Introduction Household drinking water can be contaminated by diarrheagenic enteropathogens at numerous points between the source and actual consumption. Interventions to prevent this contamination have focused on preventing exposure to human waste through interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). In many cases though, the infectious agent may be of zoonotic rather than human origin suggesting that unsafely managed animal waste may contribute to the contamination of household drinking water and the associated diarrheal disease burden. Methods A cross-sectional household survey of 800 households was conducted across three informal peri-urban neighborhoods of Kisumu, Kenya, collecting stored drinking water samples, administering a household survey including water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and behaviors, and recording domestic animal presence and ownership. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the association of traditional WASH factors and domestic animal presence and ownership on microbial contamination of household drinking water. Results The majority of households sampled had fecally contaminated drinking water (67%), defined by the presence of any colony forming units of the fecal indicator bacteria enterococci. After adjustment for potential confounders, including socio-economic status and water and sanitation access, both household animal ownership (aOR 1.31; CI 1.00–1.73, p = 0.05) and the presence of animal waste in the household compound (aOR 1.38; CI 1.01, 1.89, p = 0.04) were found to be significantly associated with household drinking water contamination. None of the conventional WASH variables were found to be significantly associated with household drinking water contamination in the study population. Conclusions Water, sanitation, and hygiene strategies to reduce diarrheal disease should consider the promotion of safe animal contact alongside more traditional interventions focusing on the management of human waste. Future research on fecal contamination of unsafe household drinking water should utilize host-specific markers to determine whether the source is human or animal to prepare targeted public health messages.


A method for material fragmentation based on Lagrangian FEM with the concept of nodes separation is proposed. This method is consisted of nodes separation mechanism and elements distortion erosion. In the simulation the nodes of failure elements are separated to form crack and distorted elements are detected and eliminated to prevent singularity. Nodes separation method can greatly improve the energy loss disadvantage in the failure erosion method. Based on LS-dyna secondary development the method is implemented. Hypervelocity impact problem of satellite protective structure is simulated and compared to experimental data for calibration. The performance of multi layer aluminum mesh shield under hypervelocity impact is also evaluated. The results show the high efficiency and applicability of nodes separation method in practical problems.


We studied PRL release from individual pituitary cells in normal and estrogen (E2)-treated female Fischer 344 rats by means of a reverse hemolytic plaque assay. In this assay, the area of the hemolytic plaque around a pituitary cell is proportional to the amount of hormone secreted from the cell. Multimodal distribution of the plaque area was observed in normal pituitary cells, and was unchanged in the course of aging. In E2-treated pituitary cells, bimodal distribution was found. The heterogeneity of the distribution pattern (functional heterogeneity) and PRL secretion from a single pituitary cell decreased in association with the length of E2 treatment. The mean plaque area for the E2-treated pituitary cells was smaller than that for the normal pituitary cells. These results suggest that in E2-treated pituitary cells, the functional heterogeneity and PRL release from a single cell decrease as tumorigenesis progresses.


2 Abstract: In general, the field of physical planning is multidisciplinary in nature and is concerned with planning of landuse, environment, infrastructure, transport networks, housing, etc., to meet the present and future needs of the people. One of the biggest challenges is teaching the fundamentals to the student beginners, thus orienting them towards such a multidisciplinary and dynamic field. In most institutes offering planning education in India, the fundamentals are taught through the studio on graphics and presentation techniques. However, the basic curriculum of this studio is most frequently oriented towards and influenced by the field of architecture than physical planning. Due to this, very often the students find it difficult to relate the knowledge gained in the first studio to the subsequent studios of the planning course. This paper attempts to relook at the pedagogy adopted for teaching the fundamentals of physical planning education. For this purpose, the authors discuss the most frequently adopted methods of teaching the first planning studio highlighting their merits and demerits. In this paper, the authors share their own pedagogical experimentation in teaching this studio. After a comprehensive review and analysis of various teaching approaches including the learnings from the experimentation, the authors emphasise a need for paradigm shift in pedagogy for the first planning studio, thus orienting the students more towards the field of physical planning.


Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a proinflammatory cytokine, is now emerging as an important modulator of the function of the CNS. Methamphetamine (METH) is a widely abused psychostimulant that causes euphoria, hyperactivity, and drug dependence. High doses of METH cause long-term neurotoxicity in dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we investigated a role of TNF-alpha in METH-induced dependence and neurotoxicity. Repeated treatment with METH (2 mg/kg for 5 d) in rats induced a significant increase in TNF-alpha mRNA and protein expression in the brain. Exogenous TNF-alpha (1-4 microg) blocked locomotor-stimulating and rewarding effects of METH, as well as METH (4 mg/kg; four times at 2 hr intervals)-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity in mice. To examine a role of endogenous TNF-alpha in behavioral and neurochemical effects of METH, we used mice with targeted deletions of the TNF-alpha gene. TNF-alpha-(-/-) mice showed enhanced responses to the locomotor-sensitizing, rewarding, and neurotoxic effects of METH compared with wild-type mice. We also examined the role of TNF-alpha in METH-induced dopamine (DA) release and uptake in vitro and in vivo in C57BL/6 mice. Exogenous TNF-alpha (4 microg) attenuated the METH-induced increase in extracellular striatal DA in vivo and potentiated striatal DA uptake into synaptosomes in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, TNF-alpha activated vesicular DA uptake by itself and diminished the METH-induced decrease in vesicular DA uptake. Our findings suggest that TNF-alpha plays a neuroprotective role in METH-induced drug dependence and neurotoxicity by activating plasmalemmal and vesicular DA transporter as well as inhibiting METH-induced increase in extracellular DA levels.


The discovery of cave paintings made by our Upper Paleolithic ancestors in Western Europe was an astonishing find – so astonishing, that they were originally believed to have been fakes. However, as more sites were uncovered, their authenticity was confirmed. But how could these people, who at the time of the discovery were believed to be merely dumb brutes, create such beautiful and naturalistic representations? And an even more difficult question to answer was, why? In this thesis I examine the phenomenon of Paleolithic cave art and what it might be able to tell us about the minds of the Cro-Magnon artists who produced it. I survey the paintings that have so far been discovered, as well as the processes involved in creating them. I also discuss and critique a selection of the many theories that have attempted to explain the motivation behind this radically different type of human behaviour. But due to the lack of hard evidence, none of these theories are ever likely to be fully substantiated. So a more promising line of investigation I take is to appraise the cognitive abilities Cro-Magnons would have needed to produce the paintings – and this then allows me to consider whether cave art was indicating any new cognitive development. I therefore highlight one of the effects that creating cave paintings had: it allowed information from the brain to be stored in the environment. But the manner in which this form of epistemic engineering might enhance human cognition is a hotly debated subject. I examine two theories: the extended mind hypothesis, and the theory of niche construction. In concluding this thesis, I argue that cave art seems more like an example of epistemic niche construction than a constituent of an extended mind.


Symmetric bifunctional molecule-linked nanogap structures have been frequently used in nanoelectronics, it is still challenging to discriminate the phenomenon that happened at both interfacial regions with subnanoscale resolution. Here, we fabricated platinum-silver or silver-platinum heterogeneous nanogap structures using a symmetric isocyanide terminated molecule, and using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, we investigated the electrochemical potential-dependent change in the two distinguishable isocyanide stretching bands in such structures. Counterintuitively, we observed that the isocyanide group at the nanoparticle surface experiences more enhanced effective potential than the one at the plate surface, and this is attributed to the nanoparticle-induced effects rather than the potential drop that conventionally occurred due to molecular resistance. Our study provides a novel strategy allowing the subnanoscale investigation of numerous interfacial phenomena, which could not be achieved via conventional spectroscopic techniques.


In this research, we investigated the luminance efficiency of the computerized embroidery methods applied to flexible plastic optical fiber (POF) for realization of the textile display. Due to the nature of the flexible POF being similar to that of textile yarn, it has been possible to realize a flexible textile display by application of some adjusted fabrication methods. However, besides the simple property of flexibility, two requirements are still demanded for the flexible POF-based textile display: high luminance and the method for realization of pixels in a display. Among the fabrication methods, machine embroidery has feasibility to realize relatively higher luminance of flexible POF-based textiles through a simple procedure. The aim of this study is to evaluate of the feasibility of the embroidery method for the flexible POF-based textile display in terms of luminance, and an approach for a suitable condition in the embroidery method to realize the textile display. To do this, four embroidery methods, in which bending angles from around 90° to around 180° were applied to the flexible POF, were developed in this study. The measurement method was conducted identically on two types of POFs (flexible POFs and non-flexible POFs). The measurement points were selected in consideration of the distance from the light source and the rotation angle of the embroidery, depending on each embroidery design. Based on the resulting luminance efficiency according to the four embroidery methods, suitable conditions for the embroidery method to realize a relatively higher level of luminance for the textile display were suggested.


In this paper a line excited cage generator is considered which is connected with the grid through a bidirectional PWM converter-inverter system. The generator is controlled by indirect field oriented control (IFOC) scheme. Fuzzy logic controllers (FLC) are used for the control purpose. The first FLC is used in the outer speed loop to track the generator speed with the reference speed for maximum power extraction and the second and third FLCs are used in the inner current loops for control of active and reactive power. The FLCs use normalized values of error and change of error as their inputs. The outputs of the FLCs are again multiplied with gains to give the control signals. A trapezoidal membership function is taken for the error input and triangular membership functions are taken for change of error as well as output. Again a robust self tuned fuzzy logic controller (STFLC) scheme is used in place of the FLCs. In this scheme a tuning FLC (TFLC) is used to tune the output gain of the main FLC. The inputs to both the FLCs are normalized values of error and change of error. The output of the TFLC is the output gain of the main FLC. The main FLC is similar to the FLC as discussed in the previous scheme. In the TFLC triangular membership functions are used for all input as well as output variables. The performances of both the schemes are simulated and a comparison is given. The simulation work is done in MATLAB coding environment.


Sweat deposited via Latent Fingerprints (LFPs) was previously used to detect cocaine, opioids, cannabis and amphetamine via a point-of-care test (POCT). This screening method combined non-invasive sampling with a rapid result turnaround to produce a qualitative result outside of the laboratory. We report the novel application of a LFP drug screening test in a social care setting. Clients were tested on either an ad-hoc or routine basis using the POCT DOA114 (Intelligent Fingerprint Ltd.) drug screening cartridge. Screening cut-off values were 45, 35 and 95 pg/fingerprint for benzoylecgonine (BZE), morphine and amphetamine analytes, respectively. Confirmation LFP samples (DOA150, Intelligent Fingerprinting Ltd.) and oral fluid (OF) were analysed using UPLC-MS/MS. Thirty-six clients aged 36 ± 11 years participated (53% females). Individuals self-reported alcohol consumption (39%) and smoking (60%). Of 131 screening tests collected over 8 weeks: 14% were positive for cocaine; 2% for opioids; 1% amphetamine. Polydrug use was indicated in 10% of tests. Of 32 LFP confirmation tests, 63% were positive for cocaine and BZE. Opioids were also detected (31%) with the metabolite 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM) being the most common (16%). In OF, cocaine was the dominant analyte (9%) followed 6-MAM (5%). Comparing positive LFP screening tests with positive OF samples found 39% and 38% were cocaine and opiate positive respectively. Out of the drugs screened for via the LFP POCT, cocaine was the most prevalent analyte in LFP and OF confirmation samples. The study is a step change in the routine drug screening procedures in a social care setting: especially useful for on-site cocaine detection in clients whose drug use was being monitored. Additionally, testing was easily accepted by clients and social care workers.


Lacquer sap extracted from lacquer trees exhibits good thermal stabilities and antimicrobial properties. To apply these superior properties to functional packaging, polyurushiol (YPUOH) powders were prepared and blended into LDPE (low density poly- ethylene) to prepare three different LDPE/YPUOH composite films via a twin screw extruder system. Their morphology, ther- mal and antimicrobial properties as well as barrier properties of the LDPE/YPUOH composite films were thoroughly inves- tigated to find out applicablities of the films as functional packaging materials. Although the interfacial interaction between LDPE and YPUOH was relatively weak, LDPE/YPUOH composite films exhibited good dispersion of YPUOH in LDPE, resulting in the enhanced thermal stability with YPUOH loading. Due to the good antibacterial property of as-prepared YPUOH, LDPE/YUOH composite films also showed an excellent antibacterial activity (R) of 99.9% against E. coli. Furthermore, the moisture barrier property of LDPE/YPUOH composite films increased with increasing YPUOH contents. Incorporating the relatively low amount of YPUOH in LDPE resulted in the apparent enhancement in thermal stabilities, anti- bacterial and moisture barrier properties, which made them promising candidates as a functional filler for packaging materials.


We introduce MAgent, a platform to support research and development of many-agent reinforcement learning. Unlike previous research platforms on single or multi-agent reinforcement learning, MAgent focuses on supporting the tasks and the applications that require hundreds to millions of agents. Within the interactions among a population of agents, it enables not only the study of learning algorithms for agents' optimal polices, but more importantly, the observation and understanding of individual agent's behaviors and social phenomena emerging from the AI society, including communication languages, leaderships, altruism. MAgent is highly scalable and can host up to one million agents on a single GPU server. MAgent also provides flexible configurations for AI researchers to design their customized environments and agents. In this demo, we present three environments designed on MAgent and show emerged collective intelligence by learning from scratch.


Animals are exploited by man for several different purposes. According to many, society should be concerned about the welfare of these animals. Currently, an increasing need exists to be able to assess and improve animal welfare. In this thesis a concept of welfare is applied that states that 'welfare is determined by the balance between positive and negative experiences'. This definition implies that an interaction exists between stress- and reward systems in the brain and that negative experiences can be compensated by positive experiences.
This thesis describes a study that investigates whether the spontaneous behavioural response that animals display when they expect a reward (anticipatory behaviour) can be used as a welfare indicator. This concept is based on existing knowledge about the influence of previous experiences such as stress on the sensitivity for rewards in both man and animals. The response (i.e. sensitivity) to rewards can therefore be indicative of previous experiences and may therefore be a tool to assess the state of an animal in terms of welfare. In this study the rat is used as a model and reward-sensitivity is determined by anticipatory behaviour which is evoked in this animal by classical conditioning. This means that through regular pairings of a stimulus (sound and/or light) with the arrival of a reward, the animal will form an association between this stimulus and the reward. Subsequently, the animal will display anticipatory behaviour at the presentation of the stimulus. This behavioural response can be investigated in the interval between the announcement and the actual arrival of the reward and is characterised by an increase in activity. This anticipatory increase in activity is determined by means of the analysis of the total frequency of all displayed behavioural elements.
The results show that previous experiences influence anticipatory behaviour for a reward and, thus, that this spontaneous behavioural response may serve as a welfare indicator. Furthermore, it became apparent that regular reward-announcements can counteract the consequences of stress. Interestingly, a reward in the form of an enriched cage (cage with several objects to increase the possibilities for species-specific behaviour) could even reverse the effects of chronic stress (depressive-like symptoms).
Summarizing, the results described in this thesis indicate that announcing and presenting rewards may be a useful tool to both measure and improve welfare of animals. Important to note is the fact that this tool is based on the spontaneous behavioural response of animals and is therefore, in contrast to the nowadays mostly used invasive and stressful methods, a non-invasieve method to assess welfare. Furthermore, the results indicate that enrichment of the currently used poor housing conditions of laboratory rats (and probably also other animals) can serve to counteract stress (e.g. induced by experimental procedures) and, thus, may be a simple first step to take to improve animal welfare.


Article Details: Received: 2018-07-05 | Accepted: 2018-10-09 | Available online: 2019-01-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2019.22.01.1-6 This study was designed to compare between the effects of subcutaneous injection of ivermectin at the left neck region versus behind the left elbow on the acute behavioural and biochemical responses of sheep, with the aim of selecting the most suitable injection strategy causing the least adverse effects on the animal health and welfare. Twenty-five sheep were assigned to 5 groups: one control group (C, without injection), and two groups injected with 0.9% NaCl either at neck (SN) or elbow (SE), and two groups injected with ivermectin (IVM) at a dose of 0.2 mg kg -1 BW either at neck (IN) or elbow (IE). Results reflected that head shaking and neck scratching showed significant increases in the IN group, while standing was significantly lower in the IE group compared to the C group. 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The Model of Action Phases (Gollwitzer, 1990, 2012) distinguishes an implemental mindset evoked by planning goal-directed actions, from a deliberative mindset evoked by pondering pros/cons of adopting a particular goal. The present research demonstrates that mindsets affect time predictions. In Study 1 (N = 151), participants in an implemental mindset made shorter time predictions with respect to completing personal goals than participants in a deliberative mindset. In Study 2 (N = 78), we tested a mediating mechanism for the mindset effect by varying the motivation to return a report. The mindset effect was replicated in the low- but not in the high-motivation condition with participants in an implemental mindset returning the report earlier, and being as accurate in their predictions as participants in a deliberative mindset. Results indicate that an implemental (vs. deliberative) mindset increases motivation and therefore leads to shorter, but equally biased time predictions.


Objective To review the cost effectiveness of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatments and inform the clinical recommendations by the European League Against Rheumatism. Methods A systematic literature search and review of the health economic evidence on RA treatment options was performed. Results Despite diverse methodological approaches, health economic analyses are concordant: at onset of disease, traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are cost effective—that is, treatment merits outweigh treatment costs. If DMARDs fail, therapeutic escalation with tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors (TNFi) is cost effective when standard dosing schemes are employed. If TNFi fail, rituximab or abatacept is cost effective. Economic evidence for switching TNFi remains sparse. Conclusions The costly sequelae of insufficiently controlled RA justify intensive escalations of treatment in this disease. By maintaining function, patients are kept in the work process, reducing indirect costs. Quality of life is improved at an expense commonly accepted for chronic diseases. Effective control of disease activity seems to be a prudent use of societal resources.


This study proposes a methodology to determine the origin of industrial emissions in order to attribute responsibility to the industries that pollute nearby towns. The methodology has been applied to the industrial area on the northeastern coast of Venezuela. This area is close to six densely populated towns. The study also gives the estimated PM(subscript 10) and SO2 levels in the towns adjacent to 11 industries, through modeling the dispersion of air pollutants from stationary sources. The model used has been the Lagrangian particle model LADISMO. The results are discussed by comparing the estimated values by the model with the limits proposed by the World Health Organization and United States Environmental Protection Agency.


A prospective clinical study has been undertaken to determine the rate of clinical cystoid macular edema in a population that has had intracapsular cataract extraction with the implantation of an iris-supported posterior lens. Transient cystoid macular edema developed in 7.2% of the patients in this study, and persistent cystoid macular edema developed in 1.02% of the patients. A chi 2 test shows that there is no significant difference in the rates of transient and persistent cystoid macular edema in this group with intracapsular cataract extraction and a group reported in the literature who had extracapsular cataract extraction and the implantation of a Shearing lens.


Abstract Ice-rafted tephra deposits, of Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age, from Site U 1304 on the Gardar Drift, North Atlantic were examined for their shard size distribution and major element composition. The heterogeneous composition, large shard sizes and association with ice-rafted debris (IRD) indicate that these late MIS 6 deposits were transported by iceberg-rafting from Iceland to Site U 1304. Comparison of individual shard geochemistry with the geochemistry of Holocene volcanic systems from Iceland allows the identification of different potential volcanic source regions. This detailed geochemical analysis, when combined with Icelandic Ice Sheet (IIS) flow models for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), suggests that the IIS had calving margins to both the north and south during the late MIS 6 and that icebergs could have been transported to the Site U 1304 by following surface ocean circulation patterns similar to those that prevailed during the LGM. We demonstrate that the descriptive concept of Icelandic glass in the characterization of tephra components within North Atlantic IRD can be significantly improved through quantitative characterization and that such data hold the potential to help constrain surface ocean circulation models, while also potentially yielding new information about the IIS during earlier glacial periods. Supplementary material: Statistical tests, major element concentrations of analysed shards, primary and secondary standards are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18716


Many protein and amino acid supplements are touted as being able to maximize the gains achieved from resistance exercise by preventing muscle protein catabolism and stimulating anabolism. If effective, such supplements would be useful not only for athletes and for those trying to increase their fat free mass, but also for patients recovering from injuries or burns and for the prevention of aging-associated muscle loss. It has been shown that intravenous infusion or oral administration of complete mixtures of amino acids has a positive effect on muscle protein synthesis and net muscle anabolism following exercise. Since nonessential amino acids are synthesized by the body in response to resistance exercise, administration of essential amino acids only following exercise has the same positive anabolic effect on muscle as complete amino acid supplementation. Furthermore, oral administration of whole proteins following training has a similar anabolic effect, as whole proteins such as whey and casein are also effective sources of essential amino acids. In addition to mixed amino acid and whole protein supplements, a number of single amino acids are marketed as having anti-catabolic and/or anabolic effects on muscle protein, including glutamine, asparagine, ornithine, and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). Among these, only HMB has been shown to have positive effects on gains in muscle strength and fat free mass versus placebo in combination with a program of resistance exercise. In summary, supplementation with essential amino acids, whole proteins, and HMB in conjunction with resistance training can maximize the gains of exercise alone.


Cesarean sections are the most commonly performed surgery in the USA. Changing poli- cies and clinical information have resulted in improved outcomes for both mothers and babies. We describe evidence-based best practices for a multi-strategy approach to reduce cesarean section rates, increasing safety and success of vaginal births after cesarean section, decreasing complication rates in higher order cesarean sections, and accurate estimations of blood loss. In addition, we present a novel approach of utilizing venous lactate levels to identify the need for blood transfusions in the resuscitation of women with postpar- tum hemorrhage. Given that pregnancy is a life event, we describe increased self-reported stress levels in women during pregnancy and after the birth. In summary, adoption of the best practices outlined herein will greatly enhance the safe practice of cesarean sections.


We evaluated the effect of three variables (cryoprotectant temperature, light regime, and time of exposure to the cryoprotectant) throughout the equilibrium period during cryopreservation on the viability of the microalga Chaetoceros calcitrans (Paulsen). For this, the cryoprotectant dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 5% (v/v) was added at three different temperatures (4, 10, and 25oC) before placing the microalgae in cryobiological straws for freezing. Once inside the cryobiological straws, the microalgal-cryoprotectant suspensions were subjected to the following light regimes for 15 or 45 min: complete light, complete darkness, light/darkness, and darkness/light. Suspensions were then frozen under controlled conditions and stored in liquid nitrogen. The viability index proposed by Canavate & Lubian (1995b) was used to measure microalgal viability after cryopreservation. Results indicated that it is necessary to use a cryoprotectant to ensure the viable cryopreservation of C. calcitrans. Statistical analyses showed that the temperature of the DMSO influenced the viability of cryopreserved microalgae and that there was no synergistic effect between the other variables studied. The viabilities obtained with DMSO at 25oC, 10oC, and 4oC were 34.9%, 27.8%, and 20.6%, respectively.


An electronically reconfigurable transmitarray device at 12 GHz is presented in this work. This paper highlights the functioning of this kind of device and thoroughly examines the proposed reconfigurable transmitarray. The architecture is discussed along with the design and selection of all the constituting elements and the prototypes for all of them. In order to add reconfigurability to the transmitarray structure, 360° reflective phase shifters were designed, prototyped and validated for direct application. Eventually, a demonstrative prototype for an active transmitarray with phase shifters was assembled, and radiation pattern measurements were taken in an anechoic chamber to demonstrate the capabilities of this structure.


Background and Purpose— The capillary index score (CIS) is based on the hypothesis that areas lacking capillary blush on pretreatment cerebral digital subtraction angiograms correspond to nonviable cerebral tissue. Methods— Pretreatment digital subtraction angiograms and post-treatment noncontrast enhanced computed tomographic scans from the MR CLEAN (Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands) trial were evaluated for areas lacking capillary blush and with tissue hypodensity, respectively. Because the superior and middle zones of the CIS correspond to the 7 cerebral cortex regions of the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT (ASPECT) score, capillary blush was scored in these 2 zones (0–2), called sub-CIS, and compared with the ASPECT score in these 7 regions (0–7), called hypodensity score. The presence and extent of hypodensity were compared between sub-CIS zones with contingency tables and nonparametric comparisons between groups, respectively. Results— On the basis of a sample size of 50 subjects, 100% with sub-CIS <2 had the presence of hypodensity (hypodensity score ≥1) versus 57% for sub-CIS=2 (P=0.004). The extent of hypodensity (numeric hypodensity score) was significantly lower for sub-CIS=2 than 0 or 1 (P=0.02). For 42 subjects with revascularization data, the presence and extent of hypodensity were significantly lower for sub-CIS=2 plus good revascularization than for other combinations of sub-CIS and revascularization (P=0.02 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusions— The absence of capillary blush on pretreatment digital subtraction angiogram seems to correspond to nonviable cerebral tissue. Successful revascularization reduces the chance of tissue hypodensity (infarction), when capillary blush is present. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.trialregister.nl. Unique identifier: NTR number 1804. URL: http://www.isrctn.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN10888758.


The goal of this review is to present the embodied character of emotionally-connoted language through the study of the mutual influences of affective language and motor action. After a brief definition of the embodied approach of cognition, the activity of language understanding is presented as an off-line embodied process implying sensory-motor resonance. Then the bidirectional character of influences between language and action will be addressed in both behavioral and neuropsychological studies, illustrated by the specific case of emotionally-connoted language. These reciprocal effects are grounded on the motor correspondence between action and the motor dimension of language, emerging from a diversity of source such as adaptive motivation, past experiences, body specificities, or motor fluency.


Botnet is a kind of computer clusters which hackers have controlled by one to many command channels for malicious purposes. Using a botnet, hacker can conduct the denial of service attacks, send massive spam and steal confidential personal easily. A Botnet's control channel by the initial based on IRC protocol has become complicated channel based on HTTP. This paper introduces the control mechanism of HTTP-based botnet. In addition, this paper also analyzes a kind of botnet based on http protocol--Zeus. By setting up experimental environment, configuring Zeus tool and analyzing network traffic, we are able to understand the working mechanism of Zeus and the working principle of botnet based on HTTP protocol.


The study of endoxylanases as catalysts to valorize hemicellulosic residues and to obtain glycosides with improved properties is a topic of great industrial interest. In this work, a GH10 β-1,4-endoxylanase (XynSOS), from the ascomycetous fungus Talaromyces amestolkiae, has been heterologously produced in Pichia pastoris, purified, and characterized. rXynSOS is a highly glycosylated monomeric enzyme of 53 kDa that contains a functional CBM1 domain and shows its optimal activity on azurine cross-linked (AZCL)–beechwood xylan at 70 °C and pH 5. Substrate specificity and kinetic studies confirmed its versatility and high affinity for beechwood xylan and wheat arabinoxylan. Moreover, rXynSOS was capable of transglycosylating phenolic compounds, although with low efficiencies. For expanding its synthetic capacity, a glycosynthase variant of rXynSOS was developed by directed mutagenesis, replacing its nucleophile catalytic residue E236 by a glycine (rXynSOS-E236G). This novel glycosynthase was able to synthesize β-1,4-xylooligosaccharides (XOS) of different lengths (four, six, eight, and ten xylose units), which are known to be emerging prebiotics. rXynSOS-E236G was also much more active than the native enzyme in the glycosylation of a broad range of phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties. The interesting capabilities of rXynSOS and its glycosynthase variant make them promising tools for biotechnological applications.


Cash flow and balance sheet insolvency tests are the two predominant means of determining insolvency. A company is cash flow or commercially insolvent if it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Balance sheet or technical insolvency occurs where the value of a company's assets is less than the amount of its liabilities, taking into account both contingent and prospective liabilities. The term liabilities is broader than debts as it encompasses liquidated and unliquidated liabilities arising from contracts, tort, restitution etc.

Commercial insolvency is clearly the more prominent of the tests. In its analysis of resolving insolvency in assessing ease of doing business in Nigeria in 2019, the World Bank Group stated the basis for insolvency proceedings in Nigeria as being inability to pay debts as they mature. This typifies a widely held misconception that technical insolvency is not recognized under Nigerian law.

Establishing commercial insolvency is comparatively easier. Commercial insolvency may be established by the neglect of a debtor to pay a single due debt. In the context of restructuring, a creditor's immediate concern is often the debtor's ability to make payments as they mature as opposed to whether its assets are sufficient to meet its present and future liabilities. Unsurprisingly, virtually all reported cases of winding-up of companies for inability to pay debts are premised on commercial insolvency under section 409(a) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 (CAMA).

Despite its seeming obscurity, balance sheet insolvency test is commonly employed in commercial transactions as an event of default. This provides counterparties with early warning signs in ongoing or long-term contracts where there are no avenues of making demands capable of triggering commercial insolvency.


This study investigated the psychological states underlying excellent performance in 26 athletes (Mage = 29 years, SD = 7.7) across a range of sports (team, net/wall, sprint, endurance, adventure) and standards (world class to recreational). Participants were primarily interviewed on average 4 days after excellent performances. The data were analyzed thematically. Distinct states of flow and clutch were reported, each of which occurred through separate contexts and processes, while athletes also transitioned between states during performance. These findings extend current knowledge of the psychology of excellent performance and are discussed in terms of implications for future research and applied practice.


Central to this thesis are problems in which a group of users can benefit from building and jointly using some kind of infrastructure, be it a set of supply depots, service stations, or a communication or transportation network. We study two important questions related to these kinds of scenarios: (1) how to build the shared facility that satisfies the needs of a given set of users in a cost-effective way, and (2) how to split the cost of the shared facility among the participating users in a fair and reasonable way.
In the first part of the thesis, we seek to design cost sharing functions with desirable game-theoretic properties. We are looking for cost sharing functions that are fair, and encourage cooperation among users. This is captured in the notion of cross-monotonicity: it says that a cost share of any user should never increase as more people join the system, and never decrease when players leave. Towards this end, we develop a new technique to generate such cross-monotonic cost shares using a primal-dual type process, and use it to design cross-monotonic cost shares for several NP-hard optimization problems.
In the second part we proceed in a slightly different direction, applying cost sharing to the design of approximation algorithms. We consider a class of two-stage stochastic problems with recourse. In these problems, we can buy building blocks (edges, facilities, vertices…) in two stages. In the first stage, the elements are relatively inexpensive, but we do not know the requirements of users we will have to serve (we only have a probabilistic forecast of their demands). In the second stage, the actual demands are revealed, and we must buy enough elements (now at a higher price) to satisfy all user demands.
We show that whenever the underlying deterministic problem admits a certain type of cost sharing, an extremely simple strategy gives us good approximation guarantees: in the first stage, take several samples from the forecasted distribution, and build a solution that covers all the sampled clients at the low price. When the real users materialize, augment the first stage solution to cover the actual demands. In this way we obtain constant approximation algorithms for stochastic versions of problems like Uncapacitated Facility Location, Steiner tree, Steiner Forest or Vertex Cover.


This article examines the representation and use of quality time. It brings together an analysis of images tagged and shared under the hashtag #qualitytime on Instagram with an investigation into the trope's resonance in everyday life. In the interviews and profiles studied in this article, people used the term to indicate and display instances of self-determined solitude or of fulfilling conviviality in which mobile phones and social media were conspicuously absent. At the same time, the notion required them to carve out and valorize moments of purpose, a goal that was often unattainable. Use of the hashtag was thus accompanied by both the opportunity and the obligation to aspire to temporary retreats in which free time was employed for meaningful activity. This means that the somewhat pretentious keyword signifies the ideal of temporal autonomy while also pointing to the slim chance of finding uncompromised spells of time within harried leisure.


Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) are treatments used with increasing frequency for a growing number of cancers. As technology develops, so, too, does the complexity of nursing care. In addition, as the number of patients who receive BMT or PBSCT increases, more and more nurses will be involved in their care. Knowledge of what problems to anticipate, comprehensive assessment, clear patient and family education, and strong emotional support provide the key to successful patient management.


Accurately simulating heterogeneously catalyzed reactions requires reliable barriers for molecules reacting at defects on metal surfaces, such as steps. However, first-principles methods capable of computing these barriers to chemical accuracy have yet to be demonstrated. We show that state-resolved molecular beam experiments combined with ab initio molecular dynamics using specific reaction parameter density functional theory (SRP-DFT) can determine the molecule-metal surface interaction with the required reliability. Crucially, SRP-DFT exhibits transferability: the functional devised for methane reacting on a flat (111) face of Pt (and Ni) also describes its reaction on stepped Pt(211) with chemical accuracy. Our approach can help bridge the materials gap between fundamental surface science studies on regular surfaces and heterogeneous catalysis in which defected surfaces are important.


Main objects here are normal-form games, featuring uncertainty and noncooperative players who entertain local visions, form local approximations, and hesitate in making large, swift adjustments. For the purpose of reaching Nash equilibrium, or learning such play, we advocate and illustrate an algorithm that combines stochastic gradient projection with the heavyball method. What emerges is a coupled, constrained, second-order stochastic process. Some friction feeds into and stabilizes myopic approximations. Convergence to Nash play obtains under seemingly weak and natural conditions, an important one being that accumulated marginal payo¤s remains bounded above.


The stringent stability requirements imposed by advanced, high-resolution payloads have
produced an increased interest in the development of better-performing micro-vibration
isolators. Several devices aimed at mitigating micro-vibrations have been studied and
implemented, but their application is still far from being ideal due to the several drawbacks
that they present, such as limited low-frequency attenuation for passive systems or high
power consumption and reliability issues for active systems.
This research focuses on the modelling and testing of Electromagnetic Shunt Dampers
(EMSD) characterised by the use of negative impedance converter circuits. An electromagnetic
damper is a self-excited device that exploits the interaction between a moving
magnetic field and a conductive material to provide a reaction force to the applied motion.
An EMSD presents several advantages, but the high ratio of system mass over damping force
produced has limited its application in space missions. The use of a negative resistance can
considerably lower this ratio since it produces an overall reduction of the circuit resistance
that results in an increase of the induced current in the closed circuit and thus the damping
performance.
In this thesis, the development of a multiphysics, multi-parametric model of an EMSD is
presented and accurately corroborated by an extensive test campaign. This damper can be
classified as a semi-active damper since the negative resistance circuit does not require any
control algorithm to operate. In terms of damping performance, this research demonstrates
that an EMSD applied to a 1-DoF system is capable of behaving, throughout the whole
temperature range of interest, like a 2nd-order mechanical filter in which the resonance
peak is eliminated and the roll-off slope is -40 dB/dec. Additionally, the proposed EMSD is
characterised by low required power, simplified electronics and small device mass that could
allow it to be comfortably integrated on a satellite.
This study presents also a possible novel 2-collinear-DoF system design with embedded
EMSDs. This isolator is capable of achieving a remarkable final decay rate of -80 dB/dec
while completely eliminating the two resonance peaks due to the high attenuation performance
of the dampers. Moreover, other aspects of the proposed 2-collinear-DoF system
are investigated in order to assess not only the damping performance but also its features at
system level. This work demonstrates that the fundamental advantages of this system can
make it a viable, competitive alternative to other actively controlled struts.


Anniversaries for the two founding fathers of geology occurring in the same year prompted a comparative evaluation of how the two contributed to establishing the basic principles of the discipline. To do so, passages from their publications, codices and manuscripts have been quoted directly. The Stenonian principles ('original horizontality', 'original continuity', and 'superposition of individual strata') are present in Leonardo's notebooks amazingly formulated, using similar wording when studying the same area more than 150 years earlier. Also, Stenonian priority in naming and explaining geological concepts and processes (e.g., faulting, folding, angular unconformity, relative chronology) are mirrored in Leonardo's writings and pictorial works. While Steno enjoys priority in stepwise restoration of the geological history of a given region, Leonardo was the first to construct a 3D geological profile representation and geomorphologic maps. Lastly, the paper focuses on diverging stances of the two savants about the Noachian Deluge and the age of the Earth. Already 500 years ago, Leonardo had solved the question of marine fossil remains of organic origin found in the mountains implying the possibility of deep geologic time in a statement of 'eternalism'. 350 years ago, Steno solved the same question in a different way in which he retained a basic role for the Deluge and assumed a short age for the Earth by focusing mainly on short-lived sedimentary and geomorphologic processes.


In this paper the data are analyzed on the human EEG investigation. Significance is shown of parameters of correlative and spectral-coherent EEG functions for the estimation of the brain functional state of healthy people and patients with local cerebral lesions. In the norm, the parameter of the mean coherence is stable, its characteristics correspond to the optimum cortical tone, the most favourable for the performance of the cortical functions. In healthy people unstable, individual, different in different cortical areas changes of the spectrum details, coherence and phases reflect local processes, taking place at the optimum mean level of the coherence and form the cortical mosaic. These two sides of the intercentral relations of the electrical processes (optimum level of coherence and dynamic mosaic of connections of separate rhythms) reflect the most favourable conditions of the nervous processes development. In the brain pathology, different forms are noted of deviations from the system of intercentral relations and levels of coherence of cortical electrical processes.


measurements of albumin excretion, but they present data from only 23 patients, less than 2% of the total population, who each contributed nine urine samples over an unspecified time period. The risk of misclassification on the basis of albumin excretion rates calculated from timed overnight urine collections seems much less. We have measured albumin excretion rate in overnight urine samples collected on two consecutive nights from 211 diabetic patients, 105 insulin dependent and 106 non-insulin dependent, mean age 55 (range 19-81) years and duration of diabetes 21 (8-51) years. This correlation coefficient of albumin excretion rate in the two samples was 0 95 (p<0001). In only seven cases (3-4%) was categorisation different between the two collections, in all cases the change being from normoalbuminuria to microalbuminuria or vice versa (table).


Previous workers have shown that the magnetic local time (MLT) of substorm onset depends on the prevailing east-west component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). To investigate the influence of the onset MLT on the subsequent auroral response we perform a superposed epoch analysis of the auroral evolution during approximately 2000 substorms using observations from the FUV instrument on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft. We subdivide the substorms by onset latitude and onset local time before determining average auroral images before and after substorm onset, for both electron and proton aurorae. We find that during the growth phase there is preexisting auroral emission in the MLT sector of the subsequent onset. After onset the auroral bulge expands eastward and westward, but remains centered on the onset sector. Approximately 30 min after onset, during the substorm recovery phase, the peaks in electron and proton auroral emission move into the postnoon and prenoon sectors, respectively, reflecting the "average" auroral precipitation patterns determined by previous studies. Superposed epoch analysis of the interplanetary magnetic field for the substorms under study suggests that the BY component of the IMF must be biased toward positive or negative values for up to a day prior to onset for the onset MLT to be influenced.


This is a comprehensive manual intended to teach students the basics of communicating in Swahili at an elementary level. It is designed to teach major communicative skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Moreover, the text strives to impart fundamental knowledge about East African and Swahili culture.


Despite its clinical importance in developing artificial bone, limited information is available regarding the microstructure with respect to the fatigue characteristics of bones. In this study, the fatigue characteristics of the bovine humerus and femur were investigated with respect to microstructures. Fatigue tests were conducted on the bovine humerus and femur at a stress ratio of 0.1 and a frequency of 10Hz. The fatigue strength of the plexiform bone is slightly greater than that of the haversian bone. This is because the volume fraction of voids in the haversian bone, which is the site of stress concentration, is higher than that of voids in the plexiform bone. Several microcracks are observed on the fatigue fracture surface of the haversian bone. The microcracks are short and their propagation directions are random. However, the number of the microcracks in the plexiform bone is very small. The microcracks are relatively long and their propagation directions are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lamellar bone. Therefore, the crack requires relatively more energy to propagate across the lamella in the plexiform bone.


Avocado is a
commercially valuable fruit crop cultivated in tropical and subtropical
climates throughout the world. Taxonomists recognize three horticultural races
of avocado, consisting of Mexican (Persea
americana var. drymifolia), Guatemalan
(P. americana var. guatemalensis), and West Indian (P. americana var. americana) varieties. Published research that attempted to
differentiate among the horticultural races by using leaf chemistry found that
sesquiterpene content was only useful for discrimination of pure Mexican from
Guatemalan and West Indian, but not to distinguish between Guatemalan and West
Indian races. This study presents a sampling method for analysis of
sesquiterpenes from avocado leaf, branch and trunk samples. Our results indicate
that sesquiterpene content from leaves and small diameter branches (2.5 cm) was highly variable; however,
sesquiterpenes were much less variable within wood from larger diameter
branches and trunk samples, providing information representative of avocado
varietal differences. In addition to chemotaxonomic applications, information
on sesquiterpene content of avocado wood is needed for identification of
host-based attractants for a new avocado pest, the redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus). This insect
vectors a fungal pathogen that causes laurel wilt, a lethal vascular disease
that currently threatens avocado production in south Florida, USA. Females of X. glabratus identify appropriate host
trees based on emissions of terpenoids, particularly α-copaene. Our results are discussed in terms of how proximo-distal
distributions of sesquiterpenes may function as host-location cues by this
invasive wood-boring pest.


Limited research has been undertaken to explore how construction wo rkers' personality affects safety behaviour. Most of previous literature in field of health and safety especially in construction industry have been focusing on managerial, non- occupational accident or somewhat other aspect accident causation. Indeed, construction is known as one of the most dangerous industries globally, therefore, this study estimates the importance of personality traits in relation to risk behavior at workplace. The objective is to review and identify which dimension of personality traits (big five model) are more affective on occupational accident to suggest new model that is helpful in construction industry in order reduce the accident rate. Finding showed that neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness compare to the other personality traits are more affective on both occupational/non occupational accidents, while, the effect of agreeableness and conscientiousness on improving safety performance was overwhelming. On the other hand, there is little evidence to show meaningful and efficient connection between occupational accident and extraversion. Extraversion and openness were appropriate only to effect on non-occupational accident. Finally, this research presents the appropriate model which is worthwhile to improve the safety performance in construction industry.


This paper investigates the farm level impacts of multiple peril yield and revenue insurance in an expected value-variance framework. The analysis is conducted using stochastic simulation jointly with numerical optimisation. Simulation is used to compute the means and variances of revenues as affected by the insurance schemes under consideration. In a second step these results are incorporated in a whole-farm programming approach, which optimises a portfolio that consists of crop production and insurance activities. The results of a case study indicate that from the farmer's point of view there is an incentive to buy multiple peril crop insurance, because it significantly reduces the variability of income. The risk reduction through insurance in turn leads to a specialisation of the production program. The farm level benefit of crop insurance strongly depends on the decision maker's degree of risk aversion. Furthermore, risk free parts of the total income reduce the economic attractiveness of insurance schemes. This applies e.g. to the area payments under the European agricultural policy, which therefore limit the potential demand for crop insurance.


Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods aim to reveal the non-transparent decision-making mechanisms of black-box models. The evaluation of insight generated by such XAI methods remains challenging as the applied techniques depend on many factors (e.g., parameters and human interpretation). We propose ModelSpeX, a visual analytics workflow to interactively extract human-centered rule-sets to generate model specifications from black-box models (e.g., neural networks). The workflow enables to reason about the underlying problem, to extract decision rule sets, and to evaluate the suitability of the model for a particular task. An exemplary usage scenario walks an analyst trough the steps of the workflow to show the applicability.


Web service composition is a distributed model to construct new web service on top of existing primitive or other composite web services. However, current service technologies, including proposed composition languages, do not address the reliability of web service composition. Thus, it is hard to predict the system reliability. In this paper, we propose a method to compute system reliability based on Service Component Architecture (SCA), a standard that provides a language-independent way to define and compose service components in the system. We first present a formal service component signature model with respect to the specification of the SCA assembly model, and then propose a language-independent dynamic behavior model for specifying the interface behavior of the service component by port activities. Then, the failure behaviors of ports are defined through the Nonhomogeneous Poisson Process (NHPP). Based on the semantics of ports, several rules have been generated to compute reliability of port expressions, thus the overall system reliability can be automatically computed. An Online Shop example from IBM web site is given to illustrate our method, together with a testing bed to calculate port reliability.


It is well known that a single ethanol administration is capable of inhibiting the two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH)-induced liver regeneration (LR); nonetheless, it has not been elucidated how ethanol metabolism by the remnant liver is exerting the deleterious ethanol actions on LR. Indeed, pharmacokinetics analysis of ethanol elimination is lacking in rats subjected to PH, which might extend our understanding in the mechanisms that account for the ethanol-induced inhibition on LR after PH in the rat. Therefore, the present study is a pharmacokinetics analysis comparing intragastric and intraperitoneal administrations of ethanol to rats under PH, at several times after surgery (0 to 96 hr postsurgery). Our results show that PH rats had a much lower blood ethanol peak than sham-operated, when intragastrically administered during the first 4 hr after surgery that was transient and normalized at 6 hr post-PH. The area under the curve for blood ethanol was higher in PH animals, starting after 6 hr postsurgery and extended to the all replicative period, and returned within the control values thereafter. The quantity of ethanol absorbed after its intraperitoneal injection was essentially the same as the administered dose for all of the groups tested. Hence, ethanol bioavailability diminished due to an enhanced rate of the first-pass metabolism for ethanol in PH rats at the very early times post-PH. At later times of PH, ethanol bioavailability was practically normalized, and these effects were accompanied by a drastic increase in the liver capacity to metabolize ethanol, mainly at 48 to 96 hr after surgery, as calculated as ethanol elimination per gram of liver, as well as by total body weight. The very early changes in ethanol bioavailability in PH rats were not accounted for gastric ethanol retention in these animals. In conclusion, first-pass metabolism importantly participates in the modified ethanol bioavailability at very early times after PH, an event presumably attained to gastric catabolism of ethanol. However, the very enhanced metabolism of ethanol showed by the regenerating liver, particularly after the first 24 hr postsurgery, seems to be the main factor affecting ethanol pharmacokinetics in rats subjected to PH. The underlying mechanisms in this liver enhancement of ethanol oxidation by PH rats remains to be elucidated.


This report provides a non-technical introduction to practical methods for using cost-effectiveness analysis to address health equity concerns, with applications to low-, middle- and high-income countries. These methods can provide information about the likely impacts of alternative health policy decisions on inequalities in health, financial risk protection and other health-related outcomes that may be considered unfair, allowing for the distribution of costs as well as benefits. They can also provide information about the trade-offs that sometimes arise between improving total health and reducing health inequalities of different kinds. We distinguish three general ways of using cost-effectiveness analysis to address health equity concerns: (1) equity impact analysis, which quantifies the distribution of costs and effects across a population by equity-relevant variables such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, location, gender, age and severity of illness; (2) equity constraint analysis, which counts the cost of choosing fairer but less cost-effective options; and (3) equity weighting analysis, which uses equity weights or parameters to explore how much concern for equity is required to choose fairer but less cost-effective options. We hope this report will raise awareness of the practical tools of cost-effectiveness analysis that are now available to help give health care and public health policy makers a better understanding of who gains and who loses from their priority setting decisions.


Energy infrastructure, particularly for wind power, is rapidly expanding in Africa, creating the potential for conflict with at-risk wildlife populations. Raptor populations are especially susceptible to negative impacts of fatalities from wind energy because individuals tend to be long-lived and reproduce slowly. A major determinant of risk of collision between flying birds and wind turbines is the altitude above ground at which a bird flies. We examine 18,710 observations of flying raptors recorded in southern Africa and we evaluate, for 49 species, the frequency with which they were observed to fly at the general height of a wind turbine rotor-swept zone (50–150 m). Threatened species, especially vultures, were more likely to be observed at turbine height than were other species, suggesting that these raptors are most likely to be affected by wind power development across southern Africa. Our results highlight that threatened raptor species, particularly vultures, might be especially impacted by expanded wind energy infrastructure across southern Africa.


Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Washington Reactive point processes (RPPs) are a new statistical model designed for predicting discrete events in time, based on past history. RPPs were developed to handle an important problem within the domain of electrical grid reliability: short term prediction of electrical grid failures ("manhole events"), including outages, fires, explosions, and smoking manholes, which can cause threats to public safety and reliability of electrical service in cities. RPPs incorporate self-exciting, self-regulating, and saturating components. The self-excitement occurs as a result of a past event, which causes a temporary rise in vulnerability to future events. The self-regulation occurs as a result of an external inspection which temporarily lowers vulnerability to future events. RPPs can saturate when too many events or inspections occur close together, which ensures that the probability of an event stays within a realistic range. Two of the operational challenges for power companies are i) making continuous-time failure predictions, and ii) cost/benefit analysis for decision making and proactive maintenance. RPPs are naturally suited for handling both of these challenges. We use the model to predict power-grid failures in Manhattan over a short term horizon, and use to provide a cost/benefit analysis of different proactive maintenance programs.


Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) has been successfully applied in many situations, however, lacks of in-depth theoretical analysis. In this paper, performance of ADRC for typical first-order inertial plant is studied. Under the assumption that the three poles of the closed-loop transfer function are all real, necessary and sufficient conditions on the plant's parameters and the ADRC controller parameters are presented to obtain non-overshooting and monotone non-decreasing closed-loop step response. Through examples, we study the control parameter selection method and its ability of resistance to perturbation


The boundary separating solar wind plasma from ionospheric plasma is typically thought to be the magnetopause. A generalization of the magnetopause concept called the geopause was developed by Moore and Delcourt (1995, https://doi.org/10.1029/95RG00872). The geopause is a surface defined where solar wind quantities equal the ionospheric quantities. Geopause studies have helped characterize magnetospheric systems. However, comparative studies between the geopauses to the magnetopause have not been conducted. In this paper, we analyze the influence of inner boundary composition and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation on the steady state terrestrial geopauses and the magnetopause. This study simulates the Earth's magnetosphere by using the multifluid capabilities of the Block Adaptive Tree Solar wind Roe‐type Upwind Scheme magnetohydrodynamics model within the Space Weather Modeling Framework. The simulations show that the dayside magnetopause was not influenced by the presence of oxygen in the outflow for both IMF orientations and was larger than the other geopauses. In contrast, the nightside magnetopause was sensitive to the conditions in the outflow. The nightside magnetopause was smaller than the other geopauses with southward IMF. With northward IMF, the nightside magnetopause was the largest structure in comparison with the plasma‐based geopauses. Our results indicate that no single boundary surface dictates the transition from a solar wind dominated plasma to ionosphere dominated plasma.


Restriction-site analysis of chloroplast DNA in Clarkia sect. Peripetasma (Onagraceae) was done to test previously proposed phylogenetic models. One hundred nineteen restriction-site mutations were identified among the nine species using 29 restriction enzymes, and these were used to construct rooted most parsimonious trees (Wagner and Dollo). A chloroplast DNA evo- lutionary clock could not be statistically rejected. Branch points of this tree were statistically tested by Felsenstein's bootstrap method. This tree 1) provided an unambiguous and detailed genealogical history for the section, 2) verified a previous partial phylogenetic model for the section based on gene duplications and differential silencing, 3) provided details of the phylogenetic model not inferred or expected based on morphology and reproductive isolation, and 4) indicated that mor- phology evolves at markedly different rates within and between lineages in the section.


BACKGROUND
Hypernasality is a common feature of non-progressive dysarthria. However, limited research has investigated the effectiveness of treatments for this impairment. Preliminary research has revealed positive effects on nasalance when using increased loudness in certain non-progressive dysarthric speakers. However, the long-term effects of loud speech on nasalance as part of a structured intervention such as Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) are yet to be investigated in this population.

AIMS
The study aimed to investigate the short- and long-term effects of LSVT on hypernasality (perceptual ratings and degree of nasalance) in non-progressive dysarthria; and secondly, to evaluate the effects of traditional dysarthria therapy on these same measures, in comparison with the effects of LSVT.

METHODS & PROCEDURES
Ten non-progressive dysarthric speakers with varying levels of hypernasality (taken from a larger research study) were randomly allocated to receive LSVT((R)) (n = 5) or individually tailored traditional dysarthria therapy (n = 5). Both treatments were administered four times weekly for 4 weeks (that is, 16 x 1-hour sessions). Participants were assessed twice before treatment, twice immediately post-treatment, and twice at follow-up 6 months post-treatment using a perceptual rating task performed by two independent speech pathologists, and the Nasometer. Changes to individual mean nasalance scores were compared against clinically significant criterion and perceptual ratings were analysed descriptively.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS
Three out of five participants demonstrated reductions in perceived hypernasality immediately following LSVT, but these changes were maintained at follow-up for only one participant. Two of these three participants demonstrated a corresponding reduction in mean nasalance. Limited changes in perceived hypernasality and nasalance scores were found following traditional dysarthria therapy, with only one participant exhibiting reduced nasalance at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS
Due to the small sample size in the present research and variability between participants, further exploration into the effects of LSVT on nasality with a larger population with different dysarthria types is essential.


From the late eleventh century to the early twelfth century, diplomatic relationships were unstable in East Asia, and thus the importance of diplomacy was emphasized between countries. In this period, each country sought to strengthen its sovereign power and used diplomacy as a means to accomplish this objective. Of particular importance, the exchange of medical services and medical education became a means of diplomacy. In one incident, Koryŏ requested from Song medical aid for the treatment of the king's illness. As the resumption of diplomatic relations between Koryŏ and Song began, Song responded positively to the request for assistance. In addition to the relationship between Koryŏ and Song, medical services provided by Koryŏ served to establish early diplomatic negotiations with the Wanyanbu Jurchen. Koryŏ also requested physicians from Japan with the aim to establish relations with them, but were unsuccessful in this as Japan's worldview and diplomatic customs were very different from Koryŏ's. Such requests served to promote interstate diplomatic relationships as it allowed for not only the exchange of medical knowledge, but also for conveying diplomatic messages and negotiations. This paper, centered on Koryŏ, reviews the circumstances and events during this period in which the use of medical services was used a means for diplomacy.


Abstract Delaware's famous corporate law and its highly respected specialized Court of Chancery attract entrepreneurs from all over the world, who choose the small state as their locus of incorporation and litigation forum, and global investors who choose Delaware law as the law governing their corporate investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Other jurisdictions vie with Delaware in regard to these choices. This interjurisdictional competition makes Delaware a significant global norm exporter in the field of corporate law because jurisdictions emulate some of its corporate law. Israel leads the global pack. For two decades, it has been approximating its corporate law to Delaware's and emulating its principal institutions, including by establishing a specialized Chancery-like court whose judges seek guidance in Delaware's case law in deciding open corporate law questions. This Article employs qualitative methods—interviews with M&A practitioners from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel. We use the interviews to assess whether the project of approximating Delaware corporate law has succeeded in shifting incorporation decision preferences away from Delaware to Israel and watering down the natural reluctance of global investors to accepting an unfamiliar corporate law when engaging in cross-border corporate M&A transactions involving an Israeli party. Our findings indicate that the approximation project has countervailing effects, opinions about its success being polarized and nuanced; that approximation increases the familiarity of domestic practitioners with the foreign law being emulated, making the emulated law easier to implement; and that approximation creates more room for other aspects of interjurisdictional competition to influence private choices.


Claims about high genomic DNA sequence similarity between humans and chimpanzees are typically made to audiences that do not understand the various layers of technology and ideological bias imposed upon the origination of the data in question. The recent human-chimp Y-chromosome project introduced a number of important genomic tools to achieve a considerably less-biased analysis. The results indicated a much higher level of dissimilarity in both gene content and overall sequence similarity than the previously reported levels up to 99% similarity. As of yet, no similar study utilizing a less-biased genomic framework for autosomal regions has been reported. When evaluating comparisons between genomes using DNA sequence, it is important to understand the nature of how that sequence was obtained and bioinformatically manipulated before drawing any conclusions. It is not uncommon to arrange the sequence of a genome for which little is known by using the genome of a hypothetical closely related organism that has better developed genomic resources. It is also not uncommon to first screen the framework model genome to find regions of high similarity prior to any comparative analyses and to even omit gaps in the final DNA alignments before determining sequence identity. As a result, evolutionary bias literally colors every aspect of the DNA analysis and annotation. Understanding the technology used to produce a comparative genomic product for inter-genome studies is required prior to making any definitive conclusions about the data presented. At present, a considerably more unbiased approach to comparative genomics needs to be applied to the analysis and annotation of genome.


Objective To explore the health status and related influencing factors for 3-year-old children in rural area of Anhui province. Methods Clustered random sampling method was used to investigate the general situation of the children and their families as well as to measure height,weight and some other indexes of the children. Health status and its influencing factors were then evaluated.Results A total number of 418 children were investigated and incidence rates of growth retardation,underweight, overweight, emaciation and obesity appeared to be 4.3%, 1.9%, 0.7%, 0.5% and 14.9% respectively. Z value of development index was high among children with the following situations: heavy birth weight, father was tall, being boys, and having habits as washing hands before meals. However,Z value was low among kids with following characteristics: being the youngest among all the siblings, family income was high,mothers were illiterate as well as taking tocolytic agent and exposure to X-rays during pregnancy, delivered at home, major care taker was mother, mixed feeding in the early 4-month-old, age of supplementary food was less than 3 months, being picky on foods and taking snacks frequently etc. Conclusion Health status of the 3-year-old children in rural area of Anhui province was fine in general, however, more attention needs to be paid to pregnant women and child health care takers in the rural areas.


PURPOSE
To determine the neurotoxic potential of gadopentetate dimeglumine in an animal model that allowed the agent to avoid the blood-brain barrier. Gadopentetate dimeglumine is known to produce functional changes when injected into the cerebrospinal fluid, and we hypothesized that such changes might be associated with morphologic damage.

METHODS
Conscious rats, surgically prepared with a lateral ventricular cannula, were given a slow injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine into the lateral ventricle, and behavioral and neuropathologic changes were noted.

RESULTS
Gadopentetate dimeglumine produced signs of acute neurotoxicity over several hours (stereotyped movements and myoclonus), medium-term signs over several days (ataxia and tremor), and neuropathologic changes over 24 hours, with reactive changes persisting for 42 days. All of the above were dose-dependent over the range of 2.5 to 15 mumol/g brain. The lowest dose producing morphologic or behavioral changes was 5 mu mol/g brain. Iso-osmotic, isovolumetric injections of sucrose produced no such effects. Focal lesions occurred within the thalamus, brain stem, and spinal cord, with necrosis of glia, loss of myelin, and, usually, sparing of neurons and nerve fibers. Persisting ataxia was always associated with brain stem or spinal cord lesions.

CONCLUSION
Intraventricular administration of contrast medium allows toxicity to be evaluated in areas such as the spinal cord that are not accessible by osmotic opening. While it is unlikely that these toxic effects would be seen at the doses used for clinical imaging by the intravenous route, gadopentetate dimeglumine clearly has some neurotoxic and neuropathologic potential. Although the acute excitation could be attributed to a transiently high local concentration of the agent at the injection site, the lesions were widely distributed through the brain and spinal cord and may reflect a region-specific neurotoxic action, possibly related to central pontine myelinolysis.


Multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs) with simultaneous multimodal therapeutic and imaging capabilities are very necessary for biomedical applications. We successfully prepared bowl-shaped gold@polydopamine yolk-shell NPs (bowl-shaped Au@PDA YNPs) by a novel and facile method. The unique bowl-like structure enables a drug loading rate of 92% (920 μg mg-1). The bowl-shaped Au@PDA YNPs are biocompatible, have good photothermal conversion and strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption, and can control drug release under pH/NIR dual response. Bowl-shaped Au@PDA YNPs can also be employed as contrast agents for computed tomography/photoacoustic imaging for dual-modal imaging-guided chemotherapy and photothermal therapy due to the presence of Au NPs.


Each year the American Cancer Society (ACS) publishes a summary of its recommendations for early cancer detection, a report on data and trends in cancer screening rates, and select issues related to cancer screening. In 2010, the ACS updated its guidelines for testing for early prostate cancer detection, and during 2009 there were several newsworthy updates in the cancer screening guidelines from other organizations. In this article, the current ACS guidelines and recent issues are summarized, updates of guidelines for testing for early breast cancer detection by the US Preventive Services Task Force and for prevention and early detection of cervical cancer from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are addressed, and the most recent data from the National Health Interview Survey pertaining to participation rates in cancer screening are described. CA Cancer J Clin 2010;60:99–119. © 2010 American Cancer Society, Inc.


The aim of the paper is to describe an approach for modeling the dynamic behavior of a positioning system actuated by two shape memory alloy springs, placed in opposition. The mathematical analysis of the system in order to develop the dynamic model is difficult in this case because of the unknown parameters within the dynamic equations (thermodynamics, change in austenite fraction) and therefore a new approach is presented. Thus, a positioning system is considered, and its behavior is determined using Matlab Software, D-space platform and an optical sensor, which analyses the position/velocity of the moving cart. The dynamic model of the system is determined in order to develop a further model based control technique. The model is generated using system identification toolbox within Matlab and input and output (response) of the considered system.


As a periplasmic component of the Maltose transporter system, the Maltose binding protein (MBP) is known to be able to capture the substrate with high affinity and load it to the entrance of the transmembrane portion of the transporter to initiate the ATP facilitated substrate transportation. Such substrate recognition and binding events trigger a large conformational change in MBP, as suggested from several X-ray crystal structures that capture MBP in an "open" or a "closed" state. To characterize the dynamical natures of these conformational states, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for MBP under three conditions: (1) a closed structure with ligand, (2) a closed structure without ligand, and (3) an open structure without ligand. Based on these equilibrium simulations and additional transition pathway simulations using Targeted Molecular Dynamics (TMD), possible reaction coordinates to describe the conformational change of MBP will be identified. Finally, free energy profiles of the conformational transition will be obtained by umbrella sampling simulations and the molecular recognition mechanism of MBP will be discussed.


Slot filling must be trained using human-labeled data that are expensive and only a limited amount of labeled utterances are readily available for learning. Data generation methods can help increase the size of the dataset and make variations to the training dataset by means of emerging new instances. We propose a novel labeled utterance generation algorithm to augment training data. Our hypothesis is that words in an utterance can be separated into the two parts, namely, slot values that are instances of slot types and the accompanying contexts. Our model aims to generate utterances that are diverse combinations of slot values and contexts that can appear together. To create various utterances containing a given condition, our deep generative model uses a conditional variational auto-encoder architecture. We conduct experiments on various slot filling datasets, specifically airline travel information systems (ATIS), Snips, and MIT Corpus. A quantitative analysis shows that the application of data augmentation using the proposed model improves the F1 score for slot filling. We also demonstrate that our labeled utterance generation model yields more desirable utterances.


: Parasitologically confirmed cases of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) were treated by infusion with amphotericin B deoxycholate (ABD; 1 mg/kg.day on days 1-20, 21-40 and 61-80) or by intramuscular injection with sodium antimony gluconate (SAG; 20-day courses at 20 mg/kg day, with 20-day, drug-free intervals). Of the 11 patients given ABD, all were cured with the three courses, none relapsed in 12 months of follow-up, all developed mild adverse effects (shivering and fever) because of the infusion, five lost their appetites, and three showed increases in their serum creatinine concentrations (although none exceeded 'normal' limits). In contrast, only seven (63%) of the 11 patients given SAG were considered treatment successes (improvement in lesions by the end of the third course) and these took six courses (two cases), nine courses (four cases) or 10 courses (one case) to cure completely. Two of the patients given SAG developed arthralgia and two others developed non-specific ST changes in their electrocardiograms (ECG), although their ECG were normal between courses. The better cure rate with ABD was not statistically significant, probably because of the small sample size. However, ABD appears to be a superior to SAG in terms of the speed of response and cure, although it is more expensive and has some nephrotoxicity. As the effectiveness of SAG against PKDL is apparently declining over time and the cost of ABD is prohibitive in poor countries such as India, a safe, cheap and more effective drug for the treatment of PKDL is needed.


Non-polar electrical field flow fractionation (Np-EFFF) has been demonstrated to separate electrophotographic toner particles suspended in hydrocarbon medium according to the ratio of their diffusivities and their electrophoretic mobilities. While electrophoretic mobility has long been recognized as critical to the behavior of liquid toner particles in a development gap, the role of diffusivity has largely been ignored. Toner particles move in the development gap as a function of both parameters, and as toner particle size is reduced to achieve improvements in print quality, diffusivity becomes increasingly important. We present a method of quantifying and predicting the behavior of toner particles in the development gap of a print engine. Particles eluting from the Np-EFFF channel at the same retention volume would be expected to exhibit similar development characteristics in a printer. Consequently, Np-EFFF retention volume data can be used to predict image development performance of liquid toner particles. Using this instrument with the multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS) detector permits simultaneous determination of particle size, and particle size distribution. Although it is theoretically possible to determine other fundamental particle parameters from Np-EFFF data, it is used here to separate particles for further analysis down steam. In practical application, these instrumental capabilities allow screening of very small toner test batches, thus conserving time, expense, and the amount of waste generated.


Summary
The genomic RNA of human coronavirus strain 229E (HCV 229E) migrated on polyacrylamide gels as a single peak with a mol. wt. of 5.8 × 106. Denaturation of the genome with formaldehyde did not alter its electrophoretic mobility, which suggests that the HCV 229E genome is a single-stranded molecule. At least 30% of the genomic RNA was shown to contain covalently attached polyadenylic acid [poly(A)] sequences by binding the RNA to an oligo(dT)-cellulose column. These poly(A) tracts were shown to be about 70 nucleotides in length by measuring the resistance to digestion of HCV 229E RNA with pancreatic and T1 RNases. Finally, the genomic RNA was shown to terminate at or near the 3′-terminus on the basis of its susceptibility to polynucleotide phosphorylase.


Egg Mountain is a dinosaur nesting site located in the Upper Cretaceous, Two Medicine Formation of western Montana. The site was located on a coastal plain with seasonal variations in rainfall and was utilized as a nesting location by several taxa. Egg Mountain hosts a remarkable diversity of fossil eggshell and is a window into the reproductive behavior of multiple extinct taxa. A recent 4x6 m excavation revealed two clusters of unidentified eggs, 185 Spheroolithus eggshell fragments, and perinatal osteological remains within homogenous siliciclastic mudstone. Insect burrows (Celliforma) and cocoons (Rebuffoichnus) were excavated from the micritic limestone bed capping the excavation. The objectives of this thesis are to 1) describe the eggs and eggshell fragments, 2) determine nesting environment, 3) assign the osteological remains to taxon, and 4) investigate the taphonomic history of the site. Analytical methods include scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence, petrographic microscopy, and ImageJ photo analysis. The lithologically compressed, unidentified 12 cm diameter eggs occur in two clusters containing 7–22 eggs. Diagenetic alteration obscures eggshell microstructure, inhibiting ootaxonomic assignment of the 0.5 mm thick eggshell. The 0.8–1.3 mm thick fragmentary eggshell is assigned to Spheroolithus albertensis based on microstructure, sagenotuberculate ornamentation, and prolatocanaliculate/ rimocanaliculate pores. To assess taphonomic history of the Spheroolithus fragments, chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) and ostrich (Struthio camelus) eggshells were placed in a tumbler with water and quartz sand to simulate transport. The resulting wear on these fragments was compared to unabraded eggshell. In addition, modern eggshell was compared to fossil eggshells from a fossil nesting site, crevasse splay and channel deposits, and Egg Mountain. Spheroolithus eggshell from Egg Mountain lack edge rounding and resemble fossil eggshell from a nesting site and unabraded modern eggshell, suggesting a parautochthonous assemblage. Spheroolithus and unidentified eggs from cluster 1 respectively have gas conductance values 16–32x and 4–13x higher than avian eggs of the same mass, suggesting enclosed nest environments. The morphology of the humerus and skull elements of the perinatal osteological remains is consistent with the Hadrosauridae, though the juvenile status and incomplete nature of the specimen inhibits further taxonomic assignment.


Abstract In a well-known paper, Bernard Williams argues that an immortal life would not be worth living, for it would necessarily become boring. I examine the implications for the boredom thesis of three human traits that have received insufficient attention in the literature on Williams' paper. First, human memory decays, so humans would be entertained and driven by things that they experienced long before but had forgotten. Second, even if memory does not decay to the extent necessary to ward off boredom, once-satisfied desires often return after a sufficient period of time. Eternity would always contain sufficient time for our desires to rejuvenate. Third, even if too many of our desires were satisfied but not yet rejuvenated, we can expect that human ingenuity would continue to invent new pursuits, pastimes, careers, and ways of life that would prevent us from becoming bored as we moved from one to another. Finally, I consider and respond to several objections, including the claims that as much variety as I propose to be put into an eternal life is inconsistent with having one character throughout one's life and that the sort of character change and memory decay I postulate is inconsistent with personal identity.


Atherosclerosis and associated coronary heart disease events have lower prevalence in women than in men, especially during young adult years. Although multiple lines of evidence suggest that estrogens contribute to this difference, the efficacy of hormone replacement therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women is controversial. The protective action of estrogen in the cardiovascular system appears to be mediated indirectly by an effect on serum lipoprotein and triglyceride profiles and on the expression of coagulant and fibrinolytic proteins, and by a direct effect on the vessel wall itself. Estrogen has both rapid effects involving alteration of membrane ionic permeability and activation of membrane-bound enzymes and increases in endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase activity, as well as longer-term effects on gene expression that are mediated, at least in part, by the ligand-activated transcription factors, estrogen receptor alpha and beta. Compounds with pure antiestrogenic activity and selective estrogen receptor modulators that regulate estrogen receptor function in a tissue-specific manner have been developed in an attempt to achieve the cardioprotective effects of estrogens while minimizing the undesirable risks associated with hormone replacement therapy (e.g., endometrial and breast cancer). In this review, we will discuss recent developments on the mechanisms of estrogen action in the cardiovascular system. The results of clinical trials testing the long-term efficacy of hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease will also be discussed.