This paper studies the statistical performance of the multichannel Wiener filter (MWF) when the weights are computed using estimates of the sample covariance matrices of the noisy and the noise signals. It is well known that the optimal weights of the minimum variance distortionless response beamformer are only determined by the noisy sample covariance matrix or the noise sample covariance matrix, while those of the MWF are determined by both of them. Therefore, the difficulty increases dramatically in statistically analyzing the MWF when compared to analyzing the MVDR, where the main reason is that expressing the general joint probability density function (p.d.f.) of the two sample covariance matrices presented a Hitherto unsolved problem, to the best of our knowledge. For a deeper insight into the statistical performance of the MWF, this paper first introduces a bivariate normal distribution to approximately model the joint p.d.f. of the noisy and the noise sample covariance matrices. Each sample covariance matrix is approximately modeled by a random scalar multiplied by its true covariance matrix. This approximation is designed to preserve both the bias and the mean squared error of the matrix with respect to a natural distance on covariance matrices. The correlation of the bivariate normal distribution, referred to as the sample covariance matrices intrinsic correlation coefficient, captures all second-order dependencies of the noisy and the noise sample covariance matrices. By using the proposed bivariate normal distribution, the performance of the MWF can be predicted from the derived analytical expressions and many interesting results are revealed. As an example, the theoretical analysis demonstrates that the MWF performance may degrade in terms of noise reduction and signal-to-noise-ratio improvement when using more sensors in some noise scenarios.


Controlling aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins (AFs) in grains and food during storage is a great challenge to humans worldwide. Alcaligenes faecalis N1-4 isolated from tea rhizosphere soil can produce abundant antifungal volatiles, and greatly inhibited the growth of A. flavus in un-contacted face-to-face dual culture testing. Gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry revealed that dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) and methyl isovalerate (MI) were two abundant compounds in the volatile profiles of N1-4. DMDS was found to have the highest relative abundance (69.90%, to the total peak area) in N1-4, which prevented the conidia germination and mycelial growth of A. flavus at 50 and 100 μL/L, respectively. The effective concentration for MI against A. flavus is 200 μL/L. Additionally, Real-time quantitative PCR analysis proved that the expression of 12 important genes in aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway was reduced by these volatiles, and eight genes were down regulated by 4.39 to 32.25-folds compared to control treatment with significant differences. And the A. flavus infection and AFs contamination in groundnut, maize, rice and soybean of high water activity were completely inhibited by volatiles from N1-4 in storage. Scanning electron microscope further proved that A. flavus conidia inoculated on peanuts surface were severely damaged by volatiles from N1-4. Furthermore, strain N1-4 showed broad and antifungal activity to other six important plant pathogens including Fusarium graminearum, F. equiseti, Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, and Colletotrichum graminicola. Thus, A. faecalis N1-4 and volatile DMDS and MI may have potential to be used as biocontrol agents to control A. flavus and AFs during storage.


: Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia, confers a 5-fold risk of stroke that increases to 17-fold when associated with mitral stenosis. At this time, the most effective long-term solution to protect patients from stroke and thromboembolism is oral anticoagulation, either with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) or a novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC). Despite the significant benefits they confer, both VKAs and NOACs are underused because of their increased potential for bleeding, and VKAs are underused because of their narrow therapeutic range, need for regular international normalized ratio checks, and interactions with food or medications. In patients with nonvalvular AF, approximately 90% of strokes originate from the left atrial appendage (LAA); in patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease, many patients (60%) have strokes that originate from the left atrium itself. Surgical LAA amputation or closure, although widely used to reduce stroke risk in association with cardiac surgery, is not currently performed as a stand-alone operation for stroke risk reduction because of its invasiveness. Percutaneous LAA closure, as an alternative to anticoagulation, has been increasingly used during the last decade in an effort to reduce stroke risk in nonvalvular AF. Several devices have been introduced during this time, of which one has demonstrated noninferiority compared with warfarin in a randomized controlled trial. This review describes the available technologies for percutaneous LAA closure, as well as a summary of the published trials concerning their safety and efficacy in reducing stroke risk in AF.


ABSTRACT This article outlines the roles of art theory and empirical psychology in understanding a work of art in its experience. Art theory sets the criteria of what the experience should be, and psychologists examine whether the predicted experience matches the observed experience of the recipient. An important issue is the role of knowledge in artistic evaluation, with resulting demand characteristics and concerns for self-presentation. With the help of recently developed implicit measures, both behavioral and biological, researchers are able to distinguish between explicitly reported knowledge and genuinely felt experience. The author presents examples of how art theory and empirical psychology might interact and how psychology can be used to examine a work's artistic value.


Determination of classical and quantum values of bipartite Bell inequalities plays a central role in quantum nonlocality. In this work, we characterize in a simple way bipartite Bell inequalities, free of marginal terms, for which the quantum value can be achieved by considering a classical strategy, for any number of measurement settings and outcomes. These findings naturally generalize known results about nonlocal computation and quantum XOR games. Additionally, our technique allows us to determine the classical value for a wide class of Bell inequalities, having quantum advantage or not, in any bipartite scenario.


CggR is the transcriptional repressor of the gapA operon encoding central glycolytic enzymes in Bacillus subtilis. Recently, a detailed mechanistic characterization of gapA induction revealed that the binding of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) to a low affinity site on CggR (Kd > 100 microM) is responsible for repressor release from the DNA. In addition, this prior work demonstrated that FBP binds to a second high affinity site on the repressor, causing a conformational change in the CggR/DNA complexes, but with no consequence on CggR affinity for its operator DNA. In the present study we have thoroughly analyzed the structural and thermodynamic consequences of FBP binding to CggR. Results of fluorescence anisotropy titrations, calorimetry and limited proteolysis confirm the existence in CggR of a high affinity site for FBP, with a Kd of around 6 microM. Using analytical size-exclusion chromatography, ultracentrifugation as well as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and pressure perturbation, we show that FBP binding at this site reduces the size of the CggR oligomers and induces conformational changes that stabilize the dimer against denaturation. Hence, FBP has a dual role on CggR structure and regulatory function. In addition to acting as an inducer of transcription at the low affinity site, FBP bound to the high affinity site acts as a structural cofactor for the repressor, with profound effects on its quaternary structure as well as on its conformational dynamics and stability. This high affinity FBP site apparently evolved from the sugar substrate binding site of homologous enzymes.


In the direct solution of sparse symmetric and positive definite linear systems, finding an ordering of the matrix to minimize the height of elimination tree (an indication of the number of parallel elimination steps) is crucial for effectively computing the Cholesky factor in parallel. This problem is known to be NP-hard. Though many effective heuristics have been proposed, the problems of how good these heuristics are near optimal and how to further reduce the height of elimination tree remain unanswered. This paper is an effort to this investigation. We introduce a genetic algorithm customized to this parallel ordering problem, which is characterized by two novel genetic operators, adaptive merge crossover and tree rotate mutation. Experiments showed that our approach is cost effective in the number of generations evolved to reach a better solution that having considerable improvement in reducing the height of elimination tree.


The paper reports the results of a stratigraphic reading on the northern façade of the Rocca di Novellara (Reggio Emilia, Italy), a castle which is now the town hall, right in the city centre. Though as a pole of the contemporary public life in Novellara, housing at present both a museum and a nineteenth century theatre, the Rocca recalls its military past through its name and by means of the still standing remains of the walls and corner towers. Besides a well-documented historical development, the stratigraphic investigation of the northern façade –the only part that still hasn't been restored– allowed a direct observation of the material traces revealing the slow transformation of the Rocca from a fortification to a residential castle. This study gave the chance of understanding the different constructive phases of the castle, making a chronological sequence out of them but it was also meant to reflect about the changes of its character, as the building has been acquiring a complex identity through time, due both to high qualified architectural episodes and to as much meaningful though tiny changes. Thus, the permanence of the stratified marks can be regarded as one of the main goals of a preservation project.


The effect of bedrock permeability and underlying catchment boundaries on stream base flow mean transit time (MTT) and MTT scaling relationships in headwater catchments is poorly understood. Here we examine the effect of bedrock permeability on MTT and MTT scaling relations by comparing 15 nested research catchments in western Oregon; half within the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and half at the site of the Alsea Watershed Study. The two sites share remarkably similar vegetation, topography, and climate and differ only in bedrock permeability (one poorly permeable volcanic rock and the other more permeable sandstone). We found longer MTTs in the catchments with more permeable fractured and weathered sandstone bedrock than in the catchments with tight, volcanic bedrock (on average, 6.2 versus 1.8 years, respectively). At the permeable bedrock site, 67% of the variance in MTT across catchments scales was explained by drainage area, with no significant correlation to topographic characteristics. The poorly permeable site had opposite scaling relations, where MTT showed no correlation to drainage area but the ratio of median flow path length to median flow path gradient explained 91% of the variance in MTT across seven catchment scales. Despite these differences, hydrometric analyses, including flow duration and recession analysis, and storm response analysis, show that the two sites share relatively indistinguishable hydrodynamic behavior. These results show that similar catchment forms and hydrologic regimes hide different subsurface routing, storage, and scaling behavior—a major issue if only hydrometric data are used to define hydrological similarity for assessing land use or climate change response.


The paper evaluates mass flow velocity heat transfer rates and velocity/temperature distributions in the viscous, incompressible and slightly conducting fluid past a permeable bed in three different configurations namely (1) Couette flow (2) Poiseuille flow and (3) free surface flow, under the influence of a uniform transverse magnetic field. To discuss the solution, the flow region is divided into two zones : Zone 1 (from the impermeable upper rigid plate to the permeable bed) in which the flow is laminar and governed by Navier-Stokes equations, and Zone 2 (the permeable bed below the nominal surface) in which the flow is governed by Darcy law. The paper also investigates the effects of magnetic field, porosity and Biot number on the physical quantities mentioned above.


Blossom thinning can confer significant benefits to apple growers, including increased fruit size and annual bearing. However, current blossom thinning practices can damage spur leaves and/or fruit. We evaluated the use of short duration forced heated air treatments [thermal shock (TS)] as a blossom thinning strategy for 'York Imperial'. Using a variable-temperature heat gun, TS treatments were applied to solitary blossoms 24 hours after pollination. Effects of output temperature (five levels) and treatment duration (four levels) were evaluated using a completely randomized design with a factorial treatment structure. Short duration treatments (0.5 and 1.0 seconds) were ineffective for arresting pollen tube growth in vivo. TS temperature required to inhibit stylar pollen tube growth was inconsistent across years. In 2014, TS temperatures ≥56 °C inhibited pollen tubes from reaching the style base at 2.0 and 4.0 second durations. However, in 2015, TS temperatures ≥81 °C at 4.0 seconds prevented pollen tubes from reaching the style base. Inconsistent effects of TS across years were attributed to treatments being applied too late due to optimal conditions for pollen tube growth during the intervening 24-hour period after pollination. Excessive injury to spur leaf tissue was observed at temperatures higher than 84 °C and 70 °C (2.0 and 4.0 seconds, respectively). Pollen tube growth was reduced or arrested at temperature and duration combinations that caused minimal visible injury to spur leaves. Identifying and exploiting structural differences between apple blossoms and vegetative spur leaves may provide insight for the future development of TS or other attempts at developing selective thinning technologies.


The origin of dark matter as a thermal relic offers a compelling way in which the early universe was initially populated by dark matter. Alternative explanations typically appear exotic compared to the simplicity of thermal production. However, recent observations and progress from theory suggest that it may be necessary to be more critical. This is important because ongoing searches probing the microscopic properties of dark matter typically rely on the assumption of dark matter as a single, unique, thermal relic. On general grounds I will argue that non-thermal production of dark matter seems to be a robust prediction of physics beyond the standard model. However, if such models are to lead to realistic phenomenology, they must sit in a restrictive theoretical framework. As we will show, as a consequence of such restrictions, viable models will result in concrete and testable predictions. Although many challenges remain, the non-thermal component of such models may offer a new way to test string theories that are formulated to provide realistic particle physics near the electroweak scale.


BACKGROUND
We evaluated whether angiotensin II (Ang II) influenced intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 expression by human vascular endothelial cells derived from umbilical cord veins (HUVECs) and plasma soluble ICAM-1 levels in vivo.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Cultured HUVECs were incubated with Ang II (from 10(-9) to 10(-6) mol/L) with or without candesartan and PD12319 (inhibitors of Ang II AT(1) and AT(2) receptors, respectively) for various times up to 4 hours. Total RNA was then extracted from HUVECs, and Northern blots were probed with a 1.9-kb ICAM-1 cDNA fragment. HUVEC supernatants were used to assess soluble ICAM-1 release by ELISA. Northern blot analysis detected a strong increase of ICAM-1 mRNA after 2-hour incubation with Ang II. The response was inhibited by candesartan. Soluble ICAM-1 release by HUVECs also increased (P<0. 002) after 2-hour Ang II stimulation. In vivo, Ang II (at an initial rate of 1.0 ng. kg(-1). min(-1), to be increased each 30 minutes by 2.0 ng. kg(-1). min(-1) to the final rate of 7.0 ng. kg(-1). min(-1)) was infused in 8 normotensive and 12 essential hypertensive individuals. In the latter, Ang II was reinfused after 4 weeks on either placebo (n=3), losartan (50 mg UID, n=5), or atenolol (50 mg UID, n=4) treatment. Plasma soluble ICAM-1 levels increased after Ang II infusion in hypertensives and normotensives (P<0.0001 after 90 minutes). Losartan reduced baseline soluble ICAM-1 levels (P<0.05) and Ang II-related ICAM-1 increments.

CONCLUSIONS
Ang II upregulates ICAM-1 expression by HUVECs and stimulates in vitro and in vivo soluble ICAM-1 release. AT(1) receptor blockade inhibits such endothelial effects of Ang II.


The recent Arab uprisings have been an unprecedented time of dramatic social and political movement. It has also been an intense time of debate between participants and witnesses of these historic events. Among the many questions raised in the debates is that of the role of the intellectuals, or the lack thereof, in predicting, contributing to, and participating in these momentous changes. Have Arab thinkers, and particularly the critical thinkers among them, been in tune with these movements? Or have they been totally disconnected from what has been brewing in their own societies for many years, if not decades? What connections, if any, could be noted between contemporary Arab intellectual critique and contemporary Arab protestation?


Fish disease is a major factor causing yield losses in fish farming production. The use of antibiotics that treat against diseases can pose the highest risk for the ecosystem and its overuse could cause the side effect, such as antibiotics-resistant diseases. Environmentally friendly production method of fish is thus needed. The objective of this study was to determine the active pharmacological substances and anti-bacterial activities extracted from Murdannia sp. as a potential herbal agent as an anti-bacterial treat fish diseases. The study was conducted from October 2017 to May 2018. Murdannia sp. aquatic plants were collected from the Bantimurung river waters Maros district, South Sulawesi. Phytochemical analysis was carried out at Laboratory of Pharmacology, University of Indonesia. Anti-bacterial analysis was carried out using the disc diffusion method in the KKP Fisheries Development Research and Management (IP4I), Depok. The results showed that an application of Murdannia sp. crude extract treated at dose of 0.1 g did not inhibit the growth of the bacterial pathogen of Aeromonas hydrophilla, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Streptococcus agalactiae, Flavobacterium columnare. However, at 0.2 g of Murdannia sp. extract level, the growth of Edwardsiella ictaluri was inhibited in intermediate inhibiton category which inhibition zone of 11 mm. Based on the ppharmacological test, it was known that Murdannia sp. aquatic plants consisted of three majority compound such as 0.084/10 g of flavonoid, 0.0558/10 g of Phenol, and 2/10 g of antioxidant 3036. These findings could be a basic research information in attempting to use aquatic plants as an alternative way for treating anti-bacterial fish disease in future.


Trade agreements are increasingly being negotiated between developed and emerging economy partners. An example is the EU–India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for which negotiations began in 2007. There has been a debate on the potential effects of the proposed FTA and how this can impact on India's key export sectors. Our study addresses this aspect from a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling perspective. Using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) framework, we analyse trade and welfare impacts of the proposed FTA between the EU and India. Two scenarios are modelled: first, complete and immediate elimination of tariff on all goods traded and second, selective tariff elimination on textiles, wearing apparel and leather goods—products in which India has a comparative advantage. Results under both scenarios show that India enjoys positive welfare effects though there is a possibility of trade diversion. Under scenario 1, India loses due to a negative terms of trade (ToT) effect. Under scenario 2, with selective sectoral liberalisation, gains are mainly concentrated in the textiles, wearing apparel and leather sectors. There is a positive output effect from change in demand for factors of production, suggesting that the proposed FTA could lead to relocation of labour-intensive production to India. JEL Classification: F15, F47, F62


Infectious diseases are often initiated by microbial adherence that is mediated by the binding of attachment molecules, termed adhesins, to cell surface receptors on host cells. We present an experimental system, oblique-incidence reflectivity difference (OI-RD) microscopy, which allows the detection of novel, low-affinity microbial attachment mechanisms that may be essential for infectious processes. OI-RD microscopy was used to analyze direct binding of the oncopathogen, Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) to immobilized glycoconjugates in real time with no need for labeling tags. The results suggest the presence of additional Lewis b blood group antigen (Le(b)) binding adhesins that have not been detected previously. OI-RD microscopy also confirmed the high-affinity binding of H. pylori outer-membrane protein BabA to Le(b). The OI-RD microscopy method is broadly applicable to real-time characterization of intact microbial binding to host receptors and offers new strategies to elucidate the molecular interactions of infectious agents with human host cells.


We study the iteration complexity of stochastic gradient descent (SGD) for minimizing the gradient norm of smooth, possibly nonconvex functions. We provide several results, implying that the classical $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-4})$ upper bound (for making the average gradient norm less than $\epsilon$) cannot be improved upon, unless a combination of additional assumptions is made. Notably, this holds even if we limit ourselves to convex quadratic functions. We also show that for nonconvex functions, the feasibility of minimizing gradients with SGD is surprisingly sensitive to the choice of optimality criteria.


Abstract It is not easy to give up on a tradition that promises to rationalize, explain, and thereby ultimately help improve, society. This article narrates the history of Critical Theory in three stages, following the dynamics of its own self-criticism during distinct historical periods and within different societies. Horkheimer/Adorno, Habermas and Honneth are read as participating in a philosophical project of societal rationalism which can be criticized by appeal to a pragmatist view of social theories, and specifically the 'pragmatic maxim'. In spite of its post-metaphysical announcements, Critical Theory overextends itself when it seeks to reconcile fully the normative and the empirical. An alternative, and more explicitly ethical and empirically controllable, scheme for critical theories (plural!) is suggested.


Electrical and optical interactions occurring in InGaAsP/InP integrated light sources composed of DFB lasers and electroabsorption modulators have been studied. Static measurements indicated that an isolation resistance between the laser and the modulator should be as large as 100 k Omega or more in order to reduce a lasing wavelength shift associated with biasing the modulator. The useful guided light out of the modulator was about 1-2 percent of the laser output. At high frequency modulation, asymmetric sidebands were observed in dynamic spectra measured at the modulator facet, which were caused by additional modulation of the laser part. Such additional modulation was relatively large at the relaxation oscillation frequency of the laser, but it was reduced by connecting an RF bypass condenser in parallel to the laser diode and by depositing an antireflection coating at the modulator facet. After eliminating the additional modulation, an integrated device showed a high frequency response of 5.7-GHz 3-dB bandwidth and a small linewidth enhancement factor of alpha =0.8. >


Migration network theory addresses the cumulative causation of migration as a result of reduced social, economic, and emotional costs of migration pursuant to the formation of migration networks. Because it introduces a sociological dimension, network theory improves the mechanical and economistic "push and pull" conceptions that prevailed earlier, including world systems versions thereof. Nonetheless, existing treatments of migration networks overlook the role of those networks in expanding the immigrant economy at locations of destination. The migration network performs this role when it supports migrant entrepreneurship, a phenomenon of variable but often great importance. Existing literature also ignores cultural differences that affect the efficiency of migration networks in both relocating population and generating new firms. In the last decade, immigration research has refocused on the issue of migrant networks in both contemporary and historical migrations (Bozorgmehr, 1990; Fawcett, 1989; Boyd, 1989; Morawska, 1989: 260; Wilpert and Gitmez, 1987). A long-standing concern (Tilly, 1978; Choldin, 1973: Light, 1972), migrant networks became of renewed interest when researchers sought to connect macro and micro determinants of immigration. Micro determinants begin with solitary decision-makers who operate independent of group memberships (Lee, 1966; Lewis, 1982: ch. 8; Sell, 1983). Often placed in a world systems context, macro influences impact masses of people whose responses are not thought to depend upon migration chains (Burawoy, 1976; Portes and Walton, 1981; Clark, 1986: ch. 4; Sassen-Koob, 1989). Spanning continents and decades, social networks connect individuals and macroscopic push and pull influences. True, at any stage of a migration, some people arrange their relocation on their own and without any help from migration networks. These are unassisted migrants. However, more individuals migrate when once networks have formed (Portes and Boron, 1989: 607-608). These networks organize their departure, travel, and settlement abroad. For this reason, the network itself emerges as an actor in the migration process. Although based on already familiar ideas, Massey's formula of "cumulatively caused" migration drew together and focused current thinking about migration. According to Massey (et al., 1987; 1988, 1989), migrations forge networks which then feed the very migrations that produced them. Therefore, whatever macrosocietal political/economic conditions may initially have caused migration, the originating pushes and pulls, the expanding migratory process becomes "progressively independent" of the original causal conditions. In effect, migrations in process self-levitate above the conditions that caused them to begin, leading thereafter an independent existence. Network formation is the reason. Massey (1988: 396) defines migration networks as "sets of interpersonal ties that link migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in origin and destination areas through the bonds of kinship, friendship, and shared community origin." Networks promote the independence of migratory flows for two reasons. First, once network connections reach some threshold level, they amount to a autonomous social structure that supports immigration. This support arises from the reduced social, economic, and emotional costs of immigration that networks permit. That is, network-supported migrants have important help in arranging transportation, finding housing and jobs in their place of destination, and in effecting a satisfactory personal and emotional adjustment to what is often a difficult situation of cultural marginality. These benefits make migration easier, thus encouraging people to migrate who would otherwise have stayed at home. Unless migrants are uprooted refugees who lack any choice about departure, only immigration affording them any hope of survival (Bozorgmehr and Sabagh, 1990; Pedraza-Bailey, 1985) potential migrants always have the option of staying home. Given that choice, the reduced cost of migration enhances the number who can and will choose to leave, thus increasing the volume of migration. Second, Massey has made the same case for networks under the assumptions of a risk-diversification model.According to this model, families allocate member labor within the constraint of their own needs and aspirations in a cost-efficient and risk-minimizing way.Many Third World households are economically precarious. Such households face high-risks to their well-being if they select non-migration.Moreover, modernization and development create social and economic dislocations that intensify the unstable and unpredictable economic environment created by the usual risks of drought, crop failure and natural disasters, for rural as well as urban areas.In the absence of other ways to insure against such risks, diversification of family members' location minimizes overall family income risk. (Massey, 1989: 14-15) Migration is a risk-diversification strategy.International migration is especially effective because international borders create discontinuities that promote independence of earnings at home and abroad. Good times abroad can match bad ones at home, or vice-versa. Even in the absence of earning differentials (ASA, p.15), international migration offers an effective risk-diversification strategy, especially when migrant networks already exist. Migration networks reduce the economic risks of immigration, thus rendering the strategy more attractive from a risk-diversification perspective (Massey, 1989:5-16). Expanding networks "put a destination job within easy reach of most community members" (Commission, p.398) and make migration a virtually risk-less and cost-less alternative labor power investment in the household's portfolio of labor assets (Massey, 1988).


This paper presents a novel method for estimating the velocity of a mobile station (MS) in a typical macro-cell. The proposed estimator uses the auto-correlation function of the instantaneous frequency (IF) of the received signal at the MS antenna. The performance of the proposed estimator in the presence of shadowing, additive noise, and non-isotropic scattering is studied analytically. It is proved that, unlike existing velocity estimators, the IF-based estimator is robust to shadowing.


Inheritance of genetic material requires that chromosomes segregate faithfully during cell division. Failure in this process can drive to aneuploidy phenomenon. Kinetochores are unique centromere macromolecular protein structures that attach chromosomes to the spindle for a proper movement and segregation. A unique type of nucleosomes of centromeric chromatin provides the base for kinetochore formation. A specific histone H3 variant, CENPA, replaces conventional histone H3 and together with centromere-specific-DNA-binding factors directs the assembly of active kinetochores. Recent studies on CENPA nucleosomal structure, epigenetic inheritance of centromeric chromatin and transcription of pericentric heterochromatin provide new clues to our understanding of centromere structure and function. This review highlights the role and dynamics of CENPA assembly into centromeres and the potential contribution of this kinetochore protein to autoimmune and cancer diseases in humans.


The uncontrolled generation of organic waste causes the decrease of the life of landfills. Alternative treatment processes such as anaerobic digestion of organic wastes may be a viable alternative to disposal of such organic waste, and the use of this technology can still generate gains using biofertilizer in agriculture. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the anaerobic digestion of Ceasa vegetables wastes from Cascavel-PR by adding swine manure doses (inoculum) in order to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills. Alternative 12 digesters were developed, and are added 29 liters of effluent (fruit and vegetable wastes) in each reactor, by adding inoculum 3 levels: 0, 1, 2, 3 liters (pig manure). During 50 days of digestion were analyzed the following physical and chemical parameters of the effluent: pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, TS, VS, TOC and P concentrations. Satisfactory results were obtained in most of assessed parameters, TS reductions were observed in the levels of 60% in the treatment with 2 liters of inoculum. With respect to TOC was possible to obtain a reduction of 57%. With the obtained results it can be concluded that the manufactured biodigesters were effective in the digestion of Ceasa waste, however, the effluent can be used for biofertilization by pH correction, due to its acidity.


Restrictions in the diversity of an adaptive immune repertoire can facilitate viral persistence. Because a host afflicted with an immune deficiency is not likely to purge a persistent infection using endogenous mechanisms, it is important to explore adoptive therapies to supplement the host with a functional immune defense. In this study, we describe a virus carrier state that results from introducing lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) into adult mice possessing a restricted T cell repertoire. On infection of these mice, LCMV establishes systemic persistence, and within the CNS the virus infects astrocytes (and later oligodendrocytes) rather than its traditional parenchymal target neurons. To determine whether LCMV could be purged from a novel target selection in the absence of an endogenous immune repertoire, we adoptively transferred virus-specific memory cells into adult carrier mice. The memory cells purged virus from the periphery as well as the CNS, but they induced fatalities not typically associated with adoptive immunotherapy. When the repertoire of the recipient mice was examined, a deficiency in natural regulatory T cells was noted. We therefore supplemented carrier mice with regulatory T cells and simultaneously performed adoptive immunotherapy. Cotransfer of regulatory T cells significantly reduced mortality while still permitting the antiviral memory cells to purge the persistent infection. These data indicate that regulatory T cells can be used therapeutically to lessen the pathogenicity of virus-specific immune cells in an immunodeficient host. We also propose that the novel carrier state described herein will facilitate the study of immunotherapeutic regimens.


Synopsis Pyropic garnet occurs within garnet pyroxenite xenoliths and as discrete crystals in Carboniferous–Permian alkali basaltic tuffs and hypabyssal intrusions. Eight localities are now known from the Midland Valley together with another in the NW Highlands. The xenoliths are inferred to have been derived from minor pyroxenitic intercalations in spinel lherzolite within the lithospheric mantle. Although pyrope crystals at Elie Ness are regarded as high-pressure phenocrysts cognate with the basanitic host, it is indeterminable whether discrete garnets at the other localities are phenocrysts or xenocrystal fragments derived from garnet pyroxenites. All, however, whether phenocrystic, xenocrystic or integral components of pyroxenitic xenoliths, are regarded as cognate in the sense of being products of high-pressure crystallization of late Palaeozoic basanite magmas. Kaersutite, phlogopite, hercynitic spinel, ilmenite and pseudomorphs after orthopyroxene occur as minor components in some of the garnet pyroxenite xenoliths. Mineral compositional data (electron- and ion-microprobe) are presented, with comparisons to xenolith-megacryst suites elsewhere. The garnets have strong similarities with each other and with megacryst populations from alkali basalts outside the U.K. It is concluded that the pyroxenites originally crystallized from basaltic magmas as high-pressure cumulates from depths of >50 km and represent some of the deepest samples from the Scottish lithosphere.


Vocabulary selection, or lexical shortlisting, is a well-known technique to improve latency of Neural Machine Translation models by constraining the set of allowed output words during inference. The chosen set is typically determined by separately trained alignment model parameters, independent of the source-sentence context at inference time. While vocabulary selection appears competitive with respect to automatic quality metrics in prior work, we show that it can fail to select the right set of output words, particularly for semantically non-compositional linguistic phenomena such as idiomatic expressions, leading to reduced translation quality as perceived by humans. Trading off latency for quality by increasing the size of the allowed set is often not an option in real-world scenarios. We propose a model of vocabulary selection, integrated into the neural translation model, that predicts the set of allowed output words from contextualized encoder representations. This restores translation quality of an unconstrained system, as measured by human evaluations on WMT newstest2020 and idiomatic expressions, at an inference latency competitive with alignment-based selection using aggressive thresholds, thereby removing the dependency on separately trained alignment models.


Any serious treatment of the renewal of socialism today must begin with capitalism's creative destruction of the bases of all social existence. Since the late 1980s, the world has been engulfed in an epoch of catastrophe capitalism, manifested today in the convergence of (1) the planetary ecological crisis, (2) the global epidemiological crisis, and (3) the unending world economic crisis. Added to this are the main features of today's "empire of chaos," including the extreme system of imperialist exploitation unleashed by global commodity chains; the demise of the relatively stable liberal-democratic state with the rise of neoliberalism and neofascism; and the emergence of a new age of global hegemonic instability accompanied by increased dangers of unlimited war.


Based on good processing property of two-dimentional ultrasonic vibration assisted grinding (TUVAG), the precision finishing of nano-zirconia toughened alumina ceramics (nano-ZTA) is carried out. According to theoretical analysis, TUVAG may obtain higher machining efficiency and better surface quality. Especially, experimental results show it may obtain the compressive stress in the finished surface of nano-ZTA that may restrain the expansion of surface microcrack, and surface residual stress of nano-ZTA under TUVAG differs from that under diamond grinding, and TUVAG may obtain the better surface quality of nano-ZTA than diamond grinding, as is characterized by scanning electronic microscope (SEM). As a result, it is good for TUVAG as a kind of processing method for nano-ZTA.


Those ministering to youth increasingly find themselves having to address numerous issues and complexities, which extend beyond the scope of the school setting. Catholic school students are not immune to these issues, and to address the needs of their students, Catholic school counselors must embrace aspects of the social sciences that affirm and elevate the message of the Gospel. The intent of this article is to present a Christian perspective of guidance counseling and to highlight those orientations and therapies that uphold Christian values.


Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent cancer, ranking as the third most common. Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular causes of this disease have highlighted the crucial role of tumor immune evasion in its initiation and progression. CTLA4, a receptor that acts as a negative regulator of T cell responses, plays a pivotal role in this process, and genetic variations in CTLA4 have been linked to CRC susceptibility, prognosis, and response to therapy. Methods We conducted a case-control study involving 98 CRC patients and 424 controls. We genotyped the CTLA4 c.-319C > T variant (rs5742909) and performed an association analysis by comparing allele frequencies between the patients and controls. To assess the potential functional impact of this variant, we first performed an In Silico analysis of transcription factor binding sites using Genomatix. Finally, to validate our findings, we conducted a luciferase reporter gene assay using different cell lines and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Results The case-control association analysis revealed a significant association between CTLA4 c.-319C > T and CRC susceptibility (p = 0.023; OR 1.89; 95% CI = 1.11–3.23). Genomatix analysis identified LEF1 and TCF7 transcription factors as specific binders to CTLA4 c.-319C. The reporter gene assay demonstrated notable differences in luciferase activity between the c.-319 C and T alleles in COS-7, HCT116, and Jurkat cell lines. EMSA analysis showed differences in TCF7 interaction with the CTLA4 C and T alleles. Conclusion CTLA4 c.-319C > T is associated with CRC susceptibility. Based on our functional validation results, we proposed that CTLA4 c.-319C > T alters gene expression at the transcriptional level, triggering a stronger negative regulation of T-cells and immune tumoral evasion.


This paper presents the passivity-based rotor resistance and mechanical paramters estimation, and the position control for induction motors. Firstly, the input-output linearization theory is employed to decouple the rotor flux amplitude and the rotor position at the transient state. An open-loop current model flux observer then estimates the rotor flux. Furthermore, we adopted the gradient algorithm to design adaptive laws to estimate the rotor resistance, moment of inertia, viscous coefficient, and load torque. The passive properties of the feedback connection of the rotor flux observer to the rotor resistance estimator, and the position controller are analyzed by the passivity theorem. According to the properties, the overall control system is proved to be globally stable without using Lyapunov-type arguments. Finally, experimental results are provided to show that the proposed method is robust to variations of the mechanical parameters and load torque disturbances. Moreover, good position tracking response and parameters estimating characteristic can be obtained.


July, 1957, finds Ollie Love in Binder, Arkansas, one of the many three-day stops her family will make as they travel from Kentucky to Louisiana, sharing the gospel and bringing the joy of Christ to all who will come to their revival tent to hear Reverend Everlasting Love sing and preach. In Binder, though, Ollie finds a problem that might take more than three days to solve: a woman sits in jail awaiting trial for the murder of her husband, while her son, Jimmy, has intrigued Ollie's compassionate nature and set her romantic thirteen-year-old heart a-fluttering. Although domestic abuse and murder form the backdrop and occasion for this story, the tale itself has a thoroughly sweet disposition, befitting the hazily naïve and romantic ideal of its time period; aside from two genuinely reprehensible bad actors and one horrific scene of animal abuse, more good things than bad happen, and the adults in the story are wise and caring, willing to listen to their children and then to act in responsible and effective ways so that a compassionate justice prevails. Adult and child readers weary of the cynicism and edgy gloom that pervades so much of children's literature can breathe easy here, as Reverend Everlasting Love (and indeed the entire Love family) live up to their name. KC


We analyzed a series of ovarian carcinomas from patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) to determine the relationship between microsatellite alteration and prognosis. Patients with tumors that had lost alleles at loci 3p14-21, 12qter, or 17p13.3 showed significantly reduced survival compared to patients with tumors that retained both alleles at those loci. The 5-year mortality rates for patients exhibiting allele loss and patients with allele retention were 50 and 41%, respectively, for the 3p14-21 locus (P=0.0023); 57 and 24%, respectively, for 12qter (P=0.0256); and 55 and 40%, respectively, for 17p13.3 (P=0.0489). A statistically significant difference was also observed with respect to fractional allelic loss (FAL), which was a significant indicator for disease recurrence (P=0.0227). The prognosis of patients with high FAL values were significantly worse compared to those with low FAL values (P=0.0306). Our results suggested that LOH at loci 3p14-21, 12qter, or 17p13.3 was a significant predictor of poor survival in ovarian carcinomas treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Furthermore, the association of FAL value with therapy response indicated that ovarian carcinomas with high levels of chromosomal alteration may be more resistant to this type of chemotherapy.


This paper covers the End-of-Field Life management and abandonment planning for four subsea fields. Scope includes end-to-end planning from confirming cessation of production with the Regulator, to Abandonment Planning, actual Implementation and Execution.
 PETRONAS Procedures and Guidelines for Upstream Activities (PPGUA), Company internal guidelines and Industry Practices are available for End-of-Field Life management, Abandonment Planning and Execution. These guidelines were used pragmatically in addressing both technical and non-technical challenges on these four fields, including but not limited to PSC Obligations and Regulatory Compliance, Selection of Abandonment Concept, Execution Strategy, etc. The lack of experience in subsea field abandonment provided a unique opportunity for collaboration among industry players, constructive challenges, and the acceptability of new ideas including ways of working, processes and implementation of rules/guidelines.
 There are six subsea wells in these four fields, in different water depths, some of which are in a cluster while others are not. The scope and timeline for each was evaluated on individual basis to draw alignment with its field and PSC-specific requirements; some are thereafter bundled together into a campaign to gain efficiency and savings via a broader synergy approach.
 Two broad scopes were considered: Wells Plug and Abandonment (P&A), and Subsea facilities decommissioning and abandonment. All wells P&A are aligned to industry practice and PPGUA. Field in shallower water was planned for full decommissioning and abandonment with subsea tree removed and recovered; a new diverless flushing tool (developed in collaboration with subsea vendor) was used to clean the pipeline that will be left in-situ. For field in deeper water (more than 100 meters), comparative assessment was carried out and the results support "leave in-situ" concept. Fit-for-purpose Marine Biology assessment was carried out by a local university to support this concept. The plan is to have this abandonment concept presented to the relevant Government Agencies for final approval.


Distinct from the increasing interest in Research on L2 creative writing in a pedagogical context, this practice-based PhD research attempts to situate the process of writing poetry in a second language as a creative practice in its own right. This enquiry focuses not only on the outcome of my creative practice, which is memory poetry: poetry of remembrance, in a second language, but also reaches through the process and methodology towards opening the way to developing artistic practice, of writing poetry in a second language as the production of knowledge in action and as a genre, of finding my voices, of my transformation from a reader, a language learner into a writer and of contributing insights toward the definition of a second language poetry. Self-reflection and critical investigation of Women poets of Asian background, namely: Kamala Das, Eunice De Souza, and Jennifer Wong, facilitate cultural learning; a valuable source of authentic materials that makes me able to reflect my own identities and to write my own memory poetry. By combining autobiography, memory and second language creative writing, I develop a collection of poetry consisting of 70 poems within five thematic issues: Memories of Mother and Daughter in an Islamic and Matrilineal Society, Memories of Diabetes Heritage, Study Abroad Setting, Motherhood PhD and The Making of a Second Language Poetry. The poems narrate my personal history, exploring the religious-cultural convergence of being a mother as well as a daughter and investigating the different aspects of being a student mother in learning a language and pursuing a degree in a study abroad setting. 10 of the 70 pieces are self-translated poems signifying the creativity in the translational process of "self" while handling the meaning both in my first and second language.


: Inability to keep up great glycemic direct builds the danger of diabetes linked inconveniences and extended haul wellbeing heed expenses. Around half of sufferers with type 2 diabetes (T2D) don't accomplish all inclusive perceived blood glucose focuses, in spite of the accessibility of a wide scope of compelling glucose-bringing down treatments. Our current research was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore from June 2017 to May 2018. The explanations behind such hindrances incorporate treatment reactions, multifaceted management routines, prickle uneasiness, deprived tolerant training, and the nonappearance of a satisfactory tolerant consideration graph; in any case, more up to date treatments and gadgets, joined with complete consideration plans including satisfactory patient training, can assist to limit obstructions and recover management results. tolerant have to be transported beneath glycemic direct to progress management results; however accessible obstructions to upgrading glycemic manage should initially be survived, counting tolerant non-adherence to management, the disappointment of doctors to increase treatment in an auspicious way, and insufficiencies in the human services framework itself.


Significant disparities in reproductive health care access and outcomes exist along race, ethnicity, and income lines. One of the starkest examples of this is the dramatic reduction in abortion access over the past 45 years that disproportionately affects minority and low-income women. While existing literature has exposed these disparities and potential reasons for them, there is less attention to the ways reduced access to reproductive health care, specifically abortion, can coerce, exploit, and systematically oppress women of color and low-income women. This research uses a reproductive justice framework to discuss the impact of anti-abortion legislation and the anti-abortion movement on minority women and low-income women. I argue that reducing abortion access is systematically oppressive by connecting limited abortion access to three specific sites of oppression: broader systems of oppression in history and today that are seemingly unrelated to reproductive rights; social-level coercion towards sterilization among minority women; and the US family welfare system that oppresses and exploits those it purports to help. This research examines contemporary abortion policies using an intersectional, reproductive justice lens. It concludes with promising directions for future research on minority and low-income women's reproductive healthcare related experiences in the US. Lastly, it is important to highlight the privileges that white women of all incomes have compared to women of color. This research recognizes this systemic privilege and thus spends the most time discussing the disparities that exist along racial lines. However, it is also important to recognize the impact that income level and class have on abortion access, and so with that in mind this research frequently discusses race and income simultaneously.


Abstract. Online non-refractory submicron aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements in urban areas have successfully allowed the apportionment of specific sources and/or physical and chemical properties of the organic fraction. However, in order to be fully representative of PM pollution, a comprehensive source apportionment analysis is needed by taking into account all major components of submicron aerosols, creating strengthened bonds between the organic components and pollution sources. We present here a novel two-step methodology to perform such an analysis, by taking advantage of high time resolution of monitoring instruments: the aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) and the multi-wavelength absorption measurements (Aethalometer AE31) in Paris, France. As a first step, organic aerosols (OA) were deconvolved to hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), biomass burning OA (BBOA) and oxygenated OA (OOA) with positive matrix factorization (PMF), and black carbon was deconvolved into its wood burning and fossil fuel combustion fractions. A second PMF analysis was then carried out with organic factors, BC fractions and inorganic species (nitrate, sulfate, ammonium, chloride), leading to a four-factor solution allowing highly time-resolved characterization of the major sources of PM1. Outputs of this PMF2 include two dominant combustion sources (wood burning and traffic) as well as semi-volatile and low-volatile secondary aerosols. While HOA is found to be emitted by both wood burning and traffic, the latter sources occurred to significantly contribute also to OOA.


Fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) have received ever -increasing demand during the last decade and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical industry. Fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) are thos e solid dosage forms when put on tongue, disintegrate or dissolve instantaneously, releasing the drug, within a few seconds without the need of water. Fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) aim for designing dosage forms, convenient to be manufactured and administered, free of side effects, offering immediate release and enhanced bioavailability, to achieve better patient compliance. Fast disintegrating tablets have been formulated for pediatric, geriatric, and bedridden patients and for active patients who are busy and travelling and may not have access to water. Such formulations provide an opportunity for product life extension in the many elderly persons which have difficulty in taking conventional oral dosage form (viz., solutions, suspensions, tablets, and capsules) because of hand tremors and dysphagia. The current article is focused on ideal requirements, need for development of FDTs, challenges in formulation, suitability of drug candidates, superdisintegrants employed, various technologies developed for FDTs, patented technologies like Wowtab, Durasolv, Orasolv, Flashtab, Zydis, Frosta technology, Sheaform, Ceaform technology, Nanocrystal technology which have gained importance in international market, evaluation methods and various marketed products


Background: The aims of this study were to determine the effect of weight loss on biochemical parameters and anthropometric measurements in prolactinoma patients and to evaluate the effectiveness of weight loss diet along with medical treatment.
Methods: Twenty-two patients with prolactinoma were divided into two groups and one of the groups was applied weight loss diet (diet group) while the other group was diet free (control group). Each participant was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The biochemical parameters (fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin, prolactin, leptin, TSH, T4, cortisol, HbA1c, AST, ALT and blood lipids) of participants were analyzed and anthropometric measurements were taken.
Results: There was a significant change in mean BMI after treatment in diet group (p=0.000). The mean level of serum prolactin decreased from 45.1±31.63 ng/dL at baseline to 12.6±8.19 ng/dL after three months in diet group (p=0.006). Despite there being no statistically significant difference between diet and control group in terms of baseline level of prolactin measurement (p=0.800), statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of final level of prolactin measurement (p=0.027) was observed. There was a significant change in mean level of leptin after treatment in diet group (p=0.001).
Conclusions: In addition to medical treatment, weight loss diets sped up the healing process for hyperprolactinemia and the reduction in body weight had positive effects on the metabolic profiles of prolactinoma patients.


The literature on EPZs shows that these are a second-best solution compared with generalised countrywide reforms, but that, where countrywide reforms are difficult to implement, they can be a useful weapon in the development arsenal [World Bank (2001)]. EPZs have been instrumental not only in increasing exports but also attracting export-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI). China is a classic example to be mentioned here where the levels of FDI have gone up massively over the last ten years. Added up with exports increase are also the benefits of employment generation, development of backward and forward linkages and strengthening the industrial base. The phenomenon of export-processing zones (EPZs) is a part of broader context of structural changes in global economic development. During the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in exports of manufactured goods especially from developing countries. EPZs have emerged as an important channel of export generation, especially of manufactured goods, from most of the developing countries e.g. East Asia, Mexico, Morocco etc. Their significance cannot be undermined because of the location-specific advantages and infrastructure facilities possessed by them.


TITLE: Operational Medical Issues in Hypo-and Hyperbaric Conditions [les Questions medicales a caractere oprationel liees aux conditions hypobares ou hyperbares] To order the complete compilation report, use: ADA395680 The component part is provided here to allow users access to individually authored sections f proceedings, annals, symposia, etc. However, the component should be considered within [he context of the overall compilation report and not as a stand-alone technical report.


Two experiments examined the relation between response variability and sensitivity to changes in reinforcement contingencies. In Experiment 1, two groups of college students were provided complete instructions regarding a button-pressing task; the instructions stated "press the button 40 times for each point" (exchangeable for money). Two additional groups received incomplete instructions that omitted the pattern of responding required for reinforcement under the same schedule. Sensitivity was tested in one completely instructed and one incompletely instructed group after responding had met a stability criterion, and for the remaining two groups after a short exposure to the original schedule. The three groups of subjects whose responding was completely instructed or who had met the stability criterion showed little variability at the moment of change in the reinforcement schedule. The responding of these three groups also was insensitive to the contingency change. Incompletely instructed short-exposure responding was more variable at the moment of schedule change and was sensitive to the new contingency in four of six cases. In Experiment 2, completely and incompletely instructed responding first met a stability criterion. This was followed by a test that showed no sensitivity to a contingency change. A strategic instruction was then presented that stated variable responding would work best. Five of 6 subjects showed increased variability after this instruction, and all 6 showed sensitivity to contingency change. The findings are discussed from a selectionist perspective that describes response acquisition as a process of variation, selection, and maintenance. From this perspective, sensitivity to contingency changes is described as a function of variables that produce response variability.


Background/Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a novel pancreaticogastrostomy technique for diminishing pancreatic fistulas after pancreaticoduodenectomy using gastric wrapping of the pancreatic stump with a twin square-shaped horizontal mattress and a suture fixing the main pancreatic duct to the gastric mucosa anastomosis [twin square wrapping (TSW) method]. Methods: Fifty-three patients undergoing pancreaticogastrostomy after pancreaticoduodenectomy were included in the study and chronologically divided into a conventional group (n = 32) and a TSW group (n = 21). The perioperative factors and the postoperative outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The operating time for the pancreatic anastomosis, the total operating time, and the blood loss volume in the TSW group were lower than in the conventional group, but without a statistically significant difference. The TSW group had a significantly lower postoperative white blood cell count and C-reactive protein level, with a reduced intra-abdominal fluid accumulation as assessed by computed tomography on postoperative day 7, had a lower incidence of postoperative complications and pancreatic fistulas, and achieved a shorter duration of drain placement and shorter postoperative hospital stays as compared to the conventional group. Conclusions: The TSW technique should be considered for reducing pancreatic fistulas by diminishing the postoperative inflammatory response and improving patient outcomes without increasing the operating time.


As this 4th edition of the well-known Manual of Tropical Medicine becomes available, at $18.50 per copy, one cannot but wonder about original versus current objectives of the book. The first edition of the Manual served during and immediately after World War II as a practical, nearly pocket-sized, quick reference for medical officers, and later for medical students as well. There is undoubtedly a continued need for a compact, general reference source on parasitic and certain infectious diseases. But, should we continue to lump under "tropical medicine" an increasing and arbitrary collection of entities? Is the term tropical medicine still useful, or is it becoming obsolete? A narrow definition of the subject might restrict tropical medicine only to parasitic diseases. Relatively few parasitic diseases, however, are confined to the tropics and subtropics. There has been an increasing tendency to regard tropical medicine as embracing those health conditions that are characteristic of tropical regions with poor sanitation.


A proteomic method combining two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry was used to compare the hemolymph expression profiles of a beta-cypermethrin-resistant Blattella germanica L. strain (R) and a susceptible strain (S) after 24 h of beta-cypermethrin induction. The results showed that there were 42 differentially expressed proteins after induction of the R strain; 4 proteins were upregulated, and 38 proteins were downregulated. One hundred nine hemolymph proteins were differentially expressed after induction of the S strain; 62 proteins were upregulated, and 47 proteins were downregulated. The identified proteins were mainly classified into the following categories: energy metabolism proteins such as arginine kinase and triose phosphate isomerase, detoxification-related proteins such as glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), signal molecule-regulated proteins such as nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and other proteins such as kinetic-related proteins and gene expression-related proteins. Several proteins show significant differences in response to short-term stress and long-term adaptation, differential expression of these proteins reflects an overall change in cellular structure and metabolism associated with resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. In summary, our research has improved the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of beta-cypermethrin resistance in German cockroaches, which will facilitate the development of rational methods to improve the management of this pest.


Primary lymphoma of the colon is a rare tumor of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and comprises only 0.2-1.2% of all colonic malignancies. The most common variety of colonic lymphoma is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The GI tract is the most frequently involved site, accounting for 30-40% of all extra nodal lymphomas, approximately 4-20% of which are NHL. The stomach is the most common location of GI lymphomas, followed by the small intestine. Early diagnosis may prevent intestinal perforation; however, the diagnosis is often delayed in most cases. Therapeutic approaches described in two subsets include: Radical tumor resection (hemicolectomy) plus multi-agent chemotherapy (polychemotherapy) in early stage patients, biopsy plus multidrug chemotherapy in advanced stage patients. Radiotherapy is reserved for specific cases; surgery alone can be considered as an adequate treatment for patients with low-grade NHL disease that does not infiltrate beyond the sub mucosa. Although resection plays an important role in the local control of the disease and in preventing bleeding and/or perforation, it rarely eradicates the lymphoma by itself. Those with limited stage disease may enjoy prolonged survival when treated with aggressive chemotherapy.


We investigated the locomotor activity and motor learning in running wheel experiments in mice under influence of the dopaminergic system. We evaluated an impairment of the D2 function by using knockout mice and after pharmacological Blockade of the D2 receptor and a lack of D3 function by using D3 knockout mice with and without influence of the dopaminergic system by dietary-induced iron deficiency.
A reduction of the D2 receptor function in the D2 knockout mouse or after injection of D2 receptor antagonist raclopride resulted in a significant limitation of all parameters in the normal running wheel. The reduced activity was mainly evident in the quantity of Runs, and much less in a reduced maximum speed, which argues against a purely motor deficit like in Parkinsonoid-diseases. Since the use of the running-wheel (in contrast to habitual movement) requires a high level of motivation, the impairment of the D2 system at the interface between motivation and motor skills leading to a reduced drive to motor activity is a traceable explanation.
In the second experiment, we examined the effects of iron deficiency and a lack of the D3 receptor on motor activity and motor learning. An iron-restricted diet led in D3 Knockout mice as well as in wild-type controls to a reduction in the total distance with an unaltered maximum speed. According to previous studies an anemia-induced effect is unlikely to explain theses results.
The combination of iron deficiency and lack of D3 receptor resulted in a delay of learning of the new pattern in the complex running wheel, while the single deficiencies did not affect the learning performance.
Thus, although activation of the D3 receptor inhibits the learning process in healthy mice, a lack of D3 receptor in coexisting iron deficiency causes additional learning deficits.


Research has found that threat related attentional biases towards novel animals can be induced in children by giving threat information about the animals. Naturally occurring (i.e. non-induced) threat related attentional biases have also been found in both children and adults in the past research. The naturally occurring threat stimuli mainly include phobia stimuli and the threat stimuli that are assumed to have evolutionary roots (e.g., threatening facial expressions, and poisonous animals). In the present research, induced and naturally occurring threat related attentional biases were investigated and contrasted in children and adults. The participants' manual RTs and eye movements were measured in five experiments using the visual search paradigm to examine the attentional biases.

The participating children, regardless of their trait anxiety scores, showed attentional bias toward angry faces as indexed by RT and eye movement measures. In the second and third experiments, children acquired fear of novel animals by listening to threat information about them. They later showed attentional bias to the newly feared stimuli: the presence of the animal's images interfered with detecting an irrelevant target, and the animal's images were detected faster than the control stimuli when presented as hidden targets in naturalistic scenes. In the fourth and fifth experiments, no enhancement of attentional bias towards fear-relevant stimuli due to receiving threat information was evident, as no difference was found between the threat information and the no information snake stimuli in terms of attention deployment measures. Strong evidence of naturally occurring attentional bias toward snake stimuli, however, was found in both RTs and overt attention indices.

Overall, the RT data provided more robust evidence than the eye movement data in support of the predicted threat related attentional biases. It was argued that attentional biases to fear stimuli might have different levels which develop over time, with fast threat processing (indexed by faster RTs) appearing soon after the fear is acquired


This paper is devoted to the study of generalized subdifferentials of spectral functions over Euclidean Jordan algebras. Spectral functions appear often in optimization problems field playing the role of "regularizer", "barrier", "penalty function" and many others. We provide formulae for the regular, approximating and horizon subdifferentials of spectral functions. In addition, under local lower semicontinuity, we also furnish a formula for the Clarke subdifferential, thus extending an earlier result by Baes. As application, we compute the generalized subdifferentials of the function that maps an element to its k-th largest eigenvalue. Furthermore, in connection with recent approaches for nonsmooth optimization, we present a study of the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz (KL) property for spectral functions and prove a transfer principle for the KL-exponent. In our proofs, we make extensive use of recent tools such as the commutation principle of Ramirez, Seeger and Sossa and majorization principles developed by Gowda.


Vehicle re-identification is an important problem and has many applications in video surveillance and intelligent transportation. It gains increasing attention because of the recent advances of person re-identification techniques. However, unlike person re-identification, the visual differences between pairs of vehicle images are usually subtle and even challenging for humans to distinguish. Incorporating additional spatio-temporal information is vital for solving the challenging re-identification task. Existing vehicle re-identification methods ignored or used oversimplified models for the spatio-temporal relations between vehicle images. In this paper, we propose a two-stage framework that incorporates complex spatio-temporal information for effectively regularizing the re-identification results. Given a pair of vehicle images with their spatiotemporal information, a candidate visual-spatio-temporal path is first generated by a chain MRF model with a deeply learned potential function, where each visual-spatiotemporal state corresponds to an actual vehicle image with its spatio-temporal information. A Siamese-CNN+Path- LSTM model takes the candidate path as well as the pairwise queries to generate their similarity score. Extensive experiments and analysis show the effectiveness of our proposed method and individual components.


OBJECTIVE--To determine whether women with myocardial infarction are treated differently from men of the same age and to assess the effect of changes in the coronary care unit admission policy. DESIGN--Clinical audit. SETTING--The coronary care unit and general medical wards of a teaching hospital. In 1990 the age limit for admission to coronary care was 65 years. This age limit was removed in 1991. PATIENTS--539 female and 977 male patients admitted with myocardial infarction between 1990 and 1992. MAIN OUTCOMES--Admission to the coronary care unit, administration of thrombolysis, and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS--409 men and 254 women were admitted with myocardial infarction in 1990 and 568 men and 285 women in 1992. Removal of the age limit for admission to the coronary care unit resulted in an increase in the numbers of both sexes admitted with myocardial infarction. In both years, however, proportionately more men with infarction were admitted to coronary care: 226 men (55%) and 96 women (38%) (P < 0.01) (95% CI 7 to 28) in 1990 and 459 men (81%) and 200 women (70%) (P < 0.01) (%CI 2 to 19) in 1992. Some 246 men (60%) and 133 women (52%) with infarction (P < 0.01) received thrombolytic treatment in 1990 compared with 319 men (56%) and 130 women (46%) (P < 0.01) in 1992. The mean age of women sustaining a myocardial infarction was significantly greater in both years studied. In 1992 a total of 78 men (7%) and 34 women (4%) (P < 0.05) admitted with chest pain underwent cardiac catheterisation before discharge from hospital. CONCLUSIONS--Differences in admission rates to the coronary care unit and the rate of thrombolysis between the sexes can be explained by the older age of women sustaining infarction. The application of age limits for admission to coronary care or administration of thrombolysis places elderly patients at a disadvantage. As women sustain myocardial infarctions at an older age they are placed at a greater disadvantage.


Abstract We introduce a new biometric method to reconstruct ontogenetic shell development of Baculites species. In order to estimate original total shaft length from fragmentary specimens and to clarify their shell growth patterns, a large number of samples of Baculites tanakae Matsumoto and Obata, collected from the Upper Cretaceous deposits in Hokkaido, Japan, were examined. Biometric analysis revealed a characteristic allometric shell growth pattern of B. tanakae expressed by the formula L = 3.03H1.50, where L and H are original total shaft length and whorl height, respectively. The analysis gives a quantitative diagnosis of the morphology of this species and enables us to estimate L including the missing apical part. Reconstruction of the total shaft length reveals that the shell ornament of B. tanakae shifts ontogenetically from a smooth phase to a tuberculate phase via a ribbed phase. It also demonstrates wide intraspecific variation on switching timing of the shell ornament phases. The ontogenetic change and the intraspecific variation can be clearly discriminated from each other by our method.


Breast cancer is the most prevalent breast cancer in women. Despite our deeper understanding of mammary oncogenesis, 20% of breast cancer patients develop metastasis and die. There is a dire need for novel therapies especially for more aggressive subtypes like triple negative (TNBC) and HER2 positive breast cancers. For long, breast cancer was thought to be less immunogenic in nature compared to other solid malignancies like melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, both later cancers yielding great results with immunotherapy. As we learn more about the role of tumor microenvironment in tumor occurrence, progression and response to therapy, there is growing evidence that TNBC is more immunogenic in nature compared to other breast cancers, which encouraged researchers to investigate its response to immune check point inhibitors. TNBC is characterized by a high level of immune cell infiltration including tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) which have been associated with better outcomes. The prognostic values of TILs and PD-L1 expression on tumor cells have been an area of interest and remain uncertain to date. The hope is that future trials will unravel more answers about the complex interaction between TILs and tumor cells in TNBC and help develop biomarkers to identify responders to checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we discuss the immunogenic nature of TNBC, the clinical relevance of TILs and PD-L1 expression and the promising results of early phase trials of checkpoint blockade.


Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease I (APE1) is an essential base excision repair enzyme that catalyzes a Mg2+-dependent reaction in which the phosphodiester backbone is cleaved 5′ of an abasic site in duplex DNA. This reaction has been proposed to involve either one or two metal ions bound to the active site. In the present study, we report crystal structures of Mg2+, Mn2+, and apo-APE1 determined at 1.4, 2.2, and 1.65 Å, respectively, representing two of the highest resolution structures yet reported for APE1. In our structures, a single well-ordered Mn2+ ion was observed coordinated by D70 and E96; the Mg2+ site exhibited disorder modeled as two closely positioned sites coordinated by D70 and E96 or E96 alone. Direct metal binding analysis of wild-type, D70A, and E96A APE1, as assessed by differential scanning fluorimetry, indicated a role for D70 and E96 in binding of Mg2+ or Mn2+ to APE1. Consistent with the disorder exhibited by Mg2+ bound to the active site, two different conformations of E96 were observed coordinated to Mg2+. A third conformation for E96 in the apo structure is similar to that observed in the APE1–DNA–Mg2+ complex structure. Thus, binding of Mg2+ in three different positions within the active site of APE1 in these crystal structures corresponds directly with three different conformations of E96. Taken together, our results are consistent with the initial capture of metal by D70 and E96 and repositioning of Mg2+ facilitated by the structural plasticity of E96 in the active site.


The problem of competition between concerted and stepwise diradical mechanisms in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions was addressed by studying the reaction between nitrone and ethene with DFT (R(U)B3LYP/6-31G) and post HF methods. According to calculations this reaction should take place via the concerted cycloaddition path. The stepwise process is a viable but not competitive alternative. The R(U)B3LYP/6-31G study was extended to the reaction of the same 1, 3-dipole with cyclobutadiene and benzocyclobutadiene. The very reactive antiaromatic cyclobutadiene has an electronic structure that is particularly disposed to promote stepwise diradical pathways. Calculations suggest that its reaction with nitrone represents a borderline case in which the stepwise process can compete with the concerted one on similar footing. Attenuation of the antiaromatic character of the dipolarophile, i.e., on passing from cyclobutadiene to benzocyclobutadiene, causes the concerted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to become once again prevalent over the two-step path. Thus, our results suggest that, in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions that involve normal dipolarophiles, the concerted path (Huisgen's mechanism) should clearly overwhelm its stepwise diradical (Firestone's mechanism) counterpart.


The origins of open-circuit voltage deficits in Cu2ZnSnS(e)4-based solar cells have been an intense topic of research over the past few years as device efficiencies have never approached those of CuInGaSe2 based cells despite the materials sharing similar crystal and electronic structures. In this work, we use transmission X-ray microscopy tomography to investigate the length scales over which elemental fluctuations occur. We find and show evidence of micron-scale Cu to Zn anti-correlations over a previously inaccessible combination of resolution and sample size that is consistent with the length scale of grains in this material. This result yields further insight into the causes of the large open-circuit voltage deficits regularly seen in these devices as well as the challenges of achieving compositional homogeneity in this material.


ABSTRACT Feagin, R.A.; Williams, A.M.; Popescu, S.; Stukey, J., and Washington-Allen, R.A., 2014. The use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) in dune ecosystems: the lessons learned. This paper presents a methodology for using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to quantify sand dune geomorphology. As an example of the use of TLS, we present methods that were used to investigate changes in sediment and vegetation volumes after Hurricane Ike. We collected TLS data within a 100 m × 100 m plot on the East Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, from early September 2008 (before landfall) to early October 2009 (a year after landfall). Terrestrial laser scanning-collected laser point clouds were then interpolated into several grid sizes. From several interpolated grid sizes, 0.50 m × 0.50 m grids were determined best for analysis as they were able to compromise two competing resolution-related issues: gaps caused by vegetation shadows and the natural contours of the dune. We outline several additional lessons to aid coastal researchers in strengthening their own future work: the use of reference survey stakes in an unstable environment, the development of a novel method to test for errors in point cloud registration among multiple dates, how best to interpret sediment and vegetation change analysis as derived from interpolated grids, and suggestions for incorporating mass-based sedimentary and biomass-based vegetation field studies within the volumetric context of TLS analysis.


The replication scheme of a distributed database determines how many replicas of each object are created, and to which processors these replicas are allocated. This scheme critically affects the performance of a distributed system, since reading an object locally is less costly than reading it from a remote processor. Therefore in a read-intensive network a widely distributed replication is mandated. On the other hand, an update of an object is usually written to all, or a majority of the replicas, and therefore in a write-intensive network a narrowly distributed replication is mandated. In other words, the optimal replication scheme depends on the read-write pattern for each object. The authors propose a practical algorithm, called dynamic-data-allocation (DDA), that changes the replication scheme of an object (i.e. the processors which store a replica of the object) dynamically as the read-write pattern of the object changes in the network. They assume that the changes in the read-write pattern are not known a priori.<<ETX>>


Abstract A general maximum entropy estimate for the directional distribution of the directional wave spectrum is introduced. The estimate appears to be superior to conventional methods, including maximum likelihood methods, when applied to data from a heave/pitch/roll buoy. The simplicity of the estimate makes it easy to apply when an expression for the directional distribution rather than its moments is sought. The estimate is illustrated with wave data from the Norwegian Sea.


Aggradation and fluvial incision controlled by downstream base‐level changes at timescales of 10 to 500 kyr is incorporated in classic sequence stratigraphic models. However, upstream climate control on sediment supply and discharge variability causes fluvial incision and aggradation as well. Orbital forcing often regulates climate change at 10 to 500 kyr timescales while tectonic processes such as flexural (un)loading exert a dominant control at timescales longer than 500 kyr. It remains challenging to attribute fluvial incision and aggradation to upstream or downstream processes or disentangle allogenic from autogenic forcing, because time control is mostly limited in fluvial successions. The Palaeocene outcrops of the fluvial Lebo Shale Member in north‐eastern Montana (Williston Basin, USA) constitute an exception. This study uses a distinctive tephra layer and two geomagnetic polarity reversals to create a 15 km long chronostratigraphic framework based on the correlation of twelve sections. Three aggradation–incision sequences are identified with durations of approximately 400 kyr, suggesting a relation with long‐eccentricity. This age control further reveals that incision occurred during the approach of – or during – a 405 kyr long‐eccentricity minimum. A long‐term relaxation of the hydrological cycle related to such an orbital phasing potentially exerts an upstream climate control on river incision. Upstream, an expanding vegetation cover is expected because of an increasingly constant moisture supply to source areas. Entrapping by vegetation led to a significantly reduced sediment supply relative to discharge, especially at times of low evapotranspiration. Hence, high discharges resulted in incision. This study assesses the long‐eccentricity regulated climate control on fluvial aggradation and incision in a new aggradation–incision sequence model.


: The most serious problem which must be solved in surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence is providing adequate support for the middle urethra or urinary bladder neck with minimal sling tension. High frequency of positive results of implantation of a free synthetic sling is explained by the fact that a prolen tape does not extend and reliably arrests shift of the vesico-urethral angle in elevation of intraperitoneal pressure unlike other artificial supports (a fascial loop, fixing ligatures, ect.). Thus, the TVT operation is an effective treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. The success of the surgical intervention depends primarily on adequate choice of patients and technically perfect conduction of the operation.


Simulation experiments using the inSTREAM individual-based brown trout Salmo trutta population model explored the role of individual adaptive behaviour in food limitation, as an example of how behaviour can affect managers' understanding of conservation problems. The model includes many natural complexities in habitat (spatial and temporal variation in characteristics such as depth and velocity, temperature, hiding and feeding cover, drift-food supply and predation risk), fish physiology (especially, how food intake and growth vary with hydrodynamics, cover, fish size and temperature) and behaviour. When drift-food concentration was increased over a wide range in 7 year simulations, the simulated population was always food limited. In fact, as food supply increased, the population increased at an increasing rate and consumed a higher percentage of the food supply, apparently because higher food concentrations make more stream area energetically profitable for drift feeders. The behaviour most responsible for this response was activity selection: when food was abundant, fish chose to feed less frequently and more nocturnally, thereby reducing predation mortality so more fish survived longer. These results indicate that the traditional concept of food limitation, that food availability stops limiting population size when it exceeds some threshold level, may not be useful and can be misleading. Results also strongly contradict the concept that a salmonid population is not food limited if the total food supply is greater than the population's consumption. Explicit consideration of adaptive behaviour produced a novel but believable understanding of food effects on salmonid populations. Published 2011. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.


With the aid of binary Bell polynomial and a general Riemann theta function, we introduce how to obtain the exact periodic wave solutions by applying the generalized D-operators in term of the Hirota direct method when the appropriate value of is determined. Furthermore, the resulting approach is applied to solve the extended (2+1)-dimensional Shallow Water Wave equation, and the periodic wave solution is obtained and reduced to soliton solution via asymptotic analysis.


The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is an international standard for a security chip that can be used for the management of cryptographic keys and for remote attestation. The specification of the most recent TPM 2.0 interfaces for direct anonymous attestation unfortunately has a number of severe shortcomings. First of all, they do not allow for security proofs (indeed, the published proofs are incorrect). Second, they provide a Diffie-Hellman oracle w.r.t. the secret key of the TPM, weakening the security and preventing forward anonymity of attestations. Fixes to these problems have been proposed, but they create new issues: they enable a fraudulent TPM to encode information into an attestation signature, which could be used to break anonymity or to leak the secret key. Furthermore, all proposed ways to remove the Diffie-Hellman oracle either strongly limit the functionality of the TPM or would require significant changes to the TPM 2.0 interfaces. In this paper we provide a better specification of the TPM 2.0 interfaces that addresses these problems and requires only minimal changes to the current TPM 2.0 commands. We then show how to use the revised interfaces to build q-SDH-and LRSW-based anonymous attestation schemes, and prove their security. We finally discuss how to obtain other schemes addressing different use cases such as key-binding for U-Prove and e-cash.


Description Harry Levi Hollingworth was one of the pioneers in the field known today as industrialorganizational psychology. He was the author of more than 20 books and 100 scientific and theoretical articles. His honors were many, including serving as President of the American Psychological Association in 1927. In 1940, at the age of 60 and partly initiated by the sudden death of his wife, Hollingworth took stock of his life in an autobiography that focused on his origins and development in rural Nebraska and his subsequent career as a psychologist at Columbia University. For the first time, this autobiography is now available.


Summary This study records the fourth consecutive year of high winter losses in managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the USA. Over the winter of 2009–2010, US beekeepers responding to this survey lost an average of 42.2% of their colonies, for a total loss of 34.4%. Commercial beekeepers (those operating more than 500 colonies) experienced lower total losses as compared to sideline and backyard beekeepers. Similarly, operations that maintained colonies in more than one state and operations that pollinated almond orchards over the survey period had lower total losses than operations either managing colonies in one state exclusively or those not pollinating almonds. On average beekeepers consider acceptable losses to be 14.5%, and 65% of all responding beekeepers suffered losses in excess of what they considered acceptable. The proportion of operations that experienced losses and reported having no dead bees in their colonies or apiaries was comparable to that reported in the winter of 2008–2009. Manageable conditions, such as starvation and a weak condition in the fall were the leading self-identified causes of mortality as reported by all beekeepers. Commercial beekeepers were, however, less likely to list such manageable causes, instead listing poor queens, mites, and pesticides most frequently as the self-identified causes of mortality in their operations.


Abnormally pulsatile umbilical artery (UA) Doppler ultrasound velocity waveforms are a hallmark of severe or early onset placental-mediated intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), whereas milder late onset IUGR pregnancies typically have normal UA pulsatility. The diagnostic utility of these waveforms to detect placental pathology is thus limited and hampered by factors outside of the placental circulation, including fetal cardiac output. In view of these limitations, we hypothesized that these Doppler waveforms could be more clearly understood as a reflection phenomenon and that a reflected pulse pressure wave is present in the UA that originates from the placenta and propagates backward along the UA. To investigate this, we developed a new ultrasound approach to isolate that portion of the UA Doppler waveform that arises from a pulse pressure wave propagating backward along the UA. Ultrasound measurements of UA lumen diameter and flow waveforms were used to decompose the observed flow waveform into its forward and reflected components. Evaluation of CD1 and C57BL/6 mice at embryonic day (E)15.5 and E17.5 demonstrated that the reflected waveforms diverged between the strains at E17.5, mirroring known changes in the fractal geometry of fetoplacental arteries at these ages. These experiments demonstrate the feasibility of noninvasively measuring wave reflections that originate from the fetoplacental circulation. The observed reflections were consistent with theoretical predictions based on the area ratio of parent to daughters at bifurcations in fetoplacental arteries suggesting that this approach could be used in the diagnosis of fetoplacental vascular pathology that is prevalent in human IUGR. Given that the proposed measurements represent a subset of those currently used in human fetal surveillance, the adaptation of this technology could extend the diagnostic utility of Doppler ultrasound in the detection of placental vascular pathologies that cause IUGR.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, we describe a novel approach to noninvasively detect microvascular changes in the fetoplacental circulation using ultrasound. The technique is based on detecting reflection pulse pressure waves that travel along the umbilical artery. Using a proof-of-principle study, we demonstrate the feasibility of the technique in two strains of experimental mice.


: A dermatoglyphical study was conducted on 393 children and adolescents suffering from different forms of epilepsy. The group of epileptic patients compared to normals demonstrated more frequent existence of the transversal sulcus, less symmetricity on digital patterns. The authors distinguished correlations between dermatoglyphical features and a form of epilepsy, type of a course and pathogenic forms. The obtained data testify to a certain diagnostical and prognostical value of dermatoglyphical features.


We study the effect of Aharonov–Bohm flux on the superconducting state in metallic cylinders. Although Byers and Yang attributed flux quantization to the flux-dependent minimum of kinetic energies of the Cooper pairs, it is shown that kinetic energies do not produce any discernible oscillations in the free energy of the superconducting state (relative to that of normal state) as a function of the flux. This result is indeed anticipated by the observation of persistent current in normal metal rings at low temperature. Instead, we have found that pairing interaction depends on the flux, leading to flux quantization. When the flux (Φ) is given by Φ = n × hc/2e (with integer n), the pairing interaction and the free energy become unchanged (even n) or almost unchanged (odd n), due to degenerate-state pairing resulting from the energy level crossing. As a result, flux quantization and Little–Parks oscillations follow.


Lightiella magdalenina is the more recently cephalocarid species described
(La Maddalena Archipelago, Sardinia). This first important finding in the
Mediterranean sea fills a gap in the distribution of the genus and of the entire
class. The aim of the present study is to report some information about
distribution and biology of this cephalocarid species. L. magdalenina, like most
cephalocarid species, shows a pronounced anamorphic mode of development with
a gradual and sequential addition of segment and limbs throughout more of 17
stages of development. It is currently known from a single locality where 55
specimens have been found during more than nine years of sampling. The Type
locality is characterised by muddy sand bottom, very rich in organic matter with
leaf fragments of Posidonia oceanica; grain size analysis, has underlined that sand
is a very fine sand with an organic component of 95%. Zoobenthos was composed
of 11 different taxa; Cletopsyllidae and Normanellidae Copepoda are unknown for
Italy. A new species of family Cletopsyllidae, Isocletopsyllus sp. nov. has been
identified. Up to present, only one species Hutchinsoniella macracantha, have
been studied at molecular level. We report the partial sequences of two
mitochondrial genes of relevant importance for phylogenetic analysis (cytochrome
c oxidase I and cytochrome b) from Lightiella magdalenina. A reduced median
network analysis clarified the genetic relationships between the two cephalocarid
species.


The SSU rRNA gene is the key marker in molecular ecology for all domains of life, but is largely absent from metagenome-assembled genomes that often are the only resource available for environmental microbes. Here we present phyloFlash, a pipeline to overcome this gap with rapid, SSU rRNA-centered taxonomic classification, targeted assembly, and graph-based binning of full metagenomic assemblies. We show that a cleanup of artifacts is pivotal even with a curated reference database. With such a filtered database, the general-purpose mapper BBmap extracts SSU rRNA reads five times faster than the rRNA-specialized tool SortMeRNA with similar sensitivity and higher selectivity on simulated metagenomes. Reference-based targeted assemblers yielded either highly fragmented assemblies or high levels of chimerism, so we employ the general-purpose genomic assembler SPAdes. Our optimized implementation is independent of reference database composition and has satisfactory levels of chimera formation. Using the phyloFlash workflow we could recover the first complete genomes of several enigmatic taxa, including Marinamargulisbacteria from surface ocean seawater. phyloFlash quickly processes Illumina (meta)genomic data, is straightforward to use, even as part of high-throughput quality control, and has user-friendly output reports. The software is available at https://github.com/HRGV/phyloFlash (GPL3 license) and is documented with an online manual.