AbstractAs stated in numerous studies, entrepreneurship education is becoming more and more important everywhere in the world and research in entrepreneurship are growing and getting legitimacy in the scientific communities, however a few scholars have focused on the subfield of entrepreneurship education. Although the key to a successful entrepreneurship education is to find the most effective way to manage the teachable skills and identify the best match between student needs and teaching techniques, there is no universal pedagogical recipe to teach entrepreneurship and the choice of techniques and modalities depends mainly on the objectives, contents and constraints imposed by the institutional context.Education programs in entrepreneurship are a new phenomenon in Iran. These programs vary widely in terms of short term objectives, target audiences, format and pedagogical approach. The first M.Sc. entrepreneurship management program has been initiated in the University of Tehran in 2005. One of the basic courses in this entrepreneurship curriculum is "business planning". This paper attempts to identify the appropriate teaching methods in this course conducting two qualitative studies by semi-structured interviews. Results of the first study on a sample of experts in teaching methods complete the list of teaching methods that could be used in entrepreneurship education. The results of second study on a sample of lecturers of "business planning" course show that appropriate teaching methods of this course are respectively group project, case study, individual project, development of a new venture creation project, and problem-solving. Furthermore, in this study, the appropriate teaching methods in each component of this course have been presented.Keywords: Entrepreneurship education, Teaching methods, M.Sc. students, Business planning1. IntroductionThe last decade has witnessed the powerful emergence of entrepreneurship research worldwide. There seems to be widespread recognition that entrepreneurship is the engine driving the economy and society of most nations (Alberti et al, 2004). Nowadays both scholars and policy makers are becoming aware of the importance of the educational system for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education has different short term and long term results in the society (Hannon et al. 2006).Most entrepreneurship education programs present different objectives. These may be specific and immediately measurable objectives as well as more general and complex ones. Through the identification of various objectives of entrepreneurship education, we might have a deeper understanding of educational needs as well as a more weighted choice of evaluative criteria and pedagogical techniques (Alberti et al, 2004).Rae and Carswell (2001) and Shepherd and Douglas (1997) have discussed that there is a distinction between the teachable and the non-teachable elements of entrepreneurship. The key to a successful entrepreneurship education is to find the most effective way to manage the teachable skills and identify the best match between student needs and teaching techniques (Lee et al, 2007).In Iran, the master entrepreneurship program initiated in university of Tehran in 2005 and the first faculty of entrepreneurship was founded in 2007. On the other hand, an optional course of "fundamental of entrepreneurship" was included in the curriculum for non-business students in university of Tehran and many other universities in Iran. "Business plan" is one of the key courses in the entrepreneurship education program in the faculty of entrepreneurship in University of Tehran. This is one of the rare studies in the subfield of entrepreneurship education and focuses on the analysis of teaching methods of "business plan" course. This paper has been structured in five parts. A review of the literature on entrepreneurship education and specifically on teaching methods in entrepreneurship education as well as teaching methods in "business plan" course has been presented in the second section. …


"I will fight until I can't fight anymore. I don't mind the challenge," Shirley Chisholm boldly declared after her historic victory in 1968 over James Farmer, former head of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). (1) Taking a momentous step, she advanced from the New York State Assembly to become the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm hailed from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, one of the poorest urban districts in the nation. She was a vocal advocate for an activist government to redress economic, social, and political injustices, and frequently used her national prominence to bring attention to racial, sexual, and class-based inequality. At a time when some people within the black and feminist communities chose radical resistance to "the system," Chisholm chose to remain a part of it. She had a firm belief in the promise of the political structure, but she felt there was much to be changed before it could be truly fair and responsive. This essay explores Chisholm's political career from her early years as a grassroots activist to her election to the House of Representatives and her still unprecedented success as a woman in a major-party primary election for the U.S. presidency. It examines the ways she successfully navigated the rough political landscape, contending with racial and gender discrimination which were deeply embedded in the political culture, and achieved victory where other African American women had earlier tried and failed. Chisholm clearly benefited from the changes that the civil rights and women's movements had yielded. However, Chisholm's success as a political "first" was the result of far more than a timely campaign. She won because of a combination of factors, including her ideas about equality and justice, her political acumen and strong personality, consistent support she received from African American women in her district, and the efforts of other grassroots activists. Chisholm used her position in New York state politics to fight for the rights of all women, people of color, and the poor. In arguing for women's rights, Chisholm forced the State Assembly and Congress to contend with sexual discrimination in ways that they had hitherto not done, and she pushed members of the predominantly white, middle-class, feminist establishment to address their weaknesses in thinking about the needs of women of color. In fighting to end racial discrimination and for anti-poverty programs, Chisholm joined with other African American political leaders and white progressives in the Democratic Party to demand that Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs make good on their promises. At the same time, while Chisholm was successful at gaining access to the inner chambers of political power and fought for progressive legislation, her ability to get bills passed was hindered by the political structures she confronted. With limited political networks and few powerful allies in Congress to help usher her bills through committee or to a vote, Chisholm's leadership remained an important symbol and inspiration to many, but as a legislator, she was not particularly successful. However, Chisholm's political life offers important lessons about the opportunities and limitations for women and African Americans in local and national politics in the 1960s and 1970s. EARLY YEARS AND INFLUENCES Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, New York, in November 1924. She was the first of four daughters of Ruby Seale and Charles St. Hill, who were immigrants from the Caribbean. Early in her life, economic challenges compelled Chisholm's parents to send the girls to live with their maternal grandmother in Barbados. Six years later, in March 1934, Shirley and her sisters returned to the now unfamiliar streets of Brooklyn. It was the middle of the Great Depression, and Chisholm's mother, a seamstress by trade, accepted domestic work to keep the family afloat. …


Abstract. A new setup for characterization of solid material oxygen exchange and
conductivity in a broad oxygen partial pressure range and at elevated
temperatures is presented. The development target of this setup is directed
towards the detection of ultra-low amounts of exchanged oxygen. For this,
electrochemical cells made of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were optimized
and applied in a flow-through arrangement. The design and process measures
enable a lower limit of detection below 100 pmol of exchanged oxygen.
Furthermore, the system characteristics concerning oxygen dispersion,
titration efficiency and electrode kinetics are described.


We propose a trust region method for policy optimization that employs QuasiNewton approximation for the Hessian, called Quasi-Newton Trust Region Policy Optimization (QNTRPO). Gradient descent is the de facto algorithm for reinforcement learning tasks with continuous controls. The algorithm has achieved state-of-the-art performance when used in reinforcement learning across a wide range of tasks. However, the algorithm suffers from a number of drawbacks including: lack of stepsize selection criterion, and slow convergence. We investigate the use of a trust region method using dogleg step and a Quasi-Newton approximation for the Hessian for policy optimization. We demonstrate through numerical experiments over a wide range of challenging continuous control tasks that our particular choice is efficient in terms of number of samples and improves performance Optimization Foundations for Reinforcement Learning Workshop at NeurIPS c © 2019 MERL. This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. 201 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 QNTRPO: Including Curvature in TRPO Devesh K. Jha MERL Cambridge, MA email@example.com Arvind U. Raghunathan MERL Cambridge, MA firstname.lastname@example.com Diego Romeres MERL Cambridge, MA email@example.com


Abstract The biological sensitivity to context hypothesis posits that high physiological reactivity (i.e., increases in arousal from baseline) constitutes heightened sensitivity to environmental influences, for better or worse. To test this hypothesis, we examined the interactive effects of family cohesion and heart rate reactivity to a public speaking task on aggressive/rule-breaking and prosocial behavior in a large sample of adolescents (N = 679; M age = 16.14). Multivariate analyses revealed small- to medium-sized main effects of lower family cohesion and lower heart rate reactivity on higher levels of aggressive/rule-breaking and lower levels of prosocial behavior. Although there was some evidence of three-way interactions among family cohesion, heart rate reactivity, and sex in predicting these outcome variables, these interactions were not in the direction predicted by the biological sensitivity to context hypothesis. Instead, heightened reactivity appeared to operate as a protective factor against family adversity, rather than as a susceptibility factor. The results of the present study raise the possibility that stress reactivity may no longer operate as a mechanism of differential susceptibility in adolescence.


The out-of-plane vibration characteristics of a noisy brake are generally better understood than in-plane characteristics. The fundamental reason for this is that in-plane vibration was not considered a significant effect until recently when technology has allowed the in-plane vibration characteristics to be determined with some degree of confidence. Detailed investigations of the side views of out-of-plane holographic images indicated that the in-plane displacement could be quite significant and possibly larger than the out-of-plane displacement. It was because the fringe pattern could not be attributed solely to out-of-plane displacement that a study of in-plane vibration was initiated.

The paper discusses the measurement of both out-of-plane and in-plane vibration of a twin caliper disc brake during noise generation. The technique makes use of a series of 11 time-related holograms recorded from three different viewing perspectives of the brake - a total of 33 holograms covering a single cycle of excitation.

Each image records absolute displacement but as each of the three holograms view the brake from a different viewpoint then each comprises varying degrees of out-of-plane and in-plane vibration, dependant on their angular position. This varying degree of displacement allows their manipulation to identify and isolate the in-plane and out-of-plane contributions to the overall excitation so that each may be considered separately. The out-of-plane is represented as a three-dimensional image whereas arrows represent the in-plane amplitude as a "quiver" plot.

The series allows a dynamic representation of each mode of vibration to be created separately and then combined to indicate the absolute vibration mode characteristics.

The results indicate the disc modal behavior to be extremely complex for the two-caliper brake, the disc antinodes tending to ""index'' between the two calipers


As mathematics has been seen for decades as a stereotyped male domain, gender differences in mathematics learning have received strong attention from the public and academia. In China, the issue of gender equity in education is a particularly interesting topic to most families with the implementation of the one-child policy since the late 1970s. This study aims to study in more depth the role of gender on Shanghai students' mathematics attainment from a perspective of three societal factors (i.e., one-child status at home, socioeconomic status, and school types) via a secondary analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 Shanghai–China mathematics data. In contrast to the official report by Programme for International Student Assessment on Shanghai–China and in line with own previous studies, the current analyses reveal that 15-year-old students in Shanghai performed significantly different on two content-related subscales (i.e., change and relationships and quantity) and two processes-related subscales (i.e., formulate and interpret). Furthermore, significant gender differences were found with students from one-child families but not multi-children families. Among schools of different types in terms of academic tracks and performance levels, the gender differences were largest in the more selective model (general) schools and then vocational schools followed by ordinary (general) schools. Given the nested structure of the Programme for International Student Assessment data, this study found that, on average, a Shanghai boy would achieve significantly higher marks than a girl in Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 mathematics test. The paper closes with discussions on societal and educational implications about these gender disparities, which are still apparent in the current school system of Shanghai.


This paper gives a rather extensive and detailed discussion of various types of binary relations. A binary relation R between two sets E and F is defined and usually identified with the subset R of the product set ExF consisting of the couples (x, y) for which xRy. For each x the set R(x) is a subset of F consisting of those y for which the relation xRy holds and for any subset X of E one puts The product SR of two relations and the converse iJ -1 and complement R' are denned as usual. A great number of properties of the combinations of the associated sets are derived, including in particular a relation ascribed to Dedekind. Various closures of relations with respect to reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity, and others are defined as the least relation containing the given one and having these properties. These properties are also interpreted when the binary relation is in the usual matrix form.


The increasing population of the world, emergence, and prominence of diseases coupled with side effects of drugs has led to the search of non-toxic, healthy foods products. Cereal grains are a stable food consumed by a large population of the world, containing an array of nutritional and bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber, protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, β-glucan, lignans, phytosterol, phenolics among others. These compounds proffer beyond basic nutritional needs as they also provide health benefits on consumption such asantioxidants, antidiabetics, antihypertension, antihyperlipidemic/anti-cholesterol, antimicrobial and anticancer with no side effects. Cereal grains canbe processed into divers of food products, singly or as multigrain food products in other to increases the bioavailability of its nutrients or bioactive compounds. Its by-products can further be used to enriched human diets or serve as animal feeds. Hence, this review addresses the needs for more processing, value additions and consumption of cereal grain as a vehicle to improved healthy livings.


Through Matsumoto's recent studies (2009, 2011) on foreign language learners' motivation in Australian context, a third cultural factor has been detected. Both studies have revealed that besides the conventional account of the cultural distance between learners' own culture and that of target language, the distance between learners' own culture and the Australian educational culture in which their language learning occurs also influences the learners' motivational state. That is, when learners learn a second foreign language in the second language educational context, this additional third culture plays an additional role which affects learner motivation. The study of cultural distance as a factor affecting motivation further must consider student perceptions of learning events, because they perceive the same learning and environmental factors differently according to their cultural backgrounds. As a result, their appraisals of events affect their motivation. Based on these considerations, a new framework of third language (L3) learning motivation is proposed and discussed.


Background: The aims of the study were to examine if living donors followed the recommended UNOS medical visits postsurgery examinations and to assess if medical outcomes after donating a kidney were different by insurance status.
Methods: Data was collected from the medical records of 680 consecutive living kidney donors between January 2010 and June 2015.
Results: Significant predictors of having health insurance included higher levels of education (p=0.007) and being married (p=0.031). Post-surgical visits were lower for those without insurance at six months (43% versus 77%; p=0.029) and one year (35% versus 77%, p<0.001) than those with insurance. A robust trend was observed whereas lack of health insurance was predictive of higher systolic blood pressure (p=0.05). Significant predictors of higher systolic blood pressure included being older (p<0.001), male (p<0.001); and non-Caucasian (p=0.012). Significant predictors of higher diastolic blood pressure were being male (p<0.001) and non- Caucasian (p=0.020); and prior drug use (p=0.003).
Conclusion: Development of interventions to improve postsurgical follow up for kidney donors without insurance is warranted to potentially reduce poor health outcomes such as hypertension post kidney donation.


The present study concerns faunal composition and distribution of cephalopods in the southern Aegean Sea (35Ζ 13' 19''- 37Ζ 55' 25'' N, 23Ζ 00' 15'' - 28Ζ 15' 37'' E). Samples were collected from 708 hauls, obtained by an experimental bottom trawl net during eight surveys carried out in the summers of the years 1994-2001, as well as by commercial trawl net during four surveys carried out in September 1995, December 1995, May and September 1996. The hauls were performed at depths ranging from 16 to 778 m. A total of 34 species of cephalopod in 12 families were identified, including 11 oegopsid squid, 3 myopsid squid, 7 octopod, 3 cuttlefish and 10 sepiolid. Trawling with the experimental net resulted in the capturing of some uncommon pelagic species, such as Ctenopteryx siculaand Octopoteuthis sicula, which were recorded for the first time in the Aegean Sea. Most of the species showed a wide depth and geographical range. The species: Sepia officinalis, Sepietta neglecta, Sepietta obscuraand Sepiola rondeletiwere caught only on the continental shelf, whereas the Ancistroteuthis lichtensteini, Bathypolypous sponsalis, Brachioteuthis riisei, Chiroteuthis veranyi, Ctenopteryx sicula, Heteroteuthis dispar, Histioteuthis reversa, Neorossia caroli and Pyroteuthis margaritiferawere found only on the slope. The rest of the species extended in both continental shelf and slope. The spatial distribution of different species groups is discussed in relation to the hydrology and topography of the study area and the species ecology.


The paper focuses on methods for an efficiency increasing of supersonic axial impulse turbines. There was chosen the axial turbine stage with axisymmetric nozzles and mean diameter 103.5 mm as the base model for a numerical and experimental investigation. There were chosen two modifications of the base design to provide an efficiency increasing: modification of the rotor leading edge design and modification of the rotor hub endwall design. The effect of these two factors on the turbine efficiency was analyzed separately. A preliminary numerical investigation showed that the rotor hub endwall modification provided an efficiency increasing up to 2% in comparison with the base model. Meanwhile, modification of the rotor leading edge shape did not provided significant efficiency increasing in comparison with the base model.


In digital Image Processing, removal of noise is a highly demanded area of research.Impulsive noise is common in images which arise at the time of image acquisition
and or transmission of images. Impulsive noise can be classified into two categories,namely Salt & Pepper Noise (SPN) and Random Valued Impulsive Noise (RVIN). Removal
SPN is easier as compared to RVIN due to its characteristics. The present work concentrates on removal of RVIN from images.Most of the nonlinear filters used in removal of impulsive noise work in two phases,i.e. detection followed by filtering only the corrupted pixels keeping uncorrupted ones intact. Performance of such filters is dependent on the performance of detection schemes. In this work, thrust has been put to devise an accurate detection scheme and a novel weighted median filtering mechanism.
The proposed detection scheme utilizes double difference among the pixels in a test window. The difference is computed along four directions namely, horizontal, vertical,and two diagonals to capture the edge direction if any exists. This helps to identify, whether the test pixels under consideration is an edge pixel or a noisy one. Subsequently, the corrupted pixels are passed through in weighted median filter, where more weights are assigned to those pixels which lie in a minimum variance direction among all the four. Extensive simulation has been carried out at various noise conditions and with different standard images. Comparative analysis has been made with existing standard schemes with suitable parameters such as Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), fault detection and misses. It has been observed in general that the proposed schemes outperforms its counterparts at low and medium noise conditions and performs at par at high noise conditions with low computational overhead. The low computational requirements have been substantiated with number of operations required for single window
operation and overall time required for detection and filtering operation.
In addition, every detector utilizes a threshold value which is compared with a predefined computed value to decide whether the pixel under consideration is corrupted.
Fixed threshold may perform well for one image at a particular noise condition. However, generalization is not possible for a fixed threshold. Hence, requirement for an
adaptive threshold is realized. In the later part of this thesis, we propose an impulsive detection scheme using an adaptive threshold. The adaptive threshold is determined
from an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) using various statistical parameters of noisy image like (µ, σ2, µ4) as inputs. The performance of this scheme is also compared with simulation results.


Background Sampling techniques for national surveys have constrained the statistical power in estimating prevalence rates of child mental health problems in minority ethnic groups. Aims To establish the prevalence rates of mental health problems in ethnic Indian adolescents in England and compare these with matched White adolescents living in the same areas. Method A cross-sectional survey with oversampling of Indian adolescents aged 13–15 years of age. Results The sample size was 2900 (71% response rate) with 1087 (37%) Indian and 414 (14%) White adolescents. Ethnically Indian adolescents had lower rates of all types of mental health problems (5% v. 13% and 21% v. 30% for abnormal Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire scores, respectively) and substance misuse (18% v. 57%, 5% v. 15% and 6% v. 9% for regular alcohol, smoking and drug use, respectively), with the exception of eating disorders, compared with their White counterparts. The odds of an abnormal score on the mental health questionnaires were worse for White compared with Indian children irrespective of sociodemographic variables. Conclusions Factors relating to how Indian adolescents are parented or their social support networks may be influencing their mental health and may warrant further investigation.


The global industry is developing towards smaller and smaller batch sizes in production due to the high pressure on Just-in-time production. This has led to the need for providing cost efficient support to robot users, especially SMEs having limited internal resources and competence to setup, maintain and reconfigure their industrial robot systems. In this study, a new method for the remote operation of industrial robot systems is presented. The method is based upon multi-modal man-machine communication and sensor bridging to transfer huge amounts of information from the industrial robot cell to the brain of the remote operator. The general methodology is explained, however, a special focus is put on gripping and stick-slip detecting in order to provide optimal grasping conditions during robot operations; especially during remote operation.


In the years 2009 and 2010, in the apiaries surrounding Tarnobrzeg and Lezajsk, Poland (close to the Carpathian Mountains) research was carried out on diurnal changes in the sensitivity of young honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers to insecticides from various chemical groups: pyrethroids (esfenvalerate, cyhalothrin, alpha-cypermethrin, beta-cyfluthrin, deltamethrin), derivatives of pyridine (pyriproxyfen), carbamate (pirimicarb), organophosphate (diazinon), and benzoyl urea derivative (teflubenzuron). The analyses con- sisted of intoxicating subsequent groups of honey bees in 2-hour intervals, for a period of 24 hours with selected xenobiotics. The results received indicate that the honey bee shows a statistically significant susceptibility to insecticides, changing in the diurnal rhythm.


Optimizing an objective function with uncertainty awareness is well-known to improve the accuracy and confidence of optimization solutions. Meanwhile, another relevant but very different question remains yet open: how to model and quantify the uncertainty of an optimization algorithm (a.k.a., optimizer) it-self? To close such a gap, the prerequisite is to consider the optimizers as sampled from a distribution, rather than a few prefabricated and fixed update rules. We first take the novel angle to consider the algorithmic space of optimizers, and provide definitions for the optimizer prior and likelihood, that intrinsically determine the posterior and therefore uncertainty. We then leverage the recent advance of learning to optimize (L2O) for the space parameterization, with the end-to-end training pipeline built via variational inference, referred to as uncertainty-aware L2O ( UA-L2O ). Our study represents the first effort to recognize and quantify the uncertainty of the optimization algorithm. The extensive numerical results show that, UA-L2O achieves superior uncertainty calibration with accurate confidence estimation and tight confidence intervals, suggesting the improved posterior estimation thanks to considering optimizer uncertainty. Intriguingly, UA-L2O even improves optimization performances for two out of three test functions, the loss function in data privacy attack, and four of five cases of the energy function in protein docking.


Teachers as a profession share a responsibility that future generations develop a sustainable digital competence being able to criticize and analyse consequences of living and participating in a contemporary and future knowledge society. This study suggests that certain academic disciplinary cultures execute a buffering effect on the introduction of technology in the educational sphere and interferes with the question of responsibility. Ways to avoid such negative buffering effects could be to: (i) skip the use of the terms IT/ICT as associated with the handling of technology which give a mandate for academic disciplines not to consider other aspects of the growing information society for its related academic and professional practices, and (ii) to focus the internal practice in terms of the everyday work of university teachers. University teachers in this study hardly ever use digital media for didactical purposes. ICT destined projects instead often focus training teachers in their training practices. The gained knowledge and experience thereby follow the students out of higher education.


Distress calls are made whenever a road mishap occurs. But regrettably, every year more and more Nigerians die as a result of failure of emergency response system in coming to the aid of victims of road accidents on time. Although there are flashes of intervention and reform initiatives at both federal and state levels, these efforts are often under resourced, uncoordinated, too dispersed and not sustained long enough to provide sufficient care for victims. The detection of the location of the scenes of road mishaps must also be accurate and precise so that the ambulances awaiting dispatch message will receive the correct information. This research work incorporates information and communications technology capabilities to transportation and the medical care system in order to save lives, reduce mortality rates and increase the efficiency of emergency response with respect to situations requiring urgent medical attention. This is achieved with the design of an interface, using PHP that receives a distress signal sent via SMS and indicates the location of the accident by means of Google Maps. The use of Google Maps ensures the accuracy of the geographical location of the accident and this consequently assists the paramedics in getting to the accident victims on time, thereby saving lives. Keywords : : Distress call, road mishap, SMS, LASAMBUS.


BACKGROUND
In concert with efforts to increase global provision, economic evaluations of newer and relatively costly vaccines have proliferated in the medical literature. The extent to which existing vaccine evaluations are useful to decision makers is not clear. We conducted a systematic review of published economic evaluations of conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, anticipating that their usefulness to past and present decision makers would be limited by the quality of the analyses and by the extent to which the results were transferable to other settings.

METHODS
We systematically identified economic evaluations of conjugate Hib vaccine. We appraised their quality according to a customized checklist and assessed the extent of and reasons for variability of the results.

RESULTS
Quality assessment of the available economic evaluations disclosed a number of shortcomings, including the failure across all models to derive systematic estimates of vaccine efficacy as well as a lack of transparency in the costing of Hib disease treatment. Wide variations in results appeared to be caused primarily by epidemiologic and health system differences between settings and secondarily to methodologic differences between models. The generalizability of model results appeared low.

CONCLUSIONS
There is scope for improving the overall quality of economic evaluations of Hib vaccination. Relevance to decision makers may also be increased by addressing local budget constraints and vaccine price. There is a need to better understand the decision process, particularly at the national level, to ensure the role of future economic evaluations as important decision tools in the implementation of new vaccines.


We report a case of space-occupying infarction of the left cerebellar hemisphere with occlusive hydrocephalus and left to right shift of the fourth ventricle. The patient, a 58 years old man, underwent shunting and decompressive craniectomy of the posterior fossa and survived without neurological deficits.


SUMMARY Socially aggressive interaction is stressful. What is more, social aggression is stressful for both dominant and subordinate animals. Much of the neurocircuitry for stress and aggression overlap. The pattern of neurochemical and hormonal events stimulated by social interaction make it clear that subtle differences in this pattern of response distinguish social rank. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) responds rapidly to stress, and also appears to play the most important role for inhibitory regulation of aggressive interactions. In addition, the adrenocortical/interrenal steroid hormones corticosterone and cortisol are responsive to stress and influence aggression. However, while 5-HT and glucocorticoids can both be inhibitory to aggression, the relationship between 5-HT and glucocorticoids is not straightforward, and much of the distinctions in function depend upon timing. Neither is inhibitory during the early stressful phase of aggression. This transmitter-hormone combination follows and influences a four-stage functional pattern of effect: (1) predisposed (positively or negatively) toward aggression, (2) motivated toward behavior, (3) responsive to stress (including aggression) and passively allowing aggression, and finally (4) chronically applied 5-HT and glucocorticoids inhibit aggression.


BACKGROUND
Many patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) die within the first few years of diagnosis, and considerable excess mortality remains even after 5 years. We investigated the death rate and the distribution of causes of death for NSCLC patients by age and stage at diagnosis during long-term follow-up.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
All 72 021 patients aged 45-89 years diagnosed with stage I-III NSCLC between 1989 and 2008 in the Netherlands and who died up till 2011 were derived from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and linked with the database of Statistics Netherlands for underlying causes of death. Mortality ratios and proportional distribution of causes of death were calculated during 5 time periods after diagnosis of NSCLC (up to 15 years).

RESULTS
Median follow-up was 9.6 years (range: 0-23 years). Lung cancer was the predominant cause of death in the first 6 years after diagnosis (being 80%-85% and ∼90% up to 3 years for localized and locally advanced disease, respectively, and ∼60%-75% and ∼75%-85% during years 4-6 for both stage groups, respectively). Thereafter, lung cancer as cause of death proportionally decreased with time since diagnosis, but remained over 30%. Hence, cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) became more important causes of death, especially for patients aged >60 years at diagnosis (up to 34% for cardiovascular diseases and up to 19% for COPD).

CONCLUSIONS
With time, the relative contribution of cardiovascular and COPD causes of death increased, although the absolute contribution of lung cancer remained high in non-metastatic NSCLC. Therefore, managing morbidity of these diseases remains relevant.


We find that on average, an announcement of rising unemployment is good news for stocks during economic expansions and bad news during economic contractions. Unemployment news bundles three types of primitive information relevant for valuing stocks: information about future interest rates, the equity risk premium, and corporate earnings and dividends. The nature of the information bundle, and hence the relative importance of the three effects, changes over time depending on the state of the economy. For stocks as a group, information about interest rates dominates during expansions and information about future corporate dividends dominates during contractions.


We analyze the Celebrity 100 annual list of the world's most "powerful celebrities" compiled and published by Forbes Magazine. The lists provide an interesting collection of people, that includes their earnings, and the perception of citizens concerning the attributes that made them become celebrities. We analyze the relationship between their earnings and the perceptions on their intelligence, talent, beauty and other attributes, and show that though beauty plays a role, intelligence and talent are more important.


Feeder cattle producers have traditionally hedged their cattle on a one-to-one basis, that is one pound offutures is used to hedge one pound of expected production. This paper deals with the situation where the producer needs to hedge off-weight steers and heifers. Because the feeder cattle futures prices reflect the prices of 600-800 pound feeder steers, the prices of the feeder cattle futures contract do not change in the same dollar amounts as do the prices of the off-weight steers and heifers. In this situation, a cross hedge should be used. In order to reduce hedging risk when cross hedging, a hedge ratio must be estimated. Tables showing hedge ratios and hedging risk for various weights of Texas Panhandle steers and heifers are presented in the paper.


Abstract This paper models the interaction of firm insiders and outsiders on a corporate board and addresses the question of the board's ideal size and composition. In the model, the board is responsible for monitoring projects and making CEO succession decisions. Inside directors are better informed regarding the quality of firm investment projects, but outsiders can use CEO succession to motivate insiders to reveal their superior information and help the board implement higher value projects. The optimal board structure is determined by the trade-off between maximizing the incentive for insiders to reveal their private information, minimizing coordination costs among outsiders and maximizing the ability of outsiders to reject inferior projects. I show that optimal board size and composition are functions of the directors' and the firm's characteristics. I also develop testable implications for crosssectional variations in the optimal board structure across firms.


After a string of years in which security analysts' top stock picks significantly outperformed their plans, the year 2000 was a disaster. During that year the stocks least favorably recommended by analysts earned an annualized market-adjusted return of 48.66 percent while the stocks most highly recommended fell 31.20 percent, a return difference of almost 80 percentage points. This pattern prevailed during most months of 2000, regardless of whether the market was rising or falling, and was observed for both tech and non-tech stocks. While we cannot conclude that the 2000 results are necessarily driven by an increased emphasis on investment banking by analysts, our findings should add to the debate over the usefulness of analysts' stock recommendations to investors. They should also serve to alert researchers to the possibility that excluding the year 2000 from their sample period could have a significant impact on any conclusions they draw concerning analysts' stock recommendations.


The concept of social capital is widely used in the social sciences today. We risk appearing obvious by affirming that the use of the term has created a tower of Babel in research programs. This study is based on a basic distinction: it recognizes that there is a difference between understanding human interactions as a resource at the service of individuals and understanding them within a process of collective action. The first perspective follows the altered trail blazed by micro-economics that seeks to re-found social theory on a basis of individual decision theory. In this sense, I assume that there are interdependent individual choices, however, social mediations that facilitate these choices are considered endogenous to the calculation of individual utility. With this explanatory route, cooperation, if it exists, is a collateral effect for the search for individual interest. The second perspective travels along the neo-structural path, inspired by Simmel, which seeks to capture emergent regularities. That is, it is not programmed by individuals, in repeated of interaction. In this sense, and without denying the strategic action of individuals, it assumes that there are exogenous mediations, pre-fixed and not pre-fixed, which help or hinder the joint production of collective goods or services. According to this explanation, cooperation, if it exists, is the result of organizational arrangements that channel the negotiation and conflict of individual interests. With the latter strategy in mind, an analytical table was constructed to understand the constitution of a productive initiative with small palm oil producers. The extreme conditions found in a context of political violence and illegal economic activities allow submitting the conjecture of social capital to a particular test, understood in a non-instrumental form as the infrastructure of economic production processes. Micro-institutional analysis techniques were combined with social network analysis. It was found that the construction - under the extreme conditions of political violence and illegal economic activities - of a productive arrangement rich in social capital, presupposes that the group implementing the process use a pedagogy that balances input incentives with output costs for the beneficiaries, who depersonalize access to useful information; which considers the spatial proximity of production, homophilic collaboration choices; and the weakness of kinship ties as a mechanism for lateral social control.


This proposed standard describes a laboratory test method for the measurement of the coefficient of permeability for airflow (pneumatic permeability) through porous media (e.g., soils) partially saturated with water. Control and measurement of the airflow is effected at the inlet of the specimen. The permeameter cell is fitted with dual transfer lines that isolate the specimen pressure drop from the effects of gas flow in the apparatus. Electronic instrumentation results in short test times that minimize changes in water content. This proposed standard addresses the need to develop a body of knowledge in support of soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems and allied environmental remediation activities.


Shadow reconstruction in VHR images is an interesting field. Most of the analysis for the shadow detection and shadow reconstruction is based on the image analysis. So far analysis of such kind of VHR images is very challenging. Reconstruction of shadow areas in VHR images are classified as shadow detection, shadow removal, shadow reconstruction. The resolution of reconstructed image is improved using bilateral filter. The reconstruction result is based on the parameter like PSNR. As we are comparing shadow areas with the non shadow areas, morphological analysis is necessary for the proper reconstruction. The different parameters of image is discussed and explained in this paper.


Forty-six female patients participated in a survey study to assess the relative health status impact of implant-retained oral prostheses and conventional complete dentures. They completed a structured questionnaire based on three valid and reliable treatment outcome measures: the Dental Functional Status Index (DFSI), the Rand Mental Health Index (MHI), and elements of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). The implant patients were associated with significantly better characteristics in areas of oral mechanical ability, signs and symptoms, and eating. A favorable tendency emerged with respect to communication, self-care, psychosocial functioning, and role performance. The data demonstrated that for some patients there are clinically important, pervasive advantages of implant therapy, in terms of improved physical, psychologic, and social functioning. The results supported the usefulness of self-report, dentopsychosocial indicators to assist in defining treatment needs, evaluating quality and consequence of care, and addressing cost-benefit issues.


Neutron star (NS) is one of the most interesting astrophysical compact objects for hardronic physics. It is believed that the central density of NS can reach several times the normal nuclear matter density ( ρ 0). Hence, the inner part of NS is the ultimate testing place for the physics of dense matter. Recently, the mass of NS in a NS-white dwarf (WD) binary PSR J1614-2230 has been estimated to be 1.97 ± 0.04 M ๏ [1]. Since this estimate is based on the observed Shapiro delay, it can give the lower limit of the maximum NS mass and rules out many soft equations of state. On the other hand, all the well-measured NS masses in NS-NS binaries are smaller than 1.5 M ๏ . In this work, by introducing the supercritical accretion during the binary evolution, we propose a possibility of forming higher mass NS in NS-WD binaries. In this scenario, the lifetimes of NS and WD progenitors are significantly different, and NS in NS-WD binary can accrete > 0.5 M ๏ after NS formation during the giant phase of the progenitor of WD. On the other hand, for the binary system with NS and heavier (> 8 M ๏ ) giants, the first-born NS will accrete more from the companion and can collapse into black hole. The only way to avoid the supercritical accretion is that the initial masses of progenitors of NS binary should be very close so that they evolve almost at the same time and don't have time to accrete after NS formation.


Background Cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction has been described in several neurodegenerative diseases but has not been systematically evaluated in spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10). Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the core cognitive features in a large cohort of Brazilian patients with SCA10, comparing the results against a healthy control group. Methods Twenty-eight SCA10 and 28 healthy subjects were prospectively assessed regarding cognitive function and psychiatric disorders at the Movement Disorders Unit of the Federal University of Paraná between February 2012 and October 2014. Results The SCA10 group had worse depression scores, as well as cognitive performance, when compared to healthy individuals. Conclusion Our study showed mild cognitive and mood dysfunctions in patients with SCA10, consistent with the symptoms reported in the Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome described by Schmahmann JD in 1998. The description of these findings is an important clinical phenomenon that may guide physicians in specific disease management and improve quality of life of these patients.


Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and health beliefs regarding osteoporosis risk factors of New Zealand women aged 20–49 years. Design A descriptive, web-based survey. Subjects An opportunistic sample of 622 women aged between 20 and 49 years living in Auckland, New Zealand was recruited by email. Results There was a moderate level of knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors among the women surveyed, with a mean total score for all subjects of 16.4 (standard deviation (SD) 4.0) out of a possible 26 correct responses. Mean scores for osteoporosis knowledge were statistically different by age group, with women aged 40–49 years scoring higher than those aged 30–39 years and 20–29 years (17.3 (SD 4.0), 16.4 (SD 4.1) and 15.8 (SD 3.9), respectively, P < 0.001). Overall, about a third of the women perceived that they were likely to develop osteoporosis and 22% believed the disease to be potentially crippling. Most women were aware of the benefits of exercise and optimal calcium nutrition in preventing osteoporosis. Few women perceived barriers to exercise participation and eating calcium-rich foods. Older women (40–49 years) were more motivated to take care of their health than younger women (P < 0.001). A large percentage of subjects (77%) thought that calcium-rich foods contained too much cholesterol. Conclusions Despite reporting higher than average educational attainment and health consciousness, these women demonstrated average levels of knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors. They had low feelings of susceptibility towards development of osteoporosis, but most considered it to be a serious disease.


This study addresses the challenge of achieving, as well as maintaining, a competitive position within the Oil & Gas EPC supply chain. The paper provides an overview of the adopted supply chain configuration practices as depicted from conducting interviews with 14 suppliers of engineered valves, who are listed as "Best Performers" by ANIMP (Associazione Nazionale di IMPiantistica industriale – Association collecting the Italian engineering, contracting and plant components suppliers), and assessed by principal EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractors in Italy. Furthermore, the study posits a theoretical framework for the interconnected relationship between supply chain configuration practices, capabilities, and performance. The paper contributes to practice through expanding the knowledge base on supply chain configuration practices, in addition to offering practical and theoretical support for decision makers on the configuration and management of their supply chains. The findings of this rigorous case study will help practitioners in setting their supply chain benchmarks, so as to build future strategic models, and it sheds light on the various perspectives within the Oil & Gas EPC suppliers sector.


Objective To find out how condom use in new relationships changes as a function of time, gender, as well as sexual and relationship satisfaction. Method Participants in a larger study who reported at least one new partner during the 12-week study interval (N = 115; 18–29 yrs; 48% women; 75% African American) completed weekly STI testing and 3x/day electronic diary collection assessing individual and partner-specific affect, daily activities, sexual behaviour and condom use. We analysed event-level condom use percentage and subject-level behaviour response effects. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) were used to estimate condom use probability accounting for within-subject and within-nested-partners correlations via random effects. Results The average initial condom use in the new relationships was 62% for men and 46% for women. The plotted smooth shapes of the estimated condom use probabilities fitted using GAMMs were qualitatively similar for both sexes throughout the study period. The initial high condom use percentage was followed by a sharp decline during the first 1.5 weeks to 19% for men and 14% for women. The condom use rates stabilised at around 6% after 4 weeks in a new relationship. Women who reported high levels of relationship satisfaction exhibited marginally significant negative association with condom use probability (p-value = 0.055). Sex satisfaction was not significantly associated with condom use when both the time trends and gender were taken into account. Conclusion Condom use declines sharply for both males and females during the early stages of new relationships. Men use condoms more frequently than women in the early and middle stages of relationships. Relationship characteristics may also influence lower levels of condom use, especially among women.


Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT's), like carbon nanotubes (CNT's), have properties beneficial for the application in various fields of science including materials, electronics, and medicine. B10 has one of the largest neutron capture cross sections of any isotope and presents an opportunity to incorporate radiation shielding in composite materials by infusing the matrix with BNNT's. However, due to the challenges in synthesizing quality BNNT's, little research has been done to further the technology. The aim of this research is to: 1) Create theoretical models to substantiate that there is no detrimental effects on the fundamental properties, such as: modulus, strength and glass transition temperature. 2) Acquire structural information on the BNNT's and the resin system infused with BNNT's and 3) Generate experimental data which will verify the computational models. Structural information has been obtained on the BNNT's and nanocomposites by analytical and microscopic techniques. Calculations of the fundamental mechanical material properties of BNNT's are performed utilizing molecular dynamics simulations via Material Studio by Accelrys Inc. After the full characterization of the BNNT's, BNNT's have been dispersed into the Epon862/W thermoset resin system. Glass transition temperature has been predicted by simulating the annealing process and monitoring the density of the material at various temperatures. Also, interfacial information between the BNNT's and resin system has been described to provide a foundation for engineers in the fabrication of nanocomposites. Experimental data, from the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), of glass transition temperature confirms the accuracy of the computational models. Also, models in which the BNNT's undergo hydrogenation have been performed to understand the effects of hydrogenation on the properties of the BNNT's and the nanocomposite. Previous studies have demonstrated that CNT's have improved the mechanical and thermal properties of nanocomposites. Thus, it has been demonstrated that BNNT's will have advantageous effects on the fundamental properties of composites while incorporating radiation shielding.


We study the quantum mechanical many-body problem of $N \geq 1$ non-relativistic electrons with spin interacting with their self-generated classical electromagnetic field and $K \geq 0$ static nuclei. We model the dynamics of the electrons and their self-generated electromagnetic field using the so-called many-body Maxwell-Pauli equations. The main result of this thesis is to construct time global, finite-energy, weak solutions to the many-body Maxwell-Pauli equations under the assumption that the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and the nuclear charges are not too large. The assumptions on the size of $\alpha$ and the nuclear charges ensure that we have energetic stability for this system, i.e., the absolute ground state energy exists. The work in this thesis serves as an initial step towards understanding the connection between the energetic stability of matter in quantum mechanics and the well-posedness of the corresponding dynamical equations.


The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) has been collecting science data on the JEM-EF external platform of the ISS since mid-October 2015. To date, more than 300 million triggers generated by high-energy charged particles and photons from space have been recorded. The instrument includes a two-layered Charge Detector (CHD) equipped with segmented scintillators to identify - via a measurement of their electric charge - individual elements from proton to iron and to detect trans-iron nuclei. Complementary charge and tracking information is provided by the electromagnetic Imaging Calorimeter (IMC), instrumented with individually read-out scintillating fibers, and followed by a thick homogeneous calorimeter (TASC). The whole calorimetric system provides an excellent energy and angular resolution and electron/proton discrimination of order $10^{-5}$. In addition to its primary goal to explore the electron spectrum in the energy region above 1 TeV, CALET can also study the cosmic-ray hadronic sector by contributing high precision measurements of the energy spectra, relative abundances and secondary-to-primary ratios of elements from proton to iron. Deviations from a simple power-law, as reported by CREAM, PAMELA and AMS-02 in the spectra of light nuclei are under study from a few tens of GeV to the multi-TeV region. In this paper, a progress report on the analysis and preliminary results relative to the observation of protons and light nuclei with CALET will be given.
CALET is a space mission of the Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and NASA.


Background: The use of antibiotic drugs (ABX) in hospitals, and especially in intensive care units (ICU), is widespread. The early administration of ABX therapy can improve survival rates. The influence and impact of the ABX are observed in the patients who receive them (clinical response, course) and in the ecosystem surrounding the patient (hospital flora).
Aim of the review: The objective of this review is to identify strategies that reduce or limit the appearance and transmission of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. This identification can then develop a rational use of the ABX plan in the ICU.
Method: The following databases were queried; Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (University of York), asking the questions in PICO format to evaluate the efficacy and safety of several interventions: A) Therapeutic de-escalation; B) Cycling of ABX and; C) Early antibiotic treatment.
Results: A) In therapeutic de-escalation of 98 studies identified, three studies that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. B) Two studies comparing antibiotic cycling versus other interventions were selected. C) No studies have been found with sufficiently robust methodological designs that address the ABX early treatment. There is no strong evidence to indicate which of the different antibiotic interventions (therapeutic de-escalation, cycling of ABX and preemptive treatment) is more effective in reducing antibiotic resistance in ICU patients. There is insufficient evidence that de-escalation of antimicrobial agents is effective against resistance. In patients admitted to the ICU with a low prevalence of fluoroquinolones resistance, increased exposure to this class of antibiotics, using antibiotic cycling, increases the emergence of resistant strains.
Conclusion: Despite the fact that no prospective studies were identified in this SR, rationale and day-to-day clinical practice experience suggest that multidisciplinary participation of different specialists in ABX's Infection and Policy Commission (or the ABX Commission), or the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, might improve the development and application of these strategies.


IgLON5-antibody disease is a rare disorder first described in 2014 with features which interfaces both autoimmune and neurodegenerative pathophysiological processes. It has a strong HLA association, and the diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of antibodies which bind the extracellular domain of a neuronal cell adhesion protein, Iglon5. Post-mortem findings reveal this correlates with a tauopathy and subsequent neurodegeneration affecting the hypothalamus and tegmental brainstem. We present three cases and describe their history, disease progression, management and treatment responses. We found a remarkably consistent clinical phenotype which was characterised by REM and NREM parasomnias, bulbar dysfunction causing distinctive inspiratory noises, and mixed movement disorders. Our cases were diagnosed between 1.5-2 years from symptom onset. One patient died following treatment with IVIg, whilst two have been diagnosed within the last month and started on plasma exchange and immunotherapy. We will report their clinical follow up. IgLON5-antibody disease is often diagnosed late, it is thought after irreversible neurodegeneration has occurred and symptoms are advanced. We hope to raise awareness of the classical myriad of presenting symptoms and lead to earlier diagnosis, within which a window of opportunity may exist to instigate immunotherapy and arrest ongoing autoimmune processes.


Alpha hemolysin is a toxin secreted by Escherichia coli causes cell death by binding with the outer membrane, with subsequent oligomerization of the toxin monomer and waterfilled channels. These are responsible for osmotic phenomena, cell depolarization, and loss of vital molecules, leading to its demise. A total of 20 clinical isolates of E. coli were screened for the presence of hlyA gene by PCR. We have observed 60% positivity among our isolates. There are several virulent factors that are associated with urinary tract infections, production of alpha hemolysin one amongst those factors also play a crucial role in pathogenesis of UTI.


The purpose of this study was to substantiate the interdependency of image quality, radiation dose, and contrast material dose in CT towards the patient-specific optimization of the imaging protocols. The study deployed two phantom platforms. First, a variable sized phantom containing an iodinated insert was imaged on a representative CT scanner at multiple CTDI values. The contrast and noise were measured from the reconstructed images for each phantom diameter. Linearly related to iodine-concentration, contrast to noise ratio (CNR), was calculated for different iodine-concentration levels. Second, the analysis was extended to a recently developed suit of 58 virtual human models (5D-XCAT) with added contrast dynamics. Emulating a contrast-enhanced abdominal image procedure and targeting a peak-enhancement in aorta, each XCAT phantom was "imaged" using a CT simulation platform. 3D surfaces for each patient/size established the relationship between iodine-concentration, dose, and CNR. The Sensitivity of Ratio (SR), defined as ratio of change in iodine-concentration versus dose to yield a constant change in CNR was calculated and compared at high and low radiation dose for both phantom platforms. The results show that sensitivity of CNR to iodine concentration is larger at high radiation dose (up to 73%). The SR results were highly affected by radiation dose metric; CTDI or organ dose. Furthermore, results showed that the presence of contrast material could have a profound impact on optimization results (up to 45%).


Lacaziosis, also known as Jorge Lobo's disease, lobomycosis and keloidal blastomycosis, is a chronic cutaneous and subcutaneous fungal granulomatous disease, caused by Lacazia loboi - an uncultivated fungal pathogen - characterized by the development of nodular keloidal lesions, particularly on the pinnae, face, upper and lower limbs, and with no involvement of mucous membranes. Most cases in humans were reported in South America, including the Caiabi Indians, in Central Brazil. The disease was described in non-human mammals, such as two species of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Sotalia guianensis) inhabiting the coasts of Florida (USA), South America (Suriname River estuary, Santa Catarina-Brazil coast) and Gulf of Gascony (Biscaya Bay, in Europe). The histopathological findings in dolphins were very similar to those observed in humans. The aspects related to the history, etiology, epidemiology and ecology, clinical manifestations, differential diagnosis, immunohistochemistry, pathology, ultrastructural, laboratory diagnosis and therapy of lacaziosis, are presented.


Traditional patterning stacks for deep ultraviolet patterning have been based on a trilayer scheme with an organic planarizing layer, silicon antireflective coating or organic bottom antireflective coating, and photoresist. At an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength, there is no longer a need for reflectivity control. This offers an opportunity to look at different types of underlayers for patterning at sub-36 nm pitch length scales. An alternate hardmask can be used to develop a low aspect ratio patterning stack that can enable a larger process window at sub-36 nm pitch resolution. The hardmask layer under the resist has the potential for secondary electron generation at the resist/hardmask interface to improve resist sensitivity. This work explores EUV patterning on deposited hardmasks of various types such as silicon oxides and metal hardmasks. It also details the challenges of patterning directly on an alternate underlayer and approaches for improving patterning performance on such layers.


salmeterol with salbutamol in asthmatic patients who require regular bronchodilator treatment. BMJ 1993;306:1034-7. 3 Laitinen LA, Laitinen A, Haahtela T. A comparative study of the effects of an inhaled corticosteroid, budesonide, and a beta-2-agonist, terbutaline, on airway inflammation in newly diagnosed asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1992;90:32-42. 4 Sporik R, Holgate S, Platts-Mills T, Cogswell J. Exposure to house dust mite allergen (Der p I) and the development of asthma in childhood. N Englj7 Med 1990;323:502-7.


Objectives: Even with significant advances to advance the health status of the general American population, the increased prevalence of mental health conditions and re-emergence of highly infectious diseases across all levels of society present a significant threat. This study aimed to quantify the effects of pandemic-, healthcare-related, and sociodemographic variables on adverse mental health outcomes, and determine their relative magnitudes. Study design: This study employed publicly available data from the Household Pulse Survey, conducted by the United States Census Bureau to examine the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on American households. Methods : A multiple regression model formed the basis of analysis, with adverse mental health as the outcome and various pandemic-, healthcare-related, and sociodemographic variables as predictors. Missing data was handled using multiple imputation. Results: The factors with significant contributions to adverse mental health outcomes were those associated with mental health services and prescriptions. General healthcare-related variables followed those specific to mental health, along with sociodemographic variables contributing smaller changes. There were differential outcomes in mental health that were in part attributable to sociodemographic factors, but also a lack of access to both mental and physical healthcare due to factors both related and unrelated to the ongoing pandemic. Conclusions: There is a need for policymakers and other stakeholders to work towards a mental health system that is more robust to restrictions brought on by events like the COVID-19 pandemic, and to address inequities in health care that have been exacerbated.


Evaluating Statistical Models for Baseline Characterization and Measuring Change in Environmental Monitoring Data Hannah L. Linder Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. John K. Horne School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences In Before-After monitoring studies, statistical models are used to characterize baseline (i.e., predisturbance) conditions, and to detect, quantify, and forecast change during operational monitoring (i.e., post-disturbance). To establish best practices for analyzing monitoring data, a model evaluation was developed and applied using Marine Renewable Energy (MRE); a case study of a disturbance with no best practice monitoring methods. The evaluation was performed on normal and non-normal acoustic metrics representative of MRE monitoring data. Evaluated models included: generalized regression models, time series models, and nonparametric models. 10-fold Cross Validation was used to evaluate baseline model fit. Models were then fit to 5 simulated Before-After change scenarios using Intervention Analysis. A power analysis was used to evaluate model ability to detect change. Residual error diagnostics were used to quantify model fit and forecast accuracy. State-space models are recommended for baseline characterization. Deterministic Parametric models are recommended to detect change. Time series and semi-parametric models are recommended to quantify change. Nonparametric models are recommended to forecast change. These recommendations form best practices for analyzing MRE monitoring data, which enables comparisons among MRE sites and reduces uncertainty in environmental effects. The evaluation approach is applicable to any monitoring program.


The nucleotide sequence of faeE and fanE, two genes involved in the biosynthesis of K88 and K99 fimbriae, respectively, was determined and the amino acid sequence of the FaeE and FanE proteins was deduced. Immunobiotting of subcellular fractions with an anti‐serum raised against purified FaeE confirmed that FaeE is located in the periplasm. Indications were obtained that FaeE functions as a chaperone‐like protein, Its interaction with the fimbrial subunit (FaeG) in the periplasm stabilizes this polypeptide and prevents its degradation by the ceil‐envelope protease DegP. Furthermore, FaeE prevents the formation of FaeG multimers which cannot be incorporated into fimbriae. The reactions of the FaeE/FaeG dimers with a set of monoclonal antibodies directed against the various epitopes present on K88 fimbriae revealed that the fimbrial subunits associated with FaeE were present in a conformation resembling their native configuration. Indications about the domains in FaeG involved in the interaction with FaeE are discussed.


Objective: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and compare clinical results of patients with posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-retaining and PCL-substituting TKA.
Method: The clinical results of 60 patients who underwent TKA (30 PCL retaining and 30 PCL substituting) at Duzce University Faculty of Medicine Hospital between September 2014 and September 2016 were evaluated and compared. The clinical results were evaluated using knee scores and knee functional scores according to the American Knee Society Criteria.
Results: The mean postoperative flexion angles were 110.33° ± 5.71° (100°–120°) in the PCL-substituting group and 102.50° ± 5.69° (90°–110°) in the PCL-retaining group, the postoperative knee scores were 90.20 ± 5.16 and 84.07 ± 5.87, respectively, and postoperative knee functional scores were 80.60 ± 7.86 and 78.17 ± 7.25, respectively. Knee scores were significantly different between the groups (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of knee functional scores.
Conclusion: Compared with the literature, knee scores of the PCL-substituting group yielded significant results, whereas the knee functional scores were similar to those of the PCL-retaining group. The results reported here indicate that clinical outcomes and survival are not different for either surgical option, and it is possible to achieve good results in both groups when appropriate soft tissue balance is achieved.


Amidst of high demand of energy, the world is seeking alternative energy sources. Wind alone can fulfill most of the energy requirement of the world by its efficient conversion into energy. On efficiency measurement, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) is the popular to the researchers, but it works best in places where the wind is not disturbed and has high wind power. The inherent advantage of facing the wind direction, design simplicity, less expensive technology for construction, lower wind start-up speeds, easier maintenance, and relatively quietness are turning the focus to Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The low wind speed and non-smooth wind flow regions are attracted for these machines. Savonius turbine is the simplest form of VAWT and operation is based on the difference of the drag force on its blades. The main objective of this study is to analyze a perfect mixture of new and innovative designs of Savonius turbine blades, which can make VAWT more attractive, efficient, durable and sustainable. This is studied by using blade with different numbers in operating in different wind speed. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis has been used. 2D CAD models of various VAWT geometries are created and tested with CFD software ANSYS/FLUENT with a similar flow-driven motion in a wind tunnel. These simulations provided the aero-dynamic characteristics like shear stress, velocity distribution and pressure distribution. Some physical models with desired properties needed to be fabricated and tested inside tunnel to find the effect of different shapes in real.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


The microstructure of Mg-3wt%Nd-0.2wt%Zn-0.4wt%Zr (NZ30K) alloy after solution treatment was investigated and several kinds of interesting phases containing zirconium were found in this study. NZ30K was gravity cast using permanent die casting. After high tempering solution treatment at 540°C, cluster particles were observed inside the grains under optical microscopy. The detailed investigations were carried out on transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Four kinds of precipitates were visible inside grains with different shapes: block-like, globular, short rod-like, long rod-like. The block-like particle was identified as ZrH2 phase and the globular one was Zn2Zr3 phase. The other two were still Zr-containing phases, which could not be identified to any of existed compounds containing Zr. The formation of Zn-Zr compounds would probably be due to relative high ratio of Zr to Zn in the center of grains. ZrH2 would be the results of reaction of zirconium with H element during solution treatment, which probably came into the alloy during melting.


It is the key factor that the barge adjustment of large-scale structures' ro-ro ship when the structure moves onto the barge. Generally, the common method on-site shipment is manual measurement which is a waste of time and labor power, at the same time, Barge adjustment is inaccurate and can not fundamentally solve the problem of the stability and real-time adjustment of the barge. In this paper, these questions are discussed based on the auto barge adjustment centralized in the computer, sensor and other technologies. In the process of ro-ro ship, the automatic computer control has been analyzed which makes the barge adjustment more timely, accurate and ensures real-time stability and accuracy of barge adjustment. Depending on the specific project case, it proves the feasibility and effectiveness of this method.


The nutcracker syndrome refers to compression of left renal vein between the superior mesenteric artery and aorta. Renal abscess consists of purulent and necrotic material localised to the renal parenchyma. These two entities are extremely rare and their coincidence has not previously been described in literature. Here, we report a case of a 10-year-old girl who developed left renal abscess probably due to nutcracker syndrome.


: Regular follow-up and monitoring of progress of recovery is the most important aspect of the treatment of an addict. Recovery from drug addiction is a long-term process rather than a single event. A retrospective study on 288 treated patients from the private chamber of a psychiatrist revealed that only 74 (30.32%. Patient came back for follow-up. Among the 74 patients 30 (40.54%) patients dropped out from the program within two weeks and only 18(24.32%) patients continued to attend the program at regular interval up to 3 months. Percentage of relapse was found highest during 3rd to 5th (within 2 months of discharge) follow-up visits. Majority of he patients who discontinued their follow-up program was unmarried and belongs to the lower socio-economic class.


Distributed Generation (DG) in Pakistan is being operated both privately and publicly and integrated in the main distribution network. This paper presents the distribution technologies impact on the 11KV distribution network of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Pakistan. A reference network, based on the existing WAPDA network has been considered, which consists of generation dominated areas. This network is used to examine the effect of a new DG connection to an existing network or a bus bar. DG associated parameters such as DG contracts; the capacity factor and the levelized cost of electricity generation are considered in this paper. The load flow analysis has been carried out in ETAP software which shows that mixing of DG technologies have a profound impact on the quantity and the cost of generation curtailment.


Preferential trade blocs are in vogue. Despite the successes achieved in liberalizing trade by multilateral trade negotiations sponsored by the World Trade Organization (WTO), numerous countries have separately negotiated preferential trade treaties with one another. Representing a significant departure from the WTO's central principle of nondiscrimination among member countries, preferential trade blocs are now the subject of an intense academic and policy debate. The first section of this book presents a rudimentary and intuitive introduction to the economics of preferential trade agreements. The following chapters present the author's theoretical and empirical research on a number of questions surrounding the issue of preferential trade agreements, including the design of necessarily welfareimproving trade blocs, the quantitative (econometric) evaluation of the economic (welfare) impact of preferential trade liberalization, and the impact of preferential trade agreements and the multilateral trade system.


N-Doped hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) with tailored pore structures were fabricated via simultaneously foaming and carbonizing resorcinol–formaldehyde–melamine resin under a hypersaline condition using ZnCl2 salt. The obtained carbon aerogels possessed a high surface specific area (700–850 m2 g−1) with uniquely hierarchical porous nanoarchitectures, primarily containing ultramicropores, supermicropores and mesopores, and high residuals of nitrogen heteroatoms (5.36–7.25 wt%), because ZnCl2 acts as the dehydration agent, foaming agent, and porogen collectively. Herein, HPCs, obtained from using ZnCl2 in a proper quantity, exhibited an exceptionally specific capacitance of 423 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, a superior cycling stability after 10 000 cycles at 2 A g−1 and a distinctively high coulombic efficiency (near 100% after 10 000 cycles) as well. In particular, contributions of both double-layer capacitances and pseudocapacitances were determined, where pseudocapacitance accounts for 79% of the total capacitance. The assembled flexible solid state supercapacitor yielded a high energy density of 16.7 W h kg−1 at a power density of 894.0 W kg−1, exhibiting a high cycling stability and flexibility. Our results suggest that a facile and environmentally friendly hypersaline strategy can be utilized to prepare new N-doped HPCs, and moreover their electrochemical performance can be tuned conveniently. Since such HPCs have an exceptional electrochemical property, they have promising potential as carbon substrates in supercapacitive materials or wearable devices.


This chapter details the impact on the population of the policies discussed in the previous chapter. It first analyses the factors underlying the spread of plague, both through Florence and at a more local level in the city's largest parish, S. Lorenzo. Based on records of city and parish, it has been possible to analyse the number of people infected and buried in relation to the topographical and social profiles of individual streets. If this enables one to consider some of the environmental determinants of infection, it is also possible to assess the impact on mortality of the policy of removing the sick from their houses to Lazaretti, through comparing the number of people buried in extra-mural plague pits with those at the isolation hospitals. For contemporaries it was successful, since higher numbers died in Lazaretti, suggesting that they had managed to identify and remove the sick before they got worse. This policy remained in force the next year when a new strategy was introduced, with the imposition from mid-January of a general 40-day quarantine of the inhabitants of both the city and the surrounding countryside. Although this was an extremely expensive operation, since food and drink were being supplied daily to over 34,000 people, the continued drop in mortality led contemporaries to regard this as fulfilling their aims.


Uplink power control is a key radio resource management feature in the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE). In order to adapt to changes in the inter-cell interference situation or to correct power amplifier errors, closed-loop adjustments should be applied. In this paper the performance of closed loop power control combined with fractional path loss compensation factor is studied, and an optimal value for the path loss compensation factor is investigated. The closed loop power control with fractional path loss compensation factor is found to improve the system performance in terms of mean bit rate by 68% and utilizes the battery power more effectively.


Abstract Stichtite is a naturally occurring layered double hydroxide (LDH) with the ideal chemical formula Mg6Cr2CO3(OH)16·4H2O. It has received less attention in the literature than other LDHs and is often described as a rare mineral; however, abundant deposits of the mineral do exist. In this article we aim to review a number of significant publications concerning the mineral stichtite, including papers covering the discovery, geological origin, synthesis and characterizsation of stichtite. Characterization techniques reviewed include powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), thermogravimetry (TG) and electron microprobe analysis.


Abstract Objectives To report the methods and findings of two complete autopsies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive individuals who died in Oklahoma (United States) in March 2020. Methods Complete postmortem examinations were performed according to standard procedures in a negative-pressure autopsy suite/isolation room using personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, eye protection, and gowns. The diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing on postmortem swabs. Results A 77-year-old obese man with a history of hypertension, splenectomy, and 6 days of fever and chills died while being transported for medical care. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on postmortem nasopharyngeal and lung parenchymal swabs. Autopsy revealed diffuse alveolar damage and chronic inflammation and edema in the bronchial mucosa. A 42-year-old obese man with a history of myotonic dystrophy developed abdominal pain followed by fever, shortness of breath, and cough. Postmortem nasopharyngeal swab was positive for SARS-CoV-2; lung parenchymal swabs were negative. Autopsy showed acute bronchopneumonia with evidence of aspiration. Neither autopsy revealed viral inclusions, mucus plugging in airways, eosinophils, or myocarditis. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 testing can be performed at autopsy. Autopsy findings such as diffuse alveolar damage and airway inflammation reflect true virus-related pathology; other findings represent superimposed or unrelated processes.


Summary Background/Aim: To investigate the electromyographic (EMG) activity changes of jaw-closing muscles in patients with different occlusion schemes and posterior edentulous span, after the placement of teeth-supported fixed partial denture (FPD). Material and Methods: The study sample consisted of 20 patients (10 men and 10 women, the mean age being 50 years) with a posterior edentulous area that includes two missing premolars or one premolar and one molar. The participants were divided into two groups with different occlusion schemes: canine-guided occlusion (CGO) and group function occlusion (GFO). The metal-ceramic FPD were fabricated according to the clinic-standardized protocol. EMG activities of masseter and anterior temporalis patients' muscles were recorded with bipolar surface electrodes during maximal voluntary clenching. EMG evaluation was repeated twice: (T1) before the fabrication of FPD (T2) after eight weeks of FPD cementation and intraoral functioning of restoration. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance–ANOVA within the methodological framework of the General Linear Models with Repeated Measures. The Bonferroni test was used to compare multiple mean measures. Statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS ver. 11.5. The level of significance was predefined at a=0.05. Results: Group 1 with CGO presented significantly higher levels of masseter (mean maximum EMG average before 79.36μV and 139.68μV after) and temporalis (mean maximum EMG average before 79.07μV and 149.37μV after) EMG activity after FPD placement. Group 2 with GFO also showed significantly higher levels of masseter (mean maximum EMG average before 61.57μV and 165.30μV after) and temporalis (mean maximum EMG average before 56.94μV and 133.08μV after) EMG activity after the prosthetic restoration. Conclusions: It may be concluded that fixed prosthetic restoration, in both patients with canine-guided and group function occlusion, results in increased EMG jaw-muscle activity.


Fast radio bursts (FRB) are enigmatic powerful single radio pulses with durations of several milliseconds and high brightness temperatures suggesting coherent emission mechanism. For the time being a number of extragalactic FRBs have been detected in the high-frequency radio band including repeating ones. The most plausible explanation for these phenomena is magnetar hyperflares. The first observational evidence of this scenario was obtained in April 2020 when an FRB was detected from the direction of the Galactic magnetar and soft gamma repeater SGR1935+2154. The FRB was preceded with a number of soft gamma-ray bursts observed by Swift-BAT satellite, which triggered the follow-up program of the H.E.S.S. imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). H.E.S.S. has observed SGR1935+2154 over a 2 hour window few hours prior to the FRB detection by STARE2 and CHIME. The observations overlapped with other X-ray bursts from the magnetar detected by INTEGRAL and Swift-BAT, thus providing first observations of a magnetar in a flaring state in the very-high energy domain. We present the analysis of these observations, discuss the obtained results and prospects of the H.E.S.S. follow-up program for soft gamma repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars.


The research shows that the proper acceleration(RMS)of collecting dust from plate under impaction is about 50g. At present electrostatic precipitator's impaction machine is basically designed by gradual experiences, experiments and revises. With heavy workload, this way is more complex and cost much because of the large structure of ESP. This paper studies the response of Electrostatic Precipitator's Plate under impaction with finite element method, using dynamic analysis to accomplish the design of impaction device by the analysis of the acceleration distributing on impact, and provides evidences to upgrade ESP.


I agree with Dr J.B. Glen (Anaesthesia 1991; 46: 1081-2) that there is a need for a generally applicable system for scoring the quality of anaesthesia in spontaneously breathing patients. Such a system would be especially useful for those of us who wish to compare intravenous with inhalational techniques. It is important too that we concentrate on spontaneously breathing patients, as it is very easy to mask many problems by the judicious use of relaxants and controlled ventilation. I would, however, suggest that, instead of trying to aggregate the components to form a single score, we display the components individually. I also think that we should include a simple assessment of smoothness of induction. The final score might be a five digit number, scoring induction, movement, haemodynamic instability, ventilation and recovery, with each component scored from 0 (best) to 4 (worst). Perfection therefore would score 00000, and stormy anaesthesia with delayed recovery, 44444. The advantage is that a composite score may still be obtained if that is required, but the individual components may be weighted differently. Additionally, other investigators may extend the scoring system to add other dimensions, but the early digits would retain the same significance, and so valid comparisons could still be made.


This dissertation deals with the question of the child´s legal status in legal proceedings concerning its own person. Special problems that may arise in investigations concerning the situation of the child and in decisions on measures to be taken in the best interest of the child are also examined. The Care of Young Persons Act (1990:52) constitutes the framework of this study. According to the Act, the County Administrative Court shall, upon application by the social welfare board, decide whether the conditions for statutory care are fulfilled. The law should act as a means of legal protection for exposed children and young persons. The function of the judicial process is to materialize that protection. The thesis examines this function of the law. Three basic demands according to international conventions and Swedish legislation consitute the startingpoint of the work: the child´s right to legal security, the right to personal integrity and the right to successively increasing autonomy. One of the aims of this work is to examine whether the procedural framework for statutory care proceedings according to the Care of Young Persons Act and the practical application of this framework actually satisfy these three demands. Another aim of the study is to describe, at a more theoretical level, the characteristics and special problems in respect of the child´s role in legal proceedings concerning itself. The Swedish legislation is compared with corresponding regulations in Norway and England. An empiricial study based on 390 judgments from the year 1998 in four County Administrative Courts in Sweden concerning statutory care demonstrates how the rules have been applied in practice.


Paper focuses on developing an algorithm using a Hamming Distance Classifier in Neural Networks to find the most optimal move to be made in the Tic-Tac-Toe problem such that the game always ends in a win or a draw. The basic step involves an eight-class Hamming network which has nine inputs corresponding to each cell of the grid and eight outputs respectively. The algorithm computes the Hamming Distance of the current input configuration as compared to the weight matrix and the maximum of the output corresponds to the minimum distance. The iterative step is carried out to anticipate the next move for every possible current move. The hamming distance of all the iterations is added to basic step and the gross maximum gives the most profitable move. The algorithm proceeds such that the neural network prefers to itself win rather than preventing the opponent from winning in least possible moves.


Consumer's behavior can affect volume and electricity demand profile. Therefore, knowing behavior of users is valuable to manage electricity usage, to design better energy policy and management. This study aims to analyse electricity users for manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Makassar, Indonesia to get information about perceptions and users' behaviors on energy consumption using statistical approach. A questionnaire for survey is firstly designed to obtain required data from respondents. Next, two regression models are proposed to examine determinants of usage behavior and habit of SMEs users towards electricity saving. Explanation variables in the models are user's perception, meteorological, economic, and production technology. Results shown the designed questionnaire is reliable. Perception on energy saving for SMEs' users is generally good enough. The perceptions of consumers are different based on the characteristics of demographic. Other results shown determinants of usage behaviour in SMEs towards electricity saving are user's perception, economic and production technology. Meanwhile determinant for habit of users is perception and production technology. Presented results can give more insight to government or power utility in relation to encourage energy efficiency for industrial sector in Indonesia.


Allograft tolerance in clinical HLA mismatched kidney transplantation has been achieved by induction of hematopoietic chimerism via donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT). However, wider clinical application of tolerance regimens has been hampered by the myelosuppressive toxicity of the radiation or chemotherapy used in conditioning. We have previously described methods of successfully reducing the requisite doses of total body irradiation (TBI) by using Venetoclax (ABT-199), a small molecule inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2. However, a minimal dose of TBI 1.5Gy was still required for chimerism induction. Since Mcl-1, another member of the BCL-2 family proteins, is highly expressed in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), we hypothesized that Mcl-1 inhibition might delete the host HSC niche, thus facilitating donor bone marrow engraftment without TBI requirement. We first tested HSC depleting potential by Mcl-1 inhibition without BMT. Three cynomolgus macaques were treated with either Mcl-1 inhibitor (S63845) alone or combined with ABT-199 (Fig. 1a). BMT from an MHC mismatched donor was then performed after conditioning with S63945 and ABT-199 in three monkeys. All recipients were treated with pre-BMT ATG and post-BMT anti-CD154 and cyclosporine, all of which were required for chimerism induction in our previous studies. Three different timing and dosing regimens of S63845 and ABT-199 were used with BMT (Fig 2a). In depletion efficacy testing, administration of S63845 alone depleted HSCs, measured as CD34 positivity in bone marrow aspirates, to 51% of pretreatment levels. Total colony forming units (CFU) was suppressed to 45%. Combining ABT-199 with S63845 decreased HSCs in two animals to 22% and 2% by day 6 (Fig. 2b). When performing BMT, delayed ABT-199 administration with S63845 (Regimen A), depleted HSC to 40% and no hematopoietic chimerism was induced. S63845 dosage was increased to 7.5mg/ kg on days 0 and 1(Regimen B). At the time of BMT, CFU counts reduced by 50%, and HSC were depleted to 16% of baseline. Multilineage chimerism appeared on day 9. Maximal granulocyte and lymphoid chimerism was 8.62% and 2.42% respectively by day 40 (Fig. 2c). Simultaneous administration of S63845 and ABT-199 (Regimen C) deleted HSCs to 11% and suppressed CFU counts to 3% of baseline. Multilineage chimerism appeared on day 7, with granulocyte and lymphoid chimerism as high as 25% and 6.6% on day 12 (Fig.2c). Both recipients remain chimeric at day 33 and 40. Neither S63845 nor the S63845/ABT-199 combination showed significant toxicity beyond transient transaminitis and elevated amylase. Combined inhibition of Mcl-1 and Bcl-2 resulted in HSC deletion, making hematopoietic chimerism induction possible without chemo/radiation therapy. Although optimal dose of S63848 remains to be defined, this approach may be widely applicable not only to transplant tolerance induction but to allogeneic or autologous BMT for hematologic diseases or gene transfer. Month


The nature of linear photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of a new squaraine derivative 2,4-bis[4-(azetidyl)-2-hydroxyphenyl]squaraine (1) with efficient near-infrared (NIR) emission was comprehensively analyzed based on spectroscopic, photochemical, and two-photon absorption (2PA) measurements, along with quantum chemical analysis. The steady-state absorption, fluorescence, and excitation anisotropy spectra of 1 and its fluorescence emission lifetimes revealed the multiple aspects of the electronic structure of 1, including the relative orientations of the main transition dipoles, effective rotational volumes in solvents of different polarities, and a maximum molar extinction of 1.35 × 10-5 M-1·cm-1, which is unusually small for similar symmetric squaraines. The degenerate 2PA spectrum of 1 was obtained over a broad spectral range under femtosecond excitation, using standard open-aperture Z-scan and two-photon induced fluorescence methods, revealing maximum 2PA cross sections of ∼400 GM. Squaraine 1 exhibited efficient superluminescence emission in the polar solvent (dichloromethane) at room temperature under femtosecond pumping conditions. Quantum chemical analysis of the electronic structure of 1 was performed using the DFT/TD-DFT level of theory and found to be in good agreement with experimental data. The new squaraine derivative 1 displayed high fluorescence quantum yield, efficient NIR superluminescence, large 2PA cross sections, and high photostability with a photodecomposition quantum yield ∼4 × 10-6, suggesting its potential for applications in two-photon fluorescent bioimaging and lasing.