 showing the GG genotype. Holo-TC II concentrations were significantly decreased in patients harbouring the GG genotype. There was no effect on cobalamin, methylmalonyl-CoA, folate or homocysteine concentrations. A new G>A variant at nucleotide position 810 in the TC II gene was detected by an altered peak pattern in the DHPLC and further elucidated by direct sequencing. The TC II G810A variant is a silent mutation without replacement of the corresponding amino acid (alanine) at position 270 in the TC II protein and was only found as a heterozygous genotype in a single patient. The new variant would have been undetected by other methods used for single nucleotide polymorphism detection, e.g.,restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The results suggest that the common TC II 776C>G polymorphism has no major influence on vitamin B12 metabolism.


A simple scheme for the evolution of a fluvial landscape in heterogeneous environments is critically examined to capture the essential mechanism responsible for the recurrent scale-free landforms in the river basin. It is shown that, regardless of boundary and initial conditions, geomorphological constraints in the form of quenched randomly pinned regions play a key role in the robust emergence of aggregation patterns with a scaling behavior in agreement with that of real river basins.


A theory of travelling- and backward-wave variable parameter amplification appropriate to the amplification of a light beam is developed. It is an extension of the theory of Tien and Suhl for one-dimensional propagation to the case in which the pump wave, signal wave and idler waves have different directions of propagation. The theory is then applied to the design of a tuneable oscillator at optical wavelengths. The device is tuned by changing the orientation of a parallel mirror system. It appears that currently available pulsed laser powers are sufficient to drive such devices and that a continuous tuning range over a three to one interval in frequency is possible.


The potable water in the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant is supplied by a network of ten interconnected deepwell turbine pumps. These underground submersible pumps are installed very deep in the ground. The region is hilly and large. Adequate protection of the expensive pumps, a high degree of automation, reliability and flexibility were the overall goals of the control and instrumentation. The advanced instrumentation consisted of: ?digital control and digital monitoring. ?a telemetry system for transmission of all signals between the master station and the ten satellite stations. ?radiofrequency water level measturement in the wells.


The Cimarron River in north-central Oklahoma shows characteristics intermediate between typical braided and meandering streams. In the Perkins area, the gradient is 1.8 ft per mi; the sinuosity is 1.5; and average channel depth at bankfull stage is 15 ft. Accretion ridges on the downstream sides of bars characterize the straighter reaches, whereas accretion ridges on both the upstream and downstream sides are in the more sinuous reaches. The deposits show upward fining; they are generally fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted sand, with scattered quartz and intraformational pebbles. Horizontal bedding and medium-scale and small-scale crossbedding are the dominant sedimentary structures. Crossbedding, parting lineation, and grain orientation define the sand trend and indicate that directional features of this type are useful in estimating reservoir trend. Compared to typical meandering-stream deposits, the Cimarron River deposits are thinner but possibly wider, and they contain less fine-grained clastics in the upper part of the sequence and as clay interbeds. The Cimarron sediments are finer grained and better sorted than sands of typical braided streams. They contain more horizontal bedding than either braided- or meandering-stream deposits. The type of sand deposit represented by the Cimarron River sand may be similar to certain ancient alluvial sandstones which were deposited during either basinal subsidence or eustatic rise in sea level.


Studies to characterize sources and sinks of carbon monoxide (CO) in the mixed layer were carried out at sites covering large regions of the north and south Pacific. Apparent quantum yield spectra for the photochemical production of CO from colored dissolved organic matter were measured, as were first‐order net microbial CO consumption rate constants. Contrary to initial expectations, neither photoproduction nor biooxidation parameters exhibited strong regional variations, except that in the Southern Ocean CO biooxidation rate coefficients were very low. Global "blue‐water" CO flux terms derived from the data (in Tg carbon from CO per year, CO‐C a−1) are: photochemical source, 50 (estimated range, 30–70), microbial sink, 32 (estimated range, 10–60) and total CO sink (microbial plus gas exchange), 38 (estimated range, 13–60). Considering uncertainties and extrapolation biases, these independently estimated source and sink terms are thus in, or close to, balance at ∼40 (range of overlap, 30–60) Tg CO‐C a−1. The simplest interpretation of this balance is that no major net sources or sinks (i.e., light‐independent production, photoproduction at >450 nm) remain undiscovered, though considerable uncertainty in actual process rates remains. These CO fluxes are, however, very much smaller than some recently estimated values. The origins and implications of these discrepancies are discussed, and the coastal budget term is approximated.


We construct an $n$-dimensional polytope whose boundary complex is compressed and whose face numbers for any pulling triangulation are the coefficients of the powers of $(x-1)/2$ in the $n$-th Legendre polynomial. We show that the non-central Delannoy numbers count all faces in the lexicographic pulling triangulation that contain a point in a given open quadrant. We thus provide a geometric interpretation of a relation between the central Delannoy numbers and Legendre polynomials, observed over 50 years ago. The polytopes we construct are closely related to the root polytopes introduced by Gelfand, Graev, and Postnikov. \par


In the empirical literature on labour supply, several models are developed to incorporate constraints on working hours. These models do not address the question to which extent working hours are constrained within and between jobs. In this paper I investigate the effect of individual changes in labour supply preferences on actual working hours. The availability of subjective information on the individual's preferred working hours gives direct measures on the degree of adjustment of working hours within and between jobs. I take the potential endogeneity of the observed changes in labour supply preferences into account by using instrumental variables techniques. Using the Dutch Socio Economic Panel, I find for women who work in two consecutive years that the degree of adjustment of working hours within jobs is significantly smaller than between jobs. I also find that job mobility does not lead to complete adjustment in working hours, as the realized adjustment is significantly less than 100 percent of the preferred adjustment.


Toxicity of some legally sold alcoholic beverages has contributed to enhanced mortality in Russia since 1990. Widespread drunkenness during the early 1990s facilitated privatization of economy: workers and some intelligentsia did not oppose privatizations because of drunkenness and involvement in illegal activities. Apparently, alcohol consumption and heavy binge drinking have been decreasing in Russia since approximately the last decade. Exaggeration of alcohol-related problems tends to veil shortages of the health care system. There are motives to exaggerate consumption of nonbeverage alcohol in order to veil the problem of toxicity of some legally sold beverages. It is essential to distinguish between legally and illegally sold rather than between recorded and unrecorded alcohol because sales of poor-quality alcoholic beverages in legally operating shops and kiosks occurred generally with knowledge of authorities.


Despite various efforts introduced, private health insurance coverage is still low in Malaysia. The objective of this article is to find the factors associated with not having a private health insurance in Malaysia. We analyze data involving 19 959 respondents from the 2015 National Health Morbidity Survey. In this article, we describe the prevalence of not having health insurance and conducted binary logistic regression to identify determinants of uninsured status. A total of 56.6% of the study population was uninsured. After adjusting for other variables, the likelihood of being uninsured was higher among those aged 50 years and above, females, Malay/other Bumiputra ethnicities, rural, government/semigovernment, self-employed, unpaid workers and retirees, unemployed, lower education level, without home ownership and single/widowed/divorced, daily smoker, underweight body mass index, and current drinker. The likelihood of being uninsured also increased with increasing household size while the inversed trend was seen for household income. A substantial proportion of population in Malaysia did not have private health insurance, and these subgroups have limited preferential choices for provider, facility, and care.


Three types of liquid annular seals were designed for the front shoulder seal of a liquid oxygen turbopump, which include a hole-pattern seal (HPS), a double helical-groove seal (DHG), and a hybrid damper seal (HDS, with hole-pattern on stator and helical-groove on rotor). To assess and compare the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of the present three types of annular seals under the liquid oxygen medium, a steady three-dimensional (3D) CFD method was developed to predict the seal leakage, based on the Frozen Rotor interface model. A transient 3D CFD-based perturbation method was also proposed to predict the seal rotordynamic characteristics, based on the subdomain method, mesh deformation technique and multiple-frequency elliptical-orbit whirling model. The accuracy and reliability of the present numerical methods were demonstrated based on the experimental data of leakage rates and rotordynamic coefficients for an experimental hole-pattern seal and an experimental helical-groove seal using water as working fluid. The numerical results show that compared with the traditional hole-pattern seal and helical-groove seal, the novel hybrid damper seal possesses the much less leakage flow rate and much better rotordynamic characteristics, so is a desired seal scheme for the impeller shoulder seal.


Categorized as a Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class II drugs, atorvastatin (ATV) exhibits low aqueous solubility and bioavailability thus presenting an obstacle and great challenge to formulation researchers. Numerous studies are available in regard to the solubility enhancement of ATV, but very few actually describe this phenomenon in terms of thermodynamics and the solute-solvent interaction. Arginine (ARG) is an amino acid that has been reported to enhance the solubility of the highly insoluble wheat protein gluten through hydrogen bonding and π electron-cation interaction. To our knowledge, ARG has never been investigated as a solubility enhancement agent of aqueous insoluble drugs. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the solute-solvent and solute-cosolute interactions and derive thermodynamic parameters that bolstered the solubility of ATV in the presence of ARG. We examined the electrolytic conductance and densities of ATV-ARG binary system covering the temperature ranging from 298.15 K to 313.15 K. Conductometric and volumetric parameters such as limiting molar conductance, association constants, limiting partial molar volumes, and expansibility values were calculated. Additionally, thermodynamic parameters (ΔG0, ΔH0, ΔS0, and Es) involved in the association process of the solute in the aqueous solution of ARG were also determined.


We present analysis of the proper-motion (PM) field of the red clump stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) disk using the Gaia Early Data Release 3 catalog. Using a kinematic model based on old stars with 3D velocity measurements, we construct the residual PM field by subtracting the center-of-mass motion and internal rotation motion components. The residual PM field reveals asymmetric patterns, including larger residual PMs in the southern disk. Comparisons of the observed residual PM field with those of five numerical simulations of an LMC analog that is subject to the tidal fields of the Milky Way and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) show that the present-day LMC is not in dynamical equilibrium. We find that both the observed level of disk heating (PM residual rms of 0.057 ± 0.002 mas yr−1) and kinematic asymmetry are not reproduced by Milky Way tides or if the SMC impact parameter is larger than the size of the LMC disk. This measured level of disk heating provides a novel and important method to validate numerical simulations of the LMC–SMC interaction history. Our results alone put constraints on an impact parameter ≲10 kpc and impact timing <250 Myr. When adopting the impact timing constraint of ∼140–160 Myr ago from previous studies, our results suggest that the most recent SMC encounter must have occurred with an impact parameter of ∼5 kpc. We also find consistent radial trends in the kinematically and geometrically derived disk inclination and line-of-node position angles, indicating a common origin.


Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are often treated with multiple regimens, and viable options may soon be exhausted. Irinotecan (CPT-11), a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor, is rarely used in this setting, however. Approved for advanced breast cancer in Japan, S-1 is a pyrimidine derivative comprising the combination of tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil. Irinotecan is combined with S-1 (IRIS) to obtain an additive effect, even in the presence of high thymidylate synthase in breast cancer cells. This combination has also been successfully used for gastro-intestinal malignancies in Japan. Method: This study was divided into two steps: step 1, in which the safety profile of the regimen was determined; and step 2, in which tumor response was evaluated if the safety profile was considered acceptable. Irinotecan was given intravenously at a dose of 80 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 and S-1 orally at 80-120 mg/day depending on body surface area for 2 weeks. The cycle was repeated every 3 weeks. Results: A total of 21 patients were registered in the study. Median age was 50 years (range, 26 -69 years). Performance status was 0 and 1 in 20 and 1 patients, respectively. Six patients were enrolled in step 1. Grade (G) 3 fatigue and vomiting were observed in 1 patients, G 3-4 neutropenia in 4 and G 3 anemia in 1. The toxicity profile in step 1 was determined acceptable to move on to step 2. Step 2 included 15 patients treated with IRIS. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 7 out of these 15 patients, fatigue in 1, diarrhea in 3 and anorexia in 1. All patients had previously received anthracyclines and taxanes. Eighteen patients, including 3 patients in step 1, were evaluable for response. A partial response was obtained in 5 patients (27.8%), including in 1 patient who had a history of 4 previous treatments. Progression-free survival in these patients was 137+, 147, 168+, 304+ and 364+ days; no progressive disease was observed in 4 of them. In addition, stable disease was obtained in 5 patients (27.8%) in whom 2 patients experienced SD for longer than 6 months. Conclusion: These results indicate that the IRIS regimen has an acceptable safety profile and modest activity against breast cancer in patients who have been heavily treated with chemotherapy for MBC. We believe the patients responded to the IRIS regimen because irinotecan has a different mechanism of action as compared to other drugs commonly used for breast cancer and complete cross-resistance may not exist between S-1 and capecitabine. This regimen is commonly used for gastric or colorectal cancer in Japan and is considered to be highly tolerable. Therefore, we conclude that this regimen has potential as an option to treat advanced and metastatic breast cancer, although attention must be paid to diarrhea, the dose-limiting toxicity of irinotecan and S-1. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-11-09.


What were the socioeconomic consequences for American youth of having a parent incarcerated during the 2008 Great Recession? We analyze a nationally representative panel study of adolescents who, when interviewed during this recession, were transitioning to and through early adulthood. Young adult children who have had a father or mother imprisoned are at increased risk of experiencing socioeconomic deprivation, including inadequate access to food. We build in this article on recent research showing that postsecondary education has become especially important in determining adult outcomes, and we demonstrate that higher educational attainment reduces intergenerational effects of parental imprisonment. The salient policy implication of this article may be the important protective role of education in reducing unprecedented risks and vulnerabilities imposed by mass parental incarceration.


To enable roaming of users, the cellular ecosystem integrates many entities and procedures, including specific infrastructure to connect Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), business partnerships or the use of third-party Data Clearing Houses (DCHs) for billing. Many of these rely on specifications rooted in dated and arcane practices, involving long waiting periods for financial clearing, complex billing models, and disparate mechanisms for dealing with inter-MNO disputes. In this paper, we propose a novel solution, DICE (Dynamic Interconnections for the Cellular Ecosystem), aimed at facilitating dynamic collaboration between MNOs, and sustain fluid interconnection models between the end-users and MNOs. DICE uses distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable MNOs to interact directly, and offer customizable services to their users through the use of crypto-currencies. We leverage real-world data from a major operational MNO in Europe to support our claims, and to extract the requirements for the DICE system. We introduce the DICE protocol, and discuss real-world implementation considerations.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the long-term cognitive impact of internet usage among older adults. This research characterized the association between various measures of internet usage and dementia.

METHODS
We followed dementia-free adults aged 50 to 64.9 for a maximum of 17.1 (median=7.9) years using the Health and Retirement Study. The association between time-to-dementia and baseline internet usage was examined using cause-specific Cox models, adjusting for delayed entry and covariates. We also examined the interaction between internet usage and education, race-ethnicity, sex, and generation. Furthermore, we examined whether the risk of dementia varies by the cumulative period of regular internet usage to see if starting or continuing usage in old age modulates subsequent risk. Finally, we examined the association between the risk of dementia and daily hours of usage. Analyses were conducted from September 2021 to November 2022.

RESULTS
In 18,154 adults, regular internet usage was associated with approximately half the risk of dementia compared to non-regular usage, CHR (Cause-specific Hazard Ratio)=0.57, 95%CI=0.46-0.71. The association was maintained after adjustments for self-selection into baseline usage (CHR=0.54, 95%CI=0.41-0.72) and signs of cognitive decline at the baseline (CHR=0.62, 95%CI=0.46-0.85). The difference in risk between regular and non-regular users did not vary by educational attainment, race-ethnicity, sex, and generation. In addition, additional periods of regular usage were associated with significantly reduced dementia risk, CHR=0.80, 95%CI=0.68-0.95. However, estimates for daily hours of usage suggested a U-shaped relationship with dementia incidence. The lowest risk was observed among adults with 0.1-2 hours of usage, though estimates were non-significant due to small sample sizes.

CONCLUSIONS
Regular internet users experienced approximately half the risk of dementia than non-regular users. Being a regular internet user for longer periods in late adulthood was associated with delayed cognitive impairment, although further evidence is needed on potential adverse effects of excessive usage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Summary

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in a 15-year-old donkey that presented with signs of chronic laminitis, weight loss and chronic colic. An intra-abdominal mass was identified by exploratory laparoscopy, and this was subsequently confirmed to be a pancreatic adenocarcinoma at post mortem examination. Unlike most previously reported cases of pancreatic disease in equids, this donkey had no clinicopathological evidence of an associated hepatopathy.


Background: Stem cell-based tissue engineering is a potential strategy for periodontal tissue regeneration. Besides the advantages of stem cells as periodontal tissue regenerative therapy, this therapy must also be able to prevent and control the possibility of inflammation that occurs. Robusta green beans contain anti-inflammationsubstances that may decrease excessive inflammation in stem cell therapy. Purpose: To analyze IL-1β levels after giving Robusta green bean extract to DPSC induced by LPS P. gingivalis. Materials and Methods: This study used DPSC from the extraction of premolar teeth of orthodontic patients. The viability test was performed on the LPS P. gingivalis at 0.5; 1; 5; 10µg/ml and robusta green bean extract at 0.0625%; 0.125%; 0.25%; 0.5%to determine non toxic concentration. The treatment group was divided into 4 groups, the control group, the DPSC+LPS group, the DPSC + LPS + 0.125% Robusta green bean extract group, and the DPSC+LPS+0.0625%Robusta green bean extract group.Each group was observed at 24, 48, and 72 hours. ELISA test was performed on the supernatant to measure IL-1β levels. Results: The level of IL-1β in the Robusta green bean extract group was significantly lower (p <0.05) than the group without Robusta green bean extract at all observation times. Conclusion: Robusta green bean extract concentrations of 0.125% and 0.0625% can significantly reduce IL-1β levels in DPSC induced by LPS P. gingivalis, which is the most effective at reducing IL-1β levels was 0.125%.


Empirically, monetary policy affects bond rate components differently in the short run and the long. In the long run, it influences the bond rate mainly by altering the trend rate of inflation. In the short run, however, policy has significant effects on the real component of the bond rate. This effect has been especially pronounced since 1979. The bond rate rises anywhere from 26 to 50 basis points whenever the funds rate spread widens by one percentage point.


Many factors, such as fat content and pH, are known to affect thermal inactivation of pathogens in meat products, and a few studies have suggested that the humidity of the cooking environment also affects thermal inactivation. However, the effect of process humidity has not been previously isolated from the effect of water activity on Salmonella inactivation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to directly test the effect of meat water activity on thermal inactivation of Salmonella. Ground turkey was dried to achieve water activities of 0.95 to 0.99, inoculated with an 8-strain Salmonella cocktail, and heated isothermally (60 °C) in a water bath. The rate of thermal inactivation of Salmonella decreased 64% (P < 0.01) when decreasing meat water activity from 0.99 to 0.95. Inclusion of water activity improved the accuracy of a 1st-order/Arrhenius-type inactivation model from 1.94 log 10 to 0.8 log 10 (colony-forming units [CFU] /g).


The kinetics of the decomposition reaction of 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl acetate (1) in basic alcoholic media was investigated, using a simple fluorescence (FL) spectrophotometric procedure. The process was conveniently studied using FL, since the triphenylimidazole-derived ester 1 and its reaction products (the corresponding phenol 2 and phenolate 2- ) are all highly fluorescent (ΦFL  > 37%). By carefully selecting excitation and emission wavelengths, observed rate constants k1 in the order of 10-3 to 10-2  s-1 were obtained from either reactant consumption (λex  = 300 nm, λem  = 400 nm) or product formation (λex  = 350 nm, λem  = 475 nm); these were shown to be kinetically equivalent. Intensity-decay time profiles also gave a residual FL intensity parameter, shown to be associated to the distribution of produced species 2 and 2- , according to the basicity of the medium. Studying the reaction in both methanol (MeOH) and isopropanol (iPrOH), upon addition of HO- , provided evidence that the solvent's conjugate base is the active nucleophilic species. When different bases were used (tBuO- , HO- , DBU and TEA), bimolecular rate constants kbim ranging from 4.5 to 6.5 L mol-1  s-1 were obtained, which proved to be non-dependent on the base pKaH , suggesting specific base catalysis for the decomposition of 1 in alcoholic media.


BACKGROUND
Intimate partner violence (IPV) may interfere with women's use of preferred forms of contraception, resulting in unwanted pregnancies forcing women to seek permanent sterilization. A history of child sexual abuse (CSA) presages the risk for IPV in adulthood setting the stage for adverse reproductive outcomes.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether CSA and IPV are associated with women's voluntary sterilization when adjusting for demographics and reproductive health history.

METHODS
This cross-sectional study is based on in-person interviews of women (N = 278) drawn from outpatients surveyed in more than 10 different clinics (N = 2465). Women's history of gender-based violence and bilateral tubal ligation (BTL) were assessed.

RESULTS
About half of the women had a past history of IPV and 29% disclosed CSA. CSA predicted later entry into an abusive relationship (odds ratio [OR] = 6.7). Sterilization was reported by 19.6%. Parity (3+ children), having had an abortion, and receipt of welfare were associated with sterilization in univariate tests. Among those women receiving a BTL, 74% had violent partners. Adjusted multivariate logistic regressions, adjusted for demographics and reproductive history, indicated that having had an abusive partner increased the odds of sterilization; parity was also highly associated. CSA exerted only an indirect influence on sterilization via entry into violent relationships.

CONCLUSION
IPV raises the likelihood that women will choose sterilization. Despite the importance of women's access to permanent contraception, priority should be given to screening for gender-based violence and promoting interventions.


We have investigated hydrogenated amorphous carbon at a density (2.6 g/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$) and H content (16%) corresponding to hard films, by means of first-principles molecular dynamics. Our computer-generated sample consists of about 55% fourfold- 40% threefold- and a small fraction of twofold-coordinated carbon sites, in agreement with recent measurements. All H atoms are bonded to C; a great majority of them is bonded to C atoms linked to three other carbons, giving rise to ${\mathrm{C}}_{4}$-H units, and thus promoting ${\mathit{sp}}^{3}$ bonding. Only monohydrated C sites are found in our simulation. Our results for total and partial correlation functions compare well with those obtained in neutron-scattering experiments.


A combined experimental and analytical investigation of single proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, during cold start, has been conducted. The temperature influence on the performance of a single PEM fuel cell and the cold start failure of the PEM fuel cell was evaluated experimentally to determine the failure mechanisms and performance. The voltage, current, and power characteristics were investigated as a function of the load, the hydrogen fuel flow rate, and the cell temperature. The characteristics of cold start for a single PEM fuel cell were analyzed, and the various failure mechanisms were explored and characterized. In an effort to better understand the operational behavior and failure modes, a numerical simulation was also developed. The results of this analysis were then compared with the previously obtained experimental results and confirmed the accuracy of the failure mechanisms identified.


Esterification kinetics on acetic acid with isopropyl alcohol was studied in an intensified fixed bed reactor at 333–353 K with Amberlyst 36 Wet. The effects of volume flow rate, molar ratio of reactants, catalyst loading, and operating temperature were investigated and optimized. The method of UNIFAC was applied to calculate the activity coefficient of each component for correcting the nonideality of the solution. Reaction enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy were calculated in different cases. The pseudohomogeneous model, Eley–Rideal model, and Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Hougen–Watson model were used to establish kinetic equations of the reaction conducted in the IFBR. It was proved that the LHHW model can accurately describe the esterification kinetics in the intensified fixed bed reactor.


Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were used to study Ba2+ currents through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in dorsal root ganglion x mouse neuroblastoma hybrid (F-11) cells. Opioid agonists selective for either mu (Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Mephe-Gly-ol; DAMGO) or delta (Tyr-D-Pen-Gly-Phe-D-Pen-OH; DPDPE) receptors inhibited high-threshold Ba2+ currents. The inhibition was reversible, naloxone-sensitive, and dose-dependent. The inhibitory effects of both DAMGO and DPDPE were blocked by pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (PTX) as well as by brief exposure to the sulfhydryl alkylating agent, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). The N-type Ca2+ channel antagonist omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CTX GVIA) irreversibly inhibited high threshold Ba2+ currents by 66% and blocked the inhibitory effect of DAMGO or DPDPE. In contrast, the L-type Ca2+ channel blocker nifedipine inhibited high threshold Ba2+ currents by 15% and failed to block the inhibitory effect of DAMGO or DPDPE. These results demonstrate that mu and delta opioid receptors are negatively coupled to N-type Ca2+ channels via PTX- and NEM-sensitive GTP-binding proteins in F-11 cells.


Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main causes of nosocomial infections. The hospital staff as carriers of Staphylococcus aureus have an important role in spreading it among patients. This study aimed to investigate nuc gene, as S. aureus marker and sea gene, enterotoxin A gene nasal mucosa of sari burn hospital staff. In this cross-sectional study, a nasal swab of 40 staff of Burnt hospital of Sari was collected and isolated. The S. aureus was detected by biochemical tests such as Gram stain, catalase, coagulase. Then nuc and sea genes were identified after the extraction of DNA, by PCR technique and gel electrophoresis with specific primer.Results: From the 40 strains obtained from nasal of carriers, 20 S. aureus strains were isolated, and all of them included nuc gene, while 6 samples included sea gene. Given that every 20 samples had nuc gene, therefore this gene is a strong marker for S. aureus. Also, the presence of sea genes in some samples suggested the presence of enterotoxin A in hospital staff as a healthy carrier. Also, given that hospital staffs can be carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and spreading nosocomial infections, therefore identification of the carriers to prevent the spread of infection is essential.


The clinical development of the long-acting muscarinic antagonist bronchodilator glycopyrronium (Seebri® Breezhaler® inhalation powder) in the GLOW (glycopyrronium bromide in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease airways) series of studies showed that, compared with placebo, once-daily glycopyrronium provided 24-h bronchodilation, improved symptoms and health status and reduced the risk and rate of moderate or severe exacerbations. Glycopyrronium also reduced dynamic hyperinflation and increased exercise tolerance. Compared with the long-acting muscarinic antagonist tiotropium, glycopyrronium had a similar effect on clinical outcomes with a faster onset of action. Added to the long-acting β2-agonist bronchodilator indacaterol, glycopyrronium had a greater bronchodilator effect and improved dyspnea versus indacaterol alone. There were no significant safety issues in the GLOW studies. Glycopyrronium is a useful addition to the treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


This study investigates the influence of peers on young adults' product purchase decisions in Pakistan where the values and cultures differ because of significant religious influence and geographic dispersion. Data is collected from a convenience-based sample of university students via two questionnaires. Using different analysis techniques such as comparisons of means, analysis of variance, and LSD, results support the construct that peers do influence young adults' product purchase decisions. A number of variables and variations in the level of education, exposure, affluence or other cultural and societal differences etc. impose limitations on the study which can be removed through future studies. The research suggests marketers to pay special attention and invest in creative options for utilizing peer groups for sales and promotion of their products and brands


In order to obtain the necessary detailed design guidelines for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) included in the Virginia Department of Transportation's stormwater manual, a field program was initiated in 1991 for testing the pollutant removal efficiency of selected practices. A dry detention pond with a small, highly impervious drainage area and a vegetated swale draining runoff from an urban highway were selected for the study. Manual as well as automatic sampling methods were used to monitor stormwater runoff into and out of the two facilities. Pollutant removal efficiencies were calculated by a mass balance method. Pollutants examined included total suspended solids, total phosphorus, and total zinc. Preliminary data showed that, if properly designed, these types of facilities can be an effective tool for removing stormwater pollution from highway runoff.


The two dominant forms of SLAM are based on Extended Kalman Filtering and Consistent Pose Estimation. We show that these are particular subsets of a more general view of the SLAM problem, in which variables representing all robot poses and features are kept. The general technique of variable reduction is a unifying view of these methods that is mathematically sound, and which enables us to explore other interesting and computationally compelling forms for solving SLAM problems.


Finance in Transition discusses the transition from traditional finance to transition finance.The current pattern of unsustainable economic development is supported by the global financial system, whose goal function is to create ever more financial value. Traditional finance is based on the concept of shareholder value.

This paper develops new principles for a sustainable financial system. These guiding principles are: 1) from shareholder to integrated value, which combines financial, social and environmental value; 2) stewardship based on a direct link between financiers and companies; and 3) capital allocation based on long-term societal value.


This paper introduces a defense approach against end-to-end adversarial attacks developed for cutting-edge speech-to-text systems. The proposed defense algorithm has four steps. First, we use the short-time Fourier transform to represent speech signals with 2D spectrograms. Second, we iteratively find a safe vector using a spectrogram subspace projection operation. This operation minimizes the chordal distance adjustment between spectrograms with an additional regularization term. Third, we synthesize a spectrogram with such a safe vector using a novel GAN architecture trained with Sobolev integral probability metric. We impose an additional constraint on the generator network to improve the model's performance in terms of stability and the total number of learned modes. Finally, we reconstruct the signal from the synthesized spectrogram and the Griffin-Lim phase approximation technique. We evaluate the proposed defense approach against six strong white and black-box adversarial attacks on DeepSpeech, Kaldi, and Lingvo models. The experimental results show that our algorithm outperforms other state-of-the-art defense algorithms in terms of accuracy and signal quality.


AN Indore daily had reported on January 28 that earlier that month a tribal had been killed and another injured ''in an encounter with the police" near Alirajpur, a tehsil headquarters in the adivasi- dominated Jhabua district. According to the police, on the afternoon of January 9 the DSP of Alirajpur was travelling to nearby Ambua when he spotted four tribals "walking in a suspicious manner, dragging a goat with them''. The DSP stopped his vehicle and challenged them But instead of stopping, they fled and, after taking up positions behind the roadside bushes, started shooting arrows at the police party. (The Bhils of Jhabua carry bows and arrows as a part of their dress.) The police party fired three shots. Two bullets hit Aap Singh, one in the chest and the other in the abdomen. He was killed instantaneously. Two of the tribals fled from the spot, while Gamer Singh, brother of Aap Singh, attempted to attack the DSP, But the DSP's driver hit Gainer with his rifle butt and overpowered him.


In this paper we provide an investigation on the potential benefits that may exist for portfolio managers, private and institutional investors from domestic portfolio diversification. We employ daily data for the period 1996-2002 from the Cyprus Stock Exchange, recently established emerging market. Cointegration as well as linear and nonlinear causality analysis is used in order to reveal whether there are benefits from domestic portfolio diversification. The cointegration analysis leads to the conclusion that we are unable to reject the null hypothesis of no cointegration in most bivariate cases of the 56 pairs of sectoral indices and this finding is taken to imply that the are benefits from portfolio diversification, when domestic investors construct portfolios which include stocks from the sectors which are not cointegrated. Furthermore, the application of linear and nonlinear Granger causality leads to a pattern of causality between these pairs of sectoral indices which is almost identical and therefore the linearity hypothesis is rejected. Furthermore, based on our causality analysis we provide evidence that traders and investors in the CSE set up short-run investment strategies. Moreover, this implies that the Cypriot investors do not adopt contrarian and momentum investment strategies. Therefore, we argue that the investors in the Cyprus stock market exhibit myopic investment behaviour.


Terror attacks pose a serious threat to public safety and national security. New technologies assist these attacks, magnify them and render them deadlier. The more funding terrorist organizations manage to raise, the greater their capacity to recruit members, organize and commit terror attacks. Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, law enforcement agencies have increased their efforts to develop more anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulations, which are designed to block the flow of financing of terrorism and cut off its oxygen. However, at present most regulatory measures focus on traditional currencies. The more efforts to restrict the financing of terrorism by traditional fiat currencies succeeds, the greater the likelihood that cryptocurrencies will be used in order to fund illicit behavior. Furthermore, the COVID-19 virus and social distancing guidelines that followed it have increased the use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering, material support to terror and other financial crimes.

Cryptocurrencies, electronically generated and stored tokens which can be exchanged via a decentralized payment system, are a game changer, significantly affecting market functions like never before and making it easier to finance terrorism and other types of criminal activity. These decentralized and (usually) anonymous usable currencies facilitate a high volume of transactions, allowing terrorists extensive fundraising, management, transfer and spending of money for illegal activities. The ability of terror organizations and those who finance them to increase their activities and attacks by using cryptocurrencies poses a major threat to national security. As cryptocurrencies gain popularity, the issue of how to regulate them becomes more urgent. The scope and utility of financing of terrorism begs for a coherent legal response.

This Article proposes to reform the regulation of cryptocurrencies. It advocates the promotion of mandatory obligations directed at cryptocurrency issuers, wallet providers and exchanges to verify the identity of users on the blockchain. Thus, courts could grant warrants obligating companies issuing cryptocurrencies to unmask the identity of cryptocurrency users when there is probable cause that their activities support terrorism or other money laundering activities. Such reforms would make it possible to allow stifling the financing of terrorism and other types of criminal activity financed through cryptocurrencies, and in so doing would make it possible to curb harmful lethal activities and promote national security. As we are aware of the legal challenges our solution poses, this Article also addresses substantial objections that might be raised regarding the proposed reforms, such as jeopardizing innovation, First Amendment freedom of expression objections, Fourth Amendment protection from surveillance and measures for promoting efficiency in the application of the proposed reforms.


AIMS AND METHOD To examine service-level variables predicting treatment adherence in a
specialist eating disorder unit. We analysed a sample of 157 individuals
consecutively referred to the unit over an 18-month period. Associations were
determined using odds ratios. RESULTS Individuals with a formal care programme at the point of referral were more
likely to stay in treatment. Treatment adherence was not predicted by illness
severity or waiting time. Follow-up by a dietician and acceptance of referral
to a support group predicted better treatment outcomes. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Although the standard care programme approach may be relinquished in the
UK, we recommend that this approach or its equivalent be used in specialist
eating disorder services to improve treatment adherence.


With the certain regulation of unified real estate registration taken by the Property Law and the step-by-step advance of simultaneous development in urban and rural in China, it is the premise and foundation to clearly specify property rights and their relations in promoting the integrated management of urban and rural land. This paper aims at developing a cadastral domain model oriented at unified real estate registration of China from the perspective of legal and spatial, which set up the foundation for unified real estate registration, and facilitates the effective interchange of cadastral information and the administration of land use. The legal cadastral model is provided based on the analysis of gap between current model and the demand of unified real estate registration, which implies the restrictions between different rights. Then the new cadastral domain model is constructed based on the legal cadastral domain model and CCDM (van Oosterom et al., 2006), which integrate real estate rights of urban land and rural land. Finally, the model is validated by a prototype system. The results show that the model is applicable for unified real estate registration in China.


In this work two novel valve devices are proposed for treatment of glaucoma. By opening or closing, the proposed valves can be used to reduce high pressures in the eye (hypertony), or prevent low pressures in the eye (hypotony) respectively. These devices work based on the buckling of fluid channel connected to the anterior chamber of the eye. The first proposed valve is fully mechanical while the second proposed device is magnetically driven


Membrane filter performance was investigated using beer-spoilage lactic acid bacteria (LAB). As a result, beer-adapted LAB strains showed considerably increased penetration rate through filters, as compared with non-adapted strains. Further statistical analyses demonstrated the significant shifts in cell size distribution towards shorter rods, when Lactobacillus brevis and L. lindneri strains were precultured in beer. These results indicate that diminished cell size is responsible for the deteriorated filter performance and, therefore, beer-adapted lactic acid bacteria are regarded as a serious threat to the production of unpasteurized beers. In addition, the selection of test strains and preculture conditions are suggested to be important for the rigorous and standardized evaluation of membrane filter performance in the brewing industry.


Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor composed of two subunits, HIF-1alpha and ARNT, which is activated under hypoxia. HIF-1alpha mRNA is expressed constitutively in a wide variety of cell types, whereas in some others HIF1A gene expression is upregulated by hypoxia. In this report, we show that in endothelial cells (HMEC-1) the HIF-1alpha mRNA expression level is the same in both normoxia and hypoxia. Deletion analysis experiments of the HIF1A promoter showed that in hypoxia HIF1A gene expression is upregulated through a short sequence located next to the transcription initiation site. We also show that in hypoxia another sequence located upstream from the +1 initiation site plays an inhibitory role on HIF1A transcription in HMEC-1 but not in hepatoma cells and brings back this expression level to that observed in normoxia. Finally, we demonstrate that HIF1A gene transcription is dependent on Sp1 binding sites and that the 5'UTR sequence also contains other important cis-acting elements.


We present a case study of necrotizing fasciitis (NF), a very rare but dangerous complication of chest tube management. A 69-year-old man with shortness of breath underwent thoracostomy for chest tube placement and drainage with antibiotic treatment, followed by a computed tomography scan. He was diagnosed with thoracic empyema. Initially, a non-cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon managed the drainage, but the management was inappropriate. The patient developed NF at the tube site on the chest wall, requiring emergency fasciotomy and extensive surgical debridement. He was discharged without any complications after successful control of NF. A thoracic surgeon can perform both tube thoracostomy and tube management directly to avoid complications, as delayed drainage might result in severe complications.


A methodology is presented for the design of a microfabricated blister-type device to examine the cellular response of isolated cells and multi-cellular aggregates to finite mechanical strains (1-5%):. The proposed device utilizes microfabrication technologies that incorporate the bonding, transfer, and assembly of thin (3 /spl mu/m < thickness < 100 /spl mu/m) elastic membranes onto rigid substrates with a circular hole or array of circular holes in the formation of diaphragm structures. An analysis of membrane deformations and strain fields of macro- and micro-scale polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) diaphragm, blister-type devices demonstrates that microfabricated diaphragms can achieve finite strains corresponding to smaller axial displacements than those required for identical strains in macro-scale devices. Smaller axial displacements may decrease the confounding shear loading of the cell culture by the overlying nutrient medium. Additionally, it is shown that the uniform residual stress of a microfabricated diaphragm can be experimentally determined and utilized for more precise control of the incremental finite strains imposed on the diaphragm. Thus, microfabricated blister-type cell straining devices may potentially enhance future quantitative investigations of dynamic mechanically stimulated cell culture.


Rotating spiral waves of electrical excitation underlie many dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. The heterogeneity of myocardium is one of the factors that affects the dynamics of such waves. In this paper, we present results of our simulations for scroll wave dynamics in a heterogeneous model of the human left ventricle with analytical anatomically based representation of the geometry and anisotropy. We used a set of 18 coupled differential equations developed by ten Tusscher and Panfilov (TP06 model) which describes human ventricular cells based on their measured biophysical properties. We found that apicobasal heterogeneity dramatically changes the scroll wave dynamics. In the homogeneous model, the scroll wave annihilates at the base, but the moderate heterogeneity causes the wave to move to the apex and then continuously rotates around it. The rotation speed increased with the degree of the heterogeneity. However, for large heterogeneity, we observed formation of additional wavebreaks and the onset of complex spatio-temporal patterns. Transmural heterogeneity did not change the dynamics and decreased the lifetime of the scroll wave with an increase in heterogeneity. Results of our numerical experiments show that the apex may be a preferable location of the scroll wave, which may be important for development of clinical interventions.


SIR,-The very important paper by Dr. C. A. Clarke and his colleagues (Journal, September 29, 1956, p. 725) established an association between duodenal ulceration and secretion of substances with ABO specificity, ulcers being considerably commoner in non-secretors than in secretors. At the same time they set out to discover whether the associations of duodenal ulceration with group 0 and with non-secretion observed in the general population also hold within sibships of brothers and sisters. I greatly appreciated several discussions with them during the progress of this interesting work, and they have also kindly given me a copy of the full basic data. Two points have struck me, which I think ought to be made, and after consultation with Dr. Clarke and his colleagues it was agreed that I should put them forward, thereby allowing the Liverpool workers to devote a letter to some new features which they have noted. The first point is a matter of clarification. It was found that in 112 sibships containing both O's and non-O's the propositus with ulcer who brought the sibship to notice belonged to group 0 in 59 instances. The expected number on the null hypothesis, that within sibships O's and non-O's are equally likely to develop ulcers, was 54.9095. The difference was only 0.804 times its standard error and so not significant. It was therefore correctly concluded that " the analysis of our sibship data gives no evidence to support the hypothesis that a group 0 individual is more likely to have a duodenal ulcer than are his A, B, or AB sibs." But neither do the data contradict the hypothesis that the incidence of ulcer in persons of group 0 relative to non-O's is as high within sibships as it is in the general population. The previous figures of Clarke et a[.' indicate for the population of Liverpool a relative incidence of ulcer of 1.54 in O's compared to 1 in the other groups. This figure may be applied to the sibship data. Thus, considering sibships containing equal numbers of O's and non-O's, the chance of the propositus being 0 is put at 0.6063 and of being non-0 0.3937, instead of the 0.5 and 0.5 of the null hypothesis, and similarly for other compositions of segregating sibships. The expected number of 0 propositi is 65.989. The difference from the observed 59 is 6.989, which is 1.39 times its standard error and so non-significant. In fact, the sibship data do not contradict at the 5% level of significance any figure for relative incidence in O's which does not exceed 1.71. This figure is much higher than 1.38, which is the average for all centres reported up to the present, and considerably higher than 1.57, which is the highest figure at any single centre. The additional information provided by sibships containing more than one ulcer patient gives the same result. It is not possible, therefore, to draw any conclusion. The second point did not occur to me till after the paper appeared. This is the effect of sex when the sibships contain both men and women. Duodenal ulceration is nearly six times commoner in men than in women. If, therefore, we consider a sibship of two, a man and a woman, one of whom is 0 and the other not 0, then which the propositus with the ulcer will be is overwhelmingly affected by sex and only to a much slighter extent by blood group, even if O's show within sibships the same higher incidence as in the population generally. In the great majority of such sibships it is the man who will have the ulcer, whether he -be 0 or not 0. If such sibships are included in the analysis the information they contribute, even if it is unbiased, is largely irrelevant, and the variance is artificially increased. The correctness of this argument is confirmed by an examination of the data on sibships and secretion. Clarke et al. showed 89 sibships segregating for secretion. The observed number of propositi who were non-secretors was 52, the expected number on the hypothesis of equal incidence within sibships being 42.464, the difference being 2.13 times its standard error. Let us now consider only those sibships in which the sibs are all of the same sex as the propositus. Thirty of the 89 sibships are entirely unchanged, as all members were of the same sex. A further 23 can also be used, as the omission of one or more sibs of opposite sex to the propositus still leaves a segregating sibship. In the 53 sibships the observed number of propositi who are nonsecretors is 38. The expected number is 24.900. The difference is 13.100 + 3.518, or 3.72 times its standard error. Thus the omission of the (largely) irrelevant sibships, and the irrelevant members of some others, has reduced a probability of I in 30 to 1 in 5,000, and greatly strengthens the conclusion that the association between ulcer and non-secretion holds within sibships. Turning to the other 36 sibships, those of mixed sex, the expected number of propositi who are non-secretors is 14 against an expectation of 17.583 + 2.881, a result entirely incompatible with that given by the sibships all of one sex. As a further illustration, if we had any doubt that the greater incidence of duodenal ulcer in men held within sibships of brothers and sisters also, exactly the same treatment could be applied as for blood group or secretion. In the 36 sibships of mixed sex the propositus is a man in 30. On the hypothesis that within sibships the risk for the sexes is equal the expected number is 18.083; the difference is 11.917 + 2.848,4.18 times its standard error. If we substitute expectations which we know to be approximately correct for the general population-namely, 0.85 and 0.15 for men and women respectively-the expected number of propositi who are men is 30.086, very close to the number observed. Applying the same treatment to the sibships segregating for 0 and non-O, the 112 sibships mentioned above are reduced to 60, the propositus being of group 0 in 35 instances. The expected number on the null hypothesis of equal incidence is 31.000, and on the hypothesis of a relative incidence of duodenal ulcer in group 0 of 1.54 is 37.000. The differences of 4.000 and 2.000 are respectively 1.08 and 0.54 times their standard errors. The question of relative incidence within sibships, with its important bearing on whether the association is directly causal or not, is still left open and must await the collection of further data. It might be asked why we should standardize one factor affecting incidence and ignore others that may also be influentialfor example, age. The answer is that with duodenal ulcer the effect of sex is so large that we must take it into account if we are to avoid the risk of being seriously misled. It could easily have happened that the hypothesis of increased incidence in group 0 within sibships might have been wrongly rejected. Standardization for age might effect some improvement, but in comparison this is likely to be very small. Actually, on the Liverpool data, using all the 293 sibships, the mean age of the propositi is only 0.6 years greater than that of their sibs.


Human tissue is composed in part of cells and in part of amorphous matrix components. Equilibrium exists between the synthesis and degradation of connective tissue under physiological conditions, which serves both the formation and the maintenance of tissue architecture. Synthesis progresses via mesenchymal cells, degradation is controlled by the proteolytic effect of a group of enzymes, which belong to the protein family of matrix metalloproteinases. In biological development, matrix metalloproteinases play an important role in all essential configurative processes in embryo- and histogenesis. As a result of the importance of matrix metalloproteinases in creation of connective tissue, dysregulation with excessive proteolytic activity may result in tissue damage. Histological structural changes are set in relation to the molecular expression pattern of matrix metalloproteinases using matrix relevant diseases of human skin. Discussion includes fibrosing processes, skin inflammations, wound healing, blistering diseases, premature sun-induced skin aging and primary cutaneous malignomas and their metastases.


A while ago I was approached by one of our senior residents who was scheduled to start her rotation in our Hand Program. She told me that she was a bit anxious, because she felt that the wrist had always been the 'black box' for her. After I reassured her that she would learn all about the wrist by the time she finished the rotation, a thought occurred to me that I also had a 'black box', but instead of the wrist, some current diagnoses in the upper extremity had caused me some concerns. Since at the present my part-time practice is confined to hand consultations, I thought that I had better open this box of mine and do some armchair research. This of course was conducted with the help of Dr Google. I thought that I would share some of my findings with you. I recently met a 40-year-old lady who was referred by her family doctor for a second opinion (after the initial visit I learned that I was number 4!). Very briefly, I learned that she was a factory worker (Workplace Safety & Insurance Board positive) who had fallen at work approximately six months ago, injuring her right dominant hand. Since that time she had been experiencing severe pain and had not returned to work. She came with a copy of numerous previous investigation reports that included x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and electromyograms – all within normal limits. I also learned that she had been having ongoing problems with her employer and the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board. Physical examination was less than satisfactory. She had 'global' wrist pain and numbness and tingling in all of her fingers.


While combining imitation learning (IL) and reinforcement learning (RL) is a promising way to address poor sample efficiency in autonomous behavior acquisition, methods that do so typically assume that the requisite behavior demonstrations are provided by an expert that behaves optimally with respect to a task reward. If, however, suboptimal demonstrations are provided, a fundamental challenge appears in that the demonstration-matching objective of IL conflicts with the return-maximization objective of RL. This paper introduces D-Shape, a new method for combining IL and RL that uses ideas from reward shaping and goal-conditioned RL to resolve the above conflict. D-Shape allows learning from suboptimal demonstrations while retaining the ability to find the optimal policy with respect to the task reward. We experimentally validate D-Shape in sparse-reward gridworld domains, showing that it both improves over RL in terms of sample efficiency and converges consistently to the optimal policy in the presence of suboptimal demonstrations.


Eukaryotic cells use chromatin marks to regulate the initiation of DNA replication. The origin recognition complex (ORC)‐associated protein ORCA plays a critical role in heterochromatin replication in mammalian cells by recruiting the initiator ORC, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report crystal and cryo‐electron microscopy structures of ORCA in complex with ORC's Orc2 subunit and nucleosomes, establishing that ORCA orchestrates ternary complex assembly by simultaneously recognizing a highly conserved peptide sequence in Orc2, nucleosomal DNA, and repressive histone trimethylation marks through an aromatic cage. Unexpectedly, binding of ORCA to nucleosomes prevents chromatin array compaction in a manner that relies on H4K20 trimethylation, a histone modification critical for heterochromatin replication. We further show that ORCA is necessary and sufficient to specifically recruit ORC into chromatin condensates marked by H4K20 trimethylation, providing a paradigm for studying replication initiation in specific chromatin contexts. Collectively, our findings support a model in which ORCA not only serves as a platform for ORC recruitment to nucleosomes bearing specific histone marks but also helps establish a local chromatin environment conducive to subsequent MCM2‐7 loading.


Web search is probably the single most important application on the Internet. The most famous search techniques are perhaps the PageRank and HITS algorithms. These algorithms are motivated by the observation that a hyperlink from a page to another is an implicit conveyance of authority to the target page. They exploit this social phenomenon to identify quality pages, e.g., "authority" pages and "hub" pages. In this paper we argue that these algorithms miss an important dimension of the Web, the temporal dimension. The Web is not a static environment. It changes constantly. Quality pages in the past may not be quality pages now or in the future. These techniques favor older pages because these pages have many in-links accumulated over time. New pages, which may be of high quality, have few or no in-links and are left behind. Bringing new and quality pages to users is important because most users want the latest information. Research publication search has exactly the same problem. This paper studies the temporal dimension of search in the context of research publication search. We propose a number of methods deal with the problem. Our experimental results show that these methods are highly effective.


We study the optimal packing of short, hard spherocylinders confined to lie tangential to a spherical surface, using simulated annealing and molecular dynamics simulations. For clusters of up to twelve particles, we map out the changes in the geometry of the closest-packed configuration as a function of the aspect ratio L/D, where L is the cylinder length and D the diameter of the rods. We find a rich variety of cluster structures. For larger clusters, we find that the best-packed configurations up to around 100 particles are highly dependent on the exact number of particles and aspect ratio. For even larger clusters, we find largely disordered clusters for very short rods (L/D = 0.25), while slightly longer rods (L/D = 0.5 or 1) prefer a global baseball-like geometry of smectic-like domains, similar to the behavior of large-scale nematic shells. Intriguingly, we observe that when compared to their optimal flat-plane packing, short rods adapt to the spherical geometry more efficiently than both spheres and longer rods. Our results provide predictions for experimentally realizable systems of colloidal rods trapped at the interface of emulsion droplets.


Abstract Objective To test whether recombinant anti-Müllerian hormone (rAMH) could exert an inhibitory function on BRCA1/2 expression in human ovarian cortex. Methods Pilot study on ovariectomized nude mice xenotransplanted with human vitrified/warmed ovarian cortex and treated with rAMH via infusion pump. Twelve nude mice were ovariectomized and Alzet pumps delivering 1.23 mcg rAMH/day to reach a serum concentration of 17.5 ng/mL, or placebo (controls), were inserted intraabdominally. Previously vitrified/warmed 2x2 mm ovarian cortex fragments were transplanted on day 7 and then harvested on day 14 after pump placement. PCR analyses determined mRNA levels for BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the human ovarian cortex. Results In mice treated with rAMH, BRCA1 expression was significantly lower (0.196 fg/µg RNA, IQR 0.158, 0.236) than in controls (0.544 fg/µg RNA, IQR 0.458, 0.554; p = .030), while BRCA2 expression remained similar in rAMH mice (5.355 fg/µg RNA, IQR 4.479, 6.230) and in controls (4.011 fg/µg RNA, IQR 3.650, 4.182; p = .327). Conclusion Administration of rAMH in the peri-transplant period caused downregulation of BRCA1, but not of BRCA2 expression, in human ovarian cortex. These results help our understanding of DNA repair mechanism in the ovarian cortex and identify AMH's possible protective effect on ovarian reserve in BRCA1 mutation carriers.


We propose to measure Purcell effect by observing the current through a semeiconductor quantum dot embedded in a microcavity. An electron and a hole are injected separately into the quantum structure to form an exciton and then recombine radiatively. The stationary current is shown to be altered if one varies the cavity length or the exciton energy gap. Therefore, the Purcell effect can be observed experimentally by measuring the current through the quantum structure. In addition, we also find superradiance of excitons between quantum dots may also be observed in an electrical way.PACS: 78.67.-n, 42.50.Fx, 73.23.Hk


Traditionally, designers and contractors provide additional external supports to retaining walls through the use of tie-back anchors or braces. Both approaches are known to have their shortcomings; braces limit working space within excavation areas, while tie-backs are seldom used in built-up areas where intrusion into adjacent property of non-cooperative owners has to be avoided or in situations where sensitive structures exist behind the wall. This paper focuses on the design, construction and monitoring of deep excavation support systems on two separate projects located in different ground conditions in the Republic of Ireland. On both projects, conventional ground anchorage and propping were inapplicable. This led to the development and application of two different novel solutions on both projects. Methods of wall performance monitoring on both sites also differ. Wall monitoring results show these innovative methods to be safe and effective. Advantages of the novel solutions over traditional approaches are highlighted.


GE together with MTSI, Woodward, and Bibby Transmissions, has developed and delivered a compact gas turbine package for the Korean Navy. The prime mover is GE's LM500 engine rated at 5500 shp. Remarkably, the period of execution was only 16 months including the development and construction of the production test cell. The paper will examine all phases of the propulsion system development from ship integration to sea trial results (scheduled for Spring 2008). Of particular interest is the design evolution of the high speed coupling shaft (HSCS). Of all of the component development activities, the HSCS was the most challenging. Progress in this particular area will benefit future marine propulsion programs requiring shock qualification.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


A series of C–N linked bistetrazolate nitramino compounds, i.e., 1-(2H-tetrazol-5-yl)-5-nitraminotetrazole (2) and its energetic salts (3–8), were successfully prepared from readily available 5-aminotetrazole. All new energetic compounds were fully characterized by IR and NMR spectra and elemental analysis, and six of them (1, 3–7) were further determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The nitrogen contents of these energetic bistetrazolate compounds, ranging from 59.3% (3) to 74.8% (7), are much higher than those of the commonly used high explosives such as RDX (N: 37.8%), HMX (N: 37.8%) and CL-20 (N: 38.3%). And theoretical calculations by using the Gaussian 09 program package demonstrate that compounds 1–8 have high positive heats of formation, of which the heats of formation of ammonium salt 4 (3.60 kJ g−1), aminonitroguanidinium 5 (3.11 kJ g−1) and dihydrazinium salt 7 (3.25 kJ g−1) are approximately eight times higher than those of RDX (0.39 kJ g−1) and HMX (0.39 kJ g−1), and four times higher than that of CL-20 (0.83 kJ g−1). The high nitrogen contents and high heats of formation have endowed these energetic compounds with prominent detonation performance. It is noteworthy that compound 7 exhibits an excellent calculated detonation velocity of 9822 m s−1 superior to that of CL-20 (9730 m s−1), while the impact and friction sensitivities of 7 (IS = 8 J, FS = 192 N) are comparable to those of HMX (IS = 7 J, FS = 112 N). The good detonation properties with moderate sensitivities demonstrate that compound 7 is a promising candidate for application as a high-performance energetic material.


Abstract Simulation and optimization of photovoltaic (PV) systems are recently urging as a hotspot in the field of renewable energy. For this, different models have been introduced to simulate the behavior of real PV cells and modules. An accurate estimation of unknown parameters of PV models is necessary to achieve a good performance of photovoltaic systems. This paper presents a new metaheuristic algorithm called Levy flight trajectory-based salp swarm algorithm (LSSA), which estimated single diode (SD), double diode (DD) and PV module models parameters. Compared with the original salp swarm algorithm (SSA), LSSA benefits from enhanced population diversity due to Levy flight trajectory characteristic of long jump steps. In order to validate its efficiency, the proposed technique was compared with other well-known meta-heuristics for estimating PV parameters in the SD, DD and PV modules. The experimental and comparative results demonstrated that LSSA was able to find extremely accurate solutions with high reliability and offers very competitive results for the problem of estimating PV parameters.


The increased demand for higher education has made online learning popular and appealing to many stakeholders including working staff and students. Though online learning has gained popularity, it is still being criticized for being a faceless medium that does little to support social interaction. Social constructivist argue that knowledge is constructed through social activities and therefore, knowledge developed using collaboration is more than what can be achieved by an individual alone. Online learning, if supported by a good collaborative strategy like discussion forums, can be at par with social constructivist view of learning in terms of learning achievement. Learning Management Systems such as Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) supports online tools that include discussion forums, chat rooms, e-mails, newsgroups, workshops, etc. These tools provide new opportunities for students to collaborate online and construct knowledge through peer learning. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive the collaborative learning process as challenging. Although a number of challenges have been mentioned in the literature, they do not have empirically grounded evidence and therefore overcoming these challenges remains an issue. In light of this and the increasing demand for online learning, this research aimed at investigating the current status of online collaborative learning in Higher Learning Institutions in Kenya, identify perceived challenges, and explore strategies for improving online collaborative learning through intelligent support techniques such as machine learning.
To that end, this research was designed using a Multi-Methodological approach in order to develop and validate a prototype which provided a novel approach through intelligent support techniques for group formation based on students' collaboration competence level and a platform to provide immediate feedback in Moodle. The first part of the methodology was a cross-sectional survey which was used to carry out a pre-study to investigate the current status of online collaborative learning and students' perceived challenges in an online'-collaborative learhing environment in Higher Learning Institutions in Kenya. This pre-study informed the system development and the validation processes for the prototype. The second part of methodology was the system development methodology which guided the development of the prototype. The final part of the methodology an experimental design that was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the intelligent module on the formation of diverse groups and the impact of the group formation method on group performance in an online collaborative learning environment. In this study three groups were used, where in group one students were assigned into groups using grade point average scores , in group two students were assigned into groups using intelligent grouping algorithm and in group three students were assigned into groups using the random method.
The novel approach for group formation using machine learning techniques was found capable of forming heterogeneous groups that tended to perform effectively and efficiently at the same level as the random method and the grade point average method. There was no statistical significance in differences associated with the three methods of group formation and performance in a group task. Furthermore, all the three groups had similar positive learning experiences and had few common challenges. With the understanding that random assignment method only increases the likelihood of heterogeneity in the group and grade point average method involves the
instructors and it is not dynamic, our proposed intelligent grouping algorithm has the advantage of guaranteeing heterogeneity based on learner's collaboration competence level, dynamism in grouping students and less instructor involvement. Due to these advantages, instructors are more likely to adopt our intelligent grouping technique. Further studies should also be conducted to compare the intelligent grouping with other group assignment methods which were not studied in this study.


A convenient and rapid approach for the syntheses of (-)-kaerophyllin (1), (-)-hinokinin (2) and (±)-isohinokinin (3) was described. The key steps were involved in condensation of aromatic aldehyde and alkylation of the resulting ester to give the complete skeleton of dibenzylbutyrolactone-lignan. Hydrolysis, followed by resolution with quinine, reduction and when appropriate, oxidation gave the title compound. The asymmetric total synthesis of the kaerophyllin (1) was reported for the first time.


In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has gained prominence in rapid prototyping and production of structural components with complex geometries. Magnesium alloys, whose strength-to-weight ratio is superior compared to steel and aluminum alloys, have shown potential in lightweighting applications. However, commercial beam-based AM technologies have limited success with magnesium alloys due to vaporization and hot cracking. Therefore, as an alternative approach, we propose the use of a near net-shape solid-state additive manufacturing process, Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD), to fabricate magnesium alloys in bulk. In this study, a parametric investigation was performed to quantify the effect of process parameters on AFSD build quality including volumetric defects and surface quality in magnesium alloy AZ31B. In order to understand the effect of the AFSD process on structural integrity in the magnesium alloy AZ31B, in-depth microstructure and mechanical property characterization was conducted on a bulk AFSD build fabricated with a set of acceptable process parameters. Results of the microstructure analysis of the as-deposited AFSD build revealed bulk microstructure similar to wrought magnesium alloy AZ31 plate. Additionally, similar hardness measurements were found in AFSD build compared to control wrought specimens. While tensile test results of the as-deposited AFSD build exhibited a 20 percent drop in yield strength, nearly identical ultimate strength was observed compared to the wrought control. The experimental results of this study illustrate the potential of using the AFSD process to additively manufacture Mg alloys for load bearing structural components with achieving wrought-like microstructure and mechanical properties.


Blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum, allow a set of actors to maintain a ledger of transactions without relying on a central authority and to deploy programs, called smart contracts, that are executed whenever certain transactions occur. These features can be used as basic building blocks for executing collaborative business processes between mutually untrusting parties. However, implementing business processes using the low‐level primitives provided by blockchain platforms is cumbersome and error‐prone. In contrast, established business process management systems (BPMSs), such as those based on the standard Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), provide convenient abstractions for rapid development of process‐oriented applications. This article demonstrates how to combine the advantages of a BPMS with those of a blockchain platform. The article introduces a blockchain‐based BPMN execution engine, named Caterpillar. Like any BPMN execution engine, Caterpillar supports the creation of instances of a process model and allows users to monitor the state of process instances and to execute tasks thereof. The specificity of Caterpillar is that the state of each process instance is maintained on the (Ethereum) blockchain and the workflow routing is performed by smart contracts generated by a BPMN‐to‐Solidity compiler. The Caterpillar compiler supports a large array of BPMN constructs, including subprocesses, multiple‐instance activities, and event handlers. The paper describes the architecture of Caterpillar and the interfaces it provides to support the monitoring of process instances, the allocation and execution of work items, and the execution of service tasks.


The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the cleaning effect of CO2 on surface topography and composition of failed dental implant surfaces. Ten failed dental implants were retrieved from nine patients (mean age, 46.33 ± 5.81 years) as a result of early or late failure. The implants were divided into two parts: one side of the implant was irradiated with a CO2 laser (test side), while the other side did not receive irradiation (control side). The CO2 laser was operated at 1.2 W in a continuous wave for 40 seconds (40 J energy). The handpiece of the CO2 laser was kept at a distance of 30 mm from the implant surface, resulting in a spot area of 0.031415 cm2 (38.20 W/cm2; 1559 J/cm2) in scanning mode (cervical–apical). One unused dental implant was used as a negative control for both groups. All implant surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometer x-ray (EDS) for element analysis. SEM showed that the surface of the test sides consisted of different degrees of organic residues, appearing mainly as dark stains similar to those observed on the control sides. None of the test surfaces presented alterations such as crater-like alterations, lava-like layers, or melting compared with the nonirradiated surfaces. Foreign elements such as carbon, oxygen, sodium, calcium, and aluminum were detected on both sides. These results suggest that CO2 laser irradiation does not modify the implant surface, although the cleaning effect was not satisfactory.


ts-NT3-KR rat cell cultures show the loss of three components in the molecular-weight region 200,000--250,000 when exposed to dibutyryl cyclic AMP, under conditions of both restriction and expression of the transformed phenotype. Vinblastine is able to precipitate preferentially from control cultures the species that are decreased by exposure to the cyclic nucleotide. Serum-starved cultures exposed to dibutyryl cyclic AMP reveal differences in their vinblastine precipitates, depending on whether the expression of the transformation phenotype is restricted or not.


Murine adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a ubiquitous purine catabolic enzyme whose expression is subject to developmental and tissue-specific regulation. ADA is enriched in trophoblast cells of the chorioallantoic placenta and is essential for embryonic and fetal development. To begin to understand the genetic pathway controlling Ada gene expression in the placenta, we have identified and characterized a 770-base pair fragment located 5.4 kilobase pairs upstream of the Ada transcription initiation site, which directs reporter gene expression to the placenta of transgenic mice. The expression pattern of the reporter gene reflected that of the endogenous Ada gene in the placenta. Sequence analysis revealed potential binding sites for bHLH and GATA transcription factors. DNase I footprinting defined three protein binding regions, one of which was placenta-specific. Mutations in the potential protein binding sites and footprinting regions resulted in loss of placental expression in transgenic mice. These findings indicate that multiple protein binding motifs are necessary for Ada expression in the placenta.


A fluorinated hyperbranched polyimide (HBPI) is synthesized by using a triamine monomer, 1,3,5-tris(2-trifluoromethyl-4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TFAPOB) (B3), as a "core" molecule, 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA) as a A2 monomer, and 4-aminophthalonitrile as an end-capping reagent. After that, a series of novel fluorinated hyperbranched polyimides end-capped with metallophthalocyanines were prepared by the reactions of dicyanophenyl end-capped hyperbranched polyimide with excessive amounts of 1,2-dicyanobenzene and the corresponding metal salt in quinoline. The resulting polyimides containing metallophthalocyanine unites shows optical absorption in the visible region. The absorption bands of the polymers in chloroform solution are in the range of 665–701 nm. These polyimides show glass transition temperatures between 216 and 225°C, and the 5 wt % weight loss temperature of the polymers varied from 440 to 543°C under nitrogen. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


The reproducibility and ability of ELISA to discriminate patients with active disease from
those infected were investigated.. The results obtained on 60 sputum-positive adult tuberculous
patients and 60 adult control subjects showed groupwise discrimination. The anti-PPD antibodies
(Ig G class) were significantly elevated in tuberculous patients as compared with control subjects. But
because of the large day-to-day variation and considerable overlap in the distribution of antibody
levels in tuberculous and control subjects, it is not possible to use ELISA as a diagnostic tool for
adult pulmonary tuberculosis.


The effect of different serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists on the release of prolactin (PRL) was investigated in conscious male rats. The 5-HT1 receptor agonists 5-carboxamidotryptamine and RU 24969 stimulated the PRL secretion dose dependently. RU 24969 possessed almost the same potency and efficacy (maximal effect) as 5-HT, while 5-carboxamidotryptamine was more potent and had a higher efficacy. The 5-HT1 + 2 receptor agonist MK 212 stimulated the PRL secretion only at high doses. The 5-HT2 receptor agonist S(alpha)methyl-5-HT and the 5-HT3 receptor agonist 2-methyl-5-HT had minor or no effect on the PRL secretion. The PRL-releasing effect of submaximal doses of 5-carboxamidotryptamine and RU 24969 was blocked by the 5-HT1 + 2 receptor antagonist methysergide and enhanced by other 5-HT agonists, but was unaffected by the 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. MK 212, S(alpha)methyl-5-HT, and--in particular--2-methyl-5-HT potentiated the effect of 5-carboxamidotryptamine. Likewise, 2-methyl-5-HT potentiated the effect of RU 24969, while MK 212 or S(alpha)methyl-5-HT had an additive to slightly potentiating effect. The findings show that 5-HT stimulates PRL secretion via 5-HT1 as well as 5-HT2 receptors and that activation of 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptors significantly augment the PRL-stimulating effect of 5-HT1 receptor activation. This indicates that the 5-HT receptor subtypes may interact functionally in the mediation of the PRL-releasing effect of the serotonergic system.


Background
Aortic stiffness increases with age and increases pulsatile stress in the microcirculation. Abnormalities in kidney microvascular structure and function may contribute to development or progression of chronic kidney disease in older people.

Methods
We performed a longitudinal analysis of 629 community-dwelling elderly Icelandic adults from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study with two visits over a mean follow-up of 5.3 years. We evaluated the associations of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CFPWV), carotid pulse pressure (CPP) and augmentation index (AI), with the change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) assessed as annual change and dichotomized as large changes. Models were adjusted for age, sex, height, heart rate, traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors and baseline kidney measures.

Results
When eGFR was analyzed as a continuous variable, higher baseline CFPWV and CPP, but not AI, were significantly associated with a larger annual decline in eGFR in models adjusted for age, sex, height, heart rate and baseline eGFR, but not after additional adjustment for the mean arterial pressure. When eGFR was analyzed as a categorical variable, higher CFPWV was significantly associated with a decrease in eGFR of ≥3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year [odds ratio (OR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.13] and higher AI was associated with 30% eGFR decline during follow-up (OR 1.44 and 95% CI 1.03-2.00) in fully adjusted models. None of the tonometry measures was associated with change in UACR.

Conclusions
Abnormalities in vascular health may play a role in large declines in eGFR beyond the traditional cardiovascular disease risks in this older Icelandic cohort.


Surgical alteration of the platysma muscle improves the results of cervicofacial rhylidoplasty. The operative technique indicated for an individual patient is determined, in part, by the anatomy of the platysma deformity. Many questions regarding the late results of platysma muscle surgery can only be answered by long-term follow-up.This paper presents the results in 75 patients who had platysma muscle flap cervicofacial rhytidoplasty. The 8 most common platysma deformities are discussed. Undesirable results and pitfalls in technique are noted.


In the case of a fire event, structural components are exposed to a thermal load. To determine the fire resistivity of building components standardized fire resistance tests (FRTs) have to be carried out. Besides the heating and the deformation of building components during the FRT, also the fire response of the adjacent wall construction is important. In the past, the fire response (deformation) of masonry brick and stud walls was examined without building components placed in the wall. However, the thermal expansion of doors and other components is causing a mechanical load on the wall, which is affecting its deformation. Thus, in the present study the deformation of masonry brick walls and gypsum‐sheathed stud walls with fire safety steel doors placed in the walls were determined during FRTs. Furthermore, the effect of the different door types, door size and wall thickness on the wall deformation was evaluated. Single leaf doors were approx. 1.3 m × 2.5 m, while double leaf doors were twice the size. The maximum deformation of the masonry brick walls was between 20 and 40 mm, and was hardly affected by the door type and size. However, larger doors with a higher temperature and thermal expansion showed a slightly increasing deformation. In contrast, stud walls were significantly affected by the door, especially when small doors were used. The wall was deformed up to approx. 100 mm for small doors. Using large doors in the stud wall, the wall deformation was limited to 20 mm.


Abstract Fashion production is the second-largest producer of waste in the world after waste oil. Therefore, a movement called Zero Waste is needed to minimize the waste produced. There are several Zero Waste pattern techniques, and one of them is Subtraction Cutting. Thus, Subtraction Cutting has the potential to be used in the design of women's clothing. The final form of the Zero Waste pattern will be used as an inspiration for the design line to make Demi-Couture clothing with the addition of Baduy Weaving cloth as a fashion material. The final result of this study was in the form of Demi-Couture for 4 looks collection using the Zero Waste Subtraction Cutting technique as a technique and Baduy Weaving Suat Songket as the main material. Keywords: Demi-Couture, Tenun Baduy, Zero Waste


Recently, attention has been given to modified gravity models, as they may represent alternatives to quintessence models for an explanation to today's acceleration of the universe. We review the main results developed in De Felice, Hindmarsh and Trodden (2006 J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. JCAP08(2006)005 (Preprint astro-ph/0604154)) and Calcagni, de Carlos and De Felice (2006 Nucl. Phys. B (Preprint hep-th/0604201)), where we showed that those theories that involve a coupling between a scalar field with the Gauss–Bonnet curvature combination, in general possess both ghosts degrees of freedom and classical instabilities. We believe these constraints put severe bounds on these types of modifications of gravity. We add a critical assessment of the present understanding of these bounds.


The conjunction pa is one of the formally (contextually) most diversified and most used lexemes of the Slovene language and by the same token also one of the most self-effacing, self-evident and thus least researched lexical units.

The purpose of this paper is to point out a specific, argumentative form of the conjunction pa, a form which does not connect only two parts of the sentence as an abstract structure (which is the domain of the language), but also two speech acts as two segments of the discourse (which is the domain of the speech).

We wish to demonstrate that the argumentative pa presents an enunciatory anaphoric element, which only with reference to some other, common, general, or at least preceding knowledge, delimits the discursive segment, whose part it is, as an interpretatively and argumentively relatively autonomous unit.


: The pentacyclic triterpenoid 3-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) from the resin of Boswellia spec. is a potent inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO). We noticed discrepancies in the nomenclature and stereochemistry of the 3-acetoxy group of boswellic acids. Isolation of AKBA under mild conditions and the data from the first X-ray crystallography study evidence the 3 alpha-orientation of AKBA's acetoxy function.


Clinically relevant brain metastases (BM) frequently form in cancer patients, with limited options for effective treatment. Circulating cancer cells must first permanently arrest in brain microvessels to colonize the brain, but the critical factors are not well understood. Here, in vivo multiphoton laser-scanning microscopy (MPLSM) of the entire brain metastatic cascade allowed unprecedented insights into how blood clot formation and von Willebrand factor (VWF) deposition determine the arrest of circulating cancer cells and subsequent brain colonization in mice. Clot formation in brain microvessels occurred frequently (>95%) and specifically at intravascularly arrested cancer cells, allowing their long-time arrest. An extensive clot embedded approximately 20% of brain-arrested cancer cells, and those were more likely to successfully extravasate and form a macrometastasis. Mechanistically, tissue factor-mediated thrombin generation by cancer cells accounted for local activation of plasmatic coagulation in the brain. Thrombin inhibition by treatment with low-molecular weight heparin or dabigatran and an anti-VWF antibody prevented clot formation, cancer cell arrest, extravasation, and brain macrometastasis formation. In contrast, tumor cells were not able to directly activate platelets, and antiplatelet treatments did reduce platelet dispositions at intravascular cancer cells but did not reduce overall BM formation. In conclusion, our data shows that plasmatic coagulation is activated early by intravascular tumor cells in the brain, with subsequent clot formation, discovering a novel and specific mechanism that is crucial for brain colonization. Direct or indirect thrombin and VWF inhibitors emerge as promising drug candidates for BM prevention trials.


A molecular dynamics simulation of ultrathin gold nanowires for tensile behaviour has been carried out. Ultrathin nanowires, unlike the bulk FCC structure, have a multi-shell helical structure. This work compares the mechanical properties of the 7-1 multi-shell helical structure with those of the FCC structure. The results reveal that the temperature and the strain rate influence the yielding stress. One atom chain was detected before the nanowire broke when the temperature was near absolute zero. At room temperature, severe interaction between atoms caused successive yielding and a cluster of three atoms in cross-section was formed before the nanowire broke.