Borrowing principles of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) we elaborate on the human-robot-interaction (HRI) analysis of both a welding robot and a masonry robot to discuss the ways in which construction work may need to reconfigure. Framing these CWA principles alongside the literature on organisational change management, we offer an approach to understanding the implications of introducing robotics into a construction project. While the implications will vary depending on the specific automation type and the specific tasks within the project organisation, the discussion identifies the areas that escalate to influence project management, and identify potential areas for future definition needed for the unique intersection of project management and automation.

The remaining parts of the paper describe the rationale for the departure points of this as an implementation framework and why utilising theory from the information systems and human-robot-interaction domains is important to distinguish the organisational implications of robotics. These organisational implications are distinct from previous technological developments within the construction industry because of their impact on changing roles at the workforce, not simply application of technology to change performance of a task.


The newly development of technology clearly shows an improvement of three-dimension (3D) data acquisition techniques. The requirements of 3D information and features have been obviously increased during past few years in many related fields. Generally, 3D visualization can provide more understanding and better analysis for making decision. The need of 3D GIS also pushed by the highly demand of 3D in geospatial related applications as well as the existing fast and accurate 3D data collection techniques. This paper focuses on the 3D data acquisition by using terrestrial laser scanning. In this study, Leica C10 terrestrial laser scanner was used to collect 3D data of the assets inside a computer laboratory. The laser scanner device is able to capture 3D point cloud data with high speed and high accuracy. A series of point clouds was produced from the laser scanner. However, more attention must be paid during the point clouds data processing, 3D modelling, and analysis of the laser scanned data. Hence, this paper will discuss about the data processing from 3D point clouds to 3D models. The processing of point cloud data divided into pre-processing (data registration and noise filter) and post-processing (3D modelling). During the process, Leica Cyclone 7.3 was used to process the point clouds and SketchUp was used to construct the 3D asset models. Afterward, the 3D asset models were exported to multipatch geometry format, which is a 3D GIS-ready format for displaying and storing 3D model in GIS environment. The final result of this study is a set of 3D asset models display in GIS-ready format since GIS can provides the best visual interpretation, planning and decision making process. This paper shows the 3D GIS data could be produced by laser scanning technology after further processing of point cloud data.


Cooling is a major component in the enormous energy consumption in data centers. Accurate evaluation of cooling inside a data center forms the backbone of all the attempts for improving cooling efficiency. Models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are typically used for accurate evaluation, but have a drawback of high computation time. This paper presents a novel thermal predictor to evaluate data center cooling in seconds. The key idea is to extract information from a single instance of CFD simulation using metrics called as influence indices to build the fast thermal predictor. Then, this predictor can evaluate the cooling for altered operation of data center with comparable accuracy in seconds without the need for repetitive CFD simulations. This paper demonstrates the accuracy of the thermal predictor by comparing with CFD simulations for a sample, but realistic data center. The fast thermal predictor then successfully passed more challenging tests in a real production data center and proved its practical utility. The results of the thermal predictor compared with measurements carried out in the production data center are also presented. This fast thermal predictor is an important milestone in the development of a method for model-based real time control of data center cooling.


Previous work from our lab has demonstrated that a combination of anti-tumor antibody and an IL-2 fusion protein that exhibits extended serum half-life elicits an immune response that can effectively control a wide variety of tumor models. We have since then combined this therapeutic regimen with a vaccine exhibiting efficient lymph node trafficking that can generate an impressive population of tumor-antigen specific CD8+ T-cells but by itself does not provide good anti-tumor efficacy. The efficacy of this combination immunotherapy is further boosted by immune checkpoint blockade, leading to a robust four-component therapy: 1) anti-tumor antigen antibody; 2) IL-2 fusion protein; 3) anti-tumor antigen vaccine; 4) anti-PD-1 antibody. Although this four-pronged approach is demonstrably effective in the syngeneic subcutaneous melanoma model B16F10, we wish to test its efficacy in a more physiological model. To this end, we have turned to a model developed by the Jacks Lab, known as the KP model: an inducible lung tumor model where lentivirus-driven integration and expression of Cre is able to activate oncogenic Kras and completely remove p53 function. Because our therapeutic regimen requires a targetable tumor-associated antigen with respect to both the antibody and vaccine, we chose to induce expression of human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in these tumors, as CEA has a well-studied structure and biology, and frequently expresses aberrantly in many forms of human adenocarcinomas. Additionally, our lab has previously engineered an antibody targeting CEA possessing picomolar affinity. Finally, to remove any endogenous immunological response against human CEA as a foreign antigen in our mouse system, we have crossed the KP model with a mouse model transgenic for human CEA, which in the literature has been described to have identical spatiotemporal expression of CEA as found in humans and should allow for central tolerance of this antigen. In the course of this work, we have successfully introduced human CEA into our lentivirus constructs and shown tumorigenesis by these constructs in the KP model coincides with expression of tumor-associated CEA, as detected by qPCR. On the therapeutic side, we have tailored the vaccine to successfully drive an anti-CEA CD8+ T-cell response. Performing preliminary therapeutic experiments in a transplant model of the KP tumor with our four-component therapy, we saw tumor control compared to untreated tumors. Upon interrogating the CD8+ T-cell response against CEA, we found 1-15% of CD8+ T-cells in the blood respond to CEA stimulation by intracellular cytokine staining. With regards to the lung tumor model, in the course of establishing the system we have also observed that the growth kinetics of tumors expressing CEA lags behind those tumors without CEA, even in the transgenic background. Preliminary immunophenotyping work by flow cytometry suggests that tumors with CEA seem to have a reduced myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) population and a higher CD8a+ dendritic cell (DC) population compared to tumors without CEA, suggesting that the former may have a less immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment that is better able to prime an anti-tumor CD8+ T-cell response. We will be planning to conduct therapeutic trials in the more physiological lung tumor KP model in the near future, as well as investigate the differences in the immune response with tumors expressing or lacking CEA. Citation Format: Eric F. Zhu, Kavya Rakhra, Naveen Mehta, Kelly D. Moynihan, Cary F. Opel, Darrell J. Irvine, K. Dane Wittrup. Characterization and combination immunotherapy treatment of an inducible autochthonous murine lung cancer model expressing human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a tumor-associated self-antigen. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B120.


The Sixth Sense is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. The Sixth Sense technology bridges the gap between the physical world and the world of data. This paper provides a simple yet analytical approach towards the sixth sense technology which was originally introduced at MIT Media Lab by Steve Mann in 1994 and 1997 (head worn gestural interface), and 1998 (neck worn version), and further developed by Pranav Mistry (also at MIT Media Lab) by the name of a gadget called "WUW" (Wear yoUr World), in 2009.


In the recent 30 years, numerous nano- and microscale systems have been developed in order to find efficient carrier systems for drugs, antigens and genes which would facilitate their transport into specific tissues, cell populations and intracellular compartments. Tubular structures with submicroscopic dimensions seem to be an interesting alternative to spherical particles (e.g. liposomes, nano- and microparticles) already used for the above purposes. The structures are expected to offer new possibilities for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Thanks to their large inner space, inner and outer surfaces and open ends, they might carry drug molecules, nucleic acids or even whole antigens and thus act as nonviral vectors for gene therapy or long-circulating vaccines. The present paper brings an overview of most important tubular materials. Carbon, peptide, lipid and template-synthesized nano- and microtubes as well as naturally occurring tubular minerals, their preparation and potential biomedical and biotechnological applications are reviewed.


The concept of refinement is one of the major issues in the field of laboratory animal science and aims at reducing the incidence and severity of painful, distressing or discomforting procedures applied to laboratory animals. In this thesis, it was argued that the term refinement should be extended beyond its original meaning: besides the aim to minimise pain and discomfort, refinement should also entail the effort of experimenters to obtain the best possible results from their animal experiments or, in other words, to acquire reliable and valid data. Laboratory animals are subjected to many procedures which are part of daily routine. The studies presented in this thesis were performed to gain a further insight into the acute physiological stress response in laboratory mice (Mus musculus) caused by such routine experimental procedures. These acute stress responses should be taken into account when collecting data, as they may well influence results. It was investigated whether (i) environmental factors, which are generally believed to have a significant influence on the outcome of experiments, influenced this acute stress response and had the potential to diminish it; and (ii) how this could be assessed by the use of physiological parameters like heart rate (HR) and body temperature (BT) as measured by radio-telemetry. The studies were designed to mimic common laboratory situations and/or to be easily applicable in laboratory settings. After a first experiment had confirmed the applicability of HR and BT as quantitative parameters of acute stress, by comparing them with the validated stress hormone corticosterone (CORT), the following series of experiments established that certain environmental factors did indeed influence this acute stress response, whereas others showed no or little effect. Individual housing, cage enrichment and the announcement of restraint followed by reward were found to have a significant impact on HR and BT after routine procedures such as restraint by hand or injections, but the experimenter performing the routine procedure, the daily handling regime, the effect of reward following restraint without a preceding cue or the presence of rats in the mouse room were not found to show a detectable influence. The results did not indicate habituation of the mice to the routine procedures, but neither long-term effects of the procedures could be found. The acute stress responses all seemed to fall within the adaptive abilities of the mice, and the routine procedures performed in this thesis are therefore not considered to cause lasting harm, and as such are no major challenge to the well-being of the mice. However, the results of the current studies have illustrated the relevance of further research to evaluate the effects of routine procedures and the impact of environmental factors. For now, it can be stated that basal values of HR, BT or CORT should not be assessed directly after the animals have been subjected to routine procedures, and a recovery period of at least one to two hours is recommended.


Introduction: Public and private talk radio stations use social media to find new forms of content exploitation that transform the value chain of their brand and allow them to develop a different business model. Objectives: To define the synergies between conventional radio broadcasting and social networks in Spanish talk radio based on the analysis of four primetime radio shows, which are the flagship programmes of their radio stations. Method: Quantitative content analysis is used to examine the roles played by talk radio broadcasters and audiences in social networks and conventional radio broadcasting. Conclusion: Despite the increasing forms of audience participation channels, this research study demonstrates an almost total lack of interaction; which demands the establishment of synergies between conventional radio broadcasting and social media as a strategy to exploit the potential of these virtual spaces.


This study examines personality characteristics as predictors of risky behavior, utilizing the widely accepted Big Five personality dimensions as indicators. The Big Five dimensions include: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Researchers utilized a 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that investigates different types of risky behavior and for our purposes we utilized: delinquency, smoking & drinking, disorderly eating, and engagement in risky sexual behavior. Previous research has shown varying relationships between personality dimensions and risky health behavior. In addition, some problem behaviors have been investigated more thoroughly than others. Utilizing anonymous questionnaires, researchers surveyed 272 college undergraduates. For each risky behavior we predicted specific outcomes on each personality dimension. Some predictions are in line with previous research whereas others aimed to clarify those dimensions marked by the most variation. Researchers found agreeableness to be correlated with most delinquent behavior. Researchers also found gender differences in extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability, as well as various health risk behaviors.


The incorporation of donor-type substituents on the allene core opens up the possibility of coordination complexes in which the metal is bonded to the donor groups, with or without interaction with the double bond system. Despite the challenges in the synthesis of such allene-containing metal complexes, their unique 3D environments and dual functionality (allene and metal) could facilitate catalysis and interaction with chemical and biological systems. Bis(pyridyl)allenes are presented here as robust ligands for novel Pd(II), Pt(IV) and Au(III) complexes. Their synthesis, characterisation and first application as catalysts of benchmark reactions for Pd, Pt and Au are presented with interesting reactivity and selectivities. The complexes have also been probed as antimicrobial and anticancer agents with promising activities, and the first studies on their unusual interaction with several DNA structures will open new avenues for research in the area of metallodrugs with new mechanisms of action.


The production of titanium nitride by direct reaction of nitrogen and titanium oxide requires unrealistic conditions such as a high nitrogen partial pressure and quite low oxygen partial pressure. In contrast, titanium nitride can be prepared experimentally by carbonitrization with commercial grade nitrogen gas. However, because carbonitrization is a gas-solid reaction, a high reaction rate is not expected. I carried out a kinetic investigation into the carbonitrization reaction to clarify the titanium nitride formation mechanism. To achieve this, I used simultaneous thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The ratio of carbonitrization to other reactions, such as the combustion of carbon, was determined using reaction enthalpies from a thermodynamic literature. Using kinetic analysis, the net carbonitrization reaction was found to comprise a series of consecutive reactions, and the order of the reaction was determined to be n = 0.1 to 0.5. That is, the reaction of titanium nitride formation is controlled by diffusion processes, as indicated by the dimension of "n," and is dependent on the previous combustion process, the combustion of carbon. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MAW201711]


The High Priority Roads Reopening and Maintenance Project of the Democratic Republic of Congo has as its development objective to re-establish lasting access between provincial capitals and districts and territories in three provinces in a way that is sustainable for people and the natural environment in the area of influence of the operation. In the context of post-conflict transition, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has designed and implemented the reopening and maintenance of the highly priority roads Project called Pro-Routes. This Project deals with a roads' network of about 9.135 km. The current project concerns the National Road NR4 (Beni – Kasindi). Realizing such works are not possible without negatively or positively affecting or impacting environmental and social area of the beneficiaries, this survey aims to identify and assess such impacts in order to recommend some measures that would allow preventing, mitigating, or if necessary compensating the negative impacts and reinforcing/improving the positive ones. About negative impacts, the most significant ones that might be attributable to the project are the following: 1) During the settlement and the work phase: Wildlife disturbance and risk of poaching in Virunga National Park; pollution of water and soil by solid and liquid waste from construction sites; risk of professional accidents during the work; risk of erosion and degradation of agricultural plot during the work; disruption of the movement of goods and persons; risk of traffic accident; pollution and noise nuisance to the crossings of villages; risks of the increase of the STI and HIV/AIDS following the mix of population and workers of the project; 2) In the operating phase: increase in the pressure on the forest formations of the targeted area of the project, particularly in the ViNP, for craft timber, firewood, charcoal; risk of exacerbation of poaching already existing in the ViNP; risk of increase in road accidents related to the improvement of its condition; risk of increase of STI/HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, etc.


In this paper, we present the evolution of adaptive resonance theory (ART) neural network architectures (classifiers) using a multiobjective optimization approach. In particular, we propose the use of a multiobjective evolutionary approach to simultaneously evolve the weights and the topology of three well-known ART architectures; fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM), ellipsoidal ARTMAP (EAM), and Gaussian ARTMAP (GAM). We refer to the resulting architectures as MO-GFAM, MO-GEAM, and MO-GGAM, and collectively as MO-GART. The major advantage of MO-GART is that it produces a number of solutions for the classification problem at hand that have different levels of merit [accuracy on unseen data (generalization) and size (number of categories created)]. MO-GART is shown to be more elegant (does not require user intervention to define the network parameters), more effective (of better accuracy and smaller size), and more efficient (faster to produce the solution networks) than other ART neural network architectures that have appeared in the literature. Furthermore, MO-GART is shown to be competitive with other popular classifiers, such as classification and regression tree (CART) and support vector machines (SVMs).


Abstract Midwestern states have invested extensively in grasslands for wildlife conservation, yet these public lands make up a minority of grassland habitat. How effective are public grasslands, relative to private lands, for conserving native songbird populations? I compare private and public lands in southern Minnesota using bird survey data from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields and public lands and assessing fragmentation in a GIS. Bird abundance and diversity were greater on CRP lands. Vegetation composition, field isolation, and field size appear to explain differences in bird counts. Land cover data show that grassland habitat on public lands is scarce and widely scattered. The CRP provides more, and here better, habitat for grassland birds. Funding partly explains this disparity. Trends in farm set-aside program rules and distribution, which can be vary greatly over time, will strongly influence the success or failure of biodiversity conservation in this region.


The changes in number of spikelets per panicle (SN) under saline conditions as affected by the application of plant growth regulators were determined. A lowland rice cultivar IR28 whose SN is reduced by salinity was grown in pots filled with the paddy soil and submerged under the three saline solutions of 50 mM, 100 mM and 150 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) and tap water during panicle development. Indole acetic acid (IAA), kinetin or gibberellin (GA3) (0.5 mM) were foliar-sprayed. Independently, plants were grown under low solar irradiance (40% to 85% of transmittance) without NaCl application. Control plants were grown with tap water and not subjected to the spray and low solar irradiance. SN decreased because of the occurrence of spikelet malformation and degeneration under saline conditions as a result of only spikelet degeneration under low solar irradiance. The degeneration of spikelets under saline conditions was suppressed by the GA3 spray, though a different type of malformation occurred, resulting in a small SN. The SN decreased in proportion to the decrease of panicle dry weight at panicle emergence with different effects of salinity, GA3 and low irradiance. The effect of the spray of IAA and kinetin was not detectable. From these results, SN decreased under saline conditions because of the occurrence of spikelet malformation as well as the degeneration, and the GA3 spray may suppress the degeneration of spikelets, suggesting that it may alleviate the adverse effect of salinity on SN.


The experimental data analysis overturns «modern scientific representation» of the atomic structure. In articles [1-3] is shown, that atomic electrons do not form stochastic orbitals «spread» in space, but «are condensed» in ring or spherical electron shells, and do not behave as independent particles, but demonstrate collective properties. Besides in atom the nonlinear nature of a microcosm becomes evident: the main quantum number of electron states, alongside with integer numbers, gets also fractional values - due to interactions on harmonic components. The weighty confirmation of microcosm nonlinearity was obtained at the analysis of a quantum Hall effect [4]. These discoveries have key value not only for physics development, but also for all natural sciences using in varying degree knowledge about substance structure. Therefore discussion of the experimental regularities showing an inconsistency of the atom theory, which almost century dominated in physics, is extremely important for acceleration of transition to new representations.


BACKGROUND
Incorporating telehealth into outpatient care delivery supports management of consumer health between clinic visits. Task-technology fit is a framework for understanding how technology helps and/or hinders a person during work processes. Evaluating the task-technology fit of video telehealth for personnel working in a pediatric outpatient clinic and providing care between clinic visits ensures the information provided matches the information needed to support work processes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The workflow of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) care coordination provided via telephone and video telehealth was described and measured using a mixed-methods workflow analysis protocol that incorporated cognitive ethnography and time-motion study. Qualitative and quantitative results were merged and analyzed within the task-technology fit framework to determine the workflow fit of video telehealth for APRN care coordination.

RESULTS
Incorporating video telehealth into APRN care coordination workflow provided visual information unavailable during telephone interactions. Despite additional tasks and interactions needed to obtain the visual information, APRN workflow efficiency, as measured by time, was not significantly changed. Analyzed within the task-technology fit framework, the increased visual information afforded by video telehealth supported the assessment and diagnostic information needs of the APRN.

CONCLUSIONS
Telehealth must provide the right information to the right clinician at the right time. Evaluating task-technology fit using a mixed-methods protocol ensured rigorous analysis of fit within work processes and identified workflows that benefit most from the technology.


Imiquimod (imidazoquinoline 5%) is a topical immune response modifier agent that inhibits angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. In addition to its stimulation of cell-mediated immunity, imiquimod's antiangiogenic activity contributes to its clinical efficacy by interfering with pathological neovascularization that promotes disease progression. The antiangiogenic mechanisms of imiquimod are due to its: 1) induction of cytokines that themselves inhibit angiogenesis (interferons, IL-10, IL-12); 2) local up-regulation of endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors (TIMP, TSP-1); 3) local down-regulation of pro-angiogenic factors (bFGF, MMP-9); and 4) promotion of endothelial cell apoptosis. This report discusses these mechanisms and the rationale for imiquimod's use as an antiangiogenic agent. Key principles of antiangiogenic therapy are presented to describe how imiquimod may be applied in a well-tolerated fashion to treat a broad range of angiogenesis-dependent dermatological conditions, including actinic keratosis (AK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), lentigo maligna, hemangiomas, Kaposi's sarcoma, pyogenic granuloma, and external genital warts.


: Hybrids lambda H lambda T80 are formed due to recombination of the phage lambda att80 and phi 80 prophage partially deleted in the region of structural genes. Genetic structure of 22 independently isolated lambda H lambda T80 hybrids was determined by the restriction method and it was shown that recombination took place in the genes A, C, D and H. The frequencies of hybrid formation diminish from 1.10(-3) to 4.10(-5) for this gene order, which suggests that the polar divergence of nucleotide sequencies in the region of structural genes exists. It was found that formation of hybrids with recombination in the region of "weak" homology (gene H) was possible only when the region of "strong" homology was present in the deleted phi 80 prophage to initiate recombination.


This is the first edition of our new section 'Cochrane Corner', in which we will discuss important Cochrane Reviews (systematic reviews) of potential interest for the readers of Heart . These reviews are often very extensive and can be difficult to read; we aim to present them in a condensed way and will also discuss the clinical implications of the results. The core information will be presented in a short PICO format (population–intervention–control treatment–outcome).

The outcomes for ST segment elevation myocardial infarctions has improved dramatically with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and an increasing number of hospitals offering this service.1 This has improved call-to-balloon times and outcomes. However, having achieved much faster and efficient reperfusion, we are now confronted with an unresolved issue, reperfusion injury and the no-/slow reflow phenomenon. The no-reflow phenomenon is defined as …


This paper explores Bitcoin intraday technical trading based on artificial neural networks for the return prediction. In particular, our deep learning method successfully discovers trading signals through a seven layered neural network structure for given input data of technical indicators, which are calculated by the past time-series data over every 15 minutes. Under feasible settings of execution costs, the numerical experiments demonstrate that our approach significantly improves the performance of a buy-and-hold strategy. Especially, our model performs well for a challenging period from December 2017 to January 2018, during which Bitcoin suffers from substantial minus returns. Furthermore, various sensitivity analysis is implemented for the change of the number of layers, activation functions, input data and output classification to confirm the robustness of our approach.


We have examined the distribution of phospholipase C-gamma 1 (PLC-gamma 1) between membrane and cytosolic fractions in several cell lines. In MDA-468 cells, which are derived from a human breast tumor, greater than one-half of the total PLC-gamma 1 is associated with the membrane fraction of the cell. Unlike the situation in A-431 cells [G. Todderud, M. I. Wahl, S. G. Ree, and G. Carpenter, Science, 248: 296-298, 1990], epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation of MDA-468 cells does not result in significantly increased PLC-gamma 1 association with membranes. Immunoblot analysis reveals low levels of phosphotyrosine in PLC-gamma 1 and EGF receptors in unstimulated MDA-468 cells and greatly increased phosphotyrosine levels in these proteins as a result of EGF stimulation of the cells. We conclude that autocrine activation of EGF receptors is not responsible for the elevated association of PLC-gamma 1 with membranes in these cells.


Abstract This study tests effects of aural and visual cues on the validity of structured interviews. We recorded simulated job interviews with 40 managers from three utility companies on videotape. Supervisors provided performance ratings. Undergraduate research participants ( N = 194) saw and heard the videotapes, heard them without the picture, or saw them without the sound and rated interviewees accordingly. Approximately 6 participants rated each interviewee in each condition of cue availability. Performance ratings and participants′ pooled ratings correlated .36 when they could hear and see the interviews, .33 when they could only hear the interviews, and .32 when they could only see the interviews. Interview ratings based on sight alone correlated .53 with interview ratings based on sound alone. One explanation is that aural cues, visual cues, and supervisory performance ratings all reflect true differences between interviewees in traits related to management effectiveness. Another is that interviewers and supervisors make the same mistakes when interpreting implications of aural cues and visual cues for management effectiveness.


Operation of the JLab IR Upgrade FEL at CW powers in excess of 10 kW requires sustained production of high electron beam powers by the driver ERL. This in turn demands attention to numerous issues and effects, including: cathode lifetime; control of beamline and RF system vacuum during high current operation; longitudinal space charge; longitudinal and transverse matching of irregular/large volume phase space distributions; halo management; management of remnant dispersive effects; resistive wall, wake-field, and RF heating of beam vacuum chambers; the beam break up instability; the impact of coherent synchrotron radiation (both on beam quality and the performance of laser optics); magnetic component stability and reproducibility; and RF stability and reproducibility. We discuss our experience with these issues and describe the modus vivendi that has evolved during prolonged high current, high power beam and laser operation.


[1] Tropical glaciology includes investigation of climate variability in poorly documented regions of large surface-atmosphere energy exchanges. This study examines the surface energy fluxes of the Bolivian Zongo Glacier (16°S, 68°W, 6000–4900 m asl) in order to identify the atmospheric variables that control melting. Measurements from 1998 to 2000 taken from two meteorological stations in the ablation area are analyzed. During the progressive development of the wet season from September to January, melting energy was high: Solar irradiance was close to its summer solstice peak, clouds were sporadic, and albedo was low. During the core of the wet season from January to April the magnitudes of the net short-wave (+) and net long-wave (−) radiation fluxes were reduced by frequent clouds and snowfalls so that melting energy was moderate. In the dry season from May to August, melting energy was small because of the energy losses essentially in long-wave radiation but also in sublimation. The turbulent sensible heat flux to the ice (+) generally offsets the energy loss in latent heat (−), except in the dry season, when sublimation prevailed because of strong wind and dry air. Solar radiation was the main source of energy, but the seasonal changes of the melting energy were driven by long-wave radiation. In particular, clouds sharply increased the emittance of the thin high-altitude atmosphere. Closely linked to clouds and humidity, the main seasonal variables of low-latitude climates, long-wave radiation is a key variable in the energy balance of tropical glaciers.


In an attempt to evaluate the current prevalence rate of penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and whether non-PPNG strains are still in existence in Ibadan, Nigeria, all isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from patients that attended our clinic between January and December 1997 were studied. Of the 155 patients that had gonococcal infections, 118 were male (76.1%) and 37 (23.9%) were female with 31 (83.8%) being the partners of infected men. Sixty-four (54.2%) of the male and 19 (51.4%) of the female were aged between 20 and29 years while 21.2% of the male and 16.2% of the female were in the age of 40 and above. The sex difference is not statistically significant (chi2=1.47,P=-0.69). The present study revealed that non-PPNG strains have reduced considerably to 5.4% from 100% in 1977. This has posed a great threat to the usefulness of penicillin and ampicillin as the drugs of choice in gonococcal therapy in Nigeria.


When a male dog is not able to ejaculate, epididymal spermatozoa can be used to artificially inseminatethe bitch. In the present study, two methods to collect epididymal sperm after castration werecompared, i.e. the float-up method and the aspiration method. With the float-up method, more spermatozoawere collected than with the aspiration method (1810±718.1 million versus 694±244.5 millionrespectively, p-value = 0.018). A trend towards a higher post-thaw motility was observed when usingthe float-up method compared to the aspiration method (52±9.4% versus 44±9.4%, p-value = 0.060).Semen samples collected with the float-up method showed more blood contamination than with theaspiration method; however, this seemed to have no effect on the quality and quantity of the semen. Itcan therefore be concluded that the float-up method is the method of choice when epididymal spermhas to be collected in dogs.


The application of abrasive technology in dentistry dates from 7000–9000 years. How does this ancient technology affect our modern society where the elderly population needs extensive dental care and ageing well and ageing productively is our first priority Many patients prefer tooth-colored, all ceramics restorations fabricated by dental CAD/CAM systems for reasons of esthetics, biocompatibility and high efficiency. In spite of the advantages of all-ceramic restorations, ceramic prostheses have not always performed as predicted or desired. Catastrophic fracture has been the most frequently reported reason for failure of all-ceramic restorations. This paper gives a brief review on abrasive technology in ceramic restorative dentistry to highlight problems to be solved by our abrasive technology community.


Two groups of neurons (motoneurons and putative interneurons), exhibiting periodic activity with the locomotory rhythm, were recorded in the pedal ganglia of the isolated nervous system of the mollusc Limacina helicina. Motoneurons periodically generated spike bursts, while interneurons generated only one prolonged (100-400 ms) action potential per cycle. Rhythmic generation persisted after blocking the spike discharges of motoneurons by means of tetrodotoxin. Rhythmic generation could be facilitated by application of serotonin.


An oriented graph ${G^{\sigma}}$ is a simple undirected graph $G$ with an orientation, which assigns to each edge of $G$ a direction so that ${G^{\sigma}}$ becomes a directed graph. $G$ is called the underlying graph of ${G^{\sigma}}$ and we denote by $S({G^{\sigma}})$ the skew-adjacency matrix of ${G^{\sigma}}$ and its spectrum $Sp({G^{\sigma}})$ is called the skew-spectrum of ${G^{\sigma}}$. In this paper, the skew spectra of two orientations of the Cartesian products are discussed, as applications, new families of oriented bipartite graphs ${G^{\sigma}}$ with $Sp({G^{\sigma}})={\bf i} Sp(G)$ are given and the orientation of a product graph with maximum skew energy is obtained.


ABSTRACT Deep reading comprehension refers to the process required to succeed at tasks defined by the Common Core State Literacy Standards, as well as to achieve proficiency on the more challenging reading tasks in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that three skill domains not frequently attended to in instruction or in theories of reading comprehension—academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning—predict outcomes on an assessment of deep reading comprehension. The Global Integrated Scenario-based Assessment (GISA; O'Reilly, Weeks, Sabatini, Halderman, & Steinberg, 2014) is designed to reflect students' abilities to evaluate texts, integrate information from an array of texts, and use textual evidence to formulate a position, all features of deep reading comprehension. We tested the role of academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning in explaining variance in end-of-year GISA scores, controlling for beginning-of-year scores and student demographics. All three predictors explained small, but significant, amounts of additional variance. We suggest that these three skill domains deserve greater attention in theories of reading comprehension and in instruction.


In this paper we provide asymptotic theory of local maximum likelihood techniques for estimating a regression model where some regressors are discrete. Our methodology and theory are particularly useful for models that give us a likelihood of the unknown functions we can use to identify and estimate the underlying model. This is the case when the conditional density of the variable of interest, given the explanatory variables, is known up to a set of unknown functions. Examples of such models include probit and logit models, truncated regression models, stochastic frontier models, etc. In developing the theory we use the Racine and Li (2004) kernels for discrete regressors. The asymptotic properties of the resulting estimator are derived and the method is illustrated in various simulated scenarios. The results indicate a great flexibility of the approach and good performances in various complex scenarios, even with moderate sample sizes.


Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Proposed mechanisms include coronary microvascular dysfunction due to immune dysregulation and systemic inflammation. First pass myocardial perfusion CMR allows quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR). In the absence of coronary artery disease (CAD), reduced MPR represents coronary microvascular dysfunction. We hypothesised MPR would be reduced in RA and that abnormalities in left ventricular (LV) deformation would be evident in RA, as LV mass has been reported to be reduced in established disease. Methods Twelve patients with newly diagnosed, treatment naïve RA and 12 healthy volunteers (HV) underwent CMR at 3.0T (Phillips Achieva TX). Both groups had no history of CAD. Dual bolus resting and stress perfusion imaging was performed (0.1mmol/kg Gadolinium DTPA) and MBF estimated for the mid ventricular slice using Fermi constrained convolution (PMI v 0.4 [Sourbron, 2009]). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) by feature tracking were calculated using bSSFP images (CVI 42, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, Calgary, Canada). Results Mean age of RA patients was 48 ± 16 and mean age of HV 47 ± 14. Of the RA patients, 4 were male and 8 female. Of the HV, 2 were male and 10 female. Mean MPR values were 1.98 ± 0.79 and 1.99 ± 0.72 (P = 0.88) for RA and HV respectively (Figure 1). Mean values for LVEF were 63 ± 4 and 62 ± 4% (P = 0.48) respectively for RA patients and HV. Mean values for GLS were −20.2 and −21 ± 0.4 (P = 0.396) for RA and HV respectively. Conclusion These findings suggest treatment naïve RA patients have no detectable abnormalities on perfusion CMR. Therefore, whilst present in established RA, coronary microvascular dysfunction may not yet have developed in early RA. No abnormalities of LV systolic function were evident and may be a later manifestation of RA. Abstract 10 Figure 1 Graphs illustrating mean values for MPR, LVEF and GLS in RA and HV


This article takes the mathematical software Maple as the auxiliary tool to study the partial differential problem of two types of multivariable functions. We can obtain the infinite series forms of any order partial derivatives of these two types of functions by using differentiation term by term theorem, and hence greatly reduce the difficulty of calculating their higher order partial derivative values. On the other hand, we propose two examples to do calculation practically. The research methods adopted in this study involved finding solutions through manual calculations and verifying our answers by using Maple.


A 26-year-old man with mycosis fungoides and dense bilateral cataracts underwent cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation. The first day postoperatively, the patient attained 20/100 visual acuity with the intraocular implant, without additional visual corrections. On seeing himself in the mirror for the first time in several months, thereby becoming aware of his distorted facial features and unsightly skin, he became transiently depressed. Simple reassurance and emotional support helped ameliorate his symptoms. Previous reports of behavioral disturbances following cataract extraction have emphasized the role of sensory deprivation in triggering aberrant behavior patterns. In this reported case, the rapid visual rehabilitation afforded by an intraocular lens implant resulted in a transiently depressed state in a patient with severe eczematous mycosis fungoides.


The Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) and Lohmann Brown (LB) layer lines have been selected for high egg production since more than 50 years and belong to the worldwide leading commercial layer lines. The objectives of the present study were to characterize the molecular processes that are different among these two layer lines using whole genome RNA expression profiles. The hens were kept in the newly developed small group housing system Eurovent German with two different group sizes. Differential expression was observed for 6,276 microarray probes (FDR adjusted P-value <0.05) among the two layer lines LSL and LB. A 2-fold or greater change in gene expression was identified on 151 probe sets. In LSL, 72 of the 151 probe sets were up- and 79 of them were down-regulated. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis accounting for biological processes evinced 18 GO-terms for the 72 probe sets with higher expression in LSL, especially those taking part in immune system processes and membrane organization. A total of 32 enriched GO-terms were determined among the 79 down-regulated probe sets of LSL. Particularly, these terms included phosphorus metabolic processes and signaling pathways. In conclusion, the phenotypic differences among the two layer lines LSL and LB are clearly reflected in their gene expression profiles of the cerebrum. These novel findings provide clues for genes involved in economically important line characteristics of commercial laying hens.


Although sepsis is known to cause functional decline, the prevalence and predictors of hospital-acquired functional decline (HAFD) in patients with sepsis are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of HAFD in patients with sepsis admitted to the ICU. This study is a single-center retrospective observational study from January 2014 to December 2019. We included all consecutive patients with sepsis who received rehabilitation in our ICU. The primary outcome was HAFD, which was defined as a decrease in at least five points of the Barthel index mobility score from prehospital to hospital discharge. We described the prevalence of HAFD and investigated the predictors of HAFD using the multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for potential confounders. Among 134 patients, 57 patients (42.5%) had HAFD. The longer time to initial ambulation and lower prehospital walking ability were associated with HAFD (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.10 and adjusted OR 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66–0.95, respectively). In conclusion, nearly half of the patients with sepsis who received rehabilitation developed HAFD. Lower functional status prior to hospitalization and the longer time to initial ambulation was associated with HAFD, indicating the potential importance of early ambulation among septic patients in the ICU.


In this paper, we propose a simplified model that explains the experimental behaviour of the single junction barrier height in varistors. The equation obtained for the barrier height variation versus voltage contains all parameters that characterize the grain boundary and has no adjustable parameters. It allows us to describe the equilibrium state for each voltage level. From this model, it is concluded that the threshold voltage and the nonlinearity coefficient for a single junction barrier are strongly related to the unoccupied traps level at zero bias, when the barrier height at zero bias and the leakage current are related to the filling traps level.


Hans Loewald's understanding of sublimation differs radically from Freud's use of this term. Whereas Freud saw sublimation as a change of aim, elevating drive-based desire to a higher level of art, for Loewald, sublimation is a process of linking two experiences of reality. I suggest that Loewald's sublimation combines ideas from his two teachers—Martin Heidegger and Sigmund Freud. Using Heidegger's terms building and dwelling, I argue that architecture is always a sublimatory product, combining a rational, functional reality of building with a phenomenological experience of inhabiting space and dwelling. I described how this concept of sublimation is useful to understanding architecture, a field that is charged to elaborate the links and boundaries between oneself and others. Buildings are interfaces between our fragile body and the powerful forces of nature, between individual solitude and the social, pulsating metropolis. It is a meditation and elaboration of self-other boundaries. I end by demonstrating how Loewald's notion of sublimation might be utilized to understand three architectural projects we designed. These projects are based on an underlying, unifying field that is then differentiated to create singular functional and social moments within the building.


[1] In earlier studies, the decadal variability of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) transport in the vicinity of Cape Farewell, Greenland, has been assessed from changes in the baroclinic velocities computed from hydrographic data and referenced to 1000 m depth. The main limitation of using such an estimate as an index for the DWBC absolute transport variability comes from the unaccounted for decadal velocity changes at the reference level (1000 m). These changes may substantially contribute to the DWBC absolute transport variability by compensating for or adding to the baroclinic transport changes. To assess this contribution to variability, we quantify the decadal velocity changes which occurred at 1000 m depth southeast of Cape Farewell since the mid-1990s. The analysis combines estimates of the baroclinic velocity changes in the water column derived from repeat hydrography at similar to 59.5 degrees N and the velocity changes at the sea surface derived from altimetry. An increase in the southward velocity at 1000 m above the DWBC between the periods of 1994-1997 and 2000-2007 is inferred. It indicates that the increase in the DWBC absolute transport was larger than the 2 Sv (1 Sv = 10(6) m(3) s(-1)) increase in its baroclinic component referenced to 1000 m. This result and the observed coherence of the DWBC absolute and baroclinic transport changes between individual observations imply that the DWBC absolute transport variability in the region is underestimated but qualitatively well represented by its baroclinic component on decadal and shorter time scales.


OBJECTIVE
To describe frequency, types, and clinical outcomes of extrapulmonary disorders (EPDs) in foals in which Rhodococcus equi infection was diagnosed, and to identify factors determined at the time of admission that differentiated foals that developed EPDs from foals with R equi infection identified only in the lungs.

DESIGN
Retrospective case series.

ANIMALS
150 foals aged 3 weeks to 6 months with a diagnosis of R equi infection.

PROCEDURES
Medical records were reviewed for information on date of admission, signalment, history, clinical signs, diagnostic testing, treatment, duration of hospitalization, invoice, and outcome. For each EPD identified, further information was collected on the identification, location, treatment, and outcome of the lesion.

RESULTS
Of 150 foals with R equi infections, 111 (74%) had at least 1 of 39 EPDs. Survival was significantly higher among foals without EPDs (32/39 [82%]) than among foals with EPDs (48/111 [43%]), but many EPDs were only recognized after death. Risk factors significantly associated with EPDs included referral status, duration of clinical signs prior to admission, leukocytosis, and neutrophilia. Foals with EPDs also had a higher heart rate and BUN concentration than foals without.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Practitioners should recognize that extrapulmonary manifestations of R equi occur with high prevalence affecting diverse organ systems, that multiple systems are generally affected when EPDs occur, and that suspicion of R equi infection should prompt evaluation and monitoring of extrapulmonary sites. Improved recognition of the presence of these disorders will help practitioners to better advise their clients in the treatment and outcome of foals with R equi infections.


The paper focuses on the situation of families after coronavirus pandemic, and it is divided in three sections. An "after", which is also a "now", because we do not even know how long it will last. We, therefore, need to discuss the discomforts, the almost certainties and the hopes, starting from a consideration: it seems that the situations families are living these days are virtually unknown to those governing us. In addition, what it possibly even worse, the latter behave using a romanticism, which seems inappropriate and out of place. The discomforts: an excess of competences no one really possess to fight an almost unknown virus; the decisions taken by the Government and the major situations of poverty – and not only the economic one – of our Country; the distance between Power and People; and distance learning, in light of the real possibilities of Italian families. The almost certainties: an increase in separations and divorces in the near future and a worsening of already compromised family dynamics. The hops: that the State, the Church, and Pedagogy as well, work more and more fruitfully in the near future towards project and stability cultures for the families and the people, from young ones to adults.


One of the important targets of dopamine D4 receptors in prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulindependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). In the present study, we investigated the effect of D4 receptor activation on subcellular localization of CaMKII. We found that activation of D4 receptors, but not D2 receptors, induced a rapid translocation of α-CaMKII from cytosol to postsynaptic sites in cultured PFC neurons. Activated CaMKII (Thr286 phospho-CaMKII) was also redistributed to postsynaptic sites after D4 receptor stimulation. The translocation was blocked by inhibiting the phospholipase C/inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor/Ca2+ signaling. Point mutation of the calmodulin binding site (Ala302), but not the autophosphorylation site (Thr286), of α-CaMKII prevented the D4-induced CaMKII translocation. Moreover, D4 receptors failed to induce CaMKII translocation in the presence of an actin stabilizer, and D4 activation reduced the binding of CaMKII to F-actin. Concomitant with the synaptic accumulation of α-CaMKII in response to D4 receptor activation, a D4-induced increase in the CaMKII phosphorylation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) subunits and the amplitude of AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents was also observed. Thus, our results show that D4 receptor activation induces the synaptic translocation of CaMKII through a mechanism involving Ca2+/calmodulin and F-actin, which facilitates the regulation of synaptic targets of CaMKII, such as AMPA receptors.


We address the problem of scheduling applications represented as directed acyclic task graphs (DAGs) onto architectures with reconfigurable processing cores. We introduce the Mutually Exclusive Processor Groups reconfiguration model, a novel reconfiguration model that captures many different modes of reconfiguration. Additionally, we propose the Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time with Mutually Exclusive Processor Groups (HEFT-MEG) scheduling heuristic using the Mutually Exclusive Processor Groups reconfiguration model. HEFT-MEG schedules reconfigurations using a novel back-tracking algorithm to evaluate how different reconfiguration decisions affect previously scheduled tasks. HEFT-MEG's goal when choosing configurations is to choose the most efficient configuration for different application phases. In simulation, HEFT-MEG generates higher quality schedules than those generated by the hardware-software co-scheduler proposed by Mei, et al. [21] and HEFT [31] using a single configuration.


"The activity of environmental radionuclides (Be-7, Pb-210 and (CS)-C-137) was monitored in nested catchments, inside the Seine River basin. Suspended matter data was collected at 8 different watersheds, ranging from order I to order 7, and ranging in size over 4 orders of magnitude. Suspended matter was analyzed for Pb-210, Cs-137 and Be-7, and used to calculate the flux of sediments out of each watershed. Monthly atmospheric flux data of Pb-210 and Be-7 was analyzed to assess the input flux of each into the watersheds, taking into account the rainfall during sampling periods. Taking advantage of the different half-lives of Be-7 (53 days) and Pb-210 (22 years), a two-box model was built for each of the catchments following a methodology previously developed by Dominik et al. [Dominik J, Burrus D, Vernet JP. Transport of the environmental radionuclides in alpine watershed. Earth Planet Sci Letters 1987; 84: 165-180.]. The model divides the watershed into a soil box and a rapid reservoir and provides insight into the removal rate of suspended matter from the surrounding watershed. The model enables the assessment of the surface area and the residence time of slow and rapid reservoirs to describe the fate of contaminants of atmospheric origin inside the river basin. The model was improved by considering the dissolved fraction in the total flux and adding the Cs-137 inventory as an additional constraint. The effects of these changes are discussed. Residence times in the soil box, characterized by low transport velocity, range between 4800 years at Melarchez (order 1) to about 30000 years at Andresy and Poses (order 7). They remain constant in each watershed over a large range of variation of atmospheric fluxes of Be-7 and Pb-210 during the whole study, but are sensitive to SM variations. The residence time in the rapid box, which includes the surface of the river and immediate surroundings, is less than one year, while its surface area is in the range 0.6% to 2.2% of the total catchment area. They are sensitive to Be-7 atmospheric flux variations. The two-box model was used to estimate the amount of the radionuclides in each reservoir. Inventories appear to be constant from one watershed to the next. The Be-7 inventory ratio in the rapid and slow boxes expresses the rate of particle-reactive atmospheric pollutants that will be rapidly delivered to the river. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved."


The auscultatory method for the determination of arterial blood-pressure in man, described by Korotkoff in 1905, 1 has called forth numerous papers particularly from those making a clinical application of the method. There appears to be unanimity of opinion that the systolic pressure is established with the onset of the brachial sound during the fall of proximal constricting pressure, but the point of diastolic pressure, originally established by Korotkoff as coincident with the disappearance of all sound, has been variously interpreted. In a recent paper by Taussig and Cook, 2 the literature is fully presented. These authors establish the diastolic pressure at the fourth phase in the production of the sound ; that is, at the point at which, during the fall of constricting pressure, the sound changes from sharp to dull, a change which is generally recognized to occur in normal subjects just before the cessation of sound.


Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a bioactive peptide with diverse effects in the nervous system. In addition to its more classic role as a neuromodulator, PACAP functions as a neurotrophic factor. Several neurotrophic factors have been shown to play an important role in the endogenous response following both cerebral ischemia and traumatic brain injury and to be effective when given exogenously. A number of studies have shown the neuroprotective effect of PACAP in different models of ischemia, neurodegenerative diseases and retinal degeneration. The aim of this review is to summarize the findings on the neuroprotective potential of PACAP in models of different traumatic nerve injuries. Expression of endogenous PACAP and its specific PAC1 receptor is elevated in different parts of the central and peripheral nervous system after traumatic injuries. Some experiments demonstrate the protective effect of exogenous PACAP treatment in different traumatic brain injury models, in facial nerve and optic nerve trauma. The upregulation of endogenous PACAP and its receptors and the protective effect of exogenous PACAP after different central and peripheral nerve injuries show the important function of PACAP in neuronal regeneration indicating that PACAP may also be a promising therapeutic agent in injuries of the nervous system.


It was an attempt to question some of the assumptions prevalent at the time within both the French feminist theory of theorists such as Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray (influential at that time), and also the views of British and American gender and language theorists Jennifer Coates and Deborah Tannen that women's language and writing were somehow essentially different to men's. Within gender and language theorising of the time, this difference was either something which was to be criticised as politically damaging for women or something to be re-valued since feminine qualities were seen to be of positive value. I argue here that we cannot assume that women's language and writing are necessarily different from men's but that what is different is the way that they are judged.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
We aimed to identify the genetic factors associated with increased tendency toward autoimmune hepatitis, a chronic and progressive inflammatory condition.

METHODS
A total of 32 children diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis were included in the present study, and 160 healthy adult blood donors served as controls. In both groups, HLA phenotypes were examined (HLA-A, B, C, DR, DQ) and compared. In addition, the association between the type of autoimmune hepatitis and HLA status was explored.

RESULTS
Compared to controls, patients with autoimmune hepatitis had increased frequencies of the following class 1 HLA antigens: A24.9 (28% vs. 9%, p=0.007), A26 (25% vs. 3%, p<0.001), A32 (34% vs. 4%, p<0.001), B38 (9% vs. 0.6%, p=0.015), and B51 (16% vs. 0%, p<0.001). Among class II HLA antigens, DRB1*04 (22% vs. 0%, p<0.001), DRB1*07 (9% vs. 0%, p=0.004), DRB1*11 (12% vs. 0%, p=0.001), DRB1*15 (25% vs. 0%, p<0.001), DRB1*14 (31% vs. 0%, p<0.001), and DR11.5 (9% vs. 0%, p=0.004) were more frequent in patients compared to controls. Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis was associated with high frequencies of A24.9, A26, A32, and DRB1*15, whereas type 2 autoimmune hepatitis was associated with high frequencies of A26, B51, B38, and DRB1*11. On the other hand, frequencies of A32 and DRB1*04 were high among patients with unclassified autoimmune hepatitis.

CONCLUSIONS
There seem to be associations between certain HLA antigens and susceptibility to autoimmune hepatitis, but variations among different geographical locations suggest a role for environmental factors.


Oncogenic K-ras is often activated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) due to frequent mutation (>90%), which drives multiple cellular processes, including alterations in lipid metabolism associated with a malignant phenotype. However, the role and mechanism of the altered lipid metabolism in K-ras-driven cancer remains poorly understood. In this study, using human pancreatic epithelial cells harboring inducible K-rasG12D (HPNE/K-rasG12D) and pancreatic cancer cell lines, we found that the expression of phospholipase A2 group IIA (PLA2G2A) was upregulated by oncogenic K-ras. The elevated expression of PLA2G2A was also observed in pancreatic cancer tissues and was correlated with poor survival of PDAC patients. Abrogation of PLA2G2A by siRNA or by pharmacological inhibition using tanshinone I significantly increased lipid peroxidation, reduced fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression, and impaired mitochondrial function manifested by a decrease in mitochondrial transmembrane potential and a reduction in ATP production, leading to the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Our study suggests that high expression of PLA2G2A induced by oncogenic K-ras promotes cancer cell survival, likely by reducing lipid peroxidation through its ability to facilitate the removal of polyunsaturated fatty acids from lipid membranes by enhancing the de novo fatty acid synthesis and energy metabolism to support cancer cell proliferation. As such, PLA2G2A might function as a downstream mediator of K-ras and could be a potential therapeutic target.


Product packaging is one of the key industrial sectors where automation is of paramount interest. This paper deals with the conceptual design and kinematic simulation of the machine for a carton packaging robot. In a conceptual design phase, many studies for packaging robots are investigated, leading to the invention of a carton packaging robot. Combining this robot with two 3-DOF fingers mechanism, two 2-DOF fingers mechanism, two tappets and cams mechanism, a carton packaging robot can be created which is particularly suitable for package cartons at very high speed. In this paper we also present a workspace analysis methodology that can be applied for optimal design of robots in the further work.


CM chondrite is the most important carbonaceous chondrite containing abundant Ca, Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and other interesting objects, which probably experienced early condensation processes in the Solar Nebula environment and later alteration in parent body surroundings. Thus, it is a vital raw material to explore in the formation and evolution of the early Solar System. Grove Mountains (GRV) CM chondrites have been collected from Antarctica by Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CARE) for nearly 20 years. In this paper, we review the study of GRV CM chondrites. In total, there are eight CM chondrites named Grove Mountains officially approved by the Meteoritical Society. Petrology and mineral, matrix, CAIs, metal and sulfide in GRV CM chondrites are carefully reviewed. All the meteorites have similar characteristics with a dominant component of matrix. Phyllosilicate minerals generally developed in the matrix. The different altered mineral assemblages, contents and chemical compositions show that these chondrites underwent varying degrees of aqueous alteration, of which GRV 020005 is the most heavily altered CM chondrite. GRV 020025 is the second heaviest of the CM samples with the most extensive studies among these chondrites. It contains abundant CAIs and amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs). The modal content is about 1.0 vol% for CAIs. The findings of some new types of CAIs (such as hibonite-rich and spinel-pyroxene inclusions with forsterite-rich accretionary rims), AOAs and a complex, fine-grained P-bearing sulfide phase enrich the study of GRV 020025.


EDUCOMP's Time-shared Operating System (ETOS) is an integrated package of hardware and software designed for maximum utility of a PDP8 computer. ETOS supports up to 16 users, with each user able to use the system as if he were operating on a stand-alone PDP8 with 64K bytes of memory.
 This paper will contrast the various modes of computer operation and illustrate how the combination of batch, real-time, and interactive usage results in the optimum fulfillment of the all-important criterion of price/performance.
 Emphasis is placed on the maintenance of continuous system performance. This is especially important to the educational user. In many situations, if the machine must be shut down for one type of user, the educational user is the first one to be sacrificed. Computer assisted instruction, drills, simulations, and general student motivation are somehow viewed as less important than the use of the computer to collect taxes. ETOS is EDUCOMP's solution to this misguided allocation of resources.
 ETOS requires a 16K omnibus PDP8, clock, an RK8e controller with an RK05 drive, a backup peripheral for the RK05 drive, and a Time Share Control Module.


At Cerro Cobachi, 90 km east of Hermosillo, Sonora, an Ordovician to Permian miogeoclinal assemblage and an Ordovician to Permian siliceous deep-water assemblage were juxtaposed by thrust faulting between mid-Permian and latest Cretaceous time. Both assemblages resemble counterparts in the Great Basin. One formation, an ultramature quartzite unit in the miogeoclinal assemblage, closely resembles the Middle Ordovician Eureka Quartzite. In the southern Great Basin, isopach lines of the Eureka trend south-southwestward. From a maximum thickness of 134 m near Owens Lake, California, the Eureka thins and splays northward in the southern Inyo Mountains and thins southeastward in the Nopah Range. But south-southwestward, parallel with the isopach lines, it apparently ends abruptly as if faulted. Because the Paleozoic stratigraphy of the western Great Basin and that of west Texas have elements in common, it is quite possible that the southwest-trending facies belts of the Great Basin originally wrapped around the southern border of the continent through northern Mexico and joined corresponding belts in Texas. Two hypotheses are suggested: (1) the Cerro Cobachi terrane, of which the quartzite is a part, is indigenous to northern Mexico, and (2) the Cerro Cobachi terrane is indigenous to California and was displaced tectonically to northern Mexico. The second hypothesis is favored by the apparently abrupt termination of the Eureka Quartzite near Owens Lake, the nearly identical thickness of the two quartzites, and their nearly identical lithic composition and texture.


Background and purpose: Violence against women is considered a form of domestic violence. During pregnancy it could cause a range of adverse outcomes for mother and baby. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of violence against women during pregnancy and postpartum and its related factors. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the incidence of maternal mortality in 2015 in six provinces in Iran. In each province 24 public health centers were selected using stratified random sampling. In each center, 15-20 mothers who had at least one session of prenatal care were examined. Data was collected simultaneously from the records available in health centers and interviewing the mothers, then analyzed in SPSS18 at a significance level of α <0.05. Results: Among 2704 mothers participating in the study, the prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy and postpartum was 8.10% and 28% suffered from psychological violence. Among 31 variables studied, 10 had a significant relationship with both physical abuse and psychological violence (P>0.05). Multistage multivariate analysis of variance showed that 7 variables had significant relationship with physical violence, and 6 variables were associated with psychological violence (P>0.05). Conclusion: Despite records available in family's' files, a considerable rate of domestic violence was observed against mothers in Iran, therefore, health providers are ought to prevent this by taking appropriate actions.


Recent race riots offer powerful and disturbing images and evidence of the cost of ignoring the apparent unfairness of court decisions made by all white juries. In the eyes of many marginalized segments of the community, the conviction of a black defendant or acquittal of a white defendant by an all white jury, against overwhelming evidence of his guilt, is deeply disturbing. The fact that a jury is all white has the powerful effect of racializing the jury proceeding. In the post-Civil War south, a series of similar atrocities occurred when the Ku Klux Klan's frenzy of violence and lynching, targeting blacks and white Republicans, went unpunished by all white juries. "It is notorious that practically never have white lynching mobs been brought to court in the South, even when the killers are known to all in the community and are mentioned in name in the local press," Gunnar Myrdal's 1944 work on race relations once declared.Today, issues of racially mixed juries and racial balance in cases involving inter-racial crimes pose unique challenges to our judiciary, our criminal justice system, and the community. This article examines possible applications of affirmative action in jury selection to create racially heterogeneous juries. Since race-conscious affirmative action must rely on the clear conceptualization of race and racial definitions, the article first presents critical analysis of the conceptualization and formulation of race and racial classification. Specifically, the first section of this article attempts to deconstruct racial identity as defined by government-defined racial categories, suggesting that race is a social construction and racial identity is subject to individual and societal manipulation. This allows many individuals to pass as members of different racial groups. The article then empirically examines public perceptions of the affirmative jury structures, focusing on the use of mandatory racial quotas to engineer racially heterogeneous juries in criminal trials, specifically the jury de medietate linguae, the Hennepin model, the social science model, and a peremptory inclusive selection method. The article finally argues that, given the strong endorsement for the Hennepin and social science models of affirmative juries, both legislative and court-initiated actions may be needed to energize the public debate concerning the importance of racially mixed juries, the size of mandated racial quotas, and implications regarding applications of affirmative action in jury proceedings.


Interactions between sensory pathways such as the visual and auditory systems are known to occur in the brain, but where they first occur is uncertain. Here we show a novel multimodal interaction evident at the eardrum. Ear canal microphone measurements in humans (n=19 ears in 16 subjects) and monkeys (n=5 ears in 3 subjects) performing a saccadic eye movement task to visual targets indicated that the eardrum moves in conjunction with the eye movement. The eardrum motion was oscillatory and began as early as 10 ms before saccade onset in humans or with saccade onset in monkeys. These eardrum movements, which we dub Eye Movement Related Eardrum Oscillations (EMREOs), occurred in the absence of a sound stimulus. The EMREOs' amplitude and phase depended on the direction and horizontal amplitude of the saccade. They lasted throughout the saccade and well into subsequent periods of steady fixation. We discuss the possibility that the mechanisms underlying EMREOs create eye movementrelated binaural cues that may aid the brain in evaluating the relationship between visual and auditory stimulus locations as the eyes move. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The peripheral hearing system contains several motor mechanisms that allow the brain to modify the auditory transduction process. Movements or tensioning of either the middle-ear muscles or the outer hair cells modify eardrum motion, producing sounds that can be detected by a microphone placed in the ear canal (e.g. as otoacoustic emissions). Here, we report a novel form of eardrum motion produced by the brain via these systems -oscillations synchronized with and covarying with the direction and amplitude of saccades. These observations suggest that a visionrelated process modulates the first stage of hearing. In particular, these eye-movement related peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/156570 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Jun. 29, 2017;


From May 1985 to February 1986, high-frequency B-mode real-time ultrasound examinations proved helpful in localizing bullets that were not palpable externally in the extremities and body wall of six patients. Of these, four patients had bullets removed successfully with the ultrasonically guided needle puncture technique. The entire procedure was carried out independently at the bedside by the surgical team. We further concluded that surgeons would benefit by learning and using ultrasound, a technique that is relatively easy to acquire and that has broad potential for surgical application, especially in the operating room.


The paper presents an analysis of precipitation in Southern Africa from RCMs, CMIP5 and 6, GCMs and observational data during a historical period from 1986-2005. The authors make use of several groupings of RCMs, GCMs and observational data into ensembles for a more thorough analysis. The focus of the paper is on the differences in annual and monthly rainfall in the southern Africa region between the different sets of ensembles and in terms of various metrics of rainfall. The paper also compares the trend in rainfall over this historical period between the RCMs, GCMs, and observational ensembles to understand the fidelity of the models compared to observed datasets in this region. In general, I find the paper well sourced and written however there are some instances where I find the wording confusing. I find the scientific analysis of the paper quite sound and thorough. My main concerns with the paper are that the novelty of the paper within the context of model development is not clearly defined. I also find the analysis and conclusions quite general and I think the focus of the paper could be improved.


Multicore platforms are becoming increasingly popular in real-time systems. One of the major challenges in designing multicore real-time systems is ensuring consistent and timely access to shared resources. Lock-based protection mechanisms such as MPCP and MSRP have been proposed to guarantee mutually exclusive access in multicore systems at the expense of blocking. In this article, we consider partitioning and scheduling in multicore real-time systems with resource sharing. We first propose a resource-aware task partitioning algorithm for systems with lock-based protection. Wait-free methods, which ensure consistent access to shared memory resources with negligible blocking at the expense of additional memory space, are a suitable alternative when the shared resource is a communication buffer. We propose several approaches to solve the joint problem of task partitioning and the selection of a data consistency mechanism (lock-based or wait-free). The problem is first formulated as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP). For large systems where an ILP solution is not scalable, we propose two heuristic algorithms. Experimental results compare the effectiveness of the proposed approaches in finding schedulable systems with low memory cost and show how the use of wait-free methods can significantly improve schedulability.


Previously we showed that autoimmune myocarditis could be induced in mice by immunization with purified murine cardiac myosin (MCM). In this study, we found that identical disease could also be induced in genetically susceptible mice by immunization with porcine cardiac myosin (PCM). The cardiac lesions induced by both antigens were characterized by extensive infiltration of the myocardium accompanied by myocyte necrosis. A novel finding was the presence of multinucleated giant cells and eosinophils in the cardiac infiltrates, in addition to a mixture of mononuclear cells and polymorphonuclear cells described previously. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that the mononuclear cells consisted predominantly of macrophages, CD4+ T cells and, to a lesser extent, CD8+ T cells and B cells. In addition, increased cardiac expression of adhesion molecules E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were demonstrated in mice that developed myocarditis as compared with those that did not develop disease upon immunization with either PCM or MCM. The levels of TNFalpha detected in spleen cell culture supernatant were found to be higher in mice that developed myocarditis than in those that did not develop the disease. Mice immunized with PCM generated T cells and B cells reactive not only with PCM but also with MCM, and vice versa. In addition, the serum levels of IgG1 anti-MCM antibodies produced in mice immunized with PCM as well as MCM were found to correlate positively with the development of myocarditis. Such a detailed characterization of the murine model of autoimmune myocarditis induced by PCM or MCM allowed us to compare the disease process induced by homologous self and foreign antigens.


Demand-side solutions are one of the most important customer-dependent options among innovative smart grid technologies. Flexible loads can be controlled and coordinated in several ways to operate in favor of the grid. Contrary to conventional participators in grid services, responding to grid requests is not the primary objective of the owners of demand-side resources. Therefore, it is a vital task for demand side service operators to provide maximized and reliable participation. However, motivation factors may vary due to demographic characteristics of the society and there are important diversities due to cultural differences of countries. This study investigates consumer expectations, preferences and concerns on demand response (DR) and deployable gamification techniques in Turkey. A detailed survey is conducted with individuals and results are analyzed to evaluate general trends together with distinctive customer patterns.


Analysis of the presteady-state step of the ferroxidase reaction catalyzed by ceruloplasmin revealed that the kinetic curve for the reaction product accumulation versus time is characterized by an induction period, tau, whose value does not change within the pH range of 5.0-7.5. The value of tau decreases with a rise in the enzyme concentration and increases with a rise in the substrate concentration at constant Fe(II) and E0 concentrations. A reaction scheme is proposed which points to the existence of an induction period in the ceruloplasmin-catalyzed ferroxidase reaction. It was shown that the calculated values of tau = f([Fe(II)]0) and tau = f([E]0) obtained through the use of differential equations qualitatively coincide with the corresponding experimental values.


Based on the identification of indices active at a solution of the mixed complementarity problem (MCP), we propose a class of Newton methods for which local superlinear convergence holds under extremely mild assumptions. In particular, the error bound condition needed for the identification procedure and the nondegeneracy condition needed for the convergence of the resulting Newton method are individually and collectively strictly weaker than the property of semistability of a solution. Thus the local superlinear convergence conditions of the presented method are weaker than conditions required for the semismooth (generalized) Newton methods applied to MCP reformulations. Moreover, they are also weaker than convergence conditions of the linearization (Josephy--Newton) method. For the special case of optimality systems with primal-dual structure, we further consider the question of superlinear convergence of primal variables. We illustrate our theoretical results with numerical experiments on some specially constructed MCPs whose solutions do not satisfy the usual regularity assumptions.


This study aimed to clarify the acute effects of static stretching (SS) and cyclic stretching (CS) on muscle stiffness and hardness of the medial gastrocnemius muscle (MG) by using ultrasonography, range of motion (ROM) of the ankle joint and ankle plantar flexor. Twenty healthy men participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to SS, CS and control conditions. Each session consisted of a standard 5-minute cycle warm-up, accompanied by one of the subsequent conditions in another day: (a) 2 minutes static stretching, (b) 2 minutes cyclic stretching, (c) control. Maximum ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM max) and normalized peak torque (NPT) of ankle plantar flexor were measured in the pre- and post-stretching. To assess muscle stiffness, muscle-tendon junction (MTJ) displacement (the length changes in tendon and muscle) and MTJ angle (the angle made by the tendon of insertion and muscle fascicle) of MG were measured using ultrasonography at an ankle dorsiflexion angle of -10°, 0°, 10° and 20° before and after SS and CS for 2 minutes in the pre- and post-stretching. MG hardness was measured using ultrasound real-time tissue elastography (RTE). The results of this study indicate a significant effect of SS for ROM maximum, MTJ angle (0°, 10°, 20°) and RTE (10°, 20°) compared with CS (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in MTJ displacement between SS and CS. CS was associated with significantly higher NPT values than SS. This study suggests that SS of 2 minutes' hold duration significantly affected muscle stiffness and hardness compared with CS. In addition, CS may contribute to the elongation of muscle tissue and increased muscle strength.


Protein restriction and hypercalcemia result in a urinary concentrating defect in rats and humans. Previous tubular perfusion studies show that there is an increased active urea transport activity in the initial inner medullary (IM) collecting duct in low-protein diet (LPD) and vitamin D (Vit D) animal models. To investigate the possible mechanisms that cause the urinary concentrating defect and to clone the new active urea transporter, we employed a modified two-tester suppression subtractive hybridization (ttSSH) approach and examined gene expression induced by LPD and Vit D in kidney IM base. Approximately 600 clones from the subtracted library were randomly selected; 150 clones were further confirmed to be the true positive genes by slot blot hybridization with subtracted probes from LPD and Vit D and sent for DNA sequencing. We identified 10 channel/transporter genes that were upregulated in IM base in LPD and Vit D animal models; 8 were confirmed by real-time PCR. These genes include aquaporin 2 (AQP2), two-pore calcium channel protein 2, brain-specific organic cation transporter, Na(+)- and H(+)-coupled glutamine transporter, and solute carrier family 25. Nine genes are totally new, and twelve are uncharacterized hypothetical proteins. Among them, four genes were shown to be new transmembrane proteins as judged by Kyte-Doolittle hydrophobic plot analysis. ttSSH provides a useful method to identify new genes from two conditioned populations.


Background: Javanese women in Indonesia have different belief during pregnancy and postpartum. This belief was adopted because of the influence of cultures from their parents.
Purpose: This study aims to determine the Javanese women's belief about recommended and un-recommended food or drink during pregnancy and postpartum period. Method: The research used qualitative design with in-depth interview and phenomenological approach. The samples were 4 women who have been pregnant and given birth. Results: This study has eight categories i.e recommended foods in the pregnancy, unrecommended foods in the pregnancy, recommended foods post partum period, unrecommended foods post partum period, recommended drinks in the pregnancy, unrecommended drinks in the pregnancy, recommended drinks post partum period, and unrecommended drinks post partum period. Javanese women believed that the recommended foods during pregnancy are rice, vegetables, fruit, and side-dishes. They must meet the demands of cravings (desire to eat) of certain foods when they want. The foods which are taboo or not recommended during pregnancy are durian, chili, fermented cassava, eel, pineapple, sugar cane, sweet meals, beef sate, catfish, shrimps, and plentiful hot and spicy foods. The foods recommended after childbirth are nutritious food, katu leaves, spinach, corn fritters, braised tofu and tempeh. The foods which are not recommended in postpartum are chili, spicy foods, hot and sour foods, egg and fish. Meanwhile, the drinks recommended during pregnancy are maternal milk, coconut water, water, herbal drink and honey mixed with chicken egg. The un-recommended drinks during pregnancy involve ice, herbs and sweet drinks, while the drinks recommended after childbirth are herbal drinks for breast milk production. In postpartum, women are not recommended to have iced drinks. Conclusion: Community nurses to provide services in accordance with its beliefs that are contrary to the concept of health and support the ones which are in line with it.

Keywords: community nurses, pregnancy, postpartum, recommended foods, un-recommended drinks


ABSTRACT: Ontogenic changes in the mRNA levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-α, EGF receptor, and thyroid hormone receptor (rerbA) were examined in developing rat kidneys. The mRNA levels of both EGF and thyroid hormone receptor rose dramatically during the postnatal period with the rise in thyroid hormone receptor message preceding the rise in EGF message. In addition, we examined renal mRNA levels in 1-wk-old rats treated with thryroxine (T4) from birth through d 6. Neonatal T4 treatment augmented the renal mRNA levels of EGF but decereased the levels of EGF-receptor and transforming growth factor-α. T4 treatment did not significantly affect the levels of renal mRNA for thyroid hormone receptor. Although the EGF and transforming growth factor-α peptides are similar and interact with the same receptor, our findings indicate that these homologous growth factors are regulated differently during development. In addition, hormones that influence growth and development, such as T4, may function both as positive and negative regulators of growth factor expression.


■ EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER Abrupt discontinuation of the offending analgesic(s), and treating rebound headaches with dihydroergotamine (DHE) as needed, results in significant improvement for most patients (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C; based on case series). Amitriptyline does not affect the frequency or severity of rebound headaches, but it may improve quality of life (SOR: B, low-powered randomized controlled trial). Prednisone or naratriptan (Amerge) lessen acute withdrawal symptoms from analgesics and reduce the need for rescue medications during the first 6 days of treatment; however, they do not affect headache frequency or severity (SOR: B, low-quality randomized controlled trial).


The stringent demand to develop lightweight materials with enhanced properties suitable for various engineering applications is the focus of this research work. Industrial wastes such as fly ash (FA) and S-glass-fibres (GF) were used as reinforcement materials for high-strength alloy, i.e., Al 7005. Stir casting routes were employed for fabricating the four samples, Al 7005, Al 7005 + 5% GF, Al 7005 + 6% FA and Al 7005 + 5% GF + 6% FA. The extrusion process with different extrusion ratios (ER: 5.32:1, and 2.66:1) was used to examine the properties of all four samples. Extruded samples with ER: 5.32: 1 resulted in equiaxed grains with refined structure compared to stir casting parts. The effect of the extrusion process and the addition of reinforcements (GF and FA) on the gravimetric, electrochemical, and electrochemical impedance corrosion behaviour of Al 7005 composites in 1M HCl (Hydrochloric acid) solution were investigated. The results of all three corrosion methods showed that Al 7005 + 6% FA exhibited higher corrosion resistance. Corrosion rate of Al 7005, Al 7005 + 5% GF, Al 7005 + 6% FA and Al 7005 + 5% GF + 6% FA is found equal to 3.25, 2.41, 0.34, and 0.76 mpy, respectively. The FA particles remain inert and act as a physical barrier with corrosive media during the corrosion test. GF undergoes fibre degradation or disrupts the continuity of the glass network as a result of fibre leaching, which increases the corrosion rate in the sample. The gravimetric study showed that the corrosion rates decreased with an increase in extrusion ratio, which might be due to corrosion passivation increases and improved properties. The scanning electron microscopy reveals that corrosion fits, flakes and micro-cracks were observed more in the as-cast composites than that of extrusion composites, promoting the corrosion rate.


This methods case covers three areas. Many researchers have not heard of agent-based modeling, so I first explain how agent-based modeling research works, what it involves, and what it is for. My PhD research project has been about applying agent-based modeling to a real-world topic: the occurrence of female genital mutilation in populations in the developing world. I briefly provide an overview of this topic. It might sound counter-intuitive to apply abstract modeling to the study of female genital mutilation. Yet, I explain why this can provide useful and informative insights on the subject. Finally, I talk about the practicalities of applying the methodology of empirical agent-based modeling research to the topic of female genital mutilation. I focus on what was helpful and what was challenging in designing and evaluating a preliminary agent-based model of female genital mutilation.


The complexity of T1D results in inadequate glucose control for patients which can lead to acute and chronic complications. We are developing a decision support smartphone application (app) for patients using multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). This app will use glucose trends, insulin dosing, and physical activity to provide recommendations for titration of insulin dosing to improve glycemic control. We performed an online survey of patients age 18-80 with T1D from a diabetes specialty clinic, targeting MDI users, to determine current needs and preferences of candidates for decision support tools. Twenty-seven respondents are included in the analysis: mean age of 39.4 years, 54% female, 17.5 years mean duration of T1D, 89% use MDI. A total of 41% of respondents used CGM 50-100% of the time with all checking their CGM >6 times per day. Over 90% use a smartphone, 88% have the phone with them 75-100% of the time. Only 19% used an app to calculate insulin doses, while 81% were interested in using an app to manage diabetes. Participants wanted the following features in a decision support app: hypoglycemia avoidance (89%), insulin dose calculation (78%), behavioral change suggestions (74%), predicted glucose trends (70%), and insulin-on-board (70%). Many expressed low confidence in their ability to manage glucose during exercise (51%). Most respondents were interested in viewing predicted glucose trends prior to exercise (85%). Preferences about alerts to improve glucose control were varied with 44% saying they would be comfortable with 1-3 alerts per day. Preferences about alerts for predicted hypoglycemia were also varied; 11% would want to be alerted 5 minutes prior, 19% 15 minutes, 44% 30 minutes, and 26% >1 hour. These survey results confirm the need for and interest in a smartphone-based decision support app that will assist with management of T1D. The results will enable intelligent app design to better meet the needs of end users. Disclosure L.M. Wilson: None. V. Gabo: None. N.S. Tyler: None. R. Reddy: None. P.G. Jacobs: Stock/Shareholder; Self; Pacific Diabetes Technologies. J.R. Castle: Consultant; Self; Zealand Pharma A/S. Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc..


U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) plays a fundamental role in the process of premessenger RNA splicing, yet many questions remain regarding the location, interactions, and roles of its functional domains. To address some of these questions, we developed the first in vitro reconstitution system for yeast U4 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs). We used this system to examine the functional domains of U4 by measuring reconstitution of splicing, U4/U6 base-pairing, and triple-snRNP formation. In contrast to previous work in human extracts and Xenopus oocytes, we found that the 3' stem-loop of U4 is necessary for efficient base-pairing with U6. In particular, the loop is sensitive to changes in both length and sequence. Intriguingly, a number of mutations that we tested resulted in more stable interactions with U6 than wild-type U4. Nevertheless, each of these mutants was impaired in its ability to support splicing, indicating that these regions of U4 have functions subsequent to base pair formation with U6. Our data suggest that one such function is likely to be in tri-snRNP formation, when U5 joins the U4/U6 di-snRNP. We have identified two regions, the upper stem of the 3' stem-loop and the central domain, that promote tri-snRNP formation. In addition, the loop of the 3' stem-loop promotes di-snRNP formation, while the central domain and the 3'-terminal domain appear to antagonize di-snRNP formation.


The field of machine learning has taken a dramatic twist in recent times, with the rise of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). These biologically inspired computational models are able to far exceed the performance of previous forms of artificial intelligence in common machine learning tasks. One of the most impressive forms of ANN architecture is that of the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). CNNs are primarily used to solve difficult image-driven pattern recognition tasks and with their precise yet simple architecture, offers a simplified method of getting started with ANNs.
This document provides a brief introduction to CNNs, discussing recently published papers and newly formed techniques in developing these brilliantly fantastic image recognition models. This introduction assumes you are familiar with the fundamentals of ANNs and machine learning.


This paper aims to present a very-large-scale integration (VLSI) friendly electrocardiogram (ECG) QRS detector for body sensor networks. Baseline wandering and background noise are removed from original ECG signal by a mathematical morphological method. Then the multipixel modulus accumulation is employed to act as a low-pass filter to enhance the QRS complex and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated with standard MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and wearable exercise ECG Data. Corresponding power and area efficient VLSI architecture is designed and implemented on a commercial nano-FPGA. High detection rate and high speed demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed detector.