The degradation of ultrathin oxides subjected to constant-current stresses is analyzed using two independent procedures. First, the injected charge to breakdown is estimated from the stress-induced leakage current (SILC) evolution during the stress. Second, the degradation that leads to the breakdown is directly measured using a two-step stress test. The evolution of the SILC during constant-current stresses proceeds at a rate that decreases with time. Moreover, under low current density stress conditions the normalized SILC at breakdown is no longer constant. However, our two-step test methodology shows that the degradation of the oxide evolves roughly linearly until the breakdown. These apparently contradictory results can be reconciled assuming that the degradation at breakdown is independent of the stress conditions and using the initial SILC generation rate to calculate the charge-to-breakdown by linear extrapolation. The implications for the use of SILC data as a degradation monitor are discussed.


molecules by the breast milk secretory IgA. IgA is not present in the baby's gut at birth and probably reaches adult levels only by 4-6 months. However, there is the theoretical possibility that even in the fully breast-fed baby, if a feed is delayed by several hours and then foreign protein is given the IgA coating ofthe gut lining may have been "washed away," so leaving an "exposed" gut lining. To prevent this and also to prevent the early onset of coeliac disease the mother should either breast-feed frequently or should breast-feed before giving any foreign protein. Best of all, however, is to delay the giving of solids (and cows' milk) until 6 months, as it is thought that the later that foreign protein is introduced into the baby's diet the less will penetrate the intestinal barrier. The suggestion that breast milk might contain too little sodium surely cannot be taken seriously. Breast milk is the natural food for babies and the fully and successfully breastfed baby of a healthy and well-nourished mother normally grows at the optimal rate. Fast growth rates are not the same as optimal growth rates. Nathan Pritikin's work at the Longevity Centre in Los Angeles suggests that our levels of salt intake are far too high. His studies with severely salt-reduced diets have produced stunning results, especially with hypertension. I am sure we will find (as we have with other breast-milk constituents) that the concentrations of sodium in breast milk are just right and that our ideas of normal sodium levels in babies (which are, after all, based on large numbers of cows'-milk-fed babies) will have to be reviewed. The slightly lower haemoglobin levels commonly found in 6-month-old babies are probably not pathological. Breast milk is now known to supply the baby with more iron than was previously thought and, with the exception of some premature babies, the fully and successfully breast-fed baby certainly has enough iron at least for the first 6 months and probably longer. A lack of milk is the commonest reason for mothers to stop breast feeding and as breast milk confers so many advantages its early loss is not in the baby's best interests. The early introduction of solids will in many cases reduce the baby's hunger so much that his sucking will decrease and the milk supply will fall. Habituation to the breast is a baby's birthright and it is an old wives' tale that there are management problems in the baby given solids after 6 months. I have not mentioned the bottle-fed baby. As he is already receiving a diet which is inappropriate, then early solids will presumably do him no further harm. PENNY STANWAY


New offshore oil recourses that are developed are more difficult to drill and increase the requirements to the technology in the offshore industry. A relatively new technology is Managed Pressure Drilling where a choke topside is used to control the bottom hole pressure. The bottom hole pressure measurement is unreliable, which motivates the need for an observer. Different methods for estimation will be presented and compared in this thesis. Proofs of convergence are outlined for the Stamnes observer, derived for the Grip observer and some stepping stones for further work are presented for the Optimal Polynomial Filter. Each observer is simulated with a simple step in the mud pump to verify the estimation laws. The results show that all observes estimated the bottom hole pressure correctly for this simple case. A more realistic case, a pipe connection, is also simulated for each observer. The case includes zero flow from the mud pump, which reveals that all observers miss the estimation convergence in this case, but that the estimate converges when there is flow from the mud pump. One of the states that affects the bottom hole pressure is the pressure loss due to friction in drill string and annulus. Earlier work modeled these losses as quadratic with respect to the flow through the bit, which are simplifications. To improve the estimate of the bottom hole pressure, new and better friction models are needed. Measurement data from Gullfaks C are analyzed to get new knowledge of friction loss in the drilling string and annulus. For the drill string the quadratic friction model is found to be good enough, catching the main behavior. On the other hand, the friction loss in the annulus is a more complicated function of flow. The annulus friction is approximated with sets of basis functions and the weighted sum of these functions gives an approximation to the friction curve. Each weight is estimated to get the friction loss estimate. The use of the weighted sum of four 1st-order b-spline functions give a good approximation to the real friction curve, and the weight for each basis function is estimated. This is tested in simulations both with a simple case and the pipe connection case. The simulations show that the annulus friction loss and the bit pressure are estimated correctly.


Purpose: To document the characteristics of patients with major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr) rearrangement‐negative chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Patients and Methods: The hematopathologist, who was blinded to patients' molecular status, reviewed the referral bone marrows and peripheral-blood smears from 26 patients with Philadelphia (Ph) translocation‐ negative CML who lacked Bcr rearrangement (and other evidence of a Bcr-Abl anomaly) and 14 patients (controls) with chronic-phase Ph-positive CML. Clinical data was ascertained by chart review. Results: Among the 26 M-bcr rearrangement‐negative CML patients, three pathologic subtypes emerged: (1) patients indistinguishable from classic CML (n 5 9), (2) patients with atypical CML (n 5 8), and (3) patients with chronic neutrophilic leukemia (n 5 9). Among the 14 patients with Ph-positive CML who were included in the blinded review, 13 were classified as classic CML, and one was classified as atypical CML. The only statistically significant difference between M-bcr rearrangement‐negative subgroups was in the proportion of patients having karyotypic abnormalities, an observation common only in patients with atypical CML (P 5 0.008). However, the small number of patients in each subgroup limited our ability to differentiate between them. Interferon alfa induced complete hematologic remission in five of 14 patients; four of these remissions lasted more than 5 years. Only one of 26 patients developed blast crisis. The median survival of the 26 patients was 37 months. Conclusion: Patients with M-bcr rearrangement‐ negative CML fall into three morphologic subgroups. Disease evolution does not generally involve blastic transformation. Instead, patients show progressive organomegaly, leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytosis. Some patients in each subgroup can respond to interferon alfa. J Clin Oncol 19:2915-2926. © 2001 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.


In this paper, we study the joint estimation of inphase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance, carrier frequency offset (CFO), and channel response for multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems using training sequences. A new concept called channel residual energy (CRE) is introduced. We show that by minimizing the CRE, we can jointly estimate the I/Q imbalance and CFO without knowing the channel response. The proposed method needs only one OFDM block for training and the training symbols can be arbitrary. Moreover when the training block consists of two repeated sequences, a low complexity two-step approach is proposed to solve the joint estimation problem. Simulation results show that the mean-squared error (MSE) of the proposed method is close to the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB).


In highly industrialised societies, risk shapes representations and practices surrounding childbirth. However, few studies examine the impact of the transnational diffusion of risk in medium and low income societies, where, despite the adoption of biomedical protocols on an institutional level, women and birth attendants often seem to follow different rationales in their practices. In this article, we are interested in the various components of the notion of risk, which shall be understood and examined in relation to specific socio-economic, political and cultural configurations. Drawing on two ethnographic studies conducted, respectively, in a Swiss university hospital and in three Jordanian government hospitals, we investigate how surveillance and medical interventions are deployed in pregnancy and childbirth in unequally structured health systems and describe negotiations and appropriations surrounding this management. These two contrasting cultural, socio-economic and health 'system' contexts reveal important differences in the way birth attendants and women consider the notion of risk in childbirth in that it is seldom present in clinicians' and women's discourses and practices in Jordan, whereas it plays a pertinent role in Switzerland. We argue that the heterogeneous configurations of risk mobilised by the participants in these studies reveal that dissimilar histories in terms of medical institutions and health care service provisions, political regimes, economic conditions, and social configurations shape the cultural and techno-medical arrangements of the institutions we studied. Comparing our Jordanian and Swiss ethnographies, we show that the mobilisation of biomedical risk does not happen in a vacuum but rather intertwines with specific social arrangements, eliciting resistance and adaptation that fashion the discourses and behaviours of birth attendants and pregnant women.


Abstract. In June 2009, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO released the international thermodynamic equation of seawater – 2010 (TEOS-10 for short) (IOC et al, 2010) to define, describe and calculate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. Compared to Equation of Ocean State-80 (EOS-80 for short), the most obvious change of TEOS-10 is taking Absolute Salinity as salinity argument, replacing the Practical Salinity used in ocean society for 30 years. Due to lack of observation data, Absolute Salinity algorithm the applicability in the offshore and semi-closed sea is not very clear to date. Based on the Marine Integrated Investigation and Evaluation Project of China Offshore, other relevant data together with Pa08 model, we obtain the magnitude, distribution characteristics and formation mechanism of Absolute Salinity in China offshore. As the main composition anomaly relative to SSW, calcium carbonate, originating from terrestrial input of high calcium carbonate content and re-dissolution of sediment of China offshore, raises the Absolute Salinity Anomaly δSA as high as 0.20 g kg-1 and increases the Practical Salinity about 0.025 at most comparing to the chlorinity-based salinity. Moreover, both of them show obvious seasonal variation. Finally, relevant suggestions are proposed for the accurate measurement and expression of Absolute Salinity of the China offshore.


As part of this Special Section on critical rhetoric, this article examines the role of collaboration in the future of critical rhetoric. Building on McKerrow's original eight principles of praxis, the authors advocate for a missing ninth principle that reflects the need for critical rhetoric to be a shared venture across both individual projects and larger discourses. As an example of this type of work, they provide ProfsDoPop.com, an academic, online blog designed to bring academic sensibilities and concepts to popular audiences through the critique of popular culture.


Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. However, current diagnostic tools for CHD, such as coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), are poorly suited for monitoring treatment response. Recently, we have introduced an artificial-intelligence-guided integrated genetic–epigenetic test for CHD whose core consists of six assays that determine methylation in pathways known to moderate the pathogenesis of CHD. However, whether methylation at these six loci is sufficiently dynamic to guide CHD treatment response is unknown. To test that hypothesis, we examined the relationship of changes in these six loci to changes in cg05575921, a generally accepted marker of smoking intensity, using DNA from a cohort of 39 subjects undergoing a 90-day smoking cessation intervention and methylation-sensitive digital PCR (MSdPCR). We found that changes in epigenetic smoking intensity were significantly associated with reversion of the CHD-associated methylation signature at five of the six MSdPCR predictor sites: cg03725309, cg12586707, cg04988978, cg17901584, and cg21161138. We conclude that methylation-based approaches could be a scalable method for assessing the clinical effectiveness of CHD interventions, and that further studies to understand the responsiveness of these epigenetic measures to other forms of CHD treatment are in order.


In this study, 35 female adult patients who were married and suffered from recurrent urinary tract infection in remission stage with the type of the deficiency of Kidney-Qi ( ) were admitted as the objects for this study. Before and after treatment, the T lymphocyte subtype of peripheral blood (OKT3, OKT4, OKT8), serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD), urinary sIg (sIgA) were performed by the ways of monoclonal antibody technique and radio-immunity analysis. The results proved that disturbances of cell mediated immunity, humoral immunity and local immune function were involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. These changes might be one of the susceptible factors that caused the repeated attacks of the disease, and the internal pathological basis of Kidney-Qi deficiency type. After taking Yishenkang granule according to the principle of benefiting Qi and invigorating the Kidney, the patients had been restored fairly from the disease on the low levels of the immune function, and strengthened on anti-infectious ability. From these, the attacks of the disease had been controlled effectively. The curative rate had reached 68.6%.


With rapid population growth, both urbanization and transportation affect air pollution, population health, and global warming. A number of air pollutants are released from industrial facilities and other activities and may cause adverse effects on human health and the environment. One of the biggest air pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is mainly caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, especially from traffic exhaust gases. Over the years, air pollution has been monitored using satellite remote sensing data. In this study, we investigate the relationship of the tropospheric NO2 retrieved from the recently launched Sentinel-5 Precursor, a low-earth-orbit atmosphere mission dedicated to monitoring air pollution equipped with the spectrometer Tropomoi (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument), and the population density over Turkey. For this purpose, we use the mean value of the NO2 collected from July 2018 to January 2019 and the statistic population data from 2017. The results showed a significant correlation of higher than 0.72 between the population density and the maximum NO2 values. For future studies, we recommend investigating the correlation of different air pollutants with population and other factors contributing to air and environmental pollution.


Almost all breast cancer tumors progress to a hormone-resistant state. Evidence is presented that the existence of mutant estrogen receptors may explain some hormone-resistant phenotypes. Breast tumor cells bearing a mutant receptor that is constitutively active and does not bind hormone would have unregulated cell growth and thus appear to be hormone-independent. Alternatively, breast cancer cells may contain estrogen receptors that are transcriptionally inactive but when co-expressed with wild-type receptors render normal estrogen receptors inactive. These cells would be considered estrogen receptor-positive but would be hormone-resistant. The hormone-resistant phenotype could be further complicated by the finding that other nonreceptor proteins may also modulate the transcriptional activity of estrogen receptors. These findings, if substantiated in vivo, could add to the complexity of the hormone-resistant phenotype. Different strategies of treatment will need to be developed to effectively treat the various subtypes of hormone-resistant breast tumors.


The sixth report of the ESHRE PGD Consortium is presented, relating to cycles collected for the calendar year 2003 and follow-up of the pregnancies and babies born up to October 2004. Since the beginning of the data collections, there has been a steady rise in the number of cycles, pregnancies and babies reported. For this report, 50 centres participated, reporting on 2984 cycles, 501 pregnancies and 373 babies born. Five hundred and twenty-nine cycles were reported for chromosomal abnormalities, 516 cycles were reported for monogenic diseases, 137 cycles were reported for sexing for X-linked diseases, 1722 cycles were reported for preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) and 80 cycles were reported for social sexing. Data VI is compared to the cumulative data for data collections I-V.


High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), such as HPV-16, are etiologic agents of a variety of anogenital and oral malignancies, including nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancers arising in transgenic mice that express HPV-16 E7 in an inducible manner require the continuous expression of E7 for their maintenance. However, in HPV-associated cancers in vivo, E6 and E7 invariably are coexpressed. In this study, we investigated whether cervical cancers rely on the continuous expression of E7 in the context of constitutively expressed E6. We placed the inducible HPV-16 E7 transgene onto a background in which HPV-16 E6 was constitutively expressed. In transgenic mice with high-grade cervical dysplastic lesions and cervical cancer, repressing the expression of E7 led to the regression of all cancers and the vast majority of high-grade dysplastic lesions. In addition, cervical cancers were occasionally observed in transgenic mice in which E7 was repressed and then reexpressed. Our findings indicate that even in the presence of constitutively expressed E6, the continuous expression of E7 is required for the maintenance of cervical cancers and most precancerous lesions. These data have important implications for the potential clinical use of drugs designed to inhibit the expression and/or function of E7 to treat HPV-associated cancers.


The authors report the results of their biomechanical experimental study on the fixation of various lesions of the spine, using Roy Camille metal plates, and the results of Fischer -- Gonon (using Harrington rods) and Kempf -- Jaeger (using Kempf rods). They conclude to: the efficiency of the posterior techniques of fixation, the necessity, in the thoraco-lumbar and lumbar segments to associate an anterior graft (fibula), in order to reinforce the late stability, the best functional results achieved by a "short" fixation in association with an anterior graft (double approach technique). According to their experience, the authors advocate for the use of Roy Camille metal plates screwed in the pedicles, the Harrington or Kempf rods helping in the per operative course to gain further reduction, namely in cases of disymetrical displacements.


Aquatic sediments are of major importance for the cycling of environmental pollutants, acting as both sinks and secondary sources of contaminants to the ecosystem. Sediment-living organisms can affect the fate and transport of contaminants through activities like feeding and burrowing, collectively called bioturbation. Apart from high contaminant levels, the Baltic benthic ecosystem is affected by stressors such as eutrophication-induced anoxic conditions and invading alien species. The main objectives of this thesis were to determine the effects of bioturbation on contaminant fluxes in Baltic Sea sediments and to increase the understanding of how these other stressors act together upon contaminant fate in the benthic ecosystem. Bioturbation affected contaminants in a species-specific way. The native species Monoporeia affinis and Macoma balthica increased the incorporation of BDE-99 and Cd deposited on the sediment surface, enhancing their retention in the sediment. The invasive polychaete Marenzelleria sp. did not contribute to the incorporation of surface-deposited contaminants, however, significantly increased the release of contaminants back to the water column. Reoxygenation of anoxic laminated sediments and bioturbation by Marenzelleria increased the sediment-to-water flux of dissolved organic contaminants. When the bioturbation-driven release of PCB was compared to the release caused by physical sediment resuspension, results indicated that the continuous activities of benthic infauna can be just as, or even more, important than physical disturbance for the remobilization of sediment-bound contaminants. Bioaccumulation was significantly higher when contaminants were deposited associated to phytoplankton compared to lignin or sediment, suggesting that there are likely seasonal differences in the mobilization of contaminants in the benthic ecosystem. In summary, bioturbation is an important process influencing contaminant fate in Baltic Sea sediments, and the risk of remobilization of historically buried contaminants may increase with improved benthic redox conditions and the invasion of new deeper-digging species, such as Marenzelleria.


Vibrational predissociation processes of the H2O+Ar complex ion following mid-infrared excitations of the OH stretching modes and bending overtone of the H2O+ unit were studied by photofragment ion imaging. The anisotropy parameters, β, of the angular distributions of the photofragment ions were clearly dependent on the type (branch) of rotational excitation, β > 0 for the P-branch excitations, while β < 0 for the Q-branch excitations, which were consistent with the previous theoretical predictions for the rotationally resolved optical transition of a prolate symmetric top. The translational energy distributions had a similar form, irrespective of the excitation modes. This result suggests that the prepared excited states underwent a common relaxation pathway via the bending or bending overtone state of the H2O+ unit. In addition, the available energy was preferentially distributed into the rotational energy of the H2O+ fragment ions rather than the translational energy. The mechanism of the rotational excitations of the H2O+ fragment ions was discussed based on the steric configuration of the H2O+ and Ar units at the moment of dissociation.


The mechanisms responsible for the propagation of the first anode directed ionization wave that occurs in a straight discharge tube during breakdown are studied by means of a fluid model. The discharge tube contains argon at a pressure of a few Torr and is operated at a dc voltage with the cathode heated to thermal electron emission temperatures. The two-dimensional model incorporates continuity and momentum equations for the electrons, for several effective excited states and for the ions, a balance equation for the electron energy and the Poisson equation. The model is capable of describing the first ionization front in a way that is qualitatively consistent with observations made in experiments. The mechanisms behind the breakdown evolution are investigated by considering the temporal and spatial evolution of the quantities described by the model. Previously, researchers have described this breakdown evolution in terms of an RC-line circuit. The validity of this picture is surveyed by considering the distribution of charges within the lamp. The effect of control parameters on the breakdown process and the assumptions that affect the validity of the model for later stages in breakdown are considered.


The main aim of this dissertation is twofold; while it aims to explain the European integration and differentiation in EU external assistance policies, at the same time it examines the relationship between integration mechanisms, enlargement and development and cooperation policy. It also aims to explain why and to where individual EU member states prefer to allocate bilateral aid, and aggregate in some partner countries and regions, while the European Commission standing as the one of the most effective and successful multilateral agency regarding financial aid. Thus, it aims to uncover the factors that determine aid allocation preferences of EU institutions and member states. Finally, it explains the roles of Europeanisation and European differentiated integration on the development aid policies of EU candidates by taking the case of Turkey. Turkey is both an EU aid recipient and an emerging donor. The dissertation includes three broad research questions; 1- Does European integration have any impact on the evolution of EU external assistance policies and financial aid instruments and vice versa? 2- What are the main factors that determine the patterns of aid fractionalisation of European donors? and 3- Whether convergence and divergence between Turkey's and the EU's development and humanitarian aid policies is a form of differentiated integration between these partners and if yes, this would cause to an alternative mode of integration in development policy? It adopts a mixed-method approach by using primary and secondary data analysis approach and semi-structured elite interview methodology and also a large-N, panel data regression analysis.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between Sonic hedgehog (SHH) protein expression levels on placental tissues and the presence of preeclampsia and to assess oxidative stress in cultured trophoblast cells from placentas of women with preeclampsia treated under different conditions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We enrolled 30 pregnant women with early-onset preeclampsia (<34 weeks), 30 with late-onset preeclampsia (≥34 weeks), and 60 healthy pregnant women with early or late gestational ages for two control groups. We used ELISA tests to measure individual serum SHH levels. Also, we used real-time PCR, and Western blotting to detect Shh transcript and protein levels in placental tissues, respectively, and immunohistochemistry to localize the protein in placental tissues. We isolated trophoblast cells from placentas and cultured them in vitro under different conditions to compare oxidative stress injury and apoptosis rates between them.

RESULTS
The mean serum SHH levels in early and late preeclampsia groups were similar (p>0.05). Placentas of women with and without preeclampsia both expressed SHH protein mainly in syncytiotrophoblast cytoplasms. The mean placental SHH protein expressions in both women with early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia were significantly higher than that in the women of the late gestational age control group (p<0.05). The mean Shh mRNA abundances in early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia placentas were significantly higher than that in the late gestational age control placentas (p<0.05). The placental mitochondria oxidative stress injury was significantly higher in the preeclampsia than in the control group (p<0.05). The oxidative stress injury and apoptosis of trophoblast cells were higher in preeclampsia groups than in the late gestational age control group (p<0.05). Trophoblast cells treated with SHH serum had significantly lower oxidative stress than the same cells grown in the presence of preeclamptic serum (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The expression of Shh in placental tissues is associated with the oxidative stress mechanism during preeclampsia.


In the present study, the human orthologue of the secreted Xenopus laevis anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) protein was evaluated as a potential serum biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma. AGR2 protein levels were preoperatively measured in the serum of 111 primary lung adenocarcinoma patients and in 46 non-cancer controls with subsequent calculation of sensitivity and specificity in comparison with serum CEA levels. Correlations with clinicopathological variables were also assessed and survival analyses were performed according to the Kaplan-Meier method and differences determined with the log-rank test. The mean serum AGR2 level of lung adenocarcinoma patients in each stage, even Stage I, was significantly higher than in non-cancer controls (P < 0.001 for all stages, Mann-Whitney U test). The sensitivity was 65.8% (52.9% for stage IA), even higher than that of CEA, which was 45.0% (29.4% for stage IA), and the specificity was 87.0% according to the ROC curve (AUC=0.858). Positive serum AGR2 expression was significantly associated with the incidence of recurrence after surgery (P=0.025) and with a poor prognosis (P=0.037 for overall survival and P=0.004 for disease-free survival). Preoperative serum AGR2 might become a clinically useful biomarker for early detection, prediction of recurrence and prognosis with lung adenocarcinomas.


ABSTRACT Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a relatively under-recognized hereditary cardiomyopathy. It is characterized pathologically by fibro-fatty infiltration of right ventricular (RV) myocardium and clinically by consequences of RV electrical instability. Timely intervention with device therapy and pharmacotherapy may help reduce the risk of arrhythmic events or sudden cardiac death. Here, we describe a classic case of a young adult with ARVC and a brief literature review. The patient presented with exertional palpitations and ARVC was suspected after his routine electrocardiogram (EKG) revealed symmetric T wave inversions and possible epsilon waves in right precordial leads. Subsequent work up showed fatty infiltration of RV myocardium on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and inducible ventricular tachycardia from the right ventricle during electrophysiologic study. Those findings confirmed the diagnosis of ARVC and warranted treatment with implantable cardioverter defibrillator. It is always exciting to encounter rare pathological entities with classic clinical findings, especially when they present as a diagnostic challenge.We were able to provide correct diagnosis and management, thereby preventing the potentially lethal consequences. Therefore, it is important to recognize the possible EKG findings of ARVC and to know when to pursue further investigations and to implement therapies.


Abstract Low-level cooling beneath the cirrus anvil canopies of supercell thunderstorms is documented in two Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment cases and in the 17 May 1981 Arcadia, Oklahoma, supercell. Surface temperature decreases of 3°C or more occurred beneath the anvils within 45 min of the onset of overcast conditions. Cooling was confined to the lowest few hundred meters of the boundary layer, and believed to be due mainly to a deficit in the energy budget following a reduction of incoming shortwave radiation. In the three cases studied, the vertical wind shear was strong; thus, mixing prevented the formation of an inversion layer. Strong insolation at the ground outside of the anvil shadows coupled with the cooling beneath the cirrus canopies led to corridors of baroclinity along the shadow edges. It is shown that residence times in these baroclinic zones may be long enough for parcels to acquire considerable horizontal vorticity (e.g., ∼10−2 s−1) en route to a storm u...


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
We previously found that silent cerebral infarction (SCI) was present in most of the patients older than 50 years with major depression who were examined. The present study was designed to clarify the relationship between psychosocial stressors and SCI in patients with major depression.

METHODS
Forty-two patients with unipolar depression underwent MRI and were classified as SCI-negative (n = 19) or SCI-positive (n = 23). The SCI-positive group was subclassified into those with moderate SCI (n = 16) and those with severe SCI (n = 7). The relationship between the patients' DSM-III-R axis IV scores and SCI was evaluated.

RESULTS
The axis IV score was significantly lower in the SCI-positive group than in the SCI-negative group (P < .05). Within the SCI-positive group, the mean axis IV score was significantly lower in those with severe SCI than in those with moderate SCI (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that depression in patients with SCI involves more neurological factors than psychosocial stressors.


The effects of leachate on heavy metals content of dumpsite soils were assessed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained showed that Iron (Fe) was the most abundant metal, with the highest concentration observed at the Rumuigbo dumpsite. The least concentrated metal in the dumpsites was vanadium (V) with the lowest value observed at the Slaughter dumpsite. The order of the metal concentrations in the dumpsites were Fe>Cu>Zn>Mn>Ni>Pb>Cr>Cd>V. All the metals except cadmium (Cd) were below the required permissible limit in soils by DPR, China and the world average value in shale. All the metals except cadmium (Cd) were below the permissible limits in soils. Contamination and pollution index models showed that the soils were within the uncontaminated – moderately contaminated in the various dumpsites for all the metals except Cu which was moderate – strong pollution and Cd which showed strong pollution in all the dumpsites. All the metals except Cd showed low contamination tendencies when tested against the geo-accumulation index. Interpretation of the data with ecological risk factor showed that all the metals except Cd had little or no Pollutional tendencies, but potential ecological risk assessment however, showed that the environment is at the risk of being polluted by these metals.


Abstract Objective: To describe interfacility transfer communication (IFTC) methods for notification of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) status in a diverse sample of acute-care hospitals. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Participants: Hospitals within the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Research Network (SRN). Methods: SRN members completed an electronic survey on protocols and methods for IFTC. We assessed differences in IFTC frequency, barriers, and perceived benefit by presence of an IFTC protocol. Results: Among 136 hospital representatives who were sent the survey, 54 (40%) responded, of whom 72% reported having an IFTC protocol in place. The presence of a protocol did not differ significantly by hospital size, academic affiliation, or international status. Of those with IFTC protocols, 44% reported consistent notification of MDRO status (>75% of the time) to receiving facilities, as opposed to 13% from those with no IFTC protocol (P = .04). Respondents from hospitals with IFTC protocols reported significantly fewer barriers to communication compared to those without (2.8 vs 4.3; P = .03). Overall, however, most respondents (56%) reported a lack of standardization in communication. Presence of an IFTC protocol did not affect whether respondents perceived IFTC protocols as having a significant impact on infection prevention or antimicrobial stewardship. Conclusions: Most respondents reported having an IFTC protocol, which was associated with reduced communication barriers at transfer. Standardization of protocols and clarity about expectations for sending and receipt of information related to MDRO status may facilitate IFTC and promote appropriate and timely infection prevention practices.


The cellularity and histochemistry of the semitendinosus muscle was studied in lean and obese pigs at 14 days of age. Muscles from lean animals had lower (P less than .05) muscle weights and minimum fiber diameters and had reduced (P less than .05) percentages of dry matter and protein when contrasted to obese muscles. Concentrations of RNA and glycogen were independent of animal strain but DNA levels were severely depressed (P less than .01) in obese muscle. Histochemistry for lipid, NADH-TR, acid ATPase, esterase and glycogen (PAS) indicated no strain effects. Regardless of strain, sections from larger animals showed histochemical patterns indicative of more mature muscles. These studies demonstrate abnormalities in muscle cellular characteristics in the young obese animal. Furthermore, these abnormalities may accelerate muscle maturation and hasten the fattening phase of growth.


To investigate the dynamics of nasopharyngeal colonization with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and to determine the prevalent serogroups/types (SGT) and their antimicrobial susceptibility, we studied 100 infants attending our well-baby clinic. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were obtained at 6, 10, 14, 18 and 22 weeks and at 9 and 18 months of age and submitted for culture, serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of S. pneumoniae. Colonization with pneumococcus was seen on at least one occasion in 81 infants. The median age of acquisition was 11 weeks and the median duration of carriage was 1·3 months. The common SGTs identified were 6, 19, 14 and 15. SGT 1, which was a common invasive isolate in children in our hospital during this period, was not isolated from these children. Sequential colonization by 2, 3 or 4 SGTs was observed in 18, 5 and 2 children, respectively. Resistance to penicillin, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole and erythromycin was observed in 0, 13 (6%) 11 (5%) and 5 (3%) isolates, respectively. There was a significant difference in susceptibility to cotrimoxazole between colonizing and invasive isolates (5% vs. 40%, P<0·0001).


This paper presents a hybrid 1D motion estimation algorithm which combines pixel-based and region-based approaches that can give depth images from translational video sequences with very high quality. Firstly, we combine the motion information estimated by a variational regularization approach and by the Gabor transform through histogram analysis to identify those regions with zero motion (like for the sky). Then another round of region matching is carried out to refine the motion values for the other regions. Our algorithm can detect most of the sky regions segmented by foreground objects with complex geometry while keeping the boundaries of moving objects sharp and clear, which is an very important feature to obtain accurate 3D models. The high quality motion maps/depth images obtained by our algorithm are shown along with 3D reconstructions from novel viewpoints.


Using a polyaryletherketone bearing carboxyl groups (PEK) as macromolecular ligand, Tb3+and Ce3+ as central coordination ions, 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) as the second ligand, a kind of novel terbium-cerium coordination polymer (PEK-Tb3+0.5Ce3+0.5-Phen) was prepared. The structure of PEK-Tb3+0.5Ce3+0.5-Phen was investigated by ICP, FTIR and XRD. The results showed that Tb3+and Ce3+ ions coordinated to both the polymer ligand PEK and the second ligand Phen, and rare earth ions homogeneously distributed in the polymer matrix. The fluorescence measurement indicated that PEK-Tb3+0.5Ce3+0.5-Phen can exhibit the characteristic emission of Tb3+. Furthermore, the emission intensity of PEK-Tb3+0.5Ce3+0.5-Phen at 546 nm, corresponding to the green color, was higher than that of PEK-Tb3+-Phen.


To acquire an in-depth grasp of the non-consistent use of condoms, an attempt was made to characterize aspects of the symbolic meanings of sexual conduct in a group of young males. Interviews with forty-two subjects whose sexual initiation occurred in the late 1990s were qualitatively assessed by an analysis of statements interpreted under the theoretical perspectives of sexual scripts and male lifestyle and values. Participants emphasized the importance of blood testing and a biographical analysis of their partners (to generate 'trust') and tended to use personal criteria to assess the state of their partners' health. They established a dyadic typology of these relationships divided into "infrequent" and "steady" partners respectively, exercising two kinds of approaches to condom use, namely prevention of AIDS-STD and pregnancy on the one hand and only for pregnancy prevention on the other. The narratives seem to result, among other factors, from a biomedical approach to aspects of their sex lives and a desire for a stable and monogamous sexual-affective relationship. The important and recent changes in the intrapsychic and interpersonal sexual scripts do not seem to be currently accompanied by equally profound changes in cultural scripts or male lifestyle and values.


The base of skull, the nasopharynx, and the parapharyngeal space are among the most anatomically complex regions of the body. When pathologic changes arise in these areas, the close topographic relationship of soft-tissue structures and central nervous system structures, often separated only by an osseous or a thin soft tissue layer, generally necessitates sensitive diagnostic and complex therapeutic procedures.


In this paper, the formulas of elasto-plastic deformation and stresses of a multilayer pressure vessel were deduced in consideration of the linear hardening elasto-plasticity of the material, and the relations between plastic zone and interior pressure and between equivalent stress and interior pressure were obtained for a monolayer vessel. Then, treating the strength problem of a pressure vessel with a fuzzy or random one and based on the principle of the information entropy theory that the information of a variable does not change with its expressed type, the fuzzy variables in the problem were transformed into random ones or the random variables into fuzzy ones. At last, the strength reliability degree of the pressure vessel was solved out by use of the random reliability method and the fuzzy one, respectively. The relative error between the fuzzy and random reliability degrees is 4.08% and the fuzzy reliability degree is closer to the determined one than the random one.


Topsoil placement on Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF's) is not considered as standard rehabilitation practice in South Africa (SA). Historically, final earth covers have not been prescribed as part of tailings design and operation and no topsoil has therefore been provided in any way, let alone the financial provision thereof. Since final closure is nearing many mining operations, social and regulatory pressure confront mine owners to the reality of the impacts of uncovered TSF's. Millions of people reside in urban areas where tailings facilities frequent the landscape (especially around Gauteng, Northwest and Mpumalanga Province). Environmental and geotechnical risk may also emanate from uncovered facilities where surface erosion, as well as water, soil and air pollution protection measures need to be committed to as part of final closure. From a lifecycle cost perspective, topsoil covers are now considered more readily as a viable closure solution alternative compared to liner and geo-membrane covers. However, limited knowledge exists about tailings-soil cover interactions, geotechnical implications of covers, and the eco-functional role thereof. The largest gold tailings facility in South Africa (>700ha) is coincidentally one of the exceptions since it is concurrently rehabilitated by means of topsoil on the side slopes and benches. This case study leads the way in understanding the performance of earth covers on SA gold TSF's and provides insights into the soil cover performance, which now date back more than 50 years. The aim of the study was to investigate uniformity of soil placement through soil texture, soil depth, soil and tailings moisture content, vegetation surface cover and species richness across the rehabilitated tailings landscape. From the findings it was clear that distance to topsoil source and ramp access characterised the type of soil placed on the side slopes. It was found that five different soil classes were placed across the facility. Soil depth varied across the landscape and shale and dolerite rock matrix were frequently found throughout the study area. Furthermore, soil moisture levels in the cover were found to correlate with soil texture especially on high clay soil cover percentage, whilst moisture in the tailings was consistently the same throughout, except below clay soil covers. From a vegetation perspective, the surface cover was still less than 60% and the TSF is still in a pioneer state with weeds dominating the species richness and mainly commercially seeded grass species still occur. Since no original cover design for functionality criteria was considered as part of the operational focus, this case study presents an opportunity for real time field laboratory feedback on various soil textural and moisture regimes, and the information can be considered in the future design of topsoil covers for tailings facilities, whilst learning more about the ecological response to cover characteristics and climatic variability. Information about the functioning of the store-and-release cover could also be generated and advise whether the closure objectives can be met or to advise on objectives. Furthermore, approach must be incorporated into realistic closure success analogues for rehabilitation performance assessment standards in South Africa and underline realistic closure outcomes and an understanding of the total cost of ownership of a long term TSF operation


Abstract The role of root signals in water deficit responses of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is important in the alternate flooding and drying conditions encountered in the rainfed lowlands, where the abundant roots in shallow soil layers may generate signals when droughted, with consequent reduction in stomatal conductance (gs) and growth, despite the likelihood of additional water in deeper soil layers. This study was conducted to confirm the presence of root signals, explore their nature and plant responses, consider the suitability of the methods, and discuss implications for adaptation under rainfed lowland drought. A split-root technique was used in greenhouse studies, whereby roots were divided into two sections: flooded and droughted. The decrease in gs and transpiration rate (Tr) due to drying of a portion of the roots, and their apparent recovery upon severing of this root portion, were consistent with the role for signals. The field study confirmed the evidence for root signals during progressive soil drying, whereby gs and Tr decreased before leaf water potential (ΨL) started to decline. The increase in leaf ABA concentration under field drought, and its strong association with soil moisture tension and gs, suggested its involvement in mediating stomatal responses during early drought in rice. The recovery in ΨL after severing of droughted roots in the greenhouse could be attributed to increased hydraulic conductance. These responses imply a role for both chemical and hydraulic signals in rice, which have important implications for adaptation and crop performance in contrasting rice ecosystems.


Elucidation of the chemical composition of biological samples is a main focus of systems biology and metabolomics. Their comprehensive study requires reliable, efficient, and automatable methods to identify and quantify the underlying metabolites. Because nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a rich source of molecular information, it has a unique potential for this task. Here we present a suite of public web servers (http://spinportal.magnet.fsu.edu), termed COLMAR, which facilitates complex mixture analysis by NMR. The COLMAR web portal presently consists of three servers: COLMAR covariance calculates the covariance NMR spectrum from an NMR input dataset, such as a TOCSY spectrum; COLMAR DemixC method decomposes the 2D covariance TOCSY spectrum into a reduced set of nonredundant 1D cross sections or traces, which belong to individual mixture components; and COLMAR query screens the traces against a NMR spectral database to identify individual compounds. Examples are presented that illustrate the utility of this web server suite for complex mixture analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Although Turkey's recent democratization efforts triggered by the accession process to the EU have been considerable, implementation remains a serious problem. As in similar cases, experience has shown that in externally induced democratization processes, the role of internal agents of democratization—through elite socialization—determines the level of implementation. Within this context, the roles played by Turkey's business, army, judiciary, and state bureaucracy are explored.


Dietterich (1998) reviews five statistical tests and proposes the 5 2 cvt test for determining whether there is a significant difference between the error rates of two classifiers. In our experiments, we noticed that the 5 2 cvt test result may vary depending on factors that should not affect the test, and we propose a variant, the combined 5 2 cv F test, that combines multiple statistics to get a more robust test. Simulation results show that this combined version of the test has lower type I error and higher power than 5 2 cv proper.


In an effort to isolate and characterize bioactive secondary metabolites from Trichodesmium thiebautii blooms, collected cyanobacteria biomass was subjected to bioassay-guided extraction and fractionation using the human colon cancer cell line HCT-116, resulting in the isolation and subsequent structure characterization of a linear polyketide trichophycin A (1). The planar structure of 1 was completed using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). Trichophycin A was moderately toxic against the murine neuroblastoma cell line Neuro-2A (EC50: 6.5 μM) and HCT-116 cells (EC50: 11.7 μM). Trichophycin A was significantly more cytotoxic than the previously isolated polyketides trichotoxin A and trichotoxin B. These cytotoxicity observations suggest that toxicity may be related to the polyol character of these polyketide compounds.


We examine the relationships between primary feather length (fprim) and total arm length (ta) (sum of humerus, ulna and manus lengths) in Mesozoic fossil birds to address one aspect of avian wing shape evolution. Analyses show that there are significant differences in the composition of the wing between the known lineages of basal birds and that mean fprim (relative to ta length) is significantly shorter in Archaeopteryx and enantiornithines than it is in Confuciusornithidae and in living birds. Based on outgroup comparisons with nonavian theropods that preserve forelimb primary feathers, we show that the possession of a relatively shorter fprim (relative to ta length) must be the primitive condition for Aves. There is also a clear phylogenetic trend in relative primary feather length throughout bird evolution: our analyses demonstrate that the fprim/ta ratio increases among successive lineages of Mesozoic birds towards the crown of the tree ('modern birds'; Neornithes). Variance in this ratio also coincides with the enormous evolutionary radiation at the base of Neornithes. Because the fprim/ta ratio is linked to flight mode and performance in living birds, further comparisons of wing proportions among Mesozoic avians will prove informative and certainly imply that the aerial locomotion of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis was very different to other extinct and living birds.


Recent work has developed analytic formulae for spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients from uniform polygonal lights, enabling near-field area lights to be included in Precomputed Radiance Transfer (PRT) systems, and in offline rendering. However, the method is inefficient since coefficients need to be recomputed at each vertex or shading point, for each light, even though the SH coefficients vary smoothly in space. The complexity scales linearly with the number of lights, making many-light rendering difficult. In this paper, we develop a novel analytic formula for the spatial gradients of the spherical harmonic coefficients for uniform polygonal area lights. The result is a significant generalization, involving the Reynolds transport theorem to reduce the problem to a boundary integral for which we derive a new analytic formula, showing how to reduce a key term to an earlier recurrence for SH coefficients. The implementation requires only minor additions to existing code for SH coefficients. The results also hold implications for recent efforts on differentiable rendering. We show that SH gradients enable very sparse spatial sampling, followed by accurate Hermite interpolation. This enables scaling PRT to hundreds of area lights with minimal overhead and real-time frame rates. Moreover, the SH gradient formula is a new mathematical result that potentially enables many other graphics applications.


Manufacturers of terminally sterilized medical devices must ensure that packaging protects the device from damage, allows it to be sterilized, and provides an effective barrier against microbiological contamination. The previous article in this column discussed quality system requirements for packaging, Recently, an international standard concerning sterile packaging has been developed and this article provides an overview of the standard.


Anecdotal evidence supports the use of Bacrobial® skin cleanser for preventing muscle cramps; however, empirical evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether Bacrobial® prevents muscle cramping in the triceps surae. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. SETTINGS/LOCATION: Laboratory. SUBJECTS: Seventeen cramp-prone participants (11 male, 6 female; age 21 ± 2 yrs; 79.72 ± 19.75 kg; 175.86 ± 11.76 cm) volunteered. INTERVENTION: Participants completed two trials, at least one week apart. On the first trial, Bacrobial® was liberally applied to the skin over the triceps surae musculature of one leg, while placebo was applied to the other leg. At 1, 5, 10, and 20 min after application, participants were instructed to induce a cramp in the triceps surae via maximal voluntary contraction. For the second trial, treatments were applied to the opposite leg as in trial one and the cramping procedure was repeated. OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of cramping was the main outcome measure and event-odds tables, risk reduction and NNT (numbers needed to treat) or NNH (numbers needed to harm) were calculated at the time intervals of 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes. RESULTS: No significant differences between treatments were found in cramping incidences at all time intervals. Bacrobial® decreased the risk of cramping by 12.5% at one minute (NNT = 8), while causing a 5.3% increased risk at five minutes (NNH = 5.3). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate Bacrobial® skin cleanser is not an overall effective treatment for muscle cramp prevention. However, the observed results at one minute may be useful to clinicians who treat cramp-prone patients.


Study of mortality associated with exposure to the Holocaust is relevant for better understanding the effects of man-made massive killings on survivors. Previous studies did not investigate long-term cause-specific mortality of Holocaust survivors. We compared mortality rates of Israelis born in European countries controlled by the Nazis to Israelis of European descent without this exposure. Records of 22,671 people (5,042 survivors, 45% women) from the population-based Jerusalem Perinatal Study (1964-1976) were linked to the Population Registry updated through 2016. Cox models were used with two-sided tests of statistical significance. Risk of all-cause mortality was higher in the exposed women (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.27) as compared to unexposed. No association was found between the exposure and male all-cause mortality. In both sexes, the survivors had higher cancer-specific mortality (HR=1.17; CI: 1.01, 1.35 in women and HR=1.14; CI: 1.01, 1.28 in men). The exposed men also had excess mortality due to coronary heart disease (HR=1.39; CI: 1.09, 1.77) and lower mortality due to other known causes combined (HR=0.86; CI: 0.75, 0.99). In summary, Holocaust experience was associated with excess of all-cause and cancer-specific female and cancer- and coronary heart disease -specific male mortality.


Cancer is the name given to a class of diseases characterized by an imbalance in cell proliferation and apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Once cancer has reached detectable sizes ($10^{6}$ cells or 1 mm$^3$), it is assumed to have spread throughout the body, and a systemic form of treatment is needed. Chemotherapy treatment is commonly used, and it effects both healthy and diseased tissue. This creates a dichotomy for clinicians who need develop treatment schedules which balance toxic side effects with treatment efficacy. Nominally, the optimal treatment schedule --- where schedule is defined as the amount and frequency of drug delivered --- is the one found to be the most efficacious from the set evaluated during clinical trials. In this work, a model based approach for developing drug treatment schedules was developed. Cancer chemotherapy modeling is typically segregated into drug pharmacokinetics (PK), describing drug distribution throughout an organism, and pharmacodynamics (PD), which delineates cellular proliferation, and drug effects on the organism. This work considers two case studies: (i) a preclinical study of the oral administration of the antitumor agent 9-nitrocamptothecin (9NC) to severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice bearing subcutaneously implanted HT29 human colon xenografts; and (ii) a theoretical study of intravenous chemotherapy from the engineering literature.Metabolism of 9NC yields the active metabolite 9-aminocamptothecin (9AC). Both 9NC and 9AC exist in active lactone and inactive carboxylate forms. Four different PK model structures are presented to describe the plasma disposition of 9NC and 9AC: three linear models at a single dose level (0.67 mg/kg 9NC); and a nonlinear model for the dosing range 0.44 -- 1.0 mg/kg 9NC. Untreated tumor growth was modeled using two approaches: (i) exponential growth; and (ii) a switched exponential model transitioning between two different rates of exponential growth at a critical size. All of the PK/PD models considered here have bilinear kill terms which decrease tumor sizes at rates proportional to the effective drug concentration and the current tumor size. The PK/PD model combining the best linear PK model with exponential tumor growth accurately characterized tumor responses in ten experimental mice administered 0.67 mg/kg of 9NC myschedule (Monday-Friday for two weeks repeated every four weeks). The nonlinear PK model of 9NC coupled to the switched exponential PD model accurately captured the tumor response data at multiple dose levels. Each dosing problem was formulated as a mixed--integer linear programming problem (MILP), which guarantees globally optimal solutions. When minimizing the tumor volume at a specified final time, the MILP algorithm delivered as much drug as possible at the end of the treatment window (up to the cumulative toxicity constraint). While numerically optimal, it was found that an exponentially growing tumor, with bilinear kill driven by linear PK would experience the same decrease in tumor volume at a final time regardless of when the drug was administered as long as the {it same amount} was administered. An alternate objective function was selected to minimize tumor volume along a trajectory. This is more clinically relevant in that it better represents the objective of the clinician (eliminate the diseased tissue as rapidly as possible). This resulted in a treatment schedule which eliminated the tumor burden more rapidly, and this schedule can be evaluated recursively at the end of each cycle for efficacy and toxicity, as per current clinical practice.The second case study consists of an intravenously administered drug with first order elimination treating a tumor under Gompertzian growth. This system was also formulated as a MILP, and the two different objectives above were considered. The first objective was minimizing the tumor volume at a final time --- the objective the original authors considered. The MILP solution was qualitatively similar to the solutions originally found using control vector parameterization techniques. This solution also attempted to administer as much drug as possible at the end of the treatment interval. The problem was then posed as a receding horizon trajectory tracking problem. Once again, a more clinically relevant objective returned promising results; the tumor burden was rapidly eliminated.


To further characterize the role of insulin in glucose metabolism during fasting and refeeding, euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps were performed in control, 3 day-fasted, and 3 day-fasted then 3 day-refed rats. Glucose production and utilization were measured by using [3-3H]glucose. In control and refed rats, hepatic glucose production was totally suppressed at insulin concentration higher than 500 microU/ml; by contrast, during fasting, hepatic glucose production was not suppressed even at insulin concentration tenfold higher. Maximal increment of glucose utilization was lower in fasted than in control rats. Three days of refeeding restored almost entirely normal responses to insulin for glucose utilization. Blood glucose concentration was clamped at a different level in fasted and in control and refed rats; however, increment in glucose clearance in response to insulin was lower in fasted rats than in the two other groups. Thus fasting produces a state of insulin unresponsiveness both at the hepatic and peripheral levels, normal responsiveness being restored after 3 days of refeeding.


Risk mapping in epidemiology enables the epidemiologist to identify regions with high or low risk of contamination and understand the underlying mechanisms of the spread of the disease. In this work we are presenting a method of risk mapping based on finite mixture models, in which the allocation to the mixture components is modelled through a correlated process, the Potts model. The inference is performed using an approximation of the Expectation Maximisation (EM) algorithm based on the mean-field theory. One advantage of this model is that the classification of the risk is done automatically and not performed in a second step as in current risk mapping. Methods We are presenting also a way of initialisation able to overcome the sensitivity of this algorithm to its initial parameters. Combining the proposed model to this way of initialisation is leading to good results even in the case of animal non contagious diseases, in which the risk level is very small. This is illustrated in both simulated data and real data: The bovine spongiform Encephalopathy disease in France. We will also introduce an extension of this model to the spatial-temporal context since taking in account the temporal dependencies besides the spatial ones usually provides more useful cues. This methodology will be illustrated on simulated data.


The CaCu3-xZnxTi4O12 (CCZTO) (x=0, 0.06, 0.1, 0.2) ceramics were prepared by Sol–gel method. The XRD pattern shows that crystal structure of the sample with no Zn is basically single-phase. The SEM results indicate that the samples have porous structures and the gain size decreases with the content of Zn increasing. The dielectric properties of CCZTO were analyzed by Agilent 4294A. The experimental results show that the dielectric constants are less than that in other papers reported obviously because of their mesoporous structures. With the little doping amount(x=0.06, 0.1), a sharp decrease happened in the dielectric constant (εr). The higher εr was found when x=0.2, but its dielectric loss (D) had greatly increased and frequency stability of dielectric property became worse. The uniformity of gains was put forward to explain the results which showed great impact on the dielectric constant.


Purpose To report anatomic, visual acuity, and intraocular pressure (IOP) outcomes after retinal detachment (RD) repair in patients with a preexisting glaucoma drainage device. Methods Consecutive case series including patients with a preexisting glaucoma drainage device who underwent RD repair at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute between 1989 and 1999. Results Ten patients were identified with a mean follow-up of 18 months. Initial RD repair included pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and fluid–gas exchange in four patients, scleral buckling procedure (SBP) in two, PPV and SBP in three, and pneumatic retinopexy in one. Three patients initially treated with SBP or pneumatic retinopexy developed recurrent RD secondary to proliferative vitreoretinopathy. All patients eventually underwent PPV. At 6 months, the retina was attached in eight patients, and nine patients had an IOP no greater than 21 mmHg. Although postoperative vision was stable or improved compared to preoperative levels in seven patients, visual acuity at 6 months was worse than 2/200 in only four patients, largely because of preexisting advanced glaucoma. Conclusions In eyes with RD and a preexisting glaucoma drainage device, PPV with fluid–gas exchange was the most successful approach in achieving retinal reattachment. Although anatomic success is usually achieved and IOP is usually controlled, visual acuity outcomes are often poor, largely because of preexisting advanced glaucoma.


This paper presents a model for sustainable planning and optimization of agricultural production. The model is a mathematical programming model, based on multicriteria techniques, and is used as a tool for the analysis and simulation of agricultural production plans, as well as for the study of impacts of the various policies in agriculture. The model can achieve the optimum production plan of an agricultural region combining in one utility function different conflicting criteria as the maximization of gross margin and the minimization of fertilizers used, under a set of constraints for land, labour, available capital, common agricultural policy etc. The proposed model was applied to the region of Thessaly, in central Greece. In all prefectures, the optimum production plan achieves greater gross return, les fertilizers use, and less irrigated water use than the existent production plan.


Traumatic chiasmal syndrome is a rare condition manifested by the onset of a bitemporal hemianopia after head trauma. Trauma is one of the rarer aetiologies of a bitemporal hemianopia. Few patients survive the severe impact required to damage the anatomically privileged optic chiasm. Those who do survive have usually sustained a variety of neuro-endocrine and neurological deficits in addition to the visual signs.


Globalization is a phenomenon that is fast sweeping through the world and of which Africa is not immune to, and it is very instrumental in molding the world from politics to economy, from religion to culture. In understanding the relationship that existing between the African economy and the wider world some economic indicators will be a useful tool in this analysis. The research focuses on how globalization has shaped the African economy, taking into cognizance the impact of the concept on African's key sectors like Poverty, Trade Relations, and Debt Burden. Haven identified the crisis associated with globalization as it relate to Africa's economy, the research recommend  sustained and profitable engagement of Africa with the developed world and good governance is needed to strengthen the development process in African states if these recommendations are  implemented the African economy will be strategically positioned in the complex theater of world economy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v1i3.10477 Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol.1(3) 2014: 113-119


Dielectric properties of the Zr-doped hafnium oxide high-k thin film were improved with the addition of a small amount of molybdenum. The addition of molybdenum reduced the interface density of states and the oxide charge trapping density due to the removal of some oxygen vacancies and Hf dangling bonds in the film. It also decreased the leakage current and increased the breakdown voltage because of the increase of the total film thickness. The barrier height between the gate electrode and the high-k film was lowered as a result of the formation of a dipole layer at the interface. Therefore, the addition of a small amount of metal is an effective method to improve the dielectric properties of the high-k film.


Summary: The zinc containing peptidases angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE), neutral metalloendopeptidase (NEP), and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) occur in bull ejaculates in high activities. These enzyme activities are in close correlation with some routineously determined semen parameters. These ejaculat parameters are used for quality classification and selection of ejaculates and are according to long term experience in good correlation to the male fertility. Semen quality related correlations could not be found for the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (DPIV) and the aminopeptidase A (APA). Origin and possible function of the zinc containing peptidases in the semen are examined and discussed.


Epidemiological studies of populations living in areas of low magnesium (Mg) intake have consistently shown a higher cardiovascular morbidity. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the cardioprotective properties of magnesium. Few studies, however, have analysed the relation of magnesium to haemostasis. The overall purpose of this project was to assess the association between certain haemostatic variables and magnesium deficiency. This experiment was designed to assess the effect of magnesium deficiency on various haemostatic variables which may relate to cardiovascular morbidity. Twelve female Yorkshire swine were fed for seven weeks on an Mg-sufficient or an Mg-deficient diet. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and after the termination of feeding in order to evaluate platelet aggregability and concentrations of antithrombin-III (AT-III), protein C, total protein S, fibronectin, endothelin-1 (ET-1), as well as the stable metabolites of thromboxane (TxB2) and prostacyclin (6-keto-PGF1 alpha). In animals on an Mg-sufficient diet, there were no significant differences in any of the investigated haemostatic variables. In the Mg-deficient group, a significant decrease in serum magnesium was noted after the feeding period (from 2.0 +/- 0.1 to 1.3 +/- 0.1; P < 0.01). Mg-deficient swine showed significant increases in ADP-induced (33.3 per cent and 59.6 per cent) and collagen-induced (36.6 per cent) platelet aggregation, and decreased plasma antithrombin-III (17.7 per cent) and protein S (14.4 per cent) when compared to baseline. Plasma concentrations of TxB2 (28.7 per cent), protein C (57.2 per cent), and ET-1 (74.9 per cent) were dramatically increased. There were no significant differences in plasma fibronectin and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha levels in the magnesium-depleted animals. We conclude that magnesium deficiency is associated with significant proaggregatory and coagulation alterations. This may contribute to the increased cardiovascular morbidity found in magnesium-deficient populations. The beneficial effects of magnesium supplementation in an expanding array of clinical conditions including cardiovascular disease may, in part, be related to the improved haemostatic profile in such patients.


In order to investigate the dioxin emission levels of hazardous waste incinerators (HWIs), and estimate their emission factors to the atmosphere, flue gas samples were collected from 12 HWIs in China, and analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). Eleven HWIs are located in the south-eastern coastal areas of China, with rotary kilns being is the most widely used type of incinerator (more than 50% of the units), followed by pyrolysis kilns. Eleven incinerators had their emission levels below the current standards in China, while only four facilities exhibited emission levels below the European Union's limits. The highest concentration of PCDD/Fs, at nearly 1 ng TEQ/Nm^3, was in the flue gas collected from an HWI with a waste burning capacity of 5 ton/d. This result was significantly higher than the values found for the other 11 incinerators, and thus was due to the poor performance of air pollution control devices and the influence of memory effects caused by PCDD/Fs emissions related to the start-up of the incinerator. In addition, the high dioxin emissions of this HWI were related to its feeding wastes, which mainly consisted of chemical industry waste residue with high a chlorine content. The emission factors of PCDD/Fs from the HWIs examined in this work were in the range of 0.27-18 μg TEQ/ton hazardous waste, with an average value of 3.74 μg TEQ/ton hazardous waste. It is estimated that 5.0 g TEQ of PCDD/Fs was released from HWIs to the atmosphere in China in 2010, which is less than that seen in 2004. The results of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis show all the investigated HWIs can be assigned to three groups, as verified by the results of nonparametric statistics. OCDD, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 1,2,3,4,7,8-HpCDF and OCDF are the main congeners in these three groups.


This article gives an example of improving the effectiveness of behavior modeling languages using ontological techniques. The techniques are applied to behaviors in the Unified Modeling Language (UML), using the logical meanings for classification introduced in UML 2. The article suggests unifying UML's three kinds of behavior languages around the abstract syntax and semantics of composite structure, UML's model for capturing interconnection of parts of classes. This significantly simplifies the UML metamodel, provides a formal semantics to clarify ambiguities in the current informal semantics, and increases the expressiveness of UML behaviors.


Abstract:China's South China Sea policy in recent years has been marked by a mix of maritime assertiveness and economic-diplomatic inducement. This article argues that this contradiction is a result of both structural drivers and domestic imperatives. Structurally, the perceived opportunity after the global financial crisis and later, the perceived risk of a US-led encirclement after Obama's "rebalancing to Asia" strategy have both pushed China to take a more hard-line approach to maritime disputes. However, the necessity to avert regional backlash has, on the other hand, compelled Beijing to counteract its maritime moves with active economic and diplomatic statecraft to reassure its smaller neighbours, albeit with mixed effects. Domestically, the contradiction is rooted in the ruling Communist Party of China elites' needs to strike a balance between their different pathways of legitimation: while nationalist legitimation necessitates China to assert its sovereign rights, performance legitimation requires it to pursue a cooperative regional strategy via the "Belt and Road Initiative" so as to preserve a stable and productive environment needed for sustained domestic growth.


The heterogeneity of symptoms and disease progression observed in synucleinopathies, of which Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common representative, poses large problems for the discovery of novel therapeutics. The molecular basis for pathology is currently unclear, both in familial and in sporadic cases. While the therapeutic effects of L-DOPA and dopamine receptor agonists constitute good options for symptomatic treatment in PD, the development of neuroprotective and/or neurorestorative treatments for PD and other synucleinopathies faces significant challenges due to the poor knowledge of the putative targets. Recent experimental evidence strongly suggests a central role for neurotoxic α-synuclein oligomeric species in neurodegeneration. The events leading to protein oligomerization, as well as the oligomeric species themselves, are likely amenable to modulation by small molecules, which are beginning to emerge in high throughput compound screens in a variety of model organisms. The therapeutic potential of small molecule modulators of oligomer formation demands further exploration and validation in cellular and animal disease models in order to accelerate human drug development.


Ключевые слова: панкреатодуоденальная резекция, гастроэнтероанастомоз, профилактика гастростаза. It was performed a retrospective comparative analysis of treatment results of 113 patients with pancreatic head and periampular cancer. The main group consisted of 58 patients in whom pancreaticoduodenal resection was performed according to an original technique of Russian Scientific Center of Surgery. Control group included 55 patients who underwent end-to-side gastrojejunostomy reconstruction. We have analyzed immediate postoperative complications in 2 groups without taking into consideration nosological forms of the disease. Pancreaticojejunostomy failure was diagnosed postoperatively in 5 (8.6%) patients in main group and in 10 (18.2%) patients in control group. There was no hepaticoentero- and gastroenterostomy failure in patients who underwent new technique of gastrojejunostomy while these events were observed in 8 (14.5%) and 3 (5.5%) patients respectively in control group. Mortality was 1.7% (n=1) in main group and 5.5% (n=3) in control group (p=0.29). Mild degree of gastrostasis (A class) was observed in 54 (93.7%) patients of main group and in 34 (61.8%) patients of control group (p=0.0004). There was B class of gastrostasis in 4 (6.9%) patients of main group. Severe gastrostasis (C class) was not revealed in any observation. In control group B class of gastrostasis was diagnosed in 14 (25.5%) patients, severe degree — in 7 (12.7%) patients. Univariant analysis showed hemotransfusion (p=0.037), pancreatic fistula (p=0.001), enteric fistula (p=0.005) and reconstruction technique (p=0.00004) as predictors of gastrostasis. Multivariant analysis defined pancreatic fistula (p=0.01), enteric fistula (p=0.04) and reconstruction technique (p=0.001) as significant predictors of gastrostasis. Thus, our study revealed significant decreasing gastrostasis incidence in case of original technique in comparison with conventional anastomosis, as well as demonstrated effect of anastomoses failure on augmentation of gastrostasis frequency after pancreaticoduodenal resection. Further randomized investigations are necessary to confirm our results.


An ensemble pulsar timescale derived from the traditional Wiener filtration still contains some high level noise. To improve this situation we developed a Wiener filtration algorithm of the ensemble pulsar timescale based on a power-law model of power spectrum for pulsars. Our algorithm has three strengths: (1) mitigating spectral leakage between frequency bins for Fourier techniques; (2) using a power-law model for power spectrum; (3) signal realization in original residuals of data set by the power-law model. According to improved algorithm we constructed an ensemble pulsar timescale EPT−TAI using timing data with respect to International Atomic Time (TAI) about 16 yr time span of ten pulsars from International Pulsar Timing Array second data release (version A). The results show that EPT−TAI detected correctly the differences TT(BIPM2015)−TAI between terrestrial time TT(BIPM2015) and TAI. Fractional frequency stability σ z analysis shows that EPT−TAI does not indicate red noise for 16 yr time interval, and fractional frequency stability for 8 yr and longer time intervals is slightly better than that of TT(BIPM2015)−TAI. Stability for short time intervals of TT(BIPM2015)−TAI is better than that of EPT−TAI, but TT(BIPM2015)−TAI shows red noise for longer time intervals. Using the same algorithm we also derived an ensemble pulsar timescale EPT−TT(BIPM2015) with respect to TT(BIPM2015). The fractional frequency stability curve of EPT−TT(BIPM2015) shows similar characteristics as that of EPT−TAI but with slightly lower values.


Jakarta Metropolitan Region (JMR) is the biggest megacity urban areas in Indonesia. However,theexistingpublictransportfacilitiesarenotadequatelyfulfillingthedemand ofitsinhabitant.Therefore,itisimportantforovercomingthoseissueswithshedlighton the integration of spatial and transportation by applying Transit Oriented Development (TOD) model. The method of this paper using the spatial and transportation approach by differentiates TOD each railway stations based on the typology. The results were that the TOD spatial model is focusing on solving public transport issues related to urban planning. Therefore, certain policy from stakeholders for this region greatly encourages transport planning in a more sustainable manner.


In the starfish, Asterias amurensis, at least two distinct components of the egg jelly are required for inducing the acrosome reaction: a sulfated glycoprotein named acrosome reaction‐inducing substance (ARIS) and a diffusible organic substance(s) named Co‐ARIS. The following evidence suggested that ARIS and Co‐ARIS cooperatively activate CA‐channels of the sperm plasma membrane and eventually induce dramatic changes in sperm morphology, the acrosome reaction. 1) Pronase digest of ARIS (P‐ARIS) and Co‐ARIS, either as a pure or a crude preparation (Fraction M8), were fully effective in combination for induction of the acrosome reaction in normal sea water, although they were not effective individually. P‐ ARIS alone induced the acrosome reaction fully in high Ca2+ sea water and markedly at high pHs, whereas Fraction M8 alone did not induce the reaction even in these conditions. The reaction was not induced by increase in either the Ca2+ concentration or the pH of sea water, but was markedly induced in the absence of jelly components by raising both the pH and Ca2+ concentration together. 2) The ionophore A23187 induced the acrosome reaction appreciably when present alone and fully in the presence of monensin or Fraction M8. Monesin alone was ineffective. 3) The jelly or a combination of ARIS and Fraction M8 caused abrupt Ca2+ ‐uptake by the sperm. The Ca‐channel blockers verapamil and diltiazem inhibited the jelly‐induced acrosome reaction.


INTRODUCTION The management of forests is not only contentious, but also complex. Forest ecology is dynamic and dependent on patterns of unpredictable natural disturbance. Market valuation of forest benefits is only partial, and the values that societies assign to forests are variable within and between communities. Sustainable forest management (SFM) is about integrating each of these uncertainties into multi-criteria decision-making processes in order to generate forest plans that will provide optimum economic and social benefits to present and future generations while maintaining the long-term ecological integrity of the forest ecosystem. The challenge is enormous. There is no single unit of measure that can capture the competing spectrum of forest interests. Criteria for determining the weighting of forest values and management trade-offs are inherently subjective, and institutional assumptions and organizational structures introduce rigidities and biases into decision-making paths. The bottom line is that to be sustainable, forest management must be adaptive. It must evolve in response to changing social preferences, advances in scientific understanding, fluctuating market conditions and unpredictable ecological disturbance. There is no generic formula for achieving sustainable forest management. Rather, the effective management of the forest resource and ecosystem requires a consistently flexible and responsive process that is based on open social dialogue, ongoing forest research and education, and integrated consideration of ecological, economic and social criteria. The purpose of this paper is to highlight several principles of sustainable forest management that arise from an examination of certain myths of the traditional timber management paradigm. Rather than focusing on one 'patch' of forest management (e.g., the economics or the ecology of forest management), the paper provides an integrated examination of several key intertwined ecological, economic and social considerations that together form the landscape of an SFM approach. The nature of the shift from a traditional single-criterion focus on maximizing commercial timber production to the new sustainable forest management paradigm of managing the forest to optimize multiple values is described. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the evolving paradigm and then turns to address five specific myths of traditional forest management and the associated ecological, financial and social reality. The paper concludes with a summary of the SFM principles emergent from several institutionalized assumptions of the traditional forest management paradigm. THE 'STICKY' PARADIGM Forest management has traditionally focused on the goal of maximizing commercial timber production (Kimmins 1992, 2004; Adamowicz and Veeman 1998; Dellert 1998). Private interests have typically sought to maximize the net present value of their capital investment through timber harvest, and governments have supported this approach by traditionally pursuing "maximum sustained yield" policies (1) (Toman and Ashton 1995; Kant 2003). Maximizing timber volume and market value were assumed to maximize forest value to society. As Pearse (1967) described, ... as long as the value of the forest resource lies in the economic value of wood production, a forest policy that aims at maximizing any magnitude other than wood values will tend to prejudice the real contribution of forests to society, as well as to the forest owner. In recent years, increasing evidence of the deterioration of forest health and ecological functioning (e.g., riparian damage, soil erosion, forest fragmentation and species extinction) has been accompanied by growing public interest and concern for the protection and maintenance of the forest for values other than timber (e.g., recreation, scenic beauty, potential medicinal products, flood protection, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, etc. …


Human pose estimation has become an active research topic in the field of computer vision. However, there are still some technical challenges because of the complexity of human motion. Although the depth sensors, such as Kinect and Xtion, open up new possibilities of handling with issues, they present some new challenges. In this thesis, we only address human pose estimation frameworks based on colour image and explore the possibility of the tradeoff between effective representing features and models. Firstly, the task of human pose estimation can be treated as a regression model. So we propose a novel method based on the regression model, which is designed for estimating the upper joints and recognizing their special motions. We verified the proposed method on our recorded dataset and the experimental results show the proposed method is effective. This provides an important clue that the performance of human joints estimation contributes significantly for human motion estimation. Secondly, the computation problems are always making it difficult for computer vision. For example, the pictorial structures normally use the interactions between connected joints such as elbow and shoulder, leading to a quadratic computation cost in the number of pixels for the inference process. Then a simple model for restricting themselves is proposed, which only measure the quality of limb-pair possibilities. Meanwhile, it allows the efficient inference in richer models, which exploit the data-dependent interactions. Thirdly, to improve the effectiveness of the body pose estimation, we introduce a object tracking method to the body pose estimation process. In addition, we introduce structured prediction aggregate model, which only need to focus on necessary computational effort. It can ensure the accurate output by filtering out many states cheaply. Meanwhile, our proposed decomposition method use cyclic dependencies on a tree model when imposing the model agreement. Thus it allows for efficient inference on a video or an image. To sum up, we evaluate our proposed methods on public datasets and compare them with some popular methods to demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness. The model pairwise interaction potentials are afforded with data-dependent features and the aggregate model. The experimental results show that our model is worthwhile and features used are accurate for pose estimation on popular datasets.


Abstract. Interplanetary (IP) shock passages are usually identified by abrupt changes in the plasma parameters, but sometimes they are also associated with energetic storm particles (ESPs). The maximum observed energies of ESPs usually reach a few MeVs per nucleon and occasionally even a few hundred MeVs per nucleon. We have carried out a statistical study of ESP events observed by SOHO/ERNE above 1.5 MeV during the seven-year period between May 1996 and April 2003. In the first stage, we gathered a comprehensive database of IP shock candidates using several ready-made shock lists. We defined a qualitative classification for the ESP signals and studied their association with fast forward shocks. We present a survey of the overall statistics of ESP associations with fast forward shocks and the yearly amount of the shocks and associated ESP events during the 7-year study period. Our most important findings are that only 40% of the observed interplanetary fast forward shocks accelerate ESPs to energies greater than 1.5 MeV and that the high-energy ESP-effectiveness of the fast forward shocks has a solar cycle dependence. The yearly ESP-effectiveness varied from 11%, in May 1996–April 1997 (~activity minimum), to 53% in May 2000–April 2001 (~activity maximum). We also performed a quantitative analysis of the proton power law spectra at the time of the shock passage. We found that the average spectral index of ESPs was −3.6 with the standard deviation of the distribution of 1.3. The ESP events had significantly larger power law factors than the reference spectra, calculated every day at a certain time for comparison.


Animal identification has been one of the most contentious issues for the last decade in the livestock industry. More specifically, at issue is the idea of a government-sponsored identification system, although it is unclear that an identification system forced on the industry by the market would be any more popular. Rancor over the issue has set livestock groups at odds over the merits of establishing such a framework; it has highlighted differences between species, within species, and by size and scale of agriculture. Given its politically sensitive nature, many groups without a tie to agriculture have been drawn in to lobby on the issue. This article examines the U.S. experience with the development of an animal identification system.


The aim of this study was to describe and investigate the vocal repertoire and possible factors influencing the size and composition of two matrilineal social whale species: long-finned pilot whales and killer whales in Norway. I was not able to describe the entire vocal repertoire due to the large number of animals in this population and the limitations of fieldwork and time. In this thesis I describe a vocal repertoire subset from seven groups of pilot whales and 11 groups of killer whales recorded in the Vestfjord in northern Norway during the time period 2004 until 2011.

Using observer-based acoustic analysis I could discern 129 call types and 25 subtypes for long-finned pilot whales, and 60 call types and 25 subtypes for killer whales. Per group, pilot whales used an average of 36 call types and killer whales just 25. The general structure of call types was similar, with most call types consisting of one segment and two elements with different structures. The main element structure in pilot whale and killer whale calls was an ascending frequency band. The amount of two-voiced calls was 29% for pilot whales and 47% for killer whales. In addition, I further found different call type combinations and repetitions and investigated ultrasonic whistles, already known in killer whales, but newly described for pilot whales in this study.

The main difference between vocal repertoires of the two species appeared when I looked at call type sharing between the recorded groups. Here I found that pilot whales only shared 28% of their call types and 37% of their total calls with at least one other group, whereas killer whales shared 59% of their call types and 90% of their total calls. Average group size differed: pilot whales were found in larger groups (23 animals) than killer whales (9 animals). Overall number of calls increases with group size, however, I could not find that group size influenced the number of call types. I found rather that vocal repertoire size depends on the length of recording time and of a group's vocal activity. This must be over one hour at minimum before it can be compared with another. During carousel feeding in killer whales, vocal activity increased. This indicates that behaviour does play a role in vocal repertoire size and composition, at least in killer whales where behaviour is easier to detect and measure than in pilot whales.

In 2011 I discovered a new foraging method for salmon by killer whales in Norway. The publication is presented in Chapter 6. For the first time I was able to observe the same two groups of killer whales for over three months and describe a full repertoire with 59 call types and 25 subtypes. It was not possible to separate the calling of the two groups, but nevertheless it shows that the vocal repertoire is larger than for my earlier, shorter observations. In addition, I found context-specific vocalisations during salmon feeding and non-feeding, and compared it to herring feeding and a food association call from the Icelandic killer whale population. Specifically, certain call type combinations contained the same beginning part (call type NKW-15) in all feeding contexts, but the combinations differed for salmon and herring feeding and between groups. I discuss the possibility of referential and arousal calling in association with food in killer whales.

This thesis is summarised in Chapter 8 with a discussion of all presented results, the limitations of the research, and potential areas for further study to increase our understanding of the two species and study vocal communication more generally in cetaceans.


Abstract Much work has been done in recent times to answer the question of why people contribute, and continue to contribute to open-source and free software, despite the lack of immediate financial gain in most cases. Lerner and Tirole (2002) hypothesize that open-source contributions act as a form of job-market signaling – they permit prospective employers to judge a person's ability directly. This paper tests the nature of this signaling using a complementarity framework. Do developers use open source software as a way to enhance the signal from a college education, or to substitute for it, in a form of learning by doing? I find evidence that they are complements, while conclusively rejecting the idea that they are substitutes.


: During ECG-controlled cardio-computer tomography, only certain defined phases of the cardiac cycle are used for computing the image. Consequently several cycles are necessary in order to obtain the required projection. ECG-controlled cardio-computer tomography produces findings regarding dys- or akinetic portions of the myocardium which are in good agreement with the laevo-cardiogram. The septum, apex and antero-lateral wall are demonstrated most easily, since their movement lies within the appropriate plane. Demonstration of the anterior and posterior walls is more difficult, since their movement is angled to the computer tomographic plane.


The present study used both Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models for Khazir river basin to simulate the daily flow at Asmawa and Khanis gauge stations. Asmawa station lies on Khazir River while Khanis lies on Gomel River as a tributary of Khazir River. In the stochastic ARIMA model, the Autocorrelation function (ACF) and partial autocorrelation function (PACF) were used to determine how robust the ARIMA model is in predicting the streamflow. In this study, the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) formula and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) were used to evaluate which model is more accurate. The results of this study showed that models of order ARIMA are (2,0,0)(2,1,0) and (2,0,1)(2,1,0) were found much better than the other models for generating and forecasting daily flow time series for aforementioned stations. Coefficients of determination (R 2 ) were found 0.77 and 0.85 for both Asmawa and Khanis stations, respectively. However, two types of ANN models were used for analyzing the daily flow records of the same two aforementioned stations, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis Function (RBF). ANN-MLP model was found to be more accurate than the ANN-RBF for generating and forecasting the daily flow time series as the coefficient of determination provided by ANN-MLP for both stations were 0.83 and 0.85, respectively. In addition, the coefficients of determination produced by the ANN-RBF for both stations were 0.66 and 0.55, respectively. Based on the values of (R 2 ) and (RMSE) obtained in the current work, one can conclude that the ANN-MLP model is the most accurate model among the others in terms of predicting the streamflow for Asmawa station, whereas the performance of both ARIMA and ANN-MLP models for the Khanis station is the same.