This study is based on a synthesis of research carried out on lacustrine archives by a multidisciplinary team since ten years. The 20th century was characterized by unprecedented changes in lake functioning due to local human impacts as outlined by two case study (Lake Igaliku in South-Western Greenland and Lake Remoray in the French Jura) and by a synthesis derived from the an extended dataset of 22 lacustrine records. A paleolimnological approach combining aquatic and terrestrial proxies evidenced the accelerated eutrophication of Lake Igaliku and Remoray consecutively to local agricultural intensification over the last century. In Lake Remoray, a critical threshold was crossed in 1975. The deep zone has since become " a dead zone " with a strong loss in biodiversity. In the extended dataset, the major changes in lake functioning were identified from the main shifts in chironomid communities.
The probability distributions for the age of these shifts were derived from depth-age models and cumulated over the last 1300 years. This cumulative frequency curve combined to the individual ecological trajectory of lakes indicate that a strong shift occurred at the end of the 19th century. Before this turning point, ecological changes are asynchronous and mainly controlled by climate, whose impacts may be modulated by lake specific sensitivity and local human activities. The 20th century is characterized by a very high frequency of ecological changes and by the strength of the associated shifts in lake functioning. Local human impact (mainly eutrophication) is identified as the key driver of this unprecedented situation. Finally, this study shows that the Anthropocene corresponds to a paradigm shift in lake functioning (from climate to human control) and is marked by heavy loss in ecosystem goods and services.


Numerous scientific records of climate indicators and in-depth statistical analyses thereof testify that the impact of the phenomenon of global warming is becoming increasingly evident. Weather patterns have already been severely altered in various regions of the Earth, with the case of the Arctic clearly standing out. As ice coverage in this region maintains its downward trend, the creation of new and significant business opportunities should, however, be noted. Maritime routes that were previously covered with ice packs are now becoming available for shipping; the promise for shorter voyages from Asia towards Europe and/or the Americas (and vice-versa) is enticing to say the least. Additionally, the reduction of ice in the wider arctic region could facilitate the extraction of the numerous natural resources (and especially energyrelated ones) available in all those frozen areas, which were previously widely considered as unsuitable for any type of business.
The analysis in hand will briefly highlight the decline of ice coverage in the Arctic and elaborate on its main consequence in relation to the contemporary global maritime transport system: the creation of the so-called "Arctic Passages". Additionally, it will provide a summary of the current regulatory framework associated with the region under discussion and especially the provisions of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code or PCD). Furthermore, considering petroleum is today the primary marine fuel source within commercial shipping, this analysis will expand upon previous research efforts into how to preserve the arctic environment by limiting the use of such oil fuels. Therefore, it will explore the use of alternative sources, specifically in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as a way to reduce the environmental impact of petroleum spilled within the pristine arctic waters in the event of an accidental discharge, as well as to decrease air pollutants.


This May sees the release of the results from the third PISA assessment of financial literacy. These results are largely consistent with previous findings, but also go beyond earlier assessments in probing students' behaviours and attitudes towards money matters (including digital money matters) and their exposure to financial education at school.
The Covid-19 crisis has lain bare the economic and financial uncertainty and precarity that many adults face; the 15-year-old students who sit the PISA assessment will soon leave compulsory education and must take this uncertainty into account as they take decisions about further education and career pathways. Proficiency in financial literacy will help students take responsible and well-informed decisions and set them up for financial resilience later in life. Policy makers are encouraged to use the findings and recommendations in this PISA in Focus to foster enhanced financial literacy and responsible financial inclusion.


Plant-extractable water capacity of soil is the amount of water that can be extracted from the soil to fulfill evapotranspiration demands. It is often assumed to be spatially invariant in large-scale computations of the soil-water balance. Empirical evidence, however, suggests that this assumption is incorrect. In this paper, we estimate the global distribution of the plant-extractable water capacity of soil.

A representative soil profile, characterized by horizon (layer) particle size data and thickness, was created for each soil unit mapped by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)/Unesco. Soil organic matter was estimated empirically from climate data. Plant rooting depths and ground coverages were obtained from a vegetation characteristic data set. At each 0.5°×0.5° grid cell where vegetation is present, unit available water capacity (cm water per cm soil) was estimated from the sand, clay, and organic content of each profile horizon, and integrated over horizon thickness. Summation of the integrated values over the lesser of profile depth and root depth produced an estimate of the plant-extractable water capacity of soil.

The global average of the estimated plant-extractable water capacities of soil is 8ċ6cm (Greenland, Antarctica and bare soil areas excluded). Estimates are less than 5, 10 and 15 cm—over approximately 30, 60, and 89 per cent of the area, respectively. Estimates reflect the combined effects of soil texture, soil organic content, and plant root depth or profile depth. The most influential and uncertain parameter is the depth over which the plant- extractable water capacity of soil is computed, which is usually limited by root depth. Soil texture exerts a lesser, but still substantial, influence. Organic content, except where concentrations are very high, has relatively little effect.


ABSTRACT Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) frequently have overlapping symptoms, leading to the suggestion that the same disease processes may underpin the two disorders – the unitary hypothesis. However, studies investigating the two disorders have reported substantial clinical and/or biological differences between them, suggesting distinct pathophysiological underpinnings. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to further add to the body of evidence favoring different disease processes in CFS and FM by comparing ventricular cerebrospinal fluid lactate levels among patients with CFS alone, FM alone, overlapping CFS and FM symptoms, and healthy control subjects. Methods: Ventricular lactate was assessed in vivo with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI) with the results normed across the two studies in which the data were collected. Results: Mean CSF lactate levels in CFS, FM and CFS + FM did not differ among the three groups, but were all significantly higher than the mean values for control subjects. Conclusion: While patients with CFS, FM and comorbid CFS and FM can be differentiated from healthy subjects based on measures of CFS lactate, this neuroimaging outcome measure is not a viable biomarker for differentiating CFS from FM or from patients in whom symptoms of the two disorders overlap.


Background: Fibromodulin (FMOD) is a small leucine-rich proteoglycan required for scarless fetal cutaneous wound repair. Interestingly, increased FMOD levels have been correlated with decreased transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 expression in multiple fetal and adult rodent models. Our previous studies demonstrated that FMOD deficiency in adult animals results in delayed wound closure and increased scar size accompanied by loose package collagen fiber networks with increased fibril diameter. In addition, we found that FMOD modulates in vitro expression and activities of TGF-β ligands in an isoform-specific manner. In this study, we investigated the temporospatial distribution of TGF-β ligands and receptors in both adult FMOD-null and wild-type (WT) mouse wounds to further elucidate how FMOD coordinates TGF-β bioactivity to promote proper cutaneous wound healing.Methods: Expression profiles of TGF-β ligands and receptors in FMOD-null and WT mice were compared by immunohistochemical staining and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) using a full-thickness, primary intention wound closure model. Results: During the inflammatory stage, elevated inflammatory infiltration accompanied by increased type I TGF-β receptor levels in individual inflammatory cells was observed in FMOD-null wounds. This increased inflammation was correlated with accelerated epithelial migration during the proliferative stage. On the other hand, significantly more robust expression of TGF-β3 and TGF-β receptors in FMOD-null wounds during the proliferative stage was associated with delayed dermal cell migration and proliferation, which led to postponed granulation tissue formation and wound closure and increased scar size. Compared with WT controls, expression of TGF-β ligands and receptors by FMOD-null dermal cells was markedly reduced during the remodeling stage, which may have contributed to the declined collagen synthesis capability and unordinary collagen architecture. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a single missing gene, FMOD, leads to conspicuous alternations in TGF-β ligand and receptor expression at all stages of wound repair in various cell types. Therefore, FMOD critically coordinates temporospatial distribution of TGF-β ligands and receptors in vivo, suggesting that FMOD modulates TGF-β bioactivity in a complex way beyond simple physical binding to promote proper wound healing.


The aim of the experiment was to study the effect on litter performance of two oral supplementation strategies on piglets born weighing 1.35 kg or less (SP; CON: no oral supplementation; COL: supplementation with 15 mL of sow colostrum orally administered to piglets within 4 h after the farrowing was completed). Two levels of cross-fostering strategies, performed 24 h after farrowing, were also studied (HL: litters fixed at 12 piglets, ensuring that less than 50% of the piglets of the litter were SP; LL: litters fixed at 12 piglets, with most of the piglets of the litter being SP; in both cases the aim was to minimize moving piglets from one sow to another as much as possible). The combination of the 2 management strategies described above resulted in a 2 × 2 factorial model. Forty-six litters were used. Litters were allocated to 1 of the 4 treatments: CON-HL, CON-LL, COL-HL, and COL-LL. Piglets were weighed on d 1 and 19 postpartum. Mortality was recorded. On d 4 postpartum, a 2-mL blood sample was obtained from 79 SP piglets born from multiparous sows included in the experiment. To obtain a negative control group, blood samples were obtained on d 4 postpartum from 8 additional SP piglets that were separated from their mothers at birth and bottle fed with milk replacement for 12 h. LL sows had lower within-litter CV of BW at d 1 than HL sows (16.2% vs. 21.9% ± 0.91%; P = 0.003), but they did not differ for litter CV of BW at d 19 (23.2% vs. 23.4% ± 1.72%). At d 19, HL sows had fewer dead piglets per litter than LL sows (0.80 vs. 1.69 ± 0.307; P = 0.022), and COL-HL sows had fewer dead piglets per litter than CON-HL (0.47 vs. 1.14 ± 0.160; P = 0.062). Cross-fostering SP in the same litter did not prevent a litter's CV of BW from increasing at weaning. Piglets from the COL group had higher IgG concentration than piglets from the CON group (P = 0.001). However, piglets from the negative control group had lower IgG concentration than those from the COL and CON groups (5.41 ± 2.320 vs. 30.60 ± 1.582 and 21.53 ± 0.951 mg/mL, respectively; P < 0.001 in both cases). Allocating small piglets to the same litter through cross-fostering had a negative effect on mortality and did not improve litter CV of BW at weaning. Colostrum supplementation of SP piglets improved IgG blood level on d 4. In addition, in nonhomogenized litters, colostrum supplementation of SP piglets might be a good management strategy to improve litter performance.


An automatic word sense disambiguation system utilizing dependency information is implemented using existing language resources for Dutch (Lassy, Alpino, Cornetto) and tested on a subset of DutchSemCor. The disambiguation method used largely follows the method first proposed by Lin (1997). It defines words by their local context, represented as dependency triples. The notion that words occurring in the same local contexts are semantically close to the ambiguous word is used to create a list of similar words. The correct sense is then found by selecting the sense that is semantically closest to the words in this list. Performance on a set of nouns, verbs and adjectives is tested, and overall performance is comparable or slightly higher than that reported by Lin: almost 9% over baseline for fine-grained sense distinctions and over 3% over baseline for coarse-grained sense distinctions. In absolute terms, disambiguation accuracy was highest for nouns, slightly lower for verbs and lowest for adjectives. The effect of using different local contexts and semantic databases was tested, which indicated that a reliable sense-annotated corpus is still required and that quality and types of dependency relations in the local context database matters more than quantity. Overall, performance is as expected, showing that dependency contexts are a useful feature for word sense disambiguation for Dutch.


The aim of this investigation was to explore the relationship between trait anxiety and cardiovascular disease risk factors of Iranian soccer referees and assistant referees. Twenty-five referees and 43 assistant referees (mean±SD, age: 36.7±3.8 years, height: 1.79±4.8 m, weight: 74.7±6 kg) with international (22% of all subjects) and national (78% of all subjects) degrees participated in this study. All referees were judging Premier League Soccer Competitions (2007–2008 season) under the supervision of Soccer Federation Referees committee. Trait anxiety was assessed by Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and data regarding cardiovascular disease risk factors were obtained by cardiovascular disease risk factors (RISKO) questionnaire structured by Cardiovascular University of Michigan State in the USA. Blood pressure, heart rate and concentration of the cholesterol in blood serum were also measured. No significant difference was observed in trait anxiety score between soccer referees (34.4±4.9) and assistant referees (32.2±4.7) (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in RISKO score between soccer referees (16.8±2.5) and assistant referees (16.8±2.5). A significant relationship was not observed between trait anxiety and RISKO score in both referees (r=0.26, p>0.05) and assistant referees (r=0.11). Trait anxiety did not show significant relationship with age (r=0.07), physical activity (r=0.0), cholesterol (r=−0.00) and blood pressure (r=0.11) (p>0.05). A significant relationship was found between trait anxiety with weight (r=0.20, p<0.05) and heredity of cardiovascular disease (r=0.20, p<0.05). It can be concluded that Iranian referees and assistant referees in Premier League Soccer had normal trait anxiety. In addition, their cardiovascular disease risk factors scores were in the low and intermediate risk range.


Viruses from diverse families encode both positive and negative regulators of viral replication. While their functions can sometimes be enigmatic, investigation of virus-encoded, negative regulators of viral replication has revealed fascinating aspects of virology. ABSTRACT The poxviral B1 and B12 proteins are a homologous kinase-pseudokinase pair, which modulates a shared host pathway governing viral DNA replication and antiviral defense. While the molecular mechanisms involved are incompletely understood, B1 and B12 seem to intersect with signaling processes mediated by their cellular homologs termed the vaccinia-related kinases (VRKs). In this study, we expand upon our previous characterization of the B1-B12 signaling axis to gain insights into B12 function. We begin our studies by demonstrating that modulation of B12 repressive activity is a conserved function of B1 orthologs from divergent poxviruses. Next, we characterize the protein interactome of B12 using multiple cell lines and expression systems and discover that the cellular kinase VRK1 is a highly enriched B12 interactor. Using complementary VRK1 knockdown and overexpression assays, we first demonstrate that VRK1 is required for the rescue of a B1-deleted virus upon mutation of B12. Second, we find that VRK1 overexpression is sufficient to overcome repressive B12 activity during B1-deleted virus replication. Interestingly, we also evince that B12 interferes with the ability of VRK1 to phosphoinactivate the host defense protein BAF. Thus, B12 restricts vaccinia virus DNA accumulation in part by repressing the ability of VRK1 to inactivate BAF. Finally, these data establish that a B12-VRK1-BAF signaling axis forms during vaccinia virus infection and is modulated via kinases B1 and/or VRK2. These studies provide novel insights into the complex mechanisms that poxviruses use to hijack homologous cellular signaling pathways during infection. IMPORTANCE Viruses from diverse families encode both positive and negative regulators of viral replication. While their functions can sometimes be enigmatic, investigation of virus-encoded, negative regulators of viral replication has revealed fascinating aspects of virology. Studies of poxvirus-encoded genes have largely concentrated on positive regulators of their replication; however, examples of fitness gains attributed to poxvirus gene loss suggests that negative regulators of poxvirus replication also impact infection dynamics. This study focuses on the vaccinia B12 pseudokinase, a protein capable of inhibiting vaccinia DNA replication. Here, we elucidate the mechanisms by which B12 inhibits vaccinia DNA replication, demonstrating that B12 activates the antiviral protein BAF by inhibiting the activity of VRK1, a cellular modulator of BAF. Combined with previous data, these studies provide evidence that poxviruses govern their replication by employing both positive and negative regulators of viral replication.


Non-randomised data have demonstrated high prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and postulated a potential role in disease progression. However, interventional studies examining medical treatment of GORD in patients with IPF have had mixed outcomes. Raghu et al ( Lancet Resp Med 2018;6:707–714) performed a randomised controlled trial examining the rate of decline in FVC after laparoscopic antireflux surgery in patients with IPF with significant GORD demonstrated on pH manometry. About 58 patients were randomised 1:1 to either antireflux surgery or the non-surgery group. Change in FVC was monitored over a 48-week period postrandomisation. Surgery was effective in normalising reflux. Although numerically lower, there was no significant difference in rate of decline in FVC in the surgical group (−0.05 L (95% CI −0.15 to 0.05)) when compared with the non-surgical group (−0.13 L (−0.23 to −0.02)) (p=0.28). Again the secondary outcomes showed no significant difference in the rate of acute exacerbation, respiratory-related hospitalisation or death between the two groups, although with trends towards favouring surgical intervention. There were few serious adverse events in the surgical group. This study establishes antireflux surgery as safe in patients with IPF and confirmed …


Neonatal (less than 1-day-old), 3- and 7-day old, and older (3-week-old postweaning) pigs were challenged by intragastric inoculation with 987P-piliated (987P+) enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) 987. Neonatal pigs were colonized (i.e., there were greater than or equal to 10(8) CFU of test strain per 10-cm ileal segment) and developed diarrhea. Intestinal colonization and the incidence and severity of diarrhea were lower in 3- and 7-day old pigs than in neonates. Older pigs were not colonized and did not develop diarrhea following oral inoculation with five strains of 987P+ ETEC. Strain 987 (987P+) adhered in vitro to intestinal epithelial cell brush borders isolated from both neonatal (sensitive) and older (resistant) pigs. The in vivo growth and expression of 987P pilus by strain 987 in ligated ileal loops created in neonatal and older pigs were similar. The in vivo adherence of 987P+ ETEC to intestinal epithelium in ligated ileal loops in neonatal and older pigs was compared. In neonatal pigs, most of the bacteria were in layers associated with the villous epithelium. In older pigs, most of the bacteria were associated with mucus-like material in the intestinal lumen. We concluded that swine develop an innate resistance to 987P+ ETEC by 3 weeks of age. This resistance does not appear to be due to an absence of 987P-specific receptors in the intestines of the older pig or to an inability of 987P+ bacteria to grow and express pili in the older pig. We hypothesized that the resistance of older pigs to 987P-mediated disease is due to release of 987P-specific receptors into the intestinal lumen, where these receptors facilitate bacterial clearance rather than bacterial adherence to intestinal epithelium and colonization.


The Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned to facilitate rich interactions among heterogeneous entities, ranging from simple sensing devices to complex robotic devices and from autonomous service agents to human actors. The complexity and multimodality of human actors require specific interfaces for their integration with IoT frameworks that provide suitable software architectures, data models, protocols, message types, and applications. This study focuses on the requirements and design approaches for integrating human actors in a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) within the application domain of Industry 4.0. After a systematic review and taxonomy of the related research literature, the design and implementation of a comprehensive human-integration framework is presented as part of a multi-agent IoT middleware called CHARIOT. Example applications that are developed to exploit the human integration capabilities of CHARIOT middleware are then presented, which extract data from human activities, enable multimodal interaction between humans and other IoT entities, and assist different human roles in a smart factory environment to satisfy the human-CPS integration requirements.


After the release of the results from the West of Scotland Prevention study (WOSCOPS) some questions have been raised with respect to validity of its finding on all cause mortality, which was reduced by 22% with pravastatin treatment (p = 0.051) compared with placebo. Also, since WOSCOPS was a primary preventive study its results could affect a large proportion of Norwegian men. Thus, it can also be asked whether statin treatment should be preferred to standard, specific treatment for certain diseases, e.g. hypertension, if economic restrictions by the government make it necessary to make priorities. For example, expensive drugs are now given free to many diabetics and hypertensives, who should probably be treated with statins, almost regardless of their cholesterol level. The total social costs of medication could then exceed accepted budgets and could lead to restrictions. The author discusses the validity of the WOSCOPS findings on all cause mortality, and compares the results obtained in this study with those randomised trials and other statin trials. Finally, a comparison is made between results from two metaanalyses: one of randomised hypertension trials and one of all randomised statin trials. It is concluded that more favourable results are obtained from the latter. Caution should be shown, however, when interpreting such a comparison.


Voices of Play: Miskitu Children's Speech and Song on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. By Amanda Minks. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2013. Pp. 240, figures, notes, references, index.)In Voices of Play: Miskitu Children's Speech and Song on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, Amanda Minks explores how the children living on Corn Island, off the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, use speech and song in their everyday lives to develop a sense of themselves and others in their lives on Corn Island. These forms of communication are also used to assert authority among the children, establish a hierarchy among themselves, and perpetuate their native Mistkitu tongue, as they live in a predominantly Spanish-speaking world. Through her ethnographic study, Amanda Minks examines how languages, genres, and voices intersect within the children's social and communicative competence. Focusing on a select group of children, Minks follows them as they engage in their playtime. In doing so, she documents their use of Kriol English, Spanish, and Miskitu as well as the frequency in which code-switching occurs.Historically, Afro-Caribbean Creoles populated Corn Island, but during the 1980s Contra War, a great number of Miskitu and Mestizos began settling on the island in hopes of finding work as well as refuge from the war. Minks's ethnography studies the way the children on the island carve out their sense of belonging within their social networks and with other inhabitants of the island. The children featured in her research are from the bottom of the social hierarchy on the island. Given their parents' inability to establish and maintain financial success on the island, which often resulted in extended stays on the mainland, the children were ostracized by other islanders and not considered true, or native, islanders. According to Minks, in their culture, there is a "traditional practice on the Atlantic Coast that transfers a material and symbolic connection from the womb to the place of birth." The migratory nature of their lives prevented their connection to the place of their birth. The Miskitu parents were frequently ousted from their homes built on rented land, and in the inflated tourist economy, they did not have the financial means to purchase their own homes or establish themselves financially.Chapter 1, "Voices of Play," provides both a historical and demographic background on the island and its inhabitants. Minks introduces the children living on Corn Island and provides a glimpse into their home lives. Minks further goes into detail to explain her methods, theories, and studies, and provides excerpts of bilingual transcripts of their playtime. With each transcript, Minks provides context and an analysis of the children's play.Chapter 2, "Histories and Contexts of Communication," addresses both the historical as well as social context for the children's language of play. Minks relates, in abbreviated form, a history of the Atlantic Coast. As early as 1679, the intermarriage between escaped African slaves with the indigenous population resulted in the creation of the people group known as the Miskitu. This chapter also establishes a correlation between race and culture that ultimately produced a cultural transformation of Corn Island. In addition, Minks delves into individual family structures of the children she follows, examining their learning environment and how their social networks allow for informal learning.Minks carefully analyzes the Miskitu language used by the children and explains the structure, alterations, and meanings. …


Assessment is a crucial social work task. Yet there is so much to consider that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. This book gives you structured, practical guidance on how to approach this vital professional skill. In a clear and accessible style, the authors provide both the theory behind assessment as well as helpful practice examples.

At the heart of this authoritative book is a set of theoretical maps to guide social workers' thinking and decision-making when undertaking assessment. Highlights of this fourth edition are:

■ insights into the kind of high-quality collaborative assessment that is most likely to lead to effective interventions
■ chapters discussing the specific challenges of assessment in children's and adult services
■ careful analysis of the latest legislation and government guidance
■ engaging features such as case studies, questions to challenge your perceptions, and thinking points to make you consider your own experience in the workplace.

This fully revised edition of a tried-and-tested text gives social work students and practitioners alike a coherent and reliable guide to best practice.


ABSTRACT Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently described paramyxovirus that is a major cause of upper and lower respiratory infection in children and adults worldwide. A safe and effective vaccine could decrease the burden of disease associated with this novel pathogen. We previously reported the development of the cotton rat model of hMPV infection and pathogenesis (J. V. Williams et al., J. Virol. 79:10944-10951, 2005). We report here the immunogenicity of an hMPV fusion (F) protein in this model. We constructed DNA plasmids that exhibited high levels of expression of hMPV F in mammalian cells (DNA-F). These constructs were used to develop a novel strategy to produce highly pure, soluble hMPV F protein lacking the transmembrane domain (FΔTM). We then immunized cotton rats at 0 and 14 days with either control vector, DNA-F alone, DNA-F followed by FΔTM protein, or FΔTM alone. All groups were challenged intranasally at 28 days with live hMPV. All three groups that received some form of hMPV F immunization mounted neutralizing antibody responses and exhibited partial protection against virus shedding in the lungs compared to controls. The FΔTM-immunized animals showed the greatest degree of protection (>1,500-fold reduction in lung virus titer). All three immunized groups showed a modest reduction of nasal virus shedding. Neither evidence of a Th2-type response nor increased lung pathology were present in the immunized animals. We conclude that sequence-optimized hMPV F protein protects against hMPV infection when delivered as either a DNA or a protein vaccine in cotton rats.


Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a highly efficient and green oxidant because it has the highest content of active oxygen (47% w/w) and produces only H2O as a by-product. In this work, nickel doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanofibers with outstanding photocatalytic H2O2 production ability are prepared. The characterization results demonstrate that Ni is not only present as the oxide but inserts at the interstitial position through coordinative Ni(I)–N bonds. These Ni(I)–N bonds can act as chemical adsorption sites to activate molecular O2. Moreover, as an "electron transfer bridge", Ni(I)–N active sites promote electron transfer from the catalyst to the adsorbed O2 molecules. The as-prepared nickel-doped g-C3N4 displays a much higher H2O2 equilibrium concentration and formation rate than neat g-C3N4 prepared by calcination without post-treatment does, as well as excellent structural stability. Density functional theory simulations show that Ni(I)–N active sites can adsorb O2 molecules with high adsorption energy and elongate the OO bond, leading to its activation. Charge density difference results confirm the electron transfer from the Ni+ doping sites to the O2 molecules. The Mulliken charge is −0.42 when O2 is adsorbed on the Ni+ doping site, indicating that the O2 molecule is enriched by a large number of electrons. This electron-rich environment is beneficial to the H+ attack to form H2O2.


WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) is known as one of the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease. WWOX binds Tau via its C-terminal SDR domain and interacts with Tau phosphorylating enzymes ERK, JNK, and GSK-3β, and thereby limits AD progression. Loss of WWOX in newborns leads to severe neural diseases and early death. Gradual loss of WWOX protein in the hippocampus and cortex starting from middle age may slowly induce aggregation of a protein cascade that ultimately causes accumulation of extracellular amyloid beta plaques and intracellular tau tangles, along with reduction in inhibitory GABAergic interneurons, in AD patients over 70 years old. Age-related increases in pS14-WWOX accumulation in the brain promotes neuronal degeneration. Suppression of Ser14 phosphorylation by a small peptide Zfra leads to enhanced protein degradation, reduction in NF-κB-mediated inflammation, and restoration of memory loss in triple transgenic mice for AD. Intriguingly, tumor suppressors p53 and WWOX may counteract each other in vivo, which leads to upregulation of AD-related protein aggregation in the brain and lung. WWOX has numerous binding proteins. We reported that the stronger the binding between WWOX and its partners, the better the suppression of cancer growth and reduction in inflammation. In this regard, the stronger complex formation between WWOX and partners may provide a better blockade of AD progression. In this review, we describe whether and how WWOX and partner proteins control inflammatory response and protein aggregation and thereby limit AD progression.


We investigated the interactive effects of forage source and forage particle size (PS) as a free-choice provision on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and behavior of dairy calves fed texturized starters. Forty-eight Holstein calves (42 ± 3 kg of body weight) were randomly assigned (n = 12 calves per treatment) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with the factors of forage source [alfalfa hay (AH) and wheat straw (WS)] and forage PS [(AH: medium = 1.96 mm or long = 3.93 mm) and (WS: medium = 2.03 mm or long = 4.10 mm), as geometric mean diameters]. The treatments were (1) AH with medium PS (AH-MPS), (2) AH with long PS (AH-LPS), (3) WS with medium PS (WS-MPS), and (4) WS with long PS (WS-LPS). Regardless of forage PS, the preweaning starter intake, dry matter intake, metabolizable energy intake, weaning body weight, and forage intake were greater for AH calves than WS calves. Average daily gain, average daily gain/metabolizable energy intake, feed efficiency, and final body weight of the calves did not differ among groups. An interaction of forage source and forage PS influenced acetate, propionate, and acetate-to-propionate ratio in the rumen on d 35, with the greatest acetate proportion and acetate-to-propionate ratio, but the least propionate proportion for AH-MPS calves than the other calves. The total volatile fatty acid concentration and the rumen proportions of propionate (d 70), butyrate (d 35), and valerate (d 35) were greater in AH-MPS calves than in AH-LPS calves. Calves fed AH had greater total volatile fatty acid concentration (d 35 and 70) and propionate proportion (d 70), but lesser ruminal proportions of butyrate (d 35 and 70), valerate (d 35 and 70), and acetate-to-propionate ratio (d 70) compared with calves fed WS. The ruminal valerate proportion (d 70) was greatest in WS-MPS calves than the other calves. An interaction of forage source and forage PS influenced preweaning standing time and starter eating time, with the least standing time for WS-MPS calves and the greatest eating starter time for AH-LPS calves. Calves fed AH spent less time for rumination, but devoted more time to non-nutritive oral behaviors than WS calves. Calves fed forage with long PS spent more time for rumination, eating forage, and spent less time lying and non-nutritive oral behaviors than medium PS. In conclusion, forage source and PS interacted, affecting behavior and rumen fermentation when calves were fed texturized starters. In addition, a desirable ruminal pH in dairy calves can be obtained with texturized starters.


With the recent advances in surface fabrication technologies, condensation heat transfer has seen a renaissance. Hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces have all been employed as a means to enhance condensate shedding, enabling micrometric droplet departure length scales. One of the main bottlenecks for achieving higher condensation efficiencies is the difficulty of shedding sub-10 μm droplets due to the increasing role played by surface adhesion and viscous limitations at nanometric length scales. To enable ultra-efficient droplet shedding, we demonstrate hierarchical condensation on rationally designed copper oxide microhill structures covered with nanoscale features that enable large (~ 100 µm) condensate droplets on top of the microstructures to co-exist with smaller (< 1 µm) droplets beneath. We use high-speed optical microscopy and focal plane shift imaging to show that hierarchical condensation is capable of efficiently removing sub-10-μm condensate droplets via both coalescence and divergent-track-assisted droplet self-transport towards the large suspended Cassie-Baxter (CB) state droplets, which eventually shed via classical gravitational shedding and thereby avoid vapor side limitations encountered with droplet jumping. Interestingly, experimental growth rate analysis showed that the presence of large CB droplets accelerates individual underlying droplet growth by ≈ 21% when compared to identically sized droplets not residing beneath CB droplets. Furthermore, the steady droplet shedding mechanism shifted the droplet size distribution towards smaller sizes, with ≈ 70% of observable underlying droplets having radii ≤ 5 μm compared to ≈ 30% for droplets growing without shading. To elucidate the overall heat transfer performance, an analytical model was developed to show hierarchical condensation has the potential to break the limits of minimum droplet departure size governed by finite surface adhesion and viscous effects through the tailoring of structure length scale, coalescence, and self-transport. More importantly, abrasive wear tests showed that hierarchical condensation has good durability against mechanical damage to the surface. Our study not only demonstrates the potential of hierarchical condensation as a means to break the limitations of droplet jumping, it develops the rational design guidelines for micro/nanostructured surfaces to enable excellent heat transfer performance as well as extended durability.


N OWADAYS, billions of devices are connected to the In-ternet, enabling Internet of Things (IoT) systems widely deployed, such as smart city, smart healthcare and intelligent plant, to capture a great quantity of sensing data. Consequently, the data transmission, processing and analysis in IoT applications bring a great pressure to the central server. Fortunately, distributed intelligence becomes one of the potential solutions. Distributed intelligence can greatly relieve server pressures via plenty of terminal devices, and these devices collaboratively perceive and handle the mass data to improve the reliability, s-calability and security of industrial IoT systems. As future IoT system will embrace more wireless sensors and devices, the high-performance computing, high-bandwidth and low-latency communication are excessively required, many new research opportunities and challenges for distributed intelligence over Internet of things have arisen. To promote the development of distributed intelligence technology, this special section (SS) focuses on various technologies and platforms regarding industrial IoT systems. This special section received nearly 50 submitted manuscripts, out of which 10 of them have been accepted after a rigorous peer review. Each manuscript is reviewed by multiple rounds of review with at least three or four reviewers, the problems to be solved and the innovation of each manuscript are mainly concerned. Then the accepted papers are summarized as follows in details. Considering the joint optimization of the offloading decision and resource allocation under limited resource constraints in collaborative edge computing networks with multiple IIoT devices and MEC servers, an improved differential evolution algorithm [7] is proposed to minimize the weighted sum of cost of energy consumption and time delay, which can effectively reduce the system delay and energy consumption. In order to improve the performance of task scheduling in cloud computing, Attiya et al. [1] propose a novel hybrid swarm intelligence method MRFOSSA, which uses a modified Manta-Ray Foraging Optimizer (MRFO) and the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA). MRFOSSA is superior to other methods in terms of makespan time and cloud throughput. The research goal of the paper [5] is to design an intelligent computing offloading strategy for industrial applications in order to optimize costs and mitigate energy losses. Then the paper proposes to combine a fog controller and AI-based learning techniques so that the fog controller can intelligently assign tasks to the most appropriate fog devices and find the appropriate path to the target. Considering the resource utilization efficiency under dynamic overload requests and network states in IIoT, Chen et al. [2] propose DRL-based intelligent SFC orchestration scheme and jointly optimize the VNF deployment and SFC embedment by the improved DDQN algorithm, which can improve the performance of resource utilization rate, execution cost and delay compared with other representative schemes. To solve the problem of resource allocation and energy cost in Internet of Vehicles, Kong et al. [8] design a joint computing and caching framework and formulate the problem as a reinforcement learning problem to minimize the energy cost. On this basis, the optimization algorithm based on DDPG is proposed, which can effectively decrease energy costs. To reduce the query numbers of the object model when constructing adversarial examples, Zhang et al. [10] propose generating adversarial examples with shadow model (GASM), i.e., transfering the query operations to the designed shadow model, which can achieve high attack success rates. Chen et al. [3] revise a Decentralized-Wireless-Federated-Learning algorithm (DWFL) which utilizes the superposition property of the analog scheme. It can solve the problem of single failure, limited bandwidth resource and privacy protection in wireless federated learning algorithm, which can be applied widely in wireless IoT networks. To reduce the resource consumption in CNN-based applications, Jia et al. [6] propose the CNN-based Resource Optimization APProach which utilizes model compression and computation sharing to optimize inner-model and inter-model respectively, and the comparison results show the superior performance in scalability and the decrease of resource cost. In mobile crowdsensing activities, Gao et al. [4] propose a differential Location Privacy-preserving Mechanism based on Trajectory obfuscation (LPMT) to protect the location privacy of mobile users, which includes three operations: stay points extraction, stay points obfuscation and stay points sampling. In order to mimic the task-free bottom-up visual attention process by predicting salient regions on natural images, Umer et al. [9] propose a Pseudo Knowledge Distillation (PKD) model based on knowledge distillation and pseudo labelling technique, which is computationally efficient and suitable for real-time on-device saliency prediction.


INTRODUCTION The material from Georges Bank, described in this paper, was submitted to John B. Reeside, jr., Chief of the Section of Paleontology of the United States Geological Survey, by Henry C. Stetson, Assistant Curator of Paleontology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Research Associate in Submarine Geology, and was subsequently placed in the writer's hands for identification and description. The material was dredged by the ketch Atlantis on August 8, 1934, under the direction of Stetson, who, under the auspices of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is in charge of their studies of sediments, past and present, on the Continental Shelf off the eastern coast of the United States. Stetson was assisted by Marshall Schalk. Most of the material submitted consists of coarse, gray, conglomeratic, calcareous, fossiliferous sandstone. The fossils are preserved mainly in the form of molds, but the shells of Exogyra and a few other shells found in, . . .


Diabetes is a chronic disease deriving from the insufficient production or utilization of insulin. So far, the treatment of diabetes relies on the daily subcutaneous injection of insulin. However, this approach suffers of poor patient compliance and fluctuations in blood glucose levels that increases the risk of hypoglycemia, cardiovascular disease, non-healing wounds and other comorbidities. In this work, a delivery system is proposed for the controlled release of insulin and regulation of glycaemia. Nanoscale granules of insulin were synthesized and encapsulated within the porous matrix of PLGA microparticles (i-μPLs). The granules were obtained with an accurate crystallization process returning spherical nanoparticles with a diameter of 209.9±15.8 nm. μPLs were prepared via a top-down approach resulting in 20 x 5 μm square microparticles, made out of a biodegradable polymer - poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) - which is already used in clinical applications. In vitro studies were conducted on different cells, including macrophages, fibroblasts and endothelial cells, and confirmed the safety and biological activity of i-μPLs. After insulin stimulation, phosphorylated AKT at Ser473 was assessed in cell lysate using a commercial kit (In-Cell ELISA): i-μPL activity was comparable to that of free, commercial insulin. As preliminary in vivo studies, i-μPLs (0.25 U) or empty μPLs (control) were implanted in the spleen of mice. Twenty-four hours post implantation, fasted mice underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (1 g glucose/Kg body weight). In i-μPL treated mice, the mean blood glucose level was lower as compared to controls at time zero (before gavage) and at 15, 30, 60 and 120 min. Consequently, the glycaemia AUC was reduced in i-μPLs-treated vs. control mice (17828±1527 vs. 20543±413, p=0.06). This preliminary data would suggest that i-μPLs could be effectively used to modulate glucose content in diabetes. Disclosure R. Primavera: None. M. Magnone: None. D. Di Mascolo: None. E. Zocchi: None. A. De Pascale: None. P. Decuzzi: None.


This article introduces the field of trans pornography studies and makes a case for why studying it matters. We locate trans pornography within the broader field of porn studies, while also pointing to its importance to transgender studies. We map the history of trans pornography and examine the wider social, political, and economic forces contributing to the transformation of trans porn into a genre of mainstream straight porn. We discuss the economic organization of the trans porn industry and current industry trends, including geographical shifts in production and the rise of alternative production platforms. We address areas of future research and the need for more scholarship on the political economy of the trans porn industry, audiences and consumers, transmasculine representation in pornography, and research that focuses on trans porn production outside the United States.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 5E learning cycle model oriented instruction (LCMI) on 11th-grade students' conceptual understanding of acids and bases concepts and student motivation to learn chemistry. The study, which lasted for 7 weeks, involved two groups: An experimental group (LCMI) and a control group (the traditional teacher-centered instruction [TTCI]). Based on multivariate analysis of covariance results, the LCMI students outperformed the TTCI students in terms of conceptual understanding about acids and bases. Similarly, the students from the experimental group scored higher motivation and this difference was found to be statistically significant. These findings demonstrated that instruction based on learning cycle model provide students a deeper conceptual understanding, foster high-order thinking, engage them in the learning process, and influence their motivation to learn by increasing the relevance of school chemistry to their daily lives.


Abstract:The study provides evidence on the transition and growth of the formal sector in the Indonesian economy. It utilizes data from the National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas) for tracking the previous work status of labourers as formal or informal workers. The study also examines the implications of formalization of employment for the different rates of earnings of formal sector workers, given their human capital characteristics and different industries of employment. The study finds that the growth of employment in the formal sector is mainly the result of the entry of younger and better educated workers. Although there is some mobility from the informal to the formal sector, the results show that individuals who were previously working in the informal sector are less likely to move to the formal sector. In terms of earnings, there is evidence of scarring effects: individuals who are initially in the formal sector earn more than individuals who are initially in the informal sector.


This paper presents the structure of the LiLa Knowledge Base, i.e. a collection of multifarious linguistic resources for Latin described with the same vocabulary of knowledge description and interlinked according to the principles of the so-called Linked Data paradigm. Following its highly lexically based nature, the core of the LiLa Knowledge Base consists of a large collection of Latin lemmas, serving as the backbone to achieve interoperability between the resources, by linking all those entries in lexical resources and tokens in corpora that point to the same lemma. After detailing the architecture supporting LiLa , the paper particularly focusses on how we approach the challenges raised by harmonizing different strategies of lemmatization that can be found in linguistic resources for Latin. As an example of the process to connect a linguistic resource to LiLa , the inclusion in the Knowledge Base of a dependency treebank is described and evaluated.


With the cultural and economic development of the society, new and different needs are emerging as well as the need for sporting goods. Sport is mainly concerned with services, as well as the materialization of sports values created by clubs and participants themselves. Health, vitality and quality of life are the most common desire of most people. With the cultural and economic development of the society, new and different needs are emerging as well as the need for the use of sports products and a very wide economic maneuvering space is created to create profits and accumulation. Sports management is a process of forecasting, planning, organizing, managing, providing personnel and controlling human, material, financial and other organizational resources of a sport organization to achieve the aims set. The aim of the paper is to identify one of the essential segments of quality of life, as a factor of commitment to the exercise of regular physical exercise in middle-aged persons in Republic of Srpska. The research was realized in the form of a non-experimental empirical study. The sample of the entities of the survey consisted of 1628 subjects, subordinated to their gender affiliation (men = 916 / 56.3%, women = 712 / 43.7%). The stratification of the cause was carried out according to age-related criteria (mean age), age range 40-65 years (according to WHO criteria). In order to ensure a satisfactory proportionality Republic of Srpska's territory, four regional units (Banja Luka - 41.6%), Doboj-Bjeljina region (26%), Sarajevo-Zvornik region (19.7%) and Trebinje-Fokanski region -12.7%), which resulted in the creation of references for the survey results for Republic of Srpska. The results showed that the material circumstances of the respondents represent the determinant of the commitment to physical exercise of middle-aged persons in Republic of Srpska.The Republic of Srpska has reason to take care of the sports and recreational activities of citizens, because the economic power of the society is based on the working ability of an active population. State and local authorities are not sufficiently involved in the issue of sport-recreational activities, so they have to be more dedicated to it. From their decisions, laws, regulations, urban solutions, information, depend on the provision of the necessary material resources that enable the particular environment to be closer to the realization and maintenance of social and sports infrastructure that contributes to the opportunities, inclinations and habits characteristic of an active lifestyle.


It is well known that surface features, such as topographical or chemical cues, can affect cell behavior from initial attachment and migration to differentiation and production of new tissues; this phenomenon is called contact guidance. A great improvement in studies concerning this phenomenon comes from progress in microfabrication techniques such as photolithography or soft lithography. Due to these techniques, a wide variety of micro-patterned surfaces can be realized to control cell size, shape, spatial organization and proliferation. These studies promoted the development of cellular bioassays that provide entirely new insights into the factors that control cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation onto material surfaces and molecular signaling pathways. The ability to control shape and spreading is also important to direct stem cells to different specific lineages, but it is also of great importance for the design of cell culture substrates for tissue engineering. In this work, the possibility of patterning surfaces is investigated, with particular focus on the micrometric scale. The response of different types of cells is also investigated. (Journal of Applied Biomaterials & Biomechanics 2008; 6: 132-43)


Morpholine-triazole fungicide mixtures were evaluated for their efficacy in controlling blister blight disease and on the quality of made tea. The combination treatments protected the plants from the disease at half the dosage recommended in the respective ergosterol biosynthesis inhibiting schedules and they were also found to be economical. Among the combinations, tridemorph-hexaconazole and tridemorph-propiconazole were superior compared to tridemorph-bitertanol. The fungicide treatments resulted in an increase in yield and quality of made tea.


The effect of three types of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors on in vivo antilipolysis was investigated in healthy subjects using a 2-h euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic (40 mU · m-2·min) clamp together with microdialysis of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue. During hyperinsulinemia (∼330 pmol/l), the circulating glycerol concentration was reduced to ∼50% of the basal level of 53.2 ± 3.6 μmol/l, indicating an antilipolytic effect. The decrease in adipose tissue dialysate glycerol, which mirrors the change in interstitial glycerol concentration, was about 40% during hyperinsulinemia when Ringer's solution alone was perfused. Local perfusion with a selective PDE IV inhibitor, rolipram (10−4) mol/l), did not influence the insulin-induced decrease in dialysate glycerol (F = 0.8 vs. perfusion with Ringer's solution by two-factor analysis of variance [ANOVA]), although rolipram increased the dialysate glycerol level by 144 ± 7% of the baseline value. However, local perfusion with a selective PDE III inhibitor, amrinone (10−3) mol/l), or a nonselective PDE inhibitor, theophylline (10−2) mol/l), abolished the ability of insulin to lower dialysate glycerol (F = 16.5, P < 0.01 and F = 8.5, P < 0.01, respectively, as compared with perfusion with Ringer's solution). The findings could not be explained by changes in the local blood flow (as measured by a microdialysis–ethanol escape technique), which was not affected by hyperinsulinemia in the presence or the absence of PDE inhibitors in the dialysis solvent. We conclude that PDEs play an important role in mediating the antilipolytic effect of insulin in vivo and that PDE III is the dominant isoenzyme modulating this effect.


Finding an infinite sequence of transitions (a run) going through some special states (called accepting) is of importance for fields like formal verification. Whereas finding such a sequence as been extensively studied, the problem of maintaining this sequence upon changes in the model or the specification has received less attention. In this work, we propose a solution to the maintenance of an accepting run when the transition system representing the product of the model and of the specification is changed, using the Tarjan's algorithm as a base algorithm.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. In addition, more than one-third of U.S. adults have at least one type of CVD, and about one in three deaths in the U.S. are attributed to CVD. It is not at all unusual to know personally someone suffering from CVD or who experienced sudden death due to a cardiac disorder. Read More


Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of fixed-combination travoprost 0.004%/timolol 0.5% preserved with polyquaternium-1 in patients with insufficient response to bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% preserved with benzalkonium chloride. Patients and methods: In this open-label nonrandomized study conducted at 13 European sites, patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension with insufficient intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction during bimatoprost/timolol therapy were transitioned to travoprost/timolol (DuoTrav ®) administered every evening for 12 weeks. Change in IOP from baseline to week 12 was assessed in patients who transitioned from fixed-combination bimatoprost/timolol (n=57, primary endpoint). Secondary assessments included change in IOP at week 4, percentage of patients with IOP #18 mmHg at weeks 4 and 12, change in Ocular Surface Disease Index and ocular hyperemia scores at week 12, and patient preference. Adverse events were also reported. results were similar at week 4. Most patients had IOP #18 mmHg at weeks 4 and 12 (78.6% and 85.5%, respectively). Mean Ocular Surface Disease Index score was significantly reduced (P,0.001); no significant change in ocular hyperemia score was observed (P=0.197). Treatment-related adverse events included dysgeusia, nausea, paresthesia, myalgia, headache, and eye irritation (n=1 each). Most patients (74.5%) preferred travoprost/timolol over bimatoprost/timolol. Conclusion: Transition to travoprost/timolol significantly reduced IOP and was well tolerated in patients who had elevated IOP despite bimatoprost/timolol therapy. Polyquaternium-1–preserved travoprost/timolol was preferred over prior treatment with benzalkonium chloride–preserved bimatoprost/timolol.


This article critically assesses the potential impact of the proposed Data Protection Regulation on the undertaking of social sciences research in the UK, providing practical analysis from the perspective of research involving administrative data. This assessment reveals how changes to the key concepts of anonymisation, personal data and lawfulness may impact upon social sciences research. The approach taken to the regulation of personal versus anonymised data in the proposed Regulation represents a disproportionate and de-contextualised response to the risks involved in undertaking social sciences research that may create disincentives for investing in privacy protective mechanisms. It is positive that there is explicit recognition of research as a legitimate form of data processing. However, negative implications will arise from the introduction of pseudonymous data as a subset of personal data, without proportionate consideration of varying processing contexts and factors surrounding de-identification and specifically, the strict security measures taken to prohibit deidentification in the research context.


This paper re-examines the empirical content of the expectations theory of the term structure by employing the Campbell-Shiller (1987) methodology to study the behaviour of 10-year/three-month US government yield spreads. The methodology is implemented in two ways. First, theoretical spreads satisfying the expectations theory are constructed from in-sample forecasts of future changes in short rates generated from a small-scale VAR. Second, theoretical spreads are computed from out-of-sample forecasts of changes in short rates with the parameters of each VAR equation updated with a Bayesian procedure. When the procedure is restricted to give less weight to new data than would be the case with OLS estimation over an expanding sample, theoretical spreads computed from out-of-sample forecasts track actual spreads closely in pre-1979 data. This is also the case as from the start of 1984 if data from the 1979Q4-1982Q4 period of non-borrowed reserve targeting are given zero weight when estimating the parameters of the VAR.


Human natural killer (NK)-cell receptors are expressed by NK cells and some T cells, primarily TCR+CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Inhibitory NK cell receptors (iNKRs) can down-regulate antigen-mediated T-cell effector functions, including cytotoxic activity and cytokine release. In the present study we demonstrate that CD3+ T cells that bind tetramers of HLA-E and express its ligand, the NK-cell inhibitory receptor CD94/NKG2A, were significantly decreased in frequency in patients with human T-cell lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) but not in asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers. These cells were either alphabeta or gammadelta T cells. T-cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and spectratyping analysis revealed that the TCR repertoire in directly isolated HLA-E tetramer-positive cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells was skewed in both HTLV-1-infected and healthy individuals. However, oligoclonally or monoclonally expanded levels of TCR Vbetawere more frequently detected within HTLV-1-infected individuals than healthy controls. Importantly, HLA-E tetramer-positive or NKG2A+ T cells from HTLV-1 patients do not express Tax and display different TCR usage from the immunodominant Tax11-19-specific CD8+ T cells, suggesting that they do not encounter HTLV-1-infected cells. The expression of NK cell-associated receptors by clonally expanded CD8+ T cells during chronic viral infection suggests that these receptors play a role in regulating CD8+ T cell-mediated antiviral immune responses and that a decrease of this cell subset results in an increased risk of inflammatory diseases such as HAM/TSP.


It has been observed that majority of students do not have effective study habit skills that are proportional to their academic demands. In recent times, reports of large scale academic failures among Nigerian students have become a subject of concern for stakeholders. Although, a lot have been written on study habits and academic performance of students in many areas but the effects of study habits on academic performance of CRS students seems to be a neglected area. This study, therefore, attempts to isolate time allocation and management as a factor of study habits and examine its effects on the academic performance of CRS students in Federal College of Education, Zaria. The following hypothesis that "there is no significant difference in the opinions of CRS students on the effects of time allocation and management on academic performance in Federal College of Education, Zaria" guided the study. Primary and secondary data used in the study were collected through Study Habit Inventory and other relevant materials.  The primary data were analyzed using tables and simple percentages while independent t-test was employed to test the hypothesis.  The results revealed that majority of CRS students at NCE level in Federal College of Education, Zaria used poor time allocation and management which was likely to have affected their academic performance. It was therefore recommended, among others, that students should be counseled on the effective time allocation and management.


The correlating effect of self- esteem, depression and stigmatization on the educational attainment of 240 pregnant adolescents in Delta State, Nigeria was investigated. The participants responded to three valid scales. A correspondence of the participants' educational attainment was required as well. Using Pearson product Correlation and Multiple Regression procedures to investigate the predictive capacity of the independent variables on the dependent variables, the result indicated that the three independent variables, when taken together were effective associates and related effectively with the educational attainment of pregnant adolescent. Based on these findings it was recommended that pregnant adolescent should be assisted to develop effective self esteem to shield them from depression and stigmatization as well as to self actualize and fulfill their educational dreams, the government should focus on creating an avenue for the continued education of pregnant adolescent and parents should therefore be more concerned and protective of their children in such conditions encouraging them to further their educational prospects with the consciousness of the future.


Maintenance decision method of the mechanical equipment still has some deficiencies and shortcomings, including unreasonable maintenance methods, surplus or insufficient repair, and unscientific inspection and repair intervals, especially for equipment with different risks. As a consequence, more frequent failures and higher maintenance costs of the mechanical equipment occur along with some major safety accidents and economic losses in the process of production. To overcome these problems, a framework for maintenance decision method based on risk level is presented for mechanical equipment in the petrochemical industry. First, 10 evaluation indexes and a set of scoring criteria quantifying the subjective evaluation are defined to evaluate the risk level of each mechanical equipment. Based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the weight of the evaluation indexes and the evaluation model of the risk levels were established. Then, the subjective effects in the scoring process were removed using the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) approach. Next, maintenance decision-making trees of the mechanical equipment were formulated by referencing the logic decision tree of reliability-centered maintenance. Finally, the feasibility of the framework was effectively verified by testing a well-control system in the oil field, for which the risk level and maintenance methods were obtained.


Divided into three major parts, the first section deals with novel technologies and includes the utility of adverse event reports to drug discovery, the translational aspects of preclinical safety findings, broader computational prediction of drug side-effects, and a description of the serotonergic system. The main part of the book looks at some of the most common antitarget-mediated side effects, focusing on hepatotoxicity in drug safety, cardiovascular toxicity and signaling effects via kinase and GPCR anti-targets. In the final section, several case studies of recently developed drugs illustrate how to prevent anti-target effects and how big pharma deals with them if they occur. The more recent field of systems pharmacology has gained prominence and this is reflected in chapters dedicated to the utility in deciphering and modeling anti-targets. The final chapter is concerned with those compounds that inadvertently elicit CNS mediated adverse events, including a pragmatic description of ways to mitigate these types of safety risks.


The performance of intelligent transportation systems is dependent on their adaptability to non-recurrent traffic flow events. A novel approach to detecting non-recurrent patterns observed in short-term traffic flow is presented. Traffic flow patterns are distinguished with respect to non determinism and high nonlinearity by analyzing the recurrent behavior of jointly considered series of volume and occupancy; these patterns are indicative of rare traffic events and are further studied. Findings show that rare patterns are likely to occur before traffic flow reaches congestion due to the increased traffic flow complexity. Regarding transitions, traffic flow has a frequent transitional nature, with interesting behavior in synchronized flow; results point to the existence of two regimes with different statistical characteristics with respect to determinism and nonlinearity. The observed statistical characteristics of traffic patterns can be a source of information on the short-term predictability of traffic flow for enhancing the accuracy of traffic forecasting models.


We study production of Kaluza-Klein (KK) gluons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the framework of a warped extra dimension with the standard model fields propagating in the bulk. We show that the detection of the KK gluon is challenging since its production is suppressed by small couplings to the proton's constituents. Moreover, the KK gluon decays mostly to top pairs due to an enhanced coupling and hence is broad. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that for MKKG?4??TeV, 100??fb-1 of data at the LHC can provide discovery of the KK gluon. We utilize a sizable left-right polarization asymmetry from the KK gluon resonance to maximize the signal significance, and we explore the novel feature of extremely highly energetic "top-jets." We briefly discuss how the detection of electroweak gauge KK states (Z/W) faces a similar challenge since their leptonic decays (golden modes) are suppressed. Our analysis suggests that other frameworks, for example, little Higgs, which rely on UV completion via strong dynamics might face similar challenges, namely, (1) suppressed production rates for the new particles (such as Z?), due to their "light-fermion-phobic" nature, and (2) difficulties in detection since the new particles are broad and decay predominantly to third generation quarks and longitudinal gauge bosons


Over the past two decades, collaboration has emerged as a keyword and an important methodological and ethical concern in various disciplines, which has nurtured interdisciplinary approaches that often encompass innovative processes of knowledge production. In sonic practice, trends such as participatory art, the workshop turn, and ideas of Do-It-With-Others contributed to the emergence of creative processes that manifest within the sphere of inter-human relations through participation and collaboration. Such processes can operate beyond the institutional space, or classic studio and gallery settings, by engaging directly with the social realm; blurring the lines between art, performance and our lived social, political, economic, technological and environmental realities. How are interdisciplinary practices, methodologies and vocabularies shaping the way sound and music works are created and experienced? How does this search for knowledge change sonic practice? The second issue of Airea Journal explores these questions by presenting practice-based and theoretical contributions of collaborative interdisciplinary creative processes in sound. This special focus on sound is addressed from multiple perspectives in relation to compositional, audiovisual, social, political, environmental, participatory and performative standpoints. This is a move that pays attention to and interrogates the aesthetics, methodologies and politics of interdisciplinary sonic practices. The sound arts often involve more than one disciplines and in order to study and comprehend them, an interdisciplinary approach is demanded. Many sound artworks are more than just (about) sound or sounds. Consequently, no single discipline is able to fully encompass how sound as affective and vibrant matter can be both reflexive and constitutive of social, cultural, political, religious, ethical, and perhaps even biological or cognitive developments. Sound can be investigated from almost any angle, and the articles in the present issue include numerous disciplines and subjects.


The present prognosis for the recovery of voluntary control of movement in patients diagnosed as motor complete is generally poor. Herein we introduce a novel and noninvasive stimulation strategy of painless transcutaneous electrical enabling motor control and a pharmacological enabling motor control strategy to neuromodulate the physiological state of the spinal cord. This neuromodulation enabled the spinal locomotor networks of individuals with motor complete paralysis for 2-6 years American Spinal Cord Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) to be re-engaged and trained. We showed that locomotor-like stepping could be induced without voluntary effort within a single test session using electrical stimulation and training. We also observed significant facilitation of voluntary influence on the stepping movements in the presence of stimulation over a 4-week period in each subject. Using these strategies we transformed brain-spinal neuronal networks from a dormant to a functional state sufficiently to enable recovery of voluntary movement in five out of five subjects. Pharmacological intervention combined with stimulation and training resulted in further improvement in voluntary motor control of stepping-like movements in all subjects. We also observed on-command selective activation of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles when attempting to plantarflex. At the end of 18 weeks of weekly interventions the mean changes in the amplitude of voluntarily controlled movement without stimulation was as high as occurred when combined with electrical stimulation. Additionally, spinally evoked motor potentials were readily modulated in the presence of voluntary effort, providing electrophysiological evidence of the re-establishment of functional connectivity among neural networks between the brain and the spinal cord.


ABSTRACT We contribute to the literature on dividend policy by relaxing Miller and Modigliani's (1961) perfect capital market assumptions and incorporating a factor that has not been investigated before, that is, variation in managerial ability. Based on more than 24 000 observations across over 20 years (1989–2011), our results show that firms with more talented executives are more likely to pay dividends and, among firms that pay dividends, pay significantly larger dividends. A rise in managerial ability by one SD raises the propensity to pay dividends by 27% and, for firms that pay dividends, increases dividend payouts by 29%. Our results are consistent with the notion that talented managers, confident in their ability to keep the firm profitable, are more willing to pay larger dividends because they are less concerned about having to reduce dividends in the future. Further analysis shows that our results are not likely vulnerable to endogeneity.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Severe, immediate postprocedural pain and the need for analgesics after vertebroplasty can be a discouraging experience for patients and caregivers. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the presence of severe pain immediately after vertebroplasty predicts short- and long-term pain relief. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A chart review was performed to categorize patients regarding pain severity and analgesic usage immediately after vertebroplasty (< 4 h). "Severe" pain was defined as at least 8 of 10 with the 10-point VAS. Outcomes were pain severity and pain medication score and usage at 1 month and 1 year after vertebroplasty. Outcomes and clinical characteristics were compared between groups by using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Of the 429 vertebroplasty procedures identified, 69 (16%) were associated with severe pain, and 133 (31%) were associated with analgesic administration immediately after the procedure. The group experiencing severe pain had higher preprocedure median VAS rest pain scores (5 [IQR, 2–7]) and activity pain scores (10 [IQR, 8–10]) compared with patients who did not experience severe pain (3 [IQR, 1–6]; P = .0208, and 8 [IQR, 7–10]; P = .0263, respectively). At 1 month postprocedure, VAS rest and activity pain scores were similar between the severe pain group and the nonsevere pain group (P = .16 and P = .25, respectively) and between the group receiving pain medication and the group not receiving pain medication (P = .25 and P = .67, respectively). This similarity continued for 1 year after the procedure. Analgesic usage was similar among all groups at 1 year postprocedure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe pain immediately after vertebroplasty have similar long-term outcomes compared with patients without severe pain.


Demographic growth, changes in diet, and reliance on first-generation biofuels are increasing the human demand for agricultural products, thereby enhancing the human pressure on global freshwater resources. Recent research on the food-water nexus has highlighted how some major agricultural regions of the world lack the water resources required to sustain current growth trends in crop production. To meet the increasing need for agricultural commodities with limited water resources, the water use efficiency of the agricultural sector must be improved. In this regard, recent work indicates that the often overlooked strategy of changing the crop distribution within presently cultivated areas offers promise. Here we investigate the extent to which water in the United States could be saved while improving yields simply by replacing the existing crops with more suitable ones. We propose crop replacement criteria that achieve this goal while preserving crop diversity, economic value, nitrogen fixation, and food protein production. We find that in the United States, these criteria would greatly improve calorie (+46%) and protein (+34%) production and economic value (+208%), with 5% water savings with respect to the present crop distribution. Interestingly, greater water savings could be achieved in water-stressed agricultural regions of the US such as California (56% water savings), and other western states.


The interlaminar deformation behaviors of thermoplastic AS4/PEEK composite laminates subjected to static tensile loading are investigated by means of microscopic moire interferometry with high spatial resolution. The fully three- dimensional orthotropic elastic-plastic analysis of interlaminar deformation for the thermoplastic laminates is developed in this paper, and used to simulate the stress-strain curves of tensile experiment for its angle-ply laminates. Under uniaxial tensile loading, the 3D orthotropic elastic-plastic FE analysis and microscopic moire interferometry of interlaminar deformations are carried out for the (±25)S4 laminates. The quantitative local-filed experimental results of interlaminar shear strain and displacements at free- edge surface of the laminate are compared with corresponding numerical results of the orthotropic elastic-plastic FE model. It is indicated that the numerical tensile stress- strain curves of angle-ply laminates computed with 3D orthotropic elastic-plastic model are agree with experimental results. The numerical interlaminar displacement U and shear strainxz are also consistent with the experimental results obtained by moire interferometry. It is expected the elastic-plastic interlaminar stresses and deformations analysis for the optimal design and application of AS4/PEEK laminates and its structures.


The diesel engine cylinder was processed by laser honing (LH) device, the structure morphology was observed with scanning electric mirror (SEM), and lubricant consumes and wear performances were measured, at the same time the mechanism of LH and effects of laser parameters on LH results were analyzed. The experimental results are shown that LH is a kind of phase transformation treatment by laser, which processes a hardening belt in the certain distributing form on the work-piece surface, and forms the hardness distribution of soft and hard material alternatively; LH may lower the engine oil consumes 30%-60%, and reduce the pollution of the catalyst machine, and lower the grain let of the engine oil 25%-30%. LH intentionally machines the grain cave, which has the certain angle, depth, and width etc.. The surface microcosmic sculpting has the lubricating function for usage process, and storage and transport lubricant, which improves the rubbing condition, then lower the part wear and increase the other performances. The short-wave laser is more applicable to the LH process, which improves the lubrication condition, and increases the service life of the engine and the efficiency, and lowers the engine oil consumes.


Surgical sterilization programs for dogs have been proposed as interventions to control dog population size. Models can be used to help identify the long-term impact of reproduction control interventions for dogs. The objective of this study was to determine the projected impact of surgical sterilization interventions on the owned dog population size in Villa de Tezontepec, Hidalgo, Mexico. A stochastic, individual-based simulation model was constructed and parameterized using a combination of empirical data collected on the demographics of owned dogs in Villa de Tezontepec and data available from the peer-reviewed literature. Model outcomes were assessed using a 20-year time horizon. The model was used to examine: the effect of surgical sterilization strategies focused on: 1) dogs of any age and sex, 2) female dogs of any age, 3) young dogs (i.e., not yet reached sexual maturity) of any sex, and 4) young, female dogs. Model outcomes suggested that as surgical capacity increases from 21 to 84 surgeries/month, (8.6% to 34.5% annual sterilization) for dogs of any age, the mean dog population size after 20 years was reduced between 14% and 79% compared to the base case scenario (i.e. in the absence of intervention). Surgical sterilization interventions focused only on young dogs of any sex yielded greater reductions (81% - 90%) in the mean population size, depending on the level of surgical capacity. More focused sterilization targeted at female dogs of any age, resulted in reductions that were similar to focusing on mixed sex sterilization of only young dogs (82% - 92%). The greatest mean reduction in population size (90% - 91%) was associated with sterilization of only young, female dogs. Our model suggests that targeting sterilization to young females could enhance the efficacy of existing surgical dog population control interventions in this location, without investing extra resources.


Security and privacy of data are one of the prime concerns in today's Internet of Things (IoT). Conventional security techniques like signature-based detection of malware and regular updates of a signature database are not feasible solutions as they cannot secure such systems effectively, having limited resources. Programming languages permitting immediate memory accesses through pointers often result in applications having memory-related errors, which may lead to unpredictable failures and security vulnerabilities. Furthermore, energy efficient IoT devices running on batteries cannot afford the implementation of cryptography algorithms as such techniques have significant impact on the system power consumption. Therefore, in order to operate IoT in a secure manner, the system must be able to detect and prevent any kind of intrusions before the network (i.e., sensor nodes and base station) is destabilised by the attackers. In this article, we have presented an intrusion detection and prevention mechanism by implementing an intelligent security architecture using random neural networks (RNNs). The application's source code is also instrumented at compile time in order to detect out-of-bound memory accesses. It is based on creating tags, to be coupled with each memory allocation and then placing additional tag checking instructions for each access made to the memory. To validate the feasibility of the proposed security solution, it is implemented for an existing IoT system and its functionality is practically demonstrated by successfully detecting the presence of any suspicious sensor node within the system operating range and anomalous activity in the base station with an accuracy of 97.23%. Overall, the proposed security solution has presented a minimal performance overhead.


The present study is based on notified cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the National tbc. register 1972-1996. A decline in Tb incidence was seen from 1972 and until the mid-1980's. Subsequently the trend has reversed due to an increasing number of TB cases in foreigners. In 1996, 60% of all cases of TB in Denmark were found in foreigners reflecting the rising number of refugees and their families arriving in Denmark from highly endemic areas, mainly Somalia. Among native Danes the TB incidence fell from 14 per 100,000 in 1972 to 4 per 100,000 in the 1980's and stabilized at this very low level. The unchanged incidence in Danes covers a falling incidence in the older and a rising incidence in the younger and middle-aged adult population, mainly in the capital. Approximately half of the cases occur in high-risk groups. The TB-epidemic is close to elimination in the indigenous Danish population, but the disease is maintained at a low level probably due to increased patient and doctor delay and resulting microepidemics primarily in high-risk populations.


The term 'external quality assessment (EQA) has been recommended by WHO consultative meeting in 1980. It has been using to run the retrospective and com-parative statistic tests' reliability among the EQA participants of their organizers. EQA schemes in all fields of laboratory pathology should provide objective information as tools to assist laboratory analysts ensuring the test result quality and on the contrary deciding error-eradicated actions, or more or less improving national test performance quality and standard. Scoring assessment has been designed in the EQA schemes to assist monitoring, and encouraging quality and standard of laboratory performance in the long run of consecutive trials. The Faculty of Medical Technology of Mahidol University now as a collaborating WHO:SEARO EQA organizers, has provided wider EQA schemes servicing participants all around Thailand, including 400 labs in clinical chemistry of EQAC scheme, 150 labs in clinical hormone of EQAH scheme, 200 labs in clinical microscopy of EQAM scheme, and 190 labs in clinical immunology and serology of EQAI schemes. Regular EQA newsletters, and yearly summer-time seminar and training prove to be the essential education tools promoting both laboratory quality and standard intensively.


In this thesis, we study the causal relationship between functional distribution of income and economic growth. In particular, we focus on some of the aspects that might alter the effect of the profit share on growth. After a brief introduction and literature review, the empirical contributions will be presented in Chapters 3,4 and 5.
Chapter 3 analyses the effect of a contemporaneous decrease in the wage share among countries that are major trade partners. Falling wage share and wage moderation are a global phenomenon which are hardly opposed by governments. This is because lower wages are associated with lower export prices and, therefore, have a positive effect on net-exports. There is, however, a fallacy of composition problem: not all countries can improve their balance of payments contemporaneously. Studying the country members of the North America Free Trade Agreement, we find that the effect on export of a contemporaneous decrease in the wage share in Mexico, Canada and the United States, is negative in all countries. In other words, the competitive advantage that each country gains because of a reduction in its wage share (to which is associated a decrease in export prices), is offset by a contemporaneous increase in competitiveness in the other two countries. Moreover, we find that NAFTA is overall wage-led: the profit share has a negative effect on aggregate demand.
Chapter 4 tests whether it is possible that the effect of the profit share on growth is different in the long run and in the short run. Following Blecker (2014) our hypothesis is that in the short run the growth regime is less wage-led than it is in the long run. The results of our empirical investigation support this hypothesis, at least for the United States over the period 1950-2014. The effect of wages on consumption increases more than proportionally compared to the effect of profits on consumption from the short to the long run. Moreover, consumer debt seem to have only a short-run effect on consumption indicating that in the long run, when debt has to be repaid, consumption depends more on the level of income and on how it is distributed. Regarding investment, the effect of capacity utilization is always larger than the effect of the profit share and that the difference between the two effects is higher in the long run than in the short run. This confirms the hypothesis that in the long run, unless there is an increase in demand, it is likely that firms are not going to increase investments even in the presence of high profits. In addition, the rentier share of profits – that comprises dividends and interest payments – has a long-run negative effect on investment. In the long run rentiers divert firms' profits from investment and, therefore, it weakens the effect of profits on investment.
Finally, Chapter 5 studies the possibility of structural breaks in the relationship between functional distribution of income and growth. We argue that, from the 1980s, financialization and the European exchange rate agreements weakened the positive effect of the profit share on growth in Italy. The growth regime is therefore becoming less profit-led and more wage-led. Our results confirm this hypothesis and also shed light on the concept of cooperative and conflictual regimes as defined by Bhaduri and Marglin (1990).


Objectives This study aimed to compare the under-and-over technique, a type of intracapsular treatment, and the standard fabella–tibial suture, a method for extracapsular treatment, in achieving immediate, postoperative stifle stability after cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) rupture by using a feline, custom-made limb-press model. Methods Cadaveric feline hindlimb specimens (n = 14) were positioned in the limb press at predefined joint angles (stifle joint: 120°; hock joint: 120°), and vertical loads of 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% body weight were applied statically. Mediolateral radiographic views were obtained of the stifles under each load before and after CrCL transection, as well as after treatment with either of the two surgical techniques, and differences in distance between two predefined radiographic points for each radiograph were analysed. Results The general linear model showed a significant effect of load (P <0.01) and technique (P = 0.004) and a significant interaction between load and technique (P = 0.006) regarding craniocaudal stifle stability. Distances between predefined tibial and femoral reference points were consistently higher in transected CrCLs than in intact stifles. All standard fabella–tibial suture-treated stifles (n = 7) were stable at all loads tested. Of the seven under-and-over technique-treated stifles, one was unstable at 20% body weight load and three at 30% body weight load. Conclusions and relevance Our model, which appropriately reproduced certain aspects of domestic shorthair cat stifle mechanics, indicated that a 40 lb monofilament nylon prosthesis, tightened at 20 N, produces more favourable biomechanical stabilisation of craniocaudal cruciate-related stifle instability than a 0.5 cm wide strip of fascia lata applied intracapsularly.


The characterization of the subsurface is paramount for the exploration and production life cycle and, more specifically, for the identification of potential hydrocarbon accumulations. In recent years, the oil and gas industry has increased its interest in applying machine learning to accelerate the seismic interpretation process, which is regarded as a time-consuming and human-centered task. Although machine learning has been successfully used in many applications ranging from stratigraphic segmentation to salt dome detection, a usual bottleneck is the need for a large amount of high-quality annotated data. To overcome this, data augmentation approaches are commonly used, and one of the most powerful is synthetic data generation. In addition, sketch-based synthetic seismic images can be used to support image retrieval applications to help oil companies leverage petabytes of seismic data sets. In this context, this letter investigates the generation of synthetic seismic images based on sketches using generative adversarial networks (GANs). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to propose such an approach. Experiments with five different sketch types in a public seismic data set indicate that realistic seismic images can be synthesized using rather simple sketches.


Spoken dialogue systems need to be able to handle both multiple languages and multilinguality inside a conversation (e.g in case of code-switching). In this work, we introduce new pretraining losses tailored to learn generic multilingual spoken dialogue representations. The goal of these losses is to expose the model to code-switched language. In order to scale up training, we automatically build a pretraining corpus composed of multilingual conversations in five different languages (French, Italian, English, German and Spanish) from OpenSubtitles, a huge multilingual corpus composed of 24.3G tokens. We test the generic representations on MIAM, a new benchmark composed of five dialogue act corpora on the same aforementioned languages as well as on two novel multilingual tasks (i.e multilingual mask utterance retrieval and multilingual inconsistency identification). Our experiments show that our new losses achieve a better performance in both monolingual and multilingual settings.


ABSTRACT This study examined the viability of using thaumatin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as proteins in model wine solutions for bentonite fining studies and compared them with unfined New Zealand sauvignon blanc (SB) wine. Bentonite fining trials were performed on model wine solutions and unfined SB wines (pH range 3.5–4.3). Thaumatin was more readily adsorbed onto bentonites of all types than BSA and its adsorption onto bentonite was less affected by the pH of the solution. Specifically, the amount of BSA adsorbed onto bentonite decreased significantly as the pH of the solution approached the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA while thaumatin was adsorbed at that pH due to its higher pI. Changing pH affected protein adsorption of real wine less noticeably than of BSA and thaumatin, and decreasing pH increased protein adsorption in contrast to the model solutions. Neither of the model solutions can fully represent the response of real wine to bentonite fining but they are simple and cost effective to prepare and reacted to changes in bentonite concentration similar to real wine. Thaumatin is potentially a better protein to use in simple model solutions for wine stabilisation studies like filtration where molecular weights are important consideration.


In pursuing significant infrastructural upgrades to solid waste management systems, how do decision-makers balance social safeguarding with wider system improvements? What are the implications for justice, if the people most affected by the development have been providing unrecognised labour within the waste management system? Adopting an intentionally political lens, this thesis presents an analysis of power and justice within the case study of Tibar's dumpsite-to-landfill upgrade, in Timor-Leste.   This research was conducted at a critical time while the upgrade was developing. Through a political ecology framework, supported by environmental justice, it emerges that there is a disconnect between stakeholders' and decision-makers' intentions versus their ability to act on these intentions. Several systemic barriers exist in waste-pickers' justice being met. In some instances, these barriers constitute such injustices. This thesis further evidences the claim that the impacts of the growing global waste problem are not evenly distributed throughout society.  Tibar dumpsite is established as a political space where the intersection of waste and labour is dynamic and changing, brought to light by the proposed dumpsite-to-landfill upgrade.


Introduction: Adopting the direct lateral (DL) instead of the posterolateral (PL) approach in hip arthroplasty for femoral neck fracture (FNF) patients could lower the rate of prosthetic dislocation. However, little is known about how the approach influences the functional outcome. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that both approaches would give comparable results. Material and methods: In a prospective cohort study, we enrolled 185 hips (183 patients, 128 women, median age 84 years) with a displaced FNF. Subjects were assigned to treatment using DL (n = 102) or PL approach (n = 83) with a hemiarthroplasty (HA). Functional outcome was assessed by Harris Hip Score (HHS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis (WOMAC) index, pain numeric rating scale (PNRS) for pain, mortality and hip complications. Patients were followed-up after 1 year. Results: The HHS was 71 (SD 18) in the DL group and 72 (SD 17) in the PL group (P = 0.59). We found no difference in WOMAC, PNRS and mortality. Seven patients (6.9%) in the DL group and 11 patients (13.3%) in the PL group had undergone a major reoperation (adjusted OR 0.51; 95% CI, 0.18–2.07; P = 0.23). Discussion: In this prospective cohort study, patients treated with HA for FNF using either the DL or PL approaches had comparable functional outcome after 1 year. The PL approach had a tendency towards a higher reoperation rate. Type of study: Prospective cohort study. Level of proof: Level 2. © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.