Whole heart decellularization combined with patient-specific cells may prove to be an extremely valuable approach to engineer new hearts. Mild detergents are commonly used in the decellularization process, but are known to denature and solubilize key proteins and growth factors and can therefore be destructive to the extracellular matrix (ECM) during the decellularization process. In this study, the decellularization of porcine hearts was accomplished in 24 h with only 6 h of sodium dodecyl sulfate exposure and 98% DNA removal. Automatically controlling the pressure during decellularization reduced the detergent exposure time while still completely removing immunogenic cell debris. Stimulation of macrophages was greatly reduced when comparing native tissue samples to the processed ECM. Complete cell removal was confirmed by analysis of DNA content. General collagen and elastin preservation was demonstrated. Glycosaminoglycans and collagen quantification both showed no significant differences in content after decellularization. The compression elastic modulus of the ECM after decellularization was lower than native at low strains, but there was no significant difference at high strains. Polyurethane casts of the vasculature of native and decellularized hearts demonstrated that the microvasculature network was preserved after decellularization. A static blood thrombosis assay using bovine blood was also developed. Finally, the recellularization potential of the ECM samples was demonstrated by reseeding cardiac fibroblasts and endothelial cells on the myocardium and endocardium samples.


Older nurses who have "done their time" in hospital wards sometimes find home health or hospice nursing a welcome and rewarding change of pace. While their maturity often gives them the empathy and compassion that can bring comfort to their patients, their extensive experience supplies them with the knowledge they need to work confidently in an independent setting.


Importance
A 2016 review for the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found use of statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was associated with reduced mortality and cardiovascular outcomes.

Objective
To update the 2016 review on statins for primary prevention of CVD to inform the USPSTF.

Data Sources
Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (to November 2021); surveillance through May 20, 2022.

Study Selection
Randomized clinical trials on statins vs placebo or no statin and statin intensity in adults without prior cardiovascular events; large cohort studies on harms.

Data Extraction and Synthesis
One investigator abstracted data; a second checked accuracy. Two investigators independently rated study quality.

Main Outcomes and Measures
All-cause and cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, composite cardiovascular outcomes, and adverse events.

Results
Twenty-six studies were included: 22 trials (N = 90 624) with 6 months to 6 years of follow-up compared statins vs placebo or no statin, 1 trial (n = 5144) compared statin intensities, and 3 observational studies (n = 417 523) reported harms. Statins were significantly associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality (risk ratio [RR], 0.92 [95% CI, 0.87 to 0.98]; absolute risk difference [ARD], -0.35% [95% CI, -0.57% to -0.14%]), stroke (RR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.68 to 0.90]; ARD, -0.39% [95% CI, -0.54% to -0.25%]), myocardial infarction (RR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.60 to 0.75]; ARD, -0.85% [95% CI, -1.22% to -0.47%]), and composite cardiovascular outcomes (RR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.64 to 0.81]; ARD, -1.28% [95% CI, -1.61% to -0.95%]); the association with cardiovascular mortality was not statistically significant (RR, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.81 to 1.02]; ARD, -0.13%). Relative benefits were consistent in groups defined by demographic and clinical characteristics, although data for persons older than 75 years were sparse. Statin therapy was not significantly associated with increased risk of serious adverse events (RR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.93 to 1.01]), myalgias (RR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.86 to 1.11]), or elevated alanine aminotransferase level (RR, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.78 to 1.13]). Statin therapy was not significantly associated with increased diabetes risk overall (RR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.92 to 1.19]), although 1 trial found high-intensity statin therapy was significantly associated with increased risk (RR, 1.25 [95% CI, 1.05 to 1.49]). Otherwise, there were no clear differences in outcomes based on statin intensity.

Conclusions and Relevance
In adults at increased CVD risk but without prior CVD events, statin therapy for primary prevention of CVD was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality and CVD events. Benefits of statin therapy appear to be present across diverse demographic and clinical populations, with consistent relative benefits in groups defined by demographic and clinical characteristics.


Translational control has been increasingly appreciated as a critical gene-regulatory mechanism during immune responses. Previous studies suggested that translation of select cytokines could be regulated by mRNA poly(A)-tail lengths in memory T-cells and macrophages. We carried out transcriptome-wide analysis with mRNA sequencing, ribosome-footprinting profiling as well as poly(A)-tail length profiling in both RAW264.7 cells and mouse thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages. No coupling between poly(A)-tail length and translational efficiency (TE) was observed in either cell type, arguing against a global translational-regulatory regime mediated by poly(A)-tail lengths. Immune activation with the treatment of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to these cells did not change the uncoupled regime. Moreover, gene expression landscape in LPS-treated macrophages was dominated by mRNA level changes, with little contribution from TE changes. The up- or down-regulation of TE was not accompanied by concerted lengthening or shortening of poly(A) tails, implying existence of yet unclear translational control mechanisms in these immune cells. Finally, our studies in other biologic systems, including HeLa cells, Xenopus oocytes and yeast suggest that saturating levels of poly(A)-binding proteins might suppress poly(A) tail length-mediated translational control in various uncoupled systems, including immune cells. Citation Format: Kehui Xiang, David P. Bartel. Translational control in macrophages during inflammatory response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B197.


This thesis explores the unique and pivotal life of Son House, a Mississippi bluesman from Lyon, Mississippi, who did much to change the identity and perpetuate the existence of blues music and culture. Furthermore, House was influential in shaping blues music as a medium for historical research, as they revealed a strikingly honest perception of the tumultuous and evil circumstances for African Americans in the South during the early twentieth century.
Research on Son House was a unique experience, in that it called not only for academic exploration, but also human exploration. When researching the importance of blues music in the South, especially in Mississippi, one must dive into the genre to better understand the intricate characters and atmosphere that shaped them. This meant visiting the Delta, talking to peers and colleagues who share enthusiasm for the blues, and broadening the scope of academic research to include the very human aspects of blues culture which are vital to understanding its history.
In this thesis, documentation of Son House's life and decisions lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of blues music. The blues are widely known as "sad" music, but this is one-dimensional. Through House, and the blues phenomenon that succeeded his career, one can begin to see that blues music is as layered and complex as the human who sings them, and as shocking as the turmoil that shaped them.
In this study, Son House—who lived a life characterized by extreme vice or extreme Christianity, and often at the same time—serves as the catalyst for the instillation of that dichotomy into blues culture. As one of the first "large-scale" blues musicians, he was also one of the first to incorporate heavy reliance on spirituality and the human experience; and while House often played for fiscal security, his predecessors saw no reason to enhance the weight of their blues if the dollar they received for them were there regardless.


Previously, we identified an amplified gene in a stomach cancer cell line, KATO-III, and designated it K-sam. This gene was later found to be identical with a gene for a receptor tyrosine kinase, bek/FGFR2. One of the characteristics of the K-sam gene is structural diversity of its transcripts; K-sam complementary DNA (cDNA) cloned from human brain (K-sam-I) has a completely different sequence at the third extracellular immunoglobulin-like domain as compared to that of the K-sam cDNA derived from KATO-III cells (K-sam-II). Recent study has revealed that this difference signifies a differential ligand affinity; the receptor encoded by the K-sam-I cDNA has a high affinity for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), while the K-sam-II cDNA corresponds to a receptor with the high affinity for keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and RNA blot analysis showed that the K-sam-II-type transcript was present in carcinoma cell lines but not in any of the sarcoma cell lines examined. The K-sam-I-type transcript was expressed in both carcinoma and sarcoma cell lines. Furthermore, KGF enhanced the DNA synthesis of the esophageal cancer cells, TE-1, in a dose-dependent manner, while the effect of bFGF was not substantial. In contrast, the glioblastoma cell line, A-172, that expressed the bFGF receptor showed a mitogenic response to bFGF but not to KGF. These data suggest that KGF is a growth factor used preferentially in cancer cells, and this preference is based on the presence of the K-sam-II-type receptor in carcinoma cells but not in sarcoma cells due to alternative splicing.


The rapid progress of the high speed optical communications system is driven by the
exponential growth of users demand on information and services. The trend towards
high speed and high capacity transmission system are multiplexing technique such as
electrical time division multiplexing (ETDM) and duty cycle division multiplexing
(DCDM). Unfortunately, ETDM bit rate is limited by the speed of electronic devices
and DCDM suffers from increased spectral width when the number of tributary
increased. Therefore, in this research, a new multiplexing technique is proposed,
known as Multi Slot Amplitude Coding (MSAC). In this technique, three, four and
five tributaries can be achieved with less number of slots compared to DCDM. The
performance of 310 Gbit/s MSAC is -26 dBm for receiver sensitivity (RS) and
25.5 dB for optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). The improvement of 3.5 dB for RS
and 3.7 dB for OSNR are obtained when optimize level spacing is implemented.
When compared to DCDM, the spectral width is reduced by around 25%, not less
than 55% improvement of chromatic dispersion (CD) tolerance, 0.6 dB better RS,
and 1.5 dB better OSNR. The spectral width for 310 Gbit/s, 410 Gbit/s and 510
Gbit/s MSAC is 60 GHz, which indicates improvement of spectral efficiency.
Optical spectrum of MSAC has spectral line at 10 GHz to provide an accurate clock
frequency at symbol rate. In addition the performance of MSAC technique is
simulated under self phase modulation (SPM) effect. The result shows that the
maximum launched optical power is +12.79 dBm and +12.62 dBm for 50 km and 80
km standard single mode fiber (SSMF) with 100% compensation of dispersion using
dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) at receiver. Moreover, SPM threshold improves
around 2.7 dB when adopting the pre and post dispersion compensation method.


&NA; Date Presented 3/30/2017 Students with intellectual or developmental disabilities are entering postsecondary programs. Persisting adaptive behavior needs affect performance and participation. This research served to better understand student needs and potential roles of occupational therapy in postsecondary settings. Primary Author and Speaker: Lucretia Berg Contributing Authors: Tracy Jirikowic, Ginger MacDonald, Katie Haerling


Residual stresses in chemically vapor deposited monolithic and graded coatings in the Ti-C-N system were investigated as a function of substyate material and coating composition by X-ray diffraction Sin 2 ψ method. The thermal expansion coeffiicients (CTES) of the graphite substrates ranged from 2.5×10 -6 K -1 to 8.6×10 -6 K -1 . Titanium nitride (CTE 9.35×10 -6 K -1 ) and titanium carbide (CTE 7.5×10 -6 K -1 ) coatinqg deposited on the low-expansion substrates (CTEs 2.5-3.5×10 -6 K -1 ) exhibited crack networks which accounted for low stress levels measured in the coatings. A phenomenalogical explanation of the crack patterns was given. The coatings grown on the substrates with high coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs 7.8-8.6×10 -6 K -1 ) had no cracks. Residual stresses in the TiN coatings on these substrates were measured to be tensile. Whereas TiC coatings always exhibited compressive stresses ranging from -54±10 MPa to -288±18 MPa. The TiC x N y coatings deposited on the substrate with a thermal expansion coefficient of 8.6×10 -6 K -1 also had compressive stresses increased with increasing TiC mole fraction in the TiC x N y up to about 0.9 above which stresses decreased. The residual stresses in the top TiC layers of the graded TiN/TiC coatings with linear, parabolic and exponentional composition profiles grown on the the same substrate (CTE 8.6×10 -6 K -1 ) were measured to be compressive and about 475 MPa. Stresses in the coatings were calculated and attributed to the thermal expansion mismatch between the coating and the substrate. It was shown that the measured stresses were, in general, found to be in good agreement with the calculated ones


As endotherms, we are able to experience the everyday benefit of being able to maintain our body temperature in spite of difference in the surrounding environment. Because of this we became interested in how exactly endotherms thermoregulate and decided to conduct an experiment to explore this mechanism. Mice were chosen because they are the most readily available endotherms, which share a close relation to humans. Our hypothesis states that there is a positive correlation between low temperatures and the metabolic rate of mice because mice are endotherms; when placed in low temperatures, their metabolic rate will increase to keep their bodies at a stable temperature. In the experiment, to evaluate this claim, we conducted six trials where the CO2 levels of mice were collected for 5 minutes intervals at cold and room temperatures, which were used to determine metabolic rate. Our experiment shows that, when placed in cold temperatures, an endotherm's metabolic rate will increase and this increase seems to be linked to the endotherm's ability to thermoregulate.


ABSTRACT Flood recovery is an important period in the flood risk management cycle. Recently, flood recovery has become viewed as an opportunity for future flood damage mitigation. Financial flows to cover flood damages and rules regarding their allocation are crucial for supporting or undermining mitigation efforts. In this paper, we map and compare state flood recovery funding in the so-called Visegrad Group Countries (V4), i.e. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, over the past 30 years of their democratic history. We apply a qualitative comparative approach to identify differences and similarities in risk sharing and state flood recovery funding approaches among these countries. Additionally, we reveal how risk sharing is addressed by existing flood recovery funding schemes. The results indicate that national governments have a low willingness to institutionalise ex-ante compensation schemes. Ad hoc instruments initiated shortly after disastrous flooding usually do not provide incentives to reduce future flood damages.


The chapter provides an analytical mathematical model of a car radiator, which includes different heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) on the first and second row of pipes. The air-side HTCs in the first and second row of pipes in the first and second pass were calculated using the correlations for the Nusselt number, which were determined by CFD simulation using the ANSYS software. Mathematical models of two radiators were built, one of which was manufactured of round tubes and the other of oval tubes. The model permits the determination of thermal output of the first and second row of tubes in the first and second pass. The small relative differences between the thermal capacities of the heat exchanger occur for different and uniform HTCs. However, the heat flow rate in the first row is much greater than the heat flow in the second row if the air-side HTCs are different on the first and second tube row compared to a case where the HTC is uniform in the whole heat exchanger. The heat transfer rates in both radiators calculated using the developed mathematical model were compared with those determined experimentally. The method for modeling of plate-fin and tube heat exchanger (PFTHE) proposed in the paper does not require empirical correlations to calculate HTCs both on the air side and on the inner surfaces of pipes. The presented method of calculating PFTHEs, considering different air-side HTCs evaluated using CFD modeling, may considerably reduce the cost of experimental research concerning new design heat exchangers implemented in manufacturing.


Job openings often go unfulfilled despite a surfeit of unemployed or underemployed workers. One of the main reasons for this is a mismatch between the skills required by employers and the skills that workers possess. This mismatch, also known as the skills gap, can pose socio-economic challenges for an economy. A first step in alleviating the skills gap is to accurately detect skills in human capital data such as resumes and job ads. Comprehensive and accurate detection of skills facilitates analysis of labor market dynamics. It also helps bridge the divide between supply and demand of labor by facilitating reskilling and workforce training programs. In this paper, we describe SKILL, a Named Entity Normalization (NEN) system for occupational skills. SKILL is composed of 1) A skills tagger which uses properties of semantic word vectors to recognize and normalize relevant skills, and 2) A skill entity sense disambiguation component which infers the correct meaning of an identified skill by leveraging Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. Datadriven evaluation using end-user surveys demonstrates that SKILL achieves 90% precision and 73% recall for skills tagging. SKILL is currently used by various internal teams at CareerBuilder for big data workforce analytics, semantic search, job matching, and recommendations.ch.


In this paper we investigate the need for admission control for the high-speed downlink shared channel (HS-DSCH) through the evaluation of two admission control mechanisms. One mechanism uses the number of active users in a cell as a metric and the other one uses the mean downlink throughput of a user. We also introduce a model for user behaviour in which the goodput of a completed file download decides if further downloads are made. In order to measure user-experienced quality we use a utility function for transforming per-flow goodput into a user satisfaction index. System performance, measured by total user satisfaction and total goodput, is evaluated for a range of session arrival rates and admission control limits. This evaluation is done using the ns-2 simulator, together with extensions of our own. If the objective is to maximise goodput, our results show that no admission control is needed. Maximising user satisfaction benefits from an admission control. We also note that the impact of user behaviour is not insignificant


Monthly deposition samples were collected at the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories located about 115 km south of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), and the radioactive nuclides were analyzed. Although radionuclides such as 131I, 129mTe-129Te and 132Te-132I with 134Cs and 137Cs were observed by gamma spectrometry at the early time of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, only 134Cs and 137Cs were detected as of September 2011. The annual depositions of 134Cs and 137Cs were about 19,000 and 17,000 Bq m–2, respectively in March 2011-February 2012 after the accident. Moreover, 90Sr was detected in some samples. Monthly 90Sr deposition in March 2011 was 5.1 Bq m–2 month–1 and then decreased after that. On the other hand, 239, 240Pu concentration was the same level with the concentration before the accident.


13 patients with hemifacial spasm and 19 patients with blepharospasm (essential blepharospasm or Meige syndrome) were treated with injection of botulinum A toxin in the eyelids. The effectiveness of this therapy is constant and the treatment offers relief to almost all patients. The response times for repeated treatment was 6 months for blepharospasm and 7 months for hemifacial spasm. Repeated injections were performed in several patients and gave the same improvement. Transient ptosis or diplopia were observed in 11 patients. Possible systemic side effects (respiratory trouble) were documented in two patients. Botulinum toxin injection is an effective treatment but the relief is usually temporary and repeated treatments are necessary.


Ferromagnetic (FM) La2/3(Ca0.6Ba0.4)1/3MnO3 and antiferromagnetic (AFM) NiO nanoparticles were synthesized using sol-gel method, respectively. La2/3(Ca0.6Ba0.4)1/3MnO3 (1 mol)/ x NiO (x= 0, 0.05 and 0.15mol) composites with the coated NiO were prepared. The experimental results indicate that, both phases of LCBMO and NiO coexist clearly in the composites and the sizes of the NiO nanoparticles in the intergranular region between the LCBMO particles are very small; the interface of NiO influences evidently the value of MR and it is found that the tunneling MR for x=0.05 is the largest in three samples. The magnetoresistance behavior has been explained by two-level model of tunneling magnetoresistance and percolation model well.


What does the transition to a Low Carbon Britain mean for the future development of cities and regions across the country? Does it reinforce existing 'business as usual' or create new transformational opportunities? Low Carbon Nation? takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle this critical question, by looking across the different dimensions of technological, scientific, social and economic change within the diverse city and regional contexts of the UK.
Hodson and Marvin set out how the transition to low carbon futures needs to be understood as a dual response to the wider financial and economic crisis and to critical ecological concerns about the implications of global climate change. The book develops a novel framework for understanding how the transition to low carbon is informed by historical legacies that shape the geographical, political and cultural dimensions of low carbon responses. Through a programme of research in Scotland, Wales, the North East of England, Greater London, and Greater Manchester, the authors set out different styles of low carbon urban and regional response. Through in-depth illustration of this in newly devolved nations, an old industrial region, a global city-region and in an entrepreneurial city, international lessons can be drawn about the limits and the unrealised opportunities of low carbon transition.
This book is key reading for students on geography, economics, planning and social science degrees, as well as those studying sustainability in related contexts trying to understand the urban and regional politics of low carbon transition. It is also an essential resource for policymakers, public officials, elected representatives, environmentalists and business leaders concerned with shaping the direction and type of transition.


Aeromagnetic data has been used by many authors worldwide in evaluation of subsurface basin configuration. This study covers parts of five basins (Niger Delta, Calabar Flank, Anambra Basin, Mamfe Basin, and Lower Benue Trough) in Nigeria. The study utilized twenty aeromagnetic maps on a scale of 1:100,000. The maps were digitized manually along flight lines and a total of 16,689 data points obtained. The data was processed using computer techniques including map merging, reduction to pole, polynomial and power spectrum filtering for residual and regional anomaly separation, and forward and inverse 2.5D Saki modeling. Results obtained from power spectrum depth analysis indicate depth to magnetic sources vis – a –vis sediment thickness from the Niger Delta area (2.75 km - 3.75 km), Anambra basin (1.5 km – 2.6 km), Calabar Flank (1.3 km – 2.3 km), Mamfe basin (2.0 km – 3.4 km), and Lower Benue Trough (1.5 km – 3.2 km). Also, depth to basement results from forward and inverse modeling indicate the Niger Delta has thickness of sediments ranging between 1.0 km- 8.0 km, Anambra basin (1.4 km – 2.7 km), Calabar Flank (0.8 km- 2.5 km), Mamfe Basin (1.0 km – 2.7 km), and Lower Benue Trough (1.4 km – 2.7 km). Also, results from modeled number of intrusives indicate that the Calabar Flank has five intrusives, Niger Delta has four intrusives, Mamfe basin has six intrusives, Anambra basin has five intrusives, and Lower Benue Trough has four intrusives. The implications of the increased number of intrusives are that generated hydrocarbons might be converted to gas, this is more likely in areas around Calabar Flank, Mamfe basin and Anambra basins, given the high number of occurrence of intrusives within these areas. Whereas areas around the Niger Delta and Lower Benue Trough with significantly increased depth and lower number of intrusive are less prone to excessive heat from the intrusive and may produce more oil. The study support further exploration activities within the Niger Delta and Lower Benue Trough areas.


The paper deals with the new method of power analysis of single-phase power electronic systems. Using a new particular transform theory the ordinary single-phase system can be transformed into equivalent two-axis orthogonal one. The new original thought is based on the idea that ordinary single-phase quantily can be complemented by fictious second phase so that both of them will create orthogonal system, as it usual in three-phase systems. Application of the above theory makes this possible to use complex methods of analysis as instantaneous reactive power method, which have not been usable for single-phase systems so far. All types of the power, active and reactive, can be determined by this way.


Dependence is a hallmark feature of opiate addiction and is defined by the emergence of somatic and affective withdrawal signs. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) integrates dopaminergic and glutamatergic inputs to mediate rewarding and aversive properties of opiates. Evidence suggests that AMPA glutamate-receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity within the NAc underlies aspects of addiction. However, the degree to which NAc AMPA receptors (AMPARs) contribute to somatic and affective signs of opiate withdrawal is not fully understood. Here, we show that microinjection of the AMPAR antagonist NBQX into the NAc shell of morphine-dependent rats prevented naloxone-induced conditioned place aversions and decreases in sensitivity to brain stimulation reward, but had no effect on somatic withdrawal signs. Using a protein cross-linking approach, we found that the surface/intracellular ratio of NAc GluA1, but not GluA2, increased with morphine treatment, suggesting postsynaptic insertion of GluA2-lacking AMPARs. Consistent with this, 1-naphthylacetyl spermine trihydrochloride (NASPM), an antagonist of GluA2-lacking AMPARs, attenuated naloxone-induced decreases in sensitivity to brain stimulation reward. Naloxone decreased the surface/intracellular ratio and synaptosomal membrane levels of NAc GluA1 in morphine-dependent rats, suggesting a compensatory removal of AMPARs from synaptic zones. Together, these findings indicate that chronic morphine increases synaptic availability of GluA1-containing AMPARs in the NAc, which is necessary for triggering negative-affective states in response to naloxone. This is broadly consistent with the hypothesis that activation of NAc neurons produces acute aversive states and raises the possibility that inhibiting AMPA transmission selectively in the NAc may have therapeutic value in the treatment of addiction. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Morphine dependence and withdrawal result in profound negative-affective states that play a major role in the maintenance of addiction. However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not fully understood. We use a rat model of morphine dependence to show that GluA1 subunits of AMPA glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region critical for modulating affective states, are necessary for aversive effects of morphine withdrawal. Using biochemical methods in NAc tissue, we show that morphine dependence increases cell surface expression of GluA1, suggesting that neurons in this area are primed for increased AMPA receptor activation upon withdrawal. This work is important because it suggests that targeting AMPA receptor trafficking and activation could provide novel targets for addiction treatment.


Three Holstein cows were fed a high-concentrate diet (65:35 concentrate to forage) supplemented with either 5% sunflower oil (SO), 5% linseed oil (LO), or 2.5% fish oil (FO) to examine effects on biohydrogenation and fatty acid profiles in rumen, blood plasma, and milk. Diets were fed in a 3 x 3 Latin square with 4-wk periods with grass hay as the forage. Milk yield, dry matter intake, and percentages of milk fat (2.64) and protein (3.22) did not differ. All diets resulted in incomplete hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids as indicated by the profiles of 18:1 isomers, conjugated 18:2 isomers, nonconjugated 18:2 isomers, and 18:0 in ruminal fluid. Percentages of 8:0-14:0 and 16:0 in milk fat were greater with FO. Percentage and yield of trans10,cis12-18:2 were small and greater in cows fed SO (0.14%, 0.57 g/d) than FO (0.03%, 0.15 g/d) or LO (0.04%, 0.12 g/d). Percentage and yield of trans10-18:1, however, increased with FO (6.16%) and SO (6.47%) compared with LO (1.65%). Dietary FO doubled percentage of cis11-18:1 in rumen, plasma, and milk fat. Despite a lack of difference in ruminal percentage of trans11-18:1 (10.5%), cows fed FO had greater plasma trans11-18:1 (116 vs. 61.5 microg/mL) but this response did not result in greater trans11-18:1 percentage in milk fat, which averaged 5.41% across diets. Percentage (2.2%) and yield (14.3 g/d) of cis9,trans11-18:2 in milk fat did not differ due to oils. Unique responses to feeding LO included greater than 2-fold increases in percentages of trans13+14-18:1, trans15-18:1, trans16-18:1, cis15-18:1, cis9,trans12-18:2 and trans11,cis15 -18:2 in umen, plasma, and milk, and cis9,trans13-18:2 in plasma and milk. Ruminal 18:0 percentage had the highest positive correlation with milk fat content (r = 0.82) across all diets. When compared with previous data with cows fed high-concentrate diets without oil supplementation, results suggest that greater production of trans10-18:1, cis11-18:1, and trans11,cis15-18:2 coupled with low production of 18:0 in the rumen may be associated with low milk fat content when feeding high-concentrate diets and fish oil. In contrast, SO or LO could lead to low milk fat content by increasing ruminal trans10-18:1 (SO) or trans11,cis15-18:2 and trans9,trans12-18:2 (LO) along with a reduction in mammary synthesis of 8:0-16:0. Simultaneous increases in ruminal trans11-18:1 with fish oil, at a fraction of sunflower oil supplementation, may represent an effective strategy to maintain cis9,trans11-18:2 synthesis in mammary while reducing milk fat output and sparing energy.


AS 2010 draws to an end, I reflect with some relief that my first year as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (TSE) has passed without any adverse consequences. I am also aware of opportunities for further development of the journal in ways that continue to attract the very best software engineering research and that present this research in ways that are accessible and useful to readers. I thank all of you who took the time to write to me during the year with suggestions, comments, and questions. You may recall that in a previous issue I wrote about the need to recognize authors of high quality papers, and to recognize colleagues who have produced high quality reviews. To this end, in 2011, I would like to introduce a TSE "Best Research Paper" award (selected from papers published in TSE in 2010) and a "Reviewer of the Year" award (for papers reviewed—but not necessarily published—in 2010). I am happy to do much of the groundwork for selecting winners myself, with the help of the journal's editorial board, however, I would very much like to receive your nominations of outstanding candidates for these awards. So please do e-mail me your nominations before 10th January 2011. Your nominations should provide the reference for the paper you wish to nominate as best paper, including a short statement of why you think the paper deserves recognition in this way. If you would like to nominate a reviewer, then you can do so if you are the author or editor of the paper submitted to TSE in 2010. Again, just send me the details of the paper that was reviewed and indicate which of its reviewers you are nominating. Since reviews are anonymous, I will have access to reviewer identities and performance that I will also take into account, and will take particular care that reviewer identities are not divulged to authors. I contemplated setting some very precise criteria for nomination, however, on reflection I felt that, at least this year, I would leave it to readers to decide. Obviously, for "best research paper," criteria such as novelty, significance, impact, and presentation of the research are important, and for "reviewer of the year," quality and timeliness of feedback are important. My aim is to announce the award winners in the second issue of 2011, so please e-mail me at firstname.lastname@example.com soon! This particular issue of TSE is a special issue on Search Based Software Engineering, guest edited by Professor Mark Harmen and Dr. Afshin Mansouri. I would like to thank them both for putting together such a rich special issue, which they introduce comprehensively in their guest editorial. I'd like to conclude with a welcome to three new Associate Editors who have recently joined the TSE Editorial Board. They are Professor Betty Cheng, Dr. Frank Tip, and Professor Murray Woodside. Each has a distinguished record of research and leadership in our community. Their short biographies are provide below. Finally, for many of you, the end of 2010 marks a holiday season. My best wishes to you all for a happy holiday and for the New Year.


Dental implants may maintain residual alveolar ridge, avoid preparation of the healthy tooth, and provide better retention, support, and chewing functions. However, in the maxillary posterior areas the size and extension of the sinus cavities often jeopardized implantation of dental implants. The mechanisms involved in sinus augmentation and osseointegration are still not fully understood. The amount of new bone regenerated may not be adequate and the time for bone healing may take years to complete; therefore, the success rate of osseointegration in augmented sinus may be lower. Two critical processes for the enhancement of bone healing are to increase the number of local osteoprogenitor cells and to accelerate the rate of bone remodeling. TGF-β may directly or indirectly regulate cells of the bone marrow and re-establish the osteoblast phenotype and enhance new bone formation. During skeletal remodeling, bone grafting materials may also be used to induce or conduct new bone formation. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the potential use of TGF-β and / or bone grafting materials on sinus augmentation in vivo. Two, four and six months after sinus elevation and TGF-β and bone graft implantation, dogs were sacrificed. Results were assessed using clinical, histologic, and radiograghic techniques. SEM examination was also performed to evaluate the level of osseointegration ultrastructurally. Computed tomography (CT) showed an increase in mineralization over time for all study groups. CT showed that sinuses grafted with TGE-β /OsteoGen or autogenous bone/OsteoGen exhibited greater bone density than sites grafted with OsteoGen only. Histological results of the present study indicated that TGF-β/OsteoGen, autogenous bone/OsteoGen, and OsteoGen promoted similar amount of new blood vessels and new bone in grafted maxillary sinus. It appeared that TGF-β/OsteoGen formed more new bone marrow. New bone was formed primarily around OsteoGen. While OsteoGen was resorbed, there were still tremendous amounts of residual OsteoGen particles after 6 months of grafting. More new bone marrows were formed as graft time increased.


The effects of the third element on the high temperature oxidation of γ'-Ni3Al with 5at%X (X=Ti, Ta, Nb, Cu, Co and Fe) alloys were investigated at 1173K in air, and oxidation behavior could be classified into three groups. The first group, comprised of alloys with Cu and Co, showed good oxidation performance with Al2O3 formation. A second group contains Ti, Ta, and Nb as alloying elements, and showed poor oxidation performance. With Fe or Mn addition the alloy oxidation performance was intermediate between the first and second group. The effects of these elements are discussed associate with partitioning factors for each element in the γ'-phase.


Hydrogel is considered as an important material in our world nowadays as it is used in many important and significant applications such as in tissue engineering and agriculture. There are hundreds of types of such materials, where most of them can be easily prepared. The main objective of this work is to prepare one of the hydrogel types which could be very useful in the agriculture of deserts where plants in dry places require water in order to grow up. There are many places around the world where raining occurs only once or twice a year. There are also places where it does not rain at all. Therefore, hydrogels are required in order to absorb water in large quantities either during raining or irrigation instead of escaping to underground and then eject them to the roots of plants over time as the plants require watering. In this research a hydrogel based on acryl amide, Poly 2-Acrylamide-2-Methyl-1-Propane Sulphonic Acid, (PAMPS) was prepared by using different percentages of a suitable cross-linking agent, Methylene-bis-Acrylamide. The cross-linker content is very important factor affects the rate and amount of absorbed water. The highest amount of absorbed water at 25°C was observed by using 0.6% cross-linking agent based on monomer mass. The temperature of absorbed water and its pH value are also essential factors that affect the rate and the amount of absorbed water and were investigated in this work. The highest amount of absorbed water was recorded at pH = 12 and at 60°C. The amount and the rate of water absorbed by Sodium Polyacrylate Hydrogel were also investigated at 25°C. The agriculture applications of hydrogel based on Sodium Polyacrylate were examined using Fenugreek seeds implanting.


Background Prior research has indicated that posttraumatic growth (PTG) often co-occurs with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it is yet unclear what longitudinal patterns of posttraumatic symptom levels may predict the development of PTG. Methods World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers (2038 police and 2103 non-traditional responders) were assessed an average of 3, 6, 8, and 12 years post-9/11/2001. Responders' WTC-related PTSD symptoms were characterized by No/Low Symptom, Worsening/Subtly Worsening, Steeply Worsening (only for non-traditional responders), Improving, and Chronic trajectories. PTSD symptom trajectories were examined as predictors of PTG, which was assessed using total scores on the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form. Results Across both occupational groups, being female, older, Hispanic, and experiencing more post-9/11 traumatic events were independently associated with self-reported PTG. Among police responders, a greater number of WTC exposures and supportive family members while working at the WTC site were linked to higher PTG. Among non-traditional responders, Black race/ethnicity, less education, fewer pre-9/11 traumatic events, and the presence of support while working at the WTC site were additionally linked to higher PTG. Only the moderate PTSD symptom trajectories (ie, worsening and improving) for police responders and all symptomatic trajectories for non-traditional responders were associated with higher levels of PTG. Conclusions Symptomatic 12-year trajectories of PTSD symptoms and certain sociodemographic characteristics, stressor exposures, and supportive resources were associated with PTG in traditional and non-traditional WTC responders. Results provide insight into subgroups of WTC responders who may benefit from PTG-promoting interventions, as well as potentially modifiable targets to help foster PTG in this population.


Research undertaken by outsiders into issues of concern to Aboriginal communities frequently ignores community culture and the knowledge embedded within Aboriginal communities. Methodologies are adopted which perpetuate the colonialist mindset of non-indigenous Australians leading to failed solutions to Aboriginal problems. This paper describes an Aboriginal-led community-based research project, exploring the role of Aboriginal Australians in caring for, and transforming, their own communities. It focuses on the roles that Information Systems can play when providing an accessible platform for Aboriginal voices. The authors conducted an in-depth case study of one Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO), the Illawarra Koori Men's Support Group (IKMSG). The research consisted of a social network analysis (SNA) of the inter-organisational links of the IKMSG; interviews and focus groups with members of the IKMSG and the co-design of their first website. The prominence of the IKMSG in the SNA maps suggests that its work in the community is highly respected and that the model produced by this research can act as a guide for success in other ACCOs. The findings have been used to develop a theoretical model of Aboriginal community engagement and intervention. This model can enable authentic outcomes to projects which address Aboriginal concerns and support the conduct of community-led research in Aboriginal communities.


The research fieldof this dissertation are noninvasive, electroencephalography (EEG)-based, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), and their use for neurorehabilitation and control purposes.Brain-Computer Interfaces are systems enabling a straightforwardcommunication between the brain and the outside, by recording the neural activity and directly translating it into control signals for a particulardevice(likea robotic arm, a machine, or a computer).Given their independence from thenaturalneuromuscularpathways, BCIs are envisioned as tools to restore communication and control in patients with severe motor impairments. Also, BCIshave recently emerged inneurorehabilitation, where they are employed to objectify thedesiredmodulations of the neural features, toguidethe practiceand boost rehabilitation.This dissertation includes several research activities fromthe two above-mentioned contexts. Each studybuilds up on the advancementsof the previous researchand introducesa furtherstep, either by investigatingnew configurationsof theavailabletechnology(chapter 2), introducing some novel design elements(chapter 3), contributing into the practical implementation of new approaches(chapter 4), or improving the efficiency of available algorithms (chapter 5).The work is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1serves as introduction toEEG-based BCIsand their use inneurorehabilitation and control. In chapter 2, a novel combination of two neurorehabilitation tools is investigated,namelyi) BCI-guided motor imagery training and ii) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The work in chapter 3falls within the context of co-adaptive BCIs based on the modulationof sensorimotor rhythms, suggestingsome novel elements to improve the flexibility and tailoring of user training. In chapter 4real-time, continuous control of a robotic arm by means of continuously EEG-decoded movements is enabled for the first time. Chapter 5finally closes the thesis, with proposing two simple but effective ways to significantly improve SSVEP recognition based on Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA).


The low-phase-noise GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) quadrature voltage controlled oscillator (QVCO) using transformer-based superharmonic coupling topology is demonstrated for the first time. The fully integrated QVCO at 4.87GHz has phase noise of -131dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset frequency, output power of -4dBm and the figure of merit (FOM) -198dBc/Hz. The state-of-the-art phase noise FOM is attributed to the superior GaInP/GaAs HBT low-frequency device noise and the high quality transformer formed on the GaAs semi-insulating substrate.


Unlike sodium, potassium is vasoactive; for example, when infused into the arterial supply of a vascular bed, blood flow increases. The vasodilation results from hyperpolarization of the vascular smooth muscle cell subsequent to potassium stimulation by the ion of the electrogenic Na+-K+ pump and/or activating the inwardly rectifying Kir channels. In the case of skeletal muscle and brain, the increased flow sustains the augmented metabolic needs of the tissues. Potassium ions are also released by the endothelial cells in response to neurohumoral mediators and physical forces (such as shear stress) and contribute to the endothelium-dependent relaxations, being a component of endothelium-derived hyperpolarization factor-mediated responses. Dietary supplementation of potassium can lower blood pressure in normal and some hypertensive patients. Again, in contrast to NaCl restriction, the response to potassium supplementation is slow to appear, taking approximately 4 wk. Such supplementation reduces the need for antihypertensive medication. "Salt-sensitive" hypertension responds particularly well, perhaps, in part, because supplementation with potassium increases the urinary excretion of sodium chloride. Potassium supplementation may even reduce organ system complications (e.g., stroke).


Network address translation is widely deployed in the Internet and supports the transmission control protocol and the user datagram protocol as transport layer protocols. Although part of the kernels of all recent Linux distributions, namely, the FreeBSD 7 and the Solaris 10 operating systems, the new Internet Engineering Task Force transport protocol - stream control transmission protocol - is not supported on most NAT middleboxes yet. This article discusses the deficiencies of using existing NAT methods for SCTP and describes a new SCTP-specific NAT concept. This concept is analyzed in detail for several important network scenarios, including peer-to-peer, transport layer mobility, and multihoming.


Using a Systems Biology approach, we integrated genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and molecular structure information to provide a holistic understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. The expression data analysis of the Renin Angiotensin System indicates mild nasal, oral or throat infections are likely and that the gastrointestinal tissues are a common primary target of SARS-CoV-2. Extreme symptoms in the lower respiratory system likely result from a secondary-infection possibly by a comorbidity-driven upregulation of ACE2 in the lung. The remarkable differences in expression of other RAS elements, the elimination of macrophages and the activation of cytokines in COVID-19 bronchoalveolar samples suggest that a functional immune deficiency is a critical outcome of COVID-19. We posit that using a non-respiratory system as a major pathway of infection is likely determining the unprecedented global spread of this coronavirus. One Sentence Summary A Systems Approach Indicates Non-respiratory Pathways of Infection as Key for the COVID-19 Pandemic


The response of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to N fertilization
under field conditions indicates different Rhizobia-cultivar
relationships or symbiotic N?-fixation limitations
due to the cultivars. We have used the acetylene
reduction method to determine the relative seasonal
N?(C?H?) fixation of several field-grown bean cultivars.
The relative nitrogenase activity was estimated from 3-
X 15-cm soil cores taken around the main root of a decapitated
plant. Activities rapidly increased from the
three node vegetative (V3) to early pod-filling (R3-R4)
growth stages, thereafter decreasing to zero at physiological
maturity (R9). Accumulated daily activity totals
showed a five- to sixfold difference in seasonal N?(C?H?)
fixation between cultivars, which was significantly related
to the average nodule weight and to the plant dry weight
near physiological maturity. However, cultivars
similar plant dry weights had a two- to threefold difference
in relative N?(C?H?) fixation. Seed yields and total-N
updates were also positively related. These observations
indicate that it may be possible to increase both the
symbiotic N? fixation and seed yields through plant breeding.


Critical to the development of an effective HIV/AIDS model is the production of an animal model that reproduces long-lasting active replication of HIV-1 followed by elicitation of virus-specific immune responses. In this study, we constructed humanized nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID)/interleukin-2 receptor γ-chain knockout (IL2Rγ null ) (hNOG) mice by transplanting human cord blood–derived hematopoietic stem cells that eventually developed into human B cells, T cells, and other monocytes/macrophages and 4 dendritic cells associated with the generation of lymphoid follicle–like structures in lymphoid tissues. Expressions of CXCR4 and CCR5 antigens were recognized on CD4 + cells in peripheral blood, the spleen, and bone marrow, while CCR5 was not detected on thymic CD4 + T cells. The hNOG mice showed marked, long-lasting viremia after infection with both CCR5- and CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 isolates for more than the 40 days examined, with R5 virus–infected animals showing high levels of HIV-DNA copies in the spleen and bone marrow, and X4 virus–infected animals showing high levels of HIV-DNA copies in the thymus and spleen. Furthermore, we detected both anti–HIV-1 Env gp120– and Gag p24–specific antibodies in animals showing a high rate of viral infection. Thus, the hNOG mice mirror human systemic HIV infection by developing specific antibodies, suggesting that they may have potential as an HIV/AIDS animal model for the study of HIV pathogenesis and immune responses.


( Short communication )

A cored borehole drilled in Raydale, Yorkshire, has proved granite at 495.05 metres depth directly beneath Lower Carboniferous (Visean) beds. The site (SD 9026 8474) lies on the south-east side of Raydale Beck some six kilometres SSW of Bainbridge and 350 metres N 20° E of Raydale House at an altitude of 267.9 metres above O.D. The bore was drilled as part of the research programme of the Institute of Geological Sciences.

The Alston Block and the Askrigg Block in the north Pennines have long been recognized by geologists as tectonic units, in which the comparative lack of folding and major faulting affecting the Carboniferous strata was due to some feature of the underlying basement rocks which gave them rigidity. The discovery on the Alston Block of a negative gravity anomaly (Bott and Masson-Smith, 1957), with minima corresponding closely with the postulated emanative centres of mineralization, indicated the existence of low-density rocks and prompted the drilling by the University of Durham Department of Geology of the Rookhope borehole which proved the presence of a granite batholith (Dunham et al. , 1965). This has been named the Weardale Granite, and its age has been determined as 410 ± 10 m.y., by the rubidium-strontium isotope method (Holland and Lambert, 1970), corresponding to an end-Silurian age of emplacement. These results encouraged further studies of the negative gravity anomaly already proved to exist on the Askrigg Block by a gravity traverse extending from Kettlewell in Wharfedale to Aysgarth in Wensleydale (Whetton et al. , …


Introduction: Bone cyst is a rare benign bone tumour which normally affects the vertebral region or long bones. Despite its benign in nature, this lesion is expansile and may cause local compression and destruction of bone and soft tissues. Involvement of facial bones is very uncommon, and the lacrimal bone is very rare. Diagnosis usually achieved by radiological investigations, operative findings, and confirmed by histopathological findings. In achieving the diagnosis, it is very important to correlate the clinical, radiological and histological features of the entity to avoid confusion with other possibly neoplasms. Excision of the cyst provides complete cure for the patient.
Case report: A 15 year-old Malay girl who presented with progressive right eye proptosis for 4 years duration. However, the vision was good and no opthalmoplegia or diplopia. She had recurrent history of sneezing, but no nasal blockage, epistaxis or nasal pain. The nasal symptom was controlled by nasal spray. She had 1 episode of eye infection in October 2005 and was treated as out-patient.
CT scan paranasal sinus done in June 2006 suggests the presence of a large right lacrimal bone cyst.
Removal of bone cyst, right uncinectomy, maxillary antrostomy, bulla ethmoidectomy and removal of small part of right frontal process of maxilla was done in December 2006. Following operation, she was well and free from symptoms.


: Clinicomorphological study of the pulmonary circulation vessels was performed in 20 patients with bronchiectatic disease without right ventricle hypertrophy and in 14 patients with chronic bronchitis complicated with pulmonary heart. Pathology data of persons dying from diseases other than vitium cordis and lung diseases were used as control. Morphological signs of pulmonary hypertension are found in all cases of chronic nonspecific lung diseases. The most pronounced changes develop in the vascular segment starting from arterioles and up to the arteries of muscle type with the diameter of 400 microns. The dependence of the pulmonary arteries changes on the type of lung disease is established. Pathological changes in the walls of the pulmonary circulation vessels, in parallel with pronounced compensatory alterations, are found in cases complicated with pulmonary heart.


Five times in the extant corpus, Aristotle refers to a distinction between two ways of being a 'that for the sake of which' that he sometimes marks by using genitive and dative pronouns. Commentators almost universally say that this is the distinction between an aim ( hou heneka + genitive) and beneficiary ( hou heneka + dative). I propose that Aristotle had a quite different distinction in mind, namely: (a) that which holds between something and the aim or objective it is in the business of producing or achieving, and (b) that which holds between some instrument and the user of that instrument.


Bombyx mori silk fibroin is a fibrous protein whose tunable properties and biocompatibility have resulted in its utility in a wide-variety of applications, including as drug delivery vehicles, wound dressings, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Control of protein and cell attachment is vital to the performance of biomaterials, but silk fibroin is mostly hydrophobic and interacts nonspecifically with cells and proteins. Silk functionalised with hydrophilic polymers reduces attachment, but the low number of reactive sites makes achieving a uniform conjugation a persistent challenge. This work presents a new approach to grow brush-like polymers from the surface of degradable silk films, where the films were enriched with hydroxyl groups, functionalised with an initiator, and finally reacted with acrylate monomers using atom transfer radical polymerisation. Two different routes to hydroxyl enrichment were investigated, one involving reaction with ethylene oxide (EO) and the other using a two-step photo-catalysed oxidation reaction. Both routes increased surface hydrophilicity, and hydrophilic monomers containing either uncharged (poly(ethylene glycol), PEG) pendant groups or zwitterionic pendant groups were polymerised from the surfaces. The initial processing of the films to induce beta sheet structures was found to impact the success of the polymerizations. Compared to the EO modified or unmodified silk surfaces, the oxidation reaction resulted in more polymer conjugation and the surfaces appear more uniform. Mesenchymal stem cell and protein attachment were the lowest on polymers grown from oxidised surfaces. PEG-containing brush-like polymers displayed lower protein attachment than surfaces conjugated with PEG using a previously reported "grafting to" method, but polymers containing zwitterionic side chains displayed both the lowest contact angles and the lowest cell and protein attachment. This finding may arise from the interactions of the zwitterionic pendant groups through their permanent dipoles and is an important finding because PEG is susceptible to oxidative damage that can reduce efficacy over time. These modified silk materials with lower cell and protein attachments are envisioned to find utility when enhanced diffusion around surfaces is required, such as in drug delivery implants.


This paper worked on two dimensional ultrasonic grinding system with workpiece adhered to ultrasonic vibration. It analyzed the working locus of abrasive particle under two dimensional ultrasonic grinding (TDUG), and emulated the working course, and gave the key parameters affecting grinding efficiency and grinding locus's characteristic under different grinding parameters, and brought forward the cutting course between abrasive particle and workpiece under TDUG belongs to an new rotating dynamic contact cutting model. At the same time, it put forward the theoretically critical speed condition under TDUG to obtain the optimum grinding effect, and verified good micro-feature of finished surface under TDUG by the means of grinding tests of nano ZrO2 ceramics.


The dissertation takes as a point of departure that 1945 is usually mentioned as a start for a new type of Swedish children's literature. In the majority of handbooks in and reviews of the history of Swedish children's literature this is repeated as a fact. A reason for this is that three famous authors of children's literature in Swedish all had their breakthrough this year: Lennart Hellsing, Tove Jansson and Astrid Lindgren. They are regarded as the most important examples of the new type of children's literature. Especially Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Langstrump [Pippi Longstocking] has been seen as a symbol for the free child and for the revolt against the adult world and the stiff rules of etiquette. At the same time as 1945 has been assigned as the birth date for a new children's literature the general view of the preceding period, between the two world wars, has been that it was stagnant and uninteresting. In this study, the hypothesis was that the new did not emerge from an empty space. After extensive reading of children's literature from the time between the wars it was discovered that there were new tendencies in this literature similar to those ascribed to the literature from the period after 1945. A more detailed analysis was performed comparing Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Langstrump with works by the Swedish author Ester Blenda Nordstrom and the Danish author Karin Michaelis'. The results show that the children's literature produced between the wars was much more complex than previously stated and has several characteristics similar to the literature produced after 1945. As a consequence it seems necessary to modify the notion of 1945 as the definite starting point for the modern Swedish children's book. A comparative analysis of the three authors is used as verification in the thesis. The analysis use among others the theories of Bachtin about the "popular laugh culture" and shows that the main characters in the books by Nordstrom and Michaelis to the same extent as Pippi Langstrump illustrates the norm-breaking and independent child. The similarities between the work of Astrid Lindgren and Nordstrom and Michaelis are obvious in terms of content as well as in expressions and type of language. The main focus in this dissertation is a textual analysis against a background of social context analysis. The conclusions state that there clearly were predecessors to the work of Astrid Lindgren. To simply state that 1945 was the year when the modern children's book was born thus no longer seems relevant.


During the 1980s, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) faced intense international scrutiny. A new power bloc of developing countries, utilising the language of colonialism and using the United Nations as one of their main platforms, called into question the legitimacy of the ATS. The developing countries' lobby also challenged apartheid South Africa's membership of the Antarctic Treaty. One of the main driving forces behind these tensions was widely acknowledged to be resources, living and mineral and the rights of access to them. The debate on mineral exploration and extraction culminated in the Convention on the Regulation of the Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA). Preparations started in the mid-1970s, CRAMRA was adopted in 1988 but it never went into force. This article investigates some of the historical complexities and contingencies involved in the CRAMRA process, using South Africa as a case study. It looks at how Gondwanaland–broadly conceived–surfaced in the debates in terms of geology as well as geopolitics. "Gondwanaland" highlighted the proximity of South Africa to Antarctica, and the shared geological formations between parts of southern Africa and Antarctica implied shared mineral potential. In South Africa, debates about Antarctic mineral resources and the Antarctic Treaty were invested with concerns about the apartheid state's status as pariah state on the one hand, and its "first world", anti-communist status on the other. Diplomats were anxious for South Africa to maintain its membership of the Treaty, one of the few multilateral bodies that still welcomed the country. In public, fears about a "third world grab" in the Antarctic resonated with the "total onslaught" rhetoric of the South African police state.


Patients and Methods: Topotecan was given as a 30-minute infusion daily for 5 days, with carboplatin given immediately after topotecan on day 5. Treatment was repeated every 21 days. Carboplatin and then topotecan were escalated in sequential cohorts of three to six patients. Four dosage combinations of topotecan days 1 to 5 and carboplatin (day 5) were tested: 0.5 mg/m2/d and carboplatin area under the curve (AUC) of 4, topotecan 0.5 mg/m2/d and carboplatin AUC of 5, topotecan 0.75 mg/m2/d and carboplatin AUC of 5, and topotecan 1.0 mg/m2/d and carboplatin AUC of 5.Results: Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia was common at doses of 0.75 mg/m2/d and above, but dose-limiting hematologic toxicity occurred in only one patient. The most common reason for dose reduction or delay was failure of myelosuppression to resolve by day 21. Nonhematologic toxicity was generally mild. The maximum-tolerated dose as defined in the protocol was not reached, but topotecan dose escalation was stopped at 1.0 mg/m2/d, because delayed neutrophil recovery precluded re-treatment on a 21-day schedule.Conclusion: Hematologic toxicity was common but rarely serious, and the combination of topotecan with carboplatin on this schedule was safe and well tolerated. Giving carboplatin to patients after topotecan on day 5, rather than on day 1, allowed dose escalation beyond the levels reported in other studies. The recommended doses for previously treated patients are topotecan 0.75 mg/m2/d, days 1 to 5, with carboplatin at an area under the curve (AUC) of 5 following topotecan on day 5. The combination of topotecan 1 mg/m2/d, days 1 to 5, followed on day 5 by carboplatin at an AUC of 5, merits further examination in untreated patients.TAJ 2016; 29(2): 31-36


Dengue virus is estimated to cause over 100 million infections throughout the world annually. Although dengue infections can have a wide range of clinical pictures, atypical manifestations have been described recent years. The liver is a susceptible organ affected in dengue infection. Mild liver dysfunction is common in cases of dengue infection but severe liver function impairment and even encephalopathy are rare. The following is a case report of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) with acute fulminant hepatitis. A 43-year-old woman has fulminant hepatitis on day 3 of treatment. Her AST level increased dramatically from 363 U/L to 3,246 U/L. The causes of other hepatitis infection has been excluded. Her dengue IgM-antibody level was reactive. Level of dengue IgM antibody reactive. Clinical improvement experienced by patient after supportive therapy and administration glisirizin or  Stronger Neo-Minophagen-C (SNMC).


Reproductive function is under the control of the neurohormone GnRH, which activates a G-protein-coupled receptor (GnRHR) expressed in pituitary gonadotrope cells. GnRHR activates a complex signaling network to regulate synthesis and secretion of the two gonadotropin hormones, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, both regulating gametogenesis and steroidogenesis in gonads. Recently, in an attempt to identify the mechanisms underlying GnRHR signaling plasticity, we identified the first interacting partner of GnRHR, the proto-oncogene SET. We showed that SET binds to intracellular domains of GnRHR to enhance its coupling to cAMP pathway in αT3-1 gonadotrope cells. Here, we demonstrate that SET protein is rapidly regulated by GnRH, which increases SET phosphorylation state and decreases dose-dependently SET protein level. Our results highlight a post-translational regulation of SET protein involving the proteasome pathway. We determined that SET phosphorylation upon GnRH stimulation is mediated by PKC and that PKC mediates GnRH-induced SET down-regulation. Phosphorylation on serine 9 targets SET for degradation into the proteasome. Furthermore, a non-phosphorylatable SET mutant on serine 9 is resistant to GnRH-induced down-regulation. Altogether, these data suggest that GnRH-induced SET phosphorylation on serine 9 mediates SET protein down-regulation through the proteasome pathway. Noteworthy, SET down-regulation was also observed in response to pulsatile GnRH stimulation in LβT2 gonadotrope cells as well as in vivo in prepubertal female mice supporting its physiological relevance. In conclusion, this study highlights a regulation of SET protein by the neurohormone GnRH and identifies some of the mechanisms involved.


Early, repeated defibrillation is the key to managing ventricular fibrillation (VF). To maximize the likelihood of success, use this five-phase approach, modified from the advanced cardiac life support protocols. Phase I: When a patient is found in VF and with no pulse or signs of life, attempt electrical reversion with a 200-wsec shock, followed if necessary by a 300-wsec and a 360-wsec shock. Phase II: Manage reversible causes of VF with orotracheal intubation, hyperventilation, and epinephrine. Phase III: Use intravenous lidocaine aggressively, followed by a 360-wsec shock. Phase IV: Give bretylium and magnesium sulfate by intravenous push, again followed by a 360-wsec shock. Phase V: Treat refractory VF with repeated 360-wsec shocks, and give further doses of the anti-arrhythmic agents.


Background & objectives: Today, the concept of quality of services is particularly important in health care and customer satisfaction can be defined by comparing the expectations of the services with perception of provided services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of services provided for outpatients in clinic of Ardebil city based on the SERVQUAL model. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 650 patients referred to outpatient clinic since July to September 2013 using a standardized SERVQUAL questionnaire (1988) with confirmed reliability and validity. The paired t-test and Friedman test were used for analysis of data by SPSS software. Results: 56.1% of respondents were male and 43.9% of them were female. The mean age of patients was 33 ± 11.91, 68.9% of patients were in Ardabil and 27.3% of them had bachelor's or higher. The results showed that there is a significant difference between perceptions and expectations of the patients abou t five dimensions of the service quality (tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy) in the studied clinic (P< 0.001). The highest mean gap and minimum gap were related to empathy and assurance, respectively. Conclusion: Regarding to observed differences in quality, the managers and also planners have to evaluate their performance more accurately in order to have better planning for future actions. In fact, any efforts to reduce the gap between expectation and perception of patients result in


Heterologous expression of the flavipucine biosynthetic gene cluster in Aspergillus nidulans led to the production of flavipucine (1) and dihydroisoflavipucine (3), as well as six unusual flavipucine related products containing three classes of heterocycles. This combined with gene inactivation, chemical complementation, and transcriptome analysis demonstrated unprecedented ways to form 2-pyridone and 2-pyrone structures by the oxidative rearrangements of pyrrolinone precursors as well as provided insights into the biosynthesis of this important class of natural products.


Internet addiction is prevalent among students who often do not have the desired level of health literacy. This study aimed to determine the role of media literacy in health literacy and Internet addiction. The statistical population of this study comprised of female graduate students in Tehran. 183 participants were selected using convenience sampling method. The participants responded to health literacy scale, internet addiction scale, and media literacy scale. The results showed that information literacy had a significant and positive relationship with health literacy; however, it had a significant negative relationship with Internet addiction. It seems that media literacy can predict internet addiction and health literacy. This finding implied the importance of media literacy in increasing media literacy and reducing of Internet addiction.


We consider packet scheduling and rate assignment on the uplink of a packet data wireless CDMA network in the presence of imperfect interference cancellation (IC) and limited user transmission rates, and subject to in-cell and out-of-cell resource limitations. The objective is to propose and implement a system level position-based flow control algorithm that accounts for a limited IC capability provided by power control for multi-user detection. The proposed algorithm assigns packets to be transmitted to separate queues, one for each spatial zone within which packets generate roughly the same in-cell interference and impose equal interference on a neighboring base station. Given the cell partitioning into zones, the algorithm dynamically adapts to the resource constraints and efficiently uses IC to provide for fairness in serving the various queues without giving up the objective of maximizing data throughput. Throughput and fairness are the two conflicting objectives to be optimized. We show that the joint use of IC and location-based scheduling is able to achieve complete fairness with negligible loss in throughput even under stringent resource limitations. The IC technique implemented is based on the interference subspace rejection (ISR) technique. We investigate both successive and group cancellation modes of ISR. Through the zone-based grouping of users, the flow control algorithm provides a high flexibility in taking advantage of IC and is general enough to adapt to situations with constraints on the transmission rates. Results provided show how group-based scheduling with group-cancellation can provide for high fairness even under stringent out-of-cell resource limitations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Molecular oxygen is required for the production of nitric oxide (NO), a pro-inflammatory mediator that is associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. To date there has been little consideration of the role of oxygen tension in the regulation of nitric oxide production associated with arthritis. Oxygen tension may be particularly relevant to articular cartilage since it is avascular and therefore exists at a reduced oxygen tension. The superficial zone exists at approximately 6% O2, while the deep zone exists at less than 1% O2. Furthermore, oxygen tension can alter matrix synthesis, and the material properties of articular cartilage in vitro. The increase in nitric oxide associated with arthritis can be caused by pro-inflammatory cytokines and mechanical stress. Oxygen tension significantly alters endogenous NO production in articular cartilage, as well as the stimulation of NO in response to both mechanical loading and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Mechanical loading and pro-inflammatory cytokines also increase the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). There is a complex interaction between NO and PGE2, and oxygen tension can alter this interaction. These findings suggest that the relatively low levels of oxygen within the joint may have significant influences on the metabolic activity, and inflammatory response of cartilage as compared to ambient levels. A better understanding of the role of oxygen in the production of inflammatory mediators in response to mechanical loading, or pro-inflammatory cytokines, may aid in the development of strategies for therapeutic intervention in arthritis.


A new approach for progressive failure and reliability analysis of carbon fiber reinforced polymeric (CFRP) composite pressure vessel with many base random variables is developed in the paper. The elastic constants of CFRP lamina and geometric parameters of the vessel are selected as the base design variables. CFRP lamina specimen and pressure vessel were manufactured and tested in order to obtain statistics of design variables. The limit state function for progressive failure analysis was set up. Then the progressive failure and reliability analysis of the vessel were performed according to the stiffness degradation model based on Monte Carlo simulation procedure using MATLAB. The distributions of failure loads and the probability of failure of the vessel were obtained. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method is validated by good agreement between the simulation and experimental results. Further analysis indicates that the lamina tensile strength in the fiber direction and hoop layer thickness of the vessel have significant influence on the probability of failure of composite pressure vessel.


We present a similarity constrained coupled cluster method able to describe conical intersections between two excited electronic states of the same symmetry. For a given pair of states, this singles and doubles method (SCCSD) is unique and orbital invariant. The computational cost scales as the sixth power with respect to the number of orbitals, and preliminary calculations indicate that the excitation energy difference relative to CCSD is within the error range of CCSD (approximately 0.10 eV). We also analyze the size-scaling properties of the orthogonality condition. For a projected orthogonality condition we show, and demonstrate numerically, that the method is rigorously size-intensive.


Formal models used for representing recurrent real-time processes have traditionally been characterized with a period parameter that specifies the minimum amount of time that may elapse between successive invocations of the process. However a recently proposed model called the non-cyclic GMF model has the distinctive feature that there need be no single period parameter characterizing the recurrent behavior of the task. This paper studies the implications of removing the restriction of requiring a unique period parameter to other previously-proposed models for representing recurrent processes. It is shown that removing this restriction represents a significant generalization to these prior models. Despite the added generality, however, feasibility analysis on preemptive uniprocessors remains tractable.


Robot technology feeds one's imagination. Called after the Czech play "robota", robot suggests "to be able to act without human interference and being able to constantly adapt to the situation and the task". As such, the term "robotic surgery" is incorrect. It would be better to refer to surgical robots as "master slave instruments" as robotic surgery is completely executed by the surgeon, be it by means of distant manipulation. Although the current surgical robots were initially developed to perform procedures at great distance (either in military dangerous areas or in space), its use as telesurgery is still very limited and practically not feasible.


The mobile app market is evolving at a very fast pace. In order to stay in the market and fulfill user's growing demands, developers have to continuously update their apps either to fix issues or to add new features. Users and market managers may have a hard time understanding what really changed in a new release though, and therefore may not make an informative guess of whether updating the app is recommendable, or whether it may pose new security and privacy threats for the user. We propose a ready-to-use framework to analyze the evolution of Android apps. Our framework extracts and visualizes various information -such as how an app uses sensitive data, which third-party libraries it relies on, which URLs it connects to, etc.- and combines it to create a comprehensive report on how the app evolved. Besides, we present the results of an empirical study on 235 applications with at least 50 releases using our framework. Our analysis reveals that Android apps tend to have more leaks of sensitive data over time, and that the majority of API calls relative to dangerous permissions are added to the code in releases posterior to the one where the corresponding permission was requested.


Background: Regarding the growing elderly population, which several countries are experiencing right now, various typeface designs have been developed to address the need for increased legibility and visibility. Certainly, common factors that affect the well-being of the elderly are related to visual acuity. The universal design fonts (UD fonts) developed in Japan are regarded as a role model for the development of highly legible and visible Thai typefaces. As Thailand's society matures, the concern for creating a Thai UD font based on human-centered design is ideal for the purpose of supporting elderly people as well as people with amblyopia and low vision Methods: As the first step to developing a Thai UD font, as a preliminary study, we qualitatively tested the tolerance of Thai characters under blurred conditions. We used the fifty Thai conventional text fonts in the boundary of 'The Table of Thai Character"s Relationship' in the same character heights as stimuli. The stimuli simulated the visual acuity of people with poor vision at different blur levels. Results: From the tests, we have established the expected Thai confused pairs, as the assumptions. We found the simulated condition revealed many problems with the visibility and the legibility matters of Thai Characters, as the assumptions; however, these findings led to ideas and possible solutions, which may provide assistance for the approach to designing the first Thai UD font. Conclusions: After the simulated blurring was administered to the Thai conventional text fonts, visibility problems gave rise to discovering legibility issues - and consequently - an escalation of confused pairs. Therefore, the approach to developing the glyph of Thai UD fonts should apply two principles, "EMPHASIS" and "REDUCTION" (and others), for overall improved visibility and legibility.


The role of GIP in the pathogenesis of spontaneous syndromes of obesity-diabetes wasexamined in ob/ob mice of the Aston stock and db/db mice of the C57BL/KsJ background. Compared with lean controls, fed adult ob/ob and db/db mice, respectively, exhibited 1.8- fold and 2.1-fold increases in body weight, 1.8-fold and 2.8-fold elevations of plasma glucose, and 15.4-fold and 5.6-fold elevations of plasma insulin. As indicatedby the relative magnitude of the hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, db/db mice displayed a particularly severe form of diabetes. Plasma GIP concentrations of ob/ob and db/db mice were elevated 15.1-fold and 6.2- fold, respectively; the increments closely corresponded with the degrees of hyperinsulinemia. Small intestinal weight was increased 1.4-fold and 1.8-fold in ob/ob and db/db mice, respectively, but the intestinal GIP content expressed as μg/g intestine or μg/intestine was raised only in ob/ob mice (1.9-fold and 2.8- fold, respectively). Since glucose stimulation of insulin release is defective in both mutant strains, the results strongly implicate pathologically raised GIP concentrations in the hyperinsulinemia and related metabolic abnormalities of the obesity-diabetes syndromes. It is suggested that hypersecretion of GIP results in part from loss of normal feedback inhibition by endogenous insulin.


Ongoing excavations on Rebun Island have demonstrated the prehistoric use of obsidian persistently from the Middle Jomon (5400−4300 cal.YBP) to Okhotsk (1500−750 YBP) periods. Since obsidian does not occur naturally on Rebun Island, only the transportation of raw materials and/or finished tools over great distances accounts for their presence there. Previous research in northeast Asia has shown that movement of obsidian from various sources on Hokkaido played a vital role in the entire lithic industry since the Paleolithic. As cultures varied in Northern Japan from the Middle Jomon to the Okhotsk periods, the patterns of source exploitation are also believed to have changed. This expectation is tested by evaluating the sources of archaeological obsidian recovered from three archaeological sites on Rebun Island (Uedomari 3, Kafukai 1, and Hamanaka 2) through portable-XRF. This method provides new insights into the dynamics of resource procurement and distribution among Middle Jomon to Okhotsk hunter–gatherers on Rebun Island.


This paper studies whether conformism behavior affects individual outcomes in crime. We present a social network model of peer effects with ex-ante heterogeneous agents and show how conformism and deterrence affect criminal activities. We then bring the model to the data by using a very detailed dataset of adolescent friendship networks. A novel social network-based empirical strategy allows us to identify peer effects for different types of crimes. We find that conformity plays an important role for all crimes, especially for petty crimes. This suggests that, for juvenile crime, an effective policy should not only be measured by the possible crime reduction it implies but also by the group interactions it engenders.


The complexity of challenges to ensure sustainable food security and reduction of the impact of food production on the environment calls for more innovation in agriculture. The need to innovate emphasises the need for partnerships and joint ventures that will enable the role-players in agricultural value chains to ensure a sustainable agricultural sector. South Africa experiences significant socioeconomic challenges, including poverty, high unemployment rates, food insecurity and economic decline. These are compounded by adverse climatic factors. The effect of declining water resources, extended droughts, increased desertification and climate change on food security and economic growth prompted the South African government to develop policies and strategies that are targeted towards coordinated, multi-disciplinary, -institutional and -sectoral responses to critical national priorities. These priorities include job creation, skills and enterprise development, poverty alleviation, and food and nutrition security. Aligned to these strategies, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) acknowledged the importance of strategic partnerships for the development of appropriate solutions. The objective was to establish a collaboration centre on broadening the food base with the purpose of ensuring the availability of a wide range of nutritious crops. The methodology was to develop new/novel crops, food products and ingredients for enterprise development, value chains, income generation and job creation. The necessity for researchers to collaborate in addressing these complex problems is of overriding importance. By bringing expertise from various disciplines and organisations together and leveraging other important networks and partners at both national and international levels, the benefits of greater returns within agricultural value chains will be realised. Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia robusta) is increasingly becoming an important food, forage, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical crop in South Africa. It is a drought-tolerant crop used for a diverse range of applications. It was originally used mainly as a source of animal feed, but recent interest in its other potential uses saw the crop establish itself as an important multi-purpose crop, which opened up opportunities for the smallholder farming sector. Cactus pear was identified as a priority crop for research and development for the collaboration centre on broadening the food base. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the collaboration involved in developing this multi-functional crop within the context of the Sub-Sahara Africa Region Framework for Cactus Pear Research and Development. The establishment of the collaboration centre provided a sound foundation on which further partnerships could be explored and developed. Valuable lessons were learnt concerning the maintenance of multi-disciplinary research teams and challenges for the development and establishment of new value chains for new crops in a country.


This research advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that interpersonal population diversity, rather than fractionalization or polarization across ethnic groups, has been pivotal to the emergence, prevalence, recurrence, and severity of intrasocietal conflicts. Exploiting an exogenous source of variations in population diversity across nations and ethnic groups, as determined predominantly during the exodus of humans from Africa tens of thousands of years ago, the study demonstrates that population diversity, and its impact on the degree of diversity within ethnic groups, has contributed significantly to the risk and intensity of historical and contemporary civil conflicts. The findings arguably reflect the contribution of population diversity to the non-cohesivnesss of society, as reflected partly in the prevalence of mistrust, the divergence in preferences for public goods and redistributive policies, and the degree of fractionalization and polarization across ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.


The influence of tensile pre-strain on the fatigue strength of asqueeze cast aluminum alloy cut out from a car wheel was investigatedunder rotating bending through the successive observations of the specimensurface by the plastic replication method. A crack was initiated from eithersurface slip bands or at an interface between eutectic Si particles and thematrix but was suppressed by eutectic Si particles in the materials withoutpre-strain.With tensile pre-strain, cracking or weakening occurred at aninterface between eutectic Si particles and the matrix, and consequently theinitiation of a fatigue crack was accelerated. However, the propagationprocess of a longer crack was suppressed by pre-strain.


Electrofishing is an accepted practice for legal fish sampling and surveying, but its use for subsistence food and market fishing has long been illegal in most countries. Illegal use affects freshwater fish populations in many parts of the world, and has been cited as a cause of mortality for endangered freshwater cetaceans in China (Yangtze dolphins and finless porpoises) and Southeast Asia (Ayeyarwady, Mekong, and Mahakam dolphins in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively), although the extent of this threat to cetaceans is unclear. Given their threatened status, these populations can ill afford such mortality in addition to the other threats they face (e.g. entanglement in gillnets, habitat deterioration and loss, declines in prey). Here, we review the evidence that electrofishing is a serious threat to freshwater cetaceans. It may alter the behavior of dolphins and porpoises, and contact with electrical currents may even directly kill or injure these animals, although questions remain unanswered concerning the exact nature and scale of the impacts. While other threats may appear more certain and urgent, electrofishing could be playing a significant role in driving the declines of some critically endangered freshwater cetaceans in Asia. Due to ethical and logistical challenges to improving our understanding of the impacts of electrical currents on cetaceans, clear descriptions of lesions in dead animals found stranded are needed to characterize the damage caused by electrofishing, to be more certain about cause and effect beyond spatiotemporal associations, and to determine the extent of this threat. Mortality from electrofishing seems to be uncommon, but in face of the uncertainties and the numerous other threats to these small populations, high priority should be given to enforcing electrofishing bans in the freshwater habitat of dolphins and finless porpoises.


Investigations of solute transport in fractured rock aquifers often rely on tracer test data acquired at a limited number of observation points. Such data do not, by themselves, allow detailed assessments of the spreading of the injected tracer plume. To better understand the transport behavior in a granitic aquifer, we combine tracer test data with single‐hole ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) reflection monitoring data. Five successful tracer tests were performed under various experimental conditions between two boreholes 6 m apart. For each experiment, saline tracer was injected into a previously identified packed‐off transmissive fracture while repeatedly acquiring single‐hole GPR reflection profiles together with electrical conductivity logs in the pumping borehole. By analyzing depth‐migrated GPR difference images together with tracer breakthrough curves and associated simplified flow and transport modeling, we estimate (1) the number, the connectivity, and the geometry of fractures that contribute to tracer transport, (2) the velocity and the mass of tracer that was carried along each flow path, and (3) the effective transport parameters of the identified flow paths. We find a qualitative agreement when comparing the time evolution of GPR reflectivity strengths at strategic locations in the formation with those arising from simulated transport. The discrepancies are on the same order as those between observed and simulated breakthrough curves at the outflow locations. The rather subtle and repeatable GPR signals provide useful and complementary information to tracer test data acquired at the outflow locations and may help us to characterize transport phenomena in fractured rock aquifers.


The bid/no bid decision requires an understanding of a company's assessment in relation to factors affecting the decision. Different companies might have different assessment values. The aim is to investigate how bid/no bid decisions are influenced by different characteristics of contractors. Various factors are identified and then analysed in order to investigate their influence and relative significance. A questionnaire survey was used to identify and rank the factors affecting the bidding decision and then analyse them in terms of differences between the returned responses with respect to the differing respondent characteristics. The findings have established the ranking order of the factors affecting the bid/no bid decision and identified their weights of importance. In addition, the influence of these characteristics upon the different weights of importance given by the survey respondents is found to be statistically significant. The most influential characteristics that affected their assessment of the weight of importance are contractor size, classification status of the contractor and the main client type. Different contractors' characteristics should be reflected in the way that the bid/no bid decisions are modelled. Also, the data collected should be categorized with regards to contractors' characteristics before starting the data analysis and modelling processes.


Automat is an application-oriented programming language for the study of sequential machines represented as generalized transition tables. The system is implemented as an embedded extension of Snobol4, and includes a large number of operations on sets, partitions, and transition tables. A comprehensive utility system for finite-state machines is a major application of the language; programs implementing some recent results in minimization theory are described. Source programs in the intended application area written in AUTOMAT are seen to be substantially shorter than equivalent programs written in general-purpose languages.


This article describes the evaluation of a novel method of tissue displacement for use in the elastographic visualization of radio-frequency (rf) ablation-induced lesions. The method involves use of the radio-frequency ablation electrode as a displacement device, which provides localized compression in the region of interest. This displacement mechanism offers the advantage of easy in vivo implementation since problems such as excessive lateral and elevational displacements present when using external compression are reduced with this approach. The method was tested on a single-inclusion tissue-mimicking phantom containing a radio-frequency ablation electrode rigidly attached to the inclusion center. Full-frame rf echo signals were acquired from the phantom before and after electrode displacements ranging from 0.05 to 0.2 mm. One-dimensional cross-correlation analysis between pre- and postcompression signals was used to measure tissue displacements, and strains were determined by computing the gradient of the displacement. The strain contrast, contrast-to-noise ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio were estimated from the resulting strain images. Comparisons are drawn between the elastographically measured dimensions and those known a priori for the single-inclusion phantom. Electrode displacement elastography was found to slightly underestimate the inclusion dimensions. The method was also tested on a second tissue-mimicking phantom and on in vitro rf-ablated lesions in canine liver tissue. The results validate previous in vivo findings that electrode displacement elastography is an effective method for monitoring rf ablation.


We propose a computationally efficient synthesis procedure for a class of bidirectional associative memories. Networks are described by a system of first-order ordinary difference equations which are defined on a closed hypercube of the state-space with solutions extended to the corner of the hypercube. The proposed algorithm possesses several advantages since it is possible: 1) to exert control over the number of spurious states; 2) to estimate the basins of attraction of the stable memories; and 3) under certain constraints, to effectively store a number of desired stable memories which by far exceed the order of the network. The applicability of the present results is demonstrated by means of a specific application in reconfigurable control of flexible structures.


We developed a high precision position decoding method for a positron emission tomography (PET) detector that consists of a thick slab scintillator coupled with a multichannel photomultiplier tube (PMT). The DETECT2000 simulation package was used to validate light response characteristics for a 48.8 mm×48.8 mm×10 mm slab of lutetium oxy- orthosilicate coupled to a 64 channel PMT. The data are then combined to produce light collection histograms. We employed a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to parameterize the composite light response with multiple Gaussian mixtures. In the training step, light photons acquired by N PMT channels was used as an N-dimensional feature vector and were fed into a GMM training model to generate optimal parameters for M mixtures. In the positioning step, we decoded the spatial locations of incident photons by evaluating a sample feature vector with respect to the trained mixture parameters. The average spatial resolutions after positioning with four mixtures were 1.1 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) at the corner and 1.0 mm FWHM at the center section. This indicates that the proposed algorithm achieved high performance in both spatial resolution and posi- tioning bias, especially at the corner section of the detector. C � 2011 Society