Purpose: The goal of this project was to develop a web‐based tool (named "KTool") for visual demonstration of how changes in k‐space data are manifest in changes of MR image appearance. The tool should be usable on a variety of computer platforms for wide‐ranging access by Radiology residency programs. The purpose of this endeavor is to help cultivate an intuitive understanding of what k‐space is, to improve understanding of the relationship between raw data and images produced during the MRIimage formation process. Method and Materials: KTool was programmed as an Applet using Java on a Dell Precision workstation with a Linux‐platform, and deployed on the Medical College of Georgia Department of Radiology web‐server. The applet was embedded in a webpage for viewing, and was successfully accessed using computers with three different platforms/environments (Windows XP, Mac OS X, and Redhat Linux). Results: KTool allows the user to examine three different broad concepts of k‐space via different tabbed view panels. First, the user can manipulate k‐space directly via zero‐filling, to demonstrate how image appearance depends on k‐space. Second, the user can visualize—more intuitively and less mathematically—how properties of images and k‐space are reciprocal, related through the symmetry of the forward and inverse Fourier transform. Third, the user can add image artifacts to an image and visualize their appearance in k‐space, to associate malfunctions in MRI equipment during image formation to corruptions in k‐space and to image artifacts. Conclusion: We have introduced a new tool for a more intuitive understanding of k‐space, relying on visualization and intuition instead of mathematics. This tool may be useful for Radiology residency education (e.g., we use it at our institution), or for serving as a reference to the Medical community at large.


This article proposes an approach to solving the problem of multiclassification within the framework of aggressive language recognition in Twitter. At the stage of preprocessing external data is added to the existing dataset, which is based on information in the links in dataset. This made it possible to expand the training dataset and there by to improve the quality of the classification. The model created is an ensemble of classical machine learning models included Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machines, Naive Bayes models and a combination of Logistic Regression and Naive Bayes. The obtained value of macro F1-score for one of the experiments achieved 0.61, which exceeds the state-of-art published value by 1 percentage point. This indicates the potential value of the proposed approach in the field of hate speech recognition in social media.


This paper describes a cloud speech recognition service based on Julius decoder running in server mode. The system was set up to recognize speech in Brazilian Portuguese. The support to the language was developed by the authors with FalaBrasil research group tools, which are free and available on the group's site. Julius uses the FalaBrasil cloud to provide online and distributed speech recognition via Internet. The client side was built on the Android 2.2 platform. The application can record and send audio, detect the end of the user speech and listen to the decoder result. To test the system efficiency, recognition time and accuracy rate were estimated by comparing it to SpeechRecognizer API provided by Google.


This paper describes 15 patients who had elevated IgG antibodies reactive with cardiolipin. Outstanding clinical features were: recurrent venous and/or arterial thrombosis--often extensive and severe--in 9 cases. Thrombocytopenia, in 11 cases and spontaneous recurrent fetal loss in 8 out of 10 females with marital life. In addition there were vasospastic/thrombotic features such as livedo reticularis, Raynaud's phenomenon and leg ulcers. Involvement of central and/or peripheral nervous system was present in 10 cases. Valvular heart disease was conspicuous, 10 out of 15 patients (66%) had organic lesions in both sides of the heart. There were also laboratory abnormalities such as prolonged partial thromboplastin time, false positive V.D.R.L., plasmatic anticoagulant activity and low incidence of antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factors. The clinical syndrome seems to be related to the presence of antibodies reactive with anionic phospholipids, although there is not formal proof of a direct cause effects relationship. Recognition of these distinct clinical entity is important, the use of simple anti aggregating agents like aspirine and careful anticoagulant therapy may modify the course of this newly recognized autoimmune condition.


and a matr ix of the form M ( F ; xx , • • • , x"), F being the binary predicate variable. The s ta r t ing point of both var iants of the proof is the assumption which we know can be made t h a t M(*; 1, x2 , £2 + 1, xt , • • • , Xn), w h e r e * is a certain binary predicate, is satisfied on / for arbi t rary z2 , xt , ••• , Xn . Then a binary predicate ¥ ( x , y) and a descriptive function f (x, y) are defined on / . These definitions are a litt le different in the two var iants . Using these definitions and replacing f (x, y) by an existential quantifier the authors show how it is possible in both var iants to set up a first-order formula, with prefix (1) and containing only the predicate * , which is satisfied on J when the given formula with prefix (2) is satisfied on / , and conversely. T H . SKOLEM


During the last decade, the popularity of hemp products has been rising rapidly. Products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are of predominant interest. Traditional hemp products are frequently enriched by CBD due to their potential therapeutic effects. Cannabidiol occurs naturally in hemp juice together with other biologically active substances, such as terpenes, flavonoids, and stilbenoids. These constituents act synergistically. This study aimed to observe the influence of the hemp plant developmental stage on its chemical composition and antioxidant activity. The hemp plants were analyzed during three vegetative stages, i.e., before, during, and after flowering. The collected samples were evaluated using the following analyses: total polyphenolic content and profile, terpenoid and cannabinoid contents, and ferric reducing antioxidant power. The results revealed statistically significant differences between the samples in almost all set parameters. The optimal period for hemp harvest depends on desirable compounds, i.e., phenolic content is the highest before flowering, while the levels of cannabinoids and terpenoids are the highest during the flowering period.


Garlic is primarily grown for its cloves used mostly as a food flavoring condiment. Previous studies carried out on plant density indicate its direct influence on yield. Plant density depends on the genotype, environmental factors, cultural practices, etc. This study was established to determine the effects of different between-row spacing on growth, yield, and quality of four local accession of garlic. It was laid out on two-factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications during two years. Four local accession of garlic (Langroud, Tarom, Tabriz and Hamedan) were culture in three between-rows spacing (15, 25 and 35 cm) during two years. The results of two cultivated years were different. Plant density changed when garlic cultured with different between row spacing. In present research plant yield increased when the lower between row spacing and high plant density were used but the yield improvement occurring at increased plant stand is offset by the reduction in bulb size and some quality indices such as total phenol and antioxidant which severely affects quality and market value, when garlic is produced for fresh market.


What is the relationship between narrative, society and the forms of control that function in society? This critical analysis examines the role of narrative in the creation of various social realities. The central theme is that narrative is a pervasive form of human communication integral to the production and shaping of social order. Each chapter provides both a theoretical framework and an examination of narratives in a range of communication contexts - interpersonal, small group, organizational and mass media - illustrating the far-reaching impact of narrative on our lives and social organizations.


Biopersistence represents an important health-related issue in fiber toxicology. These studies were undertaken to elucidate the mechanism(s) through which inhaled p-aramid respirable-sized fiber-shaped particulates (RFP) are biodegraded in the lungs of exposed rats and hamsters. Previously, we and others have reported that, following deposition in the lung, long p-aramid RFPs are cleaved into shorter fibrous fragments. To investigate the mechanisms of RFP biodegradation, we have postulated that lung fluids coat/activate p-aramid RFP following deposition in the alveolar regions of the lung, thus predisposing the RFP to enzymatic attack and consequent shortening. This process enhances the rate of clearance of the inhaled RFP. To test this hypothesis, we have conducted both in vivo and in vitro cellular and noncellular investigations. First, p-aramid or cellulose RFP were instilled into the lungs of rats and the lungs were digested 24 h postexposure using two different digestion techniques: (1) a conventional ethanolic KOH method and (2) an enzymatic method that simulates the action of lung enzymes. Cellulose RFP were utilized as a control organic fiber-type that is known to be biopersistent. The results demonstrated that the enzymatic but not the KOH method resulted in transverse cleavage of the p-aramid RFP; the lengths of cellulose RFP recovered from rat lungs were not reduced by either method. Next, standardized preparations of p-aramid RFP or cellulose RFP were incubated with saline or lung fluids and then processed by one of two tissue digestion techniques. Mean lengths of p-aramid RFP incubated with saline and processed with KOH or the enzyme method were not found to be altered. Indeed, only the preparation of p-aramid RFP that had been incubated with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and processed with the enzyme solution resulted in cleavage of p-aramid RFP. Moreover, when the BAL fluids were autoclaved to denature proteins, the length dimensions of p-aramid RFP were intermediate between saline controls and RFP incubated with normal BAL fluids and processed via the enzymatic technique. In contrast to the in vitro noncellular studies with p-aramid RFP, the combination of BAL fluid incubation and enzyme digestion method had no measurable effect on shortening of cellulose RFP, indicating that the results with p-aramid were specific to that fiber-type. In a final set of in vitro cellular studies, cultures of rat lung epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages, or co-cultures of epithelial cells and macrophages were treated with p-aramid RFP for 1 h, 1 day, or 1 week to determine whether RFP shortening occurs directly in the phagocytic cells. The lengths of fibrils were measured using scanning electron microscopy techniques. The results demonstrated that (1) no shortening occurred in the epithelial cell cultures at any time point; however, (2) in the macrophage and cocultures, cleavage of p-aramid RFP was observed at 1 day and 1 week postexposure. Our data suggest that components of lung fluids coat and catalyze the p-aramid RFP as a prerequisite for enzymatic cleavage. This process could play a significant role in facilitating the transverse cleavage or shortening of inhaled p-aramid RFP in the lungs of exposed rats and hamsters.


Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) related complications such as cage instability, cage subsidence and pedicle screws loosening are among the most prevalent cases reported postoperatively. These conditions are highly related to mechanical factors (PLIF design and material), patient health condition as well as activities conducted by the patient after undergone the surgery. Latest advancement on PLIF technology has created a new technique that allows the application of unilateral cage insertion in an oblique orientation. This solution has potentially overcome the problem related to an unintended mechanical and clinical shortcoming, provided that a bilateral posterior instrumentation (PI) is instrumented to the construct and the cage is fabricated from a material that is closely imitate the modulus elasticity of the cortical bone. In order to prove these statements, an image based finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted to assess the phenomena of cage subsidence and screw loosening by examining the stress profile on the cage construct and the vertebral bodies. Obliquely-placed unilateral PLIF with PI showed the most promising results. It showed the most minimal stress distortion at cage-endplate and pedicle screw-bone interface. In conclusion, the selection of a biocompatible cage material is the most crucial factors that has to be considered in achieving biomechanical superiority in PLIF surgery .


Inhaled frusemide effectively prevents the bronchial obstructive response to allergens and to a number of nonallergic stimuli. In most of the experimental models in which it has been tested, the protective effect of frusemide has been evaluated for only a short time after administration. In aspirin-sensitive patients, acetylsalicylic acid causes an asthmatic reaction which typically lasts for 2 h or more after exposure. We investigated the presence and duration of the protective effect of inhaled frusemide against the bronchial response to aspirin in sensitive patients, using a specific inhalation challenge with lysine acetylsalicylate (LASA). In the first study, eight subjects with aspirin-asthma underwent two bronchial challenges with a single dose of lysine acetylsalicylate administered through a jet nebulizer, after treatment with 40 mg inhaled frusemide or placebo, according to a randomized, double-blind protocol. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was monitored for 120 min after challenge. In the second study in eight patients, the protocol was modified by the use of a dosimeter for delivery of lysine acetylsalicylate, by reducing the dose of lysine acetylsalicylate to avoid intense reactions, and by extending the follow-up to 4 h. In the first study, after placebo, FEV1 gradually decreased, reaching a maximum decrement of 39 +/- 3% at 120min. Inhaled frusemide exerted a significant protection at all time-points, although this activity appeared to decrease with time. In the second study, after placebo, inhaled lysine acetylsalicylate caused a gradual decrease in FEV1, which reached a maximum decrement at 180 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Background: Few previous studies have described other than age- and gender related changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in healthy elderly. What is the influence of other common clinically relevant variables such as ache, education, MMSE, and smoking history? Purpose: To study rCBF in Swedish healthy elderly by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and evaluate the influence on rCBF of age, gender, education, MMSE, ache, and smoking with a focus on education in relation to the 'cognitive reserve'. Methods: Healthy subjects (n = 45, 50 -75 y), sampled from a large longitudinal aging study took part in an extensive examination of health and memory, including cognitive testing and socio-economic survey. After injection of 99 mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) followed by SPECT the rCBF-SPECT images were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Results: Age-related decreases in uptake were seen in interhemispheric and interlobar regions. There was a positive rCBF correlation with education in the inferior frontal lobe and a higher uptake in the left temporal lobe in an age-gender-matched high education subgroup. Conclusion: The localization of the age related findings except for the medial temporal lobe differs markedly from typical dementia related findings. A reduction close to interhemispheric or interlobar space should always be related to chronological age. Education seems to have an influence on basal brain function at a resting-state condition. Knowledge of normal rCBF variations for variables such as age and education should be considered when making clinical diagnosis. The findings could be interpreted as further support for the theory of cognitive reserve.


Background and aim The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction, and failure of various organs, especially the eye, kidneys, heart and blood vessels, as treatment to reverse this disorder is more likely to be effective at an early (preclinical) stage, defining the mechanism of diabetic cardiomyopathy may be important to its selective treatment. Aim To assess the left ventricle (LV) function using tissue Doppler (TD) strain and strain rate imaging to detect early LV functions affection in type II diabetic patients without overt heart disease. Patients and methods The study included 60 persons presented in Al Azhar University (Asyut branch) Hospital in the period between November 2014 and January 2016. Were divided into two groups: group (1): 30 diabetic patients with normal (ejection fraction) EF and normal coronaries, group (2): 30 individual without diabetes mellitus (DM) with normal EF as a control group. The following was done for the two groups: 1. Complete History taking and complete general and cardiac clinical examination, resting 12 leads electrocardiography (ECG). 2. Laboratory investigation to diagnose diabetes and the control of the disease. 3. Transthoracic echo examination: 4. TD Strain and strain rate of the LV. Results In comparison between group (1) and group (2) the LV strain and strain rate was found to be significantly lower in group (1) as compared to group (2). Among group I, duration of DM was significantly correlated with decreased strain rate in posterior septum only. There was no correlation between methods of control and the degree of control and the impairment of strain and strain rate. From the present study we found that left ventricular strain and strain rate by conventional echo could reveal the presence of subclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy. Conclusions Type 2 DM deteriorates both LV systolic and diastolic performance. Diabetic patients showed some changes in strain and SR of LV walls at rest especially when the duration of diabetes increased. Strain and SR by TD is superior to conventional Doppler in early detection and evaluation of systolic and diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients.


Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are recognized as the major anions of the large intestinal content in humans, but their effect on colonic motility is controversial. This study explores the colonic motor effect of SCFAs and their mechanisms in the rat. Colonic motility (electromyography) and transit time (plastic markers) were measured in conscious rats while SCFAs were infused into the colon, either alone or after administration of neural antagonists or immunoneutralization of circulating polypeptide YY (PYY). SCFA-induced PYY release was measured by RIA and then simulated by infusing exogenous PYY. Intracolonic infusion of 0.4 mmol/h SCFAs had no effect, whereas 2 mmol/h SCFAs reduced colonic motility (36 ± 3 vs. 57 ± 4 spike bursts/h with saline, P< 0.05) by decreasing the ratio of nonpropulsive to propulsive activity. This resulted in an increased transit rate ( P < 0.01). Neither α-adrenoceptor blockade nor nitric oxide synthase inhibition prevented SCFA-induced motility reduction. Intraluminal procaine infusion suppressed the SCFA effect, indicating that a local neural mechanism was involved. SCFA colonic infusion stimulated PYY release in blood. Immunoneutralization of circulating PYY abolished the effect of SCFAs on colonic motility, whereas exogenous PYY infusion partly reproduced this effect. SCFAs modify colonic motor patterns in the rat and increase transit rate; local nerve fibers and PYY are involved in this effect.


Aaron Kesselheim serves as the editor for Health Policy Portal. Dr. Kesselheim is the JLME editor-in-chief and director of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. This column features timely analyses and perspectives on issues at the intersection of medicine, law, and health policy that are directly relevant to patient care. If you would like to submit to this section of JLME, please contact Dr. Kesselheim at email@example.com. Origins and Ownership of Remdesivir: Implications for Pricing


Affirmation and negation is two main semantic and grammatical categories in any language. In order to explain the processing mechanism of negative sentence, some researchers have proposed schema-plus-tag model and two-step simulation hypotheses. However, these hypotheses cannot explain the processing mechanism of isolated negative sentences with uncertain states, such as the skirt is not blue . So anchor-based activation and satisfaction-constrained model was proposed to solve this problem. In the present study, we used eye-tracking to give further support to this new model. In the three experiments, a visual-world paradigm was adopted to explore the processing mechanism of negative sentences with uncertain states under three different contexts. In Experiment 1, participants were only presented with the alternative choice of the depicted event (e.g., red skirt ), short for 'A'; In Experiment 2 only presented 'NOT X' (e.g., blue skirt attaching negative marker ); In Experiment 3 presented both 'A' and 'NOT X' simultaneously. In these three eye-tracking experiments, participants were first presented with the sentences by voice, and then at 1200 ms, four pictures were presented simultaneously at the beginning of the state word (e.g., blue ). And participants' task was to choose which picture matched the sentence. The materials of Experiment 4 were adopted from Experiment 3, however, presented by offline. So, participants have plenty of time to choose the matching pictures. The results demonstrated that, at the early stage of processing, participants had higher fixation probabilities to pictures depicting the negated state of affairs, such as ' blue skirt ' in all the three experiments. Then at the later stage, participants showed higher fixation probabilities to the pictures depicting 'A' in Experiment 1; however, to 'NOT X' in Experiment 2 and 3. In addition, participants showed lower fixation probabilities to the pictures depicting the negated states than the random level. In Experiment 4, 30 out of 37 participants chose the pictures depicting 'A' rather than 'NOT X' being the matching pictures . The results from all four experiments showed that, when processing the negative sentences with uncertain states, participants would first simulate an anchor (representation of the negated state of affairs), then searched for the actual state of affairs based on the given context. If participants had enough time to get the actual state of affairs based on linguistic features and the given context, then the searching stopped and accepted the actual state as the final state of affairs. However, if participants cannot get the actual state of affairs based on linguistic features and the context or had not enough time to finish the whole process, then the searching also stopped and accepted the representation of the negated state of affairs attaching negative marker being the processing result. At the later stage, the representation of negated state of affairs would be suppressed for useless. The results support anchor-based activation and satisfaction constrained model as well as the suppression hypothesis.


Industry is now investing heavily and at an increasing rate in research and development. The government's responsibility should be to assure that this industrial spending is paralleled by real growth in its support of basic research. Such growth is realistic, even in times of budgetary constraints, given a proposed compact between the scientific community and the government, in which, inter alia, a small percentage of the funds spent on development would be reprogrammed for basic research.


Gastric pseudolymphoma is an uncommon benign lesion which poses a difficult problem in diagnosis and management. Lymphoid hyperplasia of the stomach, however, may occasionally precede true gastric lymphoma. Endoscopic, radiologic and pathological findings are not generally helpful in establishing the diagnosis preoperatively. Benign gastric lymphoid hyperplasia could be mistaken radiologically for ulcerated gastric carcinoma and pathologically for malignant lymphoma. Recognition of this condition is important to prevent unnecessary treatment by surgery or radiotherapy. About 140 case reports have been published to date. This paper describes the cases of two further patients.


Bacteriophage (phage) are viruses that infect bacteria. Typical laboratory experiments show that in a chemostat containing phage and susceptible bacteria species, a mutant bacteria species will evolve. This mutant species is usually resistant to the phage infection and less competitive compared to the susceptible bacteria species. In some experiments, both susceptible and resistant bacteria species, as well as phage, can coexist at an equilibrium for hundreds of hours. The current research is inspired by these observations, and the goal is to establish a mathematical model and explore sufficient and necessary conditions for the coexistence. In this dissertation a model with infinite distributed delay terms based on some existing work (e.g. [26] and [34]) is established. A rigorous analysis of the well-posedness of this model is provided, and it is proved that the susceptible bacteria persist. To study the persistence of phage species, a "Phage Reproduction Number" (P RN ) is defined. The mathematical analysis shows phage persist if P RN > 1 and vanish if P RN < 1. A sufficient condition and a necessary condition for persistence of resistant bacteria are given. The persistence of the phage is essential for the persistence of resistant bacteria. Also, the resistant bacteria persist if its fitness is the same as the susceptible bacteria and if P RN > 1. A special case of the general model leads to a system of ordinary differential equations, for which numerical simulation results are presented.


Kinins have been implicated in the hemodynamic adaptation to postnatal life. The present study examined the impact of bradykinin B2 receptor (B2R) gene disruption on the postnatal changes in blood pressure (BP) and the susceptibility to early onset salt-sensitive hypertension in mice. B 2R null (2/2) and wild-type (1/1) mice were fed normal (NS, 1% NaCl) or high (HS, 5% NaCl) salt diets during pregnancy. After birth, the pups remained with their mothers until they were weaned and were subsequently continued on the respective maternal salt intake until 4 months of age. The age-related changes at 3 and 4 months in tail-cuff BP and anesthetized mean arterial pressure at 4 months were not different in NS/B2R 2/2 and NS/B2R 1/1 mice. However, there was a mild increase in BP in NS/B 2R 2/2 at 2 months versus NS/B 2R . In contrast, HS/B2R 2/2 mice manifested early onset and persistent elevations of tail-cuff BP (P,0.05) at 2, 3, and 4 months versus other groups. MAP was also higher in HS/B 2R 2/2 than HS/B2R , NS/B2R , and NS/B2R 1/1 (9163 versus 7565, 7462, and 7062 mm Hg, respectively; P,0.05). Kidney renin and angiotensin type 1 receptor mRNA levels were not different. Additional studies showed that a delay in the initiation of HS until after birth was accompanied by later development of hypertension, although postnatal discontinuation of HS resulted in a gradual return of BP to normal values by 4 months of age. The results demonstrate that (1) kinins protect the developing animal from salt-sensitive hypertension, (2) lack of B 2R from early development does not alter the maturation of BP under conditions of normal sodium intake, and (3) exposure to a HS diet during fetal life is not sufficient in itself to induce long-term hypertension in either wild-type or B 2R null mice.(Hypertension. 1999;34:176-180.)


This paper proposes a formal definition of influence in Bayesian reasoning, based on the notions of state (as probability distribution), predicate, validity and conditioning. Our approach highlights how conditioning a joint entwined/entangled state with a predicate on one of its components has 'crossover' influence on the other components. We use the total variation metric on probability
distributions to quantitatively measure such influence. These insights are applied to give a rigorous explanation of the fundamental concept of d-separation in Bayesian networks.


The proposed paper entitled: The Al Bidiya Mosque in Fujairah: A Vessel Of Cultural and Religious Heritage in the Emirates Today, is a phenomenological Study which explores the philosophical design of the Al Bidiya Mosque based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties. This study is accompanied by extensive photographic research carried out at the oldest recorded functional mosque in the UAE, whose estimated construction date sits between 1650 and 1670 AD. The photographic research which accompanies my paper (which is currently being published by the Zayed University Books), is the first formal photographic research documentation of this historic structure. As an architect and interior designer, I have selected the medium of black and white photography to capture my subject utilizing my signature technique of collaging imagery together (see enclosed images) to emanate an enigmatic presence that is suitable for capturing the textures and the poetic interplay of light and shadow of the building's materiality- the phenomenology of the place. The images alone tell a story that documents glimpses of occupation and use of the structure as more than just ruins. The images aim to emphasize a system that expresses the building's artistic beauty, the material presence and at the same time demonstrates human occupation along with the humanity and purpose of the place as a space of worship. Over the last 20 years, the UAE has gone through a dramatic emergence of contemporary architecture influenced from all over the world. The Al Bidiya Mosque is paradigmatic for an architecture with explicit relationship to the culture of the region. The presentation of the paper will increase cultural and religious understanding of the UAE in Northern Europe. This is a great opportunity to showcase a glimpse of Emirati History.


Title of Thesis: THE ROLE OF PROCESSING SPEED AND COGNITIVE CONTROL DURING WORD RETRIEVAL IN PERSONS WITH APHASIA Megan Elizabeth Gehman, Master of Arts in Speech Language, 2019 Thesis Directed By: Associate Professor, Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah, Hearing and Speech Sciences It is possible that word retrieval is not associated with general processing speed but is associated with a highly specific cognitive process that of inhibiting competing alternative words. This study aims to measure domain general processing speed, domain general cognitive control, domain specific linguistic processing, and domain specific linguistic selection control. Twelve PWA and 15 neurotypical controls completed all four tasks. Results: domain general processing speed and domain general cognitive control response times differed between the groups but were nonsignificant. In neurotypical adults, word retrieval response time was predicted by domain general measures. However, this pattern was not observed in PWA – rather, word retrieval was predicted by domain specific linguistic measures. The implications of these findings indicate that aphasia is ultimately defined by language deficits, and increased word retrieval times in PWA cannot be attributed to a generalized processing speed deficit. THE ROLE OF PROCESSING SPEED AND COGNITIVE CONTROL DURING WORD RETRIEVAL IN PERSONS WITH APHASIA


Immunosuppressive treatment is widely used in transplant patients, who often have chronic renal failure, while its use in nephropathies of native kidneys with chronic renal insufficiency is still limited. In recent years a number of papers have reported advantages of its use also in this setting. A prerequi- site for immunosuppression in this condition is accurate renal histology, in order to define the etiology, activity/chronicity index and prognosis. Although clinicians agree on the use of aggressive treatment for secondary nephropathies, the approach to primary forms in the presence of chronic renal failure remains controversial, as does the definition of a "point of no return" beyond which treatment could be ineffective or unsafe. Nonrandomized studies found that immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclophosphamide can be useful in membranous nephropathy with renal insufficiency. The use of immunosuppressive drugs in IgA nephropathy in the presence of established renal insufficiency seems to improve renal survival with a limited occurrence of side effects. Since the pharmacokinetics of the current immunosuppressive agents (steroids, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, mycophenolate mofetil) is modified by renal insufficiency, attention should be paid to reduc- ing drug doses and monitoring toxicity. Immunosuppressive treatment is a critical procedure in patients with chronic renal failure, in whom an increased risk of infection is already present. In conclusion, on the basis of the data of the literature, we can hypothesize that the "point of no return" exceeds the threshold generally considered safe by clinicians. Nevertheless, a strict definition of a cutoff value for renal function to establish whether or not a certain treatment should be given is not applicable in clinical practice, where the choice of an immunosuppressive approach must be tailored to the individual patient based on a global evaluation including renal histology, clinical conditions and previous immunosuppression. (G Ital Nefrol 2008; 25: (Suppl. S44) S38-47) Conflict of interest: None


Abstract : A frame transition problem exists between project Systems Engineers (SE) and Department of Defense (DoD) Program Managers (PM). Systems engineering organizations, operating in a rational frame, must produce technical documents required for the PM operating in a political frame of constrained resources. These artifacts, required for milestone reviews, are the results of extensive technical effort that must be accounted for and adequately resourced during project planning by the PM. Programs cannot progress through the DoD acquisition framework if these statutory and regulatory documents are not completed on time and of acceptable technical quality, which is determined during a complicated multi-organization review process. By providing the PM and DoD decision makers with a quantified risk assessment methodology during project planning, these key artifacts can be included in initial program risk assessment activities. This thesis provides the methodology for developing a comprehensive risk model for DoD milestone review documentation as well as recommended changes to the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Project Planning and Risk Management process areas. The intent is to use risk as the common ground between the DoD PM and SE so that each can operate within their respective environments with a common and consistent understanding of risk.


Abstract. This pilot study examined the efficacy of a Tier 2 first-grade mathematics intervention program targeting whole-number understanding for students at risk in mathematics. The study used a randomized block design. Students (N = 89) were randomly assigned to treatment (Fusion) or control (standard district practice) conditions. Measures of mathematics achievement were collected at pretest and posttest. Treatment and control students did not differ on mathematics assessments at pretest. A series of random-effects models were estimated to compare gains between treatment and control conditions. Gain scores of intervention students were significantly greater than those of control peers on a proximal measure of mathematics achievement. The role of a strong theory-of-change model in the development and evaluation of mathematics interventions is articulated. Implications for researchers and educators designing and delivering instruction for at-risk students in a response-to-intervention model are discussed.


Significance Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) is an emerging paradigm to curb cancer mortality by shifting stage at diagnosis through a single test capturing all cancer types when still confined to their tissue of origin (stage I). Liquid biopsies based on genomic biomarkers could make MCED realistic, but limitations include ~10% stage I sensitivity in validation studies; the inability to detect specific types like gliomas; complex assays; and potential overdiagnosis. Here, we demonstrate the potential of free glycosaminoglycan profiles (GAGomes) as metabolic biomarkers for MCED across 14 cancer types. In a validation study, plasma and urine GAGomes doubled the stage I sensitivity reported by state-of-the-art genomics biomarkers and detected poor prognosis cancers. As such, this simple assay could accelerate MCED implementation.


A survey was conducted of military optometrists; 471 surveys sent, 366 returned, and 5 undelivered, representing an overall response of 77.7 percent. Questions probed the scope of practice currently performed, and examined the professional and personal satisfaction of military life. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are the only branches of uniformed military service that commission optometrists. Graphs are presented comparing inter and intra comparisons of these three branches. The opportunity for personal comment was included in the survey. Some of these comments are presented.


Drawing upon research with children in custody, this paper discusses the detention of children within the youth justice system and the prison system in Northern Ireland. It focuses on relatively recent legislative developments which demonstrate the failure of the State to incorporate children's rights, provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and additional international instruments relating to the area of juvenile justice and the deprivation of children's liberty, into provisions governing the custodial disposal of children. The significance of this failure is highlighted by the thoughts and experiences of children detained in custody in Northern Ireland, which they revealed to the author during semi-structured interviews. Key areas of concern include the failure of the State to explicitly recognise children's rights in legislation, to acknowledge that the child's best interests are paramount, to remove children from the prison system and to separate them from adults, and provision for the imprisonment of children at risk of self-harm within the prison system. It is argued that these issues clearly demonstrate the State's failure to guarantee children their rights and children's experiences of custody reveal the serious consequences of this failure.


-s 11 WELDING JOURNAL ABSTRACT. Double-electrode gas metal arc welding (DE-GMAW) is a novel welding process recently developed to increase welding productivity while maintaining the base metal heat input at a desired low level. In this paper, the DE-GMAW process was improved by replacing its nonconsumable tungsten electrode with a consumable welding wire electrode resulting in a new process called consumable DE-GMAW. To understand this new process and its prospects as an effective manufacturing process, the authors have studied fundamental issues and proposed solutions to resolve the problems encountered. These fundamental issues include the stability of the process, the adjustability of the bypass current, the effects of the bypass arc on the total current and the melting rate, and the mode of metal transfer of the bypass welding wire.


The uniqueness of limestone soil-forming substrate was assessed with respect to the classification of forest ecosystems. 50 soil profiles from the Bohemian Karst were studied and the results were confronted with previously published works from other karst areas. The evaluation of soil profiles was based on a macroscopic description, on the results of chemical and physicochemical analyses, and on a micromorphological study. The carbonate bedrock was a cause of specific genesis of soils in these sites – both recent and relict ones (terrae calcis). However, it does not always condition the unique characteristics of these sites whose differentiation would call for an a priori special edaphic category. Unique geochemical characteristics of the substrate are modified on the gradient of advanced pedogenesis (Holocene up to mid-Pleistocene soils were assessed) by a very intensive soil-forming process connected with the impact of allochthonous, mostly aeolian material. Two possible approaches were designed for the classification of these sites: (i) wider conception – distinction of the basic edaphic category with small limitations for the quality of soil-forming substrate, (ii) narrower conception – limestone edaphic category with a number of limitations to distinguish this edaphic category.


Watershed infarcts (WI) evolve in hemodynamic risk zones. Clinical picture of WI can be associated to partial epileptic seizures. Diffusion weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows a clear diagnosis. WI pathogenesis involves either embolic or hemodynamic mechanism. A 69-year old patient presented with sub-acute occurrence of right hemiparesis and partial epileptic seizures of the right arm. Carotid ultrasounds demonstrated occlusion of the right extra-cranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and tight stenosis of the contralateral ICA. Brain Diffusion-Weighted magnetic resonance revealed acute ischemic lesions within the watershed area of the left hemisphere. Our case supports the hypothesis of impaired washout of emboli in low-perfusion brain areas as the mechanism underlying cortical WI.


Approximate programming is a novel approach to live coding that augments traditional programming methods with methods of generating and editing code through realtime numerical processes, using an underlying system that employs representations and transformations from gene expression programming. It aims to provide a hybrid environment where code can be created and modified expressively with multiparametric controllers, and well as with conventional text editing tools. It does this while aiming to keep the code as the central point of representation in the system. Two case studies are presented where the system has been used in live performance for musical improvisation and then for generative audiovisualisation. Initial trials of the system highlight its strengths as an embodied method for control of complex code structures, and as a novel method for combining low-level conceptual structures into higher-level forms. e case studies show two key limitations of the system, with challenges in comprehension of the final code output in text form, and difficulties arising from the highly nonlinear nature of the input-output mappings. Initials solutions are presented in the form of a GUI system for interacting with code in tree representation form.


The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in AlNajaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km2 and 6.16 km2 in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m3/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km2, the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m3/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes. Keywords—Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW.


This study attempts to examine the potential of selected corpus linguistics and computational stylistics methods in the investigation of translation universals in translational literary Polish. It deals with T-universals (Chesterman 2004), with emphasis on the simplification hypothesis, as manifested in the core patterns of lexical use (Laviosa 1998) and the levelling out hypothesis (Baker 1996). To that end, the purpose-designed corpora, each with approximately 350,000 tokens, of contemporary translational and non-translational literary Polish were compiled. The results confirm the simplification and the levelling out hypotheses but only with reference to the mean sentence length and variance for the mean sentence length. On the other hand, the results of multivariate analyses (Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analysis) confirm the levelling out hypothesis that translations are more alike as compared with native texts.


In general hospitals, decisions are routinely made by health and social care professionals to discharge older people with dementia, who lack capacity, into long-term institutional care. There are few independent procedural safeguards that monitor how those professional 'best interests' decisions are made. Instead there is an assumption, implied by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), which governs decision-making on behalf of incapacitated adults in England and Wales, that relatives will act as informal caretakers of patients' interests and will challenge professional decisions where necessary. This article examines whether this is the case in practice and the factors that may prevent relatives from carrying out this safeguarding role effectively. Our findings stem from a qualitative (ethnographic) study which captured observational data on acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in two hospitals within two NHS healthcare trusts in the North East of England. Our results show that relatives struggled to safeguard the rights of incapacitated patients with dementia when professional residence capacity and best-interests decisions were made about living arrangements and relatives were often ill-equipped or unsuitable to carry out this safeguarding role. Without better information-sharing and more robust independent procedural safeguards in the MCA, the rights of older patients with dementia are not being adequately protected during the hospital discharge process.


: A study is presented of the oxygen-transport function of hemoglobin in 50 patients suffering of myasthenia. Age of the patients: from 18 to 70 years. The patients showed increased level of the erythrocytic 2,3-DPG which is a sensitive index of the state of tissue oxygenation and changes of the kinetics of oxygen by hemoglobin. The obtained results permit to evaluate the mechanisms of development of respiratory insufficiency in patients with myasthenia, favours adequate assessment of the severity grades of the disease, help to plan pathogenetic treatment.


Title of dissertation: "TAKE WRITING": NEWS, INFORMATION, AND DOCUMENTARY CULTURE IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND Hyunyang Kim Lim, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 Dissertation directed by: Professor Theresa Coletti Department of English This dissertation analyzes late medieval English texts in order to understand how they respond to the anxieties of a society experiencing the growing passion for news and the development of documentary culture. The author's reading of the Paston letters, Chaucer's Man of Law's Tale, and the Digby Mary Magdalene demonstrate these texts' common emergence in an environment preoccupied with the production and reception of documents. The discussion pays particular attention to actual and fictional letters in these texts since the intersection of two cultural forces finds expression in the proliferation of letters. As a written method of conveying and storing public information, the letters examined in this dissertation take on importance as documents. The author argues that the letters question the status of writing destabilized by the contemporary abuse of written documents. The dissertation offers a view of late medieval documentary culture in connection with early modern print culture and the growth of public media. The Introduction examines contemporary historical records and documents as a social context for the production of late medieval texts. Chapter 1 demonstrates that transmitting information about current affairs is one of the major concerns of the Pastons. The chapter argues that late medieval personal letters show an investment in documentary culture and prepared for the burgeoning of the bourgeois reading public. Whereas Chapter 1 discusses "real" letters, Chapter 2 and 3 focus on fictional letters. Comparing Donegild's counterfeit letters in The Man of Law's Tale and the Duke of Gloucester's confession (1391), Chapter 2 discusses the impact of documentary culture on the characterization of the narrator. The chapter argues that The Man of Law's Tale communicates Chaucer's reservations about the reliability of written documents. Chapter 3 explores medieval dramatic representation of ideological resistance to documentary culture and the government's dependence on textual authority. Focusing on the problem of disinformation in the Digby Mary Magdalene, the chapter discusses how developments in late medieval documentary culture are mobilized to demonstrate that the visual dimensions of theater give access to spiritual truths with a kind of immediacy, which the written document cannot provide. "TAKE WRITING": NEWS, INFORMATION, AND DOCUMENTARY CULTURE IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND


Because the data being mined in the temporal database will evolve with time, many researchers have focused on the incremental mining of frequent sequences in temporal database. In this paper, we propose an algorithm called IUS, using the frequent and negative border sequences in the original database for incremental sequence mining. To deal with the case where some data need to be updated from the original database, we present an algorithm called DUS to maintain sequential patterns in the updated database. We also define the negative border sequence threshold: Min_nbd_supp to control the number of sequences in the negative border.


After being widely celebrated as the cult text in the decades following the second wave of feminism, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre has now become one of the paradigmatic texts of postcolonial studies. The novel is the most widely discussed Victorian narrative by scholars of British colonial discourse, so much so that it seems to have become the text every postcolonial critic has to cut her teeth on today. Contemporary feminist and postcolonial critics typically cite Jane Eyre as the epitome of the metaphorization of racial and cultural differences. (1) They argue that Bronte's use of the metaphors of mastery and enslavement to articulate domestic oppression subordinates colonial to sexual oppression and empties slavery of its racial implications. Further, critics agree that, while the novel is somewhat self-conscious about class and gender restrictions, it effectively erases racial differences by depriving its West Indian character of any textual significance other than as Jane's foil or alter ego. (2) Bertha's sole function is thus to define--through contrast--the consistent and coherent female subject-under-construction and ultimately to undergo erasure so that the sovereignty of the central narrating subject can be established. As an incarnation of sexuality in its most bestial and violent form, the West Indian character is thus seen as the projection of Victorians' general, and Bronte's more specific fear about the colonizers' own possible racial degeneration. According to this influential and well-developed strand of criticism, the dramatization of an individualist quest for self-definition in women's fiction replicates rather than revises the dominant terms of colonial self-representation because any assertion of identity is necessarily based on a "sacrificial logic," that is, a logic whereby the consolidation of the self entails the assimilation/exclusion of the object/Other by the subject. (3) Specifically, Jane Eyre's postcolonial critics foreground the ways in which it is paradoxically the trope of sympathy that provides the grounds for the complicity between the novel's feminist and imperial processes. They recognize a revolutionary potential in Jane's identificatory gestures toward her racial others, but they see this possibility as ultimately failing to live up to the expectations it raises (Azim 176; Kaplan 171-72; Sharpe 40; 52). One of these moments of potentiality is Jane's famous reverie on top of the roof when she draws a parallel between her own situation and the oppression suffered by womankind and the "millions" that constitute other oppressed groups (96). Another episode, similarly identified as an embryonically empowering but ultimately aborted moment, is the ten-year-old Jane's identification with black slaves at Gateshead when, overcome by a sense of injustice at John Reed's treatment of her, she uses the figure of a "revolted slave" to establish a parallel between class and race oppression (8-11). According to Firdous Azim and Jenny Sharpe such expressions of sympathy fall flat because their main function is not to establish a common identity between various oppressed sections of humanity so much as to enhance the contrast between the female individualist and her "uncivilized" others. (4) Sympathy is thus read as a humanist value that ultimately functions either to corroborate or to disguise the workings of imperialist power. Indeed, if a subject's identity is ineluctably determined by what the subject opposes, and if the two terms of the opposition (subject/other) are always defined asymmetrically as well as reciprocally, then sympathy can only serve to confirm the subject's superiority or to obscure the existing hierarchy. In keeping with this logic, postcolonial and feminist interpretations of Jane Eyre read the heroine's professions of sympathy for "native" women as contributing to the establishment of Jane's central narrative voice and individuated self at her Other's expense. …


Background Over the past half-century, diagnostic and therapeutic developments for SLE have led to dramatic improvements in the 5- and 10-year survival. Whether these achievements have improved the long-term trends in mortality in SLE is unclear. Materials and methods We measured temporal trends in age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) for SLE and non-SLE causes by joinpoint trend analysis using county-level data abstracted from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention database. We calculated the annual percentage change in mortality over 46 years. Logistic regression was applied to model the association of sex, race and geographic region on SLE deaths. We calculated SLE case-fatality by dividing the SLE-mortality by the estimated SLE prevalence within each demographic variable. Since no national SLE prevalence is available, we estimated these values with weighted visit data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Results SLE was listed as the primary cause of death in 50,249 individuals from 1968–2013 in the United States. While ASMR for non-SLE causes continuously declined throughout this period, the SLE ASMR showed periods of sustained increase from mid-1970s-1990s followed by a significant decline in 2000s. The higher SLE mortality in the general population was associated with female sex, Black race, and residence in the West or South. However, in the SLE subpopulation, males had a higher mortality. The national estimates for SLE prevalence per 100,000 were 221.17 in females, 20.08 (males), 170.5 (Blacks), 107.44 (Whites), 133.5 (Hispanics), 120.36 (non-Hispanics), and 106.36 (Midwest) to 138.35 (Northeast). Even after adjusting for the prevalence variability, the SLE mortality was higher in Blacks than Whites, and in people living in the South and the West than in the Midwest and the Northeast. Analysis of the trend in SLE case-fatality showed an overall decline in rates from 1999 through 2013. The average annual percent change in SLE case-fatality ranged from −2.5% per year to −3.1% per year in various subpopulations during 1999–2013. Blacks and Hispanics died from SLE at a younger age than Whites and non-Hispanics, respectively. Conclusions Increased SLE mortality in mid-1970s-1990s may reflect increased diagnoses with the establishment of diagnostic criteria as well as corticosteroid overuse, while the subsequent decrease in 2000s may reflect the effect of new immunosuppressive therapies resulting in an overall decreasing trend in SLE mortality in a half-century. Despite this, gender, racial and ethnic disparities persist in SLE mortality.


Abstract This paper explores the production, destruction, and reproduction of the geopolitical spaces of Roman law in order to offer an analysis of Schmitt's (selective) notion of Jus Publicum Europaeum and its relevance to the current "depoliticization" and "dejuridification" of the world. By adopting a historical and geopolitical approach that reaches the boundaries of legal systemology and political theology, the present contribution investigates the manipulative and instrumentalist use of the material object of Rome's (universalist) competence, namely the "territory" as dominium of its political intervention, which was ultimately (and idealistically) aimed at avoiding the natural destiny of any living being: birth, maturity, and death. Attention is therefore paid to the Roman strategy of (ontological?) contamination of its mythical identity through the legal and sociopolitical administration and regulation of its geographical spaces in terms of (non-)cultural signification. Through the analysis of such concepts as "nomos," "Großraum," "Ortung," and "Ordnung," it is claimed that Schmitt voluntarily chose to identify the Jus Publicum Europaeum with the geopolitical order produced during the Age of Discovery and not with the "comprehensive" Roman spatial order. The reason for this choice may be identified in the distortive use of Rome's social relations and political allegiances that lay at the core of its genealogical expansionism (and subsequent inevitable dissolution) since the conquest of Veius in 396 BC and the historical compromise between patrician nobility and plebeians in 367 BC.


The creation of a hypothetical many-electron-positron bound system was suggested as a possible source of the correlated peaks observed in the e+ and e- spectra of various heavy-ion collisions. A new electron-electron interaction was assumed, which becomes large in high-Z nuclear collisions. The authors investigate energy states of such (e+e-)n clusters, bound by scalar and vector Fermi-type interactions. For the bi-positronium system (e+e-)2 they derive a single-particle equation employing the Hartree-Fock method. The required values of the coupling constants are found to be inconsistent with precision QED experiments.


Evolutionary design methodologies generally aim to present new form-finding processes, where nature-based approaches are used, such as self-organization, genetic algorithms etc. This paper aims to present a new architectural design approach that focuses on integrating these different evolutionary methods in an emergent process. The main goal is to achieve a high-level of integration where lacking qualities of each evolutionary method are completed by the other one in a synergic and especially emergent behavior. A multi-level design approach is described in this study. Points highlighted are concerned with the pre-design phases. Within a bottom-top simulation, an infinite high-level solution cluster is revealed from behavioral interactions and collectivity of the low-level entities: agents. Simulated design process is visualized by a determined project area in Istanbul: Kuruçeşme Island on the Bosphorus as an exhibition center. Programmed in 3dsMax, simulation phase supports the creative design process in early phases.


In this work three different ways to produce 1 MWe from biomass gasification syngas are presented. The studied pathways considered the biomass gasification in order to produce syngas able to be transformed into liquid fuels through (i) fermentation and (ii) Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis. Later, both liquid fuels were assumed to be powered in a spark ignition engine and in a compression ignition engine, respectively. The third pathway is (iii) the direct use of syngas in a gas-fired reciprocating engine. Syngas composition was predicted from three residual lignocellulosic biomasses (rice husk, sugarcane bagasse and coffee husk) using a stoichiometric equilibrium model. It was found that the direct use of syngas (LHV ~6.72 MJ/Nm 3 ) needs less biomass (~800 kg/h) to achieve 1 MWe in comparison with the other two pathways. Diesel fuel from FT and ethanol from the fermentation process require around 1500 kg/h and 2500 kg/h of biomass respectively to achieve the same power. The FT synthesis considered the production of a synthetic liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel in terms of heating value (LHV ~44 MJ/kg), while syngas fermentation took into account the ethanol production (LHV ~27 MJ/kg). The above results, for the three different fuels, were assessed considering the thermal efficiencies of each specific internal combustion engine.


Correspondence: Renato Caviglia Department of Digestive Diseases, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200 00128 Rome, Italy Tel +39 6 225411254 Email firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, relapsing disease, the continuous cycle of which deeply affects the long-term course which, eventually, leads to fi brosis and development of transmural complications. It is well known that CD is an immune-mediated clinical condition and that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Current clinical guidelines recommend that patients with mild to moderate active CD should be treated initially with corticosteroids. Although this approach is effective in inducing remission, some patients may become dependent on, or refractory to, these drugs in the long term, thus increasing the risk of developing steroid-related adverse effects. A recent Cochrane systematic review established that infl iximab (IFX) is effective in inducing remission in patients with CD. Although only a few published studies have assessed IFX for the maintenance of remission in the long term, there is evidence that IFX is superior to placebo in sustaining clinical remission and fi stula healing; moreover, corticosteroid-sparing effects have been demonstrated. IFX is associated with the formation of antibodies to IFX which can lead to infusion reactions and shorter duration of response, but when comparing episodic vs scheduled maintenance treatment, the latter appears to sensibly reduce immunogenicity, thus offering improved effi cacy and tolerance. The fi nal point to consider is the best time to introduce IFX in the therapeutic algorithm of CD. Early use of IFX has been suggested to be more effective than late, and may potentially change the natural history of the disease. Effective induction and maintenance therapy with IFX is the only means with which to maintain long-lasting clinical and mucosal remission which, in turn, may modify the long-term course of the disease. Furthermore, when treating infl ammatory bowel disease patients with IFX, an appropriate risk-benefi t balance has to be taken into consideration, because the precise risk of serious adverse events associated with anti-TNF treatment in CD remains to be fully elucidated.


An Integrative Literature Review was conducted in order to evaluate the scientific knowledge produced regarding quality of life of the elderly who have suffered falls. Published articles between 1999 and 2009 were selected from the LILACS, CINAHL and MEDLINE databases, and the following search words in Portuguese, English and Spanish were used: quality of life, the elderly and accidents involving falls. Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. It was revealed that falls are frequent among the elderly, and especially the elderly with more intrinsic risk factors and who have suffered falls are those who are more afraid and more prone to fall again. They also reported physical, mental and emotional impairments, body pains and environmental problems. It was revealed that programs to prevent falling can improve the quality of life of the elderly over time. It was clear that there are knowledge gaps, especially a low level of national scientific output, especially by nurses and the predominance of descriptive studies, with low levels of data. We suggest that health professionals conduct research into interventions to prevent falls that can be used in clinical practice in improving the quality of life of the elderly.


The tension between the hand and machine is currently at the core of one of architecture's biggest debates. Pallasmaa and the firm Kieran Timberlake, for example, hold very different positions on this spectrum, both with a significant following.  Kieran Timberlake, who designed Loblolly House, use digital design and construction methods to discover new construction techniques for a globalised world. The capacity of parametric software, 3D printing, and robotic fabrication has been rapidly advancing in the last decade. They are opening the possibilities of new sculptural forms, more efficient construction processes, and alternative forms of detailing and ornamentation.  In contrast, Pallasmaa uses 'the thinking hand' to draw out intimacy: nooks, irregularities, material richness, and handcraft that invite the user into a closer relationship with architecture. Hand drawing and hand making are crucial to Pallasmaa's goals: intimacy exists in both the design process and the final form of architecture.  The design process is not as divisive as famous pillars at each end of the spectrum imply. In this work, I explore: how can emerging technologies and 'the thinking hand' complement each other? And how might the 'bionic hand' inform both intimacy and efficiency?  I explored this through designing a six-unit housing project in the Wellington suburb of Hataitai. The site is next to Roger Walker's maze of intimate moments, Park Mews. I approached design through hand and digital processes.  My main intention was to document a design process that integrates hand and digital techniques, showing one way an exchange between them could occur. I aimed to combine efficiency and intimacy, through exploring digital and hand techniques. This resulted in findings of the possibilities of the bionic hand in both the form and formation of architecture, the design's place in the context of New Zealand suburbia and its place in the discipline.


There has been recent concern about the impact of increased nutrient loading on the northern Everglades ecosystem. We investigated the spatial and temporal distribution of denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA) along a P-enrichment gradient in the Water Conservation Area 2A (WCA-2A) and determined the effects of added P and NO 3 on DEA. The DEA in soil and detritus layers was measured under anaerobic conditions four times during 2 yr, using the acetylene blockage technique. The DEA ranged from 0.004 to 7.75 mg N 2 O-N kg -1 h 1 . Highest rates of DEA were found in the detritus and surface (0-10 cm) soils, and rates decreased exponentially with increasing distance from the surface-water inflow point, where nutrients are loaded to the wetland. Nitrate was found to be limiting, while the addition of P had no effect on the distribution of DEA in these soils. There was a seasonal effect on DEA, with higher activity observed during the summer when temperatures and hydraulic and nutrient loading were highest. Soils from outside the impacted zone demonstrated denitrifying potentials, within 10 h when spiked with inflow concentrations of NO - 3 , similar to DEA of soils from within the impacted zone. This suggests that soils from outside the impacted zone can increase denitrification rates when exposed to higher NO 3 concentrations in a relatively short time. Agricultural drainage water discharge, and consequent NO 3 loading, has created a zone of elevated DEA proximal to the S-10C surface-water inflow point in WCA-2A.


Histone chaperones are important players in chromatin dynamics. They are instrumental in nucleosome assembly and disassembly and in histone variant exchange reactions that occur during DNA transactions. The molecular mechanisms of their action are not well understood and may involve interactions with various protein partners in the context of the nucleus. In an attempt to further elucidate nuclear roles of histone chaperones, we performed a proteomic search for nuclear partners of a particular histone chaperone, nucleosome assembly protein 1 (Nap1). Proteins recognized as Nap1 partners by immuno-affinity capture and Far Western blots were identified by mass spectrometry. The identified partners are known to participate in a number of nuclear processes, including DNA replication, recombination, and repair as well as RNA transcription and splicing. Finding nuclear actin among the Nap1 partners may be of particular significance, in view of actin's role in transcription, transcription regulation, and RNA splicing. We are proposing a model of how actin-Nap1 interaction may be involved in transcription elongation through chromatin. In addition, awareness of the interactions between Nap1 and Hsp70, another identified partner, may help to understand nucleosome dynamics around sites of single-strand DNA break repair. These studies represent a starting point for further investigation of Nap1 associations in human cells.


Nine potato cultivars were field-grown to determine relative growth rate (RGR), crop growth rate (CGR) and tuber growth rate (TGR) in order to ascertain which of these parameters, namely leaf area ratio (LAR), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf mass ratio (LMR), leaf area index (LAI) and net assimilation rate (NAR), are most closely correlated with the differences among the cultivars in RGR, CGR and TGR. Nine samplings were carried, for short-cycle, and 11 for long-cycle cultivars, every seven days. The relations between all the indexes considered for all cultivars were analysed with simple linear correlation, separately for weekly data, every four and eight weeks. The data were also subjected to multivariate analysis with the three-stage least squares estimation method. Relations between RGR, CGR and TGR, and LAR, LMR, SLA, LAI and NAR, varied according to the length of the measurement interval and analytical method employed. Based on simple correlation analysis for seven-day periods, RGR CGR and TGR always proved closely and positively correlated with values of NAR, less so with LAR and LMR, and still less with LAI, and only slightly correlated with SLA. For four-week intervals, correlation with NAR appeared weak and for eight-week intervals even negative, while the relation with LAR and LAI increased. From multivariate analysis it emerged that the predominant factor affecting RGR was LAR which, together with LAI, negatively conditions NAR. Upon CGR and TGR an important role is played by LAI which directly and positively affects CGR and TGR, and negatively NAR. Time always showed a negative effect on NAR and positive on RGR and CGR, while LAR had a negative effect on NAR, CGR and TGR.
In conclusion, for short periods the differences between cultivars in RGR, CGR and TGR appear chiefly explained by variations in NAR. For long periods and considering the relations among the various traits evidenced by multivariate analysis, the importance of NAR appears less marked, while the morphological traits, namely LAR in determining RGR and LAI for CGR and TGR, assume greater importance.


Temperamentally anxious individuals can be identified in childhood and are at risk to develop anxiety and depressive disorders. In addition, these individuals tend to have extreme asymmetric right prefrontal brain activity. Although common and clinically important, little is known about the pathophysiology of anxious temperament. Regardless, indirect evidence from rodent studies and difficult to interpret primate studies is used to support the hypothesis that the amygdala plays a central role. In previous studies using rhesus monkeys, we characterized an anxious temperament endophenotype that is associated with excessive anxiety and fear-related responses and increased electrical activity in right frontal brain regions. To examine the role of the amygdala in mediating this endophenotype and other fearful responses, we prepared monkeys with selective fiber sparing ibotenic acid lesions of the amygdala. Unconditioned trait-like anxiety–fear responses remained intact in monkeys with >95% bilateral amygdala destruction. In addition, the lesions did not affect EEG frontal asymmetry. However, acute unconditioned fear responses, such as those elicited by exposure to a snake and to an unfamiliar threatening conspecific were blunted in monkeys with >70% lesions. These findings demonstrate that the primate amygdala is involved in mediating some acute unconditioned fear responses but challenge the notion that the amygdala is the key structure underlying the dispositional behavioral and physiological characteristics of anxious temperament.


Domestic violence is still a lot going on regardless of social strata, economic, age, education level even. Polri plays an important role in the prevention of the domestic violence act. The problem is analyzed using the theory and the theory of crime prevention role. The results showed that the Central Java Police's role in the response to domestic violence is at the preventive and repressive efforts. Preventive efforts to optimize the function Binmas in executing is Bhabinkamtibmas by conducting outreach and dissemination to the public. While the repressive efforts carried out through investigation procedure as the provisions of the legislation applicable to the mediation efforts remain to be done. The obstacles that appear in the response to domestic violence in the Central Java Police is the public perception of the cases of domestic violence is considered a regular problem and not a criminal case, the lack of a witness in the trial of domestic violence, limited human resources and infrastructure to protect the victim. As an attempt to overcome these obstacles is to change the public perception that by doing counseling and socialization of domestic violence is routine and ongoing, came to address the witness for questioning as a witness, working with agencies / NGOs and by following the development education specialist of Polwan PPA. Associated with limited facilities and infrastructure in the protection of victims is cooperation with NGOs that provide shelter. Keywords: Prevention; Domestic Violence Act


Damage to vegetation from tourism and recreation includes the impacts of hiking trails, which may favour trampling-tolerant plants over those that are more sensitive to this type of disturbance. To assess how continued use of a hiking trail coupled with changes in local climate affect a rare Australian alpine plant community, we compared plant composition at different distances from a trail in 2013 during wetter conditions with that 10 years prior during a drought in 2003. In both years, only a few trampling-tolerant graminoids and cushion plants were found on the trail surface, which runs along the ridgeline. Species richness and cover in both surveys generally increased with distance from the trail, but there were differences between the windward and leeward sides of the trail. This included increased abundance of some species but continued disruption of shrub succession on the leeward side of the trail. There was an overall increase in species richness between the two surveys, and changes in the abundance of many species independent of trampling effects, possibly reflecting the more favourable/wetter conditions for plant growth in 2013. These results suggest that changes in climatic conditions can affect community composition, but that this has not negated the impact of the hiking trail on this rare community. With average temperatures increasing, and snow cover declining in the Australian Alps, it is likely that there will be even more changes in the Windswept Feldmark, including the potential colonisation of these ridges by more competitive species, such as graminoids, at the expense of the dominant shrub and some herbs that are already adversely affected by trampling. Longer term monitoring of this rare community is imperative to better understand community processes in relation to the impacts of trail use and climate change. Management options to reduce these impacts are discussed.


OBJECTIVES
Hispanic children who live along the United States-Mexico border historically have had among the highest hepatitis A rates in the United States, but risk factors have not been well characterized. The objective of this study was to examine risk factors associated with acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection in Hispanic children who live along the United States-Mexico border in San Diego County, California.

METHODS
In this case-control study, hepatitis A cases among Hispanic children who were younger than 18 years reported from June 1998 through August 2000 were matched by age group and exposure period to Hispanic children who were susceptible to HAV infection. Participants and their families were interviewed about demographic information and potential sources of HAV infection, including attending child care, food and waterborne exposures, cross-border and other international travel, and travel-related activities.

RESULTS
Participants included 132 children with hepatitis A and 354 control subjects. The median age of study participants was 7 years (range: 1-17). Sixty-seven percent of case-patients traveled outside the United States during the incubation period, compared with 25% of the children without hepatitis A (odds ratio [OR]: 6.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.0-9.7); all children, except 1, had traveled to Mexico. In multivariate analysis, hepatitis A was associated with having eaten food from a taco stand or street food vendor (adjusted OR: 17.0; 95% CI: 4.1-71.1) and having eaten salad/lettuce (adjusted OR: 5.2; 95% CI: 1.3-20.1) during travel.

CONCLUSIONS
Hepatitis A among Hispanic children who live in an urban area of the United States-Mexico border is associated with cross-border travel to Mexico and food-borne exposures during travel. Travelers to areas where hepatitis A is endemic should receive hepatitis A vaccine before travel.


It seems natural to imagine that SDN policy specification and control is distributed, and this paper focuses on the resulting concurrency issues. Indeed, conflicts among concurrent policy updates may result in serious inconsistencies on the data plane, even when each update is installed with per-packet consistent update semantics. This paper introduces the problem of consistent composition of concurrent policy updates. Intuitively, consistent concurrent policy composition must appear as though there is no concurrency neither between any policy updates, nor between a policy update and in-flight packets on the data plane.
 We propose an elegant policy composition abstraction based on a transactional interface with all-or-nothing semantics: a policy update is either committed, in which case the policy is guaranteed to compose consistently over the entire network and the update is installed in its entirety, or aborted, in which case, no packet is affected by it. Consequently, the control application logic is relieved from the cumbersome and potentially error-prone synchronization and locking tasks, and control applications are kept light-weight. In this paper, we also sketch a simple implementation of the transactional synchronization: our approach is based on fine-grained locking on network components and avoids complex state machine replication.


Birthweight (BW) is an important denominator for a continuing re-appraisal of a Nation's health care delivery and neonatal viability. A constant surveillance of BW is therefore of utmost importance and a decline, when detected should allow for selecting areas at great risk, identifying causes for the decline and proffering possible corrections. The mean BWs of Nigerian babies differ within the country and, in general, are lower than those of caucasian counterparts. Information is accruing that low BWs are created by factors most of which can be prevented or significantly modified. Mean BWs in Nigeria are highest in the South (lagos: 3380g) and the Middle-Belt (Jos: 3280g: male, 3186g: female). The goal of this synopsis is to summarize and critically analyse the information available to us and to show the lacunae in our knowledge where future research is imperative.


Considerable research investigates information technology (IT) adoption at the individual or organizational level. However, scholars have noted the potential observer and recall biases and the disconnection between individual and organizational IT adoption research. Based on Innovation Diffusion Theory, this study analyzes an existing archival dataset, O*NET, to explore the relationships between occupational characteristics (e.g. adaptability, gender composition, analytical thinking) and the adoption of emergent information technologies (EIT). Correlation test results based on 69 business occupations suggest that the socioeconomic status and occupational values of a profession are generally associated with its usage of EIT. Nevertheless, this research shows mixed associations between IT adoption and occupational communication behavior. In addition, we find that professionalism and the working activities might play a moderating role in IT adoption by occupations. Those results help triangulate previous explorations of organizational and individual IT adoption and yield implications for further investigations. Keyword: Innovation Diffusion; Occupational Characteristics; Information Technologies


Proper scoring rules incentivize experts to accurately report beliefs, assuming predictions cannot influence outcomes. We relax this assumption and investigate incentives when predictions are performative, i.e., when they can influence the outcome of the prediction, such as when making public predictions about the stock market. We say a prediction is a fixed point if it accurately reflects the expert's beliefs after that prediction has been made. We show that in this setting, reports maximizing expected score generally do not reflect an expert's beliefs, and we give bounds on the inaccuracy of such reports. We show that, for binary predictions, if the influence of the expert's prediction on outcomes is bounded, it is possible to define scoring rules under which optimal reports are arbitrarily close to fixed points. However, this is impossible for predictions over more than two outcomes. We also perform numerical simulations in a toy setting, showing that our bounds are tight in some situations and that prediction error is often substantial (greater than 5-10%). Lastly, we discuss alternative notions of optimality, including performative stability, and show that they incentivize reporting fixed points.


We present a flexible, integrated statistical-based modeling approach to improve the robustness of soil moisture data predictions. We apply this approach in exploring the consequence of different choices of leading predictors and covariates. Competing models, predictors, covariates and changing spatial correlation are often ignored in empirical analyses and validation studies. An optimal choice of model and predictors may, however, provide a more consistent and reliable explanation of the high environmental variability and stochasticity of soil moisture observational data. We integrate active polarimetric satellite remote-sensing data (RADARSAT-2, C-band) with ground-based in-situ data across an agricultural monitoring site in Canada. We apply a grouped step-wise algorithm to iteratively select best-performing predictors of soil moisture. Integrated modeling approaches may better account for observed uncertainty and be tuned to different applications that vary in scale and scope, while also providing greater insights into spatial scaling (upscaling and downscaling) of soil moisture variability from the field- to regional scale. We discuss several methodological extensions and data requirements to enable further statistical modeling and validation for improved agricultural decision-support.


Abstract German allows for topic drop (Fries 1988), the omission of a preverbal constituent from a V2 sentence. I address the underexplored question of why speakers use topic drop with a corpus study and two acceptability rating studies. I propose an information-theoretic explanation based on the Uniform Information Density hypothesis (Levy and Jaeger 2007) that accounts for the full picture of data. The information-theoretic approach predicts that topic drop is more felicitous when the omitted constituent is predictable in context and easy to recover. This leads to a more optimal use of the hearer's processing capacities. The corpus study on the FraC corpus (Horch and Reich 2017) shows that grammatical person, verb probability and verbal inflection impact the frequency of topic drop. The two rating experiments indicate that these differences in frequency are also reflected in acceptability and additionally evidence an impact of topicality on topic drop. Taken together my studies constitute the first systematic empirical investigation of previously only sparsely researched observations from the literature. My information-theoretic account provides a unifying explanation of these isolated observations and is also able to account for the effect of verb probability that I find in my corpus study.


Starting powder mixtures of ZnO and TiO2, at the molar ratio that is in accordance with the stoichiometry of zinc titanate Zn2TiO4, were mechanically activated using a planetary ball mill in different time intervals from 0 to 90 minutes. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy and non-isothermal dilatometric measurements were performed in order to investigate zinc titanate formation. Processes occurring during mechanical activation led to the formation of a specific structure of obtained powders that promoted and accelerated solid-state reactions and densification during sintering. The main conclusion based on analysis is that mechanical activation enables better compaction of activated powders, i.e. possibility of achieving higher densities of green bodies without binders, but first of all that Zn2TiO4 ceramics can be obtained by mechanical activation after a certain time with appropriate thermal treatment, i.e. heating rate and sintering time, at temperatures lower than those when non-activated mixtures were used.


Background: Pandemic restrictions have changed how patients approach symptomatic kidney stones. We used a mixed-methods digital ethnographic approach to evaluate social media discussions about patient concerns and preferences for urolithiasis care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed kidney stone-related discussions on a large social media platform using qualitative analysis and natural language processing-based sentiment analysis. Posts were mined for demographic details, treatments pursued, and health care encounters. Pre-COVID-19 (January 1, 2020–February 29, 2020) and COVID-19 (March 1, 2020–June 1, 2020) posts were extracted from the popular online Reddit discussion board, "r/KidneyStones," which is dedicated to discussions related to urolithiasis. Results: We extracted n = 649 posts (250 pre-COVID-19, 399 COVID-19); 150 from each cohort underwent thematic analysis and data extraction. Quantitative sentiment analysis was performed on 418 posts (179 pre-COVID-19, 239 COVID-19) that described stone-related decision making before intervention. Notable discussion themes during COVID-19 focused on barriers to care and concerns about stone management. Discussants exhibited more negative and anxious tones during COVID-19, based on sentiment analysis (p < 0.01). Patient preferences shifted away from in-person visits and procedures (p < 0.001). Mean reported stone size among those visiting emergency room (ER) increased from 5.1 to 10.5 mm (p < 0.001). The proportion of discussants preferring conservative management with stones ≥10 mm increased (12.5% pre-COVID-19 vs 26% during COVID-19, p = 0.002). Opioid mentions increased from 9% to 27% of posts (p < 0.001) and were most associated with conservative management discussions. Conclusions: Online discussion forums provide contemporaneous insight into patients' experiences during a time when traditional patient-centered research methodologies are limited due to social distancing. During the pandemic, patients with symptomatic kidney stones expressed anxiety regarding outpatient encounters and reluctance toward procedural intervention. Patients opted instead for at-home conservative treatment beyond clinical guidelines and reserved ER visits for larger stones, potentially causing self-harm. Opioid discussions proliferated, an alarming consequence of the pandemic.


Unravelling the genetic nature of reproductive isolation is crucial to understanding the maintenance of diversity between populations. In hybrid zones, loci that establish a barrier to gene flow between populations remain divergent, whereas neutral unlinked loci become mixed. In those instances, fit allelic combinations across several loci can be maintained through selection, but this is antagonized by gene flow and recombination. Here, I show that particular allelic combinations in a linked cluster of loci responsible for a flower colour polymorphism between two A. majus subspecies are maintained despite recombination in a hybrid zone. I reveal that a known locus that controls the magenta flower colour of the subspecies, ROSEA (ROS), is highly divergent between them, compared with most of the genome. The divergence region extends downstream of ROS, likely due to selection on another linked, but unidentified, locus that also controls flower colour, ELUTA (EL). Fine-mapping experiments identified an interval containing EL and regions within ROS that control different components of the magenta phenotype. Transcriptome analysis from flower buds suggests that MYB-like transcription factors within the mapped intervals control this trait. ROS and EL interact epistatically, meaning that the phenotype of an individual depends on the particular allelic combination it has for these loci. In the hybrid zone, markers in ROS and EL are in high linkage disequilibrium, but ~5% of recombinant haplotypes were found in the population. Recombinant haplotypes modify the phenotype of the flowers in relation to the parental subspecies, and therefore may be selected against. The data suggest that allelic combinations in ROS-EL are maintained by selection, despite gene flow and recombination between the two subspecies. This work reveals the consequences of selection, gene flow and recombination in shaping the patterns of genomic divergence in linked clusters of loci that establish an isolating barrier between populations.


In conjunction with net primary production studies, consumer and faunal studies were conducted at or near NPP sites using pitfall traps. We used live traps, not employing ethylene glycol or other killing/preservative agents, with traps checked once a week at the minimum. Sampling-with-replacement was used with the lizards. Variables measured included species, sex, recapture status, snout-vent length, total length, weight, and whether tail was broken or whole. This study is complete.


This study was initiated as an effort to explain certain oscillatory phenomena observed in an aircraft and weapon control system operated in a particular mode. The oscillations in question were of the undamped limit-cycle type and their presence could very clearly be correlated with the degree of noise corruption of the signals. It is demonstrated in this paper that certain types of nonlinear systems although being inherently stable may be driven into oscillatory modes not only by random signals but also by any high frequency periodic or nonperiodic signal possessing a certain energy content. It is of interest to note that the tendency for hunting and also the hunt frequency usually are completely independent of the frequency of the excitation signal, i.e., the phenomenon is of asynchronous nature. A general theory, the validity of which has been tested by both analog and digital means, is presented and utilized to demonstrate how this phenomenon may be predicted from information on circuit data.


Long-noncodingRNAs (lncRNAs) have been proposed as a critical regulator of various cellularprocesses including cell fate decision and cell proliferation (1,2).Mechanistically, lncRNAs control various gene expressions by recruiting thechromatin modifiers in cis and trans modes (1). Transcription oflncRNAs itself also can activate or suppress the neighboring gene expression bythe transcriptional interference through regulatory sequences (1,3). lncRNAsare also involved in a wide range of protein and RNA regulatory functions, suchas scaffoldings of proteins and RNAs, protein and RNA decoys, and functionalmicro-peptides production (1). Aberrant regulation of lncRNA-mediated cellularprocesses is implicated in human disease including cancer (4,5). The recenttechnologic advance including the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), andgene editing, genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models has made it feasible toelucidate the various roles of lncRNAs in the normal tissue physiology and thepathologic conditions including tumorigenesis and metastasis (2,6).


Ribonucleases (RNases) with different sequence specificities are used for a variety of analytical purposes, including RNA sequencing, mapping, and quantitation. One very common application for RNase A is presented in this unit and involves hydrolyzing RNA that contaminates DNA preparations. Two other commonly used RNases, RNase H and RNase T1, are also described. In addition, many commercially available RNases are sequence‐specific endoribonucleases, a property has been used for enzymatic sequencing of RNA.


The interaction of a soliton of the Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation (NSE) with a weak sinusoidal wave packet is treated analytically. The second-order soliton solution containing the original soliton and a perturbing soliton is expanded to first order in the amplitude of the perturbating soliton. From this expansion, one obtains the associate function of Gordon (1992) and a continuous change of position and phase of the perturbed soliton. One finds that the soliton experiences a second-order change of velocity under the influence of the perturbation. This result is then used to derive the displacement due to a wave packet of general shape, which is also confirmed by computer simulation.