Traditionally, the literature on target tracking assumes that the targets of interest are embedded in homogenous Rayleigh distributed background noise. It is most often assumed that purely kinematic point measurements are extracted from the sensor images, so that the tracking problem can be phrased in terms of data association. The tracker has to decide which point measurements are likely to have been caused by the target, and update the track correspondingly. All other measurements are discarded as clutter.This thesis concerns clutter which does not conform to this framework. The following three challenges are addressed: dim targets, heavy-tailed clutter and wakes.For very dim targets it is impossible to extract point measurements, and tracking can only be done by working directly on the raw sensor images. Several methods for such track-before-detect can be found in the literature. In recent years methods based on sequential Monte Carlo have gained strong popularity. This thesis demonstrates that such methods cannot be expected to perform well unless the amplitudes of sensor cells are treated in a robust way. More precisely, it is demonstrated that a satisfactory performance only can be achieved when the uncertainty of the background noise estimate is taken into account. This is done by means of marginalization over a flat prior distribution for the unknown background power.Similar issues arise in the treatment of heavy-tailed clutter. A heavy-tailed background is a background which generates more frequent occurrences of target-like outliers than what one would expect under the Rayleigh assumption. In other words, more false alarms must be accepted if we shall have any hope of detecting the target, and this causes an inevitable degradation of performance. This thesis presents the first systematic study of this performance loss from a target tracking point of view. It is demonstrated that the performance loss may be substantially mitigated by usage amplitude information, depending on how this information is treated.Another troublesome source of clutter is wakes that appear behind the target. This problem arises in sonar tracking of human divers, in the tracking of ships using surveillance radars, and also in radar tracking of ballistic missiles. This thesis suggests a new solution to this problem. While previous research has used an approach described as probabilistic editing, the new solution solves the wake problem in a Bayesian framework by means of marginalization.These three advances are all tested and compared to traditional approaches using Monte-Carlo simulations. A theoretical analysis of the gains from amplitude information in heavy-tailed clutter is also carried out by means of the modified Riccati equation.The recurrent theme of this thesis is that clutter in general increases uncertainty, and that this uncertainty should be marginalized out by tracking method. The results of this thesis therefore contribute to the viewpoint that tracking methods should be developed by careful probabilistic modeling. The gains from appropriate modeling of the clutter are considerable, even with very simple models and in the presence of large estimation uncertainties. Track-loss rates are typically reduced by half compared to existing methods, and often by more.


Following immune damage in the epidermis, monocytes from the circulation give rise to epidermal Langerhans cells. Resurrecting sentinels in the skin Langerhans cells are resident innate immune cells in the skin that play essential roles in promoting local immune responses and in maintaining skin homeostasis. Langerhans cells arise from fetal progenitors that seed the skin early in development. Here, Ferrer et al. have used a hematopoietic stem cell transplant model to examine the consequences of immune damage and loss of Langerhans cells in adult mouse skin. They report that monocytes from the blood infiltrate the skin and eventually replenish the Langerhans cell network, albeit the process by which monocytes give rise to Langerhans cells is not particularly efficient. Their findings are in agreement with studies reporting the ability of monocytes to replenish tissue-resident macrophages at other sites. A dense population of embryo-derived Langerhans cells (eLCs) is maintained within the sealed epidermis without contribution from circulating cells. When this network is perturbed by transient exposure to ultraviolet light, short-term LCs are temporarily reconstituted from an initial wave of monocytes but thought to be superseded by more permanent repopulation with undefined LC precursors. However, the extent to which this process is relevant to immunopathological processes that damage LC population integrity is not known. Using a model of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, where alloreactive T cells directly target eLCs, we have asked whether and how the original LC network is ultimately restored. We find that donor monocytes, but not dendritic cells, are the precursors of long-term LCs in this context. Destruction of eLCs leads to recruitment of a wave of monocytes that engraft in the epidermis and undergo a sequential pathway of differentiation via transcriptionally distinct EpCAM+ precursors. Monocyte-derived LCs acquire the capacity of self-renewal, and proliferation in the epidermis matched that of steady-state eLCs. However, we identified a bottleneck in the differentiation and survival of epidermal monocytes, which, together with the slow rate of renewal of mature LCs, limits repair of the network. Furthermore, replenishment of the LC network leads to constitutive entry of cells into the epidermal compartment. Thus, immune injury triggers functional adaptation of mechanisms used to maintain tissue-resident macrophages at other sites, but this process is highly inefficient in the skin.


The amino acid sequence of acylphosphatase from porcine skeletal muscle was determined. It consists of 98 amino acid residues with N-acetylserine at the amino (N)-terminus: Ac-Ser-Thr-Ala-Arg-Pro-Leu-Lys-Ser-Val-Asp-Tyr-Glu-Val-Phe-Gly -Arg-Val-Gln-Gly-Val-Cys-Phe-Arg-Met-Tyr-Thr-Glu-Asp-Glu-Ala-Arg-Lys-Ile -Gly-Val-Val-Gly-Trp-Val-Lys-Asn-Thr-Ser-Lys-Gly-Thr-Val-Thr-Gly-Gln -Val-Gln-Gly-Pro-Glu-Glu-Lys-Val-Asn-Ser-Met-Lys-Ser-Trp-Leu-Ser-Lys -Ile-Gly-Ser-Pro-Ser-Ser-Arg-Ile-Asp-Arg-Thr-Asn-Phe-Ser-Asn-Glu-Lys- Thr-Ile-Ser-Lys-Leu-Glu-Tyr-Ser-Asn-Phe-Ser-Ile-Arg-Tyr-OH. This sequence has three substitutions of amino acid residues, i.e., Thr/Ala, Ile/Val, and Ile/Val at positions 26, 68, and 96, respectively, from that of horse muscle acylphosphatase, formerly the only mammalian acylphosphatase with known sequence.


This paper delves into artificial intelligence (AI) based approaches to provide an automated approach to enhancing safety, efficiency, and productivity in modern industrial facilities, on a digital platform T-Pulse®. It explores the challenges and considerations to be taken when using such approaches to ensure that there are no errors for practical application. Broad examples are provided under each of the three categories to elaborate on the practical benefits of the same. Under AI approaches, both image processing models and numerical input models are covered based on the application. The image processing models are used to capture safety observations, resource utilization trends, milestone monitoring during maintenance activities, and automating the analysis of inspection data. In contrast, the numerical input models are used mainly from a process and planning optimization perspective.


Compressed air is utilized throughout various production processes in the citrus industry and can influence production quality and operating costs. Within production equipment, compressed air is expanded from a higher pressure to perform various tasks. The pressure ahead of the final discharge location can have a direct impact on the operation of the specific process. Article pressure is the term used to describe the pressure located closest to the point where air is expanded to do work. Article pressure can be influenced by many variables that exist between supply equipment (compressors) and the point of use. Understanding the relationship between the supply pressure and the article pressure will facilitate the ability to maximize the repeatability and performance of production equipment and minimize the supply power required to operate the compressed air system.This paper will discuss variables that influence the difference between the pressure supplied by the compressor station and the pressure utilized within the production equipment. Illustrations and field examples will be utilized to describe issues. Troubleshooting methods will be discussed along with a description of how to trend variables that influence production so problems can be corrected before they influence productivity.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME


ABSTRACT Through 1995, oil and gas had been produced from 871 fields in Mississippi, cumulative production being 2,168 Mbbl (million barrels) of oil and 8,835 Gcf (billion cubic feet) of gas. About 6 per cent of the gas, but only 0.1 per cent of the oil, came from the 69 Paleozoic fields in the Black Warrior Basin of northeastern Mississippi. The other 802 fields are in central and southern Mississippi, and produced from Norphlet (Upper Jurassic) up through Frio (Oligocene) reservoirs. Of these 802 fields, 322 have produced at least 0.5 Mbbl oil and/or 3 Gcf gas from a single stratigraphic unit. The areal and stratigraphic distribution of hydrocarbons from these 322 fields reveal the principal controls on production. Most of the oil and gas is located in two general settings: (1) structural traps updip from the Perry Basin, a pronounced low in the eastern Mississippi Salt Basin, or (2) combination stratigraphic-structural traps on the Adams County High of southwestern Mississippi. Hydrocarbons from Smackover and possibly younger source rocks in the Perry Basin may have migrated updip along graben faulting related to salt ridges that extend into the basin. North of the Perry Basin, production is mainly Smackover, Cotton Valley, Sligo, Rodessa, and Eutaw oil. West and northwest of the Perry Basin, on a structural terrace that separates it from the Mississippi Embayment part of the salt basin, and at depths greater than on the north side of the Perry Basin, pay is mainly gas from the Hosston, Sligo, Rodessa, and Paluxy. Hydrocarbons on the Adams County High (and some of the pay in structures within the southern part of the salt basin) likely migrated updip from source rocks in Louisiana. This production is mainly Lower Tuscaloosa oil and gas and Wilcox oil. The massive Jackson Dome of west-central Mississippi, a Late Cretaceous igneous intrusion, occurs in an area with very limited oil production (other than Tinsley field). This likely reflects the thermal impact of the intrusion, which has produced carbon dioxide and sour gas in Upper Jurassic units in fields north, east, and south of the structure.


Cerebellar ataxia may arise as a consequence of autoimmune damage of the cerebellum. Adult patients with autoimmunity against the cerebellum often have an underlying neoplasm (paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration). These patients commonly develop rapidly evolving severe ataxia and harbour serum and CSF onconeuronal antibodies (mainly anti-Hu, Yo, Ri, Tr). By contrast, antibodies to neuronal glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-Abs) have been reported in patients with a less severe form of non-paraneoplastic cerebellar ataxia.1 The finding of GAD-Abs in patients with paraneoplastic neurological symptoms associated with malignant tumours is very rare. Here we report a patient with thymic neuroendocrine carcinoma who developed progressive cerebellar ataxia with GAD-Abs.

A 55-year-old man came to our attention in May 2007 because of gait instability. He smoked 40 cigarettes a day. There was no family history of neurological or autoimmune disorders. In December 2006 he started noticing imbalance that slowly progressed over months and prompted him to use a cane to walk. On examination he had mild scanning dysarthria, horizontal gaze evoked nystagmus and mild limb dysmetria and dysdiadochokinesia. His gait was …


Red fluorescent molecules suffer from large, non-radiative internal conversion rates (k(IC)) governed by the energy gap law. To design efficient red thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a large fluorescence rate (k(F)) as well as a small energy difference between the lowest singlet and triplet excited states (ΔE(ST)) is necessary. Herein, we demonstrated that increasing the distance between donor (D) and acceptor (A) in intramolecular-charge-transfer molecules is a promising strategy for simultaneously achieving small ΔE(ST) and large k(F). Four D-Ph-A-Ph-D-type molecules with an anthraquinone acceptor, phenyl (Ph) bridge, and various donors were designed, synthesized, and compared with corresponding D-A-D-type molecules. Yellow to red TADF was observed from all of them. The k(F) and ΔE(ST) values determined from the measurements of quantum yield and lifetime of the fluorescence and TADF components are in good agreement with those predicted by corrected time-dependent density functional theory and are approximatively proportional to the square of the cosine of the theoretical twisting angles between each subunit. However, the introduction of a Ph-bridge was found to enhance k(F) without increasing ΔE(ST). Molecular simulation revealed a twisting and stretching motion of the N-C bond in the D-A-type molecules, which is thought to lower ΔE(ST) and k(F) but raise k(IC), that was experimentally confirmed in both solution and doped film. OLEDs containing D-Ph-A-Ph-D-type molecules with diphenylamine and bis(4-biphenyl)amine donors demonstrated maximum external quantum efficiencies of 12.5% and 9.0% with emission peaks at 624 and 637 nm, respectively.


Rural schools face unique challenges recruiting teachers. Rural school administrators report difficulties finding qualified applicants. Unique challenges rural special education teachers face, e.g., working with a more diverse group of students including those with significant disabilities, heighten the difficulties rural administrators experience when recruiting and retaining qualified special education teachers. Leveraging university/rural school partnerships, e.g., resident teacher university/school partnerships, can help rural schools recruit and retain qualified special education teachers. This article describes the Teachers College Special Education Fellowship Program (TCSEFP), a virtual residency in teaching program. This program established virtual partnerships between the university and numerous rural school districts throughout the state. The article includes a description of the program, evaluation data, and implications for other virtual university/school residency in teaching programs.


in South Africa, and the relatively small degree of racial exclusivism in any nationalist movements even in the 1960s. These even more than economic factors have worked against increasing government attempts to retribalize and divide Africans, and to promote territorial separation. But now at last there are increasing signs, as Pierre van den Berghe and others point out, of the rise of a black counter-racism and narrow ethnic nationalism, stimulated and shielded by the state's own apartheid rhetoric and policies for separate and independent Bantustans. SHEILA PATTERSON


Abstract While the Washington Consensus is one of the most (in)famous economic policy paradigms of recent times, the literature on it still lacks a detailed, diachronic analysis of how it evolved within one of its most important disseminators, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Such an analysis is important not just for gaining a better empirical sense of the Consensus, but also for illuminating a key question of interest in the study of international organizations: how ideas and institutions change. Toward this end, this paper uses content analysis to explore almost 12,000 IMF documents from 1982–2011, providing a uniquely detailed map of the institution's discourse on the Consensus. It tracks this policy paradigm's constituent parts across three different types of institutional documentation, representing different aspects of the institution's operations: Executive Board meeting minutes, Article IV staff reports, and Working Papers. Using vector autoregression techniques, the paper also examines the relative timing of discursive shifts across these three document types. Through these discussions, the paper advances and shows the relevance of "fragmented" change, where different dimensions of an overall policy paradigm shift at several different speeds, at different points in time, and led by a variety of different institutional activities.


Work is an integral part of everyday life, as it is our livelihood or career or business. On an average we spent twelve hours daily life and it is the one third of our entire life. Research on quality of work life is considered to be more important at the individual and organization level. Quality of work life is considered for both the employees and organization and it is involved with job satisfaction, productivity, job involvement, job enrichment etc. The success of any organization is highly dependent on how it attracts recruits, motivates, and retains its workforce. Today's organizations need to be more flexible so that they are equipped to develop their workforce and enjoy their commitment. This study is made attempt to analyses the "Quality of work life among employees". In order to improve quality of work life, various coping techniques have been suggested to upgrade the employee's attitude towards their job and the working environment in the organization


We present the implementation of a solution scheme for fluid-structure interaction problems via the finite element software library deal.II.  The solution scheme is an immersed finite element method in which two independent discretizations are used for the fluid and immersed deformable body.  In this type of formulation the support of the equations of motion of the fluid is extended to cover the union of the solid and fluid domains.  The equations of motion over the extended solution domain govern the flow of a fluid under the action of a body force field.  This body force field informs the fluid of the presence of the immersed solid.  The velocity field of the immersed solid is the restriction over the immersed domain of the velocity field in the extended equations of motion.  The focus of this paper is to show how the determination of the motion of the immersed domain is carried out in practice.  We show that our implementation is general, that is, it is not dependent on a specific choice of the finite element spaces over the immersed solid and the extended fluid domains.  We present some preliminary results concerning the accuracy of the proposed method.


Accidental falls, suicide and transport-related injuries are common causes of death in the Australian community. This report finds that overall, rates of injury death in Australia during 2004-05 increased with the remoteness of the injured person's residence, with those who resided in very remote areas having a rate more than double that of the national rate. When considering only deaths resulting from motor vehicle transport accidents, the mortality rate for those who resided in very remote areas was 4 times the national rate. When considering state and territory of residence, those who resided in the Northern Territory, where much of the population lives in remote and very remote areas, had mortality rates almost 3 times the national rate for motor vehicle transport-related deaths, more than double the national rate for suicides, and more than 4 times the national rate for homicides.


We report the case of a 22-year-old parturient with myotonia dystrophica. She underwent two separate intraabdominal surgical procedures in one day, both under lumbar epidural anaesthesia. Management was directed toward prevention of shivering, a known trigger of myotonic crises. Measures used included warm ambient atmosphere, warmed IV fluids, warming blankets and administration of epidural sufentanil, an opioid recently ascribed as an inhibitor of shivering in parturients.


Social circus has long been the folklore in the Chinese culture. Recently, initiatives have been undergoing to introduce it in the school physical education curriculum in Hong Kong. Aims: This article reports a study on 38 PE teachers' professional learning experiences while attending two 2-day workshops respectively concerning learning how to teach social circus in school. Method: Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through post workshop evaluation questionnaire and interviews of 16 randomly selected participants. The interpretive inquiry was adopted as theoretical framework for generating meanings. Results: The findings indicated that all participants perceived their professional learning experiences positively. Factors facilitating their professional learning were the participants' high professional expectation of the workshop, rich content of the program that could satisfy their novel experience and enhance their teaching, and the instructors' good performance. They believed that social circus could be developed for cultivating students' motor skills, physical fitness, Chinese cultural heritage, personal qualities, creativity and satisfaction as well as serving as inclusive activities. However, lacking of teaching materials, incompetence in professional skills, inadequate supply of equipment, anticipated managerial and safety concerns and the support from other PE colleagues were found to be the major difficulties for its implementation. On the other hand, high professional expectation, satisfying and novel experience, learning something, helpful with teaching, rich content and good instructors' performance were enhancing factors for their professional learning. The findings generate understanding and insights on how serving PE teachers' learn to improve their curricular practices for maximizing students' learning.


Reduced graphenes (belonging to the class of chemically modified graphenes, CMG) are one of the most investigated and utilized materials in current research. Oxygen functionalities on the CMG surfaces have dramatic influences on material properties. Interestingly, these functionalities are rarely comprehensively characterized. Herein, the four most commonly used CMGs, mainly electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ER-GO), thermally reduced graphene oxide (TR-GO), and the corresponding starting materials, that is, graphene oxide and graphite oxide, were comprehensively characterized by a wide variety of methods, such as high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and voltammetry, to establish connections between the structures of these materials that carry different oxygen functionalities and their electrochemical behaviors. This was followed by the quantification of the negatively charged oxygen-containing groups (OCGs) by UV/Vis spectroscopy and of the electrochemically reducible OCGs by voltammetry. Lastly, a biofunctionalization with gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-modified DNA sequences was performed by the formation of covalent bonds with the carboxylic groups (-COOH) on the CMG surfaces. There was an evident predominance of functionalizable -COOH groups on the ER-GO surface, as confirmed by a higher amount of Au detected both with differential-pulse voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy, coupled with visualization by TEM. We exploited the DNA-Au bioconjugates as highly specific stains to localize and visualize the positions of carboxylic groups. Our findings are very important to clearly identify the presence, nature, and distribution of oxygen functionalities on different chemically modified graphenes.


Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are short, energetic events that mark the most violent explosions in the Universe. Current hypotheses associated them with the births of stellar-sized black holes or rapidly spinning, highly magnetized stars. The introduction to this work places GRBs in their historical and theoretical context and provides a description of the current models describing them. This study makes use of data from the Swift satellite. Chapter two is a multi-wavelength study of the high redshift GRB 050505, which indicates that this burst has properties consistent with the general lower z GRB sample. Furthermore there is evidence for a 'jet-break' in the X-ray light curve; a phenomena rarely seen in Swift era bursts. The next two chapters investigate the presence of X-ray emission lines in GRB spectra. Chapter three provides a discussion of the pre-Swift observations and a comparison of three methods already extant in the literature for assessing the significance of such spectral features. The detection limits for each method were determined for emission line strengths in bursts with spectral parameters typical of the Swift era sample. Chapter four applies these methods to a sample of 40 Swift bursts; no strong evidence was found for emission lines in early time X-ray spectra once host galaxy absorption was accurately modelled. Chapter five investigates the phenomena of 'precursors' and 'quiescent intervals', indicating a common origin for events normally ascribed to 'prompt emission' and 'flares', in line with previous studies, and extending it to cover 'precursor' emission. Evidence was also found to reinforce (anti-)correlations seen between pulse temporal and energetic properties also seen in previous studies. The final chapter summarises the important results for each section and proposes future studies that could be conducted in each field.


The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to identify the relationship between color and semiotics and how a person's opinon, regarding a game character's different characteristics, can be affected by the use of various colors. Prior to this study people were asked, through an online survey, to write down words that they associated with different colors. The colors were then divided into four different groups depending on whether they had been associated with positive-strong words, positive-weak words, negative-strong words or negative-weak words. In order to further shed light on the effect of colors, the four palettes, consisting of the colors associated with the different words, were then used separately to give color to two characters: a man and a woman. People were then asked to describe what kind of characteristics they felt that the different color versions of the characters portrayed and if they believed that there was a link between colors and how we view different characters' personalities. The results showed that all of the respondents believed that such link existed and showed different reactions towards the characters' images depending on what colors were used while creating them. The majority associated an intensive shade of red with powerful and slightly negative personality traits while bright pastel colors such as light green, pink and sky blue had a tendency to make the characters appear more naive and childish. The results also showed that darker, dusty shades of grey and brown gave the characters a more negative and weak expression.


Socioepidemiologic and clinico-roentgenologic features of tuberculosis in 107 adolescents were studied. In 33 per cent of the adolescents, the disease was detected on referral to a polyclinic; in 57.5 per cent of them, on planned fluorography; in 5.8 per cent, on examination as contact persons; and in 3.7 per cent, on tuberculin diagnosis. Subjects with secondary forms of tuberculosis constituted the majority among the affected. The proportion of the patients with destructive forms of tuberculosis and the excretors of tubercle bacilli made up 28.4 and 38.6%, respectively. The contact was confirmed in 36 per cent of the adolescents. The disease caused by a primary infection coincided in 9.7 per cent of them, with the rest being infected during their childhood.


Solar air heater is a promising, economically viable, and matured technology for space heating and drying applications. One of the primary reasons for the limited usage of a solar air heater in developing countries is the unavailability of continuous electricity supply. Although the solar air heater is theoretically passive, practically electrical energy is required to achieve a steady airflow. Therefore, the unreliability of electricity forces people to rely on firewood for heat during the cold weather, which has severe effects on health and climate change. In the present work, the potential of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to meet the electrical energy requirement of a solar air heater is studied. Two configurations, each with three different numbers of stages of TEGs, are analyzed. The effect of the integration of TEGs on the thermal performance of solar air heater is analyzed alongside the comparison between the electrical energy required by solar air heaters and electrical energy generated upon the integration of TEGs. A numerical model is developed in matlab and validated using the experimental results. One of the designs meets the electrical energy requirement of the fan in a wide operational range but lowers the process heat generation by approximately 1–6.25%. The electrical energy generated by the other design falls short of demand posed by the system in most operating range. However, the thermal energy generation is marginally higher compared to that of the conventional solar air heater.


Three related patients from Colombia presented with a juvenile-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. Electron microscopy of one case showed condensed fingerprint profiles, and genetic analyses identified a novel missense mutation in CLN5. The authors demonstrate the existence of pathogenic CLN5 mutations outside northern Europe and that mutations in this gene can lead to an atypical late-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis disease, in addition to the late infantile form first described in Finland.


The study investigated, for cycling sheep, synchronizing protocols simultaneously to the standard "P" protocol using progestogens priming with intravaginal devices and gonadotropin. In November 2014, 90 adult Menz ewes were assigned to either the "P" protocol, "PGF" treatment where oestrus and ovulation were synchronized using two injections of prostaglandin 11 days apart or a "GnRH" treatment where the ewes had their oestrus and ovulation synchronized with GnRH (day 0)-prostaglandin (day 6)-GnRH (day 9) sequence. The ewes were naturally mated at the induced oestrus and the following 36 days. Plasma progesterone revealed that 92% of the ewes were ovulating before synchronization and all, except one, ovulated in response to the applied treatments. All "P" ewes exhibited oestrus during the 96-hr period after the end of the treatments in comparison with only 79.3% and 73.3% for "PGF" and "GnRH" ewes, respectively (p < .05). Onset and duration of oestrus were affected by the hormonal treatment (p < .05); "GnRH" ewes showed oestrus earliest and had the shortest oestrous duration. Lambing rate from mating at the induced oestrus was lower for "P" than for "PGF" ewes (55.6% and 79.3%, respectively; p < .05). The same trait was also lower for "P" than for "PGF" and "GnRH" ewes (70.4%, 89.7% and 86.7%, respectively; p < .05) following the 36-day mating period. Prostaglandin and GnRH analogue-based protocols are promising alternatives for both controlled natural mating and fixed insemination of Menz sheep after the rainy season when most animals are spontaneously cycling.


In recent years, the forensic community has pushed to increase the scientific basis of forensic evidence, which has included proficiency testing for fingerprint analysts. We used proficiency testing data collected by Collaborative Testing Services in which 431 fingerprint analysts were asked to identify the source of latent prints. The data were analysed using a Rasch model with a Bayesian estimation approach. Although these data provide valuable information about the relative proficiency of the examiners and the relative difficulty of the questions, it does not necessarily extrapolate onto general performance of examiners or difficulty in casework, which we show through sensitivity analysis and simulation. We show that a Bayesian Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis provides a deeper understanding of analysts' proficiency and question difficulty than other forms of analysis. A large-scale adoption of IRT in this area would provide both more precise estimates of proficiency and quantitative evidence for the relative difficulty of different questions.


Previous studies convincingly suggests that the biopsychosocial fear-avoidance model (FAM) may be of added value to understand chronic disability after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Within this model, persistent symptoms occur as a result of catastrophizing and fear-avoidance regarding initial symptoms, leading to depression, reduced mental activity, and greater disability in daily functioning. This study examined the FAM in a large English-speaking TBI sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 117 individuals with complicated mild, moderate, or severe TBI at 1-5 years post-injury. Participants completed questionnaires assessing personal, injury-related, and psychological characteristics. Reliability, correlational, and regression analyses were performed. Main outcomes measures of chronic disability were depression, disuse (e.g. less mental activities), and functional disability. The results revealed that all correlations suggested by the FAM were significant. Catastrophizing thoughts were positively associated with TBI-related symptoms and fear-avoidance thoughts. Main outcome measures were positively associated with fear-avoidance thoughts and TBI-related symptoms. Furthermore, variables in the FAM were of additive value to personal, injury-related, and psychological variables in understanding unfavorable chronic disability after TBI. The separate regression analyses for depression, less mental activities, and disability revealed 'fear-avoidance thoughts' as the only consistent variable. In conclusion, this study shows the associations of the FAM with chronic disability after TBI, which has implications for assessment and future management of the FAM in TBI in English-speaking countries. Longitudinal studies are warranted to further investigate and refine the model.


This paper proposes a soft-sensor (SS) for on-line monitoring the droplet/particle size distribution (PSD) in miniemulsion polimerizations. The SS utilizes turbidity measurements and a global particle refractive index (PRI) estimated on the basis of the instantaneous polymer conversion and the PRIs of the monomer and the polymer. The proposed method requires solving an illconditioned inverse problem (ICIP). Two different approaches are proposed for solving the ICIP: i) a Tikhonov regularization (TR), and ii) a General Regression Neural Network (GRNN). Both approaches are evaluated on the basis of simulated examples corresponding to a styrene miniemulsion polymerization. For unimodal PSDs, both TR and GRNN produce acceptable estimates of the average diameters of the PSD along the polymerization. The TR method produces PSDs with spurious peaks, while the GRNN allows better estimates. For bimodal PSDs both methods produce acceptable average diameters but erroneous PSDs. Simulation results suggest that the proposed method is a robust tool for on-line monitoring of the average diameters in miniemulsion polymerizations. Mecánica Computacional Vol XXXII, págs. 2405-2418 (artículo completo) Carlos G. García Garino, Aníbal E. Mirasso, Mario A. Storti, Miguel E. Tornello (Eds.) Mendoza, Argentina, 19-22 Noviembre 2013 Copyright © 2013 Asociación Argentina de Mecánica Computacional http://www.amcaonline.org.ar


AIM
This paper reports a study exploring willingness to use home care nursing services among older people and discussing the implications for long-term and home care nursing policies.

BACKGROUND
The proportion of older people is increasing in all societies across the world. Correspondingly, Korean society has experienced a rapid growth in its population of older people, and this is expected to increase from 7.2% in 2000 to 14.4% in 2019. The government is in the process of developing publicly-financed long-term care for older people, and home care nursing services are expected to be provided as an element of this care. Methods. A cross-sectional study design was used, employing data from a nationally representative interview survey with 1834 respondents conducted during May and July, 2001. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS
Willingness to use home care nursing services differed according to whether co-payment was required. About half the respondents answered that they would not use the services; 43% expressed a willingness to use them without co-payment; and 5% were very willing to use them even with co-payment. People with lower incomes showed greater willingness to use the services with no co-payment, while the high income group showed the greatest willingness under co-payment. Sex, living with adult children, living area, activities of daily living, and chronic conditions were associated with willingness. Older people who had known about or used home care nursing services previously showed greater willingness.

CONCLUSIONS
Co-payment guidelines for minimizing unmet needs are required, especially for older people with low incomes. A positive evaluation from those who knew about or had used such services is expected to contribute to the use of home care nursing services by older people.


In recent years several alternative instructional strategies have been recommended that were departures from traditional approaches. This paper describes several of these alternatives that have been adapted and applied to the curriculum in pediatric dentistry at West Virginia University. They include a systems approach to designing instruction, employment of single conceptual units of instruction, development of instructional objectives, use of audiovisual technology for conveying information, the opportunity for self-pacing, evaluation of students on a mastery model using a criterion-referenced system, and the opportunity for students to learn beyond mastery in programs of self-directed inquiry and contract grading. The methods used for implementing these strategies and the dynamics of their operation are discussed.


This paper is concerned with automating fleets of autonomous robots. This involves solving a multitude of problems, including goal assignment, motion planning, and coordination, while maximizing some performance criterion. While methods for solving these sub-problems have been studied, they address only a facet of the overall problem, and make strong assumptions on the use-case, on the environment, or on the robots in the fleet. In this paper, we formulate the overall fleet management problem in terms of Optimal Control. We describe a scheme for solving this problem in the particular case of fleets of non-holonomic robots navigating in an environment with obstacles. The method is based on a two-phase approach, whereby the first phase solves for fleet-wide boolean decision variables via Mixed Integer Quadratic Programming, and the second phase solves for real-valued variables to obtain an optimized set of trajectories for the fleet. Examples showcasing the features of the method are illustrated, and the method is validated experimentally.


The use of social media is reflective of an individual's culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the cultural context on Australian and Singaporean sportswomen's uses of social media. In-depth interviews with 12 elite sportswomen from both countries combined with supplementary information collected through the participating athletes' Instagram profiles showed that social media uses are influenced by uncertainty avoidance, individualism or collectivism, masculinity or femininity, and long- or short-term orientations. By applying Hofstede and Bond's cultural dimensions framework, the study presents new knowledge on three cultural dimensions (i.e., uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs. femininity, and long-term vs. short-term orientation) and broadens the field of sport and social media by comparing the use of social media between athletes from diverse cultures. The study offers significant insight for designing a branding strategy that encompasses cultural contexts to guide athletes on their use of social media.


Variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1143 bp) was examined to estimate the phylogenetic relationships of taxa within the Peromyscus boylii species group. In addition, phylogenetic relationships among the aztecus, boylii, and truei species groups were addressed. Maximum-likelihood, neighbor-joining, and maximum-parsimony (weighted and equally weighted) analyses produced similar topologies with P. boylii, P. beatae, P. simulus, P. stephani, P. madrensis, P. levipes, and three undescribed taxa from western Mexico forming a monophyletic unit. At least two of the undescribed taxa from western Mexico potentially represent species. Members of the P. aztecus species group formed a clade separate from the P. boylii group and should be recognized as a distinct species group. P. sagax, P. polius, and P. pectoralis, formerly placed in the P. boylii species group, generally formed an unresolved polytomy with the P. truei, P. aztecus, and P. boylii species groups. P. attwateri formed a sister taxon relationship with members of the P. truei species group (P. difficilis and P. nasutus) and should be considered a member of this group. Members of the P. truei species group did not form a monophyletic unit, indicating that this species group is not monophyletic and may be composed of two assemblages.


Higher education is under pressure from state legislatures and other clients to reduce costs. Two information technologies - increased computing power on the desktop and the World Wide Web - have shifted out the meta production function for instruction in higher education. The theory of induced innovation provides hypotheses about the kinds of educational practices that will attract technological change. Several sources of inefficiency in higher education are identified and likely technology-driven changes suggested. These innovations will provide the means to reduce costs in higher education.


This article is one of a series of personal construct investigations of the aftermath of the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone. It is based on interviews conducted with nine members of the Sierra Leone Single-Leg Amputee Football Club, all of whom lost a limb during the war. Interview themes concerned participants' construing of this event and its perpetrators, the constriction of their lives and the emotions they subsequently experienced, the choices that they made, and the role of football and of forgiveness in their recovery and in posttraumatic growth.


California agriculture faces multiple environmental challenges, the result of a fast-growing population, the increased role of consumers in decision-making about the food system, a more restrictive regulatory climate and mounting evidence of agriculture's contribution to non-point-source water pollution. At the same time, innovative partnerships invclving growers, consumers, commodity boards, regulators and university researchers are exploring creative solutions to these challenges through biologically integrated and organic farming systems. Simultaneously, the agricultural biotechnology industry is experiencing phenomenal growth. The U.S. food industry's resistance to labeling products that contain transgenic ingredients is stimulating consumer interest in organic products, which prohibit transgenics. Based on these trends and the growth of organic acreage and product sales, we predict that alternative farming systems could comprise at least 20% and as much as 60% of all California cropland in production in 2025. Nonetheless, research investments into alternative biologically integrated and organic methods lags far behind organic product sales.


The Bureau of Mines has conducted extensive studies on the recovery of alumina from kaolinitic clay by a HCI leaching-HCI sparging process. The current study reports a modification of the process, which involves a double-leaching system. The first leach of the calcined clay is made at as high a HCI acid strength as possible so that the dissolution of aluminum chloride hexahydrate (AlCI3*6H20) is suppressed, Most of the impurities, but very little aluminum, are soluble in the strong acid. After liquid-solid separation and washing, the solids are leached with recycled weak HCI, which dissolves the AICI3'6HzO. The pregnant liquor is separated from the gangue, and AICI3'6HzO is crystallized from solution by injecting HCI gas. A proposed flowsheet is presented, and the effect of bleedstream size on AlC13'6H20 purity is discussed. Supervisory chemical engineer. 2Research chemist. Reno Research Center, Bureau of Mines, Reno, NV.


Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder whose origin of defect has been the subject of extensive research during the past few decades. While a number of immune and non-immune cell types participate in the development of chronic destructive inflammation in the arthritic joint, synovial fibroblasts have emerged as key effector cells capable of modulating both joint destruction and propagation of inflammation. Ample evidence of aberrant changes in the morphology and biochemical behaviour of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts have established the tissue evading and "transformed" character of this cell type. We have recently demonstrated that actin cytoskeletal rearrangements determine the pathogenic activation of synovial fibroblasts in modelled TNF-mediated arthritis, a finding correlating with similar gene expression changes which we observed in human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts. Here, we show that pharmacological inhibition of actin cytoskeleton dynamics alters potential pathogenic properties of the arthritogenic synovial fibroblast, such as proliferation, migration and resistance to apoptosis, indicating novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention in arthritis. Recent advances in this field of research are reviewed and discussed.


three, eight, and twenty-four hours. l'he appendix is generally seen at the eightand twenty-four-hour examinations. During the first two attendances the stomach and duodenum are examined thoroughly. This is of importance, because duodenal ulceration may accompany or may be difficult to differentiate from chronic appendicitis. The gastric emptying is observed closely, because in a number of cases of this condition an intermittent pyloric spasm has been noticed. Delay in the emptying of the small intestine is also of significance when taken together with other signs. The most important observations are those made when the appendix is filled with barium and so can be visualized on the fluorescent screen. In the normal it is seen to fill well and to move freely on palpation. When it is the seat of pathological changes it w.ill frequently fill imperfectly. It will not move freely on palpation, and definite tenderness can be localized to it. Kinks can be clearly defined, and by taking skiagrams while palpation is being maintained this can be demonstrated in subsequent radiograms.


Abstract Clinical teaching generally asserts that large opacities of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) on chest radiographs present primarily bilaterally in the upper lung zones, and with an elevated background profusion of small opacities. However, the contemporary basis for these descriptions is limited. Radiographs taken for the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program during 2000–2015 and previously determined to have large opacities ("PMF radiographs", n = 204), and a random sample previously deemed free of large opacities (n =22), were independently reevaluated by three National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) B Readers. Large opacities were noted primarily in the upper right (41%) or upper left (28%) lung zone, but 31% were in middle or lower zones. Unilateral involvement was observed in 34% of readings, with right lung predominance (82%). The median small opacity profusion category for the radiographs with PMF was 2/1. The number of large opacities was not correlated with small opacity profusion category. The "classic" descriptions of PMF as bilateral, associated with elevated background profusions of small pneumoconiotic opacities, were each absent in a third of miners.


The two-layer network structure has been widely adopted in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for managing sensor nodes. In such a structure, the low layer nodes communicate with their cluster head, followed by the cluster-head nodes communicating with the base station operating in either a one-hop or a multi-hop manner. The main focus of node-clustering algorithms is minimizing energy consumption due to strictly limited resources in WSNs. Also, WSNs are data intensive networks with the capability of providing users with accurate data. Unfortunately, data missing is common in WSNs. In this paper, we propose a novel joint design of sensor nodes clustering and data recovery, where the WSNs is organized in a two-layer manner with our developed clustering algorithm, and then, the missing data are recovered based on this two-layer structure. Furthermore, in the proposed clustering algorithm, we take both the energy-efficiency and data forecasting accuracy into consideration and investigate the tradeoff between them. This is based on the key observation that the high energy-efficiency of the network can be achieved by reducing the distances among the nodes in a cluster, while the accuracy of the forecasting results can be improved by increasing the correlation of the data stream among the nodes in a cluster. Simulation results demonstrate that our joint design outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of energy consumption and forecasting accuracy.


Zero-voltage phase-shifted full-bridge converters (PSFB ZVS) have been widely used in the high frequency, high power applications with these characteristics of zero-voltage switching (ZVS) by Phase shifting based on the fixed frequency. Howeveri¼ÂŒthe load and input voltage range for full power transistors realizing ZVS are limited. So this paper proposes a solution with adding a coupled inductor on the primary side of transformeri¼ÂŒ as well as adopting active clamping topology on the secondary side. The auxiliary circuit can achieve adaptive energy storage by the processori¼ÂŒmake the input voltage range and load range of ZVS of all switching tubes greater, reduce the circulation and conduction losses, minimize the duty cycle of secondary loss problems.


This study employed high sensitivity microcalorimetry to investigate the percolation behavior of W/O microemulsions of AOT with and without solutes of salts, amino acids, and proteins. The dilution heat and the enthalpy behavior of the reverse micelle solutions in the percolation process were measured by isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC). The enthalpy behavior reported in this investigation supports qualitatively the association model of percolation. The second virial coefficient of the interactions between reverse micelle droplets can be derived from the information of the dilution heat of the reverse micellar system with the concentration of the reverse micelles and incorporating a hard-sphere interaction potential assumption. The derived second virial coefficients of different reverse micelle solutions are discussed along with the conductivity percolation temperature, and the difference between the interaction potentials are in good agreement with the shift of the percolation temperature of various micellar systems. Viscosity measurements were also taken from of the micellar solutions in the process of percolation in this study. A discussion on the relationship between the solute effects and the percolation in terms of the charge and the surface activity of the solutes is also included.


The universal Scandinavian welfare model offers generous tax financed social benefits. The scheme is associated with workfare elements as a targeting device to direct benefits to those considered deserving. Thereby social insurance and egalitarian outcomes are achieved while work incentives and thus a high employment rate crucial for the financial viability of the model are maintained. The scope for this policy may depend critically on the characteristics of the population (abilities and preferences) and thus be significantly affected by immigration affecting the distribution of characteristics, especially if the model attracts immigrants with particular characteristics. The paper develops a simple model capable of capturing the rationale and essence of the above-mentioned redistribution model and considers its sensitivity and robustness to immigration, which may change the composition of the population in the ability and/or preference dimension.


Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered as next generation efficient energy storage systems due to their high theoretical energy densities and low cost. When carbonaceous materials being used as cathode for Li–S batteries, the dissolution of intermediate polysulfides coupled with large volume expansion and low electronic and ionic conductivity of solid S-related species has resulted in poor cycle performance and low capacity. In this work, novel sandwich-type carbon/titanium dioxide/carbon (C@TiO2@C) hollow microspheres as a new kind of molecularly designed physical and chemical trap for lithium polysulfides (Li2Sx (x = 4–8)) are reported. In such a unique architecture, an interlay TiO2 layer as the carrier for sulfur could effectively confine polysulfides by chemical binding between TiO2 and polysulfides, while the sandwich-type hollow carbon structure could buffer the volume change during the charge–discharge process by means of physical force. Moreover, the inner and outmost carbon layers provide an effective conductive network to improve the electronic conductivity of sulfur cathodes, and at the same time further suppress the dissolution of polysulfides, leading to structural and interfacial stabilization of the TiO2 interlay. Benefiting from the synergistic encapsulation, the developed C@TiO2@C–S hybrid hollow microspheres with 76.4 wt% sulfur content deliver a high specific capacity of 1247.3 mA h g−1 at 0.2C with higher coulombic efficiency (≈96%), and retain a discharge capacity of 741.3 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles at 0.5C and 511 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 2C, which are much better than those of the contrast TiO2–S and C@C–S electrodes.


In this paper, in the light of sustainability, we analyze the current dominant industrial agriculture and food system. The system was developed successfully regarding production, output and profitability, but social inequality and environmental problems increased and the system did not succeed in bringing the world food problem closer to a solution. Since elimination of hunger is top priority among world's leading institutions it is justified and not out of proportion to exacerbate the definition of sustainability to food and take food security into accountexplicitly. We define a new paradigm – called sustainable food security – that is urgently required to provide sufficient and healthy food for all people, without exhausting our planet. This paradigm of sustainable food security requires a focus on local resources. We argue that the best way to achieve this is by means of the local and regional food systems that we see springing up globally. We discuss opportunities and challenges of the re-emerging local food systems in the light of the new paradigm of sustainable food security. To proceed we propose the development and ratification of a new global treaty based on the concept of sustainable food security.


Community based Research on Malnutrition in Children of urban slum of Surat (Gujarat)Title: Assessment of Malnutrition in Urban Slam.Background:The WHO Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition seeks to contribute to the transformation of this cycle of poverty, malnutrition and disease into a virtuous one of wealth, growth and health.Objective:1) To assess magnitude of Malnutrition in Urban Slum.2) To study magnitude of malnutrition in different age groups and among boys and girls of urban slums3) To compare different anthropometric indices.Method:Study area: Anganwadi center in urban slum area which is attached to Surat based Anganwadi Training center was selected for study.Sample Size:91 children (0-6 years) of urban slum registered in an anganwadi Centre in Udhna.Study design:Cross sectional studyExpected outcome:Magnitude of childhood malnutrition assessed.Result:Out of 91 children, 41(45%) children were normal. 32% were moderately underweight and 23% children were severely under weight. Malnutrition as well as severe malnutrition is high among children who most irregularly participating at AWC activities. In this study indices used are Wt/Age to detect underweight children, Wt/Ht and MUAC to detect wasting. Comparative analysis of these indices indicates that under weight children are more that wasted children. 75% of SAM children are in SUW.Conclusions:The SMC health dept. with its unique infrastructure, AWC network and initiatives like Urban IMNCI, with quality screening for malnutrition and supportive supervision can reduce malnutrition rate as well as rate of SAM responsible for child mortality.


Around the world every day, large amounts of wastewater are treated before release, to avoid impacts on humans and the environment. The treatment requires resources in the form of energy and chemicals, and it generates large amounts of sewage sludge, however, it can also serve as a source of energy, nutrients and carbon. These valuable resources can be recovered in many ways, including in the form of biogas, or through the use of sludge in agriculture or even, potentially, in form of biopolymer raw material.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to quantify the life cycle impact of wastewater and sludge management with resource recovery, on humans and the environment, in order to evaluate their environmental performance and avoid sub-optimisation. LCAs of such systems face different types of methodological problems. This thesis focusses on two such problems.
The first research topic concerns how to divide the environmental impact that results from a wastewater treatment process with the simultaneous production of a valuable by-product. Methodologies exist for handling such general situations, however, some properties inherent to wastewater and sludge management may result in complex allocation problems. This research identified the LCA of a system with wastewater treatment and simultaneous polyhydroxyalcanoate (PHA) production as particularly challenging, if PHA was considered as the main product. Three partly new allocation approaches were evaluated, and the choice of approach was found to influence the LCA results.
A second research topic concerns the potential importance of assessing the risks of the pathogens that exist in wastewater and sludge management systems, which is not currently done within the LCA framework. This research has found that these risks are potentially important compared to other impacts on human health, both for wastewater and sludge management systems where sludge is incinerated or used for agricultural purposes.


There has recently been a surge of work in explanatory artificial intelligence (XAI). This research area tackles the important problem that complex machines and algorithms often cannot provide insights into their behavior and thought processes. XAI allows users and parts of the internal system to be more transparent, providing explanations of their decisions in some level of detail. These explanations are important to ensure algorithmic fairness, identify potential bias/problems in the training data, and to ensure that the algorithms perform as expected. However, explanations produced by these systems is neither standardized nor systematically assessed. In an effort to create best practices and identify open challenges, we describe foundational concepts of explainability and show how they can be used to classify existing literature. We discuss why current approaches to explanatory methods especially for deep neural networks are insufficient. Finally, based on our survey, we conclude with suggested future research directions for explanatory artificial intelligence.


Taking into consideration the age-specific and adaptive changes of the vascular wall, pathomorphologic features of cerebral atherosclerosis were revealed in 236 individuals who died of ischemic heart disease and in 17 patients undergone extra-intracarotid microshunting on the basis of the data obtained from pathomorphologic analysis of the great arteries of the brain. There was a statistically significant prevalence of both the size of the area of atherosclerotic lesions and the incidence of stenosis of the great arteries of the brain in individuals with combined atherosclerosis of cerebral and coronary atherosclerosis. Type-specific peculiarities of atherosclerosis in the areas of reduced blood flow in stenosis of extra- and intracranial arteries were determined.


Contraceptive methods, including implants, do not prevent common symptoms and adverse health events that most people experience. It is difficult, therefore, to decide whether or not the occurrence of symptoms or adverse events that are common can be attributed to use of a contraceptive method or to determine if a given method changes the likelihood of their occurrence. Based on the review of the literature, no apparent differences in the frequency of adverse events are evident between the six-implant or two-rod levonorgestrel systems and the single implant etonogestrel and nomegestrol acetate systems. The most frequent adverse events reported in clinical trials that are probably related to implant use are headaches and acne. Weight gain, dizziness, and mood changes are also frequently mentioned adverse events and are possibly steroid-related. Other possibly related adverse events, although much less frequently reported, are loss of libido, fatigue, hair loss, and other skin conditions. Persistent ovarian follicles that spontaneously disappear are a common event during use of progestin-only contraceptives, and providers should be aware of this condition to avoid unnecessary interventions. Overall, the vast experience reported in the clinical studies reviewed here show that all existing implantable contraceptives are equally safe. This can probably be attributed to the low-hormonal dose delivered by progestin-implant systems. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.


Splanchnic venous pooling is a major hemodynamic determinant of orthostatic hypotension, but is not specifically targeted by pressor agents, the mainstay of treatment. We developed an automated inflatable abdominal binder that provides sustained servo-controlled venous compression (40 mm Hg) and can be activated only on standing. We tested the efficacy of this device against placebo and compared it to midodrine in 19 autonomic failure patients randomized to receive either placebo, midodrine (2.5–10 mg), or placebo combined with binder on separate days in a single-blind, crossover study. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured seated and standing before and 1-hour post medication; the binder was inflated immediately before standing. Only midodrine increased seated SBP (31±5 versus 9±4 placebo and 7±5 binder, P=0.003), whereas orthostatic tolerance (defined as area under the curve of upright SBP [AUCSBP]) improved similarly with binder and midodrine (AUCSBP, 195±35 and 197±41 versus 19±38 mm Hg×minute for placebo; P=0.003). Orthostatic symptom burden decreased with the binder (from 21.9±3.6 to 16.3±3.1, P=0.032) and midodrine (from 25.6±3.4 to 14.2±3.3, P<0.001), but not with placebo (from 19.6±3.5 to 20.1±3.3, P=0.756). We also compared the combination of midodrine and binder with midodrine alone. The combination produced a greater increase in orthostatic tolerance (AUCSBP, 326±65 versus 140±53 mm Hg×minute for midodrine alone; P=0.028, n=21) and decreased orthostatic symptoms (from 21.8±3.2 to 12.9±2.9, P<0.001). In conclusion, servo-controlled abdominal venous compression with an automated inflatable binder is as effective as midodrine, the standard of care, in the management of orthostatic hypotension. Combining both therapies produces greater improvement in orthostatic tolerance. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00223691.


201. IN view of ntit,ov Xdyt in the next line ( = 'speak louder'; cf. Ar. Ach. 103 Ae'ye 8^ oil peilflv), Oguse and Webster are very probably right in reading luxpov XaXctv here (XaBv Pap.). Moschion wanted to speak sotto voce. fuKpov is often used in this sense. To Kassel's parallels one may add: Ar. Pax 660 17 8' aAAd Trpos O€ fiiKpov elirdro) fiovov, Philem. fr. 5 OVK av AaAjj TO /iixpov, and see the examples quoted by W. L. Lorimer in his note on Plato, Phaedo 84 c KcfSrjs S« /cat Eififdas OfUKpov rrpos dAAijAa) (C.R. lxxiv [i960], 7-8). 270. Here, at the end of the messenger speech, we probably have another reminiscence of Euripides' Orestes. The Phrygian slave there breaks off his monody with the words: TO 8' uorep' OUKCT' o*8<r Spa'lireTTjv yap efcKAorroi* £K ooftatv iroSa (1498 f.). So read here: /te'xpt TOVTOV iraprjv T[<X 8' vtjrepa] I ovKCTt Xeyeiv c^oi/i' av. For this way of winding up a long narrative cf. also A. Ag. 248 TO 8' Iv9ev OUT' et&ov OUT'


Fatty acids composition of white grubs examined by GC- MS identified 19 different fatty acids; 11 saturated, 7 monoene and a cyclopropaneoctanoate. The identified ones are Methyl tetradecanoate (C14:0), Methyl dodecanoate (C12:0), Methyl cis – 9 - octadecenote (C18:1), Methyl(7E) – 7 – hexadecenoate (C16:1), Methyl palmitoleinate (C16:1), Methyl 8 –(2-hexylcyclopropyl)octanoate, Methyl (7E)-7 – Octadecenoate (C18:1), Methyl 14 – methylpentadecanoate (C15:0), n–Hexadecanoic acid methyl ester(C16:0), n- octadecanoic acid methyl ester (C18:0), n- pentadecanoic acid methyl ester (C15: 0), Methyl trans – 9- octadecenoate (C18:1), Methyl (10E) – 10 –octadecenoate (C18:1), Methyl heneicosanoate (C21:0), Arachidic acid methyl ester (C20:0), Methyl – 15 – metylhexadecanoate (C16:0), Methyl tridecanoate (C13:0). The presence of eicosanoic acid indicates that white grubs may be rich in essential fatty acids. The result established a hybrid nature in fatty acid composition of the grubs in that it has both plant and animal specific fatty acids. The presence of saturated fatty acids and precursor for some physiologically active lipids may qualify WGs lipid to serve dietary and medicinal role. Keywords : Fats, Fatty acids, GC – MS, White Grubs


Dates fruits and wheat flour constitute a large part of the daily diet in both rural and urban population of Iraqi, the present study was conducted to estimate some physical, chemical characterization and microbial contamination for five types of Iraqi dates, (Zahdi, Barhi, Khistawi, Maktoum and khdrawi) and three samples of local wheat, (BB10, BB19 and BB20), beside two imported wheat samples from local markets (Zer and Al-Zahara׳a). Microbial varieties were assessed by using total viable count technique (TVC), as well as some chemical and physical properties for examined samples were recorded such as moisture, total protein, lipids, and gluten for wheat samples, total sugars and gravimetric measurements for date fruits. Findings refer to that BB10 and Khdrawi have highest TVC (1.5×10 6 and 3.3×10 6 ) (CFU/gm) respectively, while Pseudomonas sp. showed in Barhi (2.3×10 3 ) CFU/gm, and Staphylococcus sp. recorded highest value in BB19 wheat flour (0.5×10 4 ) CFU/gm with significant differences at (p≤0.05), E coli gave highest appearance in Barhi (3.5×10 3 ) CFU/gm.


The material world is recently and very rapidly changing; altering the relationships between materials – the substance of everyday life – and designers – the professionals who are responsible for transforming materials into daily life objects. This vibrant context prompts us to explore and attempt to conceptualise these fluid relationships and review conceptual tools that will help to open up the scope of materials based research in design. To address the multiple and multi-faceted relationships designers are situated in, we borrow concepts from social sciences that explore materiality within its multiple environments. We draw on conceptualisations of materials as active and as having capacities to bring about change and proliferate relations, and responding to new developments of biotic materials. By considering historic materials, particularly milk-based plastics, we propose a new category of autonomous materials. We discuss the emerging designer-material relationships with the hope of directing future enquiry into materials and discuss the implications of a new class of materials – the 'autonomoids' – for design research.


During the past 18 months, researchers have learned a great deal about what causes obesity, identifying first a hormone, called leptin, needed for normal weight maintenance, as well as a possible candidate for the hormone's receptor. Now three groups, one of which reports its findings on page 994, have confirmed that they have indeed found the right receptor by showing that it's the product of the db gene, which has long been thought to encode the receptor for the weight-controlling hormone. What's more, they have shown how db mutations might lead to an inactive product—and grossly overweight mice as a result.


Accurate forecasts of energy demand are required for public policy formation, but estimation of the residential demand for electricity presents a number of conceptual and statistical problems. This paper focuses on two interrelated issues in electricity demand analysis: model specification with respect to the price variable and the level of data aggregation. From an empirical study of demand in New England, our principal conclusions are: (a) price elasticities, estimated using state level data, differ from those at the utility level; (b) at the state level of aggregation, alternative model specifications of demand give markedly different results; (c) there appears to be significant differences between the New England states in the demand for electricity; and (d) it was not possible to discern whether consumers respond to average price or marginal price.


Support vector machines (and other kernel machines) offer robust modern machine learning methods for nonlinear classification. However, relative to other alternatives (such as linear methods, decision trees and neural networks), they can be orders of magnitude slower at query-time. Unlike existing methods that attempt to speedup querytime, such as reduced set compression (e.g. (Burges, 1996)) and anytime bounding (e.g. (DeCoste, 2002), we propose a new and efficient approach based on treating the kernel machine classifier as a special form of k nearest-neighbor. Our approach improves upon a traditional k-NN by determining at query-time a good k for each query, based on pre-query analysis guided by the original robust kernel machine. We demonstrate effectiveness on high-dimensional benchmark MNIST data, observing a greater than 100- fold reduction in the number of SVs required per query (amortized over all 45 pairwise MNIST digit classifiers), with no extra test errors (in fact, it happens to make 4 fewer).


Light microscopy studies of collections of late Cambrian/Early Ordovician organic-walled microfossils, informally called acritarchs, provide the observations on phenotypic traits that are comparable to Modern microalgae and make possible recognition of various developmental stages in their complex life cycle. The exceptionally preserved Saharidia fragilis microfossils show the internal body within the vesicle and the formation of the fringe and pylome, the opening for releasing of the daughter cells from the phycoma-like cyst. All the reproductive stages are distinguished and the hypothetical reconstruction of the complex life cycle is proposed. Various morphotypes are recognized to be a part of the class Prasinophyceae and some microfossils of the genus Leiosphaeridia are thought to represent the develop-mental stage of Saharidia fragilis life cycle. The morphological similarity suggests that those micro-fossils from the Cambrian-Ordovician transitional time interval are the ancestral representatives and early lineages of the Modern class Prasinophyceae.


Vegetative treatment systems (VTSs) are one type of control structure that has shown potential to control runoff from open feedlots. To achieve maximum performance, sheet-flow over the width of the vegetative treatment area (VTA) is required. Tools, such as maps of flow paths through the VTA, are needed to aid producers in locating concentrated flow paths and in determining the most effective approach to redistribute flow. Members of the USDA-ARS USMARC laboratory have developed remote sensing techniques using Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) to measure spatial nutrient distribution, and identify possible flow paths, within VTAs. The objective of this study was to determine whether apparent soil electrical conductivity maps can be used to locate concentrated flow paths in the VTA. Effluent flow paths in the VTA were determined by measuring the maximum height of flow at different locations within the VTA. In this study, PVC stakes were coated with a water sensitive paint and located throughout the treatment area during effluent release from solid settling basin to the VTA. The maximum depth of flow at each stake was recorded following a release event from the settling basin. The flow maps generated from the data were compared to ECa maps measuring salt build-up in the soil due to basin discharge. The flow paths identified in the EMI maps were generally in agreement with measured water depths in the VTA. Therefore, techniques that use EMI technology can be used by regulators to monitor VTS performance, by design engineers to improve system performance, and by producers to better manage their systems.


How drought is perceived, and defined, determines the likely response of decision makers to a drought event. Since drought response is usually based on some type of assessment of the severity and duration of the event, a critical element of a drought response strategy lies in the incorporation of objective and reliable impact assessment techniques. However, a long-standing problem in responding to past droughts has been the lack of reliable techniques for monitoring the drought event and assessing probable impacts. This paper describes a new method to reliably monitor and assess weather's probable impact on corn (Zea mays L.) yields, on a crop reporting district (CRD) level, any time during the growing season. The 1990 growing season was used to demonstrate the ability of the crop-specific drought index (CSDI) to monitor and assess the condition of East Central Nebraska's corn crop every 10 days, starting 17 June, until a definitive projected CSDI value became established. A 3-wk hot and dry spell (24 mm of rainfall during the 3-wk period 28 June–17 July) that immediately preceded silking resulted in a 17 July CSDI assessment, based on the climatological record of the CRD, that projected yields to be only 63% of the maximum yield previously attained in this CRD. However, a substantial rainfall event during the week of silking alleviated the stressful conditions, and by the beginning of the early grain fill period (blister stage), a 6 August CSDI assessment projected the final CSDI value to within 3% of the actual CSDI (projected and actual yields were 86 and 83%, respectively, of the maximum yield previously attained in Nebraska's East Central CRD). The results of this study demonstrate that the CSDI can monitor and assess weather's impact on corn yields on a CRD level. Published as Paper no. 9560, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Research Division. The work reported here was conducted under Nebraska Agric. Res. Div. Project 27-005.


This paper explores low power reliable micro-architectures for addition. Power, speed, and reliability (both defect- and fault-tolerance) are important metrics of system design, spanning device, gate, block, and architectural levels. The analysis considers the low power needs of future systems at supply voltages comparable to threshold voltages (V/sub th/). Theoretical analysis and simulations show a decline of the speed advantages of parallel adders when considering wire delays. These evaluations suggest that serial adders might do better for (ultra) low power operation, with redundancy for enhancing reliability. We analyze 32-bit multiplexed serial adders. The robustness when using output-wired mirrored adder (majority) gates is shown under faulty conditions. Simulations (at 180nm, 120 nm, and 70nm) identify the supply voltages where the power-delay and energy-delay products are minimized. These show that redundant serial adders are not only low power and reliable, but can trade speed for power in a wide range (by varying V/sub DD/ both above and below V/sub th/).


We propose a method for defining the optimal locations of a network of tsunameters in view of near real-time tsunami forecasting using sea surface data assimilation in the near and middle fields, just outside of the source region. The method requires first the application of the empirical orthogonal function analysis to identify the potential initial locations, followed by an optimization heuristic that minimizes a cost-benefit function to narrow down the number of stations. We apply the method to a synthetic case of the 2015 Mw8.4 Illapel Chile earthquake and show that it is possible to obtain an accurate tsunami forecast for wave heights at near coastal points, not too close to the source, from assimilating data from three tsunameters during 14 min, but with a minimum average time lag of nearly 5 min between simulated and forecasted waveforms. Additional tests show that the time lag is reduced for tsunami sources that are located just outside of the area covered by the tsunameter network. The latter suggests that sea surface data assimilation from a sparse network of stations could be a strong complement for the fastest tsunami early warning systems based on pre-modelled seismic scenarios.


In this article, we argue that in order to understand and counter the asymmetrical effects of the current economic crisis, intersectional analyses and coalition building are required. Our research aims to address a tendency in some intersectionality research to underplay or sideline social class and capitalist relations (Anthias 2012, 6, 15; Skeggs 2008). Our goal is to expand intersectionality to questions of political economy that are not typically viewed through this lens (Strolovitch 2013, 168). Sophisticated theorizations of social locations, divisions, processes of differentiation, and systems of domination (Dhamoon 2011) within intersectionality literature can thus become tools to name and challenge the effects of the economic crises that are deepening social and economic inequalities in Europe.


*************************************************************************** Scroll down to "Additional Files" to access the calculator. **************************************************************************** The attribution analysis spreadsheet is developed based on the model discussed in the Center for Real Estate and Finance at Cornell report called "Measuring the Value Added of Hotel REIT Managers Using MSA Benchmarks: A Return-Based Attribution Analysis Approach" by Walter I. Boudry, Crocker H. Liu, and Andrey D. Ukhov. Attribution analysis also known as style analysis allows investors and managers to assess the extent to which managers add value to their firm's common stock returns. Given a set of passive indices, the excel worksheet constructs a benchmark portfolio that most closely replicates the actual performance of a manager's portfolio over a specified time period. Management performance is then measured relative to this benchmark portfolio. For more detailed information on how attribution analysis is used with respect to the performance of real estate commingled real estate funds to ascertain if a manager possesses skill or is simply lucky in his or her acquisitions, please see the NCREIF. For a useful publication on how it is used in practice, please click here. .


This Study was conducted to determine the mycotoxigenic and aflatoxin contamination of traditional medicinal plants powder in Sokoto metropolis. Total aflatoxin was determined using AgraQuant Total Aflatoxin kit and the mycotoxigenic flora was determined using standard methods. The fungal species identified were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus oryzae. Analysis of total aflatoxin concentration in the medicinal plants powder in Sokoto revealed that all the samples were contaminated with aflatoxin with the highest concentration being 187 ppb and the least was 14.5 ppb. Results from this study revealed that traditional powdered medicine are the study area are contaminated with fugal species which exposes consumers to the probable toxic metabolites produced by these fungi.  2013 Trade Science Inc. INDIA


This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a proprietary metallic microelectromechanical systems switch with unique latching and switching mechanisms that are driven electro-thermally by a set of V-shaped actuators (VSA) and modified Guckel U-shaped actuators. These distinctive actuators are specifically designed and uniquely integrated to provide desired large in-plane traveling distance and force for the switch contact and latching mechanisms. Due to the structural symmetry of the VSA, the out-of-plane displacements are minimized in the entire system. The latching mechanism reduces the total power consumption of the switch while providing a large mechanical contact force for a reliable switching function. This switch with latching capability only consumes power at the time of changing states. MetalMUMPs is employed to fabricate the device, in which electroplated nickel is used as the structural material. Using the metallic structure allows a low operating voltage. At 1.0 V with an electrical power of ~ 0.67 W, each nickel 4-arm VSA generates ~ 13.5-μm displacement and ~ 8-mN force.


Regulations on safe ultrasound exposure limits are based on a very limited number of studies, which have only considered audiometric threshold shifts as indicators of hearing deficits. The purpose of the current study was to assess the effects of exposure to high-intensity ultrasound
 on a range of measures of hearing function, which included audiometric thresholds, as well as subclinical measures of hearing deficits: speech-in-noise understanding, supra-threshold auditory brainstem response wave I amplitude and latency, and frequency following response levels to amplitude
 modulated (AM) tones. Changes in these measures were assessed before and after exposure of the left ear to high-intensity ultrasound in a group of nine young listeners. These changes were compared to those observed in a control group of nine young listeners. Exposure consisted in the presentation
 of a 40-kHz AM tone at levels of 105, 110, 115, and 120 dB SPL for 10 minutes at each level, plus an exposure to a 40-kHz unmodulated tone during an ultrasound detection task, for a total duration of 50 seconds. None of the measures of hearing function was found to change significantly more
 for the left compared to the right ear, for participants of the exposure group compared to control participants. Electroencephalographic recordings obtained during exposure to the AM tone did not show significant phase-locked activity at the modulation frequency or at low-frequency subharmonics
 of the ultrasound tone. One out of nine participants was able to perform the ultrasound detection task above chance level, although due to limitations of the experimental setup the mechanism by which she could detect the presentation of the tone remains unclear.


The computational power of recurrent neural networks is shown to depend ultimately on the complexity of the real constants (weights) of the network. The complexity, or information contents, of the weights is measured by a variant of resource-bounded Kolmogorov (1965) complexity, taking into account the time required for constructing the numbers. In particular, we reveal a full and proper hierarchy of nonuniform complexity classes associated with networks having weights of increasing Kolmogorov complexity.


On June 17, 2018, the 4 th International HBP Surgery Forum successfully ended, after a 4-day scientific agenda. The event took place in Hangzhou, a beautiful city located in China. With the presence of so many prestigious local and foreign experts, it has been an excellent conference, which is helpful to the therapy of hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors, hepatic and gall diseases and pancreatic diseases and also enhances the exchange of ERAS, MDT and the relevant researches.


The potentiality of TRU fuel as dual cooled annular fuel rods with different types of burnable absorbers- IBAs, BPRs, coated absorbers, etc. in the hexagonal assembly of VVER-1000 was studied. Annular 7, Annular 8, and Annular 9 models were taken for various combinations of TRU fuel and burnable absorbers. Planned models were simulated in Monte Carlo particle simulation code OpenMC and lattice physics deterministic code Dragon Version5. Burnup-dependent multiplication factors were simulated for 3000 EFPDs. Reactivity was calculated by taking 3% neutron leakage. The study showed that both the multiplication factor and reactivity for TRU fuel are significantly higher than conventional UO2 fuel. LRM (Linear Reactivity Model) was applied to find out cycle burnup, discharge cycle burnup, and cycle length. High cycle burnup, discharge burnup, and cycle length have been observed for TRU fuel compared to UO2 fuel. Burnup-dependent atomic concentration graphs showed that slight burn of Np-237, constant concentration for Cm-244, a slight increase for Am-242, and linear burnout of burnable absorbers- Gd-155, Gd-155, and Er-167. A lower concentration of Xe-135 has been observed for TRU fuel. Pin power distribution and energy-dependent neutron flux for different models and BA combinations are also included in this study.


- Weed resistance to glyphosate in agricultural production systems has led to the need of applying herbicides with different mechanisms of action. However, the persistence of these herbicides in the soil can harm the subsequent crop. This study aimed to assess the effect of the residual activity of the herbicide sulfentrazone applied in pre-emergence of soybean on cotton in succession. The experimental design was a randomized block design with five replications, with seven doses of sulfentrazone (0, 37.5, 75, 150, 300, 600, and 1,200 g ha -1 ). Cotton was sown at 112 days after herbicide application (DAA), with an accumulated precipitation of 637 mm during soybean cycle. Variables related to photosynthetic characteristics, phytointoxication, establishment, development, production components, and yield were assessed in both crops. The residual activity of sulfentrazone did not significantly interfere with the assessed variables in soybean but caused significant losses to cotton, which the recommended dosage (600 g ha -1 ) of the herbicide reduced cotton yield by 30%.


Relevance of the Topic: The rapid emergence of retail store brands, private labels (PL), over the past decades has created new and stiff competition for many established manufacturers of national grocery brands (NB). Apart from sizeable market shares in many staple food categories, retailers have successfully introduced new differentiated PL product lines to enter many higher quality segments (Dubois and Jodar-Rosell, 2010). PLs now account for 17% and 24% of the retail markets in the United States and Canada, respectively. Previous economic literature has addressed various issues and dimensions related to the competitive impact of PL including their economic significance to retail chains (Chintagunta et al. 2002), growth and development of PL product markets (Hoch and Banerji 1993), competitive interactions between PLs and NBs Cotterill et al. 2000; Bontemps et al. 2008; Karray and Herran 2009; Volpe 2010) and the use of private labels in exerting retail market power (Meza and Sudhir 2010). The economic literature has also taken great interest in retailer's strategic use of PLs to counter the prior dominance of NB manufacturers (Richards, Hamilton and Patterson, 2010). However, the agri-food industrial organization literature has paid limited attention to the degree of price stability (rigidity) in the grocery-retailing sector given the otherwise high degree of price instability of many agricultural commodity and markets for intermediary goods. Of particular interest in this context has been the importance of the retail sales (discounting) phenomenon (Hosken and Reiffen 2001). Existing empirical studies show that many food products in retailing are characterized by relatively long periods of unchanged prices, followed by recurring periods of lower prices and after that a return to the initial level (Hosken and Reiffen 2001; Moeser 2002). Hosken, Matsa and Reiffen (2001) confirm that that within a product category the same items may be put on sale repeatedly, while others are rarely or never used in retail sales events. A number of possible triggers for price rigidity have been discussed. Differences in strategic management decisions between retail formats (Owen and Trzepacz 2002), the use of psychological pricing points (Slade 1998; Blinder et al. 1998; levy et al. 2011), and the economic literature evolving around concept of menu cost -the cost of changing retail shelf prices ((Levy et al. 1997; Owen and Trzepacz 2002). Despite the above evidence, still, empirical studies on price rigidity present in grocery retailing are underrepresented. And available evidence is mostly comprised of aggregate and largely descriptive analyses of cross-categorical data. Research Methodology: The objective of this paper to estimate the degree of price rigidity within vertically differentiated grocery-retail product categories that feature competing private labels and national brands. 1) To estimate price rigidity in categories where vertically differentiated PLs and NBs (basic, standard, premium) compete for consumer demand. The literature on retail private labels provides evidence of the increasing quality and differentiation of PLs used a strategic in the fight for market shares with established NBs in higher quality and premium product segments (e.g. organic). 2) To investigate the potential cost advantage if PLs and the impact of product-level retail margins as a determinant of price rigidity. In context of the increasing share of PLs bargaining power and PL retail margins have been discussed as potential contributors to retailer strategic pricing and promotional behavior. Available UPS-level wholesale price (price paid by the retailer) data enables us to analyze these components in the strategic uses of private labels and their potential impact on price rigidity across products and categories. 3) To test whether differences in underlying retailer management or distribution area (e.g. regional store management division), store size and configuration (e.g. store-storage area ratio), and store location (e.g. rural, urban, suburban) have an impact on price rigidity across vertically differentiated PLs and NBs. The analysis is based on a set of weekly store-level scanner data for a major North American retail chain with stores in the United States and Canada. Our data structure closely resembles the data set used by Eichenbaum, Jaimovich, and Rebelo (AER 2011) who assess the importance of nominal rigidities for retail pricing. The data is made available through the SIEPR-Giannini Data Center and covers 2004-2007 product-level sales in 200 UPC product categories for approximately 2,200 and 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada, respectively. Two case studies, salad dressing and packaged slide bacon, were chosen with regards to the paper's focus of estimating rigidity among and between vertically differentiated PLs and NBs. The methodological framework is twofold. A regression approach used to explain price rigidity extends extents previous work by Herrmann et al. (2009) and Weber (2009). A second probabilistic model is used to estimate the probability of a price adjustment building on Kano's (2007) paper. Potential for generating discussion during the meeting Our detailed case-study analysis of retail price rigidity and focus on vertically differentiated food–product categories reveals a number of interesting findings that go beyond existing research. Overall, our regression results indicate that retail price changes in both categories are not fully explained by retail sales and price jumps. We find some evidence of strategic retail behavior that deviates from the common 'Hi-Lo' retail price setting, where sales prices are followed by pre-promotion price levels. The results further reveal that price rigidity decreases as the share of discounts relative to the number of price observations increases. With sales increasing by 1%, price rigidity decreases by 0.5 %. We confirm the same qualitative effects for wholesale price adjustments on price rigidity. If the share of price wholesale price changes increases by 1%, price rigidity decreases by 0.035 %. Our results largely confirm previous results and offer several new contributions on the effect of wholesale price adjustments on retail price rigidity.


Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) were evaluated for their ability to modulate platelet response induced by collagen, thrombin, platelet-activating factor and the stable analog of cyclic endoperoxides U46619. Platelet aggregation was first evaluated in whole blood and in leukocyte-depleted whole blood by the impedance method. This novel approach highlighted the inhibitory role of leukocytes on platelet aggregation in whole blood. The inhibitory role of PMNs on platelet function was subsequently evaluated on washed cells. PMN inhibition of platelet aggregation and beta-thromboglobulin release was more evident with threshold concentrations of stimuli. The inhibition also depended on the number of PMNs incubated in mixed cellular suspensions. Higher concentrations of stimuli may overcome the PMN-dependent inhibition. Under this condition, preincubation of cells with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (a specific PMN agonist) restored the inhibitory effect of PMNs on platelet aggregation in whole blood and in mixed cellular suspensions. Not only PMNs, but also PMN-derived supernatants, dose-dependently inhibited U46619-induced platelet aggregation, suggesting that the inhibition observed may be exerted by chemically stable compound(s). Cytoplasmic Ca2+ movement was measured in aequorin-loaded platelets exposed to thrombin or U46619 to see whether cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels were affected by PMN. Ca2+ levels were similar in the presence or absence of PMNs, suggesting that inhibition may be related to a subsequent platelet response step. A series of bioassay experiments showed that PMNs were able to remove and/or convert adenosine diphosphate available for platelet aggregation but not to reduce U46619 availability. Our findings suggest that (1) unstimulated PMNs may release factor(s) that inhibit platelet aggregation and beta-thromboglobulin release; (2) this in itself is sufficient to block the platelet response to a threshold concentration of stimuli; (3) release of the same or other inhibitory mediators from stimulated PMNs may have to be greater to inhibit platelet response to higher concentrations of stimuli. Data presented here suggest that adenosine diphosphatase activity and chemically stable, as yet unidentified, compounds besides previously well-characterized labile compounds such as nitric oxide and arachidonic acid metabolites are responsible for the PMN-dependent mechanism of inhibition of platelet response that could be relevant in physiopathologic conditions.


Abstract Background: P2Y12 inhibitors are indicated in patients following percutaneous coronary intervention. Several studies have demonstrated that high on treatment platelet reactivity is correlated with outcomes yet prospective studies of guided therapy have failed to show benefit. There is a paucity of studies on the platelet aggregation response to ADP before P2Y12 therapy is started. The aim of this study was to characterize platelet responses to 20 μM ADP by light transmission aggregometry (LTA) in a homogenous population. Methods: Platelet aggregation was assessed in 201 patients on dual antiplatelet therapy, 98 patients on aspirin alone and 47 normal, healthy volunteers free from anti-platelet medication. Results: Consensus guidelines suggest that a platelet aggregation response in response to the agonist ADP of <57% is an adequate therapeutic response to P2Y12 inhibition. Seven healthy donors and 38 patients taking aspirin only had aggregation responses below 57%. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrate that 15% of normal donors and 38% of patients taking aspirin only would be classified as having a therapeutic response to P2Y12 inhibition using current guidelines.


This research compares several approaches to inference in the multinomial probit model, based on Monte-Carlo results for a seven choice model. The experiment compares the simulated maximum likelihood estimator using the GHK recursive probability simulator, the method of simulated moments estimator using the GHK recursive simulator and kernel-smoothed frequency simulators, and posterior means using a Gibbs sampling-data augmentation algorithm. Each estimator is applied in nine different models, which have from 1 to 40 free parameters. The performance of all estimators is found to be satisfactory. However, the results indicate that the method of simulated moments estimator with the kernel-smoothed frequency simulator does not perform quite as well as the other three methods. Among those three, the Gibbs sampling-data augmentation algorithm appears to have a slight overall edge, with the relative performance of MSM and SML based on the GHK simulator difficult to determine.