The current regulations, as set forth by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to insure that light-water nuclear reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) maintain their structural integrity when subjected to planned normal reactor startup (heat-up) and shut-down (cool-down) transients are specified in Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50, which incorporates by reference Appendix G to Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code. The technical basis for these regulations are now recognized by the technical community as being conservative and some plants are finding it increasingly difficult to comply with the current regulations. Consequently, the nuclear industry has developed, and submitted to the ASME Code for approval, an alternative risk-informed methodology that reduces the conservatism and is consistent with the methods previously used to develop a risk-informed revision to the regulations for accidental transients such as pressurized thermal shock (PTS). The objective of the alternative methodology is to provide a relaxation to the current regulations which will provide more operational flexibility, particularly for reactor pressure vessels with relatively high irradiation levels and radiation sensitive materials, while continuing to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection to public health and safety. The NRC and its contractor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have recently performed an independent review of the industry proposed methodology. The NRC / ORNL review consisted of performing probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analyses for a matrix of cool-down and heat-up rates, permutated over various reactor geometries and characteristics, each at multiple levels of embrittlement, including 60 effective full power years (EFPY) and beyond, for various postulated flaw characterizations. The objective of this review is to quantify the risk of a reactor vessel experiencing non-ductile fracture, and possible subsequent failure, over a wide range of normal transient conditions, when the maximum allowable thermal-hydraulic boundary conditions, derived from both the current ASME code and the industry proposed methodology, are imposed on the inner surface of the reactor vessel. This paper discusses the results of the NRC/ORNL review of the industry proposal including the matrices of PFM analyses, results, insights, and conclusions derived from these analyses.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


A comparison has been made of the interplanetary magnetic field as measured both by Apollo 12 on the lunar surface and by Explorer 35 in orbit around the moon. Two examples are given, one of a step change in the field vector and another of a sinusoidally varying field. A large response measured on the surface is attributed to confinement of the induced field lines between the streaming solar plasma and the high-conductivity interior. A steep bulk electrical conductivity gradient in the lunar crust is implied, with a confining layer roughly 100 kilometers deep.


Teachers of qualitative research tasked with conveying the complexity and diversity of paradigmatic difference to novice researchers face challenges, including how to convey complexity without misrepresenting topics, facilitating respectful and ethical dialogue among students, and finding sufficient time within the curriculum to examine multiple paradigms. This special issue presents articles that consider how teachers of qualitative inquiry envision and enact the teaching of qualitative research from a Big Tent perspective. These authors' explorations of ways to pursue work with/across/within/against differences in worldviews and practices assume that this knowledge is critical for the preparation of the next generation of qualitative researchers who will engage in complex topics of inquiry that contribute to policy development and building just and equitable societies, as well as making theoretical and methodological advances.


Advisor: Mehrdad Negahban Rapid prototyping and interpenetrating network systems (IPNs) ideas and technologies were studied in order to develop a rapid prototyping machine capable of producing IPNs. This work was done as collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Rouen, France, and is part of a project of controlling material property distribution by means of gradient IPN production within a rapid prototyping machine. A standard stereo-lithography rapid prototyping (RP) machine was built and then modified for the purpose of producing an IPN system composed of an acrylic component, bisphenol A propoxylate diacrylate (BPA-PDA) and an epoxy component, 3,4 epoxycyclohexyl-methyl 3,4 epoxycyclohexane carboxylate (ECH). The acrylic and epoxy based system was produced within the machine by photo curing followed by thermal post curing. Various weight compositions of the IPN system were produced and characterized. Control IPN systems were produced with the same materials and compositions as the samples made in the RP machine. These were bulk samples photo cured under a polychromatic light source, and then analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic mechanical testing (DMA), and tensile testing. The results show a change in the thermal stability with composition, a single glass transition temperature that changes with composition, homogeneous phase distributions, and changes in mechanical properties. These are consistent with the expectations that the system is a true IPN at the molecular level. From TGA, DSC, AFM, and DMA analysis of the RP machine made system showed similar characteristics to the bulk polymerized IPN system. This includes changes in thermal stability with composition, a single glass transition temperature changing with composition, and observed homogeneous phase distributions. These characteristics follow the same trends as those of the control system, leading to the identification of the system as true IPNs. However, lower glass transition temperatures and thermal stabilities were observed for the samples made within the RP machine. Lowered thermal stabilities and glass transition temperatures of thermally cured acrylic and epoxy homopolymers, observed in TGA and DSC, reveals that the rapid prototyping machine light source is not as powerful as the light used in the bulk curing, resulting in a similar, but different curing. Yet, it was concluded that the rapid prototyping machine is capable of producing IPN systems but requires increased light source power to increase the curing conversion of the acrylic and epoxy based system. iv Acknowledgements First and foremost …


For many years, computational modelling and simulation studies have been used by developers to advance device design and have been reported in regulatory medical device submissions. However, cardiovascular stent materials in such computational models are typically assumed to behave as a continuum. This approach assumes that bulk material properties apply to the micro-sized structure, i.e. material behavior is scale independent. However, as size is reduced, mechanical size effects arise as the grain size to specimen width ratio drops below a critical value. These size effects cause material behavior to deviate significantly from bulk material behavior. If such a deviation in material behavior is to be captured within computational models, it is necessary to represent the crystalline structure of a metal and to capture the anisotropic behavior of individual grains within these models. This paper describes the development of such a modelling methodology to investigate the phenomenon of strain localization within grains of a 316L stainless steel specimen under fatigue loading conditions. Copyright © VBRI Press.


In this paper, we analyze the impact of Bad Debt Loss Insurance on settlement outcomes. A huge success in a settlement or trial can turn into a disaster when the defendant goes bankrupt before paying the plaintiff's claim. "Rainmakers" face the following dilemma: the greater the success, the greater the defendant's bankruptcy risk. The starting point of our paper is a simple trial and litigation model with perfect and complete information. We add the possibility of a defendant's bankruptcy, and of buying Bad Debt Loss Insurance for both the settlement and the trial stage. We demonstrate that trial insurance and settlement insurance have different impacts on the predicted outcome of settlement negotiations. Trial insurance tends to increase the settlement result; therefore, it generates a contract rent for the insurer and the insured. Settlement insurance, however, may have the opposite effect, as it decreases the settlement result.


Results of surgical treatment of an acute cholecystitis (ACH) in 114 elderly and senile patients with diabetes mellitus were analyzed. In all operated patients histological investigation revealed destructive forms of an ACH, mainly complicated. After the operation in 14 (12.3%) of patients complications occurred. Tactics of treatment was based mainly on securing of adequate correction of carbohydrate metabolism before, during and after performance of operation and also on early performance of cholecystectomy using laparoscopic method, permitting to reduce frequency of postoperative complications occurrence and to lower postoperative lethality.


This book is a reference volume and a digest of more than a century of scholarly work on troubadour poetry. Written by leading scholars, it summarizes the current consensus on the various facets of troubadour studies. Standing at the beginning of the history of modern European verse, the troubadours were the prime poets and composers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the South of France. No study of medieval literature is complete without an examination of the courtly love which is celebrated in the elaborately rhymed stanzas of troubadour verse, creations whose words and melodies were imitated by poets and musicians all over medieval Europe. The words of about 2,500 troubadour songs have survived, along with 250 melodies, and all have come under intense scholarly scrutiny. This Handbook brings together the fruits of this scrutiny, giving teachers and students an overview of the fundamental issues in troubadour scholarship. All quotations are given in the original Old Occitan and in English. The editors provide a list of troubadour editions and an index, and each chapter includes a list of additional readings.


A system to interrogate photonic sensors based on long weak fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) is illustrated and experimentally demonstrated. The FBG sensor is able to detect and measure the precise location of several spot events. The principle of operation is based on a technique used to analyze microwave photonics filters. The long weak FBGs are used as quasi-distributed sensors. Several events can be detected along the FBG device with a spatial accuracy of <;1 mm using a modulator and a photodetector with a modest bandwidth of <;500 MHz. The simple proposed scheme is intrinsically robust against environmental changes and easy to reconfigure.


In this paper I investigate the ways in which participants in mobile-phone conversations orient to each other's location, activities, and availability. By looking at data from recorded mobile-phone conversations, I use a conversation analytic approach to make initial observations on the character of mobile-phone conversations. I found that the frequent question "what are you doing?" sometimes caused a location to be given as part of the answer which shows how location, activity, and availability are strongly related. The participants thus obtained information about location, when this was considered relevant, through asking about activity. Location seemed especially relevant if it provided information about a future meeting. In some of the conversations where it seemed there was something going on where the 'called party' was located, the 'caller' reacted by initiating the conversation with a strategy which gave the called party a chance to end the conversation.


Today, Artificial Intelligence is one of the most important technologies, ubiquitous in our daily lives. Deep Neural Networks (DNN's) have come up as state of art for various machine intelligence applications such as object detection, image classification, face recognition and performs myriad of activities with exceptional prediction accuracy. AI in this contemporary world is moving towards embedded platforms for inference on the edge. This is essential to avoid latency, enhance data security and realize real-time performance. However, these DNN algorithms are computational and memory intensive. Consequently, exploiting immense energy, compute resources and memory-bandwidth making it difficult to be deployed in embedded devices. To solve this problem and realize an on-device AI acceleration, dedicated energy-efficient hardware accelerators are paramount. This thesis involves the implementation of such a dedicated deep learning accelerator on the FPGA. The NVIDIA's Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA), is encompassed in this research to explore SoC designs for integrated inference acceleration. NVDLA, an open-source architecture, standardizes deep learning inference acceleration on hardware. It optimizes inference acceleration all across the full stack from application through hardware to achieve energy efficiency synergy with the demanding throughput requirements. Therefore, the following thesis probes into the NVDLA framework to perceive the consistent workflow across the whole hardware-software programming hierarchies. Besides, the hardware design parameters, optimization features and system configurations of the NVDLA systems are analyzed for efficient implementations. Also, a comparative study of the diverse NVDLA SoC implementations (nv_small and nv_medium) with respect to performance metrics such as power, area, and throughput are discussed. Our approach engages prototyping of Nvidia's Deep Learning Accelerator on a Zynq Ultrascale+ ZCU104 FPGA to examine its system functionality. The Hardware design of the system is carried out using Xilinx's Vivado Design Suite 2018.3 in Verilog. While the on-device software runs Linux kernel 4.14 on Zynq MPSoC. Thus, the software ecosystem is built with PetaLinux tools from Xilinx. The entire system architecture is validated using the pre-built regression tests that verify individual CNN layers. Besides these NVDLA hardware design also runs pre-compiled AlexNet as a benchmark for performance evaluation and comparison.


To bridge a disability divide digitally, an animated sign language, an interactive self learning tutor, is an online website as well as a offline software helps the people to learn sign language by allowing converted typed text to sign language animation sequence.Learning sign language is "time consuming, confusing and boring." says a mother whose son has hearing and Speech impaired. Our tool offers users a chance to enjoy an interactive animated sign language sequence of the worlds they have typed from the keyboard. We want to empower people with disabilities to enjoy their ICT experience by making the interface like a chat browser between people-computer-people Additionally we would like to demonstrate how this human computer interaction can strengthen the awareness of computers among the people with hearing and spoken disability.


A growing dependence on foreign oil, along with a heightened concern over the environmental impact of personal transportation, had led the U. S. government to investigate and sponsor research into advanced transportation concepts. One of these future technologies is the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), typically featuring both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, with the goal of producing fewer emissions while obtaining superior fuel economy. While vehicles such as the Virginia Tech designed and built HEV Lumina have provided a substantial proof of concept for hybrids, there still remains a great deal of research to be done regarding optimization of hybrid vehicle design. This optimization process has been made easier through the use of ADVISOR, a MATLAB simulation program developed by the U. S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab. ADVISOR allows one to evaluate different drivetrain and subsystem configurations for both fuel economy and emissions levels. However, the present version of ADVISOR uses a constant power model for the auxiliary power unit (APU) that, while effective for cursory simulation efforts, does not provide for a truly accurate simulation. This thesis describes modifications made to the ADVISOR code to allow for the use of a load sharing APU scheme based on models developed from vehicle testing. Results for typical driving cycles are presented, demonstrating that the performance predicted by the load sharing simulation more closely follows the results obtained from actual vehicle testing. This new APU model also allows for easy adaptation for future APU technologies, such as fuel cells. Finally, an example is given to illustrate how the ADVISOR code can be used for optimizing vehicle design. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract XCG-616668-01 for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.


In endogenous growth models and mid-term business cycles as seen in the works of Romer (1987) and Comin and Gertler (2006), it is assumed that there are positive effects of product variety. Using product-firm level data, we examine these effects empirically. Using data from the Census of Manufacture, the Survey of Research and Development (R&D), and the Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities, we construct a database that includes number of products, R&D expenditures, and data on firm performance. We find that the number of products in R&D firms is higher than that of non-R&D firms, and that R&D firms are more sensitive than non-R&D firms for product dynamics. In the Poisson regression model, we also observe positive effects of R&D activities on product dynamics in empirical studies. As the increase in product variety contributes to productivity growth, our empirical results support the government's policies for enhancing R&D activities.


Digital images can be captured or generated by a variety of sources including digital cameras, scanners and computer graphics softwares. In many cases it is important to be able to determine the source of a digital image such as for criminal and forensic investigation. This paper presents methods for distinguishing between an image captured using a digital camera, a computer generated image and an image captured using a scanner. The method proposed here is based on the differences in the image generation processes used in these devices and is independent of the image content. The method is based on using features of the residual pattern noise that exist in images obtained from digital cameras and scanners. The residual noise present in computer generated images does not have structures similar to the pattern noise of cameras and scanners. The experiments show that a feature based approach using an SVM classifier gives high accuracy.


We investigate a frequency-domain characterization of shallow water environments based on normal-mode models of acoustic mediums. The shallow water environment can be considered as a time-dispersive system whose time-varying impulse response can be expressed as a superposition of time-frequency components with dispersive characteristics. After studying the dispersive characteristics, a blind time-frequency processing technique is employed to separate the normal-mode components without knowledge of the environment parameters. This technique is based on first approximating the time-frequency structure of the received signal and then designing time-frequency separation filters based on warping techniques. Following this method, we develop two types of receivers to exploit the diversity inherent in the shallow water environment model and to improve underwater communication performance. Numerical results demonstrate the dispersive system characterization and the improved processing performance of the receiver structures.


We here describe the investigation at the atomistic level of the structure, stability, and dynamics of several complexes resulting from the interaction of oxidized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) with the well-known Dickerson's dodecamer sequence. Four specific arrangements have been selected as referential structures for molecular dynamics simulations, and the resulting independent trajectories tend to converge in two distinguishable models with the strongest interactions. The first one presents a coiled DNA strand enveloping the oligomer chain, whereas in the second model, the conducting polymer chain and the disorganized DNA strand are facing side-by-side. Analysis of the intermolecular interactions indicates that the electrostatic interactions involving the negatively charged DNA phosphates and the positively charged units of the oligomer are much more frequent in the first model. In addition, aside from these electrostatic interactions, specific O · · · H and S · · · H hydrogen bonds, π-π stacking, and N-H · · · π interactions have been detected. Among all of these four specific interactions, we show that the π-π stacking is the most abundant and shows the best stability, whereas O · · · H hydrogen bonds are also frequent with long lifetimes. At the end, we have to underline that these specific interactions are predominant for the thymine and the guanine, which is in perfect agreement with previous experimental observations.


NZ housing allowance is a dualist regime having a cash subsidy known as the Accommodation Supplement (AS) and a stock of social housing in the rental market. Apart from State housing tenants, it is not easy to identify if a potential tenant is receiving any (housing) subsidy. I show that NZ housing LR equilibrium data for the previous century tells a story of consistent fundamentals shaping the sector. I then point to the emergence of financialised residential capitalism which begins to appear in the data post 1990 reforms via a structural shift. I witness disequilibrium in the housing markets which is better explained by bank behaviour than fundamentals, possibly assisting commodification of housing in NZ. Bank behaviour towards credit lending for housing needs appears as a fundamental determinant for modelling to avoid omitted variable bias. This helps to better understand asset price (house) inflation which I call "affordability inflation". Theory and data present robust indications how housing markets disrupt rental markets. Ripples into the NZ rental markets are also witnessed. My analysis leans towards an idea of (a sort of) 'institutional transformation' being set in place leading to a growing private rental sector, and NZ losing its traditional role of a home owning democracy. In effect, I show that 'velocity of tenure shift' is on the rise in NZ, with rapid mortgage-debt led accumulation tipping in favour of investment property instead of home ownership. Housing cash subsidy results in increased disposable / residual incomes. Although, this argument lends support to the tool but says nothing about its efficiency, which lies solely in its structural formation. The case for 'landlord capture' and 'fiscal blowout' are examined. Comparative analysis of the dual housing regime is deconstructed in its detail towards interesting revelations. In case of AS, the picture almost suggests a ceiling mechanism at work within the complex layers of the subsidy, in effect, comfortably managing any risk of a 'fiscal blowout' under the subsidy's conditions at present. Alternatively, social housing results in 'perfect landlord capture' – when mkt rents increase, change in subsidy goes to the landlord (i.e. Crown). It is argued that rapid financialised residential capitalism and the resulting institutional shift require serious attention. I explain that NZ is an outlier in the typologies for the varieties of residential capitalism pioneered by Schwartz and Seabrooke (2008). On the policy front, I attempt to construct an ordinal index to measure the Gap in the Accommodation Supplement Promise (GASP) for use as a policy instrument for the government in future. The premise being the crucial importance of efficiently structured housing policy tools that are critical in an environment witnessing rapid residential capitalism with falling homeownership and an increasing reliance on a rental market.


Sufficient knowledge of near-surface soil moisture and sea surface salinity is essential for environmental studies. In recent years, efforts worldwide have focused on the use of imaging sensors onboard remote sensing satellites to capture such information. This thesis investigates if low-frequency radio signals originating from ground-based stations are suitable for the remote sensing of soil moisture and sea surface salinity. It is found that the time delay variation of 100 kHz Loran-C pulses may be representative of electrical conductivity changes along the propagation path, which have a direct link with soil and sea surface properties. The validation studies using Loran-C signals recorded at Bath and Harwich clearly show that the proposed method is capable of producing an estimation of soil moisture and sea surface salinity. This will form the basis for further validation and studies.


Preface. This volume contains the proceedings of the Tenth Workshop on Coalgebraic Methods in Computer Science (CMCS'10). The workshop was held in Paphos, Cyprus from March 26 until March 28, 2010, as a satellite event to the European Joint Conference on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS'10). The aim of the CMCS workshop series is to bring together researchers with a common interest in the theory of coalgebras and its applications. Coalgebras have been found extremely useful for capturing state-based dynamical systems, such as transition systems, automata, process calculi, and class-based systems. The theory of coalgebras has developed into a field of its own interest, presenting a deep mathematical foundation and a growing domain of applications and interactions with various other fields, such as reactive and interactive systems theory, object oriented and concurrent programming, formal system specification, modal logic, dynamical systems, control systems, category theory, algebra, and analysis. Previous workshops have been organised in Lisbon (1998), Amsterdam (1999), Berlin (2000), Genoa (2001), Grenoble (2002) Warsaw (2003), Barcelona (2004), Vienna (2006) and Budapest (2008). Starting from 2004 CMCS has become biennial, alternating with CALCO (Conference on Algebra and Coalgebra in Computer Science), which, for odd-numbered years, has been formed by the union of CMCS with WADT (Workshop on Algebraic Development Techniques). In 2010, the 10th edition of CMCS is celebrated. For this special occasion all members of previous CMCS program committees have been invited to be a member in 2010. Additionally, four specialists in the field have been invited to present overviews of both obtained results and future challenges in important subareas: • Venanzio Capretta: Coalgebra in functional programming and type theory • Bartek Klin: Operational semantics coalgebraically • Dirk Pattinson: Logic and coalgebra • Ana Sokolova: Probabilistic systems coalgebraically The Programme Committee of CMCS'10 consisted of: Jiri Adamek (Braunschweig), Alexandru Baltag (Oxford), Luis Barbosa (Braga), Marcello Bonsangue (Leiden), Corina Cˆirstea (Southampton), Robin Cockett (Calgary), Andrea Corradini (Pisa), Neil Ghani (Glasgow), Peter Gumm (Marburg), Furio Honsell (Udine), Bart Jacobs (Nijmegen, co-chair), Bartek Klin (Cambridge), Clemens Kupke (London), Alexander Kurz (Leicester), Marina Lenisa (Udine), Stefan Milius (Braunschweig), Ugo Montanari (Pisa), Larry Moss (Bloomington), Milad Niqui (Amsterdam), Dirk Pattinson (London), Dusko Pavlovic (Oxford), John Power (Edinburgh), Horst Reichel (Dresden), Grigore Rosu (Urbana), Jan Rutten (Amsterdam, co-chair), Davide Sangiorgi (Bologna), Lutz Schroeder (Bremen), Alexandra Silva (Amsterdam), Hendrik Tews (Nijmegen), Tarmo Uustalu (Tallinn), Yde Venema (Amsterdam), Hiroshi Watanabe (Osaka), James Worrell (Oxford). The papers were refereed by the program committee and by several outside referees, whose help is gratefully acknowledged.


This article looks at rising soybean demand, how technology is improving soybeans, and the challenges that soybeans derived from biotechnology face. To help meet the challenges of increased soybean demand, biotechnology tools are being used to develop soybeans with improved nutritional value and greater resistance to disease, herbicides, and drought. Producers are increasingly turning to biotech soybeans because of the cost and time savings and reasonable yield enhancement these soybeans offer. Future traits offer the promise of further crop protection benefits, higher yield, and grain value enhancement through oil and protein modification. Despite all the opportunities, biotech soybeans face numerous challenges. Because of the cost of technology and regulatory clearance, it is challenging for developers to capture an acceptable return on biotechnology investments. In order for the full benefits of biotechnology to be realized by the world's farmers and consumers, global acceptance of biotech crops and grain is critical.


Disease caused by the Zika virus (ZIKV) is a public health emergency of international concern. Recent epidemics have emerged in different regions of the world and attest to the ability of the virus to spread wherever its vector, Aedes species mosquitoes, can be found. We have compared the transmission of ZIKV by Ae. aegypti (PAEA strain originating from Tahiti) and by a French population of Ae. albopictus to better assess their competence and the potential risk of the emergence of ZIKV in Europe. We assessed the transmission of ZIKV by Ae. albopictus in temperatures similar to those in Southern France during the summer. Our study shows that the extrinsic incubation period of Ae. aegypti for transmission was shorter than that of Ae. albopictus. Both vectors were able to transmit ZIKV from 10 to 14 days post-infection. Ae. aegypti, however, had a longer transmission period than the French population of Ae. albopictus. Although the salivary glands of both vectors are highly infected, transmission rates of ZIKV to saliva remain relatively low. These observations may suggest that the risk of emergence of ZIKV in Europe could be low.


The detection problem in statistical signal processing can be succinctly formulated: given m (possibly) signal bearing, n -dimensional signal-plus-noise snapshot vectors (samples) and N statistically independent n-dimensional noise-only snapshot vectors, can one reliably infer the presence of a signal? This problem arises in the context of applications as diverse as radar, sonar, wireless communications, bioinformatics, and machine learning and is the critical first step in the subsequent signal parameter estimation phase. The signal detection problem can be naturally posed in terms of the sample generalized eigenvalues. The sample generalized eigenvalues correspond to the eigenvalues of the matrix formed by ?whitening? the signal-plus-noise sample covariance matrix with the noise-only sample covariance matrix. In this paper, we prove a fundamental asymptotic limit of sample generalized eigenvalue-based detection of signals in arbitrarily colored noise when there are relatively few signal bearing and noise-only samples. Specifically, we show why when the (eigen) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is below a critical value, that is a simple function of n , m, and N, then reliable signal detection, in an asymptotic sense, is not possible. If, however, the eigen-SNR is above this critical value then a simple, new random matrix theory-based algorithm, which we present here, will reliably detect the signal even at SNRs close to the critical value. Numerical simulations highlight the accuracy of our analytical prediction, permit us to extend our heuristic definition of the effective number of identifiable signals in colored noise and display the dramatic improvement in performance relative to the classical estimator by Zhao We discuss implications of our result for the detection of weak and/or closely spaced signals in sensor array processing, abrupt change detection in sensor networks, and clustering methodologies in machine learning.


Cell–cell adhesion plays a fundamental role in cell polarity and organogenesis. It also contributes to the formation and establishment of physical barriers against microbial infections. However, a large number of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria and parasites, have developed countless strategies to specifically target cell adhesion molecules in order to adhere to and invade epithelial cells, disrupt epithelial integrity, and access deeper tissues for dissemination. The study of all these processes has contributed to the characterization of molecular machineries at the junctions of eukaryotic cells that have been better understood by using pathogens as probes.


· Much of the macroecological information about microorganisms is confounded by the lack of standardized methodology, paucity of metadata and sampling effect of a particular substrate or interacting host taxa. · This study aims to disentangle the relative effects of biological, geographical and edaphic variables on the distribution of Alnus-associated ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi at the global scale by using comparable sampling and analysis methods. · Ribosomal DNA sequence analysis revealed 146 taxa of ECM fungi from 22 Alnus species across 96 sites worldwide. Use of spatial and phylogenetic eigenvectors along with environmental variables in model selection indicated that phylogenetic relations among host plants and geographical links explained 43 and 10%, respectively,in ECM fungal community composition, whereas soil calcium concentration positively influenced taxonomic richness. · Intrageneric phylogenetic relations among host plants and regional processes largely account for the global biogeographic distribution of Alnus-associated ECM fungi. The biogeography of ECM fungi is consistent with ancient host migration patterns from Eurasia to North America and from southern Europe to northern Europe after the last glacial maximum, indicating codispersal of hosts and their mycobionts.


In this study, the expanded multi-Gaussian beam model is adopted to develop a model to calculate the ultrasonic beam fields radiated from an ultrasonic phased array transducer. Combining this beam model with three other components including time delays, a far-field scattering model and a system efficiency factor, we develop a complete ultrasonic measurement model for predicting the phased array ultrasonic signals that can be captured from a flat-bottom hole in a steel specimen in a pulse-echo set-up using an array transducer mounted in a solid wedge. This paper describes the complete model developed with its key ingredients.


Only little is known about how cells coordinately behave to establish functional tissue structure and restore microarchitecture during regeneration. Research in this field is hampered by a lack of techniques that allow quantification of tissue architecture and its development. To bridge this gap, we have established a procedure based on confocal laser scans, image processing, and three-dimensional tissue reconstruction, as well as quantitative mathematical modeling. As a proof of principle, we reconstructed and modeled liver regeneration in mice after damage by CCl4, a prototypical inducer of pericentral liver damage. We have chosen the regenerating liver as an example because of the tight link between liver architecture and function: the complex microarchitecture formed by hepatocytes and microvessels, i.e. sinusoids, ensures optimal exchange of metabolites between blood and hepatocytes. Our model captures all hepatocytes and sinusoids of a liver lobule during a 16 days regeneration process. The model unambiguously predicted a so-far unrecognized mechanism as essential for liver regeneration, whereby daughter hepatocytes align along the orientation of the closest sinusoid, a process which we named "hepatocyte-sinusoid alignment" (HSA). The simulated tissue architecture was only in agreement with the experimentally obtained data when HSA was included into the model and, moreover, no other likely mechanism could replace it. In order to experimentally validate the model of prediction of HSA, we analyzed the three-dimensional orientation of daughter hepatocytes in relation to the sinusoids. The results of this analysis clearly confirmed the model prediction. We believe our procedure is widely applicable in the systems biology of tissues.


Recent media coverage of studies about 'gaydar,' the supposed ability to detect another's sexual orientation through visual cues, reveal problems in which the ideals of scientific precision strip the context from intrinsically social phenomena. This fallacy of objective measurement, as we term it, leads to nonsensical claims based on the predictive accuracy of statistical significance. We interrogate these gaydar studies' assumption that there is some sort of pure biological measure of perception of sexual orientation. Instead, we argue that the concept of gaydar inherently exists within a social context and that this should be recognized when studying it. We use this case as an example of a more general concern about illusory precision in the measurement of social phenomena and suggest statistical strategies to address common problems.


This is a survey on known results and open problems about closed aspherical manifolds, i.e., connected closed manifolds whose universal coverings are contractible. Many examples come from certain kinds of non-positive curvature conditions. The property aspherical which is a purely homotopy theoretical condition implies many striking results about the geometry and analysis of the manifold or its universal covering, and the ring theoretic properties and the K- and L-theory of the group ring associated to its fundamental group. The Borel Conjecture predicts that closed aspherical manifolds are topologically rigid. The article contains new results about product decompositions of closed aspherical manifolds and an announcement of a result joint with Arthur Bartels and Shmuel Weinberger about hyperbolic groups with spheres of dimension greater or equal to six as boundary. At the end we describe (winking) our universe of closed manifolds.


The inhibition performances of 6-methylquinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione (MQD) on carbon steel corrosion in hydrochloric acid solution was studied the using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization techniques. The effects of inhibitor concentration on the inhibition efficiency have been studied. Inhibition efficiency increased with increase in concentration of this compound within the concentration range 10-6- 10-3 M. Changes in impedance parameters (charge transfer resistance, Rct, and double layer capacitance, Cdl) were indicative of adsorption of quinoxaline derivative on the carbon steel surface, leading to the formation of protective films. The adsorption of this inhibitor takes place according to Langmuir`s adsorption isotherm. Potentiodynamic studies revealed that the inhibitor is of cathodic type. The results obtained from the EIS studies showed good agreement with the results from potentiodynamic polarization techniques.


Most tumors arising in the nasopharynx are either squamous cell carcinoma or so-called undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type. Primary adenocarcinomas of the nasopharynx are rare, and glandular differentiation in undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type has not been reported to date. We report 2 cases of undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type that show distinct glandular differentiation by light microscopy, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and ultrastructure. Both tumors showed equal positivity for Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein and in situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus genome in the undifferentiated areas of the tumor and those featuring glandular differentiation.


Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that implement reconfigurable hardware. They are used in modern systems, creating specialized, highly-optimized integrated circuits without the need to design and manufacture dedicated chips. As the capacity of FPGAs grows, it is increasingly common for designers to incorporate implementations of algorithms and protocols from a range of third-party sources. The monolithic nature of FPGAs means that all on-chip circuits, including third party black-box designs, must share common on-chip infrastructure, such as routing resources. In this paper, we observe that a "long" routing wire carrying a logical 1 reduces the propagation delay of other adjacent but unconnected long wires in the FPGA interconnect, thereby leaking information about its state. We exploit this effect and propose a communication channel that can be used for both covert transmissions between circuits, and for exfiltration of secrets from the chip. We show that the effect is measurable for both static and dynamic signals, and that it can be detected using very small on-board circuits. In our prototype, we are able to correctly infer the logical state of an adjacent long wire over 99% of the time, even without error correction, and for signals that are maintained for as little as 82us. Using a Manchester encoding scheme, our channel bandwidth is as high as 6kbps. We characterize the channel in detail and show that it is measurable even when multiple competing circuits are present and can be replicated on different generations and families of Xilinx devices (Virtex 5, Virtex 6, and Artix 7). Finally, we propose countermeasures that can be deployed by systems and tools designers to reduce the impact of this information leakage.


The average surface absorbed dose rate, given by flat ophthalmic applicators (90Sr/90Y, 925 MBq) is determined in equivalent soft tissue using an extrapolation chamber with two flat parallel electrodes of variable separation; the input electrode is fixed in relation to the collector electrode of constant area. When estimating the extrapolation curve slope using a linear regression model, it has been observed that average surface dose rate values were underestimated by up to 19%, as compared to estimations of these values by means of a second degree polynomial regression model, while an improvement of up to 37% is observed in the standard error of the slope in the quadratic model, as compared to that of the linear model. With the aim of validating the results of these models, goodness of fit tests to a Normal (the Shapiro-Wilk test) as well as homogeneity tests on treatment variance (the Bartlett test) were applied. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) tables of fit and residual error breakdown are given: table 3a and 3b for linear fit; 7a and 7b for quadratic fit, and table 10 to error breakdown. Also presented is the global uncertainty of the average dose rate, taking into account the reproducibility of the experimental set-up. It may be inferred that by using this type of measurement for the extrapolation curve slope, quadratic regression models allow for a greater degree of accuracy and precision in determining surface dose rate values. The effective area of the collector electrode and the effective electrode separation in the chamber are also determined by measuring the chamber's electric capacity. Finally, there is an attempt to relate the use of the regression models to the experimental conditions during the measurement of ionization currents (diameter of collector electrode, electrical field gradient, radiation field uniformity, radiation field intensity, etc.). In this particular case, deviations in the distance inverse square law and the "screening" effects during the collection of negative charges (both for primary radiation and the ionization generated by it), are presented as necessary, but insufficient, conditions to explain thoroughly the quadratic behavior of ionizing currents.


A gravity survey of some 300 stations has been made over the Turriff outlier of Old Red Sandstone, Aberdeenshire. Two reversed seismic refraction lines, each 4 km long, were shot in the northern part of the basin. Density and velocity contrasts were found with the underlying Dalradian rocks, enabling estimates to be made of the depth of the basin fill. The southern half of the basin is structurally simple: N.-S. faulting, partly concealed, drops the basin floor to a depth of c. 1000–1500 m. Gravity anomalies in the northern part of the basin have been corrected for the effects of the Longmanhill and Strichen granites and offshore gabbros. The remaining anomalies, due to the O.R.S., have been coordinated with the seismic results. In the centre the floor is fairly flat with a depth of 1 km, but near the margins it rises by concealed faults to less than 500 m depth. Tectonically, the long axis of the basin has been modified at the northern end by NE.-SW. trending faults along which movements were initiated by granite intrusions in the late Ordovician and continued until after the deposition of the O.R.S. The fault trends are considered in their regional context.


This article introduces the concept of "international development disputes". It argues that despite the well-acknowledged vagueness of 'development' as an operative legal concept, there exists a set of international legal differences (primarily international economic disputes, but not exclusively so) that should be identified as international disputes about development. This family of international disputes is discussed and categorized. Recognizing such disputes has implications for the ways in which such disputes are dealt with. In particular, the effectiveness and legitimacy of using judicial methods to address development disputes should be reconsidered.


Background Smoking and other risk factors have been well known as important factors of variant angina or coronary artery spasm (CAS). However, clinical features related to age on coronary artery spasm have been rarely evaluated. Methods We evaluated 3155 consecutive patients with insignificant coronary artery lesion. Patients underwent Acetylcholine (Ach) provocation test for induction of CAS. CAS was defined as > 70% luminal narrowing of coronary arteries during Ach provocation test. The results of Ach provocation test were compared among age groups; < 45 years (Group 1), 45–54 years (Group 2), 55–64 years (Group 3), and ≥ 65 years (Group 4). Results Older patients had higher incidence of hypertension, diabetes, but lower incidence rate of current smoking, male sex compared with younger patients. Positive Ach provocation test finding was frequently showed with aging (47.36% vs. 58.3% vs. 62.6% vs. 61.5%; P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that age, male, and myocardial bridge were independent predictors of CAS induced by Ach provocation test. Conclusion Our present study showed that old age was independent predictor for Ach-induced significant coronary artery spasm.


The exponential growth of interconnection networks transformed the communication primitives into an important area of research. One of these primitives is the one-to-all communication, i.e. broadcasting. Its presence in areas such as static and mobile networks, Internet messaging, supercomputing, multimedia, epidemic algorithms, replicated databases, rumors and virus spreading, to mention only a few, shows the relevance of this primitive.
In this thesis we focus on the study of interconnection networks from the perspective of two main problems in broadcasting: the minimum broadcast time problem and the minimum broadcast graph problem. Both problems are discussed under the 1-port constant model, which assumes that each node of the network can communicate with only one other node at a time and the transmitting time is constant, regardless of the size of the message.
In the first part we introduce the minimum broadcast time function and we present two new properties of this function. One of the properties yields an iterative heuristic for the minimum broadcast time problem, which is the first iterative approach in approximating the broadcast time of an arbitrary graph.
In the second part we give exact upper and lower bounds for the number of broadcast schemes in graphs. We also propose an algorithm for enumerating all the broadcast schemes and a random algorithm for broadcasting.
In the third part we present a study of the spectra of Knodel graph and their applications. This study is motivated by the fact that, among the three known infinite families of minimum broadcast graphs, namely the hypercube, the recursive circulant, and the Knodel graph, the last one has the smallest diameter.
In the last part we introduce a new measure for the fault tolerance of an interconnection network, which we name the global fault tolerance. Based on this measure, we make a comparative study for the above mentioned classes of minimum broadcast graphs, along with other classes of graphs with good communication properties.


Aim of this study was to evaluate the biotransformation of simple phenols after ingestion of edible fruits and mixed food. It was analyzed hippuric acid in urine as biomarker of conjugation in the liver cells of glycine with aromatic phenolic acids such benzoic and salicylic acid from ingested food. Measurement of hippuric acid in urine samples of 10 healthy individuals: 5 female and 5 male with a mean age 51,5 years were recruited to participate in this study. Urine samples were collected for 24 hours. The additional meals 300 g of fruits: blueberry, cherry, raspberry, melon, blackberry and mixed food were given immediately before the 24 hr urine sampling. Otherwise, the meals given during 24 hr was a usually food. Biotransformation of phenols in edible fruits, that are together with liver glycins precursors of hippuric acid biosynthesis, was evaluated by direct spectrophotometric measurement of excreted hippuric acid in urine at 410 nm. It was established that the highest quantity of hippuric acid was after ingestion of 300 g of bilberry fruits (p< 0,003), and same quantity of cherries (p< 0,003). Concentration of excreted hippuric acid was twice higher after ingestion of these fruits in comparison with hippuric acid concentrations in urine after ingestion of common - mixed food. Quantity of biosynthesised hippuric acid was in direct correlation with the concentrations of its precursors, primarily phenol acids and other simple aromatic acids ingested with food.


Resident memory T cells sound the alarm Immunological memory protects against reinfection. Resident memory T cells (TRM) are long-lived and remain in the tissues where they first encountered a pathogen (see the Perspective by Carbone and Gebhardt). Schenkel et al. and Ariotti et al. found that CD8+ TRM cells act like first responders in the female reproductive tissue or the skin of mice upon antigen reencounter. By secreting inflammatory proteins, TRM cells rapidly activated local immune cells to respond, so much so that they protected against infection with an unrelated pathogen. Iijima and Iwasaki found that CD4+ TRM cells protected mice against reinfection with intravaginal herpes simplex virus 2. Science, this issue p. 98, p. 101, p. 93; see also p. 40 Resident memory CD8+ T cells orchestrate a broad immune response in response to reinfection. [Also see Perspective by Carbone and Gebhardt] After an infection, pathogen-specific tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM cells) persist in nonlymphoid tissues to provide rapid control upon reinfection, and vaccination strategies that create TRM cell pools at sites of pathogen entry are therefore attractive. However, it is not well understood how TRM cells provide such pathogen protection. Here, we demonstrate that activated TRM cells in mouse skin profoundly alter the local tissue environment by inducing a number of broadly active antiviral and antibacterial genes. This "pathogen alert" allows skin TRM cells to protect against an antigenically unrelated virus. These data describe a mechanism by which tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells protect previously infected sites that is rapid, amplifies the activation of a small number of cells into an organ-wide response, and has the capacity to control escape variants.


Summary Agricultural production faces a Herculean challenge to feed the increasing global population. Food production systems need to deliver more with finite land and water resources while exerting the least negative influence on the ecosystem. The unpredictability of climate change and consequent changes in pests/pathogens dynamics aggravate the enormity of the challenge. Crop improvement has made significant contributions towards food security, and breeding climate‐smart cultivars are considered the most sustainable way to accelerate food production. However, a fundamental change is needed in the conventional breeding framework in order to respond adequately to the growing food demands. Progress in genomics has provided new concepts and tools that hold promise to make plant breeding procedures more precise and efficient. For instance, reference genome assemblies in combination with germplasm sequencing delineate breeding targets that could contribute to securing future food supply. In this review, we highlight key breakthroughs in plant genome sequencing and explain how the presence of these genome resources in combination with gene editing techniques has revolutionized the procedures of trait discovery and manipulation. Adoption of new approaches such as speed breeding, genomic selection and haplotype‐based breeding could overcome several limitations of conventional breeding. We advocate that strengthening varietal release and seed distribution systems will play a more determining role in delivering genetic gains at farmer's field. A holistic approach outlined here would be crucial to deliver steady stream of climate‐smart crop cultivars for sustainable agriculture.


In an effort to contribute however modestly to an answer, I shall describe the theology and practice of America's "new evangelicals"--Christians who distinguish themselves from the religious right and who are developing an interesting mix of market and an ethics of life—for short, an economics of life. (In this chapter, I shall take the naive position that "life" includes the common good and means something like the flourishing of all with dignity and care.) On one hand, "new evangelicals" rely on the 17th and 18th century individualist principles that fostered market development. Yet on the other, they spend much of their time working through the community of church for the community of humankind. That is, they uphold unencumbered, individualist entrepreneurialism in markets. But this commitment makes them entrepreneurs for resource-distribution and opportunity-restructuring for the flourishing of all. Given the number of Christian groups involved, this effort has significant effect on the circulation of money, resources, and people throughout the world.


Instability of steady circular Couette flow with radial heating across a vertically oriented annulus with inner cylinder rotating and outer cylinder stationary is investigated using linear stability analysis. The convection regime base flow is developed for infinite aspect ratio and constant fluid properties where buoyancy is included through the Boussinesq approximation. Critical stability boundaries are calculated for this presumed base flow. Stability of mixed convection is tested with respect to both toroidal and helical disturbances of uniform wavenumber. The numerical investigation is primarily restricted to radius ratio (? = r1/r2) = 0.6 at Prandtl number 100. Critical stability boundaries in Taylor-Grashof number space are presented for two values of the stratification parameter ? (4 and 13). The results follow the development of critical stability from Taylor cells at small Grashof number up to a maximum Grashof number used in this calculation of 80000 and 20000 for g = 13 and 4, respectively. Results show that increasing the stratification parameter stabilize the isothermal Taylor vortices followed by a destabilization effect at higher azimuthal mode number (n > 0). The results also show that for ? = 4 (close to conduction regime), two modes are obtained: one is axisymmetric, and the other is non-axisymmetric. However, for the completely convection regime (boundary-layer type) six asymmetric modes are obtained. Finally, disturbance wavelength, phase speed, and spiral inclination angle are presented as a function of the critical Grashof number for the stratification parameters mentioned earlier.


We address the question whether cooperatives can effectively compete with private wineries regarding product quality and reputation. Cooperative reputation for product quality depends on individual grower contributions subject to variation and on their management's ability to produce and market high quality wine. Hence, cooperatives may face larger variations in grape quality with more uncertainty about wine quality further downstream. In contrast, private firms may have more control during the production cycle and may in turn gain a higher reputation with final consumers. We analyze a data set for Alto Adige wineries with retail prices and relevant evaluations for wine quality and producer reputation. It allows to differentiate local cooperatives and privately owned firms, IGT vs. DOC designations and a number of control variables. We employ a hedonic pricing model to test whether wine from private producers receive a reputation premium relative to cooperatively produced wines. Moreover, we hypothesize that wines from private wineries receive a price premium relative to cooperatively produced wine. Our results reject the hypothesis that private producers receive a reputation premium relative to cooperatives. On the contrary, our estimation reveals a significant and positive coefficient for cooperative reputation. We also confirm that cooperative wines receive a significant quality premium relative to non-coop wines. Moreover, comparing IGT and DOC denominations, our results indicate that the relative competitiveness between regional cooperatives and privately owned firms evolves towards a segmentation. Cooperatives get a collective reputation premium by focusing on DOC rules while their non-cooperative competitors use an IGT strategy emphasizing their brands.


One of the most influential ideas in the past 30 years is the efficient markets hypothesis, the idea that market prices incorporate all information rationally and instantaneously. The emerging discipline of behavioral economics and finance has challenged the EMH, arguing that markets are not rational, but rather driven by fear and greed. Research in the cognitive neurosciences suggests these two perspectives are opposite sides of the same coin. An adaptive markets hypothesis that reconciles market efficiency with behavioral alternatives applies the principles of evolution?competition, adaptation, and natural selection?to financial interactions. Extending Simon's notion of ?satisficing? with evolutionary dynamics, the author argues that much of what behaviorists cite as counter-examples to economic rationality?loss aversion, overconfidence, overreaction, mental accounting, and other behavioral biases?is in fact consistent with an evolutionary model of individual adaptation to a changing environment via simple heuristics. The adaptive markets hypothesis offers a number of surprisingly concrete implications for portfolio management.


Despite the fact that it was a Portuguese colony until late 1961, having since then acquired the status of a union territory, the Indian island of Diu was culturally and religiously influenced and marked by its proximity to the neighbouring territory of Kathiawar (also known as the peninsular region of Saurashtra) located in the south of Gujarat state and forming part of the Arabian Sea coast. This circumstance helps to explain the reason why the Gujarati language was the dominant idiom on the island and Hinduism the prevalent religion. To this extent, the reproduction of cultural and religious practices among the Hindu population of the island include the use of various stylistic typologies of bhajan (devotional songs), with particular emphasis on the Kathiyawadi bhajan – a category of bhajan associated with expressive practices globally connoted with the territory of Gujarat, but particularly with the Kathiawar region. In addition to religious connotations, Kathiyawadi bhajan are also identified with lok geet (folk music) practices and envisions a dense interaction between devotional singing intercalated (in the beginning or in the middle of the performance) by poetic-musical forms, such as sakhi, doha, and chaand, traditionally composed and transmitted by bards and jati (caste/castes) of Gujarat musicians (e.g. Gadhvi, Charan, Bharot). Perhaps because of the lack of migratory history on the part of these jati of musicians, in the Hindu-Gujarati diaspora in Mozambique and in Portugal, Kathiyawadi bhajan are particularly practised and transmitted by musicians from Diu jati (although not limited to these). Based on archival research (including audio-visual archives) and on participant observation during multi-sited fieldwork in Lisbon, the state of Gujarat, and Diu island, this article explores the ambiguities related to the practices of representing the Kathiyawadi bhajan: on some occasions perceived as an archaic and potentially transgressive practice by some urban Gujarati groups, on other occasions discursively valued and praised when it comes to performing and representing the 'authenticity' and ancestrality of Gujarati culture in which the Diu jati represent the connection to the 'true' Gujarati folk, rural, and ancestral traditions.


This paper presents the development and implementation of a location based native mobile application for smart phones with the Android operating system. It can be used in promotion of some product or brand in the way of mobile games. The application has the administration interface (back-end) for data manipulation of users, administrators, clients and items. The system distinguishes between three levels of users: the main administrator, administrators-customers and users. The paper also describes the concept of the division of mobile applications as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation within each group. The application is tested in real conditions on more devices.


A single genus of 10 species, only one species reaches NS. Ours is a dioecious shrub. Needles are yellowish green beneath, acute and evergreen, arranged in two rows along the twigs. Staminate flowers are globose, consisting of a few stamens, producing copious amounts of pollen. Mature seeds are green and are surrounded by a red fleshy outgrowth of the lower axis (aril). All parts of this plant should be considered dangerously toxic, although some animals graze it without ill effects. Yews are commonly planted as ornamentals. If poisoning is a concern, staminate shrubs should be used. Effective anti-ovarian cancer alkaloids (taxol) were discovered in the Pacific yew. The Canada yew does not have the same efficacy. Image use provided by Ross Hall and Gerry Lund.


Simulation and experiment of lateral shaft vibration of passive variable-pitch vertical-axis ocean current turbine have been performed. A cantilever type of shaft has been used and modeled using finite element method, and simulated using consistent mass matrix to obtain the vibration characteristics and responses. Variations of incoming fluid velocity and the corresponding rpm were used to identify the pattern of lateral displacement responses. Analysis of displacement responses at all nodes in x and y-direction at the same time was carried out, and confirmed with the presents mode shapes. The repeated pattern of periodic displacement responses due to the functions of force acting on the foils was identified. Correlation of c ritical azimuth position of the foils and displacement responses was presented . Experiment was conducted as validation of the simulation results at a node of the finite element model. Periodic pattern responses resulted from simulation and experiment at the validated node shows the suitability with average error value for all variations were 11.6% in x-direction and 12.3% in y-direction.


Background Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is a recently reported enteric disease of adult horses. Natural infection by ECoV has been reported in adult horses worldwide, whereas experimental infection has only been reported in juvenile horses. An experimental infection model is needed to study the clinical presentation, laboratory abnormalities, and pathophysiological changes associated with ECoV. Objectives To investigate the clinical, hematologic, molecular, and serological features of adult horses experimentally infected with ECoV. Animals Eight adult horses. Methods Four horses were intragastrically infected with fecal material containing 109 genome equivalents of ECoV. Four additional horses were exposed daily to the feces from the experimentally‐infected horses. Monitoring included physical examinations, as well as daily nasal swab, whole blood, and fecal collection for molecular detection of ECoV. Blood was collected every other day for hematologic analysis and weekly for serologic analysis. Results All 8 horses shed ECoV in feces. Six of the 8 horses (75%) exhibited mild, clinical disease with soft, formed manure; 1 horse exhibited transient pyrexia. All horses maintained total white cell counts within normal limits, but 3 horses developed transient lymphopenia. No statistically significant differences (P = .20) were observed in quantity of fecal shedding of ECoV between the 2 groups. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Experimental infection of adult horses with ECoV was associated with mild and self‐limiting clinical signs, transient lymphopenia, and fecal shedding of ECoV, which mimics natural infection. No differences between experimentally‐infected horses and horses exposed to ECoV‐containing feces were identified. Results of our study support a fecal‐oral route of transmission.


The financial sector has emerged as the main economic engine over the past two decades. The comparative advantages of placing financial activities in Luxembourg have mostly been in terms of an adaptive legislative and regulatory framework and low taxation. As a result, Luxembourg is today one of the main international centres for investment funds. Besides the sector's direct and indirect employment effects, the most important effect is the large tax revenue generating capacity of the sector, accounting directly for over 20% of aggregate tax revenues. On the other hand, these tax revenues are volatile as the sector is highly sensitive to developments in international financial markets. Indeed, past downturns in international financial markets have tended to lead to a sharp slowdown of growth in the economy as well as in revenues, pointing to potential large risks associated with the current turmoil in international financial markets. Besides these short-term considerations, a lower trend growth rate of the sector is likely over the medium term. The main activities of the sector are in middle and back offices dealing with financial administration which, with new IT technologies, will tend to be increasingly outsourced. At the same time, the sector is having problems in attracting highly specialised talent to enter higher value front office activities. Over the longer term, international competition will continue to exert pressures that may eventually erode Luxembourg's position. The extent of the decline in the sector's trend growth depends on the ability to maintain and expand the attractiveness of investing and working in Luxembourg. Achieving this will depend on being able to adjust tax, infrastructure, and housing policies to attract foreign talent while updating and increasing the transparency of financial sector regulation.


We present here an unusual complication after endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL). A 48-year-old man had been followed for 2 years because of hepatitis B-associated chronic liver disease. He was admitted to our unit because of hematemesis occurring 15 days before. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination was performed and esophageal varices were diagnosed. An EVL sessionwas decided for the patient. EVL was performed successfully using an Olympus GIF XQ-240 video endoscope and a Wilson–Cook Saeed FourShooter device (Cook Ireland Limited, Limerick, Ireland). During the removal of the endoscope, the Opti-Vu plastic barrel of the ligation set became dislodged from the endoscope at the middle part of the esophagus (Figure 1). Initial attempts to capture the barrel with a basket and grasping forceps failed. Successful removal of the barrel was achieved when an esophageal-type controlled radial expansion (CRE) dilation balloon (Boston Scientific Microvasive Corp., Massachusetts, United States) was used. The balloon was placed through the barrel, inflated with air, and then easily removed with the endoscope from the esophagus (Figure 2). Wilson–Cook, the manufacturer of the Four-Shooter device, advise that it be used with endoscopes of diameter 9.5– 13mm. We performed in our routine endoscopy practice more than one hundred EVL sessions using the same endoscope with a diameter of 9.2mm, but we hadn:t before encountered such a complication. We believe the cause of this unusual complication was not following the diameter range suggested by the manufacturers. Therefore we wish to call the attention of all users of ligation devices to this point. Wendell et al. [1] have also reported a case of a dislodged barrel. The reason for the complication in their case was lower esophageal stricture due to prior endoscopic sclerotherapy sessions [1]. In our case the barrel was removed very easily without complication using a CRE balloon, whichwas placed through the barrel and then inflated with air.


The dissertation assesses the influence of British Celtic on the phonological development of English during and shortly after the Anglo-Saxon settlement period, ca. AD 450–700. By reconstructing and then comparing the phonological systems of both British Celtic and English at the time of contact, an independent assessment of the differences and similarities between the sound systems of the two languages is achieved. On this basis, the segments which were most likely to have been susceptible to change in a situation of language contact and language shift are identified. Evidence for change in English resulting from British Celtic influence is then sought in the medieval textual records. Numerous possible examples of phonological and phonetic change resulting from contact are identified in especially northern English dialects. These findings are interpreted in the context of other on-going research from linguistics and other disciplines.


ABSTRACT The advent of transcription profiling technologies has provided researchers with an unprecedented ability to study biological processes. Accordingly, a custom-made Affymetrix GeneChip, constituting >86% of the Staphylococcus aureus genome, was used to identify open reading frames that are regulated by agrand/or SarA, the two best-studied regulators of the organism's virulence response. RNA extracted from wild-type cells andagr, sarA, and agr sarAmutant cells in the early-, mid-, and late-log and stationary phases of growth was analyzed. Open reading frames with transcription patterns expected of genes either up- or downregulated in anagr- and/or SarA-dependent manner were identified. Oligonucleotide microarray and Northern blot analyses confirmed that the transcription of several known virulence genes, includinghla (alpha-toxin) and spa (protein A), is regulated by each effector and provided insights about the regulatory cascades involved in both alpha-hemolysin and protein A expression. Several putative virulence factors were also identified as regulated byagr and/or SarA. In addition, genes that are involved in several biological processes but which are difficult to reconcile as playing a direct role in the organism's pathogenesis also appeared to be regulated by each effector, suggesting that products of both the agr and the sarA locus are more-global transcription regulators than previously realized.


Objective: Whereas Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with inner retina thinning visualized by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), we sought to determine if the retina has a distinguishing biomarker for frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we examined retinal structure in 38 consecutively enrolled patients with FTD and 44 controls using a standard SD-OCT protocol. Retinal layers were segmented with the Iowa Reference Algorithm. Subgroups of highly predictive molecular pathology (tauopathy, TAR DNA–binding protein 43, unknown) were determined by clinical criteria, genetic markers, and a CSF biomarker (total tau: β-amyloid) to exclude presumed AD. We excluded eyes with poor image quality or confounding diseases. SD-OCT measures of patients (n = 46 eyes) and controls (n = 69 eyes) were compared using a generalized linear model accounting for intereye correlation, and correlations between retinal layer thicknesses and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were evaluated. Results: Adjusting for age, sex, and race, patients with FTD had a thinner outer retina than controls (132 vs 142 μm, p = 0.004). Patients with FTD also had a thinner outer nuclear layer (ONL) (88.5 vs 97.9 μm, p = 0.003) and ellipsoid zone (EZ) (14.5 vs 15.1 μm, p = 0.009) than controls, but had similar thicknesses for inner retinal layers. The outer retina thickness of patients correlated with MMSE (Spearman r = 0.44, p = 0.03). The highly predictive tauopathy subgroup (n = 31 eyes) also had a thinner ONL (88.7 vs 97.4 μm, p = 0.01) and EZ (14.4 vs 15.1 μm, p = 0.01) than controls. Conclusions: FTD is associated with outer retina thinning, and this thinning correlates with disease severity.


1. A simple method for the extraction of 17-oxo steroid sulphates of plasma is described; glucosiduronates and orthophosphates are extracted, but to a smaller extent. 2. Four methods of analyses of the extracts are given and are relatively simple. Three of these are specific for steroid sulphates and two measure the sulphate conjugates directly. 3. Values for dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and androsterone sulphate concentrations of normal and pathological plasmas are given.


The paper is devoted to peculiarities of the deformation quantization in the algebro-geometric context. A direct application of the formality theorem to an algebraic Poisson manifold gives a canonical sheaf of categories deforming coherent sheaves. The global category is very degenerate in general. Thus, we introduce a new notion of a semiformal deformation, a replacement in algebraic geometry of an actual deformation (versus a formal one). Deformed algebras obtained by semi-formal deformations are Noetherian and have polynomial growth. We propose constructions of semi-formal quantizations of projective and affine algebraic Poisson manifolds satisfying certain natural geometric conditions. Projective symplectic manifolds (e.g. K3 surfaces and abelian varieties) do not satisfy our conditions, but projective spaces with quadratic Poisson brackets and Poisson-Lie groups can be semi-formally quantized.


BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with many metabolic and chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Family history of diabetes (FHD) is also an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, the presence of FHD and obesity has a synergic effect on risk of diabetes incidence. The aim of this study was to determine whether FHD influence the weight loss induced by weight loss diet. METHODS This study was an intervention between individuals with or without FHD. Seventy-eight positive FHD and 74 negative FHD individuals were participated in this study. Two groups were matched for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). In the present study, expert interviewers collected socio-demographic data and prescribed dietary recommendations in a face-to-face method. RESULTS Dietary intervention significantly reduces the body weight and BMI in both groups, but these reductions were not different between negative and positive FHD groups. This study could not find any significant association between FHD and responsiveness to weight loss diets (β = −0.058; 95% confidence interval, −1.618 to 0.832; P = 0.526). CONCLUSION Individuals with FHD have higher risk for obesity and chronic diseases, but in the current study there was no difference in responsiveness to weight loss in individuals with a positive family history and those without a family history.


As we progress in our study of organic chemistry, it will become extremely important to be able to quickly recognize the most common functional groups, because they are the key structural elements that define how organic molecules react. For now, we will only worry about drawing and recognizing each functional group, as depicted by Lewis and line structures. Much of the remainder of your study of organic chemistry will be taken up with learning about how the different functional groups behave in organic reactions.


They met only once, briefly, after prayer on a gray afternoon in London: She was a very small woman with huge big spectacles through which she could hardly see. I first met her, not knowing who she was, in the chapel of the Grail in England. This person was praying and I was interested in the little person. Anyhow, there was an air about her that I couldn't understand--I was drawn to her. So we had tea together, the eternal good English tea, at 4pm and then I found out that she was Caryll. That didn't tell me anything for I hadn't read any of her books. She was very, very shy, andYvonne, who was in charge of the Grail at the time inkled that she was a writer. But it didn't penetrate until I got home and first read ThisWar is the Passion. After that I collected everything that she wrote. (1) It must have been quite a meeting: Doherty, who scribbled those words in the front of one of Houselander's books, was a former noblewoman, but she was a self-proclaimed recluse; Doherty was a baroness larger than life with a penchant for the properly placed explicative. Houselander was relatively more restrained and rather frail; Doherty was forced to flee many lands, while Houselander rarely left her comfortable London surroundings. Doherty spoke with a thick Russian accent, Houselander with the poshest of English. Yet, as different as they may have appeared socially, internally they shared the same solitude: neither enjoyed secure intimacy with another, neither was able to delight in lifelong companionship, neither enjoyed the comforts of life-long marriage and the wonder of raising her own family. Both were quintessential pilgrims of the twentieth century. For never has a human soul escaped the pains of loneliness. The solitude of Adam echoes throughout every human gaze and in every human act, each of us stretching outward for completion and wholeness. Such solitude compels us to spend our lives searching for a savior who can finally rescue us from our restlessness. Although inevitable and inescapable, there was something about the past century that rendered social divisions all the more urgent, more widespread, more institutionalized. From blistering battles to cold dictatorships, from the loosening of basic human virtues to the strangling of simple human joys, the twentieth century beheld new types of political and intellectual systems that fostered human alienation. In economics, the institutionalization of Marxist theories of alienation resulted in totalitarian regimes. In philosophy, radical existentialism argued that there could be no real knowledge of the other; each of us is rather doomed and destined to remain locked within our own limitations. L'enfer c'est les autres--"Hell is other people." Thinkers such as Sartre and Camus highlighted our inherent estrangement from one another as the unique essence of the human person. Theology moved from doctrinal precision to liberative praxis, scrambling to show that God is squarely on the side of those in a particular economic class, social situation, or gender. Was it not in such turbulence that the Christian West received one of its great life stories, The Long Loneliness? In response, however, these years consequently produced some of the most significant reflections on solitude and solidarity as well. Where political ideologies inevitably failed, spiritual remedies mercifully arose. Take, for example, Pius XII's 1943 encyclical, Mystici Corporis. At the height of the Great War stood a pope amid "the cities, towns and fertile fields strewn with massive ruins and defiled with the blood of brothers" ([section]4), calling the world to find comfort in how Jesus Christ "never ceases to look down with especial love on his spotless spouse so sorely tried in her earthly exile; and when he sees her in danger, saves her from the tempestuous sea" ([section]39). Out of these tempests of Nazism, Fascism, and atheism arose another Christian leader, Blessed John Paul II. …


The social scientific analysis of social class is attracting renewed interest given the accentuation of economic and social inequalities throughout the world. The most widely validated measure of social class, the Nuffield class schema, developed in the 1970s, was codified in the UK's National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) and places people in one of seven main classes according to their occupation and employment status. This principally distinguishes between people working in routine or semi-routine occupations employed on a 'labour contract' on the one hand, and those working in professional or managerial occupations employed on a 'service contract' on the other. However, this occupationally based class schema does not effectively capture the role of social and cultural processes in generating class divisions. We analyse the largest survey of social class ever conducted in the UK, the BBC's 2011 Great British Class Survey, with 161,400 web respondents, as well as a nationally representative sample survey, which includes unusually detailed questions asked on social, cultural and economic capital. Using latent class analysis on these variables, we derive seven classes. We demonstrate the existence of an 'elite', whose wealth separates them from an established middle class, as well as a class of technical experts and a class of 'new affluent' workers. We also show that at the lower levels of the class structure, alongside an ageing traditional working class, there is a 'precariat' characterised by very low levels of capital, and a group of emergent service workers. We think that this new seven class model recognises both social polarisation in British society and class fragmentation in its middle layers, and will attract enormous interest from a wide social scientific community in offering an up-to-date multi-dimensional model of social class.


The goal of this paper is to examine the economic impact of improved overlay during the lithography process. The motivation for this work is the development at SPARTA of an interferometer able to compensate directly for air turbulence. This improved interferometer will allow better stage positioning, lens and reticle characterization, and alignment of wafers during exposure. In this paper, we examine the effects of improved overlay on integrated circuit (IC) yield and the resulting increase in value to the IC manufacturer for present and future IC generations.


A rat model of big brain ischemia with the middle brain artery occlusion was used for the study of amantadine sulfate (PK-Merz) effect on the expression of Hsp70 measured with immunohistochemical method and Western blot 12 h and 4 days after surgery. The neuroprotective effect of PK-Merz associated with the enhancement of Hsp70 expression in ischemic stroke in rats. To confirm the multivector neuroprotective action of the drug, a comparative study of clinical effectiveness of PK-Merz and magnesium sulfate was carried out in 40 patients (20 patients in each group) in the most acute period of atherothrombotic and cardioembolic strokes. Patients treated with PK-Merz exhibited the more significant restoration of consciousness and better dynamics (regress) of neurological deficit with the most intensive restoration of neurological deficit in the first day that allows to recommend the use of amantadine sulfate in the first hours of ischemic stroke and for the prevention of reperfusion damage in recanalisation therapy of ischemic stroke.


We report our experience with self-expandable nitinol coil stents (InStent, Inc.) in the treatment of malignant biliary and esophageal obstruction. This coil stent, being made of a flat tightly wound wire, resists tissue ingrowth and, as it does not incorporate into the mucosa, it can be removed endoscopically. The stent is inserted in a small diameter and after being located in the stricture area it self-expands while applying radial force till achieving its original configuration. 37 biliarystents were inserted endoscopicallythrough a jumbo endoscope for the treatment of inoperable pancreatic and choledochal tumors. Short term complications occurred in 3 patients: 2 stents were removed because of failure of expansion and one stent was removed because the patient had a severe pancreatitis and was operated. In a long term follow-up no tissue ingrowth were observed. 7 stents were plagued due to sludge or tissue over- growth and plastic stents were placed in them. 33 esophageal stents were inserted fluoroscopically in the treatment of proximal and distal esophageal tumors and gastric tumors. In a follow-up of 40 weeks (mean implant time - 14 weeks) stents remained fully opened, no tumor ingrowth or pain were observed. Complication occurred in 4 patients: 2 stents migrated into the stomach and were removed endoscopically without trauma, 2 stents broke after a period of 2-4 weeks leaving the main part of the stent still functioning in place. As a result of this last two cases a recall was done for the esophageal stents and a new design has been released recently, having a polymer coating. We conclude that the self-expandable nitinol coil stent, having a tightly wound coil, resist tissue ingrowth and allows easy endoscopic procedure to relieve inoperable malignant strictures. Since papillotomy accounts for the major morbidity/mortality associated with ERCP, we have previously proposed sphincteroplasty (EBS) as a safe and effective alternative for small to medium sized bile duct (BD) stones (<20 mm). We now report the efficacy and complications of EBS in a series of 90 pa-tients.Patients and Methods: EBS was considered for BD stones up to 20 mm in 90 patients, 24 post cholecystectomy, (mean age 64, range 19-89,66 female, 24 male), of whom 17 were under 40 yrs. Stone size ranged from 3-20 mm (mean 10 mm, max 8). EBS was performed using a balloon tipped catheter (Microvasive) over a 0.21 guidewire inflated across the papilla (60 sec x 2) to a diameter of 10 mm allowing access for stone retrieval. Median follow-up was 10 months (range 0.5-20). Results: Using EBS alone, the bile duct was cleared in 70 patients (76%). Mechanical lithotripsy was used to remove large stones (15-20 mm) in 13 (15%). Of the 20 EBS "failures" (24%) papillotomy was required to clear the duct in 7 (9%). A pigtail stent was inserted in 13 (15%) to maintain biliary drainage a) as a temporary measure because of doubt about residual stones >15 mm (n = 7, 9%), or b) as a definitive measure in elderly high risk pa- tients with multiple stones >15 mm (n = 6, 6.5%). ERCP was repeated in 14 (16%) for stent removal ± replacement or repeat EBS-duct clearance (n = 4). There was no papillary haemorrhage, while uncomplicated pancreatitis was observed in 4 patients (5%). Conclusion: EBS is a safe and effective sphincter preservation technique for the management of BD stones up to 20 mm in size, which significantly reduces the need for papillotomy. Aim Assess the efficacy of Endoscopic Hemostatic Clipping & Endoscopic Variceal Ligation in the acute and elective treatment of esophagogastric varices. In our experience, combination of these techniques with low-volume sclerotherapy, might enhance the eradication of varices. Patients Twenty con-secutive patients with variceal bleeding (median age 51.3 years range 23-70), were randomized to receive either EVL or EHC (5EVL and 3EHC patients were treated during acute bleeding). All patients but one (alcoholic cirrhosis) had a post-hepatitic cirrhosis. Both groups were comparable for Child Score (me-dian 8.1 EVL, 8EHC), Varix size (median 3,EVL & EHC) and Pre-treatment trans-fusional requirements (median 2.2EVL, 1 .3EHC). Gastric varices were present in 4 EVL & 3 EHC patients; one patient in each group presented with active gastric variceal bleeding. Methods The Stiegmann Goff endoscopic ligator and the Olympus HX-3L Clip Fixing Device were used. Varices were clipped or ligated at the bleeding site first, or, when the procedure was elective, as close as possible to the esophagogastric junction. Two to three mis of 1 % Aetoxisclerol were injected intravariceally 1-2 cms cephalad to the clipped/ligated site. Results Hemostasis was achieved in all cases of acute variceal bleeding. In both groups, obliteration of varices was possible in 19/20 pat (10/10 EHC pat. & 9/10 EVL pat.) after 2 sessions (range 1-4 EVL, 1-3 EHC). One patient (EVL) withdrew. A median of 4.4 clips (range = 3-6), 2.5 ligations (range = 2-3) and 13 mis of 1%. Aetoxisclerol (range 9-18 mis) per session, were necessary. Gastric varices were obliterated in all patients; this was performed during active bleeding in one patient in each group. Clips stayed longer (median 4 weeks, range 2-6 weeks) on site than ligations (median 1 week, range 1-2 weeks, p < 0.001). No significant ulcerations were observed after clipping. During the 12 month follow-up, 5 EHC patients and 2 EVL patients had a single in-cident of rebleeding. Three patients died (2EHC, 1 EVL); one (EHC) during acute bleeding & two of hep. failure (EHC & EVL). Conclusion In this study, two different techniques of mechanical obliteration of varices appear to be effective; combination with sclerotherapy might enhance the result. prestenotic dilation in 16 cases, 25 ductal concrements, 11 a disruption of WD, 11 pseudocysts corresponding to the duct, and 7 parenchymal concre-ments obstructing the outflow. The initial diagnosis of CP had to be corrected in five patients: twice there was a tumor stenosis and acute pancreatitis. Sclerosing pancreatitis was found once. In two patients CP was diagnosed, but there was no evidence of obstruction of WD and intervention was done without. Endoscopic therapy was indicated in 35/42 patients (83%). The in- terventions included 32 EST, 10 stentings, 4 stone extractions by ballon and 24 times short-time nasopancreatic drainage. 18 sessions of extracorporal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) were necessary in 12 patients with pancreatic duct stones or parenchymal calculi. Endoscopic therapy was technically suc- cessful in 30 of 35 cases (85%). Technical failure was due to one 90 degree angle in the proximal WD, 3 disruptions and one stenosis that could not be passed with the guidewire. These settings were further complicated by ex-tensive parenchymal calculi in three cases and duct stones in one patient. No postinterventional pancreatitis was observed. The only complication resulted in one papillary bleeding, that was stopped by sclerosing therapy. In conclu- sion, endoscopic therapy of CP with obstruction succeeded in 75 %. It led to immediate relief of pain in all successfully treated patients. Nevertheless, 30 % of the patients had to have reintervention within one year for stent occlu-sion or recurrent pain. 2/35 patients underwent pancreaticojejunostomy for definite relief of pancreatic obstruction. Background: Endoscopic sphincterotomy is relatively new method of treat- ment of ABP and our knowledge concerning its effectiveness for preventing the recurrence of this disease has not been evaluated as yet. Materialandmethods: In 1983-1993 two hundred and eighty patients with ABP were treated. One hundred seventy-eight patients were treated by ur- gent endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES group) whereas remaining one hundred two patients were managed conventionally (CM group) according to study protocol. Both groups were comparable to age, sex, and predicted severity of ABP Two hundred sixty-three patients (who survived the acute phase of the disease) were subsequently followed-up in one-year intervals. Follow-up ex- amination consisted of physical examination, laboratory tests and US. In se-lected cases patients were hospitalized and CT and/or ERCP were performed if needed. Special attention was paid to ABP recurrence with regarding to previously performed sphincterotomy and/or cholecystectomy. Results: Follow-up data were obtained from 201 (76%) patients out of 263. Mean observation period was 49 (range: 2-132) months. Results concerning the recurrence of APB are shown in the table: Conclusion: In acute biliary pancreatitis endoscopic sphincterotomy effec- tively prevents the recurrence of the disease even in those with gallbladder stones left in situ. Little is known about chemical phenotypes of neuroendocrine cells in the human anal canal, the endocrine-like cells and Merkel cells. The presence, morphology and distribution of neuroendocrine cells was investigated with a panel of antisera and antibodies for neural markers, biogenic amines and neuropeptides by the sensitive streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase immunocytochem- istry. Coexistence patterns of neurochemically characterized neuroendocrine cells were examined by double immunofluorescence cytochemistry. In the colorectal zone, endocrine-like cells were immunoreactive for chro-mogranin A (CGA), serotonin (5-HT), pancreastatin (PST), peptide tyrosine ty- rosine (PWY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and somatostatin (SOM). Coexistence patterns of endocrine-like cell types with CGA and GLP-1 were heterogeneous. In the anal transitional zone (ATZ), endocrine-like cells were immunoreactive for CGA, 5-HT and PST. Furthermore, six new types of endocrine-like cells were characterized bytheir chemical phenotypes; namely PYY-, GLP-1-, protein gene product 9.5 (PGP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP-, neurotensin (NT) and SOM-immunoreactive cells. All endocrine-like cells types in the ATZ were immunoreactive for CGA. In the sq


Background Bicarbonate, as an adjunct increasing the non-ionized form of local anesthetics, can reduce latency and prolong duration of regional nerve block. Warming of local anesthetics decreases pKa and also increases the non-ionized form of local anesthetics. We warmed ropivacaine to body temperature (37℃) and evaluated the sensory block onset time, motor block onset time and analgesic duration of axillary block. Methods Patients were consecutively allocated to two groups of 22 patients each. Ropivacaine 150 mg (30 ml) at 20℃ (room temperature) and 150 mg (30 ml) at 37℃ (body temperature) was injected in group 1 and group 2, respectively. Sensory block and motor block was assessed every 5 minutes, for 30 minutes after injection. The duration of analgesia was recorded after operation. Results In group 2, the onset times of both sensory and motor block of the radial, ulnar, median and musculocutaneous nerves were significantly reduced, compared to group 1. Also, the number of blocked nerves was increased in group 2, within 30 minutes after injection. Analgesia lasted for 2 hours longer in group 2, compared to group 1, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusions Warming of ropivacaine to 37℃ can reduce the onset time of both sensory and motor block, during axillary block.


This special issue of VIEW focuses on the international circulation and distribution of ready-made content, in the form of scripted products. The following essays share an interest in considering the nuances in power dynamics (adaptation, localization, revision) that are bound to any transnational movements. They also address a fruitful variety of problems and points of view that signal the wider potential of this field of research: the transnational circulation of TV content and the currently used market strategies; common ground and cultural proximity in certain cultural groups and/or regions; the role of European countries and markets in the development of international distributed content, and their impact beyond the continent; the emerging role of OTT services in the internationalization of programming; the growing role played by curation and personalization in order to gain a competitive edge; the functions of "niche" content (such as arts programming) and or particular audience groups (such as the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies), and how these adapt to border-crossings; co-productions, but also co-distributions between different countries (such as China and the UK); processes of localizing and adapting foreign ready-made content, for example through dubbing, subtitling and voice overs; and the role of bottom-up circulation.


We present a fully conservative, high resolution approach to front tracking for nonlinear systems of conservation laws in two space dimensions. An underlying uniform Cartesian grid is used, with some cells cut by the front into two subcells. The front is moved by solving a Riemann problem normal to each segment of the front and using the motion of the strongest wave to give an approximate location of the front at the end of the time step. A high resolution finite volume method is then applied on the resulting slightly irregular grid to update all cell values. A "large time step" wave propagation algorithm is used that remains stable in the small cut cells with a time step that is chosen with respect to the uniform grid cells. Numerical results on a radially symmetric problem show that pointwise convergence with order between 1 and 2 is obtained in both the cell values and location of the front. Other computations are also presented.