Expression of transfected genes is shown to be suppressed by two intracellular enzymes, RNase L and protein kinase PKR, which function in interferon-treated cells to restrict viral replication. RNase L(-/-) or PKR(-/-) murine embryonic fibroblasts produced enhanced levels of protein from transfected genes compared with wild-type cells. Increased expression of exogenous genes in RNase L(-/-) cells correlated with elevated levels of mRNA and thus appeared to be due to enhanced mRNA stability. Plasmid encoding adenovirus VA RNAs was able to further enhance accumulation of the exogenous gene transcript and protein, even in cells lacking PKR. In contrast to the increased expression of transfected genes in cells lacking RNase L or PKR, expression of endogenous host genes was unaffected by the absence of these enzymes. In addition, a dominant-negative PKR mutant improved expression from a conventional plasmid vector and from a Semliki Forest virus derived, self-replicating vector. These results indicate that viral infections and transfections produce similar stress responses in mammalian cells and suggest strategies for selectively increasing expression of exogenous genes.


Online semi-supervised multi-label classification serves a practical yet challenging task since only a small number of labeled instances are available in real streaming environments. However, the mainstream of existing online classification techniques are focused on the single-label case, while only a few multi-label stream classification algorithms exist, and they are mainly trained on labeled instances. In this paper, we present a novel Online Semi-supervised Multi-Label learning algorithm (OnSeML) based on label compression and local smooth regression, which allows real-time multi-label prediction in a semi-supervised setting and is robust to evolving label distributions. Specifically, to capture the high-order label relationship and to build a compact target space for regression, OnSeML compresses the label set into a lowdimensional space by a fixed orthogonal label encoder. Then a locally defined regression function for each incoming instance is obtained with a closed-form solution. Targeting the evolving label distribution problem, we propose an adaptive decoding scheme to adequately integrate newly arriving labeled data. Extensive experiments provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of our approach.


Today, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are no longer a nascent technology and future networks, especially Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) [5] will integrate more sensor-based systems into a variety of application scenarios. Typical application areas include medical, environmental, military, and commercial enterprises. Providing security to this diverse set of sensor-based applications is necessary for the healthy operations of the overall system because untrusted entities may target the proper functioning of applications and disturb the critical decision-making processes by injecting false information into the network. One way to address this issue is to employ en-route-filtering -based solutions utilizing keys generated by either static or dynamic key management schemes in the WSN literature. However, current schemes are complicated for resource-constrained sensors as they utilize many keys and more importantly as they transmit many keying messages in the network, which increases the energy consumption of WSNs that are already severely limited in the technical capabilities and resources (i.e., power, computational capacities, and memory) available to them [6].
Nonetheless, further improvements without too much overhead are still possible by sharing a dynamically created cryptic credential. Building upon this idea, the purpose of this thesis is to introduce an efficient and secure communication framework for WSNs. Specifically, three protocols are suggested as contributions using virtual energies and local times onboard the sensors as dynamic cryptic credentials: (1) Virtual Energy-Based Encryption and Keying (VEBEK) [4]; (2) Time-Based DynamiC Keying and En-Route Filtering (TICK) [7]; (3) Secure Source-Based Loose Time Synchronization (SOBAS) for WSNs [8].


The lazy Viterbi decoder is a maximum-likelihood decoder for block and stream convolutional codes. For many codes of practical interest, under reasonable noise conditions, the lazy decoder is much faster than the original Viterbi decoder. For a code of constraint length 6, the lazy algorithm is about 50% faster than an optimized implementation of the Viterbi decoder whenever SNR>6 dB. Moreover, while the running time of the Viterbi decoder grows exponentially with the constraint length, under reasonable noise conditions, the running time of the lazy algorithm is essentially independent of the constraint length. This paper introduces the lazy Viterbi decoder and shows how to make it efficient in practice.


To take into account both ex ante and ex post inequality considerations, one has to deal with inequality and uncertainty simultaneously. Under certainty, much of the literature has focused on "comonotonically linear" indices: functionals that are linear on cones of income profiles that agree on the social ranking of the individuals. This family generalizes both the Gini index and the egalitarian index(minimal income). However, it does not include functionals such as the average of expected-Gini and Gini-of-expectation. In contrast, the family of min-of-means functionals is rich enough for this purpose.


An enterprise content management system such as an electronic contract system manages a large number of secure documents for many organizations. The search of these private documents for different organizational users with role- based access control is a challenging task. In this paper, we present a novel content-based XML-annotated secure-index search mechanism that provides an effective search and retrieval of private documents with document-level security. The search mechanism includes a document analysis framework for text analysis and annotation, a search indexer to build and incorporate document access control information directly into a search index, an XML-based search engine, and a compound query generation technique to join user role and organization information into search query. Our experiments on a pilot electronic contract system demonstrate that, by incorporating document access information directly into the search index and combining user information in the search query, search and retrieval of private contract documents can be achieved very effectively and securely with high performance.


Abstract A retrospective study was conducted in women with history of a caesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) to explore the possible causative mechanisms. Over a period of 40 months, a total of 16,926 deliveries and 3554 caesarean sections (CS) occurred in our hospital. Nine cases of CSP were identified at an incidence of 1:1880 births and 0.25% of all CS. Analysis of the indications of the previous CS revealed that 88.8% of women with known indication had undergone CS without labour. Out of them, 75% underwent CS at preterm gestation and 25% had term elective procedure for breech presentation. Of the patients, 77.7% had multiple CS. Conservation of the uterus was possible in 77.7% of patients utilising non-radical forms of treatment. As most of the women underwent CS with a non-contractile uterus without labour, we believe that the risk of CSP may be related to the indications of the previous CS as the number of CS alone could not explain the occurrence of CSP. It is time to explore this area so that screening strategies can be developed to detect CSP at the earliest possible gestation and to prevent life-threatening complications such as uterine rupture and severe hemorrhage. Impact statement What is already known on this subject? A caesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is a life-threatening condition that can result in uterine rupture and in severe haemorrhage. Although the diagnostic criteria for the CSP have been established, the risk factors that favour the condition are not well understood. We know that the incomplete healing of the lower uterine segment (LUS) from poor vascularisation can create a microscopic dehiscent tract through which the blastocyst enters the myometrium. Some have postulated that the healing processes following the elective procedures, such as for breech deliveries performed in a non-developed LUS, might facilitate this process. What do the results of this study add? In this study, analysis of the indications of the previous CS revealed that majority of women with a known indication had undergone CS without labour, either at preterm gestation or term elective procedure for breech presentation. We have postulated the possible causative mechanisms in relation to the physiology of LUS development. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has looked specifically at the relationship between the indications of previous CS and CSP. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Further studies exploring the indications of the previous CS are recommended so that early first-trimester screening strategies can be generated towards this subgroup of patients to detect CSP at the earliest possible gestation.


Abstract. Various studies (e.g. Forrest and Castner 1985, Blok 1987, Clarke 1989, Leung and Li 2002) have shown that some map symbols are very effective (easy to understand the meaning) while some other symbols are not very effective (difficult to understand the meaning). Such results are in accordance our experiences in map use. A question arising is "What matters?" The simple answer is "complexity".


The nucleation and crystallization kinetics of glass obtained by melting coal fly ash with additives at 1550°C have been investigated. The optimum heat treatment schedule for the glass was nucleation at 825°C for 60min before crystallization at 962°C for 4h. The activation energy for crystallization of the glass-ceramics, obtained by the DDTA result, was 280.03 kJ/mol, lower than that of glass-ceramics obtained from pure reagents. The low activation energy is caused by impurities in fly ash, serving as nucleation agent. The results of XRD and SEM show that glass-ceramics developed nano-sized spherical wollastonite.


Overweight and obesity are connected with environmental factors to a greater degree than with genetic and psychological factors, because in their aetiology the focus is mostly on two factors, i.e. inappropriate diet and a sedentary lifestyle. This is an increasingly widespread phenomenon that harms the health and quality of life in adults, and also contributes to a decrease in their efficiency at work. The study aimed to evaluate the social diversification of overweight and obesity in adults living in different social environments in Swietokrzyskie region of Poland. The study was based on a questionnaire and observations, and encompassed 517 women and 515 men aged between 20 and 59 years. The questionnaire included questions about the characteristics of the social and family environment; while the observation involved anthropometric measurements of the basic somatic traits that were used to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) and Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR), which in turn were used to evaluate the occurrence of overweight and obesity. The incidence of overweight and obese adults showed a clear increase with age and displayed considerable social diversification, especially in the case of the women, among whom a better financial situation and a higher level of education correlated with a more slender body shape and a smaller increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity. The increase in the number of overweight and obese adult persons who lived in the different social environments in Poland was only slightly smaller than the increase in other European countries. Overall, the social diversification of overweight and obesity in adult persons indicates that Polish women are more health-aware than men.


In healthcare studies, the analysis of claims data is gaining an increasingly important role. Observational studies should be reported in a manner that promotes internal and external validity assessment, with the exact and standardized description of items. Several international guidelines and checklists for reporting on secondary data are available. The aim of this work was to analyse the applicability of reporting guidelines especially for claims data. The STROSA-2 guidelines recommendations were evaluated by means of a report on a study on triptan medications in Austria. Six items were identified which could be expanded to support complete and transparent report on Austrian claims data. Therefore, we would suggest to add some details in the STROSA-2 guidelines concerning study design, legal foundations, data protection, data flow, descriptive results and risk of bias. The guidelines for reporting on Austrian claims data were successfully compiled with additional items. New guidelines should be further processed and tested with strong recommendations to focus on data limitations and legal aspects.


Inducible C4-like photosynthetic metabolism in Hydrilla verticillata leaf tissue elicits variability in photosynthetic phenotype, expressed as CO2 compensation point (F). We conducted a field and laboratory study to investigate the ecological and adaptive significance of this physiological phenomenon. Spatial horizontal environmental hetero- geneity was observed within clonal populations of H. verticillata in Florida, USA. Measured at midday, the edge habitat at the expanding periphery of the clone exhibited a dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration of 0.7 mmol/L , pH 7.1, a dissolved oxygen (DO) level of 0. 13 mmol/L, and biomass of 0.2 kg/M2. The mat habitat, located 200 cm towards the interior of the surface mat, exhibited DIC 0.1 mmol/L, pH 10.2, DO 0.48 mmol/L, and biomass 0.8 kg/m2. DIC depletion and DO supersaturation characterized the mat habitat for most of the day and much of the growing season. Furthermore, net photosyn- thesis, daily carbon gain, and relative growth rate (RGR) of H. verticillata were reduced 80% by mat conditions compared to edge conditions. Fs of H. verticillata were positively correlated with CO2 and bicarbonate concentration, and negatively correlated with pH, DO, and biomass. Low and high F photosynthetic phenotypes were associated with the mat and edge habitats, respectively. Photosynthetic phenotype of H. verticillata appears to acclimate to environmental heterogeneity within a clone in the field. Net photosynthesis and daily carbon gain of low F phenotype H. verticillata was 128% and 40% greater than the high F phenotype when measured in the mat habitat, but was 21 % lower than the high F photosynthetic phenotype when measured in the edge habitat under low quantum flux. Laboratory experiments showed a negative curvilinear relation- ship between the F of H. verticillata and plant density. The data demonstrate that plasticity in photosynthetic phenotype of H. verticillata is a density-dependent, physiological response that optimizes carbon gain within a stressful heterogeneous environment. Evolution of facultative C4-like photosynthetic metabolism in H. verticillata may have been an adap- tation to the contraints imposed upon carbon gain by DIC and quantum flux limitation in the mat habitat.


Digital library is the national knowledge infrastructure which provides various kinds of information services for promoting knowledge innovation. Ambient Intelligence is a kind of digital intelligence environment, its emergence and development have changed model, dissemination channel and using mechanism of information and brought great opportunities to the development of digital library. In order to satisfy the users' personalized information requirements better in an AmI environment, an architecture for digital library information service is proposed in this paper, which allows individual users to retrieve, access and share information resources more efficiently. The implementation mechanism of the architecture introduced specific service process and explored the potential of the architecture to support future service applications of digital library.


Three-dimensional flower-like molybdenum disulfide microspheres composed of nanosheets were prepared by a hydrothermal method using ammonium molybdate as the molybdenum source and thiourea as the sulfur source. Structural and morphological characterizations were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical properties of MoS2 electrode were studied by performing cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). When used as an electrode material for supercapacitor, the hybrid MoS2 showed a high specific capacity of 518.7 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 and 275 F g−1 at a high discharge current density of 10 A g−1. In addition, a symmetric supercapacitor composed of MoS2 as positive and negative electrodes was prepared, which exhibited a high energy density of 12.46 W h kg−1 at a power density of 70 W kg−1 and still maintains an impressive energy density of 6.42 W h kg−1 at a large power density of 7000 W kg−1. The outstanding performance of the MoS2 electrode material indicates its great potential for applications in high-performance energy storage systems.


We propose a method to generate a facial caricature depending on a simple method for corresponding 3-D facial images. In this method, we extract several facial parts regions each of which include facial parts of the face by using both gray and range images. The diagonal corners of the respective extracted regions are used to provide the informations on the correspondence between the faces. Therefore, by using this method, it is expectable to reduce the number of the feature points for the correspondence from more than several hundreds to ten or so. At the same time, this method makes it possible to extract boundaries of facial parts. In order to examine the feasibility of this method, we employ a usual corresponding method of the triangular patch as the reference. We generated the 3-D mean face and 3-D facial caricature to demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of the proposed method. It was clarified that the number of the correspondence points can be reduced to only 10% of the usual method.


Objectives: This study aimed to emphasize the importance of accurate and timely diagnosis of acute abdominal pain with simple radiography by reporting a case of gastrointestinal perforation.Methods: We closely observed the diagnosis and progress of acute abdominal pain after biliary stent and reviewed the outline of gastrointestinal perforation.Results: Patient diagnosed with urethral cancer metastasis to lung and peritoneum was treated with complex Korean medicinal treatments to deal with anorexia, abdominal pain, jaundice and oliguria. During hospitalization, the patient's acute abdominal pain after biliary stent was diagnosed with gastrointestinal perforation by using plain chest and abdominal radiography.Conclusion: Using simple radiography to find out the emergency diseases such as perforation in acute abdominal pain is important clinically.


Half of all clinical trials fail to report results within a year of completion as required under European Union rules.

Research published in The BMJ shows that pharmaceutical companies are far better at complying with the reporting rules than non-commercial sponsors such as universities.1

In 2012, the European Medicines Agency said that results of trials must be posted on the EU Clinical Trials Register within a year of the end of the trial and within six months of completion for trials involving children. The final deadline for compliance was 21 December 2016.

Researchers from the DataLab at the University of Oxford found that of 7274 trials on the EU clinical trials database which were completed and where results were due only 49.5% had reported results. The study shows that 68.1% of …


The motivat ion for our work is the observation that Web pages on a part icular topic are often linked to other pages on the same topic. We model and analyze the problem of how to improve the classification of Web pages ( that is, determining the topic of the page) by using link information. In our setting, an initial classifter examines the text of a Web page and assigns to it some classification, possibly mistaken. We investigate how to reduce the error probabili ty using the observation above, 'thus building an improved classifier. We present a theoretical framework for this problem based on a r andom graph model and suggest two linear t ime algorithms, based on similar methods that have been proven effective in the setting of error-correcting codes. We provide simulation results to verify our analysis and to compare the performance of our suggested


We describe the case of an 11-year-old girl who presented with a lump in her neck. On exploration a 4 cm saw-toothed fish bone was extracted from the soft tissue of the anterior triangle of the neck.

Ingested fish bones are a common presentation in accident and emergency departments, but there are only a small number of reports of migration through the pharynx into soft tissues. Rare complications can include oesophageal perforation, haematoma formation, retropharyngeal abscesses and recurrent infections. To the best of our knowledge this is the first reported case of migration of an ingested fish bone in Malawi.


Ecological processes underlying bacterial coexistence in the gut are not well understood. Here, we disentangled the effect of the host and the diet on the coexistence of four closely related Lactobacillus species colonizing the honey bee gut. We serially passaged the four species through gnotobiotic bees and in liquid cultures in the presence of either pollen (bee diet) or simple sugars. Although the four species engaged in negative interactions, they were able to stably coexist, both in vivo and in vitro. However, coexistence was only possible in the presence of pollen, and not in simple sugars, independent of the environment. Using metatranscriptomics and metabolomics, we found that the four species utilize different pollen-derived carbohydrate substrates indicating resource partitioning as the basis of coexistence. Our results show that despite longstanding host association, gut bacterial interactions can be recapitulated in vitro providing insights about bacterial coexistence when combined with in vivo experiments.


Time series spanning 22 years of monthly conductivity‐temperature‐depth profiles are used to examine upper water column temperature interannual variability near the Ecuador coastline. The sampling program began in 1992 (and continues) by Ecuador's National Institute of Oceanography of the Navy and National Fisheries Institute. The five coastal stations are located 8 NM away from the coast and extend from 2°S to 1°N. The anomaly data show marked interannual variations with distinct characteristics associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices. Heat content and the 20°C isotherm depth are both largest during El Niño periods and weakest during La Niña periods. The first mode empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition of the anomaly coastal station data represents bulk variations of the thermocline depth and has temporal variability coupled to Niño 3.4 and 1+2 indices. Coastal observations are compared with observations obtained from the offshore TAO/Triton buoys located along 95°W from 2°S to 2°N. The EOF decomposition of TAO buoy time series shows similar spatial EOF structure. The first EOF amplitude time series from coastal and TAO station decomposition is correlated, showing that the dominant variability of the upper water column near the coast is coupled to variations along the equator and seaward of the Galápagos. Coupling between ENSO indices and ERA‐1 zonal wind stress from the central Pacific (Niño 4) with observed coastal temperature structure shows that effects of El Niño forcing are strongly influencing the Ecuadorian Sea eastward of the Galápagos Islands.


Spatial databases are optimized for the management of data stored based on their geometric space. Researchers through high degree scalability have proposed several spatial indexing structures towards this effect. Among these indexing structures is the X-tree. The existing X-trees and its variants are designed for dynamic environment, with the capability for handling insertions and deletions. Notwithstanding, the X-tree degrades on retrieval performance as dimensionality increases and brings about poor worst-case performance than sequential scan. We propose a new X-tree packing techniques for static spatial databases which performs better in space utilization through cautious packing. This new improved structure yields two basic advantage: It reduces the space overhead of the index and produces a better response time, because the aX-tree has a higher fan-out and so the tree always ends up shorter. New model for super-node construction and effective method for optimal packing using an improved str bulk-loading technique is proposed. The study reveals that proposed system performs better than many existing spatial indexing structures


Much of the evidence that implicates cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in the control of infections due to herpes simplex virus (HSV) is circumstantial. However, the ease of induction of HSV-specific CTLs in vitro, the evidence from clinical observations in humans, and the protection afforded by adoptively transferred CTLs all tend to support an important role for CTLs in the resolution of HSV disease. One salient feature of the response of human CTLs to HSV that has emerged quite clearly is the presence of CD4+ T cells as a predominant killer cell phenotype. Given the importance of CD4+ T cells in mediating delayed type hypersensitivity responses and in clearing local infections on adoptive transfer, this T cell subset probably plays a critical role in the resolution of HSV recrudescent disease. Moreover, it is tempting to speculate that viral agents that impair the function of CD4+ T cells, such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1, may predispose patients to severe local infections.


Introduction:
There is a scarcity of research examining spirituality and spiritual dimensions of Advanced Nurse Practitioner practice. This thesis explores the findings of a hermeneutic enquiry into the spiritual dimensions of Advanced Nurse Practitioner consultations in Primary Care through the lens of Availability and Vulnerability. The findings include Advanced Nurse Practitioners' understandings and conceptualisation of spirituality, the place of spirituality in practice and some of the concerns related to integration in practice. The participants' interviews explored their own personal and professional experiences which added to their conceptualisation of spirituality. The lens of Availability and Vulnerability (A&V) was used intentionally and openly to explore, in depth, spiritual dimension of practice with the participants. The utility and effectiveness of the concepts of A&V in this context was explored.
Methods/Methodology:
A hermeneutic phenomenological enquiry was chosen to explore spirituality through the lived experiences of the Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs).
Eight participants were interviewed face to face during 2 in-depth interviews spaced 18 months apart. The concepts of A&V were introduced to the participants before the second interviews. The lens of A&V was utilised within these interviews to discover whether or not these concepts were helpful for operationalising spirituality in practice. The prolonged engagement allowed dialogue to occur between the researcher and participants allowing data to be captured which provided a thick description of the phenomenon of spirituality. A thematic analysis was chosen to interpret the data in order to enable a deeper understanding of the spiritual dimensions of ANP consultations to be gained.
Findings
The participants recognised that spirituality can be difficult to conceptualise and operationalise in practice. However, many of the participants were able to articulate the meaning of spirituality for themselves and gave examples of when they had witnessed a spiritual dimension occurring in practice. Particular themes were expressed in the interviews in relationship to spirituality. These included the context for spirituality to be integrated into care, the emotional engagement needed and the emotional impact on the ANP and the patient. Having introduced the concepts of A&V to the participants, after deep exploration, they recognised and identified that A&V were concepts which could be a useful lens for understanding spirituality in ANP consultations.
Conclusion
This study has uncovered new knowledge and understanding in the realm of spirituality in ANP consultations in Primary Care. The conceptual understanding of spirituality and the framework of Availability and Vulnerability provides a new approach to spirituality within ANP consultations in Primary Care.


Boundary detection is essential for a variety of computer vision tasks such as segmentation and recognition. We propose a unified formulation for boundary detection, with closed-form solution, which is applicable to the localization of different types of boundaries, such as intensity edges and occlusion boundaries from video and RGB-D cameras. Our algorithm simultaneously combines lowand mid-level image representations, in a single eigenvalue problem, and we solve over an infinite set of putative boundary orientations. Moreover, our method achieves state of the art results at a significantly lower computational cost than current methods. We also propose a novel method for soft-segmentation that can be used in conjunction with our boundary detection algorithm and improve its accuracy at a negligible extra computational cost.


With the ongoing development of the Internet technology, the information technology and the contemporary educational technology, education has been witnessing the transition from on-site classes to digital online classes. Contemporary distance education has been one of the essential tools for providing a platform for lifelong learning; also, it offers various learning resources for learners as well as a great monitoring platform for the teachers. Moodle, integrating the advanced technology of contemporary education, comes into being under the great needs for digitalized education; it reflect the ideal and belief of contemporary education and can help to support various ways of teaching, promote design of classroom activities, as well as improve teaching efficiency and evaluation, so, it contributes to the change of ideal and belief of contemporary education. As a general course open to all students in normal universities, Modern Education Technology is of pivotal importance to help students pick up educational ideals and concepts as well as educational modes. Based on the present situation in the course Modern Education Technology, this paper analyzes the researches of Moodle-based course design by latest specialists and scholars and builds up a design model for Moodle-based course Modern Education Technology; the author specially design the learning environment and teaching resources for students so as to improve the teaching efficiency of course Modern Education Technology with Moodle.


The authors' hypothesis is that the members of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) such as citrate decrease in association with increased ketone body formation. To prove this hypothesis the connection between ketone bodies and citrate formation of milk was studied. A fluorimetric method was used to determine citrate and a headspace sampling gas chromatographic (GC) method was developed for determination of ketone bodies. Under real conditions of milk sampling, transport and storage, preserved milk samples of 119 clinically healthy dairy cows obtained in the 48 hours after milking were investigated. A low level of acetoacetate (ACAC) was found in all samples. This fact can be explained by the spontaneous decarboxylation of acetoacetate during sample storage (previously decarboxylised acetoacetate = pdACAC) and, consequently, the majority of the amount of acetoacetate in the samples (AC + pdACAC) appeared in the measured acetone concentrations. Based on the measured acetone concentration of milk samples two groups were formed retrospectively: HA (high-acetone) group (n = 41) with an AC + pdACAC concentration of > 0.4 mmol/l and a LA (low-acetone) group (n = 78) with an AC + pdACAC level of < or = 0.4 mmol/l. In the milk of cows of Group HA a positive correlation (r = +0.623) and linear connection between acetone (AC + pdACAC) and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) levels was found [BOHB = 2.491 + 0.586 x (pdAC + ACAC)]. Furthermore, in this group a negative correlation between citrate and BOHB and AC + pdACAC was also established (r = -0.579). Focusing on the results of this group the authors found a significant drop of AC + pdACAC and citrate during the metabolically critical first 1-4 weeks of lactation. For this reason they suggest that simple, easy, automated methods (i.e. flow injection analysis, Fourier transformation infrared analysis) should be introduced for the simultaneous determination of acetone and citrate concentration in milk to make the evaluation of the energy status of high-producing dairy cows easier and more certain.


This paper, which will appear in a book on the Supreme Court and International Law, comments on the contribution of Professor Ralf Michaels on F. Hoffman-LaRoche, Ltd. v. Empagran S.A. Without quarreling with Professor Michael's insightful and creative analysis, I offer an alternative reading of the decision. I locate it within a four-decade tradition of growing skepticism about the value of civil litigation brought by private persons as a means of vindicating public interests.


A wide-area coordination study systematically reevaluates protective relay coordinated elements with standardized protection coordination criteria to identify means to improve protection performance. The scope of the study can range from an entire utility transmission and distribution system to a smaller subset that may only include a few terminals. Some unique challenges that may arise when performing a wide-area coordination study are described in this paper. These challenges include: defining what parts of the electrical system to include in the wide-area coordination study, system operations and contingencies to consider, relays/protection elements to include in the study, and what data is needed for the study. Defining a systematic approach to the coordination study can also be a challenge in itself. The study can be performed on a protection element-by-element basis or be divided into system subsets such as operating voltage levels or geographic areas. This paper serves as a guide for developing a systematic approach to performing a wide-area coordination study. It presents considerations and choices the protection engineer may be faced with, and gives examples of tradeoffs made when coordination cannot be met. The paper also discusses specific topics such as utilizing engineering software tools for automated coordination checking and strategies for resolving coordination time margin violations in looped systems under tight coordination guidelines.


ABSTRACT This study asked the participants of place-based educational programs in Micronesia and the Philippines between 1992 and 2017 how past learning experiences impact them now and how the learning changed over time. The responses of 128 program participants, mostly Japanese, were examined using a mixed-methods approach with an emphasis on qualitative data analysis. Ninety-four percent of the respondents stated that what they learned in these programs is linked to their current lifestyles, ways of thinking, and jobs. The categories of perceived learning were the same regardless of the age during the program and the time that had passed after the program. Most reported that the influence continued in various forms and transformed as an extension of the initial effect. The study demonstrates that learning develops through interaction with new learning in different contexts after the program through a meaning-making process, using the initial impactful experience as a reference.


Denoising diffusion probabilistic models are currently becoming the leading paradigm of generative modeling for many important data modalities. Being the most prevalent in the computer vision community, diffusion models have also recently gained some attention in other domains, including speech, NLP, and graph-like data. In this work, we investigate if the framework of diffusion models can be advantageous for general tabular problems, where datapoints are typically represented by vectors of heterogeneous features. The inherent heterogeneity of tabular data makes it quite challenging for accurate modeling, since the individual features can be of completely different nature, i.e., some of them can be continuous and some of them can be discrete. To address such data types, we introduce TabDDPM -- a diffusion model that can be universally applied to any tabular dataset and handles any type of feature. We extensively evaluate TabDDPM on a wide set of benchmarks and demonstrate its superiority over existing GAN/VAE alternatives, which is consistent with the advantage of diffusion models in other fields. Additionally, we show that TabDDPM is eligible for privacy-oriented setups, where the original datapoints cannot be publicly shared.


This paper applies the rational addiction model, which emphasizes the interdependency of past, current, and future consumption of an addictive good, to the demand for cocaine by young adults in the Monitoring the Future Panel. The price of cocaine is added to this survey from the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration of the U.S. Department of Justice. Results suggest that annual participation and frequency of use given participation are negatively related to the price of cocaine. In addition current participation is positively related to past and future participation, and current frequency of use given participation is positively related to past and future frequency of use. The long-run price elasticity of total consumption (participation multiplied by frequency given participation) of -1.18 is substantial. A permanent 10 percent reduction in price due, for example, to the legalization of cocaine would cause the number of cocaine users to grow by slightly more than 8 percent and would increase the frequency of use among users by a little more than 3 percent. Surely, both proponents and opponents of drug legalization should take account of this increase in consumption in debating their respective positions.


The quadratic assignment problem, a classical combinatorial optimization problem, has garnered much attention due to its many applications and solution complexity. This research represents the first use of parallelization for path relinking within the QAP setting. We used a simple form of path relinking to focus on the parallel implementation's elements and to determine their impact when used with a method of this type. Our computational results demonstrate highly attractive outcomes despite the procedure's simplicity and show in particular the value of a well-designed parallelization process in this context.


Model for the stochastic multi-cable bundle is developed. It is based on lumped circuit model of the multi transmission lines with randomly formed crosssections along cable system. Interaction of cables with surrounding environment is simulated using hybridization of transmission line theory with the Method of Moments. Validation of developed approach is performed against measurements.


Background: When deciding whether or not to transfer a resident to hospital, a careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks is required. International research suggests that transfer decisions are complex and influenced by both clinical and non-clinical factors, yet this has not been widely studied within the context of care homes in England.Aim: To develop an in-depth understanding of hospital transfers from care homes in England and produce a conceptual model to describe the decision-making processes of care home staff.Methods: Data collection occurred in two phases: the first consisted of 28 semi-structured interviews with 30 members of staff across six care homes; the second consisted of 113 hours of ethnographic observations, documentary analysis and informal conversations (with staff, residents, family carers and visiting healthcare professionals) at three of the care homes that had taken part in phase one.Findings: In the context of care homes in England, hospital transfers can be conceptualised as a series of escalations in which staff make multifactorial decisions about potential benefits and risks. This can include risks to: residents, staff (as decision-makers) and their social relationships, care homes (as organisations), and wider health and social care systems. In order to assess the likely benefits and risks of each transfer, care home staff placed importance on 'knowing' residents but also drew upon advance care plans, structured clinical observations, and interactions with others (residents, family carers, colleagues within the care home and visiting healthcare professionals). The involvement of others in decision-making could provide a way for staff to minimise risk (particularly for themselves as an individual), but disagreements about the most appropriate course of action were challenging.Conclusion: Staff make complex, risk-based decisions about potential transfers, often as a series of escalations. Understanding this can help to inform further research, policy and practice.


This article explains the relatively neglected topic of how borders influence the habitus and body styles of border populations. It extends notions of habitus and performativity to the field of national identification. Using data from the British Crown Colony of Gibraltar, it examines two contexts in which the dominant body styles of men and women shaped as forms of resistance to political harassment enacted by the neighboring country, Spain, at the colonies border: smuggling and beauty contests.Smuggling is both economically lucrative and part of the Gibraltarians' struggle for political recognition and self-determination. The image of 'the smuggler' and his or her behaviour have become emblematic of this conflict. Related to the question of sovereignty and the border is the exclusion of Gibraltar from participation in many international events such as the Olympics and the Eurovision Song Contest. The only such event in which Gibraltar participates on an equal footing with other nations is the Miss World Contest, the preparatory heats for which have become major occasions in the Gibraltarian calendar, spawning a mass of local beauty contests. These examples illustrate not only how borders create and maintain national differences and distinctions, but also how such differences can come to be inscribed on the bodies of those who live at borders.


Practical procedures are integral to neonatal care. All first-year paediatric specialist trainees (ST1s) are expected to develop essential skills from their first neonatal placement. However, many trainees join the speciality with minimal prior exposure. With recent changes in junior doctors' contracts, reduced working hours and evolving clinical practices, trainees may not get enough clinical exposure to acquire required skills. Simulation is recognized as essential to bridge this training gap The aim of the study was to adapt neonatal skills training to virtual delivery.In September 2020, we trialled a half-day virtual training course for new trainees on core topics. The first part included 'Human Factors' followed by 'Stabilization of the premature infant' using a pre-recorded simulation followed by a live debrief. The second part covered 'intubation and difficult airway' followed by 'vascular access'. We used interactive lectures and pre-recorded demonstrations. A full-day course was then organized for new trainees in March 2021. We included additional sessions on 'Newborn Infant Physical Examination' (NIPE), 'chest drain insertion' and 'journal club', including sign posting to the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). Interaction was encouraged to facilitate peer bonding. A Paediatric Trainee Committee representative also joined to outline the support available for trainees. We followed a similar structure to the first course but added live simulation demonstrations of equipment and techniques.Seventeen trainees attended the full-day course. A number of candidates rating the sessions as extremely useful were 16 for 'Stabilization of the premature infant' and 'intubation and difficult airway', 14 for 'Human Factors' and 'NIPE', 12 for 'vascular access' and 'chest drain insertion' and 11 for Journal club. Trainees commented positively on the videos, equipment demonstration, level of interactivity and overall usefulness of the course. Nine trainees commented on desire for additional face-to-face training.After balancing the safety and learning needs of trainees, we adapted an established face-to-face skills day for virtual delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst we recognize that virtual training is not a substitute for doing, we were able to maintain essential education during highly pressured times. Feedback demonstrates that our virtual teaching programme was well received and useful. It also emphasizes the value of actual practice and the urgency to restore hands-on training as soon as possible.


Antimicrobial resistance is among the top global health problems with antibacterial resistance currently representing the major threat both in terms of occurrence and complexity. One reason current treatments of bacterial diseases are ineffective is the occurrence of protective and resistant biofilm structures. Phytochemicals are currently being reviewed for newer anti-virulence agents. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the anti-virulence activity of 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM), a bioactive cruciferous phytochemical. Using a series of in vitro assays on major Gram-negative pathogens, including transcriptomic analysis, and in vivo porcine wound studies as well as in silico experiments, we show that DIM has anti-biofilm activity. Following DIM treatment, our findings show that biofilm formation of two of the most prioritized bacterial pathogens Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was inhibited respectively by 65% and 70%. Combining the antibiotic tobramycin with DIM enabled a high inhibition (94%) of P. aeruginosa biofilm. A DIM-based formulation, evaluated for its wound-healing efficacy on P. aeruginosa-infected wounds, showed a reduction in its bacterial bioburden, and wound size. RNA-seq was used to evaluate the molecular mechanism underlying the bacterial response to DIM. The gene expression profile encompassed shifts in virulence and biofilm-associated genes. A network regulation analysis showed the downregulation of 14 virulence-associated super-regulators. Quantitative real-time PCR verified and supported the transcriptomic results. Molecular docking and interaction profiling indicate that DIM can be accommodated in the autoinducer- or DNA-binding pockets of the virulence regulators making multiple non-covalent interactions with the key residues that are involved in ligand binding. DIM treatment prevented biofilm formation and destroyed existing biofilm without affecting microbial death rates. This study provides evidence for bacterial virulence attenuation by DIM.


Sac1 is a phosphoinositide phosphatase that preferentially dephosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 4‐phosphate. Mutation of SAC1 causes not only the accumulation of phosphoinositides but also reduction of the phosphatidylserine (PS) level in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, we characterized the mechanism underlying the PS reduction in SAC1‐deleted cells. Incorporation of 32P into PS was significantly delayed in sac1∆ cells. Such a delay was also observed in SAC1‐ and PS decarboxylase gene‐deleted cells, suggesting that the reduction in the PS level is caused by a reduction in the rate of biosynthesis of PS. A reduction in the PS level was also observed with repression of STT4 encoding phosphatidylinositol 4‐kinase or deletion of VPS34 encoding phophatidylinositol 3‐kinase. However, the combination of mutations of SAC1 and STT4 or VPS34 did not restore the reduced PS level, suggesting that both the synthesis and degradation of phosphoinositides are important for maintenance of the PS level. Finally, we observed an abnormal PS distribution in sac1∆ cells when a specific probe for PS was expressed. Collectively, these results suggested that Sac1 is involved in the maintenance of a normal rate of biosynthesis and distribution of PS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Structure of the RecA x ADP(ATP) and recA x ADP x cation(+2) complexes was studied by methods of ESR, NMR and near-ultraviolet spectroscopy. The strong hypochromism in the adenine absorption band occurs. The complexes of nucleotide with cation and with protein were independently involved in the triple recA x ADP x cation(+2) complex. The triple complex can be treated as a three-link chain with the ADP localized in the middle.


This study develops a unique double-hurdle model of demand for composite food commodities which endogenizes unit values. The model structure allows us to account for the inability to observe such values for non-purchasing households and simultaneously adjusts for quality demand effects reflected in these unit values. Application to Mexican household food expenditure data shows the importance of controlling for the quality of composite goods. We find that poultry and pork expenditures depend on both quantity demanded and quality desired.


This paper develops a theoretical model to examine the relationship between the input elasticity of (technical) substitution and both farm total factor productivity and size. In the presence of ongoing technical change and its factor bias, the 'income effect' arising from farms' cost minimizing behaviour enables them to increase productivity by saving inputs or, through the dual equivalent, enlarging farm size. As such, farms with higher elasticities of substitution tend to grow larger and become more productive, which provides a new mechanism through which farm heterogeneity in productivity growth can be examined. Empirical evidence from Australian broadacre agriculture supports this theory and points to important policy implications.


Introduction: According to recent studies the role of allergy in ethipathogenesis of secretory otitis media is the leading one.The incidence of allergy in secretory otitis media varies from 57% to 100% according to recent studies.The allergic inflammation of the middle aer mucosa is of Th 2 type inflammation of respiratory mucosa.Increased number of activated mast cells, mastocyte tryptase, eosinophyllic cationic protein and mRNA for IL 5 were found in mucosa and effusion in SOM. The aim of this sudy was to investigate the presence of allergies in children with secertory otitis media and to follow up the outcome after antoallergic therapy. Patients and Methods: In this study 71 children with SOM entered the diagnostic procedure for allergy tests. Clinical examination by alergologist, skin prick test, sIgE, eosinophils in nasal lavage were performed.Allergy management was introduced in group of 38 (54%) children with diagnosis of allergy and secretory otitis media. Antihistamines, intranasal cortocosteroids, and elimination of identified antigen were the first line therapy . Results: After follow up period of three months in 21(47%) children out of 38 with allergy an secretory otitis the complete recovery of middle ear function was seen. After follow up period of 6 months in 27 (61%) children was noticed complete recovery and the rest of 17 children underwent surgical therapy. Discussion and Conclusion: Allergy screening is not conventional tool in diagnosis of secretorz otiti media. The results of this study as well as results of other clinicall studies implies to introduction allergzy tests in clonicall diagnostic procedure Antiallergic therapy can contribute to conservative management of disease and decrease the number of patient for surgical therapy.


Background The use of intrathecal (IT) methotrexate (MTX) in combination with systemic high dose MTX (HDMTX) is an established procedure for CNS prophylaxis in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), but the evidence for the necessity of this combination is not conclusive. An MTX concentration of 1 μM is assumed to be the lowest concentration for an antileukaemic effect. Purpose To determine the rate of sufficient CSF MTX concentrations (1 μM) in paediatric patients with ALL who received HDMTX, to evaluate the suitability of IT MTX and to correlate MTX plasma and CSF concentrations. Material and methods A retrospective observational study was conducted between April 2015 and September 2016. We included children up to 18 years with ALL who received 5000 mg/m² over 24 hours in accordance with LAL-SEHOP-PETHEMA-2013 protocols. CSF samples were obtained 18 hours (16–20 hours) after starting the HDMTX infusion and immediately before IT administration of MTX. Plasma samples were obtained at 2, 12, 23, 36, 42 and 60 hours after the start of infusion. CFS samples and plasma MTX at 12 hours were correlated by Spearman's correlation. MTX was measured by architect chemiluminescence immunoassay.1 Results We included 12 children, aged 2–16 years (7±3.6) who received 36 cycles of MTX. Patients received 5000 mg/m² over 24 hours; one child received 3000 mg/m² was included. MTX plasma levels at 12 hours and CSF concentrations were highly variable, ranging from 48.8 to 179.0 μM (median 72.2μM) and from 0.85 to 2.9 μM (median 1.4 μM), respectively. An MTX concentration above 1μM was found in 33 of 36 CSF samples (91.7%). The patient who received 3000 mg/m² (2 cycles) showed a lower CSF MTX concentration (0.83 and 1.08μM), corresponding to a lower plasma MTX concentration (54.37 and 60.88 μM). The correlation between plasma levels at 12 hours and CSF MTX concentrations was moderate–high (Spearman rank order correlation, r=0.71; p<0.01). Conclusion A potentially antileukaemic MTX concentration of 1 μM was obtained in CSF during the majority of MTX infusions (5000 mg/m2 over 24 hours). References and/or acknowledgements 1. Montejano-Hervás P, et al. PKP-034. Determination of methotrexate in CSF by chemiluminescence using the architect. Eur J Hosp Pharm2016;23:A193–4. No conflict of interest


Unprecedented increased mosquito bites were observed in urban and peri-urban areas of Lusaka District and there was a perceived increase in malaria which necessitated a study in 2009 to determine the mosquito biting and malaria situation within urban and peri-urban settings. We analysed water bodies as sources of mosquito larvae (vegetable gardens, sewerage maturation ponds and foot paths) and, weather factors for possible effects on mosquito densities, species distribution and reviewed laboratory confirmed malaria cases and interventions implemented in the previous five years from 2009. We collected high densities of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae (mean; 250 per scoop) from sewerage maturation ponds overgrown with water hyacinth - an aquatic vegetation and collected large numbers of adult Cx. quinquefasciatus  indoor (mean: 14.2, range: 2.8 to 34 per room) and up to 2,000 Cx. quinquefasciatus out-door in one open structure. However, we did not find adult Anopheles in any of these collections but we found Anopheles larvae along a footpath in one peri-urban location. There was no evidence of increased malaria cases despite reported increased mosquito biting but a district-wide and nationwide decline in malaria trends. A combination of factors; human and environmental, created suitable micro-habitats that increased densities of the Culex mosquito but not malaria vector species within urban and peri-urban settings. An intensified surveillance, monitoring and evaluation measure is vital to understanding malaria situation and delivering effective malaria interventions in different epidemiological settings.

 Key words: Mosquito, malaria, Culex quinquefasciatus, larvae, water hyacinth.


Alexei Zykov, Sobinov Saratov state conservatory (Russian Federation) The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of "texts" in staging the plays of the classic repertoire. By "texts" we understand, as it was defined by Y.M. Lotman, the main parts of a performance: the text of the play, the acting text, created by actors and the director, and the "text" of decorations, musical component and the lights design. Our main sources were the performances based on the so-called "playwright's theater" method when the literary text of the play remains unaltered. We examined such plays as "Crazy money" (2012 Saratov Academic Drama Theater n.a. I.A. Slonov) and "Wolves and sheep" (2015, Tambov State Drama Theater). We have chosen A.N. Ostrovskiy's plays as his playwriting is gaining its momentum at present. There are several reasons for such popularity: the plays content can be understood by today's viewer; the unity of narratives and the vividness of characters are a good "drama school" for actors and directors; the refined language of plays gets an appetite for literature. We can conclude that the unified "text" is presented in a coherent manner since the "roles" of all elements of the performance are distributed evenly; there, acting becomes the main element. The last but not the least in staging a successful play is the stylistic unity of all performance "texts". Inventing a performance in such a way the director is able to create an artistic image of the play which -  from the written word - will gain truthfulness of what the viewer sees, hears and feels on the scene. Keywords: modern theater, A.N. Ostrovsky, the "texts" of a performance, stylistics, performance.


Autocratic rulers can use economic regulation under their control to affect individual stock prices and then profit through insider trading. They are therefore less likely to have or enforce insider trading regulation. A cross-sectional analysis of 101 countries with stock markets supports the hypothesis. The probability of observing an enforced insider trading law is much lower in autocracies than in other countries. (JEL D73, G28, L51) Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.


Department of Dermatology, No.1 Hospital of China Medical University, Hospital of China Medical University, Key Laboratory of Immunohematology, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is associated with a poor 5-year survival rate. circRNAs have an important role in a number of physiological and pathological processes. However, the relationship between circRNAs and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is unclear. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of circRNAs in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and its effect on CSCC proliferation and metastasis. Methods: We used high-throughput sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify circRNAs that were differentially in CSCC tissue and their paracarcinoma tissue. Quantitative real-time PCR results confirm deep-sequencing findings in CSCC tissue and cell lines. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to detect the effect of circPVT1 on the proliferation and migration of CSCC cells. Results: We identified 449 circRNAs that were differentially expressed between CSCC and normal adjacent tissue samples. circPVT1 (hsa_circ_0001821) was further researched to confirm its oncogene role in CSCC. Conclusion: Differentially expressed circular RNA plays an important role in the development of CSCC, and circPVT1 may be an important target for the treatment of CSCC.


Purpose: Recent studies suggest that temozolomide has activity in neuroendocrine tumors. Low levels of the DNA repair enzyme, O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), are associated with sensitivity to temozolomide in other tumor types. We evaluated the prevalence of MGMT deficiency in neuroendocrine tumors and correlated MGMT deficiency with treatment response to temozolomide-based regimens. Experimental Design: The prevalence of MGMT deficiency, measured by immunohistochemistry, was assessed in 97 archival neuroendocrine tumor specimens. Rates of treatment response and survival were next evaluated in a cohort of 101 consecutive neuroendocrine tumor patients who had received treatment with a temozolomide-based regimen at one of three institutions. MGMT expression was directly correlated with treatment response in 21 patients who had available tumor tissue and response data. Results: In archival specimens, MGMT deficiency was observed in 19 of 37 (51%) pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and 0 of 60 (0%) carcinoid tumors (P < 0.0001). In the clinical cohort, 18 of 53 (34%) patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors but only 1 of 44 (2%) patients with carcinoid tumors (P < 0.001) experienced a partial or complete response to temozolomide-based therapy. Among 21 patients with evaluable tumor tissue who had also received treatment with temozolomide, 4 of 5 patients with MGMT-deficient tumors (all pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors) and 0 of 16 patients with tumors showing intact MGMT expression responded to treatment (P = 0.001). Conclusions: MGMT deficiency, measured by immunohistochemistry, is more common in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors than in carcinoid tumors as is treatment response to temozolomide-based therapy. Absence of MGMT may explain the sensitivity of some pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors to treatment.


Performance variability in digital integrated circuits can largely affect parametric yield and product reliability in ultra deep submicrometer technologies. As a result, variation resilience is becoming an essential design requirement for future technology nodes, especially for timing critical applications. This paper proposes an on-chip variability sensor using phase-locked loop (PLL) to detect process, supply voltage (V DD), and temperature variations (process, voltage, and temperature variation) or even temporal reliability degradation stemming from negative bias temperature instability. Our analysis shows that control voltage (V cnt) of voltage-controlled oscillator in PLL can be used as a dynamic performance signature of an operating IC. Along with the proposed PLL-based sensor circuit, we also propose a variation-resilient system technique using adaptive body biasing (ABB). The PLL V cnt signal is efficiently transformed to an optimal body bias signal for various circuit blocks to avoid possible timing failures. Correspondingly, circuits can be designed with significantly relaxed timing constraint compared to conventional approaches, where a large amount of design resources can be wasted to take care of the worst-case situations. We demonstrated our approach on a test chip fabricated in IBM 130-nm CMOS technology. Measurement results show that the PLL-based sensor is cable of tracking various sources of circuit variations. Optimization analysis shows that 42% and 43% reduction in area and power can be obtained using our approach compared to the worst-case sizing. The proposed study refers to our previous study introduced in with major improvements in measurement results and analysis.


We present the architecture for an 802.15.4 receiver that enables battery-free operation. To reach micro-power consumption, the architecture diverges from that of commodity receivers in the following ways: First, similar to backscatter transmitters, it offloads the power-hungry local oscillator to an external device. Second, we avoid the energy cost of demodulating a phase-modulated signal by treating 802.15.4 as a frequency-modulated one, allowing us to receive with a simple passive detector and an energy-efficient thresholding circuit. We demonstrate an off-the-shelf prototype of our receiver receives 802.15.4 from a distance of 470 cm with the carrier generator 30 cm away. This range is sufficient to integrate with deployed wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We demonstrate this integration by pairing our receiver with a 802.15.4 backscatter transmitter and integrating it with unmodified commodity sensor nodes running the TSCH protocol.


Purpose

Given the importance of context in shaping learning, the authors argue that there is a need for research aimed specifically at elucidating organizational learning in a public sector environment. To address this need, the purpose of this paper is to present both critical and practical insights into the nature of public sector learning, based on a detailed mapping of learning in a knowledge-based public sector organization.

Design/methodology/approach

A purposive case study is employed to explore learning in a knowledge-based organization facing few of the known impediments to learning.

Findings

Learning occurred in a range of ways, through both formal and informal mechanisms. Four learning sites were observed: project, program, operational and strategic. Little use was made of formal evaluation products. Learning was constrained by mental models and organizational context and was, thus, found to be strongest in areas relating to the agency's core business and dominant professional expertise (international agricultural research).

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the study are based on the learning experience of a single public sector organization in the applied research and development sector. Further work is needed on public sector organizations operating in a variety of situations to determine the generalizability of the patterns reported here and to develop and validate the mapping approach employed in the study.

Practical implications

The mapping approach enabled parts of the organization that were not included in the learning conversation to be identified. The involvement of the researchers also precipitated learning activities and consciousness, suggesting that practically-oriented research may be a useful learning catalyst for small organizations.

Originality/value

Learning in public sector organizations is usually approached through the "lens" of models developed in business settings. Mapping learning provides a way of showing what is learned, how it is learned, and its relationship to the public sector environment, characterized by legislation, political variables and ministerial oversight. This approach offers a way forward in the understanding and development of public sector learning.


Benefits of multiple mating to females may come from the acquisition of water in male ejaculates. This hypothesis seems plausible in species in which males provide females with large ejaculates and has been tested with the prediction that females mate more frequently when an external source of water is unavailable. My study observed that females deprived of water were more likely to remate than females given water in the adzuki bean beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis. This result suggests that females may absorb the water in male ejaculates and thus change their remating receptivity according to the need for additional water. However, compared with related species, the ejaculate size is smaller, so ejaculatory hydration benefits are expected to be small in this species. There were no significant differences in lifetime fecundity and longevity between females that were allowed to receive one ejaculate from remating and females that were not allowed to do so when water was unavailable. This provides no evidence that receiving an additional ejaculate enhances female fitness. Thus, obtaining water from male ejaculates may partly compensate the costs of remating to females, although it alone would be insufficient to explain polyandry in C. chinensis. Increased mating frequency in water-deprived females would not necessarily support the hypothesis that females remate for ejaculatory hydration benefits.


Randomized agreement protocols, often assumed to be inefficient due to their high expected communication and time complexities, they have remained largely overlooked by the community-at-large as a valid solution for the deployment of fault-tolerant distributed systems. This paper aims to demonstrate that randomization can be a very competitive approach even in hostile environments where arbitrary faults can occur. A stack of randomized intrusion-tolerant protocols is described and its performance evaluated under different faultloads. The stack provides a set of relevant services ranging from basic communication primitives up to atomic broadcast. The experimental evaluation shows that the protocols are efficient and no performance reduction is observed under certain Byzantine faults


Through longtitudinal compressing juvenil and mature elm wood after hydrothemal-microwave treatment, stress-strain constitutive relations were established, the results show that at the beginning of compressing, namely, in the elastic region, the curves of stress and strain coincide with Hooke law, in the elastic-plastic region, it also satisfies a linear mechanic relationship. And this paper also analysed the causes of great gap between juvenil and mature elm wood after longtitudinal compressed were due to the different ratio of cell wall to cavity and thickness. A scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the folds of wood cell wall before and after longtitudinal compressed, then the varial law of elasticity and elastoplasticity after compressed were found, also the mechanism of wood longtitudinal compressed was revealed.


To the Editor. —The Houston Task Force 1 has made a major contribution to discussions of medical futility policies. Its members suggest replacing efforts at defining medical futility with efforts at developing a fair procedural mechanism for resolving disputes—a mechanism that acknowledges the importance of professional and institutional integrity and balances these with respect for patient autonomy. The proposed institutional review mechanism, however, has too singular a concern with confirming or rejecting a physician's judgment of medical inappropriateness (or violation of professional or institutional integrity) to fully accomplish their worthy objective. It is particularly puzzling that the Houston policy assumes that respect for professional and institutional integrity should always take priority over respect for patients, when the goal is to fairly balance these 2 obligations. There are several assumptions implicit in the policy requiring further consideration, including the following: violations of professional or institutional integrity are simple all-or-nothing determinations; patient or surrogate


Background: Antibody responses to Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus (SGG) proteins, especially pilus protein Gallo2178, have been consistently associated with colorectal cancer risk. Previous case–control studies and prospective studies with up to 8 years of follow-up, however, were unable to decipher the temporality of antibody responses to SGG in the context of the long-term multistep development of colorectal cancer. In this study, we analyzed a large U.S. colorectal cancer cohort consortium with follow-up beyond 10 years for antibody responses to SGG. Methods: We applied multiplex serology to measure antibody responses to 9 SGG proteins in participants of 10 prospective U.S. cohorts (CLUE, CPSII, HPFS, MEC, NHS, NYUWHS, PHS, PLCO, SCCS, and WHI) including 4,063 incident colorectal cancer cases and 4,063 matched controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess whether antibody responses to SGG were associated with colorectal cancer risk, overall and by time between blood draw and diagnosis. Results: Colorectal cancer risk was increased among those with antibody responses to Gallo2178, albeit not statistically significant [OR, 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.99–1.52]. This association was stronger for cases diagnosed <10 years after blood draw (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.09–1.79), but was not found among cases diagnosed ≥10 years after blood draw (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.50–1.24). Conclusions: In a large cohort consortium, we reproduced the association of antibody responses to SGG Gallo2178 with colorectal cancer risk for individuals diagnosed within 10 years after blood draw. Impact: This timing-specific finding suggests that antibody responses to SGG are associated with increased colorectal cancer risk only after tumorigenesis has begun. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(10); 1186–94. ©2018 AACR.


With the growth in customers' demand diversification, mixed-model U-lines (MMUL) have acquired increasing importance in the area of assembly systems. There are generally two different approaches in the literature for balancing such systems. Some researchers believe that since the types of models can be very diverse, a balancing approach without simultaneously sequencing of models will not yield an optimum configuration. On the other hand, another group of researchers point to the high cost of balancing systems and prefer to do it only one time regardless of the models' sequences. In this paper, we aim to compare these two approaches by introducing an economic indicator. To do so, two models as representatives of the two different viewpoints are taken from the literature. To check the validity of this methodology, it is implemented by Lingo 11.0, for small scale, and GA, for a large scale. The obtained results indicate that, from the proposed economic indicator point of view, mixed-model U-lines balancing and sequencing (MMUL/BS) is preferred to its counterpart, mixed-model U-lines balancing (MMULB). This paper offers economic guidelines for managers to choose between only balancing and implementing it by sequencing at the same time.


The presence of Sanzos's goby, Lesueurigobius sanzoi (de Buen, 1918), off Cabo Raso, Portugal, is recorded for the first time. The biology of this population was studied using 11 samples collected between April 2000 and September 2001 at depths of 70-100 m on muddy and sandy bottoms. The females reach a standard length of 110 mm and the males 103 mm. It attains an age of 24 months, which equals two breeding seasons. The otoliths form two translucent rings each year, which corresponds to the winter growth and the reproduction period. Sanzo's gobies can be classified as prematur and standard individuals, according to whether the first breeding occurs before or after the first winter respectively. Standard individuals, which have an extended first growth, reach a longer length than prematur individuals, whose first growth is much shorter. Although discrete, sexual dimorphism was noticeable even outside the spawning season. The breeding season occurs between May and September/October with more than one spawning. The minimum length for which the maturity stage occurs is 64 mm, at an age of 0+. The feeding activity is quite constant throughout the year, and the diet consists predominantly of small crustacea and molluscs, although polychaets also feature commonly in its diet.


The extracellular matrix plays an essential role in the integrity of the cardiovascular system. Under normal conditions, elastin and collagen fibers resist spontaneous breakdown and can only be degraded by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or, indirectly, by plasminogen activators (PAs). Because these proteinases are potent, their activity in vivo requires tight control. Hence, they are secreted as inactive zymogens that can be activated by other proteinases, such as plasmin. In addition, their activity is neutralized by proteinase inhibitors endogenous to the various tissues. Activated inflammatory cells, which are rich sources of collagenolytic and elastolytic proteinases, are absent in the noninflamed vessel and heart. Under resting conditions, therefore, proteinase inhibitors predominate over activators in the cardiovascular system (Figure (Figure1a).1a). During inflammation, the proteolytic balance tilts and the resultant net proteolysis causes erosion, fragmentation, and dissolution of the elastic laminae and collagen bundles (Figure (Figure1a).1a). This pattern of events may occur acutely or sub-acutely after organ transplantation (1, 2) or myocardial infarction (3) or more chronically during atherosclerosis (4).

Figure 1

(a) Proteinase inhibitors predominate in the quiescent vessel, while net proteolysis degrades the media and causes aneurysmal rupture during atherosclerosis. EC, endothelial cell; SMC, smooth muscle cell; Mφ, macrophage; EL, elastic lamina. ( ...

Rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm accounts for 2% of all deaths in men over 60 years of age (5), while cardiac rupture accounts for 5 to 31% of in-hospital mortality after acute myocardial infarction in middle-aged patients (6). Both disorders are unpredictable, are usually fatal, and have few available treatments (5, 6). Remarkably, genetic predisposition factors or criteria for identifying patients at risk for aortic or cardiac rupture remain largely undetermined. A better understanding of the mechanisms might allow these catastrophic events to be prevented, but the absence of reliable animal models has blocked progress in this field (7).

Indirect evidence suggests that the plasminogen system, including the activators urokinase-type PA (u-PA) and tissue-type PA (t-PA) and the plasminogen activator inhibitor PAI-1 as well as the MMPs, contributes to the formation of aortic, cerebral, and cardiac aneurysms (8–11). Based on in vitro activities and in vivo expression data, MMP-9 (gelatinase B) and MMP-12 (metalloelastase) in particular have been presumed to play a role. In this issue of the JCI, Pyo et al. (12) provide direct genetic evidence that MMP-9 plays an essential role in a mouse model of nonatherosclerotic aortic aneurysm formation. In their system, perfusion of pancreatic elastase into the aorta did not cause sufficient degradation of elastin fibers for aneurysmal dilation. Rather, it generated chemotactic matrix degradation products that induced a strong inflammatory infiltration, leading to aneurysm formation. In contrast to wild-type mice, aortas in MMP-9–deficient mice did not undergo aneurysmal dilation, despite the fact that they developed a comparable inflammatory infiltration. Surprisingly, MMP-12–deficient mice were not protected. However, MMP-12 appeared to cooperate with MMP-9 in vessel wall destruction, as mice lacking both proteinases enjoyed greater protection from aneurysmal pathogenesis.

This study contributes in several respects to our understanding of cardiovascular proteinases. First, it provides direct genetic evidence for an involvement of MMPs — in particular, for the predominant role of MMP-9 — in aneurysm formation, albeit in a nonatherosclerotic aneurysm model. Second, it highlights tissue-specific roles for the different MMPs. Thus, it appears that MMP-12 is more important in pulmonary emphysema than in aneurysm formation. So, targeting MMP-12 activity might prove therapeutic for pulmonary disorders without causing significant adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. Third, it provides proof of principle that inhibitors of MMPs, especially MMP-9, could be used to prevent aortic aneurysms and cardiac rupture. Thus, it extends previous reports of a protective effect of the inhibition of MMPs or the overexpression of either PAI-1 or tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases–1 (3, 13–15). Finally, it provides insight into the molecular basis of aneurysm formation. This study should provide the impetus for conducting genetic screens to identify defects in MMP9 or other proteinase genes that might predispose to destructive cardiovascular disorders.

A number of questions remain. First, is MMP-9 the therapeutic target of choice? MMP-9–deficient mice are protected against aneurysmal dilation, as seen in this study (12), and also from cardiac rupture (3). However, MMP-9 can degrade collagen only after initial cleavage by interstitial collagenases. Therefore, some degree of collagenolysis and tissue weakening probably occurs even in MMP-9–deficient mice, although the residual cleavage is apparently insufficient to cause aneurysmal dilatation. u-PA–deficient mice are completely protected from rupture of atherosclerotic aortic aneurysms and ischemic myocardium and show reduced activation of MMP-9 (3, 4). Since u-PA and plasmin also lead to activation of MMPs -3, -12, and -13, u-PA orchestrates the activation of an entire cascade of downstream MMP effectors (Figure (Figure1b).1b). Hence, u-PA and interstitial collagenases might present alternative, perhaps preferable, targets. Second, dilation of the aorta requires elastolysis, whereas rupture of the vessel wall depends on collagenolysis. In the present experimental system, rupture does not occur, so it remains uncertain whether MMP-9 contributes to this life-threatening event. Third, would therapeutic use of proteinase inhibitors cause harmful side effects? Proteinases participate in reproduction, wound healing, and angiogenesis, among many other essential processes. In addition, prolonged administration of proteinase inhibitors can promote cardiac failure by impairing healing and therapeutic angiogenesis after infarction (3). Despite this concern, the compelling evidence from this study that proteinases act in aneurysmal pathogenesis may suggest clinical applications for proteinase inhibitors in blocking progression of these fatal disorders.


ASEAN is a region with high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, accompanied by an increase in population, gross domestic product (GDP) and energy consumption. Population, GDP, and energy consumption can be linked to CO2 emissions through an identity equation called the Rich Identity. This research is based on Kaya identity to describe CO2 emissions to calculate the impact of population, economic activity, energy intensity and carbon intensity on CO2 emissions in ASEAN and 8 ASEAN countries (i.e., Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam) from 1990 to 2017. The method used is the Logarithmic Mean Division Index (LMDI). The data used are from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank. Four effects measured and main findings showed that population, economic activity and carbon intensity factor increased by 293.02 MtCO2, 790.0 MtCO2, and 195.51 MtCO2, respectively. Meanwhile, energy intensity effect made ASEAN's CO2 emissions decrease by 283.13 MtCO2. Regarding contributions to the increase in CO2 emissions in all ASEAN countries, the population effect increases CO2 emissions in all countries in ASEAN and the economic activity effect is also the same, except in Brunei Darussalam which makes CO2 emissions in this country decreased by 1.07 MtCO2. Meanwhile, the effects of energy and carbon intensity are different. The effect of energy intensity causes CO2 emissions in lower-middle income countries to decrease, while in upper-middle and high-income countries, it increases carbon emissions. In contrast to the effect of carbon intensity, that actually makes CO2 emissions increase in lower-middle income countries and reduces carbon emissions in upper-middle and high-income countries.


OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate whether diabetes (DM) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) were associated with early alterations in left ventricular geometry and function in a large population of adolescents and young adults independently of major confounders. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We analyzed echocardiographic data of 1,624 14- to 39-year-old participants (mean age 26.6 ± 7.7 years; 57% female) without prevalent cardiovascular disease from the fourth Strong Heart Study examination; 179 (11%) participants had DM and 299 (18%) had IFG. RESULTS Participants with DM and IFG were older and more often obese and hypertensive than participants with normal fasting glucose (NFG) (all P < 0.05). After adjustment for age, sex, systolic blood pressure, and body fat, diabetic and IFG participants had higher left ventricular mass index than those with NFG (41.5 ± 8.7 and 39.6 ± 9.2 vs. 35.6 ± 7.8 g/m2.7) and reduced stress-corrected midwall shortening (98 ± 8.6 and 99 ± 7.5 vs. 101 ± 8.5%; all P < 0.05). The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy was higher in DM (20%) and IFG (17%) than in NFG participants (12%; P < 0.05). Compared with the other groups, DM was also associated with higher prevalence of inappropriate left ventricular mass, concentric geometry, and more diastolic abnormalities independently of covariates (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In a population of adolescents and young adults, DM is independently associated with early unfavorable cardiovascular phenotype characterized by increased left ventricular mass, concentric geometry, and early preclinical systolic and diastolic dysfunction; early cardiovascular alterations are also present in participants with prediabetes.


People with autism consistently demonstrate a lack sensitivity to the full range of important aspects of everyday situations. Often, an overly restricted subset of the information available in a given situation gains control over their behavior. This can result in problems generalizing learned behaviors to novel situations. This phenomenon has been called overselectivity. Indeed, many behavioral intervention techniques seek to mitigate overselectivity effects in this population. In this paper, we offer an account of overselectivity as arising from an inability to flexibly adjust the attentional influences of the prefrontal cortex on behavior. We posit that dysfunctional dopamine interactions with the prefrontal cortex result in overly perseverative attention in people with autism. Limiting attention to only a few of the features of a situation hinders the learning of associations between the full range of relevant environmental properties and appropriate behavior. Thus, a restricted subset of features gain control over responding. A simple neurocomputational model of the attentional effects of prefrontal cortex on learning is presented, demonstrating how weak dopamine modulation of frontal areas can lead to overselectivity.


In persons died an accidental or sudden death tissues of the lungs, bronchi of various caliber and trachea have been investigated by means of light microscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The IR spectra of the bronchial and tracheal tissue are identical and differ from the IR spectra of the pulmonary tissues. The mineralization degree (ratio of inorganic to organic components of the tissue) of the pulmonary tissue increases with age, in bronchi and trachea this dependence is expressed not so distinctly. The absolute mineralization degree in the bronchial tissue is 1.3-1.8 times higher than in the lungs. A suggestion is made that mineralization level of the tissue increases with aggravation of sclerosis processes.


The new so-called COVID-19 virus is unfortunately founded to be highly transmissible across the globe. In this study, we propose a novel approach for estimating the spread level of the virus for each country for three different dates between April and May 2020. Unlike previous studies, this investigation does not process any historical data of spread but rather relies on the socioeconomic indicators of each country. Actually, more than 1000 socio-economic indicators and more than 190 countries were processed in this study. Concretely, data preprocessing techniques and feature selection approaches were applied to extract relevant indicators for the classification process. Countries around the globe were assigned to 4 classes of spread. To find the class level of each country, many classifiers were proposed based especially on Support Vectors Machines (SVM), Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLP) and Random Forests (RF). Obtained results show the relevance of our approach since many classifiers succeeded in capturing the spread level, especially the RF classifier, with an F-measure equal to 93.85% for April 15th, 2020. Moreover, a feature importance study is conducted to deduce the best indicators to build robust spread level classifiers. However, as pointed out in the discussion, classifiers may face some difficulties for future dates since the huge increase of cases and the lack of other relevant factors affecting this widespread.


The early- to mid-1940s leading to the establishment of the United Nations have often been cited by historians and international relations scholars as a critical historical juncture where the concept of Great Power responsibility became institutionalised into the fabric of international society. How such a concept came about, however, and how ideas about their roles and responsibilities were debated and projected by the Great Powers themselves, have been given less prominence in the literature. In particular, China's role in negotiating a post-Second World War order has been largely neglected. This analysis thus explores projections of China's Great Power role as well as examines how China conceptualised, negotiated, and used notions of Great Power responsibility and how this interplayed with wider notions in international society. Despite the operational constraints China faced, there was more Chinese agency and deliberation than is traditionally portrayed, with China bringing some important ideas to the negotiating table.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical explanation for the empirical observation that the relative migration of unskilled (skilled) labor tends to occur from developing economies that are relatively unequal (equal). Design/methodology/approach - Wealth inequality is related with migration incentives of skilled and unskilled labor in a model of occupational choice using a two-period overlapping generations framework. Findings - It is shown that high inequality creates a disincentive to migrate for skilled labor. Too much equality however creates a disincentive to migrate for unskilled labor. Thus, a highly unequal (equal) economy sustains unskilled (skilled) labor migration only. Originality/value - Relative to the existing theoretical literature on migration, the distinguishing feature of this model is that it has entrepreneurship as an alternative occupational choice. This implies that the incentive to migrate is not affected solely by wage differentials across countries. It is shown that in a highly unequal developing economy there is no skilled migration – despite the gap between the skilled wage of the source economy and that of the foreign economy – in equilibrium.


The anthropology of neoliberalism has become polarised between a hegemonic economic model anchored by variants of market rule and an insurgent approach fuelled by derivations of the Foucaultian notion of governmentality. Both conceptions obscure what is 'neo' about neoliberalism: the reengineering and redeployment of the state as the core agency that sets the rules and fabricates the subjectivities, social relations and collective representations suited to realising markets. I propose a via media between these two approaches that construes neoliberalism as an articulation of state, market and citizenship that harnesses the first to impose the stamp of the second onto the third.


Much attention has focused on the ongoing role of economics in the prevention of armed conflict and the deterioration of relations. In "The Political Economy of Transitions to Peace", Galia Press-Barnathan focuses on the importance of economics in initiating and sustaining peaceful relations after conflict. Press-Barnathan provides in-depth case studies of several key relationships in the post - World War II era: Israel and Egypt; Israel and Jordan; Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia; Japan and South Korea; Germany and France; and Germany and Poland. She creates an analytical framework through which to view each of these cases based on three factors: the domestic balance between winners and losers from transition to peace; the economic disparity between former enemies; and the impact of third parties on stimulating new cooperative economic initiatives. Her approach provides both a regional and cross-regional comparative analysis of the degree of success in maintaining and advancing peace, of the challenges faced by many nations in negotiating peace after conflict, and of the unique role of economic factors in this highly political process. Press-Barnathan employs both liberal and realist theory to examine the motivations of these states and the societies they represent. She also weighs their power relations to see how these factor into economic interdependence and the peace process. She reveals the predominant role of the state and big business in the initial transition phase ('cold' peace), but also identifies an equally vital need for a subsequent broader societal coalition in the second, normalizing phase ('warm' peace). Both levels of engagement, Press-Barnathan argues, are essential to a durable peace. Finally, she points to the complex role that third parties can play in these transitions, and the limited long-term impact of direct economic side-payments to the parties.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the imaging modality of choice used to assess bone marrow not only in the knee but throughout the musculoskeletal system. Its ability to characterize marrow makes it an essential imaging tool in the evaluation of patients with suspected marrow pathology. In this article, we describe the MRI appearance of normal bone marrow and its pathology in the knee.


President Tsai Ing-wen has been plagued by controversial domestic issues, and her popularity has fallen significantly. While economic growth in Taiwan has increased, inequality and deteriorating cross-Strait relations have been hard on the ruling party. Tsai needs to work with the new premier, William Ching-te Lai, to regain people's trust for the local elections in 2018.


It was recently discovered that Li2FeChO (Ch = S, Se, Te) anti-perovskites exhibit an outstanding rate capability and a good discharge capacity as Li-ion battery cathodes. In this work, we use density functional theory calculations to study the origin of the electrochemical characteristics of anti-perovskite cathodes using Li2FeSO as a model material. We evaluate the phase stability, ion-transport, and structural stability of this material and, interestingly, found that Li2FeSO is meta-stable at 0 K. The experimentally observed anti-perovskite phase likely originates from either entropy stabilization or sluggish decomposition kinetics. When delithiated, the stability of the material worsens. Additionally, over-delithiation may lead to irreversible structural change. The good rate capability of Li2FeSO is attributed to the high Li conductivity, where the low Li ion diffusion barrier (∼0.32 eV) rivals those of state-of-art superionic Li conductors. In the search for materials with a voltage higher than that of Li2FeSO, we screen Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, and V substitutions into the Fe site of Li2FeSO. While Cu and Ni substitutions may offer higher average voltages, the corresponding materials are less stable than Li2FeSO.


PERSONALITY INFLUENCES ON MARITAL SATISFACTION: AN EXAMINATION OF ACTOR, PARTNER, AND INTERACTION EFFECTS Publication No. ______ Mahnaz Rehmatullah Charania, PhD. The University of Texas at Arlington, 2006 Supervising Professor: William Ickes The current research was designed to examine the associations between married partners' personalities and their marital satisfaction. The major goal of this research was to examine the unique predictive validity of 13 personality traits in an omnibus model in which the effects of all 13 traits were tested simultaneously. The data were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), which enabled me to examine the effect of each personality variable (1) as a function of each participant's own trait score (an actor effect), (2) as a function of each participant's partner's trait score (a partner effect), and (3) as a function of the interaction between the actor and partner's iii trait scores for each of the 13 traits assessed. The results revealed significant actor effects for openness to experience (-), conscientiousness (+), agreeableness (+), anxious attachment (-), social absorption (+), and sociosexuality (-), and significant partner effects for extraversion (-), psychological femininity (+), anxious attachment (-), social absorption (+), and sociosexuality (-). I also observed actor and partner effects for sensation seeking, both of which were qualified by the actor and partner's genders, respectively. I further observed significant effects of partner similarity for avoidant attachment and social individuation and significant partner interactions for anxious attachment and social absorption. The results from the current study confirm the importance of examining actor, partner, and interaction effects of personality on marital satisfaction, as well as the importance of examining relationship-specific variables because of the greater specificity (compared to the Big Five) that they offer in understanding individual cognitions and behaviors within the context of a marriage relationship.


We measured the polarized optical conductivity of URu2Si2 from room temperature down to 5 K, covering the Kondo state, the coherent Kondo liquid regime, and the hidden-order phase. The normal state is characterized by an anisotropic behavior between the ab plane and c-axis responses. The ab-plane optical conductivity is strongly influenced by the formation of the coherent Kondo liquid: a sharp Drude peak develops and a hybridization gap at 12 meV leads to a spectral weight transfer to mid-infrared energies. The c-axis conductivity has a different behavior: the Drude peak already exists at 300 K and no particular anomaly or gap signature appears in the coherent Kondo liquid regime. When entering the hidden-order state, both polarizations see a dramatic decrease in the Drude spectral weight and scattering rate, compatible with a loss of about 50% of the carriers at the Fermi level. At the same time a density-wave-like gap appears along both polarizations at about 6.5 meV at 5 K. This gap closes respecting a mean-field thermal evolution in the ab plane. Along the c-axis it remains roughly constant and it "fills up" rather than closing.