Sealstones are one of the most important types of artifacts discovered
in the Aegean Bronze Age. Their practical use for recording and
administrating purposes, their association with identity, prestige and social
status, their possible religious or ritual connotations speak clearly for their
importance and value. The fact that they are deposited, among other artifacts
in tombs, accompanying their owners, demonstrate this value not only in life
but also in death. Especially in the pre-palatial period in Crete a large number
of seals have come to light, coming mostly from mixed contexts in the Mesara
and Asterousia, in south Crete.
The Minoan pre-palatial sealstones from Archanes-Phourni comprise
an important corpus of artifacts for many reasons. They come from a site in
the North of the island, in contrast to the majority of pre-palatial seals. The
excavation and recording techniques used offer the opportunity to study the
seals in their context, which is dated with relative certainty. The study of these
seals, in comparison with the published ones from the south of the island,
may offer significant information about important aspects of life in this period.
The examination of materials, shapes, motifs, style groups and consumption
patterns of seals may present us with useful insights about craft specialization
and technology, internal and external exchange, economic organization and
administration, religion and ritual, social differentiation and organization in the
pre-palatial period. The study of this multiple and complex role of sealstones
can offer us valuable information about the period before the first palaces.


Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the role of exercise or rest in patients with concussion or mild traumatic brain injury. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, PsychInfo, Scopus, Cochrane Controlled Trials Registers and Sport Discus, till March 2016 and hand search of some articles. Study selection Randomised controlled trials (RCTS) and observational studies (OBS) comparing the effect of exercise or rest in patients with concussion, on different outcomes. Participants Children and adults with concussion or mild traumatic brain injury. Intervention Exercise or Rest. Outcomes Post concussive symptoms (PCCS), balance error scoring system (BESS), immediate post concussion assessment and cognitive testing (ImPACT). Main results Our search generated 921 studies. Of these, 5 RCTs and 12 OBS met our inclusion criteria. Methodological quality of most of the studies was poor. Meta-analysis of 6 studies involving more than 556 patients showed statistical significant decrease in PCCS with exercise compared to control, Mean Difference (MD) [95% Confidence Interval (CI)], −14.6 [−17.8, −11.3], p<0.001. There was some clinical, but no statistical heterogeneity among the studies (I2=32%). Exercise did not affect BESS, neuropsychological scale and ImPACT score. There was not effect of rest on total symptoms in patients with concussion and number of patients with symptoms. Conclusion Our systematic review and meta-analysis showed clear benefits of exercise in PCCS. However, the evidence was based on poor quality studies that vary in duration, frequency and intensity of exercise. A good quality RCT needs to be conducted to evaluate a clear effect of exercise and rest in patients with concussion. Competing interests None.


Animal Behaviour Therapy is an expanding applied area that is rapidly gaining recognition as a distinct field of professional development. It refers to animals kept as companions or as working animals, in homes, zoological collections or laboratories. It relates to the prevention and resolution of behaviours that are deemed problematical. Problem behaviours can have a variety of causes and associated motivations. They may have been learned or deliberately trained. They may be related to species specific behaviours and aspects of the animal's ethology. Their prevention and resolution will always involve modification of, human behaviour. Animal Behaviour Therapy is by its nature multidisciplinary. However, the field has evolved from several backgrounds, most of whom have little academic or practical overlap. These include Ethologists and Psychologists, the former having a wealth of knowledge of species behaviour and function, the latter an in depth understanding of the role of learning, functional analysis and ABA. However, much animal behaviour therapy is undertaken by those with a purely non-theoretical animal training background. The current paper will seek to illustrate how the skills and knowledge from these different research and practical areas can be unified to produce a coherent approach to Animal Behaviour Therapy


Document Type Book Review Publication Date 12-2019 Abstract González-Santos' book begins with a poem that likens counting sperm to counting moving stars. She alludes to the significance of the book's title when she describes the portraits painted by Milanese artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo, and the power of portraits to convey the social position, psychological characteristics, personality, mood, and historical context of the person being depicted. The analogy of painting a portrait is indicative of GonzálezSantos' methods and the organization of the book. González-Santos paints through words a "repronational portrait" (Franklin and Inhorn, 2016) of Mexico's system of assisted reproduction. González-Santos began her research in 2007. In the following twelve years before the book's publication, assisted reproduction in Mexico proliferated and diversified. Likewise, in the process of conducting research for and writing A Portrait, González-Santos was herself transformed from an observer to a participant observer, and finally, to an ethnographer. Comments © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. All rights reserved. Recommended Citation Vega, Rosalynn. "WHAT'S OUT THERE (Review of A Portrait of Assisted Reproduction in Mexico: Scientific, Political, and Cultural Interactions, by Sandra P. González-Santos)." Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, vol. 9, Dec. 2019, pp. 17–19, doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2019.11.001.


Wavenumbers of high absolute value of correlation coefficient to Total Soluble Solids (TSS), pH, or Titratable Acidity (TA) were selected from reflection Fourier transform near infrared (FT -NIR) spectra of intact grape berries of the white variety Thompson Seedless. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares (PLS) regression were applied to the spectra to construct trained regression models able to predict TSS, pH, and TA. Square Pearson's correlation coefficient (R2) and the Mean Square Error (MSE) were used to evaluate the precision of prediction. TSS content was predicted with R2 score of 0.972 and MSE 0.094 using MLR and with R2 0.926 and MSE 0.223 using PLS regression. The pH prediction scores were R2 0.812 and MSE 0.002 with MLR. With PLS regression the values were R2 0.485 and MSE 0.004. TA can be predicted only from the second derivatives of the spectra. MLR produced R2 for prediction 0.745 and MSE 0.076, while the scores using PLS regression were R2 0.648 and MSE 0.114. It was concluded that variable selection could greatly improve the prediction accuracy. The appropriateness of the two regression methods depends on the structure of the spectra dataset and on the characteristics whose prediction is sought.


Abstract This paper examines the sampling characteristics of combining data collected by several low-orbiting satellites attempting to estimate the space–time average of rain rates. The several satellites can have different orbital and swath-width parameters. The satellite overpasses are allowed to make partial coverage snapshots of the grid box with each overpass. Such partial visits are considered in an approximate way, letting each intersection area fraction of the grid box by a particular satellite swath be a random variable with mean and variance parameters computed from exact orbit calculations. The derivation procedure is based upon the spectral minimum mean-square error formalism introduced by North and Nakamoto. By using a simple parametric form for the space–time spectral density, simple formulas are derived for a large number of examples, including the combination of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission with an operational sun-synchronous orbiter. The approximations and results are discussed...


Introduction There is an epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of undetermined cause (CKDu) in Central America causing the death of tens of thousands of agricultural workers. We have undertaken a community-based cohort study to identify factors associated with loss of kidney function in young adults at high risk of CKDu. The aim of this analysis was to characterise the associations between urinary findings at baseline and loss of kidney function (eGFR) over the follow-up period. Methods We analysed urine samples from 350 apparently healthy men and women (ratio 3:1) from 9 communities in northwest Nicaragua. Semi-quantitative analysis using urine test strips (Siemens Multistix10 SG Reagent Strips) was performed on stored frozen samples. Albumin and creatinine levels were quantified using bromocresol green and Jaffe methods, respectively. Metals were analysed by ICP-Mass Spectrometry. Test strip findings were compared between the group with more stable function and the group with declining eGFR. Linear regression was used to investigate the associations between urinary metal concentrations and change in eGFR. Results The majority of study participants had normal test strip results however there was an association between increased proteinuria (but without evidence of elevated albumin) in the declining group in comparison to the stable group (p=0.03). Aluminium and cadmium levels were above accepted limits compared to the general population, but no association with loss of eGFR was found. Discussion A urine strip test is unlikely to be useful in identifying those with early CKDu. The positive urine strip test for protein in the absence of albuminuria in a proportion of those with declining kidney function likely indicates the presence of other proteins of tubular origin. Our data suggest high levels of overall exposure to aluminium and cadmium but do not suggest these metals have a causal role in loss of kidney function.


Male hooded Lister rats were cross-fostered at birth (day 0) and reared in litters of eight. Within each litter, one pup was treated with each dose of lorazepam (0.25 or 1.25 mg/kg) and one was treated with the placebo vehicle. The pups received daily subcutaneous injections between postnatal days 7 and 21 inclusive. Starting on day 70 the animals were subjected to four tests of exploratory and social behavior: Open Field, Holeboard, Social Interaction and Home-Cage Aggression. The drug-treated animals showed an increase in submissive behavior, particularly when intruding into another animal's territory, but only minimal changes in their performance in the other three tests.


MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) is an autosomal recessive condition characterised by the development of multiple colon polyps and colorectal cancer (CRC). It is caused by biallelic germline mutations in the human mutY homologue (MUTYH) gene on 1p34.3. The MUTYH protein is a base excision repair glycosylase involved in the repair of oxidation of a guanine leading to 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine. MUTYH recognises an oxoG:A mismatch and excises the undamaged adenine base using a base-flipping mechanism.

Most carriers of biallelic MUTYH mutations develop between 10 and 500, predominantly adenomatous polyps and CRC, but a number of MAP patients have CRC without polyps. The lifetime CRC risk in MAP patients is between 40% and 100% in the absence of timely surveillance. The lifetime risk for duodenal cancer is approximately 4% and a modest, but significant increase in incidence has been shown for ovarian, bladder and skin cancer.

Key Concepts:

MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) is an autosomal recessive inherited polyposis and CRC syndrome.

MAP is caused by mutations in both alleles of the MUTYH gene.

One of the key functions of the MUTYH protein is prevention of mutagenesis caused by oxidative DNA damage of guanine.

Loss of MUTYH activity leads to somatic G>T transversions.

In the North West (NW) European population, two founder missense mutations, the p.G396D and p.Y179C, compromise more than 90% of mutations reported.

A somatic hotspot KRAS2 mutation in codon 12 (c.34 G>T) is present in about half of MAP-associated colon tumours.

Keywords:

MUTYH-associated polyposis;
MUTYH gene;
MAP;
colorectal cancer;
polyposis


Many doctors have dragged their heels over offering patients the treatment choices to which they are entitled, a health minister has charged.

The health minister Earl Howe told a London conference that the government would be acting to deal with the failure of the Choose and Book system to take hold, and criticised general practitioners for their reluctance to promote it.

"Many doctors take every excuse to keep appointments short and simply direct patients to the nearest secondary care provider because that is the easiest way to proceed," he told a Westminster Health Forum seminar on the future of the NHS on 15 October. "Overall the NHS is not doing enough to address the choice agenda, which is valued by a lot of patients."

Choose and Book would soon be relaunched under a new title—e-referral—and the government would be reminding patients of their rights to be referred to wherever they wanted, he added. Clinical commissioning groups would have to demonstrate that they …


Ultra High Energy (UHE) Tau neutrino may lead to a very peculiar imprint in future underground Km detectors in water and ice as well as in air: rarest secondary tau tracks and decay which may exceed the muon ones. Indeed Bremsstrahlung at high energy lead to longer tracks for heavier leptons. Radiation lenght grows nearly with the square of the lepton mass. Indeed electrons are too light and their trace in matter (liquid or rock) is negligible (tens of centimeters); muons are much better observed, while tau are too short life time and too short range to be found. However, because relativistic time expansion, UHE tau traces in matter, above 10 eV , are relativistically boosted overcoming the corresponding muon tracks, already bounded by bremsstrahlung logarithmic regime. The tau crossing for Kms in water or ice may be confused with common muon tracks; their tau decay may be misunderstood as muonic catastrophic bremsstrahlung interactions. To economize UHE tau discovery, we suggest to look the tau decay in air into the deep valleys mountains, like Canyons or deep in excavation mines where horizontal air showers induce fluorescent or Cerenkov lights. The mountain valley width screens from horizontal secondary muons. The valley height increases the solid angle view. The horizontal air Kms-size gap offer a strong discriminator to filter UHE muons against tau. Tens event a year at PeV ( W resonance peak) energies in Km excavation gap should be observable . Hunting air shower in the night toward high mountains in Canyons or in a deep excavation may be the best and cheapest way to discover UHE neutrinos , either born by electron anti neutrino scattering on electrons at PeV energies, or by direct tau neutrino possibly relic of muonic flavour oscillation even at EeV energies.


We introduce a nonradial potential term for coarse-grained (CG) molecular simulations of proteins. This term mimics the backbone dipole-dipole interactions and accounts for the needed directionality to form stable folded secondary structure elements. We show that α-helical and β-sheet peptide chains are correctly described in dynamics without the need of introducing any a priori bias potentials or ad hoc parametrizations, which limit broader applicability of CG simulations for proteins. Moreover, our model is able to catch the formation of supersecondary structural motifs, like transitions from long single α-helices to helix-coil-helix or β-hairpin assemblies. This novel scheme requires the structural information of Cα beads only; it does not introduce any additional degrees of freedom to the system and has a general formulation, which allows it to be used in synergy with various CG protocols, leading to an improved description of the structural and dynamic properties of protein assemblies and networks.


Wugu is a general term for all sorts of black magic in China, just as 'sorcery' or 'witchcraft' is understood in a Western context. Wugu sorcery is a living tradition that has been practised for more than 3,000 years and has been strictly prohibited and severely punished since ancient times. This study will examine rules and punishments laid out against sorcery crimes in traditional China from the pre-Qin (221-206 BC) period through to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), followed by a case study of relevant judicial practice. I argue that sorcery was treated primarily as a heretical or political crime in early and early medieval China, before politically motivated sorcery crimes were distinguished from non-politically motivated ones. The distinction made between them led to a sharp drop in political sorcery charges and trials in China's later dynasties but did not do much to prevent miscarriage of justice from occurring from time to time, mainly due to wide judicial discretion, lack of specific legal penalties, and the absence of effective means of gathering and verifying evidence.


Flow control is an area of research of particular interest within automotive and aerospace industries since methods used to affect the fluid flow around vehicles can reduce drag and therefore lower their fuel consumption. One of these methods, which has generated a lot of interest in later years, is called active flow control and uses different types of actuators to impact the surrounding flow. In this thesis a model of a piezoelectric actuator for active flow control has been developed using Lumped Element Modelling and equivalent circuits. This approach, together with the chosen software for implementation, Simulink, provides models which are easy to simulate and evaluate. The actuator model has been validated using a novel methodology with submodels with the purpose of reducing computational costs. The actuator is therefore divided into two sub-models, one for structural and one for fluid dynamics, which are validated separately. This enables the use of simple yet accurate FEM and CFD models instead of time consuming FSI software which the complete model requires. The three implemented models have been validated using cases presented in previous studies and data from CFD-simulations. The results show that the decoupled models can be validated separately and its results can be integrated into the complete model, although further tests with a real actuator is needed. In addition to the modelling, a parameter study of the actuator has been performed in order to prepare for prototype design.


Human motor control systems orchestrate complex scale-invariant patterns of activity over a wide range of time scales (minutes to hours). The neural mechanisms underlying scale-invariance are unknown in humans. In rats, the master circadian pacemaker [suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)] is crucially involved in scale-invariant activity fluctuations over multiple time scales from minutes to 24 h. Aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with progressive dysfunction of the SCN. Thus, if the SCN is responsible for the scale-invariant activity fluctuations in humans, we predict disturbances of scale-invariant activity fluctuations in elderly humans and even more pronounced disturbances in elderly humans with AD. To test these hypotheses, we studied spontaneous daytime activity patterns in 13 young adults (mean ± SD: 25.5 ± 6.1 y); 13 elderly people with early-stage AD (68.5 ± 6.1 y) matched with 13 elderly controls (68.6 ± 6.1 y); and 14 very old people with late-stage AD (83.9 ± 6.7 y) matched with 12 very old controls (80.8 ± 8.6 y). In young adults, activity exhibited robust scale-invariant correlations across all tested time scales (minutes to 8 h). The scale-invariant correlations at 1.5–8 h declined with age (P = 0.01) and were significantly reduced in the elderly (P = 0.04) and very old controls (P = 0.02). Remarkably, an age-independent AD effect further reduced the scale-invariant correlations at 1.5–8 h (P = 0.04), leading to the greatest reduction of the scale-invariant correlations in very old people with late-stage AD—resembling closely the loss of correlations at large time scales in SCN-lesioned animals. Thus, aging and AD significantly attenuate the scale invariance of activity fluctuations over multiple time scales. This attenuation may reflect functional changes of the SCN.


This thesis considers the dialectic of innocence and experience in the fiction of A.L. Barker (1918-2002). It is about her preoccupation with the relation between these states, which I argue is best understood through the figure of the child. Alluding to and critiquing Romantic, Victorian, psychoanalytic and modernist narratives of childhood and registering their influence on ideas about the child in mid-twentieth-century culture, Barker's fiction troubles dominant assumptions about what different identities of age entail, meaning that her oeuvre should be read as a 'genealogy' of age. I argue that the central question of Barker's work is if, and how, the child can be written. She wrestles with this question for over thirty years, writing and rewriting the child figure in a number of alternative, innovative forms: the short story, the 'articulated novel' and the retropulsive text. In each case she is preoccupied with the ways in which the child mirrors or intertwines with other categories of age that are constructed in opposition to adult identity.
The thesis recognises the significance of the child figure in mid-twentieth-century literature and highlights age as a crucial (though under-used) critical concept for reading modernist and after-modernist texts. In this way it contributes to recent literary debates concerning childhood and modernism and also takes part in discussions of age in Childhood Studies and in the newly-emerging field of Age Studies, which recognises age to be an attribute of identity as significant as gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and so on. The thesis makes a distinct contribution to literary studies by providing the first introduction to Barker's work and writing life, based not only on in-depth analyses of her published texts but also on extensive archival research undertaken at the A.L. Barker archive at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center.


Recent progress in p-GaN trench-filling epitaxy has shown promise for the demonstration of GaN superjunction (SJ) devices. However, the presence of n-type interface charges at the regrowth interfaces has been widely observed. These interface charges pose great challenges to the design and performance evaluation of SJ devices. This work presents an analytical model for SJ devices with interface charges for the first time. In our model, two approaches are proposed to compensate interface charges, by the modulation of the SJ doping or the SJ geometry. Based on our model, an analytical study is conducted for GaN SJ transistors, revealing the design windows and optimal values of doping concentration and pillar width as a function of interface charge density. Finally, TCAD simulation is performed for vertical GaN SJ transistors, which validated our analytical model. Our results show that, with optimal designs, interface charges would only induce small degradation in the performance of GaN SJ devices. However, with the increased interface charge density, the design windows for pillar width and doping concentration become increasingly narrow and the upper limit in the pillar width window reduces quickly. When the interface charge density exceeds $\sim 3\times 10^{12}$ cm−2, the design window of pillar width completely falls into the sub-micron range, indicating significant difficulties in fabrication. Vertical GaN SJ transistors with interface charges retain great advantages over conventional GaN power transistors, but have narrower design windows and require different design rules compared to ideal GaN SJ devices.


Purpose: Mosques play a vital role in strengthening Islamic values among community members through programs and activities. An appropriate amount of funding is required to carry out such activities. This paper focuses on the ability of appropriate accounting practices in ensuring increased donations that will enable mosques to practice the Maslahah principles of Maqasid, i.e. ensuring public interest.
Methodology: This paper proposed a conceptual model to analyse the impact of accounting practices on donations by stewardship and resource-based theory. The sample of 287 respondents consists of key personnel of Tabung Masjid in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the validity of the proposed model.
Findings: The main findings of this paper show that governance mechanisms influence reporting and individual donations. Reporting practices do not have a mediating effect, but indirectly affect the relationships between governance mechanisms and individual donations in Tabung Masjids. A negative association between governance mechanisms and donations indicates that higher level of internal auditing reduces public trust in mosques which results in decreased donations. Transparent reporting practices, on the other hand, have a positive influence on donations.
Research Limitations: This study has focused only on one aspect of governance mechanism (auditing), but several other internal governance mechanisms could provide better estimates.
Practical Implications: The results indicate the significance of external auditing and reporting that may increase individual donations in mosques. Thus, from a policy perspective, bodies that regulate mosques in Malaysia should consider implementing appropriate governance and disclosure mechanisms in order to increase the ability of mosques in serving public interests.
Originality: To date, this is the first research that has been conducted to analyse the impact of governance mechanisms on reporting and donations in the context of mosques in Malaysia. The study also validates the applicability of stewardship theory in studying Islamic Religious Charitable Institutions.


The fatigue characteristic of triple spot welded SPCC plates with the variation of the thickness and the geometry under tensile-shear loading is studied by finite element analysis (FEA) and the obtained data is compared with experimental data. Using 3-D solid element model and 3-D beam-shell model, the maximum equivalent stress and the beam deformation angle (BDA) for various thickness and geometry is studied. The linear relation between crack opening angle (COA) from experiment and the BDA from FEA for beam-shell model is represented, and the empirical prediction of fatigue lifetime is proposed using the relation between COA and BDA.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence of familial occurrence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to evaluate the differences among groups of patients with and without familial history.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Complete information about sex, age of onset of inflammatory bowel disease, initial location, extracolonic manifestations and perianal disease (in Crohn's disease) was obtained from 187 patients, 99 with Crohn's disease, and 88 with ulcerative colitis.

RESULTS
In 9 patients (9%) with Crohn's disease and 11 (12.5%) with ulcerative colitis, at least one first-degree relative also had inflammatory bowel disease. Three relatives of patients with Crohn's disease had ulcerative colitis and no relative of patients with ulcerative colitis had Crohn's disease. As compared with the group of patients with ulcerative colitis and no familial history, patients with familial history had more frequently distal location and extra-colonic manifestations. No differences were observed among patients with Crohn's disease and familial or non familial history.

CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in relatives of patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis is increased. In ulcerative colitis, it is possible to segregate two different groups according to familial history.


In 1891, Brazil's constitution decreed that at some point in the future the capital would be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a new location towards the interior of the country. In the 1960s, the capital was moved to Brasilia. While one of the wealthiest cities in Brazil today, there were significant costs to building Brasilia. This article aims to survey the development of the new capital and the negative externalities which emerged following its development.


Irrigation increases carbon (C) input to soils via increased litter and root production.
Intensively managed crop or pastureland has potential for C gain through the use of improved grazing
regimes, fertilisation practices and irrigation management. Soil microbial diversity is important
because it is often regarded as an index of soil health. Loss of biodiversity leads to loss of ecosystem
resistance and resilience to anthropogenic as well as natural stresses. Organic C and microbial
structural diversity present in Southern Idaho soils having long term cropping histories was measured.
The sites sampled were native sagebrush vegetation (NSB); irrigated mouldboard ploughed crops
(IMP), irrigated conservation-chisel-tilled crops (ICT) and irrigated pasture systems (IP). Organic C
concentration in soils decreased in the order NSB 0-5 cm>1P 0-30 cm = ICT 0-15 cm>IMP 0-30
cm>NSB 5-15 cm = NSB 15-30 cm. Amplicon length heterogeneity (ALH) LH-PCR, a DNA profiling
method, was used to profile the eubacterial structural diversity in all soils sampled at the different
depths. LH-PCR interrogates the variable domains of the ribosomal small subunit genes (SSU rRNA),
and separates these variable domains on high-resolution genetic analysers. ALH assays are based on
the natural variation in sequence lengths of the 16S rRNA genes and are independent of restriction
enzyme recognition sites. The application of the ALH technique as a monitoring tool for microbial
ecology has been shown to enhance and extend the current understanding of the structural dynamics of
microbial communities in their specific environments.
Using the profiling data from four hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA (VI, VI +V2, V3 and V9), it
was shown that native sagebrush soil communities differed in bacterial richness (i.e. different
phylotypes) within the top 30 cm when compared to the irrigated agricultural soils. Between the
agricultural management systems (in the top 30 cm) the bacterial richness of conservation-tilled soils
was greater than irrigated mouldboard ploughed soils but less than irrigated pastures. Soil C
concentrations also correlated with eubacterial diversity indices for the four variable regions (r2 = 0.91,
0.92, 0.68, 0.70, respectively), evenness indices (r2 = 0.72, 0.68, 0.93, 0.80, respectively) and the
active bacterial biomass (r 2 = 0.75, 0.75, 0.79, 0.79 respectively). Since 1CT and IP increase C
sequestration and appear to support higher eubacterial diversity in soils compared to IMP, producers
can use these management practices on their lands to sequester organic C, improve soil microbial
diversity and enhance soil biological processes.


This study revisits the phonetics and phonology of Shanghai tone sandhi by examining the f0 contours of non-initial syllables within sandhi domains which start with different lexical tones. Results show significant f0 variation due to the initial lexical tones; the variation, however, diminishes as the number of non-initial syllables increases, resulting in near convergence of f0 values by the end of the 3 rd syllable. This suggests the existence of a low tone target for non-initial syllables, the phonetic implementation of which is weak and remarkably comparable to the neutral tone in Standard Chinese [1]. Shanghai Chinese thus suggests the possible existence of weak-strong tonal contrast, like the neutral vs. lexical tonal contrast in Standard Chinese, which manifests at a prosodic level higher than syllable.


Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of respiratory tract infection in infants and young children throughout the world. Although preterm birth has been considered for years the major risk factor for severe disease and hospitalization, recent findings indicate that prematurity is not a necessary condition, but one of the independent risk factors for severe RSV infection, together with chronic lung diseases, congenital heart disease and immunodeficiency. Furthermore, over 50% of infants hospitalized for RSV infections during the first year of life are healthy, full-term newborns, suggesting that other environmental and individual factors may be involved. Unfortunately, there is still no specific therapy against RSV infection and therefore prophylactic measures seem to be the only intervention to avoid disease complications. No safe and effective RSV vaccine is available for the prevention of serious RSV infection. Therefore, in addition to hygienic measures, the only approach is passive immunoprophylaxis with humanized monoclonal anti-RSV antibodies, such as palivizumab that have been developed for clinical use. Because of the high cost of these antibodies, a better definition of the individual risk profile for severe RSV infection and timing of administration is needed for optimal effectiveness and careful use of limited health care resources. In this article, we have reviewed the clinical and pharmacological aspects of immunoprophylaxis with monoclonal antibodies for preventing RSV infection in high-risk infants.


The paper presents a system for the multi-modal rendering of molecules. Chemists typically deal with phenomena that are not directly experienceable and usually described by huge amount of data awkward to understand directly. Software tools have been introduced to support data interpretation, without a high degree of interactivity and explorability of the data. This work goes beyond the classical visual representations of molecules and introduces some new ways of exploration and navigation of information on which inter-molecular interactions are based. Target users are researchers and teachers, as integration to their activities. Two different modalities are used: haptical and visual. The former modality consists in the addition of a haptic interface that enables users to feel the interaction forces exerted by the electric field around a molecule. The latter modality shows the features of the same electric field by allowing the user to navigate the information about the values of the field using a visual color-based rendering and adding other visual cues. Implementation details, case studies, and results on the two modalities are described. Eye-tracking, awareness tools, machine learning, coordination, expertise


Background:  Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often require long-term oral nutritional support and concomitant dietetic input, secondary to commonly associated weight loss and malnutrition (Batres, 2007). There are approximately 100 000 people in Scotland living with COPD(NHS QIS, 2009). Due to current demands on dietetic services, this retrospective case review looked to explore the number of dietetic reviews provided and the consequent change in nutritional status in a group of COPD patients.

Methods:  A retrospective case review of the 26 COPD patients known to the community dietetic department at the time of the study was carried out (12 females, 14 males). The patient's ranged in age from 44 to 73 with the mean (SD) age of 64 (7.5) years. Their reported heights were recorded and each patient had their weight measured on Tanita scales at each contact. Initial BMI and current BMI were then calculated, together with the number of dietetic reviews that had been provided. The results were then analysed using SPSS statistics software. Recorded BMI data was parametric therefore a paired sample T-Test was used.

Results:  The median number of dietetic reviews was 6 (IQR 3, 10). From this, two patient groups were formed, those receiving six or less dietetic reviews and those with over 6. The T-Test indicated a significant increase between the initial BMI and current BMI for the group receiving six or less reviews (P = <0.005). This was not significant for the group who received over six reviews.

Table 1.   Mean (SD) body mass index (BMI) according to number of dietetic reviews   BMI on referral (kg m-2) Current BMI (kg m-2) P value
Six or less dietetic reviews (n = 14) 18.1 ± 3.3 19.6 ± 3.4 ≤0.005
Over six dietetic reviews (n = 12) 18.5 ± 1.9 18.2 ± 2.3 0.424

Discussion:  This review supports previous research that dietary counseling and food fortification has a positive impact on the nutritional status of COPD patients (Weekes, 2009). It indicates that dietetic input is valuable, however, due to current demands on dietetic services, it is not beneficial to continually review this patient group long-term, once nutritional stability has been established, e.g. <5% weight loss in 3–6 months (BAPEN, 2004). Due to the clinical nature of the study, the limitations included the variable timescales for dietetic reviews.

Conclusion:  Dietetic input has a positive effect on BMI status in COPD patients however more efficient dietetic practices need to be implemented for long-term oral nutritional support patients.

References:  BAPEN (2004) Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (online) Available at http://www.bapen.org.uk/must_tool.html. [Accessed online June 2010].

Batres et al. (2007) Nutritional status in COPD. Arch Bronconeumol. 43, 283–288.

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. (2009) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Services. http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/files/COPD_STANF_MAR10.pdf [Accessed on 9 November 2010].

Weekes, C.E., Emery, P.W. & Elia, M. (2009) Dietary Counselling and Food Fortification in stable COPD:a randomised trial. Thorax 64, 326–31.


The Multi-Blade is a Boron-10-based gaseous detector introduced to face the challenge arising in neutron reflectometry at pulsed neutron sources. Neutron reflectometers are the most challenging instruments in terms of instantaneous counting rate and spatial resolution. This detector has been designed to cope with the requirements set for the reflectometers at the upcoming European Spallation Source (ESS) in Sweden. Based on previous results obtained at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France, an improved demonstrator has been built at ESS and tested at the Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC) in Hungary and at the Source Testing Facility (STF) at the Lund University in Sweden. A detailed description of the detector and the results of the tests are discussed in this manuscript.


Background Recent investigations suggest an increasing prevalence of Gram-positive and antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), probably related to changes in antibiotic prescription patterns, in particular more widespread and long-term use of antibiotic prophylaxis with quinolones. Objective The primary objective of this study was to assess potential changes in the microbiology of SBP in two patient cohorts studied at a 10-year interval. Further aims were to study prognostic factors and outcome of SBP. Methods A retrospective double-cohort study, including all ascitic cultures from patients with cirrhosis obtained 2003–2005 and 2013–2014, was conducted. Results In total 312 patients were included, 125 patients in the first and 187 patients in the second cohort. SBP was diagnosed in 132 of 840 analyzed ascitic fluid samples; 62 samples were culture positive. An increase of Gram-positive bacterial isolates was noted from 26% to 46% between cohorts (p = 0.122). The prevalence of multidrug-antibiotic–resistant pathogens increased from 25% to 32% (p = 0.350). Survival after SBP among the two cohorts was comparable. Conclusion This single-center study in the Netherlands found a modest but nonsignificant increase in the proportion of patients with SBP caused by Gram-positive bacteria and multidrug-antibiotic–resistant bacteria over a 10-year period. Our findings differ from reported data in other countries and suggest empiric antibiotic prophylaxis and treatment of SBP should be based on national and regional microbiological findings and resistance patterns.


Last year, prisoners filed nearly 27,000 civil rights actions in federal court. More than ninety percent of those actions were filed pro se. Pro se prisoners frequently use — and in many federal districts are required to use — standardized complaint forms created by the federal judiciary. These standard forms first came into use in the 1970s at the recommendation of a committee of federal judges seeking to more effectively manage prison litigation and reduce its burdens on the federal courts. Although complaint forms have been around for nearly forty years and are now used in almost every federal district, no one, until now, has recognized the extent to which these forms actually diverge from or misrepresent the content of the law.In this paper, we collect and analyze every form complaint used by the federal district courts. Our results indicate that, while form complaints can be helpful to pro se prisoners, many impose burdens that are inconsistent with governing law. First, many complaints require prisoners to plead facts that the law says they are not required to plead. Second, many complaints prohibit or discourage prisoners from pleading facts necessary to survive a motion to dismiss. Third, some complaints require plaintiffs to plead legal conclusions, using language that may confuse unsophisticated prisoners and cause them to make inadvertent but significant legal errors.These flaws can impose serious consequences on prisoners, including unwarranted dismissal of their complaints. Prisoners are already uniquely marginalized in our legal system. They should not bear added pleading burdens not faced by other litigants. To address the concerns raised in our study, we provide a model form complaint that is compliant with the law and that attempts to reduce the hurdles prisoners face to filing a factually sufficient complaint.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW: For pancreas, liver, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, no antifungal prophylaxis led to a high rate of and high morbidity from fungal infection. With the use of fluconazole as prophylaxis since the early 1990s, there have been shifts in the types of infecting fungal pathogens, documentation of resistance among fungal organisms, and changes in transplant practices. The aim of this article is to review recent clinical trials regarding antifungal chemoprophylaxis among several populations of high risk patients. RECENT FINDINGS: Itraconazole, micafungin, and posaconazole have been studied as alternatives to fluconazole prophylaxis. Itraconazole showed no dramatic improvement over fluconazole as prophylaxis during liver and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, primarily due to gastrointestinal side effects. In addition, detrimental changes to cyclophosphamide metabolism were noted for hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Micafungin was superior to fluconazole during the pre-engraftment period of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, because it was able to prevent mold infections, required less switches to empirical antifungal therapy, and functioned as well as fluconazole in preventing yeast infections. Posaconazole was compared to fluconazole during a 16-week prophylaxis period during graft-versus-host disease, but results of this study are still forthcoming. Aerosolized amphotericin products appear to be safe for lung transplant recipients. SUMMARY: Fluconazole remains the standard agent for prophylaxis against invasive fungal infections for pancreas, liver, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Micafungin is superior to fluconazole with minimal toxicity for use in the pre-engraftment period of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The optimal agent for prophylaxis later following transplant, if mold coverage is desired during prolonged immunosuppression, has not been determined.


We develop a model for pore-fluid entrapment during metamorphism of rock layers characterized by contrasting permeability. Asymmetrical vein structures are interpreted as accumulations of pore fluids trapped beneath impermeable layers. We test the model by examining the geometry and mineral assemblages of different generations of veins in layered metagabbros from the French-Italian Western Alps. From this case study, we argue for (1) the structural importance of gravity-driven pore-fluid flow within a permeable, potentially deforming rock during its exhumation (successive eclogite, blueschist and greenschist facies metamorphism in the reference metagabbros) and (2) right-side-up succession of the metamorphic sequence studied.


In a postmodern climate, one of the most tabooed concepts would seem to be stasis, in conjunction with notions of containment. As such it is not difficult to see why postmodern writers have a curious love/hate relationship with the image: insofar as the image is regarded as an example of fixity and arrested time, it becomes the mode of representation most to be avoided; yet insofar as the notion of containment pertains to disciplinary boundaries, then enlisting the image in mixed-media compositions would seem to be the best way of blurring or otherwise resisting such constraints. Of course, what also comes into play here is the status of the written word itself: does it belong on the side of the visual mode of representation, or on the side of the oral and the unfixed or fluid? Significantly, in articulating this dilemma, postmodern critics, authors, and artists have not only inadvertently pointed to what may constitute a way out of the trap, but in the process have also resurrected an old trope for expressing it. Thus in describing the double bind that affects much recent postmodern literary expression, Steve McCaffrey observes: "Classical discourse is our inheritance; lodged within the bastions of grammar, it represses all manifestations of libido within rigid vessels of content, freezing energy into representation" (94, emphasis ours). The trope, in short, is that of the "frozen words," a graphic metaphor of fixity and flux that dates back to Plutarch and has long informed vernacular, visual, and, more recently, literary notions of language's inability to freeze permanently our lived experience. Plutarch first introduced the notion of frozen words in his discussion of "hearing," where he describes a city so cold that "words were congealed as soon as spoken"; after some time, when the weather changed, the words "thawed and became audible" (Bartlett 137). The trope marks one of the first recorded examples of "graphic materiality" (McCaffery 99), of language's potential material presence; later it became a staple European conceit, quoted by Joseph Addison, where he attributed it to Mandeville's Travels, and echoing variously throughout the written texts of Castiglione (155), Rabelais, Baron Munchausen, Samuel Butler, John Donne (see Grey's annotations for Hudibras), and collections of in-group jokes, such as Captain William Hicks's Coffee-House Jests. More commonly, though, the trope is associated with a vernacular tradition of oral tales and jokes told in and about the extremes of northern weather (see Thompson; Baughman; Fowke & Carpenter). What differentiates the frozen words trope from such high art notions as G. E. Lessing's "pregnant moment" in sculpture (9) or Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment" in photography (385) or Diderot's "perfect instant" in painting (qtd. in Burgin 19), is the emphasis on orality and flow: unlike the arrested moment's focus on visual stasis, the frozen word embodies the visual, the literate, and the oral in a form where meaning is located not in the moment but in the moment's release. If words can freeze like water, then under the right conditions they can also flow like water; and, not surprisingly, the resulting rhetoric of water, word, image, and oral flow suggests a potent postmodern formula for dislocating the written word from the page and reconceptualizing the perceived stasis of the image. By reason of climate and geography, the Canadian literary and visual arts scene has been especially involved in the use of northern tropes and interarts strategies. Early modernist authors and painters, from Frederick Philip Grove to Lawren Harris, draw upon images of frozen water and the myth of the North to articulate a vision where arrested motion - physical, social, and psychological - becomes a recurrent thematic refrain. For many recent artists, however, images of northern purity and stasis no longer carry the same appeal. Postmodernists like Robert Kroetsch, Roy Kiyooka, Murray Favro, and Liz Magor, for instance, seek instead to animate both image and text (via multi-media installations and photo-graphic constructions), all the while playing off and critiquing the established modernist paradigm of the arrested moment. …


In in vitro tests with lysosomes isolated from the liver and kidneys of castrated rats of both sexes the action of testosterone and beta-estradiol in concentrations of 3.76.10(-4)M on the activity of beta-glucosidase, beta-galactosidase and acid phosphatase was investigated. Testosterone is shown to reduce the total and free activity of the membrane-bound enzymes and to increase the release from the matrix lysosomes. Estradiol proved less active than is testosteron. The renal lysosomes in vitro are more sensitive to the action of sex hormones than are hepatic lysosomes. In the interaction of testosterone and estradiol with lysosomal membranes a sex specificity was revealed.


Abstract A relative moment tensor inversion technique is used to retrieve the focal mechanisms of teleseismic earthquakes. The observed data consists of amplitude spectra of the direct P phase on vertical and the direct S phase on rotated horizontal components. The effect of propagation paths is minimized using relative amplitude spectra of close-lying earthquakes recorded by common stations. The inversion is carried out for six components of the moment tensors. The focal mechanisms are determined using a linear weighted least-squares approach (signed spectral moment). The method is applied to seven earthquakes that occurred close to the 26 December 2003 M w  6.6 Iran-Bam earthquake and were recorded at regional–teleseismic distances with good azimuthal coverage. Most focal mechanisms obtained in this study show a predominantly right-lateral strike-slip component, similar to those obtained by other independent estimates. The application of the relative moment tensor inversion using spectral amplitudes combined with polarity data proves to be flexible and effective in estimating focal mechanisms of teleseismic data and the method is suitable for routine implementation in seismic networks.


Abstract. The development of semidistributed hydrological models that reflect the dominant processes controlling streamflow spatial variability is a challenging task. This study addresses this problem by investigating the case of the Thur catchment (Switzerland), an alpine and pre–alpine catchment that, while having a moderate (1702 km2) extension, presents a large spatial variability in terms of climate, landscape, and streamflow (measured at 10 subcatchments). The methodology for model development consists of a two–stages approach. In a first stage, we use correlation and regression analysis to identify the main influencing factors on the spatial variability of streamflow signatures. Results of this analysis show that precipitation (rainfall or snow) controls signatures of seasonality and water balance, while landscape characteristics (especially geology) control signatures of hydrograph shape (e.g. baseflow index and flashiness index). In a second stage, we use the results of the previous analysis to develop a semidistributed hydrological model that is consistent with the data. Model experiments confirm that only hydrological models that account for the heterogeneity of precipitation and geology produce hydrographs that have signatures similar to the observed ones. These models provide consistent results in space–time validation, which is promising for prediction in ungauged conditions. The presented methodology can be transferred to other case studies, since the data used in this work (meteorological variables, streamflow, morphology and geology maps) is available in many regions around the globe.


The use of on-line partial discharge (PD) measurements as an indicator of stator winding insulation condition, is well known. Trending results from on-line PD measurements over time, often allows maintenance personnel to become aware of developing stator insulation problems in motors and generators, and take corrective measures before failure occurs. However, partial discharge measurements on operating rotating machines can be influenced by conditions such as humidity, temperature, terminal voltage, and load. Thus, to provide reliable data which can be trended, it is important to take readings under similar machine operating conditions. In remote plants, or on pump storage units which are frequently cycled, it can be both time consuming and costly to ensure that personnel are available to take PD readings under ideal conditions occur. This paper describes the development of an automatic partial discharge monitoring system which is permanently connected to relevant machine sensors and can be configured to collect PD data when suitable conditions are met. The operating principles of the system are described, and some results are presented from data collected to date on 30 hydrogenerators.


A unified treatment of a large class of multiterminal noiseless source coding problems including all previously studied situations is presented. A unified achievable rate region is established for this class by a coding technique based on the typical sequence criterion. This region is tight for all the previously studied situations.


An isentropic definition of a cold air mass facilitates the quantitative understanding of cold air outbreaks. Horizontal fluxes of a cold air mass below a designated potential temperature of 280 K depict two climatological cold air streams: The East Asian stream and the North American stream (Iwasaki et al., 2014). At the downstream regions of the two streams, the northwestern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the cold air mass is lost due to diabatic heating from ocean surfaces. However, the detailed processes of cold air mass losses have not been studied yet. From a direct estimation of the diabatic change rates of the cold air mass and their breakdowns into individual processes, this study clarifies which physical processes contribute to the losses of the cold air mass. Temperature change rates in JRA-55 reanalysis dataset are used to estimate the diabatic change rates of the cold air mass. The cold air mass genesis/loss rates are divided into four physical processes. The four processes are long wave radiation, short wave radiation, vertical diffusion, and moist processes. We reveal that the vertical diffusion process forms the zonally elongated sharp loss regions of the cold air mass over the northwestern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans for the climatological mean state. Over these regions, the loss rates of the cold air mass in winter negatively correlate with surface heat fluxes, which implies the linkage between the diabatic losses of the cold air mass and the formation of the subtropical mode water. At the conference, interannual variability of the cold air mass loss rates will be discussed. ACG34-07 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2018


OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this study was to identify the microorganisms that cause chronic osteomyelitis in a developing world clinical setting and to characterise the antibiotic sensitivity profile of these pathogens. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether the causative organisms vary in relation to physiological status of the host, the HIV status of the patient or the cause of the infection (post-traumatic, post-operative and haematogenous.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of consecutive adult patients treated curatively for chronic osteomyelitis of long bones, over a two-year period. Patient charts were reviewed and data extracted in respect of patient demographics, the cause of infection, physiological status of the host in accordance with the Cierny and Mader classification, HIV status, surgical treatment strategy and causative organism.
RESULTS: A total of 108 organisms were identified in the 60 patients included in the study. Multiple organism were cultures in 45% of patients, a single Gram-positive organism in 22% and a single Gram-negative organism in 26% of patients. In four cases (7%) no causative organism was cultured. The most prevalent organisms were Enterobacteriaceae (34%), Staphylococcus spp. (29%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11%), and Enterococcus spp. (9%). Many isolates were found to be resistant to commonly used empirical anti-microbial agents. Seventy per cent of Enterobacteriaceae spp. were resistant to either cefuroxime and/or ampicillin-clavulanic acid. Seventy-seven per cent of Staphylococcus aureus isolates were susceptible to cloxacillin. More than 50% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were resistant to meropenem, imipenem, piperacillin-tazobactam or cefepime. There was a significant association between the aetiology of the infection and the microorganisms involved (p-value < 0.01). The bacterial pathogen profile was, however, not associated with the physiological status of the host (p=0.22) or the HIV status of the patient.
CONCLUSION: While the majority of haematogenous chronic osteomyelitis still involved a solitary Gram-positive organism, the incidence of Gram-negative infections was found to be higher than previously reported. Contiguous chronic osteomyelitis was mostly polymicrobial in nature and solitary infections involving a Gram-negative organism was most common in the post-traumatic group. The bacterial pathogen did not vary in relation to the HIV status of the patient or the physiological status of the host.


The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the goals and broad outcomes of the SAPIENS project. SAPIENS was set up to provide electronic versions of current Scottish cultural periodicals. The project's approach was to offer assistance to smaller Scottish publishers to create online serial publications by providing server space, technical support, a high‐profile gateway and various value‐added services, thus, heightening Scotland's cultural presence in the global information environment. This not only increases the visibility of Scottish knowledge and research, but accessibility of learning resources and scholarly work on Scottish culture can be widened, perpetuating the study of Scotland's cultural heritage. The project has shown that electronic publishing is not cost‐free and that a subscription model is necessary to sustain such a service.


The issue arises as to how can the market jurisdiction tax digital business models, in particular, highly digitalized businesses from an international direct tax perspective? It has been argued that creating a new nexus by introducing a digital permanent establishment (PE) or a significant economic presence test seems to be an ideal long-term solution. However, does that solution really resolve the issue or simply create tax uncertainty for businesses? First, by referring to the work on BEPS Action 7, the authors argue that not all states like to amend the PE definition. Moreover, for states that adopted the amendments to counter artificial avoidance of the PE status, the authors argue that the profits attributable to the PE will be restricted to the limited functions performed by the PE or, when the PE does not perform any functions, the profits attributable will be negligible. This is illustrated by specific references to online retailers that operate through local warehouses, as well as online advertisers that operate through related local marketing intermediaries. The analysis is based on the premise that the market jurisdiction follows the authorized OECD approach and considers that the concept of 'significant people functions' relevant to risk assumption for the purpose of Article 7 of the OECD Model is similar to the concept of 'control over risk' relevant to risk and return allocation for the purpose of Article 9. Conversely, if the concept of 'significant people functions' includes day-to-day risk mitigation functions, it could be argued that the risks associated with these functions should be allocated to the PE even though they are performed at the level of the head office and consequently, the PE would be entitled to additional income. Thus, the tax outcome would depend on how one interprets the concept of 'significant people functions'. On the other hand, alternate approaches (such as formulary approaches) can be used if the market jurisdiction does not adopt the authorized OECD approach. Therefore, tax uncertainty does exist, as attribution of profits under the current framework is unclear and lacks uniformity. Second, the authors argue that prior to introducing a new nexus in the form of a digital PE or a significant economic presence, the approach to profit attribution needs to be investigated. To resolve the attribution issue for the new digital nexus, both academics and the OECD have proposed several solutions, such as modifying the existing attribution framework, relying on deemed profit methods or formulary apportionment. Undoubtedly, these solutions will require a significant departure from existing attribution standards, which themselves are unsettled. Consequently, developing special attribution rules for digitalized businesses only would breach the principle of equality. Moreover, tax uncertainty can arise if the new attribution framework for the digital nexus is not accepted in a clear and uniform manner. Overall, the authors are of the opinion that traditional businesses and digitalized businesses should be treated equally. As a result , unless and until new nexus rules and new attribution rules are developed and applied for 'all enterprises', a digital PE or a significant economic presence PE targeted at digitalized businesses should not be pursued. Nevertheless, if States wish to tax highly digitalized businesses, the authors assert a 'shared taxing rights' mechanism, in other words, a new distributive rule that could be built into tax treaties to tax specified digital activities or services that operate on a remote basis. In a subsequent article, the authors will undertake a detailed analysis of the solution.


A two-dimensional flow model, incorporating mass transport, has been developed to simulate flow in a microchannel bioreactor with a porous wall. A two-domain method was implemented which was based on finite volume method. For the porous-fluid interface, a stress jump condition was used with continuity of normal stress; and the mass interfacial conditions were continuities of mass and mass flux. Two parameters are defined to characterize the mass transports in the fluid and porous regions. The porous Damkohler number is the ratio of consumption to diffusion of the substrates in the porous medium. The fluid Damkohler number is the ratio of substrate consumption in the porous medium to substrate convection in the fluid region. The concentration results are found to be well correlated by the use of a reaction-convection distance parameter which incorporates the effects of axial distance, substrate consumption and convection.


Based on structural analysis and lithostratigraphic data, as well as geological mapping, the Paleogene part of the Thrace Basin (THB) in NE Greece (including the Paleogene deposits of the Axios Basin, AXB) was compared with the Mesohellenic Trough (MHT) in NW Greece. Both basins are characterized by a thick sedimentary sequence of molassic-type strata (3-5 km thickness) of Tertiary age, overlain unconformably by Miocene-Pliocene and Quaternary deposits. Molassic sedimentation started almost simultaneously in both areas during the Mid-Late Eocene but it finished in different time, in the Mid-Late Miocene for the MHT and the Late Oligocene for the THB, respectively. Sedimentation in THB was also linked with an important calc- alkaline and locally shoshonitic, acid to andesitic magmatism of Eocene- Oligocene age. We interpreted the MHT as a polyhistory strike-slip and piggy- back basin, above the westwardemplacing Neotethyan ophiolites and Pelagonian units on the cold Hellenic accretionary prism. In contrast to the MHT, the studied portion of the THB evolved as a Paleogene supra- detachment basin above the strongly extended during the Eocene-Oligocene Rhodope metamorphic province. The syn-depositional magmatic products, linked possibly with subduction processes in Pindos or Axios ocean(s). In any case, MHT and THB are related to inferred oblique convergence of the Apulia plate and the internal Hellenic units.


Mononuclear cells, obtained from the spleens and lungs of influenza virus-seropositive C57BL/6 mice at 2 to 4 days after re-infection with homologous virus (strain A/Bangkok/1/79), produced a low m.w. factor in vitro that prevents the biologic expression, but not production, of the lymphokine, leukocyte migration inhibition factor (LIF). The low m.w. factor inhibited LIF activity without destroying the LIF molecule inasmuch as simple dialysis restored lymphokine activity to culture supernatants. Production of the low m.w. factor was observed from 2 to 4 days after re-infection, at which time the delayed-type hypersensitivity response to viral Ag was suppressed. In contrast, LIF was produced by splenocytes and lung mononuclear cells obtained at all times tested after re-infection (from 2 to 30 days). Production of the low m.w. factor required re-infection of influenza A virus-seropositive mice with type A virus; re-infection with influenza B virus failed to induce production. Ag specificity was also required in vitro for splenocytes to produce the factor; cells from type A virus-re-infected mice required type A Ag stimulation. Cell depletion studies with mAb plus C revealed that macrophages and T cells along with Ag stimulation were required for factor production by spleen cells. However, mononuclear cells obtained within 4 days from the lungs of re-infected mice did not require in vitro Ag stimulation for production of the low m.w. factor, and factor production was dependent upon the presence of CD4+ (L3T4) cells in the culture. Fractionation of culture supernatants over a Sephadex G-50 column indicated that the factor had a molecular mass of 2 to 3 kDa, and by FPLC chromatofocusing over a Mono P column, the factor eluted at a pH of approximately 8.2. Thus, re-exposure of influenza virus-seropositive mice to homologous virus resulted in the production of a low m.w. factor that prevented the biologic expression of LIF, but not its production. Lymphokines are an important component of the delayed-type hypersensitivity response; the presence of mononuclear cells secreting a low m.w. factor and LIF concomitantly at the site of virus replication (lungs) and the capacity of the factor to block the biologic expression of LIF in vitro suggest that the factor may have a role in the regulation of a delayed-type hypersensitivity response in vivo during re-infection.


Nonpoint source pollution, especially agriculture nonpoint source pollution is the major reason resulting in eutrophication in many receiving water bodies. At first, agriculture nonpoint source pollution and the harm pollutants bring is analyzed. Then around the questions about how the nonpoint source pollutants export from the soil and how much pollutant import into the receiving water, my study provide an overview of the progress of research on pollution forming mechanism, pollutants leaching from soil and pollutants migrating with streamflow into water body, and briefly summarizes the history of nonpoint source load estimation include model developing and application, and introduce the SWAT model which will be applied in my study. At last, I look forward to some important research direction in pollution mechanism and load estimation.


Grade 3B follicular lymphoma (G3B FL) is rare, accounting for only 5–10% of FLs. Not only has it been routinely excluded from clinical trials, but data published on diagnosis, outcomes, choice of therapies and role of imaging are conflicting. With the advent of increasingly diverse treatment options for low‐grade (G1–3A) FL, and the molecular subcategorisation of high‐grade B‐cell lymphomas, characterisation and treatment of G3B FL is ever more important as extrapolation of data becomes more difficult. New data have emerged exploring unique genetic characteristics, specific features on positron emission tomography imaging, choice of therapy, and outcomes of G3B FL in the current era. The present review will summarise and appraise these new data, and offer recommendations based on current evidence.


Technological development especially in the field of electrical/electronics posses a great challenge for electrical trade artisans with obsolete skills. The need to enhance the relevance of these artisans necessitated this study to determine theoretical knowledge competencies they require for domestic and industrial electrical installations in Enugu State. One research question guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Survey research design was adopted and a population of 677 (542 electrical trade artisans and 135 supervisors) was studied without sampling.  The instrument for data collection was a 5-point rating scale questionnaire with 12 items which was validated by three experts. two in the field of technical education and one in educational measurement and evaluation. The instrument was subjected to reliability testing to determine its internal consistency, using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a coefficient of 0.81.  Data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research question and determine the homogeneity or otherwise of the respondents' means, while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. Findings of the study showed that the artisans highly require all 12 theoretical knowledge competencies listed on the instrument to be effective and efficient in their vocation. The respondents did not differ significantly in their mean ratings as a result of status and experience. Based on the findings it was concluded that electrical/electronics trade artisans need retraining to acquire theoretical knowledge competencies in order to overcome the challenges in domestic and industrial electrical installations posed by technological development. The researchers, therefore, recommended that curriculum planners should widen the contents for training and retraining of electrical trade artisans to incorporate relevant theoretical knowledge competencies in their trade areas and that government at all levels should encourage artisans in the public and private sectors to upgrade themselves by undertaking in-service training to improve their socio-economic status.

 Key words: Theoretical knowledge, competencies, trade artisans, electrical installations.


Decision Support System (DSS) are interactive software systems that are built to assist the management of an organization in the decision making process when faced with nonroutine problems in a specific application domain. Non-functional requirements (NFRs) for a DSS deal with the desirable qualities and restrictions that the DSS functionalities must satisfy. Unlike the functional requirements, which are tangible functionalities provided by the DSS, NFRs are often hidden and transparent to DSS users but affect the quality of the provided functionalities. NFRs are often overlooked or added later to the system in an ad hoc manner, leading to a poor overall quality of the system. In this paper, we discuss the development of NFRs as part of the requirements engineering phase of the system development life cycle of DSSs. To help eliciting NFRs, we provide a comprehensive taxonomy of NFRs for DSSs. Keywords—Decision support system, Development, Elicitation, Non-functional requirements, Taxonomy


This report is one of a series of reports documenting the methods and findings of a multi-year, multi-disciplinary project coordinated by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) and funded by the California Earthquake Authority (CEA). The overall project is titled "Quantifying the Performance of Retrofit of Cripple Walls and Sill Anchorage in Single-Family Wood-Frame Buildings," henceforth referred to as the "PEER-CEA Project." The overall objective of the PEER–CEA project is to provide scientifically based information (e.g., testing, analysis, and resulting loss models) that measure and assess the effectiveness of seismic retrofit to reduce the risk of damage and associated losses (repair costs) of wood-frame houses with cripple wall and sill anchorage deficiencies as well as retrofitted conditions that address those deficiencies. Tasks that support and inform the loss-modeling effort are: (1) collecting and summarizing existing information and results of previous research on the performance of wood-frame houses; (2) identifying construction features to characterize alternative variants of wood-frame houses; (3) characterizing earthquake hazard and ground motions at representative sites in California; (4) developing cyclic loading protocols and conducting laboratory tests of cripple wall panels, wood-frame wall subassemblies, and sill anchorages to measure and document their response (strength and stiffness) under cyclic loading; and (5) the computer modeling, simulations, and the development of loss models as informed by a workshop with claims adjustors. This report is a product of Working Group 7: Reporting and is a summary of the PEER–CEA Project work performed by Working Groups 1–6. This report does not present new information apart from the rest of the project, and its purpose is to serve as a reference for researchers and catastrophe modelers wishing to understand the objectives and key findings of the project. The key overall findings of the PEER–CEA Project are summarized in Chapters 8 and 10, which describe the efforts of the WG5 and WG6 Working Groups. The reader is referred to the individual reports prepared by the Working Groups for comprehensive information on the tasks, methodologies, and results of each.


Using both the fermionic-like and the bosonic-like properties of the Pauli spin operators σ+, σ−, and σz we discuss the derivation of Bose description of the Pauli spin operators originally proposed by Shigefumi Naka, and deduce another new bosonic representation of Pauli operators. The related coherent states, which are nonlinear coherent state and coherent spin states for two spins, respectively, are constructed.


This paper takes its starting point from a research project studying Swedish tech-entrepreneurs, living and working in Europe and in the US. Sweden has in recent years been playing a relevant role in the internet/tech-field with successful companies such as for example Skype and Spotify. The paper sets out to investigate San Francisco, as both an actual and an imagined place. Migrating to San Francisco (and/or Silicon Valley) is for the internet/tech-community primarily associated with opportunities for success - and it is for many entrepreneurs in the field regarded as the ultimate location to live and work. How is San Francisco constructed as a mythical, imagined place that holds relevance for the tech scene? And how is this image mediated in different channels such as for example social and traditional media? The social ideal of making a difference in a global context can be regarded as an important value for the Internet/tech community but the utopian image of San Francisco as the most important global tech hub is at the same time challenged by the city's social problems such as poverty and segregation. How do the skilled migrants of the transnational network that is the tech community experience this conflict? Including perspectives from both residents and prospective residents of San Francisco/Silicon Valley, this paper explores envisioned migration, as well as actual everyday life and concrete experiences.


Introduction: The short duration of symptoms and multitude of non-vascular mimics make diagnosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) subjective and challenging. Physician practice may influence whether a patient receives the diagnosis of TIA. Pathophysiology is the same for TIA and ischemic stroke (IS). Therefore, the proportion of TIA versus IS diagnoses should be the same across demographic and clinical strata and theoretically should not vary between physicians. Hypothesis: The TIA-IS ratio, defined as the proportion of TIA among all TIA and IS cases, varies between medicine and neurology services and between board-certified vascular and other neurologists. Methods: TIA and IS cases were identified using primary ICD9 discharge codes at Montefiore Medical Center from January 2009 through June 2011. Each TIA diagnosis was confirmed by chart review, excluding cases with acute IS on brain imaging, duration >24 hours or a clearly non-vascular syndrome. The TIA-IS ratio was assessed based on the primary ICD9 code and again on the diagnosis by chart review for discharges from the neurology versus the medicine service and also individually for each board-certified neurologist with more than 25 IS or TIA discharges during the study period. Mantel-Hantsel chi-square was used for univariate statistical comparison between groups. Results: There were 659 cases of TIA and 1927 cases of IS by primary ICD9 discharge code, for an overall TIA-IS ratio of 25.5 %. The ratio was higher for discharges from medicine (28.6%) than neurology services (23.8%, p=0.009). The ratio was higher for 12 non-vascular neurologists (27.0%, range 17.9-44.4%, 904 cases), than 5 vascular neurologists (20.0%, range 18.7-23.0, 715 cases, p=0.001). Chart review reduced the overall TIA-IS ratio to 16.3% and the difference between medicine and neurology discharges became non-significant but non-vascular neurologists still had a higher TIA-IS ratio (20.7%) than vascular neurologists (14.4%, p=0.001). Conclusions: The TIA-IS ratio is different on medicine and neurology services and varies widely among board-certified neurologists, with vascular neurologists less likely to assign the diagnosis of TIA than other neurologists even after excluding obvious non-TIA cases. The ABCD2 score, assessing patients' symptoms and vascular risk factors, is promoted as a criterion for admission; however, these data suggest that physician training and perspective affect the diagnosis, and thus assessment of future stroke risk, as well.


Recent developments in digital scholarship point out that academic practices supported by technologies may not only be transformed through the obvious process of digitization, but also renovated through distributed knowledge networks that digital technologies enable, and the practices of openness that such networks develop. Yet, this apparent freedom for individuals to re-invent the logic of academic practice comes at a price, as it tends to clash with the conventions of a rather conservative academic world. In other words, it may still take some time until academia and the participatory web can fully identify themselves with one another as spaces of 'public intellectualism', scholarly debate and engagement. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this research explores how academic researchers engaged in digital scholarship practices perceive the effects of their activity on their professional identity. Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus is used as a theoretical construct and method to capture and understand the professional trajectories of the research participants and the significance of their digital practices on their perceived academic identity. The research suggests that academics engaged in digital practices experience a disjointed sense of identity. The findings presented in this article illustrate how experiences with and on the participatory web inform a new habitus which is at odds with a habitus that is traditionally expected in academia.


A series of oxygenated analogues of marine 3‐alkylpyridine alkaloids were synthesized, and their leishmanicidal activity was assayed. All compounds were prepared from 3‐pyridinepropanol in few steps and in good yields. The key step for the synthesis of these compounds was a classic Williamson etherification under phase‐transfer conditions. Besides toxicity in peritoneal macrophages, the compounds exhibited a significant leishmanicidal activity. Of twelve compounds tested, five showed a strong leishmanicidal activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis and L. braziliensis with IC50 below 10 μm. Compounds 11, 14, 15, and 16 showed a strong leishmanicidal activity on intracellular amastigotes (IC50 values of 2.78; 0.27; 1.03, and 1.33 μm, respectively), which is unlikely to be owing to the activation of nitric oxide production by macrophages.


We present a new method for inferring complexity properties for a class of programs in the form of flowcharts annotated with loop information. Specifically, our method can (soundly and completely) decide if computed values are polynomially bounded as a function of the input; and similarly for the running time. Such complexity properties are undecidable for a Turing-complete programming language, and a common work-around in program analysis is to settle for sound but incomplete solutions. In contrast, we consider a class of programs that is Turing-incomplete, but strong enough to include several challenges for this kind of analysis. For a related language that has well-structured syntax, similar to Meyer and Ritchie's LOOP programs, the problem has been previously proved to be decidable. The analysis relied on the compositionality of programs, hence the challenge in obtaining similar results for flowchart programs with arbitrary control-flow graphs. Our answer to the challenge is twofold: first, we propose a class of loop-annotated flowcharts, which is more general than the class of flowcharts that directly represent structured programs; secondly, we present a technique to reuse the ideas from the work on tructured programs and apply them to such flowcharts. The technique is inspired by the classic translation of non-deterministic automata to regular expressions, but we obviate the exponential cost of constructing such an expression, obtaining a polynomial-time analysis. These ideas may well be applicable to other analysis problems.


Two independent equations relating the average powers at the different frequencies in nonlinear inductors and capacitors are derived. These equations are a consequence only of the assumption of a single-valued characteristic for the nonlinear element. They are independent of the particular shape of this characteristic, of the power levels at the various frequencies, and of the external circuit in which the nonlinear reactor is connected. These general energy relations give information regarding the gain and stability of nonlinear reactor modulators and demodulators, and consequently of magnetic and dielectric amplifiers, without requirng detailed information about these devices. The utility of these equations is illustrated by discussing the gain and stability of the simplest types of nonlinear reactor modulators and demodulators and harmonic generators. This analysis for nonlinear inductors and capacitors is extended to include the effects of hysteresis in the nonlinear characteristic in the special case where the operating hysteresis loop is no more than double-valued. A similar analysis applied to nonlinear resistors yields two equations relating the reactive powers at the different frequencies, rather than the real powers as above. The interpretation of reactive power under these conditions is not clear.


The paper examines the impact of electricity availabilities proxy by electricity supply, human capital development and the role of institutional qualities on economic growth in Sub Sahara African countries using a panel data spanning from 1980 to 2016. The study utilized various dynamic panel models (dynamic ordinary least square, DOLS, PMG, DFE and FMOLS) and several panel unit roots model were adopted to check the degree of integration of the variables. Our empirical results found that electricity consumption, electricity availability and control of corruption have a positive impact on economic growth in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries. However, human capital development has a negatively significant impact on economic growth in SSA countries. A deregulated energy sector is likely to yield smaller net benefits than a regulated market due to nature of African economies due to the level of corruption in the region. We therefore suggest a policy to improving their institutions qualities and build a good political structure to utilities government expenditure on electricity supply and human capital development to ensure economic growth in SSA countries.


Activated carbon was produced by K2CO3 chemical activation of furfural production waste. The results showed that the product is essentially microporous carbon whose BET surface area and pore volume when the carbon was activated at 800°C were 2218 m2/g and 1.04 cm3/g, respectively. The potential usefulness of resultant carbons for gas storage is closely investigated. The hydrogen adsorption study showed that all the carbons exhibited a fast adsorption rate and the carbon activated at 800°C had the largest amount of adsorbed hydrogen due to its greater specific surface area and micropore volume. The hydrogen adsorption capacity of the carbon activated at 800°C can reach 1.7 wt % at 77K 1 atm and 0.48 wt % at 298K 6 MPa, respectively. The isosteric heat of adsorption with zero loading of hydrogen on carbon with the largest specific surface area can be 5 kJ/mol. The adsorption model based on Tóth equation together with Benedict‐Webb‐Rubin (BWR) equation of state is proposed for this carbon in adsorbing hydrogen under high pressure. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2010.


Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is a condition where the apnea-hypopnea index is less than 5 and respiratory-effort related arousal index is more than 10. The clinical presentation of UARS may be the same as obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS); it sometimes shows up with symptoms hardly suggestive of a sleep-disordered breathing. A 17 year-old male patient had applied to a local psychiatry clinic and complained of chronic fatigue, insomnia, behavioral and academic problems and was treated for anxiety and depression. After a period of unresponsive treatment, he was sent to a sleep center for evaluation of insomnia, which turned out to be a fragmented, unrefreshing sleep episode. Polysomnographical evaluation revealed that he had UARS without OSAS. His complaints decreased dramatically after he received CPAP treatment. This case shows that UARS should be considered in young patients with functional somatic syndromes even if the clinical presentation does not apparently imply the condition.


Not just a quality management system for the food industry as the important things, ISO 22000 which incorporate with Hazard Analysis Control Point (HACCP) and other preventive plans also need to be a apply soon to ensure food safety. In Indonesian cases, especially in meet food catering such as rendang has some problem such as variety of diseases and contamination of food products of animal origin. It can cause anxiety societies that exist throughout the world, which consequently affect the attitude of consumers. Therefore, consumers are becoming more curious information about the source of the products they consume. This quirosity become pressure from consumers to produsen. As we know many changes that occur in the production of food, in terms of both quality and safety. The objective of this study to determine food safety practice and procedures related to the food safety management system in Rendang. The data were obtained use survey method to 5 catering/restaurant at Bintaro Jakarta area. The result shows that not all producers following hygene requirement such as ingredient, meat process and stora. Keywords— ISO 2200, HACCP, meat food.


We present direct experimental evidence of the formation of a superstructure on the (111) surface of a magnetite, Fe3O4 single crystal. The superstructure, which has a periodicity of 42 A and three-fold symmetry, has been observed by means of STM and LEED. Under the correct conditions of oxygen pressure and sample anneal temperature, the superstructure is reproducibly formed throughout most of the sample surface. Clear atomic resolution within the superstructure has been achieved. The characteristics of the superstructure, including its dependency on the tunnel bias voltage and its atomic-scale periodicity, suggest that it is an electronic effect rather than a mosaic of several iron oxide phases. We explain the results in terms of the formation of giant static polarons, although we notice that other types of electron-lattice instabilities such as charge density wave may offer possible explanations. Polarons with dimensions of many interatomic distances in three-dimensional systems are unlikely to exist but the situation for two- and one-dimensional cases is predicted to be different. We suggest three possible scenarios of instability linking the electron band structure and lattice distortions in magnetite: either resulting from reallocation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ valence states between octahedral sites or, alternatively, from reallocation between octahedral and tetrahedral sites.


PURPOSE
This study evaluated whether diabetes patients with depressive symptoms are more likely than other diabetes patients to report symptoms of glucose dysregulation, and whether this relationship is mediated by the impact of depressive symptoms on patients' adherence to their diabetes self-care regimen.

METHODS
Participants were English- and Spanish-speaking adults with type 2 diabetes. Interviewers assessed participants' depressive symptoms and diabetes-related symptoms at baseline. Self-care behaviors and diabetes symptoms were measured at a 1-year follow-up. Structural equation models were used to determine whether depression affected diabetes symptoms by limiting patients' ability to adhere to self-care recommendations.

RESULTS
An initial model identified direct effects of baseline depressive symptoms on self-care and diabetes symptoms at follow-up. The relationship between self-care behaviors and physical symptoms of poor glycemic control were assessed using a second model. Results explained the relationship between depressive symptoms at baseline and diabetes symptoms at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS
Depressive symptoms impact subsequent physical symptoms of poor glucose control by influencing patients' ability to adhere to their self-care regimen. More aggressive management of depression among patients with diabetes may improve their physical health as well as their mental health.


Increased competition, downsizing, rapid growth or decline, globalisation as well as restructuring in the business world have driven more firms to outsource HR functions. Many Malaysian manufacturers consider outsourcing HR as a conduit to access expert services due to high growth and high investment in the manufacturing sector in recent years. In fact, Malaysia is regarded as a 2nd tier developing outsourcing destination, ranked consistently the 3rd most preferred outsourcing destination after India and China by AT Kearney since 2005. However, against such background, research being conducted to represent the Malaysian outsourcing context and its effectiveness from the service quality perspective is scarce. Relational conditions characterised by partnership quality and its effect on HRO effectiveness remain inadequately explored. Specifically, its conditioning influence on service quality, client satisfaction and loyalty has not been examined together. HR managers or executives who are dealing with HRO matters from 257 manufacturing firms in Malaysia are the respondents of this research. Data are analysed using PLS-SEM. The findings from the structural model for the service quality-satisfaction-loyalty link are consistent with literature, including the mediation effects. Service process quality has greater impact on client satisfaction and loyalty compared to service outcome quality. Interestingly, none of the partnership quality factors such as trust, commitment, mutual understanding and interdependence moderates the relationship between service quality and client satisfaction as hypothesized. However, these factors are consistently found to be negatively significant in moderating the relationship between client satisfaction and client loyalty. The results highlight that although achieving service outcome quality is important, service process quality has a greater impact on client satisfaction and loyalty. The findings also suggest that service providers who are prepared to build or are consciously building partnership quality with their clients are likely to experience greater client retention because by merely achieving client satisfaction is insufficient to retain a client. This research complements the scarcity in HRO literature by providing a nuanced and contextualised understanding of HRO effectiveness from service quality perspective. It contributes to the social exchange theory (SET) by potentially extending one of the SET facets to include other non-economic outcomes. It provides support to the relational exchange (RET) theoretical argument with regards to having to accept the existence of relationalism in all contracted relationships such as HRO without denying the value of formal contractual governance. This research makes several methodological contributions to the field of HRO research as it is one of the few HRO studies that has embarked on a more updated PLS-SEM modelling involving the reflective-formative model and addresses results reporting and the assessment of formative measurement models in human resource management research. Limitations of the research and future research directions are provided as well.


Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation regulates chromatin structure and transcription driving epigenetic events. In particular, Parp1 is able to directly influence DNA methylation patterns controlling transcription and activity of Dnmt1. Here, we show that ADP-ribose polymer levels and Parp1 expression are noticeably high in mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) when the bulk of DNA demethylation occurs during germline epigenetic reprogramming in the embryo. Notably, Parp1 activity is stimulated in PGCs even before its participation in the DNA damage response associated with active DNA demethylation. We demonstrate that PARP inhibition impairs both genome-wide and locus-specific DNA methylation erasure in PGCs. Moreover, we evidence that impairment of PARP activity causes a significant reduction of expression of the gene coding for Tet1 hydroxylases involved in active DNA demethylation. Taken together these results demonstrate new and adjuvant roles of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation during germline DNA demethylation and suggest its possible more general involvement in genome reprogramming.


The antiferromagnetic coupling supported by metallophilic interactions has been studied in the framework of the broken symmetry approach (BS) and multiconfigurational calculations (CASSCF). A series of heterobimetallic complexes of the form [PtCo(X)4(Y)]2 (X = tba thiobenzoate, SAc thioacetate, and Y = H2O, NO2py, py), previously reported, have been used as model systems. Magnetic coupling constants were found in good agreement with the experimental reports, and it could be concluded that axial ligands with a pure σ-donor character have a marked effect on the J value strengthening the antiferromagnetic coupling, as shown for [PtCo(SAc)4(H2O)]2 and [PtNi(SAc)4(H2O)]2. The latter complex, included for comparative purposes, also made it possible to evidence that the interaction between magnetic orbitals and low-level excitation in the Pt···Pt region is also relevant favoring the stronger antiferromagnetic coupling found in this case. A careful analysis of the energetic components involved in Pt···Pt interaction suggests that the stabilization arises from a combination of favorable orbital contributions, which allows a weak covalent Pt···Pt σ(dz2...dz2) bond. Theoretical tools evidence that the weak σ-bond found between monomeric units is responsible for a spin polarization mechanism resulting in the observed antiferromagnetic interaction. Multiconfigurational calculations finally allowed us to establish that the spin polarization mechanism involves not only the dz2 orbitals in the M-Pt···Pt-M bond direction but also the empty 6pz orbitals of Pt atoms. The inclusion of these orbitals favors a correlation-induced delocalization of magnetic orbitals and therefore a better balance among direct and kinetic exchange. The results shown in this work are relevant in the molecular design of systems supported by metallophilic interactions not only between platinum atoms but also could be extended to other cases with similar interactions.