Passivhaus is a building methodology established in the 1990s in the sustainable construction industry. As a new building typology, Passivhaus features new and integrated mechanical heating and ventilation technology and building materials, thus requires a new set of knowledge and operation skills to deliver intended energy outcomes, the knowledge and familiarity occupants possess to control their Passivhaus is therefore an important factor in determining their energy behaviours. This research explores the 'perceived knowledge' of occupants in controlling their home environment and its relationship with their energy behaviour and energy use. Different from actual knowledge, 'perceived knowledge' measures the confidence, patience, willingness and accuracy of occupants in understanding and operating their home environmental equipment. The understanding of this process is important in understanding the deviation of occupant energy behaviour which occurs in a Passivhaus when compared with in generic buildings. This article demonstrates results from a preliminary pilot study on a private Passivhaus project and a case study on a social Passivhaus project in Scotland, uses a combined method of quantitative and qualitative approach to explore the relationship between 'perceived knowledge' and occupant energy behaviour in Passivhaus.


Pregnancy is a well established protective factor against breast cancer. One explanation for protection is the increased differentiation status of the parous epithelium. However, this does not explain the association of parity with increased aggressiveness of breast cancers, particularly cancers that occur soon after pregnancy. Because tumor aggressiveness can be influenced by the cell population that surrounds the mammary epithelium, we examined the potential role of the immune system in establishing a long-term difference between the mammary glands of primiparous and virgin animals. Specific mRNA levels, enzyme activities and antigen expressing cells were quantified in primiparous and virgin mammary glands from Sprague-Dawley rats in diestrous. Our results show that macrophages, but not neutrophils or B-cells, are specifically increased in fully involuted glands compared with age-matched virgin mammary glands. Macrophages play a dual role in tumor progression, both opposing and supporting the process. Our finding of an increased macrophage population in the primiparous mammary gland could explain the dichotomy of the reported association of parity with decreased breast cancer incidence and increased breast cancer aggressiveness.


Platelet concentrate (PC) has been used as substitute to the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture media. However, it's use as additive in cell culture media showed inconsistent results on cell proliferation, and the inconsistent results may be due to variability of platelet counts or growth factor content. Standard protocols are lacking for the preparation of PC before it is applied as additive in cell culture media. The growth factor content of PC can be released by freeze-thaw cycles, which range from one to three cycles before use for cell culture media. This study aimed to measure base-line platelet counts and growth factor levels and compare to platelet counts and growth factor levels after one, two and three freeze-thaw cycles. In this study, we obtained PC from Indonesian Red Cross. The PCs were aliquoted and stored at -20 o C and then subjected to 1 to 3 freeze-thaw cycles. The number of platelet before and after freeze-thaw cycles were measured using Sysmex XN 2000 (Pramita Lab). ELISA method was performed to measure the growth factors' (TGF-β1, PDGF, EGF, IGF-1, VEGF) levels. Anova one-way, Spearman rank and a linear regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. The average of platelet counts before and after 1 to 3 freeze-thaw cycle(s) are 582,833 ± 295,764 platelets/μL, 411,611 ± 329,078 platelets/μL, 273,417 ± 351,967 platelets/μL, and 179,167 ± 216,904 platelets/μL respectively. The platelet counts were decreased gradually and no significant difference among lysed platelet counts after 1 to 3 freeze-thaw cycle(s) (p > 0.05). Moreover, there were no correlation between platelet counts and growth factor levels (p > 0.05). In conclusion, fresh and outdated PC from Indonesian Red Cross can be stored at -20 o C followed by 1 to 3 freeze-thaw cycle(s) to release its growth factor contents to be used as FBS substitute in cell culture media.


Hyperledger Fabric is an implementation that enables permissioned blockchains, which provide a general blockchain framework with identifiable participants for a variety of business applications. Although many performance issues of Hyperledger Fabric have been alleviated to some extent, its performance is still limited - e.g. 2.2k transactions per second in our experiment that executes two reads and two writes in a transaction. A major performance bottleneck is incurred by accesses to the databases that store the latest key-value pairs in the ledger data, indexes to transactions, and the update history. In this paper, we characterize the performance of database systems used in Hyperledger Fabric to identify optimization opportunities by running a Hyperledger Fabric GoLevelDB (HLF-GLDB) benchmark. We developed HLF-GLDB as a standalone benchmark to simulate database accesses in Hyperledger Fabric. Results of the performance characterization revealed that: (1) the data compression of GoLevelDB is a major performance bottleneck in Hyperledger Fabric, and disabling the compression improved the performance by 54%; (2) the size of a database affects the performance significantly. For example, when the size increased by four times, the performance degraded by 25%; (3) To reduce the database access overhead in chaincode, it is better to combine small values so that they can be represented by a single key.


This article presents novel and easily implemented tools for characterising electrical disturbances originated by fuse operations. A methodology is described that (with the use of some descriptors) led to identifying electrical disturbances of this kind. The algorithm's decision thresholds were estimated using machine learning techniques. This work was aimedat providing new tools for assessing power quality, characterising and extracting information from voltage and current records obtained from monitoring distribution systems. MATLAB was used for validating this methodology, receiving voltage and current records of simulated events in ATP-EMTP and also real events as input.


BACKGROUND
Paroxetine has demonstrated efficacy in depression and anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This 32-week study evaluated the maintained efficacy and safety of paroxetine in GAD by assessing the potential for relapse after discontinuation of medication.

METHOD
Adults (N = 652) with DSM-IV GAD and a Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) score > or = 4 received paroxetine (20-50 mg/day) for 8 weeks. Patients whose CGI-S score had decreased by at least 2 points to < or = 3 at week 8 were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with paroxetine (N = 278) or placebo (N = 288) for a further 24 weeks. The primary efficacy parameter was the proportion of patients relapsing (an increase in CGI-S score of at least 2 points to a score < or = 4 or withdrawal resulting from lack of efficacy) during double-blind treatment.

RESULTS
Significantly fewer paroxetine than placebo patients relapsed during the 24-week double-blind phase (10.9% vs. 39.9%; p <.001). Placebo patients were almost 5 times more likely to relapse than paroxetine patients (estimated hazard ratio = 0.213 [95% CI = 0.1 to 0.3]; p <.001). Statistical significance in favor of paroxetine was demonstrated for all secondary efficacy parameters, including functional status. Twice as many paroxetine patients as placebo patients (73%) achieved remission. Paroxetine was well tolerated, with no unexpected adverse events reported.

CONCLUSION
Paroxetine was found to be effective and well tolerated for both the short- and long-term treatment of DSM-IV GAD. Continued treatment with paroxetine significantly reduced the potential for relapse of GAD symptoms.


In this Paper Dielectric Resonator Antennas (DRAs) have received lots of attention in the last two decades due to several attractive characteristics such as high radiation efficiency, light weight, and low profile. There is also increasing challenges for the design of high bandwidth and multi-bands antennas which can be achieved using MHD Antennas for high speed and reconfigurable applications in wireless communication. In this work the objective is to design and develop a cylindrical MHD antenna with circular patch and two annular rings. Magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) Antenna is a Fluid based Antenna in which the fluid resonator provides excellent coupling of RF energy into fluid. Fluid resonator volume, chemical properties, electric field and magnetic fields are the factors of resonant frequency, gain and return loss. The proposed antenna shall be tuned in the wide band of frequency range between 7.9 - 27 GHz.


Climate change and human activities have
great implications for hydrological process and water projects planning. In
order to evaluate the impacts on stream-flow, statistical methods and SWAT
model are applied to this research. The results indicate that the abrupt change
year (1965) of annual stream-flow is chosen as the split point of natural and human
influenced (particularly reservoirs) periods. The calibrated SWAT model is
proved to be applicable in this catchment and is used to simulate the monthly
runoff which can be regarded as the natural runoff induced by climate change. A
major finding of this study is that the reservoir regulations have apparently altered
the monthly and seasonal stream-flow regimes. By quantifying the impacts of
climate variation and human activities, the decreasing trend of annual
stream-flow is found, and human activities are proved to be the dominant role
in the catchment. This research improves our knowledge of hydrological
responses to natural and artificial factors, and provides a better
understanding for the future reservoir regulations.


This paper complements a much larger study of school attendance in pre-famine Ireland by FitzGerald (2010). It exploits some of the data generated by that study to analyze further some of the determinants of schooling and literacy in the 1820s and 1840s.


We consider the problem of optimal power scheduling for decentralized detection of a deterministic signal in a wireless sensor network with correlated observations. Each distributed sensor node independently performs amplify-and-forward (AF) processing of its observation. The fading coefficients of wireless links from distributed sensors to the fusion center (FC) are assumed to be available at transmitting nodes. When sensor observations are correlated it is difficult to derive a closed form solution for optimal power values to achieve a required fusion error performance. In this work, we develop an evolutionary computation technique based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to obtain the optimal power allocation under a required fusion error probability threshold constraint. It is shown that the optimal power allocation scheme turns off the nodes with poor channels and provides significant system power savings compared to that of uniform power allocation scheme especially when either the number of sensors in the system is large or the local observation quality is good.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Tooth dilacerations are dental anomalies characterized by an abrupt deviation in the longitudinal axis of a tooth. They may occur either in the crown, between the crown and root, or in the root. Although not so common, impacted maxillary incisors exhibiting root dilaceration pose a diagnostic and treatment challenge to the clinician. Description: This case report describes the management of a horizontally impacted and dilacerated maxillary central incisor in a 12-year-old girl. Cone-beam computed tomographic scans were used to accurately localize the position of the dilacerated tooth, and to assess the extent of root formation and degree of dilaceration present in the root. Treatment included surgical exposure and orthodontic traction, followed by root canal treatment and apicoectomy. Results: Through a meticulously planned interdisciplinary approach, the impacted dilacerated central incisor was properly aligned and demonstrated good stability after the long-term follow-up. Conclusion: Taking into consideration the concerns and expectations of the patient, communicative feedback between the oral surgeon, orthodontist and endodontist helped achieving successful esthetic, structural and functional outcome in the present case.


Many of the transformative processes in the Universe have taken place in regions obscured by dust, and are best studied with far-IR spectroscopy. We present the Cryogenic-Aperture Large Infrared-Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (CALISTO), a 5-meter class, space-borne telescope actively cooled to 4 K, emphasizing moderate-resolution spectroscopy in the crucial 35 to 600 micron band. CALISTO will enable NASA and the world to study the rise of heavy elements in the Universe's first billion years, chart star formation and black hole growth in dust-obscured galaxies through cosmic time, and conduct a census of forming planetary systems in our region of the Galaxy. CALISTO will capitalize on rapid progress in both format and sensitivity of far-IR detectors. Arrays with a total count of a few 100,000 detector pixels will form the heart of a suite of imaging spectrometers in which each detector reaches the photon background limit.
This document contains a large overview paper on CALISTO, as well as six 2-3 page scientific white papers, all prepared in response to NASA's Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group (COPAG's) request for input on future mission concepts.
The Far-IR Science Interest Group will meet from 3-5 June 2015 with the intention of reaching consensus on the architecture for the Far-IR Surveyor mission. This white paper describes one of the architectures to be considered by the community. One or more companion papers will describe alternative architectures.


Whilst transient dissociative states are commonplace in the face of overwhelming traumatic events, long¬ standing dissociative phenomena are also frequently reported in adults who have childhood histories of severe sexual or physical abuse. Dissociation itself may take a number of forms, including isolation, absorption, fragmentation and memory disturbance: the relative importance of environmental and personality variables in determining an individual's "style" of dissociation is unclear, although there is good evidence for a cumulative effect, such that dissociation in the face of trauma is most frequent in individuals who have also suffered childhood abuse. Bowlby's attachment theory may help to explain the relationship between social support, dissociative phenomena and traumatic events in childhood and adulthood. Attachment theory is a theory of affect regulation which proposes that individuals make use of social and cognitive strategies in their attempts to manage negative affect. These strategies are thought to be selected on the basis of an individual's childhood experiences with caregivers and are maintained through the operation of relatively stable "internal working models". Social support is widely cited as a protective factor mitigating against the development of psychopathology following exposure to trauma, but it is unclear whether social support directly protects against the effects of trauma, or whether both perceived social support and adaptation to trauma reflect underlying attachment patterns, as suggested by attachment theory. This thesis examines the relationship between attachment pattern and (i) tendency to experience particular dissociative states and (ii) use made of available social support. Two groups were recruited. These were (i) control subjects with no history of treatment for psychological problems, and (ii) out-patient psychology department attendees with a broad range of psychological problems. Measures of attachment, social support, dissociation, exposure to life events and mood were administered. The results are presented and discussed in light of current theories of attachment, social support and dissociation.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the diagnostic role of Florine-18 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in the restaging of bladder cancer with other radiological methods and to determine its effect on the treatment management of patients with bladder cancer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 83 patients who showed suspicious lesions with radiologic methods and FDG-PET/CT images were enrolled in the study. Positive lesion sites were detected and compared in all imaging modalities. Positive lesions were confirmed by biopsy or serial radiological imaging. Furthermore, the rate of change of the management and treatment modalities of patients after FDG-PET/CT were noted.

RESULTS
The most frequent metastasis was observed in lymphatic localizations in all imaging methods. Lymph node metastases was detected with FDG-PET/CT in 37/83 patients, with computed tomography in 28/80 patients, and with magnetic resonance imaging in 6/19 patients. Lymph node metastasis was detected most commonly in the pelvic region with all modalities. Following lymphatic localization in FDG-PET/CT and CT, metastases were found most frequently in the lung and bone regions. FDG-PET/CT also revealed 8 of the 12 local lesions that were detected by radiological methods and showed additional lesions in four patients that could not be demonstrated by radiological methods. FDG-PET/CT changed the treatment approaches in 34.9% (29/83) of patients. In 16 patients, it caused upstaging and commencement of advanced treatment methods. In 13 patients, malignancy was excluded in suspicious lesions and unnecessary advanced examination and treatment were avoided. FDG-PET/CT also caused three radical cystectomies, one partial cystectomy, and one urethrectomy in patients who had not undergone any operational procedure previously.

CONCLUSION
Despite physiological urinary tract uptake, FDG-PET/CT is superior to other imaging modalities not only in distant localizations but also in evaluating pelvic lesions and lymph nodes. In addition, the use of FDG-PET/CT during the restaging process contributes to the management of maximum number of patients.


People regularly interact with different representations of Web pages. A person looking for new information may initially find a Web page represented as a short snippet rendered by a search engine. When he wants to return to the same page the next day, the page may instead be represented by a link in his browser history. Previous research has explored how to best represent Web pages in support of specific task types, but, as we find in this paper, consistency in representation across tasks is also important. We explore how different representations are used in a variety of contexts and present a compact representation that supports both the identification of new, relevant Web pages and the re-finding of previously viewed pages.


A client's stage of change at the beginning of therapy seems to be an important selection criterion to consider in relation to treatment -outcome. A rational scale was developed in an earlier study to operationally define the theoretical stages of change. The present study attempted to cross-validate the scale on a new clinical sample (N = 327). The principal component, internal consistency, and cluster profile analyses demonstrated a replication of the original findings. The stages (Pre-Contemplation, Contemplation, Action, and Maintenance) were examined in relation to therapist ratings of treatment outcome.· As predicted, Pre-Contemplators showed significantly less progress than subjects in the other three stages. This study also examined the relationships among stages of change and the six DSM-III diagnostic categories most frequently assigned to subjects in the present study (i.e., depression, adjustment disorder, paranoia, mixed affective disorder, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder). Schizophrenics, paranoids, and subjects with adjustment disorders scored higher on Pre-Contemplation than subjects with other diagnoses. Depressed subjects scored higher on Contemplation, and schizophrenics scored lower on Contemplation than other subjects. Using the present sample, the Psychic Distress symptom checklist was cross-validated by partially replicating the original components. Stages of change were examined in relation to these symptom complaints. Pre-Contemplators reported significantly fewer symptoms than subjects in the other stages. The relationship between therapist-assigned DSM-III diagnosis and self-reported symptom picture was of interest. Subjects with schizophrenia, paranoia, and adjustment disorders scored lower on the depression syndromes than subjects in the other diagnostic groups~ Symptom complaints accurately predicted diagnosis 81% of the time for five of the diagnostic groups. Neither diagnosis nor self-reported symptoms could significantly predict treatment outcome. Diagnosis was related to drop out or continuation in therapy, however. Schizophrenics, paranoids, and borderline subjects were typically continuing treatment at four months, while subjects with affective disorders and adjustment disorders were more likely to leave therapy prior to four months.


PURPOSE
Limited documentation is found on dental hygienists' attitudes toward acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and their knowledge and practice of clinical infection control to prevent disease transmission to themselves and their patients. The purpose of this paper was to survey practicing Pennsylvania dental hygienists to document 1) their infection control practices; 2) their attitudes towards AIDS patients; and 3) their knowledge of clinical infection control practices.

METHODS
A self-administered survey questionnaire, with fixed-alternative responses, was mailed in January 1991 to a random sample (N = 300) of licensed, practicing Pennsylvania dental hygienists. The questionnaire comprised eight multiple-choice questions for demographic purposes and 89 Likert-type questions eliciting information in five areas: AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes toward AIDS patients, knowledge of recommended Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infection control measures, individual infection control measures, and individual laboratory infection control measures. Means and modes for individual questions and for specific categories were determined and analyzed utilizing Spearman rho correlation coefficients (p < .05). Mean scores were also tabulated for actual operator/laboratory infection control practices for both a routine patient and an AIDS patient. Those scores were analyzed utilizing the Wilcoxen signed-ranks test.

RESULTS
Two hundred twenty questionnaires were returned for a 73.3% initial response rate. One hundred fifty-four of those returned were usable, for a 64% response rate. Results indicated that 94.2% of surveyed dental hygienists had comprehensive knowledge about AIDS and 92% had comprehensive knowledge of CDC-recommended infection control procedures. Eighty-five percent of respondents possessed a moderate or high feeling of worry concerning treatment of AIDS patients. The majority of surveyed dental hygienists routinely practiced the use of glasses, masks, and gloves; the use of disposable items; and surface disinfection of light handles, instrument bracket trays, and patient chair switches. Knowledge of recommended infection control procedures for dentistry was found to be associated (r = .22) with adherence to recommended infection control practices. Accurate knowledge about AIDS showed a weak (r = -.088) and nonsignificant relationship with dental hygienists' attitudes toward AIDS patients. Use of recommended infection control practices was found to be associated (r = -.20) with less fear concerning the treatment of AIDS patients. In addition, dental hygienists' infection control practices varied according to their perception of patient HIV status.

CONCLUSIONS
Since Pennsylvania dental hygienists, within the limitations of this study, appear not to follow CDC guidelines on proper and responsible operatory/laboratory aseptic techniques stringently, and to differentiate infection control procedures based on perceived patient HIV status, recommendations are that 1) the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should mandate that all Pennsylvania-licensed dental hygienists take at least one state-approved course on operatory/laboratory infection control every two years to qualify for relicensure; 2) all dental and dental hygiene education institutions and professional organizations should place more emphasis on strict adherence to the various agency recommended clinical guidelines for infection control; and 3) all dental hygienists should continually strive to update their own knowledge of current infection control practices.


SPIGGLE, JO ANNE BLACKMON. Relationship between Teacher Performance and Student Growth Outcomes in a School District in North Carolina's Public Schools' Fifth Grades. (Committee Co-Chairs: Dr. James L. Flowers and Dr. Dewey A. Adams) The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the teaching performance of 5th-grade teachers and student achievement growth in 5th-grade reading and mathematics. Using the classroom as the unit of analysis, the entire population of fifty-three 5th-grade teachers and their students were included. The students' class average achievement growth scores in reading and in mathematics were measured by standardized North Carolina End-Of-Grade Tests, and the student class average growth scores were determined by comparing the class mean of the students' scores in each teacher's 5th-grade class with the class mean of the same students' scores on the 4thgrade end-of-grade tests in reading and mathematics. The teachers' classroom performance was measured by the North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument (NCTPAI) rating scale. Ratings on the first five functions of the NCTPAI were included in the study. These items are (a) Management of Instructional Time, (b) Management of Student Behavior, (c) Instructional Presentation, (d) Instructional Monitoring, and (e) Instructional Feedback. For the teachers, data were also collected on type of license and years of teaching experience. The data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation, point biserial correlation, and regression. Stepwise selection results showed the best overall significant predictor of students' mathematics improvement to be Function 3: Instructional Presentation. This model accounted for 11% of the variance in students' improved class average achievement growth in mathematics. A four variable model showed a combination of Function 1: Management of Instructional Time, Function 2: Management of Student Behavior, Teachers' Years of Experience, and Teachers' Type of License to be the best overall predictor for improved students' class average achievement growth in reading. This model accounted for 23% of the variance in students' improved class average achievement in reading. Additional research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings.


Two studies were conducted with ovariectomized animals to compare luteinizing hormone (LH) responses during the 24-hr period following an IM injection of either estriol or estradiol-17 beta. In Exp. 1, six long-term ovariectomized (6 months) beef cows were randomly assigned to be given 1 mg of estriol or estradiol 17 beta injected in 4 ml of corn oil. Two months later, the experiment was replicated in a switch back design. In Exp. 2, eight ewes that had been ovariectomized for 1 to 4 months were randomly assigned to be given 150 micrograms of estriol or estradiol-17 beta injected in 1.5 ml of corn oil. The initial increase in serum LH concentrations occurred earlier in both cows (P less than .01) and ewes (P less than .05) in response to estriol (8 to 9 hr) than in response to estradiol 17 beta (12 to 18 hr). In addition, duration of the decrease in LH release that occurred 1 hr after estrogen injection in ewes was 3 hr shorter (P less than .05) in response to estriol than in response to estradiol-17 beta. The total area under the LH response curve was greater for both cows (P less than .05) and ewes (P less than .01) given estradiol-17 beta than for those given estriol. Administration of estradiol-17 beta induced a 10-fold increase in serum estradiol-17 beta concentrations and a two to fourfold increase in serum estrone concentrations. Both estrogens returned to basal concentrations by 24 hr after administration. Peak serum estriol exceeded 300 pg/ml within 1 hr of estriol injection, but decreased to nondetectable levels within 12 hours. We concluded that estriol can stimulate LH release from the pituitary. Furthermore, the differential LH response to the two estrogens suggests that the positive effects of estriol are mediated earlier but that estradiol-17 beta is a more potent stimulus when administered as a single IM injection.


1. This paper deals with a pollenanalytical investigation of holocenic peat-layers in Central Friesland. 2. One diagram shows a praeboreal spectrum with Betula in the dominant position, the first appearance of thermophilous trees (Corylus, Alnus) and a high percentage of Gramineous and Cyperaceous pollen. 3. Originally in all diagrams the percentages of Ericaceous pollen are low. 4. During the boreal time the peat formation was of little importance. A maximum of Corylus pollen in the boreal period has not been found here. 5. In the Atlanticum a thick layer of peat has been formed; the percentage of Alnus pollen remains high, the Quercetum-mixtum fluctuates between 10 and 25 per cent and there is also much Corylus pollen. 6. Two narrow clay-bands are present in the peat. They contain many pollen grains of halophytic plants, which indicates that there must have been two marine transgressions in the Atlanticum. These transgressions will have reached their farthest point in this region. 7. In the upper atlantic and subboreal peat-layers there are many fragments of Ericaceae and also a high percentage of Ericaceous pollen. 8. The Young Sphagnum peat consists of Sphagnum species of the Cymbifolia section. The presence of Fagus pollen never reaches a level of 10 per cent. 9. During the subatlantic transgression the Young Sphagnum peat has locally been washed away and was replaced by clay with many Phragmites rests. The author wishes to express his thanks to "It Fryske Gea", the Frisian association for the protection of nature, president Mr. M. WIEGERSMA, Drachten, for the permission to take samples at "Het Princehof" and for the assistance to this work. He is also highly indebted to Dr. F. P. JONKER for his assistance and interest during the investigation and to Prof. Dr. C. E. B. BREMEKAMP for correcting the English text.


Abstract. Flash floods are of major relevance in natural disaster management in the Mediterranean region. In many cases, the damaging effects of flash floods can be mitigated by adequate management of flood control reservoirs. This requires the development of suitable models for optimal operation of reservoirs. A probabilistic methodology for calibrating the parameters of a reservoir flood control model (RFCM) that takes into account the stochastic variability of flood events is presented. This study addresses the crucial problem of operating reservoirs during flood events, considering downstream river damages and dam failure risk as conflicting operation criteria. These two criteria are aggregated into a single objective of total expected damages from both the maximum released flows and stored volumes (overall risk index). For each selected parameter set the RFCM is run under a wide range of hydrologic loads (determined through Monte Carlo simulation). The optimal parameter set is obtained through the overall risk index (balanced solution) and then compared with other solutions of the Pareto front. The proposed methodology is implemented at three different reservoirs in the southeast of Spain. The results obtained show that the balanced solution offers a good compromise between the two main objectives of reservoir flood control management.


BACKGROUND It is important how to evaluate chronic cervical lymphadenopathies and when to perform excisional biopsy in children. We tried to analyze the usefulness of clinical and ultrasonographic findings in order to differentiate malign lymphadenopathies from benign ones. METHODS This prospective study included 100 children who had cervical lymphadenopathies, larger than 1. 5 cm for 4 weeks duration at least. Children were between 2 and 14 years old, the mean age was 6.88±3.38 years. They were examined by clinical symptoms and ultrasonographic appearances. Persistent lymphadenopathies were evaluated by excisional biopsy. RESULTS Cervical lymhadenopathies of 80 children with well clinical symptoms decreased and resolved within 10 weeks durations. Their ultrasonographic findings revealed regular margins, ovoid shapes and getting smaller than 1. 5 cm. The remaining 20 children persisting longer than 10 weeks at the same size, with worrisome clinical symptoms and susceptible ultrasonographic findings (round shapes, irregular margins) underwent excisional biopsy. According to the biopsy results, five had tubercular lymphadenopathies, three had Hodgkin'slenfoma, two had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CONCLUSIONS Chronic cervical lymphadenopathies can persist up to 10 weeks, althoughthey are reactive and benign.


This article, which draws upon material from my book, "The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution" (Oxford University Press 2016), investigates how and why the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 wrote a constitution that was far more nationalizing and antipopulist than most Americans probably anticipated or desired. The article also seeks to shed light on how the Federalists managed to convince the nation, through a reasonably democratic ratifying process, to approve a constitution that was, in significant part, designed to reduce popular influence upon the federal government.


Objective: To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of glatiramer acetate (GA) 40 mg daily vs the approved 20-mg formulation in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis. Methods: Eligibility criteria included clinically definite multiple sclerosis, Expanded Disability Status Scale score 0 to 5.0, no previous use of GA, at least one relapse in the previous year, and 1 to 15 gadolinium-enhancing (GdE) lesions on a screening MRI. MRI was repeated at months 3, 7, 8, and 9, and neurologic examinations were performed at baseline and months 3, 6, and 9. Results: Of 229 subjects screened, 90 were randomly assigned to GA 20 mg (n = 44) or 40 mg (n = 46). The groups were well matched at baseline for demographic, clinical, and MRI characteristics. The primary efficacy endpoint, total number of GdE lesions at months 7, 8, and 9, showed a trend favoring the 40-mg group (38% relative reduction, p = 0.0898). A difference between the two dose groups emerged as early as month 3 (52% reduction; p = 0.0051). There was a trend favoring the 40-mg group for relapse rate with benefit on proportion of relapse-free subjects (p = 0.0183) and time to first relapse (p = 0.0367). GA 40 mg was well tolerated, with an overall safety profile similar to that of 20 mg. Some features of injection site reactions and immediate postinjection reactions were more common and severe with the higher dose. Conclusions: Glatiramer acetate (GA) 40 mg was safe and well tolerated. The overall efficacy results suggested that a 40-mg dose of GA may be more effective than the currently approved 20-mg daily dose in reducing MRI activity and clinical relapses.


In this paper we describe the outcome of the SIS-M project, consisting in the development of web support system for the teacher of an inclusive school. In this kind of centers, the ordinary training is developed with people with disabilities. Although the availability of adequate supports, the management of the school and the heterogeneity of students requires tools that help in day to day. SIS-M provides tools that supports the basic management of the school, and due to the use of natural language processing tools, ontologies and location in real time, allows that the educator could receive the sugestion of activities that the system considers most appropriate for students in class at all times. In this document we describe the development of the project and its results and the use conclusions by professionals of an inclusive school.


Research indicates that mathematics anxiety is particularly high in pre-service teachers (Bekdemir, 2010; Gresham, 2007; Hembree, 1990). These future teachers will soon be entering classrooms of their own, responsible for teaching mathematics to young children, who need strong teachers. A 2013 report from The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found that 42% fourth-graders performed at or above the proficient level in math (NCES, 2013. The purpose of this study was to examine elementary pre-service teacher candidates (PSTCs) perceptions of mathematics, through drawings. Drawings were analyzed before and after a semester-long field experience in a constructivist mathematics environment. The participants included 56 PSTCs with a field placement in K-5 settings. The researcher used open-coding to evaluate the preand post-field experience drawings. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) emotions related to mathematics, (2) the mathematics environment, and (3) experiences within the mathematics environment. Over the course of the field experience semester, the number of negative and isolated perceptions of mathematics decreased. The results of the study hold implications for teacher preparation programs in planning field experience placements for their teacher candidates. Purposeful field placements can allow PSTCs to evaluate and inform their own understanding of mathematics, and learn pedagogical strategies to benefit their future students.


Dynamic phenomena such as oil spills, mud flow, diffusion or leakage of gases in the environment are characterized by non-deterministic variations in shape, size and direction of motion. Due to the absence of any well defined model for tracking their dynamics, the detection and tracking of such phenomena through Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is very challenging. Most of the existing works consider static phenomena with certain shapes, only few of them study dynamic phenomena. However, existing works studying dynamic phenomena mainly concentrate on reducing the communication overheads and neglect the energy consumed in sensing, which result in higher energy consumption and shorter network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a novel protocol for detection and tracking dynamic phenomena through WSNs, with an objective to minimize the resource usage and energy consumption. We also propose a robust localized clustering method, which helps in reducing the network traffic generated by the information packets destined to a Centralized Query Processor (CQP). The experimental results show that, in comparison to the existing work, our protocol consumes 90% less energy and generates 65% less network traffic.


The limitations of traditional general-purpose processors have motivated the use of specialized hardware solutions (e.g., FPGAs) to achieve higher performance in stream processing. However, state-of-the-art hardware-only solutions have limited support to adapt to changes in the query workload. In this work, we present a reconfigurable hardware-based streaming architecture that offers the flexibility to accept new queries and to change existing ones without the need for expensive hardware reconfiguration. We introduce the Online Programmable Block (OP-Block), a "Lego-like" connectable stream processing element, for constructing a custom Flexible Query Processor (FQP), suitable to a wide range of data streaming applications, including real-time data analytics, information filtering, intrusion detection, algorithmic trading, targeted advertising, and complex event processing. Through evaluations, we conclude that updating OP-Blocks to support new queries takes on the order of nano to micro-seconds (e.g., 40 ns to realize a join operator on an OP-Block), a feature critical to support of streaming applications on FPGAs.


ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of modern war on haptic sensations and rehabilitation culture aimed at healing physical and psychological wounds. It examines the haptic senses in occupational therapy and in the vocational retraining of the blind as masseurs and physiotherapists. Military patients' creative responses to rehabilitation form a key part of the discussion, responding to the pressure to overcome painful wounds and disabilities. While much recent scholarship has focused on the re-masculinizing purpose and industrial discourse underpinning rehabilitation (either in returning to the frontline or to usefulness and economic production), this paper examines the haptic dimension of men's handicrafts and other sensory elements within rehabilitation. It highlights the role of nature in rehabilitation and in personal responses to a war injury, through the pervasive symbol of the butterfly, found in diverse cultural arenas from therapeutic handicrafts to war memorials. It explores how nature enabled wounded soldiers to escape from the horror of industrial scale, mechanized wounding and considers whether the butterfly emblem resonated among men for its fragile beauty, which acted as a form of soft resistance to the disciplinary aspects of rehabilitation and the brutality of the war more generally. I argue that this was linked to the wider cultural effort to explain the impact of modern war on the human sensory experience through the enigmatic butterfly.


In the theoretical perspective known as situated cognition, the interpretation of images implies a case-study. An image activates information that comes in different modalities: visual, corporeal, social, cultural, medical, conceptual, and so on. It is on the ground of such conflicting or converging information that the audience will be able to finally build an interpretation. According to this cognitive theory, models of knowledge, based on dynamic modalities and categories, are constantly renegotiated and transformed so as to adapt to changing physical and social environments. Cultural artefacts put forward a variety of complex models of knowledge which operate as part of rich and specific contexts. A case in point is a painting from 1721, in which the Italian artist Giuseppe Gambarini tackles the problematic of swaddling. This image is part of the cultural context of the 18th century, characterized by a special interest in the shape of children's bodies: obstetricians, orthopedists and philosophers argue about the necessity of perfect straightness of limbs in children, and the ways to attain it. In this sense, Gambarini's painting is a remarkable case-study, due to its unique approach of swaddling, which operates as a fertile ground, where the audience is called upon to exert their critical thinking and cognitive creativity.


Research to date has suggested that both individual marine species and ecological processes are expected to exhibit diverse responses to the environmental effects of climate change. Evolutionary responses can occur on rapid (ecological) timescales, and yet studies typically do not consider the role that adaptive evolution will play in modulating biological responses to climate change. Investigations into such responses have typically been focused at particular biological levels (e.g., cellular, population, community), often lacking interactions among levels. Since all levels of biological organisation are sensitive to global climate change, there is a need to elucidate how different processes and hierarchical interactions will influence species fitness. Therefore, predicting the responses of communities and populations to global change will require multidisciplinary efforts across multiple levels of hierarchy, from the genetic and cellular to communities and ecosystems. Eventually, this may allow us to establish the role that acclimatisation and adaptation will play in determining marine community structures in future scenarios.


Background
Pseudoprogression (psPD) represents false radiologic evidence of tumor progression and is observed in some glioblastoma (GBM) patients after postoperative chemoradiation (CRT) with temozolomide (TMZ). The ambiguity of the psPD diagnosis confounds identification of true progression and may lead to unnecessary interventions. The association between psPD and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutational (mut) status is understudied, and its incidence may alter clinical decision making.

Methods
We retrospectively evaluated 120 patients with IDH1-mut (n = 60) and IDH1-wild-type (IDH-WT; [n = 60]) GBMs who received postoperative CRT with TMZ at 4 academic institutions. Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology criteria were used to identify psPD rates in routine brain MRIs performed up to 90 days after CRT completion.

Results
Within 90 days of completing CRT, 9 GBM patients (1 [1.7%] IDH1-mut and 8 [13.3%] IDH1-WTs) demonstrated true progression, whereas 17 patients (3 [5%] IDH1-muts and 14 [23.3%] IDH1-WTs) demonstrated psPD (P  =  .004). IDH1-mut GBMs had a lower probability of psPD (hazard ratio: 0.173, 95% CI, 0.047-0.638, P = .008). Among the patients with radiologic signs suggestive of progression (n = 26), psPD was found to be the cause in 3 of 4 (75.0%) of the IDH1-mut GBMs and 14 of 22 (63.6%) of the IDH1-WT GBMs (P = .496). Median overall survival for IDH1-mut and IDH1-WT GBM patients was 40.3 and 23.0 months, respectively (P  < .001).

Conclusions
IDH1-mut GBM patients demonstrate lower absolute rates of psPD expression. Irrespective of GBM subtype, psPD expression was more likely than true progression within 90 days of completing CRT. Continuing adjuvant treatment for IDH1-mut GBMs is suggested if radiologic progression is suspected during this time interval.


The process of obsolescence of recording and reproduction technologies, and the oblivion of the resulting works, do not define the only perspective from which we witness the risk of "cancellation" of the artist's videotapes, witnesses to the origins of the "video art" in the late 60s and early 70s. In other words, the fragility and the instability of the analog support exposed to physical-chemical and mechanical alterations (ie the irreversible wear of the magnetic tape which, passing through the readers' heads, degrades the electronic signal and progressively "erases" the inscribed works in this support) they do not constitute, in fact, the only evidence of the risk of dissolution affecting the cultural history of this type of works. In the choice of the computer applications of which they are the object - with respect to the processes of migration from analogue to digital, of active conservation and restoration - a peculiar logic of "cancellation" acts here that we intend to investigate.


The fluctuating insulin requirements of an unstable diabetic over an 8-year period have been subjected to spectral analysis. There is evidence of cyclic changes of several different period lengths in addition to red noise. The periodicities indicate that social causes play no major role but suggest that a weathermediated effect may exist.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to review the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma with wild-type epidermal grow factor receptor (EGFR) or anaplastic lymphoma kinase.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
After a standard literature search, we identified all randomized studies published on this issue. Our first inclusion criterion was the use of pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab or durvalumab in the treatment arm versus chemotherapy in the control arm. The second criterion was the availability of information on overall survival at 2 years. The restricted mean survival time (RMST) was used to analyze the survival curves and rank the treatments.

RESULTS
From the eligible studies, we selected 5 randomized trials that met our inclusion criteria. These trials studied a total of 11 cohorts of patients in whom the treatment arm received ICI as monotherapy (n=3) or in combination with either chemotherapy (n=2) or other monoclonal antibodies (n=1). All the control groups (n=5) received chemotherapy. Pembrolizumab (alone or in combination) showed improvement in overall survival compared with controls, but with borderline statistical significance. Nivolumab, atezolizumab and durvalumab failed to demonstrate any survival advantage. Overall, the RMSTs provided more conservative results than those previously reported using the hazard ratio. In comparing the values of RMST across treatments, pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy ranked first.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results summarized the efficacy of these treatments and showed that only pembrolizumab can have a role as the first-line treatment of NSCLC. These findings are at variance with those previously reported using the hazard ratio as the outcome measure.


Abstract This study examined the diel activity pattern and the effect of diel activity pattern on predation rate and prey finding of Dicyphus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae). To determine the diel activity pattern of D. hesperus, starved females were placed on tomato leaflets Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Solanaceae) under zero, low, or high light intensities at 02:00, 08:00, and 14:00 h, respectively, and the amount of time spent walking or resting during a 30‐min interval was recorded. Predation rates of D. hesperus females on Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) egg patches were determined under either a L16:D8 (long day) or L8:D16 (short day) diel period. Egg patches were removed from D. hesperus females after either 8 or 16 h of dark or 16 or 8 h of light, and the number of eggs consumed was counted. Dicyphus hesperus females spent more time searching for prey at night than during the day. Females ate eggs at a higher rate during the night than during the day. Overall, D. hesperus females had higher predation rates when reared under a long day diel cycle compared with females reared under a short day diel cycle. More females reared at the L16:D8 diel cycle found the egg patch during the night than during the day. There was no difference in egg patch finding between night and day for females reared at L8:D16. Overall, L16:D8 reared females found more egg patches than females reared at L8:D16. Therefore, D. hesperus females are more active and find and consume prey at a higher rate at night than day.


BACKGROUND: The ocular ischemic syndrome is a rare constellation of ocular signs and symptoms that are secondary to severe carotid artery stenosis. The patient may report decreased vision and ocular pain, while objective findings are variable and include midperipheral dot and blot hemorrhages, rubeosis (with or without neovascular glaucoma), a mid-dilated and poorly reactive pupil, and uveitis. The visual prognosis is generally poor, and treatment is primarily aimed at management of the underlying carotid occlusive disease. METHODS: Two cases are presented in which the ocular ischemic syndrome was the initial manifestation of complete bilateral internal carotid artery occlusion. Both patients experienced severe unilateral loss of vision. Internal carotid endarterectomies could not be performed, so medical and surgical management concentrated on maintenance of vascular collateral pathways. CONCLUSIONS: The ophthalmic complications of the ocular ischemic syndrome can be devastating--the underlying systemic conditions are life-threatening. It is imperative the clinician be aware of the signs and symptoms of carotid artery disease in order to facilitate prompt diagnosis and appropriate referral.


It is essential for law students to learn about the applicable general rules of law. A major source of applicable rules within the Dutch legal system is the category of decisions by judges. Law students experience difficulties with reading and comprehending these decisions. CASE is proposed to support students in structuring and analysing decisions. CASE stands for Case Analysis and Storage Environment. CASE presents the student an environment in which she can practice with structuring and analysing a decision in order to determine in what way this decision adds to the body of applicable rules. The application can be used by law teachers to store decisions and to add key words and by law students to search, structure and analyze a decision.


Gait as a biometric has received great attention nowadays as it can offer human identification at a distance without any contact with the feature capturing device. This is motivated by the increasing number of synchronised closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras which have been installed in many major towns, in order to monitor and prevent crime by identifying the criminal or suspect. This paper present a method to improve gait classification results by applying smoothing techniques on the extracted gait features. The proposed approach is consisted of three parts: extraction of human gait features from enhanced human silhouette, smoothing process on extracted gait features and classification by fuzzy k-nearest neighbours (KNN). The extracted gait features are height, width, crotch height, step-size of the human silhouette and joint trajectories. To improve the recognition rate, two of these extracted gait features are smoothened before the classification process in order to alleviate the effect of outliers. The proposed approach has been applied on a dataset of nine subjects walking bidirectionally on an indoor pathway with twelve different covariate factors. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the proposed approach is effective in gait classification.


BaFe12-2x(Ni, Zn)xSnxO19 M - type compounds processed by citrate precursor method with substitution level 0.0 <x<0.6 were studied. Mossbauer spectroscopy and thermomagnetic analysis were used to investigate the magneto - crystalline structure of these hexaferrites. Coercive field intensity Hc, specific saturation magnetic polarisation  Js-m and remanent magnetic polarisation Js-r of ferrite powder specimens were measured. A large change of the coercitity Hc from 330kA/m (x=0.0) to ~70kA/m (x=0.6) was reached as a function of the substitution x. These changes are caused by rearrangement of the Fe3+ ions within the crystalline lattice. Sn4+ ions replace Fe3+ ions on 2b slightly 2a+4f1 sites, while Ni2+ ions occupy 4f2 and 12k sites and Zn2+ ions strongly prefer 4f1 sites.


This article examines how media texts that take sexism as their topic can be analysed for the ways in which they present what does (or does not) constitute sexism in the particular event being reported upon. To do so, it treats any such text as a 'recontextualisation'. This concept, drawn from the field of critical discourse analysis, suggests that for an incident of sexism to be reported in any media text is also for that incident to be recontextualised in and through the linguistic, visual and graphological choices of that text's author. To catch this process of recontextualisation in-flight, the article studies video footage of an incident from the world of English Premier League football in which the actions of two television presenters precipitated various complaints of sexism. A discursive analysis of newspaper reports about that incident reveals the textual practices through which the presenters' actions were recontextualised such that their status precisely as 'sexist actions' was readably downgraded, mitigated or even deleted. The article ends with a discussion of how an analysis of the media's practices for recontextualising incidents of sexism contributes to the project of a specifically feminist media studies.


The survey was carried out over two years in the Taung and Kudumane districts of the North West Province of South Africa. Data were collected on the breed of goat, reasons for keeping goats as well as production data such as kidding rate, fecundity, herd health care, herd management, live weight and withers height, coat color, skin condition and presence or absence of: beards, horns and wattles.


Objective: To build an osteopontin (OPN) specific short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) expression vector and transfect it into cervical cancer Hela cells, in order to obtain OPN stable transfection cell lines, thus providing support to the further study on the mechanism of OPN in cervical cancer Hela cells. Methods: An OPN specific siRNA expression vector was bulit. Then the target fragment was connected to pcDNA3.1 (+) carrier and mediated with liposomes to transfect Hela cells, in order to obtain the RNA interference stable cell line. The OPN messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein relative expression in the OPN-siRNA group (transfected with the OPN specific siRNA), RANDOM group (transfected with non-interference plasmid) and pcDNA3.1 group (transfected with empty plasmid) were detected with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting methods. Results: The OPN mRNA and protein expressions were decreased significantly in the OPNsiRNA-1 group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The construction of OPN interference cervical cancer Hela cell line can provide a basis for the further study on the mechanism of the growth, metastasis and invasion of OPNmediate cervical cancer cells.


PURPOSE
Recombinant human interleukin-6 (rhuIL-6) is a glycosylated cytokine with hematopoietic stimulatory effects. In particular, preclinical studies suggest the agent can stimulate thrombopoiesis, even in conjunction with chemotherapy. We attempted to determine whether higher dose chemotherapy for ovarian cancer was possible given the pharmacologic use of this important growth factor.

METHODS
We conducted a randomized, double-blind phase II study of IL-6 plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) versus placebo plus G-CSF in combination with a standard chemotherapy regimen. Patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, stages Ic to IV, were eligible. All patients were previously untreated with chemotherapy and had Karnofsky performance status >/=60. rhuIL-6 (Escherichia coli, SDZ ILS 969) 1.0 micrograms/kg or placebo was given subcutaneously on days 2-8 every cycle together with G-CSF 5.0 micrograms/kg subcutaneously days 2-15, following administration of paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 as a 3-h infusion and carboplatin given to a desired AUC of 7.5 on day 1 every 21 days.

RESULTS
Fifty patients were entered in this study, although the study was temporarily suspended by the FDA in midstudy over manufacturing concerns. Therefore, 37 patients were evaluable for efficacy of growth factor; 19 patients received placebo plus G-CSF and 18 rhIL-6 plus G-CSF. There was no difference in prognostic variables between these two groups. Platelet nadirs were lower in the first cycle for the placebo group (P = 0.004, Wilcoxon sum-rank test) but not in other cycles. There was no statistically significant difference in cycle treatment delays, carboplatin dose delivered, number of patients with grade 4 thrombocytopenia, or platelet transfusion. Nonetheless, the trend of the data favored IL-6 in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated a minimal effect (statistically significant in the first cycle only) on thrombopoiesis in women undergoing paclitaxel and carboplatin therapy of ovarian cancer. No clinically significant effect on actual chemotherapy delivery was demonstrated, however. Future studies, if warranted, to ameliorate thrombocytopenia should be carried out with regimens producing even greater thrombocytopenia than the current regimen in the control arm.


Tunable-laser absorption spectroscopy in the mid-IR spectral region is a sensitive analytical technique for trace-gas quantification. The detection of nitric oxide (NO) in exhaled breath is of particular interest in the diagnosis of lower-airway inflammation associated with a number of lung diseases and illnesses. A gas analyzer based on a continuous-wave mid-IR quantum cascade laser operating at approximately 5.2 microm and on off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) has been developed to measure NO concentrations in human breath. A compact sample cell, 5.3 cm in length and with a volume of < 80 cm3, that is suitable for on-line and off-line measurements during a single breath cycle, has been designed and tested. A noise-equivalent (signal-to-noise ratio of 1) sensitivity of 10 parts in 10(9) by volume (ppbv) of NO was achieved. The combination of ICOS with wavelength modulation resulted in a 2-ppbv noise-equivalent sensitivity. The total data acquisition and averaging time was 15 s in both cases. The feasibility of detecting NO in expired human breath as a potential noninvasive medical diagnostic tool is discussed.


The dynamics of RNA hairpin tetraloops of the GNRA type [sequence G- any ribonucleotide (N)-purine (R)-A] was analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy and by fluorescence-detected temperature-jump relaxation, using RNA oligomers with 2-aminopurine (2AP) substituted in two different positions of the loop sequence, Gp2APpApA (HP1) and GpAp2APpA (HP2), as indicator. The fluorescence of HP1 is much higher than that of HP2, indicating a lower degree of 2AP-stacking in HP1. Addition of Mg(2+) or Ca(2+) ions leads to an increase of fluorescence in HP1, whereas a decrease of fluorescence is observed in HP2. In both cases at least two ion-binding equilibria are required to fit titration data. T-jump experiments using fluorescence detection show a relaxation process with a time constant of 22 micros for HP1, whereas two relaxation processes with time constants 5 and 41 micros, are found for HP2. These results clearly demonstrate the existence of more than the single conformation state detected by NMR analysis. The T-jump amplitudes decrease with increasing bivalent ion concentration, indicating that one of the states is favored in the presence of bivalent ions. The loop relaxation processes are slower than standard stacking processes, probably because of activation barriers imposed by a restricted mobility of loop residues, and are assigned to a stacking rearrangement, probably between the 5' and the 3'-side. A similar process has been observed previously for the anticodon loop of tRNA(Phe). The rate constants of the transition are in the range of 10(4) s(-1) in the case of HP1. The data demonstrate the existence of structures that are not resolved by standard NMR because of fast exchange and are not found by X-ray analysis because of restrictions by crystal packing.


The article represents goals set in a Concept of long-term social and economic development of Russian Federation until 2020 ("Strategy 2020") on transfer to innovative socially oriented type of economic development and human potential advancement in Russia, analysis of contemporary state of work conditions and workers' safety, ways to solve problems on health care and protection for working population as a basis for competitiveness of Russian economy.


Before any software maintenance can occur, developers must read the identifier names found in the code to be maintained. Thus, high-quality identifier names are essential for productive program comprehension and maintenance activities. With developers free to construct identifier names to their liking, it can be difficult to automatically reason about the quality and semantics behind an identifier name. Studying the structure of identifier names can help alleviate this problem. Existing research focuses on studying words within identifiers, but there are other symbols that appear in identifier names–such as digits. This paper explores the presence and purpose of digits in identifier names through an empirical study of 800 open-source Java systems. We study how digits contribute to the semantics of identifier names and how identifier names that contain digits evolve over time through renaming. We envision our findings improving the efficiency of name appraisal and recommendation tools and techniques.


The outstanding physio-pathological role played by integrin receptors in living subjects motivates the enormous interest shown by scientists worldwide for this topic. More than twenty years of research has spanned across the structural and functional elucidation of these proteins and over their antagonism-based biomedical applications. The proof-ofconcept stage, aimed at identifying potent inhibitors, covered a decade of studies, and paved the way for a more advanced era of research where these antagonist molecules were thrown into the deep end of applicative studies. This review intends to summarize the major efforts conducted thus far and focuses on the design, synthesis and biomedical applications of cyclic RGD-containing αvβ3 integrin antagonists, in both their small and macromolecular formats. In particular, Chapters 1 and 2 offer a comprehensive outlook on the rational basis for the design of integrin inhibitors, Chapter 3 chronicles the biological and medical applications of monofunctional RGD integrin ligands both in their monomeric and multimeric asset, and Chapter 4 illustrates the potential of RGD-based multifunctional systems in molecular medicine.


Determination of an accurate electrocardiographic (ECG) baseline is generally needed for localization of ventricular arrhythmias with body surface potential mapping (BSPM). We suggest a novel signal processing method for ECG baseline reconstruction during monomorphic ventricular tachycardias (VT). The method is based on an assumption that VT consists of similar ventricular extrasystolic beats with overlapping depolarization and repolarization. The sequential reconstruction algorithm utilizes information of small variations in the heart rate and yields a non-overlapping QRST-signal, provided that the measurement setup has a high enough temporal resolution to avoid distortions due to sampling differences and misalignment of individual beats. The reconstructed QRST-signal is utilized to subtract overlapping T-waves from the QRS complexes during VT. The use of the method is demonstrated with clinically measured BSPM data.


In river basins, soils, groundwater, riparian zones and floodplains, streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs act as successive filters in which the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemical processing are strongly coupled and together act to retain a significant fraction of the nutrients transported. This paper compares existing river ecology concepts with current approaches to describe river biogeochemistry, and assesses the value of these concepts and approaches for understanding the impacts of interacting global change disturbances on river biogeochemistry. Through merging perspectives, concepts, and modeling techniques, we propose integrated model approaches that encompass both aquatic and terrestrial components in heterogeneous landscapes. In this model framework, existing ecological and biogeochemical concepts are extended with a balanced approach for assessing nutrient and sediment delivery, on the one hand, and nutrient in-stream retention on the other hand. © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License.


The Annual Legislative Update describes recent legislative changes to practice, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice nurses across the country.


Abstract Fictional heroes have long attracted the attention and emotions of their audiences and readers. Moreover, such sustained attention or emotional involvement has often taken the form of identification, even empathy. This essay suggests that since 9/11, however, a new cycle of heroism has emerged that has taken its place, namely the hybrid hero (cf. Van Tourhout 2017; 2018). Hybrid heroes have become increasingly popular during the post 9/11 period, offering escapism and reassurance to audiences in difficult times in which clear-cut divisions between good and bad, between right and wrong came under pressure. These characters challenge audiences and creators on moral and narrative levels because of their fluid symbiosis of heroic and villainous features. We find some well-known examples in contemporary TV-series such as Breaking Bad, House of Cards, etc. Hybrid heroes are looking for ways to arouse audiences and are aiming at the complicity of the audience. The most striking example of this complicit nature can be seen in the TV-series House of Cards when Frank Underwood addresses the audience by staring into the camera. Traditional psychological and aesthetic theories on empathy are challenged by the phenomenon of the hybrid hero because empathy is generally conceived in prosocial terms, with most of the current research being geared toward a positive notion of empathy (cf. Johnson 2012; Bal/Veltkamp 2013; Koopman/Hakemulder 2015). Additionally, there has been a prevalent confusion between sympathy and empathy that has impacted our understanding of the perception of such heroes (cf. Jolliffe/Farrington 2006). In fact, one of the reasons for the predominantly positive connotation of empathy in the study of literary reception is that empathy has been narrowly defined as »sympathy and concern for unfortunate others« (Bal/Veltkamp 2013, 2). The distinction between empathy and sympathy is crucial in the study of immoral figures because, as research has shown, only sympathy involves a moral judgement. The concept of a hybrid hero pushes us to decouple the core of fictional empathy from moral impulses or prosocial actions because it demands a »suspension of moral judgement from its viewer« (cf. Vaage 2013). Some recent studies (cf. Happ/Melzer/Steffgen 2015) have found that empathic responses to videogames cause antisocial effects, while others report cases of »tactical empathy« (cf. Bubandt/Willerslev 2016) or »empathic sadism«, which allows the fiction reader to predict the feelings of the characters and to find enjoyment in this prediction, independently of the negative state and the pain of them (cf. Breithaupt 2016). We believe that the conceptualisation of an emotional bond between the audience and questionable or hybrid heroes will only be permitted through a turn in the approach to the concept of fictional empathy in media studies and aesthetic theory. Thus, the scope of the present paper is not only to describe the phenomenon of the hybrid hero, but also the specific notion of empathy and aesthetic enjoyment that the concept of a hybrid hero demands, that, compared to the present concepts of empathy: (1) distinguishes empathy from sympathy, (2) decouples empathy from morality, (3) takes into account the aesthetic enjoyment associated with negative emotions and moral violations. Finally, we argue that this renewed concept of fictional empathy should be incorporated into newly introduced models of art reception, which integrate both positive and negative emotions in art fruition (cf. Menninghaus et al. 2017). Recent research in empirical aesthetics and media psychology seems to support this view in showing that a moral violation in fictional stories produces mixed emotional and enjoyable responses (cf. McGraw/Warren 2010). The success of the hybrid hero confirms that the interplays of positive, negative and mixed emotion elicited by ambivalent figures such as the hybrid hero can partially explain the massive success and broader impact of contemporary TV series.


Anomaly extraction refers to automatically finding, in a large set of flows observed during an anomalous time interval, the flows associated with the anomalous event(s). It is important for root-cause analysis, network forensics, attack mitigation, and anomaly modeling. In this paper, we use meta-data provided by several histogram-based detectors to identify suspicious flows, and then apply association rule mining to find and summarize anomalous flows. Using rich traffic data from a backbone network, we show that our technique effectively finds the flows associated with the anomalous event(s) in all studied cases. In addition, it triggers a very small number of false positives, on average between 2 and 8.5, which exhibit specific patterns and can be trivially sorted out by an administrator. Our anomaly extraction method significantly reduces the work-hours needed for analyzing alarms, making anomaly detection systems more practical.


Transmission of nerve impulses in superior cervical sympathetic ganglia of cats and rabbits is markedly enhanced after reserpine-induced depletion of ganglionic norepinephrine. Transmission is also enhanced by administration of adrenergic blocking agents. In contrast, reserpine-induced release of ganglionic norepinephrine in animals pretreated with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor results in a pronounced depression of ganglionic transmission, which lasts until the ganglionic norepinephrine disappears. These results support the concept that norepinephrine in ganglia modulates the action of acetylcholine.


Migration of stem/progenitor cells is a crucial event for homing toward tissue where cells need to be renewed. The neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been shown to have a crucial role in migration of neuronal stem/progenitor cells. Since human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) contains stem/progenitor cells able to generate either neuronal or hematopoietic cells, we evaluated the effect of GABA on this type of cells. While whole fraction of mononuclear cells expressed GABA(A) and GABA(B) receptor subunits (GABA-R), only GABA(B)R subunits were found to be expressed on immature CD133+ cells. Functional experiments revealed that both cell fractions of HUCB were attracted by a gradient of GABA concentration and furthermore were blocked by specific antagonists of GABA(A)R and GABA(B)R bicuculline and saclofen, respectively. Moreover, through GABA(B)R activation the migrating fraction was highly enriched by both hematopoietic progenitors and cells able to generate neuron- like cells in culture. Therefore, GABA is a potent chemoattractant of HUCB stem/progenitor cells specifically through GABA(B)R activation.


Abstract The importance of addressing social and emotional skills for youth has been well documented within the literature. These skills are becoming increasingly critical as young people face difficult challenges at school and in their personal lives. Research also indicates that psychologically competent young people are more likely to avoid high-risk activities that can have dangerous consequences for their health and well-being. Schools have the potential to reach students with these important life lessons, and school psychologists can provide the leadership to enhance these educational experiences. This article reviews the literature on school-based social and emotional skill development and examines the relevance of this area to the work of the school psychologist. Suggestions are made for ways in which school psychologists can improve the social and emotional climates of their schools in areas such as prevention and health promotion, professional development, and collaboration with other professionals and organizations. Recommendations are also made for ways in which school psychology preparation programs can better train students to take on these new roles.


Chemical shift perturbations (CSPs) in NMR spectra provide useful information about the interaction of a protein with its ligands. However, in a multiple‐ligand‐binding system, determining quantitative parameters such as a dissociation constant (Kd) is difficult. Here, we used a method we named CS‐PCA, a principal component analysis (PCA) of chemical shift (CS) data, to analyze the interaction between bovine β‐lactoglobulin (βLG) and 1‐anilinonaphthalene‐8‐sulfonate (ANS), which is a multiple‐ligand‐binding system. The CSP on the binding of ANS involved contributions from two distinct binding sites. PCA of the titration data successfully separated the CSP pattern into contributions from each site. Docking simulations based on the separated CSP patterns provided the structures of βLG–ANS complexes for each binding site. In addition, we determined the Kd values as 3.42 × 10−4M2 and 2.51 × 10−3M for Sites 1 and 2, respectively. In contrast, it was difficult to obtain reliable Kd values for respective sites from the isothermal titration calorimetry experiments. Two ANS molecules were found to bind at Site 1 simultaneously, suggesting that the binding occurs cooperatively with a partial unfolding of the βLG structure. On the other hand, the binding of ANS to Site 2 was a simple attachment without a significant conformational change. From the present results, CS‐PCA was confirmed to provide not only the positions and the Kd values of binding sites but also information about the binding mechanism. Thus, it is anticipated to be a general method to investigate protein–ligand interactions. Proteins 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This study was carried out to determine if Ginkgo Biloba Extract (GBE or Egb 761) exerts a beneficial effect against cisplatin-induced renal failure in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups. The first group (control) received orally 1 mL/kg/day of 0.9% saline by an oral carrier vehicle on days 1 to 10. The second group was injected with 7 mg/kg cisplatin intraperitoneally (i.p.) on the fourth day, once only. The third group (vit E=cisplatin) was administered 10 mg/kg/day i.p. vit E on 1 to 10 days with one dose of i.p. cisplatin (7 mg/kg) injection on the fourth day. The fourth group (GBE=cisplatin) was given GBE orally at 100 mg/mL/kg started on the first day up to the tenth day with one dose of cisplatin (7 mg/kg) injection on the fourth day. Cisplatin was found to lead a statistically significant increase in plasma BUN and creatinine levels, as well as urine micro total protein (MTP) levels, leading to acute renal failure (ARF) in rats. Renal xanthine oxidase (XO) activities increased in all groups (statistically significant in cisplatin=GBE-treated rats; P≤0.001). Adenosine deaminase (AD) activities were increased in cisplatin-treated rats, and decreased in cisplatin=GBE-treated (PB≤0.041) and cisplatin=vit E-treated (PB≤0.005) rats, compared to controls. Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities were increased in the kidney tissue of cisplatin-treated rats. Vit E improved plasma creatinine and urine MTP levels, together with tissue MDA, NO levels, and MPO activities. But GBE had no statistically significant effect on those parameters. These results indicate that increased XO, AD and MPO activities, as well as MDA and NO levels play a critical role in cisplatin nephrotoxicity. GBE has been shown to protect against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2006; 22: 125-130.


The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique of random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to differentiate DNA from species of the genus Mycosphaerella. DNA from two pathogens which cause Sigatoka leafspot diseases of banana, M. fijiensis and M. musicola, and two other Mycosphaerella species which are commonly found on banana, M. musae and M. minima, gave distinct RAPD banding patterns with all PCR primers tested. PCR, using primer RC07, amplified a 1250bp RAPD fragment from all isolates of M. fijiensis obtained from 11 geographical origins. This fragment was absent from the other species of Mycosphaerella. In Southern blots of genomic DNA, this band hybridized exclusively to DNA from M. fijiensis, and the pattern of hybridization suggested that it was binding to repeated DNA. A RAPD band amplified with primer PM06 obtained from M. musicola was also found to be species-specific. Southern analysis suggested that the fragment hybridized to a single-copy sequence in the M. musicola genome. Total genomic DNA from M. musicola was found to be a species-specific hybridization probe. Dot-blots confirmed the specificity of these probes, and could be used to identify isolates of Mycosphaerella which cause Sigatoka disease of banana in south-east Asia.


The late Paleocene thermal maximum, or LPTM (ca. 55 Ma), represents a geologically brief time interval (∼220 k.y.) characterized by profound global warming and associated environmental change. The LPTM is marked by a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) interpreted to reflect a massive and abrupt input of 12 C-enriched carbon to the ocean-atmosphere reservoir, possibly as a result of catastrophic gas-hydrate release, on time scales equivalent to present-day rates of anthropogenic carbon input. The LPTM corresponds to important changes in the global distribution of biota, including mass extinction of marine benthic organisms. The dinoflagellate cyst record indicates that surface- dwelling marine plankton in marginal seas also underwent significant perturbations during the LPTM. We report on the dramatic response of representatives of the genus Apectodinium from two upper Paleocene–lower Eocene sections in the Southern (New Zealand) and Northern (Austria) Hemispheres, where the dinoflagellate records are directly correlated with the CIE, benthic foraminifera extinction event, and calcareous nannofossil zonation. The results indicate that the inception of Apectodinium -dominated assemblages appears to be synchronous on a global scale, and that the event is precisely coincident with the beginning of the LPTM. Apectodinium markedly declined in abundance near the end of the LPTM. This Apectodinium event may be associated with (1) exceptionally high global sea-surface temperatures and/or (2) a significant increase in marginal-marine surface-water productivity. Such a globally synchronous acme of dinoflagellate cysts is unprecedented within the dinoflagellate cyst fossil record.


Abstract Axonal myelination is a key white matter maturation process as it increases conduction velocity, synchrony, and reliability. While diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to myelination, it is also sensitive to unrelated microstructural properties, thus hindering straightforward interpretations. Myelin water imaging (MWI) provides a more reliable and direct in vivo measure of myelination. Although early histological studies show protracted myelination from childhood to adulthood, reliable tract-specific in vivo evidence from MWI is still lacking. Here, we combine MWI and DTI tractography to investigate myelination in middle childhood, late childhood, and adulthood in 18 major white matter tracts. In the vast majority of major white matter tracts, myelin water fraction continued to increase beyond late childhood. Our study provides first in vivo evidence for protracted myelination beyond late childhood.


Despite the risk of hemopathology, mutations within the human gene encoding glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase are seen in more than 400 million African and Mediterranean people. The mutations have long been suspected to have become so common because the resulting hemolysis of mature red blood cells inhibits the establishment of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Tishkoff et al. (p. 455; see the Perspective by Luzzatto and Notaro) have identified three highly variable markers at this locus that provide direct evidence of this relation and that date the origin of malaria to about 6500 years in Africa and to about 3300 years ago in the Mediterranean. Why is P. falciparum so variable in the protein sequences affected by host responses and drugs and yet shows almost no variation in housekeeping genes? Volkman et al. (p. 482; see the news story by Pennisi) sequenced 25 introns from housekeeping regions of eight parasite isolates, but only found eight single nucleotide polymorphisms, most of which were in regions of microsatellite polymorphism. These data hint not only to a recent, possibly single progenitor of P. falciparum, but also to a high mutation rate within the microsatellite repeats.


All known, fatal cases of mesothelioma in the period 1960-1978 in the Province of Quebec are reviewed, because much of the world's chrysotile has been produced there and because there is also exposure to other types of asbestos. Of the 254 mesotheliomas registered, 181 were in males and 73 in females; occupational and residential histories were obtained for 91% of men and 86% of women. About 40% of male cases were probably attributable to occupational asbestos exposure; only 5.4% of females cases had been exposed occupationally. Intervals between first employment and death from mesothelioma were longer for miners and millers than for manufacturing workers: exposures of chrysotile miners and millers were mainly long and fairly low, while many factory workers had had short exposures. All tumours in miners and millers were pleural, while in factory workers, eight were peritoneal and two pleural and peritoneal. The evidence from this survey supports the view that the risk of mesothelioma after exposure to crocidolite is many times greater than that after chrysotile.


Histamine and the guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP)-inducing agent sodium nitroprusside both increased serotonin (5-HT) uptake and cGMP levels in isolated human platelets in vitro. Histaminergic stimulation was observed at concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 0.25 microM [mean effective concentration (EC50) = 0.1 microM histamine]. The inhibition produced by the H2-receptor antagonists tiotidine, metiamide, and cimetidine was 10-10(5) times more potent on histamine receptors regulating 5-HT uptake and cGMP generation in human platelets than on the histaminergic receptors H1, HIC, H2, and H3 in other tissues. The in vitro histamine-induced 5-HT uptake was prevented by preincubation of isolated human platelets in the presence of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-L-arginine or the cGMP-lowering agent LY-83583. Histamine was ineffective in stimulating cAMP generation in human platelets and did not interact with effector sites known to downregulate 5-HT uptake, including imipramine, gamma-aminobutyric acid A, peripheral type benzodiazepine-binding sites, and V1a vasopressin receptors inducing human platelet shape change and aggregation. These atypical human platelet histaminergic receptors differ from the previously classified histamine receptors by their apparent high affinity to histamine H2-receptor antagonists and their apparent link with the soluble, nitric oxide-dependent guanylate cyclase. These findings suggest that human platelets express a new subtype H2h of histamine receptors.


OBJECTIVE
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is one of the most painful neuropathic conditions, the mechanism of which remains unclear. There is no universally accepted treatment. The pain in PHN is often relieved by bathing, heating, or sympathetic blockade, suggesting a circulation-dependent property of the pain. Therefore, we examined the effectiveness of prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)), which has an analgesic effect via improvement of peripheral blood circulation, for patients with PHN.

DESIGN
A total of 27 patients with PHN underwent intravenous administration of 60 microg of PGE(1) dissolved in 100 mL of physiological saline and 5 mL of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate solution at an infusion rate of 0.02 microg/kg/min. Oral administration of PGE(1), limaprost alfadex, was followed at doses of 30 microg/day for 2 weeks. Pain at rest and tactile allodynia before and after the treatment was evaluated with visual analog scale (VAS).

RESULTS
Intravenous PGE(1) significantly decreased VAS in rest pain and tactile allodynia without severe adverse effects. The analgesic effect of PGE(1) continued during the 2 weeks of oral administration of PGE(1). Oral PGE(1) caused nausea in seven cases, diarrhea in three, and abdominal distention in one subject. All subjects, except for two cases of nausea, continued the treatment until the end of the study, although some required a decrease in the dose to 15 microg/day. During the 2-week oral administration, the VAS did not change remarkably in the three patients whose VAS were not decreased by at least 80% during the initial infusion.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study indicate that oral PGE(1) following the intravenous administration produces prompt and continuous analgesia in patients with PHN. Moreover, the intravenous treatment using PGE(1) appears useful for predicting the analgesic effect of PGE(1) in the patients.


Distributed state estimation under uncertain process and measurement noise covariances is considered. An algorithm based on sensor fusion using Kalman filtering is investigated. It is shown that if the covariances are decomposed into a known nominal covariance plus an uncertainty term, then the uncertainty of the actual estimation error covariance for the Kalman filter grows linearly with the size of the uncertainty term. This result is extended to the sensor fusion scheme to give an upper bound on the actual error covariance for the fused state estimate. Examples are provided to illustrate how the theory can be applied in practice.


Examination is an important tool for evaluating students learning outcome and require proper planning to meet high standards. This paper therefore examines the processes leading to administration of face-to-face examination in distance education with focus on the National Open University of Nigeria. It highlighted some procedures such as test development, test administration and post test administration/award procedures. It also identified some quality control practices adopted in administering examinations at the National Open University of Nigeria, and concludes that quality control in examinations is the means by which an educational institution ensures that test development and administration procedures meet high standards.


A vast amount of past experimental investigations reported that the internal peak angle of sand was jointly governed by the density and effective stress level. Several relationships were proposed between these elements. The dependence of dilatancy characteristics on the internal state of a granular material was examined and revealed. A simple constitutive model framework was established on a basis of several well-proven and experienced relationships for granular materials to simulate their undrained shear behaviour. A basic hardening law connecting the varying tendency of the stress ratio with shear strain was employed. This model is capable of predicting the undrained monotonic stress-strain relationship of granular materials at different densities and various confining pressures. A series of parametric studies are conducted to investigate the susceptibility of the simulation results to the selected parameters. The simulation results also confirm the influential influences of dilatancy and deformability on the shear characteristics of granular materials at the critical state.


Assessment of locomotion through simple tests such as timed up and go (TUG) or walking trials can provide valuable information for the evaluation of treatment and the early diagnosis of people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Common methods used in clinics are either based on complex motion laboratory settings or simple timing outcomes using stop watches. The goal of this paper is to present an innovative technology based on wearable sensors on-shoe and processing algorithm, which provides outcome measures characterizing PD motor symptoms during TUG and gait tests. Our results on ten PD patients and ten age-matched elderly subjects indicate an accuracy ± precision of 2.8 ± 2.4 cm/s and 1.3 ± 3.0 cm for stride velocity and stride length estimation compared to optical motion capture, with the advantage of being practical to use in home or clinics without any discomfort for the subject. In addition, the use of novel spatio-temporal parameters, including turning, swing width, path length, and their intercycle variability, was also validated and showed interesting tendencies for discriminating patients in ON and OFF states and control subjects.


Particle size distribution (PSD) is a fundamental physical property of soils. Traditionally, the PSD curve was generated by hand from limited data of particle size analysis, which is subjective and may lead to significant uncertainty in the freehand PSD curve and graphically estimated cumulative particle percentages. To overcome these problems, a log-cubic method was proposed for the generation of PSD curve based on a monotone piecewise cubic interpolation method. The log-cubic method and commonly used log-linear and log-spline methods were evaluated by the leave-one-out cross-validation method for 394 soil samples extracted from UNSODA database. Mean error and root mean square error of the cross-validation show that the log-cubic method outperforms two other methods. What is more important, PSD curve generated by the log-cubic method meets essential requirements of a PSD curve, that is, passing through all measured data and being both smooth and monotone. The proposed log-cubic method provides an objective and reliable way to generate a PSD curve from limited soil particle analysis data. This method and the generated PSD curve can be used in the conversion of different soil texture schemes, assessment of grading pattern, and estimation of soil hydraulic parameters and erodibility factor.


The present paper investigates how the income of elderly people is influenced by the longest-held occupation one had engaged by analyzing the data collected from a nationwide survey. The results showed that there were groups of rather rich people whose annual income were higher than or equal to 3 million yen (approximately US$23,000) in every age bracket of the people who had engaged in professionals and large company white-collar workers as well as in some age brackets of small company white-collar workers, large company blue-collar workers, and self-employed white-collar workers. Those who had engaged in self-employed blue-collar workers and farmers in general had the lower income than those had engaged in other occupations had. The income of elderly people was strongly affected by occupational status he had engaged and by the age or when each people had engaged in the occupation. The result obtained by using MDPREF disclosed that those who had engaged in the professionals, large company white-collar workers, and large company blue-collar workers had the similar and high income. Those who had engaged in large company blue-collar workers and were between 60 to 64 yeas old had the especially high income. The income of those who had engaged in large company blue-collar workers was higher than that of those who had engaged in small company white-collar workers at all age brackets except for the age between 70 to 74 years old. These along with the result obtained by MDPREF suggest that former employees in large company had higher income than those in small company irrespective of blue or white-collar had.


Emerging evidence suggests the composition of the tumour microenvironment (TME) correlates with clinical outcome and that each tumour type has a unique TME including a variable population of inflammatory cells. We performed immunohistochemistry on 65 phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) tumour samples with 20 normal adrenal medulla samples for comparison. The immune cells assessed were macrophages, lymphocytes and neutrophils, and we compared the proportion of infiltration of these immune cells with clinical and histopathological factors. There was a higher proportion of immune cells in tumour tissue compared to non-neoplastic adrenal medulla tissue, with a predominance of macrophages. There was a higher proportion of M2:M1 macrophages and T-helper lymphocytes in aggressive tumours compared to indolent ones. For SDHB-associated tumours, there was a higher proportion of M2 macrophage infiltration, with higher M2:M1 in aggressive SDHB PPGLs compared to indolent tumours. These data demonstrate that immune cells do infiltrate the TME of PPGLs, confirming that PPGLs are immunologically active tumours. Differences in the TME of PPGLs were observed between aggressive and indolent tumours. These differences could potentially be exploited as an aid in predicting tumour behaviour.


This paper presents a low-voltage and low-power Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) designed in a 0.18μm CMOS process, which is applied in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). To achieve high gain range and linearity performance, multi-stage cascade based on g m -boosted differential pair with degenerated resistor and fully-differential resistive feedback topology is used. AC coupling is utilized to eliminate the DC offset due to its stability, low power and easy to implement. The voltage gain of this PGA can be changed from 0dB to 70dB with 2dB step. The −3dB bandwidth is larger than 11MHz at the highest gain. The current consumption is only 1.9mA with a supply voltage of 1V.


2016 Abstract Introduction: Intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcioma of the jaw is cosidered as a rare primary central tumor wich rarely occurs within children. Methods: A 12-year-old girl, referred to the dentistry school of Yazd, participated in this study, who complained of swelling in right posterior region of maxilla. She did not have any pain, paraesthesia, and tenderness. Moreover, cervical lymphadenopathy was absent. Intraoral examinations revealed buccal and palatal expansion without ulcer and in color of mucosa, which extended from 14 to 18 region in the right side of the maxilla and palatal tilt in theeth 14, 15, 16. On radiographic examination, CT scan showed destruction of medial wall and inferior border of maxillary sinus, hard palate and buccal cortical plate. Histopathological features confirmed mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Right partial hemimaxillectomy was performed as the treatment option. Discussion: Pathogenesis of these tumors is still unrecognized. Neoplastic transformation of the epithelial lining of maxillary sinus or minor salivary gland can cause intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Conclusion: As the study findings revealed, due to invasive process of these tumors specifically in maxilla, early diagnosis and radical resection play an important role in regard with eradication of this tumor as well as improvement of such patients, and their survival