Background The developmental mismatch hypothesis proposes that risk of diseases such as obesity is increased when impaired prenatal nutrition and growth, is followed by an unhealthy childhood diet. We used data from the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) to investigate whether there was an interaction between conditional growth in fetal abdominal circumference (AC) in late pregnancy and diet at age 6 years on body composition at age 9 years. Methods 3158 SWS women had live singleton births. AC was measured at 11, 19 and 34 weeks' gestation, birth, and ages 6 months and 1, 2, 3 and 6 years. At age 9 years a subset had dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Among mothers with a reliable menstrual history, enabling precise gestation determination, 582 children had DXA measurements. Fat, lean and bone mass at age 9 years were transformed to z-scores. AC z-scores for age were created and conditional AC growth between each pair of consecutive time points calculated. At age 6 years a 'prudent' dietary pattern was identified using principal component analysis, characterized by frequent consumption of fruit, vegetables and fish. Linear regression models were fitted to assess effects of AC growth on 9-year body composition; a multiplicative interaction term for AC growth from 34 weeks to birth and 6 year prudent diet score was added. Confounding variables (determined by a Directed Acyclic Graph) were 9-year height, age at DXA, sex, breastfeeding duration, maternal BMI, education, smoking in pregnancy, late pregnancy vitamin D and pregnancy weight gain. Results Greater AC growth z-scores from birth to 6 months, 2–3 years and 3–6 years were associated with higher fat mass and percentage fat at 9 years. The interaction between AC growth from 34 weeks to birth and 6 year prudent diet score was statistically significant for total fat (p=0.006) and percentage fat (p=0.005), but not for total lean or bone mass. Amongst children with low late gestation AC growth, lower prudent diet scores were associated with greater 9-year total and percentage fat, whereas amongst children with high AC growth in late gestation there was little effect of prudent diet score on total and percentage fat. Conclusion Individuals showing late gestation faltering of fetal growth who then had an unhealthy imprudent childhood diet had greater adiposity, while childhood diet was less influential on adiposity in individuals whose fetal growth had not faltered, providing evidence in support of the mismatch hypothesis.


The nursing profession and university nursing programs both took great strides after universities first introduced nursing programs in and around the 1950s. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the meaning of the apprenticeship of caring through in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Watson's human caring philosophy (2008) suggested that researchers explore the meaning persons ascribe to phenomena. Based on semi-structured interviews this phenomenological study described the essence of the phenomenon and revealed that the apprenticeship of caring meant the harmonisation of the "self-perceived" and the "self-lived" that allows the embodiment of caring. The results of this research are available to teachers who may wish to consider its recommendations when planning and developing assessment and training programs for various kinds of nursing clienteles.


The investigation of closed-loop systems subject to model perturbations is an important issue to assure stability robustness of a control design. A large variety of model perturbations can be described by norm-bounded uncertainty models. A general approach for modelling structured complex and real-valued parametric perturbations is presented. The resulting robustness analysis problem is solved nonconservatively using real and complex-structured singular-value calculations. The uncertainty modelling and robustness analysis are shown for a high-accuracy 5D electromechanical positioning device to be used in optical (Compact Disc) recording.


It is considered that there is some deep relationship between studies on the structured singular value and on robust D-stability analyses of systems with parametric uncertainties. Studies on the relationship, however, are very few in number. In this paper, we show an attempt to study one of the relationship. The attempt is to compute the real structured singular value μ by using the stability feeler, which is a tool for robust D-stability analysis of polytopic polynomials. A numerical example is provided to show that an upper bound and a lower bound of μ are successfully obtained by using the stability feeler. We also compare the result to those derived by conventional methods. Moreover, this paper discuss the computational complexity of the proposed method.


Hopes for correcting the instruction tape in patients with genetic disease are being intensively explored. Initial efforts centered on monogenic immunodeficiency states, but in a pattern not wholly expected by researchers, the "acquired genetic diseases" of cancer and AIDS account for most ongoing clinical trials. Experience with adenosine deaminase deficiency shows the difficulties encountered in creating practical gene therapies.


Physical vapor deposition technique has been employed to develop a thin film of OLED, and atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the boundary characteristics such as uniformity of emitting layer, roughness, and surface morphology. In order to determine the deposition characteristic which associated with the materials failure in OLED, finite element simulation, together with alternative analytical modeling has been carried out by means of island growth mechanism analysis. The boundary growth of thin film can be determined from the velocity of island boundary using simple rate equations. The results obtained are compared with experimental observation. Generally good agreement has been achieved.


Economic theory suggests that wealthy entrepreneurs demand limited liability to shield their personal assets. Yet, despite an extensive theoretical literature, there are no empirical studies which directly test this claim. Using restricted-access data from the Kauffman Firm Survey, I find a positive correlation between entrepreneur wealth and formation of a limited liability entity; but the economic magnitude of this effect is small and for many entrepreneurs the result cannot be attributed to exogenous variation in personal asset exposure. I use bankruptcy exemptions to identify exogenous variation in each entrepreneur's asset exposure. My results are consistent with two interpretations, both of which challenge existing scholarship: (i) limited liability, while relevant, is a secondary consideration when choosing organizational form, at least for small owner-operated businesses, or (ii) entrepreneurs are largely unaware of personal bankruptcy exemptions.


Low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technologies are gaining momentum for Internet-of-things applications since they promise wide coverage to a massive number of battery operated devices using grant-free medium access. LoRaWAN, with its physical (PHY) layer design and regulatory efforts, has emerged as the widely adopted LPWAN solution. By using chirp spread spectrum modulation with qausi-orthogonal spreading factors (SFs), LoRa PHY offers coverage to wide-area applications while supporting high-density of devices. However, thus far its scalability performance has been inadequately modeled and the effect of interference resulting from the imperfect orthogonality of the SFs has not been considered. In this paper, we present an analytical model of a single-cell LoRa system that accounts for the impact of interference among transmissions over the same SF (co-SF) as well as different SFs (inter-SF). By modeling the interference field as Poisson point process under duty cycled ALOHA, we derive the signal-to-interference ratio distributions for several interference conditions. Results show that, for a duty cycle as low as 0.33%, the network performance under co-SF interference alone is considerably optimistic as the inclusion of inter-SF interference unveils a further drop in the success probability and the coverage probability of approximately 10% and 15%, respectively, for 1500 devices in a LoRa channel. Finally, we illustrate how our analysis can characterize the critical device density with respect to cell size for a given reliability target.


As increasingly many Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices collect personal data, users face more privacy decisions. Personal privacy assistants can provide social cues and help users make informed decisions by presenting information about how others have decided in similar cases. To better understand which social cues are relevant and whose recommendations users are more likely to follow, we presented 1000 online participants with nine IoT data-collection scenarios. Some participants were told the percentage of experts or friends who allowed data collection in each scenario, while other participants were provided no social cue. At the conclusion of each scenario, participants were asked whether they would allow the described data collection. Our results help explain under what circumstances users are more or less likely to be swayed by the reported behavior of others in similar scenarios. For example, our results indicate that when friends denied data collection, our participants were more influenced than when friends allowed data collection. On the other hand, participants were more influenced by experts when they allowed data collection. We also observed that influence could get stronger or wear off when participants were exposed to a sequence of scenarios. For example, when experts and friends repeatedly allowed data collection in scenarios with clear risk or denied it in scenarios with clear benefits, participants were less likely to be influenced by them in subsequent scenarios.


The integrin-linked kinase (ILK), pinch and parvin ternary complex connects the cytoplasmic tails of β1 integrins to the actin cytoskeleton. We recently showed that constitutive expression of ILK and alpha parvin in both the ureteric bud and the metanephric mesenchyme of the kidney is required for kidney development. In this study, we define the selective role of ILK in the ureteric bud of the mouse kidney in renal development by deleting it in the ureteric cell lineage before the onset of branching morphogenesis (E10.5). Although deleting ILK resulted in only a moderate decrease in branching, the mice died at 8 weeks of age from obstruction due to the unprecedented finding of intraluminal collecting duct cellular proliferation. ILK deletion in the ureteric bud resulted in the inability of collecting duct cells to undergo contact inhibition and to activate p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in vivo and in vitro. p38 MAPK activation was not dependent on the kinase activity of ILK. Thus, we conclude that ILK plays a crucial role in activating p38 MAPK, which regulates cell cycle arrest of epithelial cells in renal tubulogenesis.


Sin is a major cause of human misery. Sin forbidden in the religion as it contains the danger for the culprit, good health, his mind or his work. In addition to the dangers that befall the perpetrators themselves, sin is also a danger to society resulting in the loss of the value of unity and spawned turmoil and commotion. Due to sin, God will surely bring doom. Then God will bring down doom for mankind. The doom sometimes in the form of natural disasters, such as floods, famines, hurricanes and earthquakes. Sometimes, the torment of a bloody revolution that resulted in the total destruction


In this paper, we report the results of a rapid and room temperature integration approach for the selective and structured deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into three-dimensional microstructures. The approach exploits electrophoretic deposition (EPD) from an aqueous suspension of CNTs, together with suitably patterned and electrically-energized microstructure-bearing substrates. Uniform 2-D and 3-D micropatterns of CNTs on wafer scale have been achieved in less than 4 minutes with controllable thicknesses ranging from 133nm to several micrometers. Orientation of the deposited CNTs was observed in microstructures with certain dimensions. Surface hydrophobicity of the microstructures was found to be critical in achieving well-defined micropatterning of CNTs. A hydrophobic microstructure surface leads to the selective patterning profiles of CNTs, while a hydrophilic surface induces CNTs assembly over the entire microstructure, with resultant loss of selectivity. This approach can be further extended to fabricate 3-D micropatterns with multilayer materials on flexible substrate through the aid of transfer micromolding techniques.


We examined the associations between ego depletion, personality, and decision-making behavior, and investigated whether ego depletion enhances the relationship between the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and loss aversion. Participants (N = 70) were randomly assigned to depletion
 or control conditions, completed a financial decision-making task to test the framing effect, and responded to a measure of BIS. The results showed a framing effect in the decision-making task that was not weakened by ego depletion. However, participants in the depleted (vs. control) group,
 regardless of framing, showed more loss aversion in the decision-making task. Further, ego depletion enhanced the positive association between the BIS and framing effects, which means that ego depletion moderated the effect of the BIS on loss aversion. Thus, ego depletion did not directly
 contribute to more conservative or impulsive decision making, but it did lead individuals to act more in line with their habits or characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.


The objective of Highway Cost Allocation (HCA) is to distribute or allocate in a fair and rational manner the cost of a transportation facility (either a highway or bridge) among all vehicle classes using it. The purpose of this dissertation is to study and enhance a model, known as the least-core model, to include both pavement thickness and traffic capacity requirements for all coalitions formed with a given group of vehicle classes. Considering vehicle classes as players and groups of vehicle classes as coalitions, it is possible to quantify the thickness and width of pavement needed to accommodate the vehicle classes in a coalition. Typically, thickness of the pavement depends upon the traffic load, which is measured in 18,000 lb. Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL). Additionally, the width of the pavement is measured in terms of traffic lanes. The cost of the grand coalition (including all players) is allocated using a linear programming (LP) model with constraints defining set of allocations belonging to the core that represent three properties of completeness, marginality and rationality. The right hand side of the LP model is determined for a given coalition with known traffic load (ESAL) and traffic capacity requirements (lanes). The least-core model maximizes the lower bound on savings experienced by all vehicle classes as a result of joining the grand coalition. The resulting optimal solution can be a unique allocation or multiple allocations. If the optimal basic feasible solution is unique, it is known as the nucleolus. Otherwise, the nucleolus is the average of all optimal basic feasible solutions. Since enumeration of all optimal basic feasible solutions is considered inefficient, an existing algorithm -referred to in the literature as the sequential LP approachis adapted to the HCA problem. The procedure converges to the nucleolus by solving a sequence of LP models using well-known complementary slackness conditions. Finally, necessary conditions are identified for a special case of the least-core model to occur, wherein a closed-form solution can be used to obtain the nucleolus.


New Cu-based bulk amorphous alloys exhibiting a large supercooled liquid region and good mechanical properties were formed in a quaternary Cu-Ni-Zr-Ti systems consisting of only metallic elements. The compositional range for the formation of the amorphous alloys that have high glass forming ability (GFA) (> 3 mm diameter) and large supercooled liquid region (> 50 K) is defined in the pseudo-ternary phase diagram Cu-Ni-(Zr, Ti). A bulk amorphous Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 alloy with the diameter of 6 mm can be prepared by copper mold casting. The Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 alloy shows glass transition temperature (Tg) of 712 K, crystallization temperature (Tx) of 769 K and supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) of 57 K. The Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 alloy exhibits high compressive fracture strength of about 2130 MPa with a plastic strain of about 1.5 %. The new Cu-based bulk amorphous alloy with high GFA and good mechanical properties allows us to expect the extension of application fields as a new engineering material.


An apigenin molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared by bulk polymerization using apigenin as template, acrylamide (AA) as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as a crosslinking agent, acetonitrile and N, N-dimethylformamide as porogenic solvents, and 2, 2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. The interaction between template and functional monomer was proved by ultraviolet visible (UV) spectrophotometry and based on the results, appropriate reaction solvent was selected and the synthesizing process was estimated. The molecularly imprinted polymer structure was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometry. The molecularly imprinted polymer was investigated in equilibrium binding experiment to evaluate its adsorption property, the results showed that the adsorption of apigenin on molecularly imprinted polymer is higher than that on blank polymer in the studied concentration range (0.1-2.5 mmol x L(-1)). Scatchard analysis showed that two classes of binding sites existed in the apigenin imprinted polymers, with their KD and Qmax estimated to be 2.52 x 10(-4), 0.54 x 10(-3) mmol x L(-1) and 2.65, 18.89 micromol x g(-1), respectively. Molecularly imprinted polymer showed higher affinity than blank polymer.


Road transport is recognized as having a negative impact on the environment. Policy has focused on replacement of the internal combustion engine (ICE) with less polluting forms of technology, including battery electric and fuel cell electric powertrains. However, progress is slow and both battery and fuel cell based vehicles face considerable commercialization challenges. To understand these challenges, a review of current electric battery and fuel cell electric technologies is presented. Based on this review, this paper proposes a battery electric vehicle (BEV) where components are sized to take into account the majority of user requirements, with the remainder catered for by a trailer-based demountable intelligent fuel cell range extender. The proposed design can extend the range by more than 50% for small BEVs and 25% for large BEVs (the extended range of vehicles over 250 miles), reducing cost and increasing efficiency for the BEV. It enables BEV manufacturers to design their vehicle battery for the most common journeys, decreases charging time to provide convenience and flexibility to the drivers. Adopting a rent and drop business model reduces the demand on the raw materials, bridging the gap in the amount of charging (refueling) stations, and extending the lifespan for the battery pack.


Many patients with chronic pain conditions suffer from depression. The mechanisms underlying pain-induced depression are still unclear. There are critical links of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) synaptic function to depression, with signaling through the endocannabinoid (eCB) system as an important contributor. We hypothesized that afferent noxious inputs after injury compromise activity-dependent eCB signaling in the mPFC, resulting in depression. Depression-like behaviors were tested in male and female rats with traumatic neuropathy [spared nerve injury (SNI)], and neuronal activity in the mPFC was monitored using the immediate early gene c-fos and in vivo electrophysiological recordings. mPFC eCB Concentrations were determined using mass spectrometry, and behavioral and electrophysiological experiments were used to evaluate the role of alterations in eCB signaling in depression after pain. SNI-induced pain induced the development of depression phenotypes in both male and female rats. Pyramidal neurons in mPFC showed increased excitability followed by reduced excitability in the onset and prolonged phases of pain, respectively. Concentrations of the eCBs, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the mPFC, were elevated initially after SNI, and our results indicate that this resulted in a loss of CB1R function on GABAergic interneurons in the mPFC. These data suggest that excessive release of 2-AG as a result of noxious stimuli triggers use-dependent loss of function of eCB signaling leading to excessive GABA release in the mPFC, with the final result being behavioral depression. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Pain has both somatosensory and affective components, so the complexity of mechanisms underlying chronic pain is best represented by a biopsychosocial model that includes widespread CNS dysfunction. Many patients with chronic pain conditions develop depression. The mechanism by which pain causes depression is unclear. Although manipulation of the eCB signaling system as an avenue for providing analgesia per se has not shown much promise in previous studies. An important limitation of past research has been inadequate consideration of the dynamic nature of the connection between pain and depression as they develop. Here, we show that activity-dependent synthesis of eCBs during the initial onset of persistent pain is the critical link leading to depression when pain is persistent.


Recognition and binding of ice by proteins, crystals, and other surfaces is key for their control of the nucleation and growth of ice. Docking is the state-of-the-art computational method to identify ice-binding surfaces (IBS). However, docking methods require a priori knowledge of the ice plane to which the molecules bind and either neglect the competition of ice and water for the IBS or are computationally expensive. Here we present and validate a robust methodology for the identification of the IBS of molecules and crystals that is easy to implement and a hundred times computationally more efficient than the most advanced ice-docking approaches. The methodology is based on biased sampling with an order parameter that drives the formation of ice. We validate the method using all-atom and coarse-grained models of organic crystals and proteins. To our knowledge, this approach is the first to simultaneously identify the ice-binding surface as well as the plane of ice to which it binds, without the use of structure search algorithms. We show that biased simulations even identify surfaces that are too small or too weak to heterogeneously nucleate ice. The biasing simulations can be used to identify of IBS of antifreeze and ice nucleating proteins and to equilibrate ice seeds bound to an IBS for the calculation of heterogeneous ice nucleation rates using classical nucleation theory.


Pedestrian detection is one of the important topics in computer vision with key applications in various fields of human life such as intelligent vehicles, surveillance and advanced robotics. In recent years, research related to pedestrian detection commonplace. This paper aims to review the papers related to pedestrian detection in order to provide an overview of the recent research. Main contribution of this paper is to provide a general overview of pedestrian detection process that is viewed from different sides of the discussion. We divide the discussion into three stages: input, process and output. This paper does not make a selection or technique best method and optimal because the best technique depends on the needs, concerns and existing environment. However, this paper is useful for future researchers who want to know the current researches related to pedestrian detection.


While investigating the role of the Śailendra dynasty in early eastern Javanese history, I became interested in exploring what relationship King Airlangga had to this famous dynasty. The present excursion to the royal bathing place at Bělahan is an art-historical supplement to my inquiries, the findings of which have been published elsewhere (Jordaan 2006a). As this is a visit to a little-known archaeological site, I will first provide some background on the historical connection, and the significance of Bělahan for ongoing research on the Śailendras.


An innovative approach is presented to the design of fault-tolerant distributed systems that avoids the several rounds of message exchange required by current protocols for consensus agreement. The approach is based on broadcast communication over a local area network, such as an Ethernet or a token ring, and on two novel protocols, the Trans protocol, which provides efficient reliable broadcast communication, and the Total protocol, which with high probability promptly places a total order on messages and achieves distributed agreement even in the presence of fail-stop, omission, timing, and communication faults. Reliable distributed operations, such as locking, update, and commitment, typically require only a single broadcast message rather than the several tens of messages required by current algorithms. >


Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) help plants by increasing plant growth and defending them against pathogens and pests. There is considerable research supporting the use of these bacteria in plant pathogens management, but the number of research papers that have focused on their effect on insect pests control is quite few. In this research, we examined the ability of four native strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens to manage the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii, on greenhouse-grown cucumbers in Iran. The strains UTPF (University of Tehran Pseudomonas fluorescens) 68, UTPF1, UTPF6 and PF169 of P. fluorescens were used as seed treatment to evaluate their impact on both cucumber growth and cotton aphid population growth parameters. The strains UTPF68 and PF169 of this bacterium influenced phenology of cucumber by decreasing the Growing Degree Days of flowering period. Also, the plants treated with these bacterial strains had a significant increase in yield weight of approximately 58%. In the other part of the study, various effects on developmental parameters of aphid were recorded among bacterial strains, but only PF169 caused significant decreasing effect on rm value of aphid, which is the most important factor in aphid's life table. We conclude that the PF169 treatment had significant negative effects on population growth rate of A. gossypii. The PF169 could be reliable in a control programme for A. gossypii on cucumber plants in greenhouses.


TO THE EDITOR: We read with interest the article by Horiuchi and Nakayama (1) on a transparent retractable extension (TRE) device for colorectal adenoma detection. The TRE device attached to the tip of a colonoscope can be extended for inspection of blind area of the colorectal mucosa or be retracted for dislodgment of adherent fecal matter and for safe retroflexion of the colonoscope whenever desired during colonoscopy. Although colonoscopy with the TRE device detected more adenomas without prolonged withdrawal time of the colonoscope, we believe that a newly developed imaging technology in addition to the device can detect many more adenomas. Although colonoscopy is considered the gold standard for the detection and removal of colorectal adenomatous polyps to prevent subsequent colorectal cancers (2), some polyps and even cancers may be missed during colonoscopy because they lie outside the visual field behind the folds. In a study with the use of CT colonography simulation (3), the percentage of colorectal surface visualized by conventional colonoscopy is 86.6%. Therefore, improved colonoscopic techniques with careful visualization of the proximal side of the folds have been required. We and others previously showed that the use of a transparent hood attached to the tip of a colonoscope helps to examine the proximal side of the folds by depressing the folds, resulting in more polyp detection (2, 4). Because colonoscopy with the hood tends to adhere fecal matter inside the hood, and the colonoscope cannot be safely retroflexed in the colorectum, Horiuchi and Nakayama (1) improved the hood and devised the TRE device with favorable outcomes. Even inside the visual field, small or flat polyps may be missed as a result of their subtle appearance and limited contrast to the surrounding mucosa. The narrow-band imaging (NBI) system, a recently developed imaging technology, can clearly enhance the visualization of the fine microvascular architecture in the surface mucosa with special narrow-band filters (5). Because of its improved mucosal contrast, NBI colonoscopy detects more polyps without prolonged withdrawal time of the colonoscope (6). The NBI magnification also allows indirect assessment of the pit pattern in colorectal polyps through the microvascular features, similar to that provided by chromoendoscopy, and is valuable for the prediction of histological diagnosis (5). Although Horiuchi and Nakayama (1) could address more polyp detection in colonoscopy with a TRE device, we believe that NBI colonoscopy with a TRE device is a more effective candidate.


The bacterial pathogen 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) is transmitted by the tomato potato psyllid (TPP), Bactericera cockerelli, to solanaceous crops. In the present study, the changes in metabolic profiles of insect-susceptible (cv CastleMart) and resistant (RIL LA3952) tomato plants in response to TPP vectoring Lso or not, were examined after 48 h post infestation. Non-volatile and volatile metabolites were identified and quantified using headspace solid-phase microextraction equipped with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-HR-QTOFMS), respectively. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to define the major uncorrelated metabolite components assuming the treatments as the correlated predictors. Metabolic changes in various classes of metabolites, including volatiles, hormones, and phenolics, were observed in resistant and susceptible plants in response to the insects carrying the pathogen or not. The results suggest the involvement of differentially regulated and, in some cases, implicates antagonistic metabolites in plant defensive signaling. Upon validation, the identified metabolites could be used as markers to screen and select breeding lines with enhanced resistance to reduce economic losses due to the TPP-Lso vector-pathogen complex in Solanaceous crops.


The Bronsted plot for general base catalysis of the reaction of hydrazine with benzylpenicillin in water is non-linear with limiting slopes of β 0.8 for strong and weak bases, respectively. It is concluded that there is a change in the rate-limiting step of the reaction with changing basicity of the catalyst and it is suggested that the mechanism proceeds by a step-wise mechanism of proton transfer. For strongly basic catalysts the rate-limiting step is thought to be the diffusion-controlled encounter of the pre-formed tetrahedral intermediate and the catalysing base, whereas for weakly basic catalysts it is the diffusion apart of the deprotonated tetrahedral intermediate and the conjugate acid of the catalyst or the breakdown of the deprotonated tetrahedral intermediate in the presence of the conjugate acid of the catalyst. The α-effect for hydrazine is manifested by an increase in the equilibrium constant for formation of the tetrahedral intermediate of 350-fold, which is reflected by an increase of 15-fold in the value of k1 and a decrease of 22-fold in the value of k–1.


For a proper action by a locally compact group $G$ on a manifold $M$ with a $G$-equivariant Spin-structure, we obtain obstructions to the existence of complete $G$-invariant Riemannian metrics with uniformly positive scalar curvature. We focus on the case where $M/G$ is noncompact. The obstructions follow from a Callias-type index theorem, and relate to positive scalar curvature near hypersurfaces in $M$. We also deduce some other applications of this index theorem. If $G$ is a connected Lie group, then the obstructions to positive scalar curvature vanish under a mild assumption on the action. In that case, we generalise a construction by Lawson and Yau to obtain complete $G$-invariant Riemannian metrics with uniformly positive scalar curvature, under an equivariant bounded geometry assumption.


Climate change is likely to affect plants in multiple ways, but predicting the consequences for habitat suitability requires a process‐based understanding of the interactions. This is at odds with existing approaches that are mostly phenomenological and largely restricted to predicting the effects of changing temperature and rainfall on species distributions at a coarse spatial scale. We examine the multiple effects of climate change, including predicting the effects of altered flood regimes and land‐use change, on the potential distribution of the invasive riparian species lippia (Phyla canescens) across a 26 000 km2 catchment in eastern Australia. We determined habitat suitability for lippia by combining process‐understanding of experts and an eco‐physiological bioclimatic model within a Bayesian belief network. The bioclimatic model predicted substantial changes in habitat suitability by 2070 under both a wetter (Echam Mark 3) and drier (Hadley Centre Mark 2) climate change scenario, but only the more likely drier scenario reduced suitability in our test region. The area suitable for lippia was predicted to increase at least threefold with increased flooding under a wet climate scenario, although this would be partially negated by land‐use change to cultivation. The region would become unsuitable to lippia with reduced flooding under a drier scenario irrespective of land‐use changes, although existing populations would persist if grazing persisted. Independent field validation verified model structure and parameterization, and therefore the opinion of experts, but identified site‐scale deficiencies in the available environmental data layers. Model predictions suggest that adaptation options for managing lippia will be greatly reduced under a drying scenario, but identify potential restoration opportunities under either scenario. This work highlights the value of predictive models that incorporate process‐understanding at sufficiently fine spatial resolution to capture the important processes underpinning habitat suitability.


The adsorption of quinoline and aminonaphthalene was investigated from aqueous solution on amorphous silica (SiO{sub 2}). Amorphous SiO{sub 2} was not a strong adsorbent of these compounds and quinoline was adsorbed more strongly than aminonaphthalene. The adsorption of both compounds varied with pH. A maximum in adsorption occurred near their respective pK{sub a}'s. Temperature effects were significant, suggesting enthalpy contributions in the range of H bonding. Both compounds appeared to adsorb via identical mechanisms that included H bonding and ion exchange. The greater basicity of quinoline combined with (1) the enhanced electron-donating properties of the heteroatom N and (2) the delocalized {pi}-bonded ring system were proposed to account for its stronger adsorption. Aminonaphthalene showed greater exclusion from the internal region of porous SiO{sub 2}, indicating that the compounds orient differently at the surface. The triple-layer adsorption model and three outer-sphere surface complexes were used to model the adsorption data. Good predictions of adsorption isotherms and the effects of ionic strength and electrolyte cation were obtained.


The main objective of this thesis was the synthesis of speech synchronised motion, in particular head motion. The hypothesis that head motion can be estimated from the speech signal was confirmed. In order to achieve satisfactory results, a motion capture data base was recorded, a definition of head motion in terms of articulation was discovered, a continuous stream mapping procedure was developed, and finally the synthesis was evaluated. Based on previous research into non-verbal behaviour basic types of head motion were invented that could function as modelling units. The stream mapping method investigated in this thesis is based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), which employ modelling units to map between continuous signals. The objective evaluation of the modelling parameters confirmed that head motion types could be predicted from the speech signal with an accuracy above chance, close to 70%. Furthermore, a special type of HMM called trajectory HMM was used because it enables synthesis of continuous output. However head motion is a stochastic process therefore the trajectory HMM was further extended to allow for non-deterministic output. Finally the resulting head motion synthesis was perceptually evaluated. The effects of the "uncanny valley" were also considered in the evaluation, confirming that rendering quality has an influence on our judgement of movement of virtual characters. In conclusion a general method for synthesising speech-synchronised behaviour was invented that can applied to a whole range of behaviours.


(firstname.lastname@example.com) Accepted 14 October 2009 SUMMARY Studies of the onset of metamorphosis have identified an ecdysone-triggered transcriptional cascade that consists of the sequential expression of the transcription-factor-encoding genes DHR3 ,  FTZ-F1 , E74A and E75A . Although the regulatory interactions between these genes have been well characterized by genetic and molecular studies over the past 20 years, their developmental functions have remained more poorly understood. In addition, a transcriptional sequence similar to that observed in prepupae is repeated before each developmental transition in the life cycle, including mid-embryogenesis and the larval molts. Whether the regulatory interactions between DHR3 ,  FTZ-F1 , E74A and E75A at these earlier stages are similar to those defined at the onset of metamorphosis, however, is unknown. In this study, we turn to embryonic development to address these two issues. We show that mid-embryonic expression of DHR3 and  FTZ-F1 is part of a 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E)-triggered transcriptional cascade similar to that seen in mid-prepupae, directing maximal expression of E74A and E75A during late embryogenesis. In addition, DHR3 and  FTZ-F1 exert overlapping developmental functions at the end of embryogenesis. Both genes are required for tracheal air filling, whereas DHR3 is required for ventral nerve cord condensation and  FTZ-F1 is required for proper maturation of the cuticular denticles. Rescue experiments support these observations, indicating that DHR3 has essential functions independent from those of  FTZ-F1 . DHR3 and  FTZ-F1 also contribute to overlapping transcriptional responses during embryogenesis. Taken together, these studies define the lethal phenotypes of DHR3 in four replicates to facilitate subsequent statistical analysis. Probe labeling, hybridization to two-color Agilent Drosophila 44K arrays and scanning were performed by the University of Utah Microarray Core Facility. The data were quantile normalized using R, and the fold changes in gene expression and t-statistics were determined using GeneSifter (VizX Labs, Seattle, WA). p-values were calculated using the Benjamimi and Hochberg correction for false-discovery rate. Comparison between microarray datasets was performed using Microsoft Access. Microarray data from this study can be accessed at NCBI GEO (accession number: GSE18577). Northern blot analysis was conducted essentially as described by Karim and Thummel (Karim


The global financial crisis has affected all of Asia and hit the Philippine economy also hard. This is because global demand still represents a major factor behind Asia's export growth. Indeed, the relationship between U.S. import growth and Asian intraregional export growth has actually become stronger over time. Japan shifted her stance from exporting industrial products to the U.S. and Europe to constructing manufacturing bases in Asia after the 1985 Plaza Accord. This started to create greater interdependence in Asia, with the development of a singlewide factory region. This paper explores the changing structure of the Philippines' international trade and how the economy became so interdependent. How Japan has engaged in this development is also explained. By using measures like revealed comparative advantage and intra-industry trade, the Philippine economy is compared with other East Asian economies and found to possess similar trade structures with other East Asian countries. Suggested policy conclusion is to upgrade industrial structure, to make the structure different, and to use Philippines' unique strength of mobile human capital. Japan needs to be prepared not only to absorb productions in this area, but must also open and enlarge markets for such mobile natural persons.


Received signal strength (RSS) fingerprint-based indoor localization has received increasing popularity over the past decades. However, it suffers from the high calibration effort for fingerprint collection. In this paper, a Centralized indooR localizatioN method using Pseudo-label (CRNP) is proposed, which employs a small set of labeled data (RSS fingerprint) along with large volumes of unlabeled data (RSS values without coordinates) to reduce the workload of labeled data collection and improve the indoor localization performance. However, the rich location data is large in quantity and privacy sensitive, which may lead to high network cost (i.e., data transmission cost, data storage cost) and potential privacy leakage for data transmission to the central server. Therefore, a decentralized indoor localization method incorporating CRNP and federated learning is devised, which keeps the location data on local users' devices and improves the shared CRNP model by aggregating users' updates of the model. The experiment results demonstrate that (i) the proposed CRNP enables to improve the indoor localization accuracy by using unlabeled crowdsourced data; (ii) the designed decentralized scheme is robust to different data distribution and is capable to reduce the network cost and prevent users' privacy leakage.


This paper examines the output and productivity performance of the Transport and Communication sector in South Korea and Australia, from 1990 to 1999. The aim of the paper is two-fold. First, the paper is the first in a series which compares the performance of various industries within the service sector. Second, it introduces a method for derivation of appropriate currency converters or purchasing power parities (PPPs) to enable quantification of output and productivity at various disaggregated levels. This method is based on the industry-of-origin approach as refined by the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity (ICOP) project based at the University of Groningen.


Creep plays a critical role in the research of high temperature materials because it is the major failure form of high temperature devices. In the safety assessment of high temperature devices, creep failure is one of the key factors used to evaluate residual lifetime of metal components; however, creep analysis in practical applications is still a great challenge due to the lack of a unified theory of all materials. A number of researchers are conducting research into creep constitutive model based on either experimental approaches or computational approaches, but multifarious computational tools were used because the constitutive model is still in the exploration stage. Traditional commercial software could reach the required capability based on the development of user-developed codes; moreover, some in-house codes were proposed, but just used in a narrow scope. Therefore, the development of a novel universal creep finite element software needs to be carried out to meet the requirements of future research.
This research aims to develop required subroutines and interface for the proposed elastic-creep finite element software called High Temperature Structural Integrity-Creep (HITSI). Basic concepts and situations of creep and its computational tools have been reviewed. General knowledge of programming of finite element method has also been studied. A universal subroutine template of creep constitutive equations has been given to enable users to add their own equations directly. A high order and embedded numerical method called Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (RKF) method has been applied and discussed in order to enhance the accuracy of traditional methods. A mathematical method used to improve the accuracy and efficiency of constitutive equations subroutine call normalization has been applied and discussed. Formatted input and output of purchased pre- and post-processor has been studied to develop the data transfer interface. Some auxiliary modules such as stress transformation and nodal load arrangement have been developed to satisfy the input conditions of constitutive equations subroutines and data transfer interface.


Interest in converting waste into renewable energy has increased recently due to concerns about sustainability and climate change. This solid waste is mainly derived from municipal solid waste (MSW), biomass residue, plastic waste, and their mixtures. Gasification is one commonly applied technology that can convert solid waste into usable gases, including H2, CO, CH4, and CO2. Singleand multi-staged reactors have been utilized for solid waste gasification. Comparison in reactor dimensions, operating factors (e.g., gasification agent, temperature, and feed composition), performance (e.g., syngas yield and selectivity), advantages, and disadvantages are discussed and summarized. Additionally, discussion will include economic and advanced catalysts which have been developed for use in solid waste gasification. The multi-staged reactor can not only be applied for gasification, but also for pyrolysis and torrefaction.


Spatially variable selection has the potential to result in local adaptation unless counteracted by gene flow. Therefore, barriers to gene flow will help facilitate divergence between populations that differ in local selection pressures. We performed spatially and temporally replicated reciprocal field transplant experiments between inland and coastal habitats using males of the common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) as our study organism. Males from coastal populations had lower local survival rates than resident males at inland sites, whereas we detected no differences between immigrant and resident males at coastal sites, suggesting asymmetric local adaptation in a source–sink system. There were no intrinsic differences in longevity between males from the different environments suggesting that the observed differences in male survival are environment-dependent and probably caused by local adaptation. Furthermore, the coastal environment was found to be warmer and drier than the inland environment, further suggesting local adaptation to microclimatic factors has lead to differential survival of resident and immigrant males. Our results suggest that low survival of immigrant males mediates isolation between closely located populations inhabiting different microclimatic environments.


The study attempts to review the influence of motivation on job performance among primary school teacher in public school targeted Kongwa district council Dodoma, Tanzania .The objective of the study is to investigate the influence of motivation on job performance among primary school teacher in public schools. The research collected primary data by using a questionnaire and observation .The data has been analyzed by using statistical package for in table which enabled the researcher to make a logical and valid conclusion. The population studied included teachers from various schools selected who were needed in order to make it meaningful for the benefit of all professionals in management. The study has identified various factors that motivation influence job performance. Those factors have been identified from employee's responses towards study question.Where as factors are availability of relevant syllabus,housing facilities and the amount paid as other allowances in a month contribute to better performance or underperformance of employees.Thus the study has come up with the finding that the influence motivation of job performance. The main findings shows that teachers performance might be affected by other social and external variable factors such as employers' irresponsibility which in turn is the undesirable results of students in national exams done. Conclusively, teachers' performance did not mainly depend on motivation and in constant the study confirm the theory of Self Determination Test that the social environment can foster or hinder the core sell's natural inclination to fully actualize one's potential. It was found that there was a weak positive and significant correlation between satisfaction with provision of motivational factors and teacher's job performance.


Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract are the major cause of ESRD in childhood. Children with a solitary functioning kidney form an important subgroup of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract patients, and a significant fraction of these children is at risk for progression to CKD. However, challenges remain in distinguishing patients with a high risk for disease progression from those patients without a high risk of disease progression. Although it is hypothesized that glomerular hyperfiltration in the lowered number of nephrons underlies the impaired renal prognosis in the solitary functioning kidney, the high proportion of ipsilateral congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract in these patients may further influence clinical outcome. Pathogenic genetic and environmental factors in renal development have increasingly been identified and may play a crucial role in establishing a correct diagnosis and prognosis for these patients. With fetal ultrasound now enabling prenatal identification of individuals with a solitary functioning kidney, an early evaluation of risk factors for renal injury would allow for differentiation between patients with and without an increased risk for CKD. This review describes the underlying causes and consequences of the solitary functioning kidney from childhood together with its clinical implications. Finally, guidelines for follow-up of solitary functioning kidney patients are recommended.


The Barberton region of South Africa is characterized by a broad variety of granite types that range in age from ca. 3.5 Ga to 2.7 Ga and reflect the processes involved in the formation of Archaean continental crust on the Kaapvaal Craton. These granites are subdivided into three groups, as follows:
 A tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite diapirically emplaced at 3 450 Ma and 3 250 Ma into pre-existing metamorphosed greenstone belt material. TTG melts were derived from melting amphibolite in the lower crust, with individual plutons being emplaced at various crustal levels. The dome-and-keel geometry that characterizes the TTG-greenstone dominated crust at this time is inconsistent with a plate tectonic domain and reworking was likely controlled by gravity inversion or 'sagduction';
 Regionally extensive potassic batholiths (the GMS suite) were emplaced at 3 110 Ma during a period of crustal thickening and melting of a TTG-dominated lower crust. Subsequent to emplacement of the voluminous GMS granites, the thickened continental crust had stabilized sufficiently for large sedimentary basins to form;
 Late granite plutons were emplaced along two distinct linear and sub-parallel arrays close to what might have been the edge of a Kaapvaal continent at 2 800 to 2 700 Ma. They are subdivided into high-Ca and low-Ca granites that resemble the I- and S-type granites of younger orogenic episodes. The high-Ca granites are consistent with derivation from older granitoids in the lower crust, whereas the low-Ca granites may have been derived by melting metasedimentary precursors in the lower-mid crust. Granites with similar characteristics are associated with a subduction zone in younger terranes, although the recognition of such a feature at Barberton remains unclear.
 The petrogenesis of granites in the Barberton region between 3.5 Ga and 2.7 Ga provides a record of the processes of Archaean crustal evolution and contributes to discussions related to the onset of plate tectonics.


Background: The purpose of this study is to identify and describe all published cases of breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC) to gain a greater understanding of the incidence, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis and to support development of recommendations that promote prompt diagnosis and management in clinical practice. Methods: A scoping review of PubMed and social media sites was performed in August and September 2022 to identify published cases of SCC arising in the breast capsule. No limits were set on search results. Additional data review was begun on deidentified cases reported directly to American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Results: Twelve articles met inclusion criteria and reported data on 16 total cases. Mean age of patients was 55.56 years (range, 40–81 years). Mean duration from initial implant placement to presentation was 23.56 years (range, 11–40 years). Cases occurred with silicone, saline, textured, and smooth implants. At the time of case publication or reporting, seven patients were alive, five were deceased and/or presumed deceased, and four were unreported. Conclusions: BIA‐SCC seems to be a rare complication of breast implantation that can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Physicians should be aware of the presentation of BIA-SCC to promote prompt diagnosis and treatment. BIA-SCC should be discussed with all patients considering breast implantation as part of the informed-consent process.


In this paper, by using a resolvent operator technique of maximal monotone mappings and the property of afixed-point set ofmulti-valued contractivemapping, we studythe behavior andsensitivity analysisof a solution set for a parametric generalized mixed multi-valued implicit quasi-variational inclusion problem in Hilbert space. Further, under some suitable conditions, we discuss the Lipschitz continuity (or continuity) of the solution set with respect to the parameter. By exploiting the technique of this paper, one can generalize and improve many known results in the literature.


We methodologically address the problem of Q-value overestimation in deep reinforcement learning to handle high-dimensional state spaces efficiently. By adapting concepts from information theory, we introduce an intrinsic penalty signal encouraging reduced Q-value estimates. The resultant algorithm encompasses a wide range of learning outcomes containing deep Q-networks as a special case. Different learning outcomes can be demonstrated by tuning a Lagrange multiplier accordingly. We furthermore propose a novel scheduling scheme for this Lagrange multiplier to ensure efficient and robust learning. In experiments on Atari, our algorithm outperforms other algorithms (e.g. deep and double deep Q-networks) in terms of both game-play performance and sample complexity. These results remain valid under the recently proposed dueling architecture.


The electromechanical response of ceramics has long been described with Landau Devonshire phenomenology, wherein the strain response is linked to a polynomial expansion in electric field or dielectric displacement. Consequently, the electromechanical response has been modeled with a variety of basis functions. However, these models have failed to accommodate hysteresis and the harmonic response that arises with saturation phenomena. In addition, no quantitative criterion has been used to truncate the expansion. By implementing a discrete Fourier transform in conjunction with Devonshire phenomenology, these three problems can be overcome as demonstrated with a dielectrically aged, lead magnesium niobate relaxor ferroelectric well above its T/sub max/, i.e., operating in the electrostrictive regime.


ABSTRACT Background: It has been more than two decades since the only interview study of whistleblowers in academic research. There remains a need to appreciate whistleblower experience, role in scientific integrity, and whether policies provide adequate protection. Methods: We contacted the institutional official for research, the institutional review board (IRB) director, and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) director from a random sample of 25 of the highest 200 NIH funded institutions. We assessed the willingness of respondents to send a hypothetical solicitation letter to whistleblowers who had lodged complaints related to research. Results: The response rate was 41%. Despite a willingness to distribute a solicitation letter (68% respondents), most wanted further institutional approval before sending it (76%). Conclusion: Data from this pilot study suggest substantial obstacles to obtaining access to whistleblowers by way of anonymous solicitation letters distributed by institutions.


: The creative application of emerging biotechnologies in design has begun to influence how we perceive our material world, boldly suggesting a conceivable balance between the industrialised world and ecological conversation. Embedding humanities practitioners in areas of scientific research, and vice versa, could be key to realising aspects of this utopian ideal. Faber Futures is an on-going collaborative research project that asks if designing with living systems offers a better material paradigm for the design landscape. The project aims to combine design thinking and science knowledge to establish the bacteria as component materials that offer sustainable alternatives to polluting industrial processes. Key research explorations into ways of making have inspired the development of a protocol that captures pigment secreted by bacteria to dye textiles. By harnessing bacteria that naturally produce we have established a reliable manufacturing method that permanently transfers a colourfast biopigment without hazardous runoff. Mastering the fundamentals of laboratory protocol has been a vital enabling factor for the designer to draw real-life working prototypes. When merged with the design hand, the creation of these artefacts suggest that scaling production for a hypothetical consumer market can be a factor of design-centred interventions as well as the application of synthetic biology.


Photoconductive self-assembled 1D structures can be formed by perylene bisimides. These structures are generally randomly orientated, limiting their applications as conductive wires. Here, we show that magnetic fields can be used to create highly aligned, directionally-dependent thin films. This approach leads to well-aligned structures over large areas.


In an extra judicial assessment for the Medical Assessment Centre of the FMH (Federation Mediation Helvetical a clinical case of a female patient who had suffered from deep vein thrombosis was reviewed. The patient had been treated conservatively for a malleolar fracture and had not received any pharmaceutical thrombosis prophylaxis. The question of false treatment had to be discussed. The final conclusion of the judicial assessment is that the medical treatment with a physicial thrombosis prophylaxis of the patient was correct. Due to the various controversial judgements found in the literature concerning the thrombosis prophylaxis, a certain insecurity remains for the treating physician. Taking into account the different risk factors, the indication for a prophylaxis must therefore still be decided on an individual basis.


I study the effect of various types and amounts of North American Business language data on the quality of the derived vocabulary, and use my findings to derive an improved ranking of the words, using only 19% of the NAB corpus. I then study the conflicting effects of increased vocabulary size on a speech recognizer's accuracy, and use the result to pick an optimal vocabulary size. A similar analysis of ngram coverage yields a very different outcome, with the best system being the one based on the most data.


Background Evolving electrocardiogram (ECG) examination in the Community Health Services Centre is the first foundational method of disease prevention, early diagnosis, and early therapy. The authors carried out the epidemiological study of the incidence of 12-leads ECG detecting abnormalities and the risk stratification of 8970 cases from community natural population. Methods A total of 8970 ECG dates from eight community groups of Taiyuan city from July 2008 through October 2010 were collected. Population consists of 2877 males (age from 17 years to 90 years, average 56.65±13.22 years) and 6093 females (age from 17 years to 91 years, average 55.01±12.10 years). ECG dates were analysed, and the incidence of all kinds of abnormal ECG were calculated. Results (1) The incidence of all kinds of abnormal ECG was 34.57% (including tachyarrhythmia 3.18%, bradycardia 12.39%, ST deviation with T wave change 16.71%). (2) There were 285 patients with tachyarrhythmia, consisting sinus tachycardia 52 patients (18.25%), atrial premature complex 82 patients (28.77%), ventricular premature complex 99 patients (34.74%), atrial fibrillation 48 patients (16.84%). There were 1111 patients with bradycardia, consisting sinus bradycardia 777 patients (69.94%), complete right bundle-branch block 147 patients (13.23%), complete left bundle-branch block 23 patients (2.07%), incomplete right bundle-branch block 31 patients (2.79%), left anterior fascicular block 86 patients (7.74%), AV block 107 patients (9.63%). (3) The incidence of abnormal ECG was higher in males than females (39.03% vs 32.46%, p<0.001). (4) There were 2560 patients with hypertension (ECG abnormality 45.20%), 953 diabetic patients (ECG abnormality 38.82%), 1497 patients with hyperlipidemia (ECG abnormality 38.12%), 442 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) (ECG abnormality 57.69%), heart failure (HF) 20 patients with heart failure (HF) (ECG abnormality 50.00%), and 424 patients with stroke (ECG abnormality 48.82%). Conclusion The incidence of abnormal ECG in natural community was 34.57%. The incidence of ST deviation with T wave change is highest among the abnormal ECG. The incidence of abnormal ECG was higher in males than females. The incidence of abnormal ECG in the patients with CHD was the highest.


Objective: Paclitaxel (PAC) is a chemotherapy drug and has an active role in the treatment of lung, breast, and ovarian cancers; however, its use causes increased levels of free radicals, leading to severe and irreversible organ damage. Thymus vulgaris is a species of flowering plant that contains various antioxidant chemical compounds. This study aimed to investigate the effect of T. vulgaris on PAC-induced oxidative damage in mice testis and sperm parameters. Methods: In this study, 40 BALB/c mice were divided into five groups: normal control (NC); positive control (20 mg/kg of PAC); and three treatment groups (4.5, 9, and 18 mg/kg doses of T. vulgaris extract + 20 mg/kg PAC). Treatments were administered intraperitoneally daily for 50 days. Finally, the levels of serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone were measured using immunoassay method. Testicular stereological features and sperm parameters were also calculated. Antioxidant parameters were measured using nitrite oxide (NO) and perioxidation levels and ferric-reducing ability of plasma assay. The expressions of p53, caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 were measured through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: T. vulgaris + PAC treatments at all doses significantly increased all parameters in NC and three treatment groups compared with the positive control group (20 mg/kg of PAC) (P < 0.05), except the LH, FSH, and NO levels, which were decreased. Further, significantly downregulated levels of p53, caspase-3, and Bax genes and? upregulated levels of Bcl-2 gene expression were noted in NC and three treatment groups in comparison with the positive control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: T. vulgaris administration attenuates the toxic effects of PAC on male reproductive parameters.


In 80 clinically examined patients aged 9 to 67 years the basal myoelectric activity (BER) in the rectosigmoid was registered by using an intraluminally placed hexapolar ring electrode. The frequency analysis of the sinusoidal variations showed for the patients of the normal group predominantly (14 from 18) a mean frequency of the BER of 6 to 9 cycles per minute, for the patients suffering from functional diarrhea a slow frequency of 2.5 to 5 cycles per minute, for patients with obstipation of chronic intestinal diseases no uniform frequency behaviour, and for patients with diverticulosis predominantly (5 of 6) a mean frequency of the BER of 6 to 12 cycles per minute. The individual mean frequency of the BER proved to be unaffectable by intravenous administration of pyridostigmine or hyoscin-N-butylbromide and remained constant also in control examinations after 4 to 52 weeks.


This study analyzed interactions among photon flux density (PPFD), air temperature, root-zone temperature for growth of lettuce with non-limiting water, nutrient, and CO2 concentration. We measured growth parameters in 48 combinations of a PPFD of 200, 400, and 750 μmol m–2 s–1 (16 h daylength), with air and root-zone temperatures of 20, 24, 28, and 32°C. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Batavia Othilie) was grown for four cycles (29 days after transplanting). Eight combinations with low root-zone (20 and 24°C), high air temperature (28 and 32°C) and high PPFD (400 and 750 μmol m–2 s–1) resulted in an excessive incidence of tip-burn and were not included in further analysis. Dry mass increased with increasing photon flux to a PPFD of 750 μmol m–2 s–1. The photon conversion efficiency (both dry and fresh weight) decreased with increasing photon flux: 29, 27, and 21 g FW shoot and 1.01, 0.87, and 0.76 g DW shoot per mol incident light at 200, 400, and 750 μmol m–2 s–1, respectively, averaged over all temperature combinations, following a concurrent decrease in specific leaf area (SLA). The highest efficiency was achieved at 200 μmol m–2 s–1, 24°C air temperature and 28°C root-zone temperature: 44 g FW and 1.23 g DW per mol incident light. The effect of air temperature on fresh yield was linked to all leaf expansion processes. SLA, shoot mass allocation and water content of leaves showed the same trend for air temperature with a maximum around 24°C. The effect of root temperature was less prominent with an optimum around 28°C in nearly all conditions. With this combination of temperatures, market size (fresh weight shoot = 250 g) was achieved in 26, 20, and 18 days, at 200, 400, and 750 μmol m–2 s–1, respectively, with a corresponding shoot dry matter content of 2.6, 3.8, and 4.2%. In conclusion, three factors determine the "optimal" PPFD: capital and operational costs of light intensity vs the value of reducing cropping time, and the market value of higher dry matter contents.


Owing to the highly competitive nature of top-level football (i.e., top domestic league or international standard), expert football managers often undergo several disconfirming episodes throughout their careers (e.g., job loss, public criticism, unsuccessful interviews or career moves). However, little is known about how such episodes are experienced and impact identity. Therefore, the following case study aims to explore the effect, if any, disconfirming experiences had on the identities and self-concept of three, unemployed, top-level football managers. Narrative constructs reveal that during disconfirming episodes, managers experience feelings of anger, a loss of self-respect, disappointment, and sadness. Further, they also report how confusion regarding their future career prospects leaves them in a state of limbo (i.e., identity interference), whereby they were unsure as to how, when, or if they should cease their commitment to a valued identity.


This publication has been used the base year 2010 GRDP data, Indonesian Standard Industrial Classification 2009 (KBLI 2009) and consummation of the scope as well as methodology which refers to the latest system of national accounts (System of National Accounts 2008). This publication contains main tables of GRDP, both at current and 2010 constant market prices. Besides the main table of GRDP, it also provides derived tables such as industrial distribution, trend of GRDP, implicit price indices and the comparisons among provinces in Indonesia.


Background— Heart transplantation is a lifesaving procedure for patients with end-stage heart failure. Despite much effort and advances in the field, current immunosuppressive regimens are still associated with poor long-term cardiac allograft outcomes, and with the development of complications, including infections and malignancies, as well. The development of a novel, short-term, and effective immunomodulatory protocol will thus be an important achievement. The purine ATP, released during cell damage/activation, is sensed by the ionotropic purinergic receptor P2X7 (P2X7R) on lymphocytes and regulates T-cell activation. Novel clinical-grade P2X7R inhibitors are available, rendering the targeting of P2X7R a potential therapy in cardiac transplantation. Methods and Results— We analyzed P2X7R expression in patients and mice and P2X7R targeting in murine recipients in the context of cardiac transplantation. Our data demonstrate that P2X7R is specifically upregulated in graft-infiltrating lymphocytes in cardiac-transplanted humans and mice. Short-term P2X7R targeting with periodate-oxidized ATP promotes long-term cardiac transplant survival in 80% of murine recipients of a fully mismatched allograft. Long-term survival of cardiac transplants was associated with reduced T-cell activation, T-helper cell 1/T-helper cell 17 differentiation, and inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation in T cells, thus leading to a reduced transplant infiltrate and coronaropathy. In vitro genetic upregulation of the P2X7R pathway was also shown to stimulate T-helper cell 1/T-helper cell 17 cell generation. Finally, P2X7R targeting halted the progression of coronaropathy in a murine model of chronic rejection as well. Conclusions— P2X7R targeting is a novel clinically relevant strategy to prolong cardiac transplant survival.


Recently, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dyes such as indocyanine green (ICG) have received tremendous interest as contrast agents for use in fluorescence-guided, intraoperative cancer resection surgery. However, despite showing great promise, ICG has many shortcomings such as rapid clearance and poor tumor accumulation. To improve the selective accumulation of ICG within tumors, numerous groups have formulated ICG into nanoparticles, but these approaches can suffer from rapid leakage of ICG, use of materials that exhibit poor or incomplete excretion, or complex chemistries that are not easily amenable to scale up for clinical use. Here, we developed a simple one-step method to prepare ICG-based fluorescent micelles that are composed solely of unmodified ICG and polycaprolactone (PCL), two clinically used materials with well-characterized safety profiles. The ICG-PCL micelles are prepared via oil-in-water emulsions, and the resulting micelles exhibit a uniform size, good reproducibility, and high loading efficiency. In vivo fluorescence imaging demonstrated that the ICG-PCL micelles led to a significant improvement in the accumulation and retention of ICG, in four different tumor models, compared with free dye, making them an attractive option for image-guided surgery.


This paper evaluates the clinical psychology integration system from a strategic perspective. The integration system is defined as a loose organizational body comprised of academic institutions, journals, publishers, educators, clinicians, and students. Next, the SWOT analysis tool is used to understand the integration system's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The chief strength is the integration system's financial model and flexibility that allows it to consolidate resources and gradually grow into other domains. The primary weakness is limited diversity especially with regards to age and minority representation. Central opportunities include globalization and technology Threats consist of alternative models of integrating spirituality and psychology that may minimize an authentic Christian voice. Another notable threat includes high tuition costs or what might be more broadly understood as the education bubble. Finally, goals and objectives are outlined that focus on leveraging the integration system's strengths to overcome weaknesses and capitalize on opportunities. Goals primarily focus on making the integration system more diverse and global.


Objective To study the macrostructural and microstructural MRI correlates of brain astrocytosis, measured with 11C-deuterium-L-deprenyl (11C-DED)–PET, in familial autosomal-dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD). Methods The total sample (n = 31) comprised ADAD mutation carriers (n = 10 presymptomatic, 39.2 ± 10.6 years old; n = 3 symptomatic, 55.5 ± 2.0 years old) and noncarriers (n = 18, 44.0 ± 13.7 years old) belonging to families with mutations in either the presenilin-1 or amyloid precursor protein genes. All participants underwent structural and diffusion MRI and neuropsychological assessment, and 20 participants (6 presymptomatic and 3 symptomatic mutation carriers and 11 noncarriers) also underwent 11C-DED-PET. Results Vertex-wise interaction analyses revealed a differential relationship between carriers and noncarriers in the association between 11C-DED binding and estimated years to onset (EYO) and between cortical mean diffusivity (MD) and EYO. These differences were due to higher 11C-DED binding in presymptomatic carriers, with lower binding in symptomatic carriers compared to noncarriers, and to lower cortical MD in presymptomatic carriers, with higher MD in symptomatic carriers compared to noncarriers. Using a vertex-wise local correlation approach, 11C-DED binding was negatively correlated with cortical MD and positively correlated with cortical thickness. Conclusions Our proof-of-concept study is the first to show that microstructural and macrostructural changes can reflect underlying neuroinflammatory mechanisms in early stages of Alzheimer disease (AD). The findings support a role for neuroinflammation in AD pathogenesis, with potential implications for the correct interpretation of neuroimaging biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials.


BACKGROUND: Our objective was to determine the incidence of diagnosing lesions by cranial computed tomography (CT) and to evaluate prospectively whether this incidence correlated with clinical features and age in patients with minor head trauma (MHT). METHODS: This prospective study included 78 patients with MHT. All of the cases underwent CT following their clinical assessment. RESULTS: In the 34.61% of cases, there was a pathologic finding in the CT however the incidence of intracranial injury was 15.38%. There were no significant differences between children (n:22) and adults (n:56), the patients with and without a history of the loss of consciousness/amnesia and the patients with and without clinical symptoms (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results support the studies which have reported that there is no non-focal clinical factor as a predictor for pathologic CT findings.


The management of aortic stenosis has improved and evolved to a reduction in surgical aggression. Nowadays, patients with intermediate risk are in the frontier of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and aortic valve replacement (AVR). Our goal is to update the treatment of severe aortic stenosis in those patients through a research of the recent literature, in order to analyze the current treatment options and their results. This cohort of patients has two therapeutic options, surgical AVR or TAVI, and the decision pathway goes through the accurate interpretation of all data by the Heart Team. It is clear that both strategies will be the cornerstones in the modern AVR era, but the situations in which to apply each strategy have not yet been clearly delineated. More studies are needed to compare TAVI and miniAVR in low- and intermediate-risk patients. However, the current practice guidelines give a good pathway to choose the adequate therapeutic option in each individual case.


The hydrolysis of various dietary fats and pure triglycerides by pregastric esterase and pancreatic lipase was studied in vitro in conjunction with a series of digestibility trials to examine the effect of various chemical modifications to beef tallow on its digestibility in milk replacers for pre-ruminant calves. Using pure triglycerides, it was shown that pregastric esterase preferentially hydrolyses triglycerides containing short chain fatty acids; the rate was highest with glyceryl tributyrate and decreased markedly with increase in chain length. Using butterfat, tallow and various modified forms of tallow, it was shown that the inclusion of butyric acid in tallow by interesterification, which markedly improved its digestibility, substantially increased its rate of hydrolysis by pregastric esterase. The initial rate of hydrolysis of tallow by pancreatic lipase was substantially less than that of butterfat. Little improvement in the rate of hydrolysis and solubilisation was obtained when the tallow sample was interesterified or when it was supplemented with the long chain fatty acids, myristic and oleic, or with the short chain fatty acid, butyric. A considerable increase in the initial rate of hydrolysis and solubilisation did occur with tallow samples with a reduced content of stearic acid.

The results suggest that hydrolysis by pregastric esterase is a major site of discrimination between different fats in the pre-ruminant calf and an important factor in determining overall digestibility.


The Fas (apo/CD95) receptor which belongs to the TNF-alpha family is a transmembrane protein involved in the signaling for apoptosis through the extrinsic pathway. During this study, we have examined a correlation between intracellular levels of 4-HNE and expression of Fas in human lens epithelial (HLE B-3) cells. Our results show that in HLE B-3 cells, Fas is induced by 4-HNE in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and it is accompanied by the activation of JNK, caspase 3, and the onset of apoptosis. Fas induction and activation of JNK are also observed in various tissues of mGsta4 null mice which have elevated levels of 4-HNE. Conversely, when 4-HNE is depleted in HLE B-3 cells by a transient transfection with hGSTA4, Fas expression is suppressed. However, upon the cessation of hGSTA4 expression in these transiently transfected cells, Fas and 4-HNE return to their basal levels. Fas-deficient transformed HLE B-3 cells stably transfected with hGSTA4 show remarkable resistance to apoptosis. Also, the wild-type HLE B-3 cells in which Fas is partially depleted by siRNA acquire resistance to 4-HNE-induced apoptosis, suggesting an at least partial role of Fas in 4-HNE-induced apoptosis in HLE B-3 cells. We also demonstrate that during 4-HNE-induced apoptosis of HLE B-3 cells, Daxx is induced and it binds to Fas. Together, these results show an important role of 4-HNE in regulation of the expression and functions of Fas.


Kafka first read Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety in 1922. One can read Kierkegaard's text as a central element in the poetology of "Der Bau," which reenacts the relationship between construction, habitation, and thinking against a background of anxiety. "Der Bau" in fact reveals the practice of habitation as a reflection of a state of anxiety. This is the paradox of Kafka's story: habitation is something that cannot be thought; the more one attempts to ponder the subject, the less one can actually reside. Kafka, as author, is shown to be no more master of his writing than the animal builder is master of his burrow. Creation in this sense is not ruled by the classic opposition of subject and object: the author does not govern his writing but is transformed into what he writes. And this is precisely what Der Bau demonstrates in extenso. Telling about the burrow means postponing the finality of the burrow as well as that of its safety-anxiety-complex. What Kafka cultivated in his late writings is the dystopia of an eternal writing as an equivalent of living and as an alternative to the artistic finality, the rational concept, and the apparent wholeness of works and buildings. (TW)


Law Number 11 / 2008 on Information and Electronic Transaction (UU ITE) is the regulation concerning on criminal law in addition to the Criminal Code (KUHP). UU ITE is commonly regarded additional regulation of the Criminal Code as a special law (lex specialis) in which Penal Code is deemed as lex generalis. It is based on the principle of lex specialis derogate legi generalis. This article uses legal research to review the decision of District Court in Bandung Number 1033/PID.B/2014/PN.BDG where it comprises legislation and cases. It concludes that the judge is not frugal in applying the principle lex specialis derogat legi generalis in the consideration. This is associated with the indictment of public prosecutor which only prejudges with article 303 paragraph (1) to 2. In contrast, the indictment which does not meet the requirement of a careful, clear, and complete description asserts to become void by law.
Keywords: Online Gambling, Criminal Principle, Indictment


Bayesian Statistical Analysis in Coastal Eutrophication Models: Challenges and Solutions by Farnaz Nojavan A. Environment Duke University Date: Approved: Song S. Qian, Co-Supervisor Gabriel Katul, Co-Supervisor Elizabeth A. Albright Marco Marani Craig Stow An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environment in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 Copyright c © 2014 by Farnaz Nojavan A. All rights reserved except the rights granted by the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial Licence Abstract Estuaries interfacing with the land, atmosphere and open oceans can be influenced in a variety of ways by anthropogenic activities. Centuries of overexploitation, habitat transformation, and pollution have degraded estuarine ecological health. Key concerns of public and environmental managers of estuaries include water quality, particularly the enrichment of nutrients, increased chlorophyll a concentrations, increased hypoxia/anoxia, and increased Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). One reason for the increased nitrogen loading over the past two decades is the proliferation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in coastal areas. This dissertation documents a study of estuarine eutrophication modeling, including modeling of major source of nitrogen in the watershed, the use of the Bayesian Networks (BNs) for modeling eutrophication dynamics in an estuary, a documentation of potential problems of using BNs, and a continuous BN model for addressing these problems. Environmental models have emerged as great tools to transform data into useful information for managers and policy makers. Environmental models contain uncertainty due to natural ecosystems variability, current knowledge of environmental processes, modeling structure, computational restrictions, and problems with data/observations due to measurement error or missingness. Many methodologies capable of quantifying uncertainty have been developed in the scientific literature. Examples of such methods are BNs, which utilize conditional probability tables to describe the relationships among variables. This doctoral dissertation demonstrates ivEstuaries interfacing with the land, atmosphere and open oceans can be influenced in a variety of ways by anthropogenic activities. Centuries of overexploitation, habitat transformation, and pollution have degraded estuarine ecological health. Key concerns of public and environmental managers of estuaries include water quality, particularly the enrichment of nutrients, increased chlorophyll a concentrations, increased hypoxia/anoxia, and increased Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). One reason for the increased nitrogen loading over the past two decades is the proliferation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in coastal areas. This dissertation documents a study of estuarine eutrophication modeling, including modeling of major source of nitrogen in the watershed, the use of the Bayesian Networks (BNs) for modeling eutrophication dynamics in an estuary, a documentation of potential problems of using BNs, and a continuous BN model for addressing these problems. Environmental models have emerged as great tools to transform data into useful information for managers and policy makers. Environmental models contain uncertainty due to natural ecosystems variability, current knowledge of environmental processes, modeling structure, computational restrictions, and problems with data/observations due to measurement error or missingness. Many methodologies capable of quantifying uncertainty have been developed in the scientific literature. Examples of such methods are BNs, which utilize conditional probability tables to describe the relationships among variables. This doctoral dissertation demonstrates iv how BNs, as probabilistic models, can be used to model eutrophication in estuarine ecosystems and to explore the effects of plausible future climatic and nutrient pollution management scenarios on water quality indicators. The results show interaction among various predictors and their impact on ecosystem health. The synergistic effects between nutrient concentrations and climate variability caution future management actions. BNs have several distinct strengths such as the ability to update knowledge based on Bayes' theorem, modularity, accommodation of various knowledge sources and data types, suitability to both data-rich and data-poor systems, and incorporation of uncertainty. Further, BNs' graphical representation facilitates communicating models and results with environmental managers and decision-makers. However, BNs have certain drawbacks as well. For example, they can only handle continuous variables under severe restrictions (1Each continuous variable be assigned a (linear) conditional Normal distribution; 2No discrete variable have continuous parents). The solution, thus far, to address this constraint has been discretizing variables. I designed an experiment to evaluate and compare the impact of common discretization methods on BNs. The results indicate that the choice of discretization method severely impacts the model results; however, I was unable to provide any criteria to select an optimal discretization method. Finally, I propose a continuous variable Bayesian Network methodology and demonstrate its application for water quality modeling in estuarine ecosystems. The proposed method retains advantageous characteristics of BNs, while it avoids the drawbacks of discretization by specifying the relationships among the nodes using statistical and conditional probability models. The Bayesian nature of the proposed model enables prompt investigation of observed patterns, as new conditions unfold. The network structure presents the underlying ecological ecosystem processes and provides a basis for science communication. I demonstrate model development and v temporal updating using the New River Estuary, NC data set and spatial updating using the Neuse River Estuary, NC data set.


The nonlinear fluctuation and uncertainty that characterize urban traffic flow are well-known. An Improved Cuckoo Search-Wavelet Neural Network (ICS-WNN) prediction model for urban traffic flow is suggested in order to increase the accuracy of traffic flow predictions. After the original traffic flow data have been cleaned up and normalized, the traffic flow prediction network model is built by optimizing the wavelet neural network weights and wavelet shrinkage and translation factors based on the adaptive step size and discovery probability of the cuckoo algorithm, and then adding the neural network momentum factor. The traffic flow prediction network model is built in two stages. The results of the experimental simulations demonstrate that the ICS-WNN prediction algorithm has a better fit and accuracy than numerous common optimization prediction techniques, which is encouraging.


Based on the single abrasive particle motion locus of elliptical spiral in two-dimensional ultrasonic vibration grinding (WTDUVG), the theoretical model representing the material removal rate are deduced and verified, and the reason of high efficiency material removal by applying two-dimensional ultrasonic vibration is analyzed. Finally, experimental researches on material removal rate of ceramics were carried out using coarse grit diamond wheel both with and without workpiece two-dimensional ultrasonic vibration assistance grinding. Experimental results indicated that (1) Material removal rate (MRR) in vibration grinding process is about 1.5 times as large as that of in conventional grinding, the experimental results are in good agreement with the calculated ones. (2)The material removal rate increases along with increases of the grinding depth and workpiece velocity both in with and without vibration grinding. (3)The vibration grinding surface had no spur and build-up edge and its surface roughness was smaller than CG significantly. Surface quality of WTDUVG is superior to that of conventional grinding, it is easy for ultrasonic vibration grinding that material removal mechanism is ductile regime grinding.


BACKGROUND
Plague is endemic in China, Mongolia, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, large parts of Southern Africa, the United States and South America. There are three types of vaccines (live attenuated, killed and F1 fraction) with varying means of administration.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this review was to assess the effects of vaccines to prevent plague.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and reference lists of articles. We handsearched the journal 'Vaccine' and contacted experts in the field.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised trials comparing live and killed plague vaccines against no intervention, placebo, other plague vaccines or vaccines against other disease (control vaccines).

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Three reviewers assessed the eligibility of trials.

MAIN RESULTS
No trials were included.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
There is not enough evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of any plague vaccine, or the relative effectiveness between vaccines and their tolerability. Circumstantial data from observational studies suggest that killed types may be more effective and have fewer adverse effects than attenuated types of vaccine. No evidence appears to exist on the long-term effects of any plague vaccine.


A method for modelling the class of discrete-event systems that characterise flowlines is developed. The legal languages are modelled as a set of inequalities, which effectively reduces the amount of memory needed for implementing the resulting supervisors, called inequality supervisors. An example demonstrates that the use of inequality supervisors can lead to an implementation where the memory usage is significantly reduced compared to both centralised and modular supervisors. In this way, the state-space explosion is mitigated by the approach presented here. Furthermore, the approach indicates that the solution can be implemented in a distributed control architecture utilising DES concepts such as nonconflicting and nonblocking


Numerous examinations have featured the significance of physical movement for wellbeing and late proof currently indicates the positive changes related with exercise in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Be that as it may, couple of doctors will recommend exercise as a therapy for diabetic patients. Moreover, there is an absence of data on the best way to execute exercise therapy particularly in long haul exercise regimens. The motivation behind this composition is to condense measures of exercise therapy for patients with T2DM. We present subtle elements of the exercise treatments utilized in long haul ponders, depicting how the parameters for exercise medicine were connected in clinical practice. These parameters are depicted as far as recurrence, force, length, mode and rate of movement in long haul restorative medicines. Singular reactions to exercise measurement are talked about and basic issues to be considered in patients with hidden disease and in T2DM patients are featured. ---------------------------♦-----------------------------


pH determination is a strong prerequisite for many biochemical and biological processes. We used two methods, namely, the electrochemical potential method (experimental) and site binding method (theoretical), to study the sensitivity of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods grown on two-dimensional macroporous periodic structures (2DMPPS) (p-and n-type) and plane n-type Si substrates for use as an intracellular pH sensing device. The dimension of these nanorods varied in radius between 50 and 300 nm and lengths of 1–10 μm. We found that the sensitivity of ZnO nanorods increases with reductions in size, from 35 mV/pH for D=300 nm and L=10 μm, to 58 mV/pH for D=50 nm and L=1 μm, using the site binding model. The experimental electrochemical potential difference for the ZnO nanorods working electrode versus Ag/AgCl reference electrode showed a high sensitivity range for ZnO nanorods grown on 2DMPPS n-Si substrate as compared to plane n-Si at room temperature for pH ranging from 4 to 12 in buffer and NaCl solutions.


Purpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) begins in childhood primarily due to exposure to lifestyle-mediated risk factors such as inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Endothelial dysfunction is one of the earliest events in the development of CVD. Self-reported light intensity physical activity (LIPA) is positively associated with endothelial function (EF) in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between objectively measured physical activity (PA) and EF in healthy male adolescents.
Methods: Low (n=8, VO2max = 40.4 ± 2.3 mL.kg1.min-1), moderate CRF (n=12,VO2max = 54.6 ± 3.9 mL.kg1.min-1) and high CRF (n=15, VO2max = 63.7 ± 4.0 mL.kg1.min-1) healthy males (mean age 15.77 ± 0.4; yr) participated in the study. High-resolution ultrasonography was used to assess endothelial dependent (EDD) in response to brachial artery flow mediated dilation. Participants wore a tri-axial ActivPAL accelerometer for 6 days. Total time spent in sitting, standing, LIPA, moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) and steps per day was calculated using previously published methodology (Dowd et al., 2012).
Results: EDD was significantly lower in low CRF than the high CRF group. Steps per day were significantly lower in low CRF (9251 ± 4113) than high CRF group (14007 ± 3176) (p<0.005). Time in sitting was significantly higher in low CRF than high CRF group (p<0.028). MVPA was significantly lower in low CRF than high CRF group (p<0.01). There was no significant difference in standing and LIPA between the groups. There was a significant positive relation between steps per day and % change (r=0.54, p<0.001) and absolute change in EDD (r= 0.60, p<0.001). Sitting was inversely related to % change (r=-0.497, p< 0.002) and absolute change in EDD (r=-0.49, p<0.003). There was a significant positive relation between MVPA and % change (r=0.47, p<0.005) and absolute change in EDD (r=0.57 p<0.000).
Conclusion: There was a significant difference in steps per day, time spent sitting and in MVPA between low CRF and high CRF. MVPA was positively associated with EF in healthy adolescent males.


Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to public health that calls for urgent attention. However, creating campaigns to slow the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens is challenging because the goal—antibiotic stewardship—encompasses multiple behaviors. This study provided a novel approach to audience segmentation for a multifaceted goal, by using a person-centered approach to identify profiles of U.S. adults based on shared stewardship intentions. The latent class analysis identified three groups: stewards, stockers, and demanders. The findings suggest campaigns with goals aimed at encouraging stewards to follow through on their intentions, encouraging stockers to dispose of their leftover antibiotics, and convincing demanders to accept providers' evidence-based judgment when a prescription for antibiotics is not indicated. Covariate analysis showed that people who held more inaccurate beliefs about what antibiotics can treat had higher odds of being demanders and stockers instead of stewards. People with stronger health mavenism also had higher odds of being stockers instead of stewards. The covariate analysis provided theoretical insight into the strategies to pursue in campaigns targeting these 3 groups.


A planar array of electrodes has been used to provide a longitudinal section of the stomach. Impedance changes at the gastric frequency of 0.05 Hz can be detected. The changes are mainly located around the periphery of the stomach image, suggesting that they are the result of movement of the stomach wall. The generation of a vector histogram of wall movement gives a noninvasive method which appears to quantify the peristaltic waves which produce transport in the stomach.