Results presented here and in a previous paper (Tanabe et al. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 3401--3406) indicate that mouse beta-polymerase is a single polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 40,000. This polypeptide has now been analyzed by tryptic peptide mapping. Comparison of the results with identical analysis of mouse alpha-polymerase reveals that the tryptic peptides derived from the two enzymes are different. These results indicate that beta-polymerase is neither a subunit of alpha-polymerase nor a proteolytic degradation product of alpha-polymerase.


Mixed convection heat transfer in a channel filled with porous medium and containing an isolated heat source at the bottom wall is studied in this work. The porous medium is assumed to be made of circular cylinders and is placed only on the heater surface. Three different configurations of porous medium are considered in this study. Pore-scale numerical simulations are carried out using the exact geometry of porous medium. The same configuration is also investigated using the volume-averaged approximation. The temperature distribution of the heater surface obtained from the pore-scale numerical simulation is compared with the results obtained from the volume-averaged numerical simulation. Parametric studies are carried out by varying the material of the cylinders, the porosity, and the height of the porous medium. The effects of Grashof number and Reynolds number of the flow are also studied as part of this investigation. The results obtained from the pore-scale numerical simulations show that the presence of the porous medium leads to reduction in heat transfer, while the results obtained from the volume-averaged numerical simulations show an enhancement of heat transfer due to the presence of the porous medium on the heater surface. However, the pore-scale numerical simulation results show that the heat transfer enhancement is only possible if the channel height is completely filled with the selected porous medium.


Emerging storage technologies such as flash memories, phase-change memories, and spin-transfer torque memories are poised to close the enormous performance gap between disk-based storage and main memory. We evaluate several approaches to integrating these memories into computer systems by measuring their impact on IO-intensive, database, and memory-intensive applications. We explore several options for connecting solid-state storage to the host system and find that the memories deliver large gains in sequential and random access performance, but that different system organizations lead to different performance trade-offs. The memories provide substantial application-level gains as well, but overheads in the OS, file system, and application can limit performance. As a result, fully exploiting these memories' potential will require substantial changes to application and system software. Finally, paging to fast non-volatile memories is a viable option for some applications, providing an alternative to expensive, powerhungry DRAM for supporting scientific applications with large memory footprints.


Beyond Good and Evil is Nietzsche's first sustained philosophical treatment of issues important to him. Unlike the expository prose of the essayistic period (1872-76), the stylized forays and jabs of the aphoristic period (1878-82), and the lyrical-philosophical rhetoric of the Zarathustra-period (1882-85), Beyond Good and Evil inscribes itself boldly into the history of philosophy, challenging ancient and modern notions of philosophy's achievements and insisting on a new task for "new philosophers." This is a watershed book for Nietzsche and for philosophy in the modern era. On the Genealogy of Morality applies Nietzsche's celebrated genealogical method, honed in the earlier aphoristic writings, to the problem of morality's influence on the human species. In three treatises that strikingly anticipate insights appearing much later in Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents (1930), Nietzsche provides an anthropological psychograph of our species, revealing the origins of the concepts of good and evil, the roles played by guilt and bad conscience, and the persistence of ascetic ideals. Manifesting a hopeful yet unsentimental assessment of the human condition, these books resonated throughout the 20th century and continue to exert broad appeal.


Background Evidence-based management (EBMgt) improves managerial decisions as a bridge from theory to practice. For reason that it has a critical impact on organization performance. The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting EBMgt among managers. Methods The following electronic databases were used: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, ProQuest, Embase and Scopus. In addition, we searched Google Scholar, Emerald, Academy of Management (AOM), and the website for the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa) for articles related to EBMgt. We used data sources published up to September 2017, without language restriction. We appraised the methodological quality of studies using the checklists of SRQR and MMAT. The synthesis involved interpretative analysis based on the principles of meta-synthesis. Results Of 26,011 identified studies, 26 met the full inclusion criteria. Of the 26 studies assessed, the frequency of qualitative studies and mixed-methods were 20 and 6, respectively, and the quality of 3 studies was weak. A total of 23 studies from 7 countries were included: Canada (n=8), USA (n=6), Australia (n=4), UK (n=3), Iran (n=1, Brazil (n=1); none were from Africa. Meta-synthesis findings of 23 studies identified four main factors: facilitators (5 main themes), barriers (5 main themes), sources of evidence (4 main themes), and the process of decision making in EBMgt (1 main theme). Conclusions EBMgt is crucial to improve the quality of management decisions, and hence, to improve service delivery, effectiveness and efficiency. Furthermore, to increase the benefit and utilization of EBMgt, training organizations and research institutes must more actively involve managers in setting research plans.


This paper examines how satisfaction, brand image, price, packaging and perceived quality inuence brand loyalty. A self-administered questionnaire through mall intercept method was used for survey purpose. Valid sample size was 300 com- prising all adults and both genders. The constructs used in this study had established reliabilities. After ascertaining the normality of data a typical multiple step procedure was adopted which is inclusive of identifying outliers, ascertaining normality of the data, reliability analysis, validity analyses, CFA for all the constructs through struc- tural equation modeling (SEM), and testing the overall model through SEM. Derived hypotheses results were assessed on SEM's output that is standardized regression es- timates (SRE) and critical ratios. Price was the strongest predictor of brand loyalty followed by packaging and satisfaction. Company image and perceived quality had no relationships with brand loyalty. Some of the ndings of this study are consistent with the earlier studies, while others are in-consistent to earlier research. Implications for managers were drawn from the results.


The Mowana hydrothermal Cu deposit is located within the Matsitama–Motloutse Complex in the southwestern part of the Zimbabwe Craton in the northeastern part of Botswana. This study aims to document the characteristics of the mineralization based on geology, quartz textures, ore mineralogy, chlorite geothermometry, and sulfur isotope analyses. The deposit is hosted by the NNE‐striking and nearly vertically dipping (70–80°) Bushman Lineament, within the graphitic schist lenses in the carbonaceous and argillaceous metasedimentary rocks of the Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic Matsitama Sedimentary Group. The hydrothermal alteration of the host rocks is characterized by silicification, chloritization, epidotization, sericitization, hematite, and calcite alteration. Based on the alteration mineral assemblage, the main mineralization stage is attributed to near neutral pH fluids at temperatures between ~200 and ~340°C. The base metal mineralization of the Mowana deposit was evolved in at least two vein types. The first mineralization type, represented by the quartz+calcite±K‐feldspar veins and breccias is characterized by the precipitation of principal chalcopyrite with pyrite, minor bornite, and trace amounts of galena. The Type 2 veins represented by the quartz+calcite±fluorite veins, host appreciable amounts of galena. The supergene mineralization widely distributed in the shallow levels of the deposit is manifested by the significant presence of chalcocite, bornite, covellite, anglesite, malachite, and hematite. The temperature obtained from the chlorite geothermometry in the Type 1 veins indicate that the mineralization associated with chlorite alteration formed at a temperature ranging from 340 to 400°C. The ore mineral assemblage: pyrite, bornite, and chalcopyrite, paired with the chlorite geothermometry data indicate that the Type 1 veins formed at an intemediate to high sulfidation state. Sulfur isotopic ratios determined on the sulfides indicate the magmatic S and/or leaching of the host metasedimentary rocks and closed system reduction of seawater sulfate as the sources of S.


In a series of 5 experiments, we investigated whether the processing of phonologically assimilated utterances is influenced by language learning. Previous experiments had shown that phonological assimilations, such as /lean#bacon/ → [leam bacon], are compensated for in perception. In this article, we investigated whether compensation for assimilation can occur without experience with an assimilation rule using automatic event-related potentials. Our first experiment indicated that Dutch listeners compensate for a Hungarian assimilation rule. Two subsequent experiments, however, failed to show compensation for assimilation by both Dutch and Hungarian listeners. Two additional experiments showed that this was due to the acoustic properties of the assimilated utterance, confirming earlier reports that phonetic detail is important in compensation for assimilation. Our data indicate that compensation for assimilation can occur without experience with an assimilation rule, in line with phonetic-phonological theories that assume that speech production is influenced by speech-perception abilities.


ABSTRACT This article examines relations between Anzac heritage and Australian national identity, among migrant visitors to the Australian War Memorial (AWM). What meaning could a story derived from Australian involvement in the First World War have to migrants who moved to Australia after the Second World War? Participants in qualitative interviews were eleven first-generation Australians, whose countries of birth were England, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, South Africa and Sri Lanka, with parental countries of birth extending to Austria, Germany, India and Japan. Drawing on sociomaterial assemblage theory, the findings illustrate the concept of nested assemblages. At increasing scalar levels, the migrants form visitor-AWM assemblages, they may (or may not) feel part of a national Anzac heritage assemblage, and as migrants they are entangled in multiple national assemblages concurrently. Assemblages pertaining to family, faith, learning and memorialising were additional networks at play. Mapping interrelations amongst these assemblages showed migrants as actively gathering and interpreting heritage, sometimes as the enactment of national identity and at other times as the performance of informal, lifelong learning. The findings have importance to institutions seeking to be responsive to diverse and changing populations, particularly those wrestling with tensions around national identity.


The elderly constitute a growing world population group, with more than 200 million people over 60 years of age. This fact has increased the detection of chronic-degenerative diseases, as well as the prescription and consumption of medicines. The elderly are particularly susceptible to adverse drug events or interactions with other drugs due to their physiological changes, genetic predisposition and environmental exposure. It becomes necessary to adapt the health systems with integral and multidisciplinary approaches suitable to this demographic change, as the knowledge about appropriate prescription, clinical pharmacology and medication use in the elderly has become essential. It has been shown that about two thirds of elderly patients receive inappropriate drug doses, and a substantial percentage of their hospital admissions are associated with potentially preventable toxic effects of drugs. To date, expert criteria, error detection tools and educational prescription plans have been developed by expert consensus for the safe use of drugs in the geriatric population. The objective of this study is a brief review of the principal physiological changes in an older adult, and summarize the contributions of the consensuses on prescription.


In this paper, the aim is to compute Pareto ecient solutions of multi-objective optimization problems involving forbidden regions. More precisely, we assume that the vector-valued objective function is componentwise generalized-convex and acts between a real topological linear pre-image space and a nite-dimensional image space, while the feasible set is given by the whole pre-image space excepting some forbidden regions that are dened by convex sets. This leads us to a nonconvex multi-objective optimization problem. Using the recently proposed penalization approach by Gunther and Tammer (2017), we show that the solution set of the original problem can be generated by solving a nite family of unconstrained multi-objective optimization problems. We apply our results to a special multi-objective location problem (known as point-objective location problem) where the aim is to locate a new facility in a continuous location space (a nite-dimensional Hilbert space) in the presence of a nite number of demand points. For the choice of the new location point, we are taking into consideration some forbidden regions that are given by open balls (dened with respect to the underlying norm). For such a nonconvex location problem, under the assumption that the forbidden regions are pairwise disjoint, we give complete geometrical descriptions for the sets of (strictly, weakly) Pareto ecient solutions by using the approach by Gunther and Tammer (2017) and results derived by Jourani, Michelot and Ndiaye (2009). KEYWORDS: Multi-objective optimization, Pareto eciency, Generalized-convexity, Forbidden regions, Location theory, Euclidean norm. MSC: 90C29, 90C25, 90C26, 26B25, 46N10


Many managers are trying to leverage the skills and resources of key component suppliers to develop high-quality new products faster and at a lower cost. In this exploratory study, we surveyed product-development engineers in 79 small- to medium-sized firms to determine if three techniques commonly used to integrate suppliers into product development increase the supplier's perceived contributions to product development in the eyes of its customer. The techniques studied are: (1) timing of a supplier's involvement; (2) supplier's design responsibility; and (3) communication frequency. Of these, only early supplier involvement was significantly related to the perception of an increased contribution by the supplier. In addition, we found that the supplier's contributions to product development had little practical influence on the overall project technical success. The findings suggest that more research is needed to understand how to use suppliers effectively to improve product-development outcomes.


Summers are hot and dry and winters are cool and precipitated in regions with dominant Mediterranean climate. Since the pastures totally dry out during hot-dry period, sheep usually graze over wheat stubble in Turkey. The present study was conducted to investigate the herbage yield and quality of wheat stubble and Sorghum Sudan-grass pastures during summer dry periods and to compare live weight gains of the sheep grazed over these pastures. In sorghum Sudan-grass pastures, sheep (4 Karacabey merino race sheep x 3 replications) freely grazed in each plot for two-and-a half month (July-August-September) when the plants had 50-75 cm heights. Similar grazing treatments were also performed over wheat stubble. Dry herbage yields of wheat stubble and sorghum sudan-grass pastures were respectively observed as 2.82 ton/ha and 10.0 ton/ha. Considering the herbage quality of the wheat stubble, crude protein was 6.28 %; NDF was 66.54%. ADF was 37.88%, ADL was 4.37%, DMD was 60.25%, ME was 2.18 Kcal/kgKM. The same values were respectively observed as 11.33%, 61.13%, 31.58%, 2.99%, 67.27%, 2.43% in sorghum sudan-grass pasture.Traditional sheep grazing can be performed over wheat stubble pastures, but supplementary energy feed with CP should be provided. Sorghum sudan-grass can also be cultivated as an alternative to traditional stubble grazing. In this case, there is no need for supplementary feeds.


Influence of YFRKD, modified fragment of interferon-alpha, on the formation of two-links system of feed-procuring conditioned reflexes was studied in rats in ontogenesis. The experiments have shown that YFRKD impedes both current learning and use of previous experience. The process of synthesis of two reflexes in united complicated functional complex is disturbed.


The activating and inhibitory cytokine signals that act upon epithelial cells in the human lung are critically important for controlling the production of inflammatory mediators from those cells in the context of allergic disease. The cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, derived from T helper (Th)-2 cells and other cell types, are potent inducers of epithelial cell expression of a host of inflammatory molecules, including the chemokines eotaxin-1, -2 and -3. Intracellular signal transduction in response to IL-4/IL-13 occurs largely through activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6). Interferon (IFN)-gamma, a Th1-type cytokine, has opposing effects to IL-4/IL-13 in various cell types, including T cells, B-cells, endothelium, and epithelium. In this study, we demonstrate that IL-4-induced STAT6 activation was inhibited profoundly by 24 h pretreatment with IFN-gamma in human primary airway epithelial cell cultures. Using Western blotting, we showed that the levels of both cytoplasmic and nuclear-localized phospho-STAT6 were reduced by IFN-gamma pretreatment, and this effect was dependent on the concentration of IFN-gamma and time of exposure to IFN-gamma. The functional activity of STAT6 was also completely inhibited by IFN-gamma: IL-4-induced luciferase activity from a STAT6-driven reporter construct was suppressed, as was IL-4-induced expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein for eotaxin-3, a STAT6-dependent gene implicated in allergic inflammation. We found that mRNA for suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 and (SOCS)-3, known inhibitors of IL-4 signaling, and IL-13 receptor alpha2, a potential inhibitor of IL-4 signaling, were both strongly induced by IFN-gamma pretreatment. IFN-gamma also increased the rate of decay of IL-4-induced eotaxin-3 mRNA. We conclude that there are multiple mechanisms by which IFN-gamma regulates IL-4- and STAT6-dependent signaling and gene expression in airway epithelial cells. These observations have important implications for the regulation of epithelial cell activation by the balance of Th1/Th2-type cytokines in the airways in allergic disease.


Background: Early research suggests during the COVID-19 pandemic there was an increase in new onset diabetes mellitus (DM) and greater severity at presentation. We examined pandemic related trends of new onset DM among patients at a pediatric diabetes center in New York, NY.
 Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 168 youth 0-26 years old presenting with new onset DM from January 2019 to October 2021. We used chi-square statistics, t-tests, and ANOVAs to compare aspects of presentation by year of diagnosis, overall and type 2 DM (T2D) versus type 1 DM (T1D) .
 Results: The number of patients presenting with new onset DM increased throughout this time, with 43 in 2019, 57 in 2020, and 68 in 2021. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in T2D (8 in 2019, 16 in 2020, 27 in 2021) . Patients with T2D had higher mean BMI percentile at presentation compared to T1D (97.5 vs. 42.9; p<.001) . The mean BMI percentile of all patients increased (p for trend=0.02) and was higher in 2021 (67.8) compared to 2019 (50.1; p=0.02) . These differences, however, were not statistically significant when examined by DM type. There was no significant difference in severity of presentation based on HbA1C, DKA frequency or severity, lowest potassium level, or length of stay (LOS) . For example, among all patients in DKA, the prevalence of severe DKA was 53% in 2019, 62% in 2020, and 55% in 2021 (p=0.89) . Although numbers were small, there was a qualitative increase in LOS and decrease in bicarbonate level in patients with new onset T2D between 2019 and 2021.
 Conclusions: In this population, the number of pediatric new onset DM increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cases of T2D increased by a greater degree than T1D which may explain the increased mean BMI percentile at diagnosis. There was no change in severity of DM presentation when examining multiple markers of severity. Further research is needed to understand if lifestyle changes during the pandemic may have impacted BMI and how this may relate to new onset pediatric DM, particularly T2D.

 K. Citron: None. C. R. Stein: None. J. Ilkowitz: None. J. E. Gonzalez: None. V. Joseph: None. M. Gallagher: None.


The growth behavior and kinetics of the barite (001) surface in supersaturated BaSO4 solutions (supersaturation index (SI) = 1.1–4.1) at 30 °C were investigated using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). At the lowest supersaturation, the growth behavior was mainly the advancement of the initial step edges and filling in of the etch pits formed in the water before the BaSO4 solution was injected. For solutions with higher supersaturation, the growth behavior was characterized by the advance of the and [010] half-layer steps with two different advance rates and the formation of growth spirals with a rhombic to bow-shaped form and sector-shaped two-dimensional (2D) nuclei. The advance rates of the initial steps and the two steps of 2D nuclei were proportional to the SI. In contrast, the advance rates of the parallel steps with extremely short step spacing on growth spirals were proportional to SI2, indicating that the lateral growth rates of growth spirals were directly proportional to the step separations. This dependence of the advance rate of every step on the growth spirals on the step separations predicts that the growth rates along the [001] direction of the growth spirals were proportional to SI2 for lower supersaturations and to SI for higher supersaturations. The nucleation and growth rates of the 2D nuclei increased sharply for higher supersaturations using exponential functions. Using these kinetic equations, we predicted a critical supersaturation (SI ≈ 4.3) at which the main growth mechanism of the (001) face would change from a spiral growth to a 2D nucleation growth mechanism: therefore, the morphology of bulk crystals would change.


The most suitable sturgeon species for culture in artificial systems are freshwater and non-migratory species: sterlet Acipenser ruthenus - and Siberian sturgeon - Acipenser baerii, recently introduced in Romania. The experiment aimed at establishing the age and salinity thresholds to be taken into account in attempting to rear (Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii) in a recirculating system using Black Sea water. From the point of view of adaptability in general, in about a week the individuals adapted to the captiv e breeding conditions of NIMRD's recirculating system. The specimens also easily adapted to manipulation during measurements, showing calm handling behavior. The food used was very easily accepted, the active feeding behavior being observed even in the presence of the staff. Throughout the experiment, the fish were active. The survival rate was 100%. However, adaptability to the brackish environment has posed problems. The experimental batch became more sedentary and ingested significantly less food compared to the control group, when salinity exceeded 3‰. Upon reaching the 7‰ threshold, all individuals were already completely refusing food, which is why it was decided to stop sea water input. The return to freshwater caused the resumption of feeding behavior in just a week, calling for further research on the osmoregulatory mechanisms of A. baerii.


The objective of this study was to estimate the true digestibility coefficients of amino acids and digestible amino acid values of some poultry feedstuffs. The feedstuffs were: babassu meal, sunflower meal, corn gluten meal, babassu starchy meal, meat and bone meal, common beans, pearl millet and residues of cookies, pasta and bread. The precise feeding method of Sibbald was used with adult cecectomized Leghorn roosters distributed in a completely randomized design, consisting of ten treatments and six replications with a rooster in each. The treatments were represented by the feedstuffs evaluated. The roosters were kept in a period of fasting for 36 hours and then fed 30 grams of feed. Samples were collected during 56 hours. Simultaneously, six roosters were kept fasting to make corrections to the metabolic and endogenous losses of amino acids. At the end of collections, the excreta obtained were weighed, freeze-dried and subsequently processed, so laboratory analyses were carried out and the coefficients of true digestibility of amino acids were determined. The mean values of the coefficients of true digestibility of essential and non-essential amino acids in percentage were respectively: 0.702 and 0.652 for the babassu meal; 0.852 and 0.786 for the sunflower meal; 0.928 and 0.887 for the corn gluten meal; 0.797 and 0.720 for the meat and bone meal; 0.364 and 0.339 for ground raw beans; 0.924 and 0.837 for ground pearl millet; 0.839 and 0.810 for cookie residue; 0.929 and 0.914 for pasta residue; and 0.904 and 0.899 for bread residue.


This research explores professional contributions and learning in a multidisciplinary team whose purpose is to promote mental health and psychological well being in children within family and community settings. It brings together three current priorities of policy and practice, namely, promoting mental health and psychological wellbeing in children and young people, multidisciplinary teamwork, and professional learning and development. The study examined a multidisciplinary child behaviour team of educational psychologists, family support workers and primary mental health workers working within a culturally diverse urban community. Activity theory was used as a theoretical framework and methodology to examine the sociocultural processes involved in multidisciplinary work. Individual interviews, focus group discussion and developmental work research were employed to identify and compare activity systems, and to surface and then work on contradictions. The exploratory findings arising from the analysis of the activity systems are discussed against the cultural and historical background of professional and multidisciplinary work. The implications for professional practice, multidisciplinary work and future research are also considered. Conclusions drawn emphasise the complex multilayered nature of professionals' work within multidisciplinary teams and the value of sociocultural activity theory as a method for analysing work and promoting learning in multidisciplinary teams.


Consuming pattern of Indonesian could not be free of tendency to consume rice as main food. It is proved by rice participation up to 90 %, price of rice this year higher than price of rice last year. The changes of rice value would be affected to the social life; especially poor category lived in village as net consumer of rice. The effect was not only influenced to the basic requirements, but also influenced to the other needs. Every household had different consuming capacity of rice. There were many things affected the consuming capacity in a household. In lower society, food is the most important needs than others. That is because the real income accepted by poor category limited or less enough to fulfill other necessity that was different from high society whom they free to decided a number of things to consume based on their necessity. This research intended to know the consuming pattern of pre prosperous society in Desa Kalidilem Kecamatan Randuagung Kabupaten Lumajang to fulfill the necessity of foods before and after the price changes (increase) in December 2007 until January 2008 period. To know the effect of consuming pattern of pre prosperous society in Desa Kalidilem Kecamatan Randuagung Kabupaten Lumaang to fulfill food requirement after the raise of rice value on December 2007 up to January 2008 period. The selection of research location was on purposed. The location was in Kecamatan Randuagung Desa Kalidilem Kabupaten Lumajang. The data used in this research were Primer and Secondary data. Research design used in this study was descriptive qualitative. The techniques used in analyzing data were T-Test and Sign Test. Research results showed that household in Desa Kalidilem Kecamatan Randuagung Kabupaten Lumajang has system of consume three times a day although most of them consume twice a day. However, since economic crisis and changes of rice value in frequency of consuming carbohydrate and side dish were decrease. To fulfill their necessity of carbohydrate, society tried to eat three times a day by mixing rice and corn. Meanwhile as their side dish, society generally consumes tofu (tahu), Tempe, and salty fish (ikan asin, pindang). Mean of consuming system of society in Desa Kalidilem Kecamatan Randuagung Kabupaten Lumajang has change in food consumption from cheaper became expensive especially in rice. Consumption of rice became decrease from 0, 64 kg to 0, 41 kg per day. By the developed of rice value, society whose live under the poverty line tried to find any carbohydrate substitutes which are relatively cheaper. The alternative substitutes are corn and cassava. The developed of rice value cause the increase of corn consumption as the substitute of main dish which is consists of high carbohydrate that relatively cheaper. Mean of corn consumption developed when the price of rice 0, 34 kg per day. While the expensive rice increase to 0, 55 kg per day. Mean of main consuming system as protein (vegetables: spinach, leafy vegetables, merunggai leaf, etc), cooking oil and sugar have no significant changes. Consuming pattern happened was aimed at its food commodity purchasing cycle by economizing system of consumption based on the necessity in consumption are not in la Keyword : perubahan harga beras Link terkait : http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/286/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2008-nilaayupus-14285-PENDAHUL-+.pdf


The removal mechanisms involved in the continuous-flow electrocoagulation for the treatment of a polishing wastewater containing negatively charged silica particles are described in the report. The mechanisms are derived from the experimental measurement of pH, zeta-potential and turbidity as a function of reaction time, as well as from the sludge characterization. Two types of distinct mechanisms are proposed, one involving particle destabilization by oppositely charged ferrous ions, the other involving a complexation or physical bridging by iron hydroxides/hydroxyl complexes. The former mechanism is apparently responsible for the formation of "surface sludge", whereas the latter mechanism is responsible for the sediment sludge. Both mechanisms are important to the silica removal based on the measurement of sludge quantity.


ABSTRACT The psychological effects of contemplating one's death have received much empirical attention, but the impact of thinking about one's conception—the other temporal endpoint of physical existence—has not. Across three experiments, reflecting on conception or death (vs. a neutral topic) led to increased framing of sexual reproduction as miraculous and sacred, intensified belief in discarnate immortality, and a greater desire to experience a discarnate state that offered no direct assurance of literal immortality. Thinking about death uniquely evoked greater anxiety as well as greater desire for an experience that offered assurance of literal immortality, congruent with the tenets of terror management theory. Nevertheless, the parallel effects evoked by reflecting on conception and death also suggest that both amplify the aversive salience of the limitations inherent to physical existence, such that people respond by seeking experiences and adjusting attitudes/beliefs to divert attention from the physical body.


Experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomus spp. and Gigaspora spp.) as bioprotectant against root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem.), mycorrhizal plant of family Cucurbitaceae. All parameters were estimated in roots, shoot and leaves of mycorrhizal and non mycorrhizal plants. Physical/biochemical and carbon profile were taken into account. Comparative study clearly indicates the significant variations in all parameters. Leaf area and plant height were increased in mycorrhizal plants than non-mycorrhizal, while it showed a sharp decrease in nematode infected plants, same plants also showed less water content due to xylem vessels damage. However, in mycorrhizal plants, roots had large amount of carbohydrates indicating transfer of photosynthates to fungal partner. Nematode infected roots have least amount of carbohydrates showing a great sink of carbon to rhizosphere.


We extend the analytic transfer matrix (ATM) method to solve the field configuration of planar optical waveguides with arbitrary index profiles including several turning points. The results are compared with the predictions obtained from the finite element method and the Wentzel–Kramer–Brillouin approximation technique. It is shown that the ATM method not only can produce accurate eigenvalues, but also reach correct and meaningful field configuration for any type of optical planar waveguides.


The triethylamine chlorine-aluminate ionic liquids (Et3NHCl-AlCl3) with varying the AlCl3 molar fraction (x(AlCl3)) were prepared. The influences of the ionic liquids' acidic strength and reaction conditions on the isomerization of n-decane were investigated. The results show that the isomerization of n-decane could be carried out with high selectivity of i-paraffin by adjusting the acidic strength and dosage of the ionic liquids Et3NHCl-AlCl3 under the mild reaction conditions. In the presence of ionic liquid Et3NHCl-AlCl3 (x(AlCl3)=0.67), the conversion of n-decane, the selectivity of i-decane and the selectivity of i-paraffin were up to 35.6%, 17.0% and 96.1%, respectively, under the optimal reaction conditions.


BACKGROUND
Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for approximately 1.6 million yearly deaths worldwide. An up-to-date evidence base on the effects of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on infectious diseases and mortality in any population or setting regardless of age or health status is currently lacking.

METHODS
We systematically searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for pertinent randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two reviewers independently screened 9498 titles/abstracts and 430 full-text papers for eligible trials. The outcomes of our meta-analysis were pooled using relative risks (RRs) with a random effects model or Peto's odds ratios (ORs) if event rates were :lt;1%.

RESULTS
21 RCTs comprising 361 612 individuals were included. PCVs reduced the risk for invasive pneumococcal disease (odds ratio [OR]: 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.36; 0.51]), all-cause acute otitis media (AOM) (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: [0.86; 1.00]), pneumococcal AOM (RR: 0.57, 95% CI: [0.39; 0.83]), allcause pneumonia (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: [0.89; 0.97]), and pneumococcal pneumonia (RR: 0.78, 95% CI: [0.62; 0.97]). We found no significant effect of PCVs on all-cause mortality (RR: 0.95, 95% CI: [0.88; 1.03]) or recurrent AOM (RR: 0.87, 95% CI: [0.72; 1.05]).

CONCLUSION
PCVs are associated with large risk reductions for pneumococcal infectious diseases, smaller risk reductions for infectious diseases from any cause, and no significant effect on all-cause mortality.


This paper describes a novel method for calibrating structured light setups using a featureless approach to quantify and improve self-consistency in bathymetric maps. The self-consistency and accuracy of seafloor reconstructions and information derived from them are limited by uncertainties in vehicle localisation, sensor models and their calibration. For high-resolution setups such as structured light, these uncertainties can be several orders of magnitude larger than the resolution of the maps generated. Although techniques such as simultaneous localisation and mapping and bundle adjustment can correct pose estimates and sensor calibrations to improve map self-consistency, both methods typically rely on finding and matching features in the data, which limits their application to structured light since a key advantage of this method is that it does not rely on seafloor features to be present in order to work. In this paper, we develop a fully featureless approach to improve self-consistency in structured light setups. Simulations are performed to validate the proposed method, and we analyse data that was collected using the Autosub6000 autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with the BioCam seafloor mapping instrument at a depth of approximately 1000m in the Darwin Mounds UK marine protected area. The results for independent parameter optimisation demonstrate that the fully featureless approach can converge towards optimal calibrations.


A significant portion of U.S. employees are office based and their work is sedentary. Office ergonomics is relevant to this population of employees to minimize the deleterious effects of static or sustained postures. Occupational health nurses currently conduct ergonomic assessments and provide interventions to decrease physical stressors. This article describes a straightforward process occupational health nurses can use to augment their ergonomic assessment and evaluation activities.


Recent research studies have shown the serious health risks associated with prolonged sitting. Standing up and walking on a regular basis has been proved to improve an office worker's well-being. Small behavioral changes like the aforementioned are the basis of preventive medicine and even though they appear easy to follow, in practice are difficult to apply. Advances in technology miniaturization and smart sensors are paving the way for the development of devices that empower preventive medicine. These devices use the power of persuasion to help people change behavior and maintain well-being. They act as an ambient personal 'coach' that monitors and intervenes at the right time. In this paper we present the HealthBar, an ambient persuasive device that helps users break up their prolonged sitting habits.


Summary Bacterial community structures and their activities in the ocean are tightly coupled with organic matter fluxes and thus control ocean biogeochemical cycles. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), halogenated nucleoside and thymidine analogue, has been recently used to monitor actively growing bacteria (AGB) in natural environments. We labelled DNA of proliferating cells in seawater bacterial assemblages with BrdU and determined community structures of the bacteria that were possible key species in mediating biochemical reactions in the ocean. Surface seawater samples were collected along a north-south transect in the North Pacific in October 2003 and subjected to BrdU magnetic beads immunocapture and PCR-DGGE (BUMP-DGGE) analysis. Change of BrdU-incorporated community structures reflected the change of water masses along a north-south transect from subarctic to subtropical gyres in the North Pacific. We identified 25 bands referred to AGB as BrdU-incorporated phylotypes, belonging to Alphaproteobacteria (5 bands), Betaproteobacteria (1 band), Gammaproteobacteria (4 bands), Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group bacteria (5 bands), Gram-positive bacteria (6 bands), and Cyanobacteria (4 bands). BrdU-incorporated phylotypes belonging to Vibrionales , Alteromonadales and Gram-positive bacteria appeared only at sampling stations in a subtropical gyre, while those belonging to Roseobacter -related bacteria and CFB group bacteria appeared at the stations in both subarctic and subtropical gyres. Our result revealed phylogenetic affiliation of AGB and their dynamic change along with north-south environmental gradients in open oceans. Different species of AGB utilize different amount and kinds of substrates, which can affect the change of organic matter fluxes along transect.


Nasal bleeding is a common complaint familiar to all otolaryngologists. But, sino-nasal primary Ewing's Sarcoma is extremely rare. This is a case of a 16-year old male patient who suffers from epistaxis, in addition to his left eye proptosis. After examination, it has been revealed that he had a nasal mass in the left side of his nose. The case was managed initially as a vascular mass, but then, under surgery, a frozen section was subjected to examination using histology; the examination revealed the existance of malignant cells. After all, Definite histopathological diagnosis by immunohistochemical stains proved it to be Ewing's Sarcoma. (J Med J 2006; Vol. 40 (4): 315320)


Visualization of temporal event data is increasingly important for the analysis of a broad range of data including electronic health records, web logs, and financial data. In many analytic tasks, users need the capability to manipulate the data to reveal patterns and make insights. To support this analytic need, we introduce a novel temporal search and replace tool (TSR) implemented in our existing EventFlow visual analytic system to facilitate visual-language-based search and replacement of temporal event sequences. We also introduce two types of search constraints: repetition and permutation that integrate regular expression concepts into temporal event sequence searching. We present the replacement strategy for event sequences under these constraints. Example use cases are discussed where TSR solves problems both on temporal event data analysis and simplification. Finally we report on a usability study with 10 participants.


We propose a new color extension of the monogenic wavelet transform. Monogenic wavelets give a coherent representation of scalar images through a local phase concept and an underlying orientation analysis. We here define a color extension of the monogenic framework. The underlying local geometric analysis and phase concept are generalized by using the color structure tensor. Resulting transform appears to be a clear improvement of our previous work - that is the only proposition of color monogenic wavelets to our knowledge. This is shift and rotation invariant and efficiently represents multiscale color lines and edges.


Although comprehensive knowledge of cyber-physical systems (CPS) is becoming a must for researchers, practitioners, system designers, policy makers, system managers, and administrators, there has been a need for a comprehensive and up-to-date source of research and information on cyber-physical systems. This book fills that need.Cyber-Physical Systems: From Theory to Practice provides state-of-the-art research results and reports on emerging trends related to the science, technology, and engineering of CPS, including system architecture, development, modeling, simulation, security, privacy, trust, and energy efficiency. It presents the research results of esteemed professionals on cutting-edge advances in cyber-physical systems that include communications, computing, and control.The book consists of eight sections, each containing chapters contributed by leading experts in the field. Each section covers a different area that impacts the design, modeling, and evaluation of CPS, including: Control systems Modeling and design Communications and signal processing Mobility issues Architecture Security issues Sensors and applications Computing issues The books coverage includes cyber-physical system architecture, mobile cyber-physical systems, cyber-physical systems for intelligent (road/air) transportation, and cyber-physical system applications and standardization.With the CPS field advancing so rapidly, this book is an ideal reference to help researchers, system designers, and practitioners manufacture devices that are compatible with CPS standards. Presenting numerous examples that illustrate practical applications derived from theory, the book is also suitable for use as a textbook in upper undergraduate and graduate-level university courses.


Background. Recent anthropological studies have documented the importance of understanding the relation of culture to the experience of mental illness. The use of interviews that elicit explanatory models has facilitated such research, but currently available interviews are lengthy and impractical for epidemiological studies. This paper is a preliminary report on the development of a brief instrument to elicit explanatory models for use in field work. Method. The development of the SEMI, a short interview to elicit explanatory models is described. The interview explores the subject's cultural background, nature of presenting problem, help-seeking behaviour, interaction with physician/healer and beliefs related to mental illness. Results. The SEMI was employed to study the explanatory models of subjects with common mental disorders among Whites, African-Caribbean and Asians living in London and was also used in Harare, Zimbabwe. Data from its use in four different ethnic groups is presented with the aim of demonstrating its capacity to show up differences in these varied settings. Conclusions. The simplicity and brevity of the SEMI allow for its use in field studies in different cultures, data can be used to provide variables for use in quantitative analysis and provide qualitative descriptions.


Table‐centric multisurface environments (T‐MSEs) that combine small multitouch surfaces (eg, smartphones and tablets) with large interactive tabletops provide people with both personal and shared workspaces to support various independent and collective tasks during group activities. This paper reports on the third in a series of studies exploring how existing interaction methods for cross‐device transfer, such as the Pick‐and‐Drop (P&D) method, can be adapted to table‐centric multisurface environment settings. The study examined the use of device‐specific visual feedback to improve users' awareness of transferred content during P&D transfer. The tabletop feedback utilized the existing Surface Ghosts P&D feedback approach (ie, "ghosted" versions of transferred content were displayed in real time under the user's hand). The tablet feedback consisted of a static "Tablet Bridge" feedback showing miniature versions of transferred content along the top edge of the tablet interface. The study found that providing both types of feedback significantly improved users' transfer awareness over providing Surface Ghosts feedback alone. It also revealed that the Tablet Bridge feedback helped compensate for technical and usability issues associated with the Surface Ghosts feedback design. Lessons learned from our combined series of cross‐device transfer studies are reflected upon, and relevant design implications are discussed.


The ablation properties, thermal resistance and micro structural behavior of the phenolic resin (Resole) composites have been investigated in this research. Different materials, such as carbon fabrics, glass fabrics, also silica and zirconia powders have been used as reinforcements for synthesis of the composites. The specimens were prepared with three sets of compositions. The first set was produced with 37.5 wt% of Resole and 62.5 wt% of reinforcements. Another set of specimens were produced with 40wt% Resole, 40 wt% of silica and 20 wt% of zirconia. Also to achieve high insulation index in Resole/carbon fabrics composites a thin film of zirconia coated at the back side of the specimens. To explore the ablation characteristics of the composites in terms of insulation index, erosion rate and microscopic pattern of ablation, an oxyacetylene torch flame with heat flux of 10 Mw/m2 at approximately 2800°C was used. The ablation behavior and microstructure of the burnt-through specimens were also observed, using scanning electron microscopy. It was found from ablation test that the erosion rates of the Resole/carbon fabric specimens are 20% lower than the other specimens. Additionally the high insulation index of the Resole/carbon fabrics coated with zirconia indicates that these composites are the best ablative materials in the present study. It has been also reported that those specimens filled with zirconia have the highest insulation index. Although the erosion rate of the Resole/silica composites were 20% higher than the Resole/glass fabrics, but a 5mm depth hole (from 10 mm thickness of the whole specimen) was seen at the center of the Resole/glass Fabric specimens. SEM observations show that proper adhesion between reinforcements and matrix is important to achieve improved ablative properties, it was also reported many changes in diameter, shape and the surface of the carbon fibers through the ablated area. These changes can be reduced from surface to back side of the specimens.


Over the past decade, research has shown that c ystic f ibrosis t ransmembrane conductance r egulator (CFTR) plays an important role in epithelial cell migration and wound healing. Experiments with airway epithelium, ovarian epithelial cells, placental epithelium and epidermal keratinocytes demonstrated that CFTR function is necessary to achieve maximum migration rates during restitution and in certain cancer cells, CFTR activity contributes to tumor cell invasion. Multiple mechanisms appear to underlie the motility‐promoting actions of CFTR, and although many details remain to be established, our present understanding indicates that processes such as electrotaxis (galvanotaxis), integrin‐mediated cell adhesion and lamellipodia protru‐ sion are dependent on normal CFTR function. In this chapter, the role of CFTR in epithelial cell migration and its implications in cystic fibrosis (CF) will be reviewed with emphasis on the underlying mechanisms that may explain observations made in various epithelial tissues, particularly in airways. Ultimately, a better understanding of CFTR involvement in epithelial repair may lead to new therapeutic approaches to improve barrier function and reduce airway infection and inflammation associated with CF.


Our material world and consumer habits have a significant negative impact in the environment. Across its life cycle the average product results in carbon emissions of 6.3 times its own weight (1). Designers are developing biomaterials from waste or generating renewable growable materials rather than extracting and mining. Materials developed from mycelium, bacteria, algae, and cactus help to reduce the environmental impact of single use and to rethink our relationship with convenience and consumption. These materials offer some of the insulating, lightweight, waterproof, and transparent properties of plastic, but are non-toxic and compostable. Moreover, these materials often use bio fabrication techniques, instead of traditional manufacture processes, by harnessing biological organisms to design and grow products and clothing. Truly Regenerative Design considers interconnected dynamics that are people and planet centred with a focus on circular economy and regeneration. Material Futures used biomaterials and bio fabrication to introduce Regenerative Design principles to second year Product Design students, towards a co evolutionary process between humans and natural systems, understanding of local context and a living system thinking approach. Students were asked to design a product made entirely of mycelium that considered user needs whilst helping to decarbonise the material world. Design methods such as cone of futures, future back casting and the thing of the future were used so students had to consider future micro and macro impact of their proposals. The project was supported by a Regenerative Design Studio Lab through a workshop, in which students had the opportunity to learn mycelium's bio fabrication processes and properties. The paper includes examples of experiments with mycelium in class, the methods used for concept development and student feedback, that illustrates the importance of introducing Regenerative Design principles to increase ecoliteracy and consequently reduce the environmental impact of product design.


Focusing on Kinship Records and the two years of ethnographic fieldwork I performed there, this essay develops the theory of the "aural imaginary" in an effort to deconstruct the centrality of racialized gender to the formation of the American world music culture industry. In doing so, I illuminate an aural imaginary particular to the production of a market for world music in the United States, suggesting ways to understand how this market is being consolidated, and considering some of the implications of its existence and functioning. While many studies of "world music" have focused on the construction of difference through the packaging of exoticized others for Western listeners, this essay explores "world music" as a construction of U.S. listening practices and sonic fantasy.


Clostridium difficile is a major problem as the aetiological agent of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. The mechanism by which the bacterium colonises the gut is poorly understood, but undoubtedly involves a myriad of components present on the bacterial surface. The aims of this study were to further define roles for selected surface proteins using a knockout approach, to evaluate the feasibility of surface protein based immunotherapeutics and to obtain structural information using X-ray crystallography. Mutants of cell wall-binding domain (PFam04122) containing proteins CD1036, CD2735, CD2784, Cwp66, CD2791, Cwp84, CD2795 and the flagella cap (FliD) were created. Mutants were characterised with regard to growth, sporulation, toxin production, adhesion in vitro, and, for the Cwp84 mutant, using the in vivo hamster model. The surface-located cysteine protease, Cwp84, was found to play a key role in maturation of the C. difficile S-layer, yet the Cwp84 mutant still caused disease with a similar pathology to the wildtype. Culture supernatant levels of toxin A were increased in CD2735, Cwp66, CD2791, CD2795 and particularly in Cwp84 and FliD 24 hr cultures, while CD2735, Cwp66, CD2791, CD2795 mutants also showed reduced adherence to Caco-2 cells compared to the wild-type. Passively administered immunotherapy, generated to low pH surface protein extracts of the C. difficile R20291 strain, did not protect hamsters from challenge with the cognate strain. Structural studies were undertaken on the surface proteins CD2791, Cwp66 and CD2767. Crystallisation conditions were identified for a recombinant N-terminal domain of CD2767 and an X-ray data set collected to 2 A, although the structure was not solved by molecular replacement. Together these results further our knowledge of C. difficile surface proteins, although further work is required to identify which surface proteins play key roles in vivo during infection.


The authors present a novel approach to the design of a class of hierarchical interconnection networks for multiprocessor systems. This approach, based on an architecture providing separate networks for each level, gives a general and flexible way to construct efficient hierarchical networks. The performance and cost-effectiveness of the resulting networks are analyzed and compared in detail, using both unbuffered and buffered network models. It is shown that, if the design parameters are determined based on the degree of locality, the cost-effectiveness of a hierarchical network can be significantly improved. In addition, the authors investigate how to construct a cost-effectiveness hierarchical network by determining appropriate design parameters. Two associated algorithms are developed for this purpose.<<ETX>>


Choice- "a lucid and fascinating analysis of Nazi attempts to understand Vatican startegies in WW II...a valuable contribution to scholarly literature..." Military and Bravo veterans Outlook Magazines "Written by the leading authorities on Vatican history, David Alvarez and Robert A. Grahaam, SJ, Nothing Sacred: Nazi Espionage Against the Vastican 1939-1945 not only provides fascinating reading for those interested in World War II history, intelligence studies , and the history of the Roman Catholic Church but contributes to illuminating a "missing dimension" to the history of that conflict." International Intelligence and History Study Group Newsletter - Reviewed by John S COnway - Uni of British Columbia -"the authors succeed very well in depicting vividly the turgid, claustrophobic, and conspiratorial atmosphere which prevailed during those fateful years." Katholiek Dutch - in Dutch International History Review- March 99 American Historical Review - "the book contributes to the growing body of literature demonstrating the Vatican"s importance in twentieth-century diplomatic affairs" Catholic Historical Review, Vol 86, No 1, Jan 2000 "An illuminating detective investigation through the halls of the Vatican during World War II.


Objectives & Background Approximately 4,000 children under the age of 15 are injured falling from windows in the UK. Ten of the children die and an unknown number suffer serious injuries. This study highlights a number of temporal, demographic and socio-economic risk factors for this mechanism of injury. The study also identifies potential strategies to reduce the number of falls from windows. Methods This retrospective study of paediatric patients utilised the Barts Health Trust Paediatric Trauma database. Initially, all patients under 16 years of age, who presented with a fall from a height (window, roof or balcony) between 2010 and 2015 were included. This was followed by a short phone survey that was conducted to find out more about safety measures at the location and housing circumstances. Results 93 patients presented with falls from a height during the study period. Two (2.15%) of these children died. Boys were twice as likely as girls to fall and 88 (94.6%) were accidents. There was a seasonal pattern with 61% of falls occurring in the summer months. 78 (83.87%) of children with falls from buildings required admission to hospital, with a mean length of stay of 3.37 days. 10.5% of children required admission to the Paediatric Critical Care Unit and 11% required emergency surgery. 53% of patients sustained limb fractures and 42% head injuries. 12% of those patients contacted by telephone survey were experiencing long term health problems. The majority (72.5%) of falls occurred in neighbourhoods ranked within the 30% most deprived in the country. Only 12% of the households represented in this study had functioning safety locks. 12% of those children who fell from windows had a pre-existing diagnosis of autism. Conclusion This study quantifies the impact the falling from windows had on individual children, their families and the broader healthcare system. This study also suggest that window locks are extremely effective at reducing falls and should be evaluated as a public health intervention. Furthermore, the disproportionately high number of autistic child that falls from windows should prompt an urgent review to ensure these vulnerable children are living in a safe environment.


Cervical cancer is one of the foremost common cancers in women. Lactoferrin (LF) has many biological functions, such as antitumor. This study aimed to explore the regulatory effect of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) on the proliferation and apoptosis of cervical cancer HeLa cells and to clarify the potential mechanism of action of bLF against HeLa cells. This study used CCK-8, Trypan blue staining, and colony formation assays to verify the effect of bLF on HeLa cell proliferation. Hoechst 33258 fluorescence staining, AO/EB staining, and western blotting were used to determine the effects of bLF on apoptosis and autophagy in HeLa cells. We discovered that bLF significantly reduced the proliferation of HeLa cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner compared to the control group. Furthermore, bLF primarily induced apoptosis in HeLa cells by increasing the expression of the proapoptotic proteins p53, Bax, and Cleaved-caspase-3 and downregulating the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. In addition, the present study also showed that bLF treatment significantly activated autophagy-related proteins LC3B-II and Beclin I and down regulated the autophagosome transporter protein p62, indicating that bLF treatment can induce autophagy in HeLa cells. After pretreatment with the autophagy inhibitor, 3-MA, which markedly found that autophagy inhibition by 3-MA reversed bLF-induced apoptosis, indicating that bLF can induce apoptosis by activating intracellular autophagy in HeLa cells. In the present study, our results support the theory of bLF significantly inhibited the proliferation of Hela cells by promoting apoptosis and reinforcing autophagy. The study will play an important role in therapying cervical cancer.


Improving nutrient management through site specific nutrient management (SSNM) can increase grain yield and maintain appropriate yield attributes per unit of fertilizer applied through harmonized uptake, utilization and metabolism of major nutrients. On-farm experiments were conducted from 2011-2013 at Sunawal, Nawalparasi. SSNM dose was calculated by accounting for indigenous nutrient supply, yield goal, nutrient demand and fertilizer efficiency. SSNM decreased nitrogen and phosphorus application by 4 and 28% while demanded 80% more potassium and increased grain yield by 6% over recommended practice. As compared to the farmers fertility management practice (FFP), SSNM increased grain yield by 35%. Reducing 25% of SSNM dose was equally effective as recommended practice of nutrient application. Only improving the potassium application (+32 kg ha-1) on FFP, yield was increased by 17%. Leaf color charts (LCC) improve nitrogen management and proved as crucial component of SSNM as 0.3 t ha-1 more yield over three split nitrogen applications of SSNM dose.


Increased delays and reduced speeds in work zones leads to congestion. This can be improved by optimizing the work zone length. The focus of this study is to model work zones using cellular automata model and to find the effects of work zones on traffic flow. The methodology adopted in the study involved creating work-zone on the road by blocking some of the cells and then determining traffic characteristics such as delay and queue lengths for model validation. For this the lateral movement rules of the existing Cellular Automata model were modified in order to replicate the traffic movement near work zones. This model is calibrated and validated using data from work zone observed near a metro rail station in Delhi. From the analysis it was evident that the queue length increased with increase in the length of work zone. Several relationships were tried between delay and work zone length. Among them the rational form was found suitable.


Abstract Environmental decision making is becoming increasingly more information intensive and complex. Our previous work shows that multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) tools offer a scientifically sound decision analytical framework for environmental management, in general, and specifically for selecting optimal sediment management alternatives. Integration of MCDA into risk assessment and sediment management may require linkage of different models and software platforms whose results may lead to somewhat different conclusions. This paper illustrates the application of 3 different MCDA methods in 2 case studies involving contaminated sediment management. These case studies are based on real sediment management problems experienced by the US Army Corps of Engineers and other stakeholders in New York/New Jersey Harbor, USA, and the Cocheco River Superfund Site in New Hampshire, USA. Our analysis shows that application of 3 different MCDA tools points to similar management solutions no matter which tool is applied. MCDA tools and approaches were constructively used to elicit the strengths and weaknesses of each method when solving the problem.


Washington State's regulatory criteria for prioritizing contaminated site cleanups are primarily based on human health risk; risks to Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed aquatic species are not directly considered. Under existing state regulation, sites considered low priority for cleanup may pose considerable risk to ESA threatened and/or listed fish species. The objective of this project was to create an internal assessment tool for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to assess and prioritize contaminated site risks to ESA listed aquatic species. A three-tiered evaluation process was developed to determine relative potential for contaminated sites to affect ESA-listed fish species. Based on results of an initial screening, a determination was made regarding potential impact to listed fish and/or their habitat. Sites posing potential risk were then ranked in order of priority for remedial action. Tier I evaluated sites for their relative distance to the documented presence of listed fish and their critical habitat; Tier II evaluated the status of hazardous material releases and the potential for contaminants to impact surface water and/or critical habitat areas; Tier III assigned a quantitative site scoring to rank sites based on risk to ESA-listed fish species. Scores range between 0 and 100 with higher values assigned for higher risk sites. A total of 103 sites were evaluated. Of these, 41 were considered to pose potential risk and were assigned quantitative scores. For the 16 sites receiving scores of 75 or above, WSDOT will seek funding to conduct early cleanups. For remaining sites, WSDOT will further assess whether there is sufficient risk to warrant cleanup activities. Because this model has proved useful, WSDOT will continue to use it to measure the agency's ESA risk as it relates to contaminated sites and to support expenditures for conducting further site characterization and cleanup work. Though there remains uncertainty regarding relative toxicity of individual contaminant levels on fish species, this model should prove useful to the regulated community as well as to regulatory agencies in reaching defensible cleanup decisions as they relate to ESA-listed fish.


In linear accelerator driven 4th generation Free Electron Lasers (FELs), the final beam quality is set by the linac and ultimately by its photoinjector and photocathode. Therefore, to deliver cutting-edge beam characteristics, there are stringent requirements for the photocathode used in the photoinjector. Understanding how surface properties of materials influence photocathode properties such as quantum efficiency (QE) and intrinsic emittance is critical for such sources.

Metal photocathode research at Daresbury Laboratory (DL) is driven by our on-site accelerators VELA (Versatile Electron Linear Accelerator) and CLARA (Compact Linear Accelerator for Research and Applications), a free electron laser test facility. Metals offer the advantage of a fast response time which enable the generation of short electron pulses. Additionally, they are robust to conditions within the gun cavity. The main challenge with metal photocathodes is to maximise their (relatively) low electron yield.

In this PhD thesis, the goal has been to carry out an experimental investigation on alternative metals to copper, correlating surface properties with photoemissive properties. A range of surface analysis techniques have been employed: surface composition was investigated using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Medium Energy Ion Scattering, Kelvin Probe apparatus and Ultra-violet Photoelectron Spectroscopy were used to measure work function, and Atomic Force Microscopy and Interferometric microscope provided images characterising surface morphology. The photocathode properties studied include: QE measured using a 265 nm UV LED source that was later upgraded to a 266 nm UV LASER, and Mean Transverse Energy measured using the Transverse Energy Spread Spectrometer.

As a result of this work, Mg, Nb, Pb, Ti and Zr have all been identified as photocathode candidate materials, each exhibiting a QE greater than Cu.
Additionally, surface preparation procedures for optimising QE from a selection of metals has been explored; the findings of these experiments would suggest that ex-situ Ar plasma treatment followed by in-situ heat treatment is well suited to remove surface contaminants without altering the surface morphology of the cathode.
As part of this work, metallic thin films produced by magnetron sputtering have been produced; ultimately the chosen cathode metal will be deposited onto a cathode plug which will be inserted into the electron gun that will drive CLARA. Thus the preparation of metal thin films has been investigated and the effect of different substrate materials on the film properties has been explored.
Preliminary experiments studying the effects of surface roughness on photoelectron energy distribution have been conducted; the findings have not been conclusive, thus further systematic studies are required.


We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the consumer-packaged goods industry. We design a methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates on customer health, access and affordability of products and recyclability, among other factors. Our results indicate substantial differences in the impact that competitors have through their products. These differences demonstrate how impact measures reflect business strategy choices and informs decision-making on industry-specific areas, including food reformulation and product placement.


This paper develops one aspect of my PhD thesis. The research project, which I briefly summarise, is an investigation into drawing as a process of enquiry, and a consideration of its figurative operations as knowledge-making. The primary method and object of this practice-based study is the manual/visual practice of 'observational drawing'. The drawings conducted are descriptions of bodies and embodied experience, and the fluency of bodily action and sensory experience in the act of drawing is central to the investigation of corporeality that underpins the research. The thesis calls on Merleau-Ponty's description of the chiasmic relation between seeing and being seen, and on feminist understandings of the volatility of matter.

Initially drawings were of still bodies – posed models or animal corpses – allowing a concentration on particularity and physiognomy but denying the shifts and changes that take place over time even in comparative stillness. Subsequent drawings attempted to figure moving bodies, responding to changes of position, to fleeting glimpses, to trajectories and perceived intentionality. My presentation includes a number of drawings, my own and those of other practitioners, to illustrate the difference between these two approaches to the drawing and perception of bodies.

I summarise the tendency within current art discourse to characterise drawing by its provisionality, and to regard the drawn mark as a direct means of making visible a gesture, an instant record of bodily movement. Drawing seems to offer an immediacy and fluidity to the figuration of bodies in movement. However, my research also addresses the inherited apparatus of my drawing practice, passed down through academic discourse. I will discus the way in which the tropes of hand and eye as human attributes of control and judgment continue to inhabit the practice of observational drawing and affect its knowledge outcomes.


Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has become one of the major public health threats in the last two decades. An increase has been observed not only in the rate of CDI, but also in its severity and mortality. Symptoms caused by this pathogen are accompanied by intense local and systemic inflammation. We confirmed that Raman microspectroscopy can help us in understanding CDI pathogenesis. A single erythrocyte of patients with CDI shows a difference, approximately 10 times, in the intensity of the Raman spectra at the beginning of hospitalization and after one week of treatment. The intensity level is an indicator of the spread of the inflammation within the cell, confirmed by standard laboratory tests. Many of the observed bands with enormously enhanced intensity, e.g. 1587, 1344, 1253, 1118 and 664 cm(-1), come from the symmetric vibration of the pyrrole ring. Heme variation of recovered cells in the acute CDI state between the first and the seventh day of treatment seems to show increased levels of oxygenated hemoglobin. Intense inflammation alters the conformation of the protein which is reflected in the significant changes in the amide I, II and III bands. There is an observed shift and a significant intensity increase of 1253 and 970 cm(-1) amide III and skeletal protein backbone CC stretching vibration bands, respectively. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to find the variance in the data collected on the first and seventh day. PC2 loading in the 1645-1500 cm(-1) range shows an increase of heme, Tyr, Trp, or Phe vibrations because of changes in the protein microenvironment due to their exposure. Positive maxima at 1621, 1563 and 1550 in the PC2 loading originated from the ring vibrations. These observations indicate that Clostridium difficile toxins induce cytopathogenicity by altering cellular proteins.


Survivin is known to be essential for cell division and to inhibit apoptosis during embryonic development and in adult cancerous tissues. However, the cardiovascular role of survivin is unknown. We observed that in cardiomyocytes cultured under conditions of serum and glucose deprivation (DEPV), the levels of survivin, Bcl-2 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were positively correlated with the anti-apoptotic action of a delta-opioid receptor agonist, [D-Ala2, D-Leu5]-enkephalin acetate (DADLE). By contrast, Bax translocation, mitochondrial membrane damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were inversely correlated with the changes of survivin and Bcl-2. The use of RNA interference (RNAi) targeting survivin increased DEPV-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, whereas the anti-apoptotic effect of DADLE was blunted by survivin RNAi. Moreover, survivin transfection and overexpression provided protection against DEPV-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Inhibition of ERK prevented the DADLE-induced decrease in apoptosis and Bax translocation, and increase in survivin and Bcl-2. DADLE-induced increase in survivin was also blunted by phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) inhibition. In conclusion, the present study provides the first direct evidence of an anti-apoptotic role of survivin mediating the anti-apoptotic effect of delta-opioid receptor activation in cardiomyocytes. ERK and PI 3-kinase were found to be upstream regulators of survivin. Mitochondrial membranes as well as ROS, Bcl-2 and Bax were also involved in this anti-apoptotic action.


Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients with multiple large brain metastases (LBMs) are subject to cause intracranial hypertension, which remains a clinical difficulty so far. The present study is to investigate whether staged stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a feasible solution to improve clinical symptoms and life quality in palliative management. METHODS: Patients with brain metastases treated between 1 January 2016 and 30 March 2019 were retrospectively studied. The patients inclusion criteria included were: 1) metastatic lesions ≥ 3; 2) tumor lesions with a supratentorial invasion ≥ 3 cm or a subtentorial invasion ≥ 2 cm; 3) with neurological impairment or with a high risk for intracranial hypertension. The first stage of SRS dose regimens for utmost risk supratentorial lesions were 20-24Gy within 2-fractions (fx); whereas 24Gy/3-fx for subtentorial lesions. For the 2nd stage, the rest metastatic lesions with relatively lower risk were treated with 16-18Gy/1-fx one week after that. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were enrolled included in this study. The neurological symptoms were significantly relieved following 1st stage of SRS, with a median period of 3 days (2–14 days). 13 out of 30 patients were randomly selected for MR imaging two weeks after SRS. It suggested that 84.6% (11/13) of the patients were observed with a clear reduction of tumor volume. The median reduced diameter was 0.38 (0.17–0.83) cm and a median volume reduction was 3.22 (0.01–9.08) mm3. According to RANO-BM, the objective remission rate of utmost risk lesions was 100%, whereas the less critical lesions was 95.16% (59/62). One patient (3.33%) was identified with acute adverse reaction (> grade 3). CONCLUSIONS: Staged SRS with a priority for utmost risk lesions was indicated to be an effective approach for multiple large brain metastases. Further prospective study is highly warranted.


: Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a rare hereditary disease, although in about 20 % of patients there is no known family history. Its clinical hallmarks are facial mucocutaneous pigmentation and diffuse gastrointestinal polyposis of hamartomatous origin. The major difficulty in the management of this disease lies in the complications of surgery for small bowel polyposis and the high incidence of tumors presented by these patients as adults. We present the case of a 10-year-old girl with treatment-resistant anemia and no other clinical symptoms. Further investigation revealed pigmentation in the oral mucosa and polyposis in the stomach and small intestine. Hamartomatous lesions were confirmed by histological study of intestinal biopsy. No familial antecedents of pigmentation or intestinal polyps were found. During evolution the patient required subtotal resection of the small intestine due to invagination.


Milk consumption in Indonesia is projected to increase by 4% annually. Responding to current conditions, PT XYZ as a powder milk producer in Indonesia must be able to increase sales volume. Currently, PT XYZ has 9 sales distribution areas. This research aims to analyze distribution strategy of PT XYZ 1) Analyze the distribution performance of PT XYZ in each distribution area; 2) Analyze internal and external factor are influencing the sales of PT XYZ; 3) Formulated distribution strategy for increase sales in PT XYZ. The methods used at this study were portfolio analysis, Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE), External Factor Evaluation (EFE), SWOT, and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). Based on portfolio analysis, regions were located in four quadrants (regional 1, III, IV, and VI) were selected for further analysis. The four regions were analyzed by external and internal matrix, SWOT matrix and QSPM analysis. Then the best strategy was chosen in each region, regional I is to increase distribution density, the strategy chosen in regional III is to create a system related to product stock in branches. While in regional IV, namely increasing the availability of products in branches and in regional VI is strategy to increase the focus of distribution in medical branch (reduce return).
Keywords: Powder Milk, Distribution, IFE, EFE, SWOT, QSPM


The thermal, electrical, and thermoelectric properties of aerogels of single-walled carbon nanotubes are characterized. Their ultralow density enables the transport properties of the junctions to be distinguished from those of the nanotubes themselves. Junction thermal and electrical conductances are found to be orders of magnitude larger than those found in typical dense SWCNT networks. In particular, the average junction thermal conductance is close to the theoretical maximum for a van der Waals bonded SWCNT junction.


In this paper we consider some numerical issues in computing solutions to networks of stochastic automata (SAN). In particular our concern is with keeping the amount of computation per iteration to a minimum, since iterative methods appear to be the most effective in determining numerical solutions. In a previous paper we presented complexity results concerning the vector-descriptor multiplication phase of the analysis. In this paper our concern is with implementation details. We experiment with the size and sparsity of individual automata; with the ordering of the automata; with the percentage and location of functional elements; with the occurrence of different types of synchronizing events and with the occurrence of cyclic dependencies within terms of the descriptor. We also consider the possible benefits of grouping many small automata in a SAN with many small automata to create an equivalent SAN having a smaller number of larger automata.


Context When learning clinical skills in simulation, fidelity and transfer are traditionally considered key concepts: transfer because that is what gives purpose to the simulation, and fidelity because this is thought important to the transfer process. However, both fidelity and transfer, and the relationship between them, are poorly understood concepts. This presentation reports on a qualitative study with dental and dental therapy students with little previous clinical experience in transition from simulation (the "dental phantom head") to patient care. Methodology Data collection consisted of 12 focus group interviews with four different student groups, followed across an academic year from a simulated to a clinical setting. Focus group data were subjected to content analysis. Outcomes The study highlighted the role of authenticity as more significant than that of fidelity in skill transfer. It did so for two principal reasons: In the context of the study, transfer to a clinical setting appeared to create a psychological overhead, no matter how extensive the preparation. Exposing the learner to an authentic clinical setting appeared help diminish cognitive load, because it helped the student prepare psychologically to deliver patient care. The second importance component of authenticity was the affordance of implicit learning opportunities. These did not just relate to clinical skills, but also to the ability to function within the clinical environment, another issue that added to cognitive load. Impact A degree of tension exists between the need for authenticity and the nature of simulation. Herrington et al .1 identify "[t]he capacity of authentic learning settings to promote students' willing suspension of disbelief" as important. An effective simulation is one which is absorbing enough for the learner to behave as though the simulation were real. References Herrington J, Oliver R, Reeves TC. Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Aust J Educ Tech 2003;19(1):59–71 Available from: http://ascilite.org.au/ajet/submission/index.php/AJET/article/view/1701. Accessed 30/07/2012


In this study, the researchers evaluated the sensitivity of Direct Behavior Rating Single-Item Scales (DBR-SIS) for assessing behavior change in response to an intervention. Included in the analyses were data from 20 completed behavioral consultation cases involving a diverse sample of elementary participants and contexts using a common intervention in an A-B design. Secondary purposes of the study were to investigate the utility of 5 metrics proposed for understanding behavioral response, as well as the correspondence among these metrics and teachers' ratings of intervention acceptability. Overall, results suggest that DBR-SIS demonstrated sensitivity to behavior change regardless of the metric used. Further, we found limited association between student change and teachers' ratings of acceptability.


In this paper I am describing a computer aided detection (CAD) method, which is able to detect lung nodules in medical data sets. The data sets are obtained by a high resolution computer tomography. The goal of the nodule detection is to gain an early nodule detection which increases the probability of survival. Introduced method is able to detect nodules of variable size and variable shape. It is also rotation-invariant. The detection algorithm is based on the Hessian matrix. This matrix consists of the second-order partial derivatives. The eigenvalues of this matrix are used to determine the probability of a nodule-like shape. This method is well adapted to detect nodules of a size larger than 4 mm diameter. Tests with synthetic nodule data sets and some real data sets provided a high probability of true nodule detection with a very low number of false positives per data set.


As the initial coin offering (ICO) market waned in 2018, a new format for crowdfunding arose: initial exchange offerings (IEOs). Although the downturn of the ICO market undoubtedly contributed to the development of IEOs, this is also part of the natural evolution of raising capital through cryptocurrencies. Scams, regulatory issues, manipulation, and random speculation have all been associated with ICOs. Conversely, IEOs put the good name and reputation of a cryptocurrency exchange behind the token offering, providing a level of fairness, integrity, and safety not always offered through the ICO market. This article demonstrates that the additional level of due diligence conducted in an IEO increases token fundraising success. TOPICS: Currency, exchanges/markets/clearinghouses, risk management Key Findings ▪ Initial exchange offerings (IEOs) allow companies to raise capital by selling utility tokens on an exchange. Because the cryptocurrency exchange performs due diligence on the offering to protect its customers and its reputation, IEOs are less risky investments than initial coin offerings (ICOs). ▪ Utility tokens are one type of cryptocurrency that usually provides the holder preferential access to the sponsoring firm's services and does not represent ownership in the sponsoring firm raising funds and are not considered securities. Nevertheless, utility tokens sold on a cryptocurrency exchange (IEOs) provide several advantages to both firms seeking to raise funds and their investors relative to those that are not (ICOs). ▪ Empirical results demonstrate that firms offering utility tokens are more successful in raising money if they do so through IEOs, rather than using an ICO approach. Results indicate that whether or not firms sell tokens on a cryptocurrency exchange is more important than traditional ICO success factors.


We present the STORIES methods and tool for (a) learning an abstracted story representation from a collection of time-indexed documents; (b) visualising it in a way that encourages users to interact and explore in order to discover temporal "story stages" depending on their interests; and (c) supporting the search for documents and facts that pertain to the user-constructed story stages. In addition, we give an overview of evaluation studies of the tool.


The aminocoumarin antibiotic clorobiocin contains a 5-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylic acid unit, attached via an ester bond to the 3-OH group of the deoxysugar moiety. To investigate candidate genes responsible for the formation of this ester bond, a gene inactivation experiment was carried out in the clorobiocin producer Streptomyces roseochromogenes var. oscitans DS 12.976. An in-frame deletion was created in the coding sequence of the gene cloN2. The production of secondary metabolites in the wild-type and in the cloN2 mutant was analysed. The wild-type showed clorobiocin as the main product, whereas the cloN2 mutant accumulated a new aminocoumarin derivative, novclobiocin 104, lacking the pyrrole moiety at the 3-OH of the deoxysugar. In addition, free pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid accumulated in the culture extract of the cloN2 mutant. The structures of the metabolites were confirmed by NMR and LC-MS analysis. Clorobiocin production was successfully restored in the cloN2 mutant by introducing a replicative plasmid containing the cloN2 sequence. These results prove an involvement of cloN2 in the formation of the ester bond between the pyrrole moiety and the deoxysugar in clorobiocin biosynthesis. Furthermore, they indicate that the C-methylation at position 5 of the pyrrole moiety occurs after the attachment of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid unit to the deoxysugar moiety.


We focus on a class of Multiple Prior Models. Those characterized by nonatomic countably additive priors. Preferences generating such representations have been recently axiomatized in [17]. We argue that this is the proper setting for comparing the notions of unambiguous event given by Epstein and Zhang in [7] and by Ghirardato, Maccheroni and Marinacci in [10]. The two definitions are known to be nonequivalent. Our main result is that an event T is unambiguous in the sense of Epstein and Zhang if and only if either (i) it is unambiguous in the sense of [10]; or (ii) conditional on T , the decision maker is an expected utility maximizer. We also provide an easy operational criterion for establishing whether or not an event is unambiguous in the sense of Epstein and Zhang. JEL Classification Number: D81


We construct the complete network of 26,681 majority opinions written by the U.S. Supreme Court and the cases that cite them from 1791 to 2005. We describe a method for using the patterns in citations within and across cases to create importance scores that identify the most legally relevant precedents in the network of Supreme Court law at any given point in time. Our measures are superior to existing network-based alternatives and, for example, offer information regarding case importance not evident in simple citation counts. We also demonstrate the validity of our measures by showing that they are strongly correlated with the future citation behavior of state courts, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In so doing, we show that network analysis is a viable way of measuring how central a case is to law at the Court and suggest that it can be used to measure other legal concepts.


Neural interfacing is a powerful means, which can develop a robust bridge between humans and machines. In this paper we emphasize on neural interfacing as an evolving trend in wireless communications by taking into account one of its important application i.e. cyborgs. In the next half of the paper we discuss the operational features of cyborgs. In an attempt to promote greater interaction between humans and computers, companies that develop cybernetic technologies participate in a variety of seductive strategies that embody the cyborg discourse. Some of these strategies persuade individuals to concede to particular philosophies, such as the argument that technical artifacts and instrumental reasoning are necessary for effective social development. With the experiments conducted and proposed to be conducted in future, and in the process given a brief description of the advantages and disadvantages of this technology.


Although big data has been discussed for some years, it still has many research challenges, especially the variety of data. It poses a huge difficulty to efficiently integrate, access, and query the large volume of diverse data in information silos with the traditional 'schema-on-write' approaches such as data warehouses. Data lakes have been proposed as a solution to this problem. They are repositories storing raw data in its original formats and providing a common access interface. This survey reviews the development, definition, and architectures of data lakes. We provide a comprehensive overview of research questions for designing and building data lakes. We classify the existing data lake systems based on their provided functions, which makes this survey a useful technical reference for designing, implementing and applying data lakes. We hope that the thorough comparison of existing solutions and the discussion of open research challenges in this survey would motivate the future development of data lake research and practice.


We consider the problem of conditioning the Brownian excursion to have a fixed time average over the interval [0,1] and we study an associated stochastic partial differential equation with reflection at 0 and with the constraint of conservation of the space average. The equation is driven by the derivative in space of a space-time white noise and contains a double Laplacian in the drift. Due to the lack of the maximum principle for the double Laplacian, the standard techniques based on the penalization method do not yield existence of a solution.


Multiple levels of preserved soft-sediment deformation structures occur in sediments deposited in the paleodammed lakes in the Batang-Zhongza reaches of the upper Jinsha River Valley, southeast Tibetan Plateau. These deformation structures include folded layers, convoluted layers, ball-and-pillow structures, recumbent lamination, waterescape structures, and small-scale landslide. Combining the assessments of depositional facies, potential triggers, paleoenvironmental context, we conclude that the probable trigger agents of this deformation were earthquakes, slides, and debris flows. The seismically-induced soft-sediment deformation structures provide new substantial evidence for the existence of active tectonics and paleo-earthquakes in the Batang area since the Holocene.


In the Japanese hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri, approximately 21% of the genomic DNA in germ cells (2n=52) consists of 16 chromosomes (eliminated [E]-chromosomes) that are eliminated from presumptive somatic cells (2n=36). To uncover the eliminated genome (E-genome), we have identified 16 eliminated repetitive DNA families from eight hagfish species, with 11 of these repeats being selectively amplified in the germline genome of E. burgeri. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that six of these sequences, namely EEEb1–6, are exclusively localized on all 16 E-chromosomes. This has led to the hypothesis that the eight pairs of E-chromosomes are derived from one pair of ancestral chromosomes via multiple duplication events over a prolonged evolutionary period. NGS analysis has recently facilitated the re-assembly of two distinct draft genomes of E. burgeri, derived from the testis and liver. This advancement allows for the prediction of not only nonrepetitive eliminated sequences but also over 100 repetitive and eliminated sequences, accomplished through K-mer-based analysis. In this study, we report four novel eliminated repetitive DNA sequences (designated as EEEb7–10) and confirm the relative chromosomal localization of all eliminated repeats (EEEb1–10) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). With the exception of EEEb10, all sequences were exclusively detected on EEEb1-positive chromosomes. Surprisingly, EEEb10 was detected as an intense signal on EEEb1-positive chromosomes and as a scattered signal on other chromosomes in germ cells. The study further divided the eight pairs of E-chromosomes into six groups based on the signal distribution of each DNA family, and fiber-FISH experiments showed that the EEEb2–10 family was dispersed in the EEEb1-positive extended chromatin fiber. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying chromosome elimination and the evolution of E-chromosomes, supporting our previous hypothesis.


OBJECTIVES
Lung transplantation is a well-established treatment of end-stage lung disease; however, it is limited by a shortage of donor lungs. To overcome this problem, donation after cardiac death (DCD) and ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) are being widely investigated. In this study, the effect of hydrogen gas, a known antioxidant, was investigated on a DCD lung model during EVLP.

METHODS
Ten pigs were randomized into either a control (n = 5) or a hydrogen group (n = 5). After fibrillation by electric shock, no further treatment was administered in order to induce warm ischaemic injury for 1 h. The lungs were then procured, followed by 4 h of EVLP. During EVLP, the lungs were ventilated with room air in the control group, and with 2% hydrogen gas in the hydrogen group. Oxygen capacity (OC), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and peak airway pressure (PAP) were measured every hour, and the expressions of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6 (IL-6), IL-8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were evaluated in lung tissue after EVLP. Pathological evaluations were performed using lung injury severity (LIS) scores and the wet/dry ratio was also measured.

RESULTS
The OC in the hydrogen group was higher than in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.0862). PVR (P = 0.0111) and PAP (P = 0.0189) were statistically significantly lower in the hydrogen group. Compared with the control group, the hydrogen group had a statistically significantly lower expression of IL-1β (P = 0.0317), IL-6 (P = 0.0159), IL-8 (P = 0.0195) and TNF-α (P = 0.0159). The LIS scores (P = 0.0358) and wet/dry ratios (P = 0.040) were also significantly lower in the hydrogen group.

CONCLUSIONS
Hydrogen gas inhalation during EVLP improved the function of DCD lungs, which may increase the utilization of DCD lungs.