Ate -iron(II) species such as [Ar 3 Fe II ] ─ (Ar = aryl) are key intermediates in Fe-catalyzed couplings between aryl nucleophiles and organic electrophiles. They can be active species in the catalytic cycle, or lead to Fe 0 and Fe I oxidation states, which can themselves be catalytically active or lead to unwished organic byproducts. Analysis of the reactivity of the intermediates obtained by step-by-step displacement of the mesityl groups in high-spin [Mes 3 Fe II ] ─ by less hindered phenyl ligands was performed, and enlightened the crucial role of both steric and electronic parameters in the formation of the Fe 0 and Fe I oxidation states. The formation of quaternized [Ar 4 Fe II MgBr(THF)] ─ intermediates allows to reduce the bielectronic reductive elimination energy required for the formation of Fe 0 . Similarly, a small steric pressure of the aryl groups in [Ar 3 Fe II ] ─ enables the formation of aryl-bridged [{Fe II (Ar) 2 } 2 (µ-Ar) 2 ] 2─ species, which afford the Fe I oxidation state by bimetallic reductive elimination. These results are supported by 1 H NMR, EPR and 57 Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopies, as well as by DFT calculations.


Electron-probe microanalysis for Ca, K, and Na in detrital feldspar can be used to determine the ultimate origin of plagioclase in arkosic sandstone. In volcanic rocks, K content of plagioclase increases with decreasing Ca content. The plagioclase of metamorphic rocks contains a negligible amount of K, and metamorphic plagioclase can be distinguished readily from volcanic plagioclase. Plutonic plagioclase contains an intermediate amount of K, and its compositional range overlaps in part the compositional range of both volcanic and metamorphic plagioclase. Hundreds of detrital plagioclase grains from various arkosic sandstones were analyzed for Ca, K, and Na. These detrital grains may be placed into seven provenance groups: volcanic; plutonic; metamorphic; volcanic or plutonic; volcanic or granophyre; plutonic or metamorphic; and plutonic, low-rank metamorphic or authigenic. The electron microprobe is a valuable tool for provenance study of detrital plagioclase. Microanalysis of detrital plagioclase can be used to detect provenance variations in sedimentary basins of active continental margins and might have bearing on plate-tectonics models. The electron microprobe deserves increased use by sandstone petrologists.


The Pandanus (family: Pandanaceae) are Asia Pacific plants with approximately 800 species. They are used traditionally for various purposes. Researchers investigate the medicinal values of these plants and interestingly, they provide scientific evidences showing that the plant extracts exhibited biopharmaceutical properties. Thus, this study aims to investigate the plant concerning the phytochemical aspect through its chromatographic profile and analysis using spectroscopy, crystallography and microscopy. This study was conducted on six locally available Pandanus species, namely P. pygmaeus, P. sanderi, P. tectorius, P. dubius, P. conoideus and P. amaryllifolius. Out of these species, only P. amaryllifolius was studied by Malaysian scientists. Meanwhile, three other species (P. tectorius, P. dubius and P. conoideus) were examined by the Philippines and Indonesian counterparts. This work was also emphasized on another two pandans (P. pygmaeus and P. sanderi), which have never been studied before. Thus, the samples were extracted in relatively small scale (less than one kilogram) and the solvents were recycled during the crude extraction. The extractions were based on both acid base and normal procedures, depending upon the targeted compounds. As for the fractionation and isolation, a range of chromatographic techniques were performed such as Silica Gel Column Chromatography (SGCC), preparative Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), both normal and reverse phase medium, plus high performance liquid chromatographies (HPLC), utilizing ultraviolet detector. Nearly ninety moieties were successfully separated, exclusively based on the HPLC chromatograms. The identification and characterization of pure substituents were accomplished by using the standard Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analysis, Time-of-Flight Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TOF LC-MS) and X-ray crystallography of pure crystals. However, merely seven chemical entities were fully recognized from this Pandanus study. Three molecules from P. pygmaeus consist of stigmasterol, lignan and a novel pandan alkaloid, practically called as Pygmaeusamine. Two compounds from P. sanderi include one saponin (lanostane-type) and saponoside (b-sitosterol glucoside), respectively. Initial discovery included a compound which was comparable to a tirucallane-type triterpene. However, after a detailed inspection from the X-ray crystallography asessment, it was revealed that the compound has a different carbon skeleton from previously isolated triterpene from Pandanus species and was classified as a lanostane-type triterpene. In the case of P. tectorius, two chemical components were known as a steroid alkaloid and an esterified triterpenoid. Meanwhile, the root of P. amaryllifolius possibly contains the same alkaloid as found in P. tectorius. Still, the isolated moieties from P. dubius and P. conoideus were partially elucidated and cannot be completely characterized due to the insufficient amount of pure samples. In addition, the microscopic analysis revealed the presence of raphide-type crystals of calcium oxalate. In short, this is the first documented occurrence of novel Pandanus alkaloid, steroid alkaloid and saponoside from Pandanus.


A survey was conducted to find out the diversity of reptilian fauna in Barkatullah university campus during two consecutive years from May 2015 to September 2016 which revealed the presence of 22 species of reptiles which belongs to 9 families. Five families (Agamidae, Boidae, Typhlopidae, Varanidae and Viperidae) contributed with one species each i.e. Calotes versicolor Gongylophis conicus, Ramphotyphlops braminus, Varanus bengalensis and Daboia russelii respectively followed by family Elapidae with 3 species; Gekkonidae with 4 species; Family Scincidae and Colubridae contributed maximum with 5 species each. The species viz., Hemidactylus brookii, Hemidactylus flaviviridis and Hemidactylus frenatus of family Gekkonidae were observed common while in family Colubridae Ptyas mucosus, Amphiesma stolata, Xenochrophis piscator and Oligodon amensis were found common. Calotes versicolor and Naja naja of family Agamidae and Elapidae respectively remained common in the study area.


We theoretically analyze the efficiency of a quantum memory for single photons. The photons propagate along a transmission line and impinge on one of the mirrors of a high-finesse cavity. The quantum memory is constituted by a single atom within the optical resonator. Photon storage is realized by the controlled transfer of the photonic excitation into a metastable state of the atom and occurs via a Raman transition with a suitably tailored laser pulse, which drives the atom. Our study is supported by numerical simulations, in which we include the modes of the transmission line and we use the experimental parameters of existing experimental setups. It reproduces the results derived using input–output theory in the corresponding regimes and can be extended to compute dynamics where the input–output formalism cannot be straightforwardly applied. Our analysis determines the maximal storage efficiency, namely, the maximal probability to store the photon in a stable atomic excitation, in the presence of spontaneous decay and cavity parasitic losses. It further delivers the form of the laser pulse that achieves the maximal efficiency by partially compensating parasitic losses. We numerically assess the conditions under which storage based on adiabatic dynamics is preferable to non-adiabatic pulses. Moreover, we systematically determine the shortest photon pulse that can be efficiently stored as a function of the system parameters.


The long non-coding RNA HOTAIR has been reported to be a poor prognostic biomarker in a variety of malignant tumors. However, little is known about the association of HOTAIR with gastric cancer. We examined the expression of HOTAIR in 68 gastric cancer samples using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and analyzed its correlation with the clinical parameters. The functional role of HOTAIR was examined by generating human gastric cancer cell lines with increased or suppressed HOTAIR expression. The anchorage -independent growth was assessed by soft agar assay. The increased or suppressed HOTAIR expressing gastric cancer cells were injected into the tail vein or peritoneal cavity of immunodeficient mice to examine the effect of this molecule on metastasis and peritoneal dissemination. The expression of HOTAIR was significantly higher in cancer lesions than in adjacent non-cancerous tissues in human gastric cancers. In the diffuse type of gastric cancer, the High-HOTAIR group (HOTAIR/GAPDH > 1) showed significantly more venous invasion, frequent lymph node metastases and a lower overall survival rate compared to the Low-HOTAIR group (HOTAIR/GAPDH < 1). Colony formation on the soft agar was enhanced in a HOTAIR-dependent manner. HOTAIR-expressing MKN74 formed more liver metastasis compared to control when they were injected into the tail vein of mice. In addition, reduced expression of HOTAIR in KATO III suppressed peritoneal dissemination. These results suggest that HOTAIR plays a pivotal role in the development of gastric cancer.


The aim of the present study was to describe, clinically and radiographically, the periodontal conditions in 16- and 18-year-old adolescents from Northern Sweden. The studied samples comprised 287 16-year-olds and 283 18-year-olds. The clinical examination included recording of presence of plaque, bleeding on probing and calculus, and measurements of attachment level and pocket depth. Alveolar bone level was measured on bite-wing radiographs. A history was taken of the individual's occupation, oral hygiene habits and tobacco use, health, medication and previous orthodontic treatment. The prevalence of attachment loss (AL) was 9.4% in the 16-year-olds and 19.4% in the 18-year-olds. Proximal AL was found in 2.8% and 4.9%, respectively, and proximal bone loss in 1% in both groups. With only a few exceptions (3 individuals out of 82), the individuals with AL had their loss either at buccal/lingual surfaces or at proximal surfaces. Calculus was present in 32.7% of the 16-year-olds and in 44.9% of the 18-year-olds. Pocket greater than 3 mm were found in 4%. No significant differences concerning the periodontal status or presence of plaque and calculus were detected between urban and rural groups or between sexes. Toothbrushing 2 or more times/day was performed by 84.3% of the 16-year-olds and by 83.7% of the 18-year-olds.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing. Myocardial hypertrophy is frequently associated with the development of heart failure. A variety ofmiRNAs are involved in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy, however, the molecular targets of miRNAs in the cardiac hypertrophic cascades remain to be fully identified. We produced miR-23a transgenic mice, and these mice exhibit exaggerated cardiac hypertrophy in response to the stimulation with phenylephrine or pressure overload by transverse aortic banding. The endogenous miR-23a is up-regulated upon treatment with phenylephrine, endothelin-1, or transverse aortic banding. Knockdown of miR-23a attenuates hypertrophic responses. To identify the downstream targets of miR23a, we found that transcription factor Foxo3a is suppressed by miR-23a. Luciferase assay indicates thatmiR-23a directly inhibits the translation activity of Foxo3a 3 UTR. Introduction or knockdown of miR-23a leads to the alterations of Foxo3a protein levels. Enforced expression of the constitutively active form of Foxo3a counteracts the provocative effect of miR-23a on hypertrophy. Furthermore, we observed that miR-23a is able to alter the expression levels of manganese superoxide dismutase and the consequent reactive oxygen species, and this effect is mediated by Foxo3a. In addition, our results show that miR-23a and Foxo3a bi-transgenic mice exhibit a reduced hypertrophic response compared with the miR-23a transgenic mice alone. Our present study reveals that miR-23a can mediate the hypertrophic signal through regulating Foxo3a. They form an axis in hypertrophicmachinery and can be targets for the development of hypertrophic treatment.


Biomass ashes contain valuable elements for plant growth, but also often high amounts of harmful heavy metals which limit their reuse in forests and on grassland. For monitoring metal concentrations, a fast and reliable method allowing the quantitative determination even at trace levels is mandatory. Therefore an analytical method consisting of an acidic microwave assisted digestion prior to ICP-OES measurement was optimized. The elements of interest were Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sr, Ti, V, and Zn. A validation including the following parameters was performed for each analyte: limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery by spiking experiments, accuracy by analyzing a certified reference material, reproducibility (wihtin-24 hours, 4 and 7 days), linearity, and uncertainty of measurement. Two standards series were used for calibration - one with 1 M HNO3 and one with additionally 2 g/L Mg(NO3)2 to investigate the elimination or decrease of possible matrix effects. Both calibration methods showed very good recoveries. The method optimized allows the determination of the relevant elements covered by the recommendation of the Austrian ministry for agriculture and represents thus an appropriate tool for monitoring the metal contents in biomass ashes.


Compound Parabolic Collector (CPC) has numerous advantages such as high optical efficiency and wide applications. This thesis describes experimental and theoretical investigations of the effects of solar radiation available, design and orientation on different configurations of low concentration CPCs for Kano, Nigeria.

Two solar radiation models were developed for characterizing solar radiation for regions in the northern hemisphere like Kano. Results showed that tilting the collector to the monthly optimum angle gives the maximum radiation obtainable in each month with highest increase of 28.6 and 24.8% in December and January respectively. For seasonal tilt; the best angles were 27.05° (October to March) and 0° (April to September) while for fixed collector, tilting at 12.05° (latitude) provides the highest performance.

Using advanced ray tracing technique, detailed investigations of the effects of acceptance angle, receiver radius, truncation, etc. were carried out on the CPC performance. While with the truncation of 70%, results showed that compound parabolic collector can achieve daily average optical efficiencies of 86.2% and 75.4% for acceptance angles of 60° and 40° respectively.

The performance of the thermosyphon (receiver) was investigated both experimentally and numerically. Using an in house solar simulator developed in this work, the performance of the developed CPC fitted with thermosyphon was experimentally investigated. Results showed that the CPC can function well with thermosyphon inclination angle up to 40° where it gives efficiency between 76% and 66%.

The outcome of this work shows the potential of using this developed system in Kano environment for cooling applications.


This study concerns some of the relevant topics of the Iranian Caspian forestry planning problem, in particular the first central components in this modelling process, such as forest modelling, forest statistics and growth function estimations. The required data such was collected from Iranian Caspian forests. To do so, 201 sample plots were determined and the parameters such as number of tree, tree diameter at breast height and trees height were measured at each sample plot. Three sample plots at different 3 elevations were chosen to measure the tree increment. Data has been used to estimate a modified logistic growth model and a model that describes the growth of basal area of individual trees as a function of basal area. General function analysis has been applied in combination with regression analysis. The results are interpreted from ecological perspectives. Furthermore, a dynamic multi species growth model theory is developed and analyzed with respect to dynamic behavior, equilibria, convergence and stability. Logistic growth models have been found useful in continuous cover forest management optimization. Optimization of management decisions in a changing and not perfectly predictable world should always be based on adaptive optimization.


We have developed and investigated the quasi-bulk crystal growth of 3C-SiC on transferred, high quality, CVD-grown templates using a sublimation sandwich related technique. The seeding layers were removed from the silicon carrier using a solution of hydrogen fluoride, nitric acid and water and glued to a substrate using carbon glue. The transferred layers were used as seeding material to grow high quality, single crystalline, DPBs free 3C-SiC crystals with thicknesses of up to 860 μm and a size of 18 x 20 mm. Analysis of the 3C-SiC layers was carried out using Laue measurement in back-reflecting geometry, Raman spectroscopy and optical microscopy.


Results: The median (range) gestational age at diagnosis and at delivery were 23 weeks (9.6–36.2), and 28 weeks (16.3–39.5), respectively. An intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) was observed in 11 cases (73.3%) either at diagnosis or subsequently during pregnancy. Intrauterine fetal demise occurred in 3 IUGR fetuses. In 9 cases the pregnancy was terminated because of deteriorating maternal or fetal conditions before 30 weeks (range 16–29.4 weeks) of gestation. Of the surviving fetuses, 7 were admitted to the NICU. Out of these 7, four neonates died within 7 days. Hypertensive disorders were observed in 7 cases (two cases of early onset preeclampsia with HELLP-syndrome before 24 weeks of gestation and 5 cases of chronic hypertension). Vaginal bleeding was reported in 5 cases. Two of them had an abruptio placentae. Conclusions: The sonographic diagnosis of ''jelly like'' placenta is strongly associated with an adverse pregnancy outcome. Since the aetiology of such a placenta is unknown the appropriate clinical management of this condition remains speculative. A close followup is mandatory for the early identification of deteriorating maternal and/or fetal conditions.


Indium oxide doped with tin oxide, or ITO, has been widely used as an electrode material for flat panel displays. However, the rare metal in ITO is a limited natural resource. We succeeded in developing a material composed solely of elements with abundant reserves. We present the results of analyzing the electronic structure of an Mg-based compound based on its electrical conductivity. Mg-C thin films were prepared by sputtering method. A new transparent and electrically conductive material, Mg(OH) 2 -C, was formed after reacting the Mg-C film with moisture in air. On average, its transmittance of visible light was 90%. The mechanism for the effect of carbon on the electrical conductivity of Mg(OH) 2 was examined on the basis of XPS spectra and DV-Xa molecular orbital calculations. The value of the band gap shows that Mg(OH) 2 is an insulator. It was revealed that a new orbital appears when the number of substituting carbon atoms increases in the Mg(OH) 2 lattice. It was possible to measure the new orbital that consisted of C-2s and C-2p. In addition, a comparison between the calculated electronic state around the valence band and the result measured by XPS of the obtained film reveals that they are in extremely close agreement.


This essay urges that in considering the question of Caribbean studies we think not only about the substantive content of our work but also about the senses in which this work makes assumptions about the idea and project of Caribbean studies as a conceptual-ideological field. The essay briefly refers to two generative moments in the history of Caribbean studies: one in the 1950s framed around M. G. Smith's A Framework for Caribbean Studies and another in the 1970s framed around Kamau Brathwaite's "Caribbean Man in Space and Time." The point in considering these moments in the figuring and refiguring of Caribbean studies is to encourage a certain kind of history of ideas, namely, one that thinks through the kinds of ideological-conceptual problem-spaces that shape and orient their respective formulations.


The behavior of cantilever steel pipe column under the cyclic loading that simulates seismic forces was analyzed using elasto-plastic FEM. The models analyzed are a simple steel pipe and a steel pipe reinforced by an encasing steel pipe. The results of FEM analysis are compared with those of the experiments. As a result, the following findings are obtained. 1. The effect of material stress-strain relationship on the results of FEM analysis is evident. The comparison of the case using kinematic hardening rule with the case of isotropic hardening rule shows that kinematic hardening rule qualitatively gives better results than isotropic hardening rule regarding the shape of hysteresis loop and maximum load carring capacity. 2. With kinematic hardening rule, it's possible to simulate the shape of hysteresis loop up to maximum load carring capacity and the mode of local buckling. 3. The confining by an encasing steel pipe as seen in the experiment can be simulated by this FEM analysis. 4. It's possible to estimate load carring capacity and Sm fSy with FEM analysis in this paper.


Introduction Patients asking for a free anonymous HIV test may have other STI such as Mycoplasma genitalium (Mg), yet Mg prevalence in that population is unknown. Among other STI, we measured Mg prevalence in patients seeking HIV testing at local public health authorities (LPHA) to inform decision making regarding Mg screening in HIV counselling institutions. Methods LPHA in North Rhine-Westphalia screened patients for Mg infection on the basis of self-collected vaginal swabs and urine samples (men) which were analysed by transcription-mediated amplification assays (APTIMA® Mycoplasma genitalium ). LPHA staff collected information on socio-demographic characteristics, sexual and HIV testing behaviours, previous STI history and clinical symptoms. We assessed overall and group-specific Mg prevalences and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Using binomial regression, we calculated prevalence ratios adjusted for age and level of education. Results Eighteen LPHA collected 3204 samples, of which seventeen could not be analysed. Of the remaining 3187 samples, LPHA recruited 1751 men, 1430 women and 6 transgenders. The median age was 30 years [25–38]. Overall prevalence of Mg was 3.42% (109/3187; 95% CI: 2.8–4.1%), 72.5% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. Mg prevalence was 1.4% (16/1174; 95% CI: 0.8–2.2%) in heterosexual men, 2.0% (11/549; 95% CI: 1.0–3.6%) in MSM, 13.6% (39/286; 95% CI: 9.9–18.2%) in female sex workers (FSW) and 3.6% (41/1144; 95% CI: 2.6–4.8%) in other women. After adjusting for age and level of education, Mg infection was 7.4 times [95% CI: 4.0–13] and 2.8 times [95% CI: 1.5–5.0] more prevalent in FSW and in other women, respectively, as compared to heterosexual men. Conclusion The prevalence of Mg was higher in women, especially among FSW. Use of vaginal swabs in women as compared to urine samples in men may have provided more sensitive detection of Mg among women. Increased attention should be paid to Mg screening in patients seeking HIV testing at LPHA, particularly among FSW. Disclosure of interest statement Diagnostic tests were funded by Hologic ® .


BACKGROUND
National surveys based on probability sampling methods, such as the Behavior Risk Factor and Surveillance System (BRFSS), are crucial tools for unbiased estimates of health disparities. In 2014, the BRFSS began offering a module to capture transgender and gender nonconforming identity. Although the BRFSS provides much needed data on the this population, these respondents are vulnerable to misclassification of sex assigned at birth.

METHODS
We applied quantitative bias analysis to explore the magnitude and direction of the systematic bias present as a result of this misclassification. We use multivariate Poisson regression with robust standard errors to estimate the association between gender and four sex-specific outcomes: prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, Pap testing, hysterectomy, and pregnancy. We applied single and multiple imputation methods, and probabilistic adjustments to explore bias present in these estimates.

RESULTS
Combined BRFSS data from 2014, 2015, and 2016 included 1,078 transgender women, 701 transgender men, and 450 gender nonconforming individuals. Sex assigned at birth was misclassified among 29.6% of transgender women and 30.2% of transgender men. Transgender and gender nonconforming individuals excluded due to sex-based skip patterns are demographically distinct from those who were asked reproductive health questions, suggesting that there is noteworthy selection bias present in the data. Estimates for gender nonconforming respondents are vulnerable to small degrees of bias, while estimates for cancer screenings among transgender women and men are more robust to moderate degrees of bias.

CONCLUSION
Our results demonstrate that the BRFSS methodology introduces substantial uncertainty into reproductive health measures, which could bias population-based estimates. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing validated sex and gender questions in health surveillance surveys.


Patients with angina but with "normal coronarography" results, are not a rare finding during angiographic investigations, more especially in the case of women. The authors review the clinical, electrical, hemodynamic and metabolic characteristics of these cases, and discuss the principal known etiologies, and limits of "normality" with respect to coronary artery angiography results.


The main objective of this study was to assess the role of financial institutions in the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the garment sector and propose strategies for enhancing accessibility of micro financing to SMEs in the textile industry. The target population for the study consisted the garment sector SMEs particularly women in the Batik business within the study area. The sampling procedure utilised was the purposive sampling based on one stage where respondents were chosen through a random sampling technique. The sample comprised of 85 SMEs in the garment sector and Managers from PRIDE Tanzania. Qualitative and quantitative primary data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data analysis used descriptive statistical procedures using frequency distribution. Secondary information was also used as received from various microfinance internet-based databases and available literature sources. Findings depict that the MFI plays a major role in development of SMEs in the Textile Industry with notable accessibility by the youth and women entrepreneurs. Also the researcher concludes that, PRIDE is generally fair when providing funding, however the interest rates charged by the institution was found to be a deterrent to potential SME clients and a significant factor in credit repayment defaults by subscribing low-income earners and micro-business owners in the garment sub-industry. In view of the observation made during the study, the researcher recommends that PRIDE TANZANIA should review its interest rate policy and propose for more affordable and sustainable rates for small scale business owners.


This thesis presents an approach which the small and medium size firms can use inhouse to introduce manufacturing information systems. The approach developed is generic and employs information system design and analysis techniques to guide Small and Medium size Enterprises (SME's) from specification of their need, right through to the implementation of an appropriate solution. Although there are various tools and methodologies that are available for large organisations needs, none are available for SME's. Therefore, the approach presented in this thesis provides original and significant improvements on current practice. The approach emphasises the importance of taking a company wide approach to analyse systems throughout its various departments to establish bad practices and system flaws which may impinge on the performance of the manufacturing operations. The research involved three independent stages. The first stage was the identification of the problem which was realised from two sources: literature survey and interviews with case study company managers. The second stage was the development of a novel approach. The final stage included the validation of the approach by implementing it in five different SMEs in the Devon and Cornwall regiOn. Through the use of this work, company's are encouraged to improve ownership and commitment to the manufacturing information systems by fully involving the relevant company personnel in identifying and resolving various problems. The approach proposed also helps managers understand how the various processes work in other areas of company, and can subsequently lead to improvements in other departments.


RNA polymerase (pol) III transcription decreases when primary cultures of rat neonatal cardiomyocytes are exposed to low oxygen tension. Previous studies in fibroblasts have shown that the pol III-specific transcription factor IIIB (TFIIIB) is bound and regulated by the proto-oncogene product c-Myc, the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK and the retinoblastoma tumour suppressor protein, RB. The principal function of TFIIIB is to recruit pol III to its cognate gene template, an activity that is known to be inhibited by RB and stimulated by ERK. We demonstrate by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) that c-Myc also stimulates pol III recruitment by TFIIIB. However, hypoxic conditions cause TFIIIB dissociation from c-Myc and ERK, at the same time as increasing its interaction with RB. Consistent with this, ChIP assays indicate that the occupancy of tRNA genes by pol III is significantly reduced, whereas promoter binding by TFIIIB is undiminished. The data suggest that hypoxia can inhibit pol III transcription by altering the interactions between TFIIIB and its regulators and thus compromising its ability to recruit the polymerase. These effects are independent of cell cycle changes.


The need for improved performance in high temperature environments is prompting industry to consider the use of structural ceramic materials in heat exchanger tubes and other high temperature components. ln recognition of this need the U. S. Department of Energy has supported work for the development of nondestructive methods for evaluating flaws in monolithic ceramic components and the associated establishment of criteria for the acceptance of flawed components. Under this development of flaw assessment criteria DOE supported the work being presented in this paper. The approach to developing the life prediction model combines finite element predictions considering creep behavior with continuum damage mechanics and Weibull reliability statistics. ABAQUS is used to predict time dependent creep response of the component based on experimental creep data. A continuity parameter is then calculated at each time step following continuum damage mechanics methods. Finally Weibull statistics are used with the resulting continuity parameter to predict the reliability at each time step through the use of the NASA-Lewis computer program CARES interfaced to ABAQUS with ABACARES. There is very limited data available to characterize the creep continuum damage and reliability behavior of the material. For the life prediction model reported it is assumed that themore » material damages isotropically. Directional effects of the damage can be added as material databases improve.« less


Background Gout gives rise to increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Gout attacks can be effectively prevented with urate lowering drugs such as allopurinol, and allopurinol further potentially reduces the cardiovascular risk. Whether treatment to a target level of uric acid is required to reduce cardiovascular risk is not known. Objectives We sought to investigate the effect of achieving target plasma urate with allopurinol on cardiovascular outcomes in a case control study nested within long-term users of allopurinol. Methods We identified all long-term users of allopurinol in Funen County, Denmark. Among these, we identified all cases of cardiovascular events (Antiplatelet trialist's Collaboration composite endpoint) and sampled 4 controls to each case from the same population. The cases and controls were compared with respect to whether they reached a urate target below 0.36 mmol/l on allopurinol. The derived odds ratios were controlled for potential confounders available from data on prescriptions, laboratory values or in- and outpatient contacts. Results No association of treatment-to-target urate level below 0.36 mmol/l and cardiovascular events were found. Adjusted odds ratio for cardiovascular event between cases and controls was 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.80 - 1.29). No significant effect was seen in any subgroup when stratifying by age, gender, renal function, allopurinol dose or the achieved urate level. Overall, the doses of allopurinol used in this study were low (mean $≈ $140 mg/d). Conclusions In our study, we were unable to demonstrate any effect of the achieved urate level in patients treated with allopurinol on cardiovascular events. However, the results are hampered by the low doses of allopurinol used. Possible explanations include that higher allopurinol doses are required to achieve cardiovascular risk reduction or that the putative effect of allopurinol on cardiovascular risk is not mediated through urate levels. It remains to be seen whether allopurinol has a dose-response relationship with cardiovascular events at higher doses. Disclosure of Interest K. Søltoft Larsen Grant/research support from: Has participated in research projects funded by Menarini, with grants paid to institutions of employment and received personal fees, A. Pottegård: None declared, H. Lindegaard Grant/research support from: has received honoraria and/or participated in research projects funded by Berlin-Chemie/Menarini, Eli Lilly, MSD, Roche and Pfizer, J. Hallas Grant/research support from: has participated in research projects funded by Menarini and Nycomed/Takeda and received personal fees for teaching


Drawing from trauma-related theory (e.g., M. F. Schwartz & P. Gay, 1996), this article presents a model of associations among child sexual abuse (CSA), psychological distress, alexithymia, and disordered eating (DE). Structural equation modeling was used to test this conceptual model with a sample of female college students (N = 589). Results indicate that CSA is not directly associated with DE. Instead, CSA is associated with psychological distress, which is further related to alexithymia. Additionally, bootstrapping analyses were used to show that distress and alexithymia mediate the relationship between CSA and DE. Finally, restrictive eating behaviors and attitudes mediate between alexithymia and bulimic behaviors. This latter pathway was shown to be important to the model by the analysis of a 2nd, nested model. Although this model is only one of many possible, these results point to a weak but significant complex relation between CSA and DE.


Abstract Immigrants are central to the identity of the United States, the population of which has grown in number and diversity as a function of new arrivals from around the globe. This article describes a visualization project that uses the visual metaphor of tree rings to explore the contribution of immigrants to the country's population. Immigrants and native-born persons are represented and differentiated as cells in trees, with layered annual rings capturing patterns of population growth. These rings register, in their shape and color, certain environmental conditions. In order to mimic the natural process by which growth rings are formed, we devised a computational system that simulates the growth of trees as if cells were data-units. Dendrochronology involves dating certain events by analyzing patterns of growth in trees. Analogously, in our visualizations the rings can be counted and dated, showing the chronological evolution of the population. The dendrochronology theme is a poetic take on the data, yet it is also a functional and conceptual space that is used to construct language and rationales on that data. The tree-growth process not only inspires the appearance of the visualizations but also informs the rules of the computational system that creates them.


A gasoline direct injected engine operating under lean conditions can offer a reduction in fuel consumption and a reduction of CO2 emissions but meanwhile suffer from high levels of tailpipe NOx emissions. A new way of reducing NOx emissions in a lean burn gasoline engine is by using an ordinary three way catalyst (TWC) together with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst, a passive SCR concept. The basic idea of this concept is that ammonia could be formed over the TWC by operating the engine rich during short amounts of time. The produced ammonia can then be stored in the SCR catalyst further down the exhaust system. When the engine switches into lean operation the stored ammonia is then used to reduce the engine out NOx emissions over the SCR catalyst.
The purpose of this master thesis was to investigate if the passive SCR concept is a possible exhaust aftertreatment system to reduce tailpipe NOx emissions for gasoline lean burn engines. This project was performed in an engine test cell at Chalmers University of Technology and was carried out experimentally. The intention was to investigate how much ammonia that could be formed over the TWC, if ammonia were stored on the SCR catalyst bed and if NOx was reduced over the SCR catalyst.
To conclude, the passive SCR concept is a possible exhaust aftertreatment system. Ammonia was formed over the TWC by operating rich. It was noticed that lambda, engine load and rich cycle duration affected the amount of ammonia formed at steady state conditions. The major drawback was that when ammonia was formed increased concentrations of CO was detected post the TWC. As for the SCR catalyst it was concluded that it was temperature dependent. It was noticed that there was a tradeoff between ammonia storage capacity and NOx reduction efficiency. Increased temperature promoted NOx reduction efficiency and demoted ammonia storage capacity.


BACKGROUND
Epiphysiodesis of the distal femoral and/or proximal tibial physes is commonly performed in children and adolescents to treat lower-limb length discrepancy. It is important to determine the amount of growth remaining in the physes of these patients. Two main methods are used to make this determination: the White-Menelaus arithmetic method, which assumes a consistent amount of growth per year until skeletal maturity, and the Anderson-Green growth-remaining charts, which diagram average growth per year ± 2 standard deviations. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate these apparently disparate predictions of growth remaining in a cohort of patients managed with epiphysiodesis.

METHODS
From a database of patients managed with epiphysiodesis for lower-limb length discrepancy, we identified all healthy, unoperated leg segments with follow-up to skeletal maturity. We compared the amount of observed growth with the growth predicted by the White-Menelaus method and the Anderson-Green growth-remaining graphs, for both skeletal and chronological ages.

RESULTS
A total of 441 healthy segments (201 femora and 240 tibiae) in 221 patients (105 boys and 116 girls) with an age range of 9.0 to 16.5 years at the time of epiphysiodesis were analyzed. We observed no relationship between the length percentile of the leg segments at the time of epiphysiodesis and the amount of growth that actually occurred. Growth in the distal femoral and proximal tibial physes was relatively constant (9 and 6 mm per year of skeletal growth, respectively). Skeletal age was a better predictor of growth remaining than chronological age for both methods of estimation. Although the distribution of growth remaining in the present study resembled the Anderson-Green growth-remaining charts, that distribution was not associated with the initial length of leg segments.

CONCLUSIONS
The White-Menelaus method predicted the amount of growth remaining more accurately than the Anderson-Green growth-remaining charts. The distribution of growth remaining observed in the present study resembled that of the Anderson-Green growth-remaining graphs but was not predicted by the initial bone segment length.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The present study found no positive association between the length percentile of leg segments and the amount of growth that occurred in an epiphysiodesis-age group. This finding can explain the comparative accuracy of the White-Menelaus method and the possible source of prediction errors in the straight-line graph and multiplier methods.


Logic minimization software is an important tool in digital integrate circuit design environment. The optimization of Multi-Valued Logic Functionisan extension of Binary-Valued Logic Function. For huge variable logic functions optimization, spending of memory is increaseon two power by input variables. This paper presents the description of binary vector of Multi-Valued variable and Multi-Valued Logic Function, transforms Multi-Valued cube into the Boolean expression with recursion fission and finally introduces the logic optimization algorithm of expanding products. It overpasses testing of Benchmark and right validate.


Calculations are carried out and compared with data for the scattering of CH4 molecules from a LiF(001) surface and for O2 scattering from Al(111). The theory is a mixed classical-quantum formalism that includes energy and momentum transfers between the surface and projectile for translational and rotational motions as well as internal mode excitation of the projectile molecule. The translational and rotational degrees of freedom couple most strongly to multiphonon excitations of the surface and are treated with classical dynamics. Internal vibrational excitations of the molecules are treated with a semiclassical formalism with extension to arbitrary numbers of modes and arbitrary quantum numbers. Calculations show good agreement for the dependence on incident translational energy, incident beam angle and surface temperature when compared with data for energy-resolved intensity spectra and angular distributions.


Background : The function of internal systems can be influenced significantly by hypernatremia, even anesthesia may be affected by this electrolyte imbalance. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a single anesthetic dose of ketamine in an experimental rat model of chronic hypernatremia. Methods : Sixty male Wistar rats, weighing 300(±20) g, were allocated randomly to three groups: the control group received drinking water and test groups 1 and 2 received 1% and 2% N a C l, respectively, for 144 hours. We measured the parameters of sensitivity to the ketamine injection ( 125 mg/kg) including length of times to the inhibition of the righting reflex, inhibition of the response to painful stimulus and the times to the reappearance of the response to painful stimulus and recovery from anesthesia. We also determined the mortality rates during anesthesia. Results : The times for inhibition of the righting reflex and response to painful stimulus for group 2 were significantly shorter than those for group 1 and the control group. The times for the reappearance of response to painful stimulus and full recovery from anesthesia in group 2 were significantly longer than those of group 1 and the control group. Conclusions: Hypernatremia affects ketamine anesthesia in the rat, increasing the speed of passing through the different steps of anesthesia. The duration of ketamine efficacy increases, while recovery from anesthesia is significantly delayed.


The paper studies dynamic modes of discrete-time model of structured predator-prey community like "arctic fox – rodent" and changing its dynamic modes due to interspecific interaction. We paid special attention to the analysis of situations in which changes in the dynamic modes are possible. In particularly, 3-cycle emerging in prey population can result in predator extinction. Moreover, this solution corresponding to an incomplete community simultaneously coexists with the solution describing dynamics of complete community, which can be both stable and unstable. The anthropogenic impact on the community dynamics is studied, that is realized as harvest of some part of predator or prey population. It is shown that prey harvesting leads to expansion of parameter space domain with non-trivial stable numbers of community populations. In this case, the prey harvest has little effect on the predator dynamics; changes are mainly associated with multistability areas. In particular, the multistability domain narrows, in which changing initial conditions leads to different dynamic regimes, such as the transition to a stable state or periodic oscillations. As a result, community dynamics becomes more predictable. It is shown that the dynamics of prey population is sensitive to its harvesting. Even a small harvest rate results in disappearance of population size fluctuations: the stable state captures the entire phase space in multistability areas. In the case of the predator population harvest, stability domain of the nontrivial fixed point expands along the parameter of the predator birth rate. Accordingly, a case where predator determines the prey population dynamics is possible only at high values of predator reproductive potential. It is shown that in the case of predator harvest, a change in the community dynamic mode is possible because of a shifting dynamic regime in the prey population initiating the same nature fluctuations in the predator population. The dynamic regimes emerging in the community models with and without harvesting were compared.


In polar regions, highly adapted social behavior is crucial for the survival of several species. Prominent examples are the huddling behavior of Emperor Penguins, or the creche (group) formation of King Penguin chicks. To understand how penguins solve the physical problem of movement in densely packed (jammed) groups, we observed Emperor Penguin huddles and King Penguin fledglings with time-lapse/video imaging, and used individual bird tracking and optical flow methods to analyze their movements. We found that Emperor Penguins overcome jamming by moving periodically in large, coordinated clusters. Every 30 - 60 seconds, all penguins make small steps, which travel as a wave through the entire huddle. Over time, these small movements lead to large-scale reorganization of the huddle. Groups of King Penguin fledglings moved in irregular intervals, often attributable to predator attacks, but the individual penguins in the group also moved collectively in a coordinated fashion to ensure the integrity of the group. Our data show that the dynamics of penguin huddling and group formation is governed by intermittency and approach to kinetic arrest in striking analogy with inert non-equilibrium systems. Basic aspects of this behavior can be reproduced with a simple model of interacting point particles. Individual animals are treated as self-driven agents with situation-dependent behavior, similar to simulations of collective swarm behavior in flocks and herds. Both the spontaneous huddle formation and the observed wave patterns emerge from simple rules that only encompass the interaction between directly neighboring individuals. As an important result, our model demonstrates that a collective movement can be triggered by a forward step of any individual within the dense huddle. It remains an open question, however, why individual penguins in a huddle trigger a movement, and by which mechanism the experimentally observed periodicity of huddle movement (~ 40 seconds) remains stable.


Imaging-guided site-specific photothermal therapy (PTT) of glioma and other tumors in central nervous system presents a great challenge for the current nanomaterial design. Herein, an in situ solid-state transformation method was developed for the preparation of multicolor highly crystalline carbon nanodots (HCCDs). The synthesis yields 6-8 nm-sized HCCDs containing a highly crystalline carbon nanocore and a hydrophilic surface, which therefore simultaneously provide strong photoacoustic and photothermal performances as well as tunable fluorescence emission. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the novel HCCDs have high water dispersity and good biocompatibility, but potent tumor cell killing upon near-infrared irradiation. As demonstrated in U87 glioma-bearing mice, HCCDs specifically accumulate in brain tumors and facilitate dual-modal imaging-guided PTT, with therapeutic antitumoral effects without any apparent damage to normal tissues.


Gold nanorods are among the most efficient structures for optical applications, especially in surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications. Notably, their use directly in colloidal solutions decreases their optical enhancing properties because of the impossibility of generating hot spots and the passivation of their surfaces by the surfactants used during their preparation, hindering the interaction of the analyte with the plasmonic surface. We present an easy and fast method for preparing organized lying-down nanorod films with particles of different aspect ratios, yielding efficient and clean plasmonic films populated with a large number of homogeneous hot spots.


Abstract The offer of the maternal breast to the baby is an unquestionable right of mothers and their children, and all efforts should be made to promote, follow and maintain exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months and supplement it until the child completes 2 years of age. Many publications are available in the literature about the qualities of breast milk, its benefits and health repercussions, stimulating the practice of breastfeeding and supporting campaigns for its implementation. However, although it is widely known that breastfeeding is an important step in the reproductive process of women and its practice offers benefits to both mother and child, most of the available information highlights the benefits of breast milk for children, while mention of the effects of breastfeeding on the health of the mother is usually neglected. Thus, the objective of the present study is to highlight the multiple benefits of breastfeeding for the physical and emotional health of the nursing mother. The authors consulted articles published in the databases PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Web of Science using the keywords breastfeeding, breast milk, lactation and maternal health.


The following report is the first of a series of technical documents of the joint research project on the mathematical properties of the representation, compression and dynamics of Surfels, which is carried out by ETH (Zurich, Switzerland) and MERL (Boston, USA). It documents the work performed at ETH between December 1998 and March 1999. The objective of the initial phase of the project was to give a survey and classification of existing techniques, each dealing with a particular issue involved in the project or pursuing a similar purpose as the project. Consequently, this report is mainly presenting a structured literature overview of relevant contributions.


The next generation all-IP wireless network needs advance mobility management for seamless global roaming while satisfying quality of service requirement for a variety of applications. The proposed work is a mobility management scheme for next generation all-IP wireless network. The scheme considers an all-IP integration model which provides a global roaming and internetworking facilities among different access technologies as well as seamless service negotiation including mobility, security and quality of service. The scheme provides minimum location update cost, minimum latency and minimum loss of packets. It outperforms the existing scheme in terms of location update cost and packet loss.


Upon the 20th Anniversary of the Society for Melanoma Research, we highlight the perspectives of patients aiming to help improve future experiences, outcomes, and their quality of life over the next 20 years. Five melanoma patients generously shared their inspiring and enlightening stories of diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Many patients had excellent medical teams that synergistically worked together to provide an accurate diagnosis, effective treatment options, and supportive care. However, it is clear that health inequities persist in communities where people of color are predominant, affecting early detection, patient experience, and outcomes. These stories shed light on the unique challenges faced by patients and how the lack of melanoma awareness and adequate resources, especially in communities of color or low socioeconomic status, can contribute to disparate outcomes in melanoma care. We expect that these stories will raise awareness about the progress in melanoma treatment but also the existent disparities in melanoma diagnosis and treatment and the importance of early detection and prevention.


The seismic probabilistic risk assessment is an important methodology to evaluate the seismic safety of nuclear power plants. In this assessment, the core damage frequency is evaluated from the seismic hazard, seismic fragilities, and accident sequence. Regarding the seismic fragility evaluation, the probabilistic fracture mechanics can be applied as a useful evaluation technique for aged piping systems with crack or wall thinning due to the age-related degradation mechanisms. In this study, to advance seismic probabilistic risk assessment methodology of nuclear power plants that have been in operation for a long time, a guideline on the seismic fragility evaluation of the typical aged piping systems of nuclear power plants has been developed considering the age-related degradation mechanisms. This paper provides an outline of the guideline and several examples of seismic fragility evaluation based on the guideline and utilizing the probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code.


Individuals that renounce their U.S. citizenship are held to a special taxation regime as a consequence for their expatriation that is unique in the world and, this article will argue, unconstitutional. Originally, renunciation of citizenship was seen as the ultimate income tax reduction device, but this option has now lost much of its attractiveness as Congress has passed "exit tax" provisions that impose a tax liability on individuals who have renounced U.S. citizenship similar to that imposed on U.S. citizens. This article will argue that, as it currently stands, the exit tax is not constitutional because it is not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest and must be judged at that standard because it infringes on the fundamental right to expatriate and discriminates based on national origin.


Bacterial community structure and biochemical changes during the composting of lignocellulosic oil palm empty bunch (EFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) anaerobic sludge were studied by examining the succession of the bacterial community and its association with changes in lignocellulosic components by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and the 16S rRNA gene clone library. During composting, a major reduction in cellulose after 10 days from 50% to 19% and the carbon content from 44% to 27% towards the end of the 40-day composting period were observed. The C/N ratio also decreased. A drastic change in the bacterial community structure and diversity throughout the composting process was clearly observed using PCR-DGGE banding patterns. The bacterial community drastically shifted between the thermophilic and maturing stages. 16s rRNA clones belonging to the genera Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Desemzia, and Planococcus were the dominant groups throughout composting. The species closely related to Solibacillus silvestris were found to be major contributors to changes in the lignocellulosic component. Clones identified as Thermobacillus xylanilyticus, Brachybacterium faecium, Cellulosimicrobium cellulans, Cellulomonas sp., and Thermobifida fusca, which are known to be lignocellulosic-degrading bacteria, were also detected and are believed to support the lignocellulose degradation.


Vasculitis is a clinicopathologic process characterized by inflammation and necrosis of blood vessels. Certain disorders have vasculitis as the predominant and most obvious manifestation, whereas others have various degrees of vasculitis in association with other primary disorders. Within the entire spectrum of vasculitis virtually any size or type of blood vessel in any organ system can be involved. Most of the vasculitides can be associated directly or indirectly with immunopathogenic mechanisms. In this regard, immune complex mediation is being increasingly recognized as the underlying mechanism in several of the vasculitides. With clinical, pathologic, and immunologic criteria, certain vasculitic disorders can be clearly recognized and categorized as distinct entities, whereas in others there is an overlap of different diseases within a broader category. In recent years, several of the more serious vasculitides, such as Wegener's granulomatosis and the systemic necrotizing vasculitides of the polyarteritis nodosa group, which formerly had extremely poor prognoses, have been shown to be extraordinarily responsive to chronic low-dose cytotoxic therapy, particularly cyclophosphamide.


In this contribution a classification of recombination active defects in multicrystalline silicon solar cells made from electronic grade (eg) and upgraded metallurgical grade (umg) silicon feedstock is introduced. On a macroscopic scale the classification is performed by using forward and reversed biased electroluminescence imaging (EL / ReBEL) and imaging of sub-band defect luminescence (ELsub). The luminescence behavior due to structural defects already present in the wafer can be divided into two groups based on their recombination and prebreakdown behavior. As a first step towards a more detailed analysis of the cause for these differences, the classification was also performed on microscopic scale. For this ReBEL and ELsub was performed under an optical microscope (µReBEL/µELsub) and EL was replaced by Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC). The defect types observed on a macroscopic scale could also be observed on a microscopic scale; however, a third defect type had to be introduced. Finally we propose a qualitative model for the different classified types of recombination active defect structures that can explain the observed recombination and prebreakdown behavior.


Background: Surgery is the only therapy with potentially curative intention in pancreatic cancer. This analysis aimed to determine prognostic parameters in a patient cohort with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma with a special focus on the revised R1-definition. Methods: Between October 2001 and August 2009, data from 1071 consecutively resected patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma were prospectively collected in an electronical database. Parameters tested for survival prediction in univariate analysis included patient, tumor, and resection characteristics as well as adjuvant therapy. The parameters with significant results were used for multivariate survival analysis. Identified parameters with positive or negative prognostic effect were used to define risk groups and to assess the effects on patient survival. Results: Age, ASA-score, CEA and CA19–9 levels, preoperative insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, T-, N-, M-, R-, G-tumor classification, advanced disease, and LNR were all significant in univariate analysis, whereas gender, NYHA score, BMI, insurance status, type of surgical procedure, and adjuvant therapy were not. In multivariate analysis, age ≥70 years, preoperative insulin-dependent diabetes, CA19–9 ≥400 U/mL, T4-, M1- or G3-status, and LNR > 0.2 were independent negative predictors, whereas Tis/T1/T2-status, G1-differentiation, and R0-status (revised definition) were independently associated with good prognosis. Using these risk factors, patients were stratified into 4 risk-groups with significantly different prognosis; 5-year survival varied between 0% and 54.5%. Risk stratification resulted in improved survival prognostication within the predominant AJCC IIA and AJCC IIB stages. Conclusions: A newly defined prognostic profiling including the revised R1-definition discriminates survival of patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma better than the AJCC staging system, and may be of particular relevance for patient-adjusted therapy in the heterogeneous group of AJCC stage II tumors.


Corporate credit derivatives, mainly referring to single-name or index credit default swaps or CDSs, are over-the-counter contracts between two counterparties (the "buyer" and "seller") that offer protection against the default of a corporate "reference entity" or the defaults in a large credit portfolio for a combination of upfront and periodic payments, loosely referred to as the "CDS premium." Credit derivatives became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a way for financial institutions to reduce their regulatory capital requirement, and early research treated them as redundant securities whose pricing is tied to the underlying corporate bonds and equities, with liquidity and counterparty risk factors playing supplementary roles. Research in the 2010s and beyond, however, increasingly focused on the effects of market frictions on the pricing of CDSs, how CDS trading has impacted corporate behaviors and outcomes as well as the price efficiency and liquidity of other related markets, and the microstructure of the CDS market itself. This was made possible by the availability of market statistics and more granular trade and quote data as a result of the broad movement of the OTC derivatives market towards central clearing.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore how students interacted with guidance to conduct a scientific inquiry in a physics simulation by using the eye-tracking techniques. The participants were 51 7th graders, and an eye-tracking system was used to record their visual behaviors and log data while they were using the simulation. As for data analysis, we first checked each participant's log data to examine whether they completed the requirement of the guidance, and then checked the correctness of her/his answer to the inquiry task. The participants were thus divided into two groups (correct vs. wrong), and the patterns of their visual behaviors were examined by a set of eye-movement indices, normalized heat maps and lag sequential analyses. The results indicate that both spatial distributions and temporal sequences of the participants' visual attention were associated with their performances on the inquiry task. Regarding the spatial distribution, the correct group tended to allocate more visual attention to the regions presenting the target phenomenon than the wrong group. Concerning the temporal sequence, the correct group tended to make more visual transitions among the content of the guidance, the relevant control panels and the target phenomena than the wrong group.


: The study examines the presence of female skiers, with and without a disability, on the social media platform Facebook . It focuses on Czech and foreign athletes and discusses their posts, as well as promotional and commercial content published on their official Facebook pages. The study is based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the published content (i.e. texts, photos and videos, links, hashtags), taking into consideration fans' reactions posted on the official Facebook pages of the selected athletes. Personal Facebook pages of four female athletes are reflected on. These athletes were successful at the World Championships in 2017. To provide consistency, all of the selected athletes are skiers (Tereza Kmochová – the Czech hearing impaired alpine skier, Š árka Strachová – the Czech alpine skier, Henrieta Farka š ová – the Slovak visually impaired alpine skier and Mikaela Shiffrin – the American champion in alpine skiing). Three key research questions are posed: How the female skiers in question use their official Facebook pages for communication, promotional and commercial purposes? What are the similarities and differences present in Facebook communication of the female athletes with and without a disability? What are the similarities and differences in Facebook communication of these Czech and foreign skiers? The results prove, for example, that the able-bodied athletes post significantly more content on their official Facebook pages than the athletes with the aforementioned disabilities. Moreover, Tereza Kmochová who also participates in standard competitions tends to post more promotional content than Henrieta Farka š ová who competes only in para alpine skiing.


Marxist dialectics continue to be relevant for both the study of society and political practice—a premise based on an analysis of selected works by Herbert Marcuse. In Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social Theory, published in 1941, Marcuse draws on Hegelian dialectics to defend Marxism, and he criticizes Marxists who have abandoned the dialectic and, consequently, their revolutionary goals. By the 1960s, however, Marcuse himself had shifted from a Hegelian-Marxist standpoint to a New Left rejection of dialectics and class struggle. Even though his work was immensely popular during the 1960s among intellectuals, students and activists on the left, his anti-dialectical theories weakened the analysis and contestation of capitalism during that time. His theories were also symptomatic of a larger trend among New Left intellectuals to abandon Marxism. This critique of Marcuse's later works suggests that for our contemporary moment dialectical Marxism is more strategically viable than Marcuse's 1960s theories of one-dimensionality and the techno-industrial society.

Read More: https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/siso.2018.82.3.413


The monograph consists of an extensive survey of psychological and behavioral genetic research on migraine, reports of three empirical studies in this area and an extensive English summary. Study 1 indicated persons with migraine (n=28) drawn from a neurological clinic to have experienced negative psychosocial events to a significantly greater extent during their development than persons free of migraine in general population (n=28) had. In study 2, part 1 involving 30 subjects with migraine 87% reported stress as a major migraine trigger (the headache often appeared after stress). Study 2, part 2, a family history study showed there to be a significantly greater prevalence of migraine (27%) among the siblings of the same 30 migraine subjects than among the siblings of 30 migraine-free controls drawn from the general population (10%). This result suggests the heritability of migraine, although the high discordance found also points to the importance of the within-family environment. Study 3, part 1, involving 30 sibling pair in which the one had migraine (migraine sibling) and the other was migraine-free and use of various personality instruments (Eysenck Personality Inventory, EPI; Coulour Word Test, CWT; Visual Aftereffects, VAE; Meta Contrast Technigue, MCT; and Ceasarec-Markes Personality Schedule, CMPS) showed the migraine siblings to score significantly higer on neuroticism (EPI), to be more sensitive (MCT; EPI) to disply signs of greater anxiety (VAE; CWT) and to report greater scarcity of friends during childhood and less verbal as well as nonverbal encouragement from their parents, than the migraine-free siblings. Neuroticism was found to correlate significantly with migraine, but not with headache frequency or severity in the migraine group. It is argued that, due to the high neuroticism of migrainics, psychotherapy should be considered as an alternative to other prophylactic treatments such as use of beta-adrenoceptor blockers, although the acute onset should be pharmacologically treated. Study 3, part 2, employed a special developed Sibling Behavioral Genetic Method (SBM) involving participants of 30 full sibling pairs, one sibling with and the other without migraine, and also a new pairing of the same subjects so as to produce genetically unrelated pairs (again one with and the other without migraine). Both groups were approximately similar on factors such as SES, age, gender, grade and sixe of the maily. A certain model was applied to test an additive genetic hypothesis. Out of 21 personality factors sensitivity (MCT), achievement (CMPS), extraversion-introversion (EPI), aggression (CMPS), anxiety (CWT), guilt-feelings, exhibition and succorance (CMPS) fit the model assuming additive genetic influences. However, within family environment appeared to be the major source of variance for most of the traits. Neuroticism (EPI), anxiety (MCT) and defense of status (CMPS) could be accounted for socioeconomic status (SES). The results also supported the assumption thatgenetically related siblings reared together experience quite different envoronments, as different in fact as the genetically unrelated controls. (Less)


Genomic selection (GS) can be effective in breeding for quantitative traits, such as yield, by reducing the selection cycle duration. Speed breeding (SB) uses extended photoperiod and temperature control to enable rapid generation advancement. Together, GS and SB can synergistically reduce the breeding cycle by quickly producing recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and enabling indirect phenotypic selection to improve for key traits, such as height and flowering time, prior to field trials. In addition, traits measured under SB (SB traits) correlated with field-based yield could improve yield prediction in multivariate GS. A 193-line spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) training population (TP), tested for grain yield in the field in multiple environments, was used to predict grain yield of a 350-line selection candidate (SC) population, across multiple environments. Four SB traits measured on the TP and SC populations were used to derive principal components, which were incorporated into multivariate GS models. Predictive ability was significantly increased by multivariate GS, in some cases being twice as high as univariate GS. Based on these results, an efficient breeding strategy is proposed combining SB and multivariate GS using yield-correlated SB traits for yield prediction. The potential for early indirect SB phenotypic selection for targeted population improvement prior to trials was also investigated. Plant height and flowering time showed strong relative predicted efficiency to indirect selection, in some cases as high as direct field selection. The higher selection intensity and rate of generation turnover under SB may enable a greater rate of genetic gain than direct field phenotyping.


In this paper we present a function to predict the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) in concentrated yoghurt. For this purpose we used Artificial Intelligence tools based on Support Vector Machines for Regression (SVR). Various parameters including: pH, percentage of prebiotic compounds (inulin and oligo-fructose) and inoculum dosage of probiotic bacteria which are effective factors on LA survival were considered. Performance of developed model was evaluated by calculating the mean square error (MSE). The results showed that the mean square error on days 1, 7, 14 and 21 were 1.04x10-5, 1.08x10-5, 9.56x10-6, 7.73x10- 6 respectively and defined model had the capacity of estimation accuracy for predicting survival of LA during storage in the refrigerator. Low values of MSE indicate that SVR is able to predict LA count in concentrated yoghurt.


Summary We investigated the influence of testes and thyroid gland on the maintenance of biochemical parameters and of [ 3 H]R1881 binding sites of adult mice submandibular gland (SMG). Castration (Cx) performed at beginning of puberty prevented sex-dependent SMG development without interfering with maximal androgen binding capacity. Thyroidectomy (Tx) had strong effects on SMG, mainly by lowering the number of androgen binding sites. All alterations could be fully reverted after treatment with testosterone (5 mg/animal, single dose) or with thyroxine (T4, 250 jug/animal per day during 5 days). The effects of Cx on SMG could be reverted by therapy with testosterone, T4, or with both hormones (testosterone + T4) in a non-synergistic fashion. It is shown the importance of thyroidal activity on the physiological maintenance of androgen receptors in the murine SMG; the role played by thyroid gland seems to be essential for the full expression of the androgen-dependent SMG activity in adult mice.


Ningde nuclear power plant in Fujian province is one of the national key construction projects of nuclear power, in order to insure the smooth progress of construction project, it needs to assess the rock slope stability which lies in the southeast of the living area. On the base of the rock architectural feature, the qualitative analysis, the three-dimensional limit equilibrium and the three-dimensional finite element are adopted to analyze the stability of the slope. The result of the qualitative analysis shows that most of the slope is stable, and part of it may fail after excavation. The result of the three-dimensional limit equilibrium and the three-dimensional finite element both illustrate that the slope is stable after excavation with slope ratio 1:0.25,1:0.50 and 1:0.75, and the stability factor rises with the decreasing of the slope ratio. At last, according to the above computing result, the 1:0.50 or the minor value is suggested to be adopted as the design slope ratio to excavate the slope.


Radiological examinations nowadays provide a significant benefit in the field of the health care. The question of such examinations is to balance their benefits to the risk associated intending to the reduction of the patent dose. This study aims to measure occupational doses and to assess the patient dose by radiological examinations, performed in the regional hospital of Gjirokastra city for the most frequent radiological examinations performed in this hospital The TLD-100 Harshaw dosimeters were used for this purposes calibrated in SSDL. The dose of medical staff as well Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) for patients were measured as the basic dosimetric quantities. These quantities were measured and averaged for medical staff and for ten patient doses for each examination. The obtained values for occupational exposures and patients doses generally were in accordance with IAEA standards for occupational exposures and guidance levels for medical exposures. The measuring of occupational exposures and the radiological examinations doses will contribute for development and improvement of the national radiation protection program for occupational and medical exposures.


Background. With the ex vivo perfused canine pancreas preparation, the infusion of acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol oxidation, plus a short period of ischemia to convert xanthine dehydrogenase to xanthine oxidase, results in the physiologic injury response of acute pancreatitis (edema, weight gain, hyperamylasemia). The free radical scavengers superoxide dismutase and catalase and a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, allopurinol, ameliorate this injury response, suggesting that toxic oxygen metabolites generated by xanthine oxidase play an intermediary role. Methods. The isolated ex vivo canine pancreas preparation was perfused for d hours, and weight gain of the preparation and amylase activity in the perfusate were monitored. Changes in pancreatic acinar cell architecture were characterized by light and electron microscopy, and intracellular phosphate metabolism was followed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy in control preparations and in glands simulating alcoholic pancreatitis. Results. Control preparations and preparations with a 7-hour period of ischemia before perfusion gained little weight (7 + 3 gm and 8 + 1 gin), amylase activity in the perfusate remained normal (933 + 513 units/all and 1537 +_ 553 units/dl), and no changes in architecture were observed. Weight gain (5 +_ 6gin)and amylase activity (7788 + 773 units/dl) were also normal in the preparations receiving acetaldehyde without preceding ischemia, but mild vascular and islet cell injury were observed on electron microscopy. One hour of ischemia followed by acetaldehyde infusion resulted in edema, increased weight gain (27 + 72 gm [p < 0.05]), and amylase activity (2487 +_ 7484 units/dl [p < 0.05]). Microscopy showed mild acinar cell damage and greater injury to the capillaries and the islets. The capillary and islet cell changes were reduced by superoxide dismutase and catalase. Intracellular adenosine triphosphate levels remained at baseline levels in the control preparations. Adenosine triphosphate decreased during ischemia but quickly recovered during perfusion without a significant difference whether acetaldehyde was infused after ischemia. An iron chelator desferoxamine ameliorated the injury response in the preparations simulating acute pancreatitis (weight gain, 73 + 6 gm [p = 0.09] and amylase activity, 7798 + d7[ units/dl [p = 0.08]), but a cholecystokinin receptor antagonist L364,718 did not have an effect. A sulfhydryl group protector, dithiothreitol, decreased weight gain (lO + 7 gm [p = 0.06]), and amylase activity was not significantly increased over that of the control group (7582 + 647 units/all), but a serine protease inhibitor phenylmethylsulphonylfluoride was ineffective. Conclusions. In this model simulating acute alcoholic pancreatitis, both the early physiologic injury response and the early morphologic changes are mediated at least in part by free radicals, which are generated by xanthine oxidase converted reversibly from xanthine dehydrogenase. In addition to the superoxide radical, the hydroxyl radical may also be an important early intermediate step, but the cholecystokinin receptor is not. (SURGERY [995;77 7:d 7-9.) From the Departments of Surgery, Pathology, and Radiology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md.


A U.S.-funded study in which Chinese schoolchildren were fed genetically modified rice 4 years ago has triggered a firestorm in the Chinese media. Newspaper columnists accused the main authors, both of Tufts University in Boston, of using children as "guinea pigs"; some stories likened the study to Japanese biowarfare experiments on Chinese prisoners in World War II. The furor has prompted several Chinese collaborators on the study to distance themselves from the work, and one of them was suspended.


This team studied all 6,651 ports of the world, providing the scientific basis for assessing the invasion risk of vessels entering the Great Lakes based on ports they have previously visited. It combined this information with the Nature Conservancy's global dataset on invasive species to predict future invaders to the Great Lakes. The team also accelerated the development of rapid genetic tests to determine the content of ballast tanks and created methods to identify the best places and strategies to stop the spread of AIS beyond the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin DNR used the team's findings to direct state money and design management strategies to reduce rates of invasion among lakes. The team shared their findings with the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference, the International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Indiana and Wisconsin DNRs, the U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office and the Army Corps of Engineers.


Background: Audience segmentation strategies are of increasing interest to public health professionals who wish to identify easily defined, mutually exclusive population subgroups whose members share similar characteristics that help determine participation in a health-related behavior as a basis for targeted interventions. Classification and regression tree (C&RT) analysis is a nonparametric decision tree methodology that has the ability to efficiently segment populations into meaningful subgroups. However, it is not commonly used in public health.Purpose: This study provides a methodological overview of C&RT analysis for persons unfamiliar with the procedure.Methods and Results: An example of a C&RT analysis is provided and interpretation of results is discussed. Results are validated with those obtained from a logistic regression model that was created to replicate the C&RT findings. Results obtained from the example C&RT analysis are also compared to those obtained from a common approach to logistic regression, the stepwise selection procedure. Issues to consider when deciding whether to use C&RT are discussed, and situations in which C&RT may and may not be beneficial are described.Conclusions: C&RT is a promising research tool for the identification of at-risk populations in public health research and outreach.


This article discusses resistance in psychotherapy using the contemporary interpersonal communication model of psychotherapy. This perspective defines resistance as moments during sessions when the patient and therapist are interacting with one another in such a way that the patient is kept from becoming aware of any covert experiences or transactional patterns that are conflictual and anxiety provoking. The ways in which resistance may be conceptualized and worked with are discussed and applied to three patient vignettes, with an emphasis on working with resistances as they are manifested in the patient-therapist relationship. Some of the potential reactions of the terapist to resistance are discussed, including some relatively beneficial and some problematic instances. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


— Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that has peaked to an alarming rate in recent decades. It can be found in tropical and sub-tropical climate. In Malaysia, dengue has been declared as one of the national health threat to the public. This study aimed to map the spatial distributions of dengue cases in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor via a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistic tools. Data related to dengue was gathered from the various government health agencies. The location of dengue cases was geocoded using a handheld GPS Juno SB Trimble. A total of 197 dengue cases occurring in 2003 were used in this study. Those data then was aggregated into sub-district level and then converted into GIS format. The study also used population or demographic data as well as the boundary of Hulu Langat. To assess the spatial distribution of dengue cases three spatial statistics method ( Moran's I , average nearest neighborhood (ANN) and kernel density estimation) were applied together with spatial analysis in the GIS environment. Those three indices were used to analyze the spatial distribution and average distance of dengue incidence and to locate the hot spot of dengue cases. The results indicated that the dengue cases was clustered (p < 0.01) when analyze using Moran's I with z scores 5.03. The results from ANN analysis showed that the average nearest neighbor ratio is less than 1 which is 0.518755 (p < 0.0001). From this result, we can expect the dengue cases pattern in Hulu Langat district is exhibiting a cluster pattern. The z-score for dengue incidence within the district is -13.0525 (p < 0.0001). It was also found that the significant spatial autocorrelation of dengue incidences occurs at an average distance of 380.81 meters (p < 0.0001). Several locations especially residential area also had been identified as the hot spots of dengue cases in the district.


Introduction: To address the shortage of healthcare professionals nationwide, high schools across the nation have introduced biomedical programs into their curriculum to draw students into the health career track; in particular minority and underrepresented students who represent a large untapped resource of potentially eligible healthcare students. In order to determine the magnitude of such programs in Kansas, 1,358 individuals were surveyed who were either current or past healthcare students in a Midwestern college of health professions. Methodology: A 16 question survey, collected respondents' demographic information, whether they participated in a high school biomedical program, and their perceptions of the program (if a participant). If appropriate the respondents were also asked to rate their biomedical program in terms of curriculum, healthcare insight gained, clinical experience, and student counseling. Results: The survey response rate was 17.7% (n=241). 7% (n=18) of the respondents participated in a high school biomedical program. Of those students who participated in a biomedical program, 94% went on to major in healthcare during college. Demographically, the majority of respondents were White (89.2%) and female (86.3%) with little representation of minority and underrepresented students. Conclusion: Overall it appears that only a small percent of the pre-professional and professional healthcare students at a Midwestern college of health professions attended a biomedical program in high school; however, those who did, a majority (94%) found the programs to be beneficial in preparing them for a career in healthcare.


To gain insight into the atomistic details of membrane fusion induced by fusogenic peptides, molecular dynamic simulations of synthetic peptides, derived from viral fusion proteins, contained in lipid bilayers were performed. A 20 amino acid peptide from the N-terminus of the influenza HA fusion peptide (WT20) assumed the oblique orientation at the interface between water and the membrane made up of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC)/palmitic acid (PA), as reported previously for different membranes. Simulations of WT20 embedded in bilayer membranes made up of dioleoylphos-phatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and DPPC/PA showed a positive curvature-inducing effect, whereas WT20 showed a negative curvature-inducing effect on a DPPC bilayer. In phase re-constitution analyses starting from a random mixture of DPPC, PA and water molecules, WT20 weakly stabilized an inverted hexagonal phase. In the latter analyses WT20 preferentially assumed a transmembrane orientation as opposed to the interfacial orientation, regardless of the phase to which the system settled (lamellar vs. inverted hexagonal). In another set of analyses using systems containing a water layer between the apposed DPPC/PA (and DOPE) monolayers, the behavior of WT20 during the formation of an intermembrane connection (or stalk) was examined. Comparison among the mutants supports a view that the oblique orientation of WT20 facilitates the perturbation of the lipid-water interface and the stalk formation. Taken together, these results imply that the influenza HA fusion peptide can have substantial effects on the membrane curvature and can assume a wide range of orientation/position in membranes depending on the local environment of the lipid/water system. Its movability and oblique orientation appear to be associated with its ability to perturb membrane/water interfaces.


Two methods for calibration and wavelength calculation for echelle spectrograms are discussed. The rough method employing ruler measurements on photographic enlargements has an accuracy of about 1 in 105. The accurate method using comparator measurements of Th standard lines and a computer routine has given an accuracy of 2 in 107 and promises greater precision for spectrograms obtained with modern echelle gratings.


Background Intravenous mixtures with low physicochemical stability vials could generate economic loss by wasted medication in the case of expensive drugs with individualised dosing if we treated only a few patients on different days. This is the case of infliximab. Purpose The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the pattern of utilisation in clinical practise (clustering patients at the same day of the week or not) and the saving costs associated with the optimization of infliximab use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease. Materials and Methods We collected data of patients treated whit infliximab during the first two months of 2012. We clustered patients by weeks, so we calculated the total weekly dose by adding the dose of each patient and total number of vials required of infliximab (clustering patients or not). Infliximab was given at dose of 3–5 mg/kg every 6–8 weeks. We calculated treatment costs between two alternatives. Results Eighteen patients received at least one infliximab infusion during a selected observation period were studied. The mean infliximab dose administered to all the patients was 342 ± 80 mg per patient. The number of vials used was 67, if we cluster patients, and 71 without cluster patients Infliximab vial optimization allows us, for the whole year, to reduce the amount of vials from 486 to 458, with a significant saving of 13612€ by year. Conclusions Clustering patients in a agreed day of week allows significant cost savings in the context of a regional hospital. The cost of treatment could be reduced by using infliximab vial optimization. These results could be applied for the vial optimization of some monoclonal antibodies and cytostatic agents. No conflict of interest.


In this paper, the coupling effect of a double-stator linear induction motor (LIM) is studied with the 3-D finite-element method (3-D FEM). The thrust force of the double-stator LIM with in-phase current is compared with the forces with inversed current and single stator excited. According to the 3-D FEM results, two coupling models of the double-stator LIM are built and validated by a thrust force test.


This study provides evidence that links institutional trading behavior directly to anomalous turn-of-the-year (TOY) return patterns of small stocks. We find that TOY trading patterns of institutions reflect strategies that are generally consistent with window-dressing and risk-shifting behaviors. Institutions sell more loser small stocks in the last quarter of the year, but buy more small stocks, both winners and losers, in the first quarter. Institutional buying (selling) of loser stocks at year-end weakens (strengthens) the TOY effect. In addition, buying of winner stocks after year-end causes a statistically-significant, though weaker, effect.


A dual-polarized L-probe fed patch antenna with various ground plane dimensions and shapes were simulated. By putting the two flanges of the U-shaped ground plane in parallel to the E-plane (/spl phi/ - 90/spl deg/) and with suitable distance (0.21/spl lambda/) to the probe, good isolation can be obtained. Reducing the width of the ground plane to maintain the isolation bandwidth and increase the horizontal beamwidth to 75/spl deg/ is also investigated.


The DNA packaged inside a nucleus shows complex structures stabilized by a host of DNAbound factors. This combination of DNA and bound factors is known as chromatin. Both the distribution of bound factors and the contacts between different locations of the DNA can be now measured on a genome-wide scale. Nevertheless, to what extent is the likelihood of contact between sites in the genome encoded by the spatial sequence of bound factors? Current approaches at addressing this question primarily use simulations of heterogeneous polymers to generate structures using the locations of bound factors. In contrast, here we develop novel predictive models for connecting chromatin sequence to structure using statistical physics, information theory and machine learning. Since our methods do not require costly polymer simulations they can quickly predict the effect on structure due to changes in the distribution of bound factors. In addition, our methods are formulated in a manner that allows us to solve the inverse problem: namely, given just structural data, predict the likely sequence of bound factors. We show that the models developed can make biologically meaningful predictions, highlighting key features of the mechanisms through which the three-dimensional conformation of DNA is coordinated by the interactions between DNA-bound factors.


Decomposing economic time series into their temporary and permanent components have followed two broad paths: trend versus difference stationary models and detrending versus filtering. Whereas the former breaks down due to their inability to capture the underlying data generation process (dgp), the latter are either one sided filters or are based on ad hoc procedures in achieving parsimony. In this paper, we propose structural time series models in which trends, cycles, seasonal components are treated as stochastic, and which contains the traditional approach as a special case. Cast in state space form, and estimated using maximum likelihood via the Kalman filter, these models accurately predict the behaviour of commodity prices through time. Using data on agricultural raw materials and metal price indices for the 1957(1) to 2008(4) period we document the frequency and duration of commodity prices, key elements for designing policies aimed at smoothing terms of trade shocks and the resulting macroeconomic effects associated with price disruptions. We found that the individual dgp have varied over time and are best captured as stochastic rather than deterministic trends. Moreover, we uncover multiple structural breaks and outliers, far beyond what extant results would like us to believe. Finally, the models remain robust in an out of sample


In this research a descriptive analysis about some of the parameters implied in the inside play in basketball has been studied. Data of the 16 teams of the A.C.B. league were collected: each team was studied in an official game chosen randomly. Items of observation related with the frequency of apparition of the inside play in the game, with the time expended to offence as well as the way used to finish the play, were established. Data obtained show that in the 41,61% of global possessions appears inside play while in the 37,45% of these take place a pass toward the positions near the basket. The average time expended since starting the possession of the ball until the moment in which a pass is made is 8,41 seconds. The analysis shows the considerable capacity of resolution of players who receives an inside ball, which is represented by the percentage of times in which these players finish the offence (82,78%). A bigger number of direct actions than indirect actions to finish the offence play and a very low degree of opposition to the shot have been detected, overcoat taking in account that these shots were made in areas with a big amount of players. KEY WORDS: Basketball, inside play, inside pass.


Elemental sulphur (S0) is man's oldest fungicide. In biological systems it is formed by certain specialized prokaryotes but the element has rarely been found in eukaryotes. The recent discovery that certain plant species from diverse families produce S0 as a localized component of active defence to vascular pathogens, and that S0 is constitutive in some crucifers, led to this review. Because of the age and relative inaccessibility of some of the past literature and the inconsistency in the methods used, the spectrum of activity and the toxicity of S0 are reassessed here. Interpretation of bioassays of this and other hydrophobic compounds are offered. Also, brief coverage is given to the history of S0 use and its suggested mode(s) of action. The element's possible role in defence and the form, location and levels in planta are considered. Sulphur is one of many S-containing defence-related compounds and it is ironic that sulphur deficiency has recently become a widespread nutrient disorder in crops, largely due to restrictions on fossil fuel burning. The problem is being addressed by sulphur application, but the future manipulation of genes for sulphate uptake and sulphur biosynthesis are likely goals.