Interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles are involved in autoregulation of renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The question of whether the contractile mesangial cells are also involved in autoregulation was investigated in Wistar rats. Autoregulation of RBF was examined before and 1 h after infusion of antithymocyte (anti-Thy 1-1) antibodies, and both RBF and GFR autoregulation were examined 30 h after the infusion of antibodies. Mesangial cell destruction was present 30 h after the infusion of antibodies. The angiotensin II-induced contraction of isolated glomeruli (70% of control volume, P less than 0.001) was abolished after the glomeruli had been exposed to anti-Thy 1-1 in vitro. RBF, as well as the lower limit of RBF autoregulation, were not different from control 30 h after the infusion (82 +/- 5 vs. 79 +/- 4 mmHg, P greater than 0.10). Autoregulation of GFR was maintained in the control group but was restricted in the experimental group (autoregulatory index: 0.71 +/- 0.42 for left kidney, 0.02 +/- 0.35 for control; P less than 0.05). The afferent arteriolar diameter was unchanged 30 h after the infusion of antibodies (17.8 +/- 0.8 vs. 17.6 +/- 0.4 microns, P greater than 0.10). One hour after infusion of the antibodies, RBF autoregulation was normal. It is concluded that mesangial cells do not seem to be involved in RBF autoregulation, but may in part influence autoregulation of GFR during pressure reduction.


The demand for electrical power is increasing constantly for several applications due to its flexibility and efficiency. The utilities are unable to cope up with this requirement from the existing captive generation using conventional sources. The recent liberalization policy encourages exploring Independent Power Production (IPP) avenues and use of renewable energy sources. Hence attention must be turned to generate power from locally available resources like biogas, solar, wind, biodiesel, micro hydro etc. The power available is fluctuating when all the above are implemented as standalone system. But the integrated operation of all these sources leads to a reliable, robust and cost effective system to provide sustainable power. The paper discusses the task involved in design, implementation of standalone sy stems and integration of the renewable energy sources. The design of power electronic circuitry for superior and trouble free performance is a challenging engineering issue. The simulation study of standalone hybrid grid is carried out to confirm the integration of the sources and is validated by the simulation results.


towards term. The peak-systolic velocity increased from mean 59 to 71 cm/s during the weeks 21–31 and remained stable until term. The diastolic velocity showed a continuous increase from 31 cm/s at 21 weeks to 43 cm/s at 40 weeks. The pulsatility index for veins decreased from 0.57 at 21 weeks to 0.44 at 40 weeks. Terms for individually conditioned observations modify the reference ranges when used for serial measurements. Conclusion: The new reference ranges reflect the development of the ductus venosus blood velocities and velocity indices during the second half of pregnancy and are thus appropriate for the serial measurements required when monitoring growth-restricted fetuses.


Multi-stakeholder contracting for coaching takes place in organisational settings worldwide. This article presents the results and implications of an international study which explored its use in executive and business coaching, with the aim of sharing best practice and achieving maximum value for all participants. Respondents (n=651) were recruited through major coaching bodies (AC, EMCC and ICF), Coaching at Work magazine and other organisations. A web-based survey in 2014 of executive and business coaches, organisations and clients found considerable agreement among participants on the impact, benefit and challenges of multi-stakeholder contracting. Collated suggestions are included to maximise effectiveness for all parties involved.


People typically explain others' behaviors by attributing them to the beliefs and motives of an unobservable mind. Although such attributional inferences are critical for understanding the social world, it is unclear whether they rely on processes distinct from those used to understand the nonsocial world. In the present study, we used functional MRI to identify brain regions associated with making attributions about social and nonsocial situations. Attributions in both domains activated a common set of brain regions, and individual differences in the domain-specific recruitment of one of these regions—the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC)—correlated with attributional accuracy in each domain. Overall, however, the DMPFC showed greater activation for attributions about social than about nonsocial situations, and this selective response to the social domain was greatest in participants who reported the highest levels of social expertise. We conclude that folk explanations of behavior are an expert use of a domain-general cognitive ability.


Motivated by the phenomenon that some retailers with high-end brand images, such as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, prefer to hinder consumers from sharing information through online reviews, we study an online retailer's strategy of hindering or facilitating consumer information sharing in a supply chain and its dependence on the retailer's brand image and target consumer segment. To capture the dynamics of consumer information sharing, we employ a two-period model in which consumers, with heterogeneous valuation of a product, arriving in the first period make purchase decisions based on the retailer's brand image and can find out the product quality only after their purchase, and consumers arriving in the second period learn about the product quality from the first-period consumers if the online retailer's website facilitates information sharing among consumers. We find that a high-end retailer is likely to benefit from hindering information sharing among consumers because hindering information enables the high-end retailer to induce all consumers to purchase. Such a target strategy prevents the manufacturer from extracting all of the profit from the retailer, as compared to a target strategy where the retailer only sells to consumers with high levels of willingness to pay. We also show that, interestingly, the retailer's dominant consumer information sharing strategy often benefits the supply chain when the product quality is exogenously determined. However, when the product quality is endogenous, the retailer's dominant consumer information sharing strategy can hurt the supply chain. Surprisingly, deterring consumers from learning about a product's true quality may generate more consumer surplus. Our work sheds light on the retailer's information sharing strategy by taking into account the target consumer segment as well as the interaction with upstream manufacturers.


In this paper, the challenges are described in determination of compressive strength for three-dimensional (3D) angle-interlocked glass fabric-reinforced polymeric composites (3D-FRPCs). It makes use of both experimental investigation and finite-element analysis. The experimental investigation involved testing both two dimensional (2D) and 3D-FRPC using ASTM D6641/D6641M-14 and subsequent scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging of failed specimens to reveal the stress state at failure. This was further evaluated using laminate level finite-element (FE) analysis. The FE analysis required input of effective orthotropic elastic material properties of 3D-FRPC, which were determined by customizing a recently developed micro-mechanical model. The paper sheds new light on compressive failure of 3D angle-interlocked glass fabric composites, as only scarce data is available in literature about this class of materials. It showed that although the tests produce acceptable strength values the internal failure mechanisms change significantly and the standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variance (COV) of 3D-FRPC ends up being much higher than that of 2D-FRPC. Moreover, while reporting and using the test data, some additional information about the 3D-fabric architecture, such as the direction of angle interlocking fabric, needs to be specified. This was because, for 3D angle interlocking of fabric along the warp direction, the strength values obtained in the warp and weft direction were significantly different from each other. The study also highlights that, because of complex weave architecture, it is not possible to achieve comparable volume fractions with 2D and 3D fabric-reinforced composites using similar manufacturing parameters for the vacuum-assisted resin-infusion process. Thus, the normalized compressive strength values (normalized with respect to volume fraction) are the highest for 3D-FRPC when measured along the warp direction, they are at an intermediate level for 2D-FRPC and the lowest for 3D-FRPC, when measured in the weft direction.


Objective: The objective was to examine practices of primary care physicians and its determinants towards prostate cancer screening. Methods: Data was obtained from 204 primary care physicians using self-reports of prostate cancer screening practices, knowledge, attitudes towards prostate cancer screening. Results: nearly half of the respondent (54.7%) were practicing counseling and referring prostate cancer patients. The mean correct knowledge score was 54.3%, their attitude was not strong; the only statement that nearly seventy percent of physicians agreed upon was about the value of screening, however, the reliability and evidence to support DRE & PSA were in question. Knowledge and attitude were found to be the most significant predictors that determine physicians' self practice. Conclusion: Background information and attitudes are important determinants of physicians' practice behavior towards prostate cancer counseling and referral in our study.


The light reflected from planets is polarized mainly due to Rayleigh scattering, but starlight is normally unpolarized. Thus it provides an approach to enhance the imaging contrast by inducing the imaging polarimetry technique. In this paper, we propose a high-contrast imaging polarimeter that is optimized for the direct imaging of exoplanets, combined with our recently developed stepped-transmission filter based coronagraph. Here we present the design and calibration method of the polarimetry system and the associated test of its high-contrast performance. In this polarimetry system, two liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs) act as a polarization modulator, which can extract the polarized signal. We show that our polarimeter can achieve a measurement accuracy of about 0.2% at a visible wavelength (632.8 nm) with linearly polarized light. Finally, the whole system demonstrates that a contrast of 10−9 at 5λ/D is achievable, which can be used for direct imaging of Jupiter-like planets with a space telescope.


In the last ten years (2009-2019), flooding caused the death of over 48,000 people, and affected over 697 million people globally. This is expected to increase as a result of climate change, population growth and urbanisation. Floods can cause infections due to the release of water-borne pathogens from surcharged combined sewers and other sources of faecal contamination on urban surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, gravel, pavement, playground rubber tiles and grass. Using laboratory experiments with faecal indicator bacteria Escherichia coli, and with Bacillus subtilis spores, and MS2 bacteriophages under controlled exposure to simulated sunlight, this research contributes towards a better understanding of the environmental parameters that affect the concentration of pathogens in contaminated shallow water bodies and on different urban surfaces. Also, several sampling methods are assessed for the recovery of bacteria from flood-prone urban surfaces. This study suggests that given the sunlight conditions after an urban flood, the concentration of indicator organisms and of total suspended solids and the surface type it is possible to estimate the fate of selected pathogens. The observations and results presented in this study contribute to the development of policy-making tools for rapid implementation of appropriate measures to mitigate public health risks after flooding.


ASME SA-213 T91 tubes and SA-335 P91 pipes were widely used in combined-cycle steam systems due to their greater increased temperature strength and creep behavior. In this paper, a practical and selective spectrophotometric method for the determination of molybdenum in ASME SA-213 T91 tube and SA-335 P91 pipe samples has been presented. This method was based on the chromogenic reaction between molybdenum(V) and sodium thiocyanate. Employing stannous chloride as a reductant, molybdenum(VI) was reduced to molybdenum(V) at the room temperature. The obtained molybdenum(V) formed an orange-red-colored (1:5) ligand complex with thiocyanate. The absorbance of the complex was measured at 470nm, and the molar extinction coefficient is 1.75´104L·mol-1·cm-1. Under the optimum reaction conditions the absorption value was proportional to the concentration of molybdenum in the range of 0.40~1.21%, and the relative standard deviation was less than 3.0%. The proposed method was free from the interference from a large number of analytical important elements and has been applied satisfactorily to the determination of molybdenum in grade T91 tube and P91 pipe samples with the improved accuracy and precision.


I am privileged to have the opportunity to speak to this august audience of distinguished development economists very briefly, on what I have called the 'Triad of Governance, Devolution and National Prosperity'. This, triad, I believe, lies at the heart of what constitutes the theme of this conference, namely 'Institutional Change, Growth and Poverty'. The National Reconstruction Bureau which I was privileged to create and lead for all the three years of General Musharraf's tenure as Chief Executive of Pakistan, was meant to transtate into reality the vision we crystallised for addressing the persistent failure of the institutions of state to provide solutions to the ever growing political, administrative, financial, judicial and social problems that the people of Pakistan faced since independence. The vision was 'Reconstruction of the Institutions of State for Establishing Genuine and Sustainable Democracy to ensure Durable Good Governance for an Irreversible Transfer of Power to the People of Pakistan as soon as possible'. I will first give you a fleeting birds eye view of the wide spectrum over which our National Reconstruction endeavour in pursuit of this vision was spread. In the second part of this talk, which will contain the core of what I want to put across today, I will talk about financial devolution of the state. The third part of my talk will deal briefly with the burning issue of what we should do for turning our common citizens' poverty into prosperity


This study examines the relation between risk-based tax audit strategies and corporate tax avoidance. We exploit OECD data across 54 countries on risk profiling, predictive modeling, and internal intelligence functions in tax administrations from 2014 to 2017 to investigate whether risk-based tax audits have an incremental effect on tax avoidance beyond enforcement. Our results suggest that the use of risk-based tax audits is associated with lower tax avoidance when controlling for tax enforcement, firm-specific, and country-specific factors. Cross-sectional tests indicate that risk-based tax audit strategies are effective tools to curb tax avoidance across firms of all sizes. The results of additional cross-sectional analyses indicate that risk-based tax audits are more effective in countries with low governance quality, high GDP, and low trust in governments. In additional tests, we use country-level data on tax administration performance and find evidence that countries with a risk-based audit strategy have lower costs of tax enforcement and improve the performance of tax authorities. Overall, our findings indicate that risk-based tax audit strategies have an incremental effect on attenuating firms' tax avoidance and increasing tax revenue.


The results of direct pressure measurements are described which demonstrate that pressures in a certain fraction of mesenteric capillaries remain remarkably constant during large changes in systemic pressure. The results of isogravimetric studies, reported in the literature, are also described which indicate that this phenomenon may also occur in the intestine. The question is raised whether capillary pressures may therefore be regulated. Pressures recorded from mesenteric arterioles and capillaries are shown which indicate that maintenance of a constant capillary pressure is primarily the consequence of the vascular architecture peculiar to this tissue, and is merely a secondary reflection of mechanisms associated with flow regulation. The results of direct pressure measurements recorded in the microcirculation of intestinal muscle are also shown. These data indicate that capillary pressures in innervated, denervated, and xylocaine-treated intestinal muscle change in direct proportion to variations in arterial pressure. It is concluded that capillary pressures in the intestinal muscle layers are therefore not regulated, so that the observation that capillary pressures may be maintained is probably a phenomenon unique to the mesentery. Pressures recorded from capillaries in the mucosal villi are also shown and compared to capillary pressures measured in the microvasculature of mesentery and intestinal muscle. When systemic pressure was normal (107 +/- 10 mm Hg), capillary pressure in the mesentery averaged 30 to 33 mm Hg; capillary pressures in the intestinal muscle averaged 22 to 24 mm Hg; and capillary pressures in the mucosal villi averaged 13 to 15 mm Hg. These data suggest that mesenteric capillaries are primarily a filtering network; intestinal muscle capillaries are normally in fluid balance; whereas at rest mucosal capillaries are primarily absorptive. These pressures, recorded from the three major regions of the rat intestine, were used to calculate a weighted average for the whole organ. The calculated value, based on assumed values for relative capillary densities, was 17 mm Hg. This result compares favorably with data from whole organ, isogravimetric studies, and may clarify some of the apparent discrepancies between previous isogravimetric and servopressure studies.


Abstract. The rugged submarine topography of the Azores supports a diverse heterozoan association resulting in intense biotically-controlled carbonate-production and accumulation. In order to characterise this cold-water (C) factory a 2-year experiment was carried out in the southern Faial Channel to study the biodiversity of hardground communities and for budgeting carbonate production and degradation along a bathymetrical transect from the intertidal to bathyal 500 m depth. Seasonal temperatures peak in September (above a thermocline) and bottom in March (stratification diminishes) with a decrease in amplitude and absolute values with depth, and tidal-driven short-term fluctuations. Measured seawater stable isotope ratios and levels of dissolved nutrients decrease with depth, as do the calcium carbonate saturation states. The photosynthetic active radiation shows a base of the euphotic zone in ~70 m and a dysphotic limit in ~150 m depth. Bioerosion, being primarily a function of light availability for phototrophic endoliths and grazers feeding upon them, is ~10 times stronger on the illuminated upside versus the shaded underside of substrates in the photic zone, with maximum rates in the intertidal (−631 g/m2/yr). Rates rapidly decline towards deeper waters where bioerosion and carbonate accretion are slow and epibenthic/endolithic communities take years to mature. Accretion rates are highest in the lower euphotic zone (955 g/m2/yr), where the substrate is less prone to hydrodynamic force. Highest rates are found – inversely to bioerosion – on down-facing substrates, suggesting that bioerosion may be a key factor governing the preferential settlement and growth of calcareous epilithobionts on down-facing substrates. In context of a latitudinal gradient, the Azores carbonate cycling rates plot between known values from the cold-temperate Swedish Kosterfjord and the tropical Bahamas, with a total range of two orders in magnitude. Carbonate budget calculations for the bathymetrical transect yield a mean 266.9 kg of epilithic carbonate production, −54.6 kg of bioerosion, and 212.3 kg of annual net carbonate production per metre of coastline in the Azores C factory.


As a result of normal maturation or after reduction in renal mass, renal blood flow (RBF) progressively increases. However, the effects of renal growth on the relationship of RBF to renal perfusion pressure (RPP) have not been systematically investigated. We examined RBF as a function of RPP in anesthetized young and adult rats that had been subjected to uninephrectomy or sham operation 3-4 wk previously. As a result of normal growth, mean arterial blood pressure increased from 94.1 +/- 2.7 (SE) to 118.9 +/- 4.2 mmHg. The calculated autoregulation factor, in which a value less than 1 indicates the presence of autoregulation, was 0.44 +/- 0.10 over RPP 70-100 mmHg and 1.74 +/- 0.25 over RPP 40-70 mmHg in sham-operated young animals. In adult sham-operated rats, the factor was 0.38 +/- 0.07 over RPP 100-130 mmHg and 1.03 +/- 0.07 over RPP 70-100 mmHg. Uninephrectomy in adults resulted in a 30% rise in RBF over RPP 100-130 mmHg, and there was no change in the autoregulation factor. Uninephrectomy in young rats, however, resulted in a 35% rise in RBF at RPP = 100 mmHg with only a 17% rise at RPP = 70 mmHg, and the autoregulation factor increased to 0.91 +/- 0.10 over this range of RPP. We conclude that the autoregulatory range shifts with increasing blood pressure during normal growth and that autoregulation is "reset" to higher RBF in the uninephrectomized adult rat. Although autoregulation takes place in the young animal, uninephrectomy alters the relationship of RBF to RPP such that autoregulation is impaired.


Bridge managers all over the world are always looking for simple ways to measure bridge vertical displacements for structural health monitoring. However, traditional methods to obtain such data are either tedious or expensive. There is a need to develop a simple, inexpensive, and yet practical method to measure bridge vertical displacements. This paper proposes two methods using either optical fiber (FBG) sensors or a charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera, respectively, for vertical displacement measurements of bridges. The FBG sensor method is based on the measured horizontal strains together with the identified curvature functions obtained by a self-developed FBG Tilt sensor. CCD cameras use a large number of pixels to form an image. The CCD camera method utilizes image processing techniques for pixel identification and subsequent edge detection. A preliminary study to validate the proposed methods in laboratory was presented. The tests include applying the methods to determine the vertical displacements separately for a concrete beam and a steel beam under various loadings. The comparisons include their installations, costs, degrees of accuracy, external factors affecting the measurement, etc. It was concluded that both methods could be used for vertical displacement measurement, and they could be complementary with one another. It was suggested to further improve the two methods developed and a successful outcome will not only help to solve an important problem for bridge management, but also prepare the way for better structural health monitoring techniques.


Malay language is the major language that is in used by citizen of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. As the language is widely used, there are abundant of text or articles in Malay language are available on the internet. This result in the increasing of the articles in Malay language and the number of articles has increased greatly over the years. Thus, the studies for topic selection for Malay articles are very important in order to help clustering the articles into their respective class. In this paper, the approach used was the k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) classifier and Naïve Bayes classifier. Both classifier was used to classify and assign a topic to the documents according to a predefined topic sets. The approach will be tested by comparing the effects of using different distance method which is the Cosine Similarity and the Euclidean distance on the k-NN classifier. Other than that, the effect of stemming on the classifier and the different values of k used for the kNN classifier were also tested. In conclusion, the proposed approach had shown that the k-NN classifier performs better than Naïve Bayes classifier in performing topic selection for Malay articles. Other than that, the stemming also improves the overall performances of both the classifier in the proposed approach. The findings also show that the application of Cosine Similarity as the distance measure improve the performance of the k-NN classifier too.


The phase behavior for a series of poly(1,4-isoprene-b-DL-lactide) diblock copolymers characterized by a relatively large Flory–Huggins segment–segment interaction parameter (χ) and low degrees of polymerization (N) over a range of compositions was reported. Ordered-state morphologies were deduced from small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements, and χ(T) was determined from order-disorder transition temperatures (TODT's) associated with the compositionally symmetric specimens and assuming the mean-field theory, that is, (χN)ODT=10.5. The ODT was determined by differential scanning calorimetry, SAXS, and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, and shown to be weakly first-order, with latent heats of transition that vary strongly with composition. We interpret this behavior in terms of the mean and Gauss interfacial curvature of the ordered-state morphologies and with respect to composition fluctuations in the disordered state. These results offer a fresh strategy for investigating weakly first-order phase transitions within the Brazovskii universality class. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3502–3513, 2013


Abstract: Riouxgolvania kapapkamui sp. n. (Nematoda: Muspiceoidea: Muspiceidae), a peculiar intradermal parasite, is described based on gravid adults, eggs, and first-, second-, and third-stage larvae collected from dermal nodules formed in Myotis macrodactylus and Myotis ikonnikovi bats from Hokkaido, Japan. The nematode is readily distinguished from 3 previously described congeners in having a globular body with brown, transverse striae in the anterior region of fully grown females. The third-stage larva is also distinguished from other congeners by having a round tail end. Nucleotide sequences of the analyzed partial SSU rDNA-ITS1 region and partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 of mtDNA showed greater similarity to chromadoreans rather than to enopleans. This is the first report of muspiceoid nematodes from Asia.


The influences of the substitution of (Zn1/3Nb2/3) group for Ti as well as addition of Fe2O3 and K2CO3 on d33, kp, εr, and tgδ of the Pb[Zr0.46Ti0.54-x(Zn1/3Nb2/3)x]O3 + y mol%Fe2O3+z mol%K2CO3 (PZNPZT) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.10, 0 ≤ z ≤ 0.20) ceramics were investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that when x increases in Pb[Zr0.46Ti0.54-x(Zn1/3Nb2/3)x]O3+0.3 mol%Fe2O3+0.5mol%K2CO3 ceramics, the d33, kp, εr, and tgδ increase and approach to their maximum values, then eventually decrease. XRD analysis revealed that the perovskite structure of the materials transfers from tetragonal phase to rhombohedral phase. The relative dielectric constant (εr) decreases dramatically in the rhombohedral phase area near the MPB; the d33 and εr decrease with the small amount of added Fe2O3 and K2CO3, which also contributes to densification of the PZN-PZT ceramics. The optimized piezoelectric performances through the experiment were obtained as d33=280 pC/N, kp=0.62, εr=900, tgδ=0.003.


Targeting intracellular signaling molecules is an attractive approach for treatment of malignancies. In particular lung cancer has reached a plateau regarding overall survival, and target therapies could offer the possibility to improve patients' outcome beyond cytotoxic activity. The goal for target therapies is to identify agents that target tumor-specific molecules, thus sparing normal tissues; those molecules are called biomarkers, and their identification is recommended because it has a predictive value, for example, provides information on outcome with regard to a specific treatment. The increased specificity should lead to decreased toxicity and better activity. Herein we provide an update of the main target therapies in development or already available for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer.


Martha Griffith filed suit in 1794 against the executors of her late husband's estate. His will had left her a large, waterfront plantation on Swan Creek for the remainder of her life, but she wanted more. The suit demanded a large share of the family's working capital, specifically, livestock, supplies, farm equipment, and the slave labor force that made plantations prosperous in those times. The people and property involved in this case were for the most part members of a closely knit Harford County community, but the legal battle and its outcome had some larger implications.The decision in Griffith v. Griffith's Executors, rendered by the General Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeals, constitutes a significant piece of the legal history of early America. First, it re-established the undisputed rights of Maryland widows to a share of both the real and personal property of their deceased husbands. Second, it forced leading judges and lawyers in Maryland to undertake a deep historical and logical analysis of the authority of British legal precedents. What law would apply in cases where post-Revolutionary Maryland legislation was unclear? Third, the judgment silently affirmed that slaves in Maryland fell under the regime of personal property with respect to inheritance.The events surrounding the suit are particularly revealing of how law in action affected women with respect to inheritance and property. Despite many inequalities that affected women under the old common law in early Maryland, women had a dear legal right to own property and to use the courts of law to secure their rights, A widow's right to a reasonable share of her husband's property extended back into Anglo-Saxon times, and was one of the guarantees written into the Magna Carta. "Dower" is the old common law name for a widow's share. Customarily dower consisted of the use of and profit from one third of the deceased husband's real estate for the widow's lifetime, and one third of his personal estate after his debts were paid, But dower could also be fixed by a formal agreement.


Arthur Geoffrey Walker was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 17 July 1909, and attended Watford Grammar School, from where he won in 1928 an Open Mathematical Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. There, his tutor was John William Nicholson FRS, who had been a professor at King's College, London, and was one of the first mathematical physicists to relate quantum theory to atomic spectra. However, in the late 1920s he was suffering from a psychiatric illness and in 1930 was hospitalized, so that Walker had to study on his own a great deal. This perhaps influenced his subsequent method of working on mathematics, which he normally did in the privacy of his room rather than in active consultation with others. He obtained a Second in Moderations, but in 1930 won a Junior Mathematical Exhibition and in 1931 took a First with a Distinction in the special subject of differential geometry, which was to become his life's work. Eisenhart's book Riemannian geometry (Eisenhart 1926) became his bible and he continually referred to it in many of his papers.


As a communication vehicle among stakeholders, software architecture gives the entire view of the system's major components, the behaviour of those components as visible to the rest of the system, and the ways in which these components interact and coordinate to achieve the system's goal. The architecture determines the non-functional attributes of software systems that are built into quality models. In this paper we consider the performance attribute of a system. Most performance quality models have been developed and proved quantitatively. This paper approaches performance issues qualitatively using a proposed developed performance quality model called Software Architecture Scenario-Based Performance Quality Model (SASPUM). The validity of the model characterized into three categories: stimuli, architectural decisions, and responses, can be tested on any existing software architecture using the performance Assessment of Software Architecture (PASA) and the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM).


Aided by the increasing ease of use, lower adoption cost, and higher network benefits, in recent times consumers have demonstrated a strong propensity to concurrently use competing firms' products or services. Depending on their relative preference for a firm, such "multi-homing" consumers may adopt each firm partially, and therefore not fully contribute to network benefits of a firm as in the case of single-homing. A consumer's level of adoption of competing products is a key feature of multi-homing, which, while observed widely in practice, has not been studied in the literature. Through a series of analytical models, we demonstrate the important role of this construct in the pricing and capability related decisions of competing firms. Our results provide several new insights, which suggest that, as multi-homing (M) settings become common across industries, technology strategists and managers should exercise caution against simply extrapolating insights from single-homing (S) settings, where consumers adopt only one firm, or from M settings, where the level of adoption is not accounted for. Specifically, in markets where competing products are not well differentiated, contrary to intuition, we find that under price competition, a firm's profit can be hurt by high levels of adoption by multihoming consumers; further, in markets where prices are inflexible, a firm with a higher level of adoption can succeed even with a lower level of capability innovation relative to that in an S setting. In contrast to single-homing, we show that a firm in M settings needs to mitigate uncertainty regarding network benefits, if the level of adoption is low. Finally, we explore the role of the level of adoption in two-sided markets and demonstrate that if one-side does not have a strong preference for a platform, then, contrary to prevailing wisdom, the latter need not strongly subsidize the other side of the market.


We discuss the computation of the Higgs boson decay amplitude to two photons through the W-loop using dispersion relations. The imaginary part of the form factor F_W(s) that parametrizes this decay is unambiguous in four dimensions. When it is used to calculate the unsubtracted dispersion integral, the finite result for the form factor F_W(s) is obtained. However, the F_W(s) obtained in this way differs by a constant term from the result of a diagrammatic computation, based on dimensional regularization. It is easy to accommodate the missing constant by writing a once-subtracted dispersion relation for F_W(s) but it is unclear why the subtraction needs to be done. The goal of this paper is to investigate this question in detail. We show that the correct constant can be recovered within a dispersive approach in a number of ways that, however, either require an introduction of an ultraviolet regulator or unphysical degrees of freedom; unregulated and unsubtracted computations in the unitary gauge are insufficient, in spite of the fact that such computations give a finite result.


This experimental work aims to show that the Q factor value is an experimental parameter of great importance to access different soft materials properties with a dynamic Atomic Force Microscope. Two dynamic modes have been compared, amplitude modulation, usually called Tapping mode, and the frequency modulation mode. With Tapping, at low or intermediate Q values, the images mostly contain mechanical information. At very high Q values, more than 104, obtained in a vacuum, the experiments performed on a polyisoprene sample show that a pure topographic image can be recorded with Tapping, but not with frequency modulation. For large enough Q values, even on a very soft sample, images in which only topographic information is revealed can be obtained and are in agreement with theoretical predictions.


The study focuses on empirically examining the relationship of talent management (TM) on employee performance and quit intention.  Further, by taking into account business strategy, the research also culls out the sequential mediation effect of talent management and employee engagement on employee work-related outcomes in the banking sector of Pakistan. Data were analyzed by employing Smart PLS (v.3.2.7) to empirically examine the conceptual model on 1095 talented employees, which were part and parcel of the Banking Sector of Pakistan. The core findings of the research paper are that the talent management practices have a positive impact upon the working of employees as well as quit intentions. Additionally, the study deduced that engagement at employees' level might contribute partially as a mediation role in between employee work outcomes and talent management. The study employed cross-sectional one-time data collection, therefore its generalizability is suggested as limited with its scope. Human Resource personnel and OB practitioners can create a positive workplace culture in the organization by implementing talent management practices. The study makes value addition in the existing literature of talent management and explore new variable, which is affected by talent management.


This essay addresses a fundamental issue underlying the Supreme Court's consideration of Univ. of Texas S.W. Med. Center v. Nassar, namely the parameters of the factual causation standard applicable in disparate treatment cases. This essay also addresses a previously unrecognized area of agreement between the plurality and dissent in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins that can resolve the factual causation issue underlying Nassar. The Court's most recent pronouncement on this issue, in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, has led to confusion as defendants and courts have interpreted Gross to require sole factual causation for the plaintiff to prevail. Yet, sole causation is inherently absurd as every occurrence has a virtually infinite number of factual causes. Nassar provides the Court with a golden opportunity to eliminate the causal confusion that followed Gross and replace it with causal coherence. To do so, this essay argues, the Court should explicitly adopt the unrecognized factual causation standard from Price Waterhouse: that but-for causation in the disparate treatment context is established when the employer's consideration of a protected trait was a necessary element of the set of factors that caused the decision.


Large area low-cost patterning is a challenging problem in graphene research. A resist-free, single-step, large area and cost effective soft lithographic patterning strategy is presented for graphene. The technique is applicable on any arbitrary substrate that needs to be covered with a graphene film and provides a viable route to large-area patterning of graphene for device applications.


Breasts and buttocks are unique to humans and are not found in other primates. Hominids evolved in the arid climate east of the African Rift Valley. The present thesis proposes that buttocks and breasts developed in the naked ape as energy stores that do not interfere with cutaneous heat exchange. A larger energy store was required by the gestating and nursing human female waiting for provision of food by the male. Women's specific fat stores (breasts, buttocks, and thighs) are a prerequisite for fertility, and because they characterize the female and signal her fertility, they are used as sexual attractants.


We present three cases, a 25-year-old woman, a 52-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman, in whom paternal discrepancy (PD) adversely influenced genetic counselling. PD, with an estimated prevalence between 2% and 3%, occurs when a child is identified as being biologically fathered by someone other than the man who believes he is the father. The discovery of PD during genetic testing can cause health problems and psychosocial damage, and can increase costs, as illustrated by our three cases. Opinions vary about whether or not to disclose this sensitive information, and we recommend being as straightforward as possible, while trying to minimize any harm caused. Since genetic techniques that identify PD are improving and increasingly applied, health care providers must be prepared to deal with issues of this nature.


The nanocomposites based on poly (styrene-b-ethylene butylene-b-styrene) (SEBS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were prepared and electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. SEBS is a block copolymer showing microphase separated morphologies and can be a matrix polymer for double percolation of MWNTs in nanocomposites. In order to facilitate the dispersion of MWNTs, pristine MWNTs were reduced with Li into anions and sulfonation of SEBS to prepare sulfonated SEBS (S-SEBS) was carried out. Furthermore, we have added poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) to SEBS or S-SEBS and investigated properties of the nanocomposites based on the MWNTs, SEBS, and PSSA. Nanocomposites based on S-SEBS, PSSA, and the modified MWNTs showed threshold decrease of electrical resistivity due to the percolation of MWNTs at a lower content of the MWNTs compared with those based on SEBS, PSSA, and the MWNTs. The efficient percolation of the MWNTs in the nanocomposites of S-SEBS and PSSA is attributed to interactions between ionic moieties of MWNTs and S-SEBS and fine dispersion of the MWNTs. It was worthwhile to notice that the addition of PSSA into S-SEBS resulted in the decrease of the critical concentration of MWNTs (Pc) for the percolation in the nanocomposites. It is postulated that the decrease of Pc resulted from a double percolation of MWNTs by preferred location in sulfonated polystyrene phases of microphase separated S-SEBS in the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites based on S-SEBS showed large improvement of Young's modulus compared with the nanocomposites based on SEBS.


The LOCKSS project has developed and deployed in a world-wide test a peer-to-peer system for preserving access to journals and other archival information published on the Web. It consists of a large number of independent, low-cost, persistent web caches that cooperate to detect and repair damage to their content by voting in "opinion polls." Based on this experience, we present a design for and simulations of a novel protocol for voting in systems of this kind. It incorporates rate limitation and intrusion detection to ensure that even some very powerful adversaries attacking over many years have only a small probability of causing irrecoverable damage before being detected.


BACKGROUND
The results of the few studies conducted on the relation between antioxidant vitamins and carotid atherosclerosis have been inconclusive.

OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the association between preclinical carotid atherosclerosis, as determined by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound, and both the intake amounts and plasma concentrations of antioxidant vitamins.

DESIGN
Among 5062 participants in Progetto Atena, a population-based study on the etiology of cardiovascular disease and cancer in women, 310 women were examined by B-mode ultrasound to detect early signs of carotid atherosclerosis. The participants answered a food-frequency questionnaire, and their plasma concentrations of vitamin E, vitamin A, and carotenoids were measured. None of the women took vitamin supplements.

RESULTS
The occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques at the carotid bifurcation was inversely associated with tertiles of vitamin E intake; the test for a linear trend across tertiles was significant (P < 0.05). Similarly, the ratio of plasma vitamin E to plasma cholesterol was inversely related to the presence of plaques at the carotid bifurcation; the test for a linear trend across tertiles was significant (P < 0.02). No association was found between the intake of other antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A and C and carotenoids) or their plasma concentrations and the presence of carotid plaques.

CONCLUSIONS
An inverse association was found between both the intake amount and plasma concentration of vitamin E and preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged women. This association was independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, was not related to vitamin supplements, and supports the hypothesis that low vitamin E intake is a risk factor for early atherosclerosis.


Achyranthes aspera, Caralluma fimbriata an Indian origin plant and Hoodia gordonii, an African origin plant, an incredible natural flora for reducing the voracious hunger and an intimate way to reduce the stoutness. The phytochemical constitute is the eventual innate boon in the both the plants and the pupil claim to overcome their appetite. Amiraculous discovery that had lead to reduce hunger in the poor people from starving crisis.


Inverted pendulum remained as the most popular topic for control theory researches because of its characteristic of being non-linear, unstable and under-actuated system. It is ideal for verification, validation and enhancement of control theory by stabilizing the inverted pendulum in an upright position using various controller and stabilizer mechanism. For this project, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is used to stabilize the inverted pendulum by tuning the respective gains (k P , k I , and k D ) to control the parameters of inverted pendulum which includes the rise time, settling time, overshoot and steady-state error in cooperation with of Arduino microcontroller. The objective of this project is to design and build a stabilizer mechanism with the integration of mechanical and electrical components to stabilize two Directional (2D) inverted pendulum similar to 3D printer mechanism. Besides that, PID controller will be tuned in Arduino microcontroller and control the output of stabilizer mechanism. The stabilizer mechanism is designed in SolidWorks software and built using various manufacturing techniques, raw materials and 3D printing, while the electronics components such as gyroscope and Direct Current (DC) motors are controlled using Arduino Due in C++ language. The gyroscope determines the tilting angle of the pendulum as a feedback in the control loop, and the gains of PID are used to control the speed and direction of DC motor to provide sufficient force/torque to keep the inverted pendulum in an upright position. The stabilizer mechanism with inverted pendulum has been built and the gains of PID have been tuned using "trial and error" method as friction is now taken into consideration. The inverted pendulum is successfully stabilized in an upright position (0 o measure at z-axis) using control theory.


Cardiac manifestations are commonly observed in COVID-19 patients and prominently contributed to overall mortality. Human myocardium could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, and human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 gene-induced injury and dysfunction of human CMs remain elusive. Here, we find overexpression of three SARS-CoV-2 coding genes, Nsp6, Nsp8 and M, could globally compromise transcriptome of hPSC-CMs. Integrated transcriptomic analyses of hPSC-CMs infected by SARS-CoV-2 with hPSC-CMs of Nsp6, Nsp8 or M overexpression identified concordantly activated genes enriched into apoptosis and immune/inflammation responses, whereas reduced genes related to heart contraction and functions. Further, Nsp6, Nsp8 or M overexpression induce prominent apoptosis and electrical dysfunctions of hPSC-CMs. Global interactome analysis find Nsp6, Nsp8 and M all interact with ATPase subunits, leading to significantly reduced cellular ATP level of hPSC-CMs. Finally, we find two FDA-approved drugs, ivermectin and meclizine, could enhance the ATP level, and ameliorate cell death and dysfunctions of hPSC-CMs overexpressing Nsp6, Nsp8 or M. Overall, we uncover the global detrimental impacts of SARS-CoV-2 genes Nsp6, Nsp8 and M on the whole transcriptome and interactome of hPSC-CMs, define the crucial role of ATP level reduced by SARS-CoV-2 genes in CM death and functional abnormalities, and explore the potentially pharmaceutical approaches to ameliorate SARS-CoV-2 genes-induced CM injury and abnormalities.


Despite numerous discoveries that have considerably enriched the African-Arabian Tertiary fossil record over the last decades, our knowledge of the evolutionary history of many continental African vertebrate groups during the Paleogene period remains inadequate, particularly when it is compared with the fossil records of Europe or North America. The Eocene Epoch in Africa is especially poorly documented, being restricted to few fossiliferous localities. Our understanding of the early Tertiary emergence, diversification, and paleobiogeographic history of African-Arabian mammals has been further hindered by the lack of a precise temporal framework for these sites. We conducted magnetostratigraphic analyses, associated with biostratigraphic studies, in the fossiliferous sequences exposed in the northwestern Hammadas of the Saharan Platform in the Glib Zegdou area and in the Saharan Atlas at the El Kohol locality (Algeria) to further define the age of these Eocene continental deposits. Based on biostratigraphic constraints, the six polarity zones identified in the El Kohol section can be correlated with chrons C24n to C22r, providing the first direct age estimates for the El Kohol fossiliferous strata between 52 and 51 Ma. Correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale, using previously published biostratigraphic data for the Glib Zegdou fauna, suggests an age ranging between 49 and 45 Ma for this section. The high-resolution magnetostratigraphic study of the poorly known continental Eocene Epoch of Algeria provides new insights into the early Tertiary stratigraphy of northwest Africa. The placement of the Algerian localities into a consistent chronological framework constitutes considerable advancement to achieve biostratigraphic correlation of the Paleogene African-Arabian mammal localities.


For a long time the relationship between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and psoriasis has been investigated by epidemiological studies. It is only starting from the 1990s that genetic and immunological aspects have been focused on. Psoriasis and IBD are strictly related inflammatory diseases. Skin and bowel represent, at the same time, barrier and connection between the inner and the outer sides of the body. The most important genetic correlations involve the chromosomal loci 6p22, 16q, 1p31, and 5q33 which map several genes involved in innate and adaptive immunity. The genetic background represents the substrate to the common immune processes involved in psoriasis and IBD. In the past, psoriasis and IBD were considered Th1-related disorders. Nowadays the role of new T cells populations has been highlighted. A key role is played by Th17 and T-regs cells as by the balance between these two cells types. New cytokines and T cells populations, as IL-17A, IL-22, and Th22 cells, could play an important pathogenetic role in psoriasis and IBD. The therapeutic overlaps further support the hypothesis of a common pathogenesis.


A description is given of the H-R-R plates and evaluation of the test as a device (a) to separate those with defective color vision from those with normal color vision, (b) to classify the type of defect (qualitative diagnosis), and (c) to indicate the extent of the defect (quantitative diagnosis). For this evaluation 780 subjects were used, not selected on the basis of a statistical survey. The H-R-R plates are shown to be in complete agreement with the A.O. test (revised selection) in separating the subjects into two groups: 150 with defective and 630 with normal red-green vision. The test agrees remarkably well with the Nagel anomaloscope in classifying the subjects with defective red-green vision into deutan and protan types. It rates 23 percent of these subjects as having mild defect, 31 percent as having medium defect, and 46 percent as having strong defect. For the subjects with defective color vision, a detailed comparison is presented of the qualitative classifications into deutan and protan types yielded by the H-R-R plates with those made by the Nagel anomaloscope, the Tshihara test, and the dichotomous test. A further comparison is made for these subjects between the quantitative estimates of extent of defect by the H-R-R plates and performance on various aptitude tests which were designed to select those color-defective persons who can meet the color requirements of specific but different tasks. It is shown that the percentage who pass these tests significantly and consistently decreases as the severity of defect shown by the H-R-R plates increases. The practical importance of a simply administered, comprehensive test, such as is provided by the H-R-R plates, to vocational selection and guidance is discussed, and an example given of their application in the radio and television industry.


Using stochastic geometry, this letter studies the retransmission performance in uplink cellular networks with fractional path-loss inversion power control (FPC). We first show that the signal-to-interference-ratio (SIR) is correlated across time, which imposes temporal diversity loss in the retransmission performance. In particular, FPC with lower path-loss compensation factor decreases inter-cell interference but suffers from degraded retransmission diversity. On the other hand, full path-loss inversion achieves almost full temporal diversity (i.e., temporal SIR independence) at the expense of increased inter-cell interference. To this end, the results show that ramping-down the power upon transmission failure improves the overall coverage probability in interference-limited uplink networks.


The 2016 Joint Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM)/Intermag Conference was held from January 11 to 15 at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California. It was the 13th time that these two premier conferences in magnetism had joined together to offer a comprehensive conference spanning the full range of magnetism from basic research to engineering applications. The Conference was cosponsored by the American Institute of Physics Publishing and by the IEEE Magnetics Society. The field of magnetism and magnetic materials is strong and continues to grow, as reflected in the more than 1800 Conference registrants, including more than 500 students. Participants attended from 50 countries, with around 54% from Asia, 25% from America, and 21% from Europe. From a record 3012 abstracts submitted, a total of 1813 abstracts were accepted for presentation, with Spintronics, Sensors and Magnetization Dynamics being the most subscribed categories. Papers were presented in 77 oral sessions and in 77 poster sessions. There were eight symposia covering topics in antiferromagnetic spintronics, room temperature skyrmions, challenges in heat-assisted magnetic recording, Heusler compounds, permanent magnet applications, organic spintronics, nanoparticle characterization, and spin orbit and exchange interactions.


Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a growing public health concern with only a limited number of approved treatments. However, even approved treatments are subject to limited efficacy with high long-term relapse rates. Current treatment approaches are typically a combination of pharmacotherapies and behavioral counselling. Growing evidence and technological advances suggest the potential of brain stimulation techniques for the treatment of SUDs. There are three main brain stimulation techniques that are outlined in this review: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS). The insula, a region of the cerebral cortex, is known to be involved in critical aspects underlying SUDs, such as interoception, decision making, anxiety, pain perception, cognition, mood, threat recognition, and conscious urges. This review focuses on both the preclinical and clinical evidence demonstrating the role of the insula in addiction, thereby demonstrating its promise as a target for brain stimulation. Future research should evaluate the optimal parameters for brain stimulation of the insula, through the use of relevant biomarkers and clinical outcomes for SUDs.


In this paper, the problem of estimating the level set of a black-box function from noisy and expensive evaluation queries is considered. A new algorithm for this problem in the Bayesian framework with a Gaussian Process (GP) prior is proposed. The proposed algorithm employs a hierarchical sequence of partitions to explore different regions of the search space at varying levels of detail depending upon their proximity to the level set boundary. It is shown that this approach results in the algorithm having a low complexity implementation whose computational cost is significantly smaller than the existing algorithms for higher dimensional search space $\X$. Furthermore, high probability bounds on a measure of discrepancy between the estimated level set and the true level set for the the proposed algorithm are obtained, which are shown to be strictly better than the existing guarantees for a large class of GPs. In the process, a tighter characterization of the information gain of the proposed algorithm is obtained which takes into account the structured nature of the evaluation points. This approach improves upon the existing technique of bounding the information gain with maximum information gain.


Any single-cell-resolved measurement generates a population distribution of phenotypes, characterized by a mean, a variance, and a shape. Here we show that changes in the shape of a phenotypic distribution can signal perturbations to cellular processes, providing a way to screen for underlying molecular machinery. We analyzed images of a Drosophila S2R+ cell line perturbed by RNA interference, and tracked 27 single-cell features which report on endocytic activity, and cell and nuclear morphology. In replicate measurements feature distributions had erratic means and variances, but reproducible shapes; RNAi down-regulation reliably induced shape deviations in at least one feature for 1072 out of 7131 genes surveyed, as revealed by a Kolmogorov-Smirnov-like statistic. We were able to use these shape deviations to identify a spectrum of genes that influenced cell morphology, nuclear morphology, and multiple pathways of endocytosis. By preserving single-cell data, our method was even able to detect effects invisible to a population-averaged analysis. These results demonstrate that cell-to-cell variability contains accessible and useful biological information, which can be exploited in existing cell-based assays.


CONTEXT
Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is a potentially sight-threatening disease for which available medical therapy is not uniformly successful. Multiple case series suggest that rituximab (RTX) may be effective therapy for GO patients.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the efficacy of RTX in GO.

DESIGN
It is a prospective, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial.

SETTING
The study was conducted at a large academic private practice.

PATIENTS
Twenty five patients with active moderate to severe GO were enrolled, and 21 completed the study to the primary endpoint.

INTERVENTIONS
Two RTX infusions (1000 mg each) or two saline infusions were given 2 weeks apart.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The primary endpoint was a reduction in clinical activity score (CAS) assessed as a continuum and separately as improvement by ≥ 2 points at 24 weeks. Secondary endpoints included success and failure rates, proportions showing clinically significant improvement in proptosis, lid fissure width, diplopia score, lagophthalmos and disease severity, and changes in those parameters, orbital fat/ muscle volume and quality-of-life.

RESULTS
The treatment groups were similar in all parameters at baseline. The last observation was carried forward if the patient discontinued prematurely. No differences were found in the proportions of patients showing CAS improvement at 24 weeks (25% placebo; 31% RTX, P = .75) or in CAS decrease from baseline to 24 or 52 weeks [mean 1.5 points (1.8 SD) placebo; 1.2 (2 SD) RTX at 24 weeks, P = .73]. Similarly, there were no differences between groups in any of the secondary endpoints at either 24 or 52 weeks. There were four adverse events (AE) in 3/12 placebo patients and 11 AE in 8/13 RTX-treated patients; 5/6 moderate or severe AE occurred in the RTX group.

CONCLUSION
RTX offered no additional benefit over placebo to our patients with active and moderate to severe GO and carried with it non-negligible adverse effects.


Introduction: Appendectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in emergency surgery. There is still discussion which technique is more reliable and appendectomy is still being performed by open-access and by laparoscopic methods. In our study, we compare the laparoscopic approach and the open approach in the treatment of acute appendicitis. Our aim is to compare the laparoscopic versus open appendectomy for operative time, length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, complication rate, and return to normal activity. Materials and Methods:  For the period January 2011 - December 2016, 124 patients have undergone appendectomy, of which - 52 underwent laparoscopic and 72 -conventional appendectomy Results:  In our retrospective study we found that the laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with a shorter hospital stay (median 2.3 days in LA and 2.9 days in OA), with less need for analgesia and with a faster return to daily activities (7.1 days in LA and 9.2 in OA). The total number of complications was less in the LA group with a significantly lower incidence of wound infection (2.5 % vs 15.3 %, P <0.05).  Operative time was significantly shorter in the open group (median - 42 min. in OA and 69 min. in LA). Conclusion:  Laparoscopy is safe and effective surgical intervention for acute appendicitis and it offers clinically useful advantages versus the open method (including shorter hospital stays, reduced postoperative analgesia, faster recovery of food intake, lesser percentage of wound infection) against only marginally higher hospital costs.


Multisource image fusion technology is widely applied in a variety of fields such as remote sensing, computer vision, medical diagnosis and military surveillance. In most instances, multi-spectral and panchromatic images can provide more complementary information for feature extraction. Two kinds of images are used for target recognition. Algorithms based on gradient for image fusion only consider high-frequency information changes of the images, and neglect the richness of high-frequency information. To solve this problem, a new kind of self-adaptive rule and algorithm based on gradient and energy is proposed in this paper by analyzing the internal relations between the statistics and the content of the images. The rule and algorithm take into account the changes in high-frequency information and the richness of high-frequency information, and guarantees the richness of image information. Experiments show that the fusion rule and algorithm can significantly preserve all useful information from primitive images and effectively recognize targets with higher recognition accuracy.


Tumours behave as moving targets that can evade chemother- apeutic treatments by rapidly acquiring resistance via various mechanisms. In Balaz et al. (2021, Biosystems; 199:104290) we initiated the development of the agent-based open-ended evolutionary simulator of novel drug delivery systems (DDS). It is an agent-based simulator where evolvable agents can change their perception of the environment and thus adapt to tumour mutations. Here we mapped the parameters of evolvable agent properties to the realistic biochemical boundaries and test their efficacy by simulating their behaviour at the cell scale using the stochastic simulator, STEPS. We show that the shape of the parameter space evolved in our simulator is com-parable to those obtained by the rational design.


The plasma membrane is the barrier which localizes and separates life's processes from their external environment. Long described as a free standing two-dimensional fluid mosaic, the organization of the plasma membrane remains elusive. Currently, the most prominent models proposed for its organization lack a consistent body of evidence for their support. Here, we present the first validation of one of these hypotheses: the picket fence model. Using the STED-FCS technique, we demonstrate that cortical actin networks compartmentalize the diffusion of lipids in the plasma membrane of cells. Interestingly, our results further indicate that the Arp2/3 complex is a major regulator of the cortical actin networks, since inhibiting Arp2/3 leads to specific suppression of compartmentalized diffusion of lipids. Furthermore, the extrusion of the actin cortex promoted by the introduction of myelin-basic protein networks into cells causes lipid diffusion to be modulated by these networks instead. Conclusively, we have elucidated one of the pivotal mechanisms governing the "fluidity" of the plasma membrane mosaic.


Adiponectin and Leptin are closely related adipokines that are associated with the oxidative stresses and endothelial dysfunction and proposed to participate in preeclampsia (PE) pathogenesis. This study is to determine changes in serum levels of adiponectin, leptin and oxidative stress in PE women in order to speculate a possible role of them in the pathogenesis and severity of PE. The serum levels of adiponectin and leptin are measured simultaneously by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was used as a marker for lipid peroxidation & measured by biochemical test. It is found that the levels of adiponectin are significantly lower in mild and severe PE and levels of leptin are significantly higher in mild and severe PE. The adiponectin /leptin ratios are significantly lower in mild and severe PE than in control group as well as to its high significant difference between mild and severe PE. Whereas MDA levels are significantly higher in women with mild or severe PE than in control group and there are striking differences between the mild and severe PE in MDA levels. There is a significant negative correlation between serum levels of MDA and adiponectin and between adiponectin and leptin, and a significant positive correlation between serum levels of MDA and leptin in PE women (R= -0.424, -0.327, + 0.309) respectively. Therefore, PE is associated with hypoadiponectinemia and lipid peroxidation that may be a cause of increased leptin level. These may be utilized as sensitive & specific markers for PE diagnosis & severity. Keywords : adiponectin/leptin ratio, MDA level, Pregnancy.


Of 46 liver transplantations performed, 15 patients are alive at follow-up intervals from 2 to 50 months. The most common indications for liver transplantation were biliary atresia, cirrhosis, and neoplasia. About 50% of the patients had pre- and/or postoperative angiograms. Additional material was available from pretransplant workups in patients subsequently shown to be unsuitable for transplantation. Of 13 preoperative angiographic studies, portal vein patency was confirmed in two, inferior vena caval (IVC) patency was confirmed in two, and diffuse neoplasm was identified in three. These patients subsequently had transplants. Conditions precluding liver transplantation in six patients were inadequate portal vein size (less than 5 mm) in two, occluded IVC or portal vein in one each, nonvisualized portal vein in one, and neoplasm localized to one lobe in one. Postoperatively 18 vascular studies identified hepatic arterial compromise in nine, postbiopsy arteriovenous fistula in two, and bleeding from a right adrenal artery in one. Postoperative venography showed thrombosis or occlusion of the IVC in five, portal vein thrombosis in one, and splenic vein thrombosis in one. Of the 18 postoperative angiograms, 12 demonstrated findings considered threatening to the transplants' survival. Six of 18 studies demonstrated findings considered compromising to the transplant. Of the nine postoperative cholangiographic studies, six diagnoses were considered threatening to transplant survival: obstruction of the biliary-enteric anastomosis in four, leakage from the biliary-enteric anastomosis in one, and an abscess from biliary leakage in one.


Loss-of-function mutations in 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase (AGPAT) 2 in humans and mice result in loss of both the white and brown adipose tissues from birth. AGPAT2 generates precursors for the synthesis of glycerophospholipids and triacylglycerols. Loss of adipose tissue, or lipodystrophy, results in hyperinsulinemia, diabetes mellitus, and severe hepatic steatosis. Here, we analyzed biochemical properties of human AGPAT2 and its close homolog, AGPAT1, and we studied their role in liver by transducing their expression via recombinant adenoviruses in Agpat2−/− mice. The in vitro substrate specificities of AGPAT1 and AGPAT2 are quite similar for lysophosphatidic acid and acyl-CoA. Protein homology modeling of both the AGPATs with glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 1 (GPAT1) revealed that they have similar tertiary protein structure, which is consistent with their similar substrate specificities. When co-expressed, both isoforms co-localize to the endoplasmic reticulum. Despite such similarities, restoring AGPAT activity in liver by overexpression of either AGPAT1 or AGPAT2 in Agpat2−/− mice failed to ameliorate the hepatic steatosis. From these studies, we suggest that the role of AGPAT1 or AGPAT2 in liver lipogenesis is minimal and that accumulation of liver fat is primarily a consequence of insulin resistance and loss of adipose tissue in Agpat2−/− mice.


Over the past decade a great deal of attention has been directed at the increase of English language usage in Danish universities. This report seeks to provide an overview of how widespread English language usage actually is in three key areas: publishing, teaching, and, as a proxy, the presence of international faculty and students. Each of these three areas constitutes a separate chapter and each chapter is divided into two parts: one focusing on the national level and the other on differences between disciplines. The report also describes some relevant language policy documents at Nordic, national and institutional level.

As far as English as a publishing language is concerned, 83 per cent of the total production of publications at Denmark's eight universities is in English while the figure for Danish is 15 per cent. The remaining two per cent are written in other languages. When it comes to doctoral theses, the proportion of English language usage is even higher at 89 per cent (in 2011) while the proportion in Danish amounts to 11 per cent. There is considerable variation between disciplines. In the medical, technical and natural sciences, 89–96 per cent of publications are in English. The figures for the social sciences and humanities are, respectively, 61 and 48 per cent.

In regard to teaching, English-medium programmes constituted 20 per cent in total at all of Denmark's eight universities in 2011. There are great differences between graduate and postgraduate levels, with, respectively, 6 and 26 per cent of programmes being in English. As with publishing, there are differences between the disciplines, with the natural sciences offering most English-medium programmes.

When it comes to international faculty and students, 16 per cent of students at Denmark's eight universities come from outside of Denmark. This figure comprises both visiting students (5 per cent) and non-Danish citizens who take the whole of their degree at a Danish university (11 per cent). Universities vary according to how many international students they receive. Copenhagen Business School and Denmark's Technical University are at the top with, respectively, 25 and 24 per cent, and the University of Arhus and Roskilde University are at the bottom with 13 and 9 per cent, respectively. The proportion of international individuals among newly appointed faculty was 18 per cent (2007–2009), and as with publishing and teaching there is variation between the disciplines. The natural and technical sciences have the greatest share of international appointments with 28 and 24 per cent, respectively.


We have examined the form, diversity, and organization of three functional classes of retinal inputs to the zebrafish optic tectum during development. Our systems-based approach was to analyze data from populations of retinal ganglion cells labeled with a presynaptic targeted calcium indicator, synaptophysin GCaMP3 (SyGCaMP3). Collectively, our findings provide an insight as to the degree of visual encoding during retino-tectal development and how it dynamically evolves from a nascent and noisy presynaptic neural-scape to an increasingly complex and refined representation. We report five key features: (1) direction-selective inputs are developmentally invariant; (2) orientation-selective inputs exhibit highly dynamic properties over the same period, with changes in their functional characteristics and spatial organization; (3) inputs defined as anisotropic are an early dominant functional class, with heterogeneous response profiles, which progressively diminish in incidence and spatial extent; (4) dark rearing selectively affects the orientation-selective responses: both functional characteristics and relative spatial distributions; and (5) orientation-selective inputs exhibit four subtypes, two more than previously identified in any species. Our approach was to label RGC axon terminals with an indicator of activity and quantitatively characterize coherent response properties to different visual stimuli. Its application in the zebrafish, given its small size and the accessibility of the tectum, has enabled a quick yet robust assessment of multiple functional populations of responses.


Migraine is a complex trait in which multiple genetic loci, as well as environmental factors, likely contribute to its clinical manifestation. Many genetic associations reported in previous studies either have not been replicated to date or showed only marginal statistical significance, possibly due to the genetic heterogeneity of the common forms of migraine. One major phenotypic and possibly genetically identifiable migraine subgroup consists of women whose attacks are influenced by fluctuation in gonadal hormones. We hypothesized that for these women, the association between migraine attacks and the menstrual cycle might be attributable to an increased prevalence of genetic polymorphisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. We selected 21 such polymerphisms previously reported to be associated with the common forms of migraine and genotyped 1740 individuals (1132 migraineurs) to determine whether any of these selected polymorphisms occurred more frequently in females with hormonally modulated migraine. We were able to confirm the association of migraine with 3 genetic polymorphisms seen in previous studies (rs4680 [COMT], rs2283265 [DRD2], and rs7131056 [DRD2]). Interestingly, we found 2 additional genetic polymorphisms (rs2070762 [TH] and rs6356 [TH]) to be associated with migraine when defining the phenotype as hormonally modulated migraine.


The inhibition of carbon steel corrosion becomes of such interest because it is widely used as constructional materials in many industries, such as erecting boilers, drums, heat exchangers, pipe line, and many more. The acidization of oil and gas wells is probably the most widely used work over and stimulation practice in oil industry. HCl is widely used for stimulating carbonate-based reservoirs. Since HCl is strong aggressive medium for oil and gas well equipment, the effective way to protect these materials is to inject a suitable corrosion inhibitor. Accordingly, corrosion inhibitors must be injected with the HCl solution to avoid the destructive effect of acid on the surface of the pipe lines. Hence it is very important to measure the physical properties of the new corrosion inhibitor.

A variety of organic additives as corrosion inhibitors have been tested in these processes. However, there are some disadvantageous with the current inhibitor such as toxic, difficult preparation method and the high material cost. Also it has been reported that the lack of their physical properties data, has limited the design and application of these corrosion inhibitors. Even though ionic liquids have been proven as a potential inhibitor on carbon steel corrosion in acidic media, their price is relatively higher compared to the commercially available corrosion inhibitor. An alternative way is to find cheaper ionic liquids that can be applied as corrosion inhibitor on carbon steel corrosion in acidic media. Hydroxyl ammonium ionic liquids are relatively cheap and easy to produce in purity greater than 99%. In order to develop low cost inhibitors, the recent investigations on application of the hydroxyl ammonium ionic liquids as inhibitor on corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M HCl, seem really worthwhile.
The objectives of this research are to synthesis and characterize the range of ionic liquids, and to study their potential application as inhibitor on carbon steel corrosion in acidic media. For this study, sixteen hydroxyl ammonium ionic liquids were synthesized and characterized. The structures of synthesized ionic liquids were confirmed by infrared, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectra. Composition of synthesized ionic liquids was also confirmed from elemental analysis. Water content of these ionic liquids was found to be lower than 200 ppm. Physical properties of the ionic liquids such density, viscosity, and refractive index were measured at atmospheric pressure and temperature from 293.15 to 353.15 K, while refractive index was measured at temperature from (293.15 to 323.15) K. The coefficients of thermal expansions were calculated from experimental density data. In practical condition, corrosion inhibitors are mixture of active components, solvents, and surfactant. In this work, the effects of alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol, as co-solvent on physical properties namely density, viscosity, and refractive index of the ionic liquids were also studied. The ionic liquids Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium formate, [BHEAF] was chosen as model due to the highest inhibition performance.
The inhibition performance of the synthesized ionic liquids on carbon steel corrosion in 1 M HCl was measured within concentration range of ionic liquids from 0.02 to 0.08 M while temperature range from 298.15 – 343.15 K using two methods, weight loss and electrochemical. The obtained results showed that the inhibition performance increased with increasing concentration of ionic liquids and decreasing temperature of system. Tafel Plot analysis showed that these ionic liquids were mixed type inhibitor, which reduced the corrosion rate by blocking both cathodic and anodic site. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy analysis showed that the addition of ionic liquids did not change the mechanism of corrosion of carbon steel. The synthesized ionic liquids reduced the corrosion rate of carbon steel by adsorbing themselves on the carbon steel surface. The adsorptions of the ionic liquids on the surface of carbon steel obey the Langmuir's isotherm adsorption. The high values of equilibrium constant and standard free energy of adsorption indicated that the adsorption of ionic liquids on the surface of carbon steel was spontaneous and occurred only by physisorption. The apparent activation energy of corrosion of carbon steel in the presence of ionic liquids was higher compared to without ionic liquids. This result indicated that the addition of ionic liquids give energy barrier for corrosion. These results were also supported by their enthalpy and entropy of adsorption. Addition of alcohol on ionic liquids did not alter the inhibition efficiency. Thus, it can be concluded that these alcohols can be used as co-solvent with ionic liquids, without reducing the ionic liquids performance. The organic solvent is particularly helpful for reducing the viscosity of ionic liquids which is known to be highly viscous
From these experimental results, it shows that hydroxyl ammonium ionic liquids have potential as inhibitor on corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M HCl. It suggests that all the synthesized hydroxyl ammonium ionic liquid in this work has the potential to be used as inhibitor on carbon steel corrosion in 1 M HCl.


Information about fishing as a whole is still very minimal due to limited fisheries statistics issued by the Regional Government as on the island of Timor. Fishing activities on the island of Timor is still implementing a simple system, especially when seen from the specifications of fishing units that have not been using equipment that is complex in its operation and ability of fishermen. In general, fishing activities are not only determined by the fishing units, but also is influenced also by natural factors is seasonal. Changes in oceanographic conditions causing changes to the abundance of fish in one place due to the migration of fish, fish behavior and so forth. This, in turn result in changes in the fishing ground for fishermen activity is strongly influenced by sea and wind conditions so that the fishing areas are not fixed throughout the year. The purpose of this research activity are: 1). Knowing the specifications of fishing units used to catch snapper in Kupang district, 2). Knowing snapper fishing area (Lutjanus sp.) In Kupang district, and 3). Analyzing catch snapper (Lutjanus sp.) from the type of fishing gear used to catch snapper in the district. The study was conducted in January-April 2010. Field data collection was done during the month of February 2010 to take a place at Harbor Beach Fishing Tenau-Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara Province. Data on fishing areas and fishing units are acquired, classified and analyzed descriptively by tabulation and display map images, whereas analysis of variance test (ANOVA) one-way classification is used to determine the monthly productivity of snapper fishing gear that is used to catch snapper. The main types of fishing gear used to catch snapper (Lutjanus sp.) in waters off Kupang district is the basic tow, fishing yield, and bubu. Fishermen fishing snapper (Lutjanus sp.) based in the PPP Tenau, Kupang district generally operate in waters that coral reefs.That location is an area not far from the base, the city of Kupang (1 mile) and about Kera Island (4 miles), and enough of the base area, ie around Semau Island (12 miles), District Papela (25 miles), Sub Landu (40 miles) and the District of Lole (60 miles). The size of snapper caught by tow basis greater than snapper caught with rod stretching and bubu. Monthly catches snapper ever obtained from the basic tow operation, ie 57% of all snapper obtained during 14 months; fishing yield and bubu each producing snapper as much as 37% and 6%.


Candida auris is an emerging global public health threat and is resistant to most antifungal agents. Though fungi are significant pathogens for animals, the role of C. auris in animal health remains unexplored. Here, we analysed the microbial cultures of skin and ear swabs of 87 dogs in Delhi and performed fungal meta-barcode sequencing of ear and skin samples of 7 dogs with confirmed otitis externa (OE). Overall, 4.5% of dogs (4/87) with chronic skin infections contained evidence of C. auris in their ear canal (n = 3) and on their skin surface (n = 1). Of the three OE dogs with C. auris infection/colonisation, a diversity of fungi was observed, and their meta-barcode ITS sequence reads for C. auris ranged from 0.06% to 0.67%. Whole-genome sequencing of six C. auris strains obtained in culture from two dogs showed relatedness with Clade I clinical strains. The report highlights the isolation of C. auris from an animal source; however, the routes of transmission of this yeast to dogs and the clinical significance of transmission between dogs and humans remain to be investigated.


Generic System for Remote Testing and Calibration of Measuring Instruments: Security Architecture Testing and calibration of laboratory instruments and reference standards is a routine activity and is a resource and time consuming process. Since many of the modern instruments include some communication interfaces, it is possible to create a remote calibration system. This approach addresses a wide range of possible applications and permits to drive a number of different devices. On the other hand, remote calibration process involves a number of security issues due to recommendations specified in standard ISO/IEC 17025, since it is not under total control of the calibration laboratory personnel who will sign the calibration certificate. This approach implies that the traceability and integrity of the calibration process directly depends on the collected measurement data. The reliable and secure remote control and monitoring of instruments is a crucial aspect of internet-enabled calibration procedure.


This paper investigates the effect of different precision on the correlation properties of Chebyshev-map chaotic spread-spectrum sequences. For the first time, it defines the finite precision threshold term and gives the mathematical description of the relationship between the finite precision thresholds of the Chebyshev-map chaotic spread-spectrum sequences and their lengths. It analyzes the effect of the selection of iteration seeds on the correlation properties of the sequences when the calculation precision is lower than the finite precision threshold and proposes the criterion of seed selection. The study results of the paper provide the basis for the application study of chaotic spread-spectrum sequences.


Horses with a low level of tameness are at higher risk for transport-related disease and injury; hence, European regulations for the protection of animals during transport (EC 1/2005) are stricter for unhandled (unbroken) horses. However, the regulation does not provide adequate tools for unhandled horse identification. The Broken/Unbroken Test (BUT) was developed and validated to easily identify whether a horse is broken (handled) or not. As a further validation step, the aim of this study was to assess whether there is any correspondence between the BUT classification and the behavioral response of the horse. A total of 100 healthy Italian Heavy Draft horses were video recorded when assessed with the BUT. In total, 90 videos (48 handled and 42 unhandled horses) matched the inclusion criteria and were assessed. The behavior of each horse was evaluated by three observers blinded as to the horses' experience with a focal animal continuous recording method. Behaviors were classified in four categories: stress, avoidance, displacement, and aggression. A Mann–Whitney test was used to identify differences in behavioral patterns between horses classified as handled or unhandled with the BUT. Unhandled horses showed not only a significantly longer time to be approached by the handler but also more avoidance and flight reactions (p < 0.001). Unhandled horses showed significantly longer displacement behaviors, such as sniffing (p < 0.001). These findings further validate the BUT classification and confirm that horses classified as unhandled are more prone to show avoidance and flight reactions when approached by humans. For this reason, the adoption of the BUT could be helpful to minimize humans' horse-related injuries and, if applied regularly before loading, to contribute to safeguard the welfare of horses during transport.


Symptomatic diverticular disease (SYMP-DD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share many features. Both are characterised by recurrent episodes of abdominal pain which may be slightly more frequent in IBS than SYMP-DD. They may also both exhibit an erratic bowel habit with diarrhoea, constipation and alternating types. It is important to assess anxiety, depression and somatisation since this can be increased in both types of patients and may be associated with visceral hypersensitivity. There are also significant differences between IBS and SYMP-DD. In particular, SYMP-DD patients are older, lack the female predominance seen in IBS and may often have fever with prolonged episodes of pain. For them, abnormalities of the gut are probably more important than cerebral factors, while for IBS the reverse is true. Treatments should be directed at the predominant abnormality which will vary in every patient.


In this dissertation, I investigate macroevolutionary patterns and dynamics in planktonic foraminifera and accompanying changes in their pelagic environment. My research focuses on processes that structure diversity in the open sea, including the response of oceanic ecosystems to the largest biotic disturbance of the Cenozoic, the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. I begin by investigating the determinants of community similarity in modern planktonic foraminiferal communities. Here, I find that community similarity is primarily determined by the environmental similarity between communities, and not geographic distance. On a global scale, planktonic foraminifera provide an exception to the rule that geographic proximity is the strongest predictor of community similarity.Patterns of morphological evolution in planktonic foraminifera also suggest that different evolutionary processes may predominate in the open ocean. I investigate a classic case of gradual evolution in the Globorotalia plesiotumida-G. tumida lineage of planktonic foraminifera using more sensitive numerical techniques and find evidence for a cryptic speciation event and a more rapid evolution of G. tumida than previously hypothesized. New analytical approaches were also developed in order to ask questions at a higher stratigraphic resolution at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) boundary than is currently possible. To this end, Lagrangian advection-diffusion models were modified to fit iridium anomalies deposited by the KPg impactor. Insights into the recovery of pelagic ecosystems from the KPg mass extinction were obtained from high-resolution geochemical, grain size, and taxonomic records of the early post-extinction interval. Barium proxy records were used to investigate boundary-related changes in export productivity, and supported inferences from benthic foraminifera in describing geographically and temporally heterogeneous changes in export productivity following the KPg impact. When productivity was considered along with planktonic foraminifera community composition and relative flux, this evidence suggested that an alternative pelagic ecosystem may have thrived in some locales in a post-extinction world


Peripheral alpha-adrenoceptors are involved in mediating neurogenic inflammation. To characterize the effects of acute administration of selective alpha adrenoreceptor agonists or antagonists on capsaicin-evoked substance P (SP) release from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, dissociated cultured DRG neurons were preincubated with selective alpha 1-adrenoreceptor agonist phenylephrine (10(-5) mol/L), alpha 1-adrenoreceptor antagonist prazosin (10(-6) mol/L), alpha 2-adrenoreceptor agonist clonidine (10(-5) mol/L), alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist yohimbine (10(-5) mol/L) for 10 min, followed by the addition of capsaicin (10(-7) nmol/L) for additional 10 min. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was employed to determine if the capsaicin-evoked enhancement of neuropeptide release was subject to adrenergic modulation. Expression of SP mRNA was determined by RT-PCR. Acute exposure of selective alpha 1-adrenoreceptor agonist phenylephrine could increase capsaicin-evoked SP release from primary cultured DRG neurons. Expression of SP mRNA was not affected by acute stimulation with these adrenoreceptor agonists or antagonists. The data provided in the present study suggest that the excitatory effect of alpha 1-adrenoreceptor agonist on capsaicin-evoked release of neuropeptide from primary cultured DRG neurons is likely to be mediated by activation of VR1 to influence capsaicin sensitivity but not by promotion of SP synthesis under acute stimulative states.


We provide the explicit solutions of linear, left-invariant, diffusion equations and the corresponding resolvent equations on the 2D-Euclidean motion group SE(2) = R^2 x T. These parabolic equations are forward Kolmogorov equations for well-known stochastic processes for contour enhancement and contour completion. The solutions are given by group convolution with the corresponding Green's functions. In earlier work we have solved the forward Kolmogorov equations (or Fokker-Planck equations) for stochastic processes on contour completion. Here we mainly focus on the forward Kolmogorov equations for contour enhancement processes which do not include convection. We derive explicit formulas for the Green's functions (i.e., the heat kernels on SE(2)) of the left-invariant partial differential equations related to the contour enhancement process. By applying a contraction we approximate the left-invariant vector fields on SE(2) by left-invariant generators of a Heisenberg group, and we derive suitable approximations of the Green's functions. The exact Green's functions are used in so-called collision distributions on SE(2), which are the product of two left-invariant resolvent diffusions given an initial distribution on SE(2). We use the left-invariant evolution processes for automated contour enhancement in noisy medical image data using a so-called orientation score, which is obtained from a grey-value image by means of a special type of unitary wavelet transformation. Here the real part of the (invertible) orientation score serves as an initial condition in the collision distribution.


The free-radical polymerisation reactions of photoactive resins used in dentistry are inhibited by oxygen. There is a need to better understand the effects oxygen inhibition on critical properties of dental resins and resin composites which may compromise the success of dental resin composite restorations. This investigation aims to examine the formation of the oxygen inhibition layer (OIL) on experimental and commercial methacrylate and epoxy resin based materials and its effect on incremental bond strengths and stain resistance. Experimental BisGMA and TEGDMA comonomer resin mixtures loaded with either barium- or strontium-silicate glass fillers were fabricated. Commercially available dental resin composite restorative materials, including a novel epoxy-based system were also examined. The OIL of each material type was measured using a novel optical depth of focus technique, the integrity of resin composite layers and stain resistance was assessed by shear bond strength and colorimeter testing, respectively. An OIL was measurable for all materials polymerised in atmospheric air including the epoxy-based system Filtek™ Silorane. Different filler particle types complicate OIL formation for similar BisGMA/TEGDMA comonomer mixtures. The OIL had a detrimental effect on stain resistance, where an increased OIL thickness resulted in increased stain susceptibility. From the present findings it was suggested that incremental bond strength between composite layers is not wholly reliant on surface inhibition.


We introduce Active Predictive Coding Networks (APCNs), a new class of neural networks that solve a major problem posed by Hinton and others in the fields of artificial intelligence and brain modeling: how can neural networks learn intrinsic reference frames for objects and parse visual scenes into part-whole hierarchies by dynamically allocating nodes in a parse tree? APCNs address this problem by using a novel combination of ideas: (1) hypernetworks are used for dynamically generating recurrent neural networks that predict parts and their locations within intrinsic reference frames conditioned on higher object-level embedding vectors, and (2) reinforcement learning is used in conjunction with backpropagation for end-to-end learning of model parameters. The APCN architecture lends itself naturally to multi-level hierarchical learning and is closely related to predictive coding models of cortical function. Using the MNIST, Fashion-MNIST and Omniglot datasets, we demonstrate that APCNs can (a) learn to parse images into part-whole hierarchies, (b) learn compositional representations, and (c) transfer their knowledge to unseen classes of objects. With their ability to dynamically generate parse trees with part locations for objects, APCNs offer a new framework for explainable AI that leverages advances in deep learning while retaining interpretability and compositionality.