As a part of a survey for cardiovascular risk factors high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was determined in 15 942 men and women aged 20-53. Women had on average 0.24 mmol/l higher HDL-C concentration than men. The difference was of the same magnitude at all ages. For both sexes HDL-C increased with age. The increase was partly influenced by other variables affecting the HDL-C concentration. After adjusting for the effect of height, weight, cigarette-smoking, physical activity in leisure time, and ethnic origin the age-related change was more pronounced, 0.13 mmol/l and 0.16 mmol/l difference between the youngest and the oldest age group for men and women respectively. The population comprised three ethnic groups. HDL-C did not differ among the women of different ethnic origin, but among men those of Lappish origin had higher HDL-C concentrations than the other groups. This difference was reduced after adjusting for other variables and was probably due more to external factors influencing the HDL-C concentration than specific ethnic-genetic traits.


The neuron-specific K+–Cl− cotransporter KCC2 extrudes Cl− and renders GABA and glycine action hyperpolarizing. Thus, it plays a pivotal role in neuronal inhibition. Development-dependent KCC2 activation is regulated at the transcriptional level and by unknown posttranslational mechanisms. Here, we analyzed KCC2 activation at the protein level in the developing rat lateral superior olive (LSO), a prominent auditory brainstem structure. Electrophysiology demonstrated ineffective KCC2-mediated Cl− extrusion in LSO neurons at postnatal day 3 (P3). Immunohistochemical analyses by confocal and electron microscopy revealed KCC2 signals at the plasma membrane in the somata and dendrites of both immature and mature neurons. Biochemical analysis demonstrated mature glycosylation pattern of KCC2 at both stages. Immunoblot analysis of the immature brainstem demonstrated mainly monomeric KCC2. In contrast, three KCC2 oligomers with molecular masses of ∼270, ∼400, and ∼500 kDa were identified in the mature brainstem. These oligomers were sensitive to sulfhydryl-reducing agents and resistant to SDS, contrary to the situation seen in the related Na+–(K+)–Cl− cotransporter. In HEK-293 cells, coexpressed hemagglutinin-tagged KCC2 assembled with histidine-tagged KCC2, demonstrating formation of homomers. Based on these findings, we conclude that the oligomers represent KCC2 dimers, trimers, and tetramers. Finally, immunoblot analysis identified a development-dependent increase in the oligomer/monomer ratio from embryonic day 18 to P30 throughout the brain that correlates with KCC2 activation. Together, our data indicate that the developmental shift from depolarization to hyperpolarization can be determined by both increased gene expression and KCC2 oligomerization.


It is shown that the excellent Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory site allows the Murchison Widefield Array to employ a simple RFI blanking scheme and still calibrate visibilities and form images in the FM radio band. The techniques described are running autonomously in our calibration and imaging software, which is currently being used to process an FM-band survey of the entire southern sky.


Contained in the following report are data for radioactivity in the environment collected and analyzed by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's Princeton Environmental, Analytical, and Radiological Laboratory (PEARL). The PEARL is located on-site and is certified for analyzing radiological and non-radiological parameters through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Laboratory Certification Program, Certification Number 12471. Non-radiological surface and ground water samples are analyzed by NJDEP certified subcontractor laboratories - QC, Inc. and Accutest Laboratory. To the best of our knowledge, these data, as contained in the "Annual Site Environmental Report for 2005 and 2006," are documented and certified to be correct.


Half-metallic antiferromagnets are the ideal materials for spintronic applications since their zero magnetization leads to lower stray fields and thus tiny energy losses. Starting from the ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{Al}$ and ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{Si}$ alloys we substitute Co and Fe for Mn and we show by means of first-principles electronic structure calculations that the resulting compounds are ferrimagnets. When the total number of valence electrons reaches the magic number of 24 the Fe-doped compounds are semimetals and thus nonmagnetic while the Co-doped ones show the desirable half-metallic antiferromagnetic character. The compounds are very likely to be synthesized experimentally since the parent compounds ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{Al}$ and ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{Al}$ have been already grown in the Heusler $L{2}_{1}$ lattice structure.


The syndrome of hypomagnesemia with secondary hypocalcemia is caused by defective TRPM6. This protein is an ion channel that also contains a kinase in its C-terminus. It is usually diagnosed in childhood and, without treatment with supplemental Mg, affected children suffer from mental retardation, seizures and retarded development. We developed a mouse lacking Trpm6 in order to understand in greater detail the function of this protein. In contrast to our expectations, Trpm6(-/-) mice almost never survived to weaning. Many mice died by embryonic day 12.5. Most that survived to term had neural tube defects consisting of both exencephaly and spina bifida occulta, an unusual combination. Feeding dams a high Mg diet marginally improved offspring survival to weaning. The few Trpm6(-/-) mice that survived were fertile but matings between Trpm6(-/-) mice produced no viable pregnancies. Trpm6(+/-) mice had normal electrolytes except for modestly low plasma [Mg]. In addition, some Trpm6(+/-) mice died prematurely. Absence of Trpm6 produces an apparently different phenotype in mice than in humans. The presence of neural tube defects identifies a previously unsuspected role of Trpm6 in effecting neural tube closure. This genetic defect produces one of very few mouse models of spina bifida occulta. These results point to a critical role of Trpm6 in development and suggest an important role in neural tube closure.


Psychophysics is a lively account by one of experimental psychology's seminal figures of his lifelong scientific quest for general laws governing human behavior. It is a landmark work that captures the fundamental themes of Stevens's experimental research and his vision of what psycho-physics and psychology are and can be. The context of this modern classic is detailed by Lawrence Marks's pungent and highly revealing introduction. The search for a general psychophysical law-a mathematical equation relating sensation to stimulus-pervades this work, first published in 1975. Stevens covers methods of measuring human psychophysical behavior: magnitude estimation, magnitude production, and cross-modality matching are used to examine sensory mechanisms, perceptual processes, and social consensus. The wisdom in this volume lies in its exposition of an approach that can apply generally to the study of human behavior


This thesis presents a detailed analysis of vapor bubble dynamics and the interfacial process of liquid-vapor phase change. A spherically symmetric model for single vapor bubble is employed to present a numerical and theoretical analysis of the intermediate bubble collapse, where in contrast to the thermally induced or inertia dominated collapse, both the e↵ects of liquid-vapor interfacial heat transfer and the advection of the surrounding liquid play an important role. The contrast in thermal, intermediate, and inertial behavior of collapse is represented in the form of a regime map defined by two non-dimensional quantities, Bsat and ⇠, which can be directly evaluated from the initial system conditions of collapse. The same model is also used to simulate a spherically symmetric bubble growth configuration to assess the physical validity of a constant interface temperature assumption made by Highly-Resolved Simulation (HRS) studies aimed at solving flows undergoing phase change. Results show that HRS predictions are inaccurate during the initial period of bubble growth, which coincides with the inertial growth stage. A closed-form expression for a threshold time is derived, beyond which the commonly employed HRS assumptions hold. Forgoing the limitation of spherical symmetry, the second theme of this thesis is on the development of a general two-phase flow solver that can handle the phase change process. Under a finite volume framework using a geometric Volume of Fluid (gVoF) approach, two key challenges with phase change flows have been addressed in this work, namely, (i) added deformation of the interface, and (ii) capture of velocity and pressure gradient discontinuity at the interface, both caused due to phase change. To track the interface in the gVoF scheme, an e↵ective flux is defined that captures the e↵ect of phase change on interface motion. This


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are involved in the metabolism of a number of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Certain members within the GST superfamily exhibit phenotypically relevant genetic polymorphisms which have been associated with outcome in hematologic malignant disease.

DESIGN AND METHODS
In the present study we genotyped a cohort of 169 pediatric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients with available specimens from the NHL-BFM trials 86 and 90 conducted by the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) study group to assess a potential association of phenotypically relevant glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms (GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1 codon 105) with treatment outcome in this patient group.

RESULTS
Treatment failure in patients with mature B-cell NHL was significantly less likely to occur in patients carrying at least one GSTM1 allele in comparison to those with a homozygous deletion of GSTM1. This protective effect mediated by the presence of GSTM1 was even more pronounced within the subset of therapy group B patients at highest clinical risk of treatment failure (B-ALL, disease stage IV, disease stage III with unresected abdominal tumor, and LDH activity > or = 500 U/L). Of all events in therapy group B, 87.5% occurred in this high risk group. Within this subset, the multivariate relative risk reached 4.98 (95% CI = 1.27-19.52; p= 0.021).

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that genetic variation at the GSTM1 locus may be of clinical importance in pediatric NHL and may be a potential candidate for indicating future treatment stratification strategies.


In this paper, we develop a novel approach to object-material identification in spectral imaging by combining the use of invariant spectral absorption features and statistical machine-learning techniques. Our method hinges on the relevance of spectral absorption features for material identification and casts the problem into a pattern-recognition setting by making use of an invariant representation of the most discriminant band segments in the spectra. Thus, here, we view the identification problem as a classification task, which is effected based upon those invariant absorption segments in the spectra which are most discriminative between the materials under study. To robustly recover those bands that are most relevant to the identification process, we make use of discriminant learning. To illustrate the utility of our method for purposes of material identification, we perform experiments on both terrestrial and remotely sensed hyperspectral imaging data and compare our results to those yielded by an alternative.


In spatial computing, there is a fundamental tension between discrete and continuous models of computation: computational devices are generally discrete, yet it is often useful to program them in terms of the continuous environment through which they are embedded. Aggregate programming models for spatial computers have attempted to resolve this tension in a variety of different ways, generating a profusion of approaches that are difficult to compare or combine. Recently, however, two minimal models have been proposed: continuous space-time universality and a discrete field calculus. This paper unifies these two models by proving that field calculus is space-time universal, and thus provides the first formal connection between continuous and discrete approaches to spatial computing.


Strategy implementation is an on-going, never-ending, integrated process requiring continuous reassessment and reformation. Strategic management is dynamic. It involves a complex pattern of actions and reactions. It is partially planned and partially unplanned. Particularly, strategy implementation includes designing the organization's structure, allocating resources, developing information and decision process, and managing human resources, including such areas as the reward system, approaches to leadership, and staffing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the selected determinants of strategy implementation on organisational performance in parastatals in the energy sector in Kenya. Specifically, this study sought to establish the influence of top management commitment, strategy communication process, resource availability and coordination of activities on organization performance. This study adopted a descriptive research design: the target population comprised of the 105 management staff from various departments in seven (7) organizations in the energy sector. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics included means, standard deviation, and percentages and presented in tables and graphs. Inferential statistics included both Pearsons correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The correlation analysis determined the strength and direction of the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The study showed that top management commitment, strategy communication, coordination of activities and resource availability had a positive correlation with organizational performance. The Model summary of the regression analysis showed that all the independent variables accounted for 70.3% of the variance in organizational performance. The study recommended that organizations should offer back up (support) to the top management to increase their commitment and effective communication of formulated strategies that should be properly resourced. Further, the study recommended that parastatals should ensure that key tasks are well defined in enough detail and information systems for them to successfully implement strategies and improve organizational performance.


This paper investigates the impact of corporate control motives on the firm's capital structure decision. Block holders with high control motivations face a trade-off between getting external finance and losing or diluting their control over the firm's decisions. Debt offers a solution to this dilemma while external equity does not. We hypothesize that firms with block holders that value control should have higher debt-equity ratios. Furthermore, we also hypothesize that debt is used more where control is valued most: in countries where minority shareholders rights are not well-protected and where losing control would cost the most. Risk-reduction motivations provide the competing hypothesis to control. In such a case, un-diversified block holders would want to decrease leverage to reduce firm specific risk in their un-diversified portfolios. We investigate the impact of family block holders because these are the best example of shareholders who, on one hand, value corporate control most and, on the other, have un-diversified portfolios. We use 3,608 firms from 36 different countries and find that, after controlling for all variables identified by the existing literature, control motives influence capital structure decisions significantly. Family firms have higher leverage relative to non-family firms and they have even higher leverage in countries where minority shareholders are least protected. Families are found to use leverage in a strategic way. They use it less when (a) they possess control-enhancing mechanisms, and (b) when their stake is high enough that can allow them to have control anyway.


As the globalization of the world economy proceeds apace, Colombia must cope with an increasingly competitive international economic environment. The need to compete for highly mobile international capital is an essential component of the fiscal landscape in all countries in today's global economy, especially those which, like Colombia, depend on foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper focuses on the effects of the tax system in Colombia on FDI. However, tax policy is far from the only factor affecting the foreign direct investment decisions of multinational corporations. Accordingly, before proceeding to a detailed analysis of tax structure and FDI, several of these alternative factors will be discussed.


This research aims to know the utilization of biogas sludge on different planting media towards the production of sorghum and corn plant nutrient. This research was carried out in izzah beef cattle multifarm in the jagoan village, Boyolali District, while the proximat analysis was performed in the laboratory of Nutrition Food Science, Major In Farm, Faculty Of Agriculture, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta. The material used is plantation land containing sludge biogas, seed sorghum, maize seeds and water. The research design used was randomized complete design with factorial pattern 2 treatment. Each treatment consisted of 3 units each experiment there are 4 groups of units of plants. Treatment in the form of land containing sludge (P1) and land that does not contain sludge (P0), as well as sorghum plants (T1) and corn plants (T2). The observed variables, namely the production of dry ingredients, protein production, production of organic matter and total production of digestible energy. The data obtained were analyzed for the presence of variansi difference in the treatment of variables based on the F-test level 5% and if there is a noticeable difference followed by test Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) levels 5% as well as the analysis descriptive. Variansi analysis results with different land treatment indicates that there is a real difference between dry ingredients production towards varieties of plants and the very real differences occur towards the production of organic materials, the production of protein crude and total production of digestible energy between varieties of plants.


Flavanols-rich cocoa has positive effects on lipid metabolism and might enhance the performance of athletes through an improvement in their body composition. To test this hypothesis a placebo-controlled intervention study in training endurance athletes who received 5 g of cocoa daily (425 mg of flavanols) for 10 weeks was performed. Dietary intake, body composition, exercise performance and plasma levels of follistatin, myostatin and leptin were measured. Cocoa intake significantly reduced body fat percentage (p = 0.020), specifically in the trunk (p = 0.022), visceral area (p = 0.034) and lower limbs (p = 0.004). The reduction in body fat mass was accompanied by an increase in plasma follistatin and a decrease in leptin, while myostatin levels remained unchanged. The intake of cocoa reduced the percentage of body fat of athletes, without any impact on athletes' performance. The change in fat body composition did not improve athletes' performance.


This paper assesses the risk of lead and cadmium heavy metals on Cyprinus carpio in laboratory conditions. The research determined the 96 hours LC50 value of lead nitrate and cadmium nitrate in the fish Cyprinus carpio. This study combined the ecological toxicology test with the ecological hazard description to determine the acute toxicity effects of lead and cadmium on Cyprinus carpio. Ecological toxicology took place in 96 hours with test concentration of 0.25; 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0 mg/l on lead and 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0; 3.0 mg/l on cadmium. Through probit analysis, the LC50 after 96 hours of lead and cadmium in Cyprinus carpio was found to be 0.987 mg/l and 1.171 mg/l, respectively. Through monitoring the biological behaviour of Cyprinus carpio when exposed to lead and cadmium, it was observed that the number of deaths is proportional to the concentration of chemical exposure time. The abnormal morphology and behaviour of the fish also increased with testing time and lead and cadmium concentration. Cyprinus carpio also absorbs lead and cadmium in its body; the cumulative content is similar as above.


This study evaluates the effects of metakaolin (MK) addition to concrete with compressive strength of 30MPa and 40MPa, on capillary absorption and depth of carbonation. For the capillary absorption test, the samples were oven dried, weighed, immersed in water for periods of 1, 2, 3 and 24 hours. After each period, the samples were dried and weighed, and these values were used to obtain the Abrams curve. The carbonation test was carried out after curing the specimens in a moist chamber, standardizing the humidity for two hours and remaining in the carbonation chamber for 30 days with 5% CO2 at 23±2°C. After this period, the specimens were cut in half, sprayed with a solution of phenolphthalein and an image analysis was performed. For samples prepared with CPIII cement with one or two aggregates, the MK addition increased the capillary absorption. For the samples manufactured with CPV cement, the sample without MK addition showed a higher capillary absorption. The lowest value of carbonation depth was observed for samples manufactured with CPV cement and two aggregates. The highest carbonation depth was observed for the sample with CPIII cement, crushed stone 1, with metakaolin addition.


This paper examines the effects of lobbying activities across international borders, on determining each country's import tariff in a multi-principal, multi-agent, menu-auction model. Cross-border political donations could promote international policy cooperation because of two of their distinctive characteristics. First, special interest groups use cross-border donations as tools to wield their influence on ruling parties of other countries directly, which promotes efficiency of policy formation. Second, for ruling parties of countries, cross-border donations make them take into account the impact of their policy on other countries, which makes them more sensitive to other countries' welfare and, therefore, more cooperative with others. When ruling parties estimate the worth of political contributions from national special interest groups and from foreign lobbying groups with the same weight, Pareto-efficient tariffs are attained at which world welfare is maximized. JEL Classifications: D72, F13, H21, P48


From a perspective of valorization of the Spanish olive oil at the international market, this research tries to determine the benefits of adopting environmental and social labeling of the product. Findings from a qualitative study performed to French consumers, using the Scenario method, confirm that the Spanish olive oil is perceived as a lower quality. Environmental and/or social labeling, through institutional certification, could help to improve the perceived country's image.


Abstract A continuous surveillance of hospital acquired infection (HAI) was done in the Department of Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital during the period of 1st February '90 to 31st March '90. A new antibiogramme was prepared and applied in the same unit for chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis of surgical cases in the subsequent six months from April '90 to September '90. The result of this selection, timing of administration and the duration of antimicrobial use have been described in this report. The antibiotic policy adopted in this study has been found to improve the problem of infection in our surgical practice substantially. The incidence of HAI has been reduced to 0.5% from 3.9% which was seen in our previous study. The median post operative hospital stay has been reduced to 15.5 days from 18.5 days in case with HAI and to 8.5 days from 9 days without HAI. We conclude that a continuous surveillance of hospital acquired infection is necessary to develop an appropriate antibiogramme. The appropriate antibiotic should be started at the induction of anaesthesia and may be a part of the induction procedure.


Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is characterized by annular erythema on the face of infants born to mothers who have antibodies to SS-A/Ro and SS-B/La. 1 Patients with NLE often have associated congenital heart block and a variety of hematologic and systemic abnormalities. It is thought that these clinical symptoms are induced by a reaction between the maternal autoantibodies transferred to the affected infants and the corresponding antigens. 1 We report for the first time two sisters with NLE who subsequently developed hydrocephalus a few weeks after the onset of the skin lesion. We believe that hydrocephalus should be included in one of the clinical symptoms related to NLE. Report of Cases.Case 1. A 4-week-old girl was referred to our clinic because of annular erythema of 1 week's duration. The baby was born to a 32-year-old mother at a birth weight of 2688 g after a full-term, uneventful pregnancy. The


This article presents the results of a study on the use of fermented milk microorganisms Lactobacillus curvatus (strain BSC002), Lactobacillus sakei (strain BSC030) and Lactobacillus fermentum (BSC010) in the production of raw smoked beef products from calves of Kalmyk cattle who were 24 months old. It was shown that the use of lactocultures allowed intensifying the biochemical processes that occur during salting and ripening of the meat. The findings indicated a positive effect of lactic acid microflora on the process of formation of taste, aroma and colour of the meat products. Changing the pH of the product showed that the use of lactobacilli would help to reduce the salting process; the prototype had an elastic and stable consistency on the sixth day compared with the control sample, which reached the corresponding characteristics only on the 10th day. The optimal volume of lactobacilli in beef from a technological point of view was 5% by weight of raw materials. Such a volume had a positive effect on increasing the moisture-binding capacity of meat by 3.3%, which allowed the yield of the product to increase by 6.7%. The introduction of lactobacilli in beef improved the appearance and juiciness of the finished product, and enhanced the tenderness, which allowed this product to be sold at a higher price and accordingly increased the profitability of its production by 17.6%. Production technology for uncooked smoked meat products of the highest category "Holiday Beef" were developed.


For the two samples scale problem, we have considered the ten existing tests viz. F-test, Mood test, AnsariBradley test, Siegel-Tukey test, Lepage type test, Cramer-Von-Mises test, Kamat test, Wald-W test, Wald-R test and Levene test. To study the performance of these tests we generate data from the distributions viz. Normal, Exponential, Double Exponential, Logistic and Cauchy. We have calculated the empirical level under null situations and power under alternative situations taking various combinations of scale parameters and sample sizes using simulation technique. We also simulated critical values for Kamat test, Wald-W test and Wald-R test for some sample sizes. Results are displayed in various tables and graphs. Discussion and conclusion are made on the basis of results obtained.


Regional proliferation is a policy to improve governance of local governments upon decentralization taken into effect since 2001 in Indonesia in order to get public services in touch to the locals as well as further increases of prosperity level, but it is not necessarily proven as the matter of fact. This article gives a try to critically rethinking problematic situation of governing new municipalities upon proliferation, taking cases from Singkawang City and Bandung Barat Regency, to confirm previous theories. The study uses positivism approach by employing combining qualitative and quantitative method of inquiries through in-depth interviews to various actors, statistical analysis of conditions in comparison between those at the time of proliferation and recent progress, as well as content analysis of important documents. It suggests that regional proliferation in two municipalities implies double-edged impacts; they are opportunities to grasp local development on one side but counterproductive results of much dependency and stagnancy in local service delivery on the other side.


OF THESIS LIMITATIONS OF WEFTLESS BEAD AND ITS COMPARISON WITH CABLE BEAD DESIGN FOR TIRES Weftless bead design used in tires has long been the cause of failure. This type of bead design is generally used in agriculture, buses, trucks and passenger car tires. The main problem with this kind of bead is the splice region. It has ten cut wires, five at each over and underlap region. It is known since 1950 that Weftless design of the tire bead had failures within about 5 cm from the end of the overlapping parallel wire ribbon. The cause for this failure is generally attributed to the mounting process in which the diameter of the tire bead is changed during the mounting process as it moves from the well of the rim to the bead seat. The ideal bead design is a high strength flexible cable with minimal cross section, having same over and under windings to prevent stress concentrations in deflections as used in a normal steel cable. A finite element model of the tire bead was developed using ANSYS and tested under the known stresses of the mounting and final use conditions. Finite element calculations show the failure point of the Weftless bead is almost always at the under lap or at the starting point of this bead. Cable bead have significant advantages in safety over the Weftless bead still used in tires. Sandeep Singh Khatra


Fifty-four consecutive cases of single injection peribulbar anaesthesia performed by the same ophthalmologist were evaluated concerning clinical effect on motility/akinesia and pain. The patients were randomly selected to one of two different mixtures of anaesthetics, one containing lidocaine, bupivacaine, adrenaline and hyaluronidase. The other lidocaine and bupivacaine. The mixture with adrenalin and hyaluronidase was significantly more effective than the other (success rates of 77.8% and 25.9%, p < 0.005).


This essay brings together and builds upon histories of cold war American science and studies of objectivity, scientific personae, and the self by exploring the physicist Merle A. Tuve's career in the late 1940s and 1950s as a history of selfhood and the emotional dimensions of scientific identity. As director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington after World War II, Tuve followed a convoluted path through the institutions, politics, identities, and sensibilities of science in the cold war, and he struggled to preserve a sense of meaning and identity centered on the humanistic and aesthetic possibilities of scientific inquiry in an era of rapidly growing instrumentalism. His predicament highlights not just the political and institutional shifts within postwar science, but also the intricate entanglements between feeling, selfhood, and the cold war order.


This empirically driven study concerns the creation and maintenance of friendships in online gaming. Social interaction and community building are integral to online gameplay, yet maintaining and making friends within a gaming context is not without its conflicts. Through analyses of interview data (n=52) combined from two research projects concerning MMO-gaming this study presents three ideal type portraits of gamers. The portraits illustrate different struggles of balancing friendships, a challenging game experience, and everyday-life. Specifically they look at the relationship between social design and social play; everyday-life and contexts of play; and 'player burnout', when players leave the game. Results emphasise how friendships and everyday-life constrains affect how we play, our preferences towards play, and who we play with online. The study concludes that maintaining and making friends in an online game can be a strenuous task limited by both a rational game structure and everyday-life.


A very simple synthesis procedure based on precipitation reactions at moderate temperature (120 °C) from solutions containing calcium nitrate and sodium molybdate, using mixed solvents (polyols and water) has been developed, which produces uniform tetragonal CaMoO4 microarchitectures with different morphologies (peanuts, cocoons, spindles and spheres) composed of self-assembled entities. The morphology and crystal size of such assemblies could be tuned by a simple change of the nature of the components of the solvent mixture or their volumetric ratio in such a mixture. All particles presented similar excitation and emission spectra arising from a charge transfer process within the MoO42− groups. The emitted light presented a bluish-green color and its intensity was higher for the spindle-type particles. This synthesis procedure was also suitable for doping peanut-like CaMoO4 architectures with Eu3+ or Dy3+ cations up to a 1% molar ratio (Ln/Ln + Ca), without altering their morphology or crystalline structure. The so prepared phosphors emitted an intense red (Eu-doped) or greenish (Dy-doped) light when excited through the MoO42− group excitation band, indicating the presence of an energy transfer process from such groups to the Ln3+ cations. Finally, a white light emitting phosphor with chromaticity coordinates x = 0.335 and y = 0.365 and a correlated color temperature of 5407 K was developed by codoping peanut-type CaMoO4 particles with suitable amounts of Dy3+ (0.35%) and Eu3+ (0.15%) cations, which could find applications in white light emitting diodes.


Hydrodynamical simulations show that circumbinary disks become eccentric, even when the binary is circular. Here we demonstrate that, in steady state, the disk's eccentricity behaves as a long-lived free mode trapped by turning points that naturally arise from a continuously truncated density profile. Consequently, both the disk's precession rate and eccentricity profile may be calculated via the simple linear theory for perturbed pressure-supported disks. By formulating and solving the linear theory, we find that (i) surprisingly, the precession rate is roughly determined by the binary's quadrupole, even when the quadrupole is very weak relative to pressure; (ii) the eccentricity profile is largest near the inner edge of the disk and falls exponentially outward; and (iii) the results from linear theory indeed agree with what is found in simulations. Understanding the development of eccentric modes in circumbinary disks is a crucial first step for understanding the long-term (secular) exchange of eccentricity, angular momentum, and mass between the binary and the gas. Potential applications include the search for a characteristic kinematic signature in disks around candidate binaries and precession-induced modulation of accretion over long timescales.


We analyze the dynamics of geometric measure of discord (GMOD) and measurement-induced non-locality (MIN) in the presence of initial system—reservoir correlations without Born and Markov approximation. Although the initial system—environment states have the same reduced density matrices for both the system and environment, the effects of different initial system—environment correlations have been shown to fundamentally alter the time evolution of GMOD and MIN between two quantum systems in both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes. In general, both GMOD and MIN experience a sudden increase for initially quantum-correlated states, and a sudden decrease for classical-correlated states before they reach the same stationary values with initially factorized states.


Translated by CARL IPSEN The Vatican against Nazism and Fascism on the eve of the Second World War. A tired pope watching the crisis unfold and considering what action to take against the new enemies of Christianity. Pius XI died on February 10th, 1939, just after finishing the address he hoped to deliver to the Italian bishops on the tenth anniversary of the Lateran Pact. That text dealt harshly with Nazism and Fascism and was written in solitude. It was a discourse that Mussolini feared and that the pope did not survive to deliver. This moment captures the spirit of Emma Fattorini's book, a work that employs newly available and unpublished documentation from the Vatican Secret Archive to rewrite a fundamental page of 20th history. Pius XI came to view the 1930s as a conflict of civilizations,' a crisis which could only be resolved by a return to the Christian roots of the West. He was a pope who strongly defended the Jews because, in contrast to other elements in the Catholic hierarchy, he held the theological conviction that Jews and Christians shared a common origin: spiritually we are all Semites.' So wrote Pius XI in the last years of his life as he contemplated the direction in which the world was headed and came to the conclusion that Nazi and Fascist totalitarianism could be stopped by the Vatican.


Summary It is preferable for authentication and key exchange protocols to be verified automatically and rapidly in accordance with security requirements. In order to meet these requirements, we proposed the security verification method (OKT method) for the aforementioned protocols based on Bellare et al.'s model (BPR model) and showed the verification points of security properties to verify their security efficiently. However, there is an estrangement between the security of the OKT method and the BPR model. In this paper, we reconsider the OKT method and propose an updated security verification method for authentication and key exchange protocols based on the BPR model. In particular, we revise the procedure of the OKT method to address the aforementioned issue. We show the novel verification points for each security property in the authentication and key exchange protocols in accordance with the aforementioned revisions. In addition, we describe the relations among the six verification points, explain how the proposed method verifies the aforementioned protocols by providing one example and show the validity of the proposed method by verifying the security of 87 authentication and key exchange protocols that were generated automatically.


This study investigated the influence of the instructional process on the teaching and acquisition of listening skills in Kiswahili language. Based on the study, this paper examines the type of instructional strategies used by secondary school teachers in the teaching of listening skills in Kiswahili language. The study was based on two theories, the theory of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as advanced by Widdowson in 1978 and the Topdown theory propounded by Mendelsohn in 1995. A sample of 13 secondary schools was purposively selected from a total of 41 secondary schools in Wareng' Sub-County. Thirteen (13) teachers and 130 Form Two learners of Kiswahili formed the study sample. The study was a descriptive survey since it set out to discover, describe and interpret existing conditions focusing on secondary school teachers of Kiswahili and Form Two learners. The research instruments used to collect data were two sets of interview schedules and an observation schedule. The 13 teachers were interviewed whereas the 130 learners participated in Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Moreover, 13 Kiswahili lessons were observed and tape-recorded. Tape-recording was used to record data during observations while note taking was used during the focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. Analyzed data was presented using frequency tables, percentages, graphs and charts. The study revealed that poor teaching strategies used in the teaching process contribute heavily to poor levels of acquisition of listening skills. In view of the findings, the study recommends that teachers of Kiswahili should build into their classrooms listening activities that have as much of the characteristics of real life listening as possible. In particular, there should be a purpose for listening that should be known before the listening activity commences. This paper is significant in that it seeks to provide impetus for Kiswahili language educators, teacher trainers, curriculum designers and the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to re-examine their policies on teaching listening skills.


The nonlinear optical properties of fluorescein-doped boric acid glass films have been investigated with sub-nanosecond laser pulses. With the use of degenerate four-wave mixing, large third-order susceptibilities of χ(3) ∼ 10−7 esu have been measured, connected to the relatively fast decay of the singlet state S1 (τ = 2.4 ± 0.6 ns). This particular system has a long-lived lowest-lying triplet state (0.1–1 s), and the transient nonlinear-optical and fluorescence properties show a marked dependence on the laser-pulse repetition rate in this time regime.


Communicated by Theodore Shedlovsky, March 12, 1964 Recent studies have indicated that antibodies belong to a family of multichain proteins.1-5 This fact has prompted efforts to determine the arrangement of the individual polypeptide chains in the whole antibody molecule and to assess their contribution to immunologic specificity.' -8 The several similar models5' 7' 9 of 7S 7y-globulins that have emerged from these investigations have been schematic and topological in character. In the present communication, we incorporate information on the topological arrangement of the chains into a topographic model which includes the known size and shape of the molecular envelope, the location of the two combining regions, and the contribution of different polypeptide chains to these regions. This model appears to account for all of the known structural features of 7S y-globulins, and has several implications for mechanisms of specific assembly of antibodies. 7S "y-globulin molecules consist of two types of polypeptide chains: L (light) chains with molecular weights of 20,000-24,000, and H (heavy) chains with molecular weights of 55,000-60,000.10-13 All of the available information suggests that the whole molecule has a molecular weight of 150,000-160,000 and is composed of two L chains and two H chains.10-14 The H chains of the three major classes of 7-globulin are sufficiently distinctive to be designated by separate nomenclature: Hy, H71A, Hy1M.3 L chains are common structural elements in all classes of 7-globulin, and are known to exist in at least two different forms, LI and LI1.3 15, 16 Based on the above considerations, the molecular formulae for some representatives of the class of 7S y-globulins would be: (H17)2 (LI)2 or (Hy)2 (LII)2.17 In previous communications5' 18 the following general hypotheses were suggested: (1) The bivalent antibody molecule is likely to be symmetrical with respect to the chains contributing to the combining sites, i.e., the chains involved are duplicated.6' 18 (2) The combining site results from chain interaction. There are three possibilities for chain interaction: L * H, L * L, H H.5 The chain interaction hypothesis has been verified, and it has been shown that the correct pairing is L-H.8, 19. 20 This fact and the requirement for symmetry exhausts the number of chains in the 7S molecule, which therefore must consist of two L-H pairs, each containing one active site. A similar conclusion has been incorporated in previous models,5' 8, 9, 21 although that of Porter assumes that the site is wholly on the H chains.9' 21 The demonstration that L'H interaction leads to the reconstitution of both activity8' 19,20 and whole molecules22 suggests, however, that both chains are involved in the site. Moreover, efforts to label the active site have shown that amino acid residues of L chains23 or of both L and H chains24 are near the site. P With these requirements fulfilled, the problem becomes one of arranging the two identical L *H pairs in space to fit the known dimensions of the y-globulin molecule. This arrangement must account for the position of the antibody-combining sites and also be consistent with the known ways in which the molecule may be degraded.


Background: Vision screening in a primary care setting could be an effective way for early detection of eye disease. Although the usefulness of vision screening for the general public remains inconclusive, vision screening has been ascertained to be effective in at-risk patients. Aim: To analyze the vision screening outcomes based on retrospective data "Jom Check Mata 1 Malaysia (JCM1M)". Methods: This was a retrospective study of the results of vision screening during JCM1M. A retrospective review of 4,006 vision screening form between October 2012 and March 2014 was analyzed. The screening examination includes visual acuity measurement for both near and distance and ocular health screening by using ophthalmoscopy/ funduscopy and tonometry. These tests were carried out by optometry students UiTM Puncak
Alam. The percentage and number were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2010. Results: Of 4,006 participants examined, 71% (n=2,843) passed the vision screening
and 29% (n=1,163) failed the vision screening. The Southern region had the highest passing rate of about 95% (n=1,382) and the Eastern region had the lowest passing
rate of about 50% (n=570). However, the urban areas still had the highest percentage of passed vision screening about 87% (n=1,755) as compared to the rural areas.
Among them involved in vision screening, 72% (n=1,639) females passed vision screening and 67% (n=1,204) males passed vision screening. The elderly population had high failing rate, especially for those aged 61+. Conclusion: Vision screening pograms provide an important public health prevention opportunity to reach individuals who are less likely to receive a comprehensive eye examination.
Screening programs also can offer a more affordable and accessible opportunity to evaluate those at risk for vision problems. Effective screening programs can lead to
earlier treatments and a reduction in the overall burden of visual impairment. They also provide an opportunity to educate individuals on the importance of routine eye
examinations and risks to vision health.


Hydration properties of soybean isolates with different processing conditions (heat treatments, pH and protein concentrations) were studied. Degree of denaturation,, solubility in water, in 0.2mol/L NaCl, and in media of different sodium dodecyl sulfate concentrations, viscosity and water imbibing capacity of the different samples were determinated and correlated. Treatments at temperatures higher than 80oC denatured 11S and 7S proteins, leading to exposure of hydrophobic groups, which produced insoluble aggregates either in water or in high ionic strength media. These isolates possessed high water imbibing capacities and gave rise to viscous dispersions. Significant correlations were obtained between hydration properties and the "m" coefficient as calculated by a power law equation relating viscosity with the protein concentration of the dispersion. This "m" coefficient also correlated with the denaturation enthalpy of the protein isolates. On the basis of these results, it might be suggested that the "m" coefficient - dependent of the hydrodynamic behaviour of the particles - was a good estimator of the degree of protein denaturation.


After the1980s, the fungal infection rate increased significantly due to the widespread use of antibiotics, corticosteroids, cytostatic and immunosuppressive agents, becoming a frequent problem difficult to manage, especially in intensive care units. Currently, there is a wide range of antifungal antibiotics generally classified after the action mechanism, as follows: antifungal antibiotics interfering with the sterol synthesis path from the cell membrane – azoles (e.g. clotrimazole, fluconazole, voriconazole); allylamines (e.g. naphtifine, terbinafine); polyenes (e.g. amphotericin B, nystatin); inhibitors of the synthesis of glucan fungal cell wall composition (e.g. caspofungin); antimetabolites (e.g. flucytosine); antifungals acting on the mitotic spindle (e.g. griseofulvin).
In 1980, first cases of antifungal resistance were reported in patients with chronic muco-cutaneous candidiasis resistant to antifungal, who were following treatment with azoles. The phenomenon has intensified from 1990 along with the increasing incidence of fungal infections, and the diversity of etiological agents. The molecular mechanisms of resistance to antifungal agents are not fully understood, but resistance to a certain antifungal is a complex process involving factors of the microorganism (cellular and humoral) and factors regarding the host (the degree of immunosuppression, location and severity of the infection).


Objective Recent epidemiological evidence indicates an association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF), but the results are inconclusive. This meta-analysis examined the association between CKD and new-onset AF. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration and the reference lists of relevant articles were searched to identify eligible studies. The random effect model was used to calculate the overall multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Associations were tested in subgroups of study characteristics and study quality criteria. We also performed sensitivity analyses and assessments of publishing bias. Results Seven prospective cohort studies (n = 400,189 participants) were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results suggested that CKD was associated with an increased adjusted risk estimate for new-onset AF (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.21–1.78), with significant heterogeneity between these studies (I2 = 79.7%, P<0.001). Results were not different in any subgroup except sample size. Stratified analyses found that the diagnostic method of CKD and eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate), the number of confounders adjusted for, and study quality explained little of the variation between studies. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrated the results to be robust. Conclusions CKD is associated with an increased risk of incident AF. Further research is needed to investigate the biological association between CKD and AF and identify a preventive strategy to decrease the incidence of AF in CKD patients.


In most traditional engineering schools in Chile, Mechanics is a fundamental course taught by physics professors, using a theoretical approach which often disregards what civil engineers do. This usually creates a gap in a student's learning process, who must later apply these theoretical fundamentals in structural courses, which are usually taught by civil engineers. Therefore, students must be re-taught to think about mechanics in an appropriate context, and, by doing so, these fundamentals finally make sense to them. This paper describes the experience of a mechanics course for Civil Engineering students at UCSC under a CDIO approach. This initiative considers several CDIO standards, but mainly active learning (CDIO Standard 8), context of civil engineering (CDIO Standard 1), hands-on activities for building systems and structures (CDIO Standard 6), among others. This course employs several active learning strategies, of which PBL (problem based learning) is the center piece. But what differentiates the most this initiative from others that also use PBL is the type of problems employed. We use more complex-real cases, which are a way of taking CDIO Standard 1 to a different level. By the end of the course, students are highly motivated, use critical thinking and show higher proficiency levels on standard and higher learning outcomes as well as other skills.


INTRODUCTION
Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) is the most distressing side effect of cancer chemotherapy. It can seriously produce an impact on patient's quality of life. Prevention of CINV is far more effective than treatment of an established CINV. If the patient receives an optimal antiemetic regimen during the initial course of chemotherapy, the likelihood of developing emesis is greatly reduced. Although, all first generation 5HT3 antagonists demonstrate reasonable efficacy in preventing acute CINV, delayed CINV still remains a problem.

AIM
To compare the effectiveness and safety of palonosetron versus ondansetron as an antiemetic agent in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A prospective observational study was conducted in 106 patients in each treatment arm. Study duration was 12 months from January 2013 to January 2014. Consecutive patients diagnosed with cancer satisfying inclusion criteria, who were about to receive moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy were enrolled into the study after getting informed written consent. Each patient received either Intravenous (IV) palonosetron 0.25 mg or ondansetron 8 mg half an hour before chemotherapy as antiemetic. Patients were followed up for a period of five days following chemotherapy. Number of episodes, severity of vomiting and nausea and antiemetic rescue given if any were recorded. The data were graded using NCI-CTCAE (VERSION 3.0). Proportion of patients with nausea and vomiting during acute (0-24 hours), delayed (24-120 hours) and overall period (0-120 hours) in both the study groups were compared. Outcome was assessed in terms of symptom control and response. Data were analysed using SPSS-16.0 statistical software (IBM). Chi-square test was used to compare the difference in clinical response.

RESULTS
Complete response during acute phase in ondansetron group was 80.2%, while for palonosetron it was 89.6%. During delayed phase, ondansetron and palonosetron produced complete response in 70.8% and 86.8% respectively. A total of 65.1% and 82.1% of subjects experienced complete response during the overall period in the ondansetron and palonosetron groups respectively. The difference in the response to antiemetic prophylaxis was statistically significant between the two groups for delayed (p-value = 0.006) and overall phase (p-value = 0.008).

CONCLUSION
Palonosetron is clinically more efficacious than ondansetron in controlling CINV especially in delayed phase and overall period of emesis.


The major purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in readiness test scores between students who participated in a structured kindergarten program and those who participated in an unstructured program. This investigation also sought to examine the achievement of students relative to certain variables, such as morning and afternoon session, race, sex, preschool attendance, French spoken in the home, place of residence, birth order, and father's years of education. The relationship of variables to test scores was studied in terms of the total population of kinder garten children, as well as in terms of the interaction of program with the above mentioned variables. Randomly assigned kindergarten children in twelve public schools in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana comprised the sample (N = 62+5). Approximately one-half of this sample was assigned to an experimental group (N = 379) which received structured, early reading instruction using Ginn and Company's SWRL Kindergarten Program. The ocher half of the students was assigned to the control group (N = 266) and was instructed in accor dance with the traditional kindergarten curriculum as outlined in Lafayette Parish's Kindergarten Curriculum xvii Guide. In the fall, one-half of the total sample (N = 327) was pre-tested with the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, Form A, following a Solomon Four-Group experimental design of pre-testing and post-testing, in order to determine if any practice eifect resulted from the administration of the pre-test. The entire population was post-tested in May, 1973, using two instruments: the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, Form B and the Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery. As an experimental precaution, a replication study was incorporated into the design. Five schools involved in the main study had both experimental and control classes which were drawn randomly from the same kindergarten population. The results from these five schools were analyzed separately and used to corroborate the findings of the main study. The data were subjected to a multi-way classification analysis of covariance using pre-test scores and father's years of education as covariables. The following conclusions were reached. Over all, the Ct^'.ctured kindergarten program appeared to be more beneficial than the unstructured program. There were significant differences in favor of the structured program in test scores on both the Boehm post-test and the Clymer-Barrett. In looking at the interactions between the two programs and the variables tested, it xviii appeared that neither the structured nor the unstructured program was more advantageous for morning or afternoon students, boys or girls, rural or urban students, those who attended preschool or those who did not, or those from homes in which French was spoken or those from homes in which it was not. However, the structured program appeared to be more advantageous than the un structured for older students. From an examination of the data on the relation ship of the variables studied to the post-test readiness scores, the following results were indicated. Highly significant and positive relationships were found between readiness scores on both post-tests and the covariables of father's years of education and pre-test scores. Significance on only one of the post-tests was found for the variables of sex, French spoken in the home, place of residence, and race. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on the Clymer-Barrett; those from nonFrench speaking homes scored significantly higher than those from French speaking homes on the Clymer-Barrett; and those from urban areas scored higher than those from rural areas on the Boehm post-test. Despite some indi cations of significance, the number of black students was too limited to make a valid comparison of the effect of race. No significant relationship to readiness scores xix as measured by either test was found for the variables of session, preschool attendance, or birth order.


In this work, the wet-laid technique has been used to obtain flax nonwovens thermally bonded with different contents of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and bicomponent polyamide 6/copolyamide (PA6/CoPA) fibers in the 10–30 wt.% range. Scanning electron microscopy has been used to evaluate the formation of interlock points through melted polymer and flax fibers. Volume porosity has been estimated through determination of thickness and surface mass. Tensile strength and elongation at break have been determined on longitudinal (preferential) and transversal directions to evaluate anisotropy. The sound absorption properties of stacked sheets of flax: PVA and flax: PA6/CoPA nonwovens have been evaluated. In addition, the thermal insulating properties of individual nonwovens have been obtained. Mechanical characterization shows slight anisotropy. The absorption coefficient is interesting in the medium frequencies range, and relatively low thermal conductivity and thermal resistance values are obtained with these nonwovens (in the 0.020–0.025 W m−1 K−1 range for flax: PVA nonwovens and in the 0.09–0.10 W m−1 K−1 range for flax: PA6/CoPA nonwovens). By taking into account these features, these nonwoven substrates could find interesting applications as sound absorbers and/or thermal insulation materials in technical applications.


This paper reports a study on the usability of e-commerce accessed through smartphones. There is much research in the usability of mobile interfaces and many sets of design patterns have been created but a few studies are available for specific domains, and in this report we focus on mobile e-commerce. In this study a framework is developed for how to design mobile e-commerce interfaces with a high degree of usability. Furthermore, the study also contributes a method to how other specific domain can develop a framework with general standards to work from when creating a web interface. By examining two sets of design principles and 14 design patterns, we evaluate which ones are critical in the design of a mobile e-commerce interface for achieving a high degree of usability. We have done this by applying the survey in two e-commerce sites with different design approaches to examine how they relate to the selected design patterns and design principles. The survey is conducted in three phases through an online survey, a content analysis and an observational study to investigate the interface usability based on theoretical- and practical perspectives. The study shows that in order to create a good usability of e-commerce sites accessed through smartphones, the user want to recognize themselves in how the content is presented and communicated, as well as the interface should obtain certain key functions.


Energy conservation in next generation Passive Optical Network system (NG-PON) has gained more and more attention. NG-PON system can not only deliver best-effort data traffic, but also real-time data traffic, e.g. voice and video, that have strict bandwidth, delay, and jitter requirements. To meet the energy and service requirements, a NG-PON system must have energy efficiency and differentiated QoS mechanism built in. Few research efforts have been reported on maximizing energy efficiency while maintaining QoS in the fairly new PON system design. We have extended the Upstream Centric Scheme (UCS-based) scheduling scheme idea into a novel QoS-differentiated energy-efficient PON system consisting of two main modules: firstly, the proposed differentiated QoS analytical model is described in detail to reduce the packet delay in the upstream traffic scheduling. The simulations further demonstrate the QoS metrics of the system: packet delay, bandwidth utilization, dropped packet rate, and queue length. Secondly, a novel analysis is proposed for downstream traffic scheduling with limited service discipline at Optical Line Terminal (OLT) side under the UCS-based Green Bandwidth Allocation (GBA) framework. We, first, derive the mean packet delay expression of this model. Then, the sleep time for each Optical Network Unit (ONU) is derived by setting identical upstream/downstream transmission cycle time. Based on the analytical model, an approach is developed to save the maximum energy in a dynamic PON system while without violating the delay requirement. Moreover, simulation is conducted to verify the developed analytical model and the proposed approach. In the end, considering the differentiated QoS and downstream traffic scheduling, an algorithm of the energy efficient scheduling scheme is proposed as well under the UCS-based GBA.


Galaxies in pairs show enhanced star formation (SF) compared to their counterparts in isolation, which is often explained by the tidal effect of neighboring galaxies. Recent observations, however, reported that galaxies paired with early-type neighbors do not undergo the SF enhancement. Here we revisit the influence of neighbors using a large sample of paired galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and a carefully constructed control sample of isolated counterparts. We find that star-forming neighbors enhance SF, and even more so for more star-forming (and closer) neighbors, which can be attributed to collisions of interstellar medium (ISM) leading to SF. We further find that, contrary to the anticipated tidal effect, quiescent neighbors quench SF, and even more so for more quiescent (and closer) neighbors. This seems to be due to removal of gas reservoirs via ram pressure stripping and gas accretion cut off by hot gas halos of quiescent neighbors, on top of their paucity of ISM to collide to form stars. Our findings, especially the intimate connection of SF to the status and strength of neighbors' SF, imply that the hydrodynamic mechanisms, along with the tidal effect, play a crucial role during the early phase of galactic interactions.


A bimonthly study of the spatial variations in fish assemblages in the six mangrove creeks along the western coast of Taiwan was conducted from February 1996 to February 1997. Fyke nets were used to collect fishes in each of three creeks in the north (subtropical) and south (tropical) regions. A total of 79 fish species belonging to 33 families were collected and, of these, the Gobiidae, Mugilidae, Leiognathidae, and Cichlidae were the most diverse families. The fish assemblages in each creek were dominated by a small number of small fishes, most of which are the young of commercially important species. Their life cycles occurred to some extent in estuarine environments. Analyses by classification and ordination separated the assemblages into a northern group and a southern group and showed that the assemblages were far more temporally varied in the southern creeks than in the northern creeks. Fifty fish species were recorded in the northern creeks and 49 fish species in the southern creeks, with 20 species present in both regions. No significant difference in number of species per netting was detected between the regions. The number of individuals and biomass per netting were greater in the northern creeks than in the southern creeks. Rainfall and organic content of sediments may be responsible for the difference in fish abundance between the regions. In the northern creeks the assemblages were dominated by Liza macrolepis and Liza affinis in winter and spring, but the assemblages were more diverse in summer and fall. In the southern creeks, the assemblages were always characterized by several species and their dominance varied from month to month. The differences in the assemblage structure in northern and southern mangrove creeks are likely due to the oceanic current patterns around Taiwan.


Calculation of refrigerant quantities in the heat-exchangers of an air-conditioner on refrigeration and heating operating conditions shows that refrigerant charge quantity in heating operating condition is less than that in refrigeration operating condition. The refrigerant control strategies are most important for refrigeration and heat-pump system. Based on the difference of charged refrigerant quantities of the air-conditioning system between refrigeration and heating operating conditions, the exhaust bypass method was presented in order to improve its operation efficiency. This heat-pump system for controlling refrigerant mass flux was analyzed in detail. The results show that the exhaust bypass method has its advantages in controlling refrigerant mass flux for heat-pump system.


ABSTRACT Many hypotheses have been proposed for the rise of dinosaurs, but their early diversification remains poorly understood. This paper examines the occurrences, species diversity and abundance of early dinosaurs at both regional and global scales to determine patterns of their early evolutionary history. Four main patterns are clear: (1) sauropodomorph dinosaurs became abundant during the late Norian–Rhaetian of Gondwana and Europe; (2) Triassic dinosaurs of North America have low species diversity and abundance until the beginning of the Jurassic; (3) sauropodomorphs and ornithischians are absent in the Triassic of North America; and (4) ornithischian dinosaurs maintain low species diversity, relative abundance and small body size until the Early Jurassic. No one hypothesis fully explains these data. There is no evidence for a Carnian–Norian extinction event, but sauropodomorphs did become abundant during the Norian in some assemblages. No clear connection exists between palaeoenvironment and early dinosaur diversity, but environmental stress at the Triassic–Jurassic boundary is consistent with changes in North American dinosaur assemblages. Elevated growth rates in dinosaurs are consistent with the gradual phyletic increase in body size. This study demonstrates that early dinosaur diversification was a complex process that was geographically diachronous and probably had several causes.


Interference alignment (IA) is an innovative wireless transmission strategy that has shown to be a promising technique for achieving optimal capacity scaling of a multiuser interference channel at asymptotically high-signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Transmitters exploit the availability of multiple signaling dimensions in order to align their mutual interference at the receivers. Most of the research has focused on developing algorithms for determining alignment solutions as well as proving interference alignment's theoretical ability to achieve the maximum degrees of freedom in a wireless network. Cognitive radio, on the other hand, is a technique used to improve the utilization of the radio spectrum by opportunistically sensing and accessing unused licensed frequency spectrum, without causing harmful interference to the licensed users. With the increased deployment of wireless services, the possibility of detecting unused frequency spectrum becomes diminished. Thus, the concept of introducing interference alignment in cognitive radio has become a very attractive proposition. This paper provides a survey of the implementation of IA in cognitive radio under the main research paradigms, along with a summary and analysis of results under each system model.


Zambia has one of the highest HIV
seroprevalence
rates
in
the
world, estimated
in
1995 at 17%. Rural Monze district in the
Southern
province, the
site of the
study,
has high
rates of HIV, estimated at 10-12% in 1991. During the
study, the
district
was
affected
not
only by AIDS but also by the 1991-92 drought
and
by
a
bovine
epidemic of
East Coast
Fever. This study documents the impact of
HIV
and
AIDS
on the
health
services and on
the district economy, and draws some
long term
implications for the
national economy.
At the district hospital, approximately
44%
of
inpatients
and
30%
of outpatients were
HIV seropositive as were 18% of rural
health
centre patients.
Tuberculosis,
other
respiratory
infections, and diarrhoea accounted for the
majority of
days in hospital.
The
HIV
epidemic
was found to be affecting the hospital staff
as well,
with mortality at
Monze
and
neighbouring Choma hospitals rising
from
2
per
1,000
nurse
years
in 1980 to
27 in
1991
- a
13-fold increase. Measures to increase supply,
reduce
losses,
and
make
better
use
of existing
staff are proposed. The household survey found that
while
patients
were
better
off
overall than the
district population, there was no appreciable
difference in
wealth
between
patients
with
HIV
infection and those without. HIV-positive patients
were
younger
than
HIV-negative
patients, and had fewer children. The loss
of a member with
HIV
would
cause
a rise
in the
average household's dependency ratio of
16-17%. Production
was
affected
by
HIV
disease,
with an average of 94 days' loss of labour (patients
plus carers)
in the
final
year of
life.
Implications for policy include the
need to
decentralize
care of
patients
with
HIV
disease to health centres, and to protect and make
better
use
of the
health
human
resources.
The impact of HIV/AIDS on rural production,
with
approximately
1 in 3
district
households having a member with AIDS, combined
with
external
factors
such as
removal
of
subsidies, changes in marketing processes under structural
adjustment,
and
long term
drought, makes it increasingly difficult to
eke out a
living from farming.
Combined
with the
lure of apparent employment opportunities
in
urban
areas created
by deaths
due to
AIDS,
these factors may contribute to increased urbanization,
making
it
difficult for
Zambia to
replace declining copper revenues with
increased
yields
from
agricultural production.


Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in the circulatory system that shows a remarkable capacity to bind a wide range of drugs impacting their therapeutic effect. Therefore, the binding to HSA represents a fundamental factor to consider when designing and developing new drugs. Although biophysical techniques (e.g. spectroscopy) are commonly employed to measure the extent to which drugs bind to HSA, these methods are time consuming and usually extremely expensive. Hence, there is an urgent need to incorporate more efficient methods in an attempt to streamline the development of new drugs. Here we present the implementation of a robust and cost-effective computational method to the prediction of the binding affinity of drugs towards HSA. Our method incorporates the program AutoDock Vina to perform in silico molecular docking of a highly diverse set of drugs against the 3D crystal structure of HSA. The 3D structure of HSA was retrieved from the Protein Data Bank and prepared to be used as receptor in our docking simulations. 3D structures of drugs were generated and optimized using Open Babel. Our protocol using AutoDock Vina as the docking engine was capable of reproducing the binding mode of indoxyl sulfate within the X-ray crystal structure of HSA (RMSD < 2.0 A). In addition, our protocol correlated accurately predicted affinity values with experimentally determined association constants (r2=0.61). Our computational-based molecular docking approach incorporating AutoDock Vina may prove useful to the prediction of the binding affinities of drugs towards human serum albumin, and thus, could help alleviate a major bottleneck of the drug discovery process.


Legumes are crucial species which are used by the community worldwide. In this manuscript, a two stage approach to identify infected leaf region percentage in legumes (particularly Groundnut and Soybean) is proposed. First stage classifies between a healthy and a diseased leaf sample. Second stage detects the diseased region and identifies the proportion of leaf infected area. The two stage approach provides high accuracy and also, shows that texture features plays an important role for classification of healthy and diseased leaves. The experimental results obtained on a self-collected leaf image dataset show that the proposed approach accurately identifies the diseased region in legumes. The proposed methodology can also be used for the classification of different disease types.


This study considers a situation in which a sensor network aims to protect a stationary target (e.g., a large battleship at anchor) and detects signals from approaching objects (e.g., small boats traveling in a harbor). Once the network detects a sufficient number of signals from the object (for example, through video surveillance), it may classify the object's intention as hostile and act accordingly by informing responders. The objective is to design an optimal strategy for recognition that guarantees accurate and timely intruder detection. We show that the optimal policy is of a control limit threshold.


This paper presents the magnetic analysis and design of a high temperature superconducting generator (HTSG) for offshore wind turbines. High temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes form the rotor winding to produce a strong magnetic field when excited. This allows the generator to achieve high torque density with a compact size and light weight. Gearboxes can be removed for direct-drive operation to improve the reliability and efficiency of the offshore wind turbine. The lightweight and compact generator also helps reduce the construction cost. However, the high cost of HTS tapes should be considered and the reduction of the amount HTS material used should be carefully assessed. An HTSG is designed and analyzed for a 5 MW offshore wind turbine. The analysis involves several factors that affect the amount of HTS material utilized. The weight and volume of the HTSG is also considered in the design and analysis. Finite element analysis is employed for simulation of the HTSGs.


A time-averaged recording of a sinusoidally vibrating object reconstructs a fringe function, which is determined by the ratio between the exposure time and the vibration period. For short exposures, compared with the vibration period, the fringe function is highly dependent on the number of vibration cycles recorded and on the starting point of the exposure in the vibration cycle. When several fringe functions that are recorded at different parts of the vibration cycle are added, the resulting averaged fringe function is similar to the normal J(o)(2) function, even at short exposures. The frequency ranges at which numerical analysis can be used in these two cases are defined, and the result of short exposures permitting digital fringe analysis, even under extremely unstable situations, is demonstrated. Extending the standard video exposure time permits recording vibrations at low frequencies as the normal J(o)(2) function and improves the light economy.


Non-thermal plasma has been proved to be an effective and competitive technology for removing NO in flue gas since 1970. In this paper, the NO reduction mechanism of the non-thermal plasma reaction in NO/N2/O2 system was investigated using the method of spectral analysis and quantum chemistry. By the establishment of NO reduction and gas discharge plasma emission spectrum measuring system, the NO reduction results, gas discharge emission spectra of NO/N2O2 and pure N2 were obtained, and then the model of molecular orbit of N2 either in ground state or its excited state was worked out using the method of molecular orbit Ab initio in SelfConsistent Field(SCF). It was found that NO reduction in NO/N2 gas discharge plasma was achieved mainly through a series of fast elementary reactions and the N(E6) at excited state was the base for NO reduction.


We explore the impact of interhemispheric thermal gradients forcing on the tropical Pacific ocean‐atmosphere climate in an intermediate coupled model. The equatorial zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient strengthens with an increased northward interhemispheric thermal gradient, the increase arising from earlier onset and later retreat of the seasonal cold tongue, and intensification during the peak cold season. When the mean interhemispheric thermal gradient is reversed, the central equatorial Pacific SST annual cycle abruptly reverses in phase, with its cold season in Mar–May rather than Sep–Nov. While startling, this response is consistent with a prevailing hypothesis that ties the cold tongue SST annual cycle phase to the hemispheric mean asymmetry of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. El Niño‐Southern Oscillation activity is also sensitive to the interhemispheric thermal gradient, with peak activity occurring when the mean gradient is small, reducing rapidly as the mean gradient increases in either direction.


Background: Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is present in approximately one in 500 to 700 live births, representing the most common congenital craniofacial anomaly. Previously, the authors developed a unique murine model with compound Pbx deficiency that exhibits fully penetrant cleft lip with or without cleft palate. To investigate the possibility of tissue repair at an early gestational stage, the authors designed a minimally invasive surgical approach suitable for intrauterine repair using Wnt9b-soaked collagen microspheres to restore craniofacial developmental programs for cleft correction. Methods: Collagen microspheres with diameters ranging from 20 to 50 &mgr;m were fabricated to serve as a delivery vehicle for Wnt9b. At gestational day 11.5, wild-type and Pbx-deficient murine embryos were isolated. Microspheres soaked in murine purified Wnt9b protein were microsurgically implanted at the midface lambdoidal junction. Embryos were cultured in a 37°C modified whole-embryo culture system. Results: Targeted release of Wnt9b resulted in augmented Wnt expression at the lambdoidal junction. Microsurgical implantation of Wnt9b-soaked microspheres resulted in cleft correction in 27.1 percent of the Pbx-deficient embryos. The difference in the ratio of the areas of clefting between implanted and nonimplanted embryos was significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Ex utero correction of cleft lip with or without cleft palate in the authors' murine model by means of microsurgical intervention and targeted delivery of Wnt proteins is an innovative and promising strategy. Although further refinement and optimization of this technique will be required to improve efficacy, the authors believe that this approach will open new avenues toward unconventional prenatal interventions for patients with cleft lip with or without cleft palate, and provide future approaches for prenatal repair of other congenital head and neck disorders.


In this study, collision and grounding data registered in GISIS (Global Integrated Shipping Information System) were investigated for oil tankers. The database includes the information of the collision and grounding accidents during the period between 1998 and 2010 in oil tankers. The risk assessments were carried out using fault tree analysis (FTA) programme for the incidents as collision and grounding occurred in oil tankers. In this study, we were able to investigate first the potential problems which cause the collision and grounding accidents have been determined, second, the occurrence of accidents has been shown with causal factors by the FTA method, and, finally, the significance degree of the initial events causing occurrence of accidents have been put forth. Collision in oil tanker resulted in economical loss (81%), pollution (6%) and death or injury (13%). Grounding in oil tanker resulted in economical loss (91%) and pollution (9%). According to the FTA results, the main reason for the accidents originating from human error is as follows: for collision accidents, Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) violation and the lack of communication between vessels; and for grounding accidents, the interpretation failure of the officer on watch and lack of communication in the bridge resource management.


A cross-sectionally averaged model is used to study several aspects of the physics of a bubble plume rising in a stratified quiescent liquid. Scaling analyses for the peel height, at which the plume momentum vanishes, and the neutral height, at which its average density equals the ambient density, are presented. Contrary to a widespread practice in the literature, it is argued that the neutral height cannot be identified with the experimentally reported intrusion height. Recognizing this difference provides an explanation of the reason why the intrusion height is found so frequently to be much above predictions and brings the theoretical results in line with observations. The mathematical model depends on three dimensionless parameters, some of which are related to the inlet conditions at the plume source. Their influence on the peel and neutral heights is illustrated by means of physical considerations, scaling analyses, and numerical results.


This paper presents the parameters of the reference oxy combustion block operating with supercritical steam parameters, equipped with an air separation unit and a carbon dioxide capture and compression installation. The possibility to recover the heat in the analyzed power plant is discussed. The decision variables and the thermodynamic functions for the optimization algorithm were identified. The principles of operation of genetic algorithm and methodology of conducted calculations are presented. The sensitivity analysis was performed for the best solutions to determine the effects of the selected variables on the power and efficiency of the unit. Optimization of the heat recovery from the air separation unit, flue gas condition and CO2 capture and compression installation using genetic algorithm was designed to replace the low-pressure section of the regenerative water heaters of steam cycle in analyzed unit. The result was to increase the power and efficiency of the entire power plant.


To gain insight into potential relationships between tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 10 (IL-10), erythropoietin (EPO), and anemia in acute malaria, 90 children 3 to 11 years with acute malaria were studied. According to parasitemia and hemoglobin levels, they were divided into 3 groups: G1 (mild): asexual low-density Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia 8g/dl. G2 (high-density uncomplicated): asexual high-density parasitemia (>8000 parasites/ul, with hemoglobin levels >8 g/dl. G3 (anemia): with severe malaria symptoms and parasitemia with anemia (hemoglobin levels <8 g/dl). Hospital controls included 10 children with matching age group who required inpatient management but had no malaria parasitemia. Good marrow response was in G1 & G2 showed by elevation of serum EPO and soluble transferring receptors (sTfR) and increased red cell distribution width (RDW). In G3, bone marrow suppression was in spite of increased EPO level in response to anemia. TNF-alpha level was significantly higher G2 and G3 (P.05). IL-10 levels in G1 were significantly higher than in hospital control group (P<0.05). The highest level of IL-10 was in G2. The mean IL-10 to TNF-alpha ratio in G2 (4.64) was significantly higher (P<.005) than in G3 (mean ratio, 1.77).


The Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC) is a set of procedural tasks that tests an agent's ability to flexibly solve novel problems. While most ARC tasks are easy for humans, they are challenging for state-of-the-art AI. What makes building intelligent systems that can generalize to novel situations such as ARC difficult? We posit that the answer might be found by studying the difference of \emph{language}: While humans readily generate and interpret instructions in a general language, computer systems are shackled to a narrow domain-specific language that they can precisely execute. We present LARC, the \textit{Language-complete ARC}: a collection of natural language descriptions by a group of human participants who instruct each other on how to solve ARC tasks using language alone, which contains successful instructions for 88\% of the ARC tasks. We analyze the collected instructions as `natural programs', finding that while they resemble computer programs, they are distinct in two ways: First, they contain a wide range of primitives; Second, they frequently leverage communicative strategies beyond directly executable codes. We demonstrate that these two distinctions prevent current program synthesis techniques from leveraging LARC to its full potential, and give concrete suggestions on how to build the next-generation program synthesizers.


This thesis aims to develop the understanding of inland floodplain fisheries. It focuses on the Western Border of the 160,000Km2 Pantanal wetland in Brazil, using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping, and a critical exploration of Systematic Conservation Planning meant to optimize land use planning for biodiversity conservation. Following the introduction, study site and methods chapters, the first data chapter presents a description of fishing communities' social structure, livelihood and history of resource use and occupation. New information on this hitherto unstudied group explores their mobile way of life and their physical displacement during the creation of Protected Areas. The second data chapter analyzes the current management of inland fisheries, examining evidence for claims around overfishing by local communities. The results do not support narratives of overfishing. Instead, fishers' customary use is characterized by mobile patch use, territory, and reciprocity. These map onto features of this dynamic ecosystem, such as the flood pulse and the presence naturally unexploitable reserves, in ways likely to create sustainable use. The discussion explores why these features may play equally important roles in other floodplain fisheries. The third data chapter discusses tenure and property in floodplains, using as case in point the conflict among Pantanal Protected Areas managers, fishers and state prosecutors over floodplain ownership. A multidisciplinary approach to resource use, access and property, drawing on economics, anthropology and ecology, may help understand tenure in floodplains so as to help management policies mesh better with local realities and resolve conflicts. The final data chapter critically examines prioritization solutions seeking to promote socio-ecological development. Applying Systematic Conservation Planning in the Pantanal case study shows the assumption of fixed set-aside areas is incompatible with the ever-changing nature of the Pantanal and the needs of local fishers. Dynamic socio-ecological systems, such as floodplain fisheries, demand continual adaptation.


The rhizosphere is the "hub" for plant-microbe interactions and an active region for exchange of nutrients and energy between soil and plants. In arable soils contaminated by mining activities, the rhizosphere may be an important barrier resisting metal uptake. Therefore, the responses of the rhizosphere microbiota to metal contamination involve important biogeochemical processes, which can affect metal bioavailability and thus impact food safety. However, understanding these processes remains a challenge. The current study illustrates that metal-microbe interactions may be crop specific and some less-addressed metals, such as V and Cr, may play important roles in shaping bacterial communities. The current study provides new insights into metal-microbe interactions and contributes to future implementation and monitoring efforts in contaminated arable soils. ABSTRACT In this study, we sampled rhizosphere soils from seven different agricultural fields adjacent to mining areas and cultivated with different crops (corn, rice, or soybean), to study the interactions among the innate microbiota, soil chemical properties, plants, and metal contamination. The rhizosphere bacterial communities were characterized by Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes, and their interactions with the local environments, including biotic and abiotic factors, were analyzed. Overall, these soils were heavily contaminated with multiple metal(loid)s, including V, Cr, Cu, Sb, Pb, Cd, and As. The interactions between environmental parameters and microbial communities were identified using multivariate regression tree analysis, canonical correspondence analysis, and network analysis. Notably, metal-microbe interactions were observed to be crop specific. The rhizosphere communities were strongly correlated with V and Cr levels, although these sites were contaminated from Sb and Zn/Pb mining, suggesting that these two less-addressed metals may play important roles in shaping the rhizosphere microbiota. Members of Gaiellaceae cooccurred with other bacterial taxa (biotic interactions) and several metal(loid)s, suggesting potential metal(loid) resistance or cycling involving this less-well-known taxon. IMPORTANCE The rhizosphere is the "hub" for plant-microbe interactions and an active region for exchange of nutrients and energy between soil and plants. In arable soils contaminated by mining activities, the rhizosphere may be an important barrier resisting metal uptake. Therefore, the responses of the rhizosphere microbiota to metal contamination involve important biogeochemical processes, which can affect metal bioavailability and thus impact food safety. However, understanding these processes remains a challenge. The current study illustrates that metal-microbe interactions may be crop specific and some less-addressed metals, such as V and Cr, may play important roles in shaping bacterial communities. The current study provides new insights into metal-microbe interactions and contributes to future implementation and monitoring efforts in contaminated arable soils.


Many bacteria strains are now successfully used for plant-growth promotion (PGPR) and as biocontrol agents (BCA) against plant diseases. Mechanisms behind their action involve production of enzymes and antibiotics, which in high concentrations could also affect non-target organisms hence the biodiversity and processes in the soil. Despite these potential negative side effects, there is little research done on the subject to confirm whether they are significant. In three laboratory experiments, we tested the effect of the bacterial BCA Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UCMB5113 (BA) on two earthworm species, common in agricultural soils in temperate regions of the world and representing different ecological groups; one anecic (Aporrectodea longa) and one endogeic species (Aporrectodea caliginosa). The earthworms were kept in replicated pots containing soil from local agricultural fields. They were fed on cow manure, and exposed to BA by (1) dipping into a BA solution (short-term external exposure in high concentration), (2) mixing BA solution into the soil (long term external and internal exposure) and (3) feeding earthworms with BA infested plant litter (internal exposure of the gut). After 1–2 months, survival, growth and reproduction of the earthworms were recorded. We found no effect of the treatments as compared to control without BA amendments. We conclude that the use of high doses of BA with concentrations at the same magnitude as maximally expected when the bacteria are used as PGPR and BCA, is not harmful to the soil dwelling earthworms tested in this project. Further studies of the ecological effects of PGPR and BCA bacteria on other non-target soil organisms are encouraged. The development of sustainable agricultural systems, where ecosystem services are optimized, has to be aided by a deeper knowledge of the combined effect of bacteria and earthworms on the promotion of plant health. ã 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Background: In the current culture of dining-out, there is a greater emphasis on the overall dining experience at restaurants and less of a concern regarding food safety. The public often relies on consumer-generated review websites, such as Yelp and Google Reviews, to decide on where to eat. Each restaurant is often rated out of 5-stars based on factors such as customer service and food quality. The public perceives a restaurant with a 1-star rating poorly, whereas a restaurant with a 5-star rating is seen as excellent. Moreover, the aspect of food safety is determined by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) who conduct inspections and assign hazard ratings to restaurants, which describe them as a low, moderate, or high-risk food premises. These inspection report results can be disseminated to the public online or through a placard system by the health authority. Currently, in most cities, there is no linkage or display of inspection report results on consumer-generated review websites. Methods: Secondary data was collected from publicly available online sources: Fraser Health's restaurant inspection reports and two consumer-generated restaurant review websites – Yelp and Google Reviews. The author analyzed 170 randomly selected restaurants from the three most populous cities under Fraser Health's jurisdiction (British Columbia, Canada): Surrey, Burnaby, and Abbotsford. Only independent restaurants and their routine inspection reports were considered in this study. The following data was obtained from each of the restaurant's available routine inspection reports: current hazard rating, the average hazard score, and total number of critical violations (CVs). These variables were then compared to the current star rating found on Yelp and Google Reviews. Results: A total of six statistical analyses were conducted: two chi-square tests and four correlational analyses. When comparing the current hazard rating of the restaurant and their current star rating using chi-square tests, p = 0.0855 for Yelp and p = 0.0739 for Google Reviews. Furthermore, in all four correlational analyses, a negative linear relationship was observed, but only three resulted in statistically significant results. When comparing the average hazard score of the restaurant's routine inspections and their current star rating, p = 0.0591 for Yelp (power = 47.21%) and p = 0.0000 for Google Reviews (power = 99.97%). When comparing the restaurant's total CVs from routine inspections and their current star rating, p = 0.0001 for Yelp (power = 97.29%) and p = 0.0000 for Google Reviews (power = 100%). Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrated that prescribed food safety evaluations largely align with the customer perception of restaurants. Although three out of six statistical tests resulted in statistically significant results, overall, it appears that restaurants with a higher star rating have lower number of CVs and lower average hazard scores. Even though this ideal relationship was established, the importance of safe food handling practices and serving safe food to the public should not be overlooked. Consumer-generated restaurant review websites are an excellent avenue to promote food safety within the overall culture of dining-out at restaurants.


In read cloud approaches, microfluidic partitioning of long genomic DNA fragments and barcoding of shorter fragments derived from these fragments retains long-range information in short sequencing reads. This combination of short reads with long-range information represents a powerful alternative to single-molecule long-read sequencing. We develop Genome-wide Reconstruction of Complex Structural Variants (GROC-SVs) for SV detection and assembly from read cloud data and apply this method to Illumina-sequenced 10x Genomics sarcoma and breast cancer data sets. Compared with short-fragment sequencing, GROC-SVs substantially improves the specificity of breakpoint detection at comparable sensitivity. This approach also performs sequence assembly across multiple breakpoints simultaneously, enabling the reconstruction of events exhibiting remarkable complexity. We show that chromothriptic rearrangements occurred before copy number amplifications, and that rates of single-nucleotide variants and SVs are not correlated. Our results support the use of read cloud approaches to advance the characterization of large and complex structural variation.