The synthesis of nanoparticles is an increasingly popular field of interest. The application of nanoparticles is especially popular in the field of nanocatalysts. Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are favorable for catalysis because of the large surface area to volume ratio, which allows them to catalyze a variety of reactions using lesser amounts of active material. As the field of nanoparticle research expands, efforts are being made to create more sustainable approaches to the synthesis of these particles. This research sought to translate the benefits of peptide-based synthesis to organic solvents and use less toxic organic solvents for carbon-carbon coupling reactions, like Heck coupling with new peptide-based nanocatalysts. Using less toxic organic solvents, PdNPs were synthesized in ethanol, with the use of peptides to mediate the NP formation. The PdNPs were characterized by UV-Vis, hydrodynamic size, and SEM-TED analysis. The effectiveness of these nanoparticles as catalysts was examined through the use of carbon-carbon coupling reactions with aryl halides to yield biphenyl products. The catalytic studies were conducted in matching solvent concentrations as the NP synthesis at room temperature and pressure at a catalyst loading of 0.05 mol%. The results of the carbon-carbon coupling utilizing the PdNPs were quantified using NMR and GC-MS. Thesis Mentor:________________________


: A revolutionary, autocidal ovitrap has been developed as a promising weapon for the control and possible eradication of Ae, aegypti, the principal vector of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), in urban high DHF endemic areas. A study carried out with this trap in a highly endemic area for DHF in Singapore city, namely the Rochor area, has shown this trap to be superior to all other domestic habitats in attractiveness to ovipositing Ae. aegypti females.


Preface Old growth is widely acknowledged today as an essential part of managed forests, particularly on public lands. However, this concept is relatively new, evolving since the 1970's when a grassroots movement in the Pacific Northwest began in earnest to define old growth. In response to changes in public attitude, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, began reevaluating its policy regarding old-growth forests in the 1980's. Indeed, the ecological significance of old growth and its contribution to biodiversity were apparent. It was also evident that definitions were needed to adequately assess and manage the old-growth resource. However, definitions of old growth varied widely among scientists. To address this discrepancy and other old-growth issues, the National Old-Growth Task Group was formed in 1988. At the recommendation of this committee, old growth was officially recognized as a distinct resource by the Forest Service, greatly enhancing its status in forest management planning. The committee devised " The Generic Definition and Description of Old-Growth Forests " to serve as a basis for further work and to ensure uniformity among Forest Service Stations and Regions. Emphasis was placed on the quantification of old-growth attributes. At the urging of the Chief of the Forest Service, all Forest Service Stations and Regions began developing old-growth definitions for specific forest types. Because the Southern and Eastern Regions share many forest communities (together they encompass the entire Eastern United States), their efforts were combined, and a cooperative agreement was established with The Nature Conservancy for technical support. The resulting project represents the first large-scale effort to define old growth for all forests in the Eastern United States. This project helped bring the old-growth issue to public attention in the East. Definitions will first be developed for broad forest types and based mainly on published information and so must be viewed accordingly. Refinements will be made by the Forest Service as new information becomes available. This document represents 1 of 35 forest types for which old-growth definitions will be drafted. In preparing individual old-growth definitions, authors followed National Old-Growth Task Group guidelines, which differ from the standard General Technical Report format in two ways—the abstract (missing in this report) and the literature citations (listed in Southern Journal of Applied Forestry style). Allowing for these deviations will ensure consistency across organizational and geographic boundaries.


We report on land management and protected area management effectiveness in the tiger range. Wild tigers Panthera tigris are found in 13 countries, with habitat that is also important for ecosystem services, biodiversity and a number of other threatened species. Timber production, mineral mining, oil and gas concessions and protected areas are common land‐use designations in tiger habitat. Twenty‐one per cent of the current tiger range is under some form of protection, while 9% is designated as 'strictly protected,' in IUCN categories I or II. Fifteen per cent of the tiger range is under oil and gas concession. These concessions also overlap 152 protected areas, 55 of which are categorized as strictly protected. Management effectiveness tracking tool responses suggest that the majority of protected areas in the tiger range are inadequately managed to meet their objectives, and the most commonly reported management challenges are minimal enforcement and budgets. We observe that even strictly protected areas are subject to a variety of pressures, particularly resource extraction. Results imply that the establishment and enforcement of effective protected areas in each tiger landscape, sufficient to protect and grow breeding tiger populations, could help change current trends. These areas should be free from incompatible land uses, and should be adequately resourced to meet management, enforcement and monitoring challenges. Weaknesses in protected area management identified here have implications for species and ecosystem services that share the same geography as tigers. In addition, results suggest that similar issues may exist for threatened species and protected areas in other geographies as well.


BACKGROUND
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) needs to be considered in the patient over 55 years of age who presents with stiffness and pain. It appears to exist in a continuum with giant cell arteritis (GCA), and the differential diagnosis is large. It may affect one in 200 patients in this age group. Corticosteroid toxicity is a major problem, either because of inappropriate dosage or prolonged disease.

OBJECTIVE
To provide an up to date understanding of the concepts of this group of disorders in order to allow rapid recognition, better management, and to minimise toxicity of the necessary treatment. The most important of these are the appropriate dose of corticosteroid and instituting preventive therapy for potential complications such as osteoporosis.

DISCUSSION
As there is no specific test for PMR, the diagnosis is still made on clinical grounds from the presentation, symptoms and signs, and the presence of serological markers of inflammation. Because these are all nonspecific, alternative diagnoses must be actively excluded. Certain newer investigations, such as high resolution ultrasound of the temporal arteries may be very helpful in directing temporal artery (TA) biopsies. When the response to treatment does not follow the usual course (and this may be prolonged: 18 months to five years or more), then re-evaluation is imperative.


BACKGROUND: Microsurgical and endoscopic techniques are commonly utilized surgical approaches to pituitary pathologies. There are limited data comparing these 2 procedures. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate postoperative complications, associated costs, and national and regional trends of microscopic and endoscopic techniques in the United States employing a nationwide database. METHODS: The Truven MarketScan database 2010 to 2014 was queried and Current Procedural Terminology codes identified patients that underwent microscopic and/or endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. International Classification of Diseases codes identified postoperative complications. Adjusted logistic regression and matched propensity analysis evaluated independent odds for complications. RESULTS: Among 5886 cases studied, 54.49% were microscopic and 45.51% endoscopic. The commonest surgical indications were benign pituitary tumors. Annual trends showed increasing utilization of endoscopic techniques vs microscopic procedures. Postoperative complications occurred in 40.04% of cases, including diabetes insipidus (DI; 16.90%), syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH; 2.02%), iatrogenic hypopituitarism (1.36%), fluid/electrolyte abnormalities (hypoosmolality/hyponatraemia [5.03%] and hyperosmolality/hypernatraemia [2.48%]), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks (CSF rhinorrhoea [4.42%] and other CSF leak [6.52%]). In our propensity‐based model, patients that underwent endoscopic surgery were more likely to develop DI (odds ratio [OR] = 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28–1.72), SIADH (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.04–2.24), hypoosmolality/hyponatraemia (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.01–1.34), CSF rhinorrhoea (OR = 2.48; 95% CI = 1.88–3.28), other CSF leak (OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.28–1.98), altered mental status (OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.01–2.60), and postoperative fever (OR = 4.31; 95% CI = 1.14–16.23). There were no differences in hemorrhagic complications, ophthalmological complications, or bacterial meningitis. Postoperative complications resulted in longer hospitalization and increased healthcare costs. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic approaches are increasingly being utilized to manage sellar pathologies relative to microsurgery. Postoperative complications occur in both techniques with higher incidences observed following endoscopic procedures.


In this paper, a new dual-rate digital control technique for the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy system is suggested. The proposed method takes account of the stabilizablity of the discrete-time T-S fuzzy system at the fast-rate sampling points. Our main idea is to utilize the lifted control input. The proposed approach is to obtain the dual-rate discrete-time T-S fuzzy system by discretizing the overall dynamics of the T-S fuzzy system with the lifted control, and then to derive the sufficient conditions for the stabilization in the sense of the Lyapunov asymptotic stability for this system. An example is provided for showing the feasibility of the proposed discretization method.


Long treated as a poetic curio or a biographical riddle, Shakespeare's poetic contribution to the 1601 Loves Martyr—usually known as 'The Phoenix and Turtle'—has recently been reclaimed as an experiment in metaphysical poetry. This essay sets out to ask what that means: for the poem, for metaphysical poetry, and for metaphysics itself. It argues that Shakespeare draws on the language of metaphysics, and its canonical problems, to test the relationship between poetic and philosophical thinking. It follows the poem as it charts the efforts, and failures, of both allegory and metaphysics to apprehend the thought-defying love between phoenix and turtle. It shows how that love engages the dilemma of the particular and the universal, a dilemma native to metaphysics since Aristotle, but felt most acutely in the realm of aesthetic experience. And it suggests that, in sounding out the limits of metaphysical reason, Shakespeare's poem allows for poetry to think in a way that metaphysics cannot. 'The Phoenix and Turtle' ends in mourning: for the death of phoenix and turtle, and for the demise of the metaphysical transcendentals they seemed in hindsight to uphold. That mourning might nonetheless offer poetry its vocation, as the space where reason might remember and reflect on the object of its loss.


A peaking free output-feedback tracking sliding mode controller based on high-gain observers (HGO) and control activation dwell-time is introduced for a general class of uncertain single-input-single-output (SISO) nonlinear systems. Global or semi-global practical exponential stability with enlarged domains of attraction and significantly improved transient behavior are obtained. A monitoring scheme is also proposed to deal with HGO peaking induced by output exogenous disturbances.


The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether use of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, enalapril, would prevent the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in the rabbit model. A total of 20 adult female New Zealand white rabbits were studied. All rabbits received 75 IU of human menopausal gonadotrophin s.c. each day for 7 days. On day 8, all rabbits received 2500 IU of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). Ten rabbits were randomly chosen to receive enalapril orally. Five received 1 mg/kg of enalapril and five received 2 mg/kg of enalapril twice daily. The remainder received placebo orally twice daily. On day 10, all rabbits underwent surgical exploration. Total body weight was found to increase significantly in the placebo group (by 293 g, P < 0.001) but not in either group receiving enalapril. Haematocrit also increased significantly in the placebo group (by 3%, P < 0.013) but not in the enalapril groups. Ovarian weights were highest for the 2 mg/kg enalapril group (5.80 +/- 0.52 g), followed by the 1 mg/kg enalapril group (3.64 +/- 0.45), and least for the placebo group (2.69 +/- 0.17). All 10 placebo rabbits met criteria for severe OHSS whereas only six in the enalapril groups did. We concluded that angiotensin II may play a significant role in the development of weight gain, third space fluid accumulation and intravascular fluid depletion in OHSS. ACE inhibition resulted in a 40% decrease in the incidence of OHSS in the rabbit model.


The overriding philosophy for mounting the Symposium was to promote the value and importance of research to undergraduate students in art and design. The 1960's and 1970's, has great currency for students, for whom retrospective research is often relevant to their studies. In focusing upon these key decades it capitalizes on how the design industry revives art and design styles from significant past decades and makes research appear to be easily identifiable with for students. Students rarely fully understand depths of visual culture historically and often demonstrate a superficial awareness of this in their research, focusing on the most obvious stylistic references attached to a period and re-interpreting these in a contemporary way.

Keynote Opening Speech by co-co-ordinators;
Kevin Almond and Ian Massey
entitled;
Raiding the past: Understanding the Present
 Four speakers were engaged who were experts on the 1960's/1970's and who through their work had made a considerable impact either during or about the period. Each speaker outlined the research methods they utilised within their work, and described how both primary and secondary research informed their outcomes.
The four key speakers were:
• Sylvia Ayton MBE, Chair of the Costume Society. Former business partner to Zandra Rhodes in the 1960's and for thirty years Head of Design at Wallis;
Talk; 'My Love Hate Relationship with Couture'
• Professor Lou Taylor, Dress Historian Author of several books including 'Through the Looking Glass which focused on individual decades in dress and social history in the twentieth century;
Talk: 'On Their Own Terms- an assessment
of the development and impact of 'youthquake' fashions, 1958-68.
• Michael Bracewell, writer/cultural commentator, author of Re-make/Remodel: Art, Pop, Fashion and the making of Roxy Music (Faber);
• Dominic Lutyens, writer/journalist, co-author of 70s Style and Design (Thames & Hudson).
The symposium also had several other key aims and objectives:
• The intention was to create a dialogue between students and staff across subject disciplines, to network and exchange ideas with creatives beyond individual disciplines.
• To promote and establish an understanding of the need for wide-ranging and relevant research, away from the 'Google culture'.
• To promote the link between the practical and the theoretical.
• To promote an interdisciplinary approach to design research.
A range of research methods was described and discussed. The speakers were experts on aspects of the visual culture of the period. Each approached research from a different standpoint of interest/expertise/discipline that included;
• Fashion design
• Costume/dress history and theory
• Cultural commentary/popular culture
• Design history
This breadth of approaches to research was an ideal platform from which to inform and inspire the students, and allow them to reconsider their own research methods. Distinctions between primary and secondary research and the value of each were outlined. This demonstrated the need for a more analytical and relevant approach to both visual and written work, leading to a more informed level of dialogue within both studio practice and theory.


Abstract The structures, infrared active OH stretching modes, and relative energies of OH-defects in ringwoodite (γ-Mg2SiO4) have been studied by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Two types of fully protonated cationic defects in normal spinel were considered at 0 and 20 GPa, i.e., [VMg(OH)2]x, [VSiOH)4]x defects. In addition, two defects associated with the partial inversion of the spinel structure have been investigated. The first one corresponds to two protons compensating a Mg substituted for Si in tetrahedral site, [MgSi(OH)2]x, whereas the second defect corresponds to a Mg vacancy located nearby a Mg-Si substitution, [VMg(OH)2MgSiSiMg]x. The infrared spectrum and evolution with pressure of these OH-defects make it possible to interpret the major IR absorption bands experimentally observed. The main absorption band at ~3150 cm-1 corresponds to protons located between the O-O pairs shared by 16c and 16d octahedra, instead of OH along the tetrahedral edges as usually proposed in the literature. The large width of this band is most likely related to the association of OH defects with the various cationic configurations related to the partial inversion of a vacancy-bearing spinel structure. The less intense band at ~3675 cm-1 is assigned to hydrogarnet-type defects with a protonation of the tetrahedral edges. This interpretation is consistent with an Mg/Si ratio lower than 2 and its weak variation as a function of water concentration, as experimentally observed. These results emphasize the importance of taking into account the structural relaxation experienced by defects, instead of using empirical correlation, to assign OH stretching bands to specific O-O pairs of the structure.


Lobectomy can be done either via thoracotomy or via video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) (1-3). In the recent years, VATS approach is adopted increasingly worldwide due to its advantages of less pain, lower complication rate, shorter hospital stay, and equivalent long term survival rate, comparing with thoracotomy (4-7). However, VATS lobectomy is complicated, especially VATS left upper lobe resection (8,9). The aim of this paper is to introduce the detailed procedures which presented in the videos of singledirection thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy and left lower lobectomy.


Background: An association between a high intake of marine-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) with a lower risk of coronary heart disease was previously reported. However, the association between n-3 PUFAs and cerebrovascular lesions remains unclear. We evaluated this association in a general-population-based sample of Japanese men. Methods: Participants were community-dwelling men (40–79 years old) living in Kusatsu City, Shiga, Japan. Serum concentrations of n-3 PUFAs, defined as the sum of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, were measured via gas-liquid chromatography between 2006 and 2008. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cerebrovascular lesions (including intracerebral large-artery stenosis, lacunar infarction, and microbleeds) and white matter lesions between 2012 and 2015. Logistic regression adjusting for conventional cardiovascular risk factors was used to estimate the odds ratio of prevalent cerebrovascular lesions per 1 standard deviation higher serum concentration of n-3 PUFAs. Results: Of a total of 739 men, the numbers (crude prevalence in %) of prevalent cerebral large-artery stenoses, lacunar infarctions, microbleeds, and white matter lesions were 222 (30.0), 162 (21.9), 103 (13.9), and 164 (22.2), respectively. A 1 standard deviation higher concentration of n-3 PUFAs (30.5 μmol/L) was independently associated with lower odds of cerebral large-artery stenosis (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio, 0.80; 95% confidential interval, 0.67–0.97). There were no significant associations of n-3 PUFAs with the other types of lesions. Conclusions: n-3 PUFAs may have protective effects against large-artery stenosis, but not small vessel lesions, in the brain.


The Ladies's Edinburgh Debating Society met on the first Saturday of each month between 1865-1936 to discuss the books they were reading and to debate prearranged issues. For the first fifteen years its members produced a magazine which carried fictive and general interest articles. This thesis will study the archive of the Society and the magazine that it produced to arrive at an understanding of the women's reading practices, their intellectual lives and their attitudes to the society in which they lived and how these experiences impacted upon them.

At a time when women's societal role was limited and access to education was based on wealth or the philanthropy of others, these women were able (through their privileged place in the middle and upper classes) to construct their own canon of improving reading and to set guidelines for the education of others. Working against the hegemonic discourse of the time, yet seeking to exert some controlling influence over others, the women's attempts at self culture throw into rellief the context of their cultural experiences and the correlation between self improvement and women's emancipation.

This thesis argues that prevailing ideas about Victorian women's existence in 'separate spheres' needs to be revised. It argues that the members of The Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society make a move from the private to the public sphere through their utilisation of culture. Moreover, they are able to blend this notion of spheres to make society their concern through collective and individual action; improving themselves and the community in which they lived.


The rheological behavior of aqueous dispersions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in solutions of the cationic surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated. The steady shear viscosity as a function of the applied shear rate was monitored in different concentrations of surfactant which correspond to different mesophases. We found that the presence of SWNTs had a dramatic effect on the behavior of the combined system not observed with other additives: a significant increase in the low shear-rate viscosity of SWNT dispersions, and shear thinning replacing Newtonian behavior were observed for CTAB concentrations below the onset of the surfactant hexagonal phase. As CTAB concentration increases the rheological behavior of the SWNT-CTAB system and the native CTAB solutions become more alike. We suggest that the origin of the observed phenomena is the good size-match between SWNTs and elongated CTAB micelles. Thus dispersed SWNTs may induce the formation of size-matched elongated CTAB micelles that further orient under the action of external shear. A similar effect was not observed in dispersions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes or carbon black particles, suggesting that the cooperative behavior is not invoked when significant size-mismatch exists between the surfactant micelles and the dispersed additives.


Bioglass films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from a 45S5 target and than annealed in air up to 550 oC in order to relax the mechanical stresses. The mixtures (0, 7 and 15%) of oxygen and argon were used in order to modify the films stoichiometry. Morphological and compositional studies were performed by SEM coupled with an EDAX system. FTIR and micro Raman measurements were performed in order to investigate the molecular vibrations of the BG structure. A modified composition respect to the target one was found for all the films, with lower silicon dioxide concentrations. The films displayed rough surfaces with spherical particles of 10-20 μm diameter embedded in the surfaces. The Raman results evidenced important carbonate lines besides the silica-phosphate bands.


Network coding is a promising technique to improve the throughput performance of wireless networks. In this paper, we propose a novel network-coding-based hybrid retransmission request protocol for two-way relaying system. The proposed protocol can retransmit more information in a given time interval by introducing network coding in the retransmission process, thus improving the throughput. Furthermore, we derive the frame error rate and delay performance using the L-ary pulse amplitude modulation by solving Markov state transition equations. Applying these results, the closed-form approximate solution of the throughput is acquired. Numerical results have validated our analytical results, and demonstrated that the proposed protocol outperforms the traditional hybrid retransmission request protocol for two-way relaying system by a throughput gain of about 9% when the relay lies close to the midpoint of the two users.


Composite material is a breakthrough in engineering especially in automotive
application. Automotive parts which being produced by this material always performs
better compare to conventional material. D.G. Lee et al. (2004) states that, drive shaft
being produced by composite material offers up to 75% of weight reduction which will
contribute to fuel efficiency, 160% increase in torque capability, and higher natural
frequency which is about 9390 rpm for wider safety margin. The main constraint for
using composite is the higher price of material especially the fiber. The main idea for
this study is to replace the carbon fiber with much cheaper material, palm oil fiber. This
new composite will later on being put into test using machine fault simulator at four
different speeds and its dynamic characteristic will be recorded. The data obtained will
be analyzed using skewness, kurtosis, peak to peak, crest factor and root mean square
(RMS). From experimental results, we can see that lower RMS value is obtained for
composite drive shaft compare to steel drive shaft with same diameter. Thus, it shows
that the composite material is a suitable candidate to substitute the usage of steel as
material for drive shaft for automotive application in term of vibration study.


BACKGROUND
Sexually transmissible infection (STI) rates are persistently high in central Australia, creating conditions for a potential HIV pandemic in the area. There is a shortage of qualitative research examining the underlying factors affecting STI transmission in this region. The present study investigates Aboriginal women's current levels of knowledge regarding STI and their transmission, perception of risk for STI, patterns of condom use, access to condoms and experiences of condom negotiation with their partners. It also explores the sociocultural context of their sexual health.

METHODS
The present study used qualitative methods with a semistructured questionnaire. Twenty-four women aged 18-35 years from one remote central-Australian Aboriginal community were recruited.

RESULTS
The results revealed poor understandings of STI transmission, limited access to condoms and low levels of condom use despite a high perception of risk to STI. They also identified specific issues facing these women regarding the sociocultural context of their condom use, their access to condoms and the transmission of STI. The perceived effects of alcohol abuse, infidelity, sexual assault and shame on the acquisition of STI were significant issues for the women.

CONCLUSION
This research has identified an urgent need for further qualitative research into the sociocultural factors that facilitate the spread of STI among Aboriginal people of remote central Australia. Implications include the need to increase their knowledge regarding STI and STI transmission, to increase women's access to condoms and to incorporate the teaching of skills to deal with sexual assault and violence into sexual-health education.


Power generation is normally produced at constant frequencies of 50 Hz or 60 Hz and the generators E.M.F can be considered practically sinusoidal. However, when a source of sinusoidal voltage is applied to a nonlinear device or load, the resulting current is not perfectly sinusoidal. Due to non-linear loads, distortions are produced in the sinusoidal waveform so filters are used to minimize these distortions. This paper aims to build a simulation model of a nine-bus ring system to evaluate characteristics of harmonics in different cases of study using electrical transient and analysis program (ETAP), which is considered one of the best tools to study harmonics in the power system, thus, the harmonic distortion is analyzed in ETAP. To generate harmonic distortion in the power network, a general load is modeled as a source of harmonics. A harmonic load flow analysis was carried out in order to determine the impact of harmonic current on a power network, and the THD% of all types of harmonic models on all the buses was checked and the typical IEEE model that has the highest THD% was chosen and compared with the model that contains low THD indices (one of the best models of IEEE manufacturer).


T-junctions are commonly used in distributing two-phase flow by piping networks especially in oil and gas industries. However, the nature splitting of liquid-gas phases is a major challenge and is complicated due to the large number of variables that influence it. Understanding the behavior of two-phase flow through a T-junction is very essential as it has significant impact on oil and gas transportation pipeline networks, operation and control of process and power industries and lastly the maintenance efficiency of all the components downstream from the junction. This paper provides a detailed analysis on the effect of associated variables on phase separation efficiency in T-junction. Hence, the analysis uses and develops a numerical model for simulation of two-phase flow distribution in T-junction to elucidate an in depth understanding on two-phase separation at different operating conditions and parameters. In order to achieve the objective, the developed model consists of horizontal main arm and vertical side arm while CFD method is employed to simulate the fluid flow. The present study identifies that the overall mass split ratio, the initial gas saturation and gas density are the most influential factors on fraction of gas taken off in T-junction. Subsequently, the effect of inclination angle of gravity on flow split is investigated and it does not play a significant role on phase separation. At the end of this project, the phenomenon of phase maldistribution when a two-phase mixture passes through a T-junctions is well understood and hence the underlying potential as a simple, cost saving, passive partial separator is able to be included in the design of pipeline networks in the petroleum industry.


Background Endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) is a developing therapeutic approach for premalignant pancreatic-cystic neoplasms (PCNs) and small pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). The safety and efficacy of pancreatic EUS-RFA were previously reported in small series. Herein we report our initial experience with RFA of PCNs and small PNETs. Methods This is a prospective single-center study including 12 patients with a median follow-up of 7 months, with either PCN or PNET <2 cm. Eligible PCNs were either intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) with worrisome features or mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) that were not eligible or refused surgery. Ablation was performed using a 19-gauge dedicated needle. Results Twelve patients were treated, five had PCNs (four IPMNs, one MCN; median size of 36 mm, range 12–60) and seven had PNETs (median size 8.9 mm, range 6–18). Among patients with PCNs, the complete radiologic response was achieved in 3/5 (60%), partial response in 1/5 (20%) and failure in 1/5 (20%). Among six patients with nonfunctioning PNETs, the complete radiologic response was achieved in 4/6 (66.7%), partial radiologic response in 0/6 (0%) and failure in 2/6 (33.3%). Following a median follow-up of 7 months. One patient with insulinoma showed complete resolution of hypoglycemia-related symptoms. Three postprocedural adverse events occurred, including one case (1/12, 8.3%) of mild acute pancreatitis and two cases (2/12, 16.7%) of abdominal pain. Conclusion EUS-guided RFA for premalignant PCNs and PNETs is feasible and well-tolerated. Efficacy would be further evaluated with continued follow-up of patients.


Background Case managers have been introduced in primary palliative care in the Netherlands; these are nurses with expertise in palliative care who offer support to patients and informal carers in addition to the care provided by the general practitioner (GP) and home-care nurse. Objectives To compare cancer patients with and without additional support from a case manager on: 1) the patients' general characteristics, 2) characteristics of care and support given by the GP, 3) palliative care outcomes. Methods This article is based on questionnaire data provided by GPs participating in two different studies: the Sentimelc study (280 cancer patients) and the Capalca study (167 cancer patients). The Sentimelc study is a mortality follow-back study amongst a representative sample of GPs that monitors the care provided via GPs to a general population of end-of-life patients. Data from 2011 and 2012 were analysed. The Capalca study is a prospective study investigating the implementation and outcome of the support provided by case managers in primary palliative care. Data were gathered between March 2011 and December 2013. Results The GP is more likely to know the preferred place of death (OR 7.06; CI 3.47-14.36), the place of death is more likely to be at the home (OR 2.16; CI 1.33-3.51) and less likely to be the hospital (OR 0.26; CI 0.13-0.52), and there are fewer hospitalisations in the last 30 days of life (none: OR 1.99; CI 1.12-3.56 and one: OR 0.54; CI 0.30-0.96), when cancer patients receive additional support from a case manager compared with patients receiving the standard GP care. Conclusions Involvement of a case manager has added value in addition to palliative care provided by the GP, even though the role of the case manager is 'only' advisory and he or she does not provide hands-on care or prescribe medication.


The benefits of new transmission investment significantly depend on deployment patterns of renewable electricity generation that are characterized by severe uncertainty. In this context, this paper presents a novel methodology to solve the transmission expansion planning problem under generation expansion uncertainty in a min–max regret fashion, when considering flexible network options and $n-1$  security criterion. To do so, we propose a five-level mixed integer linear programming (MILP) based model that comprises: (i) the optimal network investment plan (including phase shifters), (ii) the realization of generation expansion, (iii) the co-optimization of energy and reserves given transmission and generation expansions, (iv) the realization of system outages, and (v) the decision on optimal post-contingency corrective control. In order to solve the five-level model, we present a cutting plane algorithm that ultimately identifies the optimal min–max regret flexible transmission plan in a finite number of steps. The numerical studies carried out demonstrate: (a) the significant benefits associated with flexible network investment options to hedge transmission expansion plans against generation expansion uncertainty and system outages, (b) strategic planning-under-uncertainty uncovers the full benefit of flexible options which may remain undetected under deterministic, perfect information methods, and (c) the computational scalability of the proposed approach.


Household robots operate in the same space for years. Such robots incrementally build dynamic maps that can be used for tasks requiring remote object localization. However, benchmarks in robot learning often test generalization through inference on tasks in unobserved environments. In an observed environment, locating an object is reduced to choosing from among all object proposals in the environment, which may number in the 100,000s. Armed with this intuition, using only a generic vision-language scoring model with minor modifications for 3d encoding and operating in an embodied environment, we demonstrate an absolute performance gain of 9.84% on remote object grounding above state of the art models for REVERIE and of 5.04% on FAO. When allowed to pre-explore an environment, we also exceed the previous state of the art pre-exploration method on REVERIE. Additionally, we demonstrate our model on a real-world TurtleBot platform, highlighting the simplicity and usefulness of the approach. Our analysis outlines a"bag of tricks"essential for accomplishing this task, from utilizing 3d coordinates and context, to generalizing vision-language models to large 3d search spaces.


During excavations at Hengistbury Head between 1979 and 1984 certain Late Iron Age features, described as 'quarry hollows' and 'scoops', were discovered along the shoreline. They are the result of gravel extraction, which, it is argued, was carried out in order to supply ballast for ships plying their trade across the English Channel during the first half of the first century BC. Accordingly, these features represent the first on-shore archaeological evidence for the provision of ballast in antiquity.


Abnormal hemostasis tests and bleeding are often associated in liver cirrhosis. In these patients the balance between hypo- and hypercoagulation status is more fragile than in healthy people. In the hemostatic abnormalities associated with chronic liver disease are two main chategory factors: favoring hemorrage and favoring thrombosis. The main factors that favoring hemorrage are: low platelet count, impaired platelet function, decreased levels coagulation factors (II, V, VII, IX, X, XI), quantitative and qualitative abnormalities of fibrinogen, vitamin K defiency, low levels of trombin activable fibrinolisis inhibitor, activat plasminogenic tisular. The factors favoring thrombosis are elevated levels of factors VIII and von Willebrand, decreased levels of protein C, protein S, antithrombin, decreased levels of plasminogen. Traditionally it was thought that arterial and venous thrombosis is rare events in cirrhotic patients but recent studies have indicated that thrombotic complications can paradoxically occur even if clinically an increased risk of hemorrhage is considered. Treatment of venous thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis using routine anticoagulation with heparin and vitamin K antagonists has been described but with a high level of bleeding complications. So, based on the limited data available, AASLD guidelines stated no recommendations for or against the use of anticoagulation in cirrhotic patients with portal thrombosis. Although abnormal hemostasis tests and bleeding are often associated in patients with chronic liver disease it is a relatively poor correlation between hemorrhagic risk and routine diagnostic tests of hemostasis. Management of bleeding complications in liver cirrhosis varies and no general guidelines are available. The main therapeutic strategies are: red cell concentrate, plasma, platelet concentrate, recombinant factor VIIa, factor concentrates, desmopressin, antifibrynolitic agents, thrombopoietin receptor agonists, antibiotics. Clinical studies examining safety and efficacy of the various products for the different bleedeing or trombotic complications of liver cirrhosis need to be initiaded.


The mononuclear copper(II) complex [Cu(H(2)L(1))(2)(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(2) (1) (where H(2)L(1) = 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dioxime) reacts with copper(II) perchlorate in acetonitrile at ambient conditions in the presence of triethylamine to afford a copper(II) complex, [Cu(L(3))(2)(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(2) (2a), of 1,10-phenanthroline furoxan. A similar complex [Cu(L(3))(2)Cl](ClO(4)) (2) is isolated from the reaction of H(2)L(1) with copper(II) chloride, triethylamine, and sodium perchlorate in acetonitrile. The two-electron oxidation of the vic-dioxime to furoxan is confirmed from the X-ray single crystal structure of 2. An intermediate species, showing an absorption band at 608 nm, is observed at -20 °C during the conversion of 1 to 2a. A similar blue intermediate is formed during the reaction of [Cu(HDMG)(2)] (H(2)DMG = dimethylglyoxime) with ceric ammonium nitrate, but H(2)DMG treated with ceric ammonium nitrate does not form any intermediate. This suggests the involvement of a copper(II) complex in the intermediate step. The intermediate species is also observed during the two-electron oxidation of other vic-dioximes. On the basis of the spectroscopic evidence and the nature of the final products, the intermediate is proposed to be a mononuclear copper(II) complex ligated by a vic-dioxime and a dinitrosoalkene. The dinitrosoalkene is generated upon two-electron oxidation of the dioxime. The transient blue color of the dioxime-copper(II)-dinitrosoalkene complex may be attributed to the ligand-to-ligand charge transfer transition. The intermediate species slowly decays to the corresponding two-electron oxidized form of vic-dioxime, i.e. furoxan and [Cu(CH(3)CN)(4)](ClO(4)). The formation of two isomeric furoxans derived from the reaction of an asymmetric vic-dioxime, hexane-2,3-dioxime, and copper(II) perchlorate supports the involvement of a dinitrosoalkene species in the intermediate step. In addition, the oxidation of 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dioxime (H(2)L(2)) to the corresponding furoxan and subsequent formation of a copper(I) complex [Cu(L(4))(2)](ClO(4)) (3) (where L(4) = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline furoxan) are discussed.


Android, the most popular mobile operating system, has attracted millions of users around the world. Meanwhile, the number of new Android malware instances has grown exponentially in recent years. On the one hand, existing Android malware detection systems have shown that distilling the program semantics into a graph representation and detecting malicious programs by conducting graph matching are able to achieve high accuracy on detecting Android malware. However, these traditional graph-based approaches always perform expensive program analysis and suffer from low scalability on malware detection. On the other hand, because of the high scalability of social network analysis, it has been applied to complete large-scale malware detection. However, the social-network-analysis-based method only considers simple semantic information (i.e., centrality) for achieving market-wide mobile malware scanning, which may limit the detection effectiveness when benign apps show some similar behaviors as malware. In this article, we aim to combine the high accuracy of traditional graph-based method with the high scalability of social-network-analysis--based method for Android malware detection. Instead of using traditional heavyweight static analysis, we treat function call graphs of apps as complex social networks and apply social-network--based centrality analysis to unearth the central nodes within call graphs. After obtaining the central nodes, the average intimacies between sensitive API calls and central nodes are computed to represent the semantic features of the graphs. We implement our approach in a tool called IntDroid and evaluate it on a dataset of 3,988 benign samples and 4,265 malicious samples. Experimental results show that IntDroid is capable of detecting Android malware with an F-measure of 97.1% while maintaining a True-positive Rate of 99.1%. Although the scalability is not as fast as a social-network-analysis--based method (i.e., MalScan), compared to a traditional graph-based method, IntDroid is more than six times faster than MaMaDroid. Moreover, in a corpus of apps collected from GooglePlay market, IntDroid is able to identify 28 zero-day malware that can evade detection of existing tools, one of which has been downloaded and installed by more than ten million users. This app has also been flagged as malware by six anti-virus scanners in VirusTotal, one of which is Symantec Mobile Insight.


A 35-year-old woman presented with a thyroid mass, weakness and shortness of breath of 3 years duration. On physical examination, she had a diffusely enlarged thyroid gland with multiple nodules. There were no signs to suggest immune suppression. The patient farmed and raised livestock. Biochemical tests and hemogram were normal. She underwent surgery, and a histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed nodular hyperplasia. Microscopically, silver methenamine (PASM) stain-positive hyphae that divided into branches at 45° and conidia were detected beside the thyroid capsule, with conidia in the cystic nodule. Moreover, ischemic changes of the thyroid tissue were observed closer to the capsule. We report a case of Aspergillosis of the thyroid of a patient who underwent surgery for a multinodular goiter.


In this paper, we conducted numerical simulations to investigate single and two-phase flows around marine propellers in open-water conditions at different Reynolds number regimes. The simulations were carried out using a homogeneous compressible two-phase flow model with RANS and hybrid RANS/LES turbulence modeling approaches. Transition was accounted for in the model-scale simulations by employing an LCTM transition model. In model scale, also an anisotropic RANS model was utilized. We investigated two types of marine propellers: a conventional and a tip-loaded one. We compared the results of the simulations to experimental results in terms of global propeller performance and cavitation observations. The propeller cavitation, near-blade flow phenomena, and propeller wake flow characteristics were investigated in model- and full-scale conditions. A grid and time step sensitivity studies were carried out with respect to the propeller performance and cavitation characteristics. The model-scale propeller performance and the cavitation patterns were captured well with the numerical simulations, with little difference between the utilized turbulence models. The global propeller performance and the cavitation patterns were similar between the model- and full-scale simulations. A tendency of increased cavitation extent was observed as the Reynolds number increases. At the same time, greater dissipation of the cavitating tip vortex was noted in the full-scale conditions.


Background. It is known that the customs, traditions, material and spiritual riches of the Turkic peoples belong to the great poet A. Thanks to Navoi's sharp intellect and artistic thinking; it has become an immortal property of our spirituality. Therefore, the creative heritage of the great poet is important not only as a work of art, but also as a unique historical and ethnographic source of culture of life of the Turkic peoples, including the Uzbek nation. This article examines the works of Alisher Navoi, depicting the way of life, culture, socio-political, theological and mystical worldview of the Turkic peoples, and even the ancient mythological ideas and some of the customs and rituals associated with them. The traditions of the poet's lyrical, lyre-epic works are an important source for studying the history and spiritual world of the Turkic peoples. Methods. In the article A. In order to clarify the place of folk traditions in Navoi's lyrical heritage, comparative-typological, analytical methods were used. Results. In the works of Alisher Navoi, a special place is given to the depiction and interpretation of plates related to the way of life, culture, socio-political, divine and mystical worldview of the Turkic peoples, and even ancient mythological notions and some customs and rituals associated with them. Such works of art, which are recorded as "ethnographic folklorisms", have played an important role in enhancing the national and realistic spirit of the poet's works, their artistic impact. Conclusion. Navoi's works contain valuable artistic details related to the way of life and customs of the people, which can provide important information in the study of the history of life of the people of that period.


Immigrants into this country often bring their own cultural beliefs and medical system with them. Since many parts of the world use phytomedicine as the sole source of pharmaceuticals, this means that their traditional form of therapy includes the use of herbal products. It has been observed that many immigrants from the former Soviet Union are used to using phytomedicine and actively seek out familiar herbs when they come to the United States (U.S.). This paper provides a description of the most commonly used Russian phytomedicinals with an explanation of indications for use and Latin and English translations of each plant's name. This makes available insights into the use of herbals in the former Soviet Union and aids in bridging the cultural and language gap between herbal medicine in the U.S. and in Russia.


Conventionally, consciousness is thought to be a result of the brain's neuronal activity, and much research activity is focused along this line of thought; however, circumstantial evidence has not yet been obtained. As an alternative, I posit that the multidimensional picture of the universe can be important in seeking the origin of the consciousness outside the brain. Herein, I hypothesize the existence of a new particle called the parasite fermion. This is a material particle that exists in the extra dimension, i.e., outside our four-dimensional universe. Further, the differences in material properties of the parasite fermions and the particles that exist in our universe, termed as host fermions, and the mechanism that causes these differences are reviewed in this paper. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the aforementioned mechanism renders the parasite fermion invisible, although they exist around us. The question is what happens if we apply the parasite fermion concept to the mind–body problem. In the regard, the parasite fermion model has the possibility to help clarify the origin of conciseness being outside the brain.


3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) has an anticancer activity, but the role DIM plays on malignant melanoma cells and its specific mechanism is unclear. We studied the biological effects of DIM on malignant melanoma cells and the related mechanism and the results showed that DIM significantly suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in malignant melanoma cells. In addition, the expression levels of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), Bax, Bid, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 were increased after DIM treatment. In A2058 PTENmut cells, DIM-mediated inhibition of proliferation and DIM-induced apoptosis were attenuated. Additionally, the overexpression and knockdown of PTEN could regulate such effects of DIM in malignant melanoma cells. Furthermore, DIM exerted growth-inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing effects in vivo. This study demonstrated that DIM has antitumor effect in human malignant melanoma cells through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway activated by PTEN/Akt signaling.


Electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) means the stimulation of the hearing nerve with an inner ear hearing prostheses by electrical pulses to compensate high frequency deafness and in parallel using the low frequency residual hearing by a hearing aid at the same ear. In this doctoral dissertation, the "Multi-Source Noise Field" is developed and realized as examination environment for the subsequent realistic measurement of speech perception levels in various noisy situations. The transition frequency from acoustic to electric stimulation is determined by psycho-acoustic pitch comparison tests. The results of measurements from patients with inner ear hearing prosthesis have been reproduced by simulations with normal hearing persons and described by a model.


PURPOSE
A pan fungal primer targeting the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region and optimization of PCR-RFLP using a dermatophyte specific primer targeted the 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region were performed for the identification of dermatophyte species and strains directly from clinical specimens.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
One hundred and thirty eight specimens (129 skin scrapings and 9 nail clippings) from clinically suspected cases of dermatophytosis were collected and subjected to direct microscopy and culture. Among them, 66 skin scrapings and 3 nail clippings were processed for genotyping by PCR-RFLP analysis using the Mva I, Hae III and the Dde I restriction enzymes.

RESULTS
Of the 138 specimens, 81 specimens were positive for dermatophytosis, the most common one being Trichophyton rubrum (47), followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (25) and Epidermophyton floccosum (9). Of the 47 T. rubrum isolates, 10 were T. rubrum var. raubitschekii which were identified phenotypically as urease positive and by DNA sequencing. Since they exhibited minor morphological and physiological features, they have currently been synonymized with T. rubrum. Of the 25 T. mentagrophytes isolates, three were Trichophyton interdigitale, which were identified by DNA sequencing. Among the 66 skin specimens smear, culture and PCR showed the presence of dermatophytes in 36 (54.54%), 42 (63.63%) and 47 (71.21%) cases respectively. Among the three nail specimens, only one was found to be positive for dermatophytosis by smear, culture and PCR.

CONCLUSION
Amplification of the dermatophyte specific primer is appropriate in the identification of dermatophytes directly from the clinical material. PCR targeting the ITS region by using the Mva I and the Dde I enzymes was equally good for the RFLP analysis. However, by using the above three restriction enzymes, no strain variations were detected among the T. rubrum and the T. mentagrophytes strains.


Abstract Objective To assess the design, delivery and outcomes of interventions to improve adherence to treatment for paediatric tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries and develop a contextual framework for such interventions. Methods We searched PubMed and Cochrane databases for reports published between 1 January 2003 and 1 December 2013 on interventions to improve adherence to treatment for tuberculosis that included patients younger than 20 years who lived in a low- or middle-income country. For potentially relevant articles that lacked paediatric outcomes, we contacted the authors of the studies. We assessed heterogeneity and risk of bias. To evaluate treatment success – i.e. the combination of treatment completion and cure – we performed random-effects meta-analysis. We identified areas of need for improved intervention practices. Findings We included 15 studies in 11 countries for the qualitative analysis and of these studies, 11 qualified for the meta-analysis – representing 1279 children. Of the interventions described in the 15 studies, two focused on education, one on psychosocial support, seven on care delivery, four on health systems and one on financial provisions. The children in intervention arms had higher rates of treatment success, compared with those in control groups (odds ratio: 3.02; 95% confidence interval: 2.19–4.15). Using the results of our analyses, we developed a framework around factors that promoted or threatened treatment completion. Conclusion Various interventions to improve adherence to treatment for paediatric tuberculosis appear both feasible and effective in low- and middle-income countries.


The success of American comics and Japanese manga that, since the end of the 20th century have invaded European markets and Spanish newsstands, have imposed their diverse imaginaries, did, at first, result in the Iberian Peninsula being deserted of its own production during those years. Over time, these have left an imprint that has had consequences for the resurgence of domestic creativity. It is possible to see their influence through the cultural mystification and aesthetic that are combined in the different symbolic elements of contemporary comics by following the trajectory of Emma Rios in her incursion into the field of American comics through publications with Marvel and DC, and in particular by analysing the text Bella Muerte (Astiberri, 2016/2017; original: Pretty Deadly, edited by Image Comics) which the Galician author illustrates from the script by Kelly Sue DeConnick. It is thus possible to trace the desire for full authorship that culminates in the solo work (I.D., Astiberri, 2017; original by Image Comics) on identities and their construction.


The extragalactic γ-rays sky observed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) is dominated by blazars. In the fourth release of the Fermi LAT Point Source Catalog (4FGL) are sources showing a multifrequency behavior similar to that of blazars but lacking an optical spectroscopic confirmation of their nature, known as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs). We aim at confirming the blazar nature of BCUs and test if new optical spectroscopic observations can reveal spectral features, allowing us to get a redshift estimate for known BL Lac objects. We also aim to search for and discover changing-look blazars (i.e., blazars that show a different classification at different epochs). We carry out an extensive search for optical spectra available in the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Data Release 5 (DR5) archive. We select sources out of the 4FGL catalog, the list of targets from our follow-up spectroscopic campaign of unidentified or unassociated γ-ray sources, and the multifrequency catalog of blazars: the Roma-BZCAT. We select a total of 392 spectra. We also compare some of the LAMOST spectra with those available in the literature. We classify 20 BCUs confirming their blazar-like nature. Then we obtain 15 new redshift estimates for known blazars. We discover 26 transitional (i.e., changing-look) blazars that changed their classification. Finally, we are able to confirm the blazar-like nature of six BL Lac candidates. All remaining sources analyzed agree with previous classifications. BL Lac objects are certainly the most elusive type of blazars in the γ-ray extragalactic sky.


Of the total amount of domestic potable water used in Perth, 43% is used for irrigation (MWA, 1985). Some people have suggested the reuse of greywater to reduce the use of potable water. Greywater is wastewater that originates from bathroom and laundry sinks, showers, and in some cases, the kitchen sink (Rose et al., 1987).

A community garden project in South Fremantle called King William Park (KWP) was begun in 1994. Part of the project involves the sub-surface irrigation of two areas in the park by greywater from two nearby houses. My project therefore involved assessing the environmental and health impacts of the greywater reuse at the park and to obtain information that could be used in other greywater reuse systems.

The first part of the project involved the characterisation of the greywater for certain chemical and biological parameters (EC, pH, TSS, BOD, P04-P, T-P, N03-N02, K-N, T-N and faecal coliforms). The reviewed literature and the characterisation showed that greywater is not the harmless product which many people believe it to be. In particular, phosphorus (P) and faecal coliform (FC) levels are very high.

The second part of the project involved the use of soil columns containing the sandy soil from KWP, the 85% red sand/15% red mud (with 5% of the red mud being gypsum) (RS-M) used in one irrigation field in KWP, and a humus (the second irrigation field contains organic matter which will form a humus in the future). Greywater was applied to the columns and tested for EC, pH, flow rate, P and FC.

The EC and pH levels of the effluent from all three soil types should not pose environmental problems for nearby waterbodies. The flow rate was reduced when greywater was added to the columns and to soil containing finer particles (RS-M). The sandy soil had minimal P removal capacity and would result in the pollution of waterbodies if used as an irrigation field. The RS-M had excellent P removal capacity and would not result in the pollution of waterbodies. The humus added P to the effluent and could not be used as an irrigation field.

The sandy soil and the RS-M mix reduced FC numbers in the greywater, and the humus often added FC's to the effluent. However, the FC numbers remaining in the effluent from all three soils was much higher than the
standards for above-ground irrigation. Although, no solid conclusions could be drawn about the FC removal capacities of the sandy soil and the RS-M until longer soil columns are used.

A batch P sorption experiment was conducted using the RS-M. This test underestimated the P removal capacity of the soil when compared to the column experiment.


A simple method for the determination of imidaclothiz residue in soil and citrus samples was established by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Imidaclothiz was extracted from soil and citrus samples using a procedure known as the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method. Experiments on 3 fortification concentrations were carried out, and the limit of determination is 1.0×10-10 g. The recoveries ranging from 80.7% to 118.9% with high correlation coefficient (r>0.99) were obtained within the linear range (0.01-1.0mg/kg). Based on the above method, we also carried out field trials. Results showed that the degradation of imidaclothiz coincided with the fitted equations Ct=0.1028e-0.0266t, Ct=0.1778e-0.0311t in soil and Ct=1.3612e-0.0632t, Ct=0.7162e-0.0968t in citrus, respectively, with the average half-lives of 24.2 d in soil and 9.1 d in citrus, respectively. The results indicate that the developed method is fast, accurate, and easy to operate. It also demonstrates that the method can meet the requirements of determination of imidaclothiz in soil and citrus.


Abstract With an increasing number of children diagnosed with Autism-Spectrum-Disorder in Canada, this paper focuses on how their mothers, as Asian immigrant women, experience the process of diagnosis and learn to parent their children. By taking two Asian (Korean and Chinese) mothers' critical personal narratives as major data sources, this paper aims to explore the diagnosis process of Autism-Spectrum-Disorder through a sociocultural lens on the intersectionality of (im)migrants and their cultural competence, and argues that their identity (re)construction and learning for parenting take place at the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and disability. This paper highlights possible implications for everyone involved in this 'medical' process, in the context of Canadian or other similar multicultural societies. Points of interest Asian immigrant mothers usually have to deal with children with Autism-Spectrum-Disorder (ASD) and they have bitter experience of mistreatment tied to race, gender and class. This study reveals how Asian immigrant mothers struggled in their integration to Canadian society as well as their experiences of denial into Canada's medical system. The stories of these two women shed lights on the social and cultural aspects of immigrant mothers' learning strategies, including how they utilize accessible resources and networks for their children's treatment and diagnosis. This paper suggests that policymakers need to consider the social and cultural aspects of diagnosis in immigrant families to better fit their needs and provide them appropriate medical and social support.


We investigated potential connections over the past 2 decades between mesoscale circulation regimes in the Ionian Sea and newly-observed species and the concurrent rise in sea temperature in the Adriatic Sea. Analyses of plankton samples from 1993 to 2011 in the southern Adriatic revealed marked changes in the non-crustacean zooplankton community. Eleven species were recorded for the first time in the Adriatic, while 3 species reappeared after years of absence. We found that pluriannual changes in the zooplankton community tracked the continuum of circulation regimes in the Northern Ionian Gyre (NIG). The occurrence of Atlantic/Western Mediterranean species coincided with anti-cyclonic circulation in the NIG, probably due to the advection of Modified Atlantic Water into the Adriatic, while the presence of Lessepsian species coincided with the cyclonic pattern, which governs the entry of Eastern Mediterranean waters. The impact has been that newcomers now make a significant contribution to the zooplankton community in the southern Adriatic and, in certain cases, have replaced native species. Our results provide new evidence of the influence of teleconnection processes between the North Atlantic and Eastern Mediterranean on the dynamics of water masses in the southern Adriatic. The synergistic effects of these processes, together with warmer Mediterranean waters, raise concerns over dramatic changes in the marine biodiversity of the Adriatic.


The objective of this study is to analyze how integrated policy, institutional, and regulatory interventions (institutional interventions in brief) can help align incentives for more sustainable water supply and sanitation (WSS) service delivery. The context for the study is the enhanced global concern about the sustainability of attempts to increase access to, and improve the quality of, WSS services, as exemplified in the sustainable development goals. Aligning institutional interventions refers to harmonization among the objectives for the sector, agreed principles established through political and social processes, and the organizations and mechanisms that implement actions based on such objectives and principles. This report focuses on the formal policy, institutional, and regulatory interventions available to and or prevalent in the water sector, recognizing the critical importance of the informal conventions that will be key factors in the success of any incentive regime. Previous global initiatives offered a range of promising technical solutions that often proved to be unsustainable. New thinking that draws not only infrastructure economics but also on the understanding of political, behavioral, and institutional economics is needed. This new thinking must be grounded within the differing contextual realities of countries globally and in lessons learned from what has or has not worked with regards to achieving specific objectives.


The consumption of food products containing high amounts of flavonoids has been reported to lower the risk of various cancers. The mechanisms underlying the cancer-protective effects of these naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds, however, remain elusive. Based on our previous finding that the cytotoxic effect of the flavanol epigallocatechin-3-gallate on prostate cancer cells correlates with its ability to inhibit fatty acid synthase (FAS, a key lipogenic enzyme overexpressed in many human cancers), we examined the anti-lipogenic effects of a panel of 18 naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds. In addition to epigallocatechin-3-gallate, five other flavonoids, more particularly luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol, apigenin, and taxifolin, also markedly inhibited cancer cell lipogenesis. Interestingly, in both prostate and breast cancer cells, a remarkable dose-response parallelism was observed between flavonoid-induced inhibition of fatty acid synthesis, inhibition of cell growth, and induction of apoptosis. In support for a role of fatty acid synthesis in these effects, the addition of exogenous palmitate, the end product of FAS, markedly suppressed the cytotoxic effects of flavonoids. Taken together, these findings indicate that the potential of flavonoids to induce apoptosis in cancer cells is strongly associated with their FAS inhibitory properties, thereby providing a new mechanism by which polyphenolic compounds may exert their cancer-preventive and antineoplastic effects.


Collagen corneal shields immersed in 13.33 mg/ml gentamycin solution for 5 minutes were placed in rabbit eyes and the gentamycin concentrations in the cornea and aqueous humor were determined with radioimmunoassay. The results were compared with those achieved by soft contact lens, subconjunctival injection, and frequent instillations. It was found that (1) 1 and 3 hours after application, the collagen corneal shield produced significantly higher concentration of gentamycin in the aqueous than did the other methods, and in the cornea than did the contact lens or instillations; and (2) 6 hours after application, the antibiotic level in the cornea dropped lower than that by subconjunctival injection, but still 15-30 times higher than the bactericidal concentration.


Introduction: Madhuka indica Gmel. (Sapotaceae) is a medium sized deciduous tree, the flowers of which are commonly known as Madhukapushpa. These wild flowers are said to possess rich source of nutrition apart from possessing many therapeutic properties. Shade dried flowers added as fermentation initiators in Asava-arishta (fermented alcoholic preparations). Hence pharmacognostic study on this flower has been designed along with its proximate analysis. Methods: Flowers collected from the authenticated trees were used for the study, after proper cleaning from extraneous matter. Macro-microscopy, physicochemical standards and nutraceutical composition studied using standard methodology. Results: Cream coloured pleasant smelling corolla; thick epidermal cuticle which packs within itself sugary, pulpy and parenchymal cellsare the characteristic Macro-microscopic features of flower respectively. Physico-chemical Standards obtained in this study will help authentication of the sample. Nutritional assessment of flowers disclosed these to be rich in both reducing sugar (31.25% w/w) and non-reducing sugar (20.625% w/w). Conclusion: Flowers of Madhuka indica Gmel. having rich pharamaceutical and nutritional benefit have investigated scientifically to record their proximate analytical value along with macro-microscopic standards. Results drawn out of this study will prove as standard parameters to authenticate the sample.


Brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHE) are used widely in heating and cooling systems, mainly for liquid-to-liquid heat transfer but also for two-phase-applications like evaporation and condensation. Using them as evaporator or condenser in a heat pump the proper performance of them strongly influences the energy efficiency of the cycle and the required amount of refrigerant. One of the most common factors affecting the performance of BPHE is the not uniform distribution of the refrigerant. This problem is especially important in the evaporator as the refrigerant enters in it in two phase flow and usually the distribution of liquid and vapor is not uniform over all the channels. This problem is very well known in the literature, and manufacturers have implemented some technical solutions like introducing distributors in the inlet port in order to minimize this effect. Nevertheless, the applied solutions usually are developed only for nominal conditions. The deviations in performance at part load conditions of the BPHE can be strong, but they are normally not known. In this contribution, an experimental analysis of the refrigerant distribution in an evaporator BPHE as a function of the inlet and outlet conditions will be presented. The BPHE has been tested and evaluated working at several inlet conditions (quality) and outlet conditions (superheat) for different temperature difference in the secondary fluid. As refrigerant propane was used, the refrigerant distribution inside the BPHE has been registered using thermography. It has been seen that: i) the flow maldistribution is present in most of the tests, ii) the quality of the refrigerant at the inlet influences the flow distribution, iii) the required superheat can have some influence, iv) the influence of the refrigerant maldistribution on evaporating temperature depends on the testing conditions resulting on a very significant degradation of the COP in some cases.


The human immune system relies on highly complex and diverse transcripts and the proteins they encode. These include transcripts for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I and II receptors which are essential for self/non-self discrimination by the immune system as well as transcripts encoding B cell and T cell receptors (BCR and TCR) which recognize, bind, and help eliminate foreign antigens. HLA genes are highly diverse within the human population with each individual possessing two of thousands of different alleles in each of the 9 major HLA genes. Determining which combination of alleles an individual possesses for each HLA gene (high-resolution HLA-typing) is essential to establish donor-recipient compatibility in organ and bone-marrow transplantations. BCR and TCR genes in turn are generated by recombining a diverse set of gene segments on the DNA level in each maturing B and T cell, respectively. This process generates adaptive immune receptor repertoires (AIRR) of composed of unique transcripts expressed by each B and T cells. These repertoires carry a vast amount of health relevant information. Both short-read RNA-seq based HLA-typing1 and adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing2–5 currently rely heavily on our incomplete knowledge of the genetic diversity at HLA6 and BCR/TCR loci7,8. Here we used our nanopore sequencing based Rolling Circle to Concatemeric Consensus (R2C2) protocol9 to generate over 10,000,000 full-length cDNA sequences at a median accuracy of 97.9%. We used this dataset to demonstrate that deep and accurate full-length cDNA sequencing can - in addition to providing isoform-level transcriptome analysis for over 9,000 loci - be used to generate accurate sequences of HLA alleles for HLA allele typing and discovery as well as detailed AIRR data for the analysis of the adaptive immune system without requiring specific knowledge of the diversity at HLA and BCR/TCR loci.


1. An Introduction to Human Evolutionary Genetics Section I: How Do We Study Genetic Variation? 2. Organization and Inheritance of the Human Genome 3. Human Genome Variation 4. Finding and Assaying Genome Diversity Section II: How Do We Interpret Genetic Variation? 5. Processes Shaping Diversity 6. Making Inferences from Diversity Section III: Where and When Did Humans Originate? 7. Humans as Apes 8. What Genetic Changes Have Made Us Human? 9. Origins of Modern Humans Section IV: How Did Humans Colonize the World? 10. The Distribution of Diversity 11. The Colonization of the Old World And Australia 12. Agricultural Expansions 13. Into New Found Lands 14. What Happens When Populations Meet? Section V: How Is An Evolutionary Perspective Helpful? 15. Understanding the Past, Present and Future of Phenotypic Variation 16. Evolutionary Insights into Simple Genetic Diseases 17. Evolution and Complex Diseases 18. Identity and Identification


Prominent among the life-long interests of the polymath diarist John Evelyn (1620–1706) were natural history and gardening. His book about trees and wood titled Sylva was first published in 1664 then expanded for subsequent editions. He made a point of identifying the uses that many of the trees served, including how their woods were used. His comments include noting that various woods had particular uses for musical instruments. This article traces and compares musical references in the four editions of Sylva published during Evelyn's lifetime, noting also his information about woods that are now used for instruments, although he did not identify such a use for them, and some other common woods. His comment that the wood of euonymus europea was used for viol bows is unprecedented in the English literature.


Abstract 2651 Background and objectives [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose - Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) is confirmed as a useful functional imaging tool for staging and response assessment in Hodgkin lymphoma and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Despite FL is accounted among FDG-avid lymphomas few studies have been performed to investigate how FDG-PET can be used in initial staging of FL patients. We conducted a retrospective analysis to investigate the role of FDG-PET in the initial staging of FL. Patients and methods The study was designed as a retrospective unplanned analysis of patients with newly diagnosed FL enrolled in the FOLL05 phase III trial (NCT00774826) and randomized to one of the three study arms (R-CVP. R-CHOP, R-FM). To be included in the study patients should have confirmed eligibility for the FOLL05 trial, have available data on clinical presentation, treatment details and results, and on follow-up. Baseline staging had to be performed with contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography (CT), with CT-PET, and with Bone Marrow (BM) biopsy. For study purposes disease extension at baseline was defined independently for both CT and PET using on local report and interpretation; only for difficult cases images were centralized and reviewed. For each exam nodal sites (NS) were counted according to the FLIPI schema. NS were considered as positive if greater than 1.5 cm in their maximum transverse diameter at CT or, using PET, if FDG avid or if they had disappeared at the end of treatment. Extranodal sites (ENS) were counted on an organ basis and were considered positive at CT in case of nodular involvement or in case of organ enlargement not otherwise justified. Extranodal involvement at PET was considered for sites showing avidity for FDG not justified by conditions other than FL. Conventional Ann Arbor (AA) staging was based on CT scan assessment only. PET and CT scan results were compared using the kappa-statistic measure of interrater agreement (IR), and the level of agreement was defined by the Koch Landis scale. Results Among 534 patients enrolled in the FOLL05 trial, 122 cases fulfilled eligibility criteria for this study. All but 2 cases were confirmed as FDG avid at PET scan; these two cases were not used for staging comparison. Median age of patients was 57 years (range 33–74), 33% were older than 60 years, 48% were males. Bone marrow biopsy was positive in 52%. Using CT, AA stage was III-IV in 77% of cases. Fifty-two percent, 36%, and 12% of cases had less 0–4, 5–8, and >8 NS, at CT, respectively. Overall CT scan allowed the identification of 48 ENS in 36 patients (30%); 2 or more ENS were described in 8 patients (6%); most frequent ENS were spleen (52%), liver (10%), skin/soft tissue (8%) and GI tract (6%). Using PET 38%, 37%, and 25% of cases had 0–4, 5–8, >8 NS, respectively. PET allowed the identification of 88 ENS in 55 patients (46%) and 2 or more ENS were found in 17 patients (14%). Most frequent ENS at PET were bone (35%), spleen (30%), GI tract (10%), and skin/soft tissue (7%). Classifying patients according to the number of NS (0–4, 5–8, >8) agreement between CT and PET was fair (IR= 61%, Kappa=0.39). Agreement between CT and PET for ENS (grouped as 0, 1, and >1) was also fair (IR= 63%, Kappa=0.31) and improved to moderate when also details on BM histology were considered (IR 82% K=0.4). When PET was used independently of CT to define AA stage a moderate agreement was achieved with CT (IR=76%, kappa= 0.58): in particular 22 cases (18%) were upstaged with PET while only 6 (5%) were downstaged; seventeen out of 25 (68%) patients were reclassified by PET as stage III-IV from a previous localized stage. Looking at FLIPI, 22%, 41%, and 37% were classified by CT as having score of 0–1, 2, and 3–5, respectively. The use of PET modified CT based FLIPI index in 26% of cases, with a substantial agreement between PET and CT (IR=74%, kappa=0.61). FLIPI2 index is not affected by the use of PET. Conclusions The results of this study confirm FL as a FDG-avid disease. The use of PET for the initial staging of patients with FL seems to provide a more accurate definition of disease extent compared with CT. The clinical usefulness of adding PET to the initial staging of FL needs to be further investigated. Disclosures: Di Raimondo: Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau.


The field of Deep Learning is rich with empirical evidence of human-like performance on a variety of regression, classification, and control tasks. However, despite these successes, the field lacks strong theoretical error bounds and consistent measures of network generalization and learned invariances. In this work, we introduce two new measures, the Gi-score and Pal-score, that capture a deep neural network's generalization capabilities. Inspired by the Gini coefficient and Palma ratio, measures of income inequality, our statistics are robust measures of a network's invariance to perturbations that accurately predict generalization gaps, i.e., the difference between accuracy on training and test sets.


In this paper we consider a weapon system that fires a laser at an interplanetary vessel. We calculate the energy required to melt through a vessel's armoured hull, of thickness 0.254 m, from a shot from a laser with a calibre of 16 inches. The energy required is found to be E = 34449 J. Using this energy, the recoil of the laser firing was calculated to be ρ = 1.15x10−4 kgms−1.


Social-emotional learning (SEL), is an umbrella term that refers to students' "acquisition of skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop care and concern for others, make responsible decisions, establish positive relationships, and handle challenging situations effectively" ("What is SEL", 2018). It has gained popularity in North America over the past two decades as schools see the need to educate students both socially and emotionally to promote responsible citizenship and personal awareness. Despite increasing belief in the importance of SEL, its implementation is still widely inconsistent (Cohen), 2006). Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine SEL as it is implemented in one particular school district in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Beaver School District, in the province of British Columbia (BC), provided the context for this study. To ensure confidentiality and anonymity of all participants and protect district identification, the school district will be called the Beaver School District from here on for the remainder of this study. This study specifically looked at how SEL has been implemented, the challenges, the practices, and the strategies used by schools to put this into practice, and why there is an inconsistency in how SEL is implemented throughout the district. . Vice-principals and principals were asked to share their feelings, impressions, and experiences on the implementation of SEL in the district. A qualitative exploratory single-case study approach was used along with a 2-level coding process to identify emerging themes and patterns. Some of the findings of this study include: specifically, how SEL is being implemented in the Beaver School District, the challenges experienced in implementation, the consistency in implementation throughout the district, and the role of principals and vice-principals in implementation. Note that all findings SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING POLICY AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN ONE BRITISH COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT ii are drawn solely off the perception of school-based principals and vice-principals expressed through semi-structured interviews. The results of this study will be shared with teachers during a professional development session and with principals at one of their monthly district meetings. It is expected that this study will aid in improving the district's strategies for SEL implementation as it continues on in


This paper studies the phenomenon of fictionalizing terrorism as a literary response to the violence paradigm within nuclear narrative from the perspective of nuclear awareness formation as a critical thinking product about the nuclear energy related issues within the Nuclear Anthropocene. Focusing on James Reich's Bombshell (2013), the paper goes beyond literary critical analysis of exploring the ways of fictionalizing the sociopolitical and psychic motives and ideas behind an act of terrorism. The paper highlights the factual component of the literary figurations of terrorism and terrorist activities in nuclear fiction, which is regarded here not only as a factor of weakening the apocalyptic rhetoric of nuclear narrative by transforming its "fabulously textual" nature, but mainly as a trigger of shaping public awareness and knowledge management on nuclear history and nuclear industry with a view to considering the possible patters of nuclear terrorism within the contemporary nuclear agenda.


In a population of 70 patients suffering from coronary heart disease (49 smokers and 21 non-smokers) intradermal tests and specific precipitation tests with four different extracts of tobacco were performed. Skin tests with tobacco extracts were positive in 41 smokers and 7 nonsmokers. In both groups the immediate and delayed type reactions were weak and of rather doubtful specificity, while the late type reaction was usually more frequent and stronger in smokers (in 14 patients it was positive with all preparations). Specific precipitins against tobacco antigens were found in the sera of 13 smokers but never in nonsmokers. The positive precipitation test correlated well with the positive late skin reactions to tobacco extracts. Such correlation with Ag 1 was observed in 9 out of 13 patients, with Ag II in four cases, with Ag IV and Ag V in 2 and 2 patients respectively. The coincidence of strongly positive late skin reactions and positive precipitation tests with tobacco extracts seems to indicate that tobacco allergy really exists and resembles, in a number of patients with coronary artery disease, type III hypersensitivity reactions to tobacco antigens. It is postulated that immune complexes of precipitins and tobacco antigens may be formed in some patients and initiate pathological processes in coronary arteries leading to their occlusion.


Introduction: In recent decades, a significant increase has been observed in the average weight of people due to fast food consumption, which increases the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Given the importance of this issue, this study was conducted to investigate the predictors of fast food consumption based on the Prototype/Willingness Model among students the School of Public Health in Rafsanjan City. Methods : In this cross-sectional study, 129 students from Rafsanjan School of Public Health were studied using the census method. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire by self-report. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS version 20 and statistical tests of correlation and regression analysis. Results : According to the Prototype/Willingness Model, the mean and standard deviations of the attitude, positive perceptions, tendencies to fast food consumption, intention to not consume fast food, and negative mental norms about fast food consumption were 13.76±3.61, 17± 4.35, 7.4 ±1.58, 6.27± 4.19, and 7± 3.11, respectively. Considering the scores of the Prototype/Willingness Model, the attitude construct had the best score with 68.8% of the total attainable score. Based on the results of the correlations, a significant positive correlation was found between the intention to avoid consuming fast food and negative subjective norms to fast food consumption. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was observed between the constructs of attitude, positive images, and willingness to fast food consumption. Linear regression analysis showed that all constructs of the studied model could predict 0.40% of the variance in the intention to avoid consuming fast food. In this regard, the negative subjective norms to fast food consumption was strongest construct. Conclusion : Subjective norm is defined as one's important individuals' belief about performing a behavior . Thus, subjective norms changes in the negative direction towards consuming fast foods is effective based on the Prototype/Willingness Model.


In this paper, I will give an interim report on a long-term project to establish the probability profiles of the key systems of the lexicogrammar of English (see Matthiessen 1995a) – systems such as taxis, logicosemantic type (clause complexes), theme, voice, mood, polarity and transitivity (clause). These profiles are based on the manual analysis of a reasonably extensive archive of texts (cf. Matthiessen 1999; Matthiessen 2002). This manual analysis and the profiles are developed by means of a workbench for doing systemic functional research developed by us in Sydney, with Wu Canzhong as the chief developer (cf. Wu 2000). At this stage, the analysis still has to be manual – the automatic analysis of large volumes of text from a varied range of registers is beyond the current reach of the systems (cf. O'Donnell 1994; Matthiessen, O'Donnell and Zeng 1991). However, certain specific aspects of certain systems can be investigated by means of automatable pattern searches in corpora. I will begin by addressing central theoretical and methodological issues (Section 2). I will then explore the quantitative patterns of the intersections of a number of systems of the clause complex and clause (Section 3), and finally I will investigate the relationship between quantitative patterns and qualitative ones (Section 4). In discussing these issues, I will also take the opportunity to illustrate some of the varied range of formats in which the data can be presented.


: The effects of homoystine derivatives upon GH and prolactin receptors which are reported to stimulate growth in the rat were investigated. Several concentrations of homocysteic acid, homocysteine, homocysteinethiolactone, homoystine as well as other amino-acids were used in GH and prolactin receptor assay systems to determine their growth promoting or the lactogenic activities. None of the aminoacids used displaced labelled hGH or ovine PRL. It os concluded that derivatives of homoystine stimulate growth by an indirect mechanism and exhibit a lack of a direct stimulation of GH and prolactin receptors.


A patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) who developed intractable hiccups and syncope due to a cervical cord lesion is reported. Previous case reports of intractable hiccups occurring in MS have all been located in the medulla oblongata. Our patient is the first case with the responsible lesion in the cervical cord. The pathophysiological mechanism of the syncopal attacks in this case were thought to be same as that of cough syncope.


The main objective of this paper is to define the fire performance of unprotected Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) floor panel by comparing available experimental results with numerical and analytical analysis. A numerical model of multi-layered CLT panel is implemented in ABAQUS using Finite Element Method (FEM), while analytical analysis based on simplified design method known as the Reduced Cross-Section Method proposed by Eurocode 5, Part 1-2. Mechanical and thermal analysis of unprotected, 5-layer CLT panels is performed to simulate bending test at ambient temperature and during fire condition. Temperature distribution within the cross-section of the slab panel has been investigated and the fire resistance of the loaded timber elements has been evaluated. The overall results obtained from the numerical and analytical analysis show level of agreement is satisfactory as compared with the experimental data. 


This paper first briefly introduces several major models that explain the emergence of judicial review in an attempt to find one that best elucidates the situation in Taiwan. Yet, owing to its particular political history, no single model can fully explain the development of judicial review in Taiwan. Rather, different models may be used to account for different stages. During the foundational stage, the Court was subservient to the authoritarian regime. During its transition stage, the Court regained authority and began to function like a court that insurance theory presupposes. Owing to the changeable political environment and the lack of an unchallengeable authority, the need for a fair and apolitical arbitrator increased, a fact which explains the increase in judicial power. Besides, political manipulation, the Court also expanded its power actively and cautiously, even when society was highly divided after 2000. In new democracies, the tendency of judicialization has provided the Court with more opportunities to intervene in political decision-making processes. Nonetheless, this may spawn unintended political conflict that threatens to damage the integrity and authority of the judiciary.


In Reply.— We agree with Le Bras and Halfon that the reported improvement in therapeutic efficacy in our study 1 may not only have been a result of the heparin nomogram, but it also could have resulted from a difference in the initial heparin dose between study patients and control patients. The comparison between nomogram and control was not randomized, and, therefore, the differences could be caused by multiple factors. We also agree that it is important for each center to develop both a standardized initial dosage for the first 6 hours and a standardized method for subsequent dose adjustments.


By always mapping data from lower dimensional space into higher or even infinite dimensional space, kernel k-means is able to organize data into groups when data of different clusters are not linearly separable. However, kernel k-means incurs the large scale computation due to the representation theorem, i.e. keeping an extremely large kernel matrix in memory when using popular Gaussian and spatial pyramid matching kernels, which largely limits its use for processing large scale data. Also, existing kernel clustering can be overfitted by outliers as well. In this paper, we introduce an Euler clustering, which can not only maintain the benefit of nonlinear modeling using kernel function but also significantly solve the large scale computational problem in kernel-based clustering. This is realized by incorporating Euler kernel. Euler kernel is relying on a nonlinear and robust cosine metric that is less sensitive to outliers. More important it intrinsically induces an empirical map which maps data onto a complex space of the same dimension. Euler clustering takes these advantages to measure the similarity between data in a robust way without increasing the dimensionality of data, and thus solves the large scale problem in kernel k-means. We evaluate Euler clustering and show its superiority against related methods on five publicly available datasets.


Cocaine is one of the most addictive drugs without a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medication. Enzyme therapy using an efficient cocaine-metabolizing enzyme is recognized as the most promising approach to cocaine overdose treatment. The actual enzyme, known as RBP-8000, under current clinical development for cocaine overdose treatment is our previously designed T172R/G173Q mutant of bacterial cocaine esterase (CocE). The T172R/G173Q mutant is effective in hydrolyzing cocaine but inactive against benzoylecgonine (a major, biologically active metabolite of cocaine). Unlike cocaine itself, benzoylecgonine has an unusually stable zwitterion structure resistant to further hydrolysis in the body and environment. In fact, benzoylecgonine can last in the body for a very long time (a few days) and, thus, is responsible for the long-term toxicity of cocaine and a commonly used marker for drug addiction diagnosis in pre-employment drug tests. Because CocE and its mutants are all active against cocaine and inactive against benzoylecgonine, one might simply assume that other enzymes that are active against cocaine are also inactive against benzoylecgonine. Here, through combined computational modeling and experimental studies, we demonstrate for the first time that human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is actually active against benzoylecgonine, and that a rationally designed BChE mutant can not only more efficiently accelerate cocaine hydrolysis but also significantly hydrolyze benzoylecgonine in vitro and in vivo. This sets the stage for advanced studies to design more efficient mutant enzymes valuable for the development of an ideal cocaine overdose enzyme therapy and for benzoylecgonine detoxification in the environment.


Histone deacetylases inhibitors (HDACi) include a growing number of drugs that share the ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity of some or all the HDACs. Experimental and preclinical evidence indicates that these epigenetic drugs not only can be effective in the treatment of malignancies, inflammatory diseases and degenerative disorders, but also in the treatment of genetic diseases, such as muscular dystrophies. The ability of HDACi to counter the progression of muscular dystrophies points to HDACs as a crucial link between specific genetic mutations and downstream determinants of disease progression. It also suggests the contribution of epigenetic events to the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies. Here we describe the experimental evidence supporting the key role of HDACs in the control of the transcriptional networks underlying the potential of dystrophic muscles either to activate compensatory regeneration or to undergo fibroadipogenic degeneration. Studies performed in mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) indicate that dystrophin deficiency leads to deregulated HDAC activity, which perturbs downstream networks and can be restored directly, by HDAC blockade, or indirectly, by reexpression of dystrophin. This evidence supports the current view that HDACi are emerging candidate drugs for pharmacological interventions in muscular dystrophies, and reveals unexpected common beneficial outcomes of pharmacological treatment or gene therapy.