Some benthic foraminiferal species are reportedly capable of nitrate storage and denitrification, however, little is known about nitrate incorporation and subsequent utilization of nitrate within their cell. In this study, we investigated where and how much 15N or 34S were assimilated into foraminiferal cells or possible endobionts after incubation with isotopically labeled nitrate and sulfate in dysoxic or anoxic conditions. After 2 weeks of incubation, foraminiferal specimens were fixed and prepared for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and correlative nanometer-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) analyses. TEM observations revealed that there were characteristic ultrastructural features typically near the cell periphery in the youngest two or three chambers of the foraminifera exposed to anoxic conditions. These structures, which are electron dense and ~200–500 nm in diameter and co-occurred with possible endobionts, were labeled with 15N originated from 15N-labeled nitrate under anoxia and were labeled with both 15N and 34S under dysoxia. The labeling with 15N was more apparent in specimens from the dysoxic incubation, suggesting higher foraminiferal activity or increased availability of the label during exposure to oxygen depletion than to anoxia. Our results suggest that the electron dense bodies in Ammonia sp. play a significant role in nitrate incorporation and/or subsequent nitrogen assimilation during exposure to dysoxic to anoxic conditions.


We report on the design processes of two ongoing soma design projects: the Pelvic Chair and the Breathing Wings. These projects take a first-person, soma design approach, grounded in a holistic perspective of the mind and body (the soma). We contribute a reflective account of our soma design processes that deepens the field's understanding of how soma design is achieved through first-person approaches. We show how we use our somas, our first-person experiences, to stimulate a design process, to prototype through and to use as a way of critiquing emerging designs. Grounding our analysis in new materialism, we show how our designs are in essence, "performative intra-actions". Using our own somas, our designs open up for experiences within certain constraints, allowing for a material-discursive agency of sorts. Many different somas may be intra-acted through our designs, even if it was our somas who started them.


The management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has advanced significantly in recent years, with increasing availability of biologic agents, the use of measurable objective biomarkers of inflammation (e.g., fecal calprotectin) and increasing use of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to optimize individual therapies. IBD management has evolved towards a treat-to-target approach, of which TDM is an increasingly essential part. However, the clinical utilization of TDM varies globally and between institutions, and the ideal best practice use of TDM remains unclear. The recently published American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) TDM guideline attempted to address these issues for clinicians. It consisted of five recommendations on the use of TDM in IBD (1). Two of these recommendations considered anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents, with the remaining three relevant to thiopurines. Recommendations were not made on TDM of newer biologics agents such as vedolizumab and ustekinumab, due to the current paucity of data. The article was accompanied by a detailed technical review (2), a decision support tool (3), and a patient guide (4). The recommendations were developed by the AGA guideline panel, using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. A literature review was performed in March 2016, and the panel met in February 2017 before finalizing the guideline.


With the increased commercial importance of penaeid prawns, studies on the larval development of this group have received much attention during the last two decades. Although a number of penaeid prawns contribute to the prawn fishery of India, details of larval development of only a single species, Metapenaeus dobsoni (Miers) are known.
In the present paper, the egg, five nauplial, three protozoeal, three mysis and ten postlarval substages of Parapenaeopsis stylifera (H. Milne-Edwards;; three mysis and
nine postlarval substages of Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius); three mysis substages of Affinis(H. Milne-Edwards); five nauplial, three protozoeal, three mysis and
seven postlarval substages of Metapenaeus (Miers); three mysis and seven postlarval substages of Penaeus indicus H. Milne-Edwards have been described and figured. While the larval development of these species generally follows similar pattern with many common features, comparison of different stages reveals that characters such as
length of rostrum, presence or absence of supraorbital spine on carapace, setation of antenna, nature of antennal scales, spination of abdominal segments as well as telson
and pigmentation show specific differences and help in the identification of the larvae of these larval forms Based on these characters a key for the identification of the
larvae of the different species studied has been prepared. The variations recorded in the number of substages of the larval forms have been discussed.


The present work deals with the usage of innovation technologies for different regimes of water flow downstream of hydraulic structures. It is found that in case of water getting into the low pond in the field of jumping there is always an unsteady oscillation regime of the flow which forms waves with a character amplitude and length. The aim of the work is studying and calculation of parameters of the unsteady oscillation regime of the flow downstream of hydraulic structures. The results of decisions are oriented to the determination of parameters of the water flow for further comparison with the rated values obtained by the analytical method. There is given a concept of carrying out hydrodynamic investigations of the unsteady oscillation regime of the flow. The algorithm of fulfillment of investigations is developed. Selection of devices, modules, sensors and their concordance is fulfilled for their joint work for carrying out measuring. The program is developed for collection and processing of the data coming from the measuring equipment, adaptation of the standard software provision is fulfilled for introduction into a personal computer. There is applied an innovation method of determination of the water surface level oscillation and structure of the water flow.


ErBa2Cu3O7-δ is a type II high temperature superconductor, which is known as the 123-system. This type of superconductor is classified as the most stable high temperature superconductor. This dissertation presents the doping effect of diamagnetic elements (Zn and Pb) and paramagnetic elements (Ca and Nd) in the Er-123 System using the coprecipitation method as a procedure of synthesis. Electrochemical studies of free and doped samples have been done to emphasize the doping effect on the copper electrochemical behaviour in the superconductor.

A series of Zn, Ca, Pb, and Nd were successfully doped in the Er-123 system using the co-precipitation method. Metal acetates were used as starting materials, which were
dissolved in acetic acid. The precipitating agent, oxalic acid in an alcoholic solution of (water: iso-propanol) was used to form metal oxalates. Samples were dried and calcined
for 24 hours at 900 °C before they were pressed into pellets and sintered for 24 hours at 920 °C. A second calcination and sintering period at 600 °C was applied for 2 and 3 hours, respectively. All heat treatments were carried out in the oxygen environment. The transport property of sintered samples was measured using the four-point probe electrical resistance measurement and AC Susceptibility. A scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray were used to identify the surface morphology and the chemical composition while the crystalline structure of the samples were determined using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the electrochemical behaviour in 0.1 M NH4Cl as a supporting electrolyte.

The XRD pattern of the samples showed the presence of the secondary phase of 211 in the Zn-doped samples at x≥0.15 with 10-12 % peak intensity, while in the case of the
Ca-doped samples a single-phase material was produced. Two phases of PbO2 and Pb3O4 were produced for the Pb-doped sample, while for the Nd-doped, the Nd-123 phase was recorded at x=0.15. The orthorhombic phases of all doped samples are similar to the pure sample. Lattice parameters slightly change due to the replacement of the substituted element in the structure. In the case of the Zn and Ca-doped samples, the substitution occurred at the Cu site and the substitution in the Pb-doped and Nd samples occurred at the Ba and Er sites, respectively. The TC values recorded were 85, 87, 85, and 91 K for 0.05 mole of doped Zn, Ca, Pb and Nd, respectively. These values decreased by 0.2 mole of dopant to 48, 68, 85 and 87 K.

The resistance versus temperature curve shows that the higher content of Zn in Zn-doped samples (x≥0.15) lowers the critical resistance temperature, TC, below the liquid nitrogen temperature. A semiconducting-like response appeared for the Zn-doped and Ca sample at a higher content of dopant (x≥0.10). Where in the Pb and Nd-doped samples, a typical superconducting curve was produced. The microstructure study of the doped samples showed that the presence of the pores and boundaries between the grains reduced the TC value due to the air pockets and the
weak-links, which resist the current to flow. This effect increased by the content of the increase of dopant concentration in the sample. The electrochemical study of the doped samples shows that the significant sensitivity
depends on the pH and scan rate. The change of current has a semi-linear relationship with the acidity. The graph of current (I) versus scan rate (v) and current versus the
square root of scan rate (v ½) were a straight line, which indicates that the electron transfer process is diffusion controlled and corresponds to an adsorption controlled
process.

The diffusion coefficient values increased with the content of dopant where the values recorded at 0.05 and 0.2 mole of dopant were (7.45×10-5, 8.67×10-5), (8.67×10-5, 1.07×10-4) and (7.42×10-5, 9.95×10-5) cm2/s for Ca, Pb and Nd, respectively, where the value of free doped sample ErBCO was 7.45×10-5 cm2/s.

The value of charge increased by the content of doped element in the ErBCO system, where the recorded values were 808.01, 1230.91, 1042.92 and 990.61 μC/cm2 with 0.2 mole of doped Zn, Ca, Pb and Nd respectively, where the undoped sample value was 497.25 μC/cm2.


This article aims to explain Javanese women's political discourse in response to the various conflicts that arose from the 2019 Indonesian General Election. This study focuses on the political discourse among Javanese women in response to the electoral issues. It employed observation and in-depth interviews in its data collecting technique. Fairclough's critical discourse analysis model was used to analyze the data with reference to the textual, discourse practice, and sociocultural dimensions. The findings revealed that the political discourse of Javanese women is inseparable from the boundaries of the Javanese language and the cultural context. The textual analysis revealed that positive and negative sentiments about the presidential and vice presidential candidates dominated the discourse. A discourse practice analysis was then interpreted through four dimensions, namely (i) What is going on? , (ii) Who is involved? , (iii) What relationships are at issue? , and (vi) What is the role of language? Furthermore, a sociocultural analysis attempted to connect the Javanese women's discourse practices with the sociocultural context. The use of traditional Javanese idioms as a cultural norm confirmed how local Javanese wisdom showed in the political conversation among the Javanese women, thus mitigating any negative effects.


Metal ions, including copper and zinc, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease through a variety of mechanisms including increased amyloid-β affinity and redox effects. Recent reports have demonstrated that the amyloid-β monomer does not necessarily travel through a definitive intermediary en-route to a stable amyloid fibril structure. Rather, amyloid-β misfolding may follow a variety of pathways resulting in a fibrillar end-product or a variety of oligomeric end-products with a diversity of structures and sizes. The presence of metal ions has been demonstrated to alter the kinetic pathway of the amyloid-β peptide which may lead to more toxic oligomeric end-products. In this work, we review the contemporary literature supporting the hypothesis that metal ions alter the reaction pathway of amyloid-β misfolding leading to more neurotoxic species.


Presented here is a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) for field studies that serves as a prototype for future Mars science applications. Infrared spectroscopy provides chemical information that is relevant to a number of Mars science questions. This includes mineralogical analysis, nitrogen compound recognition, truth testing of remote sensing measurements, and the ability to detect organic compounds. The challenges and scientific opportunities are given for the in situ FTIR analysis of Mars soil and rock samples. Various FTIR sampling techniques are assessed and compared to other analytical instrumentation. The prototype instrument presented is capable of providing field analysis in a Mars analog Antarctic environment. FTIR analysis of endolithic microbial communities in Antarctic rocks and a Mars meteor are given as analytical examples.


There is growing evidence from epidemiological studies that maternal exposure to increased drinking water chlorination with by-products – trihalometane (THM) may be associated with congenital anomalies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of maternal exposure during pregnancy to individual THM internal dose effect on the risk of congenital anomalies. We conducted a population-based prospective study of 3074 Kaunas residents births in 2007–2009, using THM exposure estimated as internal dose. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis and compared the risk of any congenital anomalies in four exposure categories of THM internal dose quartiles. In addition, we conducted a linear regression models analysis with adjustment for maternal physiology, lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics. Effect estimates based on total THMs and chloroform quartiles tended to increase congenital anomalies risk, but there was no statistically significant effect. However, we found dose–response relationships for the bromodichloromethane (BDCM) internal dose and risk for any congenital anomalies. The adjusted odds ratio for fourth quartile vs. first quartile was 1.5, 95% CI 1.00 – 2.55. The OR per every 0.01 μg/d increase in BDCM internal dose was 1.03, 95% CI 1.00–1.07. Effect estimates associated with dibromochloromethane (DBCM) exposure levels also revealed statistically significant association with the congenital anomalies risk (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.02-1.48). The present study suggests that prenatal exposure to total THM has tendency to increase the risk of any congenital anomalies, while exposure to BDCM and DBCM statistically represents a significant increase in the risk of any congenital anomaly. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.61.3.1147


We report the first detection of hard (>10 keV) X-ray emission simultaneous with gamma-rays in a nova eruption. Observations of the nova V5855 Sgr carried out with the NuSTAR satellite on Day 12 of the eruption revealed faint, highly absorbed thermal X-rays. The extreme equivalent hydrogen column density toward the X-ray emitting region (∼3 × 1024 cm−2) indicates that the shock producing the X-rays was deeply embedded within the nova ejecta. The slope of the X-ray spectrum favors a thermal origin for the bulk of the emission, and the constraints of the temperature in the shocked region suggest a shock velocity compatible with the ejecta velocities inferred from optical spectroscopy. While we do not claim the detection of nonthermal X-rays, the data do not allow us to rule out an additional, fainter component dominating at energies above 20 keV, for which we obtained upper limits. The inferred luminosity of the thermal X-rays is too low to be consistent with the gamma-ray luminosities if both are powered by the same shock under standard assumptions regarding the efficiency of nonthermal particle acceleration and the temperature distribution of the shocked gas.


The mitotic spindle segregates chromosomes and minimizes chromosome loss for the specific number of chromosomes present in an organism. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, haploid and diploid cells are part of the sexual life cycle and have a thousand times lower rate of chromosome loss than tetraploid cells. Currently it is unclear what constrains the number of chromosomes that can be segregated with high fidelity in an organism. Here we developed a mathematical model to study if different rates of chromosome loss in cells with different ploidy can arise from changes in (1) spindle dynamics and (2) a maximum duration of mitotic arrest, after which cells enter anaphase. Our model reveals how small increases in spindle assembly time can result in exponential differences in rate of chromosomes loss between cells of increasing ploidy and predicts the maximum duration of mitotic arrest.


Aim: To evaluate oral health-related quality of life of preschool children of Bauru, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and associate it with socioeconomic profile of households. Methods: The sample consisted of 229 preschool children between 3 and 5 years and the dmft (decayed, missing due to caries, filled teeth) index was adopted for assessment children's dental caries in accordance with the standards recommended by the World Health Organization. Questionnaires were used for evaluation oral health-related quality of life (Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale) and socioeconomic profile of parents or guardians of the preschool children. Statistical analysis was performed descriptively by relative and absolute frequencies and by Spearman's correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test (p <0.05). Results: A dmft of 1.65 (± 2.87) and a Sic Index 4.88 (± 3.20) were found, indicating the polarization of dental caries in the studied group. It was verified low influence of oral health on quality of life of the children examined. With respect to socioeconomic classification, 66.38% of families were in the lower middle class. Linear and statistically significant correlation was found between dmft and oral health-related quality of life for the overall score and domains of the questionnaire (p<0.001). Conclusions: It was found low influence of oral health on quality of life of the preschool children and the assessment of socioeconomic conditions of the children's families may guide practices aiming to reducing inequalities in the distribution of dental caries in the population.


Western flower thrips is a polyphagous insect, which during the last 30 years has become a world wide pest. It was found earlier that these thrips are associated with a type of Erwinia species gut bacteria. In this study we examine the variation of bacteria within and between thrips individuals and try to find evidence for biotypes in western flower thrips regarding the type of gut bacteria. The existence of biotypes in this thrips species has been suggested by different authors. For example, thrips populations have been found that differ in resistance against pesticides and in their ability to transmit plant viruses. With biotypes we mean groups of individuals (strains, populations, lines) of a species which differ in one or more traits with other groups of that species. The gut bacteria of thrips are acquired by young thrips larvae via the host plant and have a beneficial effect on thrips development and oviposition. We studied thrips strains from different countries and host plants, and the isofemale lines that were created from them, on bean plant leaves. All thrips lines that we studied contained Erwinia species gut bacteria. Morphological and biochemical characteristics of gut bacteria from the thrips isofemale lines were similar to the Erwinia type strain from the reference, a thrips strain cultured on chrysanthemum in Amsterdam (TAC 93.XII.8). Per isofemale line we studied five thrips individuals and per thrips we studied four bacterial colonies, with RAPD markers. The genetic variation between bacteria isolated from thrips was as large among isofemale lines as within isofemale lines. No evidence for thrips biotypes was found. Bacteria within one thrips individual show a stronger degree of similarity than bacteria from different thrips individuals within a single rearing. This is probably due to a bottleneck caused by the limited number of successful infections of bacteria into the gut of the thrips


Lake Rio Cuarto is a meromictic lake at low elevation in the North of Costa Rica. It offers an opportunity to compare its present state with the condition it had when first studied in the late 1970's and occasional samplings since then. This comparison expects to identify changes that could be attributed to incipient effects of global climate change. We studied the limnology and conditions of its drainage area for three years (2013-2016) to compare with previous data. Vertical profiles of temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, chlorophyll a, dissolved H2S were performed several times per year, for a total of 22 samplings. Aerial photographs taken since 1950 were analyzed to describe land use changes. The lake had a shallow Secchi depth (< 5 m) at all times. It was stratified on all occasions, with a thermocline that fluctuated between 10 and 20 m. It has a monimolimnion, with a chemocline at 14 to 22 m. Below the chemocline it was always anoxic, and during annual partial mixing events in the mixolimnion, oxygen levels decreased compared to stratified periods. There was a continuous presence of H2S from 20 m downwards, with annual fluctuations, being lower during partial mixing events. A peak in chlorophyll was detected on all occasions just below the thermocline. Land use around the lake hasn't changed much since 1952, when only a rim of tree cover was left around the steep margins of the lake. The lake has maintained its limnological characteristics, with the only exception that it didn't cooled down to historical levels. This limited response could be the result of the high relative depth and steep margins of the lake, which prevent the downward distribution of heat and keeps the lake in a meromictic state, preventing its mixing for long periods of time.


The effect of addition of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi Extract (FLLE) on methane production and rumen fermentation in sheep was investigated in this study. FLLE addition levels were 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/L of ruminal fluid. Ruminal fluid was removed from four sheep, mixed with phosphate buffer (1:2) and incubated (30 ml) anaerobically at 38°C for 24-h with or without FLLE. Results indicated that addition of FLLE linearly decreased methane production (p<0.05), linearly decreased ammonia concentration (p<0.05), and acetate to propionate ratio (p<0.05). Data of numbers of methanogens, fungi, ciliate and cellulolytic indicated that they were linearly decreased by addition of FLLE (p<0.05). Addition of FLLE at all dosages have no effect on rumen pH value, acetate molar concentration and butyrate molar concentration (p>0.05). Addition of FLLE linearly decreased count of F. succinogenes (p<0.05). In conclusion, these results of 24-h in vitro batch culture indicated that FLLE has the ability to inhibit methane production in the rumen, stimulate rumen fermentation and suppress fiber degrading bacteria, F. succinogenes. Abbreviations: FLLE=Fructus Ligustri Lucidi extract; IVDDM=in vitro digestibility of dry matter.


Purpose Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although surgery is the standard curative treatment for gastric cancer, relapse occurs in a large number of patients, except in the case of early diagnosed gastric cancer. Following previous studies that identified endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductin 1-α (ERO1L) as a potential marker for gastric cancer, we investigated the functional role of ERO1L in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods For validation of microarray data, the mRNA expression level of ERO1L was measured by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in 56 independent stage III gastric cancer patients. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to examine the protein expression level of ERO1L in 231 gastric cancer patients. Correlation between gene expression and cancer prognosis was evaluated. Results Patients with high ERO1L expression had poorer survival than those with low expression (p < 0.01). Functional assays demonstrated that ERO1L knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and chemoresistance. In addition, involvement of inactivation of Akt and JNK signaling in molecular mechanisms of ERO1L inhibition was demonstrated. Conclusion High expression of ERO1L is associated with poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. These results indicate that ERO1L expression may be a clinically promising therapeutic target for prevention of gastric cancer.


Irish Protestant Identities, available for the first time in paperback, is a major multi-disciplinary portrayal and analysis of the often overlooked Protestant tradition in Ireland. A distinguished team of contributors explore what is distinctive about the religious minority on the island of Ireland. Protestant contributions to literature, culture, religion, and politics are all examined. Accessible and engaging throughout, the book examines the contributions to Irish society from Protestant authors, Protestant churches, the Orange Order, Unionist parties, and Ulster loyalists. Most books on Ireland have concentrated upon the Catholicism and Nationalism which shaped the country in terms of literature, poetry, politics, and outlook. This book instead explores how a minority tradition has developed and coped with existence in a polity and society in which some historically felt under-represented or neglected.


Fungi in the genus Metarhizium are insect pathogens able to function in other niches, including soil and plant rhizosphere habitats. In agroecosystems, cropping and tillage practices influence soil fungal communities with unknown effects on the distribution of Metarhizium, whose presence can reduce populations of crop pests. We report results from a selective media survey of Metarhizium in soils sampled from a long-term experimental farming project in the mid-Atlantic region. Field plots under soybean cultivation produced higher numbers of Metarhizium colony-forming units (cfu) than corn or alfalfa. Plots managed organically and via chisel-till harboured higher numbers of Metarhizium cfu than no-till plots. Sequence typing of Metarhizium isolates revealed four species, with M. robertsii and M. brunneum predominating. The M. brunneum population was essentially fixed for a single clone as determined by multilocus microsatellite genotyping. In contrast, M. robertsii was found to contain significant diversity, with the majority of isolates distributed between two principal clades. Evidence for recombination was observed only in the most abundant clade. These findings illuminate multiple levels of Metarhizium diversity that can be used to inform strategies by which soil Metarhizium populations may be manipulated to exert downward pressure on pest insects and promote plant health.


In electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), manual isolation of volumetric protein density map data surrounding known protein structures is a time-consuming process that requires constant expert attention for multiple hours. This paper presents a tool, Volume Cut, and an algorithm to automatically isolate the volumetric data surrounding individual protein chains from the entire macro-molecular complex that runs in just minutes. This tool can be used in the data collection and data pre-processing steps to generate good training datasets of single chain volume-structure pairs, which can be further used for the study of protein structure prediction from experimental 3D cryo-EM density maps using data mining and machine learning. Additionally, an application of this tool was explored in depth that compares the cut experimental cryo-EM data with simulated data in an attempt to find irregularities of experimental data for the purpose of validation. The source for both tools can be found at https://github.com/nissensonm/VolumeCut/.


Corporate governance refers to the rules of the game that enables stakeholders to exercise appropriate oversight of a company to maximize its value and profits. Both financial and corporate governance restructuring is an ongoing reform program in the post Asian crisis-ridden countries. To be fully effective, corporate restructuring must be linked to bank restructuring, which, in turn, must be linked to the settlement of external debt problems to scale down the systemic risks. Fundamental changes within the economy are necessary to create arm's-length relations between the government, corporations, and banks. Many corporations in the crisisridden countries are over-indebted and frequently are part of conglomerates or monopolies that are controlled by small groups and have nontransparent accounting and close links to government and financial institutions including commercial banks (Iskander, et al., 1999). This paper examines the impact of corporate restructuring and governance in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian crisis in East Asia. There is an immediate clarion need to re-evaluate the issue of the market cultures and corporate governance in East Asia economies. The quality of governance is a key determinant to rehabilitate the financial institutions of crisis-ridden countries. This paper addresses itself towards answering some of the questions that policy-makers themselves must answer as they strive to undertake comprehensive reform to promote better governance so as to reduce excessive risks taking without causing distress in the financial markets minimizing the chances of a second wave of crisis.


The recoil process of free-standing liquid crystal filaments is investigated experimentally and theoretically. We focus on two aspects, the contraction speed of the filament and a spontaneously formed undulation instability. At the moment of rupture, the filaments buckle similarly to the classical Euler buckling of elastic rods. The tip velocity decays with decreasing filament length. The wavelength of buckling affinely decreases with the retracting filament tip. The energy gain related to the decrease of the total length and surface area of the filaments is mainly dissipated by layer rearrangements during thickening of the fibre. A flow back into the meniscus is relevant only in the final stage of the recoil process. We introduce a model for the quantitative description of the filament retraction speed. The dynamics of this recoil behaviour may find relevance as a model for biology-related filaments.


This research focuses on the effect of leading-edge erosion on the performance of wind turbines, specifically the GE1.5XLE horizontal axis wind turbine. The blade element momentum (BEM) method is used to predict the performance of the eroded blade configurations, and the open-source code QBLADE is used for simulation. The importance of including the effects of blade erosion in the design phase is highlighted, as it can optimize turbine performance and ensure operational efficiency. The high blade tip velocity in large rotors, which can reach 90-110 m/s, makes them susceptible to sand and rain erosion, which can significantly affect the turbine's performance. The research compares the performance of clean and eroded blade configurations, with different levels of leading-edge erosion as percentages of the chord (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%). The results show that the worst-case scenario of 2.0% leading-edge erosion reduced the lift-to-drag ratio of an airfoil by 65% and reduced the power output by 20%. The low-fidelity analysis methodology presented in this research is fast and can be easily implemented in the early design phase of wind turbines to predict the effect of leading-edge blade erosion. This allows for cost-effective and efficient design solutions that take into account the effects of erosion on wind turbine performance. The research provides valuable insights for the wind energy industry to improve the reliability and performance of wind turbines.


The lipid peroxide scavenger enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and its cofactor glutathione play a crucial role in the recently described programmed cell death, ferroptosis. Since mitochondria are the major sources of reactive oxygen species in mammalian cells the linkage between mitochondria, mitochondrial ROS generation and ferroptosis emerged quite early. As a result of alternative splicing human GPX4 has three different isoforms: long form (lGPX4), short form (sGPX4) and nuclear form (nGPX4) of which sGPX4 was found essential. To clarify the potential role of mitochondria in ferroptosis the localization of both the long and short versions of GPX4 and the only verified glutathione transport protein SLC25A11 was investigated by different in silico tools. Targeting of lGPX4 and sGPX4 to multiple organelles is possible as a number of ruleand neural network-based algorithms showed concordant results to specific pathways. Hence the mitochondrial localization of both isoforms on the base of in silico prediction is possible. Since sGPX4 was found in multiple organelles and non-canonical import pathways are presumable we also evaluated the previously used in silico methods in predicting the localization of a chimeric signal containing peptide CYP2B1 as well as a solely mitochondrial targeted CYP27A1. Our in silico results showed that only the CELLO prediction tool ranked mitochondrial import with meaningful possibility based on neighboring sequence composition. Summarily the possible mitochondrial localization of both long and short isoforms of GPX4 and the glutathione transporter SLC25A11 support the assumption that mitochondria play an important role in the pathways leading to ferroptosis.


We study graph computations in an enhanced data streaming setting, where a space-bounded client reading the edge stream of a massive graph may delegate some of its work to a cloud service. We seek algorithms that allow the client to verify a purported proof sent by the cloud service that the work done in the cloud is correct. A line of work starting with Chakrabarti et al. (ICALP 2009) has provided such algorithms, which we call schemes, for several statistical and graph-theoretic problems, many of which exhibit a tradeoff between the length of the proof and the space used by the streaming verifier.
This work designs new schemes for a number of basic graph problems---including triangle counting, maximum matching, topological sorting, and single-source shortest paths---where past work had either failed to obtain smooth tradeoffs between these two key complexity measures or only obtained suboptimal tradeoffs. Our key innovation is having the verifier compute certain nonlinear sketches of the input stream, leading to either new or improved tradeoffs. In many cases, our schemes in fact provide optimal tradeoffs up to logarithmic factors.
Specifically, for most graph problems that we study, it is known that the product of the verifier's space cost $v$ and the proof length $h$ must be at least $\Omega(n^2)$ for $n$-vertex graphs. However, matching upper bounds are only known for a handful of settings of $h$ and $v$ on the curve $h \cdot v=\tilde{\Theta}(n^2)$. For example, for counting triangles and maximum matching, schemes with costs lying on this curve are only known for $(h=\tilde{O}(n^2), v=\tilde{O}(1))$, $(h=\tilde{O}(n), v=\tilde{O}(n))$, and the trivial $(h=\tilde{O}(1), v=\tilde{O}(n^2))$. A major message of this work is that by exploiting nonlinear sketches, a significant ``portion'' of costs on the tradeoff curve $h \cdot v = n^2$ can be achieved.


We study the effects of wealth taxation on reported wealth. Our analysis is based on data for Switzerland, which has the highest rate of annual wealth taxation in the developed world. While the wealth tax base is defined at the federal level, tax rates vary considerably across locations and over time. We use aggregate data on wealth holdings by canton and individual-level data for the canton of Bern. Our estimated behavioral elasticities substantially exceed those of the taxable income literature. We also find that taxpayers bunch below the tax threshold, that observed responses are driven by changes in wealth holdings rather than mobility, and that financial wealth is somewhat more responsive than non-financial wealth.


Brazilian modern architecture was widely celebrated in the 1940s and 1950s as a tropical branch of Corbusian architecture. While there is truth and depth to the influence of Le Corbusier in Brazil, the architecture of this country is much more than simply an application of his principles to a warmer climate. Moreover, Brazilian 20th-century architecture cannot be defined only by a few decades in which their buildings coincided with and reinforce northern expectations. Many contemporary authors have explored the pervasive nature of such ethnocentrism in architectural history, which denies agency and initiative to anyone outside its intellectual borders. A more adequate analysis must give proper emphasis to Brazilian architects' motivations and agency, exploring in their main buildings how they struggled to express themselves and their societal aspirations by skillfully manipulating a formal and spatial vocabulary of international modernity.
 A contemporary study of Brazilian 20th-century architecture would not be worthy of its title if it did not address similar double standards that have been applied domestically. It is paramount to understand that the influence of modernism in the built environment reached way beyond the well-known centers of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and its manifestations go way beyond the high modernism of the 1940s and 50s. The ethnocentrism of the global North Atlantic repeats itself in Brazil, with the architectures of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo overshadowing all others. If Brazilian architecture in general is not well known, notwithstanding its extraordinary achievements, still less known are the buildings erected in Recife, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador, to mention only four other major urban centers, or the hundreds of buildings in medium-size cities with as much quality and intentionality as those of Rio and São Paulo.


Background: There is increasing body of evidence that maternal caffeine use during pregnancy predisposes the embryo and foetus to spontaneous abortion but data on its influence on foetal morphometry is scarce. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate experimentally the effects of caffeine on morphometric parameters of newborn of Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty, experimentally naive, adult female Wistar-albino rats weighing 100–150 g were mated. After confirming pregnancy by vaginal plug method, the pregnant rats were randomly assigned into four groups (Group A–D). The dams in Group A served a normal control. They had 0.2 ml/kg body weight of normal saline intraperitoneally from day 9 to 20. Experimental Group B rats had 25 mg/kg body weight of caffeine intraperitoneally. Group C had 50 mg/kg body weight of caffeine intraperitoneally and Group D dams had 100 mg/kg body weight of caffeine intraperitoneally. Dams in both experimental and control groups were sacrificed on day 20 after caffeine administration. The foetuses were weighed and their crown-rump lengths were measured. Their body mass index of the litters (foetuses) was calculated and their placentas were weighed. Results: The mean crown-rump length of the litters (Group A) was significantly more (5.61 ± 0.29) than the experimental which were 5.10 ± 0.22 cm, 4.72 ± 0.24 cm and 3.81 ± 0.16 cm for Group B, C and D litters, respectively (P < 0.0001). The mean foetal weight of Group A litters was significantly more (1.56 ± 0.38) than the experimental which were 1.25 ± 0.41 g, 1.15 ± 0.77 cm and 0.78 ± 0.34 cm for Group B, C and D litters, respectively (P < 0.0001). The mean placenta weight of the foetuses was significantly lower in the females from the experimental Group B, C and D compared to the control group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed a significantly reduced foetal weight, crown-rump length and placenta weight in the offspring of experimental female rats treated with caffeine compared to the control.


High strength application of biopolymers requires good mechanical strength. The tensile properties of polylactic acid (PLA) are relatively low for major industrial applications such as packaging, biomedical and automobile spare parts. In this study, the mechanical strength of polylactic acid was enhanced with nanocarbon isolated from diesel engine combustion soot. The isolated nanocarbon was characterised using spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. After that, the nanocarbon was used as a reinforcement in plasticised PLA to produce a composite. The PLA-nanocarbon composite was produced using the compression moulding technique. The nanocarbon composition was varied between 2 wt% and 8 wt% in the PLA matrix. The tensile, hardness and morphological properties of the composite were analysed with the tensile test, hardness test, optical microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The ultraviolet (UV) spectrometer and FTIR analysis results confirmed the successful isolation of nanocarbon from the diesel engine combustion soot. The tensile and hardness properties of the PLA matrix increased with addition of nanocarbon. The morphological images showed good miscibility between the PLA and the nanocarbon reinforcement, responsible for the increase in mechanical properties. The potential use of the composite for high strength application showed great possibility based on the result obtained.


The prolonged stay after cardiac surgery can significantly decrease the quality of life. Many studies have assessed the risk factors associated with length of stay but only a few have discussed the risk factors of prolonged stay after surgery. Therefore, this study is aimed to determine the risk factors affecting long term stay in hospital after CABG and to make comparison between group for each risk factors. All the risk factors were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Overall, 3096 of CABG patients were discharged within less than 14 days, whereas 332 patients required prolonged (>14days) stays. The findings from the suruiual analysis indicated that patients with diabetes and wound infection stayed longer in the hospital.
Keywords: CABG, length of stay, prolonged stay, Kaplan-Meier analysis
eISSN 2514-7528 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.


A divide-by-3 semi-dynamic frequency divider (SDFD) with active balun is presented using the current-reused technique. The proposed SDFD is composed of a Gilbert cell mixer, one stage of static divider and an active balun. The LO switching stage of the Gilbert cell mixer is also the current source of the static frequency divider to construct the current-reused architecture. At the incident power of 0 dBm, this frequency divider operates at the maximum bandwidth of 1100 MHz from 21.5 to 22.6 GHz. The power consumption of the divider is 12 mW at a 1.5 V supply voltage.


Artists are increasingly adopting apps such as "Brushes", "Procreate" and "Sketchbook Pro" to create new work. The "Blue Jay Weeble" exhibit for Research Through Design explores the notion of "liveness" around live, experiential digital painting. The artist Jason Wilsher-Mills will perform iPad painting in an immersive space made up of four projection screens linked to iPads and displaying paintings made with the Brushes app. The installation will create an experience of the artist's dynamic use of the app as a tool for free drawing and collage.

The paintings will illustrate a research prototype currently being developed around the notion of a "Digital Weeble". This hand-scale object opens to display a screen interface controlled by biometric sensors which determine what content is revealed to the user participant. The artist will illustrate this concept drawing on his repertoire of pop culture motifs. These includes Batman and the popular 1970s "Weeble" children's toy. The works additionally reference precious art objects such as the extravagantly bejeweled Faberge egg which was produced in Imperial Russia and worn on a necklace.


The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) has a very important economic potential for aquaculture, but on the other hand, is among the highly invasive species in the world and within the Mediterranean ecosystem. In the 1960s, C. gigas was brought to Europe for aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions from Japan and Canada. The Turkish waters are the part of the Mediterranean Sea, which is the world's most invaded sea. The invasion of alien species results from marine transportation and aquaculture activities of non-native species. A heavy maritime traffic is also present in the Marmara Sea, which connects the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. The identification of the invasive species and their distributions is very prominent in terms of protecting natural habitat and monitoring the effects of invasive species. In this study, 30 individuals, morphologically identified as C. gigas, were collected from Bandırma bay. The genomic DNAs were extracted from each sample's muscle tissue using universal salt extraction method. Partial sequences of COI and 16S Mitochondrial DNA loci of the sample DNAs were obtained for species identification. The sequences were searched against the database and results were retrieved from BLAST. All the sequences obtained in this study showed significant similarity with the C. gigas sequences present in the database (E=0). The sample sequences resulted in 9 different haplotypes for the COI locus (hd: 0.5296 and variance: 0.01256±0.112) and 5 different haplotypes for the 16S rDNA locus (hd: 0.2529, Variance: 0.01076±0.104). The results of this study provided the first molecular evidence for the presence of non-native Pacific oyster individuals in the Marmara Sea. Please cite this paper as follows: Özcan Gökçek, E., Acarlı, S., Karahan, B., Vural, P., Koban Baştanlar, E. (2020). First molecular record of the alien species Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas, Thunberg 1793) in the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, 9(1): 23-31. * Corresponding author E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com (E. Özcan Gökçek) Özcan Gökçek et al. (2020) Marine Science and Technology Bulletin 9(1): 23-31


In two previous publications (Gall and Huhtanen, 1951; Huhtanen and Gall, 1953) fourteen rumen organisms have been described. One group of five type cultures includes four rods and one coccus that are fast-growing, easy to culture organisms which produce lactic acid and are associated with the rumen of animals, especially calves, that are heavy grain consumers. The other group of rumen organisms consists of nine fastidious rods that attack fiber producing shortchain fatty acids and are associated -especially with the rumen of adult animals consuming mostly roughage. Eight other types of organisms, five rods and three cocci, have been isolated repeatedly in large numbers from the rumen, and because they meet the criteria for true rumen organisms, they have been studied and designated as type cultures of rumen bacteria. These eight organisms will be described.


OBJECTIVES
To describe three further cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) occurring in patients with preexisting chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We also reviewed the literature of previously published cases.

METHODS
We discuss the clinical features, histopathology, and outcomes for three patients with ALCL and CLL from Perth, Australia. The cases were also included in a literature review of existing cases and comparisons were made with our cohort.

RESULTS
The three patients included two men (aged 77 and 74 years) and one woman (aged 66 years). All had a history of untreated CLL with diagnosis established 4 to 16 years before. They had lymphadenopathy and/or cutaneous/soft tissue lesions that proved to be ALCL, ALK+ (one case) or ALCL, ALK- (two cases).

CONCLUSIONS
Further research is required in this area to establish prognostic and management recommendations. Increasing numbers of cases are being described. Positron emission tomography with computed tomography was not useful in our cohort for diagnosing progression.


Creation of novel functionality in materials is always fascinating for researchers/scientists. Bismuth ferrite (BFO), a well known multiferroics material with simultaneous magnetic and electric order, is promising for spintronics and memory devices. Herein, we were able to demonstrate for the first time very good carbon monoxide (CO) sensing capability of bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles prepared through a simple sol–gel technique. Morphological/structural characterization was performed using various standard sophisticated modern probes, which confirms the formation of single phase BFO nanoparticles. The sensing properties of BFO nanoparticles towards CO was tested for concentrations in the range of 5 ppm–30 ppm at different temperatures (between 270 °C to 450 °C). Very good response (Rg/Ra) of around 2.12 towards 30 ppm CO at an operating temperature of 350 °C was observed. The as-prepared sensors exhibited rapid response and recovery time of around 25 s and 13 s, respectively, for sensing 30 ppm CO. In addition, the sensors are selective, highly reproducible and remain quite stable for almost 150 days, which is required for device application. A plausible mechanism has been proposed to explain the CO sensing behaviour of the BFO nanoparticles. On the basis of the observed sensing properties we believe that a BFO nanoparticle-based sensor could be a suitable alternative to conventional oxide-based sensors having various difficulties.


In this work a virtual reality medical training system (MTS) for bone drilling skill training is presented. For this purpose a novel controller algorithm, two graphical user interfaces for teaching and simulating purposes are developed. A 3 DOF haptic display that is developed in our laboratory is used for force feedback. Several user tests are performed to validate how the developed MTS helps for skill improvement. The effects of adding acoustic feedback and the advantages of using a 3 DOF haptic display instead of 1 DOF are investigated. Preliminary user studies suggest that the proposed system can be a powerful tool for teaching how to drill into bone.


A new donor–acceptor type conjugated polymer (P1) composed of thiazolothiazole (TzTz) and thienylenevinylene (TV) units was synthesized to confirm that structural characteristics, such as the presence of coplanar units and a D–A conformation in the polymer main chain, can have an effect on charge carrier transport in high performance organic field-effect transistors. P1 was compared with two polymers that had bithiophene (BiTh) units instead of TV units (P2) or thienothiophene (TT) units in the place of TzTz units (P3) to investigate the relationship between the molecular structure and polymer properties. P1 had a higher order of orientation than P2 due to the rigid and planar structure caused by the presence of the TV unit in P1 compared to the distorted structure of P2. The effect of the D–A type configuration in P1 was also confirmed by demonstrating its stronger intermolecular interactions and more effective hole and electron transport compared with that of the D–D type polymer P3. Thus, in contrast to P2 (with a hole mobility of 0.076 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an electron mobility of 0.0025 cm2 V−1 s−1) and P3 (with a hole mobility of 0.2 cm2 V−1 s−1 only), P1 exhibited higher ambipolar charge carrier mobilities (1.66 cm2 V−1 s−1 of holes and 0.05 cm2 V−1 s−1 of electrons).


An unusually advanced case of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip is presented. Case management involved the use of a radiosensitizing agent, radiotherapy, surgical resection, and reconstruction. Two years later the patient is free of disease.


Background Although recent clinical practice guidelines have highlighted the importance of advance care planning (ACP) for improving end-of-life care for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), ACP can be complex and emotionally challenging for patients and providers, which may explain the limited uptake of ACP in renal settings. Aim To describe the perspectives and experiences of healthcare providers who have facilitated ACP for patients with CKD. Methods Face-to-face and telephone semi-structured interviews were conducted with nephrologists, nephrology nurses, nephrology social workers and dedicated nephrology ACP facilitators purposively sampled from all Australian states/territories. Data were analysed using grounded theory and thematic analysis. Results Based on 10 interviews conducted to date, we identified four themes: embedding ACP into practice (availability of resources and materials, gaining competence, and perceptible value of ACP in practice); patient-focused ACP (understanding individual contexts, readiness and preparedness to discuss ACP and flexibility of patient decisions over time); comfort with ACP (patient's stage of illness and age, perceived appropriateness and previous exposure to ACP); and enacting patient wishes (availability of ACP documents, clarity of documented wishes and competing agendas). Discussion Healthcare providers who have participated in ACP for patients with CKD perceive ACP as important for patient care in supporting informed and respected choices. However, ACP can be complex and difficult to integrate in routine practice because of limited support to facilitate this process. Conclusion Strategies are needed to facilitate the process of integrating ACP in the clinical care of patients with CKD.


Multiple stimulation of rabbit leg with short DC pulses of both threshold and subthreshold intensities creates in corresponding areas of CNS a focus of excitation with dominant properties: summation, inertia et al. When an unconditioned reflex (blinking) was used as in agent exposing defensive dominant, it was found that summation in the dominant focus may occur without a conjugate inhibition of the subdominant center. During summation the dominant center is not uniform. Depending on the level of excitation in the dominant focus, the subdominant focus may be both in inhibitory state (no blinking in response to the subdominant stimulus) and in a state of enhanced excitation (the reflex to its proper stimulus increases). Multiple pairings of two subthreshold stimulations (of leg and eyelid) result in the establishment of a temporary connection with two-way conductivity.


Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) represent the largest known group of bacterial protein toxins to date. Membrane insertion and subsequent pore-formation occurs after initial binding to cell-surface receptor and oligomerization. Aerolysin, a toxin produced by the Gram-negative bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila and related species, belongs to the PFT group and shares a common mechanism of action involving -barrel structures resulting from the assembly of hairpins from individual toxin monomers into a heptamer. Aerolysin is also the name given to structurally and mechanistically related toxins called the aerolysin-like toxin family. A universal characteristic of this toxin family involves the diverse life forms that synthesize these proteins throughout Nature. Examples include: 1) epsilon-toxin and septicum-alpha-toxin produced by anaerobic, Gram-positive Clostridium species; 2) enterolobin by the Brazilian tree Enterolobium contortisiliquum; 3) a mushroom toxin Laetiporus sulphureus lectin (LSL); 4) mosquitocidal toxins (Mtxs) from the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus sphaericus and parasporine-2 from Bacillus thuringiensis; and 6) hydralysins from the tiny aquatic animal Chlorohydra viridis. The following review provides an overview of the different members within the aerolysin-like toxin family. keywords: Pore-forming toxins, aerolysin, septicum-alpha-toxin, enterolobin, epsilon-toxin, Laetiporus sulphureus lectin.


Context. It has been suggested that two weak signals observed in the low frequency region of the Fourier transform amplitude spectra from the KIC 5807616 Q5-Q8 data can be interpreted as a result of the light reflection from planets orbiting the host star. Ever since the last results on KIC 5807616 were presented, the Kepler spacecraft has collected over two years of additional data, which we analysed using asteroseismological methods. Aims. To verify and improve on previous results, we used the Q 5-Q 17 Kepler data to identify pulsational modes, determine multiplet splitting, and to re-analyse the low frequency region between 33−49 μHz where two frequencies, claimed as the planetary signature, were found. Methods. Since Fourier transform amplitude spectra of the KIC 5807616 data do not show any clear multiplets, we used two stable acoustic modes to determine the theoretical width of gravity mode multiplets and their splittings. The period spacing and histograms of common multiplet component separations were used to identify pulsation modes and the observed gravity mode splittings. In the low frequency region, we analysed the amplitude variations of two planetary signature frequencies over the whole observing run. Results. We determined the rotational period of the star from the splittings. Analysis of the low frequency region shows that the amplitude and frequency change of the signals found there have similar characteristics to other gravity modes. Conclusions. New data allow for identifying gravity modes in a limited period range, as well as better rotational period estimations. We suggest that the so-called planetary signature frequencies found in previous work might instead be pulsation modes visible beyond the cut-off frequency of the star.


This review examines recent studies investigating physical activity interventions designed specifically for adolescent girls and makes recommendations for future research and practice. Results are organized using an adapted version of Pender's Health Promotion Model. Of the 12 interventions reviewed, three increased physical activity, two improved fitness, two decreased body fat, and six sought to improve psychosocial functioning in their participants. These interventions included a variety of components, including physical, cognitive, affective, and environmental. This research summary can aid adolescent health researchers, school nurses, and pediatric health care professionals in designing strategies to increase physical activity in adolescent girls. In addition to directly increasing physical activity, future interventions should also seek to influence physical activity-related cognition affect and environment in order to bring about lasting change.


Any contract in the Iranian legal system contains features that need to be explained in order to better understand the exact terms of agreement. Some such features are related to whether the contract is irrevocable or voidable, gratuitous or with considerations, and may bear upon accountability and suspension, formality or contentment, and so on. In surrogacy, the sperm and egg of an infertile couple are fertilized and then transferred to another woman's uterus to carry till birth, when the child is delivered to the owners of the sperm and egg. The specific features and uncertain nature of surrogacy specify the standing of this type of contract among others. The present article is aimed to examine the features of surrogacy agreements from ethical and legal perspectives.


This paper conducts an extensive survey on existing Virtual Reality (VR)-based rehabilitation approaches in the context of different types of impairments: mobility, cognitive, and visual. Some VR-based assistive technologies involve repetitions of body movements, some require persistent mental exercise, while some work as sensory substitution systems. A multi-modal VR-based environment can incorporate a number of senses, (i.e., visual, auditory, or haptic) into the system and can be an immense source of motivation and engagement in comparison with traditional rehabilitation therapy. This survey categorizes virtual environments on the basis of different available modalities. Each category is again subcategorized by the types of impairments while introducing available devices and interfaces. Before concluding the survey, the paper also briefly focuses on some issues with existing VR-based approaches that need to be optimized to exploit the utmost benefit of virtual environment-based rehabilitation systems .


In this thesis we aim to provide a many-sided answer to the question: what are the consequences of plate-like colloidal shape on a suspensions' physical properties? A central role in this investigation is played by the experimental model system of
 platelets which, building on the Van 't Hoff Laboratory's rich tradition with respect to synthesizing colloidal model systems, was developed for this purpose. Consisting of fairly monodisperse sterically stabilised gibbsite platelets, this system allows us to focus on the effect of plate-like particle shape while keeping the shape, size and interactions well-defined.

 In part I, we consider the dynamical properties of dilute suspensions. This yields the first results for the viscosity,
 sedimentation, and diffusion behaviour of such a platelet suspension as a function of the volume fraction. It will be interesting to see whether these experiments will inspire theoretical efforts towards calculating the f-coefficients in the viscosity, sedimentation, and diffusion, for which no predictions are yet available.

 In part II, we show that these suspensions of approximately hard platelets exhibit an isotropic to nematic phase transition.
 While being predicted by the Onsager theory and computer simulations, this observation clearly contrasts with the ubiquitous (but poorly understood) gel formation in suspensions of clay platelets. Furthermore, increasing the platelets' polydispersity leads to a broadening of the I-N coexistence region and the appearance of pronounced fractionation. We demonstrate that a remarkable feature of the observed I-N transition in these more polydisperse systems -where the nematic phase becomes the upper phase- can be explained on the basis of strong fractionation with respect to platelet thickness.

 Moreover, at high particle densities, the suspensions exhibit a nematic to columnar phase transition. Although predicted by
 simulations for monodisperse platelets, the stability of a columnar phase in suspensions with up to 25% polydispersity in
 diameter is remarkable in the light of the so-called terminal polydispersity for hard sphere crystallisation and hard rod
 smectisation. The stability of the columnar phase in these polydisperse systems is probably connected with the fact that the
 platelets are polydisperse in thickness too, which suppresses the relative stability of the competing liquid crystalline phase: the smectic. In the case of 25% polydispersity in diameter the columnar structure breaks down and a smectic-like structure appears upon increasing the density, whereas the columnar structure prevails for a lower value of the diameter polydispersity.

 In part III, we study the phase behaviour of mixtures of plate-like colloids and either non-adsorbing polymer or rod-like colloids. The phase behaviour of these mixtures is even richer than that of the pure platelet suspensions, as we find the appearance of an additional isotropic phase (in plate-polymer mixtures) and two additional (rod-rich) liquid crystalline phases (in rod-plate mixtures). The observed topology of these phase diagrams, which include the coexistence of up to five different phases, can be explained by the interplay between the employed types of species (plate, rod, or polymer) and their polydispersity.

 Looking back on the properties of the model system investigated in this thesis, it is clear that we have uncovered a number of features which are both fascinating and of fundamental interest. At the same time however, we must recognise that the role of the parameters varied in this study -such as polydispersity, attraction, and the presence of added colloidal species- does not yet allow us to understand the behaviour exhibited by the much more complex


The paper presents the measurements results of microelements content in the root zone of peat-moors soil. The research was conducted on long-term Agricultural experimental plots, established in 1957, located in the Biebrza Experimental Station. The plots were used as grasslands and arable land as well as abandoned land. The amount of fertilisation of the plots was variable (0, K, PK, NPK). The obtained results shows that phosphorous and potassium content in de soil after 38 years of use under grasslands and arable land were dependent on fertilisation practice. The soil used as arable land exhibits lower contents of phophorus and potassium and higher contents of calcium in comparison to soil used as grassland. Soil pH was dependent on calcium content, the lowest values (pH=4.l) were observed in the soil used as non-fertilised grasslands while the highest (pH=4,8) in the soil fertilised with phospohorus and potassium. The abandonment of Agricultural soil use as grassland or arable land leads to systematically decrease values of potassium, magnesium and partially nitrogen contents in soil and increase values of phosphorus and calcium contents in the peat-moorsh soil.


Pervasive computing devices give fans more control over their experience and more information about the games they love, even when they're miles away. Mobile devices have put sports into the pocket of the fan. Mobile content and messaging deals let consumers access their sports when and where they want to. Prior to the use of the wireless caddie, the application provider, set up a Wi-Fi network around each course. with the new devices, the existing network offers more ubiquitous coverage with less set-up time. Extraction relies on an image-processing technique that can pull out information and decode the barcodes. According to IBM, when this system is in place, any mobile device can be used with a blacklight-LED-enabled camera as the reader.


Decades of appallingly low investment in the public health sector has left India with a crumbling health system, unable to meet the needs of its citizens. Despite efforts in recent years to strengthen the public health system, India has one of the lowest levels of government investment in health in the world, just one percent of GDP in 2010, with only four countries allocating a smaller share of their overall budget. The gap left by the public health system, combined with a government policy of proactively promoting the private sector, has led to the proliferation of private health providers which are unregulated, unaccountable, and out of control. Oxfam is calling on the Government of India to prioritise strengthening and scaling-up of a universal public health care system, designed to improve accountability and promote community participation in planning and monitoring health services. The regulation of private providers (including hospitals, nursing homes and other clinical establishments) must be properly enforced, and further promotion and funding of Public-Private Partnerships must cease until quality and equity performance standards are shown to have improved.


A model for the calculation of diffuse reflectance spectra for oxidized metals is applied to thermally oxidized copper films and compared with experiments. The model calculations reproduce the spectral structure observed in the experiments. It is demonstrated that the air-oxide interface roughness dominates the scattering for wavelengths shorter than the absorption threshold of the oxide, and the oxide-metal interface roughness dominates for longer wavelengths. Using the model for fitting calculations the rms roughness values for the two interfaces are determined independently. The roughness values agree with the results from high accuracy stylus profiling of the oxide front surface as well as stylus profiling and total integrated scattering of He-Ne light from the bare metal surface, obtained after etching away the oxide. The good overall agreement between the calculated and experimental diffuse reflectance spectra, as well as the rms roughness values determined with different techniques, confirms the applicability of the model.


Traffic dispersion, which means spreading traffic from a source over multiple disjoint paths through a network, has gained interest for the handling of bursty multimedia traffic. The strategy has been shown to improve network performance and to increase security and tolerance to faults. Our study focuses on the implementation of the technique in an ATM network, and discusses the protocol functions and signalling procedures necessary to support traffic dispersion. These include connection establishment and release for multiple paths, and the dispersion of cells at the sender with resequencing at the receiver. There are also simulation results included to show how dispersion affects the delay a cell suffers through a network. Lastly, we give an example of pseudocode for implementing resequencing and decoding of dispersed cells in a receiving AAL.


Since the introduction of the serum test for syphilis by Wassermann, Neisser and Bruck, in 1906, using the method of complement fixation or deviation as evolved by Bordet and Gengou, in 1901, a large number of modifications of Wassermann's original method have been suggested, many of which have proved of distinct value in simplifying the carrying out of the test and in rendering the diagnoses made thereby more accurate. The results of the many thousands of tests which have been made have shown the remarkable value of the reaction, but the method demands considerable skill in laboratory technic and a wide experience in interpreting its results. Any method, therefore, which would place the serum diagnosis of syphilis on a plane easily reached by the man of average laboratory training with the equipment ordinarily found in a doctor's office, or at least easily secured, should first be accurately tried out by


The aim of this project has been to develop the assembly language functions needed to allow easy implementation in real-time of a secure speech channel. The theory of security systems is introduced and developed. Encryption algorithms are described. A library of multi-precision arithmetic routines has been written for use on the TMS320C25 digital signed processor. These routines are compatible with code produced by the TMS320C25 C Compiler. Multi-precision arithmetic is used in public key encryption which requires large number arithmetic for security and which also has real-time operation requirements. An overview of DSP use in this kind of application is given, the design, implementation and test of these routines is described and some application examples and timings are shown.


Cellulases are important enzymes in cellulose degradation that occurs in nature, this degradation involves a system of extracellular multienzymes and have wide application. The construction of a high-quality system for the production of these enzymes is important for its application in the process of saccharification of biomass involved in the biofuel production process. Several species of fungi are capable of synthesizing and secreting high amounts of cellulase, most studies with fungal species use linearized plasmid, since these are encompassed to chromosomal DNA, improving its stability and expression efficiency. Advances in the production of recombinant enzymes focus on the search for industrially viable microorganisms capable of producing enzymes under various conditions, expressing them in a highly efficient manner, aiming at the synthesis of several copies of genes and a strong promoter. To resay these restrictions, molecular biology combined with recombinant DNA technology is a viable tool in enzymatic production. In subsequent topics, the production of endoglucanases, exoglucanases and β-glucosidase of fungi cloned in Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris and other different expression systems will be addressed.


Evidence from noninvasive ultrasound studies of the neonatal aorta and fetal and early childhood postmortem studies indicates that impaired fetal growth, in utero exposure to maternal hypercholesterolemia, and diabetic macrosomia may all be important risk factors for vascular changes consistent with the earliest physical signs of atherosclerosis. Although the exact mechanisms that underlie these associations remain unclear, animal models have suggested that the use of antioxidant, lipid-lowering, and other innovative therapies may counteract the impact of these intrauterine risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This review summarizes the current evidence for intrauterine factors that have a direct impact on atherosclerosis and provides potential treatment and prevention strategies.


We used community partnerships to develop an integrated science-learning program focused on two groups of learners – university and middle school (MS) students – to increase students' interest and confidence in science as well as motivation to pursue science. Key program elements include a university course for undergraduate and graduate students, university student-led weekly afterschool clubs held at local middle schools (mostly Title I), and a capstone museum science festival led by university and MS students. Across nine course offerings, 78 university students conducted 25 clubs at seven middle schools and engaged at least 240 MS students. The capstone science festival engaged ~1,200 public participants across six events. We evaluated the program in two phases. Quantitative and qualitative assessments show that university students enjoyed the course and increased their ability to describe complex scientific phenomenon to youth. Middle school students reported significant increases in science interest, science understanding, and understanding scientists (1st evaluation phase); and increased interest in a career in science and in their perception of others seeing them as a scientist (2nd phase). Consistent with prior research, overall we found an increase in interest and understanding of science, science identity, and interest in future science careers for MS students.


This paper examines variables, which significantly determine longrun growth in Africa. Emphasis is put on financial intermediaries. The study used 37 countries and 14 variables. It employed an approach, which was introduced by Sala-i-Martin and D. Miller (2000) called Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE). This method constructs estimates by averaging Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) coefficients across models and weights given to individual regressions have a Bayesian justification similar to the Schwarz model selection criterion. Results vary from period to period but the most recent evidence shows that determinants of growth in Africa are Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and population growth. Of 14 explanatory variables, FDI shows the strongest evidence. Unexpectedly, all used three financial intermediary indicators were not significant except for Liquid liabilities/ GDP (llgdp), which was significant from 1992 to 1998.


Cryptotanshinone (CPT), a natural compound isolated from the plant Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, is a potential anticancer agent. However, little is known about its anticancer mechanism. Here, we show that CPT inhibited cancer cell proliferation by arresting cells in G1-G0 phase of the cell cycle. This is associated with the inhibition of cyclin D1 expression and retinoblastoma (Rb) protein phosphorylation. Furthermore, we found that CPT inhibited the signaling pathway of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a central regulator of cell proliferation. This is evidenced by the findings that CPT inhibited type I insulin-like growth factor I– or 10% fetal bovine serum–stimulated phosphorylation of mTOR, p70 S6 kinase 1, and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Expression of constitutively active mTOR conferred resistance to CPT inhibition of cyclin D1 expression and Rb phosphorylation, as well as cell growth. The results suggest that CPT is a novel antiproliferative agent. Cancer Prev Res; 3(8); 1015–25. ©2010 AACR.


Hospital case notes are a crucial source of data but are subject to two major biases: incompleteness of data and non-retrieval. To assess these biases in relation to colorectal cancer a study was performed of all cases of colorectal cancer listed in the Thames cancer registry in patients resident in one of four districts in South Thames regions with a diagnosis in 1988. Five medical record sites were involved. Retrieval rate for all case notes for districts combined was 80%. In two districts the rates were too high for further investigation; in the other two respectively patient survival and whether treatment was given were positively associated with retrieval. Among the four districts incompleteness of notes ranged from 38% to 62% for staging, 8% to 40% for treatment, and 70% to 25% for diagnostic tests. Information about treatment was missing in 3% to 20%; survival data were omitted in less than 5%. In all districts completeness of case notes was inadequate and in some non-retrieval compounded the problem. Missing data reduce the quality of cancer registry data and potentially undermine interpretation of epidemiological studies and evaluation of care. Further research is warranted into the standards and resourcing of medical records departments and their effects on retrieval and data quality. Structured proformas could be applied across specialties to identify missing items in case notes, to identify areas where standards are required, or to audit notes where standards have already been agreed. A staging protocol to set standards for colorectal cancer has been adopted in one district, and a prospective audit is being established.


The South China Sea has come to involve important stakes for all involved. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is no different-though its situation is also notably distinct. The South China Sea occupies what Michael Leifer once characterized as the geographic "heart of Southeast Asia."1 Geography alone means that whatever happens in the South China Sea affects ASEAN states the most directly. Moreover, as smaller powers, these states confront much greater vulnerabilities when it comes to great-power demands, even as they may be particular beneficiaries of great-power association. China's activities in the South China Sea have no doubt underscored these dilemmas as the ASEAN states all try to navigate between the strategic vulnerabilities and the economic opportunities associated with a rising, more confident China. Nor are ASEAN states' great-power dilemmas limited to China: the latter's activities in the South China Sea have also precipitated heightened attention from the United States. ASEAN's challenge is thus compounded by the fact that the South China Sea has become an important focal point of rivalry and tension between the ASEAN region's two most important great-power relationships. Maintaining a space between China and the United States-one in which Southeast Asian states can enjoy some range of maneuver and choice-may prove to be the greatest challenge confronting the ASEAN region.This essay considers what is at stake in the South China Sea disputes for ASEAN's coalition of smaller powers, with special attention paid to institutional interests and constraints. It considers not only the more immediate challenges created by territorial disputes but also the more general great-power dilemmas that heightened tensions have recently thrown into sharp relief.ASEAN's Immediate ChallengesMost immediately, China's physical and jurisdictional assertions create the challenge for ASEAN of agreeing on a collective response. This challenge, however, is made more complicated by the fact that it is an intergovernmental organization. Thus, while other governments may have to manage a constellation of domestic interests and agencies, ASEAN as an institution is the expression of ten distinct sovereign actors. States differ not just in the importance they attach to the disputes but also in their relations with China and the kinds of regional responses they prioritize. ASEAN's unprecedented and very public failure to produce a joint communique at its 2012 annual foreign ministers' meeting chaired by Cambodia in Phnom Penh dramatically illustrated this challenge. Additionally complicating ASEAN's response is the fact that critical differences exist even among the grouping's four claimant states. The Philippines and Vietnam have been the most vocal and active in responding to China's activities, while Brunei and Malaysia-even with recently growing Malaysian concerns-have generally favored softer approaches. Such differences challenge ASEAN's efforts to adopt a collective position as well as implement possible ad hoc workarounds that might facilitate a way forward.In its response to the South China Sea disputes, ASEAN as a collective has prioritized the pursuit of a regional code of conduct (C°C) because it keeps attention on the principles of international law, as well as existing codes of conduct like ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Following the embarrassment of ASEAN's 2012 meeting, Indonesia quickly moved to facilitate ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the South China Sea. This statement identifies the "early conclusion" of a C°C and the "full implementation" of both ASEAN's 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the 2011 guidelines as important priorities alongside self-restraint and the nonuse of force by all parties, "full respect" for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the peaceful resolution of disputes. These six principles continue to provide ASEAN states with an important basis for consensus and action. …


Background: To our knowledge, the medium to long-term outcome after revision knee arthroplasty with structural allograft augmentation for reconstruction of uncontained defects has not been determined. The purpose of the present study was to assess the outcome for patients managed with such a procedure. Methods: We prospectively followed fifty patients who had fifty-two revision knee replacements with sixty-six structural grafts performed at three institutions. Twenty-nine knees (twenty-seven patients) were independently evaluated at a mean of 96.9 months (range, sixty to 189 months) by an investigator who had not been involved in the index procedure. Twelve knees (23%) had a repeat revision at a mean of 70.7 months (range, twenty-six to 157 months). The allograft was retained in two of these patients. Eleven patients died at a mean of ninety-three months (range, sixty-one to 128 months) after the procedure; the structural allograft and implants were intact, and the patients were not awaiting revision at the time of death. Results: Clinical evaluation revealed that the mean modified Hospital for Special Surgery knee score had improved from 32.5 points preoperatively to 75.6 points at the time of the review and the mean range of motion had increased from 60.5° preoperatively to 88.6°. Failure was defined as an increase of less than 20 points in the modified Hospital for Special Surgery knee score at the time of the review or the need for an additional operation related to the allograft. Thirteen knee replacements failed, yielding a 75% success rate. Five knees had graft resorption, resulting in implant loosening. Four knee replacements failed because of infection, and two knees had nonunion between the host bone and the allograft. Two knees (one patient) did not have a 20-point improvement in the knee score. The survival rate of the allografts was 72% (95% confidence interval, 69% to 75%) at ten years. On radiographic analysis, none of the surviving grafts had severe resorption, one had moderate resorption, and two had mild resorption. One knee had a loose tibial component, and three knees had nonprogressive tibial radiolucent lines. All four knees were asymptomatic. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that allografts used in revision knee replacement in patients with the difficult problem of massive bone loss have an encouraging medium-term rate of survival.


Abstract Objective To measure the efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine treatment of falciparum malaria in Malawi from 1998 to 2002, after a change from chloroquine to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine as first line treatment in that country in 1993. Design Prospective open label drug efficacy study. Setting Health centre in large peri-urban township adjacent to Blantyre, Malawi. Participants People presenting to a health centre with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Main outcome measures Therapeutic efficacy and parasitological resistance to standard sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine treatment at 14 days and 28 days of follow up. Results Therapeutic efficacy remained stable, with adequate clinical response rates of 80% or higher throughout the five years of the study. Analysis of follow up to 28 days showed modest but significant trends towards diminishing clinical and parasitological efficacy over time within the study period. Conclusion Contrary to expectations, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine has retained good efficacy after 10 years as the first line antimalarial drug in Malawi. African countries with very low chloroquine efficacy, high sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine efficacy, and no other immediately available alternatives may benefit from interim use of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine while awaiting implementation of combination antimalarial treatments.


Twenty years ago, 'alcoholism' was pronounced dead but reports of its death seem to have been greatly exaggerated. This paper will firstly trace the history of the alcoholism concept from its origins in the 19th Century to the present day and will briefly describe its main disadvantages for explaining, treating and preventing alcohol-related problems. The paper will then describe perspectives on alcohol dependence that can be seen as alternatives to alcoholism, including the Alcohol Dependence Syndrome which, it will be argued, merely replicates the alcoholism concept in disguised form. It will then be suggested that the true alternative to alcoholism is the public health perspective on alcohol problems in which alcohol dependence is seen as continuous in degree throughout the population of regular drinkers and alcohol-related problems are disaggregated. The paper will conclude with a review of the implications of this view for the field of alcohol problems theory and practice.


A positive relationship between clutch size or litter size and latitude exists in birds and many species of small mammal. Hitherto, however, analyses for large mammals have failed to provide evidence that litter sizes increase with latitude. 2. We collated data from published studies of wild boar in Europe, to analyse the relationship between litter size and latitude in this widely distributed terrestrial mammal. 3. Depending on the specific data set (whether only the most reliable data or all available data were included), latitude explained 58% to 72% of the variation in mean litter sizes across studies. On average, litter size increases by approximately 0.15 piglets per degree of latitude. 4. A strong correlation between litter size and latitude for wild boar in Europe provides a starting point for demographic modelling of this species of both ecologi- cal and economic importance. 5. The pattern for wild boar is consistent with Ashmole's explanation for the effects of latitude on reproduction. The contrast between our results and those generated for other large mammals may result from our focus on an herbivore in contrast to previous work which was focused on carnivores. Further work could usefully examine the extent of seasonality in the availability of resources for species of different dietary types.


Liver X Receptors (LXRα and β) are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily of ligand-activated transcription factors. LXRs are activated by oxidised metabolites of cholesterol and several synthetic ligands, play a crucial role in the regulation of cholesterol and fatty acid homeostasis, and act as strong modulators of inflammation and immunity. This has positioned them as targets for the treatment of several pathologies, including atherosclerosis and obesity. Besides ligand binding, LXR activity can be modulated by post-translational modifications, and previous work has shown that phosphorylation of LXRα alters its transcriptional activity in a gene-specific manner in a macrophage cell line. This thesis has focused on better understanding the regulation of LXRα phosphorylation and investigating how changes in the receptor's phosphorylation status modulate its activity in vivo; more specifically, in relation to its effects on hepatic lipid metabolism, and the development of inflammation and fibrosis. To do so, I have used a novel mouse model that expresses a whole-body non-phosphorylatable mutant version of LXRα (S196A) and have assessed its responses to a High Fat and High Cholesterol diet, as a dietary model of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Furthermore, I have studied how the transcriptional capacity of the mutant receptor is modulated, assessing its differential binding to DNA and to other proteins. In order to evaluate the relevance of my findings in the context of human disease, I have also examined LXR activity on the activation of human hepatic stellate cells, key players in the development of liver fibrosis. Lastly, I have sought to examine new stimulants capable of inducing LXRα phosphorylation in vitro, and how this phenomenon can be pharmacologically impaired by using already-available kinase inhibitors. Overall, the work described in this thesis shows that LXRα phosphorylation critically acts as a novel nutritional sensor that promotes a unique diet-induced transcriptome and modulates metabolic, inflammatory and fibrotic responses that are key in NAFLD progression This novel work significantly contributes to our understanding of LXRα activity in liver disease in a pre-clinical setup, and places the modulation of LXRα phosphorylation as a potential anti-inflammatory/anti-fibrotic therapeutic target.


Experimental investigations of shear layer instability have shown that some obviously essential features of the instability properties cannot be described by the inviscid linearized stability theory of temporally growing disturbances. Therefore an attempt is made to obtain better agreement with experimental results by means of the inviscid linearized stability theory of spatially growing disturbances. Thus using the hyperbolic-tangent velocity profile the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions were computed numerically for complex wave-numbers and real frequencies. The results so obtained showed the tendency expected from the experiments. The physical properties of the disturbed flow are discussed by means of the computed vorticity distribution and the computed streaklines. It is found that the disturbed shear layer rolls up in a complicated manner. Furthermore, the validity of the linearized theory is estimated. The result is that the error due to the linearization of the disturbance equation should be larger for the vorticity distribution than for the velocity distribution, and larger for higher disturbance frequencies than for lower ones. Finally, it can be concluded from the comparison between the results of experiments and of both the spatial and temporal theory by Freymuth that the theory of spatially-growing disturbances describes the instability properties of a disturbed shear layer more precisely, at least for small frequencies.


Intrathoracic neoplasms other than bronchogenic carcinoma comprise a disparate group of tumors that have in common an anatomic location within the thorax. For the purposes of this review, they are divided into three categories: pulmonary metastases from locations other than the thorax, mediastinal neoplasms, and unusual primary lung neoplasms. This article reviews the recent literature; discusses evolving strategies for imaging, diagnosis, and treatment; and presents promising research developments.


This paper examines the influence of multisensor data fusion on the automatic extraction of topographic objects from SPOT panchromatic imagery. The suitability of various grey level co-occurrence based texture measures, as well as different pixel windows is also investigated. It is observed that best results are obtained with a 3 2 3 pixel window and the texture measure homogeneity. The synthetic texture image derived together with a Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery are then fused to the SPOT data using the additional channel concept. The object feature base is expanded to include both spectral and spatial features. A maximum likelihood classification approach is then applied. It is demonstrated that the segmentation of topographic objects is significantly improved by fusing the multispectral and texture information.


We developed InGaAsP BRAQWET (barrier, reservoir, and quantum-well electron transfer) structures using numerical modeling to optimize the band structure. The main improvement was achieved by including i,n,i,p-doped layers in the barrier, thus decoupling the quantum-well (QW) from the electric field in the barrier. The optimized structures show increased QW movement with applied bias, QW level close to the Fermi level at zero bias, low leakage current and low sensitivity to fabrication tolerances, such as layer thickness and doping levels. The new structures should show improved performance and be easier to manufacture due to their higher tolerances, BRAQWET structures were grown according to the new design by CBE and show low leakage current (10 mA/cm/sup 2/) and typical band-filling effects at /spl lambda/=1.5 /spl mu/m, making them potentially suitable for high-performance modulators. >


Venomous animals have evolved with sophisticated bio-chemical strategies to arrest prey and defend themselves from natural predators. In recent years, peptide toxins from venomous animals have drawn considerable attention from researchers due to their surprising chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological diversity. Similar to other venomous animals, centipedes are one of the crucial venomous arthropods that have been used in traditional medicine for hundreds of years in China. Despite signifying pharmacological importance, very little is known about the active components of centipede venoms. More than 500 peptide sequences have been reported in centipede venomous glands by transcriptome analysis, but only a small number of peptide toxins from centipede has been functionally described. Like other venomous animals such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders, the venom of centipedes could be an excellent source of peptides for developing drugs for treatments as well as bio-insecticides for agrochemical applications. Although centipede venoms are yet to be adequately studied, the venom of centipedes as well as their components described to date, should be compiled to help further research. Therefore, based on previous reports, this review focusses on findings and possible therapeutic applications of centipede venoms as well as their components.


This is an attempt to study the volatility structure of the tanker freight market and its exposure to market shocks. Therefore, we introduce a two state regime to investigate the possibility of two different volatility structures in shipping tanker freight markets. Empirical evidence is found that in general terms, shipping tanker freight returns, shift between two regimes, a high volatility regime and a low volatility regime and that market shocks in general increase the volatility of freight returns and has a lasting effect. In regards to measuring freight risk, it seams that semiparametric approaches are appropriate methods for measuring level of risk exposure for shipping freight markets.


Background & Study Aim: Parkour is a typical extreme form of physical activity (EFPA), commonly extreme sport. Parkour can be characterised as a high-intensity sport that demands motor actions like different jump techniques (vertical, horizontal, plyometric, long jumps), running, climbing, crawling and balancing. The aim of the present study was the effects of eight weeks of strength training on countermovement jump (CMJ) performance in parkour practitioners. Material & Methods: Twenty parkour practitioners without any systematic strength training program experience were distributed into 2 groups. The strength training group (SG) performed strength, and conventional parkour training and the control group (CG) only performed the conventional parkour training. Both types of training were performed 2 times per week. Results: The SG practitioners presented a significant increase in CMJ height (p = 0.000194), while the CG did not present a significant increase (p = 0.138). All SG practitioners showed a percentage increase in CMJ height, with a mean variation of 9.9 ± 0.9%. Conclusions: Strength training increases the vertical jump height of parkour practitioners, which can positively influence performance in this modality. Therefore, the association of strength training with load protocol for muscular hypertrophy can increase the performance in parkour and should, therefore, be encouraged to the practitioners of this modality.