The human Y chromosome encodes a testis-determining factor (TDF) which is responsible for initiating male sex determination. Recently a region of the Y chromosome (SRY) was identified as part of the TDF gene. We have identified a three-generation family (N) in which all XY individuals have a single base-pair substitution resulting in a conservative amino acid change in the conserved domain of the SRY open reading frame. Three individuals are XY sex-reversed females, and two are XY males. Several models are proposed to explain association between a sequence variant in SRY and two sex phenotypes.


In the present economic and business scenario the role of front line sales persons has become highly vital as market place is becoming more and competitive and customers are spoilt for choice. In most of the organizations a large work force of sales personnel's is employed and this is more prominent in the service sector. The company workers or agents working in the sales function and using their own inter personal relations to enlighten, influence and make relationships with prospective customers; consumers and clientele with the endeavor of persuading them to buy the companies goods and services are called salespersons. A large number of persons are occupied in direct selling for concerns and companies across the globe. Sales people add value to their organizations by contributing to the revenue. They are the actual face of the corporation in community and supervise the firm-buyer liaison. The present paper traces the evolution of study of this field and brings out the research conducted in various parts of the world to analyze and promote the Fit between sales Persons and Organizations.


This research paper seeks to raise awareness regarding the physical, psychological, social, and life-threatening effects of fasting and binge eating. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics emphasizes eating patterns instead of specific foods as a more effective approach to lessening the risk of eating disorders. Research from Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, the University of Tartu, and Dalhousie University determined that consistent eating patterns can be influenced by the individual's personality traits, self-control, outside influence, environment, and state of mind. Some individuals skip meals and even go without eating for extended periods of time to lose weight, for religious beliefs, or medical necessity. According to Fuhrman, fasting can be quite dangerous; and medical experts agree fasting is not a healthy or effective way to lose weight. Unlike fasting, individuals with binge eating disorder (BED), eat unusually large amounts of food in a short period of time. Results published in Biological Psychiatry, found that 3.5% of women and 2.0% of men had binge eating disorder during their life. All foods can be within healthy eating patterns when they are appropriately portioned, eaten in moderation, and combined with physical activity. Raising awareness about prevention, encouraging early detection and treatment is crucial and possible.


We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacted municipality-level votes in the November 2009 "minaret ban" referendum in Switzerland. The campaign, successfully led by the populist Swiss People's Party, played aggressively on fears of Muslim immigration and linked Islam with terrorism and violence. We combine an exhaustive violent crime detection dataset with detailed information on crime coverage from 12 newspapers. The data allow us to quantify the extent of pre-vote media bias in the coverage of migrant criminality. We then estimate a theory-based voting equation in the cross-section of municipalities. Exploiting random variations in crime occurrences, we find a first-order, positive effect of news coverage on political support for the minaret ban. Counterfactual simulations show that, under a law forbidding newspapers to disclose a perpetrator's nationality, the vote in favor of the ban would have decreased by 5 percentage points (from 57.6% to 52.6%).


Two patients with atypical multicentric reticulohistiocytosis are reported. Skin rigidity with mobile rubbery nodules, and telangiectases, are typical of this disease and occurred around the eyes and elsewhere. One patient also had subconjunctival nodules and corneal crystal formation probably due to her paraproteinaemia.

Some literature on this disease and on the occurrence of corneal crystal deposition in dysproteinaemia is reviewed.


A predictive spatiotemporal join finds all pairs of moving objects satisfying a join condition on future time and space. In this paper, we present CoPST, the first and foremost algorithm for such a join using two spatiotemporal indexes. In a predictive spatiotemporal join, the bounding boxes of the outer index are used to perform window searches on the inner index, and these bounding boxes enclose objects with increasing laxity over time. CoPST constructs globally tightened bounding boxes "on the fly" to perform window searches during join processing, thus significantly minimizing overlap and improving the join performance. CoPST adapts gracefully to large-scale databases, by dynamically switching between main-memory buffering and disk-based buffering, through a novel probabilistic cost model. Our extensive experiments validate the cost model and show its accuracy for realistic data sets. We also showcase the superiority of CoPST over algorithms adapted from state-of-the-art spatial join algorithms, by a speedup of up to an order of magnitude.


David Orr, the 143rd president of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), on 6 November 2007 delivered his presidential address 'At the Heart of Society', which put forward his 'vision for civil engineers as people acclaimed for merit, people at the heart of society'. David argued that to achieve this, each of us must stand up for the value of civil engineering; stand up for the highest professional standards; stand up for excellence in procurement; and stand up for the unsung heroes of our profession. David is the Director of Central Procurement in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, where he leads the procurement of construction works, supplies and services. The 'excellence in procurement' portion of his address is very pertinent to South Africa and is reproduced here


This analysis presents a theoretical model of firm response to border enforcement and evaluates both the intended and unintended effects under two enforcement regimes: destruction versus treatment of contaminated shipments. The results indicate that importers may respond to increased inspection by reducing shipments and decreasing due care. In response to increased pest populations, firms may reduce shipments and increase due care, indicating that an enforcement response may not be necessary. The analysis reveals the importance of the nature of the due-care technology, as well as the relationships underlying the probability of detection, in determining the effects of enforcement.


in English: New digital networking technologies and media have impacted many basic activities of university students and scholars but have also had essential consequences for the radical "datafication" and "networkization" of entire academic and scientific discourse. For this reason the information needs and customs of the patrons of academic research libraries have been changing at much faster rates than the libraries themselves. To answer the urgent challenge, the leading American research libraries have begun to pursue more profound conceptual and infrastructural developments – sometimes called 'knowledge environments.' Rather than mere virtual research libraries, repositories, or library consortia, the new academic knowledge environments are meant to become synergistic and open networks for all available intellectual, technological, and material potentials. These new metaand transinstitutional networks of shared resources, services, ideas, and expertise (which are shaped by and around the immediate actions and requests of the individual users) mean that 'participants' in such an academic knowledge environment (students, scholars, librarians) are no more only consumers, researchers, producers, or organizers/archivists of the information, but they are also immediate and simultaneous co-creators and co-interpreters of the particular knowledge environment/network. Establishing and building such a knowledge environment within and across a traditional academic institutional framework often collides with inertial forces associated with more deeply-rooted institutional and individual processes. Nevertheless, the new 'meta-institutional' academic knowledge environments are one of the most emerging and challenging platforms to reinvent the research library as a fundamental component of research and teaching in the new, rapidly changing conditions.


The current theoretical physics tools used to describe the acoustic phenomena that occur outside the ear, such as the specific impedance, the acoustic impedance and the mechanical impedance are not applicable to describe the cochlear mechanics. For this reason, this study uses the hydro-mechanical impedance concept. The latter is only applicable to a harmonichydro-mechanical systems, which consist of a rigid recipient, filled with liquid and two elastic windows that relate the system with a sound environment, considering that the distance between them should be much smaller than the sound wavelength. This system could be considered as the most primitive model inner ear to build. The movement of the contained fluid in this system has particular characteristics that differentiate it from the wave motion and from a simple mass-spring-dumping vibration system. In order to demonstrate the existence of the harmonic hydro-mechanical movement, was modeled and built an equivalent harmonic electrical system, which ...


We generalize Drinfeld's notion of the center of a tensor category to bicategories. In this generality, we present a spectral sequence to compute the basic invariants of Drinfeld centers: the abelian monoid of isomorphism classes of objects, and the abelian automorphism group of its identity object. There is an associated obstruction theory that explains the difference between the Drinfeld center and the center of the classifying category. For examples, we discuss bicategories of groups and bands, rings and bimodules, as well as fusion categories.


Abstract Iron-bearing pyrope, an abundant silicate mineral in the Earth's upper mantle, exhibits the largest quadrupole splitting (QS) in Mössbauer spectra among all common Fe-bearing rock-forming silicate minerals at ambient conditions, with a value of ~3.5 mm/s. Knowledge regarding the hyperfine QS of mantle minerals at relevant pressures and temperatures (P-T) is needed to aid our understanding of the electronic spin and valence states of iron and local site distortion in major mantle silicate minerals. The latter, in turn, is relevant for coherent model of electronic and mechanical properties of the Earth's mantle. Here we have measured synchrotron Mössbauer spectra (SMS) of the high-spin Fe2+ in Fe-bearing pyrope garnet with two distinct compositions, (Mg0.8Fe0.2)3Al2Si3O12 (py80alm20) and Fe3Al2Si3O12 (alm100), up to 30 GPa and 750 K. Analyses of the SMS spectra revealed that the high-spin Fe2+ ions in the distorted dodecahedral site exhibit extremely high QS of ~3.4-3.6 mm/s and relatively high chemical shifts (CS) of ~1.2-1.3 mm/s at high P-T, indicating that the Fe2+ ions remain in the high-spin state. An increase in the Fe content in the pyrope-almandine series only slightly decreases the QS and CS of the Fe2+ ions. To decipher the energy separation (Δ) between the two lowest energy levels of the 3d electrons of the Fe2+ ions in the sample, the dxy and dz 2 orbitals, the QS values of py80alm20 at high P-T were further evaluated using Huggins model. Our modeled results show that the Δ of the Fe2+ ions in py80alm20 is ~156 meV at high P-T, and may be correlated to the change of the crystal-field energy splitting (ΔC). Comparison of the QS, Δ, and ΔC values of Fe2+ ions in the distorted dodecahedral sites of pyrope and silicate perovskite indicates that the high-spin Fe2+ with the extremely high QS can remain stable at high P-T conditions, consistent with recent theoretical predictions. Our results thus contribute to our current understanding of the hyperfine parameters and spin and valence states of iron in the mantle silicate minerals at high P-T


Mechanisms implicated in the association between neurocysticercosis (NCC) and cognitive impairment remain unknown. Atahualpa residents aged ≥ 40 years with calcified NCC were identified as case patients and paired 1:1 to age- and gender-matched controls. The selection process generated 79 pairs. Cognitive performance was measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A conditional logistic regression model revealed no differences in MoCA scores across case patients and controls, after adjusting for education, epilepsy, depression, and hippocampal atrophy. The single covariate remaining significant was hippocampal atrophy. When participants were stratified according to this covariate, linear models showed lower MoCA scores among case patients (but not controls) with hippocampal atrophy. In a fully adjusted linear regression model, age remained as the single covariate explaining cognitive impairment among NCC patients. This study demonstrates an association between hippocampal atrophy and poor cognitive performance among patients with calcified NCC, most likely attributable to the effect of age.


The world's population is ageing at an accelerated pace. Ageing is a natural, physiological but highly complex and multifactorial process that all species in the Tree of Life experience over time. Physical and mental disabilities, and age-related diseases, would increase along with the increasing life expectancy. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a plant that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, native to Southeast Asia. For hundreds of years, ginger has been consumed in various ways by the natives of Asian countries, both as culinary and medicinal herb for the treatment of many diseases. Mounting evidence suggests that ginger can promote healthy ageing, reduce morbidity, and prolong healthy lifespan. Ginger, a well-known natural product, has been demonstrated to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties, as well as an outstanding antiviral activity due to a high concentration of antiviral compounds. In this review, the current evidence on the potential role of ginger and its active compounds in the prevention of ageing is discussed.


Biological pathways or modules represent sets of interactions or functional relationships occurring at the molecular level in living cells. A large body of knowledge on pathways is organized in public databases such as the KEGG, Reactome, or in more specialized repositories, such as the Atlas of Cancer Signaling Network (ACSN). All these open biological databases facilitate analyses, improving our understanding of cellular systems. We hereby describe the R package ACSNMineR for calculation of enrichment or depletion of lists of genes of interest in biological pathways. ACSNMineR integrates ACSN molecular pathways, but can use any molecular pathway encoded as a GMT file, for instance sets of genes available in the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB). We also present the R package RNaviCell, that can be used in conjunction with ACSNMineR to visualize different data types on web-based, interactive ACSN maps. We illustrate the functionalities of the two packages with biological data taken from large-scale cancer datasets.


This study was an initial step to determine the feasibility of matching student teachers (ST's) with cooperating teachers (CT's) on the basis of similar educational beliefs. This protect grew out of the concern of Oklahoma State University student teaching supervisors that the mismatching of ST's with CT's on the basis of dissimilar perceptions regarding educational beliefs and . practices often leads to a nonproductive relationship between the ST and CT. During 1976 fall semester, all OSU ST's enrolled for elementary student teaching and their CT's (N=132) were asked to participate. Prior to the commencement of student teaching, 31 CT's and 50 ST's completed and returned inventories assessing educational beliefs. Inventories were: The Study of Beliefs Inventory (PBI and TPI), Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Inventory (BTLI), and the Behavioral Problems Inventory (BPI). At the termination of the student teaching semester, eight university supervisors of the ST's assessed the quantity, severity, and nature of conflicts perceived to have occurred during the ST-CT relationship. It was predicted that ST-CT pairs who experienced conflict, as perceived by the university supervisor, would significantly differ on responses to the measures of educational beliefs. Analysis of comparisons between ST's and CT's in the ten conflict pairs indicated no significant differences on responses to the inventories. Results indicate that the inventories do not discriminate eetween ST's and CT's in terms of educational beliefs, and the CT's and ST's may be more alike than different in their beliefs about education. Interpretation of the conflict data indicated that personality may play a greater role in producing severe conflict than differences related to educational beliefs. It may be that differences related to educatlional reliefs are more easily resolved by ST's and CT's while personality conflicts are more difficult to resolve and often require outside intervention. (Authors)


Salar de Pajonales, a Ca-sulfate salt flat in the Chilean High Andes, showcases the type of polyextreme environment recognized as one of the best terrestrial analogs for early Mars because of its aridity, high solar irradiance, salinity, and oxidation. The surface of the salar represents a natural climate-transition experiment where contemporary lagoons transition into infrequently inundated areas, salt crusts, and lastly dry exposed paleoterraces. These surface features represent different evolutionary stages in the transition from previously wetter climatic conditions to much drier conditions today. These same stages closely mirror the climate transition on Mars from a wetter early Noachian to the Noachian/Hesperian. Salar de Pajonales thus provides a unique window into what the last near-surface oases for microbial life on Mars could have been like in hypersaline environments as the climate changed and water disappeared from the surface. Here we open that climatological window by evaluating the narrative recorded in the salar surface morphology and microenvironments and extrapolating to similar paleosettings on Mars. Our observations suggest a strong inter-dependence between small and large scale features that we interpret to be controlled by extrabasinal changes in environmental conditions, such as precipitation-evaporation-balance changes and thermal cycles, and most importantly, by internal processes, such as hydration/dehydration, efflorescence/deliquescence, and recrystallization brought about by physical and chemical processes related to changes in groundwater recharge and volcanic processes. Surface structures and textures record a history of hydrological changes that impact the mineralogy and volume of Ca-sulfate layers comprising most of the salar surface. Similar surface features on Mars, interpreted as products of freeze-thaw cycles, could, instead, be products of water-driven, volume changes in salt deposits. On Mars, surface manifestations of such salt-related processes would point to potential water sources. Because hygroscopic salts have been invoked as sources of localized, transient water sufficient to support terrestrial life, such structures might be good targets for biosignature exploration on Mars.


Drawing from an incident that took place during a year-long investigation of children's play and peer culture on a school playground, the author argues that seemingly neutral child-centered techniques can maintain and even strengthen existing gender inequalities as teachers and children access laminated but contradictory identity positions surrounding agentic educational discourse. As children revisit the original conflict, they laminate time-spaces to discursively reconstruct events and position themselves advantageously. Critical discourse analysis problematizes the effects of a conflict resolution strategy based upon gendered notions of learner agency in a cultural model of teaching: developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Although the focus of this article is a single event on one elementary school playground in the USA, the author suggest that the presence of the DAP cultural model internationally means that many early childhood teachers may experience similar ambiguity over gendered tensions that arise around issues of agency and authority as they attempt to resolve children's conflicts during play.


We have carried out low-temperature x-ray diffraction studies on C60 fullerite polymerized by low quasi-hydrostatic pressure of 1.1 GPa at T=563 K. It is established that at room temperature in freshly prepared samples three phases mainly coexist, viz. a compressed cubic phase with the lattice parameter a=13.94 A, an orthorhombic O′ phase with the lattice parameters a=9.12 A, b=9.82 A, c=14.60 A, and a rhombohedral phase of symmetry R3m with the parameters a=9.20 A and c=24.27 A. Mechanical grinding or annealing at 573 K entails depolymerization of sintered samples and restoration of the fcc structure of pristine C60. During annealing in air, intercalation of fullerite lattice by oxygen molecules occurs as well as a substantial amount of some new phase is formed, most probably with tetragonal symmetry, the chemical composition and structure of which have not been determined. The microhardness of polymerized C60 is higher than that of single crystal samples roughly four-fold at room temperature and by a factor of 2.6 at liquid nitrogen temperature. Analysis shows that polymerization and grain boundaries give contributions to the microhardness of sintered samples but we did not succeed in separating these two contributions. The temperature dependence of the microhardness of polymerized samples exhibits a jump in the vicinity of 260 K, where pristine C60 fullerite undergoes the fcc-sc phase transition. We think that this jump is due to a partial destruction of the polymerized state under indentor as a result of shear straining in inhomogeneous stress fields. Annealing of polymerized C60 at a temperature of 573 K, which restores the fcc phase, leads to a considerable decrease in microhardness, the hardness "jump" near the fcc-sc transition extends in temperature and shifts to lower temperatures.We have carried out low-temperature x-ray diffraction studies on C60 fullerite polymerized by low quasi-hydrostatic pressure of 1.1 GPa at T=563 K. It is established that at room temperature in freshly prepared samples three phases mainly coexist, viz. a compressed cubic phase with the lattice parameter a=13.94 A, an orthorhombic O′ phase with the lattice parameters a=9.12 A, b=9.82 A, c=14.60 A, and a rhombohedral phase of symmetry R3m with the parameters a=9.20 A and c=24.27 A. Mechanical grinding or annealing at 573 K entails depolymerization of sintered samples and restoration of the fcc structure of pristine C60. During annealing in air, intercalation of fullerite lattice by oxygen molecules occurs as well as a substantial amount of some new phase is formed, most probably with tetragonal symmetry, the chemical composition and structure of which have not been determined. The microhardness of polymerized C60 is higher than that of single crystal samples roughly four-fold at room temperature and by a fa...


The goal of this research study was to find what makes groupwork to be successful. We asked faculty why they give groupwork assignments to their students and what their opinions about the best practices in creating effective groupwork environment for their students are. It was also intended to compare instructors' opinions with research findings to find out how much their groupwork strategies match research findings in this area. Likewise, we asked students about features of successful groupwork to see if faculty and students' viewpoints on features of successful groupwork were similar. The results reveal the most prevalent groupwork strategies practiced by faculty and the favorite ones among students. Results show faculty and students' attitudes towards groupwork are very similar, however, many faculty do not follow the guidelines suggested in earlier studies to improve the effectiveness of groupwork assignments.


We discuss some conceptual issues that any approach to quantum gravity has to confront. In particular, it is argued that one has to find a theory that can be interpreted in a realist manner, because theories with an instrumentalist interpretation are problematic for several wellknown reasons. Since the Hilbert space formalism almost inevitably forces an instrumentalist interpretation on us, we suggest that a theory of quantum gravity should not be based on the Hilbert space formalism. We briefly sketch the topos approach, which makes use of the internal logic of a topos associated with a quantum system and comes with a natural (neo-)realist interpretation. Finally, we make some remarks on the relation between system logic and metalogic.


Complex diseases have affected human's health throughout the world. Hundreds of studies show that complex diseases are caused by multiple loci. Currently, genome-wide association studies(GWAS) only focus on the single locus that contributes to the susceptibility of a certain disease. However, the interaction between genes could be one of the main factors that lead to complex traits. This fact has initiated scientists to propose some algorithms to detect these interactions, such as the penalized logistic regression model, multifactor dimensionality reduction method, set association analysis method, Bayesian networks analysis method and random forest. However, these algorithms are of high complexity, hypothesis-driven, causing over fitting of data, or not sensible of data at low dimensions. In this paper, we reviewed these algorithms, and then demonstrated a new algorithm based on GPU to provide a powerful strategy to analyze gene-gene interaction in genome-wide association datasets. This algorithm is of low computing complexity, free of hypothesis, not affected by single locus marginal effect, and also of high stability and speed.


Organophosphorus (OP) pesticides are widely used despite evidence they cause neurotoxicity after exposure. The primary target for OPs is acetylcholinesterase, but there is evidence they can inhibit other cellular proteins including cytoskeletal and axon growth associated proteins, which are implicated in nervous system development. Furthermore, little is known about the ability of OPs to cause genotoxicity.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of selected OPs on neurite outgrowth, expression of cytoskeletal proteins and associated gene expression levels, and to investigate histone deacetylation (HDAC) activity in three types of differentiating cell models. The initial findings indicated that cell viability was unaffected by exposure to 1, 3 and 10 µM CPF, CPO and PSP in N2a and C6 cells. A high content assay was sensitive enough to rapidly detect and quantify morphological changes, including inhibition of neurite number and length.

Western blot and ELISA analysis in N2a and C6 cells revealed reduced levels of the selected cytoskeletal and associated regulatory proteins (MAP-2, Tau, βIII-tubulin, GAP43, NFH and GFAP) following the treatment with at least one concentration of CPF, CPO and PSP, which could be linked to the inhibition of neurite outgrowth. Using quantitative RT-PCR analysis on the total RNA of the genes MAP-2, TUBB3, MAPT, NEFH, GAP-43, and GFAP showed a good correlation between the altered protein expression and regulation of gene levels for most markers, which suggests these OPs can cause genotoxic effects. Increased levels of HDAC activity were observed for all OPs in rodent cell lines, suggesting that epigenetic effects may be at least partly involved in some gene expression changes.
RT-PCR analysis of TUBB3, NEFH, and GFAP was also carried out in ReNcell CX cells, a co-culture of neuronal and glial cells, and showed down-regulation of gene levels for at least one concentration of all the OPs, as well as increasing the level of HDAC activity in a similar pattern to the results for N2a and C6 cells.

Taken together, the data in this thesis suggest a novel action of OPs altering HDAC activity, which can be correlated to some of the observed changes in gene and protein levels of selected cytoskeletal and associated regulatory proteins that can be linked to the observed disruption of neurite outgrowth and neural development. Further work is needed to identify other molecular targets invoved in these phenomena, particularly when there is no correlation with HDAC activity changes.


The integrin α4β1 and its counter receptor vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) mediate well-described cell-cell interactions that are critical for immune function. However, these receptors also mediate cell-cell interactions that are important for skeletal muscle differentiation. We have found that contrasting transcriptional mechanisms control their patterns of expression in the immune system and in muscle. Recent studies indicate that α4β1 and VCAM-1 are also expressed in a number of developing tissues, implying that these receptors have a general role in facilitating cell-cell interactions during development.


Introduction With new effective treatments for hepatitis C (HCV), identifying cases is increasingly important. The BASHH Viral Hepatitis Guidelines (2015) recommend HCV screening in sexual health services for people at high-risk. We carried out a retrospective audit in our clinic. Methods We reviewed our patient records and laboratory database for HCV antibody (AB) tests between 1st January 2015 – 30th June 2016. The management of those HCV RNA positive was compared with the BASHH auditable standards (2015). Results From 56483 attendances, 12008 HCV AB tests were taken. 18/12008 cases were HCV AB positive of which 11 were also HCV RNA positive giving a prevalence of 0.09%. 8/11 newly diagnosed; 6/11 male; 6/11 Eastern European, 3 White British, 2 Asian; 4 co-infected with HIV. Genotypes were available for 6/11 and of these 4 had G1a, 1 had G1b and 1 had G3a. 11/11 had LFTs/AFP (target 90%) and all had hepatitis B tests (target >95%). 11/11 were referred for ongoing care within 2 months (target 100%). All had a written follow up plan (target 97%) and all had a documented discussion regarding the natural history and transmission of HCV, but only 2 (18%) had documentation that written information was also given (target >95%). All had partner notification (target 97%). Discussion The prevalence of HCV infection in our screened population was lower than we expected (0.09%) for an area with a large migrant population. Our service met all auditable standards in management except for documenting that written information had been given.


Stem cells of the apical papilla (SCAP) represent great promise regarding treatment of neural tissue damage, such as spinal cord injury (SCI). They derive from the neural crest, express numerous neurogenic markers, and mediate neurite outgrowth and axonal targeting. The goal of the present work was to investigate for the first time their potential to promote motor recovery after SCI in a rat hemisection model when delivered in their original stem cell niche—that is, by transplantation of the human apical papilla tissue itself into the lesion. Control groups consisted of animals subjected to laminectomy only (shams) and to lesion either untreated or injected with a fibrin hydrogel with or without human SCAP. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan locomotor scores at 1 and 3 d postsurgery confirmed early functional decline in all SCI groups. This significant impairment was reversed, as seen in CatWalk analyses, after transplantation of apical papilla into the injured spinal cord wound, whereas the other groups demonstrated persistent functional impairment. Moreover, tactile allodynia did not develop as an unwanted side effect in any of the groups, even though the SCAP hydrogel group showed higher expression of the microglial marker Iba-1, which has been frequently associated with allodynia. Notably, the apical papilla transplant group presented with reduced Iba-1 expression level. Masson trichrome and human mitochondria staining showed the preservation of the apical papilla integrity and the presence of numerous human cells, while human cells could no longer be detected in the SCAP hydrogel group at the 6-wk postsurgery time point. Altogether, our data suggest that the transplantation of a human apical papilla at the lesion site improves gait in spinally injured rats and reduces glial reactivity. It also underlines the potential interest for the application of delivering SCAP in their original niche, as compared with use of a fibrin hydrogel.


Aging is associated with an increased frequency and severity of many infectious diseases, including nosocomial infections in the hospital and nursing home. An age-related decline in host defense functions is the primary explanation for this phenomenon. The epidemiology, morbidity, mortality, and preventive aspects of nosocomial infections in the elderly are reviewed in this article.


We consider Lie algebras admitting an ad-invariant metric, and we study the problem of uniqueness of the ad-invariant metric up to automorphisms. This is a common feature in low dimensions, as one can observe in the known classification of nilpotent Lie algebras of dimension ≤ 7 admitting an ad-invariant metric. We prove that uniqueness of the metric on a complex Lie algebra g is equivalent to uniqueness of ad-invariant metrics on the cotangent Lie algebra T ∗g; a slightly more complicated equivalence holds over the reals. This motivates us to study the broader class of Lie algebras such that the ad-invariant metric on T ∗g is unique. We prove that uniqueness of the metric forces the Lie algebra to be solvable, but the converse does not hold, as we show by constructing solvable Lie algebras with a one-parameter family of inequivalent ad-invariant metrics. We prove sufficient conditions for uniqueness expressed in terms of both the Nikolayevsky derivation and a metric counterpart introduced in this paper. Moreover, we prove that uniqueness always holds for irreducible Lie algebras which are either solvable of dimension ≤ 6 or real nilpotent of dimension ≤ 10.


Ultrathin, undersized MoS2/graphene composites are fabricated by a facile acetic acid assisted hydrothermal route and post-annealing. The structure and morphology characterization reveals that the MoS2 nanosheets with ∼5 layers and 130–160 nm in size are decorated on the surface of graphene nanosheets homogeneously and tightly. The effects of acetic acid and N-methyl-pyrrolidone solvent on the microstructures and electrochemical performances of the MoS2/graphene composites are investigated. It is found that the acetic acid could maintain a constant pH and promote hydrolysis of thiourea, and thus many more MoS2 crystals nucleus were formed, while the N-methyl-pyrrolidone could inhibit the aggregation of the as-prepared MoS2 sheets, and therefore few-layered MoS2 sheets with a small size are obtained. Electrochemical tests confirmed that the lithium storage performance of ultrathin, undersized MoS2/graphene is greatly improved compared to that without addition of acetic acid or N-methyl-pyrrolidone solvent. A high reversible capacity of 1229 mA h g−1 is achieved in the initial cycle and is maintained at 942.6 mA h g−1 after 50 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. Even at a current density of 1000 mA g−1, the reversible capacity could be maintained as high as 747 mA h g−1.


Recent advances in sequencing technologies have revealed that the genome is extensively transcribed, yielding a large repertoire of noncoding RNAs. These include long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), mRNA-like molecules that do not code for proteins, which are emerging as a new class of RNAs that play important roles in a variety of cellular processes. Ongoing studies are revealing new insights about lncRNAs, including their physiological functions, disease relationships, and molecular mechanisms of action. Characterized lncRNAs have been shown to interact with and modulate the activity of other RNAs and protein partners, leading to alterations in transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory processes. In this review, we summarize the key features of lncRNAs, their molecular mechanisms of action, biological functions, and therapeutic implications, particularly as they apply to the field of molecular endocrinology. In addition, we provide a brief overview of how molecular biologists are beginning to probe the identity, mechanisms, and functions of this emerging class of RNA molecules.


In Distance Education system, students must be equipped with seven skills of computer (ICDL) hence they must have high computer knowledge. This paper aims at investigating the effect of DE system on the computer literacy of MA students in Tehran University . The design of this study is quasi-experimental. Pretest and posttest were used in both control and experimental groups to undertake the study. The population of this study was students, those who participate in traditional and online education at university of Tehran. In order to gather required data, researcher-made questionnaires consisting of 59 items were used. The content validity index for the whole items of the questionnaire about computer literacy was 0.55. The reliability index for the whole test was 0.61. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16. In order to analyze data the following features were measured: frequency, percentage, standard deviation, T, covariance analysis, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The results of data analysis for computer literacy variable reveal that P value for Concepts of IT =0.010, File Management=0.001, Internet=0.03, Databases (Access) =0.03, and Presentation (power point) =0.001(online & traditional education), all are fewer than α=0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, but not the directional hypothesis. It can be concluded that, regarding computer skills, Concepts of IT, File Management, Internet, Databases (Access), and Presentation (power point), there is a significant difference between control and experimental groups. Regarding word processor and spreadsheets (Excel), P value is 0.11 and 0.75 respectively which are higher than 0.05, so the null hypothesis is rejected, but not the directional one and difference between these groups is not significant. To sum up, it can be stated that DE has a more significant impact on Concepts of IT, Internet and Presentation regarding computer literacy than traditional education. It can be stated that traditional education has a more significant impact on Concepts of File Management and Databases (Access) regarding computer literacy than DE.


Dopa has been identified in rat food by three different fluorimetric assays and paper chromatography. Incubation of the rat food with proteolytic enzymes dramatically increased the measurable free dopa. Analysis of samples of six individual protein-containing constituents of rat food revealed that both wheat and oats contain dopa.


Hundreds of commensal bacteria are existed in the mouth and nose, and the interactions between these microbiotas and the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in different parts of the upper respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and immune cells maty assist to maintain the homeostasis of the immune system. Thus, it is importantto study the relationship between type one hypersensitivity and normal flora in the mouth and nose. Blood and saliva or sputum samples of seventy-one allergic patients were collected randomly in Baghdad/ Al- Zahraa center for asthma and allergies. Those patients were suffering from different types of hypersensitivity type1 such as skin and respiratory tract allergy (e.g, asthma and Rhinitis). The results revealed that the allergic females percentage were more than males. Staphylococcus spp., Lactobacillus and Fungi spp. isolated from the mouth and nose were more prevalent than other microorganisms among different age groups. In addition, most age groups were given significant variation in TLR2 level, while TLR4 recorded variation in female more than male patients.


ABSTRACT Attachment concepts are used in diverging ways, which has caused confusion in communication among researchers, among practitioners, and between researchers and practitioners, and hinders their potential for collaboration. In this essay we explore how attachment concepts may vary in meaning across six different domains: popular discourses, developmental science, social psychological science, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, and child welfare practice. We attempt to typify these forms of attachment discourse by highlighting points of convergence, divergence, and relay between the different domains. Our general conclusions are that diversity in the use of attachment concepts across different domains of application has been largely unrecognised, and that recognition of these differences would reduce confusion, help identify sites where infrastructure needs to be developed to support coordination, and strengthen opportunities for collaboration to mutual benefit. We suggest that academic attachment discourse would benefit from clarification of core terminology, including: "attachment", "internal working model", "trauma", and "dysregulation".


Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code criminalizes "an attempt to commit suicide" with a punishment ranging from "simple imprisonment for a term up to one year or with fine, or with both".[i] While the Penal Code does not attempt to define suicide, the common understanding that this paper seeks to argue should be decriminalized is an act of intentionally taking one's life. The Law Commission has twice, in 1971[ii] and 2008,[iii] recommended repealing Section 309. In fact, in 1978. The IPC (Amendment) Bill 1978[iv] was even passed by the Rajya Sabha, but the Parliament had dissolved before the Lok Sabha could pass it, and the bill lapsed. In March 2011 and again in 2018, the Supreme Court also recommended that Parliament consider deleting this Section.[v] Finally, in 2017, the Mental Healthcare Act was passed, coming into effect in 2018, which effectively decriminalized suicide. Section 115(1) of the Mental Healthcare Act provides that "notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309", a person who attempts suicide will be, "unless proved otherwise" to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code." Further, under clause 2, it casts a duty on the government to provide treatment and rehabilitation to persons having "severe stress and who attempted to commit suicide".[vi] While this is more progressive than the punitive nature of Section 309, it is a job half done at best. This paper aims to analyse the issues inherent in our current legal system that has partially decriminalized suicide through the Mental Healthcare Act while simultaneously retaining Section 309 and propose reforms to reduce the onerous burdens currently placed on the victims, who continue to be treated as criminals.


The removal of Cd (II) ions from aqueous solution by synthesized chitosan-mwcnts (ch-mwcnts) was investigated in a batch adsorption system. The morphological of modified chitosan was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of various factors such as; initial concentration of cadmium ions, initial pH and temperature of the solution for removal of Cd (II) was studied. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin–Radushkevich and Temkin models. Equilibrium data agreed well with Langmuir isotherm, Based on this model, the maximum adsorption capacity of nanocomposite of ch-mwcnts for Cd (II) was obtained to be 24.27 mg/g at pH=6. A pseudo-second order model has been proposed to correlate the experimental data (R2= 0.996). The thermodynamic parameters such as standard Gibb's free energy (∆G ̊), standard enthalpy (∆H ̊), standard entropy (∆S ̊) and activation energy (Ea) were evaluated by applying the Van't Hoff and Arrhenius equations and were determined as -0.088 to -1.208 kJ/mol , 16.6 kJ/mol , 56 J/ mol. K and 5.58 kJ/ mol, respectively.


Recent work has increased the performance of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) by enforcing a consistency cost on the discriminator. We improve on this technique in several ways. We first show that consistency regularization can introduce artifacts into the GAN samples and explain how to fix this issue. We then propose several modifications to the consistency regularization procedure designed to improve its performance. We carry out extensive experiments quantifying the benefit of our improvements. For unconditional image synthesis on CIFAR-10 and CelebA, our modifications yield the best known FID scores on various GAN architectures. For conditional image synthesis on CIFAR-10, we improve the state-of-the-art FID score from 11.48 to 9.21. Finally, on ImageNet-2012, we apply our technique to the original BigGAN model and improve the FID from 6.66 to 5.38, which is the best score at that model size.


We examine how signals of a candidate's capability affect perceptions of that person's commitment to an employer. In four experimental studies that use hiring managers as subjects, we test and show that managers perceive highly capable candidates to have lower commitment to the organization than less capable but adequate candidates and, as a result, penalize high-capability candidates in the hiring process. Our results show that managers have concerns about a high-capability candidate's future commitment to the organization because they view highly capable candidates as having lower levels of organizational interest—meaning they care less about the mission and values of the organization and exert a lower level of effort toward those ends—and because they assume highly capable candidates have more outside job options, increasing their flight risk. Our findings highlight that capability signals do not necessarily afford candidates an advantage in selection, suggesting an upper limit on credentials and other signals of capability in helping candidates get jobs. Our study contributes to research on labor markets, human capital, and credentialing by offering a theory for why and when capability signals can negatively influence job candidate selection decisions.


This paper extends to two dimensions the frame criterion developed by Daubechies for one-dimensional wavelets, and it computes the frame bounds for the particular case of 2D Gabor wavelets. Completeness criteria for 2D Gabor image representations are important because of their increasing role in many computer vision applications and also in modeling biological vision, since recent neurophysiological evidence from the visual cortex of mammalian brains suggests that the filter response profiles of the main class of linearly-responding cortical neurons (called simple cells) are best modeled as a family of self-similar 2D Gabor wavelets. We therefore derive the conditions under which a set of continuous 2D Gabor wavelets will provide a complete representation of any image, and we also find self-similar wavelet parametrization which allow stable reconstruction by summation as though the wavelets formed an orthonormal basis. Approximating a "tight frame" generates redundancy which allows low-resolution neural responses to represent high-resolution images.


As distributed systems continue to evolve, automatic resource management is becoming more and more impor tant. The resource management system must be able to dynamically handle large heterogeneous systems in a way that gives good performanceand resource utilization. In the performance context, allocating software modules to nodes in an efficient way is of high interest. This paper considers the problem of allocating software modules to processing nodes in an automatic dynamic manner using module mi gration algorithms. The module allocation problem is NP complete and many heuristics have been proposed. How ever, in systems where the workload changes over time, it may be infeasible to update module allocation often enough to handle changes in workload. This paper presents the Match-maker algorithm that performs load balancing by pairing overloaded nodes with under-loaded ones, initiat ing module migration within the pair. The paper presents a load balancing optimization problem, and uses the bench mark problem to evaluate the algorithm. In addition, the Match-maker algorithm is compared with other previously described algorithms for module migration. The Match maker algorithm is found to be fast and efficient in reducing load imbalance in distributed systems, especially for large systems. (Less)


Abstract. Surface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a widely used tool to study seawater intrusion (SWI). It is noninvasive and offers a high spatial coverage at a low cost, but its imaging capabilities are strongly affected by decreasing resolution with depth. We conjecture that the use of CHERT (cross-hole ERT) can partly overcome these resolution limitations since the electrodes are placed at depth, which implies that the model resolution does not decrease at the depths of interest. The objective of this study is to test the CHERT for imaging the SWI and monitoring its dynamics at the Argentona site, a well-instrumented field site of a coastal alluvial aquifer located 40 km NE of Barcelona. To do so, we installed permanent electrodes around boreholes attached to the PVC pipes to perform time-lapse monitoring of the SWI on a transect perpendicular to the coastline. After 2 years of monitoring, we observe variability of SWI at different timescales: (1) natural seasonal variations and aquifer salinization that we attribute to long-term drought and (2) short-term fluctuations due to sea storms or flooding in the nearby stream during heavy rain events. The spatial imaging of bulk electrical conductivity allows us to explain non-monotonic salinity profiles in open boreholes (step-wise profiles really reflect the presence of freshwater at depth). By comparing CHERT results with traditional in situ measurements such as electrical conductivity of water samples and bulk electrical conductivity from induction logs, we conclude that CHERT is a reliable and cost-effective imaging tool for monitoring SWI dynamics.


The formation of small but finite amplitude electrostatic shocks in the propagation of quantum ion-acoustic waves obliquely to an external magnetic field is reported in a quantum electron-positron-ion plasma. Such shocks are seen to have double-layer (DL) structures composed of the compressive and accompanying rarefactive slow-wave fronts. Existence of such DL shocks depends critically on the quantum coupling parameter H associated with the Bohm potential and the positron to electron density ratio δ . The profiles may, however, steepen initially and reach a steady state with a number of solitary waves in front of the shocks. Such novel DL shocks could be a good candidate for particle acceleration in intense laser-solid density plasma interaction experiments as well as in compact astrophysical objects, e.g., magnetized white dwarfs.


Abstract : This study used structured group discussions (The Delphi Method) among three groups of contracting professionals from the Air Armament, Aeronautical Systems, and the Electronic Systems Centers in order to identify potential roadblocks to implementation of Evolutionary Acquisition strategies. The Delphi groups also tackled the problem of identifying and exploring potential business strategies that may counter the identified challenges. Discussions revealed that current laws, regulations, and internal processes pose challenges in an evolutionary acquisition environment. No single business strategy emerged as the best way to implement the EA strategy. Participants suggested that all three Centers concluded that robust business planning, pre-contract agreements between the Government and the contractor, long-term relationships, and encouraging team behavior are key factors. Participants from all three Centers are accommodating evolutionary acquisition with current contract types. Multiple contract types are being combined under one contract vehicle; award and incentive fees are being tailored to motivate specific contractor behavior. The best strategy for an evolutionary acquisition may be a strategy that is tailored to the specific requirement.


This study investigated university teachers' perspectives on their change readiness to implement education for sustainable development (ESD) through their participation in a problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogical development (PD) program. Theoretically, the study connected a systems-thinking approach to change readiness literature and proposed a four-dimensional conceptual framework, including intrapersonal, relational, and environmental dimensions. Q methodology was adopted to collect and analyze data both qualitatively and quantitatively. Four significantly different viewpoints emerged among the 25 participants regarding what they considered most important for their change readiness towards ESD, namely (1) improvement of teaching and learning performance, (2) personal learning and conviction, (3) applying PD learning to practice, and (4) student learning engagement and professional practice. Revealing a complex and interrelated connection between the four dimensions of change readiness, these results also observed university teachers' expression of learning gains and engagement in prospective change. Nevertheless, such change readiness was mainly within their micro teaching practice environment, with little anticipation of commitment to a wider institutional scale of change. Such restrictions on their change readiness were attributed to constrained institutional conditions and supports for long-term improvement. Results of the study suggested that it is essential to facilitate both individual awareness and efforts, as well as institutional readiness for the goal of implementing ESD in higher education (HE). In this regard, both systemic and systematic professional learning activities are recommended.


We present, illustrate and analyze some basic notions of the Lagrange Representation (LR) over finite fields, and elementary theory of Optimal Extension Fields. In combining the Lagrange Representation theory and the Frobenius mapping theorem, we could establish an inversion algorithm in the LR version. Our contribution is of adapting an addition-chain-like method over an Optimal Extension Field to the Lagrange Representation.


The concept of the circular economy is being proposed as an alternative for the current linear economy. However, little research has been done on how to integrate this topic within education. Serious games are suggested as an appropriate way to create awareness about and stimulate behavioral change toward sustainable development. Therefore, the serious game ecoCEO has been developed to introduce the circular economy concept within upper secondary education. The game's intention is to introduce students to the challenge of resource scarcity, circular product design, sustainable entrepreneurship and circular business models. EcoCEO has been tested among 42 students, whose written reflections were qualitatively examined. EcoCEO appears successful, at least partially, in contrasting the circular economy with the linear economy and in conveying relevant concepts such as recycling and reuse. EcoCEO also illustrates the importance of the circular economy within the context of material scarcity. Moreover, most students in our case study seem to have a good impression of the role and responsibilities of a (sustainable) entrepreneur. Despite its difficulty level, the majority of the students reported having fun while playing ecoCEO.


Embeddings have become a pivotal means to represent complex, multi-faceted information about entities, concepts, and relationships in a condensed and useful format. Nevertheless, they often preclude direct interpretation. While downstream tasks make use of these compressed representations, meaningful interpretation usually requires visualization using dimensionality reduction or specialized machine learning interpretability methods. This paper addresses the challenge of making such embeddings more interpretable and broadly useful, by employing Large Language Models (LLMs) to directly interact with embeddings -- transforming abstract vectors into understandable narratives. By injecting embeddings into LLMs, we enable querying and exploration of complex embedding data. We demonstrate our approach on a variety of diverse tasks, including: enhancing concept activation vectors (CAVs), communicating novel embedded entities, and decoding user preferences in recommender systems. Our work couples the immense information potential of embeddings with the interpretative power of LLMs.


Phenolic materials are common in terrestrial and freshwater environments, yet their distribution is limited in marine systems. Since these compounds are common pollutants as well as important structural components of terrestrial and riverine humic materials, we used a phenolic model compound for the study of organic carbon dynamics in coastal environments. Concentrations and microbial utilization rates of p-cresol were determined in various waters off the coast of California, USA. Levels of p-cresol ranged from 9.26 ng 1-' in Humboldt Bay in Northern California to 303 ng 1-' near the White's Point Outfall in Southern California. Levels of 37.1 to 61.1 ng 1-' were found at 3 other sampling locations in San Diego Bay and San Francisco Bay. Microbial utilization rates of p-cresol were determined by measuring cellular incorporation and respiration of 3H-p-cresol. Utilization rates ranged between 1.02 (Spanish Landing in San Diego Bay) and 35.5 ng 1-' h-' (San Francisco Bay). Residence times for added tracer ranged from 10 (San Francisco Bay) to 28 h (at White's Point Outfall). Turnover times calculated from biodegradation rate and ambient concentration of p-cresol ranged from 1.7 h (San Francisco Bay) to 37 h (Spanish Landing in San Diego Bay). These rapid turnover times lndicate high anthropogenic input of p-cresol and possibly natural input as a component of humic type materials. In areas where freshwater input is significant, utilization kinetics may suggest biodegradation of more complex, phenol-containing humic materials. We conclude that accumulation of phenols is not generally observed in coastal waters a short distance from input sources due to rapid microbial utilization.


As a complex system with multiple components usually deteriorates with age, preventive maintenance (PM) is often performed to keep the system functioning in a good state to prolong its effective age. In this study, a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a power law failure intensity is used to describe the deterioration of a repairable system, and the optimal nonperiodic PM schedule can be determined to minimize the expected total cost per unit time. However, since the determination of such optimal PM policies may involve numerous uncertainties, which typically make the analyses difficult to perform because of the scarcity of data, a Bayesian decision model, which utilizes all available information effectively, is also proposed for determining the optimal PM strategies. A numerical example with a real failure data set is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show that the optimal schedules derived by Bayesian approach are relatively more conservative than that for non‐Bayesian approach because of the uncertainty of the intensity function, and if the intensity function are updated using the collected data set, which indicates more severe deterioration than the prior belief, replacing the entire system instead of frequent PM activities before serious deterioration is suggested. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010


Methylmalonyl‐CoA mutase (MUT) is an essential enzyme in propionate catabolism that requires adenosylcobalamin as a cofactor. Almost 250 inherited mutations in the MUT gene are known to cause the devastating disorder methylmalonic aciduria; however, the mechanism of dysfunction of these mutations, more than half of which are missense changes, has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we examined 23 patient missense mutations covering a spectrum of exonic/structural regions, clinical phenotypes, and ethnic populations in order to determine their influence on protein stability, using two recombinant expression systems and a thermostability assay, and enzymatic function by measuring MUT activity and affinity for its cofactor and substrate. Our data stratify MUT missense mutations into categories of biochemical defects, including (1) reduced protein level due to misfolding, (2) increased thermolability, (3) impaired enzyme activity, and (4) reduced cofactor response in substrate turnover. We further demonstrate the stabilization of wild‐type and thermolabile mutants by chemical chaperones in vitro and in bacterial cells. This in‐depth mutation study illustrates the tools available for MUT enzyme characterization, guides future categorization of further missense mutations, and supports the development of alternative, chaperone‐based therapy for patients not responding to current treatment.


Traditional data sharing systems are facing new challenges when implementing access control with more and more complex data sharing requirements. Flexibility of user revocation in completely decentralized environments needs to be taken into account. In this article, we propose a Key-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption scheme with Multiple and Flexible Revocation (MAFR-KP-ABE) to achieve the features of decentralized authorization and flexible revocation. We prove the security of our MAFR-KP-ABE scheme in the standard model and provide the comparison with relevant schemes to demonstrate its efficiency. Then we propose a fine-grained access control system based on MAFR-KP-ABE scheme and blockchain that matches the need of paid data sharing services with several security properties enhanced. Security analysis and system implementation are given subsequently to demonstrate our system efficient and secure.


Seamlessly bridging academic accounting with real-life applications, Crash Course in Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis, Second Edition is the perfect guide to a complete understanding of accounting and financial statement analysis for those with no prior accounting background and those who seek a refresher.


Abstract Arachidonic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid liberated from phospholipids of cell membranes. NSAIDs are known as targets of cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX-1, COX-2 and COX-3) in arachidonic acid metabolism. This mechanism of COX-2 in carcinogenesis causes cancer. In addition, COX-2 plays a role in the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of our study was to improve effective agents against HCV. A novel series of new etodolac 1,2,4-triazoles derivatives (4a–h) have been synthesized and investigated for their activity against HCV NS5B polymerase. Compound 4a was found to be the most active with IC50 value of 14.8 µM. In accordance with these results, compound 4a was screened for anti-cancer activity on liver cancer cell lines (Huh7, Mahlavu, HepG2, FOCUS). Compound 4a showed anti-cancer activity against Huh7 human hepatoma cell line with IC50 value of 4.29 µM. Therefore, compound 4a could be considered as a new anti-cancer and anti-HCV lead compound.


To research thermal and moisture comfort of seamless knitted fabric made of triangle-hollow nylon which is developed newly, the paper chooses triangle-hollow nylon, circle-hollow nylon and ordinary nylon as fiber material and every nylon adopts weft plain, one-and-one mock rib and one-and-three mock rib for test weaving. Then nine samples are obtained. The paper analyses their air permeability, moisture permeability and warmth retention property. Result indicates that air permeability and moisture permeability of seamless knitted fabric made of triangle-hollow nylon are better than that of two other kinds of nylon's seamless knitted fabric.


Descriptive and correlation study aimed at assessing the use of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) lines in pediatric patients, in hospitals of São Paulo, Brazil. The sample comprised 410 nurses from 29 hospitals; 57.9% of whom worked in private institutions, 61.6% in pediatric wards, and 38.4% in neonatal wards. PICC lines were inserted by 19.9% of the nurses, and the main training method was the certification awarded by medical specialties societies (47.0%). According to 52.0% of the sample participants, PICC lines are broadly used, yet nurses working for private institutions (p = 0.004) and in neonatology wards (p < 0.001) make a significantly higher use of them.


VλJλ rearrangements obtained from genomic DNA of individual IgM+ B cells from human fetal spleen were analyzed. A nonrandom pattern of λ gene rearrangements that differed from the adult Vλ repertoire was found. The Vλ distal genes 8A and 4B were absent from the nonproductive fetal repertoire, whereas 2E and 3L were overrepresented and 1B was underrepresented in the productive fetal repertoire. Positive selection of the Vλ gene, 2E, along with Vλ rearrangements employing homologous VλJλ joins were observed in the fetal, but not in the adult Vλ repertoire. Overrepresentation of Jλ distal cluster C genes rearranging to the Vλ distal J segment, Jλ7, in both productive and nonproductive fetal repertoires suggested that receptor editing/replacement was more active in the fetus than in adults. Numerous identical VλJλ junctions were observed in both the productive and nonproductive repertoire of the fetus and adult, but were significantly more frequent in the productive repertoire of the fetus, suggesting expansion of B cells expressing particular λ-light chains in both stages of development, with more profound expansion in the fetal repertoire. Notably, B cells expressing identical λ-light chains expressed diverse heavy chains. These data demonstrate that three mechanisms strongly influence the shaping of the human fetal λ-chain repertoire that are less evident in the adult: positive selection, receptor editing, and expansion of B cells expressing specific λ-light chains. These events imply that the expressed fetal repertoire is shaped by exposure to self Ags.


Allergic drug reactions to drugs are becoming more frequent throughout the world and are among the most common and serious form of immuno-pathological process in modern clinical medicine. These reactions can lead to life-threatening anaphylaxis which can occur within minutes of receiving the drug. Symptoms provoked by the explosive release of mediators from mast cells and basophils release may include itchiness, angioedema, difficulty breathing and circulatory collapse. There are few reliable laboratory tests available to identify those with drug hypersensitivity who may be at risk of anaphylactic shock, or even to establish if such a reaction has occurred. Confirmation of drug hypersensitivity by skin testing or oral challenge can put the patient at risk of serious reaction, and as such are expensive and performed at few centres. The aim of the study was to seek to develop new tests for drug allergy based on assessment of mast cell or basophil activation either in vitro or in vivo. Patients were recruited who were suspected of having suffered an allergic reaction to medicine and who were undergoing skin testing or oral drug challenge. Blood was collected before and following the challenge, the nature of symptoms provoked were recorded, and clinical history and demographic data obtained. The activation of basophils in vitro in response to the drug was assessed by measurement of histamine release by immunoassay or up-regulation of CD63 by flow cytometry. In parallel studies, cells of a rat basophil leukaemia cell line (RBL-703-21) that had been transfected with the α chain of the human IgE receptor, were passively sensitised with serum and challenged with the drug implicated. The release of β-hexosaminidase in cell supernatants was measured to determine the degree of drug-induced cell activation. Mast cell tryptase was successfully purified from human lung tissue, and preliminary attempts made to optimise the detection of the basophil product basogranulin by dot blotting with specific antibodies BB1 and BB5, but time did not allow measurement of either of these markers of allergic reaction in the patients studied. Skin weals were provoked in some 40% of patients following skin testing, though other symptoms were frequently recorded in the presence or even absence of a weal. These included hives, post-nasal drip, abdominal pain, vomiting, cough, shortness of breath, wheeze and stridor, and there was considerable heterogeneity in clinical responses. In patients with a positive test outcome on skin or oral challenge, raised levels of serum IgE specific to that drug were commonly observed (where the test was available). Increased expression of CD63 was provoked by in vitro challenge of basophils in a minority of patients who responded on in vivo challenge, but no histamine release into cell supernatants was detected where this was examined. Drug challenge of RBL-703-21 cells passively sensitised with patient serum resulted in the release of only a small quantities of β-hexosaminidase, and no evidence was found for direct activation of cells by the drugs themselves. There was, however, significantly higher net release of β-hexosaminidase from patients with positive skin reactions to the neuromuscular blocking agent rocuronium than in those who did not respond on skin challenge. The reliable diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity remains a formidable challenge, and there is no ready replacement of skin or oral challenge of patients with drugs suspected of causing a reaction. The present study indicates some of the difficulties as well as ways forward in developing new laboratory tests. In vitro challenge of blood basophils or passively sensitised cells of mast cell or basophil-like cell lines hold some promise, but it will be crucial for the sensitivity of such procedures to be increased and optimised with a range of drugs. Assays for mast cell or basophil products in the circulation of patients experiencing reactions should also be valuable as diagnostic tools.


Objectives: The study was designed to assess and compare the changes in the body mass index of patients on typical and atypical antipsychotics in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Consenting psychiatric patients who were antipsychotic naive before the commencement of the study and who attended the hospital between February 2014 and October 2014 were enlisted in the study. The SCAN and a socio-demographic questionnaire were administered to the subjects. BMI of each subject was calculated before the administration of antipsychotic and after 1 month, 2 months and 3months intervals. Results: 138 out of 140 subjects enlisted in the study were analyzed. The mean BMI changes derived were 23.7461 ± 3.58270, 25.0074 ± 3.99667, 25.960 ± 4.24540 and 27.1261 ± 4.66810. The atypical antipsychotics caused relatively higher mean BMI increases more than the typical ones and the mean BMl differences between the two groups of antipsychotic users is consistently statistically significant (df=l, F=48.354, p=0.000, df=I, F=51.082, P=0.000, df=I, F=77.451, p=0.000). Conclusion: Considering the invaluable role of antipsychotics in the treatment of psychiatric patients, nonpharmacologic interventions are highly recommended to help control the weight of patients on antipsychotic treatment.


We present a machine learning methodology for actively controlling slip, in order to increase robot dexterity. Leveraging recent insights in deep learning, we propose a Deep Predictive Model that uses tactile sensor information to reason about slip and its future influence on the manipulated object. The obtained information is then used to precisely manipulate objects within a robot end-effector using external perturbations imposed by gravity or acceleration. We show in a set of experiments that this approach can be used to increase a robot's repertoire of motor skills.


In recent decades, direct solid sample analysis has been reported in the literature as an alternative to traditional methods of sample preparation, becoming well established in the atomic spectrometry field. Therefore, this review discusses recent advances in different techniques such as flame atomic absorption spectrometry, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, electrothermal vaporization, laser ablation, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, glow discharge optical emission and mass spectrometry and arc/spark optical emission spectrometry, which are the most commonly used techniques for solid sample analysis. New possibilities such as nonmetal detection through molecular emission or absorption signals, speciation analysis, portable instrumentation for in situ analysis, and surface elemental mapping for obtaining chemical imaging will be discussed. Aspects associated with advantages and limitations are presented, relating the main instrumental advances to the expansion of the methods developed in this subject, pointing out the potential ability to overcome spectral interference and matrix effects through the development of calibration strategies to achieve the success of solid sampling in several application areas.


Administration of educational facilities and infrastructure are all components that directly or indirectly support the course of the education process to achieve goals in education itself. Administrative activities in the field of educational facilities and infrastructure include; planning, procurement, inventory, distribution, utilization and maintenance, deletion, and supervision of educational facilities and infrastructure. The role of the teacher in the administration of school infrastructure: involved in planning the procurement of teaching aids, involved in the use and maintenance of teaching aids used by teachers, supervision in the use of practical tools by students.


The results of a two-year long deployment of high frequency radars along the Italian coast of the northern Adriatic are analyzed, to characterize the surface tidal currents. M2 and K1 ellipses are aligned with the basin axis and exhibit large eccentricities in the middle of the basin, decreasing toward the Italian coast. Comparisons are made with a 3D finite-element non-linear numerical model of the tides. Complex correlations between modeled and observed tidal currents show a remarkable agreement in the middle of the basin, with magnitudes reaching 0.985 and average phases of -6.4 deg. However the magnitudes drop to 0.5 within 20-30 km from the Italian coast, where the modeled currents amplitudes are underestimated by 2cm/s and the phases lag the observed phases by 60 deg. This shallow region (less than 30-m deep) is characterized by low-salinity water originating at the Po River and laterally sheared coastal flows. The radars may have captured the influence of stratification or mean sheared flows, both absent from the model. The model parameterization of bottom friction may also inadequately represent the effects of real bottom friction on the vertical current shear.


Cancer health disparities persist among racial/ethnic minorities and the poor, who historically have been medically underserved. The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins has developed a summer fellowship program that employs a unique approach to address this chronic problem. The Cancer in the Under-Privileged, Indigent or Disadvantaged (CUPID) program is a highly selective 7 week summer fellowship for students who have completed their first year of medical school. Drawn from an applicant pool of over 250 students from 71 US medical schools (2010 data), the 10-11 CUPID fellows accepted each year are selected based on their demonstration of a sustained commitment to serving underserved populations and addressing general health disparities at the level of the individual health care practitioner. Successful CUPID applicants are mature, goal-oriented and dedicated to service. Accepted CUPID fellows have taken an interest in health care disparities and, at an early stage of their careers, have dedicated significant time and energy into addressing these disparities. The strategy is to actively engage these highly motivated students from diverse backgrounds, to instill a sense of excitement about oncology, and to encourage them to consider postgraduate training in medical oncology or one of the oncological subspecialties. To the best of our knowledge, there is no other program in the U.S. like CUPID. The CUPID program provides a structured research experience in oncology laboratories of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. This laboratory work is accompanied by daily didactic presentations by our diverse faculty that are designed to provide an engaging overview of the molecular basis of cancer, the major areas of modern cancer research, challenges in clinical oncology, and academic approaches to alleviating cancer health disparities. In addition, students are introduced to the efforts of the federal government and a historically black medical college to address cancer health disparities via day programs conducted by partners at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda and Howard University. The desired outcome is for CUPID fellows to eventually alleviate cancer health disparities as practicing physicians, serving the underprivileged, indigent and/or disadvantaged. By bringing a diverse group of highly motivated students together for an intensive oncology experience early in their training, we expect to instill an enthusiasm for oncology in a group of future caregivers who are most likely to serve the underserved. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):B38.


Recent advances in text-to-image synthesis make it possible to visualize machine imaginations for a given context. On the other hand, when generating text, human writers are gifted at creative visualization, which enhances their writings by forming imaginations as blueprints before putting down the stories in words. Inspired by such a cognitive process, we ask the natural question of whether we can endow machines with the same ability to utilize visual information and construct a general picture of the context to guide text generation. In this work, we propose iNLG that uses machine-generated images to guide language models (LM) in open-ended text generation. The experiments and analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of iNLG on open-ended text generation tasks, including text completion, story generation, and concept-to-text generation in both few-shot and full-data scenarios. Both automatic metrics and human evaluations verify that the text snippets generated by our iNLG are coherent and informative while displaying minor degeneration.


The rat is an important model animal used frequently in biological researches exploring the correlations between gut microbiome and a wide array of diseases. In this study, we used an extended ancestral-state reconstruction algorithm to predict the functional capabilities of the rat gastrointestinal microbiome. Our results indicate an apparent tendency toward metabolic heterogeneity along the longitudinal and transverse axes of the rat gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This heterogeneity was suggested by the enriched small-molecule transport activity and amino acid metabolism in the upper GIT, the aerobic energy metabolism in the stomach and the mucolysis-related metabolism in the lower GIT mucus layer. In contrast to prior results, many functional overlaps were observed when the gastrointestinal microbiomes of different hosts were compared. These overlaps implied that although both the biogeographic location and host genotype were prominent driving forces in shaping the gastrointestinal microbiota, the microbiome functions were similar across hosts when observed under similar physicochemical conditions at identical anatomical sites. Our work effectively complements the rat microbial biogeography dataset we released in 2017 and, thus, contributes to a better understanding and prediction of disease-related alterations in microbial community function.


A study was conducted to estimate the species diversity, composition and abundance of riverine anuran in Mesilau Nature Park (MNP). MNP is situated at 1850 m to 1950 m a.s.l between the tropical lower and upper montane forest region. Sampling was done at night, once every four weeks time, starting from September to December 2007. Riparian frogs were sampled along the two 250m X 10m transect lines at
Mesilau River and Tibabar Stream. Thirteen anuran species were identified from a total of 43 individuals caught. The 13 species were Philautus amoenus, Philautus petersi, Philautus longicrus, Philautus mjobergi, Philautus aurantium, Rhacophorus angulirostris, Ansonia juliginea, Leptolalax arayai, Megophrys baluensis, Limnonectes finchi, Ingerana baluensis, Meristogenys amoropalamus and Meristogenys whiteheadi. They were from four families namely: - Bufonidae, Megophryidae, Ranidae and Rhacophoridae where Rhacophoridae was the most dominant (77%). Phi/autus amoenus (42%) was the most abundant frog species recognised. The other 11 species of anuran had an average of two individuals for each species. The total density calculated was 21.5 individual/ha. There were four different types of microhabitat for frogs: on rock, plant leaves, twig of woody plants and epiphyte. The riparian of MNP has species diversity of 0.7973 and evenness of 0.0965 with dominance value of 0.4186.


Thermodynamic and related 'exergoeconomic' performance criteria have been used to evaluate natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power generation systems, with and without carbon dioxide (CO2) removal technologies. These plants were previously studied by the US National Energy Technology Laboratory employing conventional energy and mass balance results, and have now been evaluated using detailed energy, exergy and exergoeconomic analyses. The plant consisted of a gas turbine together with a steam cycle having three pressure levels. Such NGCC plants show the least exergetic improvement potential amongst competing fossil fuel generators going forward, because they are already enhanced by use of a thermodynamic 'topping' cycle. Carbon capture was simulated on the basis of CO2 recovery from the flue gas stream that leaves the heat recovery steam generator via a commercial amine process. Ninety per cent of the CO2 was captured in this way, and then compressed into a high‐pressure liquid. This was achieved with significant power penalty (some 21%) and increase in generating cost per MWh (44%). Combustion and heat transfer processes are the main sources of exergy degradation within power cycles. Fuel combustion accounted for some 32% of exergy destruction. Even with CO2 sequestration, the NGCC system is still a thermodynamically attractive option compared with modern fossil fuel alternatives. Overall, the exergoeconomic results indicate that significant improvements can be achieved by considering the power generation systems as a whole, rather than concentrating on the improvement in performance of individual components (which is a common practice in exergoeconomic optimization studies). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The use of digital games in education is well documented in the literature. They have been used in preschool, K-12, the university. A specific type of digital games is board games. Adding board games to the educational process can lead to an interactive stimulating learning experience. With a board game, players often learn from one another while at the same time having fun in a competitive environment. In this paper we propose the "ELG" game, an e- learning board game that adopts the basic elements of a racing board game but fosters students' creativity, problem-solving skills, and imagination as students are trying to reach the end by improving their performance in a variety of learning activities. The innovative feature of the ELG is that it offers an adaptive authoring tool that enables teachers to customize their games according to the needs, interests and motives of students. The teacher enters hierarchically categorized learning activities according to the learning goals of a course, sets the rules and assesses the learning progress easily and simply. Students participate in a discovery or exploration trying to reach the goals. After attaining them their level of activities is upgraded and they are challenged to reach the next learning goal. The dice in ELG is not randomized but controlled by the teachers in order that they can customize adaptive learning rules. The educational benefits of exploiting ELG in the learning process is that the teacher can define the levels of difficulty according to the students' needs and interests, facilitate and monitor the learning rate of each student, combine a variety of evaluation techniques, and address potential learning problems in a timely manner.


Abstract Objective To test the hypothesis that maternal food fortification with omega-3 fatty acids and multiple micronutrients increases birth weight and gestation duration, as primary outcomes. Design Non-blinded, randomised controlled study. Setting Pregnant women received powdered milk during their health check-ups at 19 antenatal clinics and delivered at two maternity hospitals in Santiago, Chile. Subject Pregnant women were assigned to receive regular powdered milk (n = 477) or a milk product fortified with multiple micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids (n = 495). Results Intention-to-treat analysis showed that mean birth weight was higher in the intervention group than in controls (65.4 g difference, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5–126 g; P = 0.03) and the incidence of very preterm birth (<34 weeks) was lower (0.4% vs. 2.1%; P = 0.03). On-treatment analysis showed a mean birth weight difference of 118 g (95% CI 47–190 g; P = 0.001) and a relative fall in both the proportion of birth weight ≤3000 g (P = 0.015) and the incidence of pre-eclampsia (P = 0.015). Compliance with the experimental product was apparent from a haematological study of red-blood-cell folate at the end of pregnancy, which was performed in a sub-sample. In both types of analyses, positive differences were also present for mean gestation duration, birth length and head circumference. Nevertheless, the relatively small sample sizes allowed a statistical power of >0.80 just for mean birth weight and birth length in the on-treatment analysis; birth length in that analysis had a difference of 0.57 cm (95% CI 0.19–0.96 cm; P = 0.003). Conclusions The new intervention resulted in increased mean birth weight. Associations with gestation duration and most secondary outcomes need a larger sample size for confirmation.


Abstract The yellow, orange, or red colors of salmonid eggs are due to maternally derived carotenoids whose functions are not sufficiently understood yet. Here, we studied the significance of naturally acquired carotenoids as maternal environmental effects during embryo development in brown trout (Salmo trutta). We collected eggs from wild females, quantified their egg carotenoid content, fertilized them in vitro in full‐factorial breeding blocks to separate maternal from paternal effects, and raised 3,278 embryos singly at various stress conditions until hatching. We found significant sire effects that revealed additive genetic variance for embryo survival and hatching time. Dam effects were 5.4 times larger than these sire effects, indicating that maternal environmental effects play an important role in determining embryo stress tolerance. Of the eight pigment molecules that we targeted, only astaxanthin, zeaxanthin (that both affected egg redness), and lutein were detected above our confidence thresholds. No strong link could be observed between carotenoid content in unfertilized eggs and embryo mortality or hatching timing. However, the consumption of carotenoids during our stress treatment was negatively correlated to embryo survival among sib groups and explained about 14% of the maternal environmental variance. We conclude that maternally derived carotenoids play a role in the ability of embryos to cope with environmental stress, but that the initial susceptibility to the organic pollution was mainly determined by other factors.


In the 1870s and early 1880s Winnipeg seemed a frontier of opportunity for hundreds
of men seeking a future in business. This article links the manuscript census
records and the credit reports of Dun, Wiman and Co. for 1881, 1891, and 1901
to evaluate the prospects of self-employed businessmen. The rate of self-employment
in Winnipeg was higher in 1881 than that documented in studies of Ontario. This
higher rate was not sustained past 1901, however, and was accompanied in the
1880s and 1890s by a high rate of business closures. By the beginning of the
twentieth century, businesses fell under the surveillance of metropolitan credit
reporters who informed lenders of their capital and credit worthiness. Credit ratings
and business success became increasingly associated with capital, and those with
the least capital and without credit reports had the greatest difficulty in staying in
business.


Master of the Game-Martin Indyk 2021-10-26 A perceptive and provocative history of Henry Kissinger's diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East that illuminates the unique challenges and barriers Kissinger and his successors have faced in their attempts to broker peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. "A wealth of lessons for today, not only about the challenges in that region but also about the art of diplomacy . . . the drama, dazzling maneuvers, and grand strategic vision."—Walter Isaacson, author of The Code Breaker More than twenty years have elapsed since the United States last brokered a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. In that time, three presidents have tried and failed. Martin Indyk—a former United States ambassador to Israel and special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2013—has experienced these political frustrations and disappointments firsthand. Now, in an attempt to understand the arc of American diplomatic influence in the Middle East, he returns to the origins of American-led peace efforts and to the man who created the Middle East peace process—Henry Kissinger. Based on newly available documents from American and Israeli archives, extensive interviews with Kissinger, and Indyk's own interactions with some of the main players, the author takes readers inside the negotiations. Here is a roster of larger-than-life characters—Anwar Sadat, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Hafez al-Assad, and Kissinger himself. Indyk's account is both that of a historian poring over the records of these events, as well as an inside player seeking to glean lessons for Middle East peacemaking. He makes clear that understanding Kissinger's design for Middle East peacemaking is key to comprehending how to—and how not to—make peace.


This study provides the effect of Cu addition on coercivity (HcJ) and interfacial microstructure in Nd-Fe-B/Nd-rich thin films. All films were deposited by using ultra high vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering, and the Nd-Fe-B layer was oxidized under several atmospheres with different oxygen content. Then, the films were annealed at 250–550 °C under UHV. The films oxidized in low vacuum (10−2−10−5 Pa) (under low oxygen state) exhibited the recovery of HcJ by the annealing at 450 °C. On the contrary, the HcJ of the films oxidized in Ar (under high oxygen state) decreased with increasing annealing temperature. However, the HcJ increased drastically at the temperatures above 550 °C. In addition, the Cu added films, which were annealed at temperatures above 350 °C, showed higher coercivities than the films without Cu addition. The XRD analysis suggested the existence of C-Nd2O3 phase in the Cu added films annealed at 550 °C. It can be considered that the Cu addition decreases the eutectic temperature of Nd-rich phase and influences the interfacial state between Nd2Fe14B and Nd-rich phase.


This study is designed to present an empirical assessment of important firm capabilities appropriate for benchmarking and on which firm capabilities restaurant firms should focus to achieve sustained financial performance. It also examines the key normative benchmarking theory premise that firm capabilities associated with sustained financial performance can be identified and that a firm's capability gaps, defined herein as the capability gaps between the firm and the selected benchmark firms (e.g., Camp, 1995), explain its financial performance. Lastly, this study shows how to use profile deviation to benchmark firm capabilities and extends this methodology by employing a model that incorporates interdependencies among firm capabilities. Findings offer pragmatic guidelines for restaurateurs to exercise benchmarking to pinpoint and enhance firm capabilities that would lead to sustained competitive advantage.


The carbonization of five Malaysian bamboo species, namely Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus asper, Gigantochloa hasskarliana, Gigantochloa levis, and Schizostachyum brachycladum, was conducted to investigate the charcoal properties and compare the quality of bamboo charcoal produced based on proximate analysis. Carbonization at 750 °C using a modified Iwasaki steel drum kiln was successful for all bamboo species. Bamboo morphological features varied and basic density increased with culm height. A charcoal yield of more than 30% was recorded in all bamboo species except for B. vulgaris and D. asper. Charcoals made from D. asper and G. hasskarliana could serve as the alternative raw material for charcoal production in charcoal industries due to their low moisture, low volatile matter, low ash, and high fixed carbon content. All species had a mean gross calorific value between 24.4 and 29.2 MJ/kg. Among different culm sections, the bottom section produced the best quality charcoal. The charcoal quality from all species was of acceptable quality for domestic use.


In this paper, we investigated timeslot allocation scheme in medium access control protocol for cognitive satellite networks. The timeslots for satellite primary users were allocated according to the reserve channel with priority fit algorithm and the timeslots for cognitive users were allocated according to the prediction algorithm. Compared to random allocation scheme, the correction ratio of timeslot allocation using the prediction algorithm was improved. The proposed timeslot allocation scheme adopted the combined backoff algorithm to avoid collisions. And then the improved throughput and the reduced delay could be obtained. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed timeslot allocation scheme.


Graph-based procedural materials are ubiquitous in content production industries. Procedural models allow the creation of photo-realistic materials with parametric control for flexible editing of appearance. However, designing a specific material is a time-consuming process in terms of building a model and fine-tuning parameters. Previous work [Hu et al. 2022; Shi et al. 2020] introduced material graph optimization frameworks for matching target material samples. However, these previous methods were limited to optimizing differentiable functions in the graphs. In this paper, we propose a fully differentiable framework which enables end-to-end gradient-based optimization of material graphs, even if some functions of the graph are non-differentiable. We leverage the Differentiable Proxy, a differentiable approximator of a non-differentiable black-box function. We use our framework to match structure and appearance of an output material to a target material, through a multi-stage differentiable optimization. Differentiable Proxies offer a more general optimization solution to material appearance matching than previous work.


Background: Mass media has an important role in influencing the suicidal behavior of the general population. However, the quality of news reporting of suicide has not been assessed in Iraq. Aim: We aimed to assess the quality of news reports in Iraq while reporting the suicidal behaviors. Methods: The search was done on Google in November and December 2020 with the search term 'suicide news in Iraq' and accessible news reports distributed in Kurdish, Arabic, and English languages were taken out. We scrutinized the news reports to identify the reporting characteristics and compared them with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Results: A total of 130 news reports were analyzed; among them 23.8% were Kurdish, 63.8% were Arabic, and 12.3% were in the English language. About 31.5% of the reports mentioned the name and 40.8% mentioned the occupation. The name of method was mentioned in 88.5%, mono-causality was found in about 34.6%, the term 'suicide' was mentioned in the headline in 94.6%, and method of suicide was mentioned in the headline of about 27.7% of the reports. Only 5.4% of the reports traced mental illness, 6.9% mentioned expert opinion, and none of the reports mentioned prevention program, and educative information. Conclusion: The study revealed that news reports of suicidal behavior in Iraq are poorly adherent to the WHO reporting guidelines. Further studies are warranted to identify the responsible factors and culture-specific prevention strategies.