Line detection is an important problem in fields of image processing and computer vision. Hough transform and derived methods have been used broadly to solve the problem. When applied on real-world images, these methods often suffer unsatisfactory detection performance from large amount of noise edge points produced by complex background or texture regions. A new Hough transform algorithm for line detection was proposed. By introducing surround suppression measures into the method, impacts of the mentioned noise edge points are reduced significantly. An efficient computation of the surround suppression was given. Furthermore, by using a line-segment-based voting scheme assisted by a fast point cluster detection and partitioning procedure, the voting process is considerably accelerated. The overall algorithm achieved high detection rate while ran at relatively fast speed in experiments. Results show that the proposed algorithm is effective and preferable.


Scholars and advocates across several movements have attempted to develop approaches to human trafficking that would best serve the needs and support the rights of all migrant workers and survivors of trafficking. Many U.S.-based and international groups organizing for immigrant, labor, sex worker, and sexual and reproductive health rights, understand the need for collaborations among them. Yet, such connections have been largely obstructed by the U.S. federal government approach to trafficking, which emphasizes sex trafficking over other forms of labor. There is a growing consensus among advocates that current U.S. anti-trafficking policies and practices that focus on law enforcement and anti-prostitution efforts detrimentally impact the rights of trafficked persons. Advocates increasingly witness a prosecutorial approach to trafficking narrowly focused on criminalizing prostitution as a purported means to stop trafficking. Meanwhile, enforcement agencies largely neglect the broader phenomenon of trafficking into agriculture, domestic service, restaurants, hotels, manufacturing, and construction. This article discusses the local and global consequences of the United States government approach toward human trafficking. This article also evaluates U.S. policies and practices across multiple sectors that relate to human trafficking including prostitution, labor migration, and sexual and reproductive health rights. By providing an overview of current issues, problems, and concerns within the anti-trafficking movement and within related rights-based movements, this article seeks to facilitate the development of a new anti-trafficking paradigm. This paradigm evaluates trafficking within a broader framework and provides the foundation for a cross-sectoral alliance to challenge mainstream approaches to human trafficking and to create new strategies to protect the rights of trafficked persons, migrant workers, and women against the negative impact of United States policies and practices.


We compare behaviour of quasi-two-dimensional aluminium crack tips undergoing mode I loading using orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) and the classical embedded atom method (EAM). Low-index crack orientations are compared in the context of the Griffith, Rice and Tadmor–Hai continuum criteria, using values from Kohn–Sham DFT (KSDFT). All orientations are predicted to be ductile, and twinning is expected to occur only in certain orientations of low-dimensional or low-temperature Al. OFDFT and the EAM predict similar values to KSDFT for the relevant properties. In simulations of two crack orientations, the critical stress intensity factor in EAM simulations is close to continuum predictions while crack tips modelled by OFDFT do not exhibit plasticity until loaded at least 13% over the continuum prediction. The EAM and OFDFT give qualitatively similar results for a crack orientation that emits edge dislocations. For a twinning orientation, OFDFT simulations emit partial dislocations in the same order, even with different pseudopotentials. However, EAM simulations predict that a partial is emitted along a different slip plane from OFDFT. Differences between EAM and OFDFT simulations suggest that methods that give accurate stacking fault energies, elastic constants and surface energies may not necessarily reproduce all important physical processes at crack tips.


She believes that out there, somewhere, in the machine rooms of the universe, there exists a small cross wire.... Everything is connected, weirdly connected. --Gish Jen (Mona in the Promised Land 108) Assuming that neural cross wiring does lie at the root of synesthesia ... perhaps a mutation causes connections between brain areas that are usually segregated. Or maybe the mutation leads to defective pruning of preexisting connections between areas that are normally connected only sparsely.... So we now speak in terms of cross activation. For instance, neighboring brain regions often inhibit one another's activity, which serves to minimize cross talk. A chemical imbalance of some kind that reduces such inhibition--for example, by blocking the action of an inhibitory neurotransmitter or failing to produce an inhibitor--would also cause activity in one area to elicit activity in a neighbor. Such cross activation could, in theory, also occur between widely separated areas. --Ramachandran and Hubbard ("Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes" 55) Why the trope of cross wiring for a special issue on Asian American literary productions of Studies in the Literary Imagination? Neuroscientists Vilayanur Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard's theory of a set of neural phenomena resulting in "cross activation," a reduction of inhibitions leading to connections that are usually segregated, is provocative in its analogous relation to the cross-cultural activations that are currently enlivening what is usually marked as Asian American textual production. As a number of critics have noted, Asian American literary studies may be in a moment of crisis because of the very values of multiplicity and heterogeneity that had placed ethnic-identity literatures in sight in the United States. Asian American imagination, unlike that in African American writing, has no single unifying grand narrative to organize the vast materials on which Asian American writers call. It possesses no single linguistic Other, as in Latina/o writing, on which to hinge a counter-tradition of stylistics. Instead, what Asian American works of imagination manifest in full is a plethora of seemingly separate threads--threads leading back to distinctively different national origins, first languages indecipherable to other Asian Americans, and cultural signs and codes of signification unintelligible to those identified as the same in census reports and academic discourses. While the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs that compose Asian American literature do not always mark these cultural cognitive dissonances self-reflexively, it is also accurate to note that Asian American literary critics often ignore those textual sites in which such dissonances are acutely recorded. Examples might include the role of Chinese gambling houses for the Filipino American characters in Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart (1943) or the troubling silence of the Japanese American narrator in Hisaye Yamamoto's short story "Wilshire Bus" (1950), who says nothing while the Chinese American couple on their way to the Veterans Hospital are verbally abused by a white man drunk on spirits and triumphal anti-Asian racism. These evident imagined moments of "Asian American" crossings may be represented as failed, sordid, and painful. However, as Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised Land (1997) notes, there are other ways to represent these cross wires, not only in-between the ethnicities that are conflated as Asian American but also those that activate relations between and among other communities of identity--Jewish, Anglo-Saxon, Black and Latina/o. "Cross wiring" suggests the dense and dynamic complexity of an evolving body of texts that, as much as it is insistently categorized as Asian American, is simultaneously interrogated and catalogued as Other: Filipino, Vietnamese, South Asian, Hmong, Korean, Southeast Asian, and so forth. When the first Asian American literature anthologies appeared in the 1970s, the editors had no compunctions about dividing the map of the field into Chinese and Japanese American writing, with Filipino American as a hardly visible minority, occupied by two authors, Carlos Bulosan and Jose Garcia Villa. …


Abstract. Ice sheets provide exceptional archives of past changes in polar climate, regional environment and global atmospheric composition. The oldest dated deep ice core drilled in Antarctica has been retrieved at EPICA Dome C (EDC), reaching ∼ 800 000 years. Obtaining an older paleoclimatic record from Antarctica is one of the greatest challenges of the ice core community. Here, we use internal isochrones, identified from airborne radar coupled to ice-flow modelling to estimate the age of basal ice along transects in the Dome C area. Three glaciological properties are inferred from isochrones: surface accumulation rate, geothermal flux and the exponent of the Lliboutry velocity profile. We find that old ice (> 1.5 Myr, 1.5 million years) likely exists in two regions: one ∼ 40 km south-west of Dome C along the ice divide to Vostok, close to a secondary dome that we name Little Dome C  (LDC), and a second region named North Patch  (NP) located 10–30 km north-east of Dome C, in a region where the geothermal flux is apparently relatively low. Our work demonstrates the value of combining radar observations with ice flow modelling to accurately represent the true nature of ice flow, and understand the formation of ice-sheet architecture, in the centre of large ice sheets.


This paper investigates the different locality restrictions that apply to some verbal ellipsis constructions in English; namely, Verb Phrase Ellipsis (VPE), Pseudogapping and Gapping. It is proposed that locality restrictions can be given a natural ans-wer from the processing domain. Locality is analyzed as the result of the interaction of different factors: (i) tense presence/absence (Fodor 1985), (ii) low initial -attachment of coordinates, and (iii) Spell-Out operations which render syntactic structure unavailable (Uriagereka 1999).


Background: Allergic diseases are some of the most common and significant causes of illness in
developed countries. Allergen specific immunotherapy (SIT) has been developed as a novel
treatment approach for allergic diseases based on administration of increasing doses of the
causative allergen. One of the essential requirements for SIT, particularly in the areas of venom
and peanut allergy, is the standardisation and characterisation of the allergen source, which can
then be used not only in the development of accurate and sensitive assays to measure patient
immunoglobulin and cytokine responses in-vivo but in clinical treatment as well.
Methods: Wasp venom was collected from nest sites using electrical stimulation. The strength of
the major enzymes present, hyaluronidase (Hyal) and phospholipase A1 (PLA1), were tested using
lytic assays that I developed. In addition, several different biological immunoassays were also used
to test each venom batch collected, one of which of was the assay I devised to measure the
radioallergosorbent test (RAST) inhibition. Final confirmation of the strength of the venom pools
was established by comparing the biological efficacy of the collected venom solutions in
comparison to that currently in use in the clinic by skin testing on healthy volunteers. Enzymelinked-
immunosorbent assays (ELISA) could then be developed measuring the in-vitro cytokine
responses to bee and wasp venom in culture.
The preparation of an immunoreactive crude peanut extract (CPE) containing all the major
allergens was essential before immunoglobulin responses to peanut antigens in patients could be
measured using a fully quantified ELISA. CPE could also be used in other in-vitro experiments. In
particular, the elucidation of patient response to treatment both in the laboratory and in the clinical
research facility. I achieved preparation of CPE by the extraction of the allergens from crushed
peanuts followed by dialysis and lastly lyophilisation; gel electrophoresis and an ELISA, which
measured immunoreactivity, confirmed this.
Results: The development of these assays was vital in characterising the amount of allergen in
the initial sample and the amount of antibody (or cytokine) produced by patients with bee and wasp
allergies. Using these methods, our research team was able to demonstrate that the cytokine
response to bee and wasp immunotherapy when successful resulted in a change in T-cell
phenotype from a Th-2 response (high levels of the cytokine IL-4) to a Th-1 response (high levels
of interferon-gamma).
Peanut oral immunotherapy (POIT) is more complex, but preparation of the crude peanut extract
was an essential starting point for most of what followed in both the in-vitro and in-vivo areas.
Conclusions: The assays I developed in the laboratory were instrumental in allowing sensitive
accurate and reproducible measurement of patient responses, which would not have been possible
without full initial allergen standardisation and characterisation. This has ultimately led to better
treatment for patients with venom allergy and was fundamental in the establishment of the first
centre in the UK offering an effective treatment for peanut allergy.


Given that watermelon is a crop widespread around the world, there is considerable interest in verifying how its seeds physiologically behave under unfavorable temperature conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the biochemical changes mobilization and reserves degradation, as well as the enzyme activity, during seed germination and initial growth of watermelon seedlings subjected to thermal stress, using temperature, germination percentage, germination rate and relative germination frequency over the incubation time as evaluation parameters. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 5 x 3 factorial scheme, with five temperatures (17 oC, 20 oC, 25 oC, 30 oC and 35 oC) and three cultivars (Charleston Gray, Fairfax and Crimson Sweet), with 4 replicates of 50 seeds. Germination, seedling growth, reserve degradation and stress protection system were evaluated. Thermal stress caused deleterious effects on watermelon seeds with germination capacity at well defined temperature limits, being 25 oC the ideal temperature, with the highest percentage of normal seedlings. Sub- (17 oC) and supra-optimal (30 oC) temperatures presented more than 80 % of abnormal seedlings. The α-amylase enzyme activity is intense only at the beginning of germination. Under thermal stress, the proline contents increase mainly in the cotyledons.


A relevant number of shrines, hermitages, monasteries, and pilgrimage routes in Spain are located within or near Natura 2000, a European network of protected core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species, and some rare natural habitat types. Given the growing interest in alternative conservation strategies and the geographical correlation between nature preserves and Sacred Natural Sites (SNS), this paper explores how religious devotions have made preservation possible in Spain. By an extensive literature review and interviews with long-established custodians of nonurban Marian sanctuaries, it looks at the development of plant-related allegorical titles, the multiple meanings of "Marian verdant advocations", and the role popular religion has played in connecting theological insights with particular elements of natural ecosystems helping value and preserve the Spanish biocultural heritage. We found that 420 Marian titles directly refer to plant species or vegetation types and many of the nonurban Marian sacred sites are placed in well-preserved natural areas, some of them playing a human-related added value for most emblematic National Parks, like the sanctuaries of El Rocío (Doñana NP) and Covadonga (Picos de Europa NP). We conclude that there is a strong relationship between popular religion, Marian verdant titles, and nature conservation.


Chronic hepatitis B still represents a major challenge for clinicians and the public health service even years after the development of an effi cient vaccine and potent antiviral agents. The major actual problems in treating chronic hepatitis B (HBV) patients are represented by the lack of reliable biomarkers which can predict the response to specifi c types of therapy. With the availability of different treatment options for chronic HBV patients at our disposal [Pegylated Interferon (pegIFN), Nucleosidic Analogues (NUCs), combined therapies] the results of treatment remain modest. A better selection of patients for each treatment regimen requires an early predictive factor for treatment effi ciency especially with NUC therapies witch tend to have a very long treatment period (up to fi ve decades) for reaching HBs clearance. The main objective of our study is to identify the most important predictive factors for early NUC treatment response. We observed that baseline quantitative HBs antigen (qHBsAg) levels, rapid qHBsAg decrease rate in the fi rst year of treatment and high ALT levels are important predictors for HBs antigen loss while the decrease rate of HBV-DNA and the treatment regimen are not reliable predictive factors.


Author(s): Jaller, Miguel; Rodier, Caroline; Zhang, Michael; Lin, Huachao; Lewis, Kathryn | Abstract: There is a need to optimally allocate curb space-one of the scarcest resources in urban areas-to the different and growing needs of passenger and freight transport. Although there are plenty of linear miles of curbside space in every city, the growing adoption of ride-hailing services and the rise of e-commerce with its residential deliveries, and the increased number of micro-mobility services, have increased pressure on the already saturated transportation system. Traditional curbside planning strategies have relied on land-use based demand estimates to allocate access priority to the curb (e.g., pedestrian and transit for residential areas, commercial vehicles for commercial and industrial zones). In some locales, new guidelines provide ideas on flexible curbside management, but lack the systems to gather and analyze the data, and optimally and dynamically allocate the space to the different users and needs. This study conducted a comprehensive literature review on several topics related to curb space management, discussing various users (e.g., pedestrians, bicycles, transit, taxis, and commercial freight vehicles), summarizing different experiences, and focusing the discussion on Complete Street strategies. Moreover, the authors reviewed the academic literature on curbside and parking data collection, and simulation and optimization techniques. Considering a case study around the downtown area in San Francisco, the authors evaluated the performance of the system with respect to a number of parking behavior scenarios. In doing so, the authors developed a parking simulation in SUMO following a set of parking behaviors (e.g., parking search, parking with off-street parking information availability, double-parking). These scenarios were tested in three different (land use-based) sub-study areas representing residential, commercial and mixed-use.View the NCST Project Webpage


Changes in the herb layer of a thermophilous oak forest ( Potentillo albae-Quercetum ), subject to clear cutting and artificial reforestation with Scotch pine monoculture, were analysed by a comparative method. It was found that cutting of a tree stand and underbrush did not destroy phytocoenose totally. Floristically-rich clearance communities resembled in their composition and structure the ground layer of an natural form of an oak forest. The regress of the herb layer took place several years later in a young pine stand. Then, a compact tree canopy highly restricted light inflow to the bottom of a forest. Later, thinning of a forest stand enabled the herb layer to regenerate. Nevertheless, even 60 years after clear cutting it significantly differed from the herb layer of a natural oak forest.


Polygraphic tracings of 13 normal infants were recorded in a morning sleep at 1 and 2 weeks of age and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 months of age. A vibrotactile stimulus graded at 25, 50 and 100 Hz (frequency) and amplitudes of 1, 2 and 3 mm (intensity) was used, each combination being applied twice at 30 s intervals to the hand of the sleeping infant during active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS). The results were analysed as percentages of failure to arouse (FTA) in relation to the number of stimulus trials, the criteria for FTA being the absence of a response in heart or respiratory rate, electroencephalogram, or chin electromyogram. The percentages of FTA from QS did not change significantly from 1 week to 6 months of age, irrespective of frequency or intensity. The percentages of FTA from AS fell sharply and significantly from 1 week to 2 months of age (P less than 0.001). At 3 months of age there was a significant increase followed by a significant decrease at 4 months of age, both changes showing a significant difference at P less than 0.05. Apart from the first week of age, the numbers of FTA from QS were greater than from AS for all stimulus trials. It is concluded that there is an arousal deficit in QS from 1 week to 6 months of age and the temporary deficit in AS at 3 months of age could explain the peak incidence of SIDS at this time.


We present the X-ray spectrum of the nearby binary α Cen AB (G2V + K1V) that has been obtained from observations with the low-energy concentrator (LECS) onboard the BeppoSAX X-ray astronomy satellite. SAX combines, in contrast to previous satellites, simultaneous coverage of the 0.1-10 keV energy range with sufficient spectral resolution to determine emission measure distributions and elemental abundances of soft coronal sources. The analysis of the spectrum using the SPEX plasma emission code shows a two-temperature structure of the corona which is confirmed by a differential emission measure analysis. It reveals a soft ( ∼ 0.1 keV) component as detected previously by EUVE and ROSAT and a hard ( ∼ 0.5 keV) component comparable to that seen by EINSTEIN, EUVE, and ASCA. The derived coronal Fe abundance of 0.7 ± 0.3 (relative to solar photospheric) is consistent with the solar photospheric abundance but marginally (3 σ) different from the value of the metal-rich photosphere of α Cen. The abundance ratios Mg/Fe and Si/Fe are consistent (within 1 σ) with solar photospheric and coronal values, whereas the O/Fe ratio (3 ± 2) appears too high but the uncertainty is large. The X-ray flux in the 0.1-2.4 keV band is comparable to the average of previous observations with other instruments and to that derived from the ASCA observations if the different passbands of the instruments are taken into account. The two-temperature structure is reminiscent of recently determined emission measure distributions of the solar corona; the hotter component may be evidence for flare heating.


This article is concerned with the sources, paths and mechanisms of change leading to noun-intensifying uses of adjectives, such as a complete mess, a whole bunch of crazy stuff, a particular threat. Such intensifying uses may develop from property-describing uses of adjectives, as discussed by Traugott (1989), Adamson (2000) and Paradis (2000, 2001, 2008). As pointed out by Bolinger (1972: 61), noun-intensifying uses may also develop from elements of the NP that have identifying functions, which can be either quantifying-identifying or identifying in the strict sense. The aim of this article is to provide a new synthesis of how these three pathways lead towards noun-intensifying meanings, focusing on the question of how the intensification scales necessary to these uses are acquired. We posit that the concepts of open and closed intensification scales (Kennedy & McNally 2005) can generalize over the intensifying uses from the three sources. The main mechanism of change is the foregrounding of the gradability mode (Paradis 2000), quantification scale or other implied scale of the immediate source uses. The initial shift takes place in collocational environments that overlap with those of the source uses. Due to later collocational extension, noun-intensifying uses may come to incorporate intensification scales unpredicted by their sources.


As states, districts, and schools work to improve academic rigor so that all students graduate prepared for college and careers, it has become clear that more learning time and building additional capacity within the public education system are essential. These issues have particular implications for Latino* students, especially English language learners (ELLs). Hispanic children face multiple barriers to educational success, including high levels of poverty, low levels of parental education, and disparate rates of preschool and prekindergarten participation.


Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) is a key regulator for differentiation of melanoblasts, precursors to melanocytes. The mouse homozygous for the black-eyed white (Mitfmi-bw) allele is characterized by the white-coat color and deafness with black eyes due to the lack of melanocytes. The Mitfmi-bw allele carries LINE-1, a retrotransposable element, which results in the Mitf deficiency. Here, we have established the black spotting mouse that was spontaneously arisen from the homozygous Mitfmi-bw mouse lacking melanocytes. The black spotting mouse shows multiple black patches on the white coat, with age-related graying. Importantly, each black patch also contains hair follicles lacking melanocytes, whereas the white-coat area completely lacks melanocytes. RT-PCR analyses of the pigmented patches confirmed that the LINE-1 insertion is retained in the Mitf gene of the black spotting mouse, thereby excluding the possibility of the somatic reversion of the Mitfmi-bw allele. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the staining intensity for beta-catenin was noticeably lower in hair follicles lacking melanocytes of the homozygous Mitfmi-bw mouse and the black spotting mouse, compared to the control mouse. In contrast, the staining intensity for beta-catenin and cyclin D1 was higher in keratinocytes of the black spotting mouse, compared to keratinocytes of the control mouse and the Mitfmi-bw mouse. Moreover, the keratinocyte layer appears thicker in the Mitfmi-bw mouse, with the overexpression of Ki-67, a marker for cell proliferation. We also show that the presumptive black spots are formed by embryonic day 15.5. Thus, the black spotting mouse provides the unique model to explore the molecular basis for the survival and death of developing melanoblasts and melanocyte stem cells in the epidermis. These results indicate that follicular melanocytes are responsible for maintaining the epidermal homeostasis; namely, the present study has provided evidence for the link between melanocyte development and the epidermal microenvironment.


Resonant converters have been widely used in consumer electronics, telecom power supplies, and electronic ballasts. Compared with the PWM converters, it has many advantages, such as low EMI, low switching loss, and high power density. Depending on applications requirements, the resonant converters use various modulation schemes including asymmetrical pulse width modulation, frequency modulation, and phase shift modulation. The resonant tank can be of various topologies including the commonly used ones such as parallel resonant tank, series resonant tank, LCC, LLC and LC-LC resonant tanks. The circuit modeling and analysis are complicated because the state variables like inductor currents and capacitor voltages are AC dominant. The phasor dynamic modeling method maps the periodical time-varying state variables into stationary frame for each harmonics of interest. Correspondingly, the circuit is decomposed into two DC sub-circuits, the state variables of which are the time-varying Fourier coefficients of the original AC variables. Small signal model can be derived by applying small perturbation and linearization to the Fourier Coefficients. A general phasor dynamic model is presented for the resonant inverters. Such a model closely relates to the power converter topology in time domain, and therefore keeps the physical meaning of the state variables. This model can be easily extended to more complicated resonant topologies, and to include more parasitical components for higher accuracy of modeling. The model can be applied to a number of modulations as well with minor modifications. It can be used for fast simulation, circuit analysis and controller design. A resonant inverter system with 5 energy storage elements are modeled and compared with switch simulation for both steady state and transients. The simulation results match the switch simulation in both steady state and transients, but takes much less time.


Biodynamics, as a viticultural method, is generally not well understood by either its practitioners or its detractors. Detractors complain that biodynamics is rooted in mysticism and has no scientific basis whatsoever and thus no place in the increasingly scientific world of viticulture and oenology. Proponents counter that the biodynamic method established by Rudolf Steiner in the early twentieth century is fundamentally based on scientific facts, and that the results of applying the method are consistent and easily discernible in both the vineyard and the wine glass. This article elucidates the very complex relationship between Steiner's theory and reductivist science and suggests that only by better understanding this relationship can we truly appreciate what the biodynamic method is.


As TV screens get ever larger, viewer tolerance to noise and artifacts has steadily declined. For next generation TVs, such as flat TV, LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon), etc., excellent picture quality becomes a distinguishing feature. Although the quality of most digital signals has significantly been improved, distortion and noise still creep in and are an important source of picture degradations. Post-processing is a sensible solution that achieves a visual enhancement of the reconstructed images. Some of the artifacts, such as blocking and ringing, have already been widely considered. Therefore, this paper concentrates on a novel post-processing technique that reduces another kind of distortion known as "mosquito noise". This temporal "busyness" is discarded by applying an adaptive temporal filter that preserves sharpness and naturalness of the reconstructed video signal in the frequency domain. The proposed mosquito noise reducer (MNR) algorithm is effective and straightforward to implement; experimental results show that the temporal post-filtering process significantly improves the visual quality of video sequences. Moreover, the architectural options allow flexibility and cost trade-off.


The Diffpack Development Framework is an object-oriented software environment for the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). By its design, Diffpack intends to close the gap between black-box simulation packages and technical computing environments using interpreted computer languages. The framework provides a high degree of modeling flexibility, while still offering the computational efficiency needed for most demanding simulation problems in science and engineering. Technically speaking, Diffpack is a collection of C++ libraries with classes, functions and utility programs. The numerical functionality is embedded in an environment of software engineering tools supporting the management of Diffpack development projects. Diffpack supports a variety of numerical methods with distinct focus on the finite element method (FEM) but has no inherent restrictions on the types of PDEs and therefore applications to be solved. The key point of partition of unity enriched methods such as XFEM and GFEM is to help capture discontinuities and singularities or large gradients in solutions, which are not well resolved by h or p refinement [1]. The general idea is that the mesh need not conform to the moving boundaries so that minimal or no remeshing is required during the analysis. Our main motivation is to provide a generic implementation of enrichment within a flexible C++ environment, namely the Diffpack platform. The work was inspired by some of our earlier work [6,9] and that of other colleagues [5,7,8]. We demonstrate how object-oriented programming is particularly useful for the treatment of data structures and operations associated with XFEM : mesh-geometry interaction, non-standard integration rules, application of boundary conditions, treatment of level set data [2,6]. We detail the implementation of such features and verify and validate their implementation based on [5]. We show results based on unshifted, shifted [1] and study the behaviour of the stable generalized finite element method (SGFEM) to avoid blending effects and help control the conditioning of the system matrix [4]. For integration of elements cut by interface we use an in-house Delaunay Triangulation algorithm proposed by [3,5] and presented in detail in a companion paper.


The generalized use of copper chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) in integrated circuits manufacturing is increasing as the industry moves from previous technology to copper technology. With CMP being one of the main water consumers and producers of wastewater in the fab, more low energy/cost effective methods are being developed to avoid a future risk of violating discharge regulations for copper-containing wastewater. In addition, with the expected increase in water consumption, there is an incentive to find better ways to treat and recycle wastewaters. The possibility of using biological organisms to treat copper and organic-containing wastewater is studied. Two different approaches are combined to create a treatment strategy: adsorption on immobilized cells to treat copper and biodegradation by immobilized cells to treat organics [specifically isopropyl alcohol (IPA)]. Two previously developed bacterial systems are used. In addition, predictive models for the two cases developed in previous work are evaluated in this combined treatment. Continuous flow experiments were performed. Copper adsorbed to the immobilized cells and the binding capacity is comparable to other systems found in the literature. The IPA was totally degraded.


With the rapid increase in consumption of some livestock products in Indonesia, expansion of domestic production of these commodities may enhance smallholders' incomes, increase rural employment and add to the country's trade balance. Policy analysis matrices (PAMs) were constructed to estimate divergences between private and social costs and returns in poultry and pig production in selected regions of Indonesia. In each case, producers' use of capital was subsidised but feed input private costs exceeded social values, and output prices received by producers fell short of values based on world prices. Production of all products as import substitutes was socially profitable, but in many instances private returns to farmers were negative. Product price and feed cost divergences were the major policy-induced distortions. Reform of these policies was estimated in a static partial equilibrium framework to lead to supply expansions of each livestock product, a contraction in livestock product consumption, and therefore additional net foreign exchange earnings from the poultry and pig sectors of around $320 million.


Within the context of a multi-tiered framework for behavior support, intervention intensification is warranted when a Tier II intervention fails to adequately address a targeted behavior. A traditional approach to intensification is to shift from standardized supports at Tier II to individualized and more resource-intensive supports at Tier III. Recent conceptualizations, however, reflect the use of a process-oriented, adaptive approach in which a continuum of responsive intensifications connects the framework's tiers. Adaptive intervention design relies on the identification of critical factors to inform responsive adaptations to a standard treatment protocol. This study examined the distinct and relative influence of adaptations to Check In Check Out (CICO), a targeted intervention, informed by two critical factors—behavioral function and teachers' use of behavior-specific praise. Results indicated that, relative to traditional CICO, CICO adapted to address behavioral function was less effective in producing differentiated levels of disruptive behavior. However, CICO adapted to strengthen a teaching practice—the delivery of behavior of behavior-specific praise—was effective in producing differentiated levels of disruptive behavior relative to the standard treatment protocol. Additional research on treatment adaptations informed by behavioral function and evidence-based teacher practices is needed to evaluate whether the variables may serve as critical factors within an adaptive approach to building treatment intensity at Tier II.


: Probabilistically organized milieu determines the organism's ability for expedient behavioural actions. Formation of behaviour probabilistic programs is based on domineering motivation, past experience (both genetic and ontogenetic), and estimation of current situation fixed in the short-term memory. Higher associative thalamo-cortical systems of the brain possess basic structural--functional premises for estimation of their participation in the mechanisms of probabilistic prognostication. A scheme of functional structure of an expedient behavioural action is considered as based on the dominanta mechanisms.


16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons and DNA-DNA hybridization data support the conclusion that two species previously described as members of the genus Halomonas, Halomonas israelensis and Halomonas canadensis, should be placed in the genus Chromohalobacter. Both H. israelensis ATCC 43985T (= Ba1T) and H. canadensis ATCC 43984T (= NRCC 41227T) have been used extensively for physiological studies for many years; nevertheless, they were not named and classified taxonomically until quite recently. Their phenotypic resemblance (at least 65% Jaccard similarity) to some members of the genus Halomonas and the degree of DNA-DNA relatedness (lower than 60%) to other described species of this genus permitted the conclusion that they were distinct species belonging to the genus Halomonas. In this study, the 16S rDNA of both species has been sequenced completely and found to share higher similarity to the available sequences of the moderately halophilic bacterium Chromohalobacter marismortui than to sequences of members of the genus Halomonas. C. marismortui is the sole species of the genus Chromohalobacter, also included in the family Halomonadaceae, and shares many phenotypic features with H. canadensis and H. israelensis. It is proposed that the two species should be renamed as Chromohalobacter canadensis comb. nov. and Chromohalobacter israelensis comb. nov. An emended description of the genus Chromohalobacter is given in order to include the features of these two species.


Motivated by the novel applications of the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and its generalizations in cognitive science, psychology, social and political sciences, and economics, we extend the notion of the tensor product and entanglement. We also study the relation between conventional entanglement of complex qubits and our generalized entanglement. Our construction can also be used to describe entanglement in the framework of non-Archimedean physics. It is also possible to construct tensor products of non-Archimedean (e.g., p-adic) and complex Hilbert spaces.


This paper develops a specification test for instrument validity in the heterogeneous treatment effect model with a binary treatment and a discrete instrument. The strongest testable implication for instrument validity is given by the condition for nonnegativity of point-identifiable compliers' outcome densities. Our specification test infers this testable implication using a variance-weighted Kolmogorov–Smirnov test statistic. The test can be applied to both discrete and continuous outcome cases, and an extension of the test to settings with conditioning covariates is provided.


Malaria is a major global public health problem mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Malaria control and elimination strategies mainly rely on efficacious antimalarial drugs. At present the major hurdle faced by malaria control programs is the drug resistance to antimalarials. Molecular surveillance using genetic markers associated with resistance provides a valuable tool for detecting and tracking resistance as well as providing an in-depth understanding of the development and spread of resistance. Despite numerous published literatures there are limited review articles on molecular markers of drug resistance. Hence a review was planned. An exhaustive literature search was performed on PUBMED using "malaria", "resistance", "molecular", "antimalarial", "Chloroquine", "Pfcrt", "Pfmdr", "Pvcrt", "Pvmdr"as key words. Data pertaining to India and Southeast Asia were included. This review showed the widespread presence of molecular markers of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum and development of resistance in Plasmodium vivax over the years in Southeast Asia and India. This can have implications on malaria elimination and treatment guidelines in this region.


We present the configuration of the Meteo-France Chemistry and Transport Model (CTM) MOCAGE-Climat that will be dedicated to the study of chemistry and climate interactions. MOCAGE-Climat is a state-of-the-art CTM that simulates the global distribution of ozone and its precursors (82 chemical species) both in the troposphere and the stratosphere, up to the mid-mesosphere (~70 km). Surface processes (emissions, dry deposition), convection, and scavenging are explicitly described in the model that has been driven by the ECMWF operational analyses of the period 2000–2005, on T21 and T42 horizontal grids and 60 hybrid vertical levels, with and without a procedure that reduces calculations in the boundary layer, and with on-line or climatological deposition velocities. Model outputs have been compared to available observations, both from satellites (TOMS, HALOE, SMR, SCIAMACHY, MOPITT) and in-situ instrument measurements (ozone sondes, MOZAIC and aircraft campaigns) at climatological timescales. The distribution of long-lived species is in fair agreement with observations in the stratosphere putting aside the shortcomings associated with the large-scale circulation. The variability of the ozone column, both spatially and temporarily, is satisfactory. However, because the Brewer-Dobson circulation is too fast, too much ozone is accumulated in the lower to mid-stratosphere at the end of winter. Ozone in the UTLS region does not show any systematic bias. In the troposphere better agreement with ozone sonde measurements is obtained at mid and high latitudes than in the tropics and differences with observations are the lowest in summer. Simulations using a simplified boundary layer lead to larger ozone differences between the model and the observations up to the mid-troposphere. NO x in the lowest troposphere is in general overestimated, especially in the winter months over the Northern Hemisphere, which may result from a positive bias in OH. Dry deposition fluxes of O 3 and nitrogen species are within the range of values reported by recent inter-comparison model exercises. The use of climatological deposition velocities versus deposition velocities calculated on-line had greatest impact on HNO 3 and NO 2 in the troposphere.


The term gamekeeper's thumb is widely used interchangeably with skier's thumb in reference to acute or chronic tears of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb MCP joint. The frequency of thumb injury in alpine skiing has not changed with recent changes in pole design. Release of the pole from the hand prior to impact with the ground will minimize injury. Arthrogram may be a useful adjunctive technique to identify the presence of a Stener lesion and strengthen the indications for surgery in borderline cases. The sensitivity and specificity of this test have not been established. Current trends favor acute surgical repair for complete tears of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb MCP joint as documented by clinical examination with stress radiography. Good results are obtainable with late reconstruction, and comparable results have been noted with the most commonly used techniques.


Disorder of consciousness (DOC) is a consequence of severe brain injuries. Diagnosis of DOC is very challenging because it requires the patient collaboration. Research in hemodynamic brain activity in resting state conditions suggests that healthy brain is organized into large-scale resting state networks (RSNs) of sensory/cognitive relevance. Recently, relationships among these RSNs have been explored as a possible biomarker of loss of consciousness. The RSN functional connectivity is computed as the temporal relationship between pairs of RSNs time-courses. It results in the so called functional network of brain connectivity (FNC). The properties of this network in the DOC conditions remains poorly understood. In this work, we investigated some local complex network properties of the brain FNC,, during altered states of consciousness. For this, we characterized a population of 49 DOC patients and 27 healthy controls. fMRI data was acquired and processed for each subject to built a FNC for each one. Network characterization was performed by computing the strength and the clustering coefficient measurements at individual level on the corresponding FNC. These nodal measurements allows to understand brain alterations of single RSN in the FNC. Our results show that strength and clustering variations may reflect brain network reconfiguration, and they may be associated to loss of consciousness states in patients with DOCs.


Purpose: SMAD4 has shown promise in identifying patients with colorectal cancer at high risk of recurrence or death. Experimental Design: A discovery cohort and independent validation cohort were classified by SMAD4 status. SMAD4 status and immune infiltrate measurements were tested for association with recurrence-free survival (RFS). Patient-derived xenografts from SMAD4-deficient and SMAD4-retained tumors were used to examine chemoresistance. Results: The discovery cohort consisted of 364 patients with stage I–IV colorectal cancer. Median age at diagnosis was 53 years. The cohort consisted of 61% left-sided tumors and 62% stage II/III patients. Median follow-up was 5.4 years (interquartile range, 2.3–8.2). SMAD4 loss, noted in 13% of tumors, was associated with higher tumor and nodal stage, adjuvant therapy use, fewer tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), and lower peritumoral lymphocyte aggregate (PLA) scores (all P < 0.04). SMAD4 loss was associated with worse RFS (P = 0.02). When stratified by SMAD4 and immune infiltrate status, patients with SMAD4 loss and low TIL or PLA had worse RFS (P = 0.002 and P = 0.006, respectively). Among patients receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based systemic chemotherapy, those with SMAD4 loss had a median RFS of 3.8 years compared with 13 years for patients with SMAD4 retained. In xenografted mice, the SMAD4-lost tumors displayed resistance to 5-FU. An independent cohort replicated our findings, in particular, the association of SMAD4 loss with decreased immune infiltrate, as well as worse disease-specific survival. Conclusions: Our data show SMAD4 loss correlates with worse clinical outcome, resistance to chemotherapy, and decreased immune infiltrate, supporting its use as a prognostic marker in patients with colorectal cancer.


Economic empowerment of rural women is a critical component and a shared goal in all societies. Moreover, it is fundamental to the sustainable socio-economic development of entire countries in the overall process of realizing gender equality. This paper explores how orthodox ideas on women's economic empowerment have changed with the availability of social and economic resources for women. Four indicators have been accompanied as supplement autonomy as capabilities, access to resources, securities, and decision making in shaping empowerment. The study adopted the descriptive design as quantitative and qualitative research methods by considering 200 married women 18-55 in Divisional Secretariats in Monaragala and Ampara districts reported where poverty rates are 25% and 28%, respectively. Data were gathered through focused group discussions, questionnaires, interviews, case studies, and observations. An equal number of employed and un-employed married women in each rural context were selected as the sample. Data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.The study identified several barriers that affect women's economic empowerment at the national level based on the data analysis. These barriers are the lack of decision-making power in family matters, attending extended educational needs, unattainable promotions of jobs, a lack of a compassionate working environment, and an increased risk of un-infectious diseases. It was possible to determine that there is no effective and optimistic mechanism to deal with such complexities. Much of the narrative focuses on instrumental gains on what women can do for development rather than what development can do for women manifested through the study.
Keywords: Empower, Family Bonds, Married Women, Resources, Rurality


The idea of "community" is increasingly vital to our individual and social well-being. Yet at the same time, our ordinary communal relations are being eroded by increased social and geographical mobility, lost traditions, and the growing pluralism of society. Examining this renewed desire for community, Coming Together/Coming Apart locates the current problems of society in the conditions of modern capitalism. Arising out of a common matrix of a world in crisis, contemporary religious, social and feminist discussions of community compose an ideological struggle over the reformation of society.


BACKGROUND
Conceptual models of disability have focused on disease-specific factors as the primary cause of disability. Functional limitations in the performance of basic tasks are considered primary mediators on the causal pathway from disease to disability.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between three fitness components (cardiorespiratory, morphologic, and strength) and functional limitations.

METHODS
Analyses employed data collected upon 161 older adults (72.5 +/- 5.1 yr) who agreed to undergo baseline testing in a clinical trial.

RESULTS
After controlling for age, race, sex, education, depressive symptoms, and body mass index, all three fitness components were directly associated with functional limitations (P < 0.05). This study is the first to characterize a broad set of individual fitness components as they relate to functional limitations and the first to examine directly measured cardiorespiratory fitness within the context of existing disability models.

CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that low fitness is a risk factor for functional decline independent of disease processes.


Usually, to shift the gaze, our will is needed, which the brain realizes by giving an order to the corresponding eye muscles. However, under some conditions, the eye movement and the shift of the gaze to perspective can be accomplished by non-forced methods, without any active interference of our consciousness.


A comparative study of the expression of retrovirus-associated 8S RNA was made in different mammalian cells. This RNA is found in cultured cells from all mammalian species analysed but its expression varies. An increase of 8S RNA is observed in sarcoma virus-transformed cells as compared to control uninfected cells or cells infected with leukaemia virus. No increased quantities of 8S RNA were detected in cells transformed by SV40 or by methylcholanthrene. These data show that the level of 8S RNA was augmented following transformation by sarcoma viruses.


For decades standard V-Belt transmission systems with induction motor have been a traditional method to drive beam pumping unit. This study describes a new approach based on the use of a Permanent Magnet Motor with no transmission.
 Non-transmission drive integrates a permanent magnet motor and smart variable frequency drive. The technology eliminates the need for conventional V-belt systems, the motor is installed directly on the gearbox. Application results revealed unique features of the drive, that cannot be reached with standard application. Elimination of V-belt system allows for safe and environmentally friendly operation with enhanced reliability and reduced non-productive time as no maintenance is required. High-efficient PM Motor with no additional losses in V-belt improves power consumption resulting in total power savings of 15-35 % if compared to the previously installed systems. The system is easy to install, with installation time being less than 1 hour [1].
 Synchronous nature of PM motor operation provides a number of options for its control through smart VSD algorithms requiring no additional sensors. VSD embeds mathematical models with a number of options for motor speed and rod load control, operation monitoring, failure risk mitigation, and production optimization, e.g. real-time up-stroke / down-stroke speed adjustment, torque control, operating trips detection and many other features. This can potentially improve production, expected runlife of rods and surface equipment.
 This paper demonstrates an effective and efficient alternative for oil production with Sucker-Rod Pumps. Application of the new type of surface PMM drive has proved its high potential for production optimization and power consumption improvement with minimized risk of failures.


INTRODUCTION: In 2008 and 2009 ANED produced a mapping of available data on disability, proposed a range of possible qualitative and quantitative indicators, and examined the initial feasibility of proposals brought forward from the ANED working group on Indicators of Disability Equality in Europe (IDEE). In 2010, this work was extended by piloting a selection of quantitative items from the list. In the final year of the first ANED work programme, this work is concluding by updating selected quantitative items and by adding new items of policy relevance. The selection for the indicator set prioritises those items that are most relevant to monitoring progress against the EU2020 Strategy objectives and within the themes of the actions and implementations contained in the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020.


Title CR submanifolds in holomorphic statistical manifolds [an abstract of dissertation and a summary of dissertation review] Author(s) Milijevi�, Mirjana Citation 北海道大学. 博士(理学) 甲第11940号 Issue Date 2015-06-30 Doc URL http://hdl.handle.net/2115/59681 Rights(URL) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.1/jp/ Type theses (doctoral abstract and summary of review) Additional Information There are other files related to this item in HUSCAP. Check the above URL. File Information Mirjana_Milijevic_abstract.pdf (論文内容の要旨)


The beauty of affective computing is to make machine more emphatic to the user. Machines with the capability of emotion recognition can actually look inside the user's head and act according to observed mental state. In this thesis project, we investigate different features set to build an emotion recognition system from electroencephalographic signals. We used pictures from International Affective Picture System to motivate three emotional states: positive valence (pleasant), neutral, negative valence (unpleasant) and also to induce three sets of binary states: positive valence, not positive valence; negative valence, not negative valence; and neutral, not neutral. This experiment was designed with a head cap with six electrodes at the front of the scalp which was used to record data from subjects. To solve the recognition task we developed a system based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) and extracted the features, some of them we got from literature study and some of them proposed by ourselves in order to rate the recognition of emotional states. With this system we were able to achieve an average recognition rate up to 54% for three emotional states and an average recognition rate up to 74% for the binary states, solely based on EEG signals.


We assessed the relation of experiences of racism to the incidence of obesity and the modifying impact of residential racial segregation in the BlackWomen's Health Study, a follow-up study of US black women. Racism scores were created from 8 questions asked in 1997 and 2009 about the frequency of "everyday" racism (e.g., "people act as if you are dishonest") and of "lifetime" racism (e.g., unfair treatment on the job). Residential segregation wasmeasured by linking participant addresses to 2000 and 2010 US Census block group data on the percent of black residents. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Based on 4,315 incident cases of obesity identified from 1997 through 2009, both everyday racism and lifetime racism were positively associated with increased incidence. The incidence rate ratios for women who were in the highest category of everyday racism or lifetime racism in both 1997 and 2009, relative to those in the lowest category, were 1.69 (95% confidence interval: 1.45, 1.96; Ptrend < 0.01) and 1.38 (95% confidence interval: 1.15, 1.66; Ptrend < 0.01), respectively. These associations were not modified by residential segregation. These results suggest that racism contributes to the higher incidence of obesity among African American women.


As long as simulation is relied upon, the hardware will only be as good as the test data; therefore most widely used computers contain bugs. Verification is the only known technique for theoretically complete debugging, but it remains impractical despite researchers' efforts. This article explores a methodology in between functional simulation and formal verification. The correctness of hardware is specified as in formal verification. Input and output assertions are given in predicate calculus. Then, instead of showing that output assertions will be satisfied by the functional specification of hardware for all inputs that satisfy input assertions, it is shown that this relation holds for selected inputs. The triple, input assertion, hardware specification, and output assertion are run against test data. The advantage of this method over functional simulation is that the output data are automatically checked for correctness. The advantage over formal verification is that processes can be executed without being penalized by the incompleteness and inefficiency of theorem provers. Concurrent Prolog provides a readable, efficient compromise between functional simulation and formal verification of VLSI chip design. It is well suited for simulation of component systems and may become the language of choice for this application.


Male infertily is a contributing factor in up to 50% of all infertility cases, a solo cause in about 30% of them. Therefore, new and improved diagnostic methods that reduce operator variability regarding sperm defects that are not accesible by the conventional microscope scoring should be evaluated. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been involved in the description of alternative pathways in basic cellular functions. it is important to know that it is also related to the peri-implantatory processes that involve the sperm-oocyte interaction, cellular changes observed during fertilization, and the early and late embryo development. Several pathways have been involved at the early stages of human gametogenesis. The spermatozoon has demonstrated an intricate correlation during the fertilization process, as a transfected vector on genetic material, and as interacting with other inner components (RNAm, mitochondrial organelles, etc.). Spermatogenesis is affected by programmed death cell pathways from its packaging process through the elongated cytoplasmic structures during spermiogenesis. Flow cytometry (FC) has been an outstanding tool with the capability to select human gametes to achieve a better reproductive condition. It has been applied as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool allowing a measurable and objective selection and discrimination of spermatozoa from subfertile subjects. Using FC, we are able to know that early distribution of organelles such as mitochondria has an impact in embryo quality before genetic activation on the eight-cell stages occurs. This chapter will let the readers know the current knowledge on sperm fertilization and the relation between the embryo development and the offspring and all the tools now available for an early diagnosis and to identify therapeutic options with FC.


[1] We have made 16 unsuccessful attempts, in February and October 2003, and February 2004, to observe solar echoes using the 50 MHz radar at Jicamarca in Peru. The upper bound that we have determined on the solar cross section is significantly lower than the average of earlier reported observations. In this paper we will describe the observations, discuss the noise and interference from solar bursts, and suggest possible reasons why the echo might be weaker than expected.


The association between self-rated health and mortality has been well documented, but not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to search for the components of self-rated health among the elderly, drawing on the framework recently proposed by Jylha (2009) and the degree to which these predict survival. 535 seniors were interviewed, of whom 121 passed away during the seven years that followed. Self-rated health was significantly related to a variety of health and social indicators, which appeared to be represented by five health and three social characteristics: chronic conditions, physical functioning, the ability to perform daily activity, mental health, body pain, economic state, expected future health, and peers' health. Contrary to Jylha's (2009) suggestion, formal signs of illness and diagnosed life threatening conditions were not related to self-rated health. Self-rated health was related to mortality along with age, sex, physical and cognitive functioning, and systolic blood pressure. Only physical functioning predicted both mortality and self-rated health. It appears that self-rated health is comprised of health information that is not directly related to mortality.


This study based on the problem experienced by 20 students of Senior High School PGRI Pagelaran who have negative self concept. In order to enhace students' self concept, the researcher tries to use pychodrama technique for investigating group guidance service. It is a solution to improve students' self concept. This study employs pre-experimental Pre- test post-test One Group Design. This study was conducted at the X class of Senior High School PGRI Pagelaran in accademic year 2013/2014. The research subject are 20 students. Hypothesis testing was applied by comparing the average score of pre-test and post-test, and the T test was consulted with value of T Table at significant level 1% and d.b.= N-1=20-1=19. The result shows that the use of psychodrama technique can improve self concept. The result was proven by significant change of average score pre- test and post test which treated psychodrama technique is 67.5 change into 89.85 or t (o) = 8,196 > t (t) = 2,861, therefore Ho rejected and Ha accepted. Keywords: psychodrama, self concept.


Gross anatomy affords physical therapy students an opportunity to discover human morphology by intimately studying the dead. Moreover, it also exposes future physical therapists to the humanistic aspects of the profession. In 2007, anatomy faculty decided to socialize students to the humanities with a new course requirement: Humanities in Gross Anatomy Project (HuGA) Project. At the end of the course, students, either individually or as a group, submitted a project that described how they had been personally touched by the donor's gift and how the gift contributed to their professional growth and education. The submission could be in the form of a narrative, poem, song, video, etc. All students met the three grading criteria that were established; thus taking the first step in socializing themselves to the humanistic domain of their professional education. In summary, the HuGA project is a novel educational tool that formally provided physical therapy students with humanistic learning opportunities in a gross anatomy course and appeared to facilitate reflective learning. The utilization of reflection as it relates to clinical decision making and patient interaction is critical for physical therapy practice. Anat Sci Educ 3: 94–96, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.


Constitution is the fundamental law of the nation. An important feature of the constitution is the Directive Principles of State Policy incorporated in the Constitution. Although the Directive Principles are asserted to be "fundamental in the governance of the country," they are not legally enforceable. Instead, they are guidelines for creating a social order characterized by social, economic, and political justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as enunciated in the constitution's preamble. Judiciary as being the protector and promoter of rights of the individual to perform the balancing act in an unbiased and fair manner has immense role to play in these days to interpret the directive principles as enforceable in order to establish welfare based society. The Directive Principles and state policies therefore offer the state an opportunity for use of the constitution as an instrument for change in definite social directions. The courts can even give directives to the state organs regarding what the state is required to achieve through legislative process. The author has tried to focus on the nature of directive principles and policies of the state and its enforceability by the Nepalese judiciary.


Many question the value of accounting scholarship to society. We compared the attention the general public, policy makers, and academics give to academic accounting research relative to other business disciplines and other more general disciplines (economics, psychology, and other sciences). The results indicate that accounting research receives significantly less attention from the general public than all other disciplines and also performs relatively poorly in receiving policy makers' attention compared to both economics and finance. Articles in other disciplines' elite journals cite relatively little of accounting's elite-level publications, but non-elite journal articles cite accounting research in similar numbers to other disciplines. We also compared the attention subtopic areas within accounting receive. Within accounting, tax research receives more attention from the general public and policy makers than other topic areas. Finally, we rank scholars, institutions, and journals by the attention they receive. We discuss how these findings could impact accounting education.


Energy efficiency (EE) is generally recognized as a least-cost option; however, the details of designing programs do not always lend themselves to easy consensus. These details include program size, cost recovery mechanisms, lost revenues, cost-allocation, and incentives. Adding other clean energy options to the agenda makes consensus seem even more difficult. Environmental groups, conscious of global warming, seek to replace high fossil fuel consumption with alternate solutions, like EE. Consumer groups worry that upfront costs will impact vulnerable populations that cannot afford their bills. Last year, the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), Sierra Club (SC), and National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) launched the Finding Common Ground (FCG) project with the goal of sparking more dialogue between consumer and environmental advocates. The goal was to promote a better understanding of each group's concerns and help develop areas where the groups can build consensus and work together. Consumer and environmental advocates have convened two summits aimed at facilitating constructive dialogue. Subject matter working groups have met, and webinars have been conducted. Further, collaboration has occurred among some of the Participants on issues like weatherization funding, on-bill financing, advocating for efficiency as a transmission alternative, etc. The group is dynamic, engaged, and invested in making progress. This paper will first discuss ways to develop common ground, key advocate issues and concerns, and lessons learned about developing consensus among public interest advocates. The second part of the paper will address the authors' views about where to find common ground on issues.


Executive Summary1. In integrated capital markets assets are priced according to a common set of risks. By contrast prices reflect country-specific factors in segmented markets.2. Capital market integration offers the possibility of better capital allocation and greater economic growth improved country risk-sharing enhanced portfolio diversification and a lower cost of capital. However it also exposes a country to capital flight and imported credit crunches inefficient capital allocation if information problems are significant increased corruption incentives and a failure to work well when most needed.3. Recent microeconomic studies suggest that diversification and cost of capital improvements from integration may largely be exhausted in developed countries and hence are likely to be primarily confined to emerging countries. But longer-term macroeconomic evidence seems to indicate that the gains from capital market liberalisation have principally been enjoyed by developed countries.4. Financial economists have developed a number of methods for identifying and measuring the degree of integration both globally and for individual countries. These include: return correlations tests of formal asset pricing models constructed under the assumption of perfect integration cross-country equivalence of implied pricing factors convergence of valuation ratios and various foreign market participation metrics.5. The overall picture painted by the limited number of existing applications of these methods to New Zealand suggest (i) a high degree of integration with Australia (ii) greater integration with Asia-Pacific countries than those of Europe or North America and (iii) no compelling evidence of a general segmentation problem.6. However these conclusions must be treated with considerable caution given that most of the analysis on which they are based is often sourced from relatively old data or from studies that are either preliminary and/or are not focussed on New Zealand. Thus it remains possible that New Zealand could achieve and benefit from additional capital market integration. Further work - applying the most recently-available New Zealand data to the methods noted above - is required to determine whether or not this is the case.7. Existing studies suggest that the achievement of additional integration is largely driven by factors that are either beyond New Zealand's control or on which it already scores highly. However paying much closer attention to investor property rights may well be helpful in this regard.


Background subtraction is often the first step of many computer vision applications. For a background subtraction method to be useful in embedded camera networks, it must be both accurate and computationally efficient because of the resource constraints on embedded platforms. This makes many traditional background subtraction algorithms unsuitable for embedded platforms because they use complex statistical models to handle subtle illumination changes. These models make them accurate but the computational requirement of these complex models is often too high for embedded platforms. In this paper, we propose a new background subtraction method which is both accurate and computational efficient. The key idea is to use compressive sensing to reduce the dimensionality of the data while retaining most of the information. By using multiple datasets, we show that the accuracy of our proposed background subtraction method is comparable to that of the traditional background subtraction methods. Moreover, real implementation on an embedded camera platform shows that our proposed method is at least 5 times faster, and consumes significantly less energy and memory resources than the conventional approaches. Finally, we demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method by the implementation and evaluation of an end-to-end real-time embedded camera network target tracking application.


Do transgenic crops cause agrobiodiversity erosion? We hypothesize that they increase productivity and reduce production risk and may therefore reduce farmer demand for onfarm varietal diversity, especially when only a few transgenic varieties are available. We also hypothesize that varietal diversity can be preserved when more transgenic varieties are supplied. These hypotheses are tested and confirmed with panel data for the case of transgenic cotton in India. Cotton varietal diversity in India, with of over 90% adoption of transgenic technology, is now at the same level than it was before the introduction of this technology. Some policy implications are discussed.


Abstract The object of the study is the distribution and spatial pattern of black cherry Padus serotina Ehrh. population and the impact of landscape structure on the expansion of this alien species in the suburban zone of the city, where the land-use has rapidly been transforming recently. The population of black cherry expands centrifugally, spreading from fringes of the city to outer zones of the agglomeration with more agricultural character. Individuals of P. serotina are distributed in clusters in this area. The maximum observed population density reaches 371/ha (mean 11.3/ha for colonized plots). The main factor influencing the landscape invasibility is cessation of agriculture. Although the first sources of spread of P. serotina are localities in forests, where 46% of the total number of individuals are concentrated, nevertheless, the largest group of juveniles (48%) was found on abandoned farmlands. Over 90% of all youngest individuals were recorded at a distance of up to 100 m from older ones. Chances of isolated occurrence are small and the probability of the colonization is strongly dependent on the occupation of adjacent areas by the species. Black cherry disperses, primarily, according to a spatial pattern of phalanxes, by occupying areas immediately adjacent to places previously colonized and then filling the available habitats. Long-distance dispersal seems to play a minor role for its expansion. Autocorrelation and diffusion models of spread should be taken into account in preventing further expansion of black cherry and planning conservation measures in natural protected areas.


Organic single crystals that are capable of transmitting light and charge are quickly shaping into a new forefront of research in photoelectronic materials that is thought to hold a tremendous potential for the broader field of organic electronics. However, one of the main disadvantages that currently stands against the direct application of organic single crystals in that capacity is their pronounced proneness to mechanical damage due to brittleness, abrasion, and wear. To account for this drawback, here a simple and universal strategy is proposed for the recovery of macroscopic integrity of cracked or completely fractured crystals based on the layer‐by‐layer charged polymer assembly approach that can be used to effectively recover the damaged crystals. It is shown that in addition to being an effective means for reasonable restoration of their optical waveguiding ability, this approach can also be used to combine different crystals into hybrid organic photonic integrated circuits (OPICs) and even to construct dynamic hybrid OPICs as active and/or passive optical waveguides. The resulting integrated crystalline OPIC bundles act as optical waveguides for transmission of light with different colors and can also be used for light mixing to generate white light.


Background Because radiofrequency catheter ablation of macro-reentrant atrial tachycardia (AT) following cardiac surgery of structural heart disease had a low successful rate and a high recurrence, we aimed to explore a successful method to solve this problem. Objective This study was to investigate the electrophysiological mechanisms and radiofrequency catheter ablation of macro-reentrant atrial tachycardia (AT) following cardiac surgery of structural heart disease, and to test the success rate by using CARTO electroanatomic mapping. Methods A total of 20 patients (16 men, aged 35 ± 13.5 years) in ShenyangNorthernHospitalwere studied. After determining the mechanism of macro-reentrant AT, the electroanatomic structures of the right or/and left atria during AT were constructed by using CARTO electroanatomic mapping system. To combine the results of entrainment mapping, the possible reentrant circuits of AT were analysed and the ablation lines were defined. The saline irrigated radiofrequency ablation catheter was used for ablation in all the 20 patients. Results In the 20 patients, 16 patients had 1 form of AT and 4 patients had 2 forms. Twenty-four forms were all macro-reentrant AT confirmed by CARTO system electroanatomic mapping and entrainment. Among the 24 forms of AT, 18 forms were typical atrial flutter of the right atrium, 5 forms were incisional reentrant AT of the right atrium, and 1 form was macro-reentrant AT around the mitral annulus. Eighteen of the 20 patients had a successful ablation, including 17 of 18 forms of typical atrial flutter of the right atrium and 4 of 5 forms of incisional reentrant AT of the right atrium. During the follow-up of 12 months on the average, 17 patients with a successful ablation had no recurrence, and only 1 patient recurred as atrial fibrillation. Conclusions CARTO three-dimensional mapping system guided catheter ablation of macro-reentrant atrial tachycardia following cardiac surgery in patients with structural heart disease had a high success rate and a low recurrence rate.


Abstract Two new terpenoids (1-2) and seven known compounds (3-9) were isolated from methanol extract of Callicarpa macrophylla leaves. Their structures were determined to be ent-7α,16β,17,18-tetrahydroxykaur-15-one (1), 3β-acetoxy-urs-12-ene-11-one-12-ol (2), ent-1β-acetoxy-7α,14β-dihydroxykaur-16-en-15-one (3), 3β-acetoxy-11α,13β-dihydroxyolean-12-one (4), β-amyrin (5), spinasterol (6), ursolic acid (7), β-sitosterol (8), and daucosterol (9) by analyses of their MS, NMR spectroscopic data and by comparison with those reported in the literature. Compounds 1 – 4, and 7 displayed potential cytotoxic activity towards HepG-2, LU-1, and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 0.46 ± 0.21 to 18.14 ± 0.33 μM. Compound 6 showed IC50 values of 14.17 ± 0.21 and 5.72 ± 0.42 μM against Hep-G2 and MCF-7 cell lines, respectively. Graphical Abstract


Teenagers are considered a vulnerable group, not only due to the characteristics of their age, but also due to the high risk of their involvement in asocial behavior, as a result of many social problems, duality of values, confusion regarding decision-making at an early age, the absence of positive models to follow, not only at school, in the community, but also within their family. In the Albanian reality particularly, the building of self-esteem is not the only influencing element, in the formation of the concept on oneself, and the concept of personality, but also the frustration of a society, that has gone through a long period of transition, the aftermath of a dictatorship. On these grounds, the motivation forms of positive behavior have been influenced by the family authority, rule obedience as an escape from punishment, and not as a result of awareness, reward, and proper methods of teaching in schools. The aim of this work is to explore the motivation forms of the pro-social behavior, for the purpose of avoiding asocial behavior of teenagers in schools, via the effective communication, positive models, constructive teaching methods, proper parenting styles, socializing processes, removal of attention from asocial behavior and the providing of proper models to follow. The method used in this work will be the mixed research (qualitative and quantitative).  Part of this study will be teenagers aged 15-17 years old (boys and girls) of a high school  in the city of Kavaja (Albania) through filling out half structured questionnaires . We have interviewed also professional teachers, parents, social workers and psychologists, in order to provide a clear panorama of this context, by analyzing with existing cases and well determined intervention that bring forth a strengthening of positive behaviors and avoidance of asocial behaviors in teenagers. The findings of this study are closely related with the importance of any form of motivation in schools, in the teacher-teenager relationship, cooperation between their peers, the parent-teenager relationship in the implementation of the resulting positive attitude, through teaching a system of values and anti-values, the psycho-social motivating intervention during the teaching process that will be widely analyzed and that open many paths for further studies. Key words:  teenager, pro-social behavior, motivation, teacher, psycho-educational intervention, communication, parent, socialization.


An electron microscopic study of the cerebral cortex of mutant deaf mice (Deol's dn gene) has shown differences in synaptic organisation between these mice and normally hearing ones. In the auditory cortex of the deaf mice, there are fewer synapses and these are larger than in the normally hearing, whereas there is no difference between these two categories in the visual cortex. These results are the reverse of those observed by other authors in the occipital cortex of rats raised in an enriched or impoverished environment. In humans, the functional consequences of early hearing loss have been investigated on moderately to severely deaf (60-80 db mean loss) youngsters, who have been tested for their capacity of categorical perception, auditory discrimination, and production of significant contrasts between stop consonants. Categorical perception was absent in all but one subject. Auditory discrimination was poor for both the voiced-voiceless contrast and the place of articulation contrast. In the production experiments, the subjects had greater difficulty in producing the voiced-voiceless than the place of articulation contrasts. The possible relevance of these animal and human studies to cochlear implantation is discussed.


In the last years the European Union has actively promoted the renewable energies and the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) also for residential and tertiary buildings. The exploitation of renewable sources and cogeneration seems hampered by the regulatory wall that prohibit for residential, tertiary and commercial buildings the constitution of users clusters. In fact, the unification up to a threshold value of some tens of kVA, at least, can facilitate the installation of renewable energy power plants as solar PV modules or CHP systems (cogeneration) or CCHP systems (tri-generation), overcoming technical and economical barriers and combining several load profiles. The actual distribution system for low voltage LV customers appears inadequate to comply with these goals. At this aim the authors propose the design of a Sustainable Energy Microsystem (SEM) for the integration of different subsystems, currently independent, as final users and high efficiency buildings, dispersed generation from renewable and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units and subsystems for the urban mobility: metro-transit, trams and recharging of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles (PHEV) for the surface mobility. The integration is analyzed in the direction of a "smart city" concept, with the optimized and integrated management of many services. These activities are about the general topic of design and construction of nearly zero energy buildings with the use of innovative technologies as home and building automation. The buildings integrated in "energy hub" with dispersed generation and urban mobility systems, constitute the "energy islands" of the future smart grid.


The book gives a detailed practical approach to improve the energy efficiency in petroleum processing and deals with the role of management and refinery operators in achieving the best technological parameters, the most rational utilization of energy, as well as the greatest possible economic success. The book contains chapters related to: Technological and Energy Characteristics of the Chemical Process Industry, Techno-Economic Aspects of Efficiency and Effectiveness of an Oil Refinery, Instruments for Determining Energy and Processing Efficiency of an Oil Refinery, Blending of Semi-Products into Finished Products and Determining Fished Product Cost Prices, and Management in the Function of Increasing Energy and Processing Efficiency and Effectiveness. This book provides an interesting and apparent introspective look at the efficiency of refineries and how this efficiency can be adapted to future needs. It provides interesting and thought-provoking reading.


Importance
Identifying risk factors for brain atrophy during the aging process can help direct new preventive approaches for dementia and cognitive decline. The association of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage with brain volume in this context is not well known.

Objective
To test whether neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with decreased brain volume in a cognitively unimpaired population enriched for Alzheimer disease risk.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This study, conducted from January 6, 2010, to January 17, 2019, at an academic research neuroimaging center, used cross-sectional data on 951 participants from 2 large, ongoing cohort studies of Alzheimer disease (Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention and Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center clinical cohort). Participants were cognitively unimpaired based on National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association workgroup diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease, confirmed through a consensus diagnosis panel. The cohort was enriched for Alzheimer disease risk based on family history of dementia. Statistical analysis was performed from April 3 to September 27, 2019.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The Area Deprivation Index, a geospatially determined index of neighborhood-level disadvantage, and cardiovascular disease risk indices were calculated for each participant. Linear regression models were fitted to test associations between relative neighborhood-level disadvantage (highest 20% based on state of residence) and hippocampal and total brain tissue volume, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging.

Results
In the primary analysis of 951 participants (637 women [67.0%]; mean [SD] age, 63.9 [8.1] years), living in the 20% most disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with 4.1% lower hippocampal volume (β = -317.44; 95% CI, -543.32 to -91.56; P = .006) and 2.0% lower total brain tissue volume (β = -20 959.67; 95% CI, -37 611.92 to -4307.43; P = .01), after controlling for intracranial volume, individual-level educational attainment, age, and sex. Robust propensity score-matched analyses determined that this association was not due to racial/ethnic or demographic characteristics. Cardiovascular risk score, examined in a subsample of 893 participants, mediated this association for total brain tissue but not for hippocampal volume.

Conclusions and Relevance
For cognitively unimpaired individuals, living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with significantly lower cerebral volumes, after controlling for maximal premorbid (total intracranial) volume. This finding suggests an association of community socioeconomic context, distinct from individual-level socioeconomic status, with brain volume during aging. Cardiovascular risk mediated this association for total brain tissue volume but not for hippocampal volume, suggesting that neighborhood-level disadvantage may be associated with these 2 outcomes via distinct biological pathways.


Assuming dark matter is absolutely stable due to unbroken dark gauge symmetry and singlet operators are portals to the dark sector, we present a simple extension of the standard seesaw model that can accommodate all the cosmological observations as well as terrestrial experiments available as of now, including leptogenesis, extra dark radiation of $\sim 0.08$ (resulting in $N_{\rm eff} = 3.130$ the effective number of neutrino species), Higgs inflation, small and large scale structure formation, and current relic density of scalar DM ($X$). The Higgs signal strength is equal to one as in the SM for unbroken $U(1)_X$ case with a scalar dark matter, but it could be less than one independent of decay channels if the dark matter is a dark sector fermion or if $U(1)_X$ is spontaneously broken, because of a mixing with a new neutral scalar boson in the models.


New Generation Co-Operatives (NGCs) have become an increasingly popular method for agricultural producers in the United States to capture a share of the downstream rents created by the processing of their agricultural commodities. NGC development has been rapid in the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, but in the neighbouring Canadian province of Manitoba, there are almost no NGCs. After providing a background on NGCs and their unique characteristics, this paper discusses five hypotheses for the comparatively low NGC adoption rates in Manitoba compared to its neighbouring states. Higher farm income levels, better availability of development assistance, and a more favourable regulatory framework are identified as reasons why there are many more NGCs in Minnesota and North Dakota than Manitoba.


This paper describes the implementation of two self-tuning control algorithms for the speed control of a permanent magnet DC motor. The algorithms minimize a cost function incorporating system input, output, and set-point variation for reference tracking. Variable forgetting factor using data normalization with constant trace has been utilized. Self-tuning controllers have been implemented using a single-chip digital signal processor (DSP). It results in reduction of system hardware, cost, and calculation time. >


Thresholding the cepstrum associated with the periodogram is a smoothing technique that appears to be very useful for variance reduction. Here the thresholding is performed via the methods SThresh and EbayesThresh. They both work fine in the broadband spectra case, even if some of the data is missing. The SThresh method appears to be more efficient as it shows a smaller variance and is faster computationally. The smoothing methods are also shown to perform well on a real-life broadband signal


Holocene oceanographic conditions in Disko Bay, West Greenland, were reconstructed from high-resolution diatom records derived from two marine sediment cores. A modern data set composed of 35 dated surface sediment samples collected along the West Greenland coast accompanied by remote sensing data was used to develop a diatom transfer function to reconstruct April sea ice concentration (SIC) supported by July sea surface temperature (SST) in the area. Our quantitative reconstruction shows that oceanographic changes recorded throughout the last ~11,000 years reflect seasonal interplay between spring (April SIC) and summer (July SST) conditions. Our records show clear correlation with climate patterns identified from ice core data from GISP2 and Agassiz-Renland for the early to middle Holocene. The early Holocene deglaciation of western Greenland Ice Sheet was characterized in Disko Bay by initial strong centennial-scale fluctuations in April SIC with amplitude of over 40%, followed by high April SIC and July SST. These conditions correspond to a general warming of the climate in the Northern Hemisphere. A decrease in April SIC and July SST was recorded during the Holocene Thermal Optimum reflecting more stable spring-summer conditions in Disko Bay. During the late Holocene, high April SIC characterized the Medieval Climate Anomaly, while high July SST prevailed during the Little Ice Age, supporting previously identified antiphase relationship between surface waters in West Greenland and climate in NW Europe. This antiphase pattern might reflect seasonal variations in regional oceanographic conditions and large-scale fluctuations within the North Atlantic Oscillation and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.


Introduction: The use of traditional medicine is well known in India. The high number of bacterial resistance to antibiotics drives much of the current interest in natural antimicrobial molecules. Spinacia oleracea (spinach) possesses medicinal properties. Dental caries is prevalent in about 89% of the Indian population. Streptococcus mutans is the primary causative organism for dental caries and Lactobacillus for further development of caries. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of spinach against S. mutans and Lactobacillus. Materials and Methods: About 10 g of freshly harvested spinach was extracted with 95% ethanol and distilled water. The extract was converted into dried powder in desiccator and was dissolved to get 20 mg/ml concentration. The MIC was determined by nine dilutions of each aqueous and ethanolic extracts made with brain–heart infusion. To determine the MBC, the MIC dilution tubes, with no visible growth, and the control tube were subcultured onto the broth media and incubated for 24 h anaerobically and the colonies were counted on the next day. Results: The ethanolic extract exhibited MIC at 12.5 μg/ml against S. mutans and at 25 μg/ml against Lactobacillus. In MBC, the ethanolic extract showed greater bacteriostatic activity against S. mutans compared to Lactobacillus acidophilus. Conclusion: There is preliminary evidence for the antimicrobial activity of spinach extracts against S. mutans and this raises the possibility that spinach may have preventive effect on dental caries.


Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) associate with various disease states. A few mtDNA mutations strongly associate with diabetes, with the most common mutation being the A3243G mutation in the mitochondrial DNA-encoded tRNA(Leu,UUR) gene. This article describes clinical characteristics of mitochondrial diabetes and its molecular diagnosis. Furthermore, it outlines recent developments in the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms leading to a diabetic state. A gradual development of pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction upon aging, rather than insulin resistance, is the main mechanism in developing glucose intolerance. Carriers of the A3243G mutation show during a hyperglycemic clamp at 10 mmol/l glucose a marked reduction in first- and second-phase insulin secretion compared with noncarriers. The molecular mechanism by which the A3243G mutation affects insulin secretion may involve an attenuation of cytosolic ADP/ATP levels leading to a resetting of the glucose sensor in the pancreatic beta-cell, such as in maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY)-2 patients with mutations in glucokinase. Unlike in MODY2, which is a nonprogressive form of diabetes, mitochondrial diabetes does show a pronounced age-dependent deterioration of pancreatic function indicating involvement of additional processes. Furthermore, one would expect that all mtDNA mutations that affect ATP synthesis lead to diabetes. This is in contrast to clinical observations. The origin of the age-dependent deterioration of pancreatic function in carriers of the A3243G mutation and the contribution of ATP and other mitochondrion-derived factors such as reactive oxygen species to the development of diabetes is discussed.


BACKGROUND
Cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, is an antiplatelet drug that is widely used for preventing cardiovascular events, although, to date, there are few methods for evaluating its effects.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Blood samples were taken at baseline and at 3 and 12 h in 10 healthy male subjects after 100 mg cilostazol intake. Each sample was examined by Western blot for phosphorylation levels of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), an abundant cAMP-dependent kinase substrate in platelets, and by the optical aggregometer for ADP- and collagen-induced aggregation, before and after 8 nmol/L prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) treatment. Cilostazol intake did not affect VASP phosphorylation levels or the maximal aggregation rates without PGE(1) treatment. However, cilostazol intake apparently enhanced PGE(1)-induced VASP phosphorylation and PGE(1)-mediated reduction of ADP-and collagen-induced maximal aggregation rates. Levels of VASP phosphorylated at Ser157 were correlated and the maximal aggregation rates induced by ADP were inversely correlated with cilostazol concentrations in the plasma.

CONCLUSION
The antiplatelet effects of cilostazol intake could be evaluated by measuring VASP phosphorylation levels and maximal aggregation rates in platelets by ex vivo treatment with a low concentration of PGE(1).