~," Tumor-to-tumor metastasis is a rare occurrence. Fewer than 100 cases have been reported, many being metastases from carcinomas to benign intracranial neoplasms, most often meningiomas. A case is presented of carcinoma metastatic to a glioma. The patient, who presented for evaluation of bifrontal headache, was found on computerized tomography to have a partially calcified right frontal mass. Craniotomy revealed an oligodendroglioma containing foci of adenocarcinoma. Further work-up disclosed an infiltrative ductal adenocarcinoma of the breast. It has been suggested that tumors of the central nervous system may provide a fertile substrate or an immunological "haven" for metastases.


Many long term sequelae result from previous treatment for malignancy in childhood. However, little information exists on cardiopulmonary response and energy expenditure during exercise and their possible associations with excess body fat. Measurements of body composition and exercise capacity both at low intensity and maximal aerobic capacity were made on 56 long term survivors of childhood malignancy (35 survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 21 survivors of other malignancies) and 32 siblings acting as controls. Female survivors of ALL had significantly greater mean (SD) body fat than survivors of other malignancies and siblings (32.5 (6.4)% v 24.3 (4.4)% and 26.3 (8.5)% respectively, p < 0.005). Energy expenditure at low intensity exercise was reduced in survivors of ALL, and negatively correlated with body fat after controlling for weight (partial r range -0.21 to -0.47, p < 0.05). Stroke volume, measured indirectly, was reduced and heart rate raised in ALL survivors at sub-maximal exercise levels. Peak oxygen consumption was significantly reduced in girls and boys treated for ALL compared with siblings (30.5 v 41.3 ml/kg/min for girls, p < 0.05 and 39.9 v 47.6 ml/kg/min for boys, p < 0.05 respectively). Reduced exercise capacity may account in part for the excess adiposity observed in long term survivors of ALL.


Mixed-matrix membranes, MMM, have been a very popular research topic for many scientists in many fields during the last few years. This work provides an overview of general properties, interesting structural components, potential applications, as well as pitfalls and drawbacks in the preparation of membranes of this type. MMM, especially when combined with ionic liquids, IL, and/or organometallic frames, MOF, represent one of the best and very promising options for industrial applications, specifically for the capturing and separation of CO2. As a result, the properties of these two fillers (IL and/or MOF) can enable us to prepare membranes with a higher separation and permeability efficiency, chemical and mechanical resistance, and thermal stability. Unfortunately, the toxicity and stability of the individual components of the membranes and the resulting mixed matrix membranes have not yet been investigated in detail and further research is needed. One of the main drawbacks is a very high cost of the production of the individual parts and the subsequent assembly of these composite membranes. This is the reason why we still do not see these MMM being used widely in industry.


Some N-saturated watersheds of the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia, exhibit a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in soil N processing. We used soils from four sites at FEF representing a gradient in net N mineralization and nitrification to consider the causes and consequences of such spatial heterogeneity. We collected soils with extremely high vs. low rates of N processing within each of two watersheds: WS3, treated for 15 yr with (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , and WS4, untreated reference (control). Mineral soil was analyzed for extractable NH 4 , NO 3 , Ca, and Al before and during 28-d incubations at 10, 20, and 30°C after 7, 14, 21, and 28 d. To address the fourth question, we decreased C:N ratios in the soil exhibiting lowest field rates of net N mineralization and no net nitrification (control-low N) by adding glycine and increased C:N ratios in the soil exhibiting highest field rates of net N mineralization and nitrification by adding sucrose. Incubations under controlled conditions supported the N-processing gradient found in the field under in situ conditions in the following order from highest to lowest rates of N mineralization and nitrification: control-high N > N-treated-high N > N-treated-low N > control-low N, the latter exhibiting no net nitrification in the field. Net Ca mineralization increased with net nitrification along the gradient from zero to highest rates. Soil Al appeared to inhibit net nitrification, being lowest in the soil with highest net nitrification and highest in the soil exhibiting no net nitrification. Glycine additions to this latter soil greatly stimulated net N mineralization but failed to initiate net nitrification. Sucrose additions resulted in net immobilization of NH 4 and NO 3 in soil with highest net N mineralization and nitrification. Results demonstrate that increased nitrification may enhance Ca mobility in N-saturated soils and further demonstrate that substrate quality alone is not necessarily a good predictor of soil N processing.


This study focused on the creative process and the audience response that refer to the post-colonial and post-modern theory. The method used is discourse analysis. The performance of Indonesia art processed during a month, which is in the lecturing process conducted during four meetings. The creative process starts from the discourse about the body and embody. The body discourse as a tool and goal. Body shown is the body of dance and drama, with another sentence is to embody the dance and Indonesian drama. The dances are performed is a dance of Papua, Kalimantan, Java, Bali, Indonesia, and Sasak. The sixth area was a representation of Indonesian art. The next show is a drama of White Blue Love then ended with a dance and Gugur Mayang music. The creative process based on the ability of setting up objects, events, pantomime and processes involving multimedia. All performances are getting response from the audience. There is good and less good respond. Some said exceptional, cool, fun, exciting, and entertaining. The responses indicate a logical reasoning about the stage and sense reasoning about the effect of the show. Another interpretation of these events in perspective post structuralism with refers to post structuralism Bartes and Foucoult and refers to post modernism Jameson and Lyotard, that the show was not be seen as a tradition or modernity, but an event with post-space, at the crossroads between tradition and modernity. The show speaks to the value. Keywords: Indonesia Art, Audience Response, Post-Structuralism, Post-Modernism


Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is widely considered to be an essential technology for reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from sources such as power plants. It involves isolating CO 2 from exhaust gases and then storing it in an appropriate natural reservoir that acts as a sink. Therefore, CCS is able to prevent CO 2 from entering the atmosphere. In this work, a continuous-time mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model for CO 2 source-sink matching in CCS systems is developed; the initial model is then converted into an equivalent mixed integer linear program (MILP). It is assumed that in CCS systems, CO 2 sources have fixed flow rates and operating lives, while CO 2 sinks have an earliest time of availability and a maximum CO 2 storage capacity. Thus, the resulting optimization model focuses on important physical and temporal aspects of planning CCS. The usefulness of the model is illustrated using two case studies.


Over the past decade, online social media has had a tremendous impact on the way people engage in social activism. For instance, about 26M Facebook users expressed their support in upholding the cause of marriage equality by overlaying their profile pictures with rainbow-colored filters. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of users changed their profile pictures to a black dot condemning incidents of sexual violence in India. This act of demonstrating support for social causes by changing online profile pictures is being referred to as pictivism. In this paper, we analyze the psycho-demographic profiles, social networking behavior, and personal interests of users who participated in the Facebook Rainbow campaign. Our study is based on a sample of about 800K detailed profiles of Facebook users combining questionnaire-based psychological scores with Facebook profile data. Our analysis provides detailed insights into psycho-demographic profiles of the campaign participants. We found that personality traits such as openness and neuroticism are both positively associated with the likelihood of supporting the campaign, while conscientiousness exhibited a negative correlation. We also observed that females, religious disbelievers, democrats and adults in the age group of 20 to 30 years are more likely to be a part of the campaign. Our research further confirms the findings of several previous studies which suggest that a user is more likely to participate in an online campaign if a large fraction of his/her friends are already doing so. We also developed machine learning models for predicting campaign participation. Users' personal interests, approximated by Facebook user like activity, turned out to be the best indicator of campaign participation. Our results demonstrated that a predictive model which leverages the aforementioned features accurately identifies campaign participants (AUC=0.76).


The paper is focused on crack-tip shielding effects caused by crack deflection (tilting) processes in particle reinforced composites. A numerical analysis by means of the ANSYS code was employed in order to assess these effects caused by rigid particles and holes in the matrix. As the first step, the effective stress intensity factor Keff was calculated for many crack tip positions in front, and in between, two particles of the same kind. In spite of a significant crack tip tilting, the spherical holes induce a slight increase in the Keff factor (anti-shielding). On the other hand, the rigid particles cause a significant decrease in the Keff-value (shielding), while leaving the crack practically unaffected. In the second step, the effect of particles in the wake of the crack tip will be analyzed in order to obtain a complex picture of shielding.


The process of cultural acculturation and archipelago architecture began since the entry of traders who bring valueand cultural elements which then synergize with local culture. From history, we can see, many forms of archipelagoarchitecture has since opened up to the influence of the outer culture that comes in. The cities of Lasem, Tuban and Gresikin the North Coast in the Eastern part of Java Island are the cities that became the starting point of entry of foreigntraders. So do not be surprised if the shape of the architecture of the North Coast area in the eastern part of Java isheavily influenced by Chinese, Arabic, and Colonial cultural values. This is reinforced by historical data about the entryof 13th century Chinese culture, Arabic in the fifteenth century and the Dutch (VOC) in the 17th century. The entry ofChinese, Arab, and Dutch Culture to Indonesia in the glorious period of the Majapahit Kingdom gave a touch of changeand continuity in various cultural activities. Traces of relations between these cultures that eventually create a form ofacculturation of architecture that appears from the shape and meaning of existing buildings in the area of the North Coastin the Eastern part of Java Island. From the exploration process conducted by phenomenological approach that focuseson the process of acculturation of architecture, will be able to prove that Lasem Region is an expression of acculturationbetween Chinese culture, Middle East, Colonial, and Java through its concepts.


Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men. One common treatment is androgen-deprivation therapy, which reduces symptoms in most patients. However, over time, patients develop tumors that are androgen-independent and ultimately fatal. The mechanisms that cause this transition remain largely unknown, and as a result, there are no effective treatments against androgen-independent prostate cancer. As a model platform, we used the LNCaP cell line, and its androgen independent derivative, LNCaP-SF. By using stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) coupled to mass spectrometry, we assessed the differential global protein expression between the two cell lines. Our proteomic analysis resulted in the quantification of 3355 proteins, in total. Bioinformatic prioritization resulted in 42 up-regulated and 46 down-regulated proteins in LNCaP-SF cells, compared to LNCaP cells. Our top candidate was HMGCS2, an enzyme involved in ketogenesis, was found to be 9-fold elevated in LNCaP-SF cells, based on peptide ratios. After analyzing the remaining enzymes of this pathway (ACAT1, BDH1, HMGCL, OXCT1), we observed increased expression of these proteins in the LNCaP-SF cells. This was further verified using western blotting, indicating the importance of this pathway during the progression of prostate cancer to androgen-independence. To determine whether these enzymes are up-regulated in clinical samples, we performed qPCR analysis on human prostate cancer tissues, from which we observed significantly increased transcript levels of HMGCS2 (p 8) based on immunohistochemistry analysis. ACAT1 displayed the most prominent protein expression patterns, as it exhibited very minimal staining in normal samples, moderate levels in low grade cancer, and high expression during high grade disease. Further assessment of ACAT1 expression demonstrated significantly greater ACAT1 expression in bone metastatic lesions (P<0.001). Altogether, our results indicate that enzymes belonging to the ketogenic pathway become up-regulated during high grade prostate cancer, and could serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of high grade disease.

Citation Format: Punit Saraon, Keith Jarvi, Eleftherios P. Diamandis. Quantitative mass spectrometry reveals that enzymes of the ketogenic pathway are upregulated during high-grade prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr C47.


, Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of antibody variable region genes is initiated in germinal center B cells during an immune response by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which converts cyto- sines to uracils. During accurate repair in nonmutating cells, uracil is excised by uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG), leaving abasic sites that are incised by AP endonuclease (APE) to create single-strand breaks, and the correct nucleotide is reinserted by DNA polymerase β . During SHM, for unknown reasons, repair is error prone. There are two APE homologs in mammals and, surprisingly, APE1, in con- trast to its high expression in both resting and in vitro-activated splenic B cells, is expressed at very low levels in mouse germinal center B cells where SHM occurs, and APE1 haploinsufficiency has very little effect on SHM. In contrast, the less efficient homolog, APE2, is highly expressed and contributes not only to the frequency of mutations, but also to the generation of mutations at A:T base pair (bp), insertions, and deletions. In the absence of both UNG and APE2, mutations at A:T bp are dramatically reduced. Single-strand breaks generated by APE2 could provide entry points for exonuclease recruited by the mismatch repair proteins Msh2 – Msh6, and the known association of APE2 with proliferating cell nuclear antigen could recruit translesion polymerases to create mutations at AID-induced lesions and also at A:T bp. Our data provide new insight into error-prone repair of AID-induced lesions, which we propose is facilitated by down-regulation of APE1 and up-regulation of APE2 expression in germinal center B cells.


New oxide-ion conductors Ln2+xTi2-xO7-x/2 (Ln = Dy-Lu, x = 0.096; 35.5 mol. % Ln2O3· 64.5 mol.% TiO2)-LANTIOX with a disordered pyrochlore structure are obtained by coprecipitation with next thermal annealing at 1600°C. Their ionic conductivity in air at 740°C attains 5·10-3 S/cm for Ln2.096Ti1.904O6.952 (Ln= Lu, Yb), 10-3 S/cm for Ln2,096Ti1,904O6,952 (Ln=Tm, Er, Ho) and 10- 4S/cm for Dy2,096Ti1,904O6,952 due to the presence of defects in both the cation and anion sublattices. The materials contain ~4.8-10.6% LnTi anti-site defects. Ln2.096Ti1.904O6.952 ceramics are shown to be stable in the temperature range of 1400 to 1700°C. 1400°C-samples Ln2+xTi2-xO7-x/2 have lower ionic conductivity then 1600°C and 1690°C samples.


Intrasectoral issues have received relatively little attention in analysis of the distributional consequences of natural resource policy decisions. This paper presents a framework for such analysis and examines how intrasectoral issues can change intertemporally, focusing on water policy in agriculture. The results show that income distribution among farmers depends on the stochastic structure of production and marketing, the size distribution of farms, credit market imperfections, and risk aversion in farmer decisions. It is shown that the introduction of water conservation policies may lead to more equitable income distribution among farmers.


The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in civilian and domestic applications is highly demanding, requiring a high-level of capability from the vehicles. This work addresses the design and implementation of a vision-based feature tracker for an autonomous helicopter. Using vision in the control loop allows estimating the position and velocity of a set of features with respect to the helicopter. The helicopter is then autonomously guided to track these features (in this case windows in an urban environment) in real time. The results obtained from flight trials in a real world scenario demonstrate that the algorithm for tracking features in an urban environment, used for visual servoing of an autonomous helicopter is reliable and robust


In this paper, we propose a method for human pose estimation from single camera images. The human body configuration is modeled by a Bayesian network. In this model, state nodes represent an aspect ratio, a length of long axis, a degree of tilt, a 2D center position and 2D position of body joints of each body parts and edges represent spatial constraint. We estimate the human pose through optimization of the model parameters based on simple person model. The model parameters are estimated from cues such as a color information, ratio of the length of long axes between node and parent node, and distance of body joints between node and parent node. For the estimation of dynamic human pose, we use temporal constraint. We apply the proposed method to the videos obtained from a gesture-based game control system and evaluate the performance using ground truth method. As a result, the proposed method can automatically label upper body pose from videos and it is appropriate method for feature extraction in the frontal view-based gesture recognition system.


In order to understand the collapse dynamics of observed low-mass starless cores, we revise the conventional stability condition of hydrostatic Bonnor–Ebert spheres to take internal motions into account. Because observed starless cores resemble Bonnor–Ebert density structures, the stability and dynamics of the starless cores are frequently analyzed by comparing to the conventional stability condition of a hydrostatic Bonnor–Ebert sphere. However, starless cores are not hydrostatic but have observed internal motions. In this study, we take gaseous spheres with a homologous internal velocity field and derive stability conditions of the spheres utilizing a virial analysis. We propose two limiting models of spontaneous gravitational collapse: the collapse of critical Bonnor–Ebert spheres and uniform density spheres. The collapse of these two limiting models is intended to provide the lower and the upper limits, respectively, of the infall speeds for a given density structure. The results of our study suggest that the stability condition sensitively depends on internal motions. A homologous inward motion with a transonic speed can reduce the critical size compared to the static Bonnor–Ebert sphere by more than a factor of two. As an application of the two limiting models of spontaneous gravitational collapse, we compare the density structures and infall speeds of the observed starless cores L63, L1544, L1689B, and L694-2 to the two limiting models. L1689B and L694-2 seem to have been perturbed to result in faster infall motions than for spontaneous gravitational collapse.


Intraperitoneal injection of a 1-sodium fluoride solution (35--40 mg/kg) to male rats was seen to cause a 8--9 fold rise of the blood histamine content and to significantly lower the oxygen tension in the musculus femorins. Preliminary administration of diprazine (5 mg/kg) prevented the death of the animals and lowered the degree of oxygen deficiency in the tissues. An interference is drawn on the important pathophysiological role played by an increase of the histamine content in the blood of the animals in the mechanism underlying the development of circulatory hypoxia in acute poisoning with sodium fluoride.


In collaboration with Age Concern UK, older people were invited to participate in action learning groups to explore how they adapt to change. Themes for discussion were initially identified using a nominal focus method. Discussions identified actual and desired methods of coping with changes in later life. A series of weekly meetings with three cohorts of urban, rural and sheltered accommodation participants with an average age of 81 years revealed that they were concerned with having to cope with and adapt to a wide range of experiences. These included the loss of sharing and reduced sociability, reduced mobility, bereavement, physical changes, having to move house and/or location, having to retire, and having to deal with outside agencies. In order to cope with these experiences, participants engaged in a range of activities that centered on aspects of communication and social networking. Participants talked to each other socially and informally, exchanging information and advice. When able, they also participated in more structured but non-specific social events during which time they also had the opportunity to support each other. Participants suggested that there was a role for statutory and nonstatutory bodies and professions such as mental health and community adult nursing, occupational therapy and social work to provide more formal social networking and information exchange opportunities.


Presentation of brief (120ms, 160ms, 520ms) audio prosody-, video- and audio-visual clips containing congruent emotion (anger, fear, happiness, neutral, sadness/ positive- and negative valence) was used in a divided visual field technique/dichotic listening behavioral experiment consisting of 17 males and 17 females to investigate a possible gender difference in cerebral lateralization in perception of emotion. Clips were created from Montreal affective voices and the Montreal Pain and Affective Face Clips. Accuracy percentages of correct recognition of emotion were recorded. Findings showed no support for either the right-hemisphere- or the valence hypothesis. Gender as a between subject factor was non significant. Clips containing both audio and video had the highest accuracy score of all modalities. Audio-only prosody had significant lower accuracy score compared to video-only and audio-visual clips. Positive valence in the short length may have an early accuracy advantaged compared to negative valence in the audio-visual modality that dissipates in 120ms-160ms range, with the accuracy difference disappearing between the categories. The same advantage can be found in anger, while happiness, fear and neutral have no significant differences in accuracy in lengths in the audio-visual modality.


Using an absolute time scale for the stratigraphic sections penetrated in 20 drill sites of the Deep Sea Drilling Project in the eastern equatorial Pacific, we have determined paleodepths, paleopositions, and average CaCO 3 content for each 1-m.y. interval for the past 50 m.y. The calcite compensation level (CCD) at the equator was very shallow (3,000 m) during Eocene time, dropped precipitously to a low at 5,000 m in Oligocene time, then rose to its present position. The CCD outside the equatorial zone was also shallow during Eocene time, but while the equatorial CCD remained depressed during the Oligocene, the extra-equatorial CCD gradually shoaled. This suggests an increase in carbonate dissolution in the Pacific, matched by an increase in carbonate supply at the equator. During Miocene time, both the equatorial CCD and the Pacific CCD rose together. Finally, near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, the extra-equatorial CCD dropped from its Miocene high of at least 3,900 m to its present level.


Apart from the applicability of the tannic acid-phosphomolybdic acid-Levanol-Fast Cyanine 5RN method for the identification of muscle myosins in Carnoy-fixed tissues, this technique can also be applied on tissue sections fixed with formalin or carbodiimide. The use of carbodiimide as a fixative offers, in general, a superior staining of the tissues with safranine and Levanol. Using a slightly modified procedure, reduction of staining time in Levanol, moreover, allows a differentiation between cells containing different amounts of myosin. This is illustrated by means of a number of rat tissues.


When readers comprehend a discourse, they do not merely interpret each clause or sentence separately; rather, they assign meaning to the text by creating semantic links between the clauses and sentences. These links are known as coherence relations (cf. Hobbs, 1979; Sanders, Spooren & Noordman, 1992). If readers are not able to construct such relations between the clauses and sentences of a text, they will fail to fully understand that text. Discourse coherence is therefore crucial to natural language comprehension in general. Most frameworks that propose inventories of coherence relation types agree on the existence of certain coarse-grained relation types, such as causal relations (relations types belonging to the causal class include Cause or Result relations), and additive relations (e.g., Conjunctions or Specifications). However, researchers often disagree on which finer-grained relation types hold and, as a result, there is no uniform set of relations that the community has agreed on (Hovy & Maier, 1995). Using a combination of corpus-based studies and off-line and on-line experimental methods, the studies reported in this dissertation examine distinctions between types of relations. The studies are based on the argument that coherence relations are cognitive entities, and distinctions of coherence relation types should therefore be validated using observations that speak to both the descriptive adequacy and the cognitive plausibility of the distinctions. Various distinctions between relation types are investigated on several levels, corresponding to the central challenges of the thesis. First, the distinctions that are made in approaches to coherence relations are analysed by comparing the relational classes and assessing the theoretical correspondences between the proposals. An interlingua is developed that can be used to map relational labels from one approach to another, therefore improving the interoperability between the different approaches. Second, practical correspondences between different approaches are studied by evaluating datasets containing coherence relation annotations from multiple approaches. A comparison of the annotations from different approaches on the same data corroborate the interlingua, but also reveal systematic patterns of discrepancies between the frameworks that are caused by different operationalizations. Finally, in the experimental part of the dissertation, readers' interpretations are investigated to determine whether readers are able to distinguish between specific types of relations that cause the discrepancies between approaches. Results from off-line and online studies provide insight into readers' interpretations of multi-interpretable relations, individual differences in interpretations, anticipation of discourse structure, and distributional differences between languages on readers' processing of discourse. In sum, the studies reported in this dissertation contribute to a more detailed understanding of which types of relations comprehenders construct and how these relations are inferred and processed.


We present a novel approach for self-assembled growth of GaN quantum wires (QWRs) exhibiting strong confinement in two spatial dimensions. The GaN QWRs are formed by selective nucleation on {112[combining macron]0} (a-plane) facets formed at the six intersections of {11[combining macron]00} (m-plane) sidewalls of AlN/GaN nanowires used as a template. Based on microscopy observations we have developed a 3D model explaining the growth mechanism of QWRs. We show that the QWR formation is governed by self-limited pseudomorphic growth on the side facets of the nanowires (NWs). Quantum confinement in the QWRs is confirmed by the observation of narrow photoluminescence lines originating from individual QWRs with emission energies up to 4.4 eV. Time-resolved photoluminescence studies reveal a short decay time (~120 ps) of the QWR emission. Capping of the QWRs with AlN allows enhancement of the photoluminescence, which is blue-shifted due to compressive strain. The emission energies from single QWRs are modelled assuming a triangular cross-section resulting from self-limited growth on a-plane facets. Comparison with the experimental results yields an average QWR diameter of about 2.7 nm in agreement with structural characterization. The presented results open a new route towards controlled realization of one-dimensional semiconductor quantum structures with a high potential both for fundamental studies and for applications in electronics and in UV light generation.


Abstract: Immunoglobulin heavy (IgH) chain gene rearrangements were characterized in 40 samples from 15 patients with B‐cell lymphomas at different time points during tumour progression. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of variable heavy (VH) chain gene segments, we found that 6 cases displayed alterations in their IgH chain rearrangements at relapse. These alterations were mainly observed in follicular or transformed lymphomas, but no association to clinical features was found. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a low frequency of mutations in 3 cases, whereas 1 case displayed an extensive mutation rate in a compartment with transformed morphology at relapse. The mutations observed most probably resulted from somatic hypermutations. Further, the mutations were scattered randomly over the V11 gene segment and no significant bias favouring amino acid substitutions was observed in 3 cases, suggesting that the tumour cells had not been subjected to antigen‐driven selection. In 1 case, however, the mutation pattern indicated that the tumour cells had been affected by an antigen selection process. In the 2 remaining cases, the original VHDJH rearrangement could no longer be detected by VH gene family specific PCR at relapse, but using primers specific for the framework region 2 or 3 altered rearrangements were demonstrated, implying that mutations had been introduced in framework region 1. However, the majority of the tumour cell clones analysed were relatively stable during tumour progression, which make them eligible for analysis of minimal residual disease using the VH gene regions as molecular markers.


ABSTRACT The mitogen-activated protein kinase DdERK2 is critical for cyclic AMP (cAMP) relay and chemotaxis to cAMP and folate, but the details downstream of DdERK2 are unclear. To search for targets of DdERK2 in Dictyostelium discoideum,32PO43−-labeled protein samples from wild-type and Dderk2− cells were resolved by 2-dimensional electrophoresis. Mass spectrometry was used to identify a novel 45-kDa protein, named EppA (ERK2-dependent phosphoprotein A), as a substrate of DdERK2 in Dictyostelium. Mutation of potential DdERK2 phosphorylation sites demonstrated that phosphorylation on serine 250 of EppA is DdERK2 dependent. Changing serine 250 to alanine delayed development of Dictyostelium and reduced Dictyostelium chemotaxis to cAMP. Although overexpression of EppA had no significant effect on the development or chemotaxis of Dictyostelium, disruption of the eppA gene led to delayed development and reduced chemotactic responses to both cAMP and folate. Both eppA gene disruption and overexpression of EppA carrying the serine 250-to-alanine mutation led to inhibition of intracellular cAMP accumulation in response to chemoattractant cAMP, a pivotal process in Dictyostelium chemotaxis and development. Our studies indicate that EppA regulates extracellular cAMP-induced signal relay and chemotaxis of Dictyostelium.


In this study, a portable ECG device is introduced to monitor the patient's electrocardiogram (ECG). Electronic hardware consists of Raspbery Pi, preamplifier, low-pass and high pass filters, gain unit, DC level shifter and analog-digital converter circuits. ECG signal is obtained by the electrodes which attached to the skin surface is amplified by the INA128P operational amplifier. Then, the signal is filtered, amplified and added DC offset, respectively. MCP3208 is used to convert the result signal from analog to digital. By this way, ECG signal is converted to 12-bit digital signal and sent to the GPIO port of the Raspberry Pi. ECG signal is shown at the portable device's screen via a developed software using the Python language.


Summary Aims - Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects 1% of the population. The diagnosis is made according to current diagnostic systems of DSM-1V (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and ICD-10 (World Health Organisation, 1992), on the basis of characteristic 'positive' and 'negative' symptoms. The traditional model assumes a categorical view of the schizophrenia syndrome and its core symptoms, in which differences between psychotic symptoms and their normal counterparts are considered to be qualitative. An alternative, dimensional approach assumes that schizophrenia is not a discrete illness entity, but that psychotic symptoms differ in quantitative ways from normal experiences and behaviours. This paper reviews evidence for the continuity of psychotic symptoms with normal experiences, focusing on the symptoms of hallucinations and delusions. Methods - A qualitative review of the relevant literature. Results - The literature suggests that although current epidemiological approaches yield substantial evidence for a continuum view, it is rarely interpreted as such. Conclusions - The traditional concept ofschizophrenia as a homogeneous disease entity has become outdated and is in dire need of a more valid and clinically useful successor. Declaration of Interests Support has been received in the last two years from the Dutch Research Council, The Dutch Ministry of Health, Maastricht University, The Dutch Brain Society, ZON-MW, The Province of Limburg, The Council of Maastricht, Eli Lilly, Janssen-Cilag, Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca and Bristol Meyer Squibb. None of these funding sources represents a conflict of interest in relation to this article.


This comparative case study links the current Syria crisis to the historical conflict in Laos during the early 1960s until the late 1970s. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) involvement with the Free Syrian Army and the Hmong tribesmen is discussed to fill the gap in literature to understand the importance of their paralleled relationship with the agency and how the United States of America uses the CIA to conceal their involvement in foreign wars. Content analysis using coverage from the New York Times, along with media coverage of Hmong refugees from 1975 to 1990 and of Syrian refugees from 2012 to 2015 will illustrate that major patterns in the Hmong case are similar to Syria's current refugee crisis. Both Hmong and Syrian refugees experienced chemical warfare from regimes backed by the Russian military. They encounter persecutions when crossing international borders and waterways causing increased civilian mortality. In both cases, regime violence targeted key United States allies and collaborators.This paper argues that the crisis of the two countries is significant to understanding the devastating impact that developed nations have in developing countries and how its national interest in foreign affairs can lead poor nations to destruction, thus causing a global refugee influx. Most of which is done through proxy wars by recruiting vulnerable local villagers, tribesmen, and rebels to fight. The study therefore concludes that the Hmong case could be a useful benchmark in determining the outcome of Syrian refugees.


An experimental investigation of indirect electrostatic discharge (ESD) events for an inline three body geometry was undertaken. Using conducting cylinders of different sizes to model the test system's conductors, capacitance coefficients were measured; body potential differences and electric fields in air gaps were calculated for different geometries of the three floating conductors in close vicinity. The test geometry was chosen to model the approach of the charged human body to an electronic system which has a neighboring floating conductor. The possibility of primary and secondary discharges was studied for various body sizes and test geometries. The results of this work provide a better understanding of the fundamental principles involved in the ESD event involving three bodies separated by small gaps. The methodology may have application in analyzing ESD events in small gap structures including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).


By adopting the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43 of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) in 1992, the governments of the European Community committed themselves to the creation of the Natura 2000 ecological network, with the aim of conserving an extensive range of European habitat types and wildlife species. In doing so, they set in motion the most significant initiative for nature conservation in the history of Europe. In Spain, Natura 2000 will have a considerable impact on the conservation of habitats and species, potentially increasing the percentage of national territory within protected areas from 6% to as much as 20%. This paper aims to illustrate the importance of extensive farming systems to the maintenance of habitats within Natura 2000, and vice versa.


This study joins the emerging de-Westernization discourse within communication studies and empirically compares the diversity of Ibero-American, Western, and regional journals at three different levels: authorship, editorial board membership, and citations. Our findings show that through low geopolitical diversity and high regional shares in authorship, editorial board membership, and citations, the Ibero-American region uses its structural, linguistic, and cultural resources to offer an alternative universe to mainstream English-based communication research. The article argues that the process of trailblazing the pathways to de-Westernizing communication scholarship is best accomplished when it is actively led by peripheral regions.


Dyslipidemia is defined as abnormal amount of lipids in the blood. It is a metabolic disorder, manifested as increased plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride or a decrease in high density lipoprotein. Dyslipidemia is the main disposing factor for the atherosclerosis, and the atherosclerosis is the main pathogenesis factor for cardiovascular disease. In Ayurvedic view, dyslipidemia can be considered similar to aggravated Dusta Meda Dhatu in the body which is caused due to hypofunction of Medo-Dhatwagni leading to Medovaha Srotodusti Vikara. Nidanparivarjana is the main treatment principle of Ayurveda.
For dyslipidemia, diet which is Laghu, Ruksha, Kaphamedohara and Srotoshodhana property should be followed. While, Guru, Snigdha, Kaphamedokara and Abhishyandhi food should be avoided. According to Bhaisjya Ratnawali, Pathya for Hridroga are Dadima, Shunthi, Yavani, Patol etc while Apathya are Ksheer Vikruti, Dadhi, Guru Bhojan etc. Using healthy diet rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables, and fruits seasoned with adequate quantity of spices with minimum amount of oils and fats are ideal for management and prevention of dyslipidemia. So this research article, will explain the properties of Pathya and Apathya their mode of action in prevention and management of dyslipidemia with the help of previous research work done on related Pathya Apathya food article.


Alan Brudner's constitutional theory offers us an ideal constitution or 'heaven of laws'. His theory maps a constitution heavy with law. Law permeates and supports a host of dense networks and relationships between individuals, communities and the state. It also specifies a very comprehensive set of rights. These detailed prescriptions are designed to take constitutional form, with the result that they are removed largely from the remit of normal political and ideological debate. This paper probes this vision of constitutional order. It focuses on two particularly revealing aspects of the theory - its Aristotelian perfectionism and the educative role it affords the state. Drawing on an older tradition of liberal thought exemplified by Hume, the paper concludes that the extremely 'thick' legal constitution of the type Brudner presents is not one to which liberals should subscribe. His 'heaven of laws', since it envisages a state of political changelessness, amounts ultimately to a particular sort of tyranny in which the individual is trapped once more by the bonds of fate.


Many critical goods and services in modern-day economies are produced and distributed through complex institutional arrangements. Agent-based computational economics (ACE) modeling tools are capable of handling this degree of complexity. In concrete support of this claim, this study presents an ACE test bed designed to permit the exploratory study of restructured U.S. wholesale power markets with transmission grid congestion managed by locational marginal prices (LMPs). Illustrative findings are presented showing how spatial LMP cross-correlation patterns vary systematically in response to changes in the price responsiveness of wholesale power demand when wholesale power sellers have learning capabilities. These findings highlight several distinctive features of ACE modeling: namely, an emphasis on process rather than on equilibrium; an ability to capture complicated structural, institutional, and behavioral real-world aspects (micro-validation); and an ability to study the effects of changes in these aspects on spatial and temporal outcome distributions.


This volume contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Architectures, Concepts and Technologies for Service Oriented Computing (ACT4SOC 2010), held on July 23 in Athens, Greece, in conjunction with the Fourth International Conference on Software and Data Technologies (ICSOFT 2010).
The goal of the workshop is to focus on the fundamental and practical challenges related to SOC, to discuss what theoretical, architectural or technology foundation is needed, and how this foundation can be supported or realized by new or enhanced infrastructures, standards and/or technologies. The workshop aims at contributing to the dissemination of research results, establishment of a better understanding, and identification of new challenges related to SOC/SOA, by bringing together interested academic and industrial researchers.
This year 10 papers out of 30 submissions were selected, based on a thorough review process, in which each paper was reviewed by at least 3 experts in the field. Due to the number of reviews and the professionalism of the authors, program committee members and reviewers, we are confident that all selected papers are of high quality. The selected papers are also a good illustration of the different challenges mentioned above. They have been grouped in four presentation sessions during the workshop, named "SOA applications – logistics and online advertising", "Design and analysis of service-oriented systems", "Web services composition" and "SOA applications – homecare and emergency support".


A covering array (CA) is a combinatorial structure specified as a matrix of N rows and k columns over an alphabet on v symbols such that for each set of t columns every t-tuple of symbols is covered at least once. Given the values of t, k, and v, the optimal covering array construction problem (CAC) consists in constructing a CA (N; t, k, v) with the minimum possible value of N. There are several reported methods to attend the CAC problem, among them are direct methods, recursive methods, greedy methods, and metaheuristics methods. In this paper, There are three parallel approaches for simulated annealing: the independent, semi-independent, and cooperative searches are applied to the CAC problem. The empirical evidence supported by statistical analysis indicates that cooperative approach offers the best execution times and the same bounds as the independent and semi-independent approaches. Extensive experimentation was carried out, using 182 well-known benchmark instances of ternary covering arrays, for assessing its performance with respect to the best-known bounds reported previously. The results show that cooperative approach attains 134 new bounds and equals the solutions for other 29 instances.


Abstract : The use of Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) Simulation environments are increasingly being examined for potential analytical use particularly in test and evaluation. The LVC simulation environments provide a mechanism for conducting joint mission testing and system of systems testing when scale and resource limitations prevent the accumulation of the necessary density and diversity of assets required for these complex and comprehensive tests. The statistical experimental design process is re-examined for potential application to LVC experiments and several additional considerations are identified to augment the experimental design process for use with LVC. This augmented statistical experimental design process is demonstrated by a case study involving a series of tests on an experimental data link for strike aircraft using LVC simulation for the test environment. The goal of these tests is to assess the usefulness of information being presented to aircrew members via different datalink capabilities. The statistical experimental design process is used to structure the experiment leading to the discovery of faulty assumptions and planning mistakes that could potentially wreck the results of the experiment. Lastly, an aggressive sequential experimentation strategy is presented for LVC experiments when test resources are limited. This strategy depends on a foldover algorithm that we developed for nearly orthogonal arrays to rescue LVC experiments when important factor effects are confounded.


A decade or so ago car manufacturers completely transformed the way they made motor cars: they stopped stockpiling components and supplied them "just in time"; they drastically reduced the types of components such as subframes and engines; they worked closely with their suppliers on quality and timeliness instead of beating them down on price; and they eliminated waste by making all workers responsible for quality, not just inspectors. As a result new models took less time to develop, their quality improved, and cars could be made to order for each customer. At the same time productivity improved and costs fell.1 Since then people in health care have realised that their service has a long way to go to match the performance of other manufacturing and service industries. Report after report, from country after country, has documented the size of the gap between the best evidence based care that could be delivered to patients and the care they actually receive. Health systems fail to provide treatments that are known to work, persist in using treatments that don't work, enforce delays, and tolerate high levels of error. Healthcare leaders are now recognising, as car manufacturers did, that the healthcare system needs radically redesigning. 2 3

Such redesign of an important part of the healthcare system—clinical office practice (in UK terms ambulatory care by mainly primary care physicians)—was the focus of a meeting in Atlanta earlier this month. Though the meeting was run by the Boston-based Institute for …


Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide mineralization in the Midcontinent rift system can be broadly classified into three types: (1) disseminated sulfide mineralization found within gabbroic to troctolitic sheet-like intrusions; (2) disseminated through massive sulfide occurrences associated with smaller, early rift, mafic to ultramafic intrusions that are conduit-related, and (3) relatively low sulfide, PGE enrichment found in well-differentiated tholeiite layered intrusions. The first two types are volumetrically dominant and are the subject of this review. Disseminated sulfide mineralization found within the Partridge River and South Kawishiwi intrusions of the Duluth Complex occurs in a variety of rock types, all produced from varying degrees of fractionation of a high-Al olivine tholeiite (HAOT) parental magma. Mineralization is characterized by high Cu/Ni ratios (bulk rock values averaging ~3–5) and variable, but locally elevated, PGE contents. Tenors of undepleted disseminated sulfide are not unlike those of the world-class ores at Noril'sk, but concentration of sulfide in the intrusive sheets did not occur. Massive, net-textured and disseminated sulfides are all part of the Eagle deposit in northern Michigan. The Eagle deposit is representative of the class of small, olivine-rich intrusions emplaced during early stages of rift development. Ni and Cu grades are considerably higher than those that characterize the disseminated mineralization in the Partridge River and South Kawishiwi intrusions; average Ni grade of the massive sulfide at the Eagle deposit is 3.57 wt %, making it one of the highest Ni grade orebodies in the world. The parental magma for the Eagle intrusion was a high-FeO picrite.

Isotopic and trace element studies indicate that contamination by country rocks, particularly the introduction of sulfur, has been important for sulfide genesis. Ni enrichment in the Eagle deposit appears to be related to the early attainment of sulfide saturation in relatively Ni rich, high MgO magma. Low Ni contents of sulfide mineralization in the sheet-style intrusions of the Duluth Complex are related in part to sequestration of Ni by early crystallizing olivine, low sulfide abundance, and relatively late attainment of sulfide saturation. However, these processes cannot account for the low bulk rock Ni/Cu ratios. Whether Cu enrichment is related to fractional crystallization of sulfide liquids and widespread incorporation of the fractionated liquids into the HAOT magmas or the introduction of country rock-derived Cu into the magmas remains an uncertainty. Other unanswered, but critical, questions pertaining to the genesis of sulfide mineralization in the Midcontinent rift system include how HAOT liquids are generated, and what the mechanisms are that permit the emplacement of sulfide-rich or sulfide-only magmas in subvertical to vertical conduits.


Abstract. Work productivity can be interpreted as an attitude of employee performance to produce something better / better productive, as evidenced by the high motivation and ability. Increased productivity can be achieved if employees who work feel their job satisfaction. Job satisfaction will help companies generate, maintain, and always hire employees to remain productive. In the absence of job satisfaction, employees tend to be unproductive and will even stop working. This study aims to determine the effect of job satisfaction on employee productivity at PT Astra International Daihatsu-DSO Malalayang. This study uses a simple correlation and regression analysis. Results of simple correlation analysis is R = 0.69, it indicates that if the job satisfaction increases, the labor productivity will go up anyway. The degree of this correlation is categorized as, and after the test turned out to be very significant significance. With a coefficient of determination can be seen that 47.3% productivity factor is determined by factors of job satisfaction and the rest is determined by other factors. by using simple regression analysis research shows that job satisfaction have an effect on employee productivity.   Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Work Productivity.


a hand sprayer. Practitioner 1977;218:877-83. 3. JOUBERT J, JOUBERT PH. Chorea and psychiatric changes in organophospate poisoning: a report of 2 further cases. S Afr Med J 1988;74:32-4. 4. WEDIN GP, JONES RR. Parenteral administration of hydrocarbons. Clin Toxico/1984;22:485-92. 5. BECK DE, FREEMAN B, MOORE CR. Toxicities with intravenous and subcutaneous administration of a petroleum distillate. Drug Intell Clin Pharm 1981;15:693-4.


In this study, we present a map of the geochemical reactivity of rocks of the Czech Republic at a scale of 1:1,000,000 based on a geodatabase of regional geological maps at a scale of 1:50,000, as well as description of the method of how the map was developed. Research for this study was performed by compiling information between a database of regional geological maps and data from the lithogeochemical database to calculate and classify the rocks into eight groups according to carbonate content and coefficient of alkalinity. Rocks in these groups were further subdivided according to the susceptibility to weathering, forming a total of 28 categories. Knowledge of geochemical background is essential for making informed landscape management decisions, as this information determines the areas with higher levels of susceptibility to soil acidification and/or nutrient degradation. The map from this study will therefore provide essential information, albeit incomplete, to aid landscape management practitioners.


We measured neopterin (NPT), an indirect marker of gamma (gamma)-interferon, and the activity of thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) in the advancing front of colorectal carcinoma and in normal mucosa. Cancer showed a higher concentration of NPT than normal mucosa and also showed significantly higher (p < 0.0001) dThdPase activity than normal mucosa. There was a strong correlation between NPT concentration and dThdPase activity in cancerous and normal mucosa. These results suggest that endogenous gamma-interferon could activate dThdPase activity, which is essential to nucleic acid metabolism because it regulates the availability of thymidine.


Abstract Methotrexate, an immunomodulatory agent used for a wide variety of indications, can cause pulmonary toxicity in the form of pneumonitis, organising pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, pleural effusion, pulmonary infections or lymphoproliferative disease. We report a case of methotrexate pneumonitis in a patient with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. The diagnosis of methotrexate pneumonitis is challenging, as the signs and symptoms can be caused by intercurrent infection, concomitant medications or an underlying disease condition. A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis. Management consists of drug discontinuation and steroids in patients with respiratory failure.


The LSD notation is intended for the specification and description of communicating systems of sequential processes. It was originally developed with a semantic model for the CCITT standard language SDL in mind (2]. Like SDL, LSD is primarily conceived as a medium for describing systems at the higher levels of abstraction. A central idea of LSD is the integration of functional and procedural models for synchronisation mechanisms at different levels of abstraction. This integration is based upon the "generalised spreadsheet" or definitive notation paradigm for programming ([3],[4]), and the operational semantics of LSD is defined in terms of dialogue states over such a notation. The paper includes an informal introduction to the notation, together with several illustrative examples. A methodology for the top-down development of LSD specifications for communicating systems is proposed.


The purpose of the study was to explore the lexical development of a sequential bilingual Arabic-English speaking child. The study contributes to the growing research literature on the language behaviors of early bilingual children and specifically to the discussion of bilingual developmental milestones. The child's vocabulary growth was assessed over the course of a year with the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI-III, English and Arabic versions), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-4), parent interviews, and the Frog Story Narrative Test. Lexical measures were analyzed over time and indicated that the child progressed in the dominant language, English, similarly to the developmental trajectories of monolingual children, regardless of the bilingual exposure in the home. Both lexical and syntactic development halted in the native language after immersion in English. The findings suggest that balanced bilingualism is difficult to maintain even for sequential bilingual children, regardless of parents' linguistic skills, in the absence of a language community for the minority language.


Context. X-ray observations of protostellar jets show evidence of strong shocks heating the plasma up to temperatures of a few million degrees. In some cases, the shocked features appear to be stationary. They are interpreted as shock diamonds. Aims. We aim at investigating the physics that guides the formation of X-ray emitting stationary shocks in protostellar jets, the role of the magnetic field in determining the location, stability, and detectability in X-rays of these shocks, and the physical properties of the shocked plasma.
Methods. We performed a set of 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations modelling supersonic jets ramming into a magnetized medium and explored different configurations of the magnetic field. The model takes into account the most relevant physical effects, namely thermal conduction and radiative losses. We compared the model results with observations, via the emission measure and the X-ray luminosity synthesized from the simulations.
Results. Our model explains the formation of X-ray emitting stationary shocks in a natural way. The magnetic field collimates the plasma at the base of the jet and forms there a magnetic nozzle. After an initial transient, the nozzle leads to the formation of a shock diamond at its exit which is stationary over the time covered by the simulations (∼ 40 − 60 yr; comparable with time scales of the observations). The shock generates a point-like X-ray source located close to the base of the jet with luminosity comparable with that inferred from X-ray observations of protostellar jets. For the range of parameters explored, the evolution of the post-shock plasma is dominated by the radiative cooling, whereas the thermal conduction slightly affects the structure of the shock.


PURPOSE:
In May 2012 UK visual standards for driving changed, in order to comply with European laws. Drivers need to have both a visual acuity of 6/12 AND be able to read a number plate at 20 metres. Previously the number plate test was the only visual acuity test.
METHODS:
Four different distance visual acuity charts were used (Snellen, logMAR letter-similar to ETDRS, logMAR Landolt ring, distance reading acuity- similar to MNRead chart) and were presented at 6m. 120 drivers were tested binocularly without refractive correction. Participants were taken outside to perform the number plate test at 20m. A second study was conducted, with 38 participants whose vision was impaired to approximately 6/12 using simulation spectacles.
RESULTS:
Differences between the visual acuities as measured by the charts were statistically but not clinically significant. For all charts there is an overlap zone within which participants may pass only one of the two tests, outside this range, participants pass or fail both tests. The 6/12 cut-off provides reasonable sensitivity and specificity for Snellen and logMAR letter charts. A poorer acuity cut-off was needed with the Landolt chart to maximize the relationship with the number plate test.
CONCLUSIONS:
The 6/12 visual cut-off and the number plate test will not always pass or fail the same drivers. Snellen and logMAR letter charts are recommended to be used to measure the visual acuity of drivers, but not Landolt rings. Fifteen percent of the sample could read a number plate at 20m, but was not able to achieve either 6/12 or +0.30 logMAR. The overlap zone is a helpful tool to identify those people who need advice from Eye Care Practitioners.


An analytic representation proposed for the relative intensity distribution of the extra-focal source in a two-component x-ray source model serves as the basis for calculation. From this representation, a closed-form expression for head scatter factors defined on the central beam axis is derived by integrating over the area of the extra-focal source plane visible from the measurement point. The resulting expression is applicable to photon beams from different Varian accelerators and different photon energies, and includes effects arising from beam shaping with cerrobend blocks or multileaf collimators (MLCs). For 6- and 15-MV photon beams from Varian 600 C and 2300 CD accelerators (Varian Oncology Systems, Palo Alto, CA), 361 measured head scatter factors for square, rectangular, asymmetric, and arbitrarily shaped fields, formed by either the X and Y jaws, the MLC and Y jaws, or by the MLC alone, were compared with model calculations. Results show that 93.4% of calculated values match corresponding experimental points to within 0.5%, the average deviation being 0.23% and the maximum deviation 0.9%. Thus, as a consequence of this work, the different influence of the X jaws, the Y jaws, and the MLC on head scatter factors is quantitatively described. In particular, it is demonstrated that in the case of radially symmetric scattering, the collimator exchange effect arises as a result of the different distances of the X and Y jaws from the focal spot.


Background/Aim: To compare the changes in uterine and ovarian artery blood flow following laparoscopic sterilization via bipolar cautery with Pomeroy tubal ligation via mini-laparotomy in patients who had voluntary surgical sterilization. Methods: Ninety consecutive fertile women applying for voluntary tubal ligation were recruited in this prospective study. Patients were allocated for either laparoscopic tubal ligation via bipolar electrocoagulation (group 1) or Pomeroy tubal ligation via mini-laparotomy (group 2) according to their preference. Color Doppler flow analysis of uterine and ovarian arteries were carried out on the 3rd day of the cycle prior to the procedure (D₀), on the 3rd postoperative day (D1) and on the 3rd day of the cycle, 3 months (D3) following the surgery. The significance of difference between the three measurements was analyzed by using analysis of variance. Results: Prior to surgery, the mean pulsatility index of the uterine artery, left and right ovarian arteries were 1.9 ± 0.3, 1.8 ± 0.3, 1.8 ± 0.2 in group 1 and 1.8 ± 0.08, 1.8 ± 0.08, 1.8 ± 0.07 in group 2, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between group 1 and group 2 in terms of D₀ values (p > 0.05). 3rd postoperative day and 3rd month measurements of both uterine and ovarian arteries in group 1 and group 2 did not show any statistically significant difference from that of preoperative values (p > 0.05). Conclusion: No alternation in the flow of either ovarian or uterine arteries following tubal sterilization performed by bipolar electrocautery and Pomeroy's technique was determined both in the immediate postoperative period and 3 months after the surgery.


This paper examines how the medical and non-medical skills of physiotherapists enable members of the profession to become central agents in the multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) which dominate sports health care. Drawing on empirical data derived from interviews with sports physiotherapists and doctors working in UK Olympic sport MDTs, this article argues that the role and influence of physiotherapy in elite sports health care can be explained in relation to physiotherapy's working practice traditions and the degree to which these traditions correspond to their specific patients' demands. Drawing on concepts such as medical dominance and relative practice autonomy drawn from the sociology of medicine, the paper argues that extended time, close physical contact and opportunities for experiential learning foster physiotherapist–patient mutuality, locate the physiotherapist as an inherent part of the recovery process and lead to trusting and collaborative health care relations. The practice traditions of physiotherapy enable these practitioners to respond flexibly to the particular demands of elite sports clients, intertwining athletes' performance orientation with physiotherapists' treatment through blurring the boundary between health care and sports training. Physiotherapists thus become seen as 'useful' in the eyes of the clients who shape the demand for health care delivery in elite sport.


Democracy as a system of governance is supposed to allow meaningful and extensive competition, representation, participation and inclusiveness of as many people, individuals, organized groups and views as possible. This is to feed into the functioning of a fair and just society on one hand, and serve to check unaccountable power and manipulation by the few at the expense of the many on the other hand. However, there are issues, pressures, criticisms and challenges that threaten various democratic foundations, pillars and key aspects of a functioning and true democracy. Nationally, there are issues of blatant violations of democratic principles that involve all the organs of government/administrative, economic, political and social apparatuses - the Legislature, the executive and the Judiciary. Nigeria's so-called democratic system (democratism?) is going berserk. Internal democracy, a paramount and an indispensable requirement of democratic governance is lacking. There are lots of political alienations and assassinations as well as the political utility and manipulation of religion, ethnicity, tribalism, religionalism, sectionalism, gangsterism and brigandage. As the quality and standard of elections for peoples' representations have plummeted, so have the number of election petitions risen astronomically. Even, in established democracies, there are issues yet to be resolved. At the international level, the United Nations Organization (UNO] for example, is not totally democratic. In the same vein, sustainable transformation is faced with myriad of problematic issues that need coordination, mobilization and collective action to achieve profound and fundamental changes for inclusive societal development in all ramifications -political, economic, agricultural, cultural, medical, sociological, psychological, educational, and environmental and communication — to mention just a few among a host of others. What are the local, national, continental and global issues in democracy and sustainable transformation? What suggestions and policy options can be recommended to address such issues? This paper attempts to provide some answers within the limitations to which the writer is exposed.


One of the most path-breaking and creatively radical poets of the San Francisco Renaissance, Philip Whalen was part of the 1955 Six Gallery reading where the West Coast Beat movement famously began. Working alongside Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Jack Kerouac, Whalen developed a conversational and visually unorthodox style that is unique in contemporary poetry. His lifelong engagement with the impermanent and sensuous, concerns deepened by his commitment to Zen Buddhism, are on rich display here, along with his warm humor and original illustrations. This Collected Poems rightfully places Whalen among the foremost poets of his time, offering readers a truly major body of American poetic work.


Population aging evokes doomsday economic and sociological prognostication, despite a minority of older people suffering significant dependency and the potential for advances in therapeutics of age-related disease and primary aging. Biological aging processes are linked mechanistically to altered drug handling, altered physiological reserve, and pharmacodynamic responses. Parenteral loading doses need only be adjusted for body weight as volumes of distribution are little changed, whereas oral loading doses in some cases may require reduction to account for age-related increases in bioavailability. Age-related reduction of hepatic blood flow and hepatocyte mass and primary aging changes in hepatic sinusoidal endothelium with effects on drug transfer and oxygen delivery reduce hepatic drug clearance. Primary renal aging is evident, although renal clearance reduction in older people is predominantly disease-related and is poorly estimated by standard methods. The geriatric dosing axiom, "start low and go slow" is based on pharmacokinetic considerations and concern for adverse drug reactions, not from clinical trial data. In the absence of generalizable dosage guidelines, individualization via effect titration is required. Altered pharmacodynamics are well documented in the cardiovascular system, with changes in the autonomic system, autacoid receptors, drug receptors, and endothelial function to modify baseline cardiovascular tone and responses to stimuli such as postural change and feeding. Adverse drug reactions and polypharmacy represent major linkages to avoidable morbidity and mortality. This, combined with a deficient therapeutic evidence base, suggests that extrapolation of risk-benefit ratios from younger adults to geriatric populations is not necessarily valid. Even so, therapeutic advances generally may convert healthy longevity from an asset of fortunate individuals into a general social benefit.


Grounded in a biosocial model, this study examines the interaction between adolescents' testosterone levels and qualities of the parent-adolescent and sibling-adolescent relationship in adolescents' peer experiences and contributes to empirical research on the role of biological factors and family socialization processes in adolescents' peer competence and involvement. Participants included 331 adolescents (M = 14.68 years of age, SD = 1.53) and their mothers and fathers in 173 families. During home visits, data were collected from family members regarding adolescents' family relationships, peer relationships, and psychosocial adjustment; daily time-use data were gathered during a series of 7 nightly phone interviews; and testosterone levels were assessed through saliva samples. Hierarchical regression results revealed that when boys had close relationships with mothers and sisters, testosterone was positively associated with their peer competence and involvement. Discussion focuses on the value of exploring biosocial interactions and highlights the particular importance of boys' relationships with opposite-sex family members in efforts to understand their peer experiences.


Malaysia, Biosafety Bill 2006 was approved by Parliament in July 2007, and labeling legislation will be implemented soon. In this study, duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to detect endogenous soybean lectin gene and exogenous cp4-epsps (5'-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phospate synthase) gene simultaneously. Additionally, real-time PCR utilizing SYBR Green fluorescence dye were established for the quantitative analysis of Roundup Ready soybean (RRS), which is based on the two established calibration curve from cloned fragment of cp4-epsps gene and lectin gene respectively. Approximately, 39.5% (45/114) of the samples examined in this study contain RRS, animal feeds (31), processed food (13) and raw soybean (1). Additionally, 75.6% (34/45) of the positive samples were found contained RRS above 0.9%. The sensitive GMO quantitative approach described in this study enable the analysis of various samples and this will facilitate the labeling process.


The International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC) has recently called on the WTO to clarify its rules on biofuels. It called for a resolution of the customs classifications problems surrounding these fuels so that trade could flourish in an organized manner. More specifically it argued that uncertainty over the biofuels customs classification, and the range of governmental measures to protect domestic biofuel production, including tariffs and subsidies, risked stunting growth in trade even as the global demand for biofuels was rising. For the IPCÐas well as for numerous actors on the biofuels landscapeÐan examination of how WTO rules apply to these fuels has clearly become timely.2 This article seeks to draw attention to the multiple policy objectives that are driving governments to promote biofuels, and to how ``trade policy'' is largely being put to the service of the specific goals to which governments are attaching priority. It argues that a coherent vision at the international level of the role that biofuels should play in energy, economic and environmental policy has yet to emerge, but that despite this situation it is key that this sector develops on a ``level trade policy playing field'' for its long-term efficiency. Such a levelling would, in particular, unleash the full comparative advantage of tropical developing country producers of ethanol. The article highlights thatÐeven in the absence of a concerted decision by governments on how to handle these fuels at the WTOÐcertain restrictions to biofuels trade would in any event be reduced through the current Doha Round of trade negotiations. But for the Doha Round to bear full fruit, it would be important for governments not to fully shelter either biofuels, or their production feedstock, through existing ``flexibilities'' in the negotiations.


a day for two days-u44A4s should be sufficient to combat acidosis in this week, During the second week the dose should be increased to q,drachms, and this could be maintained during the third week. Only by dealing with acidosis at the very-ocommencement canwe hope to prevent the cases of alrminuria and nephritis, which are still in large enough nwnbers (11.2 per cent. in my series) to cause concern to those responsible for their care.I am, etc., -A Dewslury, May 25th. JAMES B. SAMSON, M.D.


We report a usability study of a prototype Google Maps web site - the "Nursing Home Screener" (NHS) site - intended for locating quality nursing homes. Usability testing was conducted in April of 2008 at a health-related public library computer training class for older adults. A total of ten older adults between 57-83 years of age that had little computer experience participated in the testing. Data from the interviews, surveys, and observation showed that the Google map page was puzzling to the majority of these older adults, who lacked the knowledge and skills to be effective with it. Age-related declines in vision and fine motor skills and the library setting also contributed to these participants' difficulties in using the NHS site. Based on the testing findings, we suggest a number of design and training guidelines that may help to facilitate older adults' adoption and use of Web map applications.


Early detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci is important for preventing its spread among hospitalized patients. We surveyed the ability of eight hospital laboratories in and near Monterrey, Mexico, to detect vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus spp. and found that although laboratories can reliably detect high-level vancomycin resistance, many have difficulty detecting low-level resistance.


T-lymphocytes are considered to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. The goal of this study was an objective determination of the distribution of gastrointestinal CD3+ lymphocytes in a standardized dog population as a gold standard for further investigations. Full thickness biopsies were obtained from seven different localizations from stomach to colon from six adults and four neonatal healthy Beagle dogs. The tissue was stained with an anti-CD3 antibody. The positive cells were counted in an area of 200,000 μm2 at four different sites per localization. In adult dogs, the horizontal distribution showed a maximum of CD3+ lymphocytes in the duodenum and jejunum. In the stomach, almost no positive cells were observed. The vertical distribution revealed an accumulation in the villi. The neonatal dogs showed a similar distribution pattern, but on average ten times less CD3+ lymphocytes in the analogous localizations and smaller differences between localizations.


In this paper, it is shown that the optimal damping ratio for linear second-order systems that results in minimum-time no-overshoot response to step inputs is of bang-bang type. The optimal damping ratio is zero at the outset and is switched to some maximum value at an appropriate instant of time. The switching time is shown to be a function of the maximum damping ratio and the system natural frequency. Furthermore, it is shown that the larger the maximum damping ratio is, the shorter it takes for the system to reach the desired set point. Finally, it is shown that, if the optimal damping ratio is switched as a function of the system state, then the minimum-time no-overshoot criterion is satisfied, irrespective of the magnitude of the uncertainty in the value of the system natural frequency.


This paper presents an overview of automatic methods for building domain knowledge structures (domain models) from text collections. Applications of domain models have a long history within knowledge engineering and artificial intelligence. In the last couple of decades they have surfaced noticeably as a useful tool within natural language processing, information retrieval and semantic web technology. Inspired by the ubiquitous propagation of domain model structures that are emerging in several research disciplines, we give an overview of the current research landscape and some techniques and approaches. We will also discuss trade-offs between different approaches and point to some recent trends.


A transparent and effective thin film encapsulation (TFE) based on a multilayer structure is demonstrated. Alternate films of amorphous and crystalline film forming organic materials have been investigated to create complicated diffusion pathways for oxygen and water vapour, which was reflected in their increased barrier properties. These layers are further protected by an inorganic barrier coating of magnesium fluoride (MgF2) deposited by normal and glancing angle deposition methods. A significant enhancement of more than 8 times in the lifetime of organic light emitting diodes was obtained by employing this multilayer hybrid geometry. The TFE structure can be highly useful in organic optoelectronic devices requiring easy to deposit and an effective barrier layer for enhanced lifetimes.


This paper is a survey of the structure and significance of international trade in alcoholic beverages in the contemporary world economy. It presents data on the level of trade in the main alcoholic beverages for the period since 1970. The constant-dollar value of this trade grew by a factor of 2.1 between 1975 and 1992. It represents approximately one half of the one per cent of the value of world trade in all commodities. This proportion has remained very stable over the past 20 years. International trade in beer, wine and spirits has greatly extended the range of alcoholic beverages available around the world and reduced their cost. It has played a large part in the tendency for convergence in the patterns of alcohol consumption, as countries diversify away from their dependence on locally produced beverages. Traditional spirits-drinking and beer-drinking countries have witnessed very rapid increases in the consumption of wine, while heavy wine drinking countries have seen rapid growth of the consumption of beer. While imported beverages remain relatively unimportant in total consumption of alcoholic beverages, they have played a significant role in the growth and diversification of alcohol consumption in many countries.


Is the demand for food influenced by urbanisation, and if so, in what way? This article reviews the relevant literature on this question and conducts an empirical investigation for Indonesia, asking whether the relationship between food demand and the conventional economic variables explaining demand is altered by structural changes in the degree of urbanisation. Urbanisation is associated with changes in levels of both household expenditures and preferences and it is analytically necessary to separate these two effects. Some of the effects commonly attributed to urbanisation occur among rural households whose expenditures increase but who do not move to urban areas. The empirical results for Indonesia show that urbanisation marginally reduces the expenditure share of food in aggregate, along with the responsiveness of this expenditure to changes in total expenditure. More importantly, it shifts the commodity composition of food consumption, but in ways that are more nuanced than earlier literature reveals.


: Purpose: The aim of the paper is to propose a flexible procedure to Multidimensional Scaling, allowing to calculate the input distance matrix based on slightly different set of variables for each pair of objects. Design/Methodology/Approach: The procedure starts from the classical standardization of each variable. Before the calculation of flexible distance between two objects, we eliminate the variable with the biggest absolute value in the first object, and the same we do for the second object. So, we have two variables less in the list for these two objects. If by chance the same variable is pointed for elimination by both objects, the next variable with the biggest (out of both objects) absolute standardized value should be eliminated. With this procedure, each element of distance matrix is based on the same number of variables, but some of actual variables can be different . Findings: As an example – Flexible Multidimensional Scaling is performed on the list of 17 variables describing so called smart society, for 28 European Union countries. It shows how the proposed procedure works in practice. Practical Implications: The proposed flexible procedure can be used for the analysis of any problem treated by Multidimensional Scaling. Originality/Value: Flexible Multidimensional Scaling (FMDS) is a new idea and method. It eliminates some elements of subjective choice of initial variables and seems to be more robust against outliers than classical Multidimensional Scaling (MDS).


In this paper we present results in the development of decimation-infrequency algorithms for a family of discrete sine and cosine transforms. They are closely related to the decimation-in-time algorithms developed by Yip and Rao [ 1 ]. The complexity of the algorithms was examined through the number of multiplications and additions as welI as the number of different constants required in the transforms. It was found that the decimation-in-frequency approach provides a viable alternative to other fast algorithms for the discrete sine and cosine transforms. In particular, the recursive and modular structure of the algorithms lends itself readily to possible hardware realization.


During July 2018, an expedition was carried out offshore northern Newfoundland to central Labrador to profile, track, and forecast the drift of icebergs. One of the central goals of the drift modelling work was to test potential improvements in iceberg drift forecast accuracy up to 24 hours when measured iceberg profiles are used as opposed to estimated iceberg draft and mass. During the expedition, 14 icebergs were profiled using a rapid iceberg profiling system which uses a multibeam for the underwater portion of the iceberg and a LiDAR for the freeboard. The 14 icebergs were tracked on the vessel marine radar, and their drift was forecast using a physical model which time integrates the momentum balance of the forces acting on the iceberg. The iceberg profiles were three-dimensional point clouds which provided a highly accurate representation of the iceberg dimensions and shape, and from which a volume and mass could be readily calculated. The point cloud was projected into a two-dimensional plane from 16 perspective angles and averaged into a single projection of iceberg keel and freeboard against which the currents and winds were forced in the drift model, respectively. Average results for the forecast iceberg position versus observed at 24 hours show approximately a nearly 3 km or 18% improvement when iceberg profiles are incorporated into the drift model as opposed to using estimated iceberg draft, shape, and mass. The drift model will become part of an integrated ice profiling, forecasting, and management system for oil and gas exploration and drilling operations on the Grand Banks offshore Newfoundland.


Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection which is endemic in many countries. It is a multisystem disease which may present with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations and complications. Neurobrucellosis is an uncommon complication of brucellosis. Case presentation: A 25-year-old woman with a history of lupus for 5 months referred to the emergency ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Qom due to vertigo, drop attack and a convulsion episode from the previous day. She was unable to move at initial evaluation, and her upper and lower extremities were spastic. She had blurred vision one day after admission. Based on her past history and suspecting neurological pulmonary presentations, treatment with immunosuppressive drugs was started and brain MRI was performed. According to the MRI mode and endemic area, neurobrucellosis was suspected and 2ME and Wright tests were performed. Wight test was 1.5120 while 2ME test was 1.640 which were strongly positive. So, with neurobrucellosis diagnosis, the patient was treated but unfortunately 4 days later, after respiratory apnea, she was pronounced dead. Conclusion: In endemic areas for brucellosis, neurobrucellosis should always be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of neurological and psychiatric cases that are encountered.


Crystal Growth Two main routes for the growth of crystalline species are either via molecule-by-molecule attachment to existing nuclei or via the addition of preformed metastable precursors, but do these mechanisms need to be mutually exclusive? Lupulescu and Rimer (p. 729; see the Perspective by Dandekar and Doherty) developed an in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique to study the crystallization of materials under extreme conditions of temperature (25° to 300°C) and alkalinity (up to a pH of 13). The growth of the zeolite silicalite-1 involved both the attachment of metastable precursors and of individual molecules. Silicalite-1 growth occurs via the addition of silica molecules and precursors, confirming both main theories. [Also see Perspective by Dandekar and Doherty] The growth mechanism of silicalite-1 (MFI zeolite) is juxtaposed between classical models that postulate silica molecules as primary growth units and nonclassical pathways based on the aggregation of metastable silica nanoparticle precursors. Although experimental evidence gathered over the past two decades suggests that precursor attachment is the dominant pathway, direct validation of this hypothesis and the relative roles of molecular and precursor species has remained elusive. We present an in situ study of silicalite-1 crystallization at characteristic synthesis conditions. Using time-resolved atomic force microscopy images, we observed silica precursor attachment to crystal surfaces, followed by concomitant structural rearrangement and three-dimensional growth by accretion of silica molecules. We confirm that silicalite-1 growth occurs via the addition of both silica molecules and precursors, bridging classical and nonclassical mechanisms.


In the present work, the scattering of a wave radiating inside a waveguide consisting of two coaxial cylinders the inner of which is infinite and has piecewise surface impedance, while the outer cylinder is infinitely thin, semi-infinite and perfect electrical conductor is analyzed using Wiener–Hopf technique. The problem is defined as a Wiener–Hopf equation by applying Fourier transformation to the scattered field and the boundary conditions. The scattered field inside the waveguide is expanded to series in terms of waveguide modes and the solution is obtained using the continuity conditions for the electromagnetic fields and transforming the problem into three sets of infinite algebraic equations containing three sets of infinite constants. In the numerical results section, the effects of the geometrical parameters and the impedances of the waveguide to the radiated field and the reflection coefficient is observed. Obtained results are compared to a previously solved problem.


TiN diffusion barrier layers were deposited on SiO2/Si substrate by ALD method that employed TiCl4 and NH3 as the source and reactant gases, respectively, at a temperature range between 350°C and 500°C. Properties of films, including deposition rate, resistivity, surface roughness and chemical composition, were investigated, and performance of TiN diffusion barrier layer was also verified. Deposition rate of TiN films is almost a constant (∼0.15Å/cycle), independent from the process condition, measured by ellipsometer and verified by AES. This demonstrates TiN films were grown by ALD growth mechanism. Resistivity of the films is below 125µΩ·cm when deposition temperature is above 400°C,which is very low compared to TiN film grown by other CVD methods, and it decreases with the increase of reaction temperature and TiN films thickness. AFM analysis result reveals that RMS roughness is low (∼0.636nm). Chemical composition was analyzed by AES and XPS, content of chorine in TiN films is about 0.5 at. %, and the ratio of N and Ti by atomic concentration is nearly 1:1. In order to research the performance of TiN as diffusion barrier layer, copper is sputtered on TiN films and then post-annealed in a vacuum ambient of 10−5 Pa at 400°C for 1h. AES analysis results indicate that no copper diffusion into the SiO2 for Si with Cu/TiN/SiO2 films after annealing.


We study multi-user transmission and detection schemes for a multi-access relay network (MARN) with linear constraints at all nodes. In a (J, Ja, Ra, M) MARN, J sources, each equipped with Ja antennas, communicate to one M-antenna destination through one Ra-antenna relay. A new protocol called IC-Relay-TDMA is proposed which takes two phases. During the first phase, symbols of different sources are transmitted concurrently to the relay. At the relay, interference cancellation (IC) techniques, previously proposed for systems with direct transmission, are applied to decouple the information of different sources without decoding. During the second phase, symbols of different sources are forwarded to the destination in a time division multi-access (TDMA) fashion. At the destination, the maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding is performed source-by-source. The protocol of IC-Relay-TDMA requires the number of relay antennas no less than the number of sources, i.e., Ra ≥ J. Through outage analysis, the achievable diversity gain of the proposed scheme is shown to be min {Ja (Ra - J + 1), RaM}. When M ≤ Ja(1- J-1/Ra), the proposed scheme achieves the maximum interference-free (int-free) diversity gain RaM. Since concurrent transmission is allowed during the first phase, compared to full TDMA transmission, the proposed scheme achieves the same diversity, but with a higher symbol rate.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effects for cytotoxicity of two dentifrices: a toothpaste commercially available (Crest Extra-Whitening toothpaste) and a new experimental toothpaste based on a mixture of ion-exchange resins (named NMTD) that supplies calcium, fluoride, phosphate and zinc ions.

METHODS
Cultures of mouse fibroblasts cells L929 were used in a MTT assay for in vitro cytotoxicity of the dentifrices. Cells were cultured in Eagle's minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Cultures were incubated at 37 degrees C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 and collected by tripsinization (0.05% trypsin/0.5mM EDTA). A 96-well microplate method was employed for the MTT colorimetric assay. Positive control consisted of 10 microl of phenol in 5 ml of 6% media, a dose that produces zero percent cell survival. Negative control was prepared by adding 0.5 ml of HBSS to 4.5 ml of 6% media. The plates were incubated for 24 and 48 hours at 37 degrees C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere.

RESULTS
Means and standard deviations of absorbance values for each group and percentage inhibitory dosage (%ID) for each test material were calculated. None of the dentifrices resulted in a percentage of inhibition higher than 50% and did not observe marked increases in cytotoxicity with time of incubation. The positive control gave almost zero percent cell survival, whereas the negative control gave a hundred percent cell survival. Analysis of the results indicated that test dentifrice dose had no significant effect towards the cell viability (P<0.05).


We present the experimental results of the nanometer Zn films electrical explosion in the air. The film destruction is accompanied with the stratification; the strata are formed in the transverse direction to the applied electric field. The initial strata growth can be explained by the electro-thermal instability development. The strata propagation velocity reaches 50 km/s and depends on the current. The pattern is formed during ~60 ns and each stratum's voltage settles at the constant level limited by arc discharges. We found that strata fractal dimension D=1.55±0.02 for all experiments, which means that the patterns are determined by a certain universal mechanism.


Collaboration is one of the most important topics regarding the evolution of the World Wide Web and thus also for the Web of Data. In scenarios of distributed collaboration on datasets it is necessary to provide support for multiple different versions of datasets to exist simultaneously, while also providing support for merging diverged datasets. In this paper we present an approach that uses SPARQL 1.1 in combination with the version control system Git, that creates commits for all changes applied to an RDF dataset containing multiple named graphs. Further the operations provided by Git are used to distribute the commits among collaborators and merge diverged versions of the dataset. We show the advantages of (public) Git repositories for RDF datasets and how this represents a way to collaborate on RDF data and consume it. With SPARQL 1.1 and Git in combination, users are given several opportunities to participate in the evolution of RDF data.


In the present study, the chemical composition and total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC) of eight soybean cultivars (Giza 21, Giza 22, Giza 35, Giza 111, Giza 82, Giza 83, Crawford, and Holliday) were estimated. Moreover, antioxidant activity and in vitro cytotoxic activities against HepG-2 and MCF-7 were evaluated. Giza 21, Giza 111, and Crawford cultivars recorded higher than 40% crude protein. The analysis revealed that TPC values in seed extracts ranged from 10.5 mg GAE/g extract in Giza 35 to 6.4 mg GAE/g extract in Giza 22. TFC varied from 1.20 mg QE/g extract in Giza 111 to 0.55 mg QE/g extract in Crawford. Giza 35 exhibited the highest content of genistein and daidzein and the highest free radical scavenging activity (61.833%). The results of the MTT assay demonstrated that the soybean methanolic extracts inhibited the proliferation of HepG-2 and MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Giza 35 exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity. In conclusion, Giza 35 cultivar recorded the highest TPC and TFC values and antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Therefore, this cultivar can be used as a source for the production of pharmaceutical and medicinal products rather than as a nutritional source of protein.


The stability of ecological communities depends strongly on quantitative characteristics of population interactions (type-II vs. type-III functional responses) and the distribution of body masses across species. Until now, these two aspects have almost exclusively been treated separately leaving a substantial gap in our general understanding of food webs. We analysed a large data set of arthropod feeding rates and found that all functional-response parameters depend on the body masses of predator and prey. Thus, we propose generalised functional responses which predict gradual shifts from type-II predation of small predators on equally sized prey to type-III functional-responses of large predators on small prey. Models including these generalised functional responses predict population dynamics and persistence only depending on predator and prey body masses, and we show that these predictions are strongly supported by empirical data on forest soil food webs. These results help unravelling systematic relationships between quantitative population interactions and large-scale community patterns.