Free air space (FAS), as a representation of the available air filled voids in a composting matrix, is considered an important parameter to define optimum substrate conditions for gas transfer. However, this parameter has been determined, interpreted, and employed in several ways by researchers. On this basis, the objective of this paper is to review the previous work related to the application of FAS in composting, providing information about the FAS concept and its importance for composting research. Also, relevant details of the methods currently used for FAS measurement and estimation are discussed. Other aspects of this review are FAS management in composting and its implications for physical and numerical models. In this way, the presented discussion provides a basis to understand the FAS concept and its potential application to future research.


Abstract A detailed study is presented of the effect of weathering on the undrained and effective stress strengths of London Clay from a site at South Ockendon, Essex. A limited investigation of the chemistry and clay mineralogy was also carried out. It is concluded that the effect of weathering is to reduce the apparent degree of overconsolidation. This effect is seen in the undrained strength-water content relationship of the most weathered clay, which shows a 4% higher water content at a given strength than the unweathered clay. There is a corresponding reduction of the overconsolidation ratio from about 40 to about 20. In effective stress terms the corresponding strength change is given by a reduction of c′ from 28 kPa to a minimum value of about 9 kPa, assuming that ø′ (= 20°) remains unchanged by the weathering.


The INtubation-SURfactant-Extubation (INSURE) procedure is a widely-used surfactant administration method to treat preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) but is not always successful. We conducted a systematic review to identify early predictive factors for failure of this procedure. A systematic literature search was performed until July 2018 in MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Original studies comparing INSURE success with INSURE failure in preterm infants with RDS were included. A predefined data extraction form was used to retrieve data from articles and methodological quality was assessed using the SIGN checklists. Fifteen studies out of 690 identified records met inclusion criteria. Methodological quality varied, only 8 studies performed multivariate analysis. We identified 20 different risk factors in total. Evidence for birth weight as a predictor for INSURE failure was inconsistent, but there was a significant association between decreasing gestational age and failure risk. RDS severity was assessed in multiple ways, using arterial blood gas values, imaging and scoring systems. In conclusion: extremely low birth weight, low gestational age and severe RDS appear to be risk factors for INSURE failure. However, evidence is inconsistent due to important methodological heterogeneity. Therefore, clinical applicability of these results is limited and implies the need for future large cohort studies on this subject.


Emotion dysregulation is a core transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology and adolescence may be a sensitive period for the development of emotion regulation. Mothers may socialize emotion dysregulation by engaging in frequent interactions with their adolescents that involve mutual increases in arousal. This study examined mother-adolescent mutual arousal escalation in a conflict discussion task in adolescent girls. Further, we tested associations between mutual arousal escalation and adolescent emotion regulation. Participants comprised 84 adolescent girls (Mage=12.3[0.78]; 69% White) and their biological mothers. Dyads completed a 5m conflict discussion task, during which skin conductance level was collected as a measure of arousal. Adolescent emotion regulation outcomes included self-reported rumination and problem-solving, arousal habituation to a stressful speech task, and real-world use of positive and negative emotion regulation strategies. Multilevel models for distinguishable dyads indicated a significant random effect of time, with individual differences in arousal slope throughout the task for both adolescents and mothers. There were significant fixed and random effects of mother-to-adolescent cross-lagged arousal, indicating that mothers "transmitted" arousal to adolescents on average, and there was significant dyadic variability. Dyadic mutual arousal escalation predicted adolescent rumination, indicating that for dyads high in mutual arousal escalation and high in mutual arousal de-escalation, adolescents reported higher rumination. Mother arousal slope during the conflict task significantly predicted adolescent physiological regulation during the speech task; as mothers exhibited higher slopes on the speech task, adolescent slopes on the speech task were higher, reflecting less habituation. Higher mother-to-adolescent arousal transmission was associated with more use of positive and less use of negative emotion regulation strategies in the real world. Results suggest that mother-adolescent dyads vary in the degree to which they mutually escalate or de-escalate in arousal during stressful interactions, and in the degree to which mothers "transmit" arousal to adolescents. These differences in interaction style appear related to adolescents' abilities to regulate their emotions. Adolescents in dyads who mutually escalate or de-escalate in arousal report more rumination, which may be indicative of a practiced dysregulatory response in stressful contexts (escalation) or a tendency toward cognitive processes that lead to withdrawal from aversive environments (de-escalation).


The purpose of the thermally activated building system design is to maintain the thermal comfort of the building indoor environment by securing enough thermal output of the system. For preventing the condensation on the thermally activated building system, the air system is mostly integrated with the thermally activated building system. However, the common design method in the standards only considers the thermal performance of the system itself and cannot reflect the effects of the air system. Thus, the design process of the thermally activated building system should include the consideration about the latent load and ventilation. In order to reflect the effect of the air system, the amount of sensible load removed by the thermally activated building system and air system should be included in the design process. The sensible load handled by the air system highly depends on the type of the air system and design consideration to prevent the condensation and maintain the indoor air quality. In this study, the air system choosing process was included by simulating and observing the sensible load removed by different types of the air system, and thermal performance adjustment in the design process was proposed.


Background Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has been proposed for evaluating treatment response in RA. In a 16-week anti-TNF trial, DCE-MRI measures of inflammation analyzed for regions of interest (ROIs) covering MCP joints 2–5 and PIP joints 2–5 detected improvements at week 16, but not at earlier time point1. Objectives To investigate if solely analyzing joints fulfilling predefined MRI quality criteria for joint visualization would increase the responsiveness and discrimination between treatments of DCE-MRI. Methods Patients with active RA despite stable DMARD therapy for ≥12 weeks were randomized 2:1 to certolizumab pegol (CZP) or 2 weeks of placebo (PBO) followed by CZP (CZP+PBO). MRIs were obtained at weeks 0 (baseline), 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. Only joints fulfilling MRI joint quality criteria (≥3MCP/≥2PIP joint slices including the distal and/or the proximal bone of the joint and part of the joint cavity) were included in analyses. ROIs covering each joint were analyzed for number of enhancing voxels (Nvoxel), initial rate of enhancement (IRE) and maximum enhancement (ME) using the DYNAMIKA software (Image Analysis, UK). Results For 38 (CZP: 26; PBO+CZP: 12) of the 40 randomized patients, ≥1 joint fulfilled the quality criteria at baseline. 31 MCP2, 28 MCP3, 23 MCP4, 7 MCP5, 29 PIP2, 29 PIP3, 28 PIP4 and 12 PIP5 joints were included. No individual joints showed significant changes over time or differences between groups. Analyses by joint group (MCP2–4 and PIP2–4) had few data available. Nvoxel and ME decreased numerically, but not significantly, for PIP2–4.Table 1. Baseline values of and changes in DCE-MRI parameters for MCP2–4 and PIP2–4 Baseline Change week 0–week 1 Change week 0–week 2 Change week 0–week 4 Change week 0–week 8 Change week 0–week 16 Median change [number] PBO+CZP/CZP PBO+CZP/CZP PBO+CZP/CZP PBO+CZP/CZP PBO+CZP/CZP PBO+CZP/CZP Nvoxel  MCP2–4 295/131 NA/-503 62/0 NA/0 90/53 NA/-473 [5]/[12] [1]/[4] [1]/[5] [2]/[4] [1]/[5]  PIP2–4 108/144 -35/0 -56/-12 -80/-75 -69*/10 -32/-12 [8]/[15] [3]/[6] [5]/[7] [5]/[4] [7]/[10] [5]/[8] IRE  MCP2–4 0.000/0.004 NA/0.000 0.006/0.00 NA/0.000 0.273/-0.023 NA/0.002 [4]/[9] [0]/[3] [2]/[2] [0]/[4] [2]/[2] [0]/[5]  PIP2–4 0.013/0.006 -0.002/-0.001 0.000/0.001 0.003/0.000 0.014*/0.000 0.000/0.023 [8]/[10] [2]/[3] [5]/[5] [5]/[3] [5]/[5] [4]/[2] ME  PIP2–4 0.013/0.006 -0.002/-0.001 0.000/0.001 0.003/0.000 0.014*/0.000 0.000/0.023 [8]/[10] [2]/[3] [5]/[5] [5]/[3] [5]/[5] [4]/[2]  PIP2–4 1.76/1.99 -0.16/-0.30 -0.17/0.02 -0.23/0.03 -0.02/-0.01 -0.19/-0.12 [8]/[10] [2]/[3] [5]/[5] [5]/[3] [5]/[5] [4]/[2] NA: Not applicable. Difference between time points: Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test: *p<0.05. Conclusions There were no statistically significant changes in DCE-MRI on joint level or joint group level or between groups. Applying strict joint coverage quality criteria compromises the statistical power of the DCE-MRI analyses underlining the importance of standardization of the method. References Østergaard. Arthritis Rheum 2014;66(Suppl. 10):518. Disclosure of Interest M. B. Axelsen Grant/research support from: UCB Nordic funded the study, H. Bliddal Grant/research support from: UCB Nordic, L. T. H. Jacobssen Consultant for: Abbvie, Celegen, MSD, Novartis and UCB, M. Hansen: None declared, A. Dudek: None declared, M. Rell-Bakalarska: None declared, M. Boesen Consultant for: Chairman of the clinical advisory board Image Analysis, LTD London, J. Stefanek: None declared, B. Sundman-Engberg: None declared, M. Østergaard Grant/research support from: and/or speaking/consultant fees: Abbvie, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli-Lilly, Centocor, GSK, Hospira, Janssen, Merck, Mundipharma, Novartis, Novo, Orion, Pfizer, Regeneron, Schering-Plough, Roche, Takeda, UCB, and Wyeth


It was proposed recently that the out-of-time-ordered four-point correlator (OTOC) may serve as a useful characteristic of quantum-chaotic behavior, because in the semi-classical limit, $\hbar \to 0$, its rate of exponential growth resembles the classical Lyapunov exponent. Here, we calculate the four-point correlator, $C(t)$, for the classical and quantum kicked rotor -- a textbook driven chaotic system -- and compare its growth rate at initial times with the standard definition of the classical Lyapunov exponent. Using both quantum and classical arguments, we show that the OTOC's growth rate and the Lyapunov exponent are in general distinct quantities, corresponding to the logarithm of phase-space averaged divergence rate of classical trajectories and to the phase-space average of the logarithm, respectively. The difference appears to be more pronounced in the regime of low kicking strength, where no classical chaos exists globally. In this case, the Lyapunov exponent vanishes, while the OTOC's growth rate may remain finite corresponding to disconnected local chaotic islands in the phase space. We also show that the quantum correlator as a function of time exhibits a clear singularity at the Ehrenfest time $t_E$: transitioning from a time-independent value of $t^{-1} \ln{C(t)}$ at $t t_E$. We note that the underlying physics here is the same as in the theory of weak (dynamical) localization [Aleiner and Larkin, Phys. Rev. B 54, 14423 (1996); Tian, Kamenev, and Larkin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 124101 (2004)] and is due to a delay in the onset of quantum interference effects, which occur sharply at a time of the order of the Ehrenfest time.


Objective. Classifier transfers usually come with dataset shifts. To overcome dataset shifts in practical applications, we consider the limitations in computational resources in this paper for the adaptation of batch learning algorithms, like the support vector machine (SVM). Approach. We focus on data selection strategies which limit the size of the stored training data by different inclusion, exclusion, and further dataset manipulation criteria like handling class imbalance with two new approaches. We provide a comparison of the strategies with linear SVMs on several synthetic datasets with different data shifts as well as on different transfer settings with electroencephalographic (EEG) data. Main results. For the synthetic data, adding only misclassified samples performed astoundingly well. Here, balancing criteria were very important when the other criteria were not well chosen. For the transfer setups, the results show that the best strategy depends on the intensity of the drift during the transfer. Adding all and removing the oldest samples results in the best performance, whereas for smaller drifts, it can be sufficient to only add samples near the decision boundary of the SVM which reduces processing resources. Significance. For brain–computer interfaces based on EEG data, models trained on data from a calibration session, a previous recording session, or even from a recording session with another subject are used. We show, that by using the right combination of data selection criteria, it is possible to adapt the SVM classifier to overcome the performance drop from the transfer.


Urinary Tract Infection and its Management edited by Donald Kaye MD ppxi+290 illustrated £10.10 Saint Louis: C VMosby 1972 London: Henry Kimpton This is a useful small book bringing together most of the recent knowledge on urinary infection, its diagnosis and treatment. There are two comprehensive chapters on the diagnosis and localization of urinary tract infection and an interesting account of the pathology of pyelonephritis as at present understood. There is an exhaustive chapter on radiological diagnosis which does not restrict itself to the problem in hand, and a somewhat undergraduate chapter on renal function which appears to stray widely from the main point of its relation to urinary infection. The chapters on the epidemiology of urinary infection could possibly have been expanded a little with regard to adults. The contribution by Dr Kunin on children is an excellent summary of the present position. The section on management and treatment of urinary tract infection gives a nicely balanced approach to the therapeutic jungle. Unhappily the section on surgery and management of patients with urinary infection is totally inadequate and considers only the pediatric aspect. There is no mention of the treatment of infected calculus in the adult or of the problems ofbladder neck obstruction in the elderly. In all, this book contains much useful information which could have perhaps been presented a little more concisely. The volume can, however, be recommended as a reasonable reflection of current thought. J E A WICKHAM


Variable ventilation (VV) is a novel strategy of ventilatory
support that utilizes random variations in the delivered tidal volume (VT) to improve lung function.
Since the stretch pattern during VV has been shown to increase surfactant
release both in animals and cell culture, we
hypothesized that there were combinations of PEEP and VT during VV that led to
improved alveolar recruitment compared to conventional mechanical ventilation
(CV). To test this hypothesis, we developed a computational model of stretch-induced
surfactant release combined with abnormal alveolar mechanics of the injured
lung under mechanical ventilation. We modeled the lung as a set of distinct
acini with independent surfactant secretion and thus pressure-volume
relationships. The rate of surfactant secretion was modulated by the stretch
magnitude that an alveolus experienced per breath. Mechanical ventilation was
simulated by delivering a prescribed VT at each breath. The fractional VT that each acinus received depended on its local compliance relative to the
total system compliance. Regional variability in VT thus developed through feedback between stretch and
surfactant release and coupling of regional VT to ventilator settings. The model allowed us to simulate patient-ventilator
interactions over a wide range of PEEPs and VTs
during CV and VV. Full recruitment was achieved through VV at a lower PEEP than
required for CV. During VV, the acini were maintained under non-equilibrium
steady-state conditions with breath-by-breath fluctuations of regional VT. In CV, alveolar injury
was prevented with high-PEEP-low-VT or low-PEEP-high-VT combinations. In contrast, one contiguous region of PEEP-VT combinations allowed for full recruitment without
overdistention during VV. We found that maintaining epithelial cell stretch
above a critical threshold with either PEEP or VT may help stabilize the injured lung. These results demonstrate the significance of patient-ventilator
coupling through the influence of cellular stretch-induced surfactant
release on the whole lung stability.


The feasibility of treating brewery effluent using bio-catalysts (enzymes) was investigated. Carbohydrase, lipase, protease and a mixture enzyme made of carbohydrate and lipase were used. Brewery wastewater samples were collected and analyzed for 96 hrs, at intervals of 12 hrs. The physiochemical properties: biological oxygen demand BOD, chemical oxygen demand COD, total suspended solid (TSS), total dissolved solid TDS, pH, phosphorus (PO4), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), total hydrocarbon (THC) were determined using APHA standard method of analysis. The concentrations of the physiochemical properties of the brewery effluent decreased with increasing biodegradation time, for the various enzymes used. However, the different enzymes gave different percentage reductions of each of the physiochemical properties. The order of percentage reduction for the enzyme systems is mixed enzyme > carbohydrase > lipase > protease > control. Hence, the mixed enzyme gave the best results of 90%, 90%, 50%, 100%, 91.6% and 100% reductions for COD, BOD, TSS, NH4-N, PO4 and THC, respectively after 96 hrs. of biotreatment. However, the control gave the least percentage reductions of 6.9%, 5.3%, 16.4%, 7.1%, 5.8% and 50.0% for COD, BOD5, TSS, PO4, NH4-N, and THC respectively.


In this paper, we analyze the low-SNR behavior of the cross-receiver mutual information (CMI) between two received signals corrupted by uncorrelated, additive Gaussian noise. This framework has use in distributed, passive sensor applications, such as passive radar and collaborative opportunistic navigation. For Gaussian and BPSK signaling, the CMI can be expressed in terms of the effective SNR between the receivers. On-off keying (OOK), while not optimal in terms of spectral efficiency for a single-receiver channel, is shown to have greater CMI than Gaussian or BPSK signaling. This is in spite of the fact that, given the same received SNRs, all three source distributions have the same linear correlation coefficient. This indicates that for OOK sources, effective SNR and correlation coefficient are not meaningful descriptors for passive receivers.Full-length version of conference paper submission.


On May 22, 2001, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia sponsored a workshop on the role of interchange fees in the credit card industry. The workshop discussion, led by Dr. David Humphrey of Florida State University, explored the framework behind interchange fees. It then focused on several open questions that have arisen within both the academic research and international regulatory communities about interchange's impact on payment system efficiency. The paper that follows is supplemented by additional research and provides background information on interchange, a transaction-level overview of the credit card system that results in the extraction of interchange, and a summary of Dr. Humphrey's comments.


Various stages of hypokinesia are marked by specific changes in the level and activity of endogenous metalloproteins with anti- (MAA) and prooxidant action (MPA). In particular, the level of MPA [cytochromes b5 and b558 (III + IV) and suprol] decreases in all stages (except for the level of cytochrome b5 exceeding that in the free control on the 15th and 30th day of hypokinesia). The superoxide production activity of suprol always exceeds that in the control, while the activity of cytochrome b558 (III) exceeds that in the control only on the 30th day of experiment. The level and activity of MAA [ceruloplasmin, transferrin (TF), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase] decrease with the duration of hypokinesia (except for 15th day, when the level of TF and the activity of SOD exceed the values in the free control group). The administration of GABA and pyrrolidone decreases the extent of oxidative stress, which is manifested by leveling of the MAA and MPA content and activity.


The family in late modernity faces demographic change. However, it is still apparent that intergenerational relationships and exchanges of resources are valued. There is a growing literature on the important role that grandparents play in their children's families. In contrast, there is limited research exploring the support grandparents provide to families with disabled children. This is an important gap in our knowledge, as families with disabled children frequently face additional caring responsibilities and emotional demands. From the studies that do exist, it is clear that grandparents' support to families with disabled children is generally valued. However, the literature remains partial: past studies are small-scale, focused upon parents' perceptions of support (especially mother's), and frequently based upon North American data. Recognizing these limitations and the fact that grandparents themselves have support needs which require consideration, this paper identifies key areas where important issues remain unanswered and further research is required. It argues that research is needed to begin untangling the different support needs of parents, grandparents and other family members, and the different effects of grandparent support that different family members' experience. Exploration of grandparents' own support needs also indicates the need for wider policy and service consideration.


This study was conducted to identify the effects of houses and sand fences on dune dynamics on a moderately developed barrier island. Wind velocity data gathered beneath and around buildings built on pilings in the dunes revealed that isolated buildings considerably reduced the average velocity of winds. Cumulative sand surface elevation changes during the 102 day period were less than 7.6 cm. A simulation of the sediment budget revealed that 1.9 cm. of sediment per 10 linear meters of dune crest would be deposited landward of the dune crest under natural conditions. Houses constructed on pilings at a 25% linear density along the crest reduce the natural rate of deposition by 13.8%. If houses are constructed directly on the dune surface at a frontage density of 43% and protected using sand fences, the natural rate of eolian transport would be reduced by 67.5%. Structures built on or near the dune crest cause a local increase in the height of the dune and reduce the inland migration of the dune. Even a moderate level of development can strongly affect sediment transfers, and performance criteria should be developed for new shorefront buildings to insure maintenance of important characteristics of the natural system.


Synthesis of 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole tethered peptidomimetics is described by reaction of Nα-protected amino acid hydrazides with isoselenocyanato esters in one pot. The molecular-iodine-mediated cyclodeselenization of in situ generated selenosemicarbazide intermediates resulted in facile formation of 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazoles under mild conditions at excellent yields. The method employs environmentally benign iodine as the cyclizing agent and thereby avoids the harsh conditions employed in existing routes.


The psr region of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli had originally been recognized on the basis of its ability to repress the transcription of the psi genes, one of which, psiA, inhibits exopolysaccharide synthesis when cloned in multi-copy plasmids. Both psr and psi are located on the symbiotic plasmid pRP2JI. The psrA gene was localized and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of PsrA was shown to have similarity to the DNA-binding region of a family of other transcriptional regulators, consistent with its known effects on the expression of psi. The transcription of psrA itself appears to be constitutive in free-living Rhizobium, but is regulated by another gene on the Sym plasmid pRP2JI.


We investigated the role of oral infections, dentition and dental X-rays for oral cancer in a north Swedish population. This case-control study consisted of 410 cases with oral cancer for the period 1980-89 and 410 matched controls. All subjects received a mailed questionnaire. The response rates were 96% and 91% for cases and controls, respectively. The univariate analysis showed a statistically significant increased risk for oral cancer among individuals reporting problems with recurrent clinical oral infection (odds ratio (OR) 3.8). Separate analyses were made for groups with a clearly stated HSV-1 infection (OR 1.9) and highly suspected HSV-1 infection (OR 3.3) as reported by the subjects. Odds ratios were also calculated for infections in relation to tobacco and alcohol habits. For individuals reporting recurrent infection problems an increased risk was observed in every combination category. Dental factors such as different fillings, dentures and fixed prostheses showed no increased risks. Dental X-ray did not produce an increased OR either. A multivariate analysis suggested that the most important risk factors were oral infections followed by liquor consumption and active smoking


Natural sediments can be made up of a varied mixture of mineral and organic material, reworked and stabilised by physical and biological processes. Knowledge of sedimentary processes is required for sediment transport models, which are essential for managing morphological change in coastal and estuarine environments. Many of these environments are dominated by mixtures of sand and mud. While good sediment bedform predictors are available for clean sands, there is limited knowledge of the behaviour of mixed sediments composed of cohesive mud and non-cohesive sand and this could limit the applicability of predictors based on clean sand.
Recent laboratory experiments on cohesive and non-cohesive sediments, influenced by biogenic stabilisation, have shown that bedform dimensions decrease with increasing bed cohesive content. However, as bedforms developed and migrated along the bed, mud and biogenic polymers were winnowed from the bed into suspension. This thesis extends these laboratory results to assess the effect of cohesive material on sediment dynamics in a natural mixed sediment environment. To this end, fieldwork was carried out on tidal flats in the Dee estuary, UK, collecting measurements of the hydrodynamics, bed morphology and seabed properties, over a two week period covering a spring-neap cycle.
It was found that the cohesive content of the bed varies with hydrodynamic forcing, and increasing bed cohesive clay content reduces bedform dimensions, effects the development of bedform plan morphology and reduces the rate of bedform migration and bed material transport. The amount of biological cohesive material (Extracellular Polymeric Substances, EPS) in the bed sediment was found to vary linearly with the cohesive clay content. Increasing bed cohesive clay reduced bedform dimensions and it would not be expected for bedforms to develop above 4 vol% cohesive clay content, in these field conditions. Bed material transport rate is reduced by increasing bed cohesive clay below about 3 vol%, and above this limit the bedforms appeared to stop migrating. Overall, sediment cohesion has the effect of making bedforms lower in height and shorter in length, and slows the bedform migration and material transport. Some current bedforms were seen to scale with water depth and were larger than expected for current ripples; these are described as transitional bedforms between ripples and dunes. As mixed cohesive sediment is found in many coastal areas worldwide, there is the potential for aspects of these results to have global relevance, if applied to regional models for sediment transport and coastal morphology.


A number of fossil specimens were collected in the Falkland Islands (South Atlantic Ocean) between 1998 and 2008 during geological fieldwork by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in support of the Department of Mineral Resources, Falkland Islands Government. The specimens have now been lodged in the biostratigraphy collections of the National Geoscience Data Centre, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, and this report provides background information on the collection and their geological setting, and illustrates some of the specimens. Two assemblages are present. Devonian fossils, mostly brachiopods, were recovered from the Fox Bay Formation, West Falkland Group; Permian fossils, sparse bivalves and representative examples of bioturbation, were recovered from the Brenton Loch Formation, Lafonia Group. The Devonian fauna is relatively well known, having been first discovered in 1833 by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle. The Permian fauna is very rare, with a few small bivalves known only from a single locality that was discovered during BGS fieldwork in 2001.


A common approach in tissue engineering strategies is to deliver living cells together with supporting scaffolds to damaged or injured body parts and then induce cell proliferation and differentiation for the purpose of regenerating functional tissues. Porous polymeric microparticles (Por-MPs), as scaffolds have recently received extensive interest for their pores, facilitating exchange of nutrients throughout the scaffolds and, sizes ( micrometre scale) and shapes (spherical), offering delivery of the cell-scaffold system via narrow bore needle with minimally invasive surgical intervention to repair irregularly shaped tissue defect. For fabrication of MPs, conventional emulsion-solvent evaporation (CE) methods are most commonly used; however the size distributions of the prepared MPs are broad, which could bring negative impacts on the efficiency of the scaffolds as cell-delivering vehicles. On the other hand, cross-flow membrane emulsification (X-ME) is a promising technique for preparation of uniform-sized MPs.

One of the aims of this study was to develop a robust protocol for preparing uniform-sized, large and porous poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) MPs using the X-ME method. The method development process started with fabrication of solid polycaprolactone (PCL) MPs (Sol-MPs). Different process and formulation parameters, such as working pressure (Pw), membrane pore diameter (D0), viscosity of disperse phase (DP) and emulsifier concentration (Conc.CP) were optimised for preparing Sol-MPs with mean diameter of approximately 100 µm. Span factor was used as a criteria of degree of monodispersity of the MPs; in general the lower the span factor, the narrower the size distribution. The same emulsion conditions were taken into account for preparation of monodisperse porous PLGA MPs (Por-ME MPs) with mean dimeter of approximately 100 µm. The further aim of this study was to assess the performance of the novel porous MPs (Por-ME MPs) as scaffolds for delivery of stem cells in bone tissue regeneration. Immortalised human mesenchymal stem cells (ihMSCs) were seeded with Por-ME MPs and the attachment, viability, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of the cells were assessed.
Under the optimal emulsification conditions, such as at certain Pw, D0, DP, Conc.CP, Sol-MPs with mean diameter of 109 µm (± 20.75) and span factor of 0.52 (± 0.04) were prepared via the ME method. On the other hand, the mean diameter and span factor of Por-ME MPs prepared via X-ME were 114 µm (± 19) and 0.43 (± 0.02), respectively. The size distributions of the Por-ME MPs, prepared via X-ME were substantially narrower than those of the Por-CE MPs, prepared via conventional high shear homogenizer. The mean diameter and span factor of Por-CE MPs were 78 µm (± 25) and 0.70 (± 0.07), respectively. On the other hand, the novel porous MPs were biocompatible with ihMSCs in terms of viability, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of the cells.

Via this study, a new platform for fabrication of porous PLGA MPs was introduction. The strategy used to prepare these MPs, could be applied for preparing MPs with other biodegradable polymers. The newly developed scaffold system (Por-ME MPs) has the potential to regenerate bone tissues; however, further research is necessary in order to establish the scaffold system as a reliable stem cell delivering vehicle.


The evolution of Internet of Things has given way to a Smart World where there is an improved integration of devices, systems and processes in humans through all pervasive connectivity. Anytime, anywhere connection and transaction is the motto of the Internet of things which brings comfort to the users and sweeps the problem of physical boundary out of the way. Once it has come into the purview of developers, new areas have been identified and new applications have been introduced. Small wearables which can track your health to big automated vehicles which can move from one place to another self navigating without human intervention are the order of the day. This has also brought into existence a new technology called cloud, since with IoT comes a large number of devices connected to the internet continuously pumping data into the cloud for storage and processing. Another area benefited from the evolution of IoT is the wireless and wired connectivity through a wide range of connectivity standards.
As with any technology, it has also created a lot of concerns regarding the security, privacy and ethics.

Data protection issues created by new technologies are a threat which has been recognized by developers, public and also the governing body long back. The complexity of the system arises because of the various sensors and technologies which clearly tell the pattern of the activities of the individual as well an organization making us threat prone. Moreover, the volume of the data in the cloud makes it too difficult to recognize the privacy requirement of the data or to segregate open data from private data. Data analytics is another technology which supposedly increases the opportunity of increasing business by studying this private data collected from IoT and exploring ways to monetize them. It also helps the individual by recognizing their priorities and narrowing their search. But the data collected are real world data and aggregation of this data in the cloud is an open invitation to the hackers to study about the behaviors of the individuals.

The special issues of Scalable Computing has attract related to the Role of Scalable Computing and Data Analytics in Evolution of Internet of Things has attracted 28 submissions from which were selected 12.


As a regional distinctive culture among ancient Chinese civilization, Chu culture was as dominant as it had always been in Chu State during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. Among them, Chu lacquer wares are the classic representatives of Chu culture. It is summarized that cultural characteristics refer to the belief, the ornamentation preference, the spirit and the color preference. Thus, these characteristics have a great impact on the corresponding translation of these Chu lacquer wares. Exploring the traces of translation on Chu lacquer wares would boost Chu culture, the outstanding and remarkable treasure of knowledge, and promote cultural exchange.


Abstract This article examines the perspective on labor in two critiques of "growth" as elaborated in the context of two capitalist crises: the Keynesian model of industrial development in the 1970s, and the neoliberal finance capitalist growth model of today. A landmark event for the first critique was the publication of the "Limits to Growth" report, and for the second the emergence of the "degrowth" theoretical current. Both critiques have a Malthusian point of departure, and their view on overpopulation is accordingly discussed. Comparison between them shows that despite their ecological and supposedly socially and politically neutral point of departure, both bodies of critique examined here—that of the 1970s and the contemporary one—prescribe for labor the obligation of social discipline and acceptance of labor-market insecurity, along with the undermining of welfare rights. First, I argue that there is no such thing as an ahistorical critique of growth, but only critiques of different, case-specific models of growth in each particular instance. Second, I argue that the idea of a steady-state economy that predominates in growth critical programs is incompatible with the process of expansion and continual enlargement inherent to capitalism. Finally, I argue that, in the framework of two different crises, both critiques of growth promoted a vision of social pacification and, on the basis of ecological arguments, justified the preservation of capitalist power relations.


: For the first time experimental evidence for the nonlinear dependence of the antiarrhythmic effect of the Na-channel blocker on its concentration was obtained. The experiments were carried out with the use of a preparation of the mammalian heart wall. As a blockator, lidocain was used. It was found that the dependence of the antiarrhythmic effect of lidocain on its concentration has a well-pronounced nonlinear nature: while its therapeutic concentrations make ventricular arrhythmias more monomorphic, low concentrations of lidocain increase the probability for the arrhythmias to appear more polymorphic.


The purpose of this study was to explore an action research approach to program planning when used by a leadership team working to enhance the intercultural competence of emerging adults in higher education. The three primary research questions that guided this study were: (1) how do emerging adults learn in response to programs and interventions aimed at developing intercultural competence?, (2) what learning takes place when a leadership team uses a collaborative approach to developing and executing programs that broaden cultural knowledge for emerging adults?, and (3) what elements contributed to a diverse team's group development when using an action research approach with the intent to enhance emerging adults' intercultural competence? The theoretical and empirical frameworks were used based on transformative learning, intercultural development and group dynamics. Through action research methodology, the primary investigator collaborated with stakeholders in a public institution of higher learning to develop and execute programs and interventions with the intent to enhance intercultural competence. Data for this project were collected through qualitative design strategies and the use of an assessment instrument for diagnostic purposes. The study's findings recognized that group development was established through short term programs and interventions which introduced and exposed participants to a learning process that facilitated the beginning stages of change in cognitive, skill development and attitude to enhance intercultural competence. The study's use of practice and theory provided a basis for further research on systemic changes in a group approach to program development that focused on building cultural awareness. The conclusions from this study indicate that: action research methodology leverages the use of individual diversity and expertise that contributes to and supports group work, team development, and the benefits of evaluating group intercultural competence; introducing multicultural education garnered responses in participants to increase cultural awareness; and creating effective conditions for multicultural education does not assure transformative learning. Recommendations for future research are shared along with implications for theories and best practices.


Objectives To compare safety data in patients (pts) with early (<2 years duration) RA who were randomly assigned to receive 4 different regimens of DMARDs treatment. Methods One hundred forty-one pts with RA of less than 2 years duration (122 women, mean age 51 years, mean disease duration 24 weeks, mean DAS 28 5,9; 64% RF-positive,59% ACCP-positive) were randomly allocated to receive one of the following treatment regimens: methotrexate (MTX, up to 20 mg/week, 35 pts); MTX plus prednisolone (P) 10 mg daily (MTX-P, 34 pts); MTX-P plus methylprednisolone (MP) 1000 mg intravenously on the first day of treatment (MTX-P-MP, 35 pts); leflunomide 20 mg daily (LEF, 37 pts). Duration of treatment was one year. Control points were 3, 6 and 12 months from the initiation of therapy. Safety data was assessed at the main control points. Results At baseline all groups were comparable in their demographic, clinical and radiographic characteristics. One hundred twenty-seven pts completed the study. Side effects were registered in the same number of patients in each group (9 patients; 24,3%>26%). Therapy had to be stopped in six patients due to side effects: MTX - 1(depigmentation of the skin), MTX-P - none, MTX-P-MP - 1 (stomatitis) and LEF - 4 (dermatitis-2; pancytopenia with platelet count 43 ×109/L, erythrocyte 2,9×1012/L, WBC 2×109/L-1; angioedema, periorbital edema and dermatitis with itching-1). Other side effects were mild: MTX - 8 pts (dyspepsia-1, elevation of transaminases-6, hair loss-1), MTX-P - 9 pts (Cushing's syndrome - 1, hair loss - 1, anemia - 1, elevation of transaminases - 4, arterial hypertension - 2), MTX-P-MP - 8 pts (hair loss-1,dermatitis-1, elevation of transaminases-5, Cushing's syndrome - 1) and LEF - 5 pts (elevation of transaminases-5). Conclusions Safety profile was the same in all groups. In most cases side effects were moderate or minimal. The most serious side effects, leading to the discontinuation of the therapy, were registered in LEF group. There was no withdrawal of treatment in MTX-P group. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Background: The last 10 years has seen major
changes in the ways general practices deliver
UK primary care services. In a context of skill
shortages, cost containment, policy reform,
quality improvement and increasing volume of
interventions delivered in primary care, new ways
of working are becoming the norm. Skill mix, such
the introduction of advanced nurse practitioners
(ANPs) and health care assistants (HCAs), has
fundamentally re-engineered the primary care
workforce (1).
Aim: This study explored the features of general
practices that successfully accommodate and demonstrate
readiness to re-design and implement
skill mix.
Design: Five GP practices serving different population
size, demography and geography participated
in a multi-case mixed methods study (2) design.
Team Climate Inventory [TCI-14] (3) was administered
to all staff. Following exploratory analysis
hierarchical regression modelling was undertaken.
Semi-structured interviews with ANPs, general
practitioners (GPs), practice nurses (PNs), HCAs
and business managers were analysed using
thematic analysis.
Findings: 122 clinical and non-clinical informants
completed the TCI-14. Mean TCI-14 scores
were consistently high (50.8 – 59.0) across all
subscales, for all practices, suggesting willingness
to work collectively toward shared goals. Size of
practice made no difference to mean scores, but
higher mean scores were associated with proportion
of clinical staff, years employed in the practice
(p=<0.001) and gender. Comparison of TCI-14
with patient experience Quality and Outcome
Framework (QOF) scores showed no significant
differences. The changing architecture of primary
care and role of skill mix in delivering patient
services emerged in the qualitative data.
Discussion: Organisational willingness, demonstrated
by TCI-14 score, may be an indication
of readiness to consider change. Case analysis
indicated no single change model was in operation
but openness, transparency, commitment and
maximising staff capability appeared to be attributes
associated with readiness.
Conclusion: This presentation will focus on
the conditions that contributed to successful
workforce re-design.


One of the ways of fully securing the presence of fresh water is water treatment process. Nanomaterials and nanotechnology offers an innovative solution for water treatment. In this study, physical, chemical and microbiological improvement rates of raw water were analyzed after filtration with graphene oxide. Graphene oxide's water treatment performance; silver nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles & graphene oxide composites that are commonly used in water treatment were compared with a traditional treatment method. When compared to the traditional method, there were improvements of 50 %, 40.7 %, 86.8 % and 45.5 % for color, TIC, TOC and hardness properties, respectively in water treatment by GO-based filtration with solid liquid ratio of 0.7 % (v/v). In water treatment with GO-Ag based filtration, 39.8 %, 69.8 %, 10.3 % and 28.6 % of improvements were obtained for TIC, TOC, hardness and LSI value compared to the conventional method. Both GO at 0.7 % (v/v) solid-liquid ratio and GO-Ag nanocomposites were successful in the number of total viable microorganisms and inhibiting microorganisms such as Escherichia coli fecal (gaita-infected), Salmonella typhi, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomona aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Among the studied parameters GO-Ag nanocomposites found to be the most suitable for drinking water treatment.


Motorised shoes have been developed to apply chaotic perturbations for gait training. Each shoe comprises four individually controlled actuators, two in the heel and two in the forefoot. Rapid speed of actuator movement has been achieved with the use of a slider-connecting rod-crank mechanism. The mechanism was constructed in a 3D model and checked for component interference using kinematic analysis. Force analysis was undertaken using Euler rotations of each segment in co-ordinate transformation matrices. Component drawings were transferred to a finite element analysis package and factors of safety were applied for a fatigue life of 60,000 steps for each actuator. Latterly that has been extended and one of the pairs of shoes has undertaken 250,000 steps without serious problems. Four pairs of shoes are currently in trials with approximately 100 users. Future work will focus on weight reduction, increased load capacity and extended fatigue life.


This paper explores the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology (MEXT) approach to curriculum policy in early childhood education. The
Kindergarten Curriculum Guideline contains few directives or practical suggestions for
teachers. The abstractness and indirectness of the MEXT approach to establishing curricular
guidelines stands in stark contrast to the much more explicit and directive curriculum
guidelines for early childhood education found in China, the US, many other countries. In this
paper I suggest that the Japanese hands-off approach reflects a combination of structural
features of Japanese early childhood education and implicit cultural beliefs and practices.


The fundamental neutral over-voltage relay 59GN commonly used in generator protection does not respond to grounds in the bottom ∼5% of the stator winding. Recent experience with four such failures to large generators suggests that this lack of protection can be a disastrous deficiency. Each of the four failures discussed in this paper caused massive damage to the generator, and collectively had a total cost, including repair and loss of generation, close to $500,000,000.This paper describes those four failures, and discusses newer ground relay systems that monitor and protect the entire stator winding for grounds. The objective of this paper is to encourage owner/operators to add one of the newer relay systems.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


A multichannel tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer is used to measure absolute ammonia concentrations and their distributions in exhaust gas applications with intense CO2 and H2O background. Designed for in situ diagnostics in SCR after treatment systems with temperatures up to 800 K, the system employs a fiber coupled near-infrared distributed feedback diode laser. With the laser split into eight coplanar beams crossing the exhaust pipe, the sensor provides eight concentration measurements simultaneously. Three ammonia ro-vibrational transitions coinciding near 2200.5 nm with rather weak temperature dependency and negligible CO2/H2O interference were probed during the measurements. The line-of-sight averaged channel concentrations are transformed into 2-D ammonia distributions using limited data IR species tomography based on Tikhonov regularization. This spectrometer was successfully applied in the exhaust system of a 340 kW heavy duty diesel engine operated without oxidation catalyst or particulate filter. In this harsh environment the multi-channel sensor achieved single path ammonia detection limits of 25 to 80 ppmV with a temporal resolution of 1 Hz whereas, while operated as a single-channel sensor, these characteristics improved to 10 ppmV and 100 Hz. Spatial averaging of the reconstructed 2-D ammonia distributions shows good agreement to cross-sectional extractive measurements. In contrast to extractive methods more information about spatial inhomogeneities and transient operating conditions can be derived from the new spectrometer.


In the southwest part of Alberta, Canada, the eastern Rocky Mountains have been considered to be fault blocks in which most of the faults, as interpreted, remain separate at depth. In the adjoining foothills to the east of the mountains drill holes show that many faults join at depth into sole faults which in relatively incompetent beds closely follow bedding planes and in more competent beds diagonally cut across the bedding. This is step faulting as described by Rich in the southern Appalachians in which the faults are directly related to the beds that are intersected. Recent drilling in the Livingstone Range of Southern Alberta has shown that this mountain is composed of superimposed folded fault slices. It is believed that the folding resulted from the faulting and is not necessarily subsequent to the faulting as has been generally assumed. The eastern Rocky Mountains, as typified by the Livingstone Range, may be composed of superimposed folded fault slices rather than individual fault blocks as has been formerly thought.


In this study, a market-based task allocation method is proposed. In the trading process, the energy model of a robot platform is used to calculate the price and cost for a task. In order to determine the winner robot(s), two auction clearing algorithms, which are named as Iterative and Highest-Bid Task for Robots (HBTR), are proposed. Additionally, assignment problem is used to determine instantaneous optimal task-robot matching. The Hungarian algorithm is implemented to solve optimal assignment problem. In the implementation of the algorithms, three types of tasks are used: cleaning, carrying and monitoring. The tasks consist of three important features: delicacy, priority, and the task completion time. These tasks are assigned to the members of a heterogeneous robot team, according to the proposed task allocation method.


We examined the mid-water swimming activity of 139 mature female plaice Pleuro- nectes platessa L. These were tagged with electronic data storage tags (DST1s and DST3s) to test whether swimming at different times of the year differed among areas of the North Sea with average tidal current velocities ranging from fast (West), to intermediate (East), to slow (North). Longer swim- ming duration and more tidal activity were predicted for the western group, where fast-flowing tidal currents allow efficient selective tidal stream transport. Individual depth data were converted into binary records representing either swimming or resting; repeated patterns of swimming were analysed according to cycle-length frequencies. Most swimming occurred during expected times of migration and spawning (October to March). Plaice infrequently spent >5 h in mid-water, and rarely left the sea-bed during summer. DST1 tagged plaice (West only) spent the longest times swimming (p > 0.001), but there was no significant effect of Area for DST3s (all areas), suggesting that swim- ming plays an important behavioural role in migration in addition to transport between feeding and spawning areas. Tidal patterns of activity occurred in all 3 sub-stocks, predominantly during the migratory period (albeit at a significantly lower frequency in the North). These data provide one of few examples where the annual behaviour patterns of a fish stock have been recorded across a large part of its geographical range. The results have important implications for understanding the ener- getics of fish migration and the availability of demersal stocks to capture by commercial and survey vessels.


Introduction Britain used to be known for its high rates of teenage pregnancy. It was labelled a 'shameful record' by the Labour government and the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched. Rates of teenage pregnancy are falling. 3.4% of babies born in 2015 were to mothers under the age of 20, compared with 10.3% in 1970. Teenage pregnancy is strongly associated with social disadvantage and health problems. Studies have been done into life outcomes of teenage parents but there is limited research about attitudes of healthcare professionals towards this group. Methods An original 12 part questionnaire was designed to assess attitudes towards teenage pregnancy and parenting. 502 questionnaires were returned. A scoring system was devised (1–5) with 5 being a positive view and 1 being negative view using a Likert scale. Respondents could leave comments in the free text sections. Results 55% of respondents think that teenage pregnancy is a public health problem. 18% had been affected by teenage pregnancy in their personal lives. 85% of respondents interact with teenage parents as part of their job role. 49% of HCPS would be happy discussing contraception with a patient of any age. Improved access to contraception was the most favoured intervention to reduce teenage pregnancy followed by media campaigns aimed at teenagers. Discussion Teenage pregnancy can be an emotive topic and it is important to be aware of the potential stigma teenage parents may receive. This research also showed some interesting differences between attitudes towards male and female teenage parents.


[1] This paper investigates the influence of snow microphysical parameters on the enhancement of ground-based passive microwave brightness temperature (TB) measurements. In addition to multispectral passive microwave observations between 20 and 150 GHz, a 35 GHz cloud radar and a 2-D video disdrometer for in situ measurements of snowfall were deployed as part of the "towards an optimal estimation-based snowfall characterization algorithm" campaign in the winter season of 2008–2009 at an Alpine environment located at 2650 m mean sea level. These observations are combined with nearby radiosonde ascents and surface standard meteorological measurements to reconstruct the atmospheric state (i.e., fields of temperature, humidity, snow, and liquid water contents) and are subsequently used as input for a microwave radiative transfer (RT) model. We investigate the sensitivity of the missing information about snow shape and snow particle size distribution (SSD) on the microwave TB measurements using the disdrometer data as a rough constraint. For an extended case study, we found that TBs at 90 and 150 GHz are significantly enhanced because of scattering of surface radiation at snow crystals and that this enhancement is clearly correlated with the radar derived snow water path (SWP < 0.2 kg m−2). RT simulations highlight the strong influence of the vertical distribution of cloud liquid water (liquid water path LWP < 0.1 kg m−2) on the TB, which in extreme cases, can fully obscure the snow scattering signal. TB variations of the same magnitude can also be caused by typical variations in SSD parameters and particle shape similar to results obtained by space-borne studies. Ground-based stations with their infrastructural capabilities in combining active and passive microwave observations have the potential to disentangle the influences of different snow shape, SSD, and SWP in snow retrievals, thus supporting current and future satellite missions.


In this research, the effect of filler weld material on the mechanical properties of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welded AA6061 alloy weldments have been investigated. The microstructure of the base metal (BM) as well as weld metal (WM) and heat affected zone (HAZ) was analyzed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the Vickers hardness of the samples were compared. Corrosion resistance of the weld area was investigated in natural seawater solution. Results for both filler samples indicate that the strength of the WMs and HAZs is lower compared to BMs. In addition to that, the weld joints of ER4043 samples show relatively higher hardness compared to ER4047 samples. The corrosion test results show that ER4043 sample has a lower corrosion rate value compared to ER4047. It can be concluded that ER4043 samples show better Vickers hardness value and corrosion resistance compared to ER4047 samples.


This paper considers a parallel algorithm for Bayesian network structure learning from large data sets. The parallel algorithm is a variant of the well known PC algorithm. The PC algorithm is a constraint-based algorithm consisting of five steps where the first step is to perform a set of (conditional) independence tests while the remaining four steps relate to identifying the structure of the Bayesian network using the results of the (conditional) independence tests. In this paper, we describe a new approach to parallelization of the (conditional) independence testing as experiments illustrate that this is by far the most time consuming step. The proposed parallel PC algorithm is evaluated on data sets generated at random from five different real-world Bayesian networks. The algorithm is also compared empirically with a process-based approach where each process manages a subset of the data over all the variables on the Bayesian network. The results demonstrate that significant time performance improvements are possible using both approaches. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).


Current treatment strategies of leukaemia use risk factors existing at the time of diagnosis to establish risk-adapted therapy. This approach currently results in overall 95% rate of complete remission in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, as many as 30% of patients suffer from relapse and majority of children with ALL is profoundly affected by toxicity of anticancer drugs. In our study the probability of event free survival in children presenting with normal blast karyotype and treated according to BFM 90 protocol was 75%. This suggests the existence of factors independent from leukaemia genetic background, which influences the outcome of patients with ALL. This review is focused on genetic and functional polymorphism of enzymes that have or may have the influence on metabolism of drugs included in treatment protocol for ALL in children. Basic enzymes of anticancer drug metabolic pathways are described and frequency of their polymorphisms in Caucasian population is discussed.


BACKGROUND
Safety and efficacy of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BRS) and the role of postdilatation on outcome in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients compared with those of everolimus-eluting stents (EES) remain unknown. The aim of the study is to compare the safety and efficacy of BRS with EES in ACS and to investigate the role of BRS postdilatation.

METHODS
Consecutive ACS patients undergoing BRS implantation in 8 centers were com-pared with those with EES before and after propensity score matching. Major adverse cardiac event (MACE), myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization (TLR) were the primary endpoint. Sensitivity analysis was performed according to postdilatation after BRS implantation. We enrolled 303 BRS and 748 EES patients; 215 from each group were com-pared after matching, and 117 (55.2%) BRS patients were treated with postdilatation.

RESULTS
After a median follow-up of 24.0 months, MACE rates were higher in BRS patients than in EES patients (9.3% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001), mainly driven by TLR (6.1% vs. 1.9%, p < 0.001). Stent thrombosis increased in the BRS group (2.8% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.01). How-ever, after sensitivity analysis, MACE rates in BRS patients with postdilatation were signifi-cantly lower than in those without, comparable to EES patients (6.0% vs. 12.6% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001). The same trend was observed for TLR (3.4% vs. 8.4% vs. 1.9%, p < 0.001). Stent thrombosis rates were higher in both the BRS groups than in EES patients (2.6% vs. 3.2% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.045).

CONCLUSIONS
Postdilatation appears effective when using BRS in ACS patients. MACE rates are comparable to those of EES, although scaffold thrombosis is not negligible. Randomized prospective studies are required for further investigation.


We evaluated the response of vegetation's photosynthetic activity to drought conditions from 1998 to 2014 over Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The connection between vegetation stress and drought events was assessed by means of a correlation analysis between the monthly Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI), at several time scales, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), as well as an assessment of the simultaneous occurrence of extremes in both indices. The analysis of the relationship between drought and vegetation was made for the growing season (from April to October of the entire period), and special attention was devoted to the severe drought event of 2000/2001, considered as the driest since 1961 for the study area. More than three quarters (77%) of the agricultural land exhibits a positive correlation between the two indices. The sensitivity of crop areas to drought is strong, as the impacts were detected from May to October, with a peak in July. On the other hand, forests were found to be less sensitive to drought, as the impacts were limited mostly to July and August. Moreover, vegetation of all land cover classes showed a dependence between the sign of the correlation and the elevation gradient. Roughly 60% (20%) of the study domain shows a concordance of anomalously low vegetation activity with dry conditions of at least 50% (80%) in August. By contrast, a lower value of concordance was observed over the Carpathian Mountains. During the severe drought event of 2000/2001, a decrease in vegetation activity was detected for most of the study area, showing a decrease lasting at least 4 months, between April and October, for more than two thirds (71%) of the study domain.


A Review of:
Vakkari, P., Aabo, S., Audunson, R., Huysmans, F, Kwon, N., Oomes, M., & Sin, S. (2016). Patterns of perceived public library outcomes in five countries. Journal of Documentation, 72(2), 342–361. http://dx.doi:org/10.1108/JD-08-2015-0103

Objective – To compare citizens' perceptions of the benefits of libraries in five culturally diverse countries.

Design – Postal survey to a random stratified sample and web surveys (some with a sampling plan, some apparently not).

Setting – Surveys were administered in Finland (by post), Norway, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and South Korea (online).

Subjects – Selected or self-selected members of the general adult population in the specified countries who had used a public library within the past year.

Methods – Surveys were administered and data were collected in each of the five countries. A dependent variable representing perceived outcomes was calculated from 19 outcome measures (related to life experiences). Within this, 4 indices were calculated from subsets of the 19 measures, relating to work, education, everyday activities, and leisure activities. Five independent variables were used: frequency of library use, number of services used, gender, age, and education level. Respondent country was also entered into analyses. Descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance results were presented.

Main Results – It was noted that each country's sample was skewed in some way towards one or more of the variables of gender, age, and education, and some statistical corrections were employed. While patterns within countries are similar, library users from Finland, the United States of America, and South Korea reported higher levels of benefits overall. "Fun in reading" and "self-education" were the two outcomes with the highest scores by respondents. Higher numbers of visits and greater use of services may account for the higher perceived benefits in the three countries reporting them. In fact, these two factors appear to explain a substantial portion of the variance in perceptions of benefits between countries, meaning that between-country variation in library resources and supply plays a role in perception of benefit. There were varied rather than linear patterns of benefit reporting along age and education continua, with those at the lowest education levels deriving the most perceived benefits in all spheres. By gender, women derived fewer perceived benefits in the work sphere than men.

Conclusions – There is variation across countries in the level of public library benefits reported, as well as variation across individual measures, creating different profiles of response by country. Even when respondent demographic characteristics and library usage are controlled for, country differences remain. These may be explained by the differences in investment in – and hence supply of – libraries by country, types of investment (e.g., according to the authors, Finland invests in services, Norway in collections, and the USA in staffing), and cultural factors such as the propensity of USA respondents to have a more extreme response style. Future research may profitably concentrate on policy contexts of libraries in each country. In the nineteenth century libraries provided social welfare services and in the twentieth they provided human rights through equitable access to information, so research should focus, by country, on what libraries will provide in the twenty-first century. Future studies might also address how differences in demographic patterns among respondents play out in benefit perceptions between countries.


This paper deals with the problem of designing a control law for differential linear repetitive processes based on minimizing a cost function in the presence of uncertainties in the process model. This control law results in a closed-loop stable process with an associated cost function which is bounded for all admissible uncertainties. Moreover, an optimization algorithm is developed to design this law such that it minimizes the upperbound of the closed-loop cost function.


Dosthistromin, an anthraquinone derivative produced by the pine-blight fungus, Dothistroma pini, inhibits the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Bacillus megaterium. At growth inhibitory concentrations, dothistromin strongly inhibits incorporation of [3H]uridine into RNA of both species. With B. megaterium, marked inhibition of [3H]uridine incorporation is apparent within 5 min of addition of dothistromin, but only a slight inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation into the DNA-containing fraction or of [14C]leucine incorporation into protein is detectable after 10 min.


Accurately detecting music symbols in images of historical, complex, dense orchestral or piano printed scores can be challenging due to old printing techniques or time degradations. Because segmentation problems can vary widely, a data driven approach like the use of deep learning detectors is needed. However, the production of detection annotations (symbol bounding boxes + classes) for such systems is costly and time consuming. We propose to train such model with synthetic data and annotations produced by a music typesetting program. We analyze which classes are relevant to the detection task and present a first selection of music score typesetting files that will be used for training. To evaluate our model, we plan to compute quantitative results on a synthetic test set and provide qualitative results on a few manually annotated historical music scores.


Low molecular weight photopolymers are candidate materials for resists in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography. The patterned chemical transformations used in photolithography generate a surface energy pattern that can induce flow in low molecular weight photopolymers via the Marangoni effect, due to their intrinsically higher translational mobility relative to larger polymers. To demonstrate this outcome, a low molecular weight photopolymer bearing acid-labile protecting groups was co-cast with a photo-acid generator and exposed through a contact mask. During a post-exposure bake above the film's glass transition temperature, unexposed polymer flowed into deprotected regions since the deprotected polymers possess relatively higher surface tension compared to the unreacted polymers. After cooling, the film exhibited thickness variations of up to 90 nm, and the topographic profile reflected the mask pattern. An appreciation of this transport mechanism could be useful to those integrating low molecular weight photopolymers into lithographic process flows.


ObjectiveCurrent antimüllerian hormone (AMH) immunoassays are insufficiently sensitive to detect circulating AMH levels in ovulatory women approaching menopause. The aim of this study was to detect serum AMH levels across the menstrual cycle with age, using two new AMH enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits with increased sensitivity and differing specificity. MethodsSerum AMH levels were determined every 2 to 3 days across the interovulatory interval of menstrual cycles among women of early-mid reproductive age (18-35 y; n = 10) and late reproductive age (45-55 y; n = 17). Two highly sensitive AMH ELISAs (designated 24/32 and 24/37) with differing sensitivities were developed and applied to sera using a recombinant human pro-mature AMH preparation as reference. A third AMH ELISA (Gen II AMH ELISA kit; Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA) used was directed on mature-pro regions of AMH. ResultsAMH levels in all cycles were detectable with the 24/32 and 24/37 AMH ELISAs. AMH levels across the menstrual cycle were highly correlated (r = 0.98) between the 24/32 and 24/37 AMH ELISAs and the Gen II AMH ELISA (r = 0.94), but with large intracycle variations observed in older women. In late reproductive age, more than 95% of AMH values were detectable with the 24/32 and 24/37 AMH ELISAs, whereas only 36% of AMH values were detectable with the Gen II AMH ELISA. AMH levels were detected in cycles with lower antral follicle count and at a later age using the 24/32 and 24/37 AMH ELISAs compared with the Gen II AMH ELISA. AMH level correlated with antral follicle count in younger women, but not in older women. ConclusionsThe new 24/32 and 24/37 AMH ELISAs have the sensitivity to monitor ovarian follicle profiles in late reproductive age.


ABSTRACT New playground concepts – favouring natural play characteristics – emerge. The aim of our free play study is to explore the relation between newly established natural playgrounds and the widely spread contemporary ones in terms of physical activity levels. The playground features differ in vegetation, topography, size and play equipment. The children's locomotive activity was measured with the StepWatch™ Activity Monitor – a pedometer. Research with known groups of preschool children on urban playgrounds should serve a future transfer of results to institutional play areas. Within this pilot study, results indicate that there is no significant difference in mean locomotive activity during free play on diverse playgrounds. However, results show high variability of activity between the playgrounds in terms of active children and rather sedentary ones. In conclusion, kindergarten environments should be more diverse incorporating elements of nature and contemporary playgrounds to serve all levels of activity.


Background: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies, but the diagnosis is difficult even with the sophisticated diagnostic tools. The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical and histopathological features of acute appendicitis and to see how reliable the clinical scoring system modified Alvarado score in our setup.Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of patients who underwent appendectomy at KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital during two years. The clinical characteristics of the patients in terms of modified Alvarado scoring were outlined. The diagnosis of acute appendicitis was confirmed by histopathological examination. The data were tabulated in MS-Excel and statistically analyzed using SPSS statistics software, version 21.Results: Among 118 patients, who underwent appendectomy, 69 were male and 49 were female with male to female ratio of 1.41:1 and mean age of 27.46±12.724 years.The clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis was more likely (MAS 7-9) in 56 patients, less likely (4–6) in 44 patients and unlikely (MAS 1-3) in 18 patients. The highest incidence of acute appendicitis was observed in 19-40 years and the lowest incidence in 61 years or above. After histopathological examination, 52 patients out of 56 in the more likely group had acute appendicitis and 4 patients had non-inflamed appendices. 7 patients out of 62 in the less likely and unlikely groups had acute appendicitis and 55 patients had non-inflamed appendices. The overall negative appendectomy rate was 9.32 percent.Conclusion: Our clinical practice of using modified Alvarado score in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is effective, easy and non-invasive.


Seen from abroad, Tokyo appears as a huge, vibrant metropolis where 21st-century Japan meets the traditional side of the country. Tokyo´s skyline is a diverse jumble of traditional houses and shrines, and modern architecture from skyscrapers of glass to 1970´s living capsules.Since the beginning, Tokyo has had great prerequisites for creating a city with amazing urban environment. Water was the first reason for people to settle down in Tokyo Bay. During Edo period (1603 – 1867), Tokyo was always described as a picturesque city with well-planned hydrology and a harmonic relationship with nature. With its canals full of water, it was a city comparable to Venice. The distribution and exchange relied almost entirely on water transport.With the expansion of the city, the water system had to be upgraded, which led to creating a complex network of waterways. Unlike in Western countries, where the economic, social and cultural life of the city developed around rather formal places as plazas and squares, in Japan, the lifeblood of the city developed in close connection with the water and nature. These places, also known as "meisho" (名所, lit. "famous places") used to be linear open structures such as streets, river shores and bridges. During the transformation of Tokyo into a modern capital, the city cut many ties with the past. The unused canals suddenly became redundant and started belonging to the "wrong" side of the city. By the 1980s, many of the waterways were so polluted that the government began filling them up or covering them with elevated highways in preparation for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The modernization and its transformation also meant that most of the network of "meisho" and greenery have disappeared."From dameisho to meisho" is inspired by series of woodblock prints "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" (名所江戸百景, Meisho Edo Hyakkei) completed by the Japanese artist Hiroshige Ando (1797–1858), depicting a matrix of famous public spaces in Tokyo. My project examines the possibilities of recasting "meisho", a spatial representation in Japanese culture, into a new, modern context via editing different layers of the city and its fabric. It explores linear, thread-like spaces such as Edo waterways, its transformations roads, as well as recently built elevated highways in order to search for contaminations and new collaborations, unexpected conditions and create new, green urban stitches. As one of the tackling tools, the project also looks at demographic trends shaping Japan and benefits from aging society and shrinking Japanese population. Last but not least I investigate ways of graphical reinterpretation of the series of woodblock prints using Tokyo and its new "meisho" spaces as a rolemodel.


Drawing on ecofeminist theories, the paper argues that Sylvia Plath's poetic vision is often captured by the dialectics between the tree and its roots, a dialectics which encodes the integrative powers of the tree to unite opposites, and which thus embodies a potential for relocation of oppositional dualities that structure Western thought. The argument integrates a critical response to Ted Hughes's vision of Plath's poetic foliage, which he presents in terms of a hierarchical comparison to that of established male literary figures. It is claimed that such a phallocentric perspective on a woman poet's relationship to the poetic tradition is embedded in envisioning woman's relationship to culture in terms of the nature/culture dualism. Continuing this line of argument, it is highlighted that the lack of empowering models of female literary predecessors cause gender ambivalence in a woman creator, which in turn generates a self-depreciative attitude to the aesthetic value of her art. The analyzed poems reveal the intensity of depleting self-doubt and dependence on the approval on those who judge her art (or the muse). What emerges from Plath's poetic exploration of the gender meanings of the tree metaphor is that the dialogue with Nature, which occurs within the context of the male-dominant literary tradition, contains an implicit negotiation with dominant discourses, which unavoidably shape woman's self-identification within the nature/culture dualism, and instigates an effort to re-imagine conventional significations. It is maintained that a re-vision of Plath's poetic elaborations of the tree and root in light of ecofeminist tenets offers a locus for the relocation of nature/culture hierarchies and a delineation of potentialities for alternative visions.


In this paper we study the effects on support for different political parties following an increase in the immigrant share in Danish municipalities during a period marked by a substantial influx of refugees. The two anti-immigration parties in the political landscape of Denmark are among those that win votes as a result of this influx, but so also does a pro-immigration party on the left. Controlling for a number of social-economic aspects, our results thus point to some discontent with immigration; however, they do not support predictions of a general decline for political parties that are in favour of a generous welfare state, as proposed by some scholars.


We report a microparticle velocity sensor with a conical lens fiber array. The conical lens fibers are linearly arrayed at the same interval to behave as a spatial filter. The characteristics of the sensor in terms of cone angle, divergence angle, aperture angle, blind area, and detection area are investigated. Compared with a sensor using a normal flat end fiber array, our sensor has a high signal-to-noise ratio with a smaller blind area and wider detection area to avoid the signal deterioration caused by movement deviation of particles from the fiber array. Taking advantage of not only a compact and tiny structure but also better ability of high electromagnetic noise tolerance, corrosion resistance, and temperature resistance, the sensor may have the potential for velocity sensing in harsh environments and microparticle sensing, such as sand movement monitoring in sandstorms, particle state monitoring in combustion, and more.


The world economy has maintained or enhanced its integration in the past decade even in the face of the global financial crisis. A large part of this globalization has been driven by capital flows. This symposium focuses on one element of these capital flows, foreign direct investment (FDI), and on the regime in place to safeguard and promote such investments around the globe. The articles by Allee and Peinhardt and Simmons focus on the nature and evolution of the bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that have been developed to protect such investments and that have proliferated since the 1990s. The final article, by Buthe and Milner, turns its attention to the ways in which international trade agreements affect FDI. The comparison between the investment and trade agreements is instructive, since they seem to have different effects.
FDI has become one of the most important economic flows in the global economy. It is a critical source of capital for developing countries and remains a significant source of investment in the developed world. FDI has grown in part because countries changed their policies toward it dramatically after the 1980s; governments in developing countries made unilateral policy changes that opened up markets across the globe and increased competition among countries for FDI.


This thesis is concerned with solar energy storage systems in terms of storage materials and storage systems for high temperature applications. The main focus has been given to either improve the thermophysical properties of the storage medium or to improve the design of the storage medium by optimizing the solar energy storage system. Nitrate salts have been chosen as the phase change material with nanoparticles as additive materials. Different types or concentrations of nanoparticles and different types of nitrate salt have been selected and studied.
There are different objectives, starting from a few grams (up to 5 g) to kilograms (up to 3 kg), that have been considered through this research. In the first objective, nanosalts, which are nanoparticles seeded in the nitrate salts, have been prepared by two different methods, either the 2-step method or the 1-step method. Nanosalt prepared by the 2-step method showed higher specific heat capacity (cp) than the base salt by 10.5% with higher thermal conductivity (k) values up to 60%. Up to 6% increments in total thermal energy storage have been observed for nanosalt (iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles and binary nitrate salt). Additionally, the 1-step method was used to prepare copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles directly inside the nitrate salt, which showed improvements in cp in comparison to base nitrate salt.
In the second objective, alongside with the thermophysical properties measurements, material characterizations have been considered using different devices to show the morphology of the surface area of salts and nanosalts samples.
In the third objective, an experimental rig has been designed and built to study heat transfer of salts and nanosalts. Temperature measurements have been made at different axial, radial and azimuthal locations. Both charging and cooling of the salt (or nanosalt) were studied, showing that improvements in the charging process are related to the type or concentration of the nanoparticles material. Overall, heat transfer is improved in the case of nanosalt compared to salt alone. Two different types of salt were tested in this experiment rig which was single salt (sodium nitrate) and binary solar salt (sodium nitrate: potassium nitrate by 60:40 molar ratio) with different additives materials such as CuO (by 0.5 wt. %) and Fe2O3 (by 0.1 wt. %, 0.5 wt. % and 1 wt. %).
In the fourth objective, Computational Fluid Dynamics software has been used to solve the charging process of salt and nanosalt. A validation for the ANSYS CFX code (version 17.0) is conducted by comparing the experimental data with the simulation data. A good agreement is obtained for both cases of salt or nanosalt.
In the fifth objective, an optimization for the solar energy storage system has been conducted. Different designs for the storage system employing finned structures were studied. The new combination effect of both nanosalt and fins system has been studied using the validated CFX code, showing a promising improvement in the charging process in comparison to salt alone, nanosalt alone or salt-fins system alone.
As a result, our overall aim is to improve the thermal properties of nitrate salts and optimize the thermal energy storage system.


Abstract Comparative analysis of blood loss and haemodynamic changes in endoprosthesis replacing of coxofemoral joint in patients with bilateral coxarthrosis. Endoprosthesis replacement of coxofemoral joint is the method of choice in treatment of bilateral coxarthrosis which can eliminate the pain syndrome and physical restraint of patients. Also this method gives the opportunity for fast return to the labor activity. However, this orthopedic device is related to the different complications, the most dangerous among them is the blood loss. The method of the single-stage bilateral endoprosthesis replacement of coxofemoral joint was developed and introduced in the center of traumatology and orthopedics of the Central Military Clinical Hospital n.a N.N.Burdenko. The offered method let to reduce the total intraoperative blood loss at average to 30% in comparison with the consequential surrogation of two coxofemoral joint.


A surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect is one of the most significant consequences of urbanization. Great progress has been made in evaluating the SUHI with cross-sectional studies performed in a number of cities across the globe. Few studies; however, have focused on the spatiotemporal changes in an area over a long period of time. Using multi-temporal remote sensing data sets, this study examined the spatiotemporal changes of the SUHI intensity in Las Vegas, Nevada, over a 15-year period from 2001 to 2016. We applied the geographically weighted regression (GWR) and advanced statistical approaches to investigating the SUHI variation in relation to several important biophysical indicators in the region. The results show that (1) Las Vegas had experienced a significant increase in the SUHI over the 15 years, (2) Vegetation and large and small water bodies in the city can help mitigate the SUHI effect and the cooling effect of vegetation had increased continuously from 2001 to 2016, (3) An urban heat sink (UHS) was identified in developed areas with low to moderate intensity, and (4) Increased surface temperatures were mainly driven by the urbanization-induced land conversions occurred over the 15 years. Findings from this study will inspire thoughts on practical guidelines for SUHI mitigation in a fast-growing desert city.


In the Arctic, the climate has warmed more rapidly than in temperate regions. As a result, migratory Arctic-breeding birds have become phenologically mismatched with their food in the breeding areas. On the other hand, rising temperatures have caused new areas to become snow-free early in the season. These areas have a later growing season and by colonizing these areas birds may regain a match with their food. Both processes need to be studied to be able to predict how populations of Arctic breeding birds will respond to further climate change. On Svalbard, Pink-footed Geese traditionally nest in the west, but are now invading new areas the east, where the growing season starts later. We aim to see (1) if the birds in the east arrive and breed later, but earlier after the local snowmelt and relative to the local food peak, than birds in the west; (2) if in the east bigger broods are raised, and in better body condition; (3) if birds from the east and west are genetically differentiated, which may be expected because of the male dispersal, strong female philopatry, and socially learned migration in this species; (4) if and where the migratory routes and timing differ between birds from both areas; (5) if personalities of birds from both areas differ, i.e. aggression and exploration; and (6) if and when year-round time and energy budgets differ between birds from both areas. The main approach is tracking female geese with GPS collars. This poster summarises the plans for a PhD.


Microfluidic biochips integrate different biochemical analysis functionalities on-chip and offer several advantages over the conventional biochemical laboratories. In this thesis, we focus on the flow-based biochips. The basic building block of such a chip is a valve which can be fabricated at very high densities, e.g., 1 million valves per cm 2. By combining these valves, more complex units such as mixers, switches, multiplexers can be built up and the technology is therefore referred to as microfluidic Very Large Scale Integration (mVLSI). The manufacturing technology for the mVLSI biochips has advanced faster than Moore's law. However, the design methodologies are still manual and bottom-up. Designers use drawing tools, e.g., AutoCAD, to manually design the chip. In order to run the experiments, applications are manually mapped onto the valves of the chips (analogous to exposure of gate-level details in electronic integrated circuits). Since mVLSI chips can easily have thousands of valves, the manual process can be very time-consuming, error-prone and result in inefficient designs and mappings. We propose, for the first time to our knowledge, a top-down modeling and synthesis methodology for the mVLSI biochips. We propose a modeling framework for the components and the biochip architecture. Using these models, we present an architectural synthesis methodology (covering steps from the schematic design to the physical synthesis), generating an application-specific mVLSI biochip. We also propose a framework for mapping the biochemical applications onto the mVLSI biochips, binding and scheduling the operations and performing fluid routing. A control synthesis framework for determining the exact valve activation sequence required to execute the application is also proposed. In order to reduce the macro-assembly around the chip and enhance chip scalability, we propose an approach for the biochip pin count minimization. We also propose a throughput maximization scheme for the cell culture mVLSI biochips, saving time and reducing costs. We have extensively evaluated the ii proposed approaches using real-life case studies and synthetic benchmarks. The proposed framework is expected to facilitate programmability and automation, enabling the emergence of a large biochip market. in partial fulfilment of the requirements for acquiring the Ph.D. degree in engineering. The thesis proposes a top-down synthesis methodology for the modeling and synthesis of the flow-based microfluidic Very Large Scale Integration (mVLSI) biochips. Acknowledgements I would like to start off by sending out a resounding thanks to my supervisors Paul Pop and Jan Madsen for their exceptional guidance, invaluable close involvement with …


This paper is concerned with the problem of finding a quadratic common Lyapunov function for a large family of stable linear systems. We present gradient iteration algorithms which give deterministic convergence for finite system families and probabilistic convergence for infinite families.


The development of the techniques of modern molecular biology, including PCR, cloning, and nucleotide sequencing, has revolutionized the practice of protein chemistry. Whereas the initial phase of detailed study of a new protein activity once involved chemical analysis of the amino acid sequence by Edman degradation of multiple fragments, it is more common today to establish a protein's linear sequence from the nucleotide sequence of the gene that encodes it. While the number of new sequences reported based solely on classical protein sequence analysis has drastically declined, the molecular biology revolution has generated a rapidly expanding collection of new sequence data. The current efforts to sequence specific genomes, including the human genome, in their entirety will undoubtedly lead to further expansion of this information. Because linear sequence information is so readily available, computer methods for analyzing these data have also developed rapidly. This chapter will present methods for deriving important information on possible familial, structural, and functional relationships using only the linear sequence information as input.


Sex-driven immune differences can affect tumor progression and the landscape of the tumor microenvironment. Deeper understanding of these differences in males and females can inform patient selection to improve sex-optimized immunotherapy treatments. In this study, single-cell RNA-sequencing and protein analyses uncovered a subpopulation of myeloid cells in pancreatic lesions associated with an immune-excluded tumor phenotype and effector T-cell exhaustion exclusively in females. This myeloid subpopulation was positively correlated with poor survival and genetic signatures of M2-like macrophages and T-cell exhaustion in females. The G-protein coupled receptor formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) mediated these immunosuppressive effects. In vitro, treatment of myeloid cells with a specific FPR2 antagonist prevented exhaustion and enhanced cytotoxicity of effector cells. Proteomic analysis revealed high expression of immunosuppressive secretory proteins PGE2 and galectin-9, enriched integrin pathway, and reduced pro-inflammatory signals like TNFα and IFNγ in female M2-like macrophages upon FPR2 agonist treatment. In addition, myeloid cells treated with FPR2 agonists induced TIM3 and PD-1 expression only in female T cells. Treatment with anti-TIM3 antibodies reversed T cell exhaustion and stimulated their ability to infiltrate and kill pancreatic spheroids. In vivo, progression of syngeneic pancreatic tumors was significantly suppressed in FPR2 knockout (KO) female mice compared to wild-type (WT) female mice and to WT and FPR2 KO male mice. In female mice, inoculation of tumors with FPR2 KO macrophages significantly reduced tumor growth compared to WT macrophages. Overall, this study identified an immunosuppressive function of FPR2 in females, highlighting a potential sex-specific precision immunotherapy strategy.


Abstract : The software architecture forms an essential part of a complex software-intensive system. Architecture design decision-making involves addressing tradeoffs due to the presence of economic constraints. The problem is to develop a process that helps a designer choose amongst architectural options, during both initial design and its subsequent periods of upgrade, while being constrained to finite resources. To address this need for better decision-making, we have developed a method for performing economic modeling of software systems, centered on an analysis of their architecture. We call this method the Cost Benefit Analysis Method (CBAM). The CBAM incorporates the costs and benefits of architectural design decisions and provides an effective means of making such decisions. The CBAM provides a structured integrated assessment of the technical and economic issues and architectural decisions. The CBAM utilizes techniques in decision analysis, optimization, and statistics to help software architects characterize their uncertainty and choose a subset of changes that should be implemented from a larger set of alternatives. We also report on the application of this method to a real world case study.


Density functional theory (DFT)-Tao-Perdew-Staroverov-Scuseria (TPSS) functional calculations on dizinc complex-mediated phosphodiester cleavage indicate a general base catalytic mechanism. 2-hydroxylpropyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNP) favors the bridging of two Zn ions by the formation of two coordination bonds between terminal phosphate oxygens and Zn ions. The Zn-bound hydroxide deprotonates the hydroxyl on the side chain of HPNP and consequently the alkoxide is stabilized by coordination to a Zn ion and a hydrogen-bond to Zn-bound water. A water molecule is tightly bound to two amino protons in the bis (1, 4, 7-triazacyclononane) ligand and this determines the orientation of HPNP during a nucleophilic attack to form a trigonal bipyramidal PO5 intermediate and it also weakens the bond between phosphorus and the phenolate, which makes the leaving of the latter easier. The phenolate formed after the collapse of the five-coordinated phosphorus intermediate easily coordinates to a Zn ion. Surprisingly, the stabilizing solvent effect for the transition state after the formation of the P0, intermediate is much stronger (at least 42 kJ•mol^(-1)) than that of all other species as they have solvation energies that fluctuate around 12.6 kJ•mol^(-1). Thus, the overall free energy barrier for this reaction after reactant-binding and before product release is about 17.0 kJ•mol^(-1), which is too low to be rate-determining. The rate-determining step is very likely part of the release process of the products. Based on various calculations, we discuss possible reasons for the different catalytic efficiencies of the dizinc complex and the enzymes.