Information processing by brain circuits depends on Ca2+-dependent, stochastic release of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Recently developed optical sensors have enabled detection of evoked and spontaneous release at common glutamatergic synapses. However, monitoring synaptic release probability, its use-dependent changes, and its underpinning presynaptic machinery in situ requires concurrent, intensity-independent readout of presynaptic Ca2+ and glutamate release. Here, we find that the red-shifted Ca2+ indicator Cal-590 shows Ca2+-sensitive fluorescence lifetime, and employ it in combination with the novel green glutamate sensor SF-iGluSnFR variant to document quantal release of glutamate together with presynaptic Ca2+ concentration, in multiple synapses in an identified neural circuit. At the level of individual presynaptic boutons, we use multi-exposure and stochastic reconstruction procedures to reveal nanoscopic co-localisation of presynaptic Ca2+ entry and glutamate release, a fundamental unknown in modern neurobiology. This approach opens a new horizon in the quest to understand release machinery of central synapses.


Introduction: Oral health is an integral part of general health. The prisoners also deserve equal rights for their health attention. Methodology: A cross sectional study was with 185 female inmates to evaluate the adverse habits, oral mucosal lesions and prosthetic status /needs of Lucknow city. Results: Inmates belong to the age range of 18180 years, with the mean age of 37.3±11.8 years. The subjects were broadly divided into 6 age groups. Chewing tobacco was most prevalent (p< .05) 38 (20.54%) habit in comparison to smoking 2(1.08%) and combination of smoking and chewing tobacco 2 (1.08%) habits. In total 18 (1.7%) female inmates's leukoplakia was present. It shows that some form of prosthetic need was present in all age groups except 15124 yrs age groups. Prosthetic status of female inmates was very poor. Conclusion: The results of the survey shows considerably higher proportion of unmet dental needs in the prison population.


Elbert Branscomb, telephone interview by Kathryn Maxson and Robert Cook-Deegan, conducted from Durham, NC, 17 October 2011. Elbert Branscomb began his career as a theoretical physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). His research focused on the physical mapping of human chromosome 19, and through administrative roles Branscomb gained familiarity with the DOE and NIH committee, grant review, and advisory structures. At the start of HGP large-scale sequencing, Aristides Patrinos decided that the DOE human sequencing efforts needed consolidation. Branscomb became founding director of the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), an amalgamation of the DOE's human sequencing efforts, which began production in 1997. He remained in this job until fall of 2000. This transcript is available beginning 20 March 2094. Keywords: Human Genome Project, HGP, interview, Bermuda Principles, Bermuda Accord, International Strategy Meetings on Human Genome Sequencing, data sharing, science policy, genomics, genome, genome sequence, genetics, DNA sequence, DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, NIH, National Institutes of Health, DOE, Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LLNL, Joint Genome Institute, JGI, JGI director, Elbert Branscomb.


The paper proposes a new BSS algorithm based on the second-order statistics. By jointly diagonalizing the time delay correlation matrix of the observed signals and using the improved new non-orthogonal joint diagonalization (NOJD) method, a better solution is achieved. The proposed algorithm can successfully separate communication signals under SNR as low as 10dB and the over-determined mode regardless of the signals' modulation methods. Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINR) is used to prove the superiority of the proposed algorithm over the classical Second-Order Blind Identification (SOBI).


A dramatic increase in the number of organic farmers in Ireland since the introduction of financial support under successive agri-environmental programmes prompted us to investigate farmer motivations to convert to organic farming and to continue as organic farmers. An adapted Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework proved useful to investigate farmer motivations and behaviour. The findings support the TPB hypothesis in that behavioural intention (commitment to organic farming) was related to attitude, the influence of important others and the level of perceived behaviour control. The addition of self-identity and moral obligation measures in the regression increased the predictive power of the model, signifying that these two variables are important predictors of commitment. The organic farmers were segmented based on their level of commitment to organic farming, three segments were identified: wary, finance wary; and very committed. The findings point to an evolution in the type of organic farmer from a small-scale farmer very focused on environmental and agro-ecological issues to a larger-scale more commercially orientated farmer. However, the majority of full-time Irish organic farmers displayed a strong moral obligation to the environment and their continued commitment to organic farming was influenced by growing consumer demand for high quality healthy food products. Part-time organic farmers were found to be rather wary as to the future potential of organic farming.


: A method of differential diagnostics of voluminous intraocular neoplasms is described; the method is based on the usage of serum-scale scanning, echodensitometry, and vector mode of narrow-strip amplitude filtration (a modification of A-scanning). The digital one-dimension scanning images were subjected to spectral analysis. The obtained results were used alongside with the echodensitometry parameters of echogenicity and homogeneicity as the input data for a subsequent discriminative analysis. A total of 100 scanning images, obtained from 50 patients (50 eyes), with voluminous intraocular neoplasms underwent such analysis: according to its results, the correct diagnosis was made in 97 of 100 cases.


In this paper, we address two questions: (i) how should a government pursuing both environmental and redistributive objectives design domestic taxes when redistribution is costly, and (ii) how does trade liberalization affect this optimal tax system, and modify the economy's levels of pollution and inequalities ? Using a general equilibrium model under asymmetric information with two goods, two factors (skilled and unskilled labor) and pollution, we fully characterize the optimal mixed tax system (nonlinear income tax and linear commodity and production taxes/subsidies). We provide simulations highlighting the linkages between pollution, labor income redistribution and increasing globalization with our endogenous fiscal system. In the redistributive case (i.e. in favor of the unskilled workers) and when the dirty sector is intensive in unskilled labor, we show that (i) trade liberalization involves a clear trade-off between the reduction of inequalities and the control of pollution when the source of externality is mainly production ; this is not necessarily true with a consumption externality; (ii) under openness to trade, the source of the externality matters for redistribution, while it is not the case in autarky. Finally we discuss the impact of an increasing willingness to redistribute income and of a technological shock affecting emissions intensity.


The size of the pupil decreases when the eye focusses on a nearby object. Enright (1987) investigated if the near-far response similarly occurs when viewing illusory 3D images in a 2D surface. His observations of the pupillary response were "decidedly not typical". Furthermore, it was shown that covertly shifting attention towards light or dark areas elicits a pupil response (Mathot et al., 2013). To investigate if the pupils' near-far reflex occurs when subjects are viewing illusory 3D images on a flat 2D surface, we conducted an experiment with 30 human participants. Subjects viewed illusory 3D objects on a computer screen while we recorded pupil size with and Eyelink camera. On each trial, 2D renderings of 3D objects were shown close by and far away, on either side of the center. Subjects responded to a target line segment briefly appearing in one of the objects by indicating if the line segment tilted left or right. To direct the subject's attention to either the far-away or close-by object, an arrow appeared right before the target. In the "eyes fixed" condition subjects were instructed to not move their eyes away from the center but covertly shift their attention towards the cued object, in the "eyes free" condition they shifted their gaze. Pupils were relatively small when subjects viewed the near object in comparison to viewing the far object. However, this was only true in the "eyes free" condition. No significant difference was observed when attention was covertly directed towards near or far objects in the "eyes fixed" condition. We conclude that the pupil near-far response occurs when viewing illusory 3D objects on 2D surfaces, at least when directly looking at the objects.


Introduction Scabies is highly endemic among impoverished populations and has been recently included in the WHO's list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Community support and behavioural changes are essential for the success of control interventions. This study aimed to explore beliefs, prevention attitudes and health care-seeking behaviours towards scabies in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau. Methods Data were collected through two methods. Community key informants (community members, community health workers, healthcare workers and traditional healers) were interviewed using snowball sampling. A questionnaire covering perceptions, attitudes and practices was administered to community members using random cluster sampling. Thematic analysis of qualitative data was applied to identify themes. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data analysis. Results There was a satisfactory awareness about scabies, but perceptions about disease causation and transmission were imprecise. Misconceptions about personal hygiene as the primary measure for scabies prevention were recurrent. Some participants recognised the importance of early treatment to interrupt transmission. Treatment of close contacts was not considered important. Costs were the main determining factor for treatment choice between traditional healer and the local health centre. Late presentation and delayed treatment were common and associated with poverty and stigmatisation. Scabies impaired quality of life by affecting social interactions, health, fitness to work and school attendance. Conclusions There is a need to improve education, recognition, management and affordable access to treatment. Community education, healthcare workers' training and skin NTDs integrated control programmes should address the challenges highlighted in this study. Authors Summary Scabies is a common skin infection in low income settings. We conducted a study in Guinea-Bissau to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices about scabies. We conducted interviews with healthcare workers, traditional healers and community members and additionally used an oral-administered questionnaire with a larger sample of community residents. Most individuals had knowledge of scabies and were aware that person to person transmission occurred. However personal and environmental hygiene were both incorrectly identified as particularly important in the transmission of scabies. Cost played a major role in determining where individuals sought care and both poverty and disease associated stigma resulted in delays seeking care. There is a need to improve community and health care worker education about scabies and improve affordable access to treatment.


Background: The presence of orthodontic materials in the oral cavity represent a unique surface that can interact with bacteria, leading to pathogenic plaque formation and subsequent enamel demineralization, Streptococcus mutans play an important role in the initiation and progression of dental caries and they are considered the primary cause of bacteriological caries. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of multiple factors including the type of arch wire, salivary coating, cross section, and wire thickness on the levels of mutans streptococci adherence. Materials and Methods: Two types of arch wire stainless steel and nickel titanium were selected using the following criteria: round and rectangular with gauges 0.014, 0.018, 0.016 × 0.022 and 0.019 × 0.0 25 inches which were subdivided into eight groups. Bacterial adhesion was quantified by a microbial culture technique and the number of adhesive bacteria were analyzed and counted after growth in culture for each group with and without saliva coating at 15 and 60 minutes. Detection of mutans streptococci by saliva-check Mutans test. Results: There was a significant difference between arch wire types in each time interval and the highest bacterial adhesion on the NiTi arch wires with rectangular cross section in the absence of saliva with extended incubation time. Conclusions: The adherence of mutans streptococci in saliva coated wires seems to be low. At increased incubation time, rectangular cross section arch wire showed an increased number of adhering bacteria with less effect on different gauges of the arch wire.


The site of Tell Atchana/Ancient Alalakh is located in the Amuq valley, now in the modern province of Hatay, in Southern Turkey. While it was previously thought that the site was abandoned towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, recent excavations at the site have demonstrated the presence of Iron Age levels, suggesting a prolonged period of occupation. This thesis presents a detailed analysis of the pottery assemblages excavated from the Iron Age levels of Alalakh; makes a major contribution to defining a new chronology for the site of Alalakh and sheds a new light on the last centuries of occupation. Based on the pottery assemblages this thesis proposes a new interpretation of the Early Iron Age period as being not a period of crisis and collapse but of accomplishment and regeneration. Moreover, by applying a more holistic and anthropological approach to the study of ceramics, this thesis investigates the patterns of consumption and of social dynamics in Early Iron Age Alalakh and links them within the broader regional framework of the Northern Levant. The morphological analysis carried out in this thesis defines a typology for the Iron Age pottery assemblages and establishes a relative chronology for the Iron Age levels. This enables the Iron Age settlement on Alalakh to be dated to the Iron Age I and II (12th-9th century BC). The functional analysis performed on the pottery assemblage recovered from square 42.10, the only square that yielded a reliable stratigraphy, results in the identification of the square as an open area devoted to the processing and consumption of food. This approach determines a change in the way food was cooked and displayed, but not in the way it was served and consumed. Finally this thesis draws conclusions related to continuity and change detectable in the local pottery assemblage and proposes a new historical narrative regarding Alalakh and the Amuq valley for the first centuries of the Early Iron Age.


Abstract : This report describes the ALLSPD-3D computer program for the calculation of thee-dimensional, chemically reacting flows with sprays. ALLSPD-3D employs a coupled, strongly implicit solution procedure for turbulent spray combustion flows. ALLSPD-3D utilizes generalized curvilinear coordinates with both multi-block and flexible internal blockage capabilities to handle complex geometries. The ALLSPD-3D algorithm, which employs preconditioning and eigenvalue rescaling techniques, is capable of providing efficient solution of flows over a wide range of subsonic Mach numbers. The chemistry treatment in the code is general enough that an arbitrary number of reactions and species can be defined by the users. In addition, for general industrial combustion applications, the code provides both dilution and transpiration cooling capabilities. A stochastic spray model and an efficient method for treating the spray source terms in the gas-phase equations are used to analyze evaporating spray droplets. Although written for three-dimensional flows, the code can be used for two-dimensional and axisymmetric flow computations as well. The code is written in such a way that it can be run on various computer platforms (supercomputers, workstations, and parallel processors) while the GUI (Graphical User Interface) should provide a user-friendly tool for setting up and running the code.


Background Plantar fasciitis (PF) is the most common cause of heel pain, which results from repetitive trauma with degenerative changes in the plantar tissue. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and dry needling showed promising results as regards pain resolution and healing effect, and hence our aim was to compare their efficacy in the treatment of chronic PF. Patients and methods Thirty patients diagnosed with unilateral PF were subjected to full clinical assessment for foot function using the foot function index (FFI) and assessment of trigger points along the meridians. Ultrasonographic examination of plantar fascia thickness, echogenicity, and power Doppler was carried out. Patients were divided randomly into two groups of 15 each: group A received a single injection of PRP at the plantar fascia, and group B was treated with dry needling protocol in myofascial meridians trigger points along the superficial back line. Follow-up after 6 and 12 weeks included clinical re-evaluation, FFI determination, and ultrasonography. Our results showed a significant improvement in the clinical outcome of the FFI in group B (P<0.03) and a highly significant improvement in the clinical outcome within the PRP group by the 12th week (P<0.009). A significant decrease in thickness, heterogeneity, and Doppler signals (P<0.04, P<0.003, and P<0.03, respectively) was observed within the PRP group at the 12th week. Conclusion PRP injection is a promising line of treatment for chronic PF with documented ultrasonographic healing effect. Dry needling is a simple and safe technique for treating pain associated with PF, yet it is more invasive and less effective compared with PRP injection.


There has been much debate about the role of plant interactions in the structure and function of vegetation communities. Here the results of a pot experiment with controlled environments are described where three environmental variables (nutrients, sediment type and waterlogging) were manipulated factorially to identify their effects on the growth and intensity of interactions occurring between Spartina anglica and Puccinellia maritima. The two species were grown in split-plot planting treatments, representing intraspecific and interspecific addition series experiments, to determine individual and interactive effects of environmental factors and plant interactions on plant biomass. Above-ground growth of both species involved interactions between the environmental and planting treatments, while below-ground, environmental factors affected the biomass irrespective of planting treatments. It was suggested that this difference in growth response is evidence that in our experiment plant interactions between the two species occur primarily at the above-ground level. The intensity of plant interactions varied in a number of ways. First, interactions between Spartina and Puccinellia were distinctly asymmetrical, Puccinellia exerting a competitive effect on Spartina, with no reciprocal effect, and with a facilitative effect of Spartina on Puccinellia in low nutrient conditions. Second, the interactions varied in intensity in different environmental conditions. Interspecific competitive effects of Puccinellia on Spartina were more intense in conditions favourable to growth of Puccinellia and reduced or non-existent in environments with more abiotic stress. Third, intraspecific competition was found to be less intense for both species than interspecific interactions. Finally, the intensity of plant interactions involving both species was more intense above ground than below ground, with a disproportionate reduction in the intensity of interspecific competition below relative to above ground in treatments with less productive sediments and greater immersion. This is interpreted as reflecting a potential mechanism by which Spartina may be able to evade competitive neighbours.


AIM
Post-operative atrial tachyarrhythmias (AT) in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) are associated with congestive heart failure, stroke, and cardiac death. Effective treatment is therefore essential. The aim of the study is to evaluate long-term outcome of ablative therapy of AT in ToF patients and to study characteristics of AT recurrences.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Tetralogy of Fallot patients (N = 38, age 43 ± 12 years) referred for ablation of post-operative AT, appearing 26 ± 10 years after complete repair, were studied. Electro-anatomical/entrainment mapping was performed prior to ablation. Successful ablation was defined as (i) achievement of bi-directional conduction block for isthmus-dependent atrial flutter (IDAF), (ii) termination during ablation for intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia (IART) and focal atrial tachycardia (FAT). Fifty-two AT were ablated, including 37 IDAF [cycle length (CL) 294 ± 70 ms], 11 IART (CL 295 ± 46 ms), and 4 FAT (CL 371 ± 93 ms). Ablation was successful in 98%. Fifty-one of 52 AT involved the cavo-tricuspid isthmus and/or the area between scar tissue related to prior atriotomy incisions and the inferior caval vein. Multiple AT developed in 11 patients, with different mechanisms in 9. After 45 ± 24 months, 32 patients were in sinus rhythm; 5 used anti-arrhythmic drugs.

CONCLUSION
Ablative therapy of AT in ToF patients is an effective curative treatment modality with a high procedural success rate. Sinus rhythm during long-term follow-up was obtained in the majority of patients. Fifty-one of 52 AT originated from sites related to surgical incisions created at complete repair, suggesting that extending the atriotomy incision towards the inferior caval vein during cardiac surgery combined with surgical ablation of the cavo-tricuspid isthmus will be effective in preventing development of AT.


Japanese quail inoculated subcutaneously with Borrelia garinii responded to infection. B. garinii was reisolated mainly from skin and randomly from several organs between 7 and 56 days postinoculation. Skin lesions were occasionally observed in association with spirochete recovery. All birds were positive for antibody at 53 to 56 days postinoculation. These results suggest that the Japanese quail is a model for experimental infection with B. garinii and that birds are reservoirs for Lyme disease spirochetes.


We consider the problem of computing numerical invariants of programs, for
instance bounds on the values of numerical program variables. More
specifically, we study the problem of performing static analysis by abstract
interpretation using template linear constraint domains. Such invariants can be
obtained by Kleene iterations that are, in order to guarantee termination,
accelerated by widening operators. In many cases, however, applying this form
of extrapolation leads to invariants that are weaker than the strongest
inductive invariant that can be expressed within the abstract domain in use.
Another well-known source of imprecision of traditional abstract interpretation
techniques stems from their use of join operators at merge nodes in the control
flow graph. The mentioned weaknesses may prevent these methods from proving
safety properties. The technique we develop in this article addresses both of
these issues: contrary to Kleene iterations accelerated by widening operators,
it is guaranteed to yield the strongest inductive invariant that can be
expressed within the template linear constraint domain in use. It also eschews
join operators by distinguishing all paths of loop-free code segments. Formally
speaking, our technique computes the least fixpoint within a given template
linear constraint domain of a transition relation that is succinctly expressed
as an existentially quantified linear real arithmetic formula. In contrast to
previously published techniques that rely on quantifier elimination, our
algorithm is proved to have optimal complexity: we prove that the decision
problem associated with our fixpoint problem is in the second level of the
polynomial-time hierarchy.


Context is usually conceptualized as "external" to a theory or model and treated as something to be controlled or eliminated in empirical research. We depart from this tradition and conceptualize context as permeating processual phenomena. This move is possible because digital trace data are now increasingly available, providing rich and fine-grained data about processes mediated or enabled by digital technologies. This paper introduces a novel method for including fine-grained contextual information from digital trace data within the description of process (e.g., who, what, when, where, why). Adding contextual information can result in a very large number of fine-grained categories of events, which are usually considered undesirable. However, we argue that a large number of categories can make process data more informative for theorizing and that including contextual detail enriches the understanding of processes as they unfold. We demonstrate this by analyzing audit trail data of electronic medical records using ThreadNet, an open source software application developed for the qualitative visualization and analysis of process data. The distinctive contribution of our approach is the novel way in which we contextualize events and action in process data. Providing new, usable ways to incorporate context can help researchers ask new questions about the dynamics of processual phenomena.


The aim of the present thesis is to examine the cognitive control mechanisms underlying auditory selective attention by considering the influence of variables that increase the complexity of an auditory scene. Therefore, technical aspects such as dynamic binaural hearing, room acoustics and head movements as well as those that influence the efficiency of cognitive processing are taken into account. Step-by-step the well-established dichotic-listening paradigm is extended into a "realistic" spatial listening paradigm. Conducted empirical surveys are based on a paradigm examining the intentional switching of auditory selective attention. Spoken phrases are simultaneously presented by two speakers to participants from two of eight azimuthal positions. The stimuli are phrases that consist of a single digit (1 to 9, excluding 5), in some experiments followed by either the German direction "UP" or "DOWN". A visual cue indicates the target's spatial position, prior to auditory stimulus onset. Afterwards, participants are asked to identify whether the target number is arithmetically smaller or greater than five and to categorize the direction. Human performance measure differences in reaction times and error rates between the repetition of the target's spatial position and the related switch (i.e. switch costs) describe the loss of efficiency associated with redirecting attention from one target's location to another. To examine whether the irrelevant auditory information is decoded, interference in the processing of task-relevant and taskirrelevant information is created in the paradigm. Using the binaural-listening paradigm, the ability to intentionally switch auditory selective attention is tested when applying different methods of spatial reproduction. Essential differences between real sources, an individual and a nonindividual binaural synthesis reproduced with headphones as well as a binaural synthesis based on Cross-Talk Cancellation are found. This indicates how the loss of individual information reduces the ability to inhibit irrelevant information. As a step towards multi-talker scenarios in realistic environments participants are tested in differently reverberating environments. Switch costs are highly affected by reverberation and the inhibition is also impaired by to be unattended information. Age-related effects are also found when applying the binaural-listening paradigm, indicating difficulties for elderly to suppress processing the distractor's speech.


This paper defines an information system design theory ISDT to be a prescriptive theory which integrates normative and descriptive theories into design paths intended to produce more effective information systems. The nature of ISDTs is articulated using Dubin's concept of theory building and Simon's idea of a science of the artificial. An example of an ISDT is presented in the context of Executive Information Systems EIS. Despite the increasing awareness of the potential of EIS for enhancing executive strategic decision-making effectiveness, there exists little theoretical work which directly guides EIS design. We contend that the underlying theoretical basis of EIS can be addressed through a design theory of vigilant information systems. Vigilance denotes the ability of an information system to help an executive remain alertly watchful for weak signals and discontinuities in the organizational environment relevant to emerging strategic threats and opportunities. Research on managerial information scanning and emerging issue tracking as well as theories of open loop control are synthesized to generate vigilant information system design theory propositions. Transformation of the propositions into testable empirical hypotheses is discussed.


Mixers are commonly used in communication systems for frequency translation, and usually exploit switching in some form to implement multiplication by a square wave. However, at the low supply voltages required for new CMOS technologies, switches are non- or poorly conducting in the "middle voltage range" between the supply voltages. To solve this problem, gates are often driven outside the supply voltage range, but this results in gate-oxide reliability problems, especially in future technologies with very thin oxides. We propose a new CMOS mixer topology that can operate at low supply voltages, without driving gates outside the supply range. It exploits only switches connected to the supplies, just as in digital CMOS inverters. Mixing is achieved exploiting two cross-coupled transconductors, which are alternatingly
activated and de-activated by the switches. A down conversion mixer prototype with 12 dB conversion gain was designed and realized in standard 0.18μm CMOS. It
achieves satisfactory mixer performance up to 4GHz, at a supply voltage of 1 Volt. Moreover, the mixer topology features a fundamental high frequency noise figure benefit.


ABSTRACT The multi-subunit chromatin-remodeling SWI/SNF (known as BAF for Brg/Brm-associated factor) complexes play essential roles in development. Studies have shown that the loss of individual BAF subunits often affects local chromatin structure and specific transcriptional programs. However, we do not fully understand how BAF complexes function in development because no animal mutant had been engineered to lack entire multi-subunit BAF complexes. Importantly, we recently reported that double conditional knock-out (dcKO) of the BAF155 and BAF170 core subunits in mice abolished the presence of the other BAF subunits in the developing cortex. The generated dcKO mutant provides a novel and powerful tool for investigating how entire BAF complexes affect cortical development. Using this model, we found that BAF complexes globally control the key heterochromatin marks, H3K27me2 and -3, by directly modulating the enzymatic activity of the H3K27 demethylases, Utx and Jmjd3. Here, we present further insights into how the scaffolding ability of the BAF155 and BAF170 core subunits maintains the stability of BAF complexes in the forebrain and throughout the embryo during development. Furthermore, we show that the loss of BAF complexes in the above-described model up-regulates H3K27me3 and impairs forebrain development and embryogenesis. These findings improve our understanding of epigenetic mechanisms and their modulation by the chromatin-remodeling SWI/SNF complexes that control embryonic development.


An automotive transmission (TM) rubber mount is a device that is used in automotive systems to cushion the loads transmitted from the vehicle body structure. A TM rubber mount is used to support the engine in the vertical direction. However, the dynamic behavior of loaded rubber mount is not yet known to a reasonable degree of accuracy. The relationship between the force applied to a TM rubber mount and the resulting deformation exhibits features of viscoelasticity. Therefore, in this study, viscoelastic properties were measured during ramp-toconstant displacement control tests. A force-displacement relationship for a TM rubber mount is important for multi-body dynamic numerical simulations. Hence, an explicit force-displacement relationship was developed and expressed in terms of a force relaxation function. A method that can be used to determine the force-displacement relationship from experimental data for a TM rubber mount was also developed. Solutions were obtained and the results were compared with experimentally measured force-displacement behavior. The predictions of the proposed forcedisplacement relationship were in very good agreement with the experimental results.


To provide statistical guarantees of quality of service (QoS), the Internet requires a measurement infrastructure for estimating available resources from actual traffic. In this paper, we outline an algorithm that collects a histogram of the occupancy of a single-server FCFS queue at packet arrival times, and infers the loss rate and delay distribution from such measurements. Direct estimation of such QoS parameters typically leads to estimators with a large variance. To reduce this variance we fit a buffer occupancy model, a sum of exponentials, to the histogram using a weighted least-squares algorithm. Furthermore, we compute batch means to minimize the bias due to the positive correlation between measurements. In this manner, we provide an efficient and robust approach to QoS estimation.


A number of studies 1-3,5 have emphasized the need for programs of hospital care to take into treatment consideration the interdependence of the child's psyche and soma in the promotion of recovery and prevention of unnecessary physical and mental sequelae. In addition, there are data 6,7,9 to confirm the vital need of a supportive parent-child relationship, not only to promote healthy growth and development of the child but also to sustain the child during times of great stress—as in the experience of illness and hospitalization. When a child becomes ill, a change usually takes place in the parent-child relationship. 4,8 The parents become more protective and indulgent; the child, at the same time, becomes more dependent on his parents and more demanding of their presence and attention. If the illness necessitates hospitalization, this entails separation of parent and child and relinquishment of the child's care, usually to strange physicians and


Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been anticipated as an ideal carbon building block for organic synthesis due to the noble properties of CO2, which are abundant renewable carbon feedstock, non-toxic nature, and contributing to a more sustainable use of resources. Several green and proficient routes have been established for chemical CO2 fixation. Among the prominent routes, this review epitomizes the reactions involving cycloaddition of epoxides with CO2 in producing cyclic carbonate. Cyclic carbonate has been widely used as a polar aprotic solvent, as an electrolyte in Li-ion batteries, and as precursors for various forms of chemical synthesis such as polycarbonates and polyurethanes. This review provides an overview in terms of the reaction mechanistic pathway and recent advances in the development of several classes of catalysts, including homogeneous organocatalysts (e.g., organic salt, ionic liquid, deep eutectic solvents), organometallic (e.g., mono-, bi-, and tri-metal salen complexes and non-salen complexes) and heterogeneous supported catalysts, and metal organic framework (MOF). Selection of effective catalysts for various epoxide substrates is very important in determining the cycloaddition operating condition. Under their catalytic systems, all classes of these catalysts, with regard to recent developments, can exhibit CO2 cycloaddition of terminal epoxide substrates at ambient temperatures and low CO2 pressure. Although highly desired conversion can be achieved for internal epoxide substrates, higher temperature and pressure are normally required. This includes fatty acid-derived terminal epoxides for oleochemical carbonate production. The production of fully renewable resources by employment of bio-based epoxy with biorefinery concept and potential enhancement of cycloaddition reactions are pointed out as well.


AIM
To determine the correlation among chronologic age, skeletal maturity, and dental age in reference to both sexes.

METHODS
In 380 subjects (147 males and 233 females) between 7 and 17 years of age, skeletal maturity was assessed using the cervical vertebral maturation stages described by Baccetti et al. Dental age was determined using the Demirjian method. The correlation between skeletal maturity and chronologic age on one side and between skeletal maturity and dental age on the other was assessed with Spearman rank correlation coefficients. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the correlation between chronologic and dental age.

RESULTS
For both sexes, significant correlations among chronologic age, skeletal maturity, and dental age were found. The mandibular first premolar had the highest correlation with skeletal maturation in both sexes.

CONCLUSION
As skeletal maturity and dental age are significantly correlated, tooth development may be used to assess a patient's skeletal maturity at an early age.


The impact of multidisciplinary teams that incorporate nurse practitioners on total use of health services was measured with the new Utilization and Financial Index (UF-Index). The data from two studies, a randomized controlled trial and a before-and-after study, showed that, in spite of large increases in use of ambulatory services by practice populations served by family physician-nurse practitioner teams, the ultimate effect has been a substantial reduction in total use of health services. The effect was associated with major reductions in hospital care for the same populations. Such economic advantages to society proved feasible within a fee-for-service context and in settings where rigorous evidence demonstrated no concurrent deterioration in health status of patients or in quality of care.


It is known that noctilucent clouds were first observed in 1885, two years after the great Krakatoa eruption in the Sunda Straits. The preeminent question of whether noctilucent clouds appeared before 1885 is studied here in detail. Using various literature sources and observational records for the nineteenth century from several observers it can be shown that before 1885 noctilucent clouds were never described in the literature. The so-called bright nights or Leuchtstreifen phenomenon was well known in the nineteenth century, but no observer described any structures that can be identified as noctilucent clouds. This result makes it clear that the noctilucent clouds seen in 1885 were the first such observations to be made. A possible increase in frequency of occurrence can be estimated from the year of discovery up to the present day.


Objective
To examine links between negative moods, stressors, and daily marital conflict, and to test whether participation in a family-strengthening program moderates those associations.

Background
Some family-strengthening interventions have shown positive effects on low-income married couples' relationships. Yet little is known about how these programs influence low-income families' daily functioning.

Method
Families randomly assigned to the program participated in 10 weeks of relationship education. Control group families received no services. Thirty months later, participants reported on the severity of marital conflicts over a 15-day period, as well as their moods and stressors.

Results
Dyadic models demonstrated that although moods like anger, anxiety, stress, and sadness were associated with more severe marital disagreements, associations were less strong for wives assigned to the program than to the control group. Although stress related to money was associated with more severe disagreements for husbands, associations were weaker for husbands assigned to the program than for those to the control group.

Conclusion
Family-strengthening interventions may be able to reduce the tendency for negative moods and stressors to manifest in more severe marital conflict.

Implications
Programs may benefit from explicitly addressing the moods and stressors that individual husbands and wives report experiencing in their daily lives.


One of the most enigmatic and frightening situations faced by surgeons and anesthetists is the occurrence of fatal hyperpyrexia. It has occurred sporadically for the past 50 years, but in the last decade or so it seems to have become more common and has evoked considerable interest. An international symposium on malignant hyperthermia was held in May 1971 in Toronto. Some 60-odd reports on subjects pertinent to malignant hyperthermia were presented; these have been edited into the present book by Gordon et al. The reports come from a broad spectrum of investigators, including those with a purely clinical orientation as well as scientists with a completely basic background on the subject. The book is well organized, has a fine bibliography after each chapter, and offers some constructive thoughts on treatment that are worth the reading time of every anesthesiologist. The book itself is probably too long and too detailed for


In a wireless sensor network, each node is power-constrained and may need to acquire some raw data of large size (e.g., image data), on which some computation-intensive tasks (e.g., edge detection) will be done. On the other hand, in wireless communication, significant power will be consumed on transferring a sequence of data of large size. Thus, it is of high interest to carry out the sensor nodes' computation-intensive tasks efficiently while reducing the data size for wireless transfer. In this paper, we propose a new design methodology for batch processing of image data in a wireless sensor network, by employing re-configurable computing using FPGAs


Dynamic programming is a technique widely used to solve several combinatory optimization problems. A well-known example is the minimum cost parenthesizing problem (MPP), which is usually used to represent a class of non-serial polyadic dynamic-programming problems. These problems are characterized by a strong dependency between subproblems. This paper outlines a coarse-grained multicomputer parallel solution using the four-splitting technique to solve the MPP. It is a partitioning technique consisting of subdividing the dependency graph into subgraphs (or blocks) of variable size and splitting large-size blocks into four subblocks to avoid communication overhead caused by a similar partitioning technique in the literature. Our solution consists in evaluating a block by computing and communicating each subblock of this block to reduce the latency time of processors which accounts for most of the global communication time. It requires O(n^3/p) execution time with O(k * \sqrt{p}) communication rounds. n is the input data size, p is the number of processors, and k is the number of times the size of blocks is subdivided.


"We studied the life cycle of the spider Syspira tigrina (Araneae: Miturgidae) by indirect methods. This species is endemic to the North American deserts and locally abundant; nevertheless, information on its biology is scarce. We did monthly collections for over a year at La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. We found that adult spiders were more abundant between August and November 2005 and had low abundance or were absent the remainder of the year while juveniles were present all year. To estimate changing body size structure of the population we analyzed juvenile tibia I length distribution (TIL) (as indicator of the body size) of each monthly sample by means of Kernel Density Estimators (KDEs). We found 35 TIL juveniles size groups (Gaussian components). The smallest juveniles were more abundant between October 2005 and January 2006 and the biggest were more abundant twice during the hottest months. We hypothesize that mating period is between August and October 2005 and the main recruitment period from November 2005 and January 2006. However we found evidence of continuous recruitment through the year, suggesting that although there is a peak of reproduction in November, the females oviposit almost all year. Also there is evidence of juveniles' growth pattern from January to July 2006. The use of KDEs with histograms is a very good statistical tool to delimit size groups with mixed frequency distributions that otherwise might be difficult. This tool should be useful to test any hypothesis related with the body size structure of a population or community."


Most people don't need to be persuaded that the physical world is bewilderingly complex. Everywhere we look, from molecules to clusters of galaxies, we see layer upon layer of complex structures and complex processes. The success of the scientific enterprise over the last 300 years largely stems from the assumption that beneath the surface complexity of the universe lies an elegant mathematical simplicity. The spectacular progress in particle and atomic physics, for example, comes from neglecting the complexity of materials and focusing on their relatively simple components. Similarly, the amazing advances in cosmology mostly ignore the complications of galactic structure and treat the universe in a simplified, averaged-out, approximation. Such simplified treatments, though they have carried us far, sooner or later confront the stark reality that many everyday phenomena are formidably complex and cannot be captured by traditional reductionist approaches. The most obvious and important example is biology. The techniques of particle physics or cosmology fail utterly to describe the nature and origin of biological complexity. Darwinian evolution gives us an understanding of how biological complexity arose, but is less capable of providing a general principle of why it arises. "Survival of the fittest" is not necessarily "survival of the most complex".


The heart can be severely affected in humans with Lyme disease, causing conduction defects and, rarely, heart failure. Although immunodeficient and young mice may develop cardiac lesions, cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi from cardiac tissues of experimentally infected animals has not been reported previously. We infected Syrian hamsters with B. burgdorferi 297 and found a marked tropism of the spirochete for myocardial and urinary tract tissues. Fifty-six of 57 hearts (98%) and 52 of 58 bladders (90%) were culture positive. The cardiac infection was persistent and could be documented in 21 of 22 hearts (96%) cultured from days 28 to 84 postinfection. The urinary tract was also a site of persistent infection in most animals, with 18 of 23 bladders (78%) being culture positive from days 28 to 84. The persistence of spirochetes was specific for the heart and bladder, as indicated by negative cultures of specimens from the liver and spleen, in which only 1 of 23 cultures was positive from days 28 to 84. Because of the high isolation rates, tropism, and persistence that we found for B. burgdorferi in the hamster heart and bladder, these sites will be useful and important for the cultivation of spirochetes in experimental studies that evaluate the efficacies both of candidate vaccines in preventing infection and of antibiotics in eradicating organisms from privileged sites. In addition, the clear demonstration of persistent cardiac infection with B. burgdorferi may provide a useful model for studying the pathogenesis of cardiac Lyme disease.


This thesis is concerned with the syntactic relations between the noun-phrases and the main verb in Sinhalese sentences. The term 'Case' identifies these syntactic relations. The grammatical model which is utilized in this study is the case grammar proposed by Charles J. Fillmore, mainly in 'The Case for Case'. The Introduction outlines some general characteristics of the Sinhalese Language and specifies the particular stratum of language from which the data for the present study are abstracted. Chapter 2 presents a brief survey of the earlier approaches to the study of 'case'. At the end, it is proposed that a distinction between 'Case' and 'case-form' be maintained Chapter 5 describes the basic assumptions of Fillmore's case grammar. Chapter 4 starts with a discussion of the classification of verbs according to the number of arguments with which they occur and it describes the grammar of one-place verbs. Chapter 5 provides a grammatical description of two- place verbs and three-place verbs. Chapter 6 describes grammatical facts associated with a number of topics, namely: the Instrumental Case, the Locative, Source and Goal Cases. Extra-nuclear Locative and Time Cases are also described. Chapter 7 provides a grammatical description of causative sentences. These sentences are related to noncausative sentences by Causativization. Chapter 8 describes the grammar of non-volitional verbs. Chapter 9 analyses existential, locative and possessive constructions, and they are recognized as members of a single sentence type which can be identified as 'existential sentences'. The inalienable possessive constructions and the problems associated with the sentences containing nominal predicates are also described. Chapter 10 closes this grammatical description.


The graph isomorphism problem can be easily stated: check to see if two graphs that look diierently are actually the same. The problem occupies a rare position in the world of complexity theory, it is clearly in NP but is not known to be in P and it is not known to be NP-complete. Many sub-disciplines of mathematics, such as topology theory and group theory, can be brought to bear on the problem, and yet only for special classes of graphs have polynomial-time algorithms been discovered. In-congruently, this problem seems very easy in practice. It is almost always trivial to check two random graphs for isomorphism, and fast hardware implementations exists for application domains such as image processing. This paper is mostly a survey of related work in the graph isomorphism eld. We examine the problem from many angles, mirroring the multi-faceted nature of the literature. We survey complexity results for the graph isomorphism problem, and discuss some of the classes of graphs which have known polynomial-time algorithms. Many of these algorithms have constants that are so large as to negate their usefulness in actual applications. Thus a number of practical techniques, which do not have a polynomial worst case, are also examined. We end the paper by discussing some graphs which are \hard" for practical algorithms, and present experimental results which demonstrate a class of graphs on which practical algorithms run into diiculty.


We propose the use of a 3/spl times/3 coupler as a signal divider to implement an amplified double recirculating delay line. We describe the circuit layout and provide a subsequent analysis leading to the computation of its transfer function under general arbitrary conditions. The different conditions in which the structure can be operated, their effect on the overall transfer function, and stability conditions are also addressed. The use of the amplified double recirculating delay line as a building block to implement more complex filters is also considered. >


This paper presents a new chaos control method to control the unified chaotic system to zero. In order to control a unified chaotic system to zero, the first step is to design a stable system, which stable to zero base on tridiagonal matrix stability theory, the stable system as the master system. The second step is to make the unified chaotic system with controlled as slave system, the third step to make the master system and the slave system synchronization. Different system state apply different adaptive synchronize method to realize synchronization. The adaptive control law and parameter update law are obtained base on Lyapunov stability theory. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of theoretical analysis.


The recent outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has affected the lives and economy of more than 200 countries. The unavailability of vaccines and the virus-specific drugs has created an opportunity to repurpose existing drugs to examine their efficacy in controlling the virus activities. Here, the inhibition of the RdRp viral protein responsible for the replication of the virus in host cells is examined by evaluating the binding patterns of various approved and investigational antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-cancer drugs by using the molecular docking approach. Some of these drugs have been proposed to be effective against the SARS-Cov-2 virus infection. In an attempt to discover new antiviral agents, artificially expanded genetic alphabets (AEGIS) such as dP, dZ, dJ, dV, dX, dK, dB, dS, dP4, and dZ5 and different sequences of these nucleotides were also docked into the active site of the RdRp protein. It is found that among the various approved and investigational drugs, the Clevudine, N4-hydroxycytidine (EIDD-1931), 2'-C-methylcytidine, EIDD-2801, Uprifosbuvir, Balapiravir, Acalabrutinib, BMS-986094, Remdesivir (full drug), GS-6620, and Ceforanide would act as potent inhibitors of the RdRp protein. Similarly, among the AEGIS nucleotides, dB, dJ, dP, dK, dS, dV, and dZ are found to inhibit the RdRp protein efficiently. It is further found that sequences containing up to three artificial nucleotides can also inhibit the RdRp viral protein. As these unnatural nucleotides are foreign molecules for the cells, their replication in host cells may not occur naturally, and hence these may act as potent drugs for the treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, in vivo evaluation of these drugs and artificial nucleotides are required against SARS-CoV-2 before prescribing them to the infected patients.


The ball on a circular beam system is an under-actuated mechanical system that is challenging control problem compared to its variant: the ball on a horizontal beam. The control challenge stems out from the fact that the ball on a circular beam system has two unstable eigenvalues unlike its variant which has one. A stabilizing controller synthesized using backstepping methodology is presented. In doing so, a series of nonlinear coordinate transformations is applied on the equations of motion to arrive at a state-space representation which is in the so called quadratic non-triangular normal form. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in stabilizing the system while respecting the physical constraints on the system.


Although the American Fur Company dominated the Upper Missouri fur trade during the middle decades of the nineteenth century, a number of small, independent firms (known as the Opposition) flourished briefly at this time.From 1858 until 1862, a young Philadelphian, Henry A. Boller, was one of the Opposition traders, serving first as clerk in Clark, Primeau and Company and then as a partner in Larpenteur, Smith and Company. His account of these years, based on his journals, presents a remarkably realistic picture of the daily life of the Indian as he existed more than a century ago and is recognized as the most authoritative narrative of fur-trading among the plains Indians of the Upper Missouri, for the period (U.S.iana).When it appeared in 1868, Boller's book was subtitled Eight Years in the Far West, 1858-1866, Embracing Sketches of Montana and Salt Lake, and included descriptions of a return visit to Fort Berthold, the newly discovered Montana gold fields, and the Mormon capital. These concluding chapters are omitted in the present volume.


Improving TCP performance over wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks is recognized as a crucial issue, specially in those links prone to suffer from high bit error rate (BER) and bursty error losses. This paper shows how TCP throughput over a real IEEE 802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN) in a lossy office environment is stabilized by a combination of an adaptive forward error correction (FEC) scheme in conjunction with a Snoop agent, both added to the idle repeat request (RQ) mechanism inherently used by such technology. The most innovative aspects of this work are that these techniques operate simultaneously and they have been tested over a real scenario.


ABSTRACT Despite reported benefits of Telecare use for older adults, uptake of Telecare in the United Kingdom remains relatively low. Non-users of Telecare are an under-researched group in the Telecare field. We conducted 22 qualitative individual semi-structured interviews to explore the views and opinions of current non-users of Telecare regarding barriers and facilitators to its use, and explored considerations which may precede their decision to accept, or reject, Telecare. Framework analysis identified a number of themes which influence the outcome and timing of this decision, including peace of mind (for the individual and their family), the strength and composition of an individual's support network, the impact of changing personal and health circumstances, and lack of communication about Telecare (e.g. advertising). A cost–benefit decision process appears to take place for the potential user, whereby the benefit of peace of mind is weighed against perceived 'costs' of using Telecare. Telecare is often perceived as a last resort rather than a preventative measure. A number of barriers to Telecare use need to be addressed if individuals are to make fully informed decisions regarding their Telecare use, and to begin using Telecare at a time when it could provide them with optimal benefit. Although the study was set in England, the findings may be relevant for other countries where Telecare is used.


Volumetrically distinct subpopulations of peripheral blood monocytes, termed M1, M2, and M3, were identified in healthy normal adults and children. Because normal neonates have abnormal monocyte chemotaxis, it was determined whether monocyte subpopulations have different chemotactic capabilities and, if so, whether chemotactically active subpopulations were quantitatively deficient in neonates. Chemotaxis tests with zymosan-activated normal human serum as the chemoattractant and purified monocyte subpopulations revealed that large M3 monocytes were capable of significantly more directed migration than were small M1 and M2 monocytes. Volumetric analysis of monocytes from normal newborns rather than demonstrating an absence of M3 cells revealed that these cells were the predominant monocyte subpopulation. Therefore, we conclude that the impaired chemotactic ability of newborn monocytes is due to a functional rather than quantitative deficiency of M3 cells.


Background: The effectiveness of the insecticide-treated bed net in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria has been proved at all levels of malaria transmission. Several models on how to achieve massive coverage have been suggested, but social marketing of the nets is highly favoured for its sustainability.
Aim: To report the experience of a small-scale social marketing project for insecticide-treated bed net in a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria.
Methods: The social marketing project was established in 2003 in Egbema, a semi-urban community in Rivers State, with a population of 47,000. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used for the study, with the sales records of the project and a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire as study tools. The sales records were analysed to assess the performance of the project, while the questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-economic characteristics of buyers of the net.
Results: In six months, the project achieved an uptake rate of 1.10 ITN per month, per 1000 population, and a 6.5% coverage of the target population. Most, 208 (67%), of the paid up sales were achieved at the well-child clinic and the antenatal clinic of the health facilities that serve the community. Buyers in the two lower socio-economic quartiles bought only about one third of the nets. Members of the community were predominantly farmers/fishermen, but only 19 (10%) of the buyers of the nets identified themselves as such.
Conclusion: The study shows that the use of social marketing for promoting the use of ITN for malaria control is slow in a poor community.
 Port Harcourt Medical Journal Vol. 1 (3) 2007: pp. 145-150


BACKGROUND
We performed this study to evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of the FAST Dressing in treating a grade V liver injury in noncoagulopathic swine.

METHODS
Sixteen female splenectomized, noncoagulopathic swine underwent reproducible grade V liver injuries. The animals were blindly randomized to two treatment groups: (1) FAST Dressing (n = 8) or (2) IgG placebo dressing (n = 8). After 30 seconds of uncontrolled hemorrhage, dressings and manual compression were applied at 4-minute intervals. The number of dressings used, time to hemostasis, total blood loss, mean arterial pressure, blood chemistry, and total resuscitation fluid volume were monitored for 2 hours after injury.

RESULTS
The mean total blood loss was 412.5 mL (SD 201.3) for the FAST Dressing group compared with 2296.6 mL (SD 1076.0) in the placebo group (p < 0.001). All animals in the FAST Dressing group achieved hemostasis and survived for the duration of the experiment (2 hours) after injury, whereas none of the animals in the placebo group attained hemostasis or survived to 2 hours after injury (p < 0.001). The mean time to hemostasis was 6.6 minutes (SD 2.5). A median of five dressings (mean absolute deviation 1.0, p = 0.007) was sufficient to control hemorrhage in the FAST Dressing group.

CONCLUSION
The FAST Dressing reduced blood loss and improved survival compared with placebo in a noncoagulopathic, grade V liver injury swine model.


In laser-scanning measurement of cylindrical objects extremely complex interfering signals occur. They are due to superimposition of: reflected, unobstructed and scattered light. The proportions between these components vary in time and also the total intensity distribution changes. The considerations applying Fraunhofer theory are static and fragmentary, and may be concluded that the existing solutions for diffraction of 3D bodies do not fit to engineering applications. Having the above in view, the close analysis of detector signal was carried out. The obtained differential intensity characteristics allow to determine the important metrological qualities of diffraction field.


Using the Fourier method, we have derived a three-dimensional, fully analytic model of a shielded magnetoresistive or giant magnetoresistive head for perpendicular replay. The head may include side shields. The field and the spectral response function are expressed in closed form. Here, we use the model to show the effect of varying the sensor-shield spacings and the air-bearing-surface-underlayer separation on the field and response of the sensor at high areal density.


Autonomous vehicles raise many ethical and moral issues that are not easy to deal with and that, if not addressed correctly, might be an obstacle to the advent of such a technological revolution. These issues are critical because autonomous vehicles will interact with human road users in new ways and current traffic rules might not be suitable for the resulting environment. We consider the problem of learning optimal behavior for autonomous vehicles using Reinforcement Learning in a simple road graph environment. In particular, we investigate the impact of traffic rules on the learned behaviors and consider a scenario where drivers are punished when they are not compliant with the rules, i.e., a scenario in which violation of traffic rules cannot be fully prevented. We performed an extensive experimental campaign, in a simulated environment, in which drivers were trained with and without rules, and assessed the learned behaviors in terms of efficiency and safety. The results show that drivers trained with rules enforcement are willing to reduce their efficiency in exchange for being compliant to the rules, thus leading to higher overall safety.


Abstract To evaluate the efficiency of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum LS/07 in dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) induced acute colitis selected biochemical (activity of β-glucuronidase), microbiological (counts of lactobacilli and coliforms), and immunological (IL-6, IL-8, IL-13, NF-κB, MPO) parameters were assessed. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into groups: Control, Acute colitis, and Probiotic. Acute colitis was induced using 5% DSS in drinking water for 7d. DSS induced an inflammatory process in the colonic tissue, increased the activity of β-glucuronidase (p<0.001), increased the counts of coliform bacteria and decreased lactobacilli counts (p<0.05), and activated the production of the measured parameters (NF-κB, MPO, IL-6, IL-8) except of IL-13. Lactobacillus plantarum LS/07 in the diet alleviated the DSS induced inflammatory process by inhibiting the production of IL-6, IL-8, the activities of NF-κB and MPO, and stimulated the production of IL-13. The probiotic reduced the activity of β-glucuronidase (p<0.05), increased lactobacilli counts and decreased coliform bacteria. These results indicate that dietary intake of Lactobacillus plantarum LS/07 suppressed the expression of markers playing an important role in the inflammatory process. We conclude that the anti-inflammatory properties of Lactobacillus plantarum LS/07 makes its suitable for the prevention or treatment of colitis.


Early in 1966, GSI vice president Ken Burg heard that the Bolt air gun had potential as a marine seismic source. He contacted Bernie Luskin of Bolt Associates in Connecticut and arranged for an evaluation test at Port Hueneme, California. I was assigned the task of processing and evaluating the result. None of the GSI representatives at the test were very enthusiastic because we just couldn't imagine using something as simple as compressed air to replace dynamite as a seismic source.


Nowadays, innovations are necessary conditions for enterprise sustainable development. Moreover marketing strategy is the crucial element of ensures diffusion of innovation. The purpose of marketing strategy is to conduct market analyze, segment the market, develop marketing approach, right product portfolio and finally marketing plan. This article highlights the comprehensive role of marketing strategies for innovations. The results show, that marketing analyze for marketing strategy enables enterprises to go beyond the solely understanding of customer needs, thus enabling them to develop unexpected innovations. Marketing strategies also help companies to overcome barriers, associated with innovation commercialization. At the same time innovations can be a trigger for new marketing methods and instruments.


Opportunistic Routing (OR) takes advantage of the broadcast nature of the wireless medium to increase reliability in communications. Instead of selecting one node as the next-hop forwarder, OR selects a set of candidates to forward the packet. In this way, if one of them does not receive the packet from the source, another candidate will be able to do it, this avoids the need for a re-transmission from the source. To increase the successful delivery ratio, we can increase the size of the candidate set or the number of re-transmissions, but, we must take into account the impact on the use of the network resources. In this paper, we propose a Markov chain as a general model for OR that can be applied to any kind of network topology and any candidate selection algorithm without any constraint. The only input parameters needed are: i) the candidate list of each node, ii) the link delivery probability between nodes, and, iii) the maximum number of re-transmissions in each node. Taking this data into account, our model allows for the evaluation of the performance of different candidate selection algorithms according to different metrics, such as the expected number of transmissions (ExNT), which is one of the most relevant metrics in OR. Our model also enables an evaluation of the influence of the number of candidates, its relation to the number of re-transmissions and how these two parameters together contribute to the successful delivery of data packets.


The general-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) continues to make significant strides in high-end computing by delivering unprecedented performance at a commodity price. However, the many-core architecture of the GPGPU currently allows only data-parallel applications to extract the full potential out of the hardware. Applications that require frequent synchronization during their execution do not experience much performance gain out of the GPGPU. This is mainly due to the lack of explicit hardware or software support for inter thread communication across the entire GPGPU chip.
In this paper, we design, implement, and evaluate a highly-efficient software barrier that synchronizes all the thread blocks running on an offloaded kernel on the GPGPU without having to transfer execution control back to the host processor. We show that our custom software barrier achieves a three-fold performance improvement over the existing approach, i.e., synchronization via the host processor.
To illustrate the aforementioned performance benefit, we parallelize a data-serial application, specifically an optimal sequence-search algorithm called Smith-Waterman (SWat), that requires frequent barrier synchronization across the many cores of the nVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPGPU. Our parallelization consists of a suite of optimization techniques — optimal data layout, coalesced memory accesses, and blocked data decomposition. Then, when coupled with our custom software-barrier implementation, we achieve nearly a nine-fold speed-up over the serial implementation of SWat. We also show that our solution delivers 25 faster on-chip execution than the na¨ive implementation.


Formation of the contractile apparatus in muscle cells requires co-ordinated activation of several genes and the proper assembly of their products. To investigate the role of TnT (troponin T) in the mechanisms that control and co-ordinate thin-filament formation, we generated transgenic Drosophila lines that overexpress TnT in their indirect flight muscles. All flies that overexpress TnT were unable to fly, and the loss of thin filaments themselves was coupled with ultrastructural perturbations of the sarcomere. In contrast, thick filaments remained largely unaffected. Biochemical analysis of these lines revealed that the increase in TnT levels could be detected only during the early stages of adult muscle formation and was followed by a profound decrease in the amount of this protein as well as that of other thin-filament proteins such as tropomyosin, troponin I and actin. The decrease in thin-filament proteins is not only due to degradation but also due to a decrease in their synthesis, since accumulation of their mRNA transcripts was also severely diminished. This decrease in expression levels of the distinct thin-filament components led us to postulate that any change in the amount of TnT transcripts might trigger the down-regulation of other co-regulated thin-filament components. Taken together, these results suggest the existence of a mechanism that tightly co-ordinates the expression of thin-filament genes and controls the correct stoichiometry of these proteins. We propose that the high levels of unassembled protein might act as a sensor in this process.


In this paper, the APDL programming language provided by ANSYS software is used to build the parametric modeling of Periodic Symmetric Struts Support (PSSS), which is provide convenience and necessary preparations for the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and save much time and effort during the preprocess analysis. At first, the positional parameters and size parameters of PSSS are analyzed, and find out the relationship between main parameters, and identify the parameter equations. Then, build the struts support model and edit the parameter equations by APDL language. Finally, the producing process of different kind of struts support models are implemented by changing main parameters and provide the necessary conditions for preprocess of FEA.


Northern Pame nasal stops manifest a [-nasal] secondary feature (i.e. prestopping and poststopping) in the environment of an oral vowel. Specifically, nasal stops following an oral vowel have two phases, an oral closure and a nasal release, while nasal stops preceeding and oral vowel loose their nasal distinction completely. In this paper, I propose an aperture analysis where a segment's closure and release may come into play in the linking of a [-nasal] feature. In addition, I suggest that Northern Pame oral vowels may be better specified as underlyingly [-nasal] while nasal vowels remain unmarked for nasality, deriving their feature specification through default rules. Finally, it is shown that the phenomenon of [-nasal] spreading is productive typologically in a similar pattern to that of Northern Pame.


Nine hundred fifty male Hubbard chicks were used in a 21-d study (10 birds per battery cage) to determine relative bioavailability of P (RBP) in four feed-grade phosphates (FP) [two Brazilian dicalcium and two U.S.-made phosphates (di-monocalcium and defluorinated)] and four Brazilian agricultural grade phosphates (AP) [single (AP-1), and triple (AP-2) superphosphates, monoammonium (AP-3), and thermomagnesium (AP-4) phosphates]. The reference standard was a purified-grade calcium phosphate dibasic (SP). Phosphates were added to the corn-soybean control diet (22% protein; 0.40% P + 0.08% P from SP), providing 0.08 and 0.16% additional P. Calcium level was 1.0% for all diets. Slope ratio was used to determine RBP, with BW, bone ash (BA), or bone strength (BS) regressed on P added within each P source. A relative biological value (RBV) was estimated using BW, BA, and feed efficiency. Performance was depressed (P < 0.01) by AP as compared with FP; BW was decreased by 11%, and feed intake (FI) was decreased by 14%. Mortality increased (P < 0.05) by 154% (7 vs 2.8%). Phosphate source AP-4, which had the lowest content of P and a high content of F, Fe, Ba, Ti, and Th, was toxic based on a 44% decrease (P < 0.01) in BW, 46% decrease in FI, 19% decrease in BA (32.4 vs 40.0%), 55% decrease in BS (7.1 vs 15.8 kg), and mortality increase (P < 0.05) from 0.7 to 26% compared with the average of AP-1, -2 and -3. The RBP could not be estimated for AP-4; and average availabilities for FP and AP, respectively, were 100.6 and 107.6% (BW), 88.3 and 93.2% (BA), 84.2 and 96.3% (BS), and 100.0 and 99.9% (RBP). The AP varied in RBP, with particularly high values calculated for AP-3. Performance and bone parameters in this study were not strongly affected by high levels of potentially toxic mineral elements in certain AP; this result may be explained by the low levels of phosphate addition and the short duration of the feeding period (21 d). However, considering their relatively high levels of F, Fe, Mg, S, Ba, Ti, and Th, agricultural-grade phosphate may represent considerable risk of toxicity for use in animal diets.


The prevention of type 2 diabetes has become a major public health objective. Cross-sectional studies have shown a lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes among coffee drinkers. The present article synthesizes results of recent prospective studies, which assessed the relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes according to coffee consumption. Most studies confirm a protective effect against type 2 diabetes, with some dose-response in function of the degree of daily coffee consumption. The observed effect is rather impressive (relative risk reduced to almost 0.70-0.40) and is present whatever the type of population. It appears equal, or event greater, with decaffeinated coffee as compared to regular coffee. These results suggest that the protective effect could not be attributed exclusively to caffeine, but rather that it should be explained by other components, most probably chlorogenic acid and/or various anti-oxidants. The precise mechanism explaining the protection of coffee against type 2 diabetes and its potential relevance in public health remain to be specified.


This correspondence examines the use of nonlinear edge enhancers as prefilters for edge detectors. The filters are able to convert smooth edges to step edges and suppress noise simultaneously. Thus, false alarms due to noise are minimized and edge gradient estimates tend to be large and localized. This leads to significantly improved edge maps.


Pretreatment with dexamethasone acetate or pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile markedly diminished the pharmacological effect of zoxazolamine in rats. This prophylactic action was associated with significantly decreased plasma drug levels, which, in turn, were correlated with enhanced hepatic drug biotransformation, induced by the steroids. Dexamethasone proved to be more active than pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile in this respect. The A-ring conformation as well as the distances of O-3-O-11, O-11-O-17, and the O-3-mean plane C-5-C-17 may be key factors in glucocorticoid activity, and the longer the distances, the greater the potency. These characteristics have no bearing on catatoxic activity for which the 16 alpha-substituent appears to be a structural prerequisite.


State-of-the-art approaches for text classification leverage a transformer architecture with a linear layer on top that outputs a class distribution for a given prediction problem. While effective, this approach suffers from conceptual limitations that affect its utility in few-shot or zero-shot transfer learning scenarios. First, the number of classes to predict needs to be pre-defined. In a transfer learning setting, in which new classes are added to an already trained classifier, all information contained in a linear layer is therefore discarded, and a new layer is trained from scratch. Second, this approach only learns the semantics of classes implicitly from training examples, as opposed to leveraging the explicit semantic information provided by the natural language names of the classes. For instance, a classifier trained to predict the topics of news articles might have classes like "business" or "sports" that themselves carry semantic information. Extending a classifier to predict a new class named "politics" with only a handful of training examples would benefit from both leveraging the semantic information in the name of a new class and using the information contained in the already trained linear layer. This paper presents a novel formulation of text classification that addresses these limitations. It imbues the notion of the task at hand into the transformer model itself by factorizing arbitrary classification problems into a generic binary classification problem. We present experiments in few-shot and zero-shot transfer learning that show that our approach significantly outperforms previous approaches on small training data and can even learn to predict new classes with no training examples at all. The implementation of our model is publicly available at: https://github.com/flairNLP/flair.


For some special case, Huynen's decomposition cannot be used to extract a desired target from an average Kennaugh matrix. In this paper, the authors modify Huynen's method for overcoming its disadvantage, based on a simple transform of a Kennaugh matrix. Using an example, the effectiveness of the modified method is validated


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Despite a growing demand for skilled clinician-educators, residents today rarely receive formal training in clinical teaching, curriculum development, administration, leadership, or educational scholarship. The authors describe the development, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of the O'Connor Stanford Leaders in Education Residency (OSLER) track, a novel clinician-educator track within the family medicine residency program affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine.

METHODS
In 2010, the OSLER track was introduced at O'Connor Hospital, a community hospital that houses an 8-8-8 family medicine residency program. Residents who are in good standing can apply to the track at the midpoint of their first postgraduate year. Residents are immersed in a flexible, experience-based, 2.5-year-long curriculum with hands-on teaching activities at its core. To foster skills in educational scholarship, track residents are required to design and complete a scholarly project.

RESULTS
A comprehensive evaluation plan is currently in progress. Preliminary data indicates high levels of satisfaction with the track's overall value, impact on core teaching skills, and effect on career trajectory. Residents gained more confidence in core teaching skills as they progressed through the track. Scholarly work output by residents has increased significantly since the track was implemented. The residency program has seen an increased interest from applicants since the track was started, with data suggesting that applicant quality has increased from the pre-track to post-track years.

CONCLUSIONS
More research is needed to assess the effectiveness and reproducibility of this clinician-educator track. If proven, this model may be replicated at other academic medical centers.


This research article has been prepared in the context of why the elderly need ashram. Its purpose was to emphasize the importance of ashram in solving the problems faced by senior citizen. Analyzing the key information gathered through interviews and observations, it was found that it effectively addresses the physical and spiritual needs of senior citizens.The proximity of ashrams and religious institutions has played a role in making the elderly more spiritual and peaceful. Any family home is not built only for the convenience of the elderly, but as soon as it is called an old age home, its physical structure and immaterial environment are prepared to suit the elderly. There is still a belief that those who have the children stay at their home and should not keep the elderly in ashrams. Old age Ashram is considered as a residence, care and spirituality for the elderly. It is a great option for elderly people who are helpless and want to get out of family. The old age home is becoming known as an attractive and residential place for the orphans, the bereft, the childless, the single, the deprived from basic needs and lack of family affection of elderly. Bridha Ashram is developing as a care center for the elderly in Nepal.


Meaning is all around us each and every day. Psychological meaning focuses on the factors that underlie the meaning an individual derives from and ascribes to a particular product. For decades, consumers' psychological meaning of products and brands has been known to play a key role in purchasing decisions. This dissertation attempts to better understand the meanings that consumers attach to their possessions. The framework presented here examines psychological meaning in terms of tangible attributes and intangible attributes, as well as contextual influences on these meanings. Products are known to have tangible attributes, which are objective and verifiable, but also to contain intangible attributes which are the results of cognitive associations and abstractions. The combination of these attributes contributes to the overall meaning that is ascribed to a product or brand.
 It is also important to note that meaning is always meaning in a given context. In the framework presented in this dissertation, contextual variables fall into three main groups: psychosocial characteristics, demographic characteristics, and situational characteristics. In this work, we focus on one contextual variable to study from each of these groups. In psychosocial characteristics, we examine materialism; in demographic characteristics, we look at gender; and in situational characteristics, we focus on product involvement. Therefore, this research is intended to contribute not only to the field of studies on psychological meaning, but also to the fields of these three contextual variables.
 The framework is challenged using the word car as the stimulus. This particular stimulus was chosen for its balanced blend of both tangible and intangible attributes. It is also a product for which all respondents will have at least some level of familiarity and which most consumers have an awareness of various brands. Data is collected in the form of free, stimulus-bound, one-word associations, as widely used in the prior research. The data is then clustered into "components of meaning" by independent judges in a manner compatible with the literature. With the components of meaning for car identified, standard non-parametric statistical tests are used to look at significant differences across the contextual variables.


Hybrid nanomaterials consisting of functionalized fullerene and gold nanoparticle (NP) have been synthesized. Fullerene was functionalized by citric acid and used as reducing and capping agent for preparation of gold NPs. Functionalization of fullerene by use of citric acid was performed by enzymatic and thermal approaches. The core-shell structures containing gold NPs as core and fullerene as shell (gold/fullerene) were prepared. It was found that method and density of functionalization of fullerene effect final structure and therefore their physicochemical property of hybrid nanomaterial dramatically. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the structure of the synthesized hybrid nanomaterial and also study their self-assembly and physicochemical properties. Effect of the size, structure and morphology (e.g., agglomeration) of the synthesized hybrid nanomaterial on their UV-Vis absorption behavior has been also verified by theoretical modeling.


This report investigates the amount of heat energy given out from shivering, and whether the amount of heat it produces is sufficient enough to make it worthwhile. The report finds that it would require approximately 9 minutes of constant shivering to raise the temperature of an adult human by 1K, thus making the biological phenomenon useful to some extent.


Classroom management is consistently seen as a source of stress for beginning teachers. It's also one of the main reasons cited for teachers leaving the profession.
So, it's no surprise teachers try to use classroom management strategies that appear to be effective at changing problematic student behaviour.


The virulence plasmid of human pathogenic Yersinia species, pYV, encodes secreted proteins, Yop proteins, and an outer membrane protein, YadA. YadA has been associated with binding to a variety of substrates and with interference with host defense. YadA is regulated by temperature and is expressed only at 37 degrees C. Unlike the yop regulon, the yadA gene is not under Ca2+ regulation. Here, we show that LcrF (VirF), the temperature-regulated activator of the yop regulon, also acts as an activator for yadA.


Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a highly conserved DNA repair mechanism. NER systems recognize the damaged DNA strand, cleave it on both sides of the lesion, remove and newly synthesize the fragment. UvrB is a central component of the bacterial NER system participating in damage recognition, strand excision and repair synthesis. We have solved the crystal structure of UvrB in the apo and the ATP‐bound forms. UvrB contains two domains related in structure to helicases, and two additional domains unique to repair proteins. The structure contains all elements of an intact helicase, and is evidence that UvrB utilizes ATP hydrolysis to move along the DNA to probe for damage. The location of conserved residues and structural comparisons allow us to predict the path of the DNA and suggest that the tight pre‐incision complex of UvrB and the damaged DNA is formed by insertion of a flexible β‐hairpin between the two DNA strands.


In this paper I delineate novel policy repercussions suggested by my research on "The New Economics of the Brain Drain." In section 1, I provide a succinct account of the model that inspires the derivation of several new policy implications. In sections 2 through 5, I present the policy implications. I address the following questions: When and how can migration to a country substitute for educational subsidies in that country? Who should be admitted when the receiving country cares about the wellbeing of the unskilled workers who stay behind in the sending country? How and why the incentives to form human capital in the sending country will have a paradoxical effect on the migration policy of the receiving country? How and why will the level of a separating tax imposed by the destination country be reduced by the human capital formation calculus in the sending country? I conclude that the policy implications delineated in the paper illustrate the power and appeal of "The New Economics of the Brain Drain" as a framework for rethinking the formation of sound policy responses to migration.


As a result of the widespread connectivity provided by smartphones, laptops, and tablets, technology users can and often are continuously connected to the Internet and its communication services, a phenomenon some start to call "evertime." However, many users who first embraced constant connectivity are now pushing back, looking for ways to resist being permanently connected and contactable. This pushback behavior is increasingly visible in the popular press, in personal blogs, and in a small number of academic studies. "Pushback" is a growing phenomenon among frequent technology users seeking to regain control, establish boundaries, resist information overload, and establish greater personal life balance. This study examines a growing body of both academic and non–academic literature, and identifies five primary motivations and five primary behaviors related to pushback. Primary pushback motivations include emotional dissatisfaction, external values, taking control, addiction, and privacy. Primary pushback behaviors are behavior adaptation, social agreement, no problem, tech control, and back to the woods. The implications these pushback motivations and behaviors pose to communication technology are discussed.


In this paper, a compact optical system for generating arbitrary spatial light polarization patterns is demonstrated. The system uses a single high-resolution liquid crystal (LC) on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator. A specialized optical mount is designed and fabricated using a 3D printer, in order to build a compact dual optical architecture, where two different phase patterns are encoded on two adjacent halves of the LCOS screen, with a polarization transformation in between. The final polarization state is controlled via two rotations of the Poincaré sphere. In addition, a relative phase term is added, which is calculated based on spherical trigonometry on the Poincaré sphere. Experimental results are presented that show the effectiveness of the system to produce polarization patterns.


The paper is devoted to the introduction of a multi-input second order sliding mode control algorithm in an underwater robotic context. This approach guarantees perfect tracking and stabilization in the presence of disturbance and uncertainties typical of this kind of system. This property can be guaranteed by acting on the voltage of the motors driving the thrusters and the resulting forces and torques are continuous.


Morphological and histochemical investigations of the activity of succinate, malate, lactate, isocitrate, and glucoso-6-phosphate dehydrogenases, and NAD-diaphorase in the central, marginal, borderline and perifocal zones of ischemic brain infarctions were carried out. Deep changes in the activity of the enzymes listed, and peculiarities of this activity in various brain structures and tissues were revealed. A connection between the activity of the enzymes, the duration of the infarction, and the structural and biochemical peculiarities of the affected brain part is demonstrated. A suggestion is made on the pathogenesis of the ischemic infarctions and on the possibility of using histochemical data for the purposes of the pathoanatomic diagnosis.


A recombinant baculovirus expressing glycoprotein H (gpUL75) of human cytomegalovirus was used to examine the humoral immune response in naturally infected individuals. Recombinant baculovirus infected insect cells produced two forms of gH with molecular masses of 78-82 kDa and 94 kDa. The 94 kDa polypeptide was modified by high mannose oligosaccharide side-chains as shown by reduction in molecular mass after treatment with endoglycosidases H and F. The 78-82 kDa protein represented the non-glycosylated precursor which was resistant to the enzymes. In contrast to gH expressed in mammalian cells, the recombinant baculovirus expressed gH was transported to the cell surface. Glycoprotein H produced in insect cells was reactive with human convalescent sera and all tested neutralizing monoclonal antibodies recognizing either linear or conformational epitopes. Antibodies reacting with insect cell derived gH were detected in 96 percent of HCMV seropositive human sera. Using insect cells infected with the gH expressing recombinant baculovirus as immunoabsorbent, between 0 percent and 58 percent of the total virus neutralizing activity was removed from sera of individuals with a past HCMV infection. gH must therefore be considered a major antigen for the induction of neutralizing antibodies during natural infection.


WiFi location systems are remarkably accurate, with decimeter-level errors for recent CSI-based systems. However, such high accuracy is achieved under Line-of-Sight (LOS) conditions and with an access point (AP) density that is much higher than that typically found in current deployments that primarily target good coverage. In contrast, when many of the APs within range are in Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS), the location accuracy degrades drastically. In this paper we present UbiLocate, a WiFi location system that copes well with common AP deployment densities and works ubiquitously, i.e., without excessive degradation under NLOS. UbiLocate demonstrates that meter-level median accuracy NLOS localization is possible through (i) an innovative angle estimator based on a Nelder-Mead search, (ii) a fine-grained time of flight ranging system with nanosecond resolution, and (iii) the accuracy improvements brought about by the increase in bandwidth and number of antennas of IEEE 802.11ac. In combination, they provide superior resolvability of multipath components, significantly improving location accuracy over prior work. We implement our location system on off-the-shelf 802.11ac devices and make the implementation, CSI-extraction tool and custom Fine Timing Measurement design publicly available to the research community. We carry out an extensive performance analysis of our system and show that it outperforms current state-of-the-art location systems by a factor of 2--3, both under LOS and NLOS.


Elpipes are polymer-insulated underground HVDC electric pipelines based on low cost metallic conductors. Elpipes use relatively rigid extruded conductors designed for higher capacity and efficiency than is practical for overhead power lines. In this paper, we discuss the application of elpipes (or any other long distance low-loss HVDC transmission technology in principle) for linking load centers to remote dispatchable hydro power, energy storage sites, and large dispatchable loads, to achieve load leveling through a combination of non-local storage and dispatchable loads, at lower cost than local storage. Elpipes together with voltage source converters (VSC) enable placing many AC/DC power taps on one single HVDC loop. It is advantageous to build a continental scale HVDC grid up from local loops that tie together perhaps a dozen taps.


The process of proof is one of inference to the best explanation, in which alternative scenarios are supported and attacked by arguments. This combination of scenarios and arguments was previously presented as a formal hybrid theory. In this paper, the aim is to further integrate scenarios and arguments by defining a notion of attack between alternative explanations. Thus, scenarios and arguments can be incorporated in the same dialectical framework.