Checkpoint blockade inhibitors are the most promising and effective strategy for T-cell mediated cancer immunotherapy of the past 20 years. Part of the anti-tumoral effect of these checkpoint inhibitors might be due to preferential targeting of regulatory T cells (Treg), essential for immune homeostasis. Here, we investigated whether the reported higher expression of ICOS on Treg than on regular T cells might be used as a flag to target human Treg to improve tumor-directed immune response. We report that a novel murine anti-human ICOS IgG1 mAb preferentially depleted Treg in NSG mice reconstituted with a human immune system from cord blood CD34+ cells, leading to an increased CD8 to Treg ratio. However, this was insufficient to affect growth of the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in humanized mice. We thus administered low dose cyclophosphamide that only moderately affected tumor growth to induce immunogenic cell death and improve tumor infiltration by human cells. Treatment of humanized mice with a combination of cyclophosphamide and the anti-ICOS mAb led to a marked reduction in tumor growth. Using mass cytometry (Cytof), we then analyzed the expression of 29 markers to quantify the main human and murine cell subsets in the tumor. We observed higher activation of CD8+ T cells in the combined-treatment group as judged by their higher expression of CD45RO and HLA-DR, relative to chemotherapy alone. Accordingly, depletion of CD8+ T cells with a mAb partly abolished the therapeutic effect of the combination, showing that these cells participated in tumor rejection. Notably, we also observed improved infiltration of human monocytes, human plasmacytoid dendritic cells and murine CD11b+CD11c+ cells in the tumor, suggesting that part of the effect of the combination therapy on tumor growth might proceed through these subsets. Altogether, our results demonstrate that ICOS, through its effect on regulatory T cells, release a brake in the immune response to tumors in humanized mice, and as such might be considered as a novel immune checkpoint inhibitor.> Note: This abstract was not presented at the conference. Citation Format: Aude Burlion, Aurelien Corneau, Gilles Marodon. Targeting ICOS improves immune-mediated control of tumor growth in humanized mice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; 2016 Sept 25-28; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A053.


In earlier studies we recognized that the highly correlated behavior of the f electrons within moderately delocalized light actinide (uranium, neptunium, plutonium) systems is linked to the non-f-band behavior via the hybridization process. By transforming the hybridization into a band-electron--f-electron resonant scattering from the correlated multiplet states of the actinide ions, and considering only the scattering processes that involve f electrons in the ${m}_{l}$=0, ${m}_{s}$=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2 states (for quantization along the interionic axis) which dominate the two-ion interactions, our earlier work explained the main features of the anisotropic magnetic equilibrium behavior for the PuSb system but failed to reproduce the correct polarization (longitudinal) for the long-period antiferromagnetic structure observed in the temperature range below the N\'eel temperature. In this paper we include the next-to-dominant scattering channels (single-site scattering processes involving f electrons with ${m}_{l}$=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1, ${m}_{s}$=\ensuremath{\mp}1/2). This refinement changes the angular dependence of the anisotropic interaction, and successfully yields the ferromagnetic to longitudinally polarized long-period antiferromagnetic phase transition as is experimentally observed. Excellent agreement with experiment for the correlation length anisotropy is also obtained. For the magnetic excitation behavior in the ferromagnetic phase pertinent to PuSb at T=0, the theory gives a spectrum with two polarized branches at the zone boundary for q along the [100] (transverse-to-moment) direction. In fact, the predicted excitation behavior is rather remarkable. The appearance of two polarized branches rather than a single branch at the zone boundary occurs only over an extremely narrow range of crystal-field splitting. We choose the crystal-field splitting to give two branches, and this unadjustably yields excitation energies that are very close to the experimental values. An only slightly different crystal-field value would give neither two branches nor correct excitation energies.


Bimanual pen and touch UIs are mainly based on the direct manipulation paradigm. Alternatively we propose partially-indirect bimanual input, where direct pen input is used with the dominant hand, and indirect-touch input with the non-dominant hand. As direct and indirect inputs do not overlap, users can interact in the same space without interference. We investigate two indirect-touch techniques combined with direct pen input: the first redirects touches to the user's gaze position, and the second redirects touches to the pen position. In this paper, we present an empirical user study where we compare both partially-indirect techniques to direct pen and touch input in bimanual pan, zoom, and ink tasks. Our experimental results show that users are comparatively fast with the indirect techniques, but more accurate as users can dynamically change the zoom-target during indirect zoom gestures. Further our studies reveal that direct and indirect zoom gestures have distinct characteristics regarding spatial use, gestural use, and bimanual parallelism.


We have previously characterized a 65-kilodalton protein (p65) as an interleukin 2 stimulated phosphoprotein in human T cells and showed that three endopeptide sequences of p65 are present in the sequence of l-plastin [Zu et al. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 1055-1062]. In this paper, we present the complete primary structure of p65 based on the cDNA isolated from a human T lymphocyte (KUT-2) cDNA library. Analysis of p65 sequences and the amino acid composition of cleaved p65 N-terminal peptide indicated that the deduced p65 amino acid sequence exactly coincides with that of l-plastin over the C-terminal 580 residues [Lin et al. (1988) Mol. Cell. Biol. 8, 4659-4668] and has a 57-residue extension at the N-terminus to l-plastin. Computer-assisted structural analysis revealed that p65 is a multidomain molecule involving at least three intriguing functional domains: two putative calcium-binding sites along the N-terminal 80 amino acid residues; a putative calmodulin-binding site following the calcium-binding region; and two tandem repeats of putative actin-binding domains in its middle and C-terminal parts, each containing approximately 240 amino acid residues. These results suggest that p65 belongs to actin-binding proteins.


This essay discusses contemporary dance in India foregrounding the link between dance and politics. The author proposes that contemporary dance in today's India can be seen as a continuum, under which is tension and rupture. It embraces on one hand, 'classicism'- strictly speaking 'neo-classicism' - on the other, an ideological move away from this 'classicism', which constitutes itself into an heterogeneous movement motivated by a search for new dance languages. These new languages, growing out of 'traditional roots' (variously defined), claim to be sustained by the 'classicism ' of Indian dance. This movement can be referred to, for convenience, as 'post-classicism'; this 'post-classicism'is otherwise known as 'Contemporary' dance – with a capital c , in accordance with a western model. Dance in today's India, whether 'classical' or 'post-classical' is wholly entangled with the issue of an Indian religious and secular identity, increasingly dominated by a Hinduising discourse, and this informs the artistic choices of dance artists. The essay will discuss the work of Ranjabati Sircar, here seen as 'post-classical', against this scenario, and will begin to reflect on the impact Ranjabati Sircar's choreography and her cosmopolitanism has had on dance in contexts other than India, such as the British South Asian diaspora.


Purpose
According to web metric world ranking 2016, there is no public or private Pakistani university among the top 600 universities of the world. As far as the motivation of post-graduate in Pakistan is concerned, the supervision of researchers for retention of students and completion of research degree are the major critical issues. The Primary focus of this study is to explore the key factors affecting on motivation of post-graduate research students through the perception of students in the various fields.
Design/Methodology/Approach
For this purpose, we have focused on the sample of four universities (public and private universities) in Sindh, Hyderabad province. Universities were also stratum into 3 samples in terms of disciples: Engineering, Agriculture and Management science. Here particularly M.Phil and PhD research students were focused. The structured 5 likert questionnaire is used as an instrument for data collection. The multiple regression analysis is applied for research analysis.
Findings
Results showed that research supervisor and research facilities were insignificant but research course work is found significant impact on motivation of post-graduate research in Sindh. On basis of results it is recommended that in each studied disciple has to design polices for motivation among post-graduate research students especially research course work should be taken in consideration on important basis for better motivation of post-graduate research in future.


In this paper, we present a low-weight and low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for autonomous flight and navigation in GPS-denied environments using an off-the-shelf smartphone as its core on-board processing unit. Thereby, our approach is independent from additional ground hardware and the UAV core unit can be easily replaced with more powerful hardware that simplifies setup updates as well as maintenance. The UAV is able to map, locate and navigate in an unknown indoor environment fusing vision based tracking with inertial and attitude measurements. We choose an algorithmic approach for mapping and localization that does not require GPS coverage of the target area, therefore autonomous indoor navigation is made possible. We demonstrate the UAVs capabilities of mapping, localization and navigation in an unknown 2D marker environment. Our promising results enable future research on 3D self-localization and dense mapping using mobile hardware as the only on-board processing unit.


Nonlinear flow behavior and the corresponding fluorescent behavior were examined for a 3.0 wt% aqueous solution of hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethane (HEUR; Mw = 1.1×105) having fluorescent pyrenyl (Py) groups at the chain ends. These end groups associated with each other to serve as cores of HEUR flower micelles, and these micelles were further connected into super-bridges to form a transient network. Correspondingly, single-Maxwellian relaxation reflecting the thermal reorganization of this network was observed in the linear viscoelastic regime. Under steady shear flow, the HEUR solution exhibited thinning of both viscosity η(γ) and first normal stress coefficient Ψ1(γ) at shear rates γ above the equilibrium relaxation frequency 1/τ. Fluorescent emission intensity IE(γ) from excimers formed by Py groups associated in a hydrophobic environment of the micellar cores and the intensity IM(γ) from dissociated Py groups (referred to as monomers) isolated in the aqueous phase were measured under flow simultaneously with η and Ψ1. The IE/IM ratio was found to decrease only slightly (by a factor of ∼4 %) on an increase of γ up to 6/τ well in the thinning regime. (For γ = 6/τ, η and Ψ1 decreased from respective zero-shear values by factors of ∼50 % and ∼75 %, respectively) Thus, the significant thinning at those γ was accompanied by a negligible change in the HEUR core structure that corresponds to just a slight shift of the association/dissociation balance of the Py groups to the dissociated state. From this result, the thinning is quite possibly attributed to flow-induced disruption of the network connectivity through conversion of the super-bridges into super-loops, both having the same core structure.


Pesticides are widely used in many industries but the majority reaches non-target organisms or locations through point or diffuse sources. Understanding conditions for their degradation is therefore important. The degradation of glyphosate, its metabolite AMPA and isoproturon using the ligninolytic enzyme laccase was studied. Optimisation of in vitro conditions were tested with findings indicating that factors such as altering pH and the concentrations of both manganese and redox mediators can impact degradation giving insight into optimal conditions. A method of encapsulation was used showing it is possible to immobilise laccase suggesting a possibility of its suitability as a co-formulation agent in pesticide applications. The immobilised laccase was applied in a laboratory scale experiment to investigate degradation of glyphosate and AMPA in soil and sand. The findings showed an apparent ability of the encapsulated laccase to be liberated and have an effect on glyphosate degradation, although much work still remains in this area. In the final part of this project ligninolytic substrates were screened for natural and easily extractable mediators. Extracts were used to check enzymatic activity and degradation potential. Candidates that showed promising results included extracts from hemp and wheat.


We propose answer-set programs that specify and compute counterfactual interventions on entities that are input on a classification model. In relation to the outcome of the model, the resulting counterfactual entities serve as a basis for the definition and computation of causality-based explanation scores for the feature values in the entity under classification, namely responsibility scores. The approach and the programs can be applied with black-box models, and also with models that can be specified as logic programs, such as rule-based classifiers. The main focus of this study is on the specification and computation of best counterfactual entities, that is, those that lead to maximum responsibility scores. From them one can read off the explanations as maximum responsibility feature values in the original entity. We also extend the programs to bring into the picture semantic or domain knowledge. We show how the approach could be extended by means of probabilistic methods, and how the underlying probability distributions could be modified through the use of constraints. Several examples of programs written in the syntax of the DLV ASP-solver, and run with it, are shown.


The explosion of research on early modern gender in England has focused primarily on the experience or perceptions of women. Alexandra Shepard's excellent new book forms part of a new wave directing our attention equally to the construction of early modern masculinity. What gave men 'worth' in the eyes of their contemporaries? How did they achieve and retain 'manhood'? The plural title is significant. As Shepard demonstrates, male codes of honour and esteem varied far more according to factors such as age and status than was the case for women. Only a minority of men possessed all the required attributes, and enjoyed the public credit they bestowed.


A novel wide-bandgap conjugated polymer (PTZP) based on alkylphenyl-substituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT-P) as the electron-rich unit and thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TTz) as the electron-deficient unit was designed and synthesized for the non-fullerene polymer solar cell (PSCs) application. The polymer exhibited a wide bandgap of 2.01 eV with a strong absorption in the range of 300–620 nm, which was complementary with that of the fused-ring small molecule acceptor (SMA; 2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-((4,4,9,9-tetrahexyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile, IDIC). Also, the polymer exhibits a deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of −5.41 eV. Furthermore, the polymer film possesses strong crystallinity and dominated face-on stacking with a small d-spacing of 3.65 A, resulting in a high hole mobility of 4.01 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1. The optimal PSCs based on the PTZP:IDIC blend showed a high PCE of 11.8% with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.90 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 17.9 mA cm−2 and a fill factor (FF) of 73.3%. Moreover, the device with an active layer thickness of up to 200 nm or area of up to 0.81 cm2 exhibited outstanding performance, with PCE of over 10%, resulting from the excellent molecular stacking. These results revealed that PTZP will be a promising conjugated polymer for the fabrication of efficient large-area PSCs.


Abstract. The dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems are shaped by the coupled cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, and strongly depend on the availability of water and energy. These interactions shape future terrestrial biosphere responses to global change. Many process-based models of the terrestrial biosphere have been gradually extended from considering carbon-water interactions to also including nitrogen, and later, phosphorus dynamics. This evolutionary model development has hindered full integration of these biogeochemical cycles and the feedbacks amongst them. Here we present a new terrestrial ecosystem model QUINCY (QUantifying Interactions between terrestrial Nutrient CYcles and the climate system), which is formulated around a consistent representation of element cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. This new model includes i) a representation of plant growth which separates source (e.g. photosynthesis) and sink (growth rate of individual tissues, constrained by nutrients, temperature, and water availability) processes; ii) the acclimation of many ecophysiological processes to meteorological conditions and/or nutrient availabilities; iii) an explicit representation of vertical soil processes to separate litter and soil organic matter dynamics; iv) a range of new diagnostics (leaf chlorophyll content; 13C, 14C, and 15N isotope tracers) to allow for a more in-depth model evaluation. We present the model structure and provide an assessment of its performance against a range of observations from global-scale ecosystem monitoring networks. We demonstrate that the framework is capable of consistently simulating ecosystem dynamics across a large gradient in climate and soil conditions, as well as across different plant functional types. To aid this understanding we provide an assessment of the model's sensitivity to its parameterisation and the associated uncertainty.


Introduction The effects on the population's mental health due to the rapid global spread of COVID-19 are even greater for specific groups such as pregnant women. Objectives To compare levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms of pregnant women before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze the role of COVID-19 fear in perinatal psychological disorder. Methods 200 Brazilian women evaluated during the pandemic in May-June 2020 (Sample-1) with the Brazilian Covid-19 Fear Scale for the Perinatal Period (Barros et al. 2020) and Screening for Perinatal Depression and the Perinatal Anxiety Crawl Scale, both with α> .90. Sample-1 was compared with a sample of 300 Portuguese women; these responded to the same questionnaires, before the pandemic, in 2017 and 2018 (Sample-2). Results Sample-1 had significantly higher mean scores of depression (52.73 ± 20.26 vs. 35.87 ± 16.98, t = 10.77, p <.001) and anxiety (36.58 ± 18.23 vs. 18.50 ± 13.71, t = 11.94, p <.001) and correlated significantly (p <.05) and moderate (r.30) with the fear of COVID-19. Hierarchical regression analyzes showed that, even after controlling for the effect of risk factors for PPP (Pereira et al. 2020), fear of COVID-19 is a significant predictor of depressive symptomatology levels (increments of 2-5%) and anxious (10-15%) during the pandemic. Conclusions The Sample-1 being from a different country may be a confusing factor, however, the magnitude of differences in PPP levels and the relevant role of fear in COVID-19, alert us to be aware of perinatal mental health.


IntegrationofAI and blockchain means a mixture of two technologies, AI and blockchain.  These are becoming very popular technologies in now days. A revolution can be made using these technologies combination. Complication is reduced in process of automatic driving cars and blockchain is used to distribute the experience. Driver less car are trained like this, that they will stop when nearer to an entity. In starting car will drive till it collides with that object. All the actions done by car get stored in memory and after some more hits, car learns that it have to when it reaches too close to an object. The present scenario is that, individually all cars are trained until they get to know that at how much distance they should stop. The purpose of this paper is to link all cars with a distributed pubic ledger on which data is shared by one car to all other for learning the tasks like when to from the other's experiences this will eliminate heavy work of teaching each car individually. Blockchain Technology can be used for carrying out this integrated learning.


The study refers to the appreciation of surface water quality, respectively the Timis and Bega streams, in the inferior sector. The qualitative evaluation of the two water streams, was carried out based on data from the Banat Water Basin Administration archive, from the upstream sections Timisoara and Otelec, the Bega river, respectively Şag and Grăniceri on the Timis river, based on the analytical results of the following indices: pH, dissolved oxygen, CBO5, CCOCr, electric conductivity, ammonium, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, sulphates, chlorine, manganese and iron. The analysed data are from the time interval 2011 – 2012. Data interpretation was carried out according to the regulations of Order no. 161 from 2006 for the approval of the Normative regarding surface water quality classification in order to establish the water bodies ecologic state. In parallel, the main anthropic activities were identified, which determine a depreciation of the surface water quality state. The research has shown some qualitative differentiations monitored in the control sections at the beginning of the study area and downstream, from the end of this area, qualitative differentiations determined by: the crossing of the agricultural area by the water, over-flowing of waste waters incompletely cleaned or raw waste waters (by accident), the carrying out of zootechnical activities present or past. With most monitored indices in the control entrance of the study area, respectively upstream Timisoara (on the Bega river) and Şag (on the Timis river) show values corresponding to the 1 quality class, and downstream, on exiting this area, respectively Otelec (on the Bega) and Grăniceri (on the Timis), one may notice the higher frequency of 2 quality class indices. Among potential pollution sources, there are: SC Smithfield Ferme SRL, the Cinder Deposit Utvin, the Urban Waste Deposit Parţa etc. Considering the "communication" between surface water and underground water layers, the latter's quality may suffer negative changes under certain environmental conditions.


We address the problem of estimating atmosphere parameters (temperature, water vapour content) from data captured by an airborne thermal hyperspectral imager, and propose a method based on direct optimization. The method also involves the estimation of object parameters (temperature and emissivity) under the restriction that the emissivity is constant for all wavelengths. Certain sensor parameters can be estimated as well in the same process. The method is analyzed with respect to sensitivity to noise and number of spectral bands. Simulations with synthetic signatures are performed to validate the analysis, showing that estimation can be performed with as few as 10-20 spectral bands at moderate noise levels. More than 20 bands does not improve the estimates. The proposed method is also extended to incorporate additional knowledge, for example measurements of atmospheric parameters and sensor noise.


Introduction: Japanese guideline of the Brugada syndrome (BS) defined the indication of the implantable cardioverter defibrillater (ICD) in asymptomatic patients with BS as patients having both family history of sudden death (FH) and induced ventricular fibrillation (VF) by programmed electrical stimulation (PES) (class IIa). When patients had one of these criteria, ICD indication considered as class IIb. We analyzed new onset of VF episodes in asymptomatic patients. Methods and Results: We analyzed 99 asymptomatic patients with Brugada type ECG. Fourty-seven patients had FH. VF was induced by PES in 44 patients. Criteria of ICD indication of class IIa, IIb, and III were met in 20, 50, and 29 patients, respectively. Three patients experienced new-onset VF episode during follow-up periods (84±43 months). Although there was no new-onset VF in patients with class IIa, all patients who experienced VF episodes belonged to class IIb (6%). All patients with new-VF had spontaneous type 1 ECG, induced VF by PES, positive late potential and fragmented QRS, but did not have FH and SCN5A mutation. Conclusion: Prediction of prognosis in patients with BS-ECG based on BS-guideline has limited value and occurrence of VF is not rare in patients with class IIb of ICD indication.


One metabolism trial and 2 finishing trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of adding corn bran and steep liquor (steep) in replacement of dry-rolled corn (DRC) on diet digestibility, cattle performance, and nutrient mass balance in open feedlot pens. The metabolism trial (Exp. 1) used 8 ruminally cannulated heifers in a 4 × 4 Latin square design and the 2 finishing trials used 128 steer calves fed for 167 d (Exp. 2) and 256 yearling steers fed for 126 d (Exp. 3). Dietary treatments for all trials included a DRC-based control (CON), 30% corn bran (30/0), 30% corn bran plus 15% steep (30/15), and 45% corn bran plus 15% steep (45/15), in which by-products replaced DRC and molasses in the diet (DM basis). Diets were not isonitrogenous or isoenergetic. In the metabolism trial, feeding the by-product diets produced greater rumen pH (5.95) than CON (5.76; P < 0.01). Total tract DM and OM digestibility were greater for heifers fed CON than the by-product diets (P < 0.01). Dry matter and NDF ruminal disappearance (%/h) of corn bran were numerically less for cattle fed the CON diet than the by-product diets (2.36 vs. 2.84 and 0.72 vs. 1.66, respectively). In the performance trials, steers fed the by-product diets consumed more DM (P = 0.06) and G:F was either similar for all diets in Exp. 2 (P = 0.56) or less for cattle fed 30/0 than the other diets in Exp. 3 (P = 0.05). Percent N loss was reduced in Exp. 2 by including corn bran in diets compared with CON (P < 0.01). However, in Exp. 3, no differences in percent N loss were detected among treatments (P = 0.16), but more N was removed in the manure from pens where steers were fed by-products (P = 0.01). Although steep did not improve diet digestibility, it was beneficial in maintaining cattle performance in the feedlot studies. Feeding corn bran in combination with steep increased manure N removed and N in compost, but decreased percent N lost during the winter months only.


Context. Quasi-periodic propagating disturbances in coronal structures have been interpreted as slow magneto-acoustic waves and/or periodic upflows. It is important to understand the nature of these disturbances before proceeding to apply them. Aims. Here we aim to understand the nature of these disturbances from the observed properties using a three-hour imaging sequence from AIA/SDO in two different temperature channels. We also compare the characteristics with a simple wave model. Methods. We searched for propagating disturbances in open-loop structures at three different locations; a fan loop-structure off-limb, an on-disk plume-like structure, and the plume/interplume regions in the north pole of the Sun. In each of the subfield regions chosen to cover these structures, the time series at each pixel location was subjected to wavelet analysis to find the different periodicities. We then constructed powermaps in three different period ranges, short (2−5 min), intermediate (5−12 min), and long (12−25 min), by adding the power in the individual range above the 99% significance level. We also constructed space-time maps for the on-disk plume structure to estimate the propagation speeds in different channels. Results. We find propagating disturbances in all three structures. Powermaps indicate that the power in the long-period range is significant up to comparatively longer distances along the loop than that in the shorter periods. This nature is observed in all three structures. A detailed analysis on the on-disk plume structure gives consistently higher propagation speeds in the 193 A channel and also reveals spatial damping along the loop. The amplitude and the damping length values are lower in hotter channels, indicating their acoustic dependence. Conclusions. These properties can be explained very well with a propagating slow-wave model. We suggest that these disturbances are more likely to be caused by propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves than by high-speed quasi-periodic upflows. We find that intensity oscillations in longer periods are omnipresent at larger heights even in active regions.


A co-synthesis system is presented, which partitions, schedules, and voltage scales multi-rate system specifications onto heterogeneous architectures containing dynamic voltage scalable processing elements (DVS-PEs). To achieve high degree of energy reduction, we formulate a generalised DVS problem, taken into account the power variations among the executing tasks. An efficient heuristic is presented, that identifies optimised supply voltages by not only "simply" exploiting slack time, as in previous research, but under the additional consideration of the PE power profiles. Thereby, this algorithm minimises the energy dissipation of heterogeneous architectures, including power managed PEs, effectively. Further, we address the DVS optimisation at different steps of the system synthesis, including allocation, mapping, and scheduling, by integrating the proposed heuristic into the design flow. We demonstrate how genetic list scheduling and mapping algorithms are adapted to the DVS problem to produce simultaneously high quality solutions in terms of energy dissipation and timing behaviour. We investigate and analyse the possible energy reductions at all steps of the co-synthesis, including the power variation effects. Extensive experiments and comparisons with recently proposed DVS techniques, which are included as sub-cases in our generalised DVS approach, indicate that the presented work has advantages in terms of solution quality.


Anuran sex ratio at breeding sites is typically male biased. Such sex ratios may be due to poor female survival, to females not breeding as frequently as males and/or to males becoming sexually mature earlier than females. In the present study, the first two factors are analyzed in a common toad (Bufo bufo) population in southern Sweden. Toads were captured, marked and recaptured at the breeding site during 5 years. Within season capture patterns were analyzed using the Jolly-Seber model and among-year captures using the Closed robust design model. Population estimates of males and females yielded an among year variation in breeding population sex ratio, ranging from 16% to 34% females. On average, 41% (proportion adult alive but not breeding) of the females skipped breeding seasons, whereas the corresponding estimate for males was less than 5%. Yearly survival averaged 42% for adult female and 63% for adult male toads. First year adult males and females had a lower survival rate than older toads. Our results demonstrate that both a female biased mortality rate and a higher proportion of skipped breeding in females contribute to the observed male biased sex ratio. However, a deterministic model suggests other factors may also be involved to obtain this degree of male biased sex ratio, the most likely being that females mature at a later age than male toads.


A sulfate-reducing enrichment culture originating from coastal marine sediment of the eutrophic Tokyo Bay, Japan, was successfully established with Casamino acids as a substrate. A thiosulfate reducer, strain C/G2(T), was isolated from the enrichment culture after further enrichment with glutamate. Cells of strain C/G2(T) were non-motile rods (0.6-0.8 microm x 2.2-4.8 microm) and were found singly or in pairs and sometimes in short chains. Spores were not formed. Cells of strain C/G2(T) stained Gram-negatively, despite possessing Gram-positive cell walls. The optimum temperature for growth was 28-30 degrees C, the optimum pH was around 7.8 and the optimum salt concentration was 20-30 g l(-1). Lactate, pyruvate, serine, cysteine, threonine, glutamate, histidine, lysine, arginine, Casamino acids, peptone and yeast extract were fermented as single substrates and no sugar was used as a fermentative substrate. A Stickland reaction was observed with some pairs of amino acids. Fumarate, alanine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan, glutamine and aspartate were utilized only in the presence of thiosulfate. Strain C/G2(T) fermented glutamate to H2, CO2, acetate and propionate. Thiosulfate and elemental sulfur were reduced to sulfide. Sulfate, sulfite and nitrate were not utilized as electron acceptors. The growth of strain C/G2(T) on Casamino acids or glutamate was enhanced by co-culturing with Desulfovibrio sp. isolated from the original mixed culture enriched with Casamino acids. The DNA G+C content of strain C/G2(T) was 41.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain C/G2(T) formed a distinct cluster with species of the genus Sedimentibacter. The closest relative was Sedimentibacter hydroxybenzoicus (with a gene sequence similarity of 91 %). On the basis of its phylogenetic and phenotypic properties, strain C/G2(T) (=JCM 13356(T)=NBRC 101112(T)=DSM 17477(T)) is proposed as representing a new genus and novel species, Dethiosulfatibacter aminovorans gen. nov., sp. nov.


The Single Parent Law introduced in 1992 grants single parents special treatment, primarily under the Income Support Law. In 1994 and 1995 additional legislative changes eased the terms of eligibility of this segment of the population. These changes increased the size of welfare benefits and expanded the eligible population, enabling it to earn a relatively large wage income without losing the right to receive benefits. An examination of the effect of the various legislative changes introduced between 1992 and 1995 indicates that they served to reduce the labor supply of single mothers at all levels: their rates of participation and employment declined, as did the number of hours worked, while their share of part-time employment rose. This was in contrast with the continued upward trend in the labor supply of married mothers. This result remains valid when the population of single mothers is compared with a sample of married mothers with similar characteristics (using propensity score matching). The effect is particularly strong for mothers who had not worked before the change in the law, and especially young mothers, as well as for those with a low level of education. We also find that the changes in the size of the benefits and the eligibility criteria reduced the poverty of single-parent families. Thus, we conclude that the legislative changes reduced poverty at the expense of increased dependence on the welfare system.


Legume inoculation.-KELLERMAN and ROBINSON24 have been investigating the conditions under which a particular species of legume might be successfully inoculated, and the conditions under which failure to obtain inoculation might be expected. A summary of the results is as follows: lime is of decided benefit in obtaining successful inoculations of legumes in some soils (often showing an acid reaction to litmus); soil extracts serving as culture media often indicate the probable success of inoculating a leguminous crop; at least during the first season's growth no general cross-inoculation takes place (bacteria from one host, however, may inoculate a physiologically related species); heavy inoculation by a pure culture increases nodule formation if the soil solution is enriched by the excess of culture medium (in a favorable soil, however, a light inoculation well-distributed is as effective); thorough aeration is favorable to nodule formation.-J. M. C.


Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease, which occurs frequently in women, mainly at childbearing age. This disease can affect any organ system; its presentation and course over time are highly variable. It is characterized by autoantibody response to nuclear and cytoplasmic antigens. Inadequate data on its clinico-immunological profile are available. The present study focuses on reevaluating clinical and immunological manifestations and also the management of SLE patients. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital for 2 years, i.e., from June 2014 to May 2016. Patients of all age groups fulfilling revised American College of Rheumatology Criteria (1997) was included in this study. Baseline investigations were done, and autoantibody profiling was done using immunoblot strips coated with 14 different antigens. Results: Over a period of 2 years, 40 patients were studied. The majority (85%) was females, and most of the patients were of the age group 15-30 years. Fever was the most common clinical manifestation (55%), followed by arthritis (33%) and dermatological manifestations (25%). Antinuclear antibody profile showed autoantibodies against nucleosomes in 19 patients (48%), followed by nRNP in 18 (45%), dsDNA in 17 (43%), Ro in 16 (40%), ribosomal P in 16 (40%), Sm in 13 (33%), and histones in 13 (33%) patients. Most of the patients (45%) were treated with a combination of corticosteroid and antimalarial. Conclusion: Clinical manifestations can vary between fever, arthritis, and skin rash to severe systemic involvement. The disease is more common in females especially during the second and third decade of life. Autoantibody profiling aids in supporting diagnosis and antimalarials along with corticosteroids are mainstay of treatment.


Digital teletext/videotex services enjoyed a decades-long heyday in Europe, and only recently have largely given way to the far more capable Internet. But neither service succeeded in the US. This article assesses multiple reasons behind the American failure to adopt this technology, some of which apply to today's digital services


Premature birth before 37 weeks of gestation is a significant public health problem. Each year, 4.5 million premature infants are born worldwide. Despite extensive research and a variety of interventions, the rate of preterm birth has steadily increased over the past 20 years and reached a high of 12.8% in 2006. The etiology of most preterm births remains elusive and is likely multifactorial, with many pathophysiological pathways involved, such as excessive stretching, oxidative stress, decidual hemorrhage, and infection. Genomics and proteomics have emerged to provide a better comprehension of the pathophysiological conditions leading to preterm birth, thereby providing a perspective for improving neonatal outcome.


Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess time-dependent changes in the morphology of bitemarks and to investigate the utility of matching bitemarks on both perishable and non-perishable objects with the passage of time at different temperatures. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted at Maharana Pratap College of Dentistry and Research Centre, Gwalior, India. 20 volunteers were asked to bite 6 items each. These included perishable and nonperishable items. Perishable items were apple, banana and Burfi, (a milk-based popular sweet confectionary) while non-perishable items included wax, clay, and rubber. Photographs were taken with a digital camera at 0-hours and 24-hours after biting these objects at temperature ranges of 24 oC to 28 oC and 36 oC to 40 oC, respectively. Life-size photographs of these bitten objects were printed on transparent overlays and compared to hand drawn transparencies prepared from suspect dentition using an X-ray viewer. The comparison of all the 960 transparencies was done by two researchers, independently. Results: All objects gave a positive identification of the biter on matching just after biting. After24-hours, all items also showed positive matching except banana and apples. Conclusion: This proposed method is simple, reliable and less technique sensitive. It narrows down the subjectivity of interpretation. It highlights that due to decomposition changes occur in perishable food items and more so in apples and bananas, making bitemarks less reliable evidence.


The ability of pseudorabies virus (PRV) to infect and establish latency in pigs with passively acquired (maternal) antibody for PRV was tested by exposing such pigs to the virus and subsequently attempting to reactivate latent virus by administering large doses of dexamethasone. Pigs of each of 4 litters that had nursed gilts with relatively high (512, gilts 1 and 2), moderate (32, gilt 3), and no (less than 2, gilt 4) serum titers of virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies for PRV were allotted to 3 treatment groups (A, B, C) when they were 2 weeks old. Group-A pigs were separated from littermates and dam and thereafter kept in isolation; group-B pigs were experimentally exposed oronasally to PRV and 1 hour later returned to their dam; group-C pigs were kept with their dam and potentially exposed to PRV by contact with littermates of group B. Sera obtained from pigs at selected intervals until they were 17 weeks old were tested for VN activity and for precipitating activity for radiolabeled viral proteins. All group-A pigs remained clinically normal throughout the experiment. Depending on the initial amount of passively acquired antibody, little or no serum VN or precipitating activity remained by the time these pigs were 17 weeks old. Group-B and -C pigs, with relatively high amounts of passively acquired antibody when exposed to PRV, also remained clinically normal. However, most became latently infected as subsequently evidenced by either dexamethasone-induced or noninduced virus reactivation. Noninduced reactivation may have been initiated by weaning the pigs when they were about 8 weeks old.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


SnO2 is a semiconducting metal oxide that is broadly employed as the active sensing material in chemiresitive gas sensors. Recent studies demonstrated the capability of SnO2 sensors to detect various gases, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), at room temperature. To explore the sensing mechanism, the adsorption of ethanol and acetone on the SnO2 (110) and (101) surface facets is investigated via density functional theory (DFT) calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The role of surface oxygen defects, polarity of the VOC molecule, and pre-adsorbed oxygen species from the ambient atmosphere is explored. DFT results show that the direct adsorption of both ethanol and acetone on the (110) and the (101) surface facets is energetically favorable. The adsorption of both molecules is accompanied by the release of charge from the adsorbate gas to the surface, which promotes the sensing response. Binding strength of both molecules on the stoichiometric SnO2 (110) and (101) surfaces is greater than that on the oxygen defective surfaces. Ethanol adsorption is generally stronger than acetone due to the bipolar nature of the hydroxyl (OH) group that interacts with the surface via two distinct charge transfer modes. Minimal interaction takes place between the pre-adsorbed oxygen species (O2−) and the studied polar VOCs upon their adsorption on the reduced surfaces. Theoretical calculations are supplemented by sensing measurements for ethanol using SnO2 nanostructured thin film sensors fabricated by an aerosol chemical vapor deposition (ACVD) technique. Taken together, these results suggest that the sensing mechanism of SnO2 towards polar VOCs at room temperature can be explained by their direct adsorption on the surface rather than through their oxidation by means of ionosorbed oxygen species.


After the military coup of 1973 Augusto Pinochet created the means to reinvent Chile in terms of a country that was under attack from foreign elements. As political parties and all public organizations were banned, the Catholic Church assumed the task of defender of human rights and opposition party. This paper examines the role of Cardinal Silva Henriquez and his response to an ongoing national crisis through his personal memoirs. The paper concludes that Cardinal Silva became a defender of human rights and himself an enemy of the Chilean State because of his Christian convictions and his own sense of service to the poor and to the youth in the context of the Catholic Church in Latin America. I. Introduction It has been widely recognized by researchers that the Catholic Church in Chile played an important role in the national affairs of Chile during the period of government of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).1 Within those writings, the Church has been perceived as the hierarchy, and in general authors have outlined the role of the Church as institution.2 Less has been written about the social history of individuals within the Church, or on the ecclesial and human experience of the basic Christian Communities or the parishes in dioceses outside Santiago.5 Moreover, it can be suggested that within an authoritarian regime that controlled the existence of political parties, trade unions, and workers' unions the Catholic Church became the only public voice allowed within Chile and an important contact of information with international organizations and governments outside Chile. As a result of such work and in recognition for its defense of human rights the Catholic Church was granted several international prizes, e.g., the United Nations prize for human rights (1978) and the Austrian Bruno Kreisky Foundation prize for human rights (1979).4 Within that experience of Chilean political conflict and ecclesial growth Cardinal RaUl Silva Henriquez played a central role. Other bishops could have decided to take other decisions, to do other things, to avoid an ecclesial involvement in Chilean affairs. Cardinal Silva Henriquez decided that the Church was called to be involved and he became a controversial figure who was liked by some and despised by others. Nevertheless, the massive gathering of people from all walks of life at his funeral in 1999 suggested that he had led a Church that had been involved in the lives of people and in the national life of Chile.5 This paper examines the involvement by the Catholic Church in Chile during the first period of the military regime (1973-1980),6 by assessing the words and actions of Cardinal Suva as narrated in his own memoirs.71 have elsewhere examined the social role played by the Vicaria de la Solidaridad, the documents by the Chilean bishops that engage with national social realities and the issues of the disappeared and their families' loss of Catholic funerals as fundamental rites of passage and rites of life.8 There is no doubt that Cardinal Suva played a central leadership role throughout those years of change, conflict, and suffering for many Chileans. However, it would be difficult to understand such a role without focusing on the Cardinal's formation as a Salesian priest, and the centrality of the post-military coup political repression that triggered some of his directives for the Santiago Archdiocese and the Chilean Church in general. The conclusions of this study argue that Cardinal Suva managed to engage the Catholic Church with public concerns within a difficult political period in Chilean history by supporting ecclesial, social, and political organizations. Cardinal Suva followed the directives of the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the Latin American Bishops' Conference of Medellin (1968) to the point where the Chilean Church became an example for other more traditional (inward looking) episcopal conferences. …


Since 1948, when Farber et al. introduced aminopterin, the first chemotherapeutic agent, more than 100 such agents have come into use. Initially, antitumor chemotherapies were thought to produce only antiproliferative or cytotoxic effects on dividing tumor cells as it was often associated with the damage to healthy tissues and the development of resistant tumor clones. However, that view has been changing as a consequence of recent demonstrations that several antineoplastic drugs, even at low doses, have antiangiogenic and sometimes immunomodulating effects. In addition, new studies indicate that lowering the dose of conventional cytotoxic agents and combining chemotherapy with other modalities may not only decrease the toxicity of conventional chemotherapy, but also up-regulate the efficacy of different anticancer therapies. Giving chemotherapy in this manner has several potential advantages, including impediment of the onset of mutation-dependent mechanisms of acquired drug resistance and increase in the efficacy and durability of combinatorial therapeutic modalities. Certain "immunogenic" forms of cancer chemotherapy may cause indirect activation of immune cells due to the accessibility of tumor antigens and certain "danger" signals. Furthermore, new findings indicate that several chemotherapeutic agents can directly activate immune cells when used in ultra low noncytotoxic concentrations, the new phenomenon that was termed chemoimmunomodulation. The goal of this review is to analyze the immune modulating properties of antineoplastic chemotherapeutic agents and present new evidence of the immunostimulating potentials of several agents used in low and ultra low nontoxic doses. Therapeutic potentials of combined chemo-immunotherapeutic regimens have been extensively reviewed in a variety of recent publications and will not be discussed.


Employee leakage is achieving basic levels for some Hotels chain, which battle to keep up legitimate staffing levels in a tight labour market (WeiBo et al. 2010). Leakage has been a measure of performance in hotels that is costs lots of money related to financial and operational effectiveness. Organizational stability is known to have a high level of relationship with low leakage. Signs are that employees will probably stay when there is an anticipated and stable workplace (Zuber, 2001). The current study conducted through cross-sectional design to gather primary data in order to determine causes for the high employee leakage in three-star hotels. Data were collected from the professional, supervisory, and managerial staff in these hotels in greater Cairo. Using regression analysis, it was determined that the individual leakage causes and satisfaction was a statistically significant variable when analyzing leakage causes in the current study. Over 25% of the variation in leakage causes was explained by the components of the survey. This research is important to industry professionals as well as academics to help estimate and decrease staffs' leakage in various sectors of the hospitality industry. Based on the results obtained, the study showed a set of recommendations such as implementing a career development plan and acknowledging the talents and abilities gained by the hotel workers. Human resource management should offer support to employees and a stable and healthy work environment. One-on-one conferences should be scheduled between workers and their managers. Key words : leakage, retention, three-star hotels.


The shocking experience of the sinking of a great ocean liner, the Andrea Doria, in the summer of 1956 was a cruel demonstration that there may be loss of lives under circumstances where at least the environmental forces of nature are friendly to the vast majority of passengers and crew who got into life boats and were rescued promptly. This book, by McCance, Ungley, Crosfill, and Widdowson, is a sharp reminder of the several perils which beset those whose ships are destroyed in time of war where often both man and nature conspire against them. Any study such as this one made from the reports of survivors has at least some of the fallacies of the inadequacies of recollection. The sample is necessarily biased, since only the survivors can talk. It is hardly surprising that cold and exposure bulk highest among causes of death both before and after boarding life


The ability to chemically wire ionomer films to electrode surfaces can promote transport near interfaces and impact a host of energy-related applications. Here, we demonstrate proof-of-concept principles for the surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization (SI-ROMP) of norbornene (NB), 5-butylnorbornene (NBH4), and 5-perfluorobutylnorbornene (NBF4) from Pt-modified gold substrates and the subsequent sulfonation of olefins along the polymer backbones to produce ultrathin sulfonated polymer films. Prior to sulfonation, the films are hydrophobic and exhibit large barriers against ion transport, but sulfonation dramatically reduces the resistance of the films by providing pathways for proton diffusion. Sulfonated films derived from NBF4 and NBH4 yield more anodic potentials for oxygen reduction than those derived from NB or unfunctionalized electrodes. These improvements are consistent with hydrophobic structuring by the fluorocarbon or hydrocarbon side groups to minimize interfacial flooding and generate pathways for enhanced O(2) permeation near the interface. Importantly, we demonstrate that the sulfonated polymer chains remain anchored to the surface during voltammetry for oxygen reduction whereas short-chain thiolates that do not tether polymer are removed from the substrate. This approach, which we extend to unmodified gold electrodes at neutral pH, presents a method of cleaning the ionomer/electrode interface to remove molecular components that may hamper the performance of the electrode.


Resistance to antimicrobial agents in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria is common in TurkeyIn this review, resistance to several antimicrobial agents in this country is discussed for bacteria which have gained clinical importance in recent years. Among Gram-positives, staphylococci are of major importance because of their high level of resistance to many agents in the hospital and the community. Methicillin resistance in different hospitals ranges from 13% to 37%. High-level resistance to gentamicin occur in enterococci and resistance to glycopeptides have not been reported in these isolates. S. pneumoniue resistance to penicillin have been observed in Turkey as 47% in Hacettepe University and most of the resistant isolates were from children with severe underlying diseases. In reports from other hospitals, the level of resistance was lower because of a different patient population. In Gram-negative bacilli, aminoglycoside resistance is a significant problem in the treatment of severe infections in our country.The most common mechanism of resistance in our isolates is the plasmid-mediated enzymatic modification of these agents. Extended-broad spectrum /&lactamases have been detected in Klebsiella spp. and Salmonella spp. in Turkey. In a Pseudomonas strain, an extended-spectrum variant of OXA- was identified. Some isolates were also shown to produce plasmid mediated PER-l enzymes. Due to resistance problems encountered in many hospitals, restriction control measures have been started in some hospitals in order to limit the antibiotic use and our hope is' the country-wide application of these precautions as soon as possible.


The planar bipedal testbed MABEL contains springs in its drivetrain for the purpose of enhancing both energy efficiency and agility of dynamic locomotion. While the potential energetic benefits of springs are well documented in the literature, feedback control designs that effectively realize this potential are lacking. In this paper, we extend and apply the methods of virtual constraints and hybrid zero dynamics, originally developed for rigid robots with a single degree of underactuation, to MABEL, a bipedal walker with a novel compliant transmission and multiple degrees of underactuation. A time-invariant feedback controller is designed such that the closed-loop system respects the natural compliance of the open-loop system and realizes exponentially stable walking gaits. Five experiments are presented that highlight different aspects of MABEL and the feedback design method, ranging from basic elements such as stable walking and robustness under perturbations, to energy efficiency and a walking speed of 1.5 m s−1 (3.4 mph). The experiments also compare two feedback implementations of the virtual constraints, one based on PD control of Westervelt et al., and a second that implements a full hybrid zero dynamics controller. On MABEL, the full hybrid zero dynamics controller yields a much more faithful realization of the desired virtual constraints and was instrumental in achieving more rapid walking.


As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, conventional internal combustion vehicles are becoming an economic burden. Electric vehicles can be a cheaper alternative to gasoline cars. While maintaining an affordable budget, the primary objective of this work is to design and build an efficient, cost effective power control system for an electric vehicle and to utilize solar cells to augment its capabilities. A rugged dune-buggy frame served as the foundation from which the work was built upon. Results were verified with a speedometer to determine the speed of the vehicle, and the distance traveled, a dynamometer to determine the no load statistics and limits of the vehicle in forward and reverse, and a multimeter to measure the performance of the solar cells and battery.


Examining the difficulties of conflict resolution, Transforming Conflict through Insight demonstrates how applying Bernard Lonergan's philosophy of insight to mediation can lead to more productive and constructive negotiations. Kenneth R. Melchin and Cheryl A. Picard provide both an overview of conflict research and an introduction to Lonergan's 'insight theory,' offering an outstanding piece of ethical philosophy and a useful method of mediation. Introducing readers to a method of self-discovery, the different kinds of operations involved in learning, and the role of feelings and values in shaping interactions with others in conflict, this volume also includes the practical experience of mediators who detail strategies of insight mediation for working creatively through conflict. Attending to the important role played by transformative learning in navigating conflicts, the authors show how insights and learning can move people past obstacles caused by feelings of threat. Informative, compassionate, and convincing, Transforming Conflict through Insight is a welcome resource for working to resolve difficulties in an ethical and educational manner.


Every year, due to population growth and economy development, land uses and land covers are changing. The various types of land uses have significant roles on components of water balance of a watershed. The simulation modeling has the capability to predict floods, to evaluate land use impacts on floods, and to make decision in watershed management. In this research, the effects of land use change scenarios such as current state, deforestation, -percent growth of urbanization and the combination of two scenarios (i.e. deforestation+ urbanization) have been evaluated on the water balance using the WetSpa model in the Ziarat watershed, which covers an area of . km and located in Golestan province. In order to execute the WetSpa model, the hourly hydro meteorological data including rainfall, evapotranspiration, temperature, and discharge are used as inputs for a four-year period (from to ). The result of the simulation shows a good agreement between the simulated hydrograph and the observed one. Then, the scenarios of deforestation, urbanization development and the combined scenario of deforestation with urbanization have been designed in GIS environment, and the simulation was performed using the calibrated model. The finding showed there were increases in surface runoff and subsurface flow, groundwater and total flow rates; the maximum change was for runoff rate that increased . in first scenario to mm in fourth scenario. The decrease of land surface roughness and vegetation canopy lead to decrease in evapotranspiration and leaf interception in the study area.


The development modes of transportation in Indonesia led to competition in the various modes such as by land; sea and air were increasing. Railway is one mode of transportation, especially as the most dominated by the passenger in Bandung. Due to higher competition pattern, efforts were made to improve passenger satisfaction. Various complaints can occur, and will increase if not addressed promptly so that the company should seek to restore service (service recovery) that passengers are satisfied. This study was conducted to determine how the implementation of the program service recovery Argo Gede Train, perceived satisfaction of passengers and how much influence the program service recovery on customer satisfaction. The object of this research was Argo Gede Train passenger route Bandung-Jakarta. The independent variable in this study was a service recovery program (X), and the dependent variable was customer satisfaction (Y). The type of research was descriptive verification, through explanatory survey method with simple random sampling technique, and 100 respondents were analyzed by linear regression analysis. The data used in this study are primary data and secondary data, with data collection through interviews, direct observations, and questionnaires' research, and literature studies. The results showed in the service recovery program, has improved the accuracy of the biggest scores. The results showed that the service recovery program has the effect of 47.80% on customer satisfaction to note that the service recovery program has a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Keywords: Service Recovery, Customer Satisfaction


Information on a cohort of 5539 singleton births delivered at term in two hospitals in Rosario, Argentina, was used to examine differences in early postnatal morbidity between small for gestational age (SGA) infants classified by their ponderal index (PI). SGA infants with low PI (SGA-LPI) were 4.35 (90% CI: 1.50, 12.61) times more likely to have asphyxia, 13.75 (2.48, 76.31) times more likely to have hypoglycaemia and 2.32 (1.03, 5.26) times more likely to have respiratory distress (RD) than SGA infants with adequate PI (SGA-API). The increased risks of asphyxia and hypoglycaemia observed for SGA-LPI infants diminished, but remained statistically significant after controlling for the infant's gender, birthweight, gestational age and hospital of birth. There was no difference in risk of hyperbilirubinaemia between SGA-API and SGA-LPI infants. With the exception of risk of hyperbilirubinaemia, SGA-API infants carried the same risks of morbidity as non-SGA infants. The results of the study show that SGA infants do not constitute a homogeneous group with respect to their prospects for early postnatal health and survival. Furthermore, the pattern of differences in morbidity risk between SGA-API and SGA-LPI infants observed in this study is consistent with the timing hypothesis for the aetiology of variation in PI among SGA infants.


Using the apparatus "POOS-I" (a device for measuring the reflecting power) the author carried out microspectrophotometric determination of the DNA content in the lymphoid tissue of mice following gamma-irradiation and transplantation of the syngenic and allogenic bone marrow. An amount of DNA was expressed as a relative value representing optical density of histological sections stained after Feulgenmthis method has proved to be a sensitive objective test for evaluation of the extent of lesion and restoration of the lymphoid tissuek0


The authors analyse their clinical experience of treating 5 patients with immobilization of the hand and propose to use complex and composite vascularized grafts for the plasty of extensive defects of tendons and skin of the forearm. They consider microvascular grafting of skin flaps from the back of the foot with tendons from the extensors of the toes with their own paratenon to be an excellent material for the reconstruction of the tendons of the flexors. They advise to use the vascularized broad fascia of the hip incorporated into the lateral flap from the hip for the plasty of extensive defects of the tendons of the extensors. The authors point out that the indications for using a combined graft from the back of the foot carrying vascularized tendons require further elaboration.


The transfusion sheet established in 1985 with the aim of improving the immunological safety has not fulfilled the goal expected. Furthermore, it is now clear that the immunological safety does not necessarily imply transfusional safety only, though alertness in this field should be maintained. The residual post transfusional risk, though limited, should remain a permanent concern both for the transfuser and the prescriptor. "Haemovigilance" has become an integral part of the transfusional safety. It cannot exist without a trace-back of the blood products. At any time it should be possible to determine: "who received what and from whom?" The blood bank has the responsibility for the link between the donor and the blood product and the clinician has the responsibility of the link between the blood product and the recipient. Both partners must be aware of the absolute necessity of sharing and checking all information. Means for this trace-back exist, sophisticated or not, and more or less costly. It is up to each one to select the most suitable system.


Abstract Visualizing and quantifying the spatial heterogeneity of rock textures (i.e., mineral and porosity distributions) is of great interest in petrology or for understanding petrophysical properties. Spatial heterogeneities are not accurately revealed by usual techniques based on microscopy or bulk physical measurements. Detailed mineral mapping is already available from processing of chemical element maps acquired using an electron probe microanalyzer (Part I). The present paper is devoted to developing a new, coupled method for obtaining porosity maps from the same initial data. According to the difference between measured and theoretical sums of oxide weight percentages, a mean porosity is semi-quantitatively estimated for each pixel of the map (i.e., not fully absolute or accurate). All pores, including nanometer-size ones, are taken into account, whereas a sample area of several square millimeters is analyzed (spatial resolution of a few micrometers). The textural heterogeneities are thus visualized from the complementary maps of solids and voids. By superimposing these two maps, both the mean porosity and a porosity histogram associated with each rock-forming mineral are obtained. Such porosity measurements integrate the pore amounts within mono-crystals larger than the X-ray emission volume or between nanometer-size crystals of a matrix. When porosity changes are associated with a given mineral (various crystal arrangements, dissolution, etc.), pluri-modal distributions appear on porosity histograms. Thresholding each histogram mode then allows these processes to be localized. We used the MX80 bentonite to test this methodology, which represents a useful tool to study the local deformations and alteration of each rock-forming mineral, as well as to model transport properties.


Let us rethink the real-world scenarios that require human motion prediction techniques, such as human-robot collaboration. Current works simplify the task of predicting human motions into a one-off process of forecasting a short future sequence (usually no longer than 1 second) based on a historical observed one. However, such simplification may fail to meet practical needs due to the neglect of the fact that motion prediction in real applications is not an isolated "observe then predict" unit, but a consecutive process composed of many rounds of such unit, semi-overlapped along the entire sequence. As time goes on, the predicted part of previous round has its corresponding ground truth observable in the new round, but their deviation in-between is neither exploited nor able to be captured by existing isolated learning fashion. In this paper, we propose DeFeeNet, a simple yet effective network that can be added on existing one-off prediction models to realize deviation perception and feedback when applied to consecutive motion prediction task. At each prediction round, the deviation generated by previous unit is first encoded by our DeFeeNet, and then incorporated into the existing predictor to enable a deviation-aware prediction manner, which, for the first time, allows for information transmit across adjacent prediction units. We design two versions of DeFeeNet as MLP-based and GRU-based, respectively. On Human3.6M and more complicated BABEL, experimental results indicate that our proposed network improves consecutive human motion prediction performance regardless of the basic model.


In recent years, it has been widely accepted that transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in multiple ethnic groups, especially its single nucleotide polymorphisms of rs7903146C/T, rs12255372G/T and rs290487T/C. However, the results previously obtained in Chinese Han population are often inconsistent. For clearing this issue, herein we performed meta-analysis based on the reports that can be found to assess the association. In the meta-analysis, Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated with random-effect model or fixed-effect model based on the heterogeneity analysis. The quality of included studies was evaluated by using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The sensitivity analysis was used to confirm the reliability and stability of the meta-analysis. In total, 20 case-control studies with 9122 cases of T2DM and 8017 controls were included. Among these case-control studies, we selected 13 ones on rs7903146 C/T, 5 ones on rs12255372 G/T, 8 ones on rs290487 T/C. The results indicated that rs7903146C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with T2DM (T vs. C, OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.39–2.16). There was no evidence that rs12255372G/T and rs290487T/C polymorphisms increased T2DM risk (T vs. G, OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 0.88–3.56; C vs. T, OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.93–1.25). Subgroup analysis of different regions proved the relationship between rs7903146C/T polymorphism and T2DM risk in both the northern and the southern China. The association of rs290487 with T2DM was affected by body mass index, whereas the association of rs7903146 and rs290487 with T2DM was influenced neither by age nor by sex. In conclusion, this study indicated that the rs7903146C/T polymorphism of the TCF7L2 gene had a significant effect on T2DM risk in Chinese Han population, with rs12255372G/T and rs290487T/C polymorphisms showing no significant effect.


This study is limited to the evaluation of the toxic metal released from metal finishing sludges, combustion ashes, and the solid residuals from atmospheric dust collection systems in a landfill. When leach testing these wastes to establish the potential magnitude of the leachable metals, it has been found that the solid waste also usually contains readily soluble inorganic salts that could affect the leach results: The sludge cake usually contains only interstitial water. Evidently, the volume of the residual water and its salt content is a relatively small quantity. Slurries contain considerably more water, but the total salt content is still most often insignificant. The mix can be quite different if the treatment preceding the solids removal has utilized high-temperature processes, or has aimed to separate the solids by partial or total evaporation of the water. The ashes from combustion or the dust collected from atmospheric separation may not have been subjected to a water quench or washing; therefore, the soluble salts never have been separated. Depending on the volume of these salts when deposited in a landfill, they could by themselves cause a significant deterioration of the groundwater, surface waters, or the land. Therefore. a leach test method that would also reveal abnormal salt concentrations in the waste could fulfill an additional important function. Washing the solids with water will remove most of these easily soluble solids from the waste, leading to a more dependable and repeatable test condition for a subsequent leach test. The wash waters, if separately collected and tested, will provide insight into the magnitude of the soluble salt content of the solids. Following this logic, a distinction can be made regarding the short-term leach results (wash water) and subsequently, based on a 24-h leach test, the long-term leachability of the solids.


Menengai is a trachytic central caldera volcano in the Kenya rift valley with abundant high-temperature geothermal activity. The field is currently in its initial stages of development for geothermal energy in Kenya following Olkaria and Eburru fields. Regional surface geology of Menengai is largely composed of late Quaternary volcanics. The building of a 200,000 year old trachyte shield volcano was followed by piecemeal subsidence through two paroxysmal eruptions 29,000 and 8,000 B.P to produce a caldera of about 84 km in size that has subsequently been largely filled by recent trachyte lavas. Twenty four exploration and production wells, some of them hotter than 390C, have been drilled in Menengai caldera by Geothermal Development Company (GDC). The aim of this study is to reveal the evolutionary history of the Menengai volcano and to describe its igneous lithostratigraphy and secondary mineralization in order to characterize hydrothermal processes within the field. Analytical methods used include binocular microscope analysis, petrographic analysis, X-ray Diffractometer analysis and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-ES) analysis. Studies of drill cutting from wells MW-02, MW-04, MW-06 and MW-07 have provided information on the stratigraphy, hydrothermal alteration and present state of the geothermal system. Petrochemistry of these wells revealed subsurface lithostratigraphy that includes, consolidated pyroclastic tuff, pyroclastics, basalt, trachybasalt, phonolite, trachy-andesite, syenitic intrusive units, while trachyte constitutes over 90% of the total. Reaction of geothermal fluids with the host rocks has resulted in a progressive hydrothermal alteration with increasing depth. A number of studies have recognized characteristic alteration zones at Menengai based on distribution of key index alteration minerals. These zones, in order of increasing alteration grade, are zeolitesmectite, quartz-illite and wollastonite-actinolite zone. The study reveals that Menengai evolved a complex compositional variation with time as a result of magma fractionation, possibly in combination with crustal contamination and hydrothermal activities en route to the surface. The study defines the geology of the Menengai into, post-caldera, syn-caldera, upper and lower pre-caldera volcanics. Petrography and mineral chemistry of the basaltic and trachytic end members of the Menengai rocks indicate that two or more distinct magma types were involved in the formation of the volcano. This study reveals that magma exists beneath the caldera floor, at depth slightly over 2000 m within the summit area. This is evidenced by fresh glassy, quenched cuttings at these depths in wells MW-04 and MW-06. This implies that the thickness of the geothermal reservoir above the magma-containing domain may be no more than 1.5 km from the hydrostatic surface at ~400 m.


Abstract. Many institutions struggle to tap into the potential of their large archives of radar reflectivity: these data are often affected by miscalibration, yet the bias is typically unknown and temporally volatile. Still, relative calibration techniques can be used to correct the measurements a posteriori. For that purpose, the usage of spaceborne reflectivity observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) platforms has become increasingly popular: the calibration bias of a ground radar (GR) is estimated from its average reflectivity difference to the spaceborne radar (SR). Recently, Crisologo et al. (2018) introduced a formal procedure to enhance the reliability of such estimates: each match between SR and GR observations is assigned a quality index, and the calibration bias is inferred as a quality-weighted average of the differences between SR and GR. The relevance of quality was exemplified for the Subic S-band radar in the Philippines, which is greatly affected by partial beam blockage. The present study extends the concept of quality-weighted averaging by accounting for path-integrated attenuation (PIA) in addition to beam blockage. This extension becomes vital for radars that operate at the C or X band. Correspondingly, the study setup includes a C-band radar that substantially overlaps with the S-band radar. Based on the extended quality-weighting approach, we retrieve, for each of the two ground radars, a time series of calibration bias estimates from suitable SR overpasses. As a result of applying these estimates to correct the ground radar observations, the consistency between the ground radars in the region of overlap increased substantially. Furthermore, we investigated if the bias estimates can be interpolated in time, so that ground radar observations can be corrected even in the absence of prompt SR overpasses. We found that a moving average approach was most suitable for that purpose, although limited by the absence of explicit records of radar maintenance operations.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship of locus of control, parental age, and state anxiety to parental coping and activities performed during hospitalization of a child in a pediatric critical care center.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional.

SETTING
Pediatric critical care center at a university medical center.

PARTICIPANTS
A convenience sample of 47 parents of 47 children hospitalized in a critical care center.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Parental coping strategies and activities performed during hospitalization in a critical care center.

RESULTS
Older, more self-directed and less anxious parents were found to use coping strategies focusing on problem solving rather than on their emotional response to a child's hospitalization. Further, those who used the problem-focused coping modes were more likely to be involved in caring for the child, while parents who used emotion-focused coping modes participated less in care activities.

CONCLUSIONS
Appropriate strategies to bolster coping and reduce stress of parents need to be constantly reassessed because coping mechanisms vary according to parental age, locus of control, anxiety level, and parental involvement in child-care activities. More research is needed in the changes of parental coping mechanisms with time and child-care activity, to assess the benefits of interventions planned to encourage a problem-focused approach.


Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells and is partly caused by deficiencies in the Foxp3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) compartment. Conversely, therapies that increase Treg function can prevent autoimmune diabetes in animal models. The majority of Tregs develop in the thymus (tTregs), but a proportion of Foxp3+ Tregs is generated in the periphery (pTregs) from Foxp3-CD4+ T cell precursors. Whether pTregs play a distinct role in T1D has not yet been explored. We report here that pTregs are a key modifier of disease in the nonobesed diabetic (NOD) mouse model for T1D. We generated NOD mice deficient for the Foxp3 enhancer CNS1 involved in pTreg induction. We show that CNS1 knockout decreased the frequency of pTregs and increased the risk of diabetes. Our results show that pTregs fulfill an important non-redundant function in the prevention of beta cell autoimmunity that causes T1D.


Cellular automata (CA) has been used in pseudorandom number generation for over a decade. Recent studies show that two-dimensional (2-D) CA pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) may generate better random sequences than conventional one-dimensional (1-D) CA PRNGs, but they are more complex to implement in hardware than 1-D CA PRNGs. In this paper, we propose a new class of 1-D CA - controllable cellular automata (CCA)-without much deviation from the structural simplicity of conventional 1-D CA. We first give a general definition of CCA and then introduce two types of CCA: CCA0 and CCA2. Our initial study shows that these two CCA PRNGs have better randomness quality than conventional 1-D CA PRNGs, but that their randomness is affected by their structures. To find good CCA0/CCA2 structures for pseudorandom number generation, we evolve them using evolutionary multiobjective optimization techniques. Three different algorithms are presented. One makes use of an aggregation function; the other two are based on the vector-evaluated genetic algorithm. Evolution results show that these three algorithms all perform well. Applying a set of randomness tests on the evolved CCA PRNGs, we demonstrate that their randomness is better than that of 1-D CA PRNGs and can be comparable to that of 2-D CA PRNGs.


AIM:To further investigate the effect of cyclin D1 on the biologic behavior of cancer cells and its potential role in gene therapy of tumor.METHODS:A cyclin D1 subcloning plasmid termed BKSD1 was constructed by subcloning the human cyclin D1 cDNA into Bluescript-KS, a plasmid vector with a pair of T7 and T3 promoters, with recombinant DNA technology of molecular biology. So,it is easy to generate digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled RNA probes of antisense and sense to cyclin D1 using RKSD1 as a template vector. PDORD1AS, an eukaryotic expression vector containing the full-length human cyclin D1 cDNA in its antisense orientation cloned into the retroviral vector pDOR-neo, was successfully constructed with BKSD1 to change restriction sites. A gastric cancer cell line, SGC7901/VCR, was transfected with pDORD1AS by Lipofect Amine-mediated introduction and a subline termed SGC7901/VCRD1AS, which had stable overexpression of antisense RNA to cyclin D1, was obtained by selection in G418. The subline, control subline transfected pDOR-neo and SGC7901/VCR were evaluated by methods of immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, molecular hybridization, morphology and cell biology.RESULTS:Compared with control cell lines, SGC7901/VCRD1AS had a reduced expression of cyclin D1 (inhibition rate was about 36%), increased cell size and cytoplasm to nucleus ratio, increased doubling time (42.2h to 26.8h and 26.4h), decreased saturation density (18.9X10(4) to 4.8X10(5) and 4.8X10(5)), increased percentage of cells in the G(1)/G(0) phase (80.9%-64.6% and 63.8%), reacquired serum dependence, and a loss of tumorigenicity in nude mice (0/4 to 4/4 and 4/4).CONCLUSION: Stable overexpression of antisense RNA to cyclin D1 can reverse the transformed phenotype of human gastric cancer cells and may provide an approach of gene therapy for gastric cancer.


Lung ultrasound (LUS) imaging is used to assess lung abnormalities, including the presence of B-line artefacts due to fluid leakage into the lungs caused by a variety of diseases. However, manual detection of these artefacts is challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology to automatically detect and localize B-lines in LUS videos using deep neural networks trained with weak labels. To this end, we combine a convolutional neural network (CNN) with a long short-term memory (LSTM) network and a temporal attention mechanism. Four different models are compared using data from 60 patients. Results show that our best model can determine whether one-second clips contain B-lines or not with an F1 score of 0.81, and extracts a representative frame with B-lines with an accuracy of 87.5%.


The authors determined (in vitro) the amino-acid composition and the enzymatic cleavage of protein and starch as well as (in vivo) the biological value of synthetic macaroni produced on the basis of casein, soybean protein and cotton-seed protein. The products based on casein and soybean protein have a great biological value. Cotton-seed protein has a toxic effect. The biological value of synthetic macaroni is mainly determined by the composition of the initial mixture. The processes of production and culinary processing exert no essential effects on protein content, amino-acid composition of the protein and enzymatic cleavage.


For the purpose of fabricating ferrite part with a complicated shape which has different orientation of the ferrite, joining of pre-formed green compacts was studied, and in particular the feasibility of combined sinter joining method was investigated. As the first step, two simple compacts of disk and ring shape have been individually produced under the non-magnetic field condition. The two compacts was assembled into a unit and then sintered at 1150°C and 1225°C. Effect of addition agent and sintering temperature on the joint strength of the the sintered compacts has been studied. The joint strength of the compacts sintered at 1225°C was about 2 times of that of the compacts sintered at 1150°C. The maximum joint strength was obtained when an inner disk with 0.75mass%CaO and an outer ring with 0.75mass%CuO was joined at sintering temperature of 1225°C.


The verification of social media content and sources are increasingly critical to journalists and news organisations. In this study, we report on findings from qualitative interviews conducted with 24 journalists working with social media in major news organisations in Europe. Our findings contribute to new knowledge on journalists' social media working practices. We find that social media content are often used as the primary news source, and journalists use several different verification strategies to verify social media content and sources. Journalists are also found to have various competences in verifying social media content, in particular visual content. Moreover, our study suggests user requirements for future innovations in tools to support the verification of social media content. To avoid trade-offs between verification and fast-paced publishing, journalists will need efficient and easy-to-use support both in the verification process and in structuring and organising an overwhelming amount of social media content.


The federal subminimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour and has been for over two decades. The rationale for the lower subminimum wage for tipped workers is the 'tip credit' provision which allows employers to use tips, provided by customers, as credit towards a workers regular minimum wage. As with the regular minimum wage there is state variation in the subminimum wage to exploit. A panel of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages from 1990q1 through 2012q3 is used to estimate earnings and employment effects of both minimum wages on limited- and full- service restaurants. Both wage floors indicate positive and statistically significant earnings effects for full-service restaurants but only on the minimum wage for limited-service restaurants. Employment estimates that include geographic controls that better account for unobserved heterogeneity are small and not distinguished from zero for the tipped wage -0.012 (-0.005) and the minimum wage -0.026 (-0.045) in the full (limited) service sector.


Four stable hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies specific for neutrophil proteinase 4 (NP4) were established and one monoclonal antibody was chosen to produce an immunoaffinity-resin for the purification of NP4. In a precipitation assay system these antibodies bound NP4 in a dose-dependent manner, but did so neither with neutrophil elastase nor with cathepsin G. NP4 was purified and electrophoresis of the affinity-purified enzyme in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels resulted in a single Mr = 30,000 polypeptide. The purified enzyme digested fibrin but not elastin and it cleaved Boc-Ala-ONp readily (Km = 0.47mM) at neutral pH, but had no effect on Suc-[Ala]3 Nan and N-Suc-[Ala]2-Pro-Phe-pNA. The proteolytic activity was inhibited by DFP, alpha 1 PI and alpha 2 M with a Ki of 10(-9)M for the NP4-alpha 1 PI complex. The NH2-terminal sequence and the amino-acid composition of NP4 were distinct from those of elastase and cathepsin G. Neutrophils contain large amounts of NP4 as judged by the comparable amounts of elastase- and NP4-alpha 1 PI complexes present in inflammatory exudates.


This multiple case study investigated a peer-based intervention and instruction (PBII) for social play, Play Time/Social Time (PT/ST), in four inclusive Swedish preschools. PT/ST contains 28 learning activities where children playfully practice six social skills with significance for social play and friendships. One teacher in each preschool was trained and instructed to implement PT/ST, two with coaching early in the implementation, and two without. At each preschool, one child with special educational needs (SEN) in social play (n = 4) and one or two socially skilled peers (n = 6) participated. The study aimed to explore how the teachers perceived the influence of PT/ST on social engagement and social play skills in the children with SEN, with/without coaching, and if PT/ST supported social play between the children with and without SEN. It also aimed to examine the feasibility of PT/ST and the influence on preschool inclusion quality in the preschools, with/without coaching. Observational assessments and video observations were used. The results indicate that PT/ST was beneficial for the children with SEN to engage in social play with peers and practice social skills, and for the preschool's inclusion quality regarding involvement in peer interactions and guidance in play, both with/without coaching for the teachers. However, the coaching strengthened the intervention fidelity. Social play occurred between the children with and without SEN in activities where they seemed similarly attracted by the toys and play materials and when they all could engage in the play goals, tasks, and roles. For this, they sometimes needed instructions and encouragement from the teachers.


Beef production based on suckler cow breeds is a relatively new production system in Norway as in most Nordic countries. To ensure the continuation of this production, profitable management practices designed for Norwegian conditions have to be established. Thus a simulation model was developed that integrates the daily feed intake, the daily live weight (LW) gain, silage net energy concentration for beef production (feed units beef (FUb) kg?1 dry matter) and price, concentrate level and price, and carcass price for bulls of the country's five most common beef breeds. In this work the model was combined with production statistics to find general recommendations in the finishing of beef bulls under Norwegian conditions. Among all the five breeds the Limousin bulls had the highest estimated mean daily return and the Hereford bulls the lowest estimated mean daily return from 20 g concentrate kg?1 LW0.75 for the 940 FUb kg?1 silage dry matter, and from 40 g concentrate kg?1 LW0.75 for the 800 FUb kg?1 silage dry matter. Our estimated optimal slaughter ages and carcass weights shows that it pays to more intensively feed during the finishing period for all five breeds. Current farming practice in Norway for the five major breeds studied is that slaughter age is at least two months later with lighter carcass weights than the results expected from following our model estimated recommendations.


Infection and expression of recombinant human adenovirus in mouse abdominal cavity was reported. After adenovirus vector Ad/RSV-beta-gal harboring the E. coli lacZ marker gene was injected into mice abdominal cavity, the peritoneal surface of jejunum, ileum, colon, uterus, liver, spleen, stomach, bladder, abdominal wall, diaphragm and testis was found large patches of lacZ-positive cells. But the adenovirus vector was not able to penetrate the peritoneum, as demonstrated by histochemical staining. Another adenovirus vector Ad/RSV-tk harboring the HSV-tk gene was injected into mouse abdominal cavity and the mouse was treated with ACV. No acute toxic reaction was observed. Based on these data, the feasibility of gene therapy of malignant tumor within abdominal cavity with adenovirus mediated TK/GCV system was discussed.


Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) devices are CMOS compatible with high stability, high reliability and non-volatility. A macro-model of MTJ with precessional switching is presented in this paper. This model is based on Spin-Transfer Torque (STT) writing approach. The current-induced magnetic switching and excitations was studied in structures comprising a perpendicularly magnetized polarizing layer (PL), an in-plane magnetized free layer (FL), and an in-plane magnetized analyzing layer (AL).


In the present article, we examine the word order of the late medieval Toscan dialect. The analysis is based on a corpus which dates back to the end of the 15th century, the Motti e facezie del Piovano Arlotto. First, we briefly present the word order of the late medieval Romance languages. Then we focus on the word order of the late medieval Toscan dialect and we show that all the characteristics observable in the medieval Romance languages (V2 phenomena, inversion, separation of the finite and non-finite for of the verb, etc.) are to be found also in our late medieval corpus. The apparently problematic case of the V1 order is given an account compatible with the old system (even though it assumes the presence of an adverb before the subject in the base order), and this account is also confirmed by examples which contain compound verb-forms.


Background The lack of adherence to antiretroviral therapy(ART) is the leading cause of treatment failure. The ART has all the factors to make difficult the adherence. The authors have applied a pharmaceutical care program with the purpose of evaluating patients adherence to ART by means of questioners and interviews, as well as improving it providing information and education about their illness and treatment. Purpose To evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical care program on adherence to ART and analyse the factors that affect it in a negative way. Materials and methods Ambispective experimental study, with a prospective phase of 12 months, comparing ART adherence in patients in a pharmaceutical care program(n=28) versus adherence in patients not included(n=24).Adherence was measured in the experimental group, using the SMAQ validated questionnaire(Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire) and by means of the dispensary data management system, and it was only measured retrospectively for this last method in the control group. The socio-economic factors together with the disease characteristics were obtained from medical records and through a validated questionnaire made by Gemma's group (Grupo Español para el Estudio Multifactorial de la Adherencia). After that, The authors evaluated their influence on adherence by using a multivariate model estimated on a binary logistic regression. Results The proportion of adherent patients was higher in the group who received pharmaceutical care (81.8%) than in the control group (68.4%)(p=0.058). It was also higher in the subgroup Q24 h for both groups, experimental (94.4%) and control (75%)(p=0.09).Considering the socio-economic variables dichotomous and binary, adhesion ratio was lower in patients who had children (p=0.045), with low education leve l (p=0.001), injecting-drug (p=0.000), smoking (p=0.000), alcohol (p=0.002) and methadone users (p=0.000),those who live with another HIV positive person (p=0.003) or who had HIV positive friends (p=0.024). Conclusions Our pharmaceutical care program was able to increase the number of adherent patients. Given the negative influence of the social economic factors on adherence here described, it would be desirable to implement new strategies to improve adherence based on psycho-educational programs for these patients.


This paper presents the ongoing work of the lexicography team at an Australian university in developing electronic dictionaries for languages undergoing reclamation. We are currently working with Kaurna Warra Pintyandi and the Dharug Language Group to produce electronic dictionaries for speakers of Kaurna and Dharug respectively. Both languages are no longer spoken and are being reclaimed from written sources from the nineteenth century. Our work requires collecting and presenting archival records of the languages as well as new written material and related multimedia data, such as sound files of words being spoken and pictures. We have had to develop our own file formats for storing this information in a structured and stable manner. We have used XML and developed our own document type for these dictionaries. The main piece of software that we have used to present the dictionaries is the Kirrkirr dictionary visualisation program (http://nlp.stanford.edu/kirrkirr/, accessed on 30/9/08). We have also begun development our own software for presenting electronic dictionaries on mobile phones (http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/2008/07/mobile_phone_dictionaries.html , accessed on 30/9/08). Proof of concept versions of the software have already been implemented and work on improving the efficiency and user friendliness of the software is ongoing. In this paper we will discuss the methods we have developed to create electronic dictionaries for languages undergoing reclamation. We will also look at the software we have developed for presenting electronic dictionaries. We will show that our methods and software can be used in other language documentation and conservation situations.