The aim of the work was to investigate the possibility of practical use substrate specificity of α-Lrhamnosidase Cryptococcus albidus . p -Nitrophenyl derivatives of monosaccharides were used to determine the activity and specificity of the enzyme. The ability to hydrolyze of natural substrates was evaluated by Davis and high-performance liquid chromatography methods. It was shown that the enzyme exhibits narrow specificity towards the glycon of synthetic substrates and hydrolyzes only mnopyranoside 10.0 mM). C. albidus α-L-rhamnosidase the most active degrades naringin (K 0.77 mM), releasing prunin and naringenin. K for neohesperidin was 3.3 mM. The efficacy of the naringin hydrolysis in grapefruit and pomelo juice was 98 and 94% in 60 min (40 C, 2 U/ml). As the result of treatment by α -L-rhamnosidase of green tea and orange juice, there was a decrease in the content of rutin, narirutin and hesperidin, indicating that the α -1,2- and α -1,6-linked rhamnose can be cleaved from natural flavonoids. Thus, the study shows the efficiency of treating citrus juices and green tea with α -L-rhamnosidase for the purpose of improving their taste qualities and obtaining bioavailable flavonoids glucosides. green


Aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, pyrene are recalcitrant compounds found in oil contaminated areas including petroleum storage tanks, oil exploiting companies. These components are difficult to be degraded/transformed in the lack of oxygen conditions. Among anaerobic and micro-aerobic microorganisms, photosynthetic purple bacteria are the dominant group. Photosynthetic purple bacteria (PPB) are considered as aquatic organisms which are able to grow in anaerobic conditions by photosynthesis but without oxygen. This bacterial group has flexible metabolic types depending on living conditions, then they are widely distributed in nature. There are numerous publications on planktonic PPB which could use naphthalene and pyrene as carbon and energy sources. However, there is no publication on biofilm formed by PPB to degrade their aromatic compounds. In this research, 4 biofilm-forming PPB strains including DQ41, PY2, PY6 and DG12 were screened and estimated their pyrene and napthalene degradation capacity. These organisms demonstrated high biofilm forming ability. As biofilm types, their utilization efficiencies were upper 79% with the initial concentrations of naphthalene and pyrene of 200 and 250 ppm, respectively. These results may contribute to enlarge the number of biofilm-forming microorganisms to degrade/transform aromatic hydrocarbons in polluted area treatment in Vietnam.


OBJECTIVES: Duodenal cancer in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) arises from adenomas. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the duodenal adenoma-carcinoma pathway have been identified in murine FAP models, but similar data in patients with FAP are limited. Identifying such changes may have significance in understanding duodenal polyposis therapies and identifying cancer biomarkers. We performed a genome-wide transcriptional analysis to describe the duodenal adenoma-carcinoma sequence and determine changes distinguishing patients with FAP with and without duodenal cancer. METHODS: Transcriptional profiling was performed with the Affymetrix Human Transcriptome Array 2.0 on duodenal biopsies from 12 FAP patients with duodenal cancer (FAP cases) and 12 FAP patients without cancer (FAP controls). DEGs were compared between cancer-normal, adenoma-normal, and cancer-adenoma in FAP cases and between adenomas from FAP cases and FAP controls. Significant results at P < 0.05 were filtered using fold change > 2. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-four DEGs were identified at an absolute fold change > 2. In adenoma-normal, downregulation of DEGs involved in metabolism of brush border proteins (LCT), lipids (APOB/A4), reactive oxygen species (GSTA2), and retinol (RBP2) was observed. In the cancer-adenoma comparison, upregulation of DEGs involved in cell invasion/migration (POSTN, SPP1) and downregulation of DEGs involved in Paneth differentiation (DEFA5/6) were observed. In the adenoma-adenoma comparison, downregulation of several DEGs (CLCA1, ADH1C, ANXA10) in FAP case adenomas was observed. DEGs with therapeutic potential include SPP1, which is involved in both cyclooxygenase and epidermal growth factor receptor pathways targeted by the sulindac/erlotinib combination for duodenal polyposis. DISCUSSION: We describe DEGs in the human duodenal adenoma-carcinoma sequence in FAP, which may have prognostic and therapeutic significance. Validation studies are needed to confirm these findings.


Caricatures of sixties television--called a "vast wasteland" by the FCC president in the early sixties--continue to dominate our perceptions of the era and cloud popular understanding of the relationship between pop culture and larger social forces. Opposed to these conceptions, The Revolution Wasn't Televised explores the ways in which prime-time television was centrally involved in the social conflicts of the 1960s. It was then that television became a ubiquitous element in American homes. The contributors in this volume argue that due to TV's constant presence in everyday life, it became the object of intense debates over childraising, education, racism, gender, technology, politics, violence, and Vietnam. These essays explore the minutia of TV in relation to the macro-structure of sixties politics and society, attempting to understand the struggles that took place over representation the nation's most popular communications media during the 1960s.


Unmanned network-flying vehicles (UNFVs), regarded as special remote-sensing platforms, are affected by attitude maneuvering, gravity, climatic change, and atmospheric turbulence. To improve the positioning precision of the UNFVs and accomplish autonomous navigation in the case of communication and/or tracking failure, a tracking positioning algorithm with joint space-time constraints (PAST) is proposed. In particular, the adaptive truncated normal distribution model is adopted to describe the distribution of the vehicle maneuvering acceleration with reduced delay effect of the vehicle tracking. Then, according to the spatial correlation of the UNFVs in adjacent moment, a spatial adjustment datum is combined with a time-domain strong tracking filter by Lagrange method of multipliers. As such, the rank deficiency in the measurement equation is resolved while the spatial correlation of the UNFV tracking enhanced. Furthermore, for the autonomous navigation of the UNFVs which depends little on the Earth- or satellite-based tracking, telemetry, and command, we utilize an ldquoanchorrdquo technology to further improve the PAST algorithm. Monte Carlo simulation results show that, compared with existing positioning methods, the proposed algorithm may continuously track sudden motion, rapidly respond to network communication failure, and greatly increase positioning precision for slowly moving vehicles.


Background Continuous levodopa delivery by enteral infusion is an alternative to deep brain stimulation and subcutaneous apomorphine to control motor fluctuations and dyskinesia in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Purpose The objective was to describe the efficacy and safety of levodopa duodenal infusion (LDI) in patients with advanced PD. Materials and methods The authors carried out a retrospective descriptive study in which The authors included patients with PD who started continuous daily LDI through percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) from October 2010 until October 2011. LDI has been introduced in our hospital for advanced PD treatment in patients who have tried all oral medication, have family support and do not have dementia. The patient data were obtained from their clinical histories. The authors evaluated the improvement in the motor fluctuations and dyskinesia and reduction in off-time. The adverse events were assigned to 3 categories: related to the treatment, related to the PEG and related to technical problems with the infusion device. Results Three patients were included in the study (mean age of 69.7 (range 54-78) years, 33.3% male). The average disease duration was 20.3 (17-23) years and Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) staging 3-4. LCI was used as monotherapy. Dosing of LCI was adjusted to the needs of each individual patient. The total accumulated follow-up time was 17 months (2-12). All our patients showed an improvement of fluctuations, increased on-time without dyskinesia and a reduction in the duration of the off periods. One of them was in stage 4 on the H&Y scale and improved to stage 3. In terms of complications, there was one due to PEG positioning and failures in the infusion system. Conclusions LCI is a useful treatment to reduce motor fluctuations and dyskinesia for patients with advanced PD in whom motor fluctuations and dyskinesia were inadequately treated with traditional oral medicines. The procedure was in general well tolerated and complications were related to the infusion system and dopaminergic effects but could easily be managed. Our conclusions were limited by the modest number and size of the study. New evaluations are needed.


Flexsim is an object-oriented software environment used to develop, model, simulate, visualize, and monitor dynamic-flow process activities and systems. Flexsim is a complete suite of development tools to develop and compile simulation applications. There are 3 levels of use within the Flexsim environment: 1) The Flexsim Compiler, 2) The Flexsim Developer, and 3) Flexsim Application products. The Flexsim environment is completely integrated with the C++ compiler and uses flexscript (a C++ library that is precompiled) or C++ directly. All animation is OpenGL and boasts incredible virtual reality animation. Animation can be shown in tree view, 2D, 3D, and virtual reality. All views can be shown concurrently during the model development or run phase. Flexsim has been used to model manufacturing, warehousing, material handling processes, semiconductor manufacturing, marine container terminal processes, and shared access storage network (SANS) simulation. This paper briefly describes the uses and benefits of the Flexsim Simulation Environment.


This paper addresses the issue of systemic risk in the financial sector and its relevance with regard to insurance activities. The initiatives which followed the 2008 global financial crisis to address the risks posed by Systemically Important Financial Institutions are analyzed, with a focus on the Global Systemically Important Insurers Designation Process and Policy Measures, developed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and adopted by the Financial Stability Board in July 2013. The potential consequences of the SIFI project for financial stability, in general, and the Global Systemically Important Insurers framework, in particular, are also discussed. The incentives which are being introduced for the reduction of systemic risk may have unintended consequences, such as an increase of moral hazard and intensified uncertainty. The ongoing work regarding the design, calibration and, in some cases, implementation of such policy measures is, therefore, of capital importance.


Recent collections of a cup-fungus identified as Lachnea poiraultii Boud. from the Iberian and Istrian (Croatia) peninsulas provided the opportunity to investigate its modern taxonomic position. An examination of the type specimen of this taxon confirmed the determination of Croatian, Portuguese and Spanish collections. Based on the results of multi-gene phylogenetic analyses which placed L. poiraultii within the Pyronemataceae with no support of affiliation with another genus, and the study of microscopic features in the living state, the new genus Paratricharina is proposed to accommodate L. poiraultii. The morphological similarities and differences from the most closely related species are discussed. A full description and illustrations of P. poiraultii are also provided.


Millennial generation has substantial purchasing power, its crucial to find how millennial generation react to the emerging concept of social media micro-influencer. The purpose of this study to build understanding around the micro-influencer marketing perspective and examine the impact of Social media micro-influencer on the buying behaviors of lifestyle product of Irish Millennials.

Interpretivist, inductive approach utilised to attend true reflection of millennial consumer views. Six in depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Irish Millennials. The finding of this explored and achieved through thematic analysis which presented as the main themes emerged viz, Social media and visuals, Engagement, Relatable , Credible and Trust. Moreover, Finding have provided more insightful information on the aspect of millennials and their buying behaviour on the social media. In relation to engagement, it was found that millennial push their boundaries to seek connection. When influencer is approachable it encourages millennial consumer to interact and feel comfortable. Relatability aspects of social media micro-influencer with millennial found to be highly significant because of the millennial consumers ability to relate the source. In terms of credibility, it was prominent that millennial seek source credibility, which has high impact on their purchase decisions. It was found that credibility is important dimension of trustworthiness. It was found that millennial induce two-communication interactivity, this generation is prone to value other opinions. This was significant in findings that millennials have higher trust level with smaller social media influencer (micro influencer) to make their purchase decision.


We introduce in this paper a new predictive modelling method to analyse geographic data known as sparse grids. The sparse grids method has been developed for data‐mining applications. It is a machine‐learning approach to data analysis and has great applicability to the analysis and understanding of geographic data and processes. Sparse grids are a subset of grid‐based predictive modelling approaches. The advantages they have over other grid‐based methods are that they use fewer parameters and are less susceptible to the curse of dimensionality. These mean that they can be applied to many geographic problems and are readily adapted to the analysis of geographically local samples. We demonstrate the utility of the sparse grids system using a large and spatially extensive data set of regolith samples from Weipa, Australia. We apply both global and local analyses to find relationships between the regolith data and a set of geomorphometric, hydrologic and spectral variables. The results of the global analyses are much better than those generated using an artificial neural network, and the local analysis results are better than those generated using moving window regression for the same analysis window size. The sparse grids system provides a potentially powerful tool for the analysis and understanding of geographic processes and relationships.


This paper examines conflicting ballot proposals—two or more measures that run contrary to one another and that citizens vote on in the same election. Sometimes a majority votes in favor of more than one conflicting proposal, generating a legal impasse that courts resolve by applying the "highest vote rule." The rule upholds the proposal that received the greatest number of affirmative votes and invalidates all competing proposals, even though they also garnered majority support. Using spatial models, we show that the proposal receiving the most votes is not systematically closest to the median voter's ideal point, and consequently the rule can generate antimajoritarian outcomes. We discuss the implications of our finding, analyze and reject existing alternatives to the highest vote rule, and propose an original solution to the problem.


Background The 2-week-wait urgent referral policy in the UK has sought to improve cancer outcomes by accelerating diagnosis and treatment. However, around 5–7% of symptomatic referred patients cancel or do not attend their hospital appointment. While subsequent cancer diagnosis was less likely in non-attenders, those with a diagnosis had worse early mortality outcomes. Aim To examine how interpersonal, communication, social, and organisational factors influence a patient's non-attendance. Design and setting Qualitative study in GP practices in one Northern English city. Method In-depth, individual interviews were undertaken face-to-face or by telephone between December 2016 and May 2018, followed by thematic framework analysis. Results In this study 21 GPs, and 24 patients who did not attend or had cancelled their appointment were interviewed, deriving a range of potential explanations for non-attendance, including: system flaws; GP difficulties with booking appointments; patient difficulties with navigating the appointment system, particularly older patients and those from more deprived areas; patients leading 'difficult lives'; and patients' expectations of the referral, informed by their beliefs, circumstances, priorities, and the perceived prognosis. GPs recognised the importance of communication with the patient, particularly the need to tailor communication to perceived patient understanding and anxiety. GPs and practices varied in their responses to patient non-attendance, influenced by time pressures and perceptions of patient responsibility. Conclusion Failure to be seen within 2 weeks of urgent referral resulted from a number of patient and provider factors. The urgent referral process in general practice and cancer services should accommodate patient perceptions and responses, facilitate referral and attendance, and enable responses to patient non-attendance.


The surface drifting buoys, or drifters, of the Global Drifter Program (GDP) are predominantly tracked by the Argos positioning system, providing drifter locations with O(100 m) errors at nonuniform temporal intervals, with an average interval of 1.2 h since January 2005. This data set is thus a rich and global source of information on high-frequency and small-scale oceanic processes, yet is still relatively understudied because of the challenges associated with its large size and sampling characteristics. A methodology is described to produce a new high-resolution global data set since 2005, consisting of drifter locations and velocities estimated at hourly intervals, along with their respective errors. Locations and velocities are obtained by modeling locally in time trajectories as a first-order polynomial with coefficients obtained by maximizing a likelihood function. This function is derived by modeling the Argos location errors with t location-scale probability distribution functions. The methodology is motivated by analyzing 82 drifters tracked contemporaneously by Argos and by the Global Positioning System, where the latter is assumed to provide true locations. A global spectral analysis of the velocity variance from the new data set reveals a sharply defined ridge of energy closely following the inertial frequency as a function of latitude, distinct energy peaks near diurnal and semidiurnal frequencies, as well as higher-frequency peaks located near tidal harmonics as well as near replicates of the inertial frequency. Compared to the spectra that can be obtained using the standard 6-hourly GDP product, the new data set contains up to 100% more spectral energy at some latitudes.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Abnormal blood pressure control is implicated in the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, no data exist on normal development of blood pressure control during infancy. This study assessed maturation of autonomic control of blood pressure and heart rate during sleep within the first 6 months of life.

PARTICIPANTS
Term infants (n = 31) were studied longitudinally at 2-4 weeks, 2-3 months, and 5-6 months postnatal age.

INTERVENTIONS
Infants underwent daytime polysomnography at each age studied. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded during quiet (QS) and active (AS) sleep in undisturbed baseline and head-up tilt conditions.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Autonomic control was assessed using spectral indices of blood pressure and heart rate variability (BPV and HRV) in ranges of low frequency (LF, reflecting sympathetic + parasympathetic activity) and high frequency (HF, parasympathetic activity), total power (LF+HF), and LF/HF ratio (sympathovagal balance). With increasing postnatal age and predominantly during QS, HRV-LF, HRV-HF, and HRV total power increased, while HRV-LF/HF decreased. BPV-LF/HF also decreased with postnatal age. All changes were evident in both baseline and head-up tilt conditions. BPV-LF and BPV total power during tilts were markedly reduced in QS versus AS at each age.

CONCLUSIONS
In sleeping infants, sympathetic vascular modulation of the circulation decreases with age, while parasympathetic control of heart rate is strengthened. These normative data will aid in the early identification of conditions where autonomic function is impaired, such as in SIDS.


Introductıon: HBV infection is a global public health problem. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) are nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) that are used for the treatment of CHB infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment response and efficacy of TDF, which was a new treatment regimen in Turkey Materials and Methods: This descriptive, retrospective study was conducted between January 2009 and January 2011 at Inonu University Faculty, Turgut Ozal Medicine Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hepatology Outpatient Clinic. We included hepatitis B positive patients who started to use Tenofovir (TDF). We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical files of Hepatitis B patients. HBsAg, Hepatit B surface antibody (Anti-HBsAb), HBeAg, Hepatit B e antibody (Anti-HBeAb), HBV-DNA, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values were evaluated in the 1, 3., 6., 9., and 12. months. Result:  None of the patients under TDF treatment were "primary resistant". ALT normalization at 12th month was seen in 80.4% of study population. HBsAg seroconversion were detected only in one patient (0.85%) at 9 months and HBeAg seroconversion were observed in 9 (8.3%) under TDF treatment. At the sixth month of TDF treatment, complete response were found in 77 (65.8%), partial response in 21 (18%) and inadequate response were in 19 (16.2%). Among HBeAg positive patients, 44 (80 %) patients had undetectable HBV DNA levels at the end of 12th month and among HBeAg negative patients, 52 (91.2%) patients had undetectable HBV DNA levels at the end of 12th month (p<0.01).
Discussion and Conclusion: among patients with chronic HBV infection, Tenofovir had satisfying  antiviral efficacy. There is no primary resistance in patients treated with Tenofovir. Patients had statistically significant improvement in AST, ALT, HBV DNA levels


According to Guest (2002), the ideal project-oriented organization has a specific management culture expressed in the efficiency of employee attraction, empowerment, process orientation and teamwork, organizational change, customer orientation, and networking. Therefore, specific competences and skills are needed by the project personnel to successfully work together in projects. In this study, the purpose was to investigate the determinants of human resource performance in the context of project-oriented projects. Specifically, it sought to establish how employee attraction, capacity development, retention efforts, and approach to separation influenced human resource performance. Towards achieving this, the study adopted a descriptive survey design targeting 638 employees working in four project-oriented organizations in Kericho. Data from staff was collected using questionnaires while interviews were used to ascertain information from office directors, after which analysis was accomplished using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Based on findings, it was recommended that project partners work on a detailed contract policy that optimally benefits both the organization and individuals serving within the project context. Also, project-oriented organizations should devise mechanisms of ensuring that staffers are involved in decision making, performance appraisals, collective bargaining, work life balance option broadening, and delegated responsibilities. Finally, it was recommended that a comprehensive pay policy is designed specifying all benefits accruing to employees, including severance payments which should be emphasized to cater for non-employment durations after contract expiry. The project organizations should have an agreeable private pension arrangement or lump-sum pay at the end of individual contracts rather than staggering them together with monthly salaries.


The axillary lymph node status is the most important predictor of prognosis and aids in breast cancer treatment planning. Patients with breast cancer now frequently undergo sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy rather than axillary lymph node dissection to determine the status of the regional lymph nodes. However, the optimal timing of radionuclide injection relative to the timing of SLN biopsy remains controversial. The objective of this study was to compare the lymphatic drainage patterns on lymphoscintigraphy performed at 15 minutes to 4 hours and at 18 to 24 hours after injection of filtered Tc-99m sulfur colloid, and to determine whether, over time, radiocolloid migrates to second-echelon nodes that are not the SLNs. Fifteen women with breast cancer (mean age, 55 years; range, 38–78 years) were scheduled to undergo SLN biopsy after each received an injection of 18.5 MBq (0.5 mCi) filtered Tc-99m sulfur colloid into the breast parenchyma surrounding the tumor or biopsy cavity. Both early (15 minutes to 4 hours after radionuclide injection) and delayed (18–24 hours after radionuclide injection) lymphoscintigraphy was performed in each patient. SLN biopsy was performed, followed by completion axillary lymph node dissection and planned breast surgery. In each patient the patterns of distribution of the radionuclide in the lymph nodes were the same on early and delayed lymphoscintigrams. These findings, that the distributions of radionuclide in lymph nodes are identical on early and delayed images obtained after injection of filtered Tc-99m sulfur colloid, suggest that performing SLN biopsy on the day after injection does not diminish the accuracy of the technique in predicting the potential site of metastasis in the regional lymph nodes in patients undergoing this procedure for breast cancer.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the effect of manual physiotherapy and exercises compared with exercises alone in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome one year after inclusion.

DESIGN
Randomized controlled trial.

SUBJECTS
Patients with shoulder impingement of more than 4 weeks.

METHODS
The intervention group received individualized manual physiotherapy plus individualized exercises; the control group received individualized exercises only. Both groups had 10 treatments over 5 weeks; afterwards all patients continued their exercises for another 7 weeks at home. Primary outcomes were the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index and Patients' Global Impression of Change. The Generic Patient-Specific Scale was used as secondary outcome. Costs were recorded in a log-book.

RESULTS
Ninety patients were included in the study and 87 could be analyzed at 1-year follow-up. Both groups showed significant improvements in all outcome measures, but no difference was detected between the groups. Only costs differed significantly in favour of the control group (p = 0.03) after 5 weeks.

CONCLUSION
Individualized exercises resulted in lower costs than manual physiotherapy and showed a significant effect on pain and functioning within the whole group after one year. Exercises should therefore be considered as a basic treatment. Due to the progressive improvement that occurred during the follow-up period with individualized exercises further treatments should be delayed for 3 to 4 months.


Educational aims To help readers understand the best way to use oxygen when they care for patients with medical emergencies. To encourage best practice in the use of emergency oxygen therapy. To raise awareness of the British Thoracic Society (BTS) guideline for emergency oxygen use. Summary Oxygen is the most commonly used drug in emergency medicine and when used judiciously in the treatment of hypoxaemia it undoubtedly saves life. However, oxygen is often used inappropriately and the dangers of over-oxygenation are unappreciated. In 2008, the first formal guidance on emergency oxygen use was produced by the British Thoracic Society. The guideline is objective, evidence based and peer reviewed, advocating safe use of oxygen by encouraging target saturation levels to be prescribed for each patient, based on a combination of what is believed to be safe and normal or near-normal. In the majority of patients a target saturation range of 94–98% is advised. The importance of recognition of patients at risk of type 2 respiratory failure is highlighted and, in such patients, a target saturation range of 88–92% is recommended.


ABSTRACT Cong, N.V. and Thao, H.V., 2023. Farming practices and environmental quality of integrated mangrove-shrimp farming systems in Tra Vinh province, Vietnam. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(4), 643–652. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Integrated mangrove-shrimp farming (IMSF) systems play a pillar role in environmental protection and deliver significant livelihood for communities in coastal areas. Identifying farming practices and environmental quality could improve mangrove forest ecosystem management and conservation. Therefore, practices of 30 households in the IMSF models were investigated. Also, surface water samples in the IMSF models and neighbouring rivers and sediment samples in the IMSF systems in the Long Khanh Mangrove Forest Reserve Area, Long Khanh commune, Duyen Hai district, and Tra Vinh province were collected. The results indicated that average mangrove coverage proportion of interviewed households in IMSF systems was 13% lower than the minimum required by the provincial government (55%). The productivities of shrimp and crab in IMSF systems were 45.86–75.38% and 22.81–60.65% lower than the IMSF systems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, respectively. Of all households, 13.33% directly discharged dredged sediment to surrounding rivers. Dissolved oxygen (DO), total suspended solids (TSS), and NH4+ values measured in water-distributed rivers were intolerable to permissible levels per the national standard, posing risks for aquacultural activities and coastal environmental protection as well, while these parameters in the IMSF ponds were in acceptable ranges. These Fe values were 3.50 fold and 1.16 fold higher for the IMSF ponds and adjacent rivers, respectively, than the national standard, but no significant discrepancy was revealed between Fe concentration in ponds and rivers. The present study also showed robustly reliable evidence that the concentration of trace elements, toxicity, persistent organic parameters, oil and grease, and coliform were consistently lower than the allowable degree of the national standard. This study suggests (i) increasing the ratio of mangrove forest coverage, (ii) reorganizing the annual IMSF pond renewal schedule, (iii) intervening techniques reducing total Fe concentration, and (iv) monitoring environmental quality in IMSF systems during and after dredging mangrove-shrimp ponds.


In the last 20 years improvements in the computer sciences made it possible to store large data sets containing a plethora of different data attributes and data values, which could be applied in different application domains, for example, in the natural sciences,in law enforcements or in social studies. Due to this increasing data complexity in modern times, it is crucial to support the exploration of the hypervariate data with different visualization techniques. These facts are the fundament for this paper, which reveals how the information visualization can support the understanding of data with high dimensionality. Furthermore, it gives an overview and a comparison of the different categories of hypervariate information visualization, in order to analyse the advantages and the disadvantages of each category. We also addressed in the different interaction methods which help to create an understandable visualization and thus facilitate the user's visual exploration. Interactive techniques are useful to create an understandable visualization of the relationships in a large data set. At the end, we also discussed the possibility of merging different interactions and visualization techniques.


Supported Residential Care Facilities (SRCF's) play a distinctive role in the integration of mental health consumers within host communities. Despite the vast quantity of research on the sociological impacts of discrimination against mental health consumers, such as societal and self stigmatisation, little to no research is conducted on the effects that the built environment have upon mental health consumers in SRCF's in New Zealand post deinstitutionalisation. This study examines the 23 existing SRCF's within the Wellington region, examining their socioeconomic context, city planning context, physical environment context and the built typology of these facilities. Each of these research subjects are examined to identify and understand the implications they have on the integration of mental health consumers within their host communities at three scales; host community, location and facility design. The findings and insight drawn from sociological literature and empirical research are summarised within the design guideline and tested through a design based case study. The conclusions of this research can be summarised as follows:  1. It is desirable for host communities to be socioeconomically diverse with an appropriate level of public and mental health amenities 2. It is advantageous for SRCF's to be located within the 'inner edge context,' promoting a diverse urban context, socioeconomic context, diverse planning context and safe pedestrian access to public amenities. 3.The facility design of SRCF's should promote a 'recovery oriented practice,' achieved partially through context specific 'integration programs'. The majority of SRCF's within the research sample are located within residential suburbs. This research identifies that SRCF's and facilities alike must be located within the 'inner edge context'. The findings are of particular usefulness to Wellington's SRCF's yet are also helpful in understanding and improving the built environment of SRCF's within New Zealand communities.


Abstract The increase in the proportion of the over-65 population in Australia has not been recognised in the field of psychological research and practise. It is suggested that further research is needed to identify risk factors for psychological problems in this age group. The little research that is available supports the use of psychological interventions in the management of common problems of everyday living amongst elderly clients. It is argued that the wider adoption of such early intervention techniques may help to prevent the occurrence of more serious mental health problems. Australian psychologists are encouraged to play a more active role in devising appropriate treatments and in conducting additional studies of the effectiveness of both new and existing treatments in this age group. In particular, studies on the effectiveness of treatments for problems such as bereavement, chronic pain, and elder abuse are identified as potential growth areas for psychologists.


A new and efficient mechanism to tolerate failures in interconnection networks for parallel and distributed computers, denoted as Immunet, is presented in this work. In the presence of failures, Immunet automatically reacts with a hardware reconfiguration of the surviving network resources. Immunet has four important advantages over previous fault-tolerant switching mechanisms. Its low hardware costs minimize the overhead that the network must support in absence of faults. As long as the network remains connected, Immunet can tolerate any number of failures regardless of their spatial and temporal combinations. The resulting communication infrastructure provides optimized adaptive minimal routing over the surviving topology. The system behavior under successive failures exhibits graceful performance degradation. Immunet reconfiguration can be totally transparent to the applications running on the parallel system as they will only be affected by the loss of those data packets circulating through the broken components. The rest of the packets will suffer only a tolerable delay induced by the time employed to perform the automatic network reconfiguration. Descriptions of the hardware network architecture and detailed synthetic and execution-driven simulations will demonstrate the benefits of Immunet.


This brief demystifying paper introduces the concept of health, reviewing some
common understandings of the idea and its usages, introducing key theories and
schools of thought. The paper focuses on health in the UK, how it is protected,
promoted and improved, and how we assess and measure health. The paper
briefly considers how the concept of health relates to other similar linked ideas
such as wellbeing and quality of life. It is written from a predominantly western,
developed world view point and is targeted at the very wide variety of people
and institutions whose activities and interests intersect with or may have some
impact on health but who are not necessarily health professionals.


The problem of the detection and classification of deterministic objects and random textures in a noisy scene is discussed. An energy detector is developed in the cumulant domain by exploiting the noise insensitivity of higher order statistics. An efficient implementation of this detector is described, using matched filtering. Its performance is analyzed using asymptotic distributions in a binary hypothesis-testing framework. The object and texture discriminant functions are minimum distance classifiers in the cumulant domain and can be efficiently implemented using a bank of matched filters. They are immune to additive Gaussian noise and insensitive to object shifts. Important extensions, which can handle object rotation and scaling, are also discussed. An alternative texture classifier is derived from a ML viewpoint and is statistically efficient at the expense of complexity. The application of these algorithms to the texture-modeling problem is indicated, and consistent parameter estimates are obtained. >


Adaptive immune responses are induced in liver after major stresses such as hemorrhagic shock (HS) and trauma. There is emerging evidence that the inflammasome, the multiprotein platform that induces caspase-1 activation and promotes interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 processing, is activated in response to cellular oxidative stress, such as after hypoxia, ischemia and HS. Additionally, damage-associated molecular patterns, such as those released after injury, have been shown to activate the inflammasome and caspase-1 through the NOD-like receptor (NLR) NLRP3. However, the role of the inflammasome in organ injury after HS and trauma is unknown. We therefore investigated inflammatory responses and end-organ injury in wild-type (WT) and caspase-1−/− mice in our model of HS with bilateral femur fracture (HS/BFF). We found that caspase-1−/− mice had higher levels of systemic inflammatory cytokines than WT mice. This result corresponded to higher levels of liver damage, cell death and neutrophil influx in caspase-1−/− liver compared with WT, although there was no difference in lung damage between experimental groups. To determine if hepatoprotection also depended on NLRP3, we subjected NLRP3−/− mice to HS/BFF, but found inflammatory responses and liver damage in these mice was similar to WT. Hepatoprotection was also not due to caspase-1-dependent cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18. Altogether, these data suggest that caspase-1 is hepatoprotective, in part through regulation of cell death pathways in the liver after major trauma, and that caspase-1 activation after HS/BFF does not depend on NLRP3. These findings may have implications for the treatment of trauma patients and may lead to progress in prevention or treatment of multiple organ failure (MOF).


Feroxyhyte (δ′-FeOOH) is a relatively uncommon Fe oxide mineral and one of the few phases in the system Fe2O3-H2O for which thermodynamic properties are not known. In natural occurrences, it is always fine-grained, although samples with larger particle sizes and better crystallinity (labeled as δ-FeOOH) can be prepared in the laboratory. This contribution presents a thermochemical study on a series of feroxyhyte samples. One is fine-grained and poorly crystalline, similar to natural materials, while the other three are of better crystallinity. The enthalpy of formation of feroxyhyte at 298.15 K is −547.4±1.3kJ mol−1 for the poorly crystalline sample (surface area 88 m2/g), and −550.6±1.4, −550.9±1.3, and −552.6±1.2 kJ mol−1 for the samples with better crystallinity. The entropy of feroxyhyte can be estimated only crudely, because it is influenced to a great extent by its magnetic properties, particle size, and structural disorder. The $S_{298}^{\rm{o}}$S298o of feroxyhyte is estimated here to be 65±5 J K−1 mol−1. The Gibbs free energy of the reaction feroxyhyte → hematite + liquid water is −7.4 to −12.6 kJ mol−1 at 298.15 K. The Gibbs free energy of formation (${\rm{\Delta }}G_{\rm{f}}^{\rm{o}}$ΔGfo) of the fine-grained, poorly crystalline feroxyhyte is −478.1±2.0 kJ mol−1 at 298.15 K. Since this sample is closest in its physical properties to natural feroxyhyte, this ${\rm{\Delta }}G_{\rm{f}}^{\rm{o}}$ΔGfo value should be used in thermodynamic modeling related to processes involving naturally occurring feroxyhyte. In terms of Gibbs free energy and enthalpy, feroxyhyte is very similar to lepidocrocite and maghemite, and, like these two phases, has no thermodynamic stability field in the system Fe2O3-H2O, except possibly at the nanoscale.


Carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are of high interest for the lightweight construction within many industrial sectors. The implementation of CFRP is limited by the lack of automatable, reliable and cost-efficient processing. One main research focus within the field of laser processing of CFRP is the influence of laser and process parameters on the process quality. In terms of laser cutting, the extent of the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the CFRP at the cutting edge is one important indicator for the process quality.Pulsed laser cutting offers a wide range of parameter combinations which influence the size of the HAZ. Significant parameters are the scanning velocity, pulse duration, repetition rate and average laser power. For the purposes of this study, the authors investigated the influence of these parameters on the average width of the HAZ. 0.5 mm thick epoxy-based CFRP with 2 layers of carbon fibre fabric was used as test material. In order to optimize the experimental work, the parametric study was planned using a design-of-experiments (DOE) model. Such a DOE model allows for investigation of the influence of chosen parameters on the HAZ size over a wide range of values with a decreased number of experiments. For the experiments, a nanosecond-pulsed disk laser emitting in the near-infrared range was used as a laser source. The laser source allowed for independent manipulation of pulse duration, repetition rate and average laser power as laser parameters. The influence of specific process parameters on the extent of the HAZ can be clearly determined by evaluating optical micrographs. Based on these results, corresponding parameter windows for further process developments can be deduced.Carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are of high interest for the lightweight construction within many industrial sectors. The implementation of CFRP is limited by the lack of automatable, reliable and cost-efficient processing. One main research focus within the field of laser processing of CFRP is the influence of laser and process parameters on the process quality. In terms of laser cutting, the extent of the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the CFRP at the cutting edge is one important indicator for the process quality.Pulsed laser cutting offers a wide range of parameter combinations which influence the size of the HAZ. Significant parameters are the scanning velocity, pulse duration, repetition rate and average laser power. For the purposes of this study, the authors investigated the influence of these parameters on the average width of the HAZ. 0.5 mm thick epoxy-based CFRP with 2 layers of carbon fibre fabric was used as test material. In order to optimize the experimental work, the parametric study...


Better representation of snow processes in regional climate models is a key important requirement in the development of strategies for successful management of water resources and natural hazards in the future. The objective of the research presented here is to compare a new implementation of a grid-based hydrological model embedded in a model of land-surface climatology (the Joint UK Land Exchange Scheme; JULES) with observations of snow cover available in Austria over the past 30 years. The JULES model was driven with observed precipitation and air temperature. Additional meteorological driving variables for the land surface model (air humidity, wind speed, net radiation) were obtained from regional climate simulations driven by the ERA-40 reanalysis. The results of simulations were evaluated against daily snow depth observations at 754 climate stations. We found the overall accuracy with which the model simulated snow cover was 89% for the entire year and 75% during the winter months. The comparison of spatial and temporal snow cover patterns indicates that the model accurately reproduces the seasonal accumulation and melt in lowland and mountain regions. The implications of these findings will be discussed in the context of climate change simulations using the modeling framework we have developed.


Background: Helicobacter pylori infection is the most common gastrointestinal bacterial disease worldwide. Although using culture is considered as the golden standard method for diagnosis of H. pylori infection, urea breath test is a notable alternative method because it is an easy, quick, and non-invasive approach. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with digestive discomforts using urea breath test in Mashhad County, northeast of Iran . Methods: The study involved 814 patients, 467 women and 347 men, aged 17-80 years, with gastrointestinal symptom from January 2007 to November 2008. The urea breath test was performed and the patients ingested a solution of isotope labeled urea. The expired air was collected and was analyzed using the Heliprobe breath card (Noster System, Stockholm, Sweden). Results: The results of the test were positive for 698 out of 814 (85.75%) patients including 403 (86.30%) of women and 295 (85.01%) of men. However, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Positive cases were classified by age. The highest prevalence rate of H. pylori infection was observed among 50-60 years old patients. Conclusions: The infection of H. pylori is very common among patients who have gastric complain and can be easily diagnosed by noninvasive urea breath test. Since H. pylori infection is related to poor prognosis outcomes such as gastric cancer. Therefore, screening and treatment of infected people especially symptomatic cases using urea breath test is a priority.


Background The family caregivers of patients on hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) typically experience higher burden than the general population because of the nature of tasks these caregivers need to carry out as a part of homecare. This fact influences both the caregivers' quality of life and the quality of their care toward the patient. Thus, this study aimed to review the effectiveness and limitations of interventions in improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients on HD and PD. Methodology A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (version 5.1.0). The Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, MEDLINE, VHL Regional Portal, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched queried for randomized controlled trials that developed interventions aimed at improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients undergoing HD and/or PD from 2009 to 2020. The study protocol was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration no. CRD42020151161). Results Six studies met the inclusion criteria, all of which addressed caregivers of patients undergoing HD. All interventions reported in the included studies were carried out in group sessions, which addressed topics such as patient assistance and care, treatment complications, coping strategies, caregiver self-care practices, problem solving, and self-efficacy. The studies found significant improvement in the caregiver's well-being. Conclusions Group session interventions are effective in improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients undergoing HD. In regard to PD, there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations for caregivers of patients with this treatment.


Learning directed acyclic graphs using both observational and interventional data is now a fundamentally important problem due to recent technological developments in genomics that generate such single-cell gene expression data at a very large scale. In order to utilize this data for learning gene regulatory networks, efficient and reliable causal inference algorithms are needed that can make use of both observational and interventional data. In this paper, we present two algorithms of this type and prove that both are consistent under the faithfulness assumption. These algorithms are interventional adaptations of the Greedy SP algorithm and are the first algorithms using both observational and interventional data with consistency guarantees. Moreover, these algorithms have the advantage that they are nonparametric, which makes them useful also for analyzing non-Gaussian data. In this paper, we present these two algorithms and their consistency guarantees, and we analyze their performance on simulated data, protein signaling data, and single-cell gene expression data.


In the past decades many researchers explored successfully the traces of the library of Miklós Oláh. However, the majority of data are either archive mentions or library records that were made without handling the books. During the preparative research of this current lecture, we found 202 works that were once part of Miklós Oláh's library. We can now form a view on Oláh's deep and extensive (eruditive) intellectual horizon and his reading habits. The latter can also be analysed by Oláh's marginal-notes written in his printed books. Handling of his books also gives the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of how his library was growing. The notes of previous owners of Oláh's books provide rich data to reconstruct the humanist archbishop's network.


Background: A verb's instrumentality and name relation to an associated instrument noun are among the factors influencing verb retrieval in speakers with aphasia. Previous data on the effects of these factors are equivocal, possibly due to language- and task-specific factors. Aims: The present study aimed to investigate the nature of the instrumentality and verb-noun name relation effects by retesting them in a large sample of Russian-speaking individuals with fluent and non-fluent aphasia. Methods & Procedures: Forty Russian-speaking individuals with aphasia (twenty with fluent and twenty with non-fluent aphasia) and twenty controls performed an action naming task. Overall accuracy scores and qualitative error types were analysed. Outcomes & Results: A positive effect of instrumentality was found in both groups of individuals with aphasia. A negative effect of verb-noun name relation was found in non-fluent aphasia and was larger for verbs with a smaller overlap with the instrument noun. In both aphasia groups, semantically related errors were more numerous for non-instrumental than instrumental verbs, whereas phonological errors were more numerous for name-related than non-name-related instrumental verbs. Conclusions: The positive effect of instrumentality on verb retrieval may be attributed to a facilitatory effect of richer conceptual representations of instrumental verbs. The negative effect of name relation on verb retrieval may be explained by interference of the phonological form of the instrument noun. These factors influence verb retrieval in aphasia and should be taken into account when developing testing/treatment materials and stimuli for experimental studies.


Crystal plasticity FEM simulations of plane strain compression were performed. The Texture Component Crystal Plasticity-FEM was used for the texture mapping. Two different starting textures (random and hot rolling texture) were studied using four different FE meshes and two different sets of boundary conditions. While for the random starting texture the evolution of the texture with deformation was found to be rather similar in all cases studied, the simulations using an experimental hot rolling texture as staring texture are much more sensitive to the boundary conditions and probably also to changes in the mesh geometry.


[1] Biogenic opal, organic carbon, organic matter stable isotope, and trace metal data from a well-dated, high-resolution jumbo piston core (EW0408–85JC; 59° 33.3′N, 144° 9.21′W, 682 m water depth) recovered from the northern Gulf of Alaska continental slope reveal changes in productivity and nutrient utilization over the last 17,000 years. Maximum values of opal concentration (∼10%) occur during the deglacial Bolling-Allerod (B-A) interval and earliest Holocene (11.2 to 10.8 cal ka BP), moderate values (∼6%) occur during the Younger Dryas (13.0 to 11.2 cal ka BP) and Holocene, and minimum values (∼3.5%) occur during the Late Glacial Interval (LGI). When converted to opal mass accumulation rates, the highest values (∼5000 g cm−2 kyr−1) occur during the LGI prior to 16.7 cal ka BP, which points to a strong influence by LGI glacimarine sedimentation regimes. Similar patterns are also observed in total organic carbon and cadmium paleoproductivity proxies. Mid-Holocene peaks in the terrestrial organic matter fraction at 5.5, 4.7, 3.5, and 1.2 cal ka BP indicate periods of enhanced delivery of glaciomarine sediments by the Alaska Coastal Current. The B-A and earliest Holocene intervals are laminated, and enrichments of redox-sensitive elements suggest dysoxic-to-anoxic conditions in the water column. The laminations are also associated with mildly enriched sedimentary δ15N ratios, indicating a link between productivity, nitrogen cycle dynamics, and sedimentary anoxia. After applying a correction for terrestrial δ15N contributions based on end-member mixing models of terrestrial and marine organic matter, the resulting B-A marine δ15N (6.3 ± 0.4 ‰) ratios are consistent with either mild denitrification, or increased nitrate utilization. These findings can be explained by increased micronutrient (Fe) availability during episodes of rapid rising sea level that released iron from the previously subaerial coastal plain; iron input from enhanced terrestrial runoff; and/or the intermittent presence of seasonal sea ice resulting from altered ocean/atmospheric circulation during the B-A in the Gulf of Alaska.


THIS communication represents a renewed attempt to examine the nature of the psychotherapeutic influence and to point the way toward investigative efforts designed to elucidate the relative contributions of techniques and nonspecific interpersonal factors. The long-range quest is for precision and specificity of our therapeutic endeavors. Problem of Control One of the chief purposes of psychotherapy, if not the primary purpose, is to promote the acquisition of self-control. Terms like mastery, ability to cope, competence, independence, autonomy, etc, refer to the same phenomenon. Freud's capsule summary of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, "Where id was, there shall ego be," while anchored to assumptions and conceptualizations which are in need of thorough revamping, essentially describes the same process. The course of therapy, in general terms, follows two courses of action which are usually intertwined: (1) to help the patient achieve greater control or mastery; (2) to help


Recent improvements in solar observations have greatly progressed the study of sungrazing comets. They can now be imaged along the entirety of their perihelion passage through the solar atmosphere, revealing details of their composition and structure not measurable through previous observations in the less volatile region of the orbit further from the solar surface. Such comets are also unique probes of the solar atmosphere. The debris deposited by sungrazers is rapidly ionized and subsequently influenced by the ambient magnetic field. Measuring the spectral signature of the deposited material highlights the topology of the magnetic field and can reveal plasma parameters such as the electron temperature and density. Recovering these variables from the observable data requires a model of the interaction of the cometary species with the atmosphere through which they pass. The present paper offers such a model by considering the time-dependent chemistry of sublimated cometary species as they interact with the solar radiation field and coronal plasma. We expand on a previous simplified model by considering the fully time-dependent solutions of the emitting species' densities. To compare with observations, we consider a spherically symmetric expansion of the sublimated material into the corona and convert the time-dependent ion densities to radial profiles. Using emissivities from the CHIANTI database and plasma parameters derived from a magnetohydrodynamic simulation leads to a spatially dependent emission spectrum that can be directly compared with observations. We find our simulated spectra to be consistent with observation.


We study four augmentations of ring networks which are intended to enhance a ring's efficiency as a communication medium significantly, while increasing its structural complexity only modestly. Chordal rings add "shortcut" edges, which can be viewed as chords, to the ring. Express rings are chordal rings whose chords are routed outside the ring. Multirings append subsidiary rings to edges of a ring and, recursively, to edges of appended subrings. Hierarchical ring networks (HRN's) append subsidiary rings to nodes of a ring and, recursively, to nodes of appended subrings. We show that these four modes of augmentation are very closely related: 1) Planar chordal rings, planar express rings, and multirings are topologically equivalent families of networks with the "cutwidth" of an express ring translating into the "tree depth" of its isomorphic multiring and vice versa. 2) Every depth-d HRN is a spanning subgraph of a depth-(2d-1) multiring. 3) Every depth-d multiring /spl Mscr/ can be embedded into a d-dimensional mesh with dilation 3 in such a way that some node of /spl Mscr/ resides at a corner of the mesh. 4) Every depth-d HRN /spl Hscr/ can be embedded into a d-dimensional mesh with dilation 2 in such a way that some node of /spl Hscr/ resides at a corner of the mesh. In addition to demonstrating that these four augmented ring networks are grid graphs, our embedding results afford us close bounds on how much decrease in diameter is achievable for a given increase in structural complexity for the networks. Specifically, we derive upper and lower bounds on the optimal diameters of N-node depth-d multirings and HRN's that are asymptotically tight for large N and d.


In this paper I will be examining and evaluating three conversational implicatures from the gospel of Matthew along with their translations in Tok Pisin, a lingua franca of the country of Papua New Guinea. My purpose in the examination is to evaluate whether the implicatures they contain are likely to communicate the same truth conditional meaning in the translation as in the original. After the evaluation I will show my proposed additions to the translations to ensure that the original truth conditional meanings are preserved. For evaluation of the implicatures I will be utilizing principles from the theory of conversational implicature proposed by Paul Grice. Specifically, I will be referring to his super maxims of quality, quantity, relation and manner and his theory of implicature through violation of these maxims. (Grice 1989)


This report describes the generation of three-dimensional (3D) crystalline silicon continuous network nanostructures by coupling all-organic block copolymer self-assembly-directed resin templates with low-temperature silicon chemical vapor deposition and pulsed excimer laser annealing. Organic 3D mesoporous continuous-network resin templates were synthesized from the all-organic self-assembly of an ABC triblock terpolymer and resorcinol-formaldehyde resols. Nanosecond pulsed excimer laser irradiation induced the transient melt transformation of amorphous silicon precursors backfilled in the organic template into complementary 3D mesoporous crystalline silicon nanostructures with high pattern fidelity. Mechanistic studies on laser-induced crystalline silicon nanostructure formation revealed that the resin template was carbonized during transient laser-induced heating on the milli- to nanosecond timescales, thereby imparting enhanced thermal and structural stability to support the silicon melt-crystallization process at temperatures above 1250 °C. Photoablation of the resin material under pulsed excimer laser irradiation was mitigated by depositing an amorphous silicon overlayer on the resin template. This approach represents a potential pathway from organic block copolymer self-assembly to alternative functional hard materials with well-ordered 3D morphologies for potential hybrid photovoltaics, photonic, and energy storage applications.


Background and Purpose— Interhospital transfer is a critical component in the treatment of acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusive stroke transferred for mechanical thrombectomy. Real-world data for benchmarking and theoretical modeling are limited. We sought to characterize transfer workflow from primary stroke center (PSC) to comprehensive stroke center after the publication of positive thrombectomy trials. Methods— Consecutive patients transferred from 3 high-volume PSCs to a single comprehensive stroke center between January 2015 and August 2016 were included in a retrospective study. Factors associated with key time metrics were analyzed with emphasis on PSC intrahospital workflow. Results— Sixty-seven patients were identified. Median age was 74 years (interquartile range [IQR], 63.5–78) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale 17 (IQR, 12–21). Median transfer time measured by PSC-door-to-comprehensive stroke center-door was 128 minutes (IQR, 107–164), of which 82.8% was spent at PSCs (door-in-door-out [DIDO]; 106 minutes; IQR, 86–143). The lengthiest component of DIDO was computed-tomography-to-retrieval-request (median 59.5 minutes; IQR, 44–83). The 37.3% had DIDO exceeding 120 minutes. DIDO times differed significantly between PSCs (P=0.01). In multivariate analyses, rerecruiting the initial ambulance crew for transfer (P<0.01) and presentation during working hours (P=0.04) were associated with shorter DIDO times. Conclusions— In a metropolitan hub-and-spoke network, PSC-door-to-comprehensive stroke center-door and DIDO times are long even in high-volume PSCs. Improving PSC workflow represents a major opportunity to expedite mechanical thrombectomy and improve patient outcomes.


In this work, the precursors zinc nitrate hexahydrate and zinc chloride were used to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystals, applying a simple solochemical technique. ZnO rod-like nanostructures were successfully obtained by chemical reaction between NaOH and zinc nitrate hexahydrate at 90 °C. The sample formed by chemical reaction between NaOH and zinc chloride at 90 °C showed the ZnO phase mixed with the Zn5(OH)8Cl2H2O phase. Only after thermal treatment at 500 °C for 3 hours, the conversion of Zn5(OH)8Cl2H2O in ZnO was achieved. The samples prepared with different precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Rietveld analysis to the X-ray diffraction data indicated that ZnO nanocrystals obtained have hexagonal wurtzite structure and nanometric-sized crystallites.


It has been demonstrated that a finite mixture model (FMM) with Gaussian distribution is a powerful tool in modeling probability density function of image data, with wide applications in computer vision and image analysis. We propose a simple-yet-effective way to enhance robustness of finite mixture models (FMM) by incorporating local spatial constraints. It is natural to make an assumption that the label of an image pixel is influenced by that of its neighboring pixels. We use mean template to represent local spatial constraints. Our algorithm is better than other mixture models based on Markov random fields (MRF) as our method avoids inferring the posterior field distribution and choosing the temperature parameter. We use the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm to optimize all the model parameters. Besides, the proposed algorithm is fully free of empirically adjusted hyperparameters. The idea used in our method can also be adopted to other mixture models. Several experiments on synthetic and real-world images have been conducted to demonstrate effectiveness, efficiency and robustness of the proposed method.


Empirical evidence suggests that capital-market constraints prevent low-wealth individuals from setting up in business. This paper shows this finding to be consistent with socially excessive lending and an interest-rate tax being welfare-improving. One feature of the model, banks' inability to identify entrepreneurial quality, leads to excessive bank lending and investment in low-return projects. The reduction in the probability of bankruptcy lowers the cost of borrowing and eliminates deadweight costs and hence promotes entry. If the incentive effects are sufficiently large, wealth and the volume of entrepreneurial activity move together. A key result of the paper is to show that a market equilibrium in which there is a positive relationship between entry and the level of wealth is consistent with either subsidies to inactivity or taxes on interest raising welfare.


Context. Owing to the high energy required for their excitation, high-J CO transitions are a valuable tool for the study of protostellar jets and outflows. However, high spectral resolution observations of high-J CO lines, which are essential to distinguish the different components in the line profiles, were impossible until the start of operations of the Herschel Space Observatory and the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Aims. We present and analyze two spectrally resolved high-J CO lines toward a protostellar outflow. We study the physical conditions, as a function of velocity, traced by such high-energy transitions in bipolar outflows. Methods. We selected the molecular outflow Cep E, driven by an intermediate-mass class 0 protostar. Using the German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies (GREAT) onboard SOFIA, we observed the CO (12–11) and (13–12) transitions (Eu ∼ 430 and 500 K, respectively) toward one position in the blue lobe of this outflow, that had been known to display high-velocity molecular emission. Results. We detect the outflow emission in both transitions, up to extremely high velocities (∼100 km s−1 with respect to the systemic velocity). We divide the line profiles into three velocity ranges that each have interesting spectral features: standard, intermediate, and extremely high-velocity. One distinct bullet is detected in each of the last two. A large velocity gradient analysis for these three velocity ranges provides constraints on the kinetic temperature and volume density of the emitting gas, 100 K and 104 cm−3, respectively. These results are in agreement with previous ISO observations and are comparable with results obtained by Herschel for similar objects. Conclusions. High-J CO lines are a good tracer of molecular bullets in protostellar outflows. Our analysis suggests that different physical conditions are at work in the intermediate velocity range compared with the standard and extremely high-velocity gas.


$^{125}$Te NMR experiments in field ($H$) applied along the easy magnetization axis (the $a$-axis) revealed slow electronic dynamics developing in the paramagnetic state of UTe$_2$. The observed slow fluctuations are concerned with a successive growth of long-range electronic correlations below 30$-$40 K, where the spin susceptibility along the hard magnetization axis (the $b$-axis) shows a broad maximum. The experiments also imply that tiny amounts of disorder or defects locally disturb the long-range electronic correlations and develop an inhomogeneous electronic state at low temperatures, leading to a low temperature upturn observed in the bulk-susceptibility in $H\|a$. We suggest that UTe$_2$ would be located on the paramagnetic side near an electronic phase boundary, where either magnetic or Fermi-surface instability would be the origin of the characteristic fluctuations.


The tracer diffusivities of 22Na and 45Ca in two high-quality standard silica glasses have been measured in the temperature range between 473 and 783 K. The temperature dependences of the tracer diffusion coefficients in both glasses follow Arrhenius laws. The diffusion of 22Na is six to seven orders of magnitude faster than the diffusion of 45Ca. The ionic conductivity was determined by impedance spectroscopy and the conductivity diffusion coefficient Ds was deduced from the dc conductivity via the Nernst-Einstein relation. The temperature dependences of Ds for both glasses follow also Arrhenius functions. The activation parameters and pre-exponential factors for tracer diffusion and for conductivity diffusion were determined. The activation enthalpy of 22Na diffusion is almost equal to the activation enthalpy of the dc conductivity. We conclude that the conductivity of standard glasses is due to the motion of Na ions. The diffusivities of 22Na and 45Ca in soda-lime glasses increase with increasing Na2O content.


Thermalization and scrambling are the subject of much recent study from the perspective of many-body quantum systems with locally bounded Hilbert spaces (`spin chains'), quantum field theory and holography. We tackle this problem in 1D spin-chains evolving under random local unitary circuits and prove a number of exact results on the behavior of out-of-time-ordered commutators (OTOCs), and entanglement growth in this setting. These results follow from the observation that the spreading of operators in random circuits is described by a `hydrodynamical' equation of motion, despite the fact that random unitary circuits do not have locally conserved quantities (e.g., no conserved energy). In this hydrodynamic picture quantum information travels in a front with a `butterfly velocity' $v_{\text{B}}$ that is smaller than the light cone velocity of the system, while the front itself broadens diffusively in time. The OTOC increases sharply after the arrival of the light cone, but we do \emph{not} observe a prolonged exponential regime of the form $\sim e^{\lambda_\text{L}(t-x/v)}$ for a fixed Lyapunov exponent $\lambda_\text{L}$. We find that the diffusive broadening of the front has important consequences for entanglement growth, leading to an entanglement velocity that can be significantly smaller than the butterfly velocity. We conjecture that the hydrodynamical description applies to more generic ergodic systems and support this by verifying numerically that the diffusive broadening of the operator wavefront also holds in a more traditional non-random Floquet spin-chain. We also compare our results to Clifford circuits, which have less rich hydrodynamics and consequently trivial OTOC behavior, but which can nevertheless exhibit linear entanglement growth and thermalization.


This series on Geotechnical Engineering has been initiated to provide an integrated platform for publishing in all areas of geotechnics and their applications to engineering problems. The series focuses on the topics that have garnered recent interest from a large research audience, including, but not limited to, saturated and unsaturated soils, expansive soils, geosynthetics, marine geotechnics, and soil improvement. This series includes monographs, textbooks, and references in the general area of Geotechnical Engineering. The books in this series will serve researchers, practitioners, and students alike.


TRADE SHOWS/FAIRS--A REVIEW Trade shows, trade fairs, expositions, scientific/technical conferences, conventions. The name may vary but the basic function of the activity represents a major industry marketing event. They are "events that bring together, in a single location, a group of suppliers, distributors and related services who set up physical exhibits of their products and services from a given industry or discipline" (Black 1986). In 1988 in the United States alone, over 100,000 firms exhibited at some 11,000 business trade shows and spent over $9 billion. This must be compared to 1982's 91,000 firms which exhibited at some 8000 trade shows at cost of $7 billion. In ten year period 1980-1990, the number of trade shows went from 4500 to 10000. Show/fair attendance has reached at least 50 million and utilize the available 53 million square feet of space several times over every year. More than half of all industrial shows sold all available exhibit space--2 million square feet could not be accommodated. Demand for space is forecast to more than double over the next decade. Comdex 1990 with 118,000 attendees from over 100 countries and 1850 companies, 2.2 Million square feet of exhibit space with over 1900 accredited press from throughout the world in attendance versus Hanover Fair with over 400,000 attendees and nearly 5000 companies. The trade show medium plays much larger role in Europe and other foreign countries than in the United States. For example, average attendance at the top 100 events in Europe 77,000 visitors vs. about 22,000 in the U.S. (Trade Show Bureau Newsletter, June 1992). Trade shows accounted for over 22-25% of the typical U.S. Business Market Promotional budget, second only to personal selling activity and ahead of print advertising and direct mail. American firms spend annually approximately $9 billion for exhibition travel and labor costs and $12 billion for exhibit costs (1984 U.S. only). Trade Show Bureau estimates that the trade show industry itself generates $50 billion a year. Industry estimates indicate that this figure is growing by almost $1 billion a year during late eighties. Growth of exhibit space has averaged nearly fifteen percent annually during the seventies, slowing down to a smaller but sustainable 7-8 percent during the eighties. However, the 1991 recession cut growth to 3 to 4%. According to Trade Show Week, the industry newsletter, number firms exhibiting at the 200 largest trade shows grew 7.7% between 1986 and 1987. During the seventies the number of new exhibitors increased at an average annual increase of 3-4% while in the eighties it has exceeded 7% annually (Mee, 1988). Show attendance at the major events increased at an average of 3% per year during the seventies, rising to more than 6% during the eighties. At the same time, the annual company budget allocation for trade show participation increased from $73,000 in 1978 to $212,000 by 1987. ADVANTAGES OF TRADE EVENTS Trade shows rank second behind only personal selling in influencing buying decisions of industrial purchases (Parasuraman 1981; O'Hara 1991). Nearly 44% of trade show visitors travel more than 400 miles to shows and spend more than $300 per person in transportation costs alone to attend the event. The average delegate spends nearly $1000 per visit. While 85% of all attendees have a key impact on the buying decision. The cost per contact at a show is one third that of a personal sales call (Trade Show Bureau 1986a). In 1988, average total costs per visitor (including space rental, construction costs, freight, booth personal travel, living expenses, and salaries) was $133, almost one third the cost of a personal sales call. It takes approximately 0.8 sales calls on average to close a sale initiated by a trade show lead while most estimates place the number required in the field to be five. Overall, the cost differential is about 3.5 to 1 in favor of trade shows. Additional advantages of using a trade show include: promotional message is delivered to a large number of qualified interested people (86% of all show attendees represent a buying influence, are interested in a specific exhibited product or service and have not been called on by a sales rep recently); introduction of new products possible to large number of prospects; potential customers may be discovered; enhanced goodwill; free company publicity is possible; and gathering competitive information. …


Due to the importance of sediment hydraulics in river engineering and its effects on hydraulics structures, the reliable estimation of the suspended sediment load plays very important role in real and reliable study. Because of some shortages such as technical and economical problems, the data from many sedimentgauging stations in national rivers can not be relied on. Rational data is therefore necessary for some reaches. In this study, geostatistics and concepts of spatial variables were used in order to find a model for estimation of Talkherood suspended sediment load. For this purpose, a pre-developed software named "Gslib" was used and then estimation of the suspended load of Talkherood River was carried out by both Kriging and Cokriging methods. In Cokriging method, in addition to suspended load, water discharge is also used as a secondary variable. This variable has a statistical relation with suspended load. Talkherood River is the most important river in the northern-west of Iran. In this study, the data of 5 hydrographic stations were used for suspended load estimation of Talkherood using both Kriging and Cokriging methods. For verification of the presented model, cross validation method was used. The result showed that proposed model could be adequately used for estimation of Talkherood suspended load. Two important points raised from the obtained results are as follows: Gaussian Variogram model for spatial estimation of Talkherood suspended sediment load has the best fitting on the experimental Variograms and the result of Cokriging method, in which the discharge is used as a secondary and parameter and compared to the Kriging method.


Temperate bacteriophages possess a genetic switch which regulates the lytic and lysogenic cycle. The genomes of the temperate telomere phages N15, PY54, and ϕKO2 harbor a primary immunity region (immB) comprising genes for the prophage repressor (cI or cB), the lytic repressor (cro) and a putative antiterminator (q). The roles of these products are thought to be similar to those of the lambda proteins CI (CI prophage repressor), Cro (Cro repressor), and Q (antiterminator Q), respectively. Moreover, the gene order and the location of several operator sites in the prototype telomere phage N15 and in ϕKO2 are reminiscent of lambda-like phages. We determined binding sites of the ϕKO2 prophage repressor CB and lytic repressor Cro on the ϕKO2 genome in detail by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) studies. Unexpectedly, ϕKO2 CB and Cro revealed different binding specificities. CB was bound to three OR operators in the intergenic region between cB and cro, two OL operators between cB and the replication gene repA and even to operators of N15. Cro bound exclusively to the 16 bp operator site OR3 upstream of the ϕKO2 prophage repressor gene. The ϕKO2 genes cB and cro are regulated by several strong promoters overlapping with the OR operators. The data suggest that Cro represses cB transcription but not its own synthesis, as already reported for PY54 Cro. Thus, not only PY54, but also phage ϕKO2 possesses a genetic switch that diverges significantly from the switch of lambda-like phages.


Abstract : A well known prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity states that two ideal clocks that move with a relative velocity, and are submitted to different gravitational fields will, in general, be observed to run at different rates. Similarly the rate of a clock with respect to the coordinate time of some spacetime reference system is dependent on the velocity of the clock in that reference system and on the gravitational fields it is submitted to. For the syntonization of clocks and the realization of coordinate times (like TM) this rate shift has to be taken into account at an accuracy level which should be below the frequency stability of the clocks in question, i.e. all terms that are larger than the instability of the clocks should be corrected for. We present a theory for the calculation of the relativistic rate shift for clocks in the vicinity of the Earth, including all terms larger than one part in 10(18). This, together with previous work on clock synchronization (Petit & Wolf 1993, 1994), amounts to a complete relativistic theory for the realization of coordinate time scales at picosecond synchronization and 10(-18) syntonization accuracy, which should be sufficient lo accommodate future developments in time transfer and clock technology.


Corporate Governance mechanisms believed to have strong impact to the companies' performance. The implementation of Corporate Governance in one company might be different to the implementation of Corporate Governance in other company due to the characteristic of the company. This study examined the difference of Corporate Governance mechanisms in financially distressed firms and non financially distressed firms. Corporate Governance mechanisms examined in this study are size of board, independency of board, board turn over, ownership structure by bank or financial institution and by directors. The result of this study showed that size of directors, size of commisioner, and board turn over have significant impact on the probability of firm experienced financial distressed. The evidence on impact of board of director and board of commissioner size on the probability of firm experienced financial distressed also confirmed by test using lag 1 year. This study fail to document the evidence of the relationship of board indepedency and ownership structure with the probability of firm experienced financial distressed.


A novel angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide was isolated and purified from chicken bone extract by enzymatic digestion. The peptide was defined as an ACE inhibitor, and it demonstrated antihypertensive activity following oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The results of this study suggest that peptides derived from an extract of chicken bones, administered orally, have the ability to reduce the blood pressure of SHRs significantly over a short period of time (3 h). Moreover, the blood pressure then remains low for 3 h. This peptide derived from chicken bones may therefore have great value as a short-term remedy for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure. The amino acid sequence of the peptide was YYRA (Tyr-Tyr-Arg-Ala), which was the origin of the Ig heavy chain V region (27-30 position). The IC₅₀ value of its synthetic peptide was 33.9 μg/mL. We suggest that the ACE inhibitory and antihypertensive peptides derived from chicken bone extract may contribute to develop physiologically functional foods or improve food functionality.


Due to the establishment of thermal equilibrium is very rare, some cases not possible, so the accuracy of temperature measurement is often difficult to ensure that no one will be allowed or asking for too much more to the transient temperature measurement is difficult. Based on the finite element software ANSYS platform, according to the feature of fusion welding, the impact of heat on the welding and the welding temperature field is simulatd by the Three-Dimensional Dynamic FEM simulation of the ANSYS software. Finite element numerical simulation results with the test weld shape with good consistency, so that the body welding Gauss heat source model is used to simulate the temperature field is reasonable.


There is no standard for creating a reliability prediction. Therefore, predictions vary greatly in terms of methodological rigor, data quality, extents of analysis, and uncertainty. The documentation of the prediction process employed is often not presented. These inconsistencies can leave the user of the prediction confused, uncertain of the prediction's true value and unable to compare the results of two reliability predictions of the same hardware. IEEE has created a standard that, when followed, results in consistent and complete documentation of a prediction. The prediction users can then understand the strengths and weaknesses of a prediction and compare the value and usefulness of multiple predictions. The standard creates consistency by requiring documentation for specific processes, activities and levels of knowledge.


The role of Shc as a substrate of receptors for growth factors and cytokines is well established. To gain further insight into the function of Shc in signal transduction, we used an affinity method to identify potential Shc-binding proteins. Incubation of bovine brain lysates with a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-Shc fusion protein immobilized on glutathione-Sepharose beads resulted in the binding of cellular proteins of 115, 110, and 100 kDa as well as those of 50 and 17 kDa. Amino acid sequencing of tryptic peptides revealed that the 100-kDa protein was almost identical to β-adaptin and that the 110- and 115-kDa proteins were almost identical to α-adaptin. Using immunoblot analysis, anti-α-adaptin antibody recognized several proteins of 100115 kDa, and anti-β-adaptin antibody recognized a 100-kDa protein, suggesting that α-, α-, and β-adaptins are bound to the GST-Shc fusion protein. Immunoblot analysis with anti-α-adaptin antibody revealed that α-adaptin was coimmunoprecipitated with Shc from PC12, KB, and COS cell lysates, suggesting a specific interaction of Shc and adaptins in intact cells. A binding study using mutant GST-Shc fusion proteins revealed that the collagen homologous region (amino acids 233-377) of Shc was required for adaptin binding. Conversely, the collagen homologous region of Shc inhibited the binding of adaptins to GST-Shc. In addition, adaptin was able to bind mutant fusion proteins containing amino acids 233-369, 233-355, 346-369, and 346-355 of Shc, but failed to bind a mutant containing amino acids 233-345, suggesting that amino acids 346-355 (RDLFDMKPFE) in the collagen homologous region of Shc are required for adaptin binding. Thus, this study indicates the specific interaction of Shc with α- and β-adaptin components of plasma membrane adaptor proteins that are thought to be involved in receptor endocytosis.


This study uses a corpus-based approach to explore processes of contact-induced change underlying the use of four nativised prepositional verbs (PrVs) in Malaysian English (ME)—comprise of, demand for, discuss about and discuss on. Located within Winford's (2003) framework of group Second Language Acquisition (group SLA), this article compares the contexts of these PrVs with those of their corresponding single word verbs (SWVs). It is argued that there is a link between the polysemous nature of the SWVs comprise, demand and discuss in ME and the relevance of the nativised PrVs. Based on evidence of usage, it is concluded that the prepositions of, for, about and on in these PrVs are used to keep track of the transitivity of the SWVs in certain contexts. The fact that these PrVs recur in the relatively formal register of newspaper texts and the fact that they occur in systematic and stable syntactic environments suggest that they have become institutionalised.  This study demonstrates the value of language contact theories—in particular, those within the group SLA framework—for elucidating the processes and outcomes of structural nativisation in varieties of English that have emerged in postcolonial settings.


VIROLOGYCHICAGO, ILLINOIS-- Most AIDS researchers have long believed that HIV-1, the main form of the AIDS virus, jumped from chimpanzees into humans, but there have been scant data to support this thesis. Now researchers have pieced together what is being hailed as the best case yet for the chimpanzee connection. The genetic detective work--described in the keynote speech here at the opening of the largest annual AIDS conference held in the United States and published in this week's issue of Nature --indicates that different subspecies of chimps harbor different strains of HIV-like viruses, and that one particular chimp subspecies found in a region that includes Gabon, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea is the source of human HIV-1 infections.


Abstract The physical processes driving the chemical evolution of galaxies in the last ~ 11Gyr cannot be understood without directly probing the dust-obscured phase of star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei. This phase, hidden to optical tracers, represents the bulk of the star formation and black hole accretion activity in galaxies at 1 < z < 3. Spectroscopic observations with a cryogenic infrared observatory like SPICA, will be sensitive enough to peer through the dust-obscured regions of galaxies and access the rest-frame mid- to far-infrared range in galaxies at high-z. This wavelength range contains a unique suite of spectral lines and dust features that serve as proxies for the abundances of heavy elements and the dust composition, providing tracers with a feeble response to both extinction and temperature. In this work, we investigate how SPICA observations could be exploited to understand key aspects in the chemical evolution of galaxies: the assembly of nearby galaxies based on the spatial distribution of heavy element abundances, the global content of metals in galaxies reaching the knee of the luminosity function up to z ~ 3, and the dust composition of galaxies at high-z. Possible synergies with facilities available in the late 2020s are also discussed.


The market integration hypothesis in the latent common market factors study by Mei and Liu (1994) suggests that when the risk premiums of the investment can be captured by common risk beta in overall stock, both and real estate markets, the financial and real estate markets can be deemed to be integrated. This paper employed the multi-factor latent variable model of Mei and Lee (1994) to test the predictability of five asset markets and also to examine whether there are common risk premiums in the five asset markets in Singapore. Our results were consistent with those found in the study by Mei and Lee (1994), which found that the three market factors, inclusive of real estate market risk factor, contain sufficient market information to explain the price variations of real estate and financial asset classes. By further examining into the beta coefficient estimates of the commercial real estate and property stock assets with respects to the three latent market factors. We observed differences in the market behaviors in the five asset classes, even though the risk premiums could be fully captured by the three market risk factors. It seems like securitized real estate as represented by the property stock asset is more integrated with the overall stock market, and less so with the direct real estate market and bond market.


Central Asia contains numerous closed geomorphic basins that are surrounded by active mountain ranges, but exhibit little internal deformation. These areas commonly coincide with sedimentary basins that record a much older history of continuous internal drainage, evidenced by lacustrine and associated alluvial deposits that date as back far as the Late Permian. We propose the new descriptive term 'walled basin', in recognition of the unique physiography of basins that impound sediments within peripheral orogenic walls that are maintained over relatively long geologic time scales. Walled basins are surrounded by dominantly contractional orogenic uplifts, but are themselves relatively undeformed. They typically record multiple episodes of alluvial and lacustrine sedimentation, that are often correlated with evidence for recurrent deformation of basin‐bounding uplifts. The distribution of walled basins in Asia appears to correspond to crustal heterogeneities inherited from the complex accretionary history of the continent, but actual mechanisms for maintaining stable basin interiors over periods as long as ∼250 my remain uncertain. Modern walled basins in Asia are restricted to arid or semiarid regions, due to the capacity of large rivers to defeat drainage barriers in more humid areas. Walled basins lie at lower elevations than Asia as whole, and they appear to impede rather than promote plateau growth.


Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet skipping breakfast remains common in adults. Sleep behaviors show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; the existing literature, however, has methodological limitations. The current investigation explored the association of means and intraindividual variability of a variety of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of the frequency of eating breakfast and frequency of high-protein breakfast intake. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to assess direct associations between sleep behaviors and breakfast intake frequency. Variability in bedtime was a significant predictor of the frequency of breakfast intake, with greater variability associated with less frequent intake. Variability in sleep duration and midsleep was not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake. Both variability and mean sleep behaviors were not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake or high-protein breakfast intake. Because greater regularity in bedtimes was associated with more frequent breakfast intake, it is plausible that there should be increased education regarding the importance of regularity of sleep behaviors.


This work presents a development and miniaturization of a rotational electromagnetic energy harvesting (EH) generator. The energy harvesting generator is driven mechanically by pushing the button. The energy harvester system has an integrated mechanism for movement conversion. This mechanism converts the linear movement of the button into rotation with a rotational speed of 1000 rpm. An electromagnetically part of harvester consists of in FR-4 embedded multilayer planar coils and of multipole NdFeB hard magnets. The miniaturized energy harvester generates a maximum open circuit output voltage of about 500 mV with duration of about 2 s and a maximum short circuit output current higher than 40 mA.


This paper analyzes the factors behind the loan defaults of borrowers by their employment status (whether they are self-employed) using the Korea Consumer Credit Panel data held by the Bank of Korea, and estimates the probability of default and the fragility of the financial sector. This is done using the concept of exposure at default for individuals. Using individual data on loans and delinquencies, we divide the spreads of personal loans into spreads determined by loan characteristics and spreads based on credit ratings to examine how these factors determine the probability of default among self-employed and non-self-employed borrowers. We find that the marginal effect of the spread based by the characteristic of loans and the borrowers' credit ratings on the probability of default is greater to the self-employed borrowers, as compared to the non-self-employed borrowers. Especially, the effect of the spread by credit rating is stronger than the other. When we measure the vulnerability of financial institutions in terms of households' probability of default, the institutions' exposure to default of the self-employed affects to institutions' vulnerability more than those of the non-self-employed. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the connectedness of financial institutions to household debt, and, in particular, the financial status of the self-employed.


Birth and growth processes are known in materials science as nucleation and growth processes. In crystalline materials nucleation almost always takes place in an internal crystalline defect. These defects are classified according to their dimensionality: point, line or planar defects. Therefore, investigating nucleation on sets of dimensionality lower than the set in which the transformation takes place is of paramount importance. Cahn (1956) in a classical work derived expressions for transformation kinetics when nucleation took place on random planes and on random straight lines. He used these expressions to describe nucleation in polycrystalline materials. He considered that nucleation on grain faces could be treated as nucleation on random planes and, likewise, nucleation on grain edges could be treated as nucleation on random lines. The present work revisits and generalizes Cahn's treatment of nucleation on planes and lines. First a general expression for the case of nucleation on lower dimensional sets is obtained. After that general expressions for nucleation on random planes and random lines are given. This paper provides the mathematical basis for the development of more specific expressions to be used in practical applications. Although this work has been done bearing applications to materials science in mind the results obtained here may be applied to birth and growth processes in any field of science.