The cancer pattern was investigated among 5072 patients with a discharge diagnosis of pernicious anaemia during 1977-1989, using data from the Danish Hospital Discharge, Central Population and Cancer registries. During 1-15 years of follow-up we found, in line with earlier reports, two to three-fold increases in the risk of cancer of the stomach, buccal cavity and pharynx, which were unchanged when the analysis was stratified according to sex and duration of follow-up. A previously reported positive association with haematological cancers could only be found for short term follow-up to indicate that no real association exists. Our cohort of patients with pernicious anaemia experienced significantly reduced risks of cervix and non-melanoma skin cancer.


Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) is a widely used receptor modelling technique in order to determine the nature and contribution of the different aerosol sources modulating ambient levels of particulate matter at a receptor. This cumulative thesis together with the papers included within, reports the results of three source apportionment exercises: a) the isolation of the natural contribution to PM10 levels at a rural background site in Malta; b) the estimation of the contributions of the sources driving PM2.5 levels at a traffic hotspot in Malta and c) a methodological investigation of how PMF can be used on a smaller dataset using samples taken from an agricultural area in Apulia, South eastern Italy.
The study on the magnitude of the natural contribution to PM10 involved a sampling campaign at a rural background station in Għarb, Gozo (one of the islands in the Maltese archipelago). This sampling campaign resulted in the collection 224 samples, which were subsequently characterised by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP – MS) and ion chromatography (IC) respectively for, their metallic and ionic content. The use of data resulting from this analysis with PMF resulted in the isolation of the two natural sources expected to be of relevance to Malta (marine aerosol and Saharan dust) as well as in the estimation of their apportionment. PMF also resolved three additional sources: a local crustal source, and two secondary inorganic aerosol components (one rich in nitrate and the other rich in sulfate). The natural sources jointly accounted for approximately 39% of the measured PM10, which is at the upper end of the 0.5 – 58% range determined by previous studies for natural contributions in Europe.

A total of 180 membranes sampled throughout 2016 were used in the study on the sources of PM2.5 at a traffic site. These membranes were analysed for: elemental concentrations (using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, XRF); ionic content (using IC) and for black carbon – BC (using an optical method). The use of this chemical database with PMF resulted in the isolation of 7 aerosol sources, 4 of which were common to the exercise carried out on PM10 at the rural background site (all the sources except for the local crustal source). The additional three sources isolated at this site were traffic, shipping and fireworks. The isolation of the latter component is itself an interesting result, because it shows that a seasonal activity such as the letting of fireworks during the summer village feasts affects the annual levels of PM2.5. Additionally, this component probably has an effect on human health due to its chemical composition. This work will also provide evidence-based information to the policy makers on the emission reductions required in order for the PM2.5 levels to be compliant with the annual air quality guideline issued by the World Health Organization.
Finally, a fundamental methodological investigation on how PMF can be used on a small dataset was carried out. This study is based on 29 PM10 and 33 PM2.5 samples collected from a rural area in Apulia, Italy. PMF did not work correctly when the datasets for the two different fractions were used separately. The datasets were therefore aggregated into a single chemical database of 62 samples and this was then used with PMF. A 5-factor model, which exhibited a fairly good rotational stability was the result of this modelling exercise. This was subsequently further improved through the imposition of constraints based on the chemical constitution of the aerosol sources affecting this receptor, which is made possible by the new features included in the United States Environment Protection Agency PMF version 5. Given the size of the dataset the, the uncertainties in the solution returned by PMF were fully characterised using all the error estimation methodologies included in this version of PMF. Additionally, the results of the PMF modelling were validated against those returned by two other models, Constrained Weighted Non-negative Matrix Factorization (CW – NMF) and Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) as well as through the use of other statistical parameters. These results essentially confirm the validity of the model returned by PMF and indicate that the latter model extracted all the information about the aerosol sources affecting the receptor from the speciation data.


The human-animal relationship is one that has been pondered by scholars for ages. It has been used to define both what it means to be "human" and what it means to be "animal". This thesis examines human-animal relationships as found in the mortuary record within the area of Verulamium which is now situated in the modern town of St. Albans. Once considered to be a major centre, the mortuary rites given to its people suggest high variabilities in the approach to the "personhood" of certain classes of both people and animals. While 480 human individuals were examined, only a small percentage was found to have been afforded the rite of a human-animal co-burial. It is this small percentage that will be examined in greater detail. Of major concern are the treatments to both the human and animal pre- and post- burial and the point at which the animal enters into the funerary practice. These questions are investigated primarily by using zooarchaeological and human osteological techniques, but also refer to primarily literary sources and other data. This analysis is situated in a broader theoretical approach on human-animal relationships and which adopts a non-anthropocentric view point. In order to investigate the data holistically, both interactions in life and in death were observed as far as the faunal record would allow. It is concluded that within the St. Albans area a specific relationship between certain classes of humans and specific domestic animal individuals existed and is demonstrated through their mutual participation in rites that extended beyond the typical agricultural needs. It was also recognised that different animal individuals within the same species would fulfil the ultimate role of 'food item'. However, these roles would most likely not occur simultaneously in this area.


In the literature, clinical descriptions of sigmoid sinus thrombosis occurring after closed head injury in children are rare. One to 5 days after trauma to the back of the head, five children (aged 1 to 7 yr) presented with gait ataxia, vomiting, and headache. Trauma was mild in four children. Computed tomography of all the children, performed within 5 days after the injury, showed focal hyperdensity in the region of the left sigmoid sinus. Four children had extra-axial hyperdense collections along the left transverse sinus, and three had skull fractures adjacent to the left sigmoid sinus. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of all the children, performed 2 to 6 days after injury, showed left sigmoid-sinus thrombosis and decreased flow or thrombosis within the lateral third of the left transverse sinus. All the children had MRI scans 4 to 6 weeks after their diagnosis and were followed up for 1 to 12 months. In four children whose symptoms subsided completely within 2 to 10 weeks, MRI showed recanalization of the sigmoid sinus within 4 to 6 weeks after injury. In one child whose symptoms resolved after 6 months, sigmoid-sinus thrombosis persisted with the formation of collateral flow. We conclude that traumatic sigmoid-sinus thrombosis should be suspected when a child has persistent or delayed gait ataxia and vomiting after injury to the back of the head. Computed tomography characteristically demonstrated focal hyperdensity within the sigmoid sinus that we term the dense sigmoid-sinus sign. Because the sinus recanalized and the symptoms subsided in most children within 6 weeks, we conclude that prophylactic medical or surgical intervention is not indicated.


Secondary Formation of Organic Aerosol: Investigation of the Diurnal Variations of Organic and Elemental Carbon Barbara J. Turpin, Ph.D. Oregon Graduate Center, 1989 Supenrising Professor: James J. Huntzicker Although carbonaceous species comprise a large fraction of urban aerosol, the contributions of primary and secondary sources to carbonaceous aerosol are not well understood. The purpose of this research was to establish a method of identifying primary and secondary organic aerosol through the use of timeresolved organic and elemental carbon measurements. Because of the need to obtain improved time-resolution, low detection limits, and minimal influence from sampling artifacts, an s i ~ carbon analyzer was developed, characterized, and compared with other methods. The instrument combines the sampling function of a conventional filter sampler with the analytical function of a thermal-optical carbon analyzer. Field experiments were conducted in Los Angeles to investigate volatilization and adsorption sampling artifacts. Some ambient filter samples were also analyzed for specific organic compounds using direct thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. The fi carbon analyzer measured particulate organic and elemental carbon in the Los Angeles Basin during the Carbonaceous Species Methods Comparison Study in 1986 and the Southern California Air Quality Study in 1987. Organic and elemental carbon concentrations showed strong diurnal variations. Peak concentrations occurred during the daylight hours in the summer and at night in the fall. The maximum concentrations observed in the winter were two to three times higher than the summer maxima. On several summer days in 1987 the diurnal profiles of organic and elemental carbon were quite similar. Good correlations, comparable to those observed during the fall, were observed between organic and elemental carbon, suggesting that the organic aerosol on those days was principally primary. Comparison of the diurnal profiles of organic carbon with those of elemental carbon and ozone provided evidence for considerable secondary formation of organic aerosol during three sampling periods in 1987: July 11 13, July 25 29, and August 27 31. At the height of the August 27 31 episode secondary formation accounted for roughly 50% to 70% of the organic aerosol at 1700 hours (PDT). CHAPTER


BACKGROUND
We examined performance on a self-referenced memory (SRM) task for higher-functioning children with autism (HFA) and a matched comparison group. SRM performance was examined in relation to symptom severity and social cognitive tests of mentalizing.

METHOD
Sixty-two children (31 HFA, 31 comparison; 8-16 years) completed a SRM task in which they read a list of words and decided whether the word described something about them, something about Harry Potter, or contained a certain number of letters. They then identified words that were familiar from a longer list. Dependent measures were memory performance (d') in each of the three encoding conditions as well as a self-memory bias score (d' self-d' other). Children completed The Strange Stories Task and The Children's Eyes Test as measures of social cognition. Parents completed the SCQ and ASSQ as measures of symptom severity.

RESULTS
Children in the comparison sample showed the standard SRM effect in which they recognized significantly more self-referenced words relative to words in the other-referenced and letter conditions. In contrast, HFA children showed comparable rates of recognition for self- and other-referenced words. For all children, SRM performance improved with age and enhanced SRM performance was related to lower levels of social problems. These associations were not accounted for by performance on the mentalizing tasks.

CONCLUSIONS
Children with HFA did not show the standard enhanced processing of self- vs. other-relevant information. Individual differences in the tendency to preferentially process self-relevant information may be associated with social cognitive processes that serve to modify the expression of social symptoms in children with autism.


Recent advances in image processing and machine learning methods have greatly enhanced the ability of object classification from images and videos in different applications. Classification of human activities is one of the emerging research areas in the field of computer vision. It can be used in several applications including medical informatics, surveillance, human computer interaction, and task monitoring. In the medical and healthcare field, the classification of patients' activities is important for providing the required information to doctors and physicians for medication reactions and diagnosis. Nowadays, some research approaches to recognize human activity from videos and images have been proposed using machine learning (ML) and soft computational algorithms. However, advanced computer vision methods are still considered promising development directions for developing human activity classification approach from a sequence of video frames. This paper proposes an effective automated approach using feature fusion and ML methods. It consists of five steps, which are the preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, feature fusion, and classification steps. Two available public benchmark datasets are utilized to train, validate, and test ML classifiers of the developed approach. The experimental results of this research work show that the accuracies achieved are 99.5% and 99.9% on the first and second datasets, respectively. Compared with many existing related approaches, the proposed approach attained high performance results in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, precision, and specificity evaluation metric.


. UseeTV is an entertainment portal website. There is no increasing number ofvisitor in page view since 2013 to Q2 2014, although it has been carried out variouspromotional activities. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of Website Qualityand Promotion of the attitude and consumer decision using UseeTV.com. The research data isthe data page view UseeTV.com starting from 2013-2014. Convenience sampling was use assampling method taken by 402 population UseeTV.com users. Based on that population andusing slovin formulas with the margin error 10% then obtained a sample of respondents asmany as 200 people. Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used for method of analysis study.Research results show that the Website Quality and Promotions significantly affect theAttitude and Consumer Decision. Website Quality is the biggest significant variable ininfluencing attitude and consumers decision to use the portal website UseeTV.com.


Macroeconomic conditionality has become one of the major elements in discussions on the future of EU cohesion policy. Such conditional-ity would make the cohesion budget dependent on EU economic governance rules. This would have advantages for economic governance and, to a lesser extent, the efficiency of cohesion policy and the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations. Yet, conditionality also risks entailing serious disadvantages for the end beneficiaries and cohesion policy itself. If the EU decides to put macroeconomic conditionality in place, it needs to reconsider the design and agree on an ample cohesion budget.


Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) is a domain of Operations Research and Management Science mainly devoted to the development of methods, techniques and tools aiming to help decision makers in complex decision processes. This paper describes DecSpace, a framework to explore a wide range of methods of that kind. DecSpace is a web-based framework, making it possible to explore solutions for problems involving one or more methods. Persistent workspaces also make it possible to reuse solutions. In this sense, DecSpace is intended for use in teaching and researching in MCDA methods, as well for professional use as a Decision Support System for engineering and management scenarios where decisions based on those methods are to be considered. DecSpace has an open architecture, making it possible to use methods implemented locally, fully integrated as part of the local application, or methods available from remote servers, if exposed as web services.


The advancements in multimedia communication technologies have enabled an increased implementation of telemedicine and e-health application for healthcare services. In parallel, advanced imaging methods have facilitated increasing reliance on medical images and videos for patient diagnosis. The high data speeds achieved by current communication technologies enables reliable transmission of medical videos for diagnosis and education purposes in telemedicine applications. The necessary process of video compression, prior to transmission, and communication channel constraints may occasionally impact the quality of the medical video received after transmission. Thus, to verify the reliability of the received video, quality evaluation is necessary. However, the present approaches used for medical video quality evaluation have limitations in addressing the contextual requirements of medical videos.

The research work presented in this thesis addresses quality evaluation of medical ultrasound videos for telemedicine and e-health applications. The studies presented in the thesis include a subjective quality assessment study of medical ultrasound videos compressed via the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard and the validation of the performance of state-of-the-art video quality metrics using the subjective cores of medical experts. Further, the rate-distortion and rate-quality performance of HEVC is analysed for the compression of medical ultrasound videos. A video quality metric, Cardiac Ultrasound Quality Index (CUQI), for cardiac ultrasound videos is proposed that considers the motion and edge features of cardiac videos for quality evaluation. The proposed metric assessment closely agrees with the subjective assessment of medical experts. Finally, a content-aware packet scheduling approach for transmission of medical ultrasound videos over Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network is presented. The scheduling approach employs a utility function based on the temporal complexity of the medical ultrasound videos and results in improving the received video quality. The research outcomes presented in the thesis indicate that developing quality evaluation approaches according to the contextual requirements of the medical video modality could enable overcoming the limitations of standard quality evaluation approaches.


The mechanisms of action of acupuncture and moxibustion as reported by Japanese researchers are reviewed. The endogenous opioid-mediated mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) as used in China are well understood, but these are only one component of all mechanisms of acupuncture. These studies emphasize the similarity of the analgesic action of EA to various sensory inputs to the pain inhibition mechanisms. In Japanese acupuncture therapy, careful detection of the acupuncture points and fine needling technique with comfortable subjective sensation are considered important. The role of polymodal receptors (PMR) has been stressed based on the facts that PMRs are responsive to both acupuncture and moxibustion stimuli, thermal sensitivity is essential in moxibustion therapy, and the characteristics of acupuncture points and trigger points are similar to those of sensitized PMRs. Acupuncture and moxibustion are also known to affect neurons in the brain reward systems and blood flow in skin, muscle, and nerve. Axon reflexes mediated by PMRs might be a possible mechanism for the immediate action of acupuncture and moxibustion. Reports on the curative effects of acupuncture on various digestive and urological disorders are also reviewed briefly.


Young secondary forests and plantations in the moist tropics often have rapid rates of biomass accumulation and thus sequester large amounts of carbon. Here, we compare results from mature forest and nearby 15–20 year old tree plantations in lowland Costa Rica to evaluate differences in allocation of carbon to aboveground production and root systems. We found that the tree plantations, which had fully developed, closed canopies, allocated more carbon belowground - to their root systems - than did mature forest. This increase in belowground carbon allocation correlated significantly with aboveground tree growth but not with canopy production (i.e., leaf fall or fine litter production). In contrast, there were no correlations between canopy production and either tree growth or belowground carbon allocation. Enhanced allocation of carbon to root systems can enhance plant nutrient uptake, providing nutrients beyond those required for the production of short-lived tissues such as leaves and fine roots, and thus enabling biomass accumulation. Our analyses support this deduction at our site, showing that enhanced allocation of carbon to root systems can be an important mechanism promoting biomass accumulation during forest growth in the moist tropics. Identifying factors that control when, where and for how long this occurs would help us to improve models of forest growth and nutrient cycling, and to ascertain the role that young forests play in mitigating increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.


The Constitution's Treaty Power is a facially unlimited grant of power to the President and Sentate that, like ordinary legislation, can have the force of internal law. The potential abuse of the Treaty Power as a legislative tool and the limits, if any, that the Constitution imposes thereon have animated debates since the Federal Convention of 1787. The Rehnquist Court's revival of limitations on the Commerce Clause make the Treaty Power a potentially attractive alternative legislative tool. This raises the question: to what extent can the President and Senate constitutionally accomplish by treaty what the President and Congress cannot accomplish by ordinary legislation? This article attempts to describe the constitutional limits on lawmaking by treaty by arguing that the limits of the Treaty Power are, in the words of Justice Holmes, ascertained in a different way from those of ordinary legislation. Specifically, this article argues that the Constitution regards the Treaty Power as a contractual power, not as a legislative power. Because the Treaty Power is a legislative means to contractual ends, not a contractual means to a legislative ends, the limits on the Power are ascertained not by reference to treaty subject matter, but to good faith bargaining between contracting parties.


IOT in distance learning and self education allow to increase the efficiency of studying up to 20% more. During the video lesson the IOT devices are monitoring the level of the brain activity and sending the feedback to the software program. Digital image and video stream are modulated with the signals which switch the brain into the active state. At the periods of tiredness or/and the important moments of the lecture course these signals are keeping the brain in active state and allow to increase the efficiency of memorisation and boost up the overall learning process.


In this paper, we outline how the grounded theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin's version) was adapted to develop a theory of collaboration in virtual teams. Specifically, we studied virtual teams composed of students from a US and a Canadian university engaged in 14 week long systems development projects. We analyze data using adapted versions of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Based on our theoretical sensitivity, we also developed a meta-theoretical framework through a synthesis of the data we interacted with, the symbolic interactionist perspective, and structuration theory. We used this framework as an alternative to the "paradigm model" during selective coding of data. This paper makes two important contributions: 1) methodologically, it can serve as a guide for researchers interested in using the grounded theory approach; and 2) substantively, it presents a holistic and processual understanding of virtual teams that researchers in this area have called for.


The presence of the World Bank and IMF in developing countries dates back as early as 1960s. Having similar structure and membership, both institutions attempt to provide more stability and certainty for the globalized world-economy by providing technical and financial assistance to developing countries, and to those nations struggling with economic and financial difficulties. However, their claims of assisting developing countries are often questioned and castigated. This study examines whether these institutions are contributing to the growth, development and well-being of developing countries or undermining their activities and achievements. Despite that developing countries are marginalized in power sharing, decision making and designing policies and projects in these institutions, they are imperialism tools used to exploit resources of the developing world and to protect interests of the west. They provide painful and destructive financial and technical support leading to retarded growth, expanded inequality, and occasionally global instability. We argue that it is time for the developing countries, to join and contribute the improvement of existing alternative financial and development institutions such as the New Development Bank established by BRICS countries. Keywords: Developing countries, IMF, World Bank, development, international financial/economic institutions, west. JEL Code: F33, F34, F35, F36, O19.


According to the characteristic of multi-arch highway tunnel,based on a practice engineering, the monitoring work was consisted of four sections:the displacement of surrounding rock; such as crown settlement, displacement of the ground, displacement of inner surrounding rock; that of stress and stain of support structure; that of force in middle-wall. In course of construction,monitoring data was analyzed in time.Structural timbering parameters were modified in response to abnormal monitoring data in order to guarantee safety.the testing results of the safety monitoring system are satisfactory, which serves as a symbol of our research work. Thus, our engineering practice has proved the applicability and feasibility of the safety monitoring and information construction methods.


This study examines the effect of maternal protein restriction in rats on levels of cardiac fibrosis, myocardial capillarization, and media:lumen ratio of intramyocardial arteries in adult offspring. Female Wistar Kyoto rats were fed either a normal protein diet (NPD; 20% casein) or a low-protein diet (LPD; 8.7% casein) during pregnancy and lactation. Female offspring (seven per group) were weaned at 4 wk of age and grown to adulthood. At 24 wk of age, the offspring were perfusion fixed. Cardiac fibrosis and media:lumen ratio of intramyocardial arterioles was assessed using image analysis and cardiac capillarization was stereologically investigated. Body weights at 2 and 24 wk of age were significantly reduced (31% and 8%, respectively) in the LPD offspring; however, heart size was not different at 24 wk. Importantly by adulthood, there was a significant 15% increase in left ventricular interstitial fibrosis in LPD offspring. There were no differences in levels of perivascular fibrosis, myocardial capillarization, or in the media:lumen ratio of intramyocardial arteries between groups. Because cardiac fibrosis is associated with impaired cardiac contractility and arrhythmia, our results suggest that induction of interstitial fibrosis may contribute to the increased cardiac disease in adult subjects who were exposed to an adverse intrauterine environment.


The collections of Meise Botanic Garden comprise extensive and varied documentation on the genus Rosa. The library collection contains valuable and often rare 19th century publications about the genus Rosa, frequently with annotations by François Crépin. In addition to this, the archives hold the unpublished manuscripts and thousands of letters from Crépin's correspondents reflecting the extraordinary scientific network he built up to facilitate the exchange of herbarium collections together with erudite discussions on the taxonomy of the genus Rosa. Crépin exchanged letters with all the important rhodologists of his time, such as E. Burnat, H. Christ, P.A. Déséglise, P.E. Parmentier, H. Takashima, and W. Wirtgen, and also with horticulturists, such as J. Gravereaux.
 This unique network and diversified patrimony of historical collections took shape over a period of several decades during which Crépin prepared a monograph of the genus Rosa that unfortunately was never finished. Crépin assembled a 19th century herbarium with ca. 40 000 specimens of the genus Rosa. In contrast to other important herbaria, the Crépin collection covers the whole natural area of distribution of Rosa and documents an unparalleled range of Rose taxa.
 The combination of documentary sources of several different types makes the collections of Meise Botanic Garden extremely valuable. They offer great opportunities for multidisciplinary studies by taxonomists and historians with the aim of solving the still insufficiently understood relations between taxa in the genus Rosa. Linking this unique heritage of Meise Botanic Garden with present-day molecular techniques promises rewarding research in the near future. We can conclude that the collections related to Roses are major masterpieces of the Garden.
 In 2016 the Piaget Foundation, the World Federation of Rose Societies and 'De Vrienden van de Roos', supported the Botanic Garden with a grant which allowed us to image 13 000 out of the 40 000 herbarium sheets. The public is invited to help us generate the label data on the Garden's crowdsourcing platform (https://www.doedat.be/). In this project we tested also the quality of extracted DNA of 96 specimens of the Crépin Herbarium. 69% of the samples yielded with the Nanodrop technology good quality and quantity of DNA and for 29% of the samples it was even possible to amplify the rDNA gene marker ITS (with 650bp). These results are encouraging and illustrate that this historic herbarium could be a useful tool for research on roses.


Background: Sirtuins attract high attention considering their properties to reverse molecular hallmarks of aging and age-related disorders. Many secondary plant ingredients (SPI) are known for their sirtuin-activating activities as well as epigenetic regulation of telomers, autophagy, senolysis, DNA repair but also improvement of gut microbiota. Furthermore, prebiotics enhanced butyrate and was shown to interact with SIRT pathways. This study investigated the effects of a drink containing a mix of different SPIs in combination with galactooligosaccharides (G OS)  and their effect on SIRT activation, markers of aging relevant mechanisms, and gut microbiota composition in correlation with subjective wellbeing and skin structure appearance. Methods: We analyzed gene expression, mtDNA amount, and microbial composition in response to a sirtuin- activating drink in humans compared to a control group consuming a placebo. Food frequency, beauty, and general health questionnaires were asked, and a set of mRNAs and miRNAs were assessed using qPCR analysis. The gut composition was analyzed using Illumnia sequencing. Results: SPI increased  SIRT1 ,  SIRT3,  and modulated cell cycle relevant  miR16  and senescence regulating  miR34  expression. Additionally, mtDNA amount was higher in the group consuming the active supplement indicating an improved mitochondrial activity. The combined effect of SPI and GOS lead to an increase of  Actinobacteria , especially  Bifidobacterium,  but also  Veillonellaceae  which was not observed in the control group. Significant correlations between  SIRT3  expression and the gut microbiota  Bifidobacterium  and  Veillonellaceae  were observed. Additionally, statistical analysis of subjects self-reporting indicated beneficial effects regarding beauty and wellbeing. Conclusion: Our results show that the combination of sirtuins inducing SPI and prebiotic GOS influences molecular pathways counteracting aging, senescence, inflammation, and enhanced groups of gut microbiota which are known to improve the innate and adaptive immune system. Keywords : secondary plant ingredients, prebiotic, Sirtuins, subjective wellbeing, Bifidobacterium


The young field of neuroeconomics converges around behavioral deviations from the model of the human being as Homo economicus, a rational actor who calculates his choices to maximize his individual satisfaction. In a historical moment characterized by economic, health, and environmental crises, policymakers have become increasingly concerned about a particular deviation for which neuroeconomics offers a biological explanation: Why do humans value the present at the expense of the future? There is contentious debate within the field over how to model this tendency at the neural level. Should the brain be conceptualized as a unified decision-making apparatus, or as the site of conflict between an impetuous limbic system at perpetual odds with its deliberate and provident overseer in the prefrontal cortex? Scientific debates over choice-making in the brain, we argue, are also debates over how to define the constraints on human reason with which regulative strategies must contend. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research, we explore how the brain and its treatment of the future become the contested terrain for distinct visions of governmental intervention into problems of human choice-making.


Software metrics gives developers and their client and users of Software information about the quality of their Software products. They are employed in taking decisions at various levels of Software Life Cycle (SLC). This paper presents a novel metric for measuring the readability of Software Source Code (SC). Maintenance changes (addition, removal or modification), though, are initially carried out on the Software design artifacts, they are eventually performed on the Software SC as the finished product. Thus this metric is relevant in estimating the readability quality of SCs. The metric is ratio scaled and size independent. Results showed that the metric objectively measures the readability of SC.


Abstract
These studies have demonstrated that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors) can inhibit PMN arrival in the tear fluid following corneal injury but do not inhibit the reepithelialization either by corneal epithelial cells or by conjunctival epithelial cells. Therefore, they can be used safely in ocular inflammatory conditions even when corneal epithelial defects are present. Corticosteroids, on the other hand, inhibit reepithelialization by conjunctival epithelial cells and not by corneal epithelial cells in the doses tested. This inhibition does not occur with pretreatment prior to injury, suggesting that corticosteroids can be used clinically in conditions that have intact corneal epithelium without fear of slowing down wound healing should epithelial defects occur when not on steroid therapy. Furthermore, the steroid inhibition is temporary since there is a breakthrough in steroid inhibition with time, and occurs only if the steroids have been used shortly after deepithelialization. The steroid inhibition can be reversed by specific steroid antagonist, indicating that the steroid effect is mediated through specific receptors. An exciting and new hypothesis proposes that corticosteroids induce the formation of an inhibitory protein that inhibits the phospholipase enzyme to cause a block in arachidonic acid release from cell membranes. This mechanism of action may also be prevalent in the steroid effect on corneal reepithelialization, and experiments are under way to isolate this inhibitory protein from steroid-treated conjunctival epithelium. This isolation and pharmacologic characterization of this inhibitory protein is of obvious advantage to the field of ophthalmic therapeutics since this protein may have the anti-inflammatory potential of the steroids without their steroid sideeffects.


Abstract The spread of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus Skuse, throughout the United States has implications for the transmission potential of vector-borne diseases. We used a 30-yr data set of occurrence records in Illinois and developed a hierarchical Bayesian model to shed light on the patterns and processes involved in the introduction and expansion along the northern edge of the geographic range of this species. We also collected specimens from 10 locations and sequenced a segment of their mitochondrial COI genes to assess possible introduction sources and geographic patterns in genetic variation present within contemporary populations. We documented an increase in the number of observations throughout the southern and central parts of Illinois over the study period. The process through which this spread occurred is likely only partially due to local dispersal. The probability of successfully overwintering was likewise low, but both these parameters increased over the study period. This suggests that the presence of Ae. albopictus has been largely due to repeated introductions, but that in recent years populations may have become established and are leading to an increase in locally driven dispersal. There was considerable genetic diversity among populations in Illinois, with 13 distinct haplotypes present in 10 sampling locations, several of which matched haplotypes previously found to be present in locations such as Texas or Japan. Further research is needed to understand how the combination of continued propagule pressure and establishment of populations are driving the increase and expansion of this invasive mosquito along its northern distribution limit.


Problem: Ten percent of infants born will require admission to a neonatal facility. Coordinated activity to monitor and improve the quality of care for this high risk, high cost group of infants is considered a high priority. At the time of initiation of this project no system for collection and analysis of neonatal data existed in Northern Ireland. Design: In 1994 an ongoing prospective centralised data collection system was implemented to facilitate quality improvement and research in neonatal care. We aim to ascertain if there has been a demonstrable improvement in the quality of care provided since the initiation of this system. Setting: All nine Northern Ireland neonatal intensive care units returned prospectively collected socioeconomic, obstetric and neonatal episode data. Key measures for improvement: Achievement of the agreed quality indicators relating to transfer patterns, thermoregulation, antenatal steroid administration, and timing of administration of surfactant during the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 were compared with data for the period 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1996. Strategies for change: Monitoring included audit and annual feedback of timely clear and relevant data where results were provided confidentially as standardised reports, together with anonymised comparisons with other similar sized units. Draft recommendations were made at regional level and units were asked to adopt finalised consensus guidelines at the local level and to implement changes to clinical practice. Effects of change: The proportion of transfers taking place in utero increased from 26% to 42% and antenatal steroid administration from 68% to 82%. Normothermia on first admission improved from 66% to 71% for inborn infants. The proportion of infants receiving surfactant where the first dose was given within an hour of birth increased from 13% to 66%. Lessons learnt: A multiprofessional regional care network can facilitate the development of agreed standards and a culture of regular evaluation leading to quality improvement.


Objective
This study investigated adolescents' appraisals of responses to problematic situations and their relations to behavioral intentions for aggressive and nonviolent behavior. A key question was whether ratings of effective and ineffective nonviolent responses and aggressive responses reflect distinct constructs or opposite ends of a single dimension.

Method
A sample of 183 students at three middle schools in an urban public school system serving a mostly African American population completed measures of aggression, and rated responses to hypothetical situations on five dimensions: behavioral intention, effectiveness, descriptive norms, and anticipated reactions from friends and parents. Responses included nonviolent responses and aggressive responses to problematic situations identified in previous qualitative studies. Nonviolent responses were categorized as effective or ineffective based on ratings by a community sample of youth and adults.

Results
Confirmatory factor analyses supported separate factors representing ratings of effective responses and aggressive responses for each domain. Regression analyses indicated that ratings of aggressive responses were more strongly related to aggressive intentions, and ratings of effective responses were more strongly related to intentions to use effective responses. Adolescents who varied in their level of aggression differed in their ratings of aggressive and nonviolent responses. Those reporting higher levels of aggression showed less differentiation between effective and ineffective nonviolent responses compared with those reporting lower levels.

Conclusions
These findings underscore the need for further efforts to identify factors that promote effective nonviolent behavior versus those that support aggression. They have important implications for the development of violence prevention programs.


BACKGROUND
Since 2002, specially qualified nursing sisters and midwives have had the right to prescribe contraceptive pills for women aged 16 to 19. This arrangement has since been expanded to cover hormonal contraception, with the exception of the hormonal coil. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the arrangement.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
The prescription register uses pseudonyms and contains a number of facts about user, medication and prescriber. A database of women born in 1989, totalling 29,821, has been designed as a unit for analysis.

RESULTS
75 and 79% of the cohort had filled at least one prescription for contraceptive pills or hormonal contraception by the end of the calendar year in which they turned 19. Almost 12% had filled at least one prescription for the mini-pill, while far fewer had filled prescriptions for vaginal hormone ring, contraceptive injection, contraceptive patch or hormonal coil. Doctors issued two third of the prescriptions. Nursing sisters wrote more prescriptions than doctors for the age group 17-18. The period of time during which they had been using the contraceptive pill and the mini-pill did not depend on who prescribed them.

INTERPRETATION
The fact that close to 80% of the cohort born in 1989 has filled at least one prescription for hormonal contraception shows that there is a high degree of awareness about preventing unplanned pregnancy. Extending the right to write prescriptions to nurses and midwives has increased the availability of contraception, and young women are taking advantage of this option.


Teledermatology (TD) is a health care delivery modality that uses telecommunication technology to provide dermatologic care. It has grown to be a reliable and diagnostically accurate means of producing quality care while increasing access and reducing wait times in the outpatient setting. In the inpatient setting, TD may be an effective method to improve access to dermatologic care by remotely triaging, assisting, or providing dermatologic consultative services. For inpatient dermatology, there is the potential for TD to increase access to care in the community setting where dermatologists have full outpatient schedules. Using inpatient TD to triage conditions may be especially helpful in determining if a patient needs to be emergently/urgently seen, or if outpatient care could be appropriate. To best establish TD in the inpatient setting, certain practice guidelines should be considered to ensure the highest quality patient care. These features include Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-consistent protocols to ensure high-quality video sessions and clinical photographs are acquired, stored, and transmitted using secure software and networks, establishing relationships with primary care teams to ensure trust in consulting advice and ensuring consistent communication regarding recommendations, and appropriate patient follow-up.


Introduction: Iron and copper are absorbed in their reduced forms (ferrous and cuprous, respectively). Duodenal cytochrome b (Dcytb) functions as an intestinal ferric reductase; however, the nature of the putative intestinal cupric reductase remains unclear. We have shown previously that cells over-expressing Dcytb show not only enhanced ferric reductase activity but also display significant cupric reductase activity, suggesting that Dcytb may function as a dual metallo-reductase in intestinal enterocytes (Wyman et al FEBS Lett 2008, 582:1901-6). The aims of this study were to investigate whether intestinal Dcytb expression was regulated by copper, and whether Dcytb might play a role in cellular copper uptake. Methods and Materials: Human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 and HuTu-80) were exposed to either the copper chelator TETA (0.5 mM) or copper (50 µM) for 24 h. Cells were harvested for RNA and expression of Dcytb and the copper transporter Ctr1 determined by qPCR. To determine whether Dcytb plays a role in copper uptake we employed a MDCK cell line which over-expresses Dcytb under the control of a tetracycline-repressible promoter (TET-Off MDCK, Clontech; Wyman et al 2008). Copper uptake was measured by ICP-OES. Results: In Caco-2 cells, Ctr1 expression was significantly increased by TETA treatment (p< 0.01) and significantly decreased by exposure to high copper medium (p<0.05). Basal Dcytb expression in Caco-2 cells was below the detection threshold in our studies so we used HuTu-80 cells as an alternative intestinal model. Dcytb expression was significantly increased in TETA-treated cells (p<0.01). Copper treatment did not significantly alter Dcytb mRNA compared with untreated controls. Copper uptake in Dcytb-overexpressing MDCK cells was significantly increased compared with untransfected control cells (+6.7-fold; p<0.01). Treatment with doxycycline (20ng/ml) significantly reduced copper uptake to levels seen in untransfected cells (p<0.01). Conclusion: These data demonstrate that Dcytb is a copper-regulated gene and that it plays a role in copper uptake. Taken together with our previous work we hypothesize that Dcytb functions as an intestinal cupric reductase providing Cu+ to Ctr1 for cellular uptake. This work forges a further link between mammalian iron and copper metabolism.


Use of mathematical modeling in mathematics education has been receiving significant attention as a way to develop students" mathematical knowledge and skills. As effective use of modeling in classes depends on the competencies of teachers we need to know more about the nature of teachers" knowledge to use modeling in mathematics education and how this knowledge evolves. The aim of this study is to investigate how teachers" pedagogical knowledge to use modeling in the classroom is formed and modified through professional development activities based on lesson study cycle from modeling perspective. The professional development program reported in this study included five monthly cycles consisted of meeting before the implementation, implementation of the activity and a follow up meeting. The participants were four in-service mathematics teachers. Results showed that the program provided opportunities for teachers to test, revise, and refine their knowledge. More specifically, teachers generated effective strategies for proper implementation of the modeling activities in the classroom.


Abstract The Botteri's Sparrow (Aimophila botterii) is a bird of tall grasslands that temporarily disappeared from Arizona following heavy livestock grazing in the 1890s. Its return was noted first in sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii), an uncommon native floodplain tallgrass often >2 m in height, and subsequently in stands of exotic lovegrasses (Eragrostis spp.) spreading into adjacent uplands that otherwise supported shorter native grasslands. We examined whether the exotic grasslands provided suitable breeding habitat for Botteri's Sparrows, compared to native grasslands. We counted birds for three years on 18 plots, monitored 314 nests on 323 home ranges, banded 583 birds, and measured vegetation on plots and home ranges, and at nests and fledgling locations. Abundance and site fidelity were positively associated with grass height and cover, being greatest in sacaton, intermediate in exotics, and lowest in native upland grasslands. The three habitats did not differ in young fledged per capita. Vegetation cover on Botteri's Sparrow home ranges did not differ from the surrounding available habitat, but locations of flightless recently fledged young included taller and more dense vegetation than either nest sites or random locations, especially in sparsely vegetated native grasslands. These results suggest that fledglings required substantial cover to avoid predation while they completed development. Far from being an ecological trap, the exotic lovegrasses apparently are providing essential cover for the Botteri's Sparrow in Arizona, perhaps allowing it to regain an abundance similar to what existed regionally prior to overgrazing of the late 19th Century.


This project is concerned with an investigation of simple communication between ANN-controlled mobile robots. Two robots are trained on a (seemingly) simple navigation task: to stay close to each other while avoiding collisions with each other and other obstacles. A simple communication scheme is used: each of the robots receives some of the other robots' outputs as inputs for an algorithm which produces extra inputs for the ANNs controlling the robots. In the experiments documented here the desired cooperation was achieved. The different problems are analysed with experiments, and it is concluded that it is not easy to gain cooperation between autonomous mobile robots by using only output from one robot as input for the other in ANNs.


The suspended bio-carrier is an important environment material for the biological contact oxidation of sewage treatment technology. And it is produced by mould manufacture and plastic production. In order to reduce the resource consumption and environment pollution, the green manufacturing technology is introduced; it is certified that the technology is beneficial to produce the bio-carriers. In the two stages of producing, the synthesis use of resource and the environment protection are acted as the objectives; then the multiple objective optimization models are put forward based on material selection, mould machine, and plastic injection process. The variables and constrains in those models are analyzed in detail. For models of multiple objectives, the genetic algorithm is used, and is improved by adaptively adjusting the crossover probability Pc and mutation probability Pm, and assisting gradient descending method.


was careful to point out that an allergic reaction to the infused blood or plasma could not be excluded. Formal patch-testing conducted on the patient in question failed to evoke a response to nickel, dichromate, or cobalt. The results of patch-testing to gold leaf and gold chloride (100 aqueous solution) were also negative. The lack of response to the application of gold leaf or ring scrapings was also noted by Comaish,2 and in a review of the literature of contact hypersensitivity to metallic gold Young3 found that patch-testing was often positive only to gold salts rather than metallic gold and often positive with one salt and not another. I regarded the administration of sodium aurothiomalate as a form of exposure to gold salt in a woman one might have regarded as being allergic to gold jewellery.


Abstract Ni-bearing magnesium phyllosilicates (garnierites) are significant Ni ores in Ni-laterites worldwide. The present paper reports a detailed TEM investigation of garnierites from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic). Different types of garnierites have been recognized, usually consisting of mixtures between serpentine and talc-like phases that display a wide range of textures at the nano-meter scale. In particular, chrysotile tubes, polygonal serpentine, and lizardite lamellae are intergrown with less crystalline, talc-like lamellae. Samples consisting uniquely of talc-like and of sepiolitefalcondoite were also observed, occurring as distinctive thin lamellae and long ribbon-shaped fibers, respectively. HRTEM imaging indicates that serpentine is replaced by the talc-like phase, whereas TEM-AEM data show preferential concentration of Ni in the talc-like phase. We suggest, therefore, that the crystallization of Ni-bearing phyllosilicates is associated with an increase in the silica activity of the system, promoting the replacement of the Ni-poor serpentine by the Ni-enriched talc-like phase. These results have interesting implications in material science, as garnierites are natural analogs of Ni-bearing phyllosilicate-supported synthetic catalysts. Finally, SAED and HRTEM suggest that the Ni-bearing talc-like phase corresponds to a variety of talc with extra water, showing larger d001 than talc (i.e., 9.2–9.7 Å), described as "kerolite"-"pimelite" in clay mineral literature.


The location of verbally reported feelings in a three-dimensional affective space is determined by the results of appraisal processes that elicit the respective states. One group of participants rated their evaluation of 59 pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) on a profile of nine appraisal criteria. Another group rated their affective reactions to the same pictures on the classic dimensions of affective meaning (valence, arousal, potency). The ratings on the affect dimensions correlate differentially with specific appraisal ratings. These results can be interpreted as showing that the reactions to the IAPS pictures are predictably produced through appraisal of picture content. The relevance of the findings for emotion induction paradigms and for emotion theory in general is discussed.


This work investigated the effect of Tungsten Carbide as reinforcement with 1, 2 and 3 wt.% on some properties of matrix Al-12Si alloy. Al-12Si/WC composites were fabricated by stir casting method. Micro hardness and roughness have been tested to investigate the role of WC reinforcing. Corrosion behavior of these composites also investigated in 0.2M HCl solution using the potentiostat instrument. The results show a good incorporation between the matrix and WC particles with probability to form Al 12 W and Al 4 C 3 phase in addition to eutectic structure of Al-12Si alloy. The micro hardness was increased with increasing the weight percent of WC, while the roughness was decreased due to the better interfacial bonding. Corrosion protection properties of composites were better than that of base alloy due to the behavior of WC as a cathodic site which reduces the dissolution of metals from the metallic surface.


To study the molecular structure and function of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) from plants the protein was isolated from pea seeds and partially characterised. The active enzyme which occurs in the form of higher oligomers consists of two different subunits appearing in SDS/PAGE and mass spectroscopy experiments. For further experiments, like X-ray crystallography, it was necessary to elucidate the protein sequence. Partial cDNA clones encoding pyruvate decarboxylase from seeds of Pisum sativum cv. Miko have been obtained by means of polymerase chain reaction techniques. The first sequences were found using degenerate oligonucleotide primers designated according to conserved amino acid sequences of known pyruvate decarboxylases. The missing parts of one cDNA were amplified applying the 3'- and 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends systems. The amino acid sequence deduced from the entire cDNA sequence displays strong similarity to pyruvate decarboxylases from other organisms, especially from plants. A molecular mass of 64 kDa was calculated for this protein correlating with estimations for the smaller subunit of the oligomeric enzyme. The PCR experiments led to at least three different clones representing the middle part of the PDC cDNA indicating the existence of three isozymes. Two of these isoforms could be confirmed on the protein level by sequencing tryptic peptides. Only anaerobically treated roots showed a positive signal for PDC mRNA in Northern analysis although the cDNA from imbibed seeds was successfully used for PCR.


This paper outlines the most recent developments regarding the electric field distribution analysis inside very high voltage substations. The study was performed in order to develop and validate a powerful computation tool able to determine and predict the substation zones where the occupational exposure limits exceeds the admissible values imposed by the legislation. The study cases proposed in the paper are taken from the Romanian national power grid but the conclusions and the mitigation ideas outlined can be directly extended to substations belonging to other national power grids. In the first part of the paper the principles and methods proposed by the authors for the electric field computation in the vicinity of the power devices composing a high voltage substation are outlined. The validation of the computation module implemented was done by comparisons with detailed experimental measurements results performed inside a new rehabilitated 400 kV substation. The evaluation of the results outlines a good agreement between the computed and measured electric field values inside the analyzed substation. This fact motivates the usage of the computation module developed in the design of the future high voltage substations in the light of fulfilling the actual regulations regarding the human exposure to power electric and magnetic fields. In the second part of the paper scenarios to reduce the field values inside the future designed or rehabilitated substations are proposed and examined. The field distributions together with comparison between the field values before and after the implementation of the field mitigation techniques proposed are presented and discussed. The final conclusions ends the paper.


In this paper, introduced below are the concepts of digital modulation used in many communication systems today. Techniques described include quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and how these techniques can be used to increase the capacity and speed of a wireless network. These modulation techniques are the basis of communications for systems like cable modems, DSL modems, CDMA, 3G, Wi-Fi* (IEEE 802.11) and WiMAX* (IEEE 802.16).


ABSTRACT In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase epsilon (Pol ɛ) is encoded bycdc20+ and is essential for chromosomal DNA replication. Here we demonstrate that the N-terminal half of Pol ɛ that includes the highly conserved polymerase and exonuclease domains is dispensable for cell viability, similar to observations made with regard to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, unlike budding yeast, we find that fission yeast cells lacking the N terminus of Pol ɛ (cdc20 Δ N-term ) are hypersensitive to DNA-damaging agents and have a cell cycle delay. Moreover, the viability ofcdc20 Δ N-term cells is dependent on expression ofrad3 +, hus1 +, andchk1 +, three genes essential for the DNA damage checkpoint control. These data suggest that in the absence of the N terminus of Pol ɛ, cells accumulate DNA damage that must be repaired prior to mitosis. Our observation that S phase occurs more slowly forcdc20 Δ N-term cells suggests that DNA damage might result from defects in DNA synthesis. We hypothesize that the C-terminal half of Pol ɛ is required for assembly of the replicative complex at the onset of S phase. This unique and essential function of the C terminus is preserved in the absence of the N-terminal catalytic domains, suggesting that the C terminus can interact with and recruit other DNA polymerases to the site of initiation.


This book provides both a comprehensive cross-reference to modern Afro-American short stories published from 1950-1982 and an analysis and commentary on modern short fiction. Over 850 stories written by approximately 300 authors are indexed. It also provides an extensive guide to many of the stories published in anthologies, collections, and periodicals during this period. Part I, the Chronology, lists the stories by year of publication and alphabetically by title within each year. An index code, which cross-references the Chronology to the author and title indexes, precedes each story. The author, the point of view, a description, and all of the known sources for the story are given. Part II lists, in standard bibliographical format, the anthologies and collections in which the stories appear and lists each story in the anthologies/collections. Part III consists of approximately 100 analyses/commentaries/critiques of selected stories in accordance with traditional literary genres: comedy, epic, tragedy, tragi-comedy, and unresolved struggle, as well as generally accepted types of Afro-American literature: celebrative-commemorative, militant, protest, personal experience, and universal concerns. Title and author indexes complete the book.


Introduction: Ulcerative colitis is a multifactorial, chronic inflammatory disease of the bowel
that can cause physical, social and emotional injury to the patient. While perhaps not always
making the initial diagnosis or providing primary treatment, the primary care physician can
play a critical role in providing direction and clarity to the overall treatment plan for the patient.
In addition, monitoring for complications or side effects of treatment will help maintain the
patient's optimal health.
Methods: A literature search using PubMed, NCBI and WorldCat.org was done using the terms
ulcerative colitis treatment, psychosocial association of ulcerative colitis, surgical management
of ulcerative colitis, epidemiology of ulcerative colitis, the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis,
probiotics in ulcerative colitis, OMT for ulcerative colitis, and diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. A
primary date range of 2015-2019 was used with a secondary search extending back to 1985.
Discussion: An Osteopathic approach to the treatment of ulcerative colitis will help the
patient remain highly functioning and reduce complications of this disease. By being aware
of the various pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment options available, one can
collaborate with the patient to create a treatment plan to minimize morbidity and increase
functional days.


A B S T R A C T The green corridors are part of the European Union rural landscapes, but the regional increase in size of agricultural parcels had a significant effect on European land use in the 20 th century. This effect radically reduced the coverage of natural forest. One ecological problem with the remaining forests is the partial missing of the network connecting the parts with ecological green corridors. Another economical problem is the verifiability for the payment system of agroforestry. Remote sensing methods are currently used to supervise monitoring the arable lands, plantations, natural reserve areas, as well as to help for the European Union payment system. Nowadays the airborne hyperspectral (HS) and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging; ALS) remote sensing technologies are becoming of more widespread use. They can be applied especially in spatial decision support system (SDSS), used in decisions about for nature, environment, forests, agriculture protection, conservation and monitoring, as well as for monitoring of biomass production. Our site selection model was the first step towards planning an agroforestry plantation which uses these integrated technologies to connect the parts with green corridors.


Breast conserving surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and
eventually by systemic treatment represent the current trend in
therapy of the early-stage breast carcinoma. Local control and
the final cosmetic effect are important factors in breast
conserving therapeutic approaches. We evaluated 215 patients
who underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS) followed by
adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in our institute between October
1996 and February 2004. External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) was
performed using a Cobalt-60 or linear accelerator (LINAC), the
boost was administered via high dose rate interstitial
brachytherapy (HDR BRT) employing the Gammamed afterloading
system. Patient Survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier
method (disease-free survival-DFS, overall survival-OS). Late
radiotherapy effects were evaluated using the LENT scales. The
cosmetic effect (CE) was rated on a 4-grade scale by the
patient and a committee; the Breast Retraction Assessment (BRA)
was used to objectively assess the extent of the breast
deformation and areolar deviation. The median follow-up in our
group of patients was 70 months (from 20 to 136 months). Local
control of the disease after 5 years was achieved in 98.5% of
the patients, DFS was 88.7%, the distant disease-free survival
(DDFS) was 89.9% and the overall 5-year survival was 91.8%.
Medium vs. heavy fibrosis were recorded in 31.2% vs. 4.2% of
the patients, medium vs. heavy teleangiectasia in 11.2% vs.
14.0% of the patients, and medium vs. heavy pigmentations in
6.5% vs. 3.3% of the patients, respectively. In all other cases
none or minimal late radiotherapy effects occurred. The total
CE was significantly by the type and orientation influenced by
the extent of the surgery (smaller deformations following
tumorectomy < 65 CM3) of the surgical incision (better results
with discontinuous scars then with radial continuous scars), by
the depth of the applied HDR BRT needles, by the rate of
intermediate and severe postradiation late effects, plus by the
value of the objective BRA parameters. Our data show that the
HDR interstitial brachytherapy boost offers both excellent
local control and favorable cosmetic effect to the patient, as
long as the indications are followed closely. This therapeutic
approach is suitable for treatment of tumors localized deeper
than 2.8 crn under the Surface and in patients with voluminous
breasts.


Many of the books and articles that discuss and provide instructions for writing a literature review are geared to doctoral students (Randolph, 2009), professors, researchers, and medical researchers. Few discuss the issues pertaining to Master's Degree students pursuing an applied master's degree. This overview is written specifically for those completing a capstone for the Master's Degree in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. Graduate students often experience a great deal of trepidation and anxiety when facing the task of writing a literature review for their Master's Degree capstone. This is unfortunate, as reading the literature and writing a literature review can be an informative, interesting and thought-provoking endeavor. Graduate students have the opportunity to learn about an issue of importance to them, to gain a thorough understanding of the research that has been conducted about their capstone focus, and learn what gaps exist in the literature in their area of focus.


Semileptonic $B$ decays involving a $\tau$ lepton can be mediated by a charged Higgs boson in New Physics scenarios including an extended Higgs sector, turning these decays into sensitive probes for physics beyond the Standard Model. Indeed, current measurements of the decays $B\to D^{(*)}\tau\nu$ show an excess of the observed branching fractions with respect to the Standard Model expectations. In this article we review two recent experimental studies of semitauonic $B$ decays based on the full data sample of the Belle experiment, a measurement of $B\to D^*\tau\nu$ using the semileptonic tagging method and a search for the decay $B\to\pi\tau\nu$.


ABSTRACT:-The lead-acid batteries provide the best value for power and energy per kilowatt-hour; have the longest life cycle and a large environmental advantage in that they are recycled at an extraordinarily high rate. No other chemistry can touch the infrastructure that exists for collecting, transporting and recycling lead-acid batteries.The rechargeable and secondary batteries category includes lead acid batteries. Despite the battery's low energy-to-volume and energy-to- weight ratios, it can deliver higher surge currents. This refers to the fact that lead acid cells have a high power-to-weight ratio. These are the batteries that transform chemical energy into electrical energy by using lead peroxide and sponge lead. Because of the elevated cell voltage levels and low cost, these are commonly used in substations and power systems. Lead Acid batteries are widely used in automobiles, inverters, backup power systems etc. Unlike tubular and maintenance free batteries, Lead Acid batteries require proper care and maintenance to prolong its life. The Lead Acid battery consists of a series of plates kept immersed in sulphuric acid solution. The plates have grids on which the active material is attached. The plates are divided into positive and negative plates. The positive plates hold pure lead as the active material while lead oxide is attached on the negative plates. A completely charged battery can discharge its current when connected to a load. During the process of discharge, the sulphuric acid combines with the active materials on the positive and negative plates resulting in the formation of Lead sulphate. Water is the single most important step in maintaining a Lead Acid battery. The frequency of water depends on usage, charge method and operating temperature. During process, the hydrogen atoms from the sulphuric acid react with oxygen to form water.This results in the release of electrons from the positive plates which will be accepted by the negative plates. This leads to the formation of an electric potential across the battery. The electrolyte in the Lead Acid battery is a mixture of Sulphuric acid and water which has a specific gravity. Specific gravity is the weight of the acid-water mixture compared to equal volume of water. The specific gravity of pure ions free water is 1.


The National Collection of Arachnida (NCA) was established in 1976 at the Agricultural Research Council – Plant Health & Protection (ARC-PHP) in Pretoria, South Africa. This collection forms part of South Africa's National Assets, which the ARC manages and maintains on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The specimen holdings of the NCA contain a wealth of associated taxonomic, biological and geographical information. Currently the collection is managed by a dedicated collection manager responsible for the day-to-day running of the collection assisted by one research assistant. It is utilized for various research activities and knowledge generation in the fields of agriculture and natural resource management. The specimens are preserved using 75% alcohol and held in a double vial method in order to maximize protection of the specimens against evaporation and breakage. Hand-written catalogue books are still used to record and allocate a unique NCA – AcAT number for each specimen. This number links to all primary data recorded for the specimen. Furthermore, the data associated with the specimens are digitized according to Darwin-Core guidelines in an Structured Query Language (SQL) relational database. The database was developed by the ARC-Information Technology services. The entire NCA presently houses approximately 77,780 catalogue entries representing more than 233,300 specimens from six Arachnida orders. The NCA is made up mainly of reference specimens, but also has a type specimen collection of newly described species. ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ © Marais P et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The type collection currently contains 1,018 type specimens representing 321 species in 136 genera and 42 families. Of these, 207 specimens are holotypes. The type collection is housed separately from the reference collection and was recently moved to a newly acquired fireproof cabinet. Further planned activities include taking photos of all type specimens using a Zeiss V.16 Zoom microscope so that all type holdings are fully digitized. This will allow the implementation of an electronic loans system. Updating of the types list in the collection will facilitate availability for the wider community. The NCA provides support for key services such as the identification of arachnid predators that have an impact on agricultural production and bio-security as well as a specimen identification and advisory service to government, farmers, industry, researchers, students and the public. These services are essential for research projects on biosystematics and relevant related fields such as conservation, decision-making, agriculture and natural resource management.


Background: Few studies have evaluated whether adherence to dietary recommendations is associated with mortality among cancer survivors. In breast cancer survivors, we examined how postdiagnosis Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2005 scores were associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Methods: Our prospective cohort study included 2,317 postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 79 years, in the Women's Health Initiative's Dietary Modification Trial (n = 1,205) and Observational Study (n = 1,112), who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and completed a food frequency questionnaire after being diagnosed. We followed women from this assessment forward. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate multivariate-adjusted HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for death from any cause, breast cancer, and causes other than breast cancer, according to HEI-2005 quintiles. Results: Over 9.6 years, 415 deaths occurred. After adjustment for key covariates, women consuming better quality diets had a 26% lower risk of death from any cause (HRQ4:Q1, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55–0.99; Ptrend = 0.043) and a 42% lower risk of death from non–breast cancer causes (HRQ4:Q1, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38–0.87; Ptrend = 0.011). HEI-2005 score was not associated with breast cancer death (HRQ4:Q1, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.60–1.40; Ptrend = 0.627). In analyses stratified by tumor estrogen receptor (ER) status, better diet quality was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality among women with ER+ tumors (n = 1,758; HRQ4:Q1, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.38–0.79; Ptrend = 0.0009). Conclusion: Better postdiagnosis diet quality was associated with reduced risk of death, particularly from non–breast cancer causes. Impact: Breast cancer survivors may experience improved survival by adhering to U.S. dietary guidelines. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(4); 575–83. ©2014 AACR.


Software start-ups are aiming to develop cutting-edge software products under highly uncertain conditions, overcoming fast-growing markets under multiple influences. This study aims to identify and analyse the existing scientific literature regarding software development methodologies and practices in software start-ups published between January 2006 and December 2017 using the systematic mapping study. The results identified 37 relevant primary studies out of 1982 papers. To validate the results from the mapping study, an empirical study was based on the research data collected from 14 real-life software start-ups located in Finland, Italy and Norway. The result shows that Agile and Lean start-up methodologies are the most commonly used in software start-ups due to the flexible nature and easy tailoring. A total of 144 software development work practices are extracted from the primary studies. This study contributes to the research in several ways: (i) provides state of the art regarding software development methods and practices in software start-up contexts, (ii) reports commonly used methods along with its benefits identified in primary studies and (iii) identifies opportunities for future software start-up research.


HST has opened the possibility to decompose the surface brightness profiles of galaxies up to significant redshifts and look-back times into r 1/4 −bulge and exponential disk components. This should allow to study the redshift evolution of bulge and disk luminosity contributions and discriminate between the different formation scenarios for these galaxy compo- nents currently discussed, i.e. decide if star formation in bulges and disks started at the same time or was delayed in either of the two components. An indispensable prerequisite for the comparison of bulge-to-disk ratios of galaxies at different redshifts is to properly account for cosmological band shift and evolutionary effects. We present evolutionary synthesis models for both components and add their spectra in various proportions to obtain the full range of local galaxies' B-band bulge-to-total light ratios. Bulge star formation is assumed to occur on a short timescale of 10 9 yr, disk star formation proceeds at a constant rate. We study the evolution of the relative light contributions of both compo- nents backward in time and, for a given cosmological model, as a function of redshift. This allows us to see how far back into the past the locally well-established correlation between galaxy morphologies and spectral properties can hold. To cope with the present uncertainty about the formation epochs of bulge and disk components we present models for three scenarios: bulges and disks of equal age, old bulges and delayed disk star formation, and old disks with subsequent bulge star formation. We quantitatively show the wavelength dependence of bulge-to-total (=B/T) light ratios for local galaxies. The different star formation timescales for bulge and disk components lead to B/T ratios that significantly increase from U through I-bands (by factors 4-6 for weak bulge systems ∼Sc) with the rate of increase slightly depending on the relative ages of the two components. The redshift evolution of B/T-ratios in various bands U, B, V, I, H is calculated accounting both for cosmological and evolu- tionary corrections assuming a standard cosmology (H0 = 65, Ω0 = 0.1, Λ0 = 0). In particular, for the two scenarios with old bulges and old or younger disks, the redshift evolution of B/T-ratios is dramatic in every band and both for galaxies ending up at z ∼ 0 with low and high B-band B/T light ratios. Our results clearly show that it does not make any sense to compare B/T ratios measured in one and the same band for galaxies at different redshifts without fully accounting for evolutionary and cosmological effects. These, unfortunately, significantly depend on the relative ages of the two components and, hence, on the galaxy formation scenario adopted. We also show that simultaneous decomposition of galaxy profiles in several bands can give direct information about these relative ages and constrain formation scenarios for the different galaxy components. Of the wavelength bands we explore (U, B, V, I, H), the I -a ndH-bands show the smoothest redshift evolution and, hence, are best suited for a first order comparison of galaxies over the redshift range from z = 0t oz > 1. Our robust result that - irrespec- tive of the respective ages of the bulge and disk stellar components - I-band B/T-ratios apparently increase with increasing redshift for all galaxy types with present B/T > 0.1 implies that the scarcity of bulge-strong systems at z ≥ 0.8 reported by Marleau & Simard (1998) and Aguerri & Trujillo (2002) for HDF and Hawaiian Deep Field galaxies is further enhanced.


Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder (FBD). Objectives To assess the therapeutic effects of paeoniflorin (PF) on IBS in rats. Method Sixty male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal, model, positive drug, low-dose PF, medium-dose PF and high-dose PF groups (n = 10). After gavage for 2 consecutive weeks, the effect of PF on abdominal pain symptoms was assessed based on the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) score, fecal water content and pathological changes in colon tissues. D-lactate, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa B (p-NF-κB) p65 was detected by Western blotting. The abundance and diversity changes of intestinal flora were explored using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Result In PF groups, the mucosal morphology of colon tissues was intact, and the glands were arranged neatly and structured clearly, without obvious inflammatory cell infiltration. Compared with the model group, PF groups had significantly elevated pain threshold, and mRNA and protein levels of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin, decreased AWR score at 20 mmHg pressure, fecal water content, mRNA levels of IL-1β, TGF-β, and TNF-α, protein level of p-NF-κB p65 and level of serum D-lactate, and reduced levels of serum IL-1β, TGF-β, and TNF-α (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). PF groups had higher abundance of Lactobacillus, Akkermansia, Alistipes, and Bacteroides, but lower abundance of Desulfovibrio, Parasutterella, and Enterococcus than those of the model group. Conclusions PF exerts therapeutic effects on IBS in rats probably by regulating the intestinal flora, and then up-regulating the expressions of ZO-1 and occludin in colon tissue while down-regulating the levels of IL-1β, TGF-β, TNF-α, D-lactate and p-NF-κB p65.


There is an urgent need to extract key information automatically from video for the purposes of indexing, fast retrieval and scene analysis. To support this vision, reliable scene change detection algorithms must be developed. This paper describes a novel unified algorithm for scene change detection in uncompressed and MPEG-2 compressed video sequences using statistical features of images. Results on video of various content types are reported and validated with the proposed scheme in uncompressed and MPEG-2 compressed video. Furthermore, results show that the accuracy of the detected transitions is above 95% and 90% for uncompressed and MPEG-2 compressed video respectively.


In the laboratory, ovulation is suppressed when a mammal is in negative energy balance whether that state is caused by inadequate food intake, excessive locomotor activity or heavy thermoregulatory costs. In this paper, knowledge generated in the laboratory about the link between ovulation and energy balance is examined in relation to the kinds of energetic challenges mammals actually face in natural habitats. When viewed in that context, several conclusions can be drawn. First, females ovulate whenever extant energetic conditions permit unless the process is blocked by non-metabolic stress, social cues or a predictive seasonal cue such as photoperiod. In the latter case, most mammals show at least a seasonal tendency in their reproduction and the majority do not use a predictive cue; they reproduce opportunistically in relation to seasonal variation in the energetic characteristics of their environment. Second, the widely held assumption that a female's fat reserves must exceed a critical level in order that she may ovulate finds no support in the literature dealing with natural populations. Third, the surprisingly rapid responsiveness of the gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator to energetic manipulation probably reflects the study of animals that are in a pure survival mode. Fourth, the complexity of the energetic challenges mammals face in the wild suggests that there are probably multiple metabolic and neural pathways coupling ovulation to energy balance and that these pathways are probably characterized by considerable overlap and redundancy. Thus, fifth, to develop a more realistic overview of these pathways there is a need for experimental designs that present mammals with the kinds of complex challenges they actually face in the wild habitats in which they evolved.


In 1982, Japan launched its Fifth Generation Computer Systems project (FGCS), designed to develop intelligent software that would run on novel computer hardware. As the first national, large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) project to be free from military influence and corporate profit motives, the FGCS was open, international, and oriented around public goods. Although the FGCS did not plan any commercialized technologies, many American computer experts portrayed it as an economic threat to U.S. dominance in computing and the global economy—and policymakers around the developed world believed them and funded AI projects of their own. Later, however, the FGCS was remembered as a failure. Why? This article recasts the FGCS as an interstice in the shift from a state-funded regime of American science organization to the neoliberal privatized regime of R&D now ascendant around the world. By exploring how notions of economic competitiveness and national security shaped R&D, this article reveals AI to be a product of contingent choices by multiple actors—nation-states, government bureaucracies, corporations, and individuals—rather than the outcome of deterministic technological forces.


In 2007, the first prototype of the Fixteri bundle harvester capable of incorporating whole-tree compaction into the cutting phase was launched by Biotukki Oy. The bundles are hauled by a standard forwarder to the roadside storage, from where pulpwood bundles are transported by a standard timber truck to the end-use facility. At the puplmill, bundle batches are fed into a wood flow consisting of conventional delimbed pulpwood. Separation of the pulp and energy fractions does not take place until the wood reaches the debarking drum. Energy wood bundles are crushed and used for energy generation. In the pre-feasibility study carried out by Metsäteho Oy and the Finnish Forest Research Institute, the required performance level of bundle harvesting (i.e. cutting and bundling) of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated stands was determined by comparing the total supply chain costs with most common pulpwood and energy wood supply chains. The system analysis showed that whole-tree bundling enables the reduction of procurement costs below the current cost level of separate pulpwood and energy wood procurement in early thinnings. The greatest cost-saving potential lies in small-diameter (d1.3 = 7–10 cm) first-thinning stands.


An expression for the noise power spectrum of images reconstructed by the discrete filtered backprojection algorithm has been derived. The formulation explicitly includes sampling within the projections, angular sampling, and the two-dimensional sampling implicit in the discrete representation of the image. The effects of interpolation are also considered. Noise power spectra predicted by this analysis differ from those predicted using continuous theory in two respects: they are rotationally asymmetric, and they do not approach zero at zero frequency. Both of these properties can be attributed to two-dimensional aliasing due to pixel sampling. The predictions were confirmed by measurement of noise power spectra of both simulated images and images from a commercial X-ray transmission CT scanner.


This study investigated the effect of real-life problem solving training upon high-school students' real-life problem solving ability, the level of their self concept, and their perception of the locus of control of their behavior. Also examined were sex and race differences, the relationship of real-life problem-solving ability with IQ, grade point average, and age, the effect of training upon school-related student behaviors, and students' evaluation of the training. One hundred twenty-one high school students (65 females, 56 males, 94 whites, 27 blacks) enrolled in four classes participated in the study. Based on the Separate-Sample Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design (Campbell & Stanley, 1963), the four classes were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. Within each class students were randomly assigned to pretest and posttest sub-groups. Students were tested one time in either the pretest or posttest sub-group. The Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Tests (1954), Tennessee Self Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965), A Locus of Control Scale for Children (Nowicki & Strickland, in press), The Problem Solving Competence Measure, and teacher and student questionnaires were used to collect data. Classes in the treatment group received two 50 minute training periods for ten consecutive school days on each of the five problem-solving stages: (a) general orientation, (b) problem definition, (c) generating alternative solutions, (d) decision making, and (e) solution testing.


The focusing property of immersed plasmonic nanolenses was theoretically studied by a rigorous electromagnetic numerical analysis method. The immersed plasmonic nanolens consists of a through central hole surrounded by a set of concentric slits with a period of plasmonic wavelength. The computational results show that the focusing property of immersed plasmonic nanolenses is, in general, similar to that of traditional immersion lenses. Normally, for the given incident wavelength, the higher the refractive index of the immersed medium, the smaller the focusing spot. For different wavelengths, the focusing property of immersed plasmonic nanolenses shows the similar focusing property, in comparison with traditional lenses, as well. A focal length of around half of the incident wavelength and the smallest focusing spot of less than a quarter of the incident wavelength have been achieved. The physical explanation of the different focusing behavior of immersed nanolenses is also given. The reported immersed plasmonic nanolens with a quasi-far-field focal length, as well as a superfocusing spot, can find applications in areas including nanolithography, data storage, super-resolution imaging, and so on.


Total Routhian Surface (TRS) calculations have been performed for even-even nuclei along proton drip line to study nuclear ground-state deformations, as well as the odd proton nuclei Ho and Tm isotopes. The drip line nuclei show the expected shape transition with the shell e?ects. Ground-state shape changes from prolate to oblate at 143Ho and 145Tm in these two isotopes, which is due to the γ instability around N =76.


This report characterizes the effects of excess hyaluronan (HA) upon the expansion of the cumulus oocyte complex (COC) within intact follicles and upon ovulation and oocyte viability in mice. Covalent linkage between heavy chains of the inter-alpha-inhibitor (IalphaI) family of serum glycoproteins and HA is necessary for optimal cumulus extracellular matrix (cECM) stabilization and cumulus expansion. Intravenous administration of HA oligosaccharides inhibited the binding of IalphaI to endogenous HA, disrupting the process of expansion and resulting in a reduction in the size of the cumulus mass. Western blot and immunocytochemical analyses of COCs from HA-treated animals demonstrated a reduction of IalphaI heavy chains within the cECM. Additionally, HA-treated immature animals ovulated 56.3% fewer COCs compared to control animals. The developmental potential of COCs in HA-treated animals was also tested. Extended periods of oviductal storage of COCs ovulated by HA-injected adult mice resulted in a reduction of normal embryos and a significant increase in the proportion of fragmented oocytes/embryos. These observations support the view that covalent binding of IalphaI heavy chains to HA is required for optimal cumulus expansion, extrusion of the COCs from the follicle at ovulation, and maintenance of oocyte viability within the oviduct.


Prevention by minimizing exposure to carcinogens is considered at length. The greatest gain could be achieved by eliminating tobacco smoking, but this seems not feasible at present. Industrial exposure is also considered at length, as is the importance of dietary factors. Both the summary chapters and the proposals for new approaches by the individual authors provide useful perspective, but no really exciting new insights. The book is useful as a source of data and a stimulus to thinking about problems, but in every aspect the work appears only just to have begun. PHILIP K BONDY


For the purpose of increasing applicability of combustion chamber simulation, computational domain, boundary condition, simplicity of complicated structures, mesh generation and physical parameters are investigated in this paper. An annular combustion chamber of some aero-engine is studied by means of predictive numerical simulation. The computational domain includes diffuser, swirler, inner flame tube, inner ring of combustion chamber and the flow channel of all the holes on the wall of flame tube. The film cooling holes row was simplified into a slit filled with porous media. Realizable k-turbulent model and non-premixed combustion model were adopted. Model of pressure atomization nozzle were calibrated and validated through inner nozzle flow property two-phase flow VOF model and experimental data. Physical parameters are express through polynomial functions. A commercial CFD code was adopted on a high performance computing cluster with parallel algorithm and the solving method are high-order discretization scheme. The velocity, pressure, temperature, fuel spray, density of fuel and productions, etc. are calculated and validated with the experimental data.


MR imaging was performed on 21 patients who had high-grade myelographic block due to various diseases in all spinal compartments (extradural, intradural/extramedullary, and intramedullary) and in all portions of the spinal canal (cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral). Loss of CSF pulsation artifacts due to significant compression of the spinal cord was demonstrated on non-motion-compensated T2-weighted examinations in each case. We believe that the absence of such artifacts on these sequences indicates significant spinal cord compression in patients without classic signs and symptoms of cord compression but with intraspinal disease identified on T1-weighted studies.


The mechanical characteristics and common forms of beam-arch combination system bridge and its new development are introduced. With the rapid development of economy, more and more steel structures are applied to bridge engineering. The usage of steel structure makes the pursuit of aesthetic possible besides the requirements of safety, economy and practicality. Furthermore, the aesthetic design is playing an important role in bridge design, especially in the design of an urban bridge. Aesthetic of a bridge is part of the aesthetic of environment, but which far surpasses the limited rang of environment where it is constructed. The beam-arch combination system bridge has achieved considerable development because of the requirement of aesthetic, which makes it widely used in highway bridge and urban bridge. Especially in urban bridge engineering, a new combination of beam-arch, beam and arch combining in transverse direction of bridge, has been invented and more and more used besides the conventional combination form of beam and arch combining in longitudinal direction of bridge, which is more beautiful but also more complicated for design and construction.


Author(s): Page, R. J. C.; Bennett, D. H. | Abstract: Feral cat (Felis catus) control is required for reasons of public health, the welfare of cats themselves, and rabies control should an outbreak occur in Britain. A prerequisite to the control of feral cat colonies would be establishing their location. A method for locating colonies was developed and tested in four urban areas with a mean area of 157 sq km. Each area was surveyed on foot and by car to obtain the number and distribution of feral cat colonies. The method involved making inquiries at premises most likely to be frequented by cats ("high risk areas"). Most (94%) of the 116 feral cat colonies found (comprising approximately 874 cats) were found at the nine high risk categories. Few feral cat colonies occurred elsewhere, confirming that high risk categories were useful in locating feral cats. Information concerning the efficacy of cage trapping as a method of feral cat control was also investigated. A wide variety of baits were used in the traps including proprietary dry pelleted cat food, which was considered to be the most effective and was used in all the subsequent trap trials. In a series of 12 field trials, using live capture cage traps, between 82% to 100% of feral cats in the colonies were captured. Altogether 202 cats were captured at a rate of 21 cats per 100 trap nights.


The Games-and-Play community has thrived at ACM SIGCHI with a consistent increase in games- and play-related submissions across research papers, workshops, posters, demos, and competitions. The community has attracted a significant number of academic researchers, students, and practitioners to CHI conferences in recent years. CHI 2018 is being held in Montréal, a major game development hub. Montréal is not only a home for major game studios but also more than 100 smaller game studios. In line with the "Engage With CHI" spirit of CHI 2018, this SIG aims to engage the Games and Play community in a discussion about the directions that we can take to advance towards demographics that will benefit from HCI games research but are currently underrepresented: small, independent developers, non-profit organizations, and academics that create mobile games, games for health, games for change, and/or educational games.