: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and learning analytics (LA) have been introduced into the field of education, where their use has great potential to enhance the teaching and learning processes. Researchers have focused on applying these technologies to teacher education, as they see the value of technology for educating. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature on AI and LA in teacher education is necessary to understand their impact in the field. Our methodology follows the PRISMA guidelines, and 30 studies related to teacher education were identified. This review analyzes and discusses the several ways in which AI and LA are being integrated in teacher education based on the studies' goals, participants, data sources, and the tools used to enhance teaching and learning activities. The findings indicate that (a) there is a focus on studying the behaviors, perceptions, and digital competence of pre- and in-service teachers regarding the use of AI and LA in their teaching practices; (b) the main data sources are behavioral data, discourse data, and statistical data; (c) machine learning algorithms are employed in most of the studies; and (d) the ethical clearance is mentioned by few studies. The implications will be valuable for teachers and educational authorities, informing their decisions regarding the effective use of AI and LA technologies to support teacher education.


A problem after successful thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction is the early occurrence of re-occlusions. An incidence between 10 and 30% is reported. All efforts made so far to reduce the re-occlusion rate using a variety of agents have been disappointing. In a pilot study 20 patients with acute myocardial infarction were treated, in whom a successful lytic therapy with urokinase or rt-PA was documented by means of coronary angiography 90 min after the beginning of treatment. Subsequently the patients were heparinised (thrombin time greater than 30 s), and in addition the selective serotonin-2 receptor-blocking agent ketanserin was given intravenously (4 mg/h). After 24 h the occurrence of early reocclusions was investigated by control angiography. None of the 20 patients showed reocclusions. The degree of stenosis in the infarcted vessel was 72% immediately after lytic therapy, and 68% after 24 h. These preliminary results may suggest a possible reduction in the re-occlusion rate after thrombolytic therapy with a combination of heparin and ketanserin.


The purpose of this study was to verify the reliability and concurrent validity of the One-Mile Walk Test (OMWT) (The Rockport Fitness Walk Test, Kline et al., 1987), as a preditor of the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) among women aged 70 to 79 years. The study used a convenient sample, composed by 30 healthy seniors from Florianopolis, SC. Data collection was structured in three phases: 1) answering questionnaires on sociodemographics, on readiness for physical activity (PAR-Q) and on physical activity level (IPAQ). Anthropometric variables were measured and the participant performed the first evaluation of the RFWT. Afterwards, the subject visited the laboratory for a treadmill walk and for a trial of the equipments (K4 b2 - COSMED) to be used during the stress test (ST) for directly measuring the VO2max; 2) the seniors performed the ST following an incremental test protocol, from 2.4 km.h-1 to 5.6 km.h-1 with grades varying from 0% to 15%; 3) the second RFWT. The statistical analyses included the criteria suggested by Lohman (1992) for validity and the procedures were performed using the SPSS (v. 7.5) and MedCalc (v. 9.1). The level of significance was established at 5%. For reliability, the generalized (GE) and sex-specific equations (SSE) presented high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC=0.942 and 0.948, p < 0,001) for predicted VO2max and low standard error of the estimate (1.14 and 1.48 ml O2.kg-1.min-1). For validity, the predicted VO2max was underestimated by both equations (GE=17.11±5.97 ml O2.kg-1.min-1; SSE=17.15±4.99 ml O2.kg-1.min-1 vs measured VO2max=26.67±3.53 ml O2.kg-1.min-1) (p < 0.001), and low correlation coeficients (r=0.488 and 0.471) between predicted and measured VO2max were observed. The equations presented high constant error (-9.56 and –9.53 ml O2.kg-1.min-1), with only 16.7% of agreement between the methods. Therefore, the RFWT was reliable, however, not valid for predicting VO2max among active elderly women aged 70 to 79 years.


Abstract Colombia is the largest supplier of coca leaf in the world, and fields smaller than one-hectare account for more than 60 per cent of cultivation. Despite the obvious relevance of smallholding growers to the strategies to control illicit crops, there are few insights into what motivates these smallholders to cultivate coca. We analyse the motivations of coca growers by estimating a discrete choice model including head of household characteristics, household variables, and agricultural unit attributes. We found that extremely poor farmers are more likely to grow coca than non-poor farmers in the same area, while households connected to the energy grid, with access to credit, and receiving cash payments for their licit crops, are less likely to grow coca crops. Our results suggest that strategies aiming to discourage farmers from growing coca should: 1) target specifically the poorest households in the region and not just seek to improve general living conditions, 2) expand rural electrification, and 3) enhance legal productivity by providing access to credit, technical support, and/or contracts on harvests before planting.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose: To develop an End of Life Care (EOLC) Policy for patients who are dying with an advanced life limiting illness. To improve the quality of care of the dying by limiting unnecessary therapeutic medical interventions, providing access to trained palliative care providers, ensuring availability of essential medications for pain and symptom control and improving awareness of EOLC issues through education initiatives. Evidence: A review of Country reports, observational studies and key surveys demonstrates that EOLC in India is delivered ineffectively, with a majority of the Indian population dying with no access to palliative care at end of life and essential medications for pain and symptom control. Limited awareness of EOLC among public and health care providers, lack of EOLC education, absent EOLC policy and ambiguous legal standpoint are some of the major barriers in effective EOLC delivery. Recommendations: Access to receive good palliative and EOLC is a human right. All patients are entitled to a dignified death. Government of India (GOI) to take urgent steps towards a legislation supporting good EOLC, and all hospitals and health care institutions to have a working EOLC policy Providing a comprehensive care process that minimizes physical and non physical symptoms in the end of life phase and ensuring access to essential medications for pain and symptom control Palliative care and EOLC to be part of all hospital and community/home based programs Standards of palliative and EOLC as established by appropriate authorities and Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) met and standards accredited and monitored by national and international accreditation bodies All health care providers with direct patient contact are urged to undergo EOLC certification, and EOLC training should be incorporated into the curriculum of health care education.


In terms of the number of signatories, one observes both large and small international environmental agreements. The theoretical literature, based on game theory, discusses different concepts and mechanisms for the stability of coalitions and has reached the conclusion that, under farsightedness, both large and small stable coalitions can occur. In the context of a repeated game, this implies that large stable coalitions can also be sustained over time by a simple trigger mechanism, for large enough discount factors. However, if changes in time implement changes in state, this conclusion does not hold anymore: only small stable coalitions can be sustained.


It was hypothesized that high CO2 availability would increase monoterpene emission to the atmosphere. This hypothesis was based on resource allocation theory which predicts increased production of plant secondary compounds when carbon is in excess of that required for growth. Monoterpene emission rates were measured from needles of (a) Ponderosa pine grown at different CO2 concentrations and soil nitrogen levels, and (b) Douglas fir grown at different CO2 concentrations. Ponderosa pine grown at 700 μmol mol–1 CO2 exhibited increased photosynthetic rates and needle starch to nitrogen (N) ratios when compared to trees grown at 350 μmol mol–1 CO2. Nitrogen availability had no consistent effect on photosynthesis. Douglas fir grown at 550 μmol mol–1 CO2 exhibited increased photosynthetic rates as compared to growth at 350 μmol mol–1 CO2 in old, but not young needles, and there was no influence on the starch/N ratio. In neither species was there a significant effect of elevated growth CO2 on needle monoterpene concentration or emission rate. The influence of climate warming and leaf area index (LAI) on monoterpene emission were also investigated. Douglas fir grown at elevated CO2 plus a 4 °C increase in growth temperature exhibited no change in needle monoterpene concentration, despite a predicted 50% increase in emission rate. At elevated CO2 concentration the LAI increased in Ponderosa pine, but not Douglas fir. The combination of increased LAI and climate warming are predicted to cause an 80% increase in monoterpene emissions from Ponderosa pine forests and a 50% increase in emissions from Douglas fir forests. This study demonstrates that although growth at elevated CO2 may not affect the rate of monoterpene emission per unit biomass, the effect of elevated CO2 on LAI, and the effect of climate warming on monoterpene biosynthesis and volatilization, could increase canopy monoterpene emission rate.


PURPOSE
Currently, endovascular techniques require monitoring by radiographic imaging for accurate catheter placement. The aim of this study was first to determine the feasibility of angioplasty under ultrasound guidance using a special catheter system. Based on this outcome, the second goal was to investigate the prevalence of lesions amenable to ultrasound-guided angioplasty.

METHODS
A balloon catheter system (Echomark) has been developed, which allows accurate catheter guidance by ultrasound imaging. An ultrasound-sensitive piezoelectric sensor positioned in the middle of the balloon portion of the angioplasty catheter is interfaced to an external duplex scanner via the catheter system. The exact position of the balloon relative to the transducer is calculated and reproduced on the screen of the duplex scanner to guide balloon positioning. In the feasibility assessment of the procedure, 16 patients with disabling claudication and rest pain were selected for balloon angioplasty under ultrasound guidance based on arteriographic and hemodynamic lesion criteria of > 50% stenosis with a peak systolic velocity ration > 2.5 in a lesion < 4 cm long that could be imaged by duplex ultrasonography. A fall in the peak systolic velocity ratio below 2.0 was selected for a procedural endpoint corresponding to < 30% residual stenosis on the completion angiogram. In the second part of the study, the prevalence of stenoses amenable to ultrasound-guided angioplasty was studied in 80 patients presenting with symptoms of peripheral arterial disease.

RESULTS
In the feasibility study, 20 stenoses (5 common iliac, 6 external iliac, and 8 superficial femoral arteries and 1 graft) meeting the inclusion criteria were subjected to ultrasound-guided angioplasty with confirmation by completion angiography. The procedure was possible in 18 (90%) of the 20 stenoses. The two failures occurred in iliac arteries that could not be imaged by duplex scanning due to obesity, bowel gas, and/or vessel wall calcification. In one case, the peak systolic velocity ratio exceeded 2.5 despite a satisfactory control arteriogram; redilation was performed, and the ratio fell below 2.0. In the second part of the study, 21 (26.2%) of the 80 patients had 29 stenoses that were amenable to angioplasty according to angiographic criteria (> 50% stenosis and < 4 cm length). All these stenoses were evaluated with duplex scanning to determine their suitability for angioplasty under ultrasound guidance. Twenty-three (79%) of the 29 lesions selected for angioplasty were well visualized by duplex, and angioplasty would have been possible based on our initial clinical experience.

CONCLUSIONS
Angioplasty under ultrasound control is a feasible technique for peripheral lesions. Ultrasound allows monitoring of both anatomical and hemodynamic parameters during angioplasty and thus provides a procedural endpoint that correlates to the control angiogram. A large proportion (79%) of stenoses deemed suitable for angioplasty can be well visualized by ultrasound, but obesity, vessel wall calcification, and bowel gas may limit the ability to obtain a satisfactory ultrasound image. Ultrasound-guided angioplasty is a potentially useful procedure that warrants further investigation.


Second language learners often struggle to understand the messages conveyed when idioms are used in texts or conversations. Due to a huge number of English idioms, it is a challenge for them to understand all the meanings conveyed by these idioms. As a result of this obstacle, learners have to strategize their thoughts by using various guessing techniques to process the information in order to make the meaning of the phrases which sometimes have to be interpreted figuratively. The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of guessing strategies in comprehending idioms among 58 ESL (English as a Second Language) learners in SMK Tanjung Datuk, Johor. Their competency in comprehending idioms will be measured before looking at the guessing strategies used by them to assist their understanding. Two groups of proficiency; proficient and less proficient were the focus for this study to see if there were any differences in terms of their performance in understanding idioms and how they used guessing strategies during the process. The theoretical framework used for the study was the Global Elaboration Model (GEM) proposed by Levorato & Cacciari (1992) to explain the process of comprehending idioms. Forty multiple choice questions in a questionnaire cum test and interviews were used to gather data from the 58 respondents. The findings showed that 45 out of the 58 respondents had an average competency with an appropriate and comprehensive knowledge of idioms with a score between 50 to 79 percent. Only 5 of the respondents were able to demonstrate an exceptional understanding of comprehending the idioms with a score of above 80 percent. Another 7 respondents showed a basic knowledge of idioms with a score of between 40 to 49 percent. Only 1 respondent from this study showed an inadequate knowledge of idioms. "Guessing from context" was used mostly by the proficient respondents in comprehending idioms. 56% of the proficient respondents used "Guessing from context" (GC) when interpreting idioms in context followed by using their background knowledge (BK) as another guessing strategy which was used by 21% of them. Among the less proficient respondents, their highest guessing strategy was also "Guessing from context"'; however, with a smaller number in percentage that is only 36% compared to the proficient respondents followed by 32% using the wild guessing (WG) strategy where they merely chose the meaning of idioms without properly analyzing them. The proficient and less proficient respondents tended to employ guessing from context (GC) as their most preferable guessing strategy, but the main hindrance that stood between them was their lexical knowledge of English. In addition, the proficient and less proficient respondents shared the same lowest guessing strategy which was "referring to L1" strategy which had a 6% frequency usage. This was because the idioms used in the questionnaire were unlikely to have similarity with the respondents' first language idioms and thus this guessing strategy was the least used strategy compared to the others.


Hybrid surfactants containing both fluorocarbon (FC) and hydrocarbon (HC) chains, as effective CO2-philic surfactants, could improve the solubility of polar substances in supercritical CO2. Varying the length of the HC of hybrid surfactants is an effective way to improve the CO2-philicity. In this paper, we have investigated the effects of the HC length on the self-assembly process and the CO2-philicity of hybrid surfactants (F7Hn, n = 1, 4, 7 and 10) in water/CO2 mixtures using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the self-assembly time of F7Hn exhibits a maximum when the length of the HC is equal to that of the FC (F7H7). In this case, the investigation of H-bonds between the water core and CO2 phase shows that F7H7 has the strongest CO2-philicity because it has the best ability to separate water and CO2. To explain the origin of the differences in separation ability, the analysis of the structures of the reverse micelles shows that there are two competing mechanisms with a shortening HC. Firstly, the volume of F7Hn is reduced, which thus decreases the separation ability. Moreover, this also leads to the curved conformation of the FC. As a result, the separation ability is enhanced. These two mechanisms are balanced in F7H7, which has the best ability to separate water and CO2. Our simulation results demonstrate that the increased volume and the curved conformation of the hybrid surfactant tail could enhance the CO2-philicity in F7Hn surfactants. It is expected that this work will provide valuable information for the design of CO2-philic surfactants.


Objectives: Keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) is a high-molecular-weight protein antigen collected from the haemolymph of the sea mollusk Megathura crenulata. It is a powerful non-specific immune response modifier that induces both a cell-mediated and a humoral response in animals and man. Thus, it is commonly used clinically as a measure of immune competence. In 1974, Olson studied the immune competence of bladder cancer patients by intradermal application of KLH. He later observed a significant reduction of recurrent disease in this patient group compared to another not immunized with KLH. This prompted a variety of experimental and clinical studies using KLH as an immunotherapy for recurrent bladder cancer. Methods: Three different bladder cancer models have been used for experimental studies: intravesical transplantation of tumour cells in syngeneic mouse bladders; subcutaneous transplantation of tumour cells in syngeneic mice; direct chemical induction of bladder tumours by feeding rats with the carcinogen N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine. Results: The efficacy of KLH as an immunotherapeutic agent has been compared with different immune response modifiers alone or in combination with these in 11 experimental studies. Most of the studies used different concentration and application schedules for KLH. In addition a pre-immunisation prior to inoculation of the tumour was not performed in all studies. Therefore it is not useful to compare the results of these studies. However, most of the experiments demonstrated a significant effect on tumour appearance and extension after treatment with KLH. Intralesional or systemic application of KLH seemed to be superior to intravesical treatment. Pre-immunisation with KLH several days or weeks before tumour inoculation also seems to be a key point of success. No study reported severe side-effects after application of KLH; additionally performed toxicity studies underlined the good tolerability of KLH. Conclusion: Based on all the experimental studies, KLH has to be judged as an effective and safe immunotherapeutic drug for the treatment of experimental bladder cancer. Prospective randomised clinical trials should evaluate the role of KLH as an immunotherapeutic alternative in the prophylaxis of recurrent bladder cancer and should determine whether the efficacy of KLH in man may be improved by systemic application.


Drought stress contributes significantly to economic yield losses in finger millet (Eleusine coracana) production. This study evaluated morpho-physiological and agronomic traits among 25 finger millet genotypes for drought tolerance under field conditions. Out of the 25 genotypes, 24 were advanced lines preselected for drought tolerance from ICRISAT, KALRO and Egerton University seed units and one check cultivar P-224. The study was conducted at two drought endemic locations (Koibatek, Baringo County and Soin, Kericho County) in Kenya during 2020 cropping season using 5 × 5 triple Lattice design with three replicates. Results revealed that genotype was significant (P<0.001) for seedling vigour, peduncle length, plant height, number of productive tillers number of fingers and harvest index (P<0.01) and finger length (P<0.05). Location was significant (P<0.001) for plant stand, number of fingers, finger length and days to 50% flowering and peduncle length. The interaction effect between genotype and location was significant (P<0.001) for number of fingers, yield and harvest index. There were significant and positive correlation between ET and HI (r = 0.537***), ET and grain yield (r = 0.611***), root relative water content (RRWC) and HI (r=0.442***). Lines ICFX 1420314-2-1-1-1 (7), KNE 814 X Ex Alupe (P) P8-1-1-1-1 (24) and ICFX 1420415-3-1-1-2 (14) were identified as the most suitable genotypes for drought tolerance based on their superior morpho-physiological traits to withstand soil water deficit with higher grain yield. These identified genotypes can be recommended to farmers and incorporated in breeding programs to improve production in the semi-arid areas.


We study experimentally the Bloch-wave instabilities in optically induced photonic lattices. We reveal two different instability scenarios associated with either the transverse modulational instability of a single Bloch wave or the nonlinear interband coupling between different Bloch waves. We show that the transverse instability is greatly enhanced in the induced lattice in comparison with homogeneous media.


Intracellular polarisation of auxin efflux carriers is crucial for understanding how auxin gradients form in plants. The polarisation dynamics of auxin efflux carriers PIN-FORMED (PIN) depends on both biomechanical forces as well as chemical, molecular and genetic factors. Biomechanical forces have shown to affect the localisation of PIN transporters to the plasma membrane. We propose a physico-genetic module of PIN polarisation that integrates biomechanical, molecular, and cellular processes as well as their non-linear interactions. The module was implemented as a discrete Boolean model and then approximated to a continuous dynamic system, in order to explore the relative contribution of the factors mediating PIN polarisation at the scale of single cell. Our models recovered qualitative behaviours that have been experimentally observed and enable us to predict that, in the context of PIN polarisation, the effects of the mechanical forces can predominate over the activity of molecular factors such as the GTPase ROP6 and the ROP-INTERACTIVE CRIB MOTIF-CONTAINING PROTEIN RIC1.


The safety of lithium carbonate, now in widespread use for treatment of manic-depressive disorders, has been questioned because of reports that it lowers the seizure threshold in patients prone to convulsive disorders. Seventeen state hospital patients were studied. Fifteen were severe epileptics, poorly controlled clinically with standard anticonvulsants and one had been well controlled; one patient had an abnormal electroencephalogram with no clinical history of seizure activity. All were administered lithium carbonate for a six-week period. EEGs were obtained prior to the study and twice weekly during the study. Serum lithium ion levels were determined prior to each EEG during the study period and maintained between 0.6 and 1.25 mEq/liter. There was only one instance of increased clinical seizure activity, while ten of the 16 seizure patients showed a clear reduction of seizure frequency. EEG changes paralleled clinical findings with one exception. Status epilepticus was not encountered and only one patient had more seizures (4.0/mo) during the lithium carbonate treatment period than during the baseline period (1.8/mo).


Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) demonstrated remarkable capabilities in learning complex hierarchical data representations, but the nature of these representations remains largely unknown. Existing global explainability methods, such as Network Dissection, face limitations such as reliance on segmentation masks, lack of statistical significance testing, and high computational demands. We propose Inverse Recognition (INVERT), a scalable approach for linking the learned representations to human-interpretable concepts based on the ability to differentiate between concepts. In contrast to prior work, INVERT is capable of handling diverse types of neurons, exhibits less computational complexity, and does not rely on the availability of segmentation masks. Moreover, INVERT provides an interpretable metric assessing the alignment between the representation and its corresponding explanation and delivering a measure of statistical significance, emphasizing its utility and credibility. We demonstrate the applicability of INVERT in various scenarios, including the identification of representations affected by spurious correlations, and the interpretation of the hierarchical structure of decision-making within the models.


In this paper, FW (Food Waste) and SS (Sewage Sludge) were co-digested for biohydrogen production. After characterization both FW and SS were found as better option forbiohydrogen production. FW was rich in carbohydrate containing specially rice, which was added as more than 50% and easily hydrolyzable waste. FW is considered as an auxiliary substrate for biohydrogen production and high availability of carbohydrate in FW makes it an important substrate for the production of biohydrogen. On the contrary, SS was rich in protein and has a high pH buffering capacity, which makes it appropriate for codigestion. Adequate supplementation of inorganic salts, the addition of hydrogen producing inoculums, protein enrichment and pH buffering capacity of SS and carbohydrate content in FW increases the hydrogen production potential. Various experiments were performed by considering different mixing ratios like 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 of FW and SS. The 50:50 and 90:10 mixing ratio of FW and SS were found as best among all other co-digested ratios. The maximum specific hydrogenyield 106.7 mL/gVS added was obtained at a waste composition of 50:50 followed by 92.35 mL/gVS added from 90:10 of FW to SS. The optimum pH and temperature for operating this process werein the range of 5.5-6.5 and 35°C. The production of clean energy and waste utilization in anaerobic co-digestion process makes biohydrogen generation a promising and novel approach to fulfilling the increasing energy needs as a substitute for fossil fuels.


In recent years translation quality evaluation has emerged as a major, and at times contentious, topic. Despite a focus on systematizing the evaluation of translation quality, the industry landscape is still highly fragmented, in part because different kinds of translation projects require very different evaluations of quality. In addition, human and machine translation (MT) quality evaluation methods have been fundamentally different in kind, preventing comparison of MT with human translation. The lack of clarity has contributed to an environment in which requesters of translation often cannot be certain whether or not a translation meets their needs or the needs of end users and where providers are unclear about what requesters need and want. In response the EU-funded QTLaunchPad project has developer the Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM) framework, an open an extensible system for declaring and describing translation quality metrics using a shared vocabulary of "issue types".


Background The humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) trastuzumab (H) + chemotherapy (chemo) prolongs disease-free survival (DFS) in patients (pts) with HER2-positive breast cancer (BC) in the adjuvant setting. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), one central regulator of angiogenesis, is a downstream target of HER2. Tumors overexpressing HER2 also overexpress VEGF-A and exhibit increased angiogenic potential. Combining H with the anti-VEGF-A mAb bevacizumab (B) significantly decreased tumor volume vs B or H alone in HER2-positive xenograft models and demonstrated efficacy in phase 2 studies. In the phase 3 AVEREL study in pts with HER2-positive metastatic BC, adding B to H + docetaxel (T) led to a non-significant increase in a duration of PFS and objective response rates. Chemo plus H±B is now explored in this large phase 3 trial to assess the impact of VEGF-A blockade on residual or micrometastatic disease in the adjuvant setting. Methods BETH (NCT00625898) is a randomized, phase 3, open-label study evaluating the addition of B to 2 different H-chemo regimens. Pts had centrally-confirmed HER2-positive BC (FISH+ and/or IHC 3+), ECOG PS 0-1, unilateral invasive breast adenocarcinoma, total mastectomy or lumpectomy, and LVEF ≥55%. Prior therapy with anthracyclines, taxanes, carboplatin (C), H or B for any malignancy or radiotherapy, chemo, and/or targeted therapy for the currently diagnosed BC were not permitted. Pts were stratified by center, hormone receptor status (ER and/or PR-positive, ER/PR-negative), and axillary lymph node status (0, 1-3, 4+) before inclusion into 1 of 2 chemo cohorts, and then randomized. All pts were recruited by investigators from the Translational Research in Oncology (TRIO/CIRG), the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) or a group of independent sites. Cohort 1 (3231 pts) included pts receiving 6 cycles of TCH±B followed by H±B for 1 yr after the first dose. Cohort 2 (278 pts) included pts from some independent sites electing to use anthracycline-based therapy and these pts received 3 cycles of TH±B followed by 3 cycles of 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide followed by H±B to complete 1 yr of treatment. T was given at 8 mg/kg IV loading dose, 6 mg/kg IV q3w thereafter; B was given at 15 mg/kg IV q3w. The primary endpoint is invasive DFS (IDFS) for B-containing vs. non-B-containing regimens. Secondary endpoints are IDFS within chemo cohorts, DFS, overall survival, recurrence-free interval (RFI), distant RFI, safety including specific cardiac assessments, and the identification of predictive biomarkers for B. The sample size was determined to test the hypothesis of interest, both in the faster accruing cohort and overall. With 3509 pts enrolled, the trial will have 85% power to detect a HR of 0.70 favoring the addition of B overall, irrespective of chemo regimen. With ∼3000 pts in the faster-accruing cohort, the study will have 80% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.70 at a 2-sided alpha of 0.05. Median duration of follow-up will be 36 months in Jun 13, cut-off date of the primary analysis. Initial efficacy, safety, and plasma marker analyses will be reported. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr S1-03.


The heartbeat has been proposed as an intrinsic source of motion that can be used in combination with tagged Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to measure displacements induced in the liver as an index of liver stiffness. Optimizing a tagged MRI acquisition protocol in terms of sensitivity to these displacements, which are in the order of pixel size, is necessary to develop the method as a quantification tool for staging fibrosis. We reproduced a study of cardiac-induced strain in the liver at 3T and simulated tagged MR images with different grid tag patterns to evaluate the performance of the Harmonic Phase (HARP) image analysis method and its dependence on the parameters of tag spacing and grid angle. The Partial Volume Effect (PVE), T1 relaxation, and different levels of noise were taken into account. Four displacement fields of increasing intensity were created and applied to the tagged MR images of the liver. These fields simulated the deformation at different liver stiffnesses. An Error Index (EI) was calculated to evaluate the estimation accuracy for various parameter values. In the absence of noise, the estimation accuracy of the displacement fields increased as tag spacings decreased. EIs for each of the four displacement fields were lower at 0° and the local minima of the EI were found to correspond to multiples of pixel size. The accuracy of the estimation decreased for increasing levels of added noise; as the level increased, the improved estimation caused by decreasing the tag spacing tended to zero. The optimal tag spacing turned out to be a compromise between the smallest tag period that is a multiple of the pixel size and is achievable in a real acquisition and the tag spacing that guarantees an accurate liver displacement measure in the presence of realistic levels of noise.


Three types of austenitic stainless steels JK2, JJ1 and JN1 were isothermally aged at temperatures from 600 to 900°C for 10 to 1000 minutes in order to study the microstructural evolution and its effect on the fracture toughness at cryogenic temperatures. The Charpy V-Notch fracture energy at 77 K showed a significant decrease with aging time in JJ1 and JN1 steels because of their higher contents of C and N. In contrast, the fracture energy corresponding to the aged JK2 steel decreased gradually with aging time. The abundant intergranular precipitation of carbides and nitrides seems to be the responsible for the fracture toughness deterioration in the aged JJ1 and JN1 steels. On the other hand, the intergranular precipitation of carbides was less abundant in the aged JK2 steel. The scanning electron microscope fractographs of the CVN test specimens corresponding to the aged JJ1 and JN1 steels showed mainly an intergranular brittle fracture and its fraction increased with aging time and temperature. In general, the presence of a more abundant intergranular precipitation resulted in a more rapid decrease in toughness with aging time.


Sciences and Technology (CEST-2018), September 25-27, 2018, vol. 2. This is an open access article under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original work is properly cited. ISBN: 978-81-936820-6-7 Influence of Plastic Bottles Fibre on Self Compacting Concrete Abdelhamed Ganaw, Basel Meghari, Abdulnasir Alkoum , Mohammed Alawig


This article analyses the role as scapegoat and the 'mirroring' function performed by immigrants in societies where levels of economic inequality are increasing, and welfare structures are being constantly contracted. The central argument of this article is that, in a situation of prolonged economic crisis, political elites can blame certain minority groups for causing difficulties that really arise from macrosocial factors. In the first section, the article examines the creation in and by the media of the image of immigrants as 'the enemy within', demonstrating the arbitrariness of this categorisation and how it acts as a catalyst for the discontent felt by native populations, in particular the Italian people. The social construction of immigrants as potential perils to law and order and as unfair competitors in the job market and in applications for welfare resources (which does not find confirmation in scientific research) also performs the function of legitimising the political elites in a time of enduring economic crisis and changes in the capitalist economic model. The second section illustrates the dynamics, causes and consequences of the growth of economic inequality in economies around the world, with wages and pensions falling. States find themselves in great difficulty trying to counteract these processes of impoverishment in the population with social welfare measures. The third and final section looks at the 'mirroring' function performed by immigrants. They act as a convenient catalyst for the anger of the native populations, in part because the conditions of financial uncertainty and social marginalisation in which immigrants so often live are also beginning to seem like the probable future for the natives. Therefore, immigrants show us an image of poverty and uncertainty which seemed to have been definitely defeated through the development of welfare systems but is returning.


This study aimed at investigating the effect of using two teaching models of constructivism on the motivation towards learning science. The sample of the study consisted of 211 male and female students from grade 8. They were distributed into three groups: The first experimental group which was taught by using a Bybee Model and consisted of 71 students, the second group consisted of 70 students and it was taught by adopting Zahorik model, while the third group (the control group) consisted of 71 students and it was taught by adopting the traditional method of teaching. The researchers used a 35- item questionnaire to measure student motivation toward learning science. Findings of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences on all dimensions of the overall measure of motivation due to the impact of the teaching model, and came to favor the two experimental groups compared to the traditional group. And to favor first group which was taught by Bybee model compared to the group which was taught by Zahorik model. There were also statistically significant differences on the overall measure of motivation, due to the effect of gender; the differences were in favor of females.


: Composite adrenal tumors composed of both pheochromocytoma and ganglioneuroma are rare. To our knowledge, only two cases have been reported previously, displaying symptoms referable, in the first case to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide production and, in the second case, to catecholamine production. We report a case of composite pheochromocytoma-ganglioneuroma associated with renal angiomyolipoma and elevated urinary and serum catecholamine levels. Light and electron microscopic findings are described.


TiO 2 nanowires (NWs) have been fabricated by thermal evaporation method, using the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth method and Au thin layer as a catalyst which were coated on titanium/quartz substrate. Optical and microstructure properties of TiO 2 NWs have been reviewed under different argon carrier gas flows. The gas flow was varied from 60 to 170 sccm. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that TiO 2 NWs formed in ru‐ tile phase and their preferred orientation was in (110). The field emission scanning elec‐ tron microscope figures indicated that with increasing gas flow, nanowires became thinner and longer. The absorbance curve of TiO 2 nanowires has been drawn by using spectrophotometer and their band gap was measured. Our results showed that the band gap has been enhanced in comparison with bulk one due to the quantum confinement. Also, the band gap enhanced from 3.35 to 3.45 eV by increasing the argon flow, since the wires became thinner and longer. The Williamson–Hall mechanism was applied as the vi‐ tal tools for characterization of crystallite size and microstrain. Also, microstructure prop‐ erties have been studied by X-ray diffraction analysis such as; dislocation density and texture coefficient. The crystallinity of TiO 2 NWs has been made better by enhancing Ar flow due to increasing of VLS growth method.


Printable organic thin-film transistor (O-TFT) is one of the most recognized technical issues nowadays. Our recent progress on the formation of organic-inorganic hybrid thin films consists of polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ), and its applications for the gateinsulating layer of O-TFTs are introduced in this paper. PMSQ synthesized in toluene solution with formic acid catalyst exhibited the electric resistivity of higher than 1014 Ω cm after thermal treatment at 150◦C, and the very low concentration of residual silanol groups in PMSQ was confirmed. The PMSQ film contains no mobile ionic impurities, and this is also important property for the practical use for the gate-insulating materials. In the case of top-contact type TFT using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with PMSQ gate-insulating layer, the device properties were comparable with the TFTs having thermally grown SiO2 gate-insulating layer. The feasibility of PMSQ as a gate-insulating material for O-TFTs, which was fabricated on a flexible plastic substrate, has been demonstrated. Moreover, by the modification of PMSQ, further functionalities, such as surface hydrophobicity, high permittivity that allows low driving voltage, and photocurability that allows photolithography, could be appended to the PMSQ gate-insulating layers.


We consider the problem of distributed scheduling in wireless networks subject to simple collision constraints. We define the efficiency of a distributed scheduling algorithm to be the largest number (fraction) such that the throughput under the distributed scheduling policy is at least equal to the efficiency multiplied by the maximum throughput achievable under a centralized policy. For a general interference model, we prove a lower bound on the efficiency of a distributed scheduling algorithm by first assuming that all of the traffic only uses one hop of the network. We also prove that the lower bound is tight in the sense that, for any fraction larger than the lower bound, we can find a topology and an arrival rate vector within the fraction of the capacity region such that the network is unstable under a greedy scheduling policy. We then extend our results to a more general multihop traffic scenario and show that similar scheduling efficiency results can be established by introducing prioritization or regulators to the basic greedy scheduling algorithm


There are currently more people than before seeking a livelihood through oil palm agriculture around the world – approximately 14 million people with properties vulnerable to flood risks, and more than half of the settlements contain livelihood assets being exposed to seasonal floods. Flood risks cannot be eliminated but they can be effectively analysed and reduced in many oil-palm dominated landscapes. To assist disaster planning, hazard and risk mitigation, tools and models must be used to understand flood characteristics and behaviour, the areas affected, potential flood risks, levels of exposure and loss probabilities of livelihood assets. However, little is known about riverine flood risk to, and vulnerability of, livelihood assets in oil-palm dominated landscapes. This study assessed flood risks on livelihood assets in the Dagi River catchment, PNG.

Fieldwork data and hydrological models were used to determine flood characteristics and behaviour. Water depths, velocity and duration were observed during two wet seasons in 2010 and 2014. Flood discharge in terms of its peak and magnitude were analysed using rainfall data simulated using HEC-HMS. Both Log-Pearson Type III Distribution and Gumbel's extreme value distribution techniques were used to analyse flood frequency. In HEC-HMS program, the millimetre unit of depth is written as MM (USACE, 2013; p.124). Rainfall-runoff simulation results show that upstream reaches have a steep hydrograph with a peak discharge of 1326m³/s (130.10MM) for 2010 at 13:00pm compared with that of 2014 which peaked at 12:30pm with 729m³/s (86.96MM). Downstream reach generally showed a broader hydrograph with a peak discharge of 1158.4m³/s (72.47MM) at 14:00pm in 2014, while in 2010 it was 2424.4m³/s (109.67MM) that peaked by 14:30pm. Floods in Dagi rise quickly upstream and flow fast downstream and this provides less time for warning and evacuation.

Velocity in all cross-sections decreases towards the banks and in the floodplains as they encounter roughness. The 2014 floods had an average velocity of 4.35m/s in the main channels upstream while downstream average velocity was 2.75m/s. The 2010 floods had an average velocity of 5.38m/s upstream while downstream average velocity was 3.76m/s. The flood duration from upstream in 2014 receded to normal levels in three days (72 hours) but took seven days downstream. In 2010 the flood receded within four days upstream but took 11 days to reach normalcy downstream. Flood height varies for all sites in response to slopes (1-20⁰) from 0.01m to as much as 7.5m. The stream power during the 2014 flood increased from 1915.12 watts/m² (N/m s - where N is expressed as stream power per unit weight of 1 N and work and energy are metres per second written as one unit - m s) from sub-catchment 1 to as much as 9575.58 N/m s at sub-catchment 4. The flood event of 2010 had a recurrence interval of 11 years (9.09%) while that of 2014 had a recurrence interval of 7.33 years (13.64%). This means floods in Dagi catchment are highly variable and this depends on many factors but primarily rainfall and slope characteristics.

SOBEK 1D2D, HEC-RAS Beta 5.0, HEC-RAS 4.1 and HEC-GeoRAS modelling software were used to model and visualise flood inundation and hazards. Modelling focused on flood velocity and depth in 1D and 2D channels, where inundation and hazards were visualised. The spatial extent of inundation and hazards were determined by using flood characteristics (velocity and depth) obtained after the 2010 and 2014 flood simulation. Because of the relatively flat topography (1-20⁰) with no flood protection in all reaches, high peak discharge breached the bankfull stage and inundated within an average radius of 500m. The 2010 flood event inundated a large area (79.9 ha) compared with the 2014 inundation (55.2 ha), with most inundation occurring in the middle and lower reaches. Results validated using depth and velocity data together with various roughness figures revealed a difference, on average, of 0.40m in the modelled and observed data. The peak difference during the 2014 flood event ranged between 0.24m and 0.55m. On average, the 2010 flood revealed a difference of 0.45m in the modelled and observed results and at peak discharges the difference ranged from 0.32m to 0.54m. Thus, the modelled peaks agreed with those observed. The simulated results with appropriate input data, initial condition, boundary conditions, model assumptions, roughness coefficient values and coarse representation of the grid resolution were able to generate a very good simulated flood inundation extent.

Flood risks were assessed using a risk-based approach by analysing risk comprehensively. It estimated flood hazards using geo-processing tools and hydrodynamic models that represented flood intensity. It estimated vulnerability based on the percentage of livelihood assets damaged, dependent on flood velocity and depth. This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods. Focusing on depths of inundation and maps of vulnerable land use, an assessment of risks was performed qualitatively. The level of vulnerability and risk zones were identified based on the assigned land use weights, hazard and vulnerability assessment criteria. Using the weights and criteria and land use curves, raster-based vulnerability and risk maps were drawn in relation to three exceedance probabilities. Quantitative risk assessment involved estimating the total costs of exposed elements (direct tangible) based on the damage functions and classified according to their type. Results showed that houses and buildings incurred the greatest costs (34.3%), leaching of fertilisers (27.2%), deaths (23.7%), subsistence gardens (11.4%), roads (2.6%), damaged oil palm trees (0.8%), non-pick-up of bunches (0.02%) and formal job income loss (0.01%). The total economic costs based on the elements at risk is PGK77,869,451. This is equivalent to US$26,545,696 (23rd September 2015 exchange). The results reveal that the level of damage varies with flood probabilities.

Flood risks have been exacerbated by the increasing population and the need for more people to seek a livelihood. This has increased the extent and impacts of floods through the replacement of vegetation with bare and levelled land surfaces associated with increased oil palm cultivation and subsistence gardening in riparian zones. These land uses have interfered with the water cycle and the stream channel morphology. Prevention plans and mitigations recommended for flood disaster should include the implementation of conventional and unconventional structures.


Background: Group face-to-face and individual internet-based mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT and eMBCT) have been demonstrated to reduce psychological distress for distressed cancer patients in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). This study focused on the long-term effects of this RCT during the nine-month follow-up period, and on possible predictors, moderators and working mechanisms. Methods: Distressed cancer patients (n1⁄4 245) were randomized to MBCT or eMBCT. Data were collected at baseline, post-treatment, threeand nine-month follow-up. Data were analyzed with linear mixed effect models and (hierarchical) linear regressions. Results: Analyses revealed long-term reductions in psychological distress and rumination, and long-term increases in positive mental health and mental health-related quality of life (QoL) in both interventions over the course of the nine-month follow-up. Interestingly, patients reported less psychological distress in the follow-up period after eMBCT in comparison to MBCT. Less psychological distress, rumination and neuroticism, and more extraversion and agreeableness at baseline predicted less psychological distress at the nine-month follow-up after both interventions. Less mindful and conscientious patients at baseline benefited more from eMBCT than from MBCT. Regarding working mechanisms, changes in mindfulness skills, fear of cancer recurrence and rumination during both interventions predicted less psychological distress at follow-up. Conclusions: Our findings suggest most improvements in cancer patients' increase over time after both interventions. Furthermore, patients seemed to benefit more from eMBCT than MBCT based on psychological distress levels, especially those patients with low levels of mindfulness skills and conscientiousness. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 18 April 2018 Accepted 14 May 2018


increased number of cases have enabled the ability to observe rare complications in addition to common complications. In the current case, the authors aimed to present a benign, but rare, anesthetic complication, the "mask phenomenon," which was induced by bronchospasm and severe cough developing on the basis of facial edema that occurred in the steep Trendelenburg position. This paper not only reports the importance of early recognition of complications of steep Trendelenburg for anesthesiologists; but also serves as a reminder to physicians caring for postanesthesia patients in the surgical ward after robotic surgery.


Published in a time when tragedy was pervasive in gay literature, Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, published later as Carol, was the first lesbian novel with a happy ending. It was unusual for depicting lesbians as sympathetic, ordinary women, whose sexuality did not consign them to a life of misery. The novel criticises how 1950s American society worked to suppress lesbianism and women's agency. It also refuses to let that suppression succeed by giving its lesbian couple a future together. My thesis assesses the extent to which the novel broke the conventions of gay literature, and how Highsmith was able to publish such a radical text in the conservative 1950s.  The Talented Mr Ripley, a crime novel published in 1955, is more representative of both Highsmith's work and 1950s homophobia. Tom Ripley is coded as gay through a number of often pejorative stereotypes, though the novel never confirms his sexuality. This makes it appear far more conventional than The Price of Salt. And yet, it treats Tom sympathetically and gives him a happy ending. Underneath the surface level homophobia is a story of gay survival and success, and once again Highsmith subverts the tradition of gay tragedy. However, because homophobic tropes are central to its narrative, it remains difficult to call Ripley a radical text.  In placing the two novels side by side, my thesis draws out the complexity of Highsmith's relationship with the gay canon. I find commonalities in the novels based on Highsmith's interest in disrupting conventional morality. She achieves this disruption by humanising outsiders such as gays and lesbians, and constructing narratives in which they are able to find the freedom and happiness that the literature of the period usually denied them.


The rapid growth in the use of non-cash payment instruments, specifically debit and credit cards, has become a prominent feature of modern economies. With an interest in the explanation of this phenomenon and differences in use across countries, we apply a model of payment instrument use to model the relationship between the dependent variables (total volume of card transactions, debit card transactions, and credit card transactions) and the five independent variables based on income, infrastructure, substitution, and institutional influences. We estimate the model and perform a regression analysis on a panel of 22 countries over the period 2009 to 2013. We find that crime, bank concentration, and income have positive relationship with the use of card instruments, while cash is found to be both a complement and substitute to card payments. The variable based on infrascture yields insignificant results. With the results, our purpose is to give greater insight into to the use of the card payments and the explanations for differences in use across countries.


Seal watching as a form of wildlife tourism is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Behavioral changes caused by the presence of tourists could lead to negative consequences for seal welfare and may affect reproduction and survival. Therefore, managing seal watching activities to ensure future protection and conservation is important. Codes of conduct or guidelines for how to behave around animals are one way to regulate wildlife watching and are often easier and quicker to implement than laws. Codes explaining the consequences for wildlife if the code is not followed appeal to the moral obligation of tourists and thereby increase incentives to act appropriately. This study focused on analyzing the content of codes of conducts for seal watching. Codes of conducts (n=33) accessible on the internet during the time of study were analysed. Results show that in many areas where seal watching occurs there are no regulations or guidelines. The content and detail of the codes varied and the information was often insufficient to offer adequate protection of seals. Few of the codes were developed in cooperation with scientists or stated that the content was based on research. Further, a majority of the codes did not explain the consequences for wildlife if the code was not followed.
More research on seals and the tourists watching them is needed to better understand the effects of tourism and how disturbance could be minimised. Meanwhile, developing an international code of conduct (with local additions) built on existing knowledge in the field, could be one option to increase protection and ensure conservation of these animals. The results presented in this paper could assist the development of such a code of conduct.


Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a pathologically distinct malignancy of the lung, characterized by rapid growth, propensity for early metastatic spread, and responsiveness to chemotherapy and radiation. Despite its generally good initial response, the relapse and subsequent mortality rate remain very high. Only 3% to 8% of all patients survive 5 years, and median survival for extensive stage disease is 8 to 13 months.[1,2]


The present paper deals with the interactions between a main crack and a surrounding layer of crazing patterns. Analysis of the stress field distribution as well as the energy induced during these interactions is based on damage criteria through the resolution of some differential equations conditions and the use of a numerical approach. The effect of amplification and shielding on the resulting stress field is shown through a study of mode I. It is proven, herein, that crazes closer to the main crack dominate the resulting interaction effect and reflect an anti-shielding of the damage while a reduction constitutes a material toughness.


A series of wood polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composites (WPCs) were synthesized through impregnation polymerization of Eucalyptus wood (Eucalyptus Grandies) by acrylonitrile (AN) in methanol (20-60% v/v) in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (1.0% w/v) in benzene medium at 70 ±10C. This resulted in corresponding WPCs with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) loading in the range of 15.5-20%. Loading of PAN into wood, as ascertained through TGA, DTGA and DTA and supported by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was found to increase the resistance against thermo-oxidation of WPCs in comparison to untreated wood.


Abstract. Yarn tension controlling at heart is tuning servo-motor speed on a restricted range. In this paper, we proposed an advanced model predictive control strategy to solving filament winding system time-delay problem. The application of controlled auto-regressive integrated moving-average (CARIMA) model was described the dynamic time-varying character. The parameters of CARIMA model were solved by recursive least squares parameter estimation method through input-output data. And using the receding optimization method acquire controlling amount in the future. The result of simulation shows that the method is effective and the control structure is simple.


A general model of competitive and apparent competitive interactions in a spatially-variable environment is developed and analyzed to extend findings on coexistence in a temporally-variable environment to the spatial case and to elucidate new principles. In particular, coexistence mechanisms are divided into variation-dependent and variation-independent mechanisms with variation-dependent mechanisms including spatial generalizations of relative nonlinearity and the storage effect. Although directly analogous to the corresponding temporal mechanisms, these spatial mechanisms involve different life history traits which suggest that the spatial storage effect should arise more commonly than the temporal storage effect and spatial relative nonlinearity should arise less commonly than temporal relative nonlinearity. Additional mechanisms occur in the spatial case due to spatial covariance between the finite rate of increase of a local population and its local abundance, which has no clear temporal analogue. A limited analysis of these additional mechanisms shows that they have similar properties to the storage effect and relative nonlinearity and potentially may be considered as enlargements of the earlier mechanisms. The rate of increase of a species perturbed to low density is used to quantify coexistence. A general quadratic approximation, which is exact in some important cases, divides this rate of increase into contributions from the various mechanisms above and admits no other mechanisms, suggesting that opportunities for coexistence in a spatially-variable environment are fully characterized by these mechanisms within this general model. Three spatially-implicit models are analyzed as illustrations of the general findings and of techniques using small variance approximations. The contributions to coexistence of the various mechanisms are expressed in terms of simple interpretable formulae. These spatially-implicit models include a model of an annual plant community, a spatial multispecies version of the lottery model, and a multispecies model of an insect community competing for spatially-patchy and ephemeral food.


This thesis investigates observational signatures and provides constraints on the progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia), one of the most powerful cosmological probes, with a profound impact on understanding the evolution of the universe. By exploiting rich observational datasets, from powerful transient surveys, and extensively analysing them, we provide an insight into the long-standing progenitor problem. At first, we investigate the late-time evolution of the SN Ia light curve. Using the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) observations of SN2011fe, added with external literature data, we achieve an unprecedented photometric coverage of the late-time light curve of a SN Ia, spanning from 200 to 1600 days after maximum, with remarkable temporal density. A combination of photometry and spectroscopy at these phases allows us to construct a pseudo-bolometric light curve and physical models that describe the behaviour of it are considered. Our main results are the explanation of the bolometric light curve by radioactive inputs of the 56Ni and 57Ni decay chains, with the estimated amount of 57Ni to be relatively large, indicating a high central density explosion environment. Moreover, our pseudo-bolometric light curve is not consistent with models that have complete trapping of the produced charged leptons, with models that allow for positron/electron escape or an infrared catastrophe (IRC) adequately describing the evolution. Finally, we studied a sample of 49 PTF SN Ia with late-time photometric coverage, finding no significant deviation on their light curve evolution compared to SN2011fe, and provide an upper limit on the hydrogen rich material at the site of the explosion to be ≤0.87 M". For the last part, we turn our focus to the spectroscopic class of 91T-like overluminous SNe Ia, by studying two members of this class: SN2014eg and SN2016hvl, for which we present their rich data set and provide physical parameters that describe them. Our results show that the highly reddened SN2014eg is a slightly less luminous 91T-like, with a 56Ni mass of 0.573 M", with indications of circumstellar material (CSM) at the site of the explosion, while SN2016hvl is a 91T-like with 0.767 M" mass of 56Ni. Finally, we study the host galaxies of the PTF 91T-like SNe Ia, and we find that they preferentially explode in active galaxies, with moderate to high star formation rates and a range in their stellar masses.


It is suggested that quantum entanglement emerges from the holographic principle stating that all of the information of a region (bulk bits) can be described by the bits on its boundary surface. There are redundancy and information loss in the bulk bits that lead to the nonlocal correlation among the bulk bits. Quantum field theory overestimates the independent degrees of freedom in the bulk. The maximum entanglement in the universe increases as the size of the cosmic horizon and this could be related with the arrow of time and dark energy.


The application of anaerobic digestion (AD) as a sustainable waste management technology is growing worldwide, due to high energy prices as well as increasingly strict environmental regulations. The growth of the AD industry necessitates exploring new substrates for their utilisation in AD processes. The present work investigates the AD of two recalcitrant biomass: lignocelluloses and keratin-rich residues. The complex nature of these waste streams limits their biological degradation; therefore, suitable pre-processing is required prior to the AD process.In the first part of the study, the effects of organic solvent pre-treatments on bioconversion of lignocelluloses (straw and forest residues) to biogas were evaluated. Pre-treatment with N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) resulted in minor changes in the composition of the substrates, while their digestibility significantly increased. Furthermore, due to the high cost of the NNMO, the effect of pre-treatment with the recycled solvent was also explored. Since it was found that the presence of small traces of NMMO in the system after the treatment has inhibitory effects on AD, pre-treatments of forest residues using other organic solvents, i.e. acetic acid, ethanol, and methanol, were investigated too. Although pre-treatments with acetic acid and ethanol led to the highest methane yields, the techno-economical evaluation of the process showed that pre-treatment with methanol was the most viable economically, primarily due to the lower cost of methanol, compared to that of the other solvents.In the second part of the work, wool textile wastes were subjected to biogas production. Wool is mainly composed of keratin, an extremely strong and resistible structural protein. Thermal, enzymatic and combined treatments were, therefore, performed to enhance the methane yield. The soluble protein content of the pre-treated samples showed that combined thermal and enzymatic treatments had significantly positive effects on wool degradation, resulting in the highest methane yields, i.e. 10–20-fold higher methane production, compared to that obtained from the untreated samples.In the last part of this thesis work, dry digestion of wheat straw and wool textile waste, as well as their co-digestion were studied. The total solid (TS) contents applied in the digesters were between 6–30% during the investigations. The volumetric methane productivity was significantly enhanced when the TS was increased from 6 to 13–21%. This can be a beneficial factor when considering the economic feasibility of large-scale dry AD processes.


Anticipatory adaptation to climate change in the water resources sector is essential to reduce or avoid expected impacts on water resources availability and management. Anticipating how water systems are likely to respond to a changing climate is a challenging task, due to the difficulties in detecting clear signals of anthropogenic climate change from hydrological observations, along with uncertainties in future climate change impacts. To date in Ireland, studies with regard to climate change have focused on the traditional top-down, climate-scenario-driven impact assessments. Little research has gone beyond this traditional approach and examined how uncertain information on the future resource availability and on the vulnerability of water supply systems to climate change, can be incorporated into decision-making.
In addressing these challenges this thesis first examines observations of river flows from a network of near-natural catchments for evidence of climate-driven trends. Selected flow indicators relevant to water resource management are extracted and analysed for climate-driven trends, using different approaches including fixed periods of record and moving windows tests, to explore the nature of change in observations. Results indicate that the derived time series of median and low flow indicators in Ireland are dominated by natural variability, which makes the detection of a climate change signals in river flows rather difficult. The trends obtained for observed summer flows indicate a disagreement with established Irish climate change projections of drier summers and more extreme drought conditions. Given the shortage of coherent trends, the magnitude and amount of time required for change to be detected suggest that change signals will not be detected, using conservative significance levels, in the time frame required for adaptation. Therefore, anticipatory adaptation in the water resources sector cannot only rely on observed flow information but also needs to be based on the assessment of vulnerabilities to projected future changes.
In developing a tool to support water resources decision-making in Ireland, a physically based hydrological model (HYSIM) is coupled with a water resources model (WEAP) and applied to 12 different case study surface water abstraction points in Ireland to explore the effectiveness of selected adaptation options. The tool incorporates uncertainties in Irish future climate scenarios and hydrological model application. To facilitate application to un-gauged river reaches, from which water is abstracted, the tool incorporates a proxy-basin method, incorporating hydrological model uncertainty to obtain feasible ranges of future hydrological conditions. Non-climatic pressures such as population growth projections are also included in the modelling framework. Threshold-based indicators are employed to assess the water resources system performance for selected robust adaptation options of demand and leakage reductions.
Results indicate that the sensitivity of individual water resource systems to future changes and adaptation decisions is context specific. This is due to the particular hydrological and water supply system characteristics and requires case-by-case analysis. For a number of abstraction points examined in the east of the country, the tested scenarios are not sufficient to reduce vulnerability for a considerable proportion of the uncertainty space considered. Additional or different adaptation options will be required in these situations to increase system performance. The development and application of this tool marks a first attempt at using climate scenarios and their associated uncertainties for decision appraisal and marks a first step in this direction in Ireland, thereby providing a bridge in transitioning to a fuller methodology for decision appraisal. In developing a future research agenda priorities are distilled.


In this paper, based on the Bose-Hubbard model with two-body on-site interactions, we study the quantum phase transition between the superfluid state and the Mott-insulator state. With the decoupling approximation, we get the relation between the weak superfluidity and dimensionless chemical potential with different particle number and different dimensionless interaction strength, and the relation between the weak superfluidity and the reciprocal of dimensionless interaction strength with different particle number. We also calculate the corresponding experimental parameters.


Introduction From time to time scattered allusions to geographic, physiographic, and geologic influences in the Philippine Islands have appeared in the writings of Quatrefages, Gannett, Ratzel, Semple, and others, among whom the writer is included; but so far as the writer is aware no article has appeared which is devoted entirely to this most interesting field of research. The present paper is an attempt not adequately to supply the demand for this information, but simply to point out some of the most patent examples which it is hoped will serve to stimulate some one on the ground to follow up the subject with a comprehensive exposition. Perhaps too great a familiarity with the country—ten years spent in travel and study in the islands, working "mainly along economic lines—has caused to be overlooked here many important things which would occur to the trained geographer studying the problem for the first . . .


Gly m Bd 28K (Gm28K), a soybean allergen, is formed as a preproprotein consisting of a predicted signal peptide, Gm28K, and the 23-kDa peptide (Gm23K). Gm28K and Gm23K are found in the protein-storage vacuoles (PSVs) of developing soybean seeds. However, the complete structure of Gm28K has not yet been identified and its processing and transport to the vacuoles has never been clarified. In the present study, we elucidated the 5'-nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding the Gm28K precursor and identified a putative signal peptide (SP) with 24 N-terminal amino acid residues. We expressed peptides from the Gm28K precursor as fusion proteins with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in tobacco BY2 suspension-cultured cells. BY2 cells transformed by an expression vector for SP-EGFP-Gm28-Gm23K (SP-EGFP-Gm28-Gm23K/BY2 cells) and SP-Gm28-Gm23K-EGFP/BY2 cells produced the EGFP fused-Gm28K precursor, and the EGFP-fluorescence in their vacuoles were recorded. In the experiments with SP-EGFP/BY2 and SP-EGFP-Gm28K/BY2 cells, large amounts of the EGFP segments were secreted into the medium. On the other hand, the fluorescence of EGFP in SP-EGFP-Gm23K/BY2 cells was shown to accumulate only in the endoplasmic reticulum without secretion into the medium. These findings show that the SP signals the precursor to enter the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum and that both the Gm28K and Gm23K components may be involved in the transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen via the Golgi to the vacuoles in a proprotein form.


Feedback control is critical in the scalable optimization of Internet advertising, and it is, therefore, an enabling technology. However, it is challenging to model the plant and design the controller because the plant is nonlinear, time varying, stochastic, and poorly known. A closed-loop system model easily becomes unrealistic or extremely complicated and intractable to analyze.


The problem considered here involves the use of a sequence of monocular images of a three-dimensional moving object to estimate both its structure and kinematics. The object is assumed to be rigid, and its motion is assumed to be smooth. A set of object match points is assumed to be available, consisting of fixed features on the object, the image plane coordinates of which have been extracted from successive images in the sequence. The measured data are the noisy image plane coordinates of this set of object match points, taken from each image in the sequence. In previous papers [ IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.PAMI-8, 90 ( 1986); in Proceedings of the IEEE Workshop on Motion: Representation and Analysis ( Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, 1986), p. 95; in Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition ( Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, 1986), p. 176] we discussed model-based approaches for motion and structure estimation from a long sequence of images. We examine here the performance of such techniques by using a Cramer–Rao lower bounds on the estimation error variance. This method permits a priori prediction of estimation accuracy as a function of a number of factors, including the number of images in the sequence, the time at which each image is made, the number of feature points used, the image-plane noise level, and the type of motion that is involved. Theoretical performance predictions are compared with the statistics of Monte Carlo simulation, and it is shown that the actual estimation accuracy is close to the Cramer–Rao bounds in most cases. These results also show that noisy sequences with fewer than four images often do not contain enough information to permit accurate estimation of motion and structure parameters. This conclusion is consistent with the observed instability of so-called two-frame estimation methods in the presence of noise.


This article examines the way in which disputes about the ranking of chiefdoms and succession to high chiefly office have been handled in the democratic era. It focuses particularly on the extent to which these processes have been in alignment with South Africa's democratic Constitution. It discusses the prevalence of disputes about succession and their crippling impact on local development. It argues that the current rule-based approach to adjudicating succession claims is not rooted in pre-colonial practice and custom. Its genesis lies rather in the colonial appropriation of customary law, which reified rules rather than processes and ignored the critical role that popular support played in determining succession. The article examines two case studies concerning the Pedi kingship. The cases were first adjudicated by the Traditional Leadership Disputes Commission and then appealed to higher courts. They have the advantage of relatively rich historical sources and research. In both cases, the Commission and the courts largely adopted a rule-based approach, not considering historical evidence or the role of popular struggle or support. The democratising imperatives of the Constitution have been ignored in relation to the millions of South Africans who live under the system of traditional leadership, and the political and legal dualism that underpinned apartheid remains intact. The article concludes that undoing this violation of constitutional values requires a wide-ranging debate about democracy, constitutionalism, traditional leadership and the potential wellsprings of living customary law.


Background Perineal groove is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by nonepithelialized mucous membrane that appears as an erythematous sulcus in the perineal midline, extending from the posterior vaginal fourchette to the anterior anal orifice. It is one of the uncommon anomalies of anogenital region that is unknown to many clinicians, and it is usually misdiagnosed as an anal fissure, perineal trauma, diaper dermatitis, infection, or sexual abuse. Case Presentation. Seven-day-old female neonate was brought by her parents after they observe reddish discoloration of her genitalia. Upon examination, there was a vertical perineal wet groove-like unkeratinized erythematous lesion with no bleeding, sign of infection, or inflammation that extends from the posterior vaginal fourchette to the anal rim. The newborn was sent home after counseling with a reassessment plan in case of complications. Conclusions Recognition of the congenital perineal groove at birth is important for the health care providers to deliver an appropriate parental counseling and appropriate follow-up.


This paper develops and empirically evaluates alternative econometric strategies for accounting for non-participation – repeated choice of the same alternative or same type of alternative – in data sets that are typically analyzed within the repeated discrete choice framework. Random coefficient single and double hurdle variants of the repeated discrete choice model are developed and applied to stated preference data. The empirical results suggest that significant statistical improvements in fit can arise with the single and double models relative to more traditional models. However, similar to Haab and McConnell's (1996) findings in the context of count data models, these gains are diminished when the analyst accounts for unobserved heterogeneity through random coefficients.


Overview: Regardless of whether a pathogen is viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal or an emerging unknown, the mainstay of infectious disease control is hygiene, and the cornerstone of good hygiene is effective disinfection. Challenges and current choices: Certain pathogens present a challenge to kill effectively: parvovirus, protozoal oocysts, mycobacteria, bacterial spores and prions resist most disinfectants but can be eliminated through heat, especially steam, which will kill protozoal oocysts. Heat is the safest and most effective disinfectant, but cannot be universally applied. Temperatures in washing machines and dishwashers should be at least 60°C to eliminate pathogenic spores and resistant viruses. Enveloped viruses are susceptible to most disinfectants; of the non-enveloped viruses, parvovirus is recognised as being the most difficult to eradicate. Sodium hypochlorite is recommended for many applications: cleaning of floors, laundry, food preparation surfaces and utensils. Skin scrubs and rubs containing alcohols are more effective than those containing chlorhexidine, and less subject to contamination. Disinfectants to avoid: Deficiency of the enzyme UDP-glucuronosyl transferase renders the cat susceptible to the toxic effects of phenol-based disinfectants (including many essential oils), so these should be avoided in feline environments. Quaternary ammonium compounds (eg, benzalkonium chloride) are also probably best avoided. The future: Veterinary disinfection approaches in the future may include use of ultraviolet radiation and, increasingly, silver.


In time-division-duplex (TDD) mode wireless communication, downlink performance of a smart antenna system (SAS) can be degraded due to variation of spatial signatures especially in vehicular scenarios. To mitigate this, prediction based downlink beamforming can be applied, which relies on using updated weight vectors via linear prediction of spatial signatures in the downlink interval based on their autoregressive modeling in the uplink interval. Here, we demonstrate the effectiveness of employing predicted spatial signatures as downlink weight vectors under varying mobile speed (V), multipath angle spread (/spl Delta//spl theta/), prediction filter order (P) and multipath number (L). We observe that in fixed Doppler shift conditions, i.e., Doppler shifts in the multipaths are integer multiple of Doppler shift in the dominant path, prediction based beamforming achieves better SNR improvements in the received signal at the mobile terminal with increasing V, P, and L. However its performance is not significantly affected by the variation in /spl Delta//spl theta/.


Concern over food shortages in recent years has made questions over whether organic agriculture can provide the basis for sustainable agriculture in developing countries ever more urgent. In China, organic agriculture - almost completely abandoned as a result of Maoist grain monoculture and Green Revolution technologies by the 1970's - is making a comeback, with the Organic Food Development Centre, China's principal organic certifier, winning full accreditation from the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements in 2003 and organic food being produced in China in increasing amounts, albeit from a low base, for sale in both domestic and overseas markets.
But organic conversion for China's overwhelmingly poor farmers, as for poor farmers everywhere, is extremely problematic. Not only are there risks of lower yields in the first few years, ignorance of organic techniques, problems of obtaining sufficient organic fertiliser, back-breaking weeding, problems of handling the bureaucratic requirements as well as the monetary costs of certification and finding markets, but owing to the very small size of Chinese farms, farmers need to undertake organic conversion cooperatively. Promoting the necessary conditions for organic agriculture is therefore not easy, particularly in poor, out-of-the-way rural areas. However, the decision by China's largest and most important state liquor company - Maotai - to source its ingredients, primarily sorghum and wheat, from organic sources has led to the largest concentration of organic farmers in China - in rural Guizhou, one of poorest parts of China - providing farmers with the necessary security to undertake organic conversion with enthusiasm. Our paper will present our research findings, based on visits to Maotai, Guizhou, in 2007 and 2009 and will point to possible lessons for other developing countries who wish to make organic conversion feasible and organic agriculture sustainable over time


Thermal transient measurements of high power GaN-based LEDs with multi-chip designs are presented and discussed in the paper. Once transient cooling curve was obtained, the structure function theory was applied to determine the thermal resistance of packages. The total thermal resistance from junction to ambient considering optical power is 19.87 K/W, 10.78 K/W, 6.77 K/W for the one-chip, two-chip and four-chip packages, respectively. The contribution of each component to the total thermal resistance of the package can be determined from the cumulative structure function and differential structure function. The total thermal resistance of multi-chip packages is found to decrease with the number of chips due to parallel heat dissipation. However, the effect of the number of chips on thermal resistance of package strongly depends on the ratio of partial thermal resistance of chip and that of slug. Therefore, an important thermal design rule for packaging of high power multi-chip LEDs has been analogized.


Rapid HIV testing may circumvent the practical barriers to HIV testing in several settings. User preference of the testing kits available has been relatively underexplored. We examined healthcare provider (HCP) ratings of two validated rapid testing kits in clinical practice. From 1 July to 1 December 2012 we prospectively recruited HCPs (clinic nurses) from three outpatient clinics linked to Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. The HCPs had experience in taking blood samples but varying experience in rapid HIV testing. Participating HCPs performed rapid HIV testing using Determine™ Combo (DETE) or INSTI™ (INSTI), according to a predefined randomization sequence, and rated practical aspects of each test using a Likert scale. Seventeen HCPs of 23 approached (74%) were eligible and agreed to participate, performing a total of 336 HIV tests. Globally, the testing procedure was rated as easy or very easy by 97% (DETE) to 99% (INSTI) of tests performed. Among experienced HCPs, DETE was rated easier than INSTI for kit storage (p < 0.001) and blood collection (P = 0.012) while INSTI was rated easier than DETE for blood application (P = 0.001) and test interpretation (P = 0.005). Among less experienced HCPs, both tests performed equally with the exception of test interpretation (P < 0.001) and overall ease of use (P = 0.05) in favour of INSTI. Of all HCPs, 94% stated they would recommend INSTI over DETE based on the time to result, ease of test interpretation and overall ease of use. Rapid HIV testing was considered easy to perform, even by inexperienced nursing staff. Whilst both tests were considered easy to use, the HCPs in this study preferred INSTI to DETE overall, due to rapid time to result, ease of test interpretation and general ease of use.


ABSTRACT We examine the heterogeneous productivity impacts of hiring top workers on small and medium-sized enterprises, exploiting matched employer–employee panel data and employing within-firm as well as matching and difference-in-difference estimators. The results provide robust evidence that the productivity impact is stronger for firms with higher absorptive capacity. Technological laggards within an industry benefit more strongly from hiring top workers if their workforce is more well-educated.


The microstructures and mechanical properties of the Mg-Zn-Er alloys have been investigated. The results show that the alloying elements (Zn/Er) with different ratio have a great effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the magnesium alloys, especially for the phase constitutes. Furthermore, the more attractive result is that the quasicrystalline phase, as the main secondary phase, precipitates during solidification in the alloy with addition of Zn/Er ration of 6. The cast Mg-5Zn-0.83Er alloy exhibits the ultimate tensile strength and yield tensile strength are 190MPa and 80MPa at room temperature, respectively, with an elongation of 15%.


The need for a behavioural interview scoring strategy is a critical element in order to ensure an optimal organizational human capital. Behavioural interview based on storytelling approach is a technique through which career seekers are required to provide clear details of how they have handled such workloads in the past. The whole literature assumes the existence of strong correlations between the score received on the selection interview and subsequent job performance, so in this paper we intend to highlight the relationship between these two assessments as well as the modelling using fuzzy logic of a CAR alternative system for scoring the selection interview. The results demonstrated that there is a very significant association between the classic interview score and work performance (r=0.894 to p<0.01). Furthermore, there is also a significant correlation coefficient of r=0.925 at a p<0.01, between the fuzzy CAR score and job performance, thus the validity and the optimization of the procedure are fully proven.


The VUV ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS, Brookhaven national Laboratory) is a source of nanosecond-duration, high-brightness, broadband IR pulses. The authors are developing several measurement techniques for characterizing Hg1-xCdxTe and other IR detector materials using this source. For example, the broadband IR pulses can be used to study transient photoconductive decay at various photon energies near the bandgap. A particularly novel technique they have developed is far-infrared photoinduced nanosecond spectroscopy (FIR-PINS). In this all-optical (contactless) measurement, a short laser pulse generates photocarriers which are subsequently sensed by a far-infrared pulse from the synchrotron. Spectroscopic analysis of the far-infrared yields the free carrier plasma frequency, providing information on the photocarrier density. By varying the delay time of the far-infrared pulse (relative to the laser pulse), the photocarrier relaxation is determined with nanosecond resolution. In addition to being contactless, the technique offers other potential advantages over electrical measurements. Results for MBE-grown Hg1-xCdxTe are presented.


Galen of Pergamum (AD 129-c. 200/c. 216), one of the most important physicians of the Roman nobility during the Second Sophistic, recombined the teachings of great medical scientists and philosophers such as Hippocrates, Plato and Aristotle. With such an eclectic stance, he was not just able to obtain an independent position in medical and philosophical discourses of his time, but also to create an innovative paradigm to understand and cure diseases of the human soul. Thus, the physician could react to one of the great existential challenges to human life by analysing the ancient concept of the soul and examining how the immaterial mind was related and connected to the material body. Thus, Galen set up a catalogue of norms and measures to respond to mental dysfunctions inflicted by (1) bodily disorder, (2) emo-tional disequilibrium and (3) neurotic affections, so called fixed ideas.


When fresh autologous serum was added to normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), it suppressed greater than 90% of the in vitro anti-SRBC response of these cells. Heating the serum for 30 min at 56 degrees C reversed this suppression, Serum from a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and circulating immune complexes had no suppressive effect on the anti-SRBC response of normal human PBL, but serum from patients having the same disease, without circulating immune complexes, did suppress over 90% of the plaque-forming cell response. Serum from an agammaglobulinaemic patient was also suppressive. Addition of serum from patients with congenital deficiencies of C2, C3, C5 and C8 also has a suppressive effect. Absorption of normal serum with immune complexes markedly decreased levels of C1 and C4, and also reversed the suppressive effect of this serum. These data suggest that a heat-labile factor in normal human serum which can be absorbed by immune complexes suppresses the antibody response to a T-dependent antigen. Other immune suppressors found in normal human serum are heat-stable or do not suppress in the presence of normal serum proteins. Thus the suppressive protein described in these studies may be unique. It is possible that either C1 or C4 or both may play a role in the suppression noted here.


Food has become one of the most important elements used in the marketing of destinations. This study analyzes the representation of the Swedish food in the promotional material in food tourism of Try Swedish project, as well as Jamtland and Vast Sverige regional promotion. The focus of the research is on the main elements represented in the chosen sample of the marketing material, its purpose and audience to which the material is addressed. The content analysis explores the qualitative data of Try Swedish, Jamtland and West Sweden websites and information received through the interviews with three representatives of these webpages, involved in promotion of Swedish food to tourists. The qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and content analysis provides inside look into the members´ experience in marketing of Swedish food, as well as the outsiders' analytical view upon the representational material. The findings of this research demonstrate what has been achieved in the food promotion of Sweden so far and what needs improvement and special attention in order to achieve a status of "Sweden – a new culinary nation" according to the Ministry of Rural Affair vision.


Transient, synoptic-scale vortices produce a large fraction of total rainfall in most monsoon regions and are often associated with extreme precipitation. However, the mechanism of their amplification remains a topic of active research. For monsoon depressions, which are the most prominent synoptic-scale vortex in the Asian-Australian monsoon, recent work has suggested that meridional gradients in zonal wind in the vortex environment may produce growth through barotropic instability, while meridional gradients in environmental humidity have also been proposed to cause amplification through coupling with precipitating convection. Here, a two-dimensional shallow water model on a sphere with parameterized precipitation is used to examine the relative role played by these two environmental gradients. By systematically varying the meridional moisture gradient and meridional wind shear for both weak, quasi-linear waves and finite-amplitude isolated vortices, we show that rotational winds in the initial vortex are amplified most strongly by meridional shear of the environmental zonal wind, while vortex precipitation rates are most sensitive to environmental moisture gradients. The growth rate in the presence of both gradients is less than the sum of growth rates in the presence of isolated gradients, as the phase relation between moisture and vorticity anomalies becomes distorted with increasing shear. These results suggest that background meridional gradients in both zonal wind and environmental humidity can contribute to the amplification of vortices to monsoon depression strength, but with some degree of decoupling of the dry rotational flow and the moist convection.


Background Some familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) patients show the post-transplant progression of the clinical symptoms. Although the presence of recipient-derived cells in transplanted livers has been reported, no studies investigating the functional significance of this post-transplant chimerism in transplanted FAP patients were performed. The aims of this study were to evaluate amyloidogenic transthyretin (ATTR) production of recipient-derived cells and the relationship between the protein from recipient-derived cells and the progression of FAP symptoms after liver transplantation (LT). Methods Seven FAP ATTR Val30Met patients who underwent LT were included in this study. In one male patient with sex-mismatched donor, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method was performed on a liver biopsy sample using DNA probes for visualizing X and Y chromosomes to detect the recipient-derived cells. In three patients including the FISH-analysed patient, ATTR mRNA expression in transplanted livers was evaluated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–restriction fragment length polymorphism method and realtime quantitative reverse transcription–PCR. In five of the seven patients, ATTR in serum protein expression was measured by mass spectrometry. Results One FAP patient has 3.1% recipient-derived cells in the transplanted liver. The ATTR mRNA was not expressed in any of the three transplanted livers. The ATTR was not detected in any sera of the sampled patients. Conclusion Although the FAP patient had recipient-derived cells in the transplanted liver, the recipient-derived cells did not contribute to the production of ATTR in our specific case. The effect of recipient-derived cells on the post-transplant progression of FAP symptoms may be negligible.


OBJECTIVES Patients who are tobacco users present to the emergency department (ED) with many medical conditions that are causally or potentially causally related to smoking. Previous studies have shown increased cessation rates for patients who accurately perceive that their ED visit is smoking-related. Our study goals were 1) to determine the prevalence of potential smoking-related conditions among tobacco users at a tertiary care academic ED, and 2) to determine which medical conditions are more or less likely to be perceived by patients as smoking-related. METHODS We included adults≥19 years of age who reported smoking within 30 days of their ED visit, and were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01454375) from December 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012. Patients were asked whether they perceived their ED visit to be related to smoking. ED discharge diagnoses were coded as smoking-related or not smoking-related based on the 2004 U.S. Surgeon General's Report. RESULTS We included 893 patients (62% male; mean age=40±15), of which 120 (13%) had a visit for a potential smoking-related condition: 6 (5%) of neoplasm, 18 (15%) of cardiovascular disease, 67 (56%) of respiratory disease, 3 (3%) of reproductive complication, 7 (6%) of postoperative complication, 9 (8%) of dental disease, 9 (8%) of peptic ulcer disease, 0 (0%) of eye condition, and 1 (1%) of bony condition. Of the potential smoking-related conditions, 46 (38%) were perceived by patients to be possibly smoking-related: 61% of cardiovascular disease, 33% of neoplasm, 43% of respiratory disease, 22% of dental disease, 14% of postoperative complication, 11% of peptic ulcer disease, and 0% of the remaining conditions. CONCLUSION In this study, 13% of all ED visits among smokers were for a potential smoking-related condition, of which 38% were perceived by patients to be smoking-related. Education to increase awareness of smoking-related conditions may increase cessation rates.