Information about the behavior of the stream that will be transmitted
in the near future will allow for better management of queues in the
router and thus improve QoS and reduce the potential for a serious
overload. Such information is often available in the transmitter. The
proposed IP option allows for the sending of information about
forthcoming traffic from the transmitter to the intermediate nodes.


The standard model for aquatic ecosystems is to link hydrologic connectivity to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition and, ultimately, reactivity. Studies across effective precipitation gradients have been suggested as models for predicting how carbon cycling will change in Arctic aquatic ecosystems with projected drying (i.e., reduced hydrologic connectivity). To evaluate links between DOM dynamics and hydrologic connectivity, 41 stream samples from Greenland were analyzed across an effective precipitation gradient for DOM optical properties and elemental composition using ultrahigh‐resolution mass spectrometry. Sites with negative effective precipitation and decreased hydrologic connectivity exhibited elevated specific conductivity (SpC) and DOC concentrations as well as DOM composition indicative of decreased hydrologic connectivity, for example, lower aromaticity, assessed using carbon‐specific UV absorbance at 254 nm, decreased relative abundances of polyphenolic and condensed aromatic compounds, and increased relative abundances of highly unsaturated and phenolic compounds. Allochthonous inputs decreased as the summer progressed as exhibited by decreases in aromatic compounds. A decrease in molecular richness and N‐containing compounds coincided with the decrease in allochthonous inputs. DOC concentrations increased over the summer but more slowly than SpC, suggesting degradation processes outweighed combined evapoconcentration and production. The patterns in DOM composition suggest evapoconcentration and photodegradation are dominant controls. However, when hydrologic connectivity was high, regardless of effective precipitation, DOM reflected allochthonous sources such as snowmelt‐fed wetlands. These results highlight the challenges of modeling carbon cycling in aquatic ecosystems across effective precipitation gradients, particularly those with strong seasonality and regional variability in hydrologic inputs.


BackgroundContractile function improves after correction of experimental mitral regurgitation, but ejection performance becomes depressed when mitral valve replacement involves chordal transection. A role for chordal transection in producing the depressed ejection performance was suspected but uncertain. Therefore, in this study, we tested two specific hypotheses: 1) that contractile function would improve and, in conjunction with chordal preservation, would allow for preserved ejection performance and 2) that improved left ventricular contractile function after surgery would be reflected in the function of myocytes isolated from the affected left ventricles. Methods and ResultsWe examined ventricular contractile function and ejection performance and isolated myocyte function after correction of experimental mitral regurgitation (chordal rupture) with mitral valve replacement that involved chordal preservation. After 3 months of chronic mitral regurgitation, the average regurgitant fraction of seven dogs was 0.77±0.04. End-diastolic volume had increased from 79±5 to 132±10 cm3 (p<0.05). At that time, all indexes of left ventricular contractile function were depressed. Three months after mitral valve replacement with chordal preservation, end-diastolic volume fell to 100±4 cm3 (p<0.05). At this time, all indexes of contractile function had returned to normal. End-systolic stress and ejection fraction after mitral valve replacement were similar to their baseline levels. Viscosity-velocity curves (analogous to force-velocity curves) of myocytes isolated from the affected left ventricles were similar to those of myocytes isolated from normal left ventricles. ConclusionsWe conclude that mitral valve replacement with chordal preservation allows ventricular contractile function to return to normal. Normal global ventricular function, in turn, is associated with normal function of the individual myocytes that compose the left ventricular chamber. Further, chordal preservation allowed for loading and ejection performance to return to premorbid levels.


The Marsh of Jombor Klaten is a natural swamp that was once small swamps surrounded by villages and hills located in the lower mainland and serves to hold rainwater. Environmental has changed from the lowlands into the aquatic environmentand the more widespread the diversity of types of flora around the Swamp Jombor has been changed.The diversity of types of flora can be known through the morphology of the pollen and spores. The purpose of this research is to know the diversity of plant species based on morphology of pollen and spores found in Swamp sediment Jombor. Sampling is done by drilling sedimentary soil clays Swamp Jombor on three points with the first location code RWJ (3) at a depth of 2 m situated around the keramba, the second code RWJ (4) at a depth of 1.5 m, and third code RWJ (5) at a depth of 0.35 m located around the inlet.The sample preparation using method asetolisis, then morphological characteristics observed pollen and spores. Calculated the number of each type of pollen and spores.The data obtained were analyzed using pollen and spore morphology of description. The data obtained were analyzed using pollen morphology characteristics and description of the spores found in the swamp Jombor. The results showed that the morphology of the pollen and spores found in Swamp sediment Jombor has a variation of shapes and sizes. The flora type obtained from the sediments Swamp Jombor as much as 28 type, including 8 typearboreal pollen (AP), 9 typenon arboreal pollen (NAP), and 11 type of spores. Types of flora that dominates is the NAP family Gramineae (80,10%) which indicates the plant a tree instead of in the form of shrubs or herbaceous were more developed in marsh of Jomborenvironment. Keywords: Jombor, morphology, pollen, spore, diversity.


Observations with WFC3/IR on the Hubble Space Telescope and the use of gravitational lensing techniques have facilitated the discovery of galaxies as far back as z ∼ 10–12, a truly remarkable achievement. However, this rapid emergence of high-z galaxies, barely ∼200 Myr after the transition from Population III star formation to Population II, appears to be in conflict with the standard view of how the early universe evolved. This problem has much in common with the better known (and probably related) premature appearance of supermassive black holes at z ≳ 6. It is difficult to understand how ∼109 M☉ black holes could have appeared so quickly after the big bang without invoking non-standard accretion physics and the formation of massive seeds, neither of which is seen in the local universe. In earlier work, we showed that the appearance of high-z quasars could instead be understood more reasonably in the context of the Rh = ct universe, which does not suffer from the same time compression issues as ΛCDM does at early epochs. Here, we build on that work by demonstrating that the evolutionary growth of primordial galaxies was consistent with the current view of how the first stars formed, but only with the timeline afforded by the Rh = ct cosmology. We also show that the growth of high-z quasars was mutually consistent with that of the earliest galaxies, though it is not yet clear whether the former grew from 5–20 M☉ seeds created in Population III or Population II supernova explosions.


Preeclampsia (PE) is a disorder that occurs during pregnancy, it has an estimated worldwide prevalence of 5–8%, being one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Currently, different diagnostic criteria exist, however, due to its complexity; the clinical presentation that makes up this syndrome could make its presence unclear. The pathophysiology of PE has been recently postulated and divided into three processes: inadequate uterine remodeling, placental dysfunction and maternal endothelial dysfunction. Despite the advances in the treatment of PE, the outcome of the medical interventions has failed to decrease the morbidity and mortality of this disease. The main reason might be the multifactorial origin of pathogenic processes that lead to the development of PE. That is why treatment is focused on the prevention of PE in patients that might present the risk before developing it late in pregnancy. The knowledge of the pathophysiological factors that trigger the processes that culminate in the presentation of PE, is key for prevention of this disease. However, the origin of these processes is poorly understood. It may be attributed to the ethical considerations that come with the study of these population of patients compared with the study of nonpregnant women.


ABSTRACT Conodont apatite &dgr;18OV-SMOW values from Middle though Upper Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian–Missourian) laminated, marine black shale units within cyclic deposits of intercalated terrestrial and marine strata (cyclothems) from the Illinois Basin (United States) were measured in order to evaluate their utility as a proxy for changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of the epicontinental Late Pennsylvanian Midcontinent Sea (LPMS). The average &dgr;18OV-SMOW values of well-preserved monogeneric (Idiognathodus) separates of conodont apatite from 12 lithologic units representing nine cyclothems range from 17.0‰ to 20.1‰ and average 19.0‰ ± 0.4‰ (1&sgr;). Within the limits of analytical uncertainty of stable isotope measurements, the stratigraphic distribution of conodont apatite &dgr;18O values is nontrending; particularly, there is no significant shift in &dgr;18O values across the Desmoinesian–Missourian boundary, a period that has been interpreted to preserve a shift toward a warmer climate, increased seasonality, and shorter periods of wet conditions in the terrestrial record. Conodont apatite &dgr;18O values from stratigraphically equivalent black shale members across the Illinois Basin vary up to 2.6‰, which is nearly equivalent to the observed stratigraphic range of conodont apatite &dgr;18O values, and suggests differences in local (basin-scale) seawater &dgr;18O values affected the conodont apatite &dgr;18O values. Within analytical uncertainty, conodont apatite &dgr;18O values from the Illinois Basin and Midcontinent Basin (United States) are indistinguishable, suggesting a component of overarching broader regional to global controls on seawater &dgr;18O values. Nevertheless, if the large variability observed in stratigraphically equivalent black shale members in the Illinois Basin is attributed to regional factors, these results indicate caution should be used when attempting to interpret temporal shifts from single aliquots of conodonts in epicontinental settings.


Offline reinforcement learning (RL) bears the promise to learn effective control policies from static datasets but is thus far unable to learn from large databases of heterogeneous experience. The multi-task version of offline RL enables the possibility of learning a single policy that can tackle multiple tasks and allows the algorithm to share offline data across tasks. Recent works indicate that sharing data between tasks can be highly beneficial in multi-task learning. However, these benefits come at a cost – for data to be shared between tasks, each transition must be annotated with reward labels corresponding to other tasks. This is particularly expensive and unscalable, since the manual effort in annotating reward grows quadratically with the number of tasks. Can we retain the benefits of data sharing without requiring reward relabeling for every task pair? In this paper, we show that, perhaps surprisingly, under a binary-reward assumption, simply utilizing data from other tasks with constant reward labels can not only provide substantial improvement over only using the single-task data and previously proposed success classifiers, but it can also reach comparable performance to baselines that take advantage of the oracle multi-task reward information. We also show that this performance can be further improved by selectively deciding which transitions to share, again without introducing any additional models or classifiers. We discuss how these approaches relate to each other and baseline strategies under various assumptions on the dataset. Our empirical results show that it leads to improved performance across a range of different multi-task offline RL scenarios, including robotic manipulation from visual inputs and ant-maze navigation.


The impacts of peatland management strategies used to restore degraded bare peat flats have received little attention. This study aims to improve the understanding of geomorphological processes acting on an upland bare peat flat which is undergoing restoration at Flow Moss, North Pennines, UK. A sediment budget is constructed which provides a baseline framework for assessing the effectiveness of peatland restoration measures in reducing peat erosion rates.

Erosion monitoring of aeolian and active slope processes was undertaken between October 2010 and July 2011 using a network of sediment traps and erosion pins installed across the 7 hectare site. Meteorological conditions were monitored using an Automatic Weather Station and local water table was recorded using a pressure transducer. This allowed relationships between weather patterns, hydrology and sediment transfer to be developed.

Meteorological conditions are important in controlling the wind erosion of peat with the highest rates of erosion occurring when heavy rainfall (> 5 mm hr-1) was combined with high wind-speeds (> 18 m s-1). Windward facing traps collected up to 8 times the peat collected by leeward facing traps. Freeze-thaw weathering and surface desiccation are important in generating loose material on the surface for subsequent sediment transport. A two-phase model is proposed to explain wind splash erosion dynamics where weathered material is transported preferentially before the intact peat layer is eroded. Sediment transport across bare peat flats is very active (3.2 t a-1) but the eroding flats are disconnected from the ephemeral channel system. Moreover, the channel system contains pools where the majority of suspended peat is deposited. This leads to a low net overall sediment yield for the catchment of approximately 0.01 t a-1.

The terrestrial carbon store (~2060 tonnes) at Flow Moss is relatively stable as, in the worst case scenario, it is losing 117 gC m-2 yr -1, amounting to just 0.4% of the total store. It is estimated that Flow Moss will become a carbon sink when 90% of the bare peat areas have been re-vegetated so it is therefore vital that the restoration measures are successful. Continued monitoring of sediment transfer will allow a full evaluation of the impact of the restoration measures in reducing erosion rates.


Gun pipe linearity check and measure belongs to difficult deep-hole space check and measure. After the deviation data is obtained using designed linearity check and measure instrument for gun pipe, it need carry out analysis and operation to get the error. The essence of using minimum envelope region method to resolve and evaluate gun pipe linearity error is one optimizing problem about envelopment column surface, wherefore, it built error solution model of space linearity based on genetic algorithm, and it developed one solution and analysis software system using VB program. Application shows that the algorithm can be used to resolve linearity error quickly and conveniently, and the precision is good.


Abstract In this paper, the effects of using FLiBe and FLiNaBe Molten Salts Bearing Plutonium Fluorides on the neutronic performance of the PACER are investigated. The optimum radial thickness for tritium self-sufficiency of the blankets addition of plutonium fluorides to FLiNaBe (LiF-/NaF BeF2) and FLiBe (LiF-/BeF2) of a dual purpose modified PACER concept are determined. The calculations are carried out with the one dimensional transport code XSDRNPM/SCALE5. The tritium breeding capacities of FLiNaBe and FLiBe with addition of plutonium fluorides in molten salt zone are investigated and compared. The optimum molten salt zone thickness is computed as 155 cm for tritium self-sufficiency of the blankets using FLiBe +1% PuF4 whereas, the optimum thickness with FLiNaBe +1% PuF4 is calculated as 170 cm. In addition, neutron transport calculations have been performed to evaluate the energy multiplication factor, total fission rate, displacement per atom and helium gas generation for optimal radial thickness in the blanket. Also, the tritium production and the radiation damage limits should be evaluated together in a fusion blanket for determining the optimum thickness of molten salt layer.


We measured spectroscopic and laser action properties of a novel 8-position substituted pyrromethene-BF2, namely 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-2,6-diethyl-8-n-propyl pyrromethene-BF2 complex. The laser action was performed with the corresponding dye solution in ethanol, which was placed in a Littman-type laser cavity pumped by the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The spectroscopic measurements clearly indicated that the corresponding dye solution in ethanol exhibited intense absorption in the visible spectral region with large fluorescence quantum yield. It possesses rather low triplet–triplet absorption in the spectral region 460–550 nm and almost negligible triplet-triplet absorption in the lasing spectral region. As a consequence, it lases nearly as efficiently as commercially available benchmark laser dyes such as Rhodamine-6G and outperformed them in wavelength tunability in our laser cavity and pump geometry.


BACKGROUND
Concerns about medical errors due to sleep deprivation during residency training led the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to mandate reductions in work schedules. Although call rotations with extended shifts continue, effects on resident sleep-wake times and working memory capacity (WMC) have not been investigated.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to measure effects of call rotations on sleep-wake times and WMC in internal medicine residents.

METHODS
During 2 months of an internal medicine training program adhering to ACGME work-hour restrictions (between April 2006 and June 2007), residents completed daily WMC tests, wore actigraphy watches, and logged their sleep hours. This observational study was conducted during a call month requiring 30-hour call rotations every fourth night, whereas the noncall month, which allowed sleep/wake cycle freedom, was used as the control.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Sleep hours per night and WMC testing.

RESULTS
Thirty-nine residents completing the study had less sleep per night during their call month (6.4 vs 7.3 h per night noncall, p < 0.001) and sleep per night varied from 3.7 to 10.1 hours. Call rotation caused greater self-assessed sleepiness and reduced WMC recall scores (-2.6/test, p < 0.05), and more math errors occurred when on call (+1.07/test, p < 0.04). Full recovery of WMC did not occur until the fourth day after call. On-call rotation on the first month had a confounding detrimental effect on WMC.

CONCLUSION
A month of call rotations reduced overall sleep per night; sleep hours per night were variable, and WMC was adversely affected. Decreased WMC could explain impaired judgment during sleep deprivation, although clinical error rates were not evaluated.


Commercial nano-WO3 (10–100 nm average particle size) is dispersed in n-hexanol and applied to tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) substrates in a simple "roll-on" process. As-deposited and annealed (500 °C) films are compared and shown to be photoactive for the formation of hypochlorite in neutral aqueous NaCl (e.g., seawater). Annealing at 500 °C in air improves photocurrents most likely due to improved interparticle charge transport (e.g., removal of hydration or n-hexanol surface layers). In phototransients (interpreted here in the limiting case of a weakly associated nanoparticle aggregate as opposed to the limiting case of a single-crystal semiconductor), evidence for the presence of both holes (as O(-I), fast moving) and electrons (as W(V), slow moving) is obtained in particular in as-deposited films. Bipotentiostat experiments reveal the presence of chlorine as a reaction intermediate close to the photoanode when immersed in 3 M NaCl. A "molecular conduit" effect with adsorbed Co(II/III) sepulchrate is o...


E-commerce has become an important means of transacting business spanning a wide range of interactions, including business to business, business to consumer, and individual to individual. Fuzzy set-based intelligent agents can autonomously and instantaneously determine which ad to display on a Web site, on the basis of the viewer's characteristics. This approach works when several advertisers must compete for one ad space or when one advertiser must choose from several different ads. I focus on one potential application of fuzzy technology, targeted Web marketing, and show how Iona College's Machine Intelligence Institute is developing intelligent agents for this application.


The production accounts of domestic by-product is increased after 1990's. It is worried about the life reduction of dump land, as dump land's capacity have reached to limitation and the amount of construction industrial wastes is going higher. Recently, Recycling aggregates could be gained from the reconstruction works using recycle process. and the study and research of recycle concretes developed concrete application methods, It could put some outcome of studies to practical use for concrete products. The methods of crushing waste concrete are going diverse. In this study, the fundamental experiments and recycling application is investigated and analyzed with use of recycling aggregate which made of mechanical crush and underwater electrical impact crush. and the difference between underwater electrical impact crush, mechanical crush and natural aggregates is studied.


This study simulated experimentally the transfer of radionuclides to milk of dairy cows on a worst-case situation using various radionuclides known to emanate from nuclear power stations and which have been detected on particulates. Two lactating Holstein cows were administered orally one gelatin capsule containing 10 radionuclides in water-soluble form per day for 14 consecutive days. Milk samples were collected and aliquots analyzed in a germanium lithium-drifted detector coupled to a 2048-multichannel gamma-ray analyzer to measure small amounts of complex mixtures of radionuclides. The transfer coefficients of the radionuclides were calculated when their secretion in milk reached or approached a plateau of concentration. The radionuclides and their transfer coefficients to milk were: chromium51 less than .01%; manganese54 .033 +/- .005%; cobalt60 .01 +/- .002%; iron59 .0048 +/- .002%; zinc65 .31 +/- .07%; selenium75 .29 +/- .1%; antimony125 .011 +/- .003%; iodine131 .88 +/- .05%; and cesium137 .79 +/- .08%.


ObjectiveTo discover and identify differentially expressed genes associated with colorectal adenoma formation and the role of RegⅣ in colorectal adenoma differentiation.MethodsA subtracted cDNA library was constructed with cDNAs that were isolated from either the normal mucosa or adenoma tissue of a single patient. Suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) combined with virtual northern blotting was used to characterize differentially expressed genes and contigs were assembled by electronic cloning (in silico cloning) with the EST database. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed in 9 colorectal adenomas.ResultsThe amino acid sequence was determined with open reading frame (ORF) prediction software and was found to be 100% homologous to the protein product of RegⅣ (a novel gene isolated from a large inflammatory bowel disease library). RegⅣ was found to be highly expressed in all of the adenoma samples (9/9) compared with the normal mucosa samples, while 5/6 cases showed RegⅣ to be more strongly expressed in adenocarcinoma.Conclusion RegⅣ may play an important role in the initiation of colorectal adenoma differentiation, and its detection may be useful in the early diagnosis of colorectal adenoma formation.


Fatigue is a common, often debilitating, side effect of cancer chemotherapy. Pharmacologic vitamin C has been used as an alternative treatment for the disease itself but its effects on fatigue have not often been documented. Here we report on the case of a woman with recurrent breast cancer, undergoing weekly chemotherapy, with lethargy as a major symptom. Vitamin C (50 g/session) was administered twice weekly and quality of life and multidimensional fatigue symptomology questionnaires were undertaken. Dramatic decreases in fatigue and insomnia were observed, as well as increased cognitive functioning. There were no adverse side effects of i.v. vitamin C.


The role of stimulus familiarity in non-linguistic sequence learning Jennifer A. Sturm Northumbria University Kenny Smith Northumbria University Abstract: Recent experiments suggest that the mechanisms employed in language learning are also involved in sequential learning of non-linguistic stimuli and are therefore domain-general. However, the non-linguistic materials typically used in these experiments (e.g. Kirkham, Slemmer & Johnson, 2002) do not adequately replicate the internal complexity of words in language. Furthermore, stimulus familiarity appears to play a crucial role (Saffran, 2007). We explore both factors, investigating the acquisition of non-adjacencies (ubiquitous in language) in non-linguistic sequences. Crucially, the black and white matrix patterns we use are orthographically matched with an artificial language, replicating the componential re-use of elements in language or speech (Sturm & Smith, 2009). Prior to the sequence learning experiment, participants were familiarized with individual patterns. The results show that although participants became familiarized with the patterns, they were unable to identify the grammar underlying sequences of those patterns. These findings allude to an important role of domain-specific expectations.


Recently, efforts have been focused on mitochondrial DNA changes and their relation to human cancers. Among them, a 4977 bp deletion of mitochondrial DNA, named "common deletion", has been investigated in several types of tumors, with inconsistent results. In this study, we investigated the presence of the common deletion in tissues from 25 breast, 25 colorectal and 50 thyroid tumors and in the adjacent healthy tissues from Turkish patients. Samples from healthy volunteers were also evaluated for comparison. Two PCR-based methods were used for the detection of the common deletion. First, two pairs of primers were used to amplify wild-type and deleted mtDNA. Then, a highly sensitive nested-PCR was performed, to determine low amounts of deleted genomes. By the first method, wild-type mtDNAs were observed in all samples, but a deletion was observed in only six thyroid samples, by using the nested-PCR method. In conclusion, the mitochondrial common deletion was very rare in our study group and did not appear to be not related with cancer.


Despite its obvious importance, not much marketing research focuses on how business-cycle fluctuations affect individual companies and/or industries. Often, one only has aggregate information on the state of the national economy, even though cyclical contractions and expansions need not have an equal impact on every industry, nor on all firms in that industry. Using recent time-series developments, we introduce various measures to quantify the extent and nature of business-cycle fluctuations in sales. Specifically, we discuss the notions of cyclical volatility and cyclical comovement, and consider two types of cyclical asymmetry related, respectively, to the relative size of the peaks and troughs and the rate of change in upward versus downward parts of the cycle. In so doing, we examine how consumers adjust their purchasing behavior across different phases of the business cycle. We apply these concepts to a broad set (24) of consumer durables, for which we analyze the cyclical sensitivity in their sales evolution. In that way, we (i) derive a novel set of empirical generalizations, and (ii) test different marketing theory-based hypotheses on the underlying drivers of cyclical sensitivity. Consumer durables are found to be more sensitive to business-cycle fluctuations than the general economic activity, as expressed in an average cyclical volatility of more than four times the GNP, and an average comovement elasticity in excess of 2. This observation calls for an explicit consideration of cyclical variation in durable sales. Moreover, even though no evidence is found for depth asymmetry, the combined evidence across all durables suggests that asymmetry is present in the speed of up- and downward movements, as durable sales fall much quicker during contractions than they recover during economic expansions. Finally, key variables related to the industry's pricing activities, the nature of the durable (convenience vs. leisure), and the stage in a product's life cycle tend to moderate the extent of cyclical sensitivity in durable sales patterns.


We describe reproductive isolation caused by a gene transposition. In certain Drosophila melanogaster–D. simulans hybrids, hybrid male sterility is caused by the lack of a single-copy gene essential for male fertility, JYAlpha. This gene is located on the fourth chromosome of D. melanogaster but on the third chromosome of D. simulans. Genomic and molecular analyses show that JYAlpha transposed to the third chromosome during the evolutionary history of the D. simulans lineage. Because of this transposition, a fraction of hybrids completely lack JYAlpha and are sterile, representing reproductive isolation without sequence evolution.


Eukaryotic chemoattraction signal transduction pathways, such as those used by Dictyostelium discoideum to move toward cAMP, use a G protein–coupled receptor to activate multiple conserved pathways such as PI3 kinase/Akt/PKB to induce actin polymerization and pseudopod formation at the front of a cell, and PTEN to localize myosin II to the rear of a cell. Relatively little is known about chemorepulsion. We previously found that AprA is a chemorepellent protein secreted by Dictyostelium cells. Here we used 29 cell lines with disruptions of cAMP and/or AprA signal transduction pathway components, and delineated the AprA chemorepulsion pathway. We find that AprA uses a subset of chemoattraction signal transduction pathways including Ras, protein kinase A, target of rapamycin (TOR), phospholipase A, and ERK1, but does not require the PI3 kinase/Akt/PKB and guanylyl cyclase pathways to induce chemorepulsion. Possibly as a result of not using the PI3 kinase/Akt/PKB pathway and guanylyl cyclases, AprA does not induce actin polymerization or increase the pseudopod formation rate, but rather appears to inhibit pseudopod formation at the side of cells closest to the source of AprA.


Cytotoxic agents are classified according to the severity of skin injury after extravasation. However, injuries caused by extravasation of noncytotoxic agents have not been sufficiently investigated, although the risk of extravasation is mentioned in medical safety information published by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care. Therefore, in this study, we focused on noncytotoxic electrolyte solutions and infusions and evaluated skin injuries during leakage using extravasation model rats. Rats were anesthetized and intradermally injected with 100 µL of an electrolyte solution or infusion. Injection lesions were macroscopically and histopathologically evaluated for extravasation injuries. Each electrolyte solution and infusion were classified into three categories (vesicants, irritants, and non-tissue-damaging agents) depending on the degree of skin injury. Similar to saline, 0.3% potassium chloride and 0.6% magnesium sulfate showed almost no injury, and 3% sodium chloride and BFLUID® caused erythema and induration. Erythema, induration, and ulceration were observed with the following: 10% sodium chloride, 2% calcium chloride, 8.5% calcium gluconate, 12.3% magnesium sulfate, MAGSENT®, FESIN®, and Intralipos®. The duration of damage with these agents was markedly prolonged. Electrolyte solutions and infusions can be classified into vesicants (10% sodium chloride, 2% calcium chloride, 8.5% calcium gluconate, 12.3% magnesium sulfate, MAGSENT®, FESIN®, and Intralipos®), irritants (3% sodium chloride and BFLUID®), and non-tissue-damaging agents (0.3% potassium chloride and 0.6% magnesium sulfate) according to their composition. The characteristic symptoms and severity of each drug extravasation revealed in this study will provide basic information for preparation of guidelines for treatment of extravasation.


Signals used during male combat are expected to be honest indicators of fighting ability. However, recent studies show that dishonesty in male signalling is more prevalent than previously believed. 2. Here we show that regenerated (leptochelous) claws in male Uca mjoebergi fiddler crabs are not only dishonest signals of two types of whole-organism performance capacities that are likely to be useful during fights (claw closing force and pull-resisting force), but they are also less effective as weapons in situations where males are unable to bluff. 3. Original (brachychelous) male claws are statistically significant predictors (independent of body size) of both closing force and the force required to pull a male out of a tunnel. By contrast, leptochelous claw size does not convey information on those performance capacities following control for body size. 4. Furthermore, claw size affects fighting ability such that leptochelous residents are at a significant competitive disadvantage to brachychelous residents, although claw type does not affect the ability of non-resident males to win fights. 5. This study is among the first to show that male armaments can dishonestly signal performance traits that are likely important for winning fights, and is the first to show evidence for dishonest signalling of multiple components of fighting ability.


Absolute risk is the probability that an individual who is free of a given disease at an initial age, a, will develop that disease in the subsequent interval (a, t]. Absolute risk is reduced by mortality from competing risks. Models of absolute risk that depend on covariates have been used to design intervention studies, to counsel patients regarding their risks of disease and to inform clinical decisions, such as whether or not to take tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer. Several general criteria have been used to evaluate models of absolute risk, including how well the model predicts the observed numbers of events in subsets of the population ("calibration"), and "discriminatory power," measured by the concordance statistic. In this paper we review some general criteria and develop specific loss function-based criteria for two applications, namely whether or not to screen a population to select subjects for further evaluation or treatment and whether or not to use a preventive intervention that has both beneficial and adverse effects. We find that high discriminatory power is much more crucial in the screening application than in the preventive intervention application. These examples indicate that the usefulness of a general criterion such as concordance depends on the application, and that using specific loss functions can lead to more appropriate assessments.


This Letter addresses the statistical modeling of dual-polarized MIMO-LMS fading channels. In the absence of accurate experimental results, a statistical model for the characterization of MIMO-LMS channels is proposed based on consolidation of available experimental results for SISO-LMS and MIMO wireless channels as well as on their extrapolation to the MIMO-LMS case of interest. Moreover, a step-by-step methodology for the simulation and time-series generation of the proposed MIMO-LMS channel model is provided, which is useful for the design and performance assessment of MIMO-LMS transmission systems. The proposed model incorporates the effects of all relevant critical channel aspects in a flexible and fully-parameterized way.


Purpose: To evaluate the detailed immunosuppressive role(s) of PD-L2 given that its detailed role(s) remains unclear in PD-1 signal blockade therapy in animal models and humans. Experimental Design: We generated mouse cell lines harboring various status of PD-L1/PD-L2 and evaluated the tumor growth and phenotypes of tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes using several PD-1 signal blockades in animal models. In humans, the correlation between immune-related gene expression and CD274 (encoding PD-L1) or PDCD1LG2 (encoding PD-L2) was investigated using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. In addition, PD-L1 or PD-L2 expression in tumor cells and CD8+ T-cell infiltration were assessed by IHC. Results: In animal models, we showed that PD-L2 expression alone or simultaneously expressed with PD-L1 in tumor cells significantly suppressed antitumor immune responses, such as tumor antigen–specific CD8+ T cells, and was involved in the resistance to treatment with anti-PD-L1 mAb alone. This resistance was overcome by anti-PD-1 mAb or combined treatment with anti-PD-L2 mAb. In clinical settings, antitumor immune responses were significantly correlated with PD-L2 expression in the tumor microenvironment in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Conclusions: We propose that PD-L2 as well as PD-L1 play important roles in evading antitumor immunity, suggesting that PD-1/PD-L2 blockade must be considered for optimal immunotherapy in PD-L2–expressing cancers, such as RCC and LUSC.


Librarians embarking on the challenge of building a digital collection have their work cut out for them - and here is the book to help launch and complete the mission! Easy to understand, this guide demonstrates how resources are created, distributed, and accessed - and how librarians can keep up with the latest technologies for successfully completing these tasks. Chapters walk you step-by-step through all of the stages. This book offers detailed advice for: planning for and assessing the purpose of your digital repository; acquiring, processing, classifying and describing digital content; storing documents; choosing a platform; specific technologies useful to digital repositories (XML, SOAP, and more); sharing data; federated searching of repositories; understanding information-access issues; analyzing repository use; and, migrating to new platforms and accommodating new types of data. Librarians looking for a timely, comprehensive guide to creating a digital collection will find this book an invaluable resource.


6 *Corresponding author: Email: email@example.com; email@example.com ABSTRACT Nerve conduction study (NCS) assesses peripheral nerve functions and is indicated in nerve or/and muscle disorders. This retrospective NCS done in Neurophysiology lab of BPKIHS, aimed to explore the pattern of neurological disorders, demographic and electrophysiological profile of patients' referred for NCS. Demographic profiles, provisional clinical and electrophysiological diagnoses of 475 patients' recorded from Nov 2006 to Aug 2010 were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Pearson's Chi-squared test was used to find correlation between clinical and electrophysiological diagnoses. Age of the patients' ranged from 2.5 to 88 (41.5±18.6) years. Middle age (36-60 years; n=203, 42.73%) group was the most commonly referred. Males (n=284, 59.8%) were referred more with tingling sensation (n=71, 17.88%) as the commonest complaint followed by weakness of extremities (n=64, 16.12%). Maximum cases were electro-diagnosed as neuropathy (n=314, 66.1%), chronic axonal type (n=169, 53.82%) being the most common followed by carpel tunnel syndrome. Mixed nerves (n=186, 60.8%) were most commonly involved followed by motor (n=74, 24.18%), and sensory nerves (n=46, 15.03%). A significant correlation (p< 0.01) was seen between clinical and electrophysiological diagnoses. This study showed different pattern of neurological disorders and confirmed the correlation of electrophysiological diagnoses with provisional clinical diagnoses.


The endogenous cannabinoid system has revealed potential avenues to treat many disease states. Medicinal indications of cannabinoid drugs including compounds that result in enhanced endocannabinoid responses (EER) have expanded markedly in recent years. The wide range of indications covers chemotherapy complications, tumor growth, addiction, pain, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, inflammation, eating disorders, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, as well as epileptic seizures, traumatic brain injury, cerebral ischemia, and other excitotoxic insults. Indeed, a great effort has led to the discovery of agents that selectively activate the cannabinoid system or that enhance the endogenous pathways of cannabinergic signaling. The endocannabinoid system is comprised of three primary components: (i) cannabinoid receptors, (ii) endocannabinoid transport system, and (iii) hydrolysis enzymes that break down the endogenous ligands. Two known endocannabinoids, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), are lipid molecules that are greatly elevated in response to a variety of pathological events. This increase in endocannabinoid levels is suggested to be part of an on-demand compensatory response. Furthermore, activation of signaling pathways mediated by the endogenous cannabinoid system promotes repair and cell survival. Similar cell maintenance effects are elicited by EER through inhibitors of the endocannabinoid deactivation processes (i.e., internalization and hydrolysis). The therapeutic potential of the endocannabinoid system has yet to be fully determined, and the number of medical maladies that may be treated will likely continue to grow. This review will underline studies that demonstrate medicinal applications for agents that influence the endocannabinoid system.


Using total phosphorus (TP) concentrations to estimate eutrophication risk is problematic for management purposes, as only some forms of P are biologically available for phytoplankton growth. This study estimated the bioavailability of P fractions of water and the floodplain sediment in the lower reaches of the Hanjiang River in China using multiple regressions. And the effects of concentrations of P fractions on algal growth were also studied. The results showed that the total soluble P (TSP) and the particulate P (PP) can well predict the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in water samples. And the exchangeable P (exch-P) and the P bound to Al, Fe, and Mn oxides and hydroxides (Fe/Al–P) were adapted to predicting the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the floodplain sediment samples.


A business start up is identical to a new business run by an entrepeneur to gain profit. The research is to analyze the function of the entrepreneurship training given by Universitas Ciputra Surabaya to the villagers in Desa Mojowarno. The objectives of the research are: 1) to learn the proper innovation technique to increase the self efficacy of the entrepreneur/participant, 2) to understand the impact of the increased self-efficacy towards the business continuity managed by the entrepreneur/participant. The research method used is qualitative descriptive analysis with the subject of the research are entrepreneurs (ten training participants) who managed banana trunk chips in Mojowarno. The validation technique used in this research is triangulation data method with participative observation, in depth interview and documentation (photo and video of the participants' capability). The result of the research: 1) Innovation realization (5+1 concept) succeeded in increasing the self efficacy of the participants (ten training participants); 2) The self-efficacy increase provides a positive impact (business increase) so that the entrepreneur has an additional income. It is suggested that the entrepreneur must keep on innovating innovated to increase their self-efficacy so that the business can improve the continuity.


Analytical techniques for reliability and availability prediction of mesh-connected systems are proposed. The models are based on the submesh requirements. First, a reliability model is proposed assuming that a submesh can be always recognized if it exits. Analysis of the linear consecutive n-out-of-N system is extended using an expanding row/column technique to evaluate the submesh reliability. An alternative approach called row folding is also discussed. Due to the high complexity involved in computing the exact reliability, both of these techniques use approximation to estimate lower bounds. Next, the submesh reliability is computed based on two different allocation policies, known as the two-dimensional buddy system (TDBS), and the frame sliding (FS). The model with the TDBS is further extended to estimate the reliability of multiple working submeshes, which is useful in a multiuser environment. Availability analysis for a submesh of the required size is conducted using a Markov chain (MC). State truncation is used to reduce the computation time, and the MC is solved using a software package called HARP. Validation of the analytical models is done through extensive simulation. Issues, such as reliability comparison based on allocation policies, and methods for improving system reliability are addressed using the analytical models. >


A prevalence study was conducted to evaluate Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in two groups of injection drug users recruited at two drug addiction treatment centres in Rome and Frosinone (Italy). Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in the 181 subjects included in the study was 8.83%. Significantly increased carriage rates were found among drug users in Frosinone with respect to those in Rome. No other significant determinants of colonization were identified through multiple logistic regression analysis. Only 2 of 16 Staphylococcus aureus strains (12.5%) were found to be methicillin resistant. Genomic DNA restriction pattern analysis, through SmaI digestion and pulsed field gel electrophoresis, demonstrated wide genetic heterogeneity among the isolates. Although the great majority of PFGE patterns were found in single isolates, in some cases common patterns were identified in isolates obtained from different drug users, clearly indicating the possibility of interhuman transmission of Staphylococcus aureus in this population.


Within the framework of the Phare agreement between the European Union and thirteen Central and Eastern European countries, the PRAQIII programme provides a means of upgrading the quality of the infrastructure of these countries. The demonstration of equivalence between the national metrology institutes (NMIs) of the Phare countries and those of Western Europe, and the harmonization of best practices as represented by EUROMET, are important aspects of the programme.


The geo-electric method (GE) allows mapping Induced Polarization effects, often caused by epi-genetic micro-crystals of pyrite. A shallow halo-shaped mineralogical alteration zone is typically formed some distance above a hydrocarbon accumulation. The geo-electric surveying technique (DNME) makes it possible to acquire data in shallow water, where other EM methods are hampered by airwave energy (seabed logging or CSEM). GE method gives encouraging results in deeper water, transition zone and onshore domains. Geo-electric surveying visualizes anomalies in the electric potential response measured in the receiver. Inversion of the registered relaxation curve is done to establish a depth model. Various diagnostic GE attributes are here proposed. Acquisition and processing parameters are adjusted to the target depth, varying from very shallow to 5 km. GE surveys cover different geological settings (e.g. rifts, subsiding cratons, foredeeps). The success ratio for predicting hydrocarbon occurrences is high and some Russian companies incorporate the methodology already in their standard prospect evaluation toolbox. The GE technique helps to reduce risks related to drilling new prospects and allows a substantially better ranking at a reasonable cost.


: The intercostal island flap is a new omnipotential flap that is extremely valuable for torso reconstruction, provided one understands the intricacies of intercostal anatomy. Human cadaver dissections were done to determine the precise course and branching pattern of the lower (T7-T11) intercostal neurovascular bundles. On the basis of these dissections, the intercostal structures can be divided into four anatomical segments: vertebral, costal groove, intermuscular, and rectus. The anatomical segments can be safely combined in many ways to create versatile skin flaps. Three different clinical applications with requisite modifications in surgical technique are described in detail to exemplify important anatomical observations. The potential value of the intercostal island flap in reconstructive surgery is discussed.


This booklet presents a summary of Welfare Consequences of Selling Public Enterprise, the first comprehensive empirical study to measure the effects of divestiture on sellers, buyers, consumer surplus and answers question about who won, who lost, by how much, and why. It compares the pre- and the postdivestiture performance of enterprises and what the latter would have been under continued public ownership.


This paper looks at works of various authors on the supervision of doctoral students and their expectations. We aim through reading, experience and reflection to offer a logical framework that will aid in the better understanding of the process for those new to supervision. The two authors draw upon experience as new supervisors via the use of case studies applied to current literature, and identify some of the pitfalls they may come into contact with. To this end, the models and works of Hockey, Argyris, and Lewin are applied.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common in older men, with many developing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that impair quality of life. Though the pathogenesis of BPH is unclear, it was previously believed that increasing androgen levels had a role, though not all data support this idea. We tested if elevated serum testosterone and elevated serum DHT are risk factors for LUTS incidence in asymptomatic men and for LUTS progression in symptomatic men. METHODS: A post-hoc analysis of REDUCE was carried out in 3009 asymptomatic men with baseline International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) < 8 and in 2145 symptomatic men with baseline IPSS (cid:5) 8 not taking a -blockers or 5 a -reductase inhibitor medications. The Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) trial was a randomized trial of dutasteride for prostate cancer prevention in men with an elevated PSA and negative pre-study biopsy. IPSS was measured every 6 months over the 4-year study. We estimated multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (adj-HRs) and 95% con fi dence intervals (CIs) using Cox models to test the association between quintiles of serum testosterone and quintiles of serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at baseline and LUTS incidence and progression. Among asymptomatic men, incident LUTS was de fi ned as the fi rst report of medical treatment, surgery or sustained clinically signi fi cant LUTS (i.e., 2 reports of IPSS > 14). Among symptomatic men, LUTS progression was de fi ned as an IPSS increase of (cid:5) 4 points from baseline, any surgical procedure for BPH, or the start of a new BPH medication. RESULTS: In asymptomatic men, relative to the lowest quantile, all quintiles of serum testosterone and all quintiles of DHT were unrelated to LUTS incidence (all p (cid:5) 0.25). In symptomatic men, relative to the lowest quantile, all quintiles of serum testosterone and all quin- tiles of DHT were unrelated to LUTS progression (all p (cid:5) 0.17). There was no signi fi cant interaction between treatment with dutasteride and serum testosterone or DHT when predicting LUTS; as such, data were not strati fi ed by treatment assignment. CONCLUSIONS: In the REDUCE study, higher serum testos- terone and higher serum DHT were not associated with either incident LUTS in asymptomatic men or progression of LUTS in symptomatic men. These data do not support the hypothesis that serum androgen levels in middle-aged men are associated with LUTS.


Epilepsy in infants and children is one of the most common and devastating neurological disorders. In the past, we had a limited understanding of the causes of epilepsy in pediatric patients, so we treated pediatric epilepsy according to seizure type. Now with new tools and tests, we are entering the age of precision medicine in pediatric epilepsy. In this review, we use the new etiological classification system proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy to review the advances in the diagnosis of pediatric epilepsy, describe new tools to identify seizure foci for epilepsy surgery, and define treatable epilepsy syndromes.


ABSTRACT The Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte preserves with remarkable details a highly diversified bathyal palaeocommunity dominated by arthropods. Polychelida Scholtz & Richter, 1995 are particularly abundant and are currently represented by Eryon ellipticus Van Straelen, 1923, Proeryon giganteus (Van Straelen, 1923), Hellerocaris falloti (Van Straelen, 1923), and Willemoesiocaris ovalis (Van Straelen, 1923). This new investigation reveals the presence of two new genera and three new species in this crustacean community: Voulteryon parvulus n. gen., n. sp., Cycleryon romani n. sp., which is the oldest occurrence of the genus, and Adamanteryon fourneti n. gen., n. sp., an enigmatic polychelidan of uncertain affinities. The genus Proeryon Beurlen, 1928 is also revised to solve problems of homonymy, and as a consequence we here propose the replacement name Proeryon zehentbaueri pro Proeryon giganteus Beurlen, 1930, non Proeryon giganteus (Van Straelen, 1923). These new results place the La Voulte polychelidan lobster community at the first rank in terms of familial and generic diversity (three families, seven genera) and at the second rank in terms of species diversity (seven species) just after the Late Jurassic Eichstätt Lagerstätte (eight species). Thanks to modern techniques, such as X-ray tomography, this study also documents structures never observed before such as thoracic appendages of Proeryon giganteus and Hellerocaris falloti. In the case of Hellerocaris falloti, these new observations suggest it is one of the closest fossil relatives to extant polychelids.


This paper focuses on the mythology of Yamī and her twin-brother Yama (the first humans according to Indo-Iranian mythology), their non-human origin and some aspects of Yamī's behaviour which presumably betray a number of features of a female half-deity. The relationships between Yamī and Yama are the central topic of the dialogue hymn Rgveda 10.10, where Yamī attempts to seduce her twin to incest in order to produce offspring and thus continue the human race. This offer is refused by Yama, who refers to the inappropriateness of incest. Although Yamī and Yama are humans according to the Vedic tradition, their origin from two half-deities – a Gandharva father and an Apsara mother – remains inexplicable: how could a couple of non-human beings (half-deities or demons) give birth to humans? Obviously, the mythological status of the twins should be reconsidered. I argue that at least one of them, Yamī, retains immortality and some other features of the non-human (semi-divine) nature. On the basis of the analysis of the Yama and Yamī hymn and some related Vedic texts, I argue that this assumption may account for certain peculiarities of Yamī's behaviour – particularly her hypersexuality (which can be qualified as demonic type of behaviour), as opposed to the much more constrained, human type of conduct displayed by Yama. Given the notoriously lustful character of the Gandharvas, an origin from this semi-divine creature may account for Yamī's hypersexuality. Although the word gandharvá- does not have Indo-European etymology, we can find possible Indo-European parallels. In particular, the Gandharvas are comparable with the Centaurs, which cannot be etymologically related but possibly originate in the same non-Indo-European source. There are some reasons to assume that both words are borrowed from the Kassite language and mythology, which, in turn, may have been related to the language and culture of the Proto-North-Caucasians. Although we do not find exact equivalents of Yamī outside of the Indo-Iranian pantheon, indirect parallels can be found in other Indo-European traditions. The Apsaras (water nymphs) can be compared to a variety of water deities (nymphs) in Greek mythology, such as the Naiads, or to the Slavic rusalki.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore young consumers' attitudes toward novel organic food products by analyzing their acceptability and perception.

Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach was applied to conceptualize (sensory profiling of organic bakery and confectionery products) and then to evaluate young consumer's willingness to buy (consumer survey) innovative products: ten variants of rolls and ten variants of shortbread cookies made of certified raw materials originating from bio-farming, enriched with a combination of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables. Product recipes were free of saccharose, sweeteners and chemical pulverizing agents. To evaluate consumer orientation toward novel organic products, 200 consumers from Poland (Warmia and Mazury region) were surveyed regarding their hedonic opinion about these concepts. A Likert-type scale was used in the consumer survey to assess the perception and declared willingness to buy the evaluated products.

Findings
Research results demonstrate that the young consumers had ambivalent or negative attitudes to sensory attributes of many variants of the organic bakery and confectionery products. This could be explained by the taste of most of the products, which appeared unacceptable to consumers. It has been concluded that the choice of organic foods by young consumers is not strictly related to the concern over their health nor to the awareness of health-related attributes of these food products. Taste turned out to be the key factor affecting consumer attitudes toward organic foods and driving their willingness to buy these products.

Originality/value
Despite the constant development of research in the area of the organic food market, the current scientific findings still have some cognitive gaps that concern attitudes and expectations of consumers, especially of young consumers, toward new ecological products. This study contributed to the young consumers' behavior knowledge by analyzing their attitudes toward novel organic bakery and confectionery prototypes produced manually. The empirical findings from this study also have practical potential for organic food market applications. Information of this type is useful in understanding and predicting the demand for certain products, which helps managers develop effective strategies.


Sports demands more specialized research and training in psychology. That is how, today, we have "sports psychology," "psychological conditioning," "psychological preparation", "psychological training" etc. The study was performed with randomly selected 30 male subjects from Physical Education students and 30 male subjects of non-Physical Education students of age range 17 to 23 years old of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. The study was also delimited to assessment of stress by using stress questionnaire of Miller and Allen. The significant difference of stress between physical education students and non-physical education students was 1.88, which is below than the required value at 0.05 level of significance (t=2.00). It shows there is no significant difference between the performance of physical education and non-physical education subjects.


Two studies of romantic couples examined the circumstances under which complementary goal-pursuit strategies (specifically, the pairing of a relationship partner who prefers to pursue goals eagerly with a relationship partner who prefers to pursue goals vigilantly) lead to positive relationship outcomes. As hypothesized, couples who reported higher levels of goal congruence (Study 1) or greater self-other overlap (Study 2) benefited from complementary regulatory focus orientations. We suggest that such benefits stem from the advantages provided by the availability of both eager and vigilant strategic preferences, which allow complementary couples to "divide and conquer" goal pursuits as a unit so that both relationship partners can take on their preferred eager or vigilant strategic role. We further suggest that goal congruence is necessary to capitalize on these proposed advantages of complementary eager or vigilant goal-pursuit strategies.


The spatial variation of microphytobenthos was investigated with reference to both the estuarine gradient and the intertidal levels of the Gironde estuary, France. Four transects, each with three stations, were surveyed in two different seasons (April and October) during two consecutive years. In addition, the seasonality of microphytobenthic pigment concentration and its relationship to environmental factors were examined by means of weekly sampling at an intertidal mudflat located in the oligo-mesohaline area. Generally, microphytobenthic pigments increased both with increasing salinity and tidal height. Clear seasonal variations were found for microphytobenthic chlorophyll-a concentration. Multivariate analysis showed environmental factors such as temperature, insolation, salinity and sand content of sediment to be most determinant in explaining these variations, with different sets of factors controlling the variables at each station. The principal explanatory factors with regard to chlorophyll-a concentration at both stations were variables known to be related to primary production, such as temperature (52%) at the lower intertidal station, and insolation (9%) and salinity (29%) at the higher intertidal station. The restricted primary production in the water column, due to the high turbidity of the Gironde estuarine water and the proportional area covered by intertidal areas, underlines the importance of the microphytobenthic biomass, and probably production, for the estuarine ecosystem.


The hydrotalcite was synthesized using brucite as the source of magnesium by the method of coprecipitation. The effect of synthesis parameters, such as Mg2+ concentration of solution, crystallizing time and temperature on their crystal structure were studied. The surface morphology was characterized by SEM, and the structure was characterized by XRD. Characterization of hydrotalcite showed that the particle size of the hydrotalcite with high degree of crystallinity was 10.0~0.1μm, and the Mg2+ concentration of solution, crystallizing time and temperature influenced the crystal structure. The proper Mg2+ concentration was 0.12M, and the optimal crystallizing time and temperature were 8h and 80°C, respectively.


Nowadays, the sickle-shaped surface crack generally occurred around the bolt under tension due to the stress concentrations occurred at the design discontinuitiesThe behaviors of these cracks are not really understood and additionally it is hard to find the solutions of stress intensity factors of this kind of cracks. Therefore, the intention of this paper is to present the behavior of these cracks under tension loading. In order to understand the role of these cracks, there are seven crack aspect ratios, a/b are considered ranging from 0.0 to 1.2. For each crack aspect ratio, there are six relative crack depth, a/D are used ranging from 0.1 to 0.6. There are two types of loading are used so called free- and fix-stresses. ANSYS finite element program is used to model the crack. Stress intensity factor (SIF) which is based on the J-integral is used to characterize the cracks. For relatively shallow cracks (a/D ≤ 0.3), the role of SIFs along the crack front is insignificant where the values of SIFs remain flattened along the crack front as a/D increased. However, for the deeper cracks (a/D > 0.3), the effect of a/b is pronounced on the SIFs. If a/b is increased from 0.0 to 1.2, higher SIFs are obtained within the central compared with the outer regions. This is due to the fact that the circumferential crack at the both sides of the bar experienced lack of mode I opening mechanism compared with the crack faces of the upper side cracks. It is also found that the SIFs obtained under free tension stress is higher that the SIFs under fix stress due to the fact that free stress condition capable to induce the bending moment effect and therefore widening the crack faces.


The limited switching frequency, size and weight concerns, and the stringent limits for the injected grid current harmonics challenge the implementation of LCL grid filters for low-voltage multi-megawatt (multi-MW) renewable energy converters. Traditional design procedures of such filters employed in low power and high switching frequency converters may not hold for a multi-MW filter interfacing a low-voltage converter switching at low frequency to the electric grid. This paper proposes an LCL-filter design algorithm spanning a wide power range of multi-MW converters where impacts of favored current control method, damping method and pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique are reflected within the design phase. Filter design algorithm was tested under 0.5, 1, and 2-MVA applications. The impacts of designated damping and current control methods were elaborated in terms of dynamic and steady-state performance using 1-MVA converter design case.


We introduce a framework for face recognition at a distance based on sparse-stereo reconstruction. We develop a 3D acquisition system that consists of two CCD stereo cameras mounted on pan-tilt units with adjustable baseline. We first detect the facial region and extract its landmark points, which are used to initialize an AAM mesh fitting algorithm. The fitted mesh vertices provide point correspondences between the left and right images of a stereo pair; stereo-based reconstruction is then used to infer the 3D information of the mesh vertices. We perform experiments regarding the use of different features extracted from these vertices for face recognition. The cumulative rank curves (CMC), which are generated using the proposed framework, confirms the feasibility of the proposed work for long distance recognition of human faces with respect to the state-of-the-art [3].


Climate change, with its reaching implications, has become a popular topic in recent years. Among the many aspects of climate change, one of the most pressing concerns has been identified as the impact on the terrestrial water cycle, which has a direct impact on human settlement and ecosystems. The paper begins by reviewing previous studies, and then identifies their flaws and future research directions. The effects of climate change on surface water resources in the Dhidhessa Sub-basin, Abbay Basin, Ethiopia, were studied as practices. For future potential climate change, the results of global climate models (GCMs) and high-resolution regional climate models (RCMs) from multiple climate models were combined with data from Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from the CCAFS Data Distribution Center web page. To evaluate the impacts on water resources, various distributed hydrologic models based on local underlying surfaces were developed. The future potential climate change of the Dhidhessa Sub-basin Province was evaluated by integrating RCP outputs, whereas the climate change of the Dhidhessa River was directly derived from the results of different RCP. Dhidhessa stream flow will decrease in the future compared to the baseline era. The predictions of future discharge (stream flow) were based on climate scenarios data from 1991 to 2020 and for the future with two time windows, 2044 (2030–2059) and 2084 (2070–2099), on a monthly time-step after bias correction to both precipitation and temperature in the future climate described in the under each RCP. According to model results, the quantity of surface water resources in the Dhidhessa river region will decrease over the next 100 years, the percent decrease in mean annual stream flow by 10%, in 2044, and 6.3% in 2084, respectively, making the impact of temperature increase on runoff greater than that of precipitation. The distribution of runoff would be more even across years but more uneven across years in the long-term window, implying a higher possibility of drought and flooding. In general, this study discovered that any effect on this river that results in a decrease in flow will have a direct impact on the area's ongoing water resource development and socioeconomic development.


Although the great majority of research studies on cyberbullying have been carried out in western countries (Zych, Ortega & del Rey, 2015), the issue is recognised to be an international one. There has been a tradition of research in the Asian Pacific Rim countries (Smith, Kwak & Toda, 2016), and growing research in other areas such as South-East Asia (Sittichai & Smith, 2015). These studies raise important methodological issues. How similar, or different, is the phenomenon of cyberbullying in different countries? What are the challenges in making comparisons and comparing rates in different countries? Finally, how can such differences be explained? This chapter will examine societal and cross-national variations in bully and victim rates, and characteristics (such as age and gender differences, types of cyberbullying), across a wide range of countries. Explanations of cross-national differences will be discussed in terms of the five factors in the EU Kids Online model: Cultural values [e.g. Hofstede], Education system [schools, colleges], Technological infrastructure [penetration of mobile phones, smart phones and internet], Regulatory framework [policies, legal aspects] and Socio-economic stratification [GDP, socioeconomic inequality].


Objectives: To assess how developing knowledge surrounding combination antiretroviral treatment for people living with HIV infection since mid-1 996 has altered how drugs are used in Australia. Methods: Time trends in use of antiretroviral treatment were calculated on patients recruited to the Australian HIV Observational Database. For each six month period, patients were on one or more antiretroviral drugs for at least two weeks. Other patients were in the no-treatment group. Patients receiving antiretrovirals for more than two weeks were allocated to the category of treatment (mono, double or triple-plus therapy) they received for the longest period. Results: 1476 patients were recruited by September 2000. Of patients currently receiving antiretroviral therapy, 32 per cent took three or more antiretrovirals including an HIV protease inhibitor (PI) and 27 per cent took triple-plus therapy including a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). The proportion of patients receiving regimens containing stavudine (D4T) decreased from 60 per cent in January to June 1999 to 46 per cent in July to September 2000. The proportion of patients receiving zidovudine (AZT) increased slightly from 26 per cent to 30 per cent. The addition of ritonavir to PI- containing regimens increased from 12 per cent in January to June 1999 to 33 per cent in July to September 2000. The proportion of patients ceasing treatment also increased. By July to September 2000, 10 per cent of patients had ceased treatment for more than three months. Conclusion: Antiretroviral treatment use has changed in Australia. Whether these changes are associated with improved clinical outcomes remains uncertain.


Many of the present eco-cities are designed and planned with an emphasis on high technology and infrastructure yet the meaning of sustainability itself implies a balance between past and present. Past urban configurations that rise from earlier traditional socio-cultural structures reflect sustainable principles localised to climate and ecology. The aim of this study is to reconstruct urban morphologies be-fore the advent of the automobile in order to analyse and characterise urban forms that are aligned with ecological criteria such as walk-ability, permeability and shade. Three traditional urban center or 'cores' in tropical Malaysia which had reigned during the early colo-nial era yet still related sultanate-based polities are mapped in terms of morphologies and these urban 'core' configurations were esti-mated and composed according to historical documents and evidences . These urban patterns are then discussed with regards to the present principles and criteria of green urbanism. The reconstructed and mapped urban cores are discussed in relation to green urban-ism principles and criteria, namely, based on global sustainable standards namely the LEED ND (Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design) version 4 neighbourhood rating system. The findings from this study suggest the contextualization of sustainable criteria according to climate and postulate the differences between traditional urban morphologies that can further regionalism principles of current green urbanism and further contextualise key principles in international standards on urbanism.


BACKGROUND/AIM
The genetic characterization of prostate tumors is important for personalized therapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of previously described prostate cancer-related genes in the genetic characterization of prostate tumors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Forty-two genes were selected for expression analysis (real time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction). One normal prostatic epithelial cell line and three standardized prostate cancer cell lines were used. Twenty-eight patients treated with radical prostatectomy were included in the study.

RESULTS
The following genes appeared to be possibly related to the metastatic potential of the tumor: ELOVL fatty acid elongase 7 (ELOVL7), enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit (EZH2), gastrulation brain homeobox 2 (GBX2), golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1), homeobox C6 (HOXC6), minichromosome maintenance complex component 6 (MCM6), marker of proliferation Ki-67 (MKI67), mucin 1, cell surface associated (MUC1), MYC binding protein 2, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (MYCBP2), somatostatin receptor 1 (SSTR1), topoisomerase (DNA) II alpha 170 kDa (TOP2A) and exportin 6 (XPO6). Six genes were differentially expressed in patients with localized and locally advanced cancer (GOLM1, GBX2, XPO6, SSTR1, TOP2A and cell division cycle associated 5, CDCA5) and three genes (HOXC6, Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) and MYC binding protein 2, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase, MYCBP2) in patients with a low vs. high Gleason grade/sum.

CONCLUSION
Some of the investigated genes show promising prognostic and classification features, which might be useful in a clinical setting, warranting for further validation.


: Over the last three decades there has been a world-wide decline in the incidence and severity of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, but the death rate in Singapore from chronic rheumatic heart disease has risen from 3.6 per 100,000 population in 1966 to 4.4 per 100,000 in 1977. Valvular lesions from rheumatic heart disease are very common, and between 1967 to 1979, 715 surgical procedures were performed for rheumatic valvular disease, and of these, 654 procedures involved the mitral valve which was most commonly affected by the disease process. Since many of the patients were female and in the child-bearing age, conservative procedures on the mitral valve were performed whenever possible. Mitral valvotomy for mitral stenosis relieved symptoms effectively; and for restenosis of the mitral valve, more than half of the patients underwent a second valvotomy with functional improvement. Mitral valve replacement was reserved for the severely distorted valve, sometimes calcified, and where there was stenosis associated with incompetence. Between 1971 to 1979, 162 mitral valves were replaced and actuarial studies showed 80% survival five years after surgery. 30 aortic and mitral valve replacements were performed in this same period with an operative mortality of 16.7%. Only 75 aortic valves were replaced for rheumatic valvular disease and 14 of these also had associated mitral and triscuspid valve disease. The prosthetic valves commonly used for replacement were the Starr-Edwards non-cloth covered valves, models 6120 and 1260. All patients that had valve replacements were treated with long-term anticoagulation with Warfarin. The incidence of thromboembolism was low, being 8% for mitral valve replacement and the majority of these episodes occurred in the first three months after surgery.


For obtaining the convective heat transfer coefficient betweengas and particles at high temperature, heat transfer experiments and mathematical model simulation were carried out both for a single sphere and for acounter-current movingbed. If the radiative heat transfer should be evaluated quantitatively, the convective heat transfer coefficient based on the previously empirical equations reported by Ranzand other researchers were available for the evaluation of convective heat transfer around a single sphere. Fromthe experiments and the mathematical modelsimulation with heat transfer of the movingbed, the following empirica[ equation wasobtained as the equation for determining the convective heat transfer coefficient in the moving bed.


Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) is a non-destructive testing method used to inspect ferrous materials. However, there are a variety of factors that can affect the MFL inspection tool's ability to detect and characterize anomalies. An orthogonal experimental design (OED) method is applied to study the effects of apparatus parameters on MFL signals. Integration of OED method of analysis into a routine sample preparation technique could improve the repeatability and quantization capabilities of MFL tools. Three key apparatus parameters, namely permanent magnet (PM) height, magnetic concentrator (MC) length and backing iron (BI) length are chosen for the present study. The importance of each of these key parameters on MFL signals for different defects is determined by a series of experiments.


A set of algorithms were designed, implemented and evaluated in order to, first, identifyclusters of conserved waters in binding pockets, i.e. hydration sites. Then, their contributionto the free energy of binding in a ligand-protein association was quantified by calculatingtheir enthalpy and entropy. The information obtained by using these algorithms couldcontribute to the development of new drugs by generating new ligands that target specifichigh-energy, unfavorable waters. Evaluation tests show that our algorithms can indeedprovide relevant data about how hydration sites influence ligand-protein binding.


Distributed on-line transaction processing (OLTP) technology can be applied to distributed mass storage systems as the mechanism for managing the consistency of distributed metadata. OLTP concepts are familiar to many industries, such as banking and financial services, but are less well known and understood in others, such as scientific and technical computing. However, as mass storage systems and other products are designed using distributed processing and data-management strategies for performance, scalability, and/or availability reasons, distributed OLTP technology can be applied to solve the inherent challenges raised by such environments. This paper briefly discusses the general benefits in using distributed transaction processing products. Design and implementation experiences using the Encina OLTP product from Transarc in the high performance storage system are presented in more detail as a case study for how this technology can be applied to mass storage systems designed for distributed environments.


Modified kaolin clay and talc have been employed as adsorbents for the removal of industrially important dye namely erichrame black-T from aqueous solution. The effect of solution pH, initial dye concentration, temperature and adsorption time on dye removal were studied using UV-visible spectroscopy technique at λmax = 541 mm. The equilibrium time was found to be 30 minutes on each surface. The best results were achieved at pH = 9 and T = 318 K on modified kaolin clay surface and at pH = 7 and T = 288 K on talc surface. It was noted that adsorption of the dye on modified kaolin clay increases with an increase in temperature while its adsorption on talc decrease with an increase in temperature. The result showed that the equilibrium datas were fitted by both of the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm. Values of parameters for these isotherm equations were calculated. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption. The adsorption of EBT (Eriochrome Black-T) is endothermic on modified kaolin clay and exothermic on talc.


On the basis of first principles calculations, we report that the type and density of charge carriers of epitaxial graphene on Si C(0001) can be deliberately controlled by decorating the buffer layer with specific atoms(i.e., F, Cl, O, or N). More importantly, a fine tuning of the doping behavior from intrinsic n-type to charge neutrality to p-type and interface magnetism is achieved via increasing the doping concentration of F atoms on the buffer layer. Our results suggest an interesting avenue to the application of epitaxial graphene in nanoscale electronic and spintronic devices.


Oysters are popularly thought to improve water quality
by filtering plankton and associated nutrients from the water
column, and oyster aquaculture and reef restoration have thus been
proposed as tools to reduce nutrient pollution in coastal areas.
However, oysters' net effect on water quality, including indirect
impacts associated with altered sediment nutrient cycling, remains
poorly understood. This study assessed the impacts of oyster
aquaculture on sediment nitrogen (N) processes—including
denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium
(DNRA), and fluxes of dissolved nutrients—at a commercial oyster
farm in Cherrystone Inlet, VA, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay.
Denitrification was significantly enhanced in farm sediments, but
rates were low (< 20 µm N m-2 h-1) and appeared to be limited by
sediment anoxia and inhibited nitrification. Furthermore, DNRA was
the dominant nitrate reduction pathway, accounting for an average
of 70% of nitrate reduction. Ammonium flux to the water column was
the most significant measured pathway in the farm, exceeding 900 µm
N m-2 h-1 in summer. Extrapolating the observed annual rates to the
area leased for aquaculture in the inlet, N extractive
processes—including harvest, enhanced denitrification, and enhanced
accumulation in sediment—could remove 160% of the annual N load.
However, the enhanced ammonium flux from sediment to the water
column was comparable in magnitude to total N extraction,
potentially supporting local N recycling and eutrophication.
However, negative impacts associated with eutrophication were not
currently apparent in the inlet, likely due to active farm
management and high tidal flushing. Thus, oyster aquaculture may be
an effective tool to reduce nutrient concentrations in this
location and similar water bodies with moderate N loads, high tidal
flushing, and significant area for aquaculture
expansion.


SUMMARY The transcutaneous bilirubinometer was evaluated in 60 term and 10 preterm infants. A significant correlation was found between the transcutaneous index and the total serum bilirubin concentration for both term and preterm infants. The reliability of the transcutaneous bilirubinometer as a screening method was confirmed, and index criteria for serum bilirubin analysis have been suggested for term babies. The instrument was precise and accurate and the method both non-invasive and atraumatic. Since individual serum bilirubin levels and the transcutaneous index may correlate poorly, the transcutaneous method cannot replace traditional serum bilirubin estimation. The transcutaneous bilirubinometer has been developed to permit


This paper presents the mechanical properties data for cold-formed steel at elevated temperatures. The deterioration of the mechanical properties of yield strength (0.2% proof stress) and Young's modulus of elasticity are the primary properties in the design and analysis of cold-formed steel structures under fire. However, values of these properties at different temperatures are not well reported. Therefore, both steady and transient tensile coupon tests were conducted at different temperatures ranged approximately from 20 to 1000°C to obtain the mechanical properties of cold-formed steel structural material. This study included cold-formed steel of grade G550 and G500 with plate thickness of 1.0 and 1.9mm, respectively. Stress-strain curves at different temperatures are plotted. In addition, curves of elasticity modulus, yield strength obtained at different strain levels, ultimate strength and thermal elongation versus different temperatures are also plotted and compared with the results obtained from the Australian, British and European standards. The test results obtained from this study are also compared with the test results predicted by other researchers. A unified equation for yield strength and Young's modulus of cold-formed steel at elevated temperatures is proposed in this paper. It is shown that the proposed equation accurately predicted the yield strength and Young's modulus compared with the test results.


Background Additive manufacturing technologies are being enthusiastically adopted by the orthopaedic community since they are providing new perspectives and new possibilities. First applications were finalised for educational purposes, pre-operative planning, and design of surgical guides; recent applications also encompass the production of implantable devices where 3D printing can bring substantial benefits such as customization, optimization, and manufacturing of very complex geometries. The conceptual smoothness of the whole process may lead to the idea that any medical practitioner can use a 3D printer and her/his imagination to design and produce novel products for personal or commercial use. Aims Outlining how the whole process presents more than one critical aspects, still demanding further research in order to allow a safe application of this technology for fully-custom design, in particular confining attention to orthopaedic/orthodontic prostheses defined as components responding mainly to a structural function. Methods Current knowledge of mechanical properties of additively manufactured components has been examined along with reasons why the behaviour of these components might differ from traditionally manufactured components. The structural information still missing for mechanical design is outlined. Results Mechanical properties of additively manufactured components are not completely known, and especially fatigue limit needs to be examined further. Conclusion At the present stage, with reference to load-bearing implants subjected to many loading cycles, the indication of custom-made additively manufactured medical devices should be restricted to the cases with no viable alternative.


What is the relationship between film viewers' eye movements and their film comprehension? Typical Hollywood movies induce strong attentional synchrony—most viewers look at the same things at the same time. Thus, we asked whether film viewers' eye movements would differ based on their understanding—the mental model hypothesis—or whether any such differences would be overwhelmed by viewers' attentional synchrony—the tyranny of film hypothesis. To investigate this question, we manipulated the presence/absence of prior film context and measured resulting differences in film comprehension and eye movements. Viewers watched a 12-second James Bond movie clip, ending just as a critical predictive inference should be drawn that Bond's nemesis, "Jaws," would fall from the sky onto a circus tent. The No-context condition saw only the 12-second clip, but the Context condition also saw the preceding 2.5 minutes of the movie before seeing the critical 12-second portion. Importantly, the Context condition viewers were more likely to draw the critical inference and were more likely to perceive coherence across the entire 6 shot sequence (as shown by event segmentation), indicating greater comprehension. Viewers' eye movements showed strong attentional synchrony in both conditions as compared to a chance level baseline, but smaller differences between conditions. Specifically, the Context condition viewers showed slightly, but significantly, greater attentional synchrony and lower cognitive load (as shown by fixation probability) during the critical first circus tent shot. Thus, overall, the results were more consistent with the tyranny of film hypothesis than the mental model hypothesis. These results suggest the need for a theory that encompasses processes from the perception to the comprehension of film.


In the cocoa bean industry, some by-products go underutilized. Some of these components could provide other innovative products, and such is the case with the husk of the cocoa bean. Previous studies have attributed the husk with a high antioxidant capacity, which added to its relative low cost, makes it an attractive ingredient for the production of infusions. However, prior to promoting it as such, its quality needs to be guaranteed. This study evaluated the chemical composition of the husk of cocoa, its microbiologic quality and other parameters in order to be considered raw material in the preparation of infusions. The cocoa was cultivated in two different states in Venezuela. Moisture, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates, microbiologic quality and ochratoxin A as well antioxidant properties, content of foreign matter, insoluble ash in HCL and aqueous extract were evaluated in the husk of cocoa seeds. Applied methods were in compliance with national and international norms. Significant differences were determined between the samples through the ANOVA application. A low level in moisture content, but high in ash, along with a microbiologic quality that met the norm, and an absence of ochratoxin A were observed in the totality of the analyzed samples. Low levels of foreign matter, the high value of its aqueous extract and high phenolic compounds content with antioxidant activity allow for the recommendation of the husk of cocoa as raw material for the preparation of infusions.


CGAs are cryptographically generated IPv6 addresses and are
one of the most novel features introduced in IPv6. They have the promising potential of being the basis of authentication mechanisms for Mobile IPv6 because they do not require hosts to share information or security infrastructure. A mobile environment however has several resource constraints that must be considered before any mechanism can be deemed feasible. This paper undertakes to survey all the work done on CGAs and their performance. The goal is to identify and discuss parameters that have an impact on performance (e.g. the public-key cryptosystem being used). This should help in proposing possible modifications and parameters to ease the adoption of CGAs in a mobile environment.
As a starting point, the CGA generation and verification
algorithms are implemented with the help of a cryptographic
library designed especially for embedded systems. An evaluation of the performance of this implementation is undertaken and a comparison is made with the results reported in previous studies. Based on this, a recommendation is made for the parameters that
should be used by mobile nodes when using CGAs. The longterm
modification that has the most potential for improving the
performance of CGAs in a resource-limited setup is also
identified


Music is encoded and stored in different memory systems. These memory systems overlap with "classical" non-musical memory systems to a large extent. However, there are also some specific features that are associated with music memory. This chapter describes the memory processes and their neural underpinnings which are involved during music listening and remembering of music. One specific feature of music memory is that music encoding, storing, and retrieval are associated with neurophysiological activations controlled by a widely distributed network, indicating that lots of information is activated by the musical content. This distributed network activation could be the key to understanding the often reported and suggested beneficial influences of music on non-music memory information.


The use of decision aids could potentially improve auditor's decision making by assuring that the correct hypothesis is available for the auditor to consider when employing analytical procedures.  Previous research has shown that auditors have limited ability to generate error explanations on their own.  The purpose of this study is to synthesize the literature for the development of decision aids for generating explanations for analytical procedures, and validate an important finding of the literature, in light of criticism that a previously found effect may be due to a potential flaw in the experimental design.  As predicted by interference theory and availability theory, the results confirm that the proportion of error vs. non-error explanations in the design of the decision aid can significantly impact the auditor's assessment of the likelihood that the cause of a ratio fluctuation is due to error or irregularity, with implications on audit effectiveness.

 Key words: Analytical procedures, decision aid, audit judgment.


The responsiveness of buildings to prevailing local climate plays an important role if the dual aspects of occupant comfort and low energy demand are to be met. This study takes as example the State of Kerala in India where the Government – as part of the project titled "Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment (LIFE) mission" – plans to build more than 750,000 houses across the State, using a uniform design, irrespective of the location or climate. A previous study has identified regions with different climatic characteristics within Kerala using a method based on adaptive thermal comfort model. This study aims to understand how the building design influences occupant comfort in the different adaptive climate zones by performing an uncertainty analysis on the output metrics. The thermal comfort was assessed based on the hours requiring heating/cooling while visual comfort was assessed based on the Useful Daylight Illuminance metric. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to identify design parameters that influence occupant comfort. The results of this study will serve as a reference for practitioners during the early stages of design to achieve thermal and visual comfort for high performance residential buildings.


Purpose Disruption of proteostasis is a key event in many neurodegenerative diseases. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) participate in multiple functions associated with intracellular transport and proteostasis. We evaluated the effect of augmented HSP70 expression in mutant photoreceptors of mouse retinal degeneration models to test the hypothesis that failure to sustain HSP70 expression contributes to photoreceptor cell death. Methods We examined HSP70 expression in retinas of wild-type and mutant mice by RNA and protein analysis. A transgenic mouse line, TgCrx-Hspa1a-Flag, was generated to express FLAG-tagged full-length HSP70 protein under control of a 2.3 kb mouse Crx promoter. This line was crossed to three distinct retinal degeneration mouse models. Retinal structure and function were evaluated by histology, immunohistochemistry, and electroretinography. Results In seven different mouse models of retinal degeneration, we detected transient elevation of endogenous HSP70 expression at early stages, followed by a dramatic reduction as cell death ensues, suggesting an initial adaptive response to cellular stress. Augmented expression of HSP70 in RHOT17M mice, in which mutant rhodopsin is misfolded, marginally improved photoreceptor survival, whereas elevated HSP70 led to more severe retinal degeneration in rd10 mutants that produce a partially functional PDE6B. In Rpgrip1−/− mice that display a ciliary defect, higher HSP70 had no impact on photoreceptor survival or function. Conclusions HSP70 overexpression has divergent effects in photoreceptors determined, at least in part, by the nature of the mutant protein each model carries. Additional investigations on HSP pathways and associated chaperone networks in photoreceptors are needed before designing therapeutic strategies targeting proteostasis.


Preparatory work on an atlas of synchronic Hungarian family names were started in June, 2009. The database contains the family names of all inhabitants of Hungary. According to a survey carried out on 1st January 2009, this contains 10 165 833 items of raw data. The data can geographically be localised, which makes the investigation of the linguistic geography of family names possible. This paper displays and comments on some maps which present mostly lexical, historical orthographical and onomatodialectological facts of interest. The author also calls attention to the fact that the maps in preparation will surely have wide practical applicability for experts. The maps will indicate the frequency of surnames in comparison to the total number of the local population according to counties. Furthermore, the absolute number of the name bearers and that of the variations of each name form will also be given on the maps.