Acacia senegal is a multipurpose drought-tolerant tree or shrub legume and is commonly used in agroforestry systems in sub-Saharan Africa for gum arabic production and soil fertility improvement. Despite its wide distribution in Kenya, there has not been exhaustive evaluation on the effects of the extant varieties (kerensis, leiorhachis and senegal) on soil properties under their canopies for sustainable utilization of the species. Three sites in the drylands of Kenya representing the three varieties were selected for assessment. Soil samples were collected under tree canopies at a depth of 0 to 25 cm and were compared with the soils from the open canopies. There were significant differences in soil physicochemical properties among the three varieties (P<0.05 and P< 0.01). Soil nutrients under the canopies were higher than in the open canopies mainly due to effects of litter accumulation. The three varieties have beneficial effects on soil nutrient status in their natural ecosystems and would most likely improve crop productivity in agroforestry systems as well as enhance herbage productivity in the rangelands. The varieties growing under different soil types may have an effect on their gum Arabic production and quality.

 Key words: Acacia senegal varieties, soil nutrients accumulation, sustainable utilization.


Effects of MT preinduction by cadmium chloride on the resistance to combined injury such as whole body gamma-irradiation at the dose of 7 Gy + thermal burn were investigated in (CBA x C57BL6)F1 mice. Normal level of MT markedly increased in mice liver but not in bone marrow cells if Cd was given subcutaneously (1 mg/kg) prior to combined injury. However, preinduction of MT did not reduce the lethal effects and bone marrow devastation caused by combined radiation injury. No differences in the leukopenia degree and in CFU-s number were observed between control and MT-induced mice. In summary, Cd-induced MT elevation in mice liver does not protect against the toxic and lethal effects caused by combined radiation injury.


Numerous studies have reported impairments in perception and recognition, and, particularly, in part-integration of faces following picture-plane inversion. Whether these findings support the notion that inversion changes face processing qualitatively remains a topic of debate. To examine whether associations and dissociations of the human face processing ability depend on stimulus orientation, we measured face recognition with the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT), along with experimental tests of face perception and selective attention to faces and non-face objects in a sample of 314 participants. Results showed strong inversion effects for all face-related tasks, and modest ones for non-face objects. Individual differences analysis revealed that the CFMT shared common variance with face perception and face-selective attention, however, independent of orientation. Regardless of whether predictor and criterion had same or different orientation, face recognition was best predicted by the same test battery. Principal component decomposition revealed a common factor for face recognition and face perception, a second common factor for face recognition and face-selective attention, and two unique factors. The patterns of factor loadings were nearly identical for upright and inverted presentation. These results indicate orientation-invariance of common variance in three domains of face processing. Since inversion impaired performance, but did not affect domain-related associations and dissociations, the findings suggest process-specific but orientation-general mechanisms. Specific limitations by constraints of individual differences analysis and test selection are discussed.


Summary.  We analyse response patterns to an important survey of schoolchildren, exploiting rich auxiliary information on respondents' and non‐respondents' cognitive ability that is correlated both with response and the learning achievement that the survey aims to measure. The survey is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which sets response thresholds in an attempt to control the quality of data. We analyse the case of England for 2000, when response rates were deemed sufficiently high by the organizers of the survey to publish the results, and 2003, when response rates were a little lower and deemed of sufficient concern for the results not to be published. We construct weights that account for the pattern of non‐response by using two methods: propensity scores and the generalized regression estimator. There is clear evidence of biases, but there is no indication that the slightly higher response rates in 2000 were associated with higher quality data. This underlines the danger of using response rate thresholds as a guide to quality of data.


This paper presents a novel design of an integrated 12-bit multi-channel single-slope ramp analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for a small animal positron emission tomography(PET) imaging system. The proposed ADC is a part of a monolithic front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC) which is dedicated to the detector modules consisting of LYSO scintillation crystals read out on both sides by the multi-channel plate (MCP) photodetectors. The function of the ADC is to digitize the voltage signals from a large number of readout channels. Digital delay-locked loop (DLL) techniques are proposed to realize time interpolations in order to reduce the conversion time and to enhance the resolution. Both high precision and low power are obtained. An eight-channel prototype chip is implemented in AMS 0.35 μm CMOS technology. The available resolution of the ADC is 9 ~ 12 bits. The maximum DNL and INL of the fine conversion in the ADC is ±0.75 LSB and ±0.5 LSB, respectively. The static power consumption of the ADC is 3 mW + 0.2 mW/Channel. This ADC architecture provides a possibility to integrate low-noise front-end readout circuits, time-to-digital converters and ADC together into a monolithic ASIC and to output both the energy quantity and the time information with digital representations for PET imaging systems.


The use of different nuclear reactor systems as power source of deep-space explorers has been studied over the past decades as solar power cannot be expected in deep-space beyond Jupiter. In the preceding study, a cylindrical solid moderator reactor concept of about 500 kg in weight, which consists of 20% enriched UN fuel, YH1.5 moderator and Be reflector without using working fluid, was developed. In this study, we propose to further extend use of the developed core concept for the in-depth ice layer's investigation of Europa (one of the moons of Jupiter). At the end of the journey, the bare reactor is to be landed on the ice layer of Europa and sink down through the ice-layer as it melts the ice layer with its thermal power. For this purpose, this study aims to flatten the core power distribution to increase the core surface temperature for efficient ice melting while keeping the peak temperature of the core below a design limit. The core neutronics characteristics and power distributions are evaluated with neutron diffusion approximation and ablation and sinking behavior of the reactor through the ice layer is analyzed with Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method. Among different designs, the Hollow core could reduce the radial power peaking relatively well. The trial analysis by MPS method showed that modeling convective heat loss of the core surface and / or modifications to the core design may be necessary to prevent excess heat-up of the core before it sufficiently melts the ice and sinks down into the ice layer.


Abstract. It is a growing phenomenon that young people use mobile information and
communication technologies during their nightlife. This article offers an
empirical examination of how young people's nightlife is shaped by engagement
with the mobile phone application WhatsApp. Drawing on Sara Ahmed's
phenomenological concept of orientation, I examine how WhatsApp extends young
people's nightlife and how young people become orientated therein. On the one
hand, I show that nightlife acquires new boundaries and fixities that
encourage young people to direct their attention towards missing social
relations and absent nightlife places. On the other hand, I find that young
people create new perceptions of how to inhabit and spend leisure time and
space. I argue that digital technologies reorientate young people, which I suggest offers novel means of addressing young people's
contemporary nightlife practices, places, spaces, and social relations.


Many pristine humid tropical forests show simultaneously high nitrogen (N) richness and sustained loss of bioavailable N forms. To better understand this apparent upregulation of the N cycle in tropical forests, process‐based understanding of soil N transformations, in geographically diverse locations, remains paramount. Field‐based evidence is limited and entirely lacking for humid tropical forests on the African continent. This study aimed at filling both knowledge gaps by monitoring N losses and by conducting an in situ 15N labeling experiment in the Nyungwe tropical montane forest in Rwanda. Here we show that this tropical forest shows high nitrate (NO3−) leaching losses, confirming findings from other parts of the world. Gross N transformation rates point to an open soil N cycle with mineralized N nitrified rather than retained via immobilization; gross immobilization of NH4+ and NO3− combined accounted for 37% of gross mineralization, and plant N uptake is dominated by ammonium (NH4+). This study provided new process understanding of soil N cycling in humid tropical forests and added geographically independent evidence that humid tropical forests are characterized by soil N dynamics and N inputs sustaining bioavailable N loss.


Dear readers, when you are hunting the new book collection to read this day, young children with disabilities in natural environments methods and procedures can be your referred book. Yeah, even many books are offered, this book can steal the reader heart so much. The content and theme of this book really will touch your heart. You can find more and more experience and knowledge how the life is undergone.


To ascertain the viability of a project, undertake resource allocation, take part in bidding processes, and other related decisions, modern project management requires forecasting techniques for cost, duration, and performance of a project, not only under normal circumstances, but also under external events that might abruptly change the status quo. We provide a Bayesian framework that provides a global forecast of a project's performance. We aim at predicting the probabilities and impacts of a set of potential scenarios caused by combinations of disruptive events, and using this information to deal with project management issues. To introduce the methodology, we focus on a project's cost, but the ideas equally apply to project duration or performance forecasting. We illustrate our approach with an example based on a real case study involving estimation of the uncertainty in project cost while bidding for a contract.


Political branding research remains under-researched, particularly the internal orientation and intentional, desired positioning otherwise known as political brand identity. Existing studies that have tended to focus on the identity of 'party' political brands rather than that of politicians. Further, framing politicians as 'personal brands' allows us to explore the manifestations of intended identities, combined of personal characteristics such as personality traits, experiences feelings, beliefs and personal values, which up until now remained an under-developed research area. In this study, we explore the creation and management of personal political brand identity particularly from the perspective of the brand's creators. Further, this is achieved by bridging two streams of commercial branding theory such as personal branding and brand identity. More specifically, this study investigates the creation and management of personal political brand identity by building on the six-staged personal brand auditing framework (Philbrick and Cleveland 2015) to examine the personal political brand identities of politicians from an internal brand-creator perspective. Members of Parliament from the Republic of Iceland contextualises this study. The reason for this is twofold. Icelandic politics faced a succession of financial scandals, which has meant general elections have taken place in 2013, 2016 and 2017 instead of every four years. In addition, the last Icelandic general election witnessed an influx of new parliamentarians each possessing distinct identities and positions. Therefore, up to half of the Icelandic Parliament is represented by newly elected personal political brands.
This qualitative case-study approach reveals how personal political brands create, construct and communicate their identity. This research adopted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Members of the Icelandic Parliament. In addition, as part of the case study analysis, public websites and public social media sites were analysed to help better understand the topic. This study adopted a two-staged thematic approach to analyse the key findings identifying common themes and patterns. This study reveals that the personal brand identities of members of the Icelandic Parliament represented a clear brand mantra and created-managed via personal values and ideology and based on key issues that were personal to the individual. In addition, this study highlighted that personal brand identities were developed with offline and online touchpoints with the aim of communicating an aligned, clear and authentic political brand in the mind of Icelandic citizens. However, this study also revealed the challenges of managing an integrated, authentic personal brand identity given the problematic nature of the party-coalition political system. Our paper builds on the six-staged analytical process of personal branding and proposes the Personal Political Brand Identity Framework as an operational tool to introspectively evaluate personal political brand identity. This framework can be used by political actors across different settings and contexts to assess personal political brands from multiple perspectives. This in turn will address the explicit calls for further research on the internal perspective of political brands, which in turn will extend an under-developed area of political branding.


Fan is a pneumatic device in the 4ZTL-1800 combine harvester threshing prior to cutting. Based on the prophase search result that fan noise is highest when fan rotates at 1200r/min, in order to decrease noise of it, sigle-microperferated-panel muffler, double-microperferated-panel muffler and interposition muffler were designed and tested. The results show that double-microperferated-panel muffler is best and sound power level of fan is decreased 11dB, and that interposition muffler is better, and that sigle-microperferated-panel muffler is worst to descrease fan noise. Through contrast on transmission power loss of different mufflers, cone-shaped double-microperferated-panel muffler is verified to be best for noise control of fan.


Cdk9 is the catalytic subunit of a general RNA polymerase II elongation factor known as positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb). The kinase function of P-TEFb requires phosphorylation of Thr-186 in the T-loop of Cdk9 to allow substrates to access the catalytic core of the enzyme. To identify human phosphatases that dephosphorylate the T-loop of Cdk9, we used a Thr-186-phosphospecific antiserum to screen a phosphatase expression library. Overexpression of PPM1A and the related PPM1B greatly reduced Cdk9 T-loop phosphorylation in vivo. PPM1A and Cdk9 appear to associate in vivo as the proteins could be co-immunoprecipitated. The short hairpin RNA depletion of PPM1A resulted in an increase in Cdk9 T-loop phosphorylation. In phosphatase reactions in vitro, purified PPM1A could dephosphorylate Thr-186 both with and without the association of 7SK RNA, a small nuclear RNA that is bound to ∼50% of total cellular P-TEFb. PPM1B only efficiently dephosphorylated Cdk9 Thr-186 in vitro when 7SK RNA was depleted from P-TEFb. Taken together, our data indicate that PPM1A and to some extent PPM1B are important negative regulators of P-TEFb function.


This paper addresses the problem of performing navigation with a mobile robot using active vision exploring the image sphere properties in a stereo divergent configuration. The navigational process is supported by the control of the robot's steering and forward movements just using visual information as feedback. The steering control solution is based on the difference between signals of visual motion flow computed in images on different positions of a virtual image sphere. The majority of solutions based on motion flow and proposed until now, were usually very unstable because they normally compute other parameters from the motion flow. In our case the control is based directly on the difference between motion flow signals on different images. Those multiple images are obtained by small mirrors, that simulate cameras positioned in different positions on the image sphere. Another new version for the spherical sensor is under development. The control algorithm described in this work is based on a discrete-event approach to generate a controlling feedback signal for navigation of an autonomous robot with an active vision system as described.


ABSTRACT Upper Oligocene to lower Miocene deposits of the Tortola fluvial system, Loranca Basin, central Spain, display a labyrinthine stratigraphic architecture comprising isolated sandstone bodies embedded in mudstone and siltstone. These sandstone bodies are subdivided into seven types, which are interpreted to have formed in rivers with different discharges, sediment yields, and channel planform patterns. On the basis of their characteristics and spatial distributions, four facies zones are defined. These formed a continuum along the Tortola fluvial system profile, each being characterized by specific depositional conditions and (consequently) channel-pattern styles. Gravel-rich braided streams dominated Zone 1. Down gradient, these streams graded into wide, sand-dominated, braided streams of Zone 2, which contain large bedforms and were typified by significant discharge variations. Zone 3 comprises belts of mixed-load-dominated meandering and low-sinuosity channels. Zone 4 represents distal floodplain areas at the toe of the fluvial system. Depositional conditions in a facies zone varied between an upper and lower bound, or geomorphic threshold. A crossing of the upper or lower threshold is indicated by relatively sudden but orderly lateral and vertical changes in channel pattern that in turn reflect superposition of facies zones. A facies cycle is formed by superposition of two successive downstream facies zones. Superposition of facies zones is inferred to have been caused by changes in sediment supply and hydraulic regime and consequently the regional gradient of the system. It is argued that the Tortola fluvial system developed under a weak tectonic regime during the later stages of basin filling and was possibly affected by climatic changes. Changes in size of the facies zones typified the long-term development of the Tortola fluvial system and determined the three-dimensional architecture of the succession.


The intense scrutiny given to the privacy implications of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has led to much confusion regarding which applies to specific entities. The authors attempt to clarify when these Acts would define how confidential medical data are used.


This paper investigates the power operation in information system development (ISD) processes. Due to the fact that key actors in different departments possess different professional knowledge, their different contexts lead to some employees supporting IS, while others resist it to achieve their goals. We aim to interpret these power operations in ISD from the theory of technological frames. This study is based on qualitative data collected from KaoKang (pseudonym), a port authority in Taiwan. We attempt to understand the situations of different key actors (e.g. top manager, MIS professionals, employees of DP-1 division, consultants of KaoKang, and customers (outside users)) who wield power in ISD in different situations. In this respect, we interpret the data using a technological frame. Finally, we aim to gain fresh insight into power operation in ISD from this perspective.


Please enter your abstract text here.The commitment of the state to housing policy has been argued as sometimes goes beyond the generality of the need for decent housing for all households. Pluralist theories of housing provision have popularised the view that housing policy is a relatively straightforward response to the needs of consumers. Current thinking suggests a stronger focus should be based upon understanding of the developmental dialectic between three factors i.e., economic, social and political. Drawing upon a case study of low cost housing policy in Malaysia, this study seeks to examine the evolution of the policy formulated by the state at the national level. It demonstrates that housing policy in Malaysia has undergone a cycle of changes from provider to enabler and back to provider in meeting the housing needs of low income people. However, the state now plays both the role as enabler and provider but with overwhelming political influence on this social policy. Yet, the key aim of this housing policy for low income people remains the same i.e., to achieve the political stability among the multi-ethnic society and to maintain the countryis economic growth. The study concludes that the implementation of housing policy in Malaysia presents a remarkable example of authoritative political influence. Housing in Malaysia serves as part of the governmentis political strategy to achieve both social and economic goals. Thus, this witnessed the state as using low cost housing as a mean of achieving social cohesion and revitalising the economic condition of the country.


The central thesis of this article is that the Energy Charter Treaty can be deployed to expand the fossil fuel industry's rights and contextually counter democratic forces that animate the ecological transition. More specifically, the article shows the entanglement between the suppression of ecological democracy and the expansion of fossil rights. To offer a more granular understanding of how the Energy Charter Treaty empowers the fossil industry, this article zooms in on the case of Rockhopper v Italy. The case was launched in 2017 by the UK company Rockhopper against the Italian Republic because the latter denied a production concession for offshore oil drilling off the coast of Italy. After a long process of resistance from local communities, in 2016, the Italian government adopted a law of general applicability banning offshore drilling within 12 nautical miles of the coast. Drawing on political theory, this article conceptualises people's successful forms of resistance to the oil extractivist project as ecological democracy. By unpacking the main facts underpinning this case and the legal reasoning in the award, the article shows how the Rockhopper award has bestowed new property rights on the fossil fuel investor while contextually compressing democratic spaces vital for the ecological transition.


This article presents a critical review of the Basel II regulatory framework for specialized lending and especially project finance. It deals with two key issues related to the development of a rating model for project finance risk: (1) The author criticizes the current bank and rating agency approaches to assessing credit risk in project finance, and (2) he evaluates one possible way to construct a rating model with project finance rating data according to the Basel II Accord. The article explains why the proposed model is different and better then than existing ones.


Traffic engineering has been the prime concern for Internet service providers (ISP's), with the main focus being minimization of over-utilization of network capacity even though additional capacity is available which is under-utilized. Furthermore, requirements of timely delivery of digitized audiovisual information raises a new challenge of finding a path meeting these requirements. This paper addresses the issue of (a) distributing load to achieve global efficiency in resource utilization, (b) Finding a path satisfying the real time requirements of delay and bandwidth requested by the applications. In this paper we do a critical study of the link utilization that varies over time and determine the time interval during which the link occupancy remains constant across days. This information helps in predetermining link utilization that is useful in balancing load in the network. Finally, we run simulations that use a dynamic time interval for profiling traffic and show improvement in terms number of calls admitted/blocked.


ABSTRACT High inspired concentrations of oxygen (hyperoxia) are often necessary to counteract tissue hypoxia during the treatment of ARDS. Reactive oxygen species generated by hyperoxic therapy may influence the expression of the pulmonary proteome and the application of discovery proteomics to the hyperoxic lung has the potential to divulge mechanisms regulating the expression of specific proteins integral to lung injury and repair. The present study examined the proteome derived from 30-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to room air (RA) and 95% O2 (Ox) for 24–72 hours using 2-dimensional difference in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) coupled with MALDI-ToF/ToF mass spectrometry. A total of 870 protein spots were visualized by 2D-DIGE across all gels. Mass spectral analysis identified 51 proteins representing 187 of the 214 significantly altered spots. Molecular and cellular function analysis grouped the identified proteins into free radical scavenging, cell death, cell-to-cell signaling, and cellular movement categories. The majority of the differences in the protein spots between RA and Ox occurred at 72 hours, with albumin, annexin A6 (AnxA6), and transferrin being increased, and mitochondrial Lon peptidase 1 being decreased by at least 20%. In Ox animals, AnxA6 protein expression increased three-fold without an increase in mRNA expression. Bioinformatic analysis of the AnxA6 transcript revealed the presence of a putative internal ribosome entry site within the 5′-untranslated region. These findings indicate that hyperoxia induces significant alterations in the pulmonary proteome which are temporally related. In addition, hyperoxia selectively enhances the expression of some proteins whose transcripts contain sequence motifs, which impart translational regulation.


OBJECTIVE
Scaling an online screen that provides referrals may be key in closing the treatment gap for eating disorders (EDs), but we need to understand respondents' help-seeking intentions and behaviors after receiving screen results. This study reported on these constructs among respondents to the National Eating Disorders Association online screen who screened positive or at high risk for an ED.

METHOD
Respondents completed the screen over 18 months (February 9, 2018-August 28, 2019). Those screening positive or at high risk for an ED (n = 343,072) had the option to provide data on help-seeking intentions (after screen completion) and behaviors (2-month follow-up).

RESULTS
Of eligible respondents, 4.8% (n = 16,396) provided data on help-seeking intentions, with only 33.7% of those reporting they would seek help. Only 7.6% of eligible respondents opted in to the 2-month follow-up, with 10.6% of those completing it (n = 2,765). Overall, 8.9% of respondents to the follow-up reported being in treatment when they took the screen, 15.5% subsequently initiated treatment, and 75.5% did not initiate/were not already in treatment.

DISCUSSION
Preliminary results suggest that among the small minority who provided data, only one-third expressed help-seeking intentions and 16% initiated treatment. Online screening should consider ways to increase respondents' motivation for and follow-through with care.


The ATLAS Distributed Computing project (ADC) was established in 2007 to develop and operate a framework, following the ATLAS computing model, to enable data storage, processing and bookkeeping on top of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) distributed infrastructure. ADC development has always been driven by operations and this contributed to its success. The system has fulfilled the demanding requirements of ATLAS, daily consolidating worldwide up to 1 PB of data and running more than 1.5 million payloads distributed globally, supporting almost one thousand concurrent distributed analysis users. Comprehensive automation and monitoring minimized the operational manpower required. The flexibility of the system to adjust to operational needs has been important to the success of the ATLAS physics program. The LHC shutdown in 2013-2015 affords an opportunity to improve the system in light of operational experience and scale it to cope with the demanding requirements of 2015 and beyond, most notably a much higher trigger rate and event pileup. We will describe the evolution of the ADC software foreseen during this period. This includes consolidating the existing Production and Distributed Analysis framework (PanDA) and ATLAS Grid Information System (AGIS), together with the development and commissioning of next generation systems for distributed data management (DDM/Rucio) and production (Prodsys-2). We will explain how new technologies such as Cloud Computing and NoSQL databases, which ATLAS investigated as R&D projects in past years, will be integrated in production. Finally, we will describe more fundamental developments such as breaking job-to-data locality by exploiting storage federations and caches, and event level (rather than file or dataset level) workload engines.


We present a case study in the marking of the negative prefix in
 French gradable adjectives, where the productive marker iN-
 alternates with a number of unproductive prefixes, like dé(s)-, dis-,
 mal-, mé(s)-. We treat this as a classical case of allomorphy, and
 present an account of the distribution of these allomorphs in terms of the nanosyntactic mechanism
 of pointers, by which lexical items may point to other, existing, lexical items
 in the postsyntactic lexicon. We claim that unproductive lexical items are not
 directly accessible for the spellout mechanism, but only indirectly, via
 pointers. We show how the analysis accounts for lexicalised semantics in
 derivations, as well as cases where the formal relationship between derivational
 pairs is not concatenative, but substitutive.


A theoretical model for predicting the electrical capacitance of various materials was developed by taking into account geometrical configurations of crucible and rod electrodes. The calculated results were in good agreement with the corresponding measurement data obtained at room temperature (20 ° C) for liquid materials with known relative permittivity. The measured capacitances of aqueous suspensions containing oxide powders with various grain sizes and relative permittivity values systematically decreased at room temperature with increases in their volume fractions regardless of the sizes of the dispersed solid phases and matched the results obtained from the proposed capacitance prediction model combined with Lichtenecker's equation for calculating the relative permittivity of dual-phases mixtures. In addition, the validity of the proposed model for predicting capacitances of supercooled oxide melt suspensions was tested at elevated temperatures (above 1 300 ° C). The observed decrease in capacitance for silicate melts with known crystallinities estimated from the corresponding phase diagrams was consistent with the data predicted by the proposed capacitance model combined with Nielsen's equation instead of Lichtenecker's equation due to the large differences in relative permittivity between the utilized oxide melts and the solid phases.


Door to needle (DTN) time for thrombolysis in the Emergency Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (ED, UKMMC) is an indicator that can reduce mortality and morbidity of patients with ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). This study was conducted to determine factors that influence DTN time for acute ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) and whether it has achieved the recommended time of 30 minutes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients diagnosed with acute STEMI and thrombolysed in ED, UKMMC from June 2016 until March 2017. A data collection sheet was used to collect patient's demographic data and clinical data which included time of arrival to ED, time of initial electrocardiogram (ECG), time of drug preparation and time of thrombolytic delivery to the patient. A total of 98 patients were included in this study. Majority of patients (77.6%) were thrombolysed more than 30 minutes following ED arrival. Mean DTN in ED, UKKMC was 59.28 + 36.01 minutes. The mean door to ECG time was 7.19 + 8.08 minutes and the mean drug preparation time was 9.86 + 7.51 minutes. Out of 76 (77.6%) patients that were thrombolysed after 30 minutes of ED arrival, 59.2% (n=45) were due to multiple disciplinary referral. Other factors were delay in performing initial ECG 19.8% (n=15), incorrect initial ECG interpretation 9.2% (n=7) and unavoidable need for prior resuscitation 9.2% (n=7). As a conclusion this study showed that there was an unacceptable delay in hospital thrombolysis for acute STEMI.


Activities and developments in the coastal zone, and in adjacent catchments, pose an increasing threat to the sustainability of the natural and socio-economic goods and services supplied by marine ecosystems. Governing authorities have had to develop new policies to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable development practices, either through legislation
and/or incentive mechanisms. These, in turn, created the need for holistic and integrated frameworks within which to design and implement environmental management programmes.
A structured ecosystem-scale approach for the design and implementation of marine water quality management programmes
developed by the CSIR (South Africa) in response to recent advances in policies and legislation pertaining to sustainable
utilisation of Southern Africa's marine environment is discussed. The framework provides an integrated scientific base within which to set, for example, wastewater emission targets, taking into account ecosystem process complexity. It also aims to support and stimulate local stakeholder empowerment and involvement. Water SA Vol.32 (4) 2006: pp.535-542


Laws and regulations on water-resource use in Nigeria are found in several documents and instruments. However, these instruments are not sufficient to resolve the issues of control, ownership, management, and protection of water resources. This article examines the water management practices in Nigeria. Akwa Ibom is used as a case basically to see how the various institutions in the state respond to the water needs of the populace and what regulations guide them. Data and other necessary information came from the first water resources stakeholder meeting of the CRBDA (Cross River Basin Development Authority) in 2005. Other sources of data came from interviews, review of relevant documents, as well as data obtained during my doctoral fieldwork in 2005. A case study approach was used to analyse issues in water resource project distribution, management rights, and the protection of water sources in the study area. It was observed that operators and managers of water resources in the state are not guided by a set of principles and regulations, but by a set of directives and executive decisions. The implication is that water resource management in the state does not respond to the principles of needs and equity, and the agencies or authorities involved are not working for the common goal of optimum accessibility because of endemic corruption and lack of standard practices. This paper presents an argument that evolving an effective and holistic water law in Nigeria is most urgent and should not be ignored.


The research aims to explore the cognitive-semantic structure of the above child rights phenomenon through the language analysis, and compare the perceptions of different stakeholders as target audiences with regard to diverse formats of the Convention contents and its essence representation. The research materials combine academic literature on the topic, the text of the Convention on the rights of the child, its child friendly version as the background material for empirical study, and the data from the open-ended questionnaire. The pool of its respondents included social workers, teachers, and lawyers who deal with children's rights issues. The research methods integrated qualitative and quantitative approaches, theoretical analysis of relevant literature, textual analysis of the Convention text (including content analysis, manual and automated coding, distributional analysis), and open-ended questionnaire of the experts in the field under study. Factor analysis was implemented to analyze the experts' views. SPSS was used for statistical data processing. The research results led to a number of conclusions. The linear enumeration of rights through the Convention articles leads just to the same linear perception of the facts. Meanwhile, verbal-visual multidimensional  representation of the Convention macrostructure  provides grounds for synergetic interpretation where not just the rights but the stakeholders, the scope and specifics of their duties and obligations, societal contexts of their activities are identified. This, in turn, it leads to the conclusion that the format of the Convention representation that was shaped through the present study can contribute to enhancing public awareness and education on the child's rights within diverse social settings. The research findings cast new light on the potential of discourse analysis for the Convention interpretation within legal, educational and academic contexts.


Glycopolymer brushes were successfully synthesized on polydopamine coated silicon dioxide particles using a one-step 'grafting from' method to produce high density polymer brushes. This one-step 'grafting from' method uses an azide-terminated RAFT agent that simultaneously grows polymer chains and attaches to the polydopamine coating. The azide group rearranges via an in situ Curtius rearrangement to form an isocyanate group. This reacts with the hydroxyl and amine groups on the polydopamine coating while simultaneously growing a polymer chain. Poly(pentafluorostyrene) polymer brushes were grown and attached to the polydopamine coating, then converted to glycopolymer brushes using a thiol substitution reaction. This creates a surface that facilitates protein binding. Fluorescently tagged Concanavalin A proteins were bound to the surface and the binding ability was investigated using Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). This reports the facile preparation of particles that are biocompatible, and can be used in vivo as drug carrier systems. The use of polydopamine coatings, one-step 'grafting from' polymer brush synthesis and 'click' chemistry to create glycopolymers, collectively are an improved and simple way to prepare particles for biomedical applications.


Morphological comparison of the genera Angaeus Thorell, 1881 and Paraborboropactus Tang and Li, 2009 (Araneae: Thomisidae) shows that the latter should be relegated to a junior synonym of the former. Further, I propose the following new synonyms: Angaeus leucomenus (Thorell, 1895), Stephanopis weyersi Simon, 1899 and Paraborboropactus leguminaceus Tang and Li, 2009 = Angaeus rhombifer Thorell, 1890 syn. nov., Paraborboropactus oblatus Tang and Li, 2010 = Angaeus lenticulosus Simon, 1903 syn. nov. The following species are transferred from Paraborboropactus: Angaeus canalis (Tang & Li, 2010) comb. nov., Angaeus liangweii (Tang & Li, 2010) comb. nov., Angaeus rhombus (Tang & Li, 2009) comb. nov. and Angaeus zhengi (Tang & Li, 2009) comb. nov. The holotype of Angaeus pudicus (type species of the genus) is illustrated, and the male and female of Angaeus rhombifer are redescribed and illustrated based partly on fresh material from Singapore. A new species, Angaeus christae sp. nov. is described based on both sexes, and a syntype of Angaeus comatulus Simon, 1909 is illustrated.


The Bloom protein (BLM) and Topoisomerase IIIα are found in association with proteins of the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, a disorder manifesting increased cellular sensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents. In order to determine if the association reflects a functional interaction for the maintenance of genome stability, we have analyzed the effects of siRNA-mediated depletion of the proteins in human cells. Depletion of Topoisomerase IIIα or BLM leads to increased radial formation, as is seen in FA. BLM and Topoisomerase IIIα are epistatic to the FA pathway for suppression of radial formation in response to DNA interstrand crosslinks since depletion of either of them in FA cells does not increase radial formation. Depletion of Topoisomerase IIIα or BLM also causes an increase in sister chromatid exchanges, as is seen in Bloom syndrome cells. Human Fanconi anemia cells, however, do not demonstrate increased sister chromatid exchanges, separating this response from radial formation. Primary cell lines from mice defective in both Blm and Fancd2 have the same interstrand crosslink-induced genome instability as cells from mice deficient in the Fancd2 protein alone. These observations demonstrate that the association of BLM and Topoisomerase IIIα with Fanconi proteins is a functional one, delineating a BLM-Topoisomerase IIIα-Fanconi pathway that is critical for suppression of chromosome radial formation.


Since the establishment of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9, powerful strategies for engineering of CHO cell lines have emerged. Nevertheless, there is still room to expand the scope of the CRISPR tool box for further applications to improve CHO cell factories. Here, the authors demonstrate activity of the alternative CRISPR endonuclease Cpf1 in CHO-K1 for the first time and that it can be used in parallel to CRISPR/Cas9 without any interference. Both, Cas9 and Cpf1, can be effectively used for multi-gene engineering with a strategy based on paired single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for full gene deletions. This strategy also enables the targeting of regulatory regions, which would not respond to the conventional frameshift mutations, as shown by removing the α-1,6-Fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) promoter resulting in a functional knock-out. FUT8 also served as model to verify that deletion efficiency is size-independent (2-150 kb). To test the suitability for multi-gene approaches in combination with gene deletion, clones harboring triple deletions in β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase (B4GALT) isozymes are identified using solely conventional PCR/qPCR. In addition, two bicistronic transcription strategies are implemented to enable unequivocal pairing of sgRNAs: a CHO-derived tRNA linker that works for both, Cas9 and Cpf1, as well as paired sgRNAs in an array format, which can be used with Cpf1 due to its RNA processing ability. These strategies broaden the range of application of CRISPR for novel gene editing approaches in CHO cells and also enable the efficient realization of a genome-wide deletion library.


The current Rye classifcation no longer appears fully satisfactory for staging of Hodgkin's disease. As a result of a study of clinical, radiological, and biological data taken from the records of 402 patients from 1966 to 1970, we suggest that a new classification should take into account the following factors: the site of onset of the disease which enables a distinction between teh high cervical, mediastinal, retroperitoneal, and axillary forms, which all have their specific lymphatic extent; the involvement if any of the spleen; the biological signs as well as clinical symptoms for identification of the systemic syndrome. These changes could bring about significant consequences for therapy, especially in reducing irradiation volumes and in advocating the use of chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy.


We have previously shown that pretransplant donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) together with transient depletion of CD4+ T cells could induce permanent rat-to-mouse heart graft survival, whereas depleting CD4+ T cells alone failed to do so. In this study, we investigated the mechanism leading to long-term xenograft survival. We found that peripheral CD4+ T cells from DLI/anti-CD4-treated mice could mount rat heart graft rejection after adoptive transfer into B6 CD4−/− mice. Infusing donor-Ag-loaded mature dendritic cells (DCs) could break long-term cardiac xenograft survival in DLI/anti-CD4-treated mice. Interestingly, when the number and phenotype of graft-infiltrating cells were compared between anti-CD4- and DLI/anti-CD4-treated groups, we observed a significant increase in both the number and suppressive activity of αβ-TCR+CD3+CD4−CD8− double negative regulatory T cells and decrease in the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the xenografts of DLI/anti-CD4-treated mice. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in MHC class II-high DCs within the xenografts of DLI/anti-CD4-treated recipients. DCs isolated from the xenografts of anti-CD4- but not DLI/anti-CD4-treated recipients could stimulate CD4+ T cell proliferation. Our data indicate that functional anti-donor T cells are present in the secondary lymphoid organs of the mice that permanently accepted cardiac xenografts. Their failure to reject xenografts is associated with an increase in double negative regulatory T cells as well as a reduction in Ag stimulation by DCs found within grafts. These findings suggest that local regulatory mechanisms need to be taken into account to control anti-xenograft T cell responses.


Rift Valley fever is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV; genus Phlebovirus, family Bunyaviridae) causes high rates of abortion and fetal malformation in pregnant ruminants, and haemorrhagic fever, neurological disorders or blindness in humans. The MP-12 strain is a highly efficacious and safe live-attenuated vaccine candidate for both humans and ruminants. However, MP-12 lacks a marker to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals. In this study, we originally aimed to characterize the efficacy of a recombinant RVFV MP-12 strain encoding Toscana virus (TOSV) NSs gene in place of MP-12 NSs (rMP12-TOSNSs). TOSV NSs promotes the degradation of dsRNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) and inhibits interferon-β gene up-regulation without suppressing host general transcription. Unexpectedly, rMP12-TOSNSs increased death in vaccinated outbred mice and inbred BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice. Immunohistochemistry showed diffusely positive viral antigens in the thalamus, hypothalamus and brainstem, including the medulla. No viral antigens were detected in spleen or liver, which is similar to the antigen distribution of moribund mice infected with MP-12. These results suggest that rMP12-TOSNSs retains neuroinvasiveness in mice. Our findings demonstrate that rMP12-TOSNSs causes neuroinvasion without any hepatic disease and will be useful for studying the neuroinvasion mechanism of RVFV and TOSV.


Background Changes in prefrontal brain responses as well as psychiatric deficits are detected in Huntington's disease (HD) prior to diagnosis. Aims This study investigated the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and functional brain activity during working memory performance in individuals with pre-symptomatic hd (pre-hd) using the image-hd data set. Methods/techniques Pre-HD far from onset (pre-hd far, n = 17), pre-hd close to onset (pre-hd close, n = 18), and control (n = 32) groups completed an n-back task (0, 1 and 2-back) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain regions of interest included the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc) and anterior cingulate cortex (acc). Correlations were performed between blood-oxygen-level-dependent (bold) activity in each brain region and scores on a battery of neuropsychiatric inventories, while controlling for age, gender, and accuracy on the n-back task. Results/outcome For both 1- and 2-back conditions, significant negative correlations were found in the pre-hd close group between neuropsychiatric disturbance and bold activation in both the right dlpfc and acc. During 2-back, a significant negative correlation was found in the pre-hd far group between depression symptoms and right dlpfc bold. For 1-back, no significant correlations were found in the pre-hd far group. Conclusions These findings suggest that as pre-hd individuals approach onset, increased psychiatric disturbance is associated with decreased functional brain activity, which becomes more wide-spread during higher working memory loads.


C. piaropi (Cercospora piaropi) and A. zonatum (Acremonium zonatum) have proved to be effective in reducing water hyacinth growth. However, efficacy of these fungi in field is limited by the effect of solar UV (ultraviolet) light and desiccation. In this study, three compounds used as sunscreens and one seed plant that produce mucilage were tested for their effects on the infection produced by C. piaropi and A. zonatum inoculum under laboratory and field conditions. In laboratory conditions, TiO2 (titanium dioxide) and metamucil did not inhibit C. piaropi and A. zonatum viability. Moreover, the addition of TiO2 and metamucil to the inoculum suspension increased fungi infection. The protective effect of TiO2 and metamucil was more evident when the inoculum suspension was applied 4 h before sunset. These results suggest that addition of TiO2 and metamucil provides necessary humidity and solar protection for increasing C. piaropi and A. zonatum infection on water hyacinth plants.


LED building means that the LED screen covers building surface mostly, which could real-time reflect information, while forgetting the concept of "wall". The information materialized itself. At the same time, information approaches the relationship between the architects and the popularity, so that confuses the difference. The space will not "be pushed" by the architects, while "being fetched" by the popularity. This visual space not only "analogs", "translates", or "amplifies" the real images, but also the other kind of existence. Virtual building expands the controlling mode in the physical world. It is a new way of travel, communication, control, and express. With the development of popular consuming culture and visual culture, and the exploring of LED expression and development of virtual technology by architects and artists, the LED buildings and virtual buildings will the indispensable existence with us. As a new kind of architectural design innovation, will they reveal the future the architecture development


ABSTRACT Rapid urban growth in developing countries is causing a great number of urban planning problems. To control and analyse this growth, new and better methods for urban land use mapping are needed. This article proposes a new method for urban land-use mapping, which integrates spatial metrics and texture analysis in an object-based image analysis classification. A high-resolution satellite image was used to generate spatial and texture metrics from the machine learning algorithm of Random Forests land-cover classification. The most meaningful spatial indices were selected by visual inspection and then combined with the image and texture values to generate the classification. The proposed method for land-use mapping was tested using a 10-fold cross-validation scheme, achieving an overall accuracy of 92.3% and a kappa coefficient of 0.896. These steps produced an accurate model of urban land use, without the use of any census or ancillary data, and suggest that the combined use of spatial metrics and texture is promising for urban land-use mapping in developing countries. The maps produced can provide the land-use data needed by urban planners for effective planning in developing countries.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The CONCERTO study results showing the beneficial effects of conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus prolonged-release (tacrolimus PR) in stabilised patients after kidney transplantation, were first published in 2011. This communication describes our first experience of conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus PR in stabilised kidney transplant patients. The aim was to determine whether it could be used in routine clinical practice in the Czech and Slovak Republics.

METHODS
Evaluation was carried out at five transplantation centres in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In all participating Centres, the drug conversion was conducted according to the ICH/GCP guidelines. A total of 104 patients stabilised after kidney transplantation were converted from maintenance therapy with cyclosporine to treatment with tacrolimus PR. The data were collected 26 weeks after the switch. The primary endpoint was change in kidney graft function measured from the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The effect of conversion on blood pressure, metabolic parameters and cosmetic changes was also recorded. Special attention was paid to the safety and tolerability of treatment with tacrolimus PR.

RESULTS
GFR increased after six months by 10 % (P = 0.040). In addition a significant decrease in serum creatinine and triglycerides level was found together with major reduction in the incidence and severity of gingival hyperplasia and hirsutism. 3% of patients developed new onset of diabetes mellitus. Otherwise, the switch was very well-tolerated, without serious adverse events or acute rejections.

CONCLUSION
Conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus PR was shown to be a safe therapeutic alternative with patient benefits.


Instruction set accelerator architectures have emerged recently as light-weight hardware coprocessors, so as to transparently improve applications performance. This paper investigates the effectiveness of adding hardware accelerators as refers to scaling, based on applications that show data level parallelism such as image edge detection and fractal applications. The implementation results using reconfigurable technology show that, by utilizing a number of hardware coprocessor units, applications such as Sobel edge detection can achieve speedup more than 37Í. Finally, architectural directions based on the developed case studies show that even better performance can be achieved when the overheads of communication, of serialized data accesses, shared memory and of bus protocols are reduced.


The South Caucasus area is considered one of the main centers of origin and domestication for the cultivated grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. ssp. sativa DC. The aim of this work is to study the genetic structure of the Georgian grapevine platform by analyzing 135 Georgian grapevine accessions using 20 SSR molecular markers and to verify the contribution of Georgian germplasm to European viticulture. Among the 135 selected samples, 112 were representatives of traditional Georgian wine and table grape cultivars and 23 were collected from several Georgian woodlands and, after visual inspection, were considered representatives of Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris subspecies. Molecular fingerprints (20 SSR loci) of all 135 accessions were compared with data from the 2,300 accessions conserved at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) grape germplasm repository of Domaine de Vassal. Nei?s genetic distance was calculated among the Vassal and Georgian samples to verify the presence of synonyms and to have an overview of the structure of Georgian grapevine germplasm platform compared with the ones belonging to other countries. Results highlighted that most of Georgian viticulture is quite isolated from elsewhere. The results suggest that the Georgian viticulture is still strongly correlated to its geographic origin, allowing to clearly distinguish groups of accessions belonging to different regions of the country. Among wild samples, the molecular fingerprint has revealed very few mistakes or inter-specific crossings in the pool of collected samples and highlighted that, as already verified for other regions, there is diversification between the wild and cultivated forms. Yet this separation does not seem to be, in the case of Georgia, as robust as seen in other grape growing regions. These results seem to confirm that typical Georgian cultivars weren?t spread to other European countries and, on the other hand Georgian viticulture did not have contaminations from elsewhere. The apparent isolation of Georgian germplasm makes this viticulture particularly interesting for further investigation.


This study aims to find growth rate and protein content of humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, through the utilization of hardmilk wood plant, Alstonia acuminata, and other local materials as artificial feed composition. This experiment used 12-13 cm long-humpback grouper, C. altivelis. They were reared in the aquarium filled with 100 liters of seawater at a density of 6 individuals per aquarium. There were 4 experimental feed types with addition of different concentration of A. acuminata plant, 0.1% (A), 0.2% (B), 0.3% (C), 0.4% (D), and control treatment (without A. acuminate addition). Protein content of each treatment wa the same, 45%. The study applied a Complete Randomized Design with 3 replications. Results revealed that treatment B gave the highest mean growth rate with mean daily weight increment of 4 g and daily length increment of 0.011 cm, and mean absolute weight increment of 73 g and absolute length increment of 4.594 cm. As conclusion, feeding C. altivelis with addition of 0.2% A. acuminata can raise the growth rate with high survival rate.


Counseling in Nigeria emerged as a needed school service and counselor preparation tend to produce counsellors who will work in schools. In the preparation of counsellors, the trainees are exposed to two-six weeks practicum exercise where the trainees have to go on practicum twice a week.  This is the picture especially in the preparation of counsellors at the first degree level. At the master's degree level, some institutions provide for a six week intensive practicum exercise in any site of trainee's choice. The picture is not so different at the Ph.D level. There is no provision for proper internship. Given the importance and benefits accruable from having internship component in counselor preparation, this paper calls for its inclusion in the training of counsellors in Nigeria.


Women make up about half of the world's migrants, so it is little surprise that the international migration of women has been attracting significant attention in recent years. Most agree that global restructuring increasingly forces a large number of women in developing countries to emigrate to richer countries. But is poverty the only motivating factor? In Women in Motion, Nana Oishi examines the cross-national patterns of international female migration in Asia. Drawing on fieldwork in ten countries-both migrant-sending and migrant-receiving-the author investigates the differential impact of globalization, state policies, individual autonomy, and various social factors. This is the first study of its kind to provide an integrative approach to and a comparative perspective on female migration flows from multiple countries.


We investigated calretinin expression in cerebellar granule cells of 30-day-old leaner mice to understand possible changes in calcium homeostasis due to the calcium channel mutation that these mice carry. Quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry showed decreased calretinin mRNA expression in the leaner cerebellum. Immunohistochemical staining also revealed decreased calretinin immunoreactivity in the leaner cerebellum. To exclude the effect of granule cell loss that occurs in the leaner mouse when comparing cerebellar calretinin expression, the number of granule cells per unit area in the cerebellum was compared to the wild-type cerebellum. Granule cell counts per unit area of cerebellum revealed similar numbers of granule cells present in wild-type and leaner mice. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was employed to obtain an equal number of granule cells from wild-type and leaner mice. Western blot analysis with LCM-procured cerebellar granule cells showed decreased calretinin expression in leaner granule cells. These results indicate that there is an absolute decrease in calretinin expression in leaner granule cells even when granule cell loss is taken into account. Decreased calretinin expression in leaner granule cells may contribute to altered calcium buffering capacity. This alteration could be an adaptive change due to the calcium channel dysfunction, and may result in abnormal neuronal excitability and gene expression.


Chapter 2 investigates the mechanism of the temperature-controlled polymerization of 3methyl-3-phenylcyclopropene (MPCP) by Mo(NAr)(CHCMe 2Ph)(Pyr)(OTPP) (Ar = 2,6diisopropylphenyl, Pyr = pyrrolide, OTPP = 2,3,5,6-tetraphenylphenoxide). Cissyndiotactic poly(MPCP) is obtained at -78 'C, while atactic poly(MPCP) is obtained at ambient temperature. The syn initiator (syn refers to the isomer in which the substituent on the alkylidene points towards the imido ligand and anti where the substituent points away) reacts with MPCP to form an anti first-insertion product at low temperatures, which continues to propagate to give cis,syndiotactic polymer. At higher temperatures, the anti alkylidenes that form initially upon reaction with MPCP rotate thermally to syn alkylidenes on a similar timescale as polymer propagation, giving rise to an irregular polymer structure. In this system cis,syndiotactic polymer is obtained through propagation of anti alkylidene species. Chapters 3 5 detail the synthesis and reactivity of compounds containing a 2,6dimesitylphenylimido (NAr*) ligand in order to provide a better understanding of the role of steric hindrance in olefin metathesis catalysts. A new synthetic route to imido alkylidene complexes of Mo and W, which proceeds through mixed-imido compounds containing both NAr* and NtBu ligands, was developed to incorporate the NAr* ligand. Alkylidene formation is accomplished by the addition of 3 equivalents of pyridine*HCl to Mo(NAr*)(NBu)(CH 2CMe 2Ph)2 or the addition of 1 equivalent of pyridine followed by 3 equivalents of HCl solution to W(NAr*)(N'Bu)(CH 2CMe2Ph)2 to provide M(NAr*)(CHCMe 2Ph)Cl 2(py) (py = pyridine). Monoalkoxide monochloride, bispyrrolide, and monoalkoxide monopyrrolide (MAP) compounds are isolated upon substitution of the chloride ligands. Reaction of W MAP complexes (W(NAr*)(CHCMe 2Ph)(Me2Pyr)(OR)) with ethylene allows for the isolation of unsubstituted metallacycle complexes W(N Ar*)(C 3H6)(Me 2Pyr)(OR) (R = CMe(CF 3)2, 2,6-Me2C6H3, and SiPh 3). By application of vacuum to solutions of unsubstituted metallacyclebutane species, methylidene complexes W(NAr*)(CH 2)(Me2Pyr)(OR) (R = tBu, 2,6-Me2C6H3, and SiPh 3) are isolated. Addition of one equivalent of 2,3dicarbomethoxynorbornadiene to methylidene species allows for the observation of firstinsertion products by NMR spectroscopy. Investigations of NAr* MAP compounds as catalysts for olefin metathesis reactions show that they are active catalysts, but not E or Z selective for


Using the experimental modeling of late effects induced by intake of radionuclides (131I, 238,239Pu, 90Sr) the attempt to investigate the possibility of protection using immune modulators was made. Co-polymer of 2-methil-5-vinilprilidin and N-vinilpirrholidon (sovidon), G immunoglobulin and interferon, Fc fragment of immunoglobulin and S. parathyphi B. Breslau vaccine were used as immune modulators. The positive prophyletie influence of immune modulators was found for average life span, radiation action, immune status, of rates of occurrence and developments of breast tumors induced by 131I, 239Pu and 90Sr. At the same time the increase in osteosarcoma cumulative rate induced by immune modulators in case of body intake of 238Pu and 90Sr was registered.


Aims. We present near-infrared interferometry of the carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star R Sculptoris (R Scl). Methods. We employ medium spectral resolution K-band interferometry obtained with the instrument AMBER at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and H-band low spectral resolution interferometric imaging observations obtained with the VLTI instrument PIONIER. We compare our data to a recent grid of dynamic atmosphere and wind models. We compare derived fundamental parameters to stellar evolution models. Results. The visibility data indicate a broadly circular resolved stellar disk with a complex substructure. The observed AMBER squared visibility values show drops at the positions of CO and CN bands, indicating that these lines form in extended layers above the photosphere. The AMBER visibility values are best fit by a model without a wind. The PIONIER data are consistent with the same model. We obtain a Rosseland angular diameter of 8.9 ± 0.3 mas, corresponding to a Rosseland radius of 355 ± 55 R?, an effective temperature of 2640 ± 80 K, and a luminosity of log L/L? = 3.74 ± 0.18. These parameters match evolutionary tracks of initial mass 1.5 ± 0.5 M? and current mass 1.3 ± 0.7 M?. The reconstructed PIONIER images exhibit a complex structure within the stellar disk including a dominant bright spot located at the western part of the stellar disk. The spot has an H-band peak intensity of 40% to 60% above the average intensity of the limb-darkening-corrected stellar disk. The contrast between the minimum and maximum intensity on the stellar disk is about 1:2.5. Conclusions. Our observations are broadly consistent with predictions by dynamic atmosphere and wind models, although models with wind appear to have a circumstellar envelope that is too extended compared to our observations. The detected complex structure within the stellar disk is most likely caused by giant convection cells, resulting in large-scale shock fronts, and their effects on clumpy molecule and dust formation seen against the photosphere at distances of 2-3 stellar radii. © ESO, 2017.


The aim of our study was to prove the existence of a spectral peak at the pedaling frequency in the heart rate spectra, during exercise test on the cycloergometer, and to describe its characteristics. This was done by studying four young healthy volunteers (2M/2F, 18-22 yrs) while pedaling on a cycloergometer with incremental workloads, by mean of a 3-lead ECG and a 7 TV-camera optoelectronic device for recording pedal movements and respiratory movements of the thorax. A clear spectral peak in the HRV spectrum at the pedaling frequency appeared for certain workloads in all subjects. The power of this peak represented a significant fraction of the power of the respiratory peak. Since the overall displacement of the chest was the same regardless of the work load, we can exclude that the spectral peak at the pedaling frequency is due to a motion artifact, and we can rather hypothesize that it is related to the muscle pump mechanism.


Abstract. In this paper, we present seasonal and nocturnal variations of mesospheric sodium (Na) layer parameters observed over Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E), based on 166 nights during the period from January 2005 to December 2006, for the first time. The total Na content decreases during the evening and reaches a minimum value around midnight and maximum in the early morning. The year-to-year variations illustrate that Na layers reach the peak value close to 93.5 km for the year 2005 and ~93 km for the year 2006 and falls to near zero value around 110 km. Though, seasonal variation of sodium density illustrate maximum values in September, December and March, we require a larger data base for September months to conclude the statement. The column abundance shows maximum during autumn equinox and minimum during winter. The obtained seasonal and nocturnal variation of sodium layer parameters are compared with mid-latitude observations and further possible mechanisms are discussed.


Classification is one of the most active research and application areas of neural networks. The literature is vast and growing. This paper summarizes the some of the most important developments in neural network classification research. Specifically, the issues of posterior probability estimation, the link between neural and conventional classifiers, learning and generalization tradeoff in classification, the feature variable selection, as well as the effect of misclassification costs are examined. Our purpose is to provide a synthesis of the published research in this area and stimulate further research interests and efforts in the identified topics.


ABSTRACT The end of the 'Golden Age' of welfare capitalism in the 1970s was the prelude to a period of greater individualisation within societies and was accompanied by an increase in the importance of consumption as a way of organising social relations. During the same period there was also an expansion in the discourses aimed at enhancing the government of the autonomous self. One such discourse operates around what has been termed the 'will to health': it suggests that health has become a required goal for individual behaviour and has become synonymous with health itself. The generational groups whose lifecourses were most exposed to these changes are now approaching later life. We explore the extent to which social transformations related to risk, consumption and individualisation are reflected in the construction of later-life identities around health and ageing. We examine how the growth in health-related 'technologies of the self' have fostered a distinction between natural and normal ageing, wherein the former is associated with coming to terms with physical decline and the latter associated with maintaining norms of self-care aimed at delaying such decline. Finally, we consider anti-ageing medicine as a developing arena for the construction of later-life identities and discuss the implications of the social changes for researching later life.


The submarine Istanbul‐Silivri fault segment, within 15 km of Istanbul, is the only portion of the North Anatolian Fault that has not ruptured in the last 250 years. We report first results of a seafloor acoustic ranging experiment to quantify current horizontal deformation along this segment and assess whether the segment is creeping aseismically or accumulating stress to be released in a future event. Ten transponders were installed to monitor length variations along 15 baselines. A joint least squares inversion for across‐fault baseline changes, accounting for sound speed drift at each transponder, precludes fault displacement rates larger than a few millimeters per year during the 6 month observation period. Forward modeling shows that the data better fit a locked state or a very moderate surface creep—less than 6 mm/yr compared to a far‐field slip rate of over 20 mm/yr—suggesting that the fault segment is currently accumulating stress.


In the electricity market, it is very important for generation companies (Gencos) to decide how to sell energy among different transaction markets in order to maximize profits with relatively low risk. In this paper, two energy transaction markets are considered: spot markets and bilateral contract markets. An energy selling allocation approach with network congestion consideration is established based on modern portfolio theory. Analytical solution for the optimal allocation is derived with given bilateral contract prices and statistical characteristics of the spot market prices. The numerical simulation for energy selling allocation is demonstrated based on the actual data of the USA California power market.


The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study (GRLS) is the first prospective longitudinal study attempted in veterinary medicine to identify the major dietary, genetic and environmental risk factors for cancer and other important diseases in dogs. The GRLS is an observational study that will follow a cohort of 3000 purebred Golden Retrievers throughout their lives via annual online questionnaires from the dog owner and annual physical examinations and collection of biological samples by the primary care veterinarian. The field of comparative medicine investigating naturally occurring disorders in pets is specifically relevant to the many diseases that have a genetic basis for disease in both animals and humans, including cancer, blindness, metabolic and behavioural disorders and some neurodegenerative disorders. The opportunity for the GRLS to provide high-quality data for translational comparative medical initiatives in several disease categories is great. In particular, the opportunity to develop a lifetime dataset of lifestyle and activity, environmental exposure and diet history combined with simultaneous annual biological sample sets and detailed health outcomes will provide disease incidence data for this cohort of geographically dispersed dogs and associations with a wide variety of potential risk factors. The GRLS will provide a lifetime historical context, repeated biological sample sets and outcomes necessary to interrogate complex associations between genes and environmental influences and cancer.


Objective: The impact of substance abuse on violent behavior in patients suffering from schizophrenia is well-known. However, the association between the pattern of substance abuse and certain aspects of criminal behavior like the severity of offense, the previous history of violence and the age at onset of the criminal career is still unclear. Method: To assess the relationship between substance abuse, schizophrenia and violent behavior we examined healthy non-offenders; healthy offenders; non-offenders suffering from schizophrenia; and offenders suffering from schizophrenia, with respect to different patterns of substance abuse (none, alcohol only, illicit drugs only, and multiple substances). Results: Healthy offenders as well as offenders and non-offenders suffering from schizophrenia are characterized by increased rates of alcohol and illicit drug abuse. Especially multiple substance abuse appears to lower the threshold of aggression and illegal behavior. This effect is more pronounced in subjects suffering from schizophrenia. In both offender groups the abuse of psychoactive substances is associated with an earlier onset of the criminal career, but has no impact on the severity of the offenses. Conclusion: Our results point to the need for a differentiated view on the contribution of substance abuse to the criminality of subjects suffering from schizophrenia.


Several endocrine changes have been described in the obesity state. The corticotropic axis is hyperresponsive and there is enhancement of hormonal clearance, but cortisol levels are within the normal range. It is important to characterize a pseudo-Cushing in obesity. Leptin seems to be a permissive hormone for the beginning of puberty. In adults, gonadotropines are normal, and hyperandrogenism and hyperestrogenism are found. In women, insulin resistance has a central role in polycystic ovarian syndrome (POS), which is associated to ovarian hyperandrogenemia. In obese subjects, growth hormone (GH) is generally low and IGF1 is normal. Thyroid function is commonly normal in obese subjects.


This article attempts to describe and superficially evaluate the present and future application of a number of newer subtraction techniques, including recursive temporal filtration, matched filtration, hybrid subtraction, tomography and tomosynthesis, and parametric imaging and image processing. At this time, it is difficult to put each of these techniques into proper focus with regard to future clinical use. Suffice it to say that these and other techniques, which will almost certainly arise as our technical base expands, show promise of providing the diagnostician with unique information that will expand our ability to provide improved patient care based on better understanding of the physiology as well as the anatomy of both normal and pathologic processes. Critical evaluation of both the comparative clinical usefulness and the cost of such innovative digital technology requires careful study in academic centers before widespread commercial dissemination into the general diagnostic imaging community is warranted.


Abstract
 The red alga Chrysymenia saccata was first discussed by J.Agardh in 1876, and described in 1877. In subsequent publications there has been confusion about the type material, as well as the identity, and correct taxonomic placement of this species, currently referred to the genus Gloioderma. We consider the nomenclatural and taxonomic history of this species, and conclude that Chrysymenia saccata was based on poorly preserved material of Hymenocladia sanguinea. The species that was documented in detail by Sparling (1957), and is currently known as Gloioderma saccatum, is described as G. sparlingiae sp.nov.


This paper describes an automated visual tracking system combining time-lapse and end-point confocal microscopy to aid the interpretations of cell behaviors and interactions, with the focus on understanding the sprouting mechanism during angiogenesis. These multiple cells exhibit stochastic motion and are subjected to photobleaching and the images acquired are of low signal to noise ratio. Hence, following time-lapse imaging, high resolution end-point images are acquired. Our approach applies a probabilistic motion filter (a backward Kalman filtering followed by track smoothing) which incorporates end-point and all available time-lapse information in a mathematically consistent manner to obtain trajectory and phenotype information of multiple individual cells simultaneously. An extension of this algorithm, track smoothing with a Multiple Hypothesis Testing (MHT) data association, is proposed to improve association of multiple close contact and proliferating cells across images acquired from different time points to existing track trajectories. Our methodology was applied to tracking endothelial cell sprouting in three-dimensional micro-fluidic devices.


A procedure is studied that uses rank-transformed data to perform exact and estimated exact tests, which is an alternative to the commonly used F-ratio test procedure. First, a common parametric test statistic is computed using rank-transformed data, where two methods of ranking-ranks taken for the original observations and ranks taken after aligning the observations-are studied. Significance is then determined using either the exact permutation distribution of the statistic or an estimate of this distribution based on a random sample of all possible permutations. Simulation studies compare the performance of this method with the normal theory parametric F-test and the traditional rank transform procedure. Power and nominal type I error rates are compared under conditions when normal theory assumptions are satisfied, as well as when these assumptions are violated. The method is studied for a two-factor factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely randomized design and for a split-unit experiment. The power of the tests rivals the parametric F-test when normal theory assumptions are satisfied, and is usually superior when normal theory assumptions are not satisfied. Based on the evidence of this study, the exact aligned rank procedure appears to be the overall best choice for performing tests in a general factorial experiment.


This work on spatial inequality and the polarization of development sought to determine the extent and nature of variation in socio-economic development in the 123 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of south-south, Nigeria. A set of socioeconomic indicators of development covering health were collected and analyzed using the Gini-coefficient. The result revealed that there is inequality in the distribution of health facilities among the LGAs and states of the region. The result of this work revealed that both deprived and privileged LGAs in the south-south region co-exist in space. The study recommends full involvement of the local people in the design, initiation, and implementation of regional development programmes. Public participation in the development process will not only guarantee the success of any development policy, but will as well ensure its sustenance and the people's consciousness fully mobilized towards collective goal attainment.


OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characteristics and diagnose of tuberculosis in patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus in our setting. METHODS: We have revised the clinical, microbiological and histological characteristics of 92 cases diagnosed tuberculosis in seropositive patients, during a span time of 128 months. RESULTS: Of them, 71 were male and most of them (81.5%) were intravenous drugs users. The most (93.4%) were sintomatic when tuberculosis was diagnosed mainly fever and general and respiratory sintomatology. The most common signs were the presence of lymphadenopathies and hepatomegaly. The tuberculosis affected mainly pulmonary and ganglionary system. 34 cases had only pulmonary pathology, 24 extrapulmonary, 25 pulmonary and extrapulmonary and 9 miliary. The tuberculosis diagnose was based in microbiologic criteris. The most frequent source, as histologic critery, has been the ganglionary tissue. CONCLUSIONS: The only or associated pulmonary forms are more frequent. The most commonly extrapulmonary form is the ganglionary localization. The most of diagnose methods were obtained from respiratory tract and lymphadenopathy samples.


A great many cloud users face a difficult challenge in respect of the forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into effect on 25th May, 2018. While all computer systems are continuously under attack, those who operate conventional distributed network systems stand a far greater chance of being able to demonstrate compliance than those who use cloud based systems. The main reason for this discrepancy between the two approaches is down to the as yet unsolved cloud forensic problem, meaning many cloud users will be completely unable to demonstrate compliance with the new regulation, thus exposing themselves to potentially massive fines after 25th May. We consider the possible use of a crypto-currency based mechanism to address the as yet unsolved cloud forensic problem. Crypto-currencies are becoming a global phenomenon, gaining more attention from media, venture capitalists, financial and government institutions. We focus on the operational risk and the market risk related to crypto-currencies, especially the dominating Bitcoin. Operational risk encompasses the actions that undermine the technological infrastructure and security assumptions of crypto-currencies. We discuss how blockchain technology could improve the efficiency of financial infrastructures, as well as the inevitable vulnerabilities of operational risk of software, open-source governance, and code maintenance. We summarise the literature findings on the co-movement of crypto- currencies with different currencies, indices, and commodities, to show the role of crypto-currency as a commodity, currency, or a speculative investment under portfolio diversification theory. Particularly now that we have seen successful attacks on crypto- currencies in action, it is important to understand where these weaknesses lie, and to endeavour to find out to what extent the use of such technology might expose companies using this technology for GDPR compliance. In the light of the robustness of this approach, we consider whether the underlying blockchain technology could, in turn, be practically applied to addressing the cloud forensic problem. This paper looks at the pros and cons of the blockchain/bitcoin approach, seeking to identify weaknesses, potential benefits offered versus the additional resource costs/latency involved, and considers whether such an approach might be used to secure cloud forensic trails.


B oxing moved from blood sport to Olympic sport thanks, in no small part, to the invention of the motion picture machine in the 1890s. At a time when prizefights were illegal, photographic reproductions of prizefights offered a loophole for ambitious promoters and a curious public that included, for the first time as common spectators, women. The racial controversy over a black heavyweight champion, however, caused this loophole to close in 1915. Federal prohibition forced fight films out of mainstream exhibition, but the military's incorporation of boxing into training exercises had already shifted popular sentiment by the late 1920s; enforcement had ceased long before Congress repealed the ban in 1940. Recounting the dawn of boxing's modern era via early cinema makes clear the intimate relationship that developed between sport and media. Boxing films remained at ringside, as far as film historiography was concerned, because they were not seen as contenders in the development of the fiction feature film. Within the dynamic and now well-established field of early cinema, Dan Streible assembles this phenomenon into a rich cultural history in which class, gender, race, and censorship debates from the Progressive Era intersect in a new arena. Streible organizes the book chronologically, from the origins of cinema to the blockbuster Corbett-Fitzsimmons bout in 1897, the development of the nickelodeon, and the career of Jack Johnson, the African American champion who precipitated boxing's return underground. The relatively limited corpus of fight pictures permits a thorough history of notable events, covering the dealmakers, the legal ramifications, the boxers themselves, and even "fake" fight films – a significant aspect of the sport in the early period. The final chapter on the interwar period feels like an abbreviated second volume, but adequately describes the transition into the television age. A straight-punching prose style and concise recapitulations make this heavyweight volume feel light on its feet. For example, "Jeffries did theatrical work, but he had neither the talent nor the yen for stage performance, preferring simple sparring demonstrations." (114) The author does not indulge in boxing metaphors (like this reviewer), but lets the muscle of facts do the talking. While maintaining its focus on the fight film, the book invokes broader topics as well: the culture of athletics, boxing subculture, theatrical careers of boxers, censorship in the Progressive Era, and the evolving media landscape. The book will interest sport and media historians, and may well establish the fight film as a seminal chapter in the history of early cinema: among other firsts, the landmark Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight was the first feature-length film and commercial blockbuster. Boxing also catalysed technical innovation among competing motion picture manufacturers. Streible candidly admits the "sideline" position of fight pictures within the development of classical Hollywood narrative cinema, but he too easily categorizes boxing films as pure attractions. Elsewhere, he unexpectedly dismisses the role of fight pictures in people's changing perception of time, an interesting debate in early cinema; the book also treads lightly over the ethical issues of violence, spectacle and spectatorship. But Streible's impeccable archival research will surely cultivate debate in myriad disciplines around these orphaned films. Book review


Work-family conflict is challenging for workers and may lead to depression, anxiety, and overall poor health. Sleep plays an important role in the maintenance of mental health; however, the role of sleep in the association between work-family conflict and mental health is not well-studied. Questionnaires were collected from 650 nursing assistants in 15 nursing homes. Multivariate linear regression modeling demonstrated that increased work-family conflict was associated with lower mental health scores (β = −2.56, p < .01). More work-family conflict was correlated with more job demands, less job control, less social support, and longer work hours. Poor sleep quality, but not short sleep duration, mediated the association between work-family conflict and mental health. Workplace interventions to improve nursing assistants' mental health should increase their control over work schedules and responsibilities, provide support to meet their work and family needs, and address healthy sleep practices.


SUMMARY: Vibrio cholerae and V. eltor underwent considerable lysis after treatment with tris+EDTA, tris+EDTA+lysozyme or sodium lauryl sulphate. Lysis induced by tris+EDTA or tris+EDTA+lysozyme was completely inhibited by 0·3 m-sucrose, 0·15 m-NaCl or 0·01 m-MgCl2. The extent of death after treatment with tris+EDTA depended on EDTA concentration: 10 min. with 10 μg. EDTA/ml. left 43 to 50% of V. eltor viable and 71 to 75% of V. cholerae. Labelled organisms exhibited maximum leakage of 32P compounds when exposed to 71% (v/v) ethanol for V. cholerae and 50% (v/v) ethanol for V. eltor; leakage in 100% ethanol was about 77% of maximum for V. cholerae and 66% for V. eltor. Both 32P labelled and unlabelled vibrios released considerable amounts of nucleic acid, phospholipid, protein and carbohydrate and practically all their acid soluble phosphates with EDTA.


This paper uses the General Social Survey and the comparison between the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Men and of Youth to measure how returns to young men's family background have changed from the late 1970's to the late 1980's and early 1990's. Coming from a wealthy family and having a well-educated father who worked in a high-prestige occupation were much more powerful predictors of a young man's success in the later period. In contrast, maternal education was less important in determining a young man's income and educational attainment. Rising returns to education coupled with a constant relation between family background and education explains most of the rising importance of family background. Acknowledgements: Mike Hanson, Chad Slawner, Susan Sassaloss and Ishak Saporta provided research assistance. Funding from the Institute of Industrial Relations at the University of


Obesity, which was evaluated positively in our culture in past periods and which was even considered by some to be merely an aesthetic question, is a disease with serious consequences for the health of the person suffering from it, and for the economy of those who have to meet its costs. Its present prevalence in Spain is situated around 13% and, if we can trust the forecasts established for other western countries such as the USA, it will increase to become the epidemic of the present century.

The consequences of excess weight on the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, osteoarticular, reproductive and endocrine-metabolic systems are well known, as well as the relation between obesity and some types of cancer.

As a general rule, it is worth bearing in mind that the greatest complications will correspond to the greater overweight (morbid obesity and severe obesity) and that age, the duration of ponderal excess and the distribution of the additional fat also have an influence, given that android/visceral/abdominal obesity is accompanied by the so-called insulin resistance syndrome. It is thus usually accompanied by hypertension, dyslipemia, alterations of hydrocarbonate tolerance and coagulation, elements involved as a whole in cardio-vascular morbi-mortality.


Groundwater is an essential resource for humans and its quality is often threatened by leaching of contaminants from surface soils. In agricultural areas, nitrate from fertilizer or manure is one of the most common pollutants. Natural attenuation of nitrate in groundwater systems mainly occurs through denitrification, a process in which the nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere as nitrogen gas (N2). In aquifers, the electron donor required for this microbially-mediated reaction is supplied by dissolved or solid organic matter or inorganic compounds such as the iron-sulfide mineral pyrite (FeS2). The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the biogeochemical dynamics of nitrogen and sulfur in groundwater with specific attention to the role of pyrite oxidation in removal of nitrate. The research focuses on a field site at Oostrum, the Netherlands. Shallow groundwater in this region has high nitrate concentrations (up to 8 mM) due to intense fertilizer application. Geochemical analyses of the sediment and groundwater, including groundwater age dating, indicate that denitrification coupled to pyrite oxidation is a major process in the aquifer and that it leads to release of trace metals such arsenic (As) and nickel (Ni) to the groundwater. Systematic differences between time series of historical inputs of nitrate and sulfate for the period 1950 to 2000 and measured groundwater concentrations confirm that the removal of nitrate goes hand in hand with production of sulfate in this aquifer. Decreased fertilizer inputs over the past decades have led to an improvement in groundwater quality beneath the cultivated land but not at a downstream forest site due to lateral inflow of groundwater. The results of multi-isotope analyses (d15N-NO3-, d18O-NO3-, d34S-SO42-, d18O-SO42-, d34S-pyrite) confirm that pyrite is the main electron donor for denitrification at this location and that this process can explain 70% of the sulfate present in the zone of denitrification. Consistent with the geochemical analyses, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed the presence of bacteria capable of sulfide oxidation coupled to nitrate reduction. Laboratory incubations of pyrite-bearing sediments confirm that autotrophic denitrification with pyrite has the potential to efficiently remove nitrate from groundwater also in aquifers with no prior contamination with nitrate. A reactive transport model (PHT3D) was used to integrate and analyze the biogeochemical and isotopic dynamics in this nitrate-polluted aquifer (Oostrum) over the last 50 years. Model simulations were constrained by measured concentration depth profiles and age dating results as presented in the field studies. Model results illustrate that denitrification largely prevented the discharge of nitrate to surface waters, while the discharge of sulfate increased, peaking around 25 years after agricultural practices were changed. At this site, the discharge of both nitrate and sulfate are expected to decline further over the next decades


There still remains an extreme performance gap between Vision Transformers (ViTs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) when training from scratch on small datasets, which is concluded to the lack of inductive bias. In this paper, we further consider this problem and point out two weaknesses of ViTs in inductive biases, that is, the spatial relevance and diverse channel representation. First, on spatial aspect, objects are locally compact and relevant, thus fine-grained feature needs to be extracted from a token and its neighbors. While the lack of data hinders ViTs to attend the spatial relevance. Second, on channel aspect, representation exhibits diversity on different channels. But the scarce data can not enable ViTs to learn strong enough representation for accurate recognition. To this end, we propose Dynamic Hybrid Vision Transformer (DHVT) as the solution to enhance the two inductive biases. On spatial aspect, we adopt a hybrid structure, in which convolution is integrated into patch embedding and multi-layer perceptron module, forcing the model to capture the token features as well as their neighboring features. On channel aspect, we introduce a dynamic feature aggregation module in MLP and a brand new"head token"design in multi-head self-attention module to help re-calibrate channel representation and make different channel group representation interacts with each other. The fusion of weak channel representation forms a strong enough representation for classification. With this design, we successfully eliminate the performance gap between CNNs and ViTs, and our DHVT achieves a series of state-of-the-art performance with a lightweight model, 85.68% on CIFAR-100 with 22.8M parameters, 82.3% on ImageNet-1K with 24.0M parameters. Code is available at https://github.com/ArieSeirack/DHVT.


This is the first study investigating hormone secretion by the isolated perfused pancreas of the aged Fischer 344 rat. Nutrient-induced release of insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin in overnight-fasted rats aged 2, 10, 18, 24, and 30 mo was studied. After an equilibration period, the pancreas was perfused for 20 min with buffer A (containing 4.2 mM glucose plus a 3.5 mM mixture of amino acids) then for 20 min with buffer B (containing 8.3 mM glucose and 7.0 mM amino acids). When stimulated by buffer B, the amount of insulin secreted increased (P less than 0.05) from immaturity (2 mo) to adulthood (10-18 mo) because of growth of the organ. From adulthood to very old age an equal amount of insulin was released in all groups during the last 19 min of perfusion with buffer B. Fasting blood glucose levels remained constant throughout life, whereas pancreatic insulin stores and plasma insulin levels rose, reaching peak values at 18 mo. The alpha-cell appeared to be deemphasized relative to the beta-cell during development but not thereafter, as indicated by the findings that from immaturity to adulthood pancreatic glucagon stores expanded less than insulin stores and that glucagon release significantly decreased. Only minor changes in somatostatin release from the delta-cells were observed after the rat reached adulthood. We conclude that the endocrine secretory response of the pancreas is well maintained throughout life in the Fischer 344 rat.