The effect of crystal orientation on the dynamic response of single-crystal copper is explored by using a molecular dynamics method with a realistic embedded atom potential. Three crystallographic orientations ([1 0 0], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1]) along which the shock waves propagate are investigated. For each orientation, an initial vacancy concentration (Cv) ranging from 0% to 2% is introduced to also take the effect of vacancy defects into consideration. The simulations characterize the defective Cu system in terms of shock Hugoniot behavior, local microstructure evolution and spall strength during the shock wave propagation. The shock wave is applied by pulling a layer of piston atoms at a velocity of 0.25–2 km s−1 with the Hugoniot pressure ranging from 15 to 120 GPa. The simulation results show that shock responses and the role of vacancy defects are strongly anisotropic for the three orientations investigated. For shock along the [1 0 0] orientation, vacancy defects have a negligible effect on the shock Hugoniot curve us–up relationship, but play a role in increasing spall damage. In contrast, for shock along the [1 1 0] and [1 1 1] orientations, vacancy defects not only significantly reduce the anisotropic level of us–up relationships, but also significantly decrease spall damage. Based on this, the orientation-dependent effects of vacancy defects on spallation strength and spall damage are analyzed by examining the defective evolution of single-crystal copper microstructure.


Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection of the central nervous system (CNS) induces a chronic, progressive demyelinating disease in susceptible mouse strains characterized by inflammatory mononuclear infiltrates and spastic hind limb paralysis. Our lab has previously demonstrated a critical role for TMEV- and myelin-specific CD4+ T cells in initiating and perpetuating this pathology. It has however, also been shown that the MHC class I loci are associated with susceptibility/resistance to TMEV infection and persistence. For this reason, we investigated the contribution of CD8+ T cells to the TMEV-induced demyelinating pathology in the highly susceptible SJL/J mouse strain. Here we show that β2M-deficient SJL mice have similar disease incidence rates to wild-type controls, however β2M-deficient mice demonstrated earlier onset of clinical disease, elevated in vitro responses to TMEV and myelin proteolipid (PLP) epitopes, and significantly higher levels of CNS demyelination and macrophage infiltration at 50 days post-infection. β2M-deficient mice also displayed a significant elevation in persisting viral titers, as well as an increase in macrophage-derived pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in the spinal cord at this same time point. Taken together, these results indicate that CD8+ T cells are not required for clinical or histologic disease initiation or progression in TMEV-infected SJL mice. Rather, these data stress the critical role of CD4+ T cells in this capacity and further emphasize the potential for CD8+ T cells to contribute to protection from TMEV-induced demyelination.


Amid the mass of jazz scholarship which still concentrates on the most famous architects of the music (Parker, Davis, Coltrane etc) it is all too easy to overlook the contributions of less recorded and commercially successful artists.  Ted Brown, tenor saxophonist and former student of pianist / educator Lennie Tristano, is such a player.  Never quite as successful or well known as fellow Tristano students Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, Brown nonetheless participated fully in the musical culture that grew up around Tristano's Manhattan studio.  A unique and melodic improviser and composer who contributed several tunes to the Tristano canon, Brown managed to reach the highest levels of jazz performance while simultaneously working a full-time day job.  An examination of his musical life lends insight into what Nat Hentoff called 'the jazz life', as well as into the practical application of Tristano's pedagogical methods.  A talented artist with a decidedly unique story, Ted Brown serves to remind us that some of the most interesting voices of jazz can be of those few people recognize.


BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation are ideally extubated upon case completion, as prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation (PPMV) has been associated with poor outcomes. However, some patients require PPMV for surgical reasons, such as airway compromise, while others remain intubated at the discretion of the anesthesia provider. Incidence and risk factors for discretionary PPMV (DPPMV) have been described in individual surgical subspecialties and intensive care unit (ICU) populations, but are relatively understudied in a broad surgical cohort. The present study seeks to fill this gap and identify the perioperative risk factors that predict DPPMV. METHODS: After obtaining institutional review board (IRB) exemption, existing electronic health record databases at our large referral center were retrospectively queried for adult surgeries performed between January 2018 and December 2020 with general anesthesia, endotracheal intubation, and by surgical services that do not routinely leave patients intubated for surgical reasons. Patients who arrived to the ICU intubated after surgery were identified as experiencing DPPMV. Selection of candidate risk factors was performed with LASSO-regularized logistic regression, and surviving variables were used to generate a multivariable logistic regression model of DPPMV risk. RESULTS: A total of 32,915 cases met inclusion criteria, of which 415 (1.26%) experienced DPPMV. Compared to extubated patients, those with DPPMV were more likely to have undergone emergency surgery (42.9% versus 3.4%; P < .001), surgery during an existing ICU stay (30.8% versus 2.8%; P < 0.001), and have 20 of the 31 elixhauser comorbidities (P < .05 for each comparison), among other differences. A risk model with 12 variables, including American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical classification status, emergency surgery designation, four Elixhauser comorbidities, surgery during an existing ICU stay, surgery duration, estimated number of intraoperative handoffs, and vasopressor, sodium bicarbonate, and albuterol administration, yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.96–0.97) for prediction of DPPMV. CONCLUSIONS: DPPMV was uncommon in this broad surgical cohort but could be accurately predicted using readily available patient-specific and operative factors. These results may be useful for preoperative risk stratification, postoperative resource allocation, and clinical trial planning.


Based on his experience of treatment of more than 5000 diabetic patients with surgical diseases, the author describes basic principles of management of these patients before, during and after operation. Combined treatment is based on compensation of diabetes, fluid-and-electrolyte balance and acid-base equilibrium. Blood glucose before operation must be limited to 8.3-8.7 mmol/l, ketoacidosis must be absent. During 3-4 days after operation doses of insulin must increase from 0.4-0.5 to 0.8-0.9 U/kg. Energy value of the diet must be not less than 9375-10,450 kJ bearing in mind glucose administered intravenously. Choice of the anesthetic method which has the least negative influence on carbohydrate metabolism and hemostasis as a whole is analyzed. Diabetic patients with surgical diseases can be operated with favourable outcome only in compensated diabetes and balanced homeostasis.


Based on global positioning system (GPS) technology and differential equation algorithms, a new approach to live line measuring of the inductance parameters of transmission lines with mutual inductance is proposed. The principles and mathematical model of the new method are explained in detail. Data processing by least square algorithm is introduced. To take into account the influence of distributed capacitance of transmission lines, a modified mathematical model is introduced. The hardware structure of the measuring system is given and real-time digital simulator (RTDS) experimental results validate the accuracy of the test system. Finally, an example of live line measuring two 220-kV transmission lines with mutual inductances is given. A comparison of measurement results between the differential equation method and the conventional method is also shown.


This study was done to investigate the influence of irrigation intervals and cultivars on growth, flowering and fruits qualities of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). The experiment was conducted using Randomize Complete Block Design (RCBD) in Split-Plot Design at the vegetable field, Department of Horticulture and Gardening Landscape, College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Iraq. Two cultivars of okra were used: Local investigated (V1) and Copra cultivar (V2). The irrigation was done every 3 (T1), 5 (T2) and 7 days (T3) or irrigation depends on plants need (T4). The cultivars were used as main factor and irrigation intervals as subfactor. The local cultivar showed a significant increase in (V1) in the time of flowering initiation, no. of flowers/plant, and fruits total soluble solids (TSS), while copra cultivar gave a significant increase in the no. of branches/plant, no. of leaves/plant and the fruit length. There are no significant influences between cultivars in plant height, the fruit diameter, dry matter % and fruit firmness. Irrigation every 3 days (T1) positively affected the growth parameter and thus enhanced the flowering initiation, the flower initiation, and increased fruit diameter and fruit firmness. The irrigation every 5 days (T2) increased the number of flowers and the length of fruits, while the irrigation every 7 days (T3) influenced the fruit dry matter percentage and TSS. The interaction between the experimental factors was significant in all the studied parameters.

 Key words: Okra, irrigation intervals, vegetative growth, flowering, total soluble solids (TSS), dry matter %.


The research presented in this paper was carried out in the western part of Romania, on the administrative territory of Arad County, in Halmagiu commune. The use of drones in the field of geospatial science is currently very demanding due to its relatively light operation and relatively affordable cost compared to satellite systems, especially high resolution images. In the last decade, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as remote sensing platforms has become more and more popular for a wide range of disciplines and scientific applications. At present, many photogrammetric mapping methods have used drones to retrieve and record data on objects on the earth. Starting from the above considerations, the use of the drones in the "scientific exploitation" of the areas used as meadows is justified and appropriate. Conceptually and practically, this study seeks to quantify the process of reducing the useful area for feeding a meadow in time and space, using UAV technology and satellite imagery, by achieving three main objectives: Surface exploration through UAV technology, setting spatial-temporal evolution and cause-effect analysis. In the case of this study, a flight with the DJI Phantom 4 Pro equipment was performed, and the image processing was done with the Agisoft PhotoScan Professional software. The comparative analysis was done in the GIS environment, by overlapping and marking the negative changes occurring in the meadow analyzed over the course of four years. Between 2014 and 2018, the useful area of the analyzed meadow was reduced by 21.1%, from 5.83 ha to 4.60 ha, mainly due to two natural phenomena: the extension of the bushes and hence the afforestation and hydrological changes on the course of Crisului Alb, associated with erosion phenomena. Orthophoto and geospatial data from aerial photographs are particularly useful in other types of analysis: vegetation studies, topo-cadastral measurements, 3D modeling, land planning, hydrological studies, etc.


This work presents a detailed investigation of the energy-transfer and dissociation mechanisms in N2(X1Σg+) + O(3P) and NO(X2Π) + N(4S) systems using rovibrational-specific quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) and master equation analyses. The complete set of state-to-state kinetic data, obtained via QCT, allows for an in-depth investigation of the Zel'dovich mechanism leading to the formation of NO molecules at microscopic and macroscopic scales. The master equation analysis demonstrates that the low-lying vibrational states of N2 and NO have dominant contributions to the NO formation and the corresponding extinction of N2 through the exchange process. For the considered temperature range, it is found that nearly 50% of the dissociation processes for N2 and NO molecules occur in the quasi-steady-state (QSS) regime, while for the Zel'dovich reaction, the distribution of the reactants does not reach the QSS conditions. Furthermore, using the QSS approximation to model the Zel'dovich mechanism leads to overestimating NO production by more than a factor of 4 in the high-temperature range. The breakdown of this well-known approximation has profound consequences for the approaches that heavily rely on the validity of QSS assumption in hypersonic applications. Finally, the investigation of the rovibrational state population dynamics reveals substantial similarities among different chemical systems for the energy-transfer and the dissociation processes, providing promising physical foundations for the use of reduced-order strategies in other chemical systems without significant loss of accuracy.


The recently developed SOGGA11 and M11-L density functionals have been tested for the prediction of bandgaps and lattice constants by comparing to databases containing 31 bandgaps and 34 lattice constants. To make a comparative assessment we also test several other density functionals against the same databases; in particular, we test the local spin density approximation, PBE, PBEsol, SOGGA, TPSS, revTPSS, and M06-L local density functionals and the HSE screened-exchange hybrid nonlocal density functional; and for a subset of 13 lattice constants we also compare the mean errors to those of the AM05 and WC local density functionals and the HISS and HSEsol nonlocal density functionals. The tests show that, of the ten functionals tested against all 65 data, the SOGGA, PBEsol, and HSE functionals are the most accurate for lattice constants, whereas the HSE, M11-L, and M06-L density functionals are the most accurate for bandgaps. However, the SOGGA11 density functional is the most accurate generalized gradient approximation for bandgaps.


C125 Introduction: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP1) is a critical enzyme of cell proliferation and DNA repair. Inhibition of PARP1 leads to apoptosis in BRCA1and BRCA2 deficient tumor cells and can facilitate the response to alkylating agents. Several PARP inhibitors are in clinical trials. We investigated PARP1 gene expression in major human primary cancers and corresponding morphologically normal tissues in order to direct clinical trial efforts toward cancers that over-express the PARP-1 enzyme.
 Experimental design: We used the Gene Logic BioExpress® System database to analyze PARP1 expression in human ovarian, breast, uterine, lung and prostate tumor samples in comparison to normal counterpart tissues. Gene expression was assessed on Affymetrix HU133AB microarrays and over-expression was defined by using a 95% upper confidence limit (UCL) calculated from the normal sample distribution for each tissue type. Samples from cancer subtypes were individually tested relative to the UCL and results tallied. In addition, PARP1 correlation with other genes was investigated across these sample sets.
 Results: The expression of PARP1 was above the 95% UCL of the corresponding normal tissue distribution in 75% of all ovarian cancers (n=64;nl=88), 66% of infiltrating ductal breast cancers (n=169;nl=68), 25% of uterine cancers (n=50;nl=23) and 75% of lung cancers (n=85;nl=122). In contrast prostate cancer (n=57;nl=57) demonstrated minimal PARP1 overexpression. Correlation analysis identified genes that are co-regulated with PARP1 that are involved in DNA repair, cell cycle and cell metabolism pathways.
 Conclusions: If PARP1 gene over-expression defines increased responsiveness to PARP1 inhibition, then these results imply that a substantial fraction of patients with cancer of the breast, ovary, uterus and lung would be rational candidates for therapy with a PARP inhibitor. These observations have been incorporated into the design of the clinical development of BSI-201, a novel PARP inhibitor.


In this paper, a singing evaluation approach based on pitch and rhythm accuracy is proposed. A comparative study was first carried out between speech and singing voice, which demonstrated the characteristic of consonant and vowel in singing voice. A phoneme boundary detector was adopted to perform note segmentation in a high time resolution by using characteristics of consonant and vowel. As for singing skill evaluation, relative pitch interval between reference score and actual sung pitch was adopted to estimate pitch deviation while difference between absolute position and expected position of beats served as rhythm consistency measure. Experiments on a solfege corpus demonstrated a noticeable improvement in the performance of onset detection. A detailed subjective evaluation showed great consistency between the proposed evaluation approach and experts' judgment.


Herein, a simple and feasible electrochemical immunosensing method for simultaneous voltammetric detection of two immunoglobulin proteins, human IgG (HIgG) and rabbit IgG (RIgG), was developed using two distinguishable signal-generation tags on the same electrode. The immunosensor was prepared by immobilizing two Fab antibody fragments on a gold electrode. After this, Cu and Cd nanocrystals, as nanotags, were synthesized and functionalized with identical detection antibodies. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to characterize the Cu and Cd nanocrystals. The covalently modified electrode with the Fab antibody fragments through the Au-thiolate bond (to dispel the non-specific adsorption) was investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After the sandwiched immunoreaction, the antibody-modified nanocrystals were captured on the immunosensor, which could be interrogated in pH 3.5 HCl using square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Experimental results also indicated that the multiplexed immunoassay enabled the simultaneous detection of HIgG and RIgG in a single run with the similar linear range from 0.01 to 10 ng mL-1, and the limits of detection (LODs) towards two analytes could be as low as 3.4 pg mL-1 (at 3σ). Acceptable assay results on precision, reproducibility, specificity, and method accuracy were also acquired. Importantly, the newly designed strategy avoided cross-talk and enzymatic introduction as compared to conventional electrochemical immunoassays, thus exhibiting a promising potential in clinical applications.


Abstract. The well established technique of gas chromatography is used to investigate interactions of sulfur dioxide with a crystalline ice film in a fused silica wide bore column. Peak shape analysis of SO2 chromatograms measured in the temperature range 205–265 K is applied to extract parameters describing a combination of three processes: (i) physisorption of SO2 at the surface, (ii) dissociative reaction with water and (iii) slow uptake into bulk ice. Process (ii) is described by a dissociative Langmuir isotherm. The pertinent monolayer saturation capacity is found to increase with temperature. The impact of process (iii) on SO2 peak retention time is found to be negligible under our experimental conditions.By analyzing binary chromatograms of hydrophobic n-hexane and hydrophilic acetone, the premelt surface layer is investigated in the temperature range 221–263 K, possibly giving rise to irregular adsorption. Both temperature dependencies fit simple van't Hoff equations as expected for process (i), implying that irregular adsorption of acetone is negligible in the investigated temperature range. Adsorption enthalpies of −45 ± 5 and −23±2 kJ mol−1 are obtained for acetone and n-hexane.The motivation of our study was to assess the vertical displacement of SO2 and acetone in the wake of aircraft by adsorption on ice particles and their subsequent sedimentation. Our results suggest that this transport mechanism is negligible.


Vanadate has been shown to inhibit tyrosine phosphatase, leading to an increased tyrosine phosphorylation state. The latter has been demonstrated to be involved in the signal transduction pathway of ischemic preconditioning, the most potent endogenous mechanism to limit myocardial infarct size. Furthermore, there is evidence that phosphatase inhibition may be cardioprotective when given late after the onset of ischemia, but the mechanism of protection is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that the organic vanadate compound bis(maltolato)oxovanadium (BMOV) limits myocardial infarct size by attenuating reperfusion injury and investigated the underlying mechanism. Myocardial infarction was produced in 112 anesthetized rats by a 60-min coronary artery occlusion, and infarct size was determined histochemically after 180 min of reperfusion. Intravenous infusion of BMOV in doses of 3.3, 7.5, and 15 mg/kg i.v. decreased infarct size dose-dependently from 70 ± 2% of the area at risk in vehicle-treated rats down to 41 ± 5% (P < 0.05 versus control), when administered before occlusion. Administration of the low dose just before reperfusion was ineffective, but administration of the higher doses was equally cardioprotective as compared with administration before occlusion. The cardioprotection by BMOV was abolished by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein and by the ATP-sensitive potassium (K+ATP) channel blocker glibenclamide but was not affected by the ganglion blocker hexamethonium. We conclude that BMOV afforded significant cardioprotection principally by limiting reperfusion injury. The mode of action appears to be by opening of cardiac K+ATP channels via increased tyrosine phosphorylation.


This thesis consists of three essays on the economics of ramping rate restrictions at hydro power plants. The first essay examines the impact of ramping rate restrictions imposed on hydro operations to protect aquatic ecosystems. A dynamic optimization model of the profit maximizing decisions of a hydro operator is solved for various restrictions on water flow, using data for a representative hydro operation in Ontario. Profits are negatively affected, but for a range of restrictions the impact is not large. Ramping restrictions cause a redistribution of hydro production over a given day, which can result in an increase in total hydro power produced. This affects the need for power from other sources with consequent environmental impacts.

The second essay uses a real options approach to study the impact of ramping rate restrictions on hydro power plants. We consider the effect on profits from electricity generation in order to inform policy decisions about ramping rate restrictions. A novelty of the essay is in examining the optimal operation of a prototype hydro power plant with electricity prices modelled as a regime switching process. We show that profits are negatively affected by ramping restrictions. Interestingly for a large range of restrictions, profit is not sensitive to ramping restrictions. The results point to the importance of accurately modelling electricity prices in gauging the trade offs involved in imposing restrictions on hydro operators which may hinder their ability to respond to volatile electricity prices and meet peak demands.

The third essay investigates the impact of ramping rate restrictions on hydro power plants using a three regimes model with multiple jump sizes. We consider how the multiple jump sizes among these three regimes affect the impact of ramping restrictions on the prototype hydro power plant. The numerical experiments provide further evidence that ramping restrictions have a larger impact when the expected variation in price is increased such as through an increase in the jump size which makes it desirable to change water release rates relatively frequently.

In both non-stochastic and stochastic settings, these three essays have highly consistent results on the impact of ramping restrictions on the hydro station's profit. We observe profits are significantly affected (by less than 7% in essay one, by less than 10% in essay two, and by less than 9% in essay three) in the case of the most severe ramping constraints, but we also observe a range of less severe ramping restrictions over which profits are not substantially affected (by less than 2% in essay one, by less than 3% in essay two, and by less than 2% in essay three). Results from this thesis should facilitate the implementation of ramping rate restrictions for environmental and economic benefits.


This thesis reports the selective oxidation of alkyl aromatic substrates under mild 'green' conditions, with a particular emphasis on developing alternatives to established gold-based catalysts. Three alkyl aromatics were chosen for investigation: toluene, ethylbenzene and 2-ethylnapthalene; so differences due to increased alkyl chain length and extended aromaticity could be explored.
The oxidation of toluene using tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) was carried out with a ruthenium-palladium catalyst. This catalyst was found to be highly active, more so than a gold-palladium equivalent, and further optimised in terms of molar ratio of Ru : Pd, wt.% metal loading, reducing temperature and support material. The resulting catalyst was found to be reusable with little loss of conversion, though selectivity changed significantly. This was the case despite notable metal leaching. Finally, the catalyst was explored via experiments varying substrate : metal molar ratio and time-on-line studies, revealing unusual behaviour.
The ruthenium-palladium catalyst was also applied to the oxidation of 2-ethylnapthalene with tBHP. Extensive comparisons were drawn between this catalyst and gold-palladium equivalents. Sol immobilisation, conventional impregnation and modified impregnation were tested as preparation methods. Once again, the ruthenium-palladium bimetallic catalyst proved to be more active than the gold-palladium, even at very low wt.% loadings.
Finally, an iron-palladium catalyst was applied to the oxidation of ethylbenzene with molecular oxygen. High molar ratios of substrate : metal were explored, and conversion found to be highly dependent on this factor. The catalyst was optimised in terms of molar ratio of Fe : Pd, wt.% metal loading, preparation method and reducing temperature. The resulting iron-palladium catalyst achieved activity exceeding that of gold-palladium in similar conditions. This activity was attributed to radical chemistry, explored via studies with initiators and scavengers.


In this work we present a time-lapsed confocal microscopy image analysis technique for an automated gene expression study of multiple single living cells. Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a technology by which molecule-to-molecule interactions are visualized. We analyzed a dynamic series of ~102 images obtained using confocal microscopy of fluorescence in yeast cells containing RNA reporters that give a FRET signal when the gene promoter is activated. For each time frame, separate images are available for three spectral channels and the integrated intensity snapshot of the system. A large number of time-lapsed frames must be analyzed to identify each cell individually across time and space, as it is moving in and out of the focal plane of the microscope. This makes it a difficult image processing problem. We have proposed an algorithm here, based on scale-space technique, which solves the problem satisfactorily. The algorithm has multiple directions for even further improvement. The ability to rapidly measure changes in gene expression simultaneously in many cells in a population will open the opportunity for real-time studies of the heterogeneity of genetic response in a living cell population and the interactions between cells that occur in a mixed population, such as the ones found in the organs and tissues of multicellular organisms.


Three high-power excimer laser systems with apertures of 25 and 40 cm of the output laser beam are described. The first and second laser systems consist of four and five excimer lasers, respectively. Third system consists of Ti:Sa front end and XeF(C-A) ampli - fier. The experimental results of the generation of the high-quality and high-power laser pulses are presented. Laser beams with pulse energy of up to 330 J (308 nm, 250 ns) and peak power 14 TW (450 nm, 50 fs) were obtained.


ABSTRACT This article uses the author's original concept of social anchoring, referring to the processes of finding significant footholds which enable migrants to acquire socio-psychological stability and security and function effectively in new life settings, to theorise adaptation and 'settlement' mechanisms that are utilised by migrants. Drawing on interviews and questionnaires with 40 Polish migrants in the U.K., autobiographical research and material from Internet blogs and forums, it focuses on processes playing a vital role in connecting migrants to British society and the mechanisms of developing them in social anchors. This article presents a more comprehensive approach to 'settlement' (understood as a state of stability) than the integration approach and adds to the prevalent understanding of adaptation. It moves our thinking beyond the concepts of identity and integration as well as linking the issues of adaptation, security and stability, highlighting, on the one hand, the psychological and emotional aspects of adaptation and 'settlement' and, on the other hand, tangible footholds and structural constraints. Its significance lies in the fact that it allows for complexity, variety, simultaneity and changeability of anchoring and the reverse processes of unanchoring to be included, thus helping in the analysis of increasingly complex, superdiverse and 'fluid' societies.


The results of this study provide the first baseline for predicting Db from soil properties for soils across the Amazon basin. Bulk density values are needed to convert nutrient content and organic carbon (OC) content to weight of nutrient and OC per unit area; unfortunately, common field methods to measure Db are limited with regard to reliable, complete, and uniform soil data. Much effort has been made in finding alternative solutions to predict Db from soil properties. We hypothesized that Db could be reliably estimated by multiple regression of OC, soil textural properties, and some chemical properties. Using the data of 323 soil horizons from the Brazilian Amazon basin, a stepwise multiple regression (SMR) procedure was developed to predict Db from other soil properties. Multiple regression relationships were obtained for all the data, which were also partitioned by layer and then by main soil order: Latossolos (Oxisols, 62 horizons) and Podzolicos (Alfisols and Ultisols, 212 horizons). The SMR on all the data showed that clay content is the best predictor of Db, accounting for 37% of the variation. Adding OC content increased the explained variance up to nearly 50%. Predictions of the moilels were improved when the data were partitioned by order and by horizon type. In the case of Latossolos (Oxisols), the use of OC and clay content as predictors increased the percentage of explained variation, reaching 71% using all layers and 79% for A horizons. The results of this study will provide a basis for estimating OC stocks in the Amazon basin.


Background The use of medical simulation training has grown dramatically in the last 10 years but data on its prevalence in training is lacking. Aims The objective of this study is to determine whether junior neonatal doctors receive simulation training. Methods: 158 NICU Registrars in England and Wales completed a phone questionnaire. 23 locum respondents were excluded from analysis. Results When asked where simulation training took place; 66.9% had received simulation training. 42.2% had training in their NICU only, 13.3% had training in a simulation centre only, and 10.3% had training in both NICU and a simulation centre. Of this 42.7% was low fidelity, 38.2% was high fidelity and 15.7% was a mix. All training recipients reported it helped their clinical practice. The prevalence of simulation training was highest in London with 90%receiving training, followed by the Northern region with 73.3%, Wales with 58%, and the South East and the South West regions both with only 50%. Simulation training occurred in 76.5% of the level 3 NICUs compared to only 58.4% of the level 1 NICUs. Discussion Simulation training is an essential adjunct to doctors' training recommended by the DoH and RCPCH. Here we report that a third of junior neonatal doctors across England and Wales are not offered any clinically beneficial simulation training, and this figure depends on hospital location and NICU level. A large proportion of junior doctors are therefore inadequately prepared for acute emergencies. Conclusions The authors recommend that all NICUs schedule simulation training for the junior doctors.


Typing of meningococci with a panel of serotype and subtype specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) was compared in co-agglutination, dot-blotting and ELISA tests. Twenty reference strains, 50 case isolates and 133 throat isolates from healthy carriers were studied. The typing results with dot-blotting and ELISA were identical, whereas co-agglutination gave different results for three case and 24 carrier strains. The distribution of serotypes and subtypes among the strains is reported. The combination of the subtypes P1.1 and P1.15 in a serotype 15 patient strain was observed. With one case strain and 15 carrier strains, neither serotype nor subtype could be determined. Non-typable and non-subtypable isolates were further characterised by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Co-agglutination is useful for typing small numbers of strains with a few MAbs, but less suitable for large-scale typing than the other two methods. Dot-blotting needs less expensive equipment, smaller volumes of antibodies and fewer manipulations than ELISA.


In this thesis, new Holocene palaeoclimate information from speleothems is presented from three regions (central Peloponnese Greece, south west Turkey and the eastern forelands of the Zagros Mountains, Iran) where the spatial distribution of Holocene climate records is low. This study uses a multi-proxy approach with particular emphasis on petrography and stable isotope analysis. Holocene growth of stalagmite KTR-2 (11,900 yr BP to 6700 yr BP) from Limnon Cave in the central Peloponnese is broadly coincident with the formation of Sapropel 1. The early Holocene was generally wetter than at present. A record of the 8.2 kyr event was obtained from KTR-2 using high resolution trace element ICP-MS and micromilled stable isotope samples. Arid conditions are implied by δ18O and trace elements, with aridity probably beginning ~9000 yr BP. δ13C data suggests precipitation may have been strongly seasonal during the 8.2 kyr event.
Distinct grey coloured layers in HY-8, a stalagmite from Sirtlanini Cave, SW Turkey, represent fire events occurring above the cave; there is however, no suggestion that the fires occurred during periods of relatively enhanced aridity. The palaeoclimate record spans ~5600 yr BP to the present day, but does not indicate any significant long term reduction in precipitation. The HY-8 δ18O record suggests the 4.2 kyr anomaly was a two-step aridity event occurring between 4290 and 3850 yr BP. A distinct pluvial event from 4890-4290 yr BP is also recorded by δ18O, as is evidence for the Little Ice Age (630-280 yr BP).
The Holocene section of stalagmite KT-3, from the eastern forelands of the Zagros Mountains in Iran, grew from 9400 yr BP to present. The early Holocene until ~7000 yr BP was wetter than the present day. Multiple proxies show falling precipitation amounts from ~7000 yr BP, plateauing from ~3000 yr BP to present. There is very little short term fluctuation in δ18O but the overall trend has a profile similar to the decline of solar insolation in the Holocene, which appears to be responsible for the long term reduction in winter precipitation. In KT-3, the correlation between Ba/Ca and δ13C fluctuations might be a more sensitive indicator of moisture. A significant positive δ13C excursion could be recording the 8.2 kyr event.
Additionally, this thesis presents a specific petrographic study from two different, but discontinuously grown, Turkish stalagmites. These stalagmites grew very differently and within different epochs. Petrography has been used to interpret and relate fabrics to their environment of formation and identified micro-dissolution as a prominent feature of growth. A link between these micro-dissolution events and stratigraphically inverted U-series dates is proposed.


Pulseshaping is important in high energy pulsed fiber MOPA system to mitigate non-linear effects and optimize the processing of different materials. However, pulseshaping is greatly limited by the spectral features of the semiconductor seed source commonly used as the master oscillator. Through the appropriate design of an external fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and adequate current modulation, the spectrum of the fiber-coupled seed laser was broadened to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering occurring in the amplifier chain and the central emission wavelength and bandwidth were controlled. Pulseshaping is also quickly limited by the saturation energy and doping level of standard aluminosilicate ytterbium doped fibers used in the power amplifier even with large core diameter. Co-doping the fiber with phosphorus greatly increases the saturation energy of the system, which gives smoother pulseshape and significantly lower stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). It is shown that going from 1060 nm to longer emission wavelength at 1090 nm with this fiber increases further the pulseshaping capabilities and reduces SRS. The phosphorus codoping also allows higher ytterbium doping level without photo-degradation, which decreases nonlinear effects generation during the amplification while giving more flexible pump wavelength choice and efficiency.


A multicomponent towed streamer measures both pressure and the particle velocity vector. The particle velocity vector enables us to calculate the 3D upgoing wavefield at any desired position within the aperture of the seismic spread and this allows improving not only the temporal bandwidth by removing ghost notches, but also the spatial bandwidth. However, particle motion sensors measure streamer-borne noise with amplitudes typically several orders of magnitude stronger than the corresponding noise recorded by hydrophones at frequencies below about 20 Hz. Therefore, stronger noise attenuation for particle velocity data is needed at these frequencies. In this paper, we introduce a multiscale noise attenuation algorithm that provides a high-fidelity particle motion measurement at frequencies down to 3 Hz.


The work investigated as nurses assistencia is of an Unit of Intensive Therapy use her time during execution of their activities and which strategies use for you accomplish them. It is a study exploratory, descriptive, accomplished in a public institution in the city of Fortaleza/CE. THE research happened from February to April of 2004. The used instruments were an interview and a check list. The data were presented in illustrations. The speeches were read, interpreted tends referencial theoretical literatures about administration of the time. We noticed that the nurses don't take advantage her time appropriately, they tell be overloaded always and accomplishing bureaucratic tasks that they don't compete them. They delegate tasks to the auxiliaries, for us to develop their activities in the work day. However, it is necessary a personnel redimensionamento for improvement of the nursing attendance.


Eukaryotic genome consists of long linear chromosomes. It is complex in its content and has dynamic features. It mostly consists of non-coding DNA of various repeats, often prone to recombination including creation of extrachromosomal DNA which can be re-integrated into distant parts of the genome, often in different chromosome. These events are usually part of normal genome function enabling molecular response to changes in the cell or organism's environment and enabling their evolutionary development as well. These mechanisms also contribute to genome instability as in the case of abnormal immortalization like in cancer cells. Telomeres are among most important repetitive sequences, located at the end of linear chromosomes. They serve as guardians of genome stability but they also have dynamic features playing important role in cell aging and immortalization, both as chromosomal components or as extrachromosomal DNA. Also, recombination events on telomeres provide plausible explanation for stochastic nature of cell senescence, a phenomenon unjustly overlooked in broader literature.


In this paper, the authors provide an analytical expression of the mean square error (MSE) and the bit error rate (BER) lower bound of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signal transmission over a multipath Rayleigh channel considering estimation errors. For some pilot arrangements, an interpolation is required to perform the channel estimation. Owing to their low complexity, polynomial based interpolations are usually applied at the receiver, which induces estimation and signal errors. Based on a statistical analysis of these errors, the exact MSE expression of the channel estimation is provided. Furthermore, with a geometrical study of the constellation, an analytical BER limit is derived. For a given channel, it is shown that the errors are perfectly characterised by the interpolation method and the frequency gap between the pilot tones. All the steps of the analytical developments are validated through simulations. The proposed analysis then predicts the performance of the receiver, thus enabling the latter to a priori select the interpolation method with minimum complexity, according to a given channel and a BER target.


A vehicle stability enhancement control algorithm for a four-wheel-drive hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is proposed using rear motor driving, regenerative braking control, and electrohydraulic brake (EHB) control. A fuzzy-rule-based control algorithm is proposed, which generates the direct yaw moment to compensate for the errors of the sideslip angle and yaw rate. Performance of the vehicle stability control algorithm is evaluated using ADAMS and MATLAB Simulink cosimulations. HEV chassis elements such as the tires, suspension system, and steering system are modeled to describe the vehicle's dynamic behavior in more detail using ADAMS, whereas HEV power train elements such as the engine, motor, battery, and transmission are modeled using MATLAB Simulink with the control algorithm. It is found from the simulation results that the driving and regenerative braking at the rear motor is able to provide improved stability. In addition, better performance can be achieved by applying the driving and regenerative braking control, as well as EHB control.


The nature of security challenges in Africa being inextricably linked with a deficient security sector, Security Sector Reform (SSR) emerged as a relevant concept to address security and governance issues at the same time. In this context, the European Union (EU) emphasised in its discourse the need to reinforce the link between security and development to meet the objectives of peace, security and stability in Africa. Compared to states and international organisations, the EU can be considered a priori as a leader in the field of SSR. First, it has a wide range of policy instruments at its disposal covering the whole spectrum of SSR (army, police, justice, good governance). Second, the EU sustains a 'post-modern' approach based on security through transparency and interdependence, which allows it to overcome the traditional bilateral state relations. In view of this comparative advantage in theory, the main question addressed in this paper is whether the EU actually is a leader in practice in promoting SSR in Africa through a coherent use of its policy instruments. A close analysis of the EU's engagement in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Guinea-Bissau will reveal numerous impediments, regarding interand intra-pillar coordination as well as a lack of political commitment, preventing the EU from dealing comprehensively with SSR. The EU's approach is also constrained by the fact that enforcing a 'postmodern' rationale in 'pre-modern' states is perilous when the recipient state is unstable or unwilling to implement a reform process. Hence, the EU is still a laggard or an actor 'in the making' in the field of SSR. It lacks greater coherence and consistency between its policy instruments, mainly because of its fragmented pillar system based on separate competences between the Community (first pillar) and the Council (second pillar) which created a gap between a development and a security-oriented community. It also needs stronger political commitment from the Member States in order to operationalise the SSR concept, notably by supporting more intensively EU SSR missions in Africa. Overall, the EU needs to elaborate one strategic vision (something that the Lisbon Treaty, if ever ratified, could contribute to achieve) in order to overcome its theoretical, institutional and political obstacles. 1 The author would like to thank Professor Cesira D'Aniello, Fredrick Lee-Ohlsson and Dr. Bruno Scholl for their valuable suggestions.


Bloom and cuckoo filters provide fast approximate set membership while using little memory. Engineers use them to avoid expensive disk and network accesses. The recently introduced xor filters can be faster and smaller than Bloom and cuckoo filters. The xor filters are within 23% of the theoretical lower bound in storage as opposed to 44% for Bloom filters. Inspired by Dietzfelbinger and Walzer, we build probabilistic filters—called binary fuse filters—that are within 13% of the storage lower bound—without sacrificing query speed. As an additional benefit, the construction of the new binary fuse filters can be more than twice as fast as the construction of xor filters. By slightly sacrificing query speed, we further reduce storage to within 8% of the lower bound. We compare the performance against a wide range of competitive alternatives such as Bloom filters, blocked Bloom filters, vector quotient filters, cuckoo filters, and the recent ribbon filters. Our experiments suggest that binary fuse filters are superior to xor filters.


Pain during early life can affect the developing central nervous system, leading to altered neural function in the adult organism. In this thesis, I investigate the long-term
effects of repeated early pain on reward-related processing in the adult rat. I hypothesised that the reward system was likely to be sensitive to early activation of pain
pathways, as the brain systems involved in both pain and reward overlap extensively, and virtually all centrally acting analgesic drugs are also drugs of reward.
To begin, I investigate the extent to which the developing reward system is activated by a classic analgesic and drug of abuse, morphine. Comparing neonatal and adult
activation of the dopaminergic system, results show that a single morphine challenge activates neonatal reward pathways, but that there are qualitative differences in the
neonatal response to repeated morphine. Next, I show how reward-related behaviours of adult animals repeatedly injured as neonates differ from those of uninjured littermates, and finally propose the lateral hypothalamic orexin system as a biomarker reflecting this behaviour. The results provide evidence that neonatal injury interferes with the normal development of reward systems during a critical period of development, resulting in characteristic changes in reward behaviour and cell signalling in the adult animal.


Introduction: Understanding the reasons why people do or do not donate the eyes is crucial to address the problem of undersupply of cornea and designing any intervention. Aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness towards eye donation and factors influencing among general population residing in the rural area of Haryana state. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study during September-December 2014. Patients attending OPD for the purpose of seeking care for their common ailments or diseases formed the study population. Total 360 adults were interviewed using pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire in local language. Results: Total 76.9% of participants were aware about eye donation. Education, religion and occupation were found to be important predictors for awareness. Sex and age were not significantly associated with awareness. Awareness about eye donation was significantly lower among illiterates (odds ratio 0.14) compared to those who had higher education. Perceived reasons for willingness to donate eyes were pleased to help the blind, doing good to humanity and noble cause. Reasons for unwillingness to donate eyes were, they don't want his/her body to be buried with disfigurement, religion and family permission. Conclusion: Willingness to corneal donation of the studied community is relatively good. This rural population is a good target for mobilization for pledges. Motivators for willingness to donate were the feeling of pleasure in helping the blind and the belief that the act of donation is doing good to humanity, while the dislike to separate the eye from the body after death was the main reason for not being willing to donate.


In supervised learning, learning from queries rather than from random examples can improve generalization performance significantly. We study the performance of query learning for problems where the student cannot learn the teacher perfectly, which occur frequently in practice. As a prototypical scenario of this kind, we consider a linear perceptron student learning a binary perceptron teacher. Two kinds of queries for maximum information gain, i.e., minimum entropy, are investigated: Minimum student space entropy (MSSE) queries, which are appropriate if the teacher space is unknown, and minimum teacher space entropy (MTSE) queries, which can be used if the teacher space is assumed to be known, but a student of a simpler form has deliberately been chosen. We find that for MSSE queries, the structure of the student space determines the efficacy of query learning, whereas MTSE queries lead to a higher generalization error than random examples, due to a lack of feedback about the progress of the student in the way queries are selected.


Understanding the local strain enhancement and lattice distortion resulting from different microstructure features in metal alloys is crucial in many engineering processes. The development of heterogeneous strain not only plays an important role in the work hardening of the material but also in other processes such as recrystallization and damage inheritance and fracture. Isolating the contribution of precipitates to the development of heterogeneous strain can be challenging due to the presence of grain boundaries or other microstructure features that might cause ambiguous interpretation. In this work a statistical analysis of local strains measured by electron back scatter diffraction and crystal plasticity based simulations are combined to determine the effect of M23C6 carbides on the deformation of an annealed AISI 420 steel. Results suggest that carbides provide a more effective hardening at low plastic strain by a predominant long-range interaction mechanism than that of a pure ferritic microstructure. Carbides not only influence local strain directly by elastic incompatibilities with the ferritic matrix, but also the spatial interactions between ferrite grains. Carbides placed at the grain boundaries enhanced the development of strain near ferrite grain boundaries. However the positive effect of carbides and grain boundaries to develop high local strains is mitigated at regions with high density of carbides and ferrite grain boundaries.


A unique aspect of sponsored search advertising is that it allows firms to track what products consumers initially search for and what products they eventually buy after visiting their website – something that is typically hard to acquire in physical world settings. Based on a unique dataset that contains information on what keyword advertisements induced consumers to arrive on a firm's website and what products they eventually bought in that session, we build a model to map consumers' search-to-purchase behavior in the online world. We analyze the relationship between consumers' search for products in a specific category and their propensity to buy products within that category. In addition, we examine spillovers from search resulting in purchases across other product categories in the same session. The model is estimated on purchases from four categories (bath, bedding, kitchen, and home decor) using a unique 6 month panel dataset of several hundred keywords collected from a large nationwide retailer that advertises on Google. Our model allows us to decompose the latent utility of a product category into intrinsic utility from that product category and extrinsic utility from joint purchases of that category with other ones. With regard to the intrinsic utilities, we find that there is a considerable amount of spillovers between the initial search and the final purchase behavior such that consumers who start a search for a product in one category purchase products from a different category, in addition to purchasing from the original category they searched for. However, such search-purchase spillover effects accruing from a given advertisement are not necessarily symmetric between any two given product categories. With regard to the extrinsic utilities, we see evidence of positive cross-category interdependence for retailer-specific keywords. In addition, we find that brand-specific and generic keywords are less likely to induce cross-category purchases. Based on our empirical estimates, we conduct counterfactual experiments to derive insights into changes in overall profitability when firms were to engage in personalized price discounts and targeting via sponsored search advertisements. Our analyses suggest that retailers can benefit from providing personalized targeting and recommendations based on consumer search and cross-category purchase patterns during sponsored search advertising.


Noise and vibration were measured in the cabs of 35 locomotives from 15 locomotive series. Noise exposure was estimated from measurements of A-weighted equivalent noise levels with personal noise dose meters. For the evaluation of the frequency .and fluctuation level, noise samples were recorded under different operating conditions. Forty-five percent of the measured equivalent noise levels exceeded 85 dB during a measuring period of 0.52 h. Vibration was measured from the seat of the locomotive cab, at the foot of the seat, and at the floor level. The most harmful vibr·ation was detected between 1 and 3 Hz of the 1/3 octave band, the 8-h risk limit of ISO standard 2631 often being exceeded in this range. The thermal climate in 20 locomotive cabs was evaluated under both summer and winter conditions with the measurement of temperature, velocity, relative humidity of the air, and globe temperature. The results were compared with the international comfort and health standards for climatic conditions. The analyses indicated nonuniform air temperature and draft in the cabs. These discomforts were caused by the cold air flow and the low surface temperature of the windows in winter. The thermal climate parameters often exceeded the comfort limit in summer. Diesel exhaust constituents were measured in the air of four roundhouses and of nine cabs during a trip. Four constituents with the highest dilution coefficients were chosen for measurement, namely, oxides of nitrogen, acrolein, formaldehyde, and total dlL9t. The Finnish threshold limit values of these substances were not exceeded. The highest values were obtained in the sheds, where the exposure times were very short. Ergonomic surveys utilizing spatial measurements, observation, photography, and interviews were made for the ten most common Finnish locomotive series in order to provide for recommendations both for the design of new locomotive types and for the modification of those in use. The features requiring the most urgent attention were connected with climbing in and out of the cab, as well as with the design of the seats, the controls, and the instrument board. The steps were usually in an upright angle, positioned at unequal intervals, and slippery; therefore the ascent and descent were dangerous. The seats were defective in design and poorly adjustable. The seat of the locomotive assistant was unfeasible in many cabs. The arrangement of the dials on the instrument board was often confusing. Many of the controls were far from the engineer and inadequately designed.


PREMISE OF THE STUDY
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) exhibits complicated patterns of morphological and genetic variation across its range in western North America. This study aims to clarify P. ponderosa evolutionary history and phylogeography using a highly polymorphic mitochondrial DNA marker, with results offering insights into how geographical and climatological processes drove the modern evolutionary structure of tree species in the region.

METHODS
We amplified the mtDNA nad1 second intron minisatellite region for 3,100 trees representing 104 populations, and sequenced all length variants. We estimated population-level haplotypic diversity and determined diversity partitioning among varieties, races and populations. After aligning sequences of minisatellite repeat motifs, we evaluated evolutionary relationships among haplotypes.

KEY RESULTS
The geographical structuring of the 10 haplotypes corresponded with division between Pacific and Rocky Mountain varieties. Pacific haplotypes clustered with high bootstrap support, and appear to have descended from Rocky Mountain haplotypes. A greater proportion of diversity was partitioned between Rocky Mountain races than between Pacific races. Areas of highest haplotypic diversity were the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, northwestern California, and southern Nevada.

CONCLUSIONS
Pinus ponderosa haplotype distribution patterns suggest a complex phylogeographic history not revealed by other genetic and morphological data, or by the sparse paleoecological record. The results appear consistent with long-term divergence between the Pacific and Rocky Mountain varieties, along with more recent divergences not well-associated with race. Pleistocene refugia may have existed in areas of high haplotypic diversity, as well as the Great Basin, Southwestern United States/northern Mexico, and the High Plains.


1. The occurrence of five enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway in cell-free preparations of the mucosa of rat small intestine is described. These enzymes were found to be localized mainly in the supernatant fraction (6240000 g-min.). 2. The properties of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were studied with respect to Km values for substrates and NADP+, pH optima and the effects of p-chloromercuribenzoate and palmitoyl-CoA. Higher total and specific activities of these two dehydrogenases were noted in the proximal half of the small intestine of the rat than in the distal half. 3. The specific activities of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase in the mucosa of the small intestine of the rat, cat, rabbit and guinea pig were compared. 4. In the rat the specific activities ofribose 5-phosphate isomerase, transketolase and transaldolase were higher in the supematant fractions from the intestinal mucosa than in those from the liver. 5. The role of the pentose phosphate pathway is discussed in relation to the metabolism of hexose phosphates in the intestinal mucosa.


The year 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of one of the most revolutionary scientific texts ever written. In this book, appropriately entitled, Astronomia nova, Johannes Kepler (15711630) developed an astronomical theory which departs fundamentally from the systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus. One of the great innovations of this theory is its dependence on the science of optics. The declared goal of Kepler in his earlier publication, Paralipomena to Witelo whereby The Optical Part of Astronomy is Treated (Ad Vitellionem Paralipomena, quibus astronomiae pars optica traditvr, 1604), was to solve difficulties and expose illusions astronomers face when conducting astronomical observations with optical instruments. To avoid observational errors that had plagued the antiquated measuring techniques for calculating the apparent diameter and angular position of the luminaries, Kepler designed a novel device: the ecliptic instrument. In this paper we seek to shed light on the role optical instruments play in Kepler's scheme: they impose constraints on theory, but at the same time render astronomical knowledge secure. To get a comprehensive grasp of Kepler's astonishing achievements it is required to widen the approach to his writings and study Kepler not only as a mathematico-physical astronomer, but also as a designer of instruments and a practicing observer.


Overharvesting and limited conservation efforts have posed a serious threat to future availability of Dalbergia melanoxylon in Tanzania in recent years. The study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 covering Mitarure Forest Reserve (MFR) and 2 surrounding community forests of Ngea and Nambawala in Kilwa District. The purpose of the study was to assess the existing population status of the species in Tanzania. A total of 36 circular plots in Mitarure and 15 plots in each community forest were laid down. Data were recorded for the number of stems per plot, and then converted on per hectare basis where the basal area and densities per hectare were calculated. Data was disaggregated into 5 Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) generated distribution classes ranging from DBH 0 to more than 45 cm. The results revealed that, there was a contrast between the Mitarure Forest Reserve and community forests in terms of individual number of trees per unit area, basal area and densities. The numbers of stems per hectare for the species were found to be 16, 10 and 8 stems/ha in Mitarure, Ngea and Nambawala forest, respectively. Dalbergia melanoxylon in Mitarure forest was normally distributed. The respective basal area was over 80 m2 per ha in Nambawala against over 60 in MFR and Ngea. The results suggest success of the communities in conserving the species after previous overharvest. Authorities should frequently visit forests to increase the population of the species and reduce unauthorised harvesting.
Keywords: Dalbegia melanoxylon, Population structure, Mitarure forest reserve, Ngea and Nambawala community forests.


The array of institutional factors affecting public transit operators' adoption of interoperable smart cards for regional, multioperator fare collection systems is examined. Although many transit agencies have implemented smart card technologies as stand-alone systems that cannot be used on other systems, others have done so as part of regional partner schemas in which multiple agencies with contiguous or overlapping service areas develop compatible systems. Through a review of the literature and in-depth interviews with industry experts, it was found that whereas interoperable systems have the benefit of allowing riders to use one fare card across multiple operators, such systems have proved difficult to form and coordinate as they require consensus among multiple parties. Four main institutional issues hindering implementation were identified: (a) staff and officials are often hesitant to relinquish local control over fare policies and collection because individual transit agencies are guided by different missions or priorities and tend to serve different markets of user groups; (b) the future of smart card technology is uncertain; (c) decentralized systems of decision making mean that inter-jurisdictional governance structures tend to be far more informal than intraorganizational operations and management; and (d) transit agencies typically lack the institutional capacity to comprehensively evaluate the costs and benefits of interoperable systems—and as a result, there are few rigorous evaluations of smart cards. Absent careful evaluations of costs and benefits, it cannot be known whether interoperable smart cards are overdue or premature. Thus, transit agencies' motivations to pursue smart cards are likely to remain ambiguous, and implementation is likely to remain halting.


Hydrogen embrittlement of a copper precipitation strengthened and niobium microalloyed HSLA-100 steel on cathodic changing in synthetic seawater has been studied using slow strain rate technique. The effects of potential applied for hydrogen changing, pre-charging with hydrogen and changes in strain rate have been studied. A loss in ductility in terms of drop in percent elongation and percent reduction in area has been observed, the effect being prominent at potentials beyond –900 mV (SCE), SEM fractography shows an increase in brittle quasi-cleavage features with decreasing potential. A hardening effect on hydrogen charging up to –700mV (SCE), followed by a softening effect, has been observed. Precharging has led to a similar behaviour, but an overall increase in the strength values compared to material without precharging.


The issue of food safety is an issue that is discussed widely, but cases of food poisoning in particular, are still continuing. This may be associated with their own level of knowledge and practices on food safety. This study was aimed to examine the level of food safety knowledge and practices from two secondary school students, to investigate the association between food safety knowledge and practices with
gender, to identify the correlation between food safety knowledge levels with practices and to compare the difference of knowledge and practices level between both of the school. Information concerning demographic, food safety knowledge and practices were collected using self administered questionnaire.
339 students comprising 202 male and 197 female from two schools were randomly selected to answer the
questionnaire provided. Analyzed data obtained stated that knowledge on food safety was good for both
school and their also practiced on food safety by 79.1% included in good practice range. Results also
showed that a high level of food safety knowledge and practices was possessed by both groups, male and
female students in quite similar value of means. Correlation between food safety knowledge and practices
on food safety indicated, there was a small positive correlation with [r = 0.148, n = 221, p<0.05] for Sekolah
Tinggi Arab Maahad and [r = 0.053, n = 178, p<0.5] for Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gelang Patah.


Performance and robustness of real-world Acoustic Event Classification (AEC) solutions depend on ability to train on diverse data from wide range of end-point devices and acoustic environments. Federated Learning (FL) provides a framework to leverage annotated and non-annotated AEC data from servers and client devices in a privacy preserving manner. In this work we propose a novel Federated Relaxed Pareto Optimization (FedRPO) method for semi-supervised FL with heterogeneous client data. In contrast to federated averaging class of FL algorithms (fedAvg) that perform unconstrained weighted aggregation across all data sources, FedRPO enables special treatment of data with high quality annotations vs. data with pseudo-labels of unknown, varying qualities. In particular, FedRPO computes the updates to the global model solving a constrained linear program, with explicit Pareto constraints to prevent performance degradation on annotated data, and controlled relaxation of the Pareto constraints on pseudo-labeled data to prevent learning of patterns in conflict with the annotated data. We show FedRPO significantly outperforms FedAvg on Amazon internal de-identified dataset on AEC tasks. On supervised learning, FedRPO improved precision by 32.5% over FedAvg when maintaining recall at 90%. Combined with FixMatch [1] for semi-supervised learning, FedRPO outperformed FedAvg on precision by 50.5% at 90% recall.


Phenomenon of surrounding rock deformation and collapse, groundwater lowering, ground collapse and cracking appeared in a tunnel project. It is necessary to study mechanical properties of alteration zone for guarantying construction safety and ensuring the reliability of supporting structures. This paper, using geological survey and microanalysis methods, determines the mineral composition of all typical altered rocks in the alteration zone. Furthermore, an overall understanding of their physical and mechanical characteristics will be presented based on the results of physical and mechanical (triaxial and direct shear tests) tests.


This paper presents a fuzzy combined model and a fuzzy combined controller to handle nonlinear systems. A fuzzy combination of some local fuzzy models is employed to represent a nonlinear system. Based on this fuzzy combined model, a fuzzy controller combining some local fuzzy controllers is proposed to control the nonlinear system. Conditions are derived to guarantee the system stability. By using the fuzzy combination technique, the stability analysis is reduced to investigating only the stability of the local fuzzy control systems. The system that combines the local fuzzy systems will then be guaranteed stable. This property reduces the difficulty of finding the solution to the stability conditions even though the fuzzy combined model has effectively distributed the complex nonlinearity over the local fuzzy models. Furthermore, any sharp changes in the system states and control signals caused by the switching activities between local fuzzy control systems are smoothed out by the fuzzy combined controller. An application example will be given to show the merits of the proposed approach.


AIM: To identify the genes expressed differentially in the regenerating rat liver in a short interval successive partial hepatectomy (SISPH), and to analyze their expression profiles.METHODS: Five hundred and fifty-one elements selected from subtractive cDNA libraries were conformed to a cDNA microarray (cDNA chip). An extensive gene expression analysis following 0-36-72-96-144 h SISPH was performed by microarray.RESULTS: Two hundred and sixteen elements were identified either up- or down-regulated more than 2-fold at one or more time points of SISPH. By cluster analysis and generalization analysis, 8 kinds of ramose gene expression clusters were generated in the SISPH. Of the 216 elements,111 were up-regulated and 105 down-regulated. Except 99 unreported genes, 117 reported genes were categorized into 22 groups based on bheir biological functions. Comparison of the gene expression in SISPH with that after partial hepatectomy (PH) disclosed that 56 genes were specially altered in SISPH, and 160 genes were simultaneously upregulated or down-regulated in SISPH and after PH, but in various amount and at different time points.CONCLUSION: Genes expressed consistently are far less than that intermittently, the genes strikingly increased are much less than that increased only 2-5 fold; the expression trends of most genes in SISPH and in PH are similar, but the expression of 56 genes is specifically altered in SISPH.Microarray combined with suppressive subtractive hybridization can in a large scale effectively identify the genes related to liver regeneration.


As Dr. Dowling demonstrates, literary Decadence in this linguistic and cultural context was to reveal itself as a mode of Romanticism demoralized by philology. Decadent writers like Paler and Wilde and Beardslcy sought to preserve a few precious fragments from what they imagined--and paradoxically welcomed--as England's imminent decline and fall.Originally published in 1987.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Bowes, V. F., Datta, B. N., Silver, M. D. and Minielly, J. A. (1974).Thorax, 29, 530-533. Annular injuries following the insertion of heart valve prostheses. The clinical presentation and morphological findings in eight cases of annular injury associated with the insertion of prosthetic heart valves are discussed. The lesions presented as a separation of the left atrium and ventricle at the mitral annulus (one patient), a sinus or false aneurysm in the left posterior atrioventricular groove (two patients), or as a separation of the aortic root from the base of the heart (five patients). The pathogenesis of the lesions is similar. Annular tissue was weakened either by the removal of excess tissue or by an abnormal stress placed on normal tissue or by a slight stress placed on tissue altered by disease, and, as a result, it separated or tore. The resultant haemorrhage either caused the patient's death or, with time, produced the other morphological findings. Factors predisposing patients to the injuries are discussed and a differential diagnosis of annular pseudoaneurysms is provided.


Mucormycosis is a serious invasive fungal infection in immunocompromised patients. Patients undergoing treatment for hematologic malignancies are predominantly prone to the pulmonary manifestation of mucormycosis. Historically, allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients suffering from pulmonary mucormycosis (PM) was considered contraindicated owing to mortality rates up to 90%. We present 3 patients with acute myeloid leukemia and PM who were treated with radical surgical debridement combined with high‐dose liposomal amphotericin B (LAB), and subsequently underwent successful allogeneic HCT. To date, all 3 patients are in complete remission and show no signs of mucormycosis. Allogeneic HCT in patients with PM seems feasible provided that the infectious focus is completely removed surgically and adequate antifungal pharmacotherapy, such as high‐dose LAB or posaconazole, is established.


In this paper, we present a new ad budget draining attack. By repeatedly pulling ads from targeted advertisers using crafted browsing profiles, we are able to reduce the chance of showing their ads to real-human visitors and trash the ad budget. From the advertiser profiles collected by an automated crawler, we infer advertising strategies, train satisfying browsing profiles and launch large-scale attacks. We evaluate our methods on 291 public advertisers selected from Alexa Top 500, where we successfully reveal the targeting strategies used by 87% of the advertisers we considered. We also executed a series of attacks against a controlled advertiser and 3 real-world advertisers within the ethical and legal boundary. The results show that we are able to fetch 40,958 ads and drain up to $155.89 from the targeted advertisers within an hour.


Purpose of review Despite nerve-sparing surgery, postoperative shoulder morbidity remains high and significantly impacts patient's quality of life. This review will focus on recent findings of anatomical nuances of the cranial nerve XI (CN XI) along its course in the neck and possible reasons for postoperative morbidity. Recent findings The most recent studies identified three different branching patterns of the CN XI in the neck. In type 1 (66%), the branch for trapezius muscle exits at the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (mSCM). In type 2 (22%), the branch for trapezius muscle takes off from the common trunk of the CN XI before it enters the mSCM. In type 3 (12%), the motor branch for trapezius muscle exits behind posterior border of mSCM but takes a more medial course to form macroganglia with cervical nerves. Cervical nerves may also contribute to innervation of the trapezius muscle in up to 39% of the cases, but the clinical importance of those connections is not known. Summary If these anatomical patterns are not recognized and if cervical nerves are resected during neck dissection, shoulder morbidity remains high. The role of cervical nerves in innervation of the trapezius muscle is still controversial and unpredictable.


The purpose of this work is to support ongoing miniaturization of III-V microelectronic devices, which present a unique combination of economic and technical challenges. As miniaturization has proceeded photolithography has been able to meet required 20 nm feature sizes through the use of increasingly complex optical engineering techniques. However, this is not economically viable for low volume fabrication. The most promising low-volume technique here electron beam
lithography (EBL). However, on insulating substrates, (e.g. for III-V devices), charging during EBL leads to pattern distortion and resolution is limited. Whilst charge mitigation strategies exist, they introduce process complexity, and resolution limits.

A new approach using aconductive triphenylene electron beam resisthas been investigated. Triphenylenes form well-ordered hexagonal columnar discotic liquid crystals that show fast hole mobility (e.g. 10\(^-\)\(^3\) cm\(^2\)V\(^-\)\(^1\)s\(^-\)\(^1\)) along columns. The triphenylene based chemically amplified resist investigated here has a conductivity of ~10\(^-\)\(^6\) S/m at room temperature. It has demonstrated high sensitivity in EBL, requiring a patterning dose of ~14 μC/cm2on silicon and ~10 μC/cm\(^2\) on fused silica substrates at 50 keV exposure. The resist has demonstrated high-resolution patterning including 20 nm half pitch lines on silicon, and 55 nm isolated lines on glass at 30 keV exposure.


Purpose

This paper aims to present technical aspects of the assessment method and evaluation of fire damaged steel structures. The current work focuses on the behavior of structural normal steel (hot-rolled and cold-formed) and high-strength bolts after exposure to elevated temperatures. Information on stainless steel, cast iron and wrought iron is also presented.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of the complexity of the issue, an elaborate presentation of the mechanical properties influencing factors is followed. Subsequently, a wide range of experimental studies is extensively reviewed in the literature while simplified equations for determining the post-fire mechanical properties are proposed, following appropriate categorization. Moreover, the reinstatement survey is also comprehensively described.

Findings

Useful conclusions are drawn for the safe reuse of the structural elements and connection components. According to the parametric investigation of the aforementioned data, it can be safely concluded that the most common scenario of buildings after fire events, i.e. apart from excessively distorted structures, implies considerable remaining capacity of the structure, highlighting that subsequent demolition should not be the case, especially regarding critical infrastructure and buildings.

Originality/value

The stability of the structure as a whole is addressed, with aim to establish specific guidelines and code provisions for the correct appraisal and rehabilitation of fire damaged structures.


The stable photocatalytic production of hydrogen is demonstrated under simulated solar irradiation from the aqueous solutions of ethanol over a dual porosity 3D TiO2 nanotube array (TNTA). The photocatalytic material consists of a uniform layer of TNTAs grown on each titanium fiber of a commercial sintered titanium web (TNTA-web). Under simulated solar irradiation, a stable H2 production rate of 40 mmol h−1 m−2 is observed. In comparison, TNTAs grown on a flat titanium foil (TNTA-foil) do not produce H2 under the same conditions. The addition of small (4–5 nm) and well distributed Pd nanoparticles to the TNTA-web increases the production of hydrogen to 130 mmol h−1 m−2 with a solar-to-fuel efficiency of 0.45%. The same Pd loading on the TNTA-foil support resulted in a H2 production rate of 10 mmol h−1 m−2. Each catalytic material is characterized by a combination of SEM, HR-TEM, XRD, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The enhancement in H2 production is attributed to the increased light absorption properties of the TNTA-web material enabled by its unique dual porosity. The analysis of the reaction by-products shows that ethanol is transformed into acetaldehyde as a single oxidation product. Additionally, it is shown that an optimal Pd loading maximizes the H2 production rate, since agglomeration of the metal nanoparticles takes place at high loading, decreasing the Pd–TiO2 interface where the photoreforming reactions take place.


Three-dimensional metrology is concerned with checking the conformity of machined parts with the geometrical specifications on their definition drawings from the design office. Threedimensional measurement is a firmly established technique in the industry. For this, we apply the fuzzy logic to solve probing. Probing technology is widely used in three-dimensional metrology. In addition, we measure the very small dimensions, that is, the measurement at the micrometer scales. This chapter presents a new approach to the developing gear curve (CMMs). This method aims to select the most likely contact point for each successive arc by applying geometrical criteria and a fuzzy logic estimator, as you know there are several methods, but the fuzzy logic is more efficient and closer to the profile reel. The fuzzy logic system is particularly suitable for application to the three-dimensional metrology, including applications on a small radius probe as well as probing discontinuities to the flank profile. In addition, the time allowed is 144.09 s. Tests were carried out on gearboxes of agricultural machinery in the factory of my country (Algerian Tractors Company).


Fake News (disinformation with malicious intent) has emerged as a major social problem. To address this issue, previous studies mainly utilized single information, the news content, to detect fake news. However, using only news content in training is insufficient. Moreover, most studies did not consider the propagation aspect of fake news as a training feature. Thus, in an attempt to incorporate the ability to learn representation based on textual information and social context, this study proposed a fake news detection algorithm that thoroughly utilizes user graph in Korean fake news and dataset construction methods. In addition, a training strategy was proposed for utilizing user graph in Korean fake news detection through comparative and ablation studies. The experimental results showed that K-FANG outperformed the baseline in detecting fake news. Moreover, user engagements were found to be useful for detecting fake news even if the data contained hate speech. Finally, the validity of using stance information by expanding its class and controlling the class imbalance issues was also verified. This study provided useful implications for utilizing user information in fake news detection.


Abstract. This study is motivated by the unusually low number of magnetic clouds (MCs) that are strictly identified within interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), as observed at 1 AU; this is usually estimated to be around 30% or lower. But a looser definition of MCs may significantly increase this percentage. Another motivation is the unexpected shape of the occurrence distribution of the observers' "closest approach distances" (measured from a MC's axis, and called CA) which drops off somewhat rapidly as |CA| (in % of MC radius) approaches 100%, based on earlier studies. We suggest, for various geometrical and physical reasons, that the |CA|-distribution should be somewhere between a uniform one and the one actually observed, and therefore the 30% estimate should be higher. So we ask, When there is a failure to identify a MC within an ICME, is it occasionally due to a large |CA| passage, making MC identification more difficult, i.e., is it due to an event selection effect? In attempting to answer this question we examine WIND data to obtain an accurate distribution of the number of MCs vs. |CA| distance, whether the event is ICME-related or not, where initially a large number of cases ( N =98) are considered. This gives a frequence distribution that is far from uniform, confirming earlier studies. This along with the fact that there are many ICME identification-parameters that do not depend on |CA| suggest that, indeed an MC event selection effect may explain at least part of the low ratio of (No. MCs)/(No. ICMEs). We also show that there is an acceptable geometrical and physical consistency in the relationships for both average "normalized" magnetic field intensity change and field direction change vs. |CA| within a MC, suggesting that our estimates of |CA|, B O (magnetic field intensity on the axis), and choice of a proper "cloud coordinate" system (all needed in the analysis) are acceptably accurate. Therefore, the MC fitting model (Lepping et al., 1990) is adequate, on average, for our analysis. However, this selection effect is not likely to completely answer our original question, on the unexpected ratio of MCs to ICMEs, so we must look for other factors, such as peculiarities of CME birth conditions. As a by-product of this analysis, we determine that the first order structural effects within a MC due to its interaction with the solar wind, plus the MC's usual expansion at 1 AU (i.e., the non-force free components of the MC's field) are, on average, weakly dependent on radial distance from the MC's axis; that is, in the outer reaches of a typical MC the non-force free effects show up, but even there they are rather weak. Finally, we show that it is not likely that a MC's size distribution statistically controls the occurrence distribution of the estimated |CA|s.


Development of autoimmune disease in female New Zealand hybrid mice was dramatically modified by classical conditioning of immunosuppression. Groups of animals received each week a solution of sodium saccharin (conditioned stimulus). One group of conditioned animals received an injection of cyclophosphamide (the unconditioned stimulus) after half of the weekly occasions when they received the saccharin solution. The rate of development of proteinuria and mortality were significantly retarded in these conditioned mice relative to untreated controls and nonconditioned animals that received unpaired treatment with saccharin and cyclophosphamide.


The design of soil covers as part of the remediation initiatives for mine waste facilities is common practice and more and more engineers are faced with designing these facilities. The design issues associated with these soil covers are complex and requires a good understanding of unsaturated flow. More engineers are making use of numerical models to predict how cover designs would perform, and this has been necessitated by the high non-linearity associated with solving unsaturated flow problems. There are numerous numerical models available to the prospective users and they are all simplifications of reality using different assumptions. The users of these models often do not understand the limitations of the models but rather select a model based on ease of use, and that lends to increasingly erroneous designs being proposed for construction. This paper describes a comparative evaluation of a cover design using four different codes available today; SoilCover, SWIM, HYDRUS-2D and HELP. The paper does not propose to measure these codes up against each other and make statements about which is better than the other but rather illustrates how the assumptions in each code affect the outcome. The data set used for the comparative study is a well calibrated data set that that has been collected over a long period in time and that has been collected according to strict controls. The authors present the pitfalls of numerical modelling of the surface flux boundary conditions, as well as present guidelines towards appropriate use of these modelling tools.


Some commentators worry that a plurinational constitutional order can only ever be an inherently unstable modus vivendi. They fear that the accommodation of sub-state nationalism will tend to undermine the viability of constitutional democracies. This article enlists Ronald Dworkin's theory of 'law as integrity' to show how these concerns might be assuaged. My central claim is that the expressive value of integrity can drive a divided society in the direction of an eventual 'community of principle, even in the absence of a common political identity. I argue that this model of political community is a more plausible prescription for divided societies than the theory that competing nationalisms might be superseded by constitutional patriotism. I go on to explain, however, that integrity has a better chance of realising this potential if the generally judge-centric focus of Dworkin's theory is expanded to make greater room for non-judicial interpretative responsibility. Occasional references are made to the example of Northern Ireland to illustrate my points.


Media, in general, is a means of providing information to the recipient of the message, namely the child. The game is a medium that is used as a medium of play for children that can be used as a means of learning. This game uses a problem-solving learning method, namely problem-solving. It is hoped that this method can find solutions in fostering children's creativity. Therefore, this research is to improve children's cognitive abilities in solving a problem (problem-solving). Thus, this research develops problem-solving game media to facilitate children's creativity by using cardboard box lego game media. In designing this game media, it refers to the 2013 curriculum. The 2013 curriculum is expected to facilitate aspects of children's cognitive development for their creativity. This study aims to describe the basic needs of game media and develop a cardboard box lego problem-solving science game to facilitate early childhood creativity. The method used in this research is the Educational Design Research (EDR) floating method. Learning science in early childhood is still considered quite tricky, but this will be easy to overcome with the right and appropriate and adequate media and teaching materials. Based on the literature study that has been done, many science game media are not by the child's development stage, which should adjust to aspects of child development that refer to the 2013 curriculum. So based on the needs and findings in the field, researchers will develop a cardboard box kego problem-solving science game to facilitate early childhood creativity.


Agrochemicals, geochemical structure and industrial wastes create a potential source of heavy metal pollution in the aquatic environment. The porpuse of this study was to investigate the seasonal variations in five heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr) in the surface water of the Keritis river, one of the most important rivers in Chania, Greece. The surface water samples were colloected at 8 sampling sites in the Keritis river system. Seven sampling campaigns were carried out in each site in a 1-year period, during August 2004 to July 2005. Heavy metals were determined by using flame and furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Ancillary data included water temperature, pH and electric conductivity. Significant variations were observed between the warm period (May to September) and the wet period (October to April), for the studied metals. Heavy metal concentrations were sufficiently higher in warm period than in wet period. The average concentrations in wet and warm period were: Cu (0.88 µg l -1 ; 6.62 µg l -1 ), Cd (0.005 µg l -1 ; 0.019 µg l -1 ), Pb (0.28 µg l -1 ; 2.59 µg l -1 ), Cr (1.44 µg l -1 ; 3.25 µg l -1 ), and Zn (4 µg l -1 ; 39 µg l -1 ), respectively. The relative variability followed the order: Zn>Pb>Cu>Cd>Cr. The seasonal variations may be due to either anthropogenic causes, such as agricultural practices, especially the use of fertilizers and biocides or wastewater discharge, or natural causes, such as water temperature, pH, redox condition, or river flow. The water pH was lower in warm period than in wet period. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr were found to be positively related to the water pH in both periods. The water temperature was higher in the warm period and no strong, but remarkable correlations were found between the heavy metal concentrations and the temperature values for the warm and the wet period. Also, there was found no correlation between the heavy metal concentrations and the electrical conductivity.


Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) is a fatal childhood-onset neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in ceroid lipofuscinosis neuronal-3 (CLN3), a hydrophobic transmembrane protein of unresolved function. Previous studies indicate blood–brain barrier (BBB) defects in JNCL, and our earlier report showed prominent Cln3 expression in mouse brain endothelium. Here we find that CLN3 is necessary for normal trafficking of the microdomain-associated proteins caveolin-1, syntaxin-6, and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) in brain endothelial cells. Correspondingly, CLN3-null cells have reduced caveolae, and impaired caveolae- and MDR1-related functions including endocytosis, drug efflux, and cell volume regulation. We also detected an abnormal blood–brain barrier response to osmotic stress in vivo. Evaluation of the plasma membrane with fluorescent sphingolipid probes suggests microdomain destabilization and enhanced fluidity in CLN3-null cells. In further work we found that application of the glycosphingolipid lactosylceramide to CLN3-deficient cells rescues protein transport and caveolar endocytosis. Last, we show that CLN3 localizes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and partitions with buoyant microdomain fractions. We propose that CLN3 facilitates TGN-to-plasma membrane transport of microdomain-associated proteins. Insult to this pathway may underlie BBB dysfunction and contribute to JNCL pathogenesis.


Recommender System plays an important role in keeping people engaged with online services, and collaborative filtering is a main technique for recommendation. With the immense influence of deep learning, there is a growing interest in applying it to collaborative filtering. Existing methods have applied different ways to learn the user-item interaction function, however, most of these methods have limitation in modeling user-item correlations because they ignore the original user-item information and the large size of embeddings. In this work we propose Stacked Embedding Convolutional Neural Collaborative Filtering (SECNCF), a novel neural collaborative filtering architecture. The idea is to create a pedrail by stacking embeddings which are composed of user embedding, item embedding and latent factors. We apply convolutional neural network (CNN) above the pedrail layer to capture the local features of dimension correlations. This method is good at extracting rich local dimension correlations of embeddings and is scalable for modeling user-item interactions. Extensive experiments on three public accessible datasets show that our method makes significant improvement over the state-of-the-art methods.


This article describes how dynamic statistics software was used to catalyze discourse among a group of prospective elementary and middle school teachers. The prospective teachers formed their own statistical questions and then investigated them with the software. Their course instructor then purposefully selected and sequenced work they had produced to become the basis for classroom discourse. As the prospective teachers presented their work, the course instructor helped the class make connections among the different strategies and statistical questions that were shared. The overall experience illustrates a model for the facilitation of technology-enhanced statistical discourse.


This set of notes focuses on those aspects of transistor behavior that are of immediate relevance to the analog circuit designer. Separation of first order from higher order phenomena is emphasized, so there are many instances when crude approximations are presented in the interest of developing insight. As a consequence, this review is intended as a supplement to, rather than a replacement of, traditional rigorous treatments of the subject.