The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an exploratory, descriptive study that investigated the experience of managing pain in the home from the perspectives of the patient, the primary family caregiver, and the homecare nurse. In particular, the decisions and ethical conflicts encountered by members of 10 patient-caregiver-nurse triads were studied. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews, and the transcribed interviews were content-analyzed by a multidisciplinary research team. Subjects reported that the use of medications prompted the majority of the decisions and provoked most of the conflicts; however, decisions related to assessment, the future, and how to live with pain were identified as well. Subjects also identified other areas that created conflict, such as spiritual/theological issues, when to tell the truth, and interpersonal relationships. Findings illustrate the importance of understanding the beliefs and values that influence individuals' decisions and conflicts, because discrepant perceptions of the pain experience among patients, caregivers, and nurses can interfere with satisfactory management of pain.


Efficient radio resource management is an important aspect when it comes to achieving high bit rates in technologies such as the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE). This thesis aims at understanding existing frequency reuse schemes in OFDMA networks, and to develop an algorithm for frequency allocation for irregular cellular layouts. Previous work done in this field mostly covers schemes for regular cells, whereas in real life cellular layouts are mostly irregular. A comparison of the existing allocation schemes for the users near the boundary of the cells, also known as edge users, with our scheme is presented.Reuse-1, Fractional frequency reuse-3 with random frequency allocation (FFR3-RFA) (for edge users) and our algorithmic frequency allocation (FFR3-AFA) scheme are simulated and compared. FFR3-AFA algorithm assigns a frequency sub-band to a cell by considering the frequency allocations in the neighbor cell edges and the overlap area between those neighboring cells. Static simulations were performed with one user per base station and constant downlink traffic of 100 Kbits/sec, so that all the resources are utilized and there is maximum interference. This way, the difference between the frequency reuse schemes is much more evident. The throughput for our calculation is the ratio of the total successful packets sent in the network and the total packets sent in the network. Small scenarios are considered with different downlink data rates and the results show that FFR3-AFA has better performance than the other two techniques. There is also room for improvement in the algorithm by introducing other factors into the equation other than overlap area, such as user throughput.


Although the primary biological function of retina photoreceptors is to absorb light and provide visual nformation, exposure to intense light could increase the risk of phototoxic reactions mediated by rhodopsin photobleaching products (RPBP) that might accumulate in photoreceptor outer segments (POS) Here we investigated whether quercetin can modify the phototoxic potential of RPBP under in vitro photic stress conditions. ARPE-19 cells or quercetin enriched cultures pre-loaded with rhodopsin-rich POS isolated from bovine retinas were irradiated with green light to photobleach rhodopsin, and subsequently with blue light. Survival of cells was determined by MTT assay and propidium iodide staining Changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were assessed by JC-1 staining. Protein hydroperoxides, formed by photosensitized oxidation, mediated by RPBP, were analyzed in cells and in a model system with bovine serum albumin (BSA), using the coumarin boronic acid fluorogenic probe. The effect of photic stress on specific phagocytosis of RPE cells was determined by flow cytometry. Photoreactivity of POS with and without quercetin was analyzed by EPR oximetry and EPR spin trapping. Cytotoxicity measurements and MMP analyses confirmed that supplementation with quercetin protected ARPE-19 cells against photic stress mediated by rhodopsin-rich POS. Quercetin significantly reduced the inhibitory effect of RPBP-mediated stress on POS phagocytosis and the RPBP ability to photooxidize cellular proteins or BSA. The data support the hypothesis that quercetin may efficiently diminish the phototoxic action of retinoids, necessary for restoring the phagocytic function of ARPE-19 cells.


Medieval European stained glass windows are known to display various splendid colors and remove harmful airborne substances. At present, the functions of medieval stained glass windows are imperative, from the environment, health, and energy perspectives, to develop multi-functional windows that report/control environmental conditions and remove harmful substances by utilizing visible-near infrared light sources. Here, we suggest a strategy to mimic medieval European stained glasses for devising plasmonic-based multi-functional smart stained glass windows. The stained glass windows are prepared from the deposition of gold nanoparticles on a glass that is preliminarily coated with a responsive colloidal nanosheet. The temperature responsiveness of the nanosheet enables to effectively control the gold nanoparticle density of the stained glasses. Therefore, the windows can display blue, violet, and cranberry colors. The colors become iridescent by introducing a photonic crystal monolayer. The stained glass windows are hydrochromic: they switch the colors (blue ↔ cranberry) and modulate light transmittance depending on humidity conditions. Moreover, they can remove formaldehyde under the illumination of a low-power indoor light. These functions provide a new platform for the futuristic smart windows that clean the indoor air for human health and save energy.


Women's marital surname change has been discussed as comprising one possible signal of intention to remain married, and may be perceived as such, and valued, by husbands. Here, the practice was investigated as a potential predictor of marital duration among couples who went on to divorce. An archival analysis was based on a search of all available, opposite-sex divorces filed over an 8-month period in a Canadian county. Among couples (n = 107) divorcing, marriages the women in which underwent marital surname change lasted 60% longer, controlling for wife's age at the time of marriage. When the woman's marital surname change/retention was used as a regression predictor of number of children of the marriage alongside marriage duration in years, only the latter was predictive. No husband took his wife's surname. Giving the maternal surname (along with the paternal surname) to children occurred at a negligible frequency. Potential reasons for these findings including costly signaling and, ultimately, paternity uncertainty, as well as possible implications for public policy, are discussed.


Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) is a potential precursor of invasive anal carcinoma. Introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the treatment of HIV infection substantially reduced the incidence of some diseases associated with opportunistic viral infections. However, the incidence of AIN is reported to increase and HAART seems to have only little impact on the regression or progression of AIN. Paradoxically, improvement of survival in the HAART era results in an increased risk of anal cancer. The incidence of anal carcinoma amongst homosexual men is substantially higher compared to the normal population (35/100.000). This incidence is similar to the incidence of cervical cancer before screening for CIN with cervical cytology. Recent data suggest that the incidence of AIN and anal cancer is even higher among HIV-infected individuals. Both cancer entities share biologic similarities, including the association with human papillomavirus infection (HPV). Screening for CIN with cervical cytology and early treatment has resulted in a significant decline in the incidence of cervical carcinoma. Like cervical cancer, anal carcinoma may be preventable through identification and treatment of its precursors. Future efforts should focus on a screening protocol, training of clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of AIN and anal carcinoma, and novel approaches to treatment of these lesions. This screening protocol could help to reduce anal cancer in HIV-infection as well as save limited resources in health care system.


Background: The present study examined the relation between two different acculturation measures (i.e., linguistic acculturation and the acculturation strategies integration, separation and marginalization) and past year cannabis use. Additionally, we studied the mediating role of affiliation with cannabis-using peers. Method: Data were utilized from i4culture, a Dutch study on immigrant adolescents and young adults aged 15 – 24 years. Participants belonged to the five largest immigrant populations in the Netherlands, living in or around the four major Dutch cities: Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In total, 771 adolescents and young adults (mean age 19.29, SD = 2.61, 53.8% female) from Surinamese ( n = 210, 27.2%), Moroccan ( n = 209, 27.1%), Turkish ( n = 110, 14.3%), Antillean ( n = 109, 14.1%), and Asian ( n = 133, 17.3%) backgrounds participated. With questionnaires, past year cannabis use, acculturation strategy, linguistic acculturation, and affiliation with cannabis-using peers were assessed. Results: Using logistic regression analyses, we found no relation between acculturation strategy and past year cannabis use (OR = 1.25, p = .38 for separation vs integration and OR = 0.86, p = .50 for marginalization vs integration). Linguistic acculturation was positively related to cannabis use (OR = 2.20, p < .01). Affiliation with cannabis-using peers partly mediated this relation (OR = 1.09, p < .01). Conclusions: Non-Western immigrant youngsters who speak the host culture's language at home are more likely to use cannabis than youngsters who speak their native language at home. The former group is more likely to affiliate with cannabis-using peers, which partly explains their increased risk of cannabis use.


Only a few major studies of chondrosarcoma of the mobile spine have been reported. These studies have shown that spinal chondrosarcomas require complete surgical resection and are notoriously resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. We present 16 cases of chondrosarcoma of the mobile spine diagnosed at a median age of 54.5 (range 20 - 79) years. Diagnosis and treatment studies were based on both CT scans and MRI. Fifteen of our 16 patients had low-grade (grade 1-2) chondrosarcomas. All patients were treated with surgical resection. Fourteen patients had total resection while two patients had subtotal resection. The two patients who had subtotal resection died of their disease. Five of the fourteen patients who had total resection also died. The mean interval to death was 3.6 years. This study confirms that although chondrosarcomas of the spine are low grade, they are dangerous neoplasms. Even with complete resection, they have a high rate of recurrence and metastasis.


Each tropical and subtropical forest canopy species may create specific microsite conditions below its crown, which works as a filter for those species that attempt to regenerate below it. In function of the permeability or impermeability level, each canopy species could partially determine a plant community structure and composition beneath its crown projection. Therefore, present and future forest plant community biodiversity could be partially determined by the present structure of the canopy tree species community (filter effect). Some theoretical and practical aftermaths are suggested.


We describe and analyze patterns in the geographical focus of political science research across more than a century. Using a new database of titles and abstracts from 27,690 publications in eight major political science journals from their inception, we demonstrate that, historically, political scientists concentrated their studies on a limited number of countries situated in North America and Western Europe. While a strong focus on Western countries remains today, we detail how this picture has changed somewhat over recent decades, with political science research becoming increasingly "globalized." Still, several countries have received almost no attention, and geographical citation patterns differ by subfield. For example, we find indications of a greater focus on the United States and large Western European countries in international relations than in comparative politics publications. We also analyze several correlates of a country being the focus of political science research, including the country's predominant languages, income, population size, democracy level, and conflict experience, and show systematic variation in the geographical focus of research. This unequal focus, we argue, has important implications regarding the applicability of extant descriptive and causal claims, as well as the development of theories in political science.


Background Osteoporosis may cause not only fractures but also chronic back pain in elderly women. Teriparatide (TPTD) and alendronate (ALN) are widely used in clinical for treatment of osteoporosis. Several studies have demonstrated that TPTD and ALN treatments improved skeletal pain in osteoporosis patients. Objectives We investigated the effect of TPTD and ALN on pain-related behavior in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. And we investigated expression of inflammatory cytokines treated OVX mice. Methods 8-week-old female ddY mice were OVX and assigned to 4groups; SHAM-operated mice treated with vehicle (SHAM), OVX mice treated with vehicle (OVX), OVX mice treated with TPTD (TPTD) and OVX mice treated with ALN (ALN). Mice were started treatment immediately after surgery. For 4 weeks, mice were injected subcutaneously with vehicle or 40μg/kg ALN twice a week or 40μg/kg TPTD 5 times a week. The bilateral distal femur metaphyses were analyzed three-dimensionally by μCT 4 weeks after surgery (each group; n=8). Mechanical sensitivity was tested using von Frey filaments 4 weeks after surgery. To evaluate the 50% withdrawal threshold, seven von Frey filaments with forces of 0.07, 0.16, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 1.4 and 2.0 g were applied to the middle of the plantar surface. Data was collected using the up-down method. To evaluate expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), mice were anesthetized and the bilateral hindlimb bone excised. We performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) from hindlimb bone. Results μCT analysis of the distal femur metaphysis showed that bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) and trabecular number (Tb.N) were significantly less in the OVX group than in the SHAM group, whereas trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) was significantly greater in the OVX group than in the SHAM group. In the TPTD and ALN group, BV/TV and Tb.N were significantly greater than in the OVX group, whereas Tb.Sp was significantly less than in the OVX group. And in the ALN group, BV/TV and Tb.N were significantly greater than in the TPTD group, but Tb.Sp was no significance. The 50% withdrawal threshold was significantly lower in the OVX group than in the SHAM group, and it was significantly higher in the TPTD and ALN group than in the OVX group. And the 50% withdrawal threshold was no significance between the TPTD and ALN group. The expression levels of TNF-α was increased in the OVX group compared with those in the SHAM group. Other cytokines were not increased significantly in the OVX group. In the TPTD and ALN group, the expression levels of TNF-α was significantly degreased than the OVX group. And the expression levels of TNF-α was no significance between the TPTD and ALN group. Conclusions In this study, TPTD and ALN treatments prevented bone loss in OVX mice. Mechanical hyperalgesia in hindlimbs tended to be decreased in the OVX group compared with the TPTD and ALN group. ALN treatment was more effective in bone formation compared with TPTD treatment, whereas pain relief was no significance between TPTD and ALN treatment. These results suggest that TPTD treatment was more effective in osteoporosis patients with skeletal pain. Disclosure of Interest None declared


We presented here the application of two in-plate SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyping platforms for soybean plants [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], KASP® (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR genotyping, LGC Genomics) and TaqMan® (Life Technologies) respectively. These two systems offer us an ability to determine the genotypes of 384 individual samples accurately and efficiently by allele specific PCR in a single plate using typical PCR conditions. Both of the systems require small quantity of genomic DNA obtained from a simple DNA extraction. The genomic sequences containing target SNPs can easily be used as a basic blueprint to design the probes and primers of KASP® and TaqMan® assays whether the sequences are obtained from the genome sequence of soybean William 82 (Wm82.a2.v1), Illumina Soy50k SNPs, or parallel resequencing. Moreover, we listed the pros and cons of the two systems and explained the principles behind the platforms. The high call rate and clear clustering separation of the SNPs can be readily obtained from these platforms without conducting any assay optimization processes. These platforms can routinely be performed on 96/384-well plate format with or without an automation procedure. Therefore, these platforms are especially suitable for the SNP genotyping on a particular trait with a large sample size, gene fine mapping, and marker assisted selection. Further, they require little hands-on experience and achieve per-site and per-individual costs below that of current SSR, AFLP, RFLP, and SNP chip technologies. The platforms can be used for genotyping on a wide range of organisms due to their simplicity and flexibility of handling. Meanwhile, we also especially presented some of the advantages using KASP® SNP genotyping pipeline, which was cost effective in the selection of allele specific assay and therefore, efficiently facilitated the soybean genotyping across large numbers (thousands or more) of individual lines for a great range of markers (hundreds to thousands) in our laboratory.


In his charming inimitable style, Benoit Mandelbrot, in his book The Fractal Geometry of Nature, describes the removal of "tremas". Two examples of figures constructed by removing tremas are familiar fractals: carpets and gaskets. This paper will briefly describe the difference between a carpet and a gasket and then illustrate how the Julia set of a rational function can be a carpet, a gasket or another structure generated by "removing tremas". An added bonus is beautiful images resulting from an imaginative assignment of color.


This article addresses a puzzle: lawyers are the most distrusted and despised of all American professions, whereas the public has a much higher opinion of judges. Yet Americans believe strongly in the adversary system in which all the important procedural decisions during civil or criminal trials are made by lawyers. Even though people crave a justice system that discovers what really happened, they accept one that delivers only trial truth and procedural justice, not factual truth or substantive justice. This article explores various reasons why people might favor the adversary system despite their distrust of lawyers and their craving for truth, such as a belief in personal autonomy, a distrust of government officials, and a lack of knowledge about alternatives. However, the article suggests another possible reason: the influence of popular cultural portrayals of the trial process. Dating back to the days of history's greatest teacher of trial tactics - Perry Mason - media consumers have been taught that the adversary system delivers the truth. We can count on a great lawyer's cross-examination to reveal the identity of the real killer. Even though we hate and distrust lawyers, we want a good one by our side when we're in trouble or an aggressive one prosecuting the crooks. Countless films and television shows since Perry Mason's day have conveyed the same basic message, although in more sophisticated form. According to "cultivation theory," people often extract information and form opinions based on fictitious stories told by pop culture media. Perhaps we derive our bone-deep belief in the adversary system from Perry Mason and the other great lawyers we've watched over the years.


As dairy farms grow and specialize in milking cows, one enterprise that may be removed from the dairy farm to allow for milk cow herd expansion is heifer raising. Custom heifer raising is increasingly common across the country and purchasing heifers may be preferred to raising heifers. However, these alternatives are not suitable for all dairy farmers. In this article, we examine heifer enterprise costs relative to using a custom raiser or purchasing heifers. We identify factors that should be considered in making the proper decision relative to the heifer enterprise.


Resources available in the Special Collections of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library. Overview of Arts Library Special Collections


Quantum reality remains an unknown realm of impenetrable uncertainty, a constant flux brought into our experience only as decoherence, the necessary destruction of infinite possible realities into a single fixed reality. This unknowable rupture within reality can be the source of great fear. Quantum mechanics emphasizes the active role of consciousness and insists that we take the observer into account. This place of consciousness features in both the 'consciousness-causes-collapse' and the 'many-worlds' theories as a simultaneously creative and destructive gesture in which existence itself is called into question.This article will assess the approaches of two writers to the horrors that potentially lurk behind the curtain of reality. Greg Egan's work suggests the possibility of humanity's control over collapse, and the negative fantasy of a psychologically unprepared public gaining access to these abilities. Charles Stross, however, speculates that our fear of monsters is founded entirely in abstract external terrors originating beyond the confines of our universe. Between these challenges to the consciousness-causes-collapse and many-worlds theories, this article will explore the terrifying power which consciousness wields in constructing fictional and real worlds, in order to question the notion of impending doom in our quantum future, and its relevance in critiquing our perspectives on the present.


# Alan Usher {#article-title-2}

Professor of forensic pathology Sheffield, 1978-90 ( b Chester le Street, Co Durham, 1930; q Newcastle 1954; FRCPath, DMJ; OBE), d 31 June 1998. He was born in a workhouse, where his father was the master, and this—together with almost losing a leg from osteomyelitis when he was a teenager—gave him a lifelong sympathy with disadvantaged people. After house jobs he started as a lecturer in 1961, but just beforehand spent 18 months as a ship's doctor with the Blue Funnel line, going to the Far East and 1000 miles up the Amazon. In 1964 he became head of the department of forensic pathology and consultant to both the Home Office and the South Yorkshire police force.

Usher's experience was vast. He performed up to 1000 necropsies a year, amounting to over 27 500 during his life time. Nearly 800 of these were murder investigations, and they included the Helen Smith case in Jeddah, one of the Yorkshire Ripper deaths, the Cannock Chase murder, the Confait case, the Perera dismemberment, and many others. He also played a major part in the investigations on the victims of the Flixborough explosion in 1974 and of the calamity at the Hillsborough football ground in 1989. As a result of his involvement in Regina v Leonard Arthur (in which a paediatrician was accused of euthanasia of a baby with Down's syndrome), the law was changed so that technical evidence had to be treated like alibi defence and disclosed to the court beforehand. His manner in court was always cool and unflappable. He was formidable to crossexamine, because he was fair. As a result judges, juries, and the bar all trusted him. Humour was never far from the surface, moreover, and he was a well known raconteur and much sought after as after dinner speaker and lecturer.

A major contribution was raising the facilities for forensic medicine …


Ferroresonance is an unexpected, continuous, and undesirable event that causes excessive growth and distortion in the voltage and current waveform, whose cause is unknown and suddenly develops in power systems. To take precautions against the ferroresonance phenomenon, it is necessary to be able to predict how the distortions in the ferroresonance voltage will continue. Today, the ferroresonance problem has not been fully solved yet and more scientific studies are still needed. In this study, a new approach of an LSTM network has been developed that predicts the irregular and excessively large-amplitude continuing behavioral disturbances of the phase voltage in a real electrical power network exposed to ferroresonance. As a result of the study, the ferroresonance-voltage continuing in distorted waveform was estimated with an error of 0.0346 according to the Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE). The training data used in the study is only about 5% of all predicted ferroresonance voltage data. The successful estimation of 95% of the Ferreroresonance voltage using only about 5%, proves the success of the LSTM model applied with a new approach for the study.


This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects using of different levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) on productive performance and egg quality indicators, in laying hens. The levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract in this experiment were 0, 500, 1000 and 1500ppm. This experiment was conducted in a Blok Completely Randomized Design with 160 "hy-line-W36" laying hens in 4 treatments and 4 replicate (with 10 hens in each replicate) from 29 until 38 weeks of age. The results showed that the using of different levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract had significantly effects on some parameters of performance and egg traits in laying hens (P<0.05). Hence, the highest rate of egg production and egg mass (g/b/d) and the lowest feed conversion ratio were belong to birds fed diets containing 1000ppm rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract. Also the albumen quality (HU) of eggs maintained for 21 days at 4°C in the resulting eggs from the birds that fed with diets containing rosemary hydroalcoholic extract was higher than birds fed the control diet. The overall results showed that the additions of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract in the diet of laying hens lead to improving performance and maintaining egg quality during storage.


The main purpose of this article is to identify the 'individual positive deviance' presented by expatriates and local managers in their mutual cooperation. The theoretical basis for the publication is the discussion of the Positive Organizational Behaviour (POB) essence and the application of this approach in the area of expatriation. Attitudes, behaviour, working style and personality traits of employees of different nationalities and cultures undoubtedly influence the efficient pursuit of business objectives. Empirical knowledge refers to the research concerning mutual positive perception of Polish managers and expats working in subsidiaries of foreign companies established in Poland. The research in the form of structured interviews was carried out on two groups of managers: 27 expatriate managers working in Poland and 31 Polish managers who cooperate with expatriates during their everyday work. The research findings proved that the individual positives of expatriates from the Polish managers' point of view are: openness to other people and other cultures, cognitive curiosity, sociability and willingness to share knowledge. According to expats, Polish managers are hard-working, dedicated and desired for continuous learning. In interpersonal relationships Polish managers are open, warm and friendly; their approach to many issues is very emotional. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss.86.4.9261


Introduces the American education system & the teaching profession. Topics include historical and philosophical foundations of education, contemporary educational, structural and financial issues, and experiences in public school classrooms.


One of the keys to understanding and identifying life on other planets is to study the preservation of organic compounds and their precursor micro‐organisms on Earth. Rio Tinto in southwestern Spain is a well documented site of microbial preservation within iron sulphates and iron oxides over a period of 2.1 Ma. This study has investigated the preservation of filamentous iron oxidising bacteria and organics through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infra‐red (FTIR) spectroscopy, from laboratory cultures of natural samples to contemporary natural materials to million‐year old river terraces. Up to 40% elemental carbon and >7% nitrogen has been identified within microbial filaments and cell clusters in all samples through SEM EDS analyses. FTIR spectroscopy identified C–Hx absorption bands between 2960 and 2800 cm−1, Amide I and II absorption bands at 1656 and 1535 cm−1, respectively and functional group vibrations from within nucleic acids at 917, 1016 and 1124 cm−1. Absorption bands tracing the diagenetic transformation of jarosite to goethite to hematite through the samples are also identified. This combination of mineralogy, microbial morphology and biomolecular evidence allows us to further understand how organic fossils are created and preserved in iron‐rich environments, and ultimately will aid in the search for the earliest life on Earth and potential organics on Mars.


Human recombinant granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) "primes" neutrophils for enhanced biologic responses to a number of secondary stimuli. Here, we examined the properties of neutrophil priming by GM-CSF and other growth factors such as human rTNF and granulocyte CSF. Although GM-CSF has a negligible direct effect on [3H]arachidonic acid release, it enhances or "primes" neutrophils for three- to fivefold increased release of [3H]arachidonic acid, induced by 1.0 microM A23187 and the chemotactants FMLP, platelet-activating factor, and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) (all 0.1 microM). The priming effects of GM-CSF were concentration- and time-dependent (maximum 100 pM, 1 h at 23 degrees C), and consistent with the determined dissociation constant of the human GM-CSF receptor. Indomethacin (10(-8) M), cycloheximide (100 micrograms/ml), and pertussis toxin (200 ng/ml, 2 h at 37 degrees C) had no effect on GM-CSF-, A23187, or platelet-activating factor-induced [3H]arachidonic acid release. The lipoxygenase inhibitor, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, however, totally abolished A23187-induced [3H]arachidonic acid release from both diluent- and GM-CSF-treated neutrophils. Consistent with this observation, we found that GM-CSF-pretreated neutrophils synthesize increased levels of LTB4 after stimulation with A23187 and chemotactic factors. GM-CSF enhances neutrophil arachidonic acid release and LTB4 synthesis, and thereby may amplify the inflammatory response to chemotactic factors and other physiologically relevant stimuli.


Hands-on experiments are essential for computer network security education. Existing laboratory solutions usually require significant effort to build, configure, and maintain and often do not support reconfigurability, flexibility, and scalability. This paper presents a cloud-based virtual laboratory education platform called V-Lab that provides a contained experimental environment for hands-on experiments using virtualization technologies (such as Xen or KVM Cloud Platform) and OpenFlow switches. The system can be securely accessed through OpenVPN, and students can remotely control the virtual machines (VMs) and perform the experimental tasks. The V-Lab platform also offers an interactive Web GUI for resource management and a social site for knowledge sharing and contribution. By using a flexible and configurable design, V-Lab integrates pedagogical models into curriculum design and provides a progressive learning path with a series of experiments for network security education. Since summer 2011, V-Lab has served more than 1000 students from six courses across over 20 experiments. The evaluation demonstrates that the platform and curriculum have produced excellent results and helped students understand and build up computer security knowledge to solve real-world problems.


OBJECTIVES
In disparities models, researchers adjust for differences in "clinical need," including indicators of comorbidities. We reconsider this practice, assessing (1) if and how having a comorbidity changes the likelihood of recognition and treatment of mental illness; and (2) differences in mental health care disparities estimates with and without adjustment for comorbidities.

DATA
Longitudinal data from 2000 to 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (n=11,083) split into pre and postperiods for white, Latino, and black adults with probable need for mental health care.

STUDY DESIGN
First, we tested a crowd-out effect (comorbidities decrease initiation of mental health care after a primary care provider [PCP] visit) using logistic regression models and an exposure effect (comorbidities cause more PCP visits, increasing initiation of mental health care) using instrumental variable methods. Second, we assessed the impact of adjustment for comorbidities on disparity estimates.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
We found no evidence of a crowd-out effect but strong evidence for an exposure effect. Number of postperiod visits positively predicted initiation of mental health care. Adjusting for racial/ethnic differences in comorbidities increased black-white disparities and decreased Latino-white disparities.

CONCLUSIONS
Positive exposure findings suggest that intensive follow-up programs shown to reduce disparities in chronic-care management may have additional indirect effects on reducing mental health care disparities.


This article explores how mental mapping can be used as a critical methodology for feminist migration studies. In a case study of female marriage migrants who settle in rural areas in South Korea from other Asian countries, I attempt to develop mental mapping to supplement verbal interviews. Mental maps of hometowns and current neighborhoods drawn by my interviewees represent their geographical imaginations and complex identity negotiations that mirror the change in their social locations. In order to understand multilayered meanings embedded in the images and the way in which power relations existent between the researcher and the researched affect the map production, I suggest a critical reading of the maps. The article shows how a reflexive and intertextual reading makes a difference to the interpretation of the maps. It argues that the maps are not mere reflections of the women's cognition, but rather socially constructed texts through which their desires, emotions, feelings and internal contradictions are expressed and negotiated. My research suggests that mental mapping, if ethically performed and critically evaluated, has potential as a means to convey the unheard voices of the marginalized to diverse audiences.


angiogram and bilateral uterine artery embolization (UAE) was performed which stopped the bleeding. During the next pregnancy, a scan at 32 weeks showed left sided placenta accreta implanted above the level of the bladder. At 32+5 weeks she presented with ruptured membranes. Given the scan findings and high risk of haemorrhage, a classical Caesarean section above the upper margin of the placenta was performed. Due to the poor obstetric history, the placenta was left in-situ to avoid hysterectomy. Six weeks post delivery, patient presented with severe sepsis and a sinus (discharging pus) between the skin and the uterine cavity was demonstrated on MRI. The placenta was removed under ultrasound guidance. A small part was left in situ as it was still adherent. The patient recovered following the evacuation and was discharged home after five days. Acquired AVM is a rare complication of Caesarean section and can present with PPH, abnormal vaginal bleeding or menorrhagia. The diagnosis can be made on colour Doppler ultrasound and confirmed with CT angiography. Bilateral UAE in symptomatic patients can avoid hysterectomy however it is associated with an increased risk of morbidly adherent placenta in subsequent pregnancies. Successful pregnancy outcome after UAE for fibroids and congenital AV malformation has been reported however there is no data about pregnancy outcome after UAE for acquired uterine AV fistulae post Caesarean section. This case demonstrates the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of acquired uterine AVM and subsequent morbidly adherent placenta.


Aims of the paper
This paper examines the skills, competencies and effectiveness of advanced nurse practitioners (ANP) in relation to the promotion of health and implementation of the public health agenda in the UK. Contrasting the UK Skills for Health (2006), Public Health Careers Frameworks (2008), and the recent position statement on ANP (DH 2010) with the findings from a recent study looking at the role and function of a group of nurse consultants, the paper highlights how ANP contribute to both health promotion and public health outcomes.
Background
ANPs work at a local level but also contribute to research, knowledge and policy creation regionally, nationally and internationally. Because of their seniority, ANPs have the opportunity not only to promote health at an expert level clinically, but also to contribute to wider public health focused health objectives (at organizational and strategic levels) within the public health framework, through their work with individual clients, healthcare organizations and by influencing policy and practice in wider arenas.
Method
A literature search was conducted which identified three main themes underpinning ANP and public health practice: skills, competencies and evidence of outcomes and effectiveness of ANP roles. Data detailing the perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the role were collected from four nurse consultants working in safeguarding children roles in England and six associated stakeholders. This was contrasted with data from the nursing and public health career frameworks (2006, 2008) outlining the competencies of ANPs both in nursing and public health roles.
Findings
The nurse consultants and stakeholders placed emphasis on leading and supervising clinical practice, using their clinical expertise to facilitate change and monitor effectiveness. Within their healthcare organizations they also contributed service-wide to the implementation of public health policy, knowledge, service development and delivery, as well as to wider policy and knowledge development, suggesting that their roles mirror the competencies expected of them and that they generate improved public health outcomes.
Conclusion
ANPs can influence public health practice on many levels and should be supported to enable them to contribute to develop needs led and evidence based local, national and international public health practice and policy development.


Despite ebbs and flows in comparative regional studies over the past few decades, the regional dimension of world politics is gaining sustained attention from scholarly and policymaking communities. Thus far much of the focus has been on regional integration, which is traditionally viewed as a necessary condition for economic development and security provision. This article describes the problem of regional fracture in conflict regions; it delineates the political and economic dimensions of regional fracture; and examines the security implications of each. It examines the problem of fractured regions in Russia's post-Soviet neighborhoods, the Balkans, and sub-Saharan Africa. The article concludes with implications for security policy as exercised by the West in the post-American world.


Social distancing refers to a host of public health measures aimed at reducing social interaction between people based on touch or physical proximity. It is a non-pharmaceutical intervention to slow the spread of infectious diseases in the communities. It becomes particularly important as a community mitigation strategy before vaccines or drugs become widely available. This essay describes how a protracted adherence to social distancing guidelines could affect the Indian society. Changes are expected in some of the prevalent cultural norms such as personal space and common good. Gender relations within the family are likely to change in favour of greater sharing of domestic responsibilities between men and women. Older adults may particularly experience stress due to social distancing because of their physical dependency and emotional vulnerability. Working patterns are likely to become more flexible and promotive of social distancing. Human interaction based on digital technology is likely to increase. The implications for public health in India due to such changes are also discussed.


Background Previous studies have found Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)-framed interventions successful for improving condom use and reducing STIs. We conducted a secondary analysis of behavioural data from the Safe in The City trial to investigate the influence of social cognitive theory constructs on study participants' self-reported use of condoms at last intercourse. Methods The main trial was conducted (2003–2005) at three public U.S. sexually-transmitted infection (STI) clinics. Patients (n = 38,635) were either shown a safer sex video in the waiting room, or received the standard waiting room experience, based on their visit date. A nested behavioural assessment was administered to a subsample following their index clinic visit (n = 1,609) and at three months follow-up (n = 1,392). We used multivariable modified Poisson models to examine social cognitive theory constructs (sexual self-efficacy, self-control self-efficacy, self-efficacy with most recent partner, hedonistic outcome expectancies, and partner expected outcomes) and individual characteristics with self-reported condom use at last sex act. Results Of 1252 participants included in analysis, 39% reported using a condom. Male gender, homosexual orientation and single status were significant predictors of condom use. Both unadjusted and adjusted [for demographic variables and study intervention (RR: 95% CI)] models indicate that sexual self-efficacy (1.50: 1.23–1.84), self-control self-efficacy (1.67: 1.37–2.04), self-efficacy with most recent partner (2.56: 2.01–3.27), more favourable hedonistic outcome expectancies (1.83: 1.54–2.17), and more favourable partner expected outcomes (9.74: 3.21–29.57) were significantly (p ≤ 0.001) associated with condom use at last sex act. Conclusions Social cognitive theory constructs were significantly associated with condom use at last sex act, independent of the video intervention. Social cognitive skills, such as self-efficacy and partner expected outcomes, are an important aspect of condom use behaviour.


1 Radial gates are structures for discharge control and regulating the water level. For most efficient use of this instrument and by the recent progress on the automatic flow regulation schemes for the weir and water conveyance, accurate estimating of discharge coefficient of radial gates is very important. There are several experimental relations and charts for estimation of discharge coefficient of radial gates but due to some control conditions the accuracy is not acceptable for practical proposes and are often used for limited conditions. In this study a genetic algorithm program have been used for finding the optimum relation for assessing the discharge coefficient of radial gates in submerged conditions. Also several relations were examined for finding the best one, and then by using statistical assessments between the estimated and experimental data, the best non-linear relation was obtained. The relation was verified by using 50 data sets (experimental and field data) collected by different researchers and statisticd parameters such as mean, standard deviation (estimatul-measured ratio) and standard error were estimated. Theses values were 1.05, 0.204 and 0.1 respectively. The results showed the high accuracy of proposed relation in comparison with the previous studies.


Acute intense exercise causes significant oxidative stress and consequently an increase in total antioxidant capacity; however, the mechanisms and combined effects of intense exercise and smoking on oxidative stress among active and non-active smokers are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acute intense exercise on antioxidant enzyme activity responses in active and non-active individuals exposed to cigarette smoke. The study included 40 subjects who were equally classified as: smokers that did exercise (SE), smokers that did not do exercise (SnE), non-smokers that did exercise (NSE), and non-smokers that did not do exercise (NSnE). The adjusted Astrand test was used to exhaust the subjects. Salivary enzymes of peroxidase (POX), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured, by spectrophotometry methods, at 3 different time points: pre-test (TP1), post-test (TP2), and one hour after finishing the test (TP3). Significant (p < 0.05) group x time interactions were found for the three enzymes. Salivary POX, CAT and SOD increased in all groups from TP1 to TP2 and decreased from TP2 to TP3. Only the NSE showed a significant difference between TP1 to TP3 in POX and SOD by +0.011 ± 0.007 and +0.075 ± 0.020 (U/mL), respectively. The NSE showed significantly higher activity of POX, CAT and SOD in TP2 compared to the other groups. Furthermore, NSE and NSnE had higher activity of POX, CAT and SOD in TP1 and TP3 (p < 0.05) compared with SE and SnE. Only in the NSnE, were no differences observed in CAT compared with SE and SnE in TP3. These results showed that the antioxidant activity at rest and in the recovery time after the acute intense exercise was lower in SE and SnE compared with NSE and NSnE, suggesting that smoking habit may reduce the ameliorating effect of regular physical activity on acute exercise-induced oxidative stress.


The objective of this study is to test whether depression, anxiety, stress, social support and resilience have a significant effect on predicting internet addiction in university students. For this purpose, the pattern of the associations between the variables was examined. The study was conducted on 349 students attending two different universities during the 2018-2019 Academic Year. In the study, Personal Information Form, Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale, Internet Addiction Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale and Resilience Scale were used to collect data. First of all, whether the data were normally distributed was tested. The data, which were found to be normally distributed, were analyzed with correlation and structural equation modelling and SPSS 25 and AMOS 25 programs were used to analyze data. Significant negative association was found between internet addiction and depression, anxiety and stress. Significant negative association was found between internet addiction and social support and resilience. Significant positive association was found between social support and resilience. Fit indices, regression coefficients and variance values of the model were found to be significant. The variables were found to explain 25% of the variance in internet addiction. It was found that the proposed theoretical model to explain internet addiction was confirmed and the results obtained were in parallel with the literature.


ABSTRACT Manimekalai, D.; Srinivasan, A.; Padmavathy, P.; Jawahar, P.; George, R., and Arisekar, U., 2022. Acute and chronic toxicity effects of the heptachlor pesticide on tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus): Impact to behavioral patterns and histopathological responses. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 999–1010. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Heptachlor is an organochlorine (cyclodiene) insecticide that enters water bodies and affects aquatic organisms such as fishes and shellfishes. Due to its persistent nature, it spreads from the source of its use and pollutes the area. The toxic effect of heptachlor on histopathological changes in the gill, liver, kidney, and muscles of tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus were studied. The experimental fish were exposed to four concentrations of heptachlor, viz., 0.756, 1.513, 3.025, and 6.050 ppm, for a period of 96 hours during an acute toxicity test. In the current study, the lethal concentration (LC50) value of heptachlor on tilapia at 96 hours was calculated as 4.006 ppm. Fish were subjected to three different concentrations of heptachlor (0.2003, 0.4006, and 0.8012 ppm) based on the LC50 value to study the long-term effect of heptachlor. Histological changes such as lamellar fusion, lamellar cell hyperplasia, degenerated secondary gill lamellae; Bowman's space dilation and renal tubules detachment; hepatic cells death, melanomacrophage formation, and multifocal degeneration of myocytes; and myoepithelium vacuolation were observed in the gill, kidney, liver, and muscles, respectively, during acute and chronic exposure to heptachlor. The toxicity study revealed that the heptachlor pesticide is highly toxic to tilapia even at a minimum concentration of 0.756 ppm. Hence, it is suggested that care must be taken not to allow the entry of pesticides into the habitat of fishes.


Parameter the plane area of daily dynamics of microclimate gradients is the plane area surrounded by the curve of daily dynamic of microclimate gradients with the thermal equilibrium lines. This parameter shows the thermal interaction of forest ecosystems with the environment. This interaction is the process of thermal diffusion through the boundary plane, in the horizontal direction. Mathematical analysis and modeling for the determination of function and plane area of the daily dynamics of the micro-climate gradient include the stages with the output of other micro-climate parameters that are commonly used before. Variations of ecosystem conditions and adjacent environments have different magnitudes in gradient dynamics. The results of the study show that this parameter has a more stable magnitude than the other microclimate parameters. Changes or variations in the quantity of this parameter can also detect the influence of weather, the existence of gap or hole, detect patches in the structure of the forest. Current development shows that this parameter can also characterize the vertical interaction between air and water and air with soil.


In the Simple Explanation, the enclosure of our material universe is a very large toroidal pattern at the "outside" edge of creation. This would be the Universal pattern at its largest fractal scale, the Universal Unit of Consciousness, akin to the singular black void at the center of the Mandlebrot Set. Drilling downward from the greatest torus (the Universal UC) to smallest, the Units of Consciousness associated with sub-atomic particles are the smallest manifest fractal expressions of the Universal set. These smallest material instantiations of creation pass from the realm of pure consciousness through causal energy to material instantiation through calculations of the Universal fractal formula. The crossover from pure consciousness to material instantiation occurs at the edge of an infinite series of ever smaller fractal divisions proceeding downward from the lower limit of material instantiation (Planck's constant), and then energetically finer and finer until energy is finally suspended in the infinite stillness of non-being--the Metaverse.


All cellular radio systems have radio resource management algorithms which rely on some sort of resource quantity. In the uplink of a WCDMA system, a natural choice of such a quantity is the uplink noise rise, i.e., total received power over noise power. Unfortunately this quantity is hard to measure. In this paper, we propose and evaluate four different noise rise estimates. The best performing estimate provides an average error of less than 1 dB for practical load levels. Due to low standard deviation of single estimates it is possible to apply a simple error correction algorithm.


Detection of deep and hidden mineralization using the surface geochemical data is a challenging subject in the mineral exploration. In this work, a novel scenario based on the spectrum–area fractal analysis (SAFA) and the principal component analysis (PCA) has been applied to distinguish and delineate the blind and deep Mo anomaly in the Dalli Cu–Au porphyry mineralization area. The Dalli mineral deposit is located on the volcanic–plutonic belt of Sahand–Bazman in the central part of Iran. The geochemical data was transformed to the frequency domain using the Fourier transformation, and SAFA was applied for classification of geochemical frequencies and detection of geochemical populations. The very low-frequency signals in the fractal method were separated using the low-pass filter function and were interpreted using PCA. This scenario demonstrates that the Mo element has an important role in the mineralization phase in the very low-frequency signals that are related to the deep mineralization; it is an important innovation in this work. Then the Mo geochemical anomaly has been mapped using the inverse Fourier transformation. This research work shows that the high-power spectrum values in SAFA are related to the background elements and the deep mineralization. Two exploratory boreholes drilled inside and outside the deep Mo anomaly area properly confirm the results of the proposed approach.


A novel polyurethane (PU)-SiO2 core–shell particle dispersion was prepared by an acid-catalyzed sol–gel process using cationic–nonionic PU particle as template. Results of average sizes, polydispersity index, and transmission electron microscope indicated that tetramethylorthosilicate were first diffused to the surface of PU particles, then occurring hydrolysis–condensation reaction to form core–shell particles. Antireflection coating formulation was prepared by as-prepared core–shell particle dispersion and SiO2 sol binder. After dip-coating in the formulation, antireflection coating was formed on glass surface by calcination. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that pores had been formed inside coating after removing PU template particles, and the coating surface could be almost fully closed. In addition, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer analysis showed that the maximum transmittance of antireflection glasses can be as high as 98.6% at 548 nm. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 135, 45762.


Existing low-voltage networks may not accommodate high penetrations of low-carbon technologies. The topic of this thesis is unbalance, which if minimised can delay or avoid the constraining of these technologies or the replacing of still-useful network assets.

Most of the discussion on unbalance, as seen in the standards and the literature, centres on the effects of voltage unbalance on consumer equipment. Its effects on the network are not equally reported. This thesis recognises fundamental differences between the consumer and network perspectives. It can inform distribution network operators on the interpretation of measurements taken on low-voltage networks and guide research on unbalance due to high penetrations of low-carbon technologies.

Much of the work involved simulations of LV networks. Initially, existing 3 x 3 or 5 x 5 approaches to the forward-backward sweep method were thought suitable. After a review of these approaches however, there were doubts as to how accurately they accounted for the shared neutral-earth return path on which the out-of-balance current flows. This led to the derivation of a new 5 x 5 approach using only Kirchhoff s voltage (KVL) and current laws (KCL). Its results are validated thoroughly in the thesis. In addition to satisfying KVL and KCL, they match Matlab SimPowerSystems exactly and are in close agreement with measurements taken on a very unbalanced rural feeder.

This thesis also investigates the mitigation of unbalance using the static balancer. This is a transformer with a single interconnected-star winding. It was used in 1930-1950s to correct unbalance. Contributions are made for its possible re-introduction as a retrofit option. They include a model for use in the forward-backward sweep method, validated by laboratory and field measurements, and the quantification of the static balancer s strengths and weaknesses as this can help identify when it should be used.


Unlike an autonomous driving system, a shared control system keeps the driver in the loop to exploit human's decision-making, path-planning, and control skills in vehicle motion control. In the meantime, a shared control system consistently provides support to the driver in hazardous situations. Typical shared control systems concentrate on altering vehicle steering actions through either active front steering or haptic steering torque. However, an active front steering system requires costly hardware and a haptic steering torque explicitly interferences with the driver hand-wheel steering. To overcome the drawbacks of the steering-based strategies, this paper introduces a driver support system based on direct yaw moment control for highspeed collision avoidance maneuvers. The new system maintains a hierarchical structure with a high-level lateral velocity planner and a low-level lateral velocity governor. In addition, the personally-preferred collision avoidance trajectories of each driver are taken into account to make the controller personalizable. Carsim-Simulink joint simulations demonstrate that this novel shared control system can successfully assist the driver in high-speed collision avoidance maneuvers. Moreover, both physical and mental loads of the driver are substantially reduced in contrast to using an active front steering system.


We construct a family of viable scalar-tensor models of dark energy (DE) which possess a phase of late-time acceleration preceded by a standard matter era, while at the same time satisfying the local gravity constraints (LGC). The coupling Q between the scalar field and the nonrelativistic matter in the Einstein frame is assumed to be constant in our scenario, which is a generalization of f(R) gravity theories corresponding to the coupling Q=-1/{radical}(6). We find that these models can be made compatible with local gravity constraints even when |Q| is of the order of unity through a chameleon mechanism, if the scalar-field potential is chosen to have a sufficiently large mass in the high-curvature regions. We show that these models generally lead to the divergence of the equation of state of DE, which occurs at smaller redshifts as the deviation from the {lambda}CDM model becomes more significant. We also study the evolution of matter density perturbations and employ them to place bounds on the coupling |Q| as well as model parameters of the field potential from observations of the matter power spectrum and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. We find that, as long as |Q| is smaller than the ordermore » of unity, there exist allowed parameter regions that are consistent with both observational and local gravity constraints.« less


Despite the dram atic growth of digital image and video in recent years, many chal lenges remain in enabling computers to interpret visual content. This thesis addresses the initial stages of building an intelligent video surveillance system. The central con tribution of this work is developing a framework which models the scene background and segmenting the moving foreground objects in video image data. This work is divided into two sections. In the first section, a background model is being designed dynamically with no prior knowledge of the scene. A simple histogram based m ethod is used to accomplish this task. The second step involves segmenting the moving foreground objects using a clustering mechanism. We have used a simple K-means clustering, where the value of K is two. We have implemented our methods in HSV color space. The results obtained were quite satisfactory in different real environments.


1. Action potentials were observed in cerebrovisceral connectives of a marine bivalve, Mytilus edulis L., and two species of freshwater bivalve, Anodonta cataracta and Elliptio complanata .

2. In Mytilus nerve, responses to stimulation in both the intact and the de-sheathed nerve were blocked after two minutes in a sodium-free saline. Restoration of normal sodium levels reversed the block within 5 min.

3. In nerves of the freshwater species, Anodonta and Elliptio , the action potential of the sheathed nerve altered very slightly after one hour of stimulation in a sodium-free solution. The completely de-sheathed nerve, however, was blocked within one minute in sodium-free saline. The block was rapidly reversible.

4. It is concluded, contrary to conclusions of previous investigators, that the neural sheath in freshwater clams is just as vital to restriction of sodium loss as it is in amphibia and insects, and it would seem logical to seek out a common denominator of sheath function. Several possible mechanisms are put forth and discussed.


Objective: In recent years, many analyses have been conducted on the vertical structure of the forest using airborne LiDAR data. For analyze LiDAR data, analysis software is developed in Europe and USA. The forest conditions are quite differences between these country and Japan. In this study, we used Fusion/LiDAR Data Viewer (LDV) software that developed in USA, as a tool to analyze LiDAR data. The purpose of this study is to verify the efficacy of Fusion/LDV in Japanese forest management, in terms of function, accuracy, andtype of output obtained using this software.Methods: The verification parameters used in this study were tree height, crown base height (CBH), and crown width (CW). We used three data sources –automatically extracted Fusion/LDV data, manually measured Fusion/LDV data, and field survey data. In order to compare the obtained data, we used scatter diagram analysis, root-mean-square error (RMSE), and differences from three different types of field survey data.Results: The study findings confirmed relatively high precision of both the automatic and manual measurements by Fusion/LDV in estimating tree height. The inclination of linear regression was over 0.9 in two survey areas. The results of R square were over 0.7. But while neither the measurement of CBH nor that of CW had such precision. The inclination of linear regression was near zero or minus values.Conclusion: For individual tree height measurement, Fusion/LDV was very useful when a tree have a clear peak, it was available enough in Japanese forest environment.


With the popularity of smartphones and widespread use of high-speed Internet, social media has become a vital part of people's daily life. Currently, text messages are used in many applications, such as mobile chatting, mobile banking, and mobile commerce. However, when we send a text message via short message service (SMS) or social media, the information contained in the text message transmits as a plain text, which exposes it to attacks. In some cases, this information may be confidential, such as banking credentials, secret missions, and confidential appointments; moreover, it is a major drawback to send such information via SMS or social media, as neither provides security before transmission. In this paper, we propose a novel text steganography technique called AITSteg, which provides end-to-end security during the transmission of text messages via SMS or social media between end users. The AITSteg technique is evaluated by considering a trusted scenario. We then evaluate the efficiency of the proposed technique in terms of embedding capacity, invisibility, robustness, and security. The experiments confirm that the AITSteg is able to prevent various attacks, including man-in-the-middle attacks, message disclosure, and manipulation by readers. Moreover, we compare the experimental results with the existing techniques to show the superiority of the proposed technique. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first text steganography technique that provides end-to-end secure transmission of the text message using symmetric keys via social media.


Liquid biofuel from oil crops are broadly promoted globally, among which biofuel from perennial wood species, as well as from bushes and small trees such as jatropha. In China, oil-bearing small trees, which mainly grow on slope land, are applied as so-called bioenergy and oil forests for liquid biofuel production. The national government in China has devised a series of laws and policies to promote bioenergy and oil forest programs. In this study, the focus is on jatropha and camellia programs. Similar as other afforestation programs, bioenergy and oil forest programs may face similar institutional problems in their implementation. In addition, China experienced decentralization in forestry sectors. In investigating the institutional problems China faces in implementing bioenergy and oil forestry programs, this research concentrates on the role of three institutions: property rights, the governance structure and farmer incentives. The general objective of this research is to investigate how these three institutions impact on the implementation of large-scale bioenergy and oil forestry programs, and whether and how these institutions enable, constrain and condition farmers' participation in these programs. Both qualitative institutional analyses and quantitative econometric analyses are employed, based on empirical fieldwork in China. The study has led to a number of interesting insights related to each of the three institutional aspects. First, good governance, which includes stakeholder participation, plays a crucial role in the success of large-scale forestry programs. As forestry entails a long-term investment, how to set-up good and sustainable governance architecture is very important, but also challenging. The research shows that large-scale bioenergy and oil forestry programs in China are moving from government-organized, centralized, top-down governance architectures to multi-level and multi-actor governance arrangements, which involve market-based mechanisms and private actors such as private companies, NGOs, international agencies, communities and individual farmers. Large bioenergy and oil forestry programs in China can be distinguished as those driven and implemented by the government and those driven and implemented by market arrangements. As such, this structure confirms that new roles and interaction patterns between government and markets are present in contemporary transitional China. Another finding is that jatropha's failure in China can be attributed to the institutional environment, such as poor implementation and enforcement of monitoring and sanctioning rules. Rules to prevent the withdrawal of a company and executing such rules are crucial to keep companies committed. Finally, convergent "time perspectives" of different actors in forestry institutional arrangements is important in the success of large-scale forestry programs. The second set of results relates to the role of property rights and property rights reform. Since 2003, there is a new trend of devolution in forest tenure in China. Five different forest tenure regimes have been identified in this research: Collective, Collective-Individual, Company, Partnership, and Individual. The study indicates that the devolution process in tenure reform redistributed the user rights to local stakeholders. It also confirms that the de-collectivization process and the tenure reform have resulted in a diversification of management forms. Based on the New Property Rights Theory, it is hypothesized that the five forest tenure regimes differ in terms of residual control and income rights, implying different degrees of tenure security for farm households. The research findings confirm that in general tenure regimes with higher degrees of tenure security trigger higher household investment. Furthermore, the risk of future expropriation negatively affects farmers' participation in forestry projects. Finally, the study addresses the question of farmer incentives and benefits. For large-scale forestry projects engaging smallholders in forestry is vital for the success of the project, with respect to a balanced socio-economic development in poor rural areas and guaranteed long-term success. Forestry development potentially improves the livelihoods of famers by increasing their income, and poverty alleviation has always been an important objective of bioenergy and oil forestry programs. Although these programs often provide financial support and technical services, some farmers are still not able to join. For instance, the participation rate of farmers in the camellia program was only 37%. Moreover, the participation level varied among counties and villages, because farmers' participation is still constrained by their capacity in terms of wealth, labour endowment and education. Finally, forestry programs generate different benefit distribution impacts on farm households under different forest project implementation regimes. Results show that five implementation regimes of camellia plantations can be distinguished, i.e. Individual, Partnership, Collective-Individual, Collective, Company, each having their own specifics of project access and benefit distribution among smallholders. Collective-individual, Collective, and Company forest implementation regimes perform better in terms of program access and equal benefit distribution than Individual and Partnership regimes. But also for the former three regimes, village leaders and companies may seize substantial project benefit reducing the benefits to and marginal smallholders.


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a global public health emergency. COVID-19 typically manifests as a respiratory illness but an increasing number of clinical reports describe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This is particularly true in children in whom GI symptoms are frequent and viral shedding outlasts viral clearance from the respiratory system. By contrast, fetuses seem to be rarely affected by COVID-19, although the virus has been detected in placentas of affected women. These observations raise the question of whether the virus can infect and replicate within the stomach once ingested. Moreover, it is not yet clear whether active replication of SARS-CoV-2 is possible in the stomach of children or in fetuses at different developmental stages. Here we show the novel derivation of fetal gastric organoids from 8-21 post-conception week (PCW) fetuses, and from pediatric biopsies, to be used as an in vitro model for SARS-CoV-2 gastric infection. Gastric organoids recapitulate human stomach with linear increase of gastric mucin 5AC along developmental stages, and expression of gastric markers pepsinogen, somatostatin, gastrin and chromogranin A. In order to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection with minimal perturbation and under steady-state conditions, we induced a reversed polarity in the gastric organoids (RP-GOs) in suspension. In this condition of exposed apical polarity, the virus can easily access viral receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The pediatric RP-GOs are fully susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, where viral nucleoprotein is expressed in cells undergoing programmed cell death, while the efficiency of infection is significantly lower in fetal organoids. The RP-GOs derived from pediatric patients show sustained robust viral replication of SARS-CoV-2, compared with organoids derived from fetal stomachs. Transcriptomic analysis shows a moderate innate antiviral response and the lack of differentially expressed genes belonging to the interferon family. Collectively, we established the first expandable human gastric organoid culture across fetal developmental stages, and we support the hypothesis that fetal tissue seems to be less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in early stages of development. However, the virus can efficiently infect gastric epithelium in pediatric patients, suggesting that the stomach might have an active role in fecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2.


The induction machine operating as a grid-connected generator works under voltage and frequency imposed by that grid, and hence presents itself as an interesting approach to distributed generation systems. However, that is an inherently low power factor operation. The present work investigates that behavior of a 15-kW squirrel cage induction machine operating as a generator on such a system. Its equivalent lumped-parameter circuit is employed by the analysis and is based on actual parameters. As a result, a new formula to compute the capacitance that improves the power factor of that generator is proposed, and the theoretical results of reactive power are compared with experimental results.


Motivation -- Designing distributed training systems for crisis management (CM) requires an approach with the ability to address a great variety of needs and goals. Crisis responses involve multiple agents, each with different backgrounds, tasks, priorities, goals, responsibilities, organizations, equipment, and approaches. Identifying the different user training needs and translating these into user and functional requirement therefore poses great challenges.
 Research approach -- In this paper we present experiences of how to enable the collaboration between multiple stakeholders and partners when creating and adapting ideas throughout the design phase. The techniques have been used in a European project aimed at developing an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) environment for training crisis management.
 Findings/Design -- The focus of the paper is on the initial storyboard iterations and lo-fi prototypes, as this is a crucial stage for expressing ideas in a perceivable way without having to spend too much time and effort on creating detailed prototypes.
 Take away message -- Experiences using low-cost commercial software for creating storyboards are presented, as these provided the means to create, share, present, adapt and circulate ideas, facilitating the fusing of ideas, shared understanding and distributed working.


This paper reconciles neoclassical models of economic growth ("Solow") with the formation of social classes during economic transition ("Marx"). An environment with missing capital markets and no labor divisibility is shown to lead to a steady state with no aggregate inefficiencies, but a very polarized wealth distribution. When capital cannot be rented, people must choose between self-production, potentially including hiring workers, and wage employment. As the first path is more profitable for the rich than the poor, inequality increases. The model is calibrated to illustrate polarization and increasing inequality in early modern Europe, starting from a continuous preindustrial wealth distribution. During the early industrializing period, when labor markets operate and capital markets do not, inequality increases and a distinct working class emerges. Even if capital markets later improve, the polarization is persistent. The mechanism also has relevance for modern developing countries, where capital market access is limited. If a substantial amount of capital is needed in order to earn the market return, the poor have few incentives to save. JEL codes: O11, E21, O43, G32


We used Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) of individual species of two taxonomic groups (plants and birds) in order to reconstruct the climatic distribution of Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) in Mexico and to analyze their boundaries with other terrestrial ecosystems. The reconstruction for TDFs' distribution was analyzed considering the prediction and omission errors based upon the combination of species, obtained from the overlap of individual models (only plants, only birds, and all species combined). Two verifications were used: a primary vegetation map and 100 independent TDFs localities. We performed a Principal Component (PCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA) to evaluate the variation in the environmental variables and ecological overlap among ecosystems. The modeling strategies showed differences in the ecological patterns and prediction areas, where the "all species combined" model (with a threshold of ≥10 species) was the best strategy to use in the TDFs reconstruction. We observed a concordance of 78% with the primary vegetation map and a prediction of 98% of independent locality records. Although PCA and DA tests explained 75.78% and 97.9% of variance observed, respectively, we observed an important overlap among the TDFs with other adjacent ecosystems, confirming the existence of transition zones among them. We successfully modeled the distribution of Mexican TDFs using a number of bioclimatic variables and co-distributed species. This autoecological niche approach suggests the necessity of rethinking the delimitations of ecosystems based on the recognition of transition zones among them in order to understand the real nature of communities and association patterns of species.


This investigation proposes a novel radix-42 algorithm with the low computational complexity of a radix-16 algorithm but the lower hardware requirement of a radix-4 algorithm. The proposed pipeline radix-42 single delay feedback path (R42SDF) architecture adopts a multiplierless radix-4 butterfly structure, based on the specific linear mapping of common factor algorithm (CFA), to support both 256-point fast Fourier transform/inverse fast Fourier transform (FFT/IFFT) and 8times8 2D discrete cosine transform (DCT) modes following with the high efficient feedback shift registers architecture. The segment shift register (SSR) and overturn shift register (OSR) structure are adopted to minimize the register cost for the input re-ordering and post computation operations in the 8times8 2D DCT mode, respectively. Moreover, the retrenched constant multiplier and eight-folded complex multiplier structures are adopted to decrease the multiplier cost and the coefficient ROM size with the complex conjugate symmetry rule and subexpression elimination technology. To further decrease the chip cost, a finite wordlength analysis is provided to indicate that the proposed architecture only requires a 13-bit internal wordlength to achieve 40-dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance in 256-point FFT/IFFT modes and high digital video (DV) compression quality in 8 times 8 2D DCT mode. The comprehensive comparison results indicate that the proposed cost effective reconfigurable design has the smallest hardware requirement and largest hardware utilization among the tested architectures for the FFT/IFFT computation, and thus has the highest cost efficiency. The derivation and chip implementation results show that the proposed pipeline 256-point FFT/IFFT/2D DCT triple-mode chip consumes 22.37 mW at 100 MHz at 1.2-V supply voltage in TSMC 0.13-mum CMOS process, which is very appropriate for the RSoCs IP of next-generation handheld devices.


Objective: Adolescents with disruptive behavior disorder, including ADHD, are more likely to engage in risky driving practices and, consequently, are more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash (MVC) than their non-ADHD peers. It is unclear whether symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) increase risk of poor driving outcomes. Method: A total of 41 participants (16-19 years old) reported their ADHD and ODD symptoms and risky driving practices (errors and violations). History of citations and MVCs were acquired from state records. Relative predictive utility of symptom dimensions was assessed using multiple regressions. Results: Inattention solely predicted driving variables of interest: Greater levels of inattention were predictive of more citations, MVCs, and self-reported errors and violations. Conclusion: Findings suggest that symptoms of inattention play a primary role in driving-related problems among adolescents. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


We extend the Asynchronous Contact Mechanics algorithm [Harmon et al. 2009] and improve its performance by two orders of magnitude, using only optimizations that do not compromise ACM's three guarantees of safety, progress, and correctness. The key to this speedup is replacing ACM's timid, forward-looking mechanism for detecting collisions---locating and rescheduling separating plane kinetic data structures---with an optimistic speculative method inspired by Mirtich's rigid body Time Warp algorithm [2000]. Time warp allows us to perform collision detection over a window of time containing many of ACM's asynchronous trajectory changes; in this way we cull away large intervals as being collision free. Moreover, by replacing force processing intermingled with KDS rescheduling by windows of pure processing followed by collision detection, we transform an algorithm that is very difficult to parallelize into one that is embarrassingly parallel.


We have performed a series of co-compression experiments on Au, Pt, Mo, MgO and NaCl to extend internally consistent pressure calibration and characterize shear strength of pressure media to 2.5 Mbar. Measured unit cell volumes of calibrants show differences between existing pressure scales of similar to 10% above 2 Mbar. A new comprehensive pressure scale is proposed in good agreement with recent reduced shock isotherms for Au, Mo and Pt and with internal agreement to 3% at Mbar pressures. Deviatoric stresses were analyzed for each material based on diffraction line broadening and line shifts due to anisotropic strain. The measured strength of Ne at 2.5 Mbar is 8 GPa. Diffraction line width analysis suggests that deviatoric stress conditions at 2.5 Mbar are similar for He and Ne media.


Central Andean Highlands represent a singular environment characterized by various extreme conditions. Among them, peatbogs are exceptional marshy habitats scattered throughout this arid and harsh area. In an effort to understand the patterns of beta diversity, we sampled the benthic macroinvertebrates of thirteen peatbogs and related the biological distance with ecological distance using the GDM (Generalized Dissimilarity Modelling) approach. Variables analyzed were altitude, geographical distance, physical and chemical parameters of the water. A coefficient based on the ordering properties of count data, from the perspective of both sites and taxa, was used to measure the compositional similarity between samples. The most frequent taxa were: Hyallela , Simuliidae, Andesiops , Austrelmis , Podonominae, Protallagma , Trichocorixa , Orthocladiinae and Glossiphonidae. The highest altitudinal record ever for leeches is reported here. Altitude and conductivity contributed greatly to the single ecological predictor of beta diversity. Sampling points can be classified first by altitude (cutoff sets at 4,200 m), which can be considered a surrogate of a regional factor (distinction between Puna and High Andean ecoregions) and then by conductivity (cutoff sets at 135 µS cm -1 ), which can be considered a proxy of a local factor (distinction between hyperfresh and more mineralized habitats). These results suggest a system of ecological filters acting on them.


Abstract This study explores whether and how exposure to mass media affects regime support in competitive authoritarian regimes. Using geographical and temporal variation in newspaper circulation and radio signal strength in South Korea under Park Chung Hee's competitive authoritarian rule (1961–1972), we find that greater exposure to media was correlated with more opposition to the authoritarian incumbent, but only when the government's control of the media was weaker. When state control of the media was stronger, the correlation between media exposure and regime support disappeared. Through a content analysis of newspaper articles, we also demonstrate that the regime's tighter media control is indeed associated with pro-regime bias in news coverage. These findings from the South Korean case suggest that the liberalizing effect of mass media in competitive authoritarian regimes is conditional on the extent of government control over the media.


A meteorological data distribution system (MDDS) is presented. The system was implemented in the Spanish Juan Carlos I Antarctic station during the 2002-2003 campaign. Meteorological data are distributed to any point of the base using the LAN, which allows distributing data up to a 3.3-km radius from the acquisition point. The acquisition control procedures are also integrated in the same system. A wide range of difficulties have been overcome during the development of the MDDS, including the integration of heterogeneous components, the integrity of the message system, the future extension and scalability of the system, fault tolerance, process concurrency, and the temporary synchronization of all the applications involved. These have been achieved through three steps, namely 1) design of a complete object-oriented model of the system; 2) implementation of this model using a scalable and portable development environment, such as Java; and 3) use of an intercommunication application technology that fits all the system requirements (high level of abstraction and easy to program and to deploy) as the remote method invocation technology from Java. This development is part of a more ambitious project, called LabVir, that is devoted to implement distributed measurements in Spanish oceanographic vessels and in the Antarctic base using Web technology interfaces. In a more general framework, the LabVir project will make the experimentation tools accessible from any existing navigator, creating a distributed research environment, that is accessible and user friendly from any place with hypertext transfer protocol connectivity


In this article, I consider how ancient Greek philosophical thinking might be approached differently if the environmental ethical import that is salient in it is critically considered. After pointing out how environmental ethics is generally construed in much of the discourse on current philosophical thinking, I spell out some unexplored elements of anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric environmental ethical thinking that are implicit in ancient Greek philosophy. I seek to critically challenge some common notions in Western environmentalism that take environmental ethics as a fairly new discourse of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Ultimately, I suggest that ancient Greek philosophical thinking ought to be judiciously interpreted from an environmental-ethical perspective. Overall, I critically interrogate elements of both anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric environmentalism in ancient Greek thinking, with the intention to examine the contribution of ancient Greek philosophy to environmental ethical thinking.


The study examines the responses of entrepreneurs to the business opportunities created in their locality by national parks by examining the entrepreneurial attitudes of owners of small enterprises, their perceived obstacles to business development and their future development plans, taking into consideration the effects of their local national parks. Two national parks were taken as a basis for the study. The older park, Linnansaari, was initially created in the 1950s and expanded in the 1980s. The younger park, Seitseminen, was created in the 1980s. The business community adjacent to Linnansaari has therefore had twenty years longer to adjust to the presence of a national park in their vicinity. The mean age of enterprises in both surveys was 17 years in the case of Seitseminen and 16 years in the case of Linnansaari. In both surveys, the majority of businesses had been established by their current owners, and around a quarter were developed from previous businesses. The majority of enterprises in both districts operated in more that one segment, but the main line of business accounted for around three-quarters of the firms' turnovers. In both surveys, the main lines of business were related to the hospitality segment (accommodation, restaurants and cafés). The average employment created was 1.18 man/years per enterprise in Seitseminen and 1.81 man/years in Linnansaari. In terms of employed people, this was 2.6 employees per enterprise in Seitseminen and 4.8 employees per enterprise in Linnansaari. Entrepreneurs in the Linnansaari survey were more likely to possess a satisficing-attitude to business than entrepreneurs adjacent to Seitseminen. This was also visible in the greater propensity for entrepreneurs in the Seitseminen area to plan new business ventures. Employment growth projections were also more optimistic in Seitseminen. Institutional constraints (including constraints resulting from the local national park) were more commonly perceived by the Seitseminen entrepreneurs, while business environment constraints were more commonly perceived by the Linnansaari entrepreneurs. Operational constraints were also more commonly perceived by the Linnansaari entrepreneurs. An attribute called "weak business acumen", in which the entrepreneurs in question perceived a wide range of business constraints, was identified amongst the Linnansaari survey entrepreneurs but not among those in the Seitseminen survey. The national parks in question have only a limited role in local economic development. Their contribution to employment creation and business turnover are modest and will remain so. Few enterprises have been created as a result of the parks, although some business have clearly benefited from the tourism that the parks have created. The national parks are generally considered to be beneficial even though the benefits have not been realised. A greater proportion of entrepreneurs in the Linnansaari survey than in the Seitseminen survey considered their local national park to have a positive or very positive effect on local development in the near future.


We present an algorithm for finding landmarks along a manifold. These landmarks provide a small set of locations spaced out along the manifold such that they capture the low-dimensional nonlinear structure of the data embedded in the high-dimensional space. The approach does not select points directly from the dataset, but instead we optimize each landmark by moving along the continuous manifold space (as approximated by the data) according to the gradient of an objective function. We borrow ideas from active learning with Gaussian processes to define the objective, which has the property that a new landmark is "repelled" by those currently selected, allowing for exploration of the manifold. We derive a stochastic algorithm for learning with large datasets and show results on several datasets, including the Million Song Dataset and articles from the New York Times.


The industrialization of the nineteenth-century European city facilitated developing conceptions of the model city, and allowed for large scale urban transformations. The urban discourse in the latter half of the nineteenth century was consequently dominated by a dialectic exchange between the ideal and the practical, a debate played out in the formation of the modern metropolis.

Manifestoes and Transformations is the first work to deal with urban utopias and their relationship with actual urban interventions. Bringing together a carefully chosen, wide-ranging team of experts, the book provides a broad, contextual exploration of the ideas and urban practices which are the foundations of our conception of the contemporary city. As such, it is a valuable resource for students interested in the formation of the modernist city.


By means of density functional theory, we investigate the effect of impurities on struc - tural, electronic and mechanical properties on Nickel Σ5 grain boundary (GB) and its free surface, by studying the effect of 11 transition metal impurities and 8 light elements. The calculation of segregation energy, cohesive energy, formation energy, GB embrittling potency and theoretical tensile strength combined helps us to give accurate conclusions about the effect of these impurities and to compare them with the available experimen tal and theoretical results. We used the obtained results that are on "equal footing" to establish some correlations and trends. We also confirmed that sulfur and oxygen are the most embrittling elements in Nickel GB in accordance with established literature results and that transition metal elements have a general tendency to segregate to the grain boundaries in a moderate way. Unlike the studied light elements, these elements tend to strengthen the Ni grain boundaries, especially W and Te.


Owing to mathematical and geometrical complexities, there is an evident lack of stability analyses of thick closed shell structures with porosity. The present work aims to analyze the effects of porosities, elasticity of edge constraint and surrounding elastic media on the buckling resistance capacity of thick functionally graded material (FGM) toroidal shell segments subjected to external pressure, elevated temperature and the combined action of these loads. The volume fractions of constituents are varied across the thickness according to power law functions and effective properties of the FGM are determined using a modified rule of mixture. The porosities exist in the FGM through even and uneven distributions. Governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation theory taking into account interactive pressure from surrounding elastic media. These equations are analytically solved and closed-form expressions of buckling loads are derived adopting the two-term form of deflection along with Galerkin method. Parametric studies indicate that the porosities have beneficial and deteriorative influences on the buckling resistance capacity of thermally loaded and pressure loaded porous FGM toroidal shell segments, respectively. Furthermore, tangential constraints of edges lower the buckling resistance capacity of the shells, especially at elevated temperatures.


How the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance. Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In this book John Beggs—one of the pioneers of this hypothesis—offers an introduction to the critical point and its relevance to the brain.
 Drawing on recent experimental evidence, Beggs first explains the main ideas underlying the criticality hypotheses and emergent phenomena. He then discusses the critical point and its two main consequences—first, scale-free properties that confer optimum information processing; and second, universality, or the idea that complex emergent phenomena, like that seen near the critical point, can be explained by relatively simple models that are applicable across species and scale. Finally, Beggs considers future directions for the field, including research on homeostatic regulation, quasicriticality, and the expansion of the cortex and intelligence. An appendix provides technical material; many chapters include exercises that use freely available code and data sets.


Background Epidemiological association of head and neck cancer with smokeless tobacco (ST) emphasizes the need to unravel the molecular mechanisms implicated in cancer development, and identify pharmacologically safe agents for early intervention and prevention of disease recurrence. Guggulsterone (GS), a biosafe nutraceutical, inhibits the PI3K/Akt pathway that plays a critical role in HNSCC development. However, the potential of GS to suppress ST and nicotine (major component of ST) induced HNSCC remains unexplored. We hypothesized GS can abrogate the effects of ST and nicotine on apoptosis in HNSCC cells, in part by activation of PI3K/Akt pathway and its downstream targets, Bax and Bad. Methods and Results Our results showed ST and nicotine treatment resulted in activation of PI3K, PDK1, Akt, and its downstream proteins - Raf, GSK3β and pS6 while GS induced a time dependent decrease in activation of PI3K/Akt pathway. ST and nicotine treatment also resulted in induction of Bad and Bax phosphorylation, increased the association of Bad with 14-3-3ζresulting in its sequestration in the cytoplasm of head and neck cancer cells, thus blocking its pro-apoptotic function. Notably, GS pre-treatment inhibited ST/nicotine induced activation of PI3K/Akt pathway, and inhibited the Akt mediated phosphorylation of Bax and Bad. Conclusions In conclusion, GS treatment not only inhibited proliferation, but also induced apoptosis by abrogating the effects of ST / nicotine on PI3K/Akt pathway in head and neck cancer cells. These findings provide a rationale for designing future studies to evaluate the chemopreventive potential of GS in ST / nicotine associated head and neck cancer.