3 School of Biological Sciences The University of Adelaide Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia Abstract—Climate variability is a major cause of changes in marine ecosystems, including changes in both the environment and in many fish species. Understanding the factors influencing key biological characteristics, such as growth, is important for commercially targeted species because these characteristics are used in stock assessments that inform fisheries management. In this study, otoliths were used to examine the growth rates and growth chronologies of 2 commercially targeted small pelagic fish species, the common jack mackerel (Trachurus declivis) and redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus), from 2 regions of southeastern Australia. Both species grew larger off Kangaroo Island (common jack mackerel: asymptotic length [L∞]=299.40; redbait: L∞=259.79) than off southern New South Wales (common jack mackerel: L∞=249.52; redbait: L∞=238.89). Temporal growth synchrony in both species and regions (0.17–3.50%) was low compared with that of moresiteattached benthic species. Interannual variations in growth rates of common jack mackerel off Kangaroo Island were positively correlated with seasurface temperature (SST), with growth rates 18% higher at 18.0°C than at 16.4°C. However, growth was not correlated with SST or chlorophylla concentration for the other species and locations. Developing a more complete understanding of the environmental drivers of growth in these small pelagic fish species may require chronologies to be extended and extrinsic variables in the models to be increased.


A previously well 24-year-old man complained of persistent epigastric pain after a session of intensive muscle building exercise especially of the abdominal muscles. The abdomen was diffusely tender without guarding. There was an increased concentration of bilirubin (64.7 mumol/l), GOT (117 U/l), GPT (529 U/l) and alkaline phosphatase (150 U/l). Ultrasound examination showed a widening of the choledochal duct to 11 mm without signs of gallstones. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography additionally revealed contrast-medium extravasation from the left hepatic duct. Computed tomography, performed immediately afterwards, confirmed the extravasation, while liver and pancreas were unremarkable. Laparoscopy revealed a 5 mm tear in the left hepatic duct, close to the hepatic duct bifurcation with bile effusion into the peritoneal cavity. The latter was rinsed endoscopically with Ringer's solution and drains were placed in the omental bursa and subhepatically in the region of the bile leak. To relax the sphincter Oddi glycerol trinitrate was administered postoperatively, for the first five days 72 mg/24 h intravenously, then for nine days twice daily 20 mg by month. No more bile drained as early as the second postoperative day and the patient was free of symptoms 2 weeks later.


In our modeling study of the human cardiovascular system, some forms of subject motion or posture, e.g., those experienced or assumed by a fighter pilot, can not be neglected in considering the overall system dynamics. This investigation aims at establishing a set of reference frames on the human skeleton which are based on the observations and measurements taken on four skeleton systems. These frames are coupled together at the articulation positions to form a base of operation of 3-D translation and rotation. The coupling at a specified reference position was verified against the proportional measurements taken from X-ray films, CAT scan films, atlases and two human cadavers. A program was written to perform the forementioned transformations on the frames coupled at the reference position such that any posture can be achieved as long as the necessary angular anthropometric measurements are provided. If a set of angular profiles at all involved joints are given, the human motion can be mathematically animated to a certain degree of accuracy appropriate for specified computer simulation studies. Under this definition, any major segment of our cardiovascular system model can be specified in terms of spatial position and orientation. [table: see text]


Response to therapy in acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is highly variable ranging from steroid response to salvage therapy failure and emergency colectomy. Biomarkers that accurately predict outcomes in ASUC early in the admission may help improve its management. We aimed to ascertain whether peripheral serum cytokine levels on admission correlate with refractoriness to medical therapy.

 Peripheral blood was collected from 34 subjects, including 29 patients with ASUC on admission (baseline) and 5 healthy controls. All patients with ASUC received intravenous steroids, with those refractory to steroids going on to receive infliximab (IFX) salvage. Eight cytokines were measured at baseline using a multiplexed cytokine assay (Bio-Rad). Clinical response to steroids and/or to the first IFX dose was assessed and used to classify patients based on increasing order of disease refractoriness (steroid-responders, IFX-responders and IFX non-responders). These groups were then evaluated to check for correlations with baseline cytokine levels.

 Our cohort consisted of steroid responders (n=9), IFX responders (n=12) and IFX non-responders (n=8). Median serum IL-6 level was 1.6 pg/mL (IQR:1.6-2.1) in healthy controls compared to 2.7 pg/mL (IQR:1.4-6.3) in ASUC (p=0.3). In patients with ASUC, there was a positive correlation between IL-6 and treatment refractoriness (Spearman's correlation [rs]=0.56, p=0.002). Compared with steroid responders (1.36 pg/mL), serum IL-6 was significantly higher in both IFX responders and IFX non-responders (3.44 and 5.50 pg/mL, p=0.02 and p=0.009 respectively) (Fig 1). Patients with ASUC had higher serum IL-8 compared to healthy controls (17.8 vs 6.9 pg/mL, p=0.005). There was no correlation between IL-8 levels and ASUC treatment refractoriness (rs=0.22, p=0.3). Similarly, there was no difference in IL-8 levels in ASUC patients when classified by treatment response (Kruskal Wallis, p=0.5). Serum TNF level did not differ between healthy controls and patients with ASUC (19.5 and 22.2pg/mL, p=0.5). TNF levels did not correlate with treatment refractoriness in ASUC (rs=-0.06, p=0.75) and there were no differences between the ASUC response groups (p=0.6). Levels of GM-CSF, IFN-g, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were predominantly below the detection limit of each assay.

 In this ASUC cohort, serum IL-6 level on admission correlated with treatment refractoriness and may help identify patients at higher risk of requiring salvage therapy as well as those at higher risk of failing IFX. Further studies are needed to elucidate the function of IL-6 in ASUC and whether it may represent a potential predictor of outcomes in ASUC.


The following paper presents an action research project investigating four approaches to teaching Chinese as a foreign language (henceforth CFL) to beginner learners in an Irish secondary school over a period of 16 weeks. Around 85 participants were divided into four groups and were taught Chinese via one method of rote memorisation, delayed character introduction, character colour-coding, or a unity curriculum approach respectively. The fourth group acted as a comparative group, and focused on all four skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Participants were taught for two one-hour classes per week and each group covered the same material, including learning 107 Chinese words and their characters. Upon completion of the 16 weeks of teaching, participants were presented with identical recognition and recall tests, whereby higher results in each group reveal effectiveness in a given teaching approach, and provided written feedback detailing their learning experience in the form of a questionnaire. It was found from the questionnaires that all participants felt that learning Chinese was challenging, particularly the characters. While all groups struggled to provide correct answers in the recognition and recall tests, the character colour-coding group coped best in providing the highest percentage of correct answers in both tests. At the same time, all groups agreed that more time spent learning would have allowed for more favourable outcomes. It is hoped that the current study will encourage further research relating to character-teaching methods, with particular reference to using colour, as well as providing some possible guidelines for a future Irish secondary school Chinese language course that is currently in the planning stage. These may include guidelines not only relating to the use of colour when teaching characters, but also in relation to the amount of time spent learning Chinese both inside and outside the classroom.


Abstract The growth in the number of 'international' students in higher education is a phenomenon of increasing importance to educators, researchers and policymakers worldwide. This multi-methodological study explored factors associated with their adjustment, successful or otherwise. It integrated associations across three domains of enquiry which had hitherto usually been pursued separately – psychosocial, intercultural and educational adjustment. Specifically, the study investigated associations between a broad range of outcome indices – academic grades (for both taught and research assignments), psychological well-being, and satisfaction with life in the new environment – and, as contributory factors, participants' intercultural competence, language proficiency, and the degree, quality and patterns of social contact during their sojourn. Participants were 108 non-UK postgraduate students from a wide range of countries undertaking MA programmes at a British university. Of these, 102 completed a questionnaire with both quantitative and qualitative responses, and a further six took part in semi-structured interviews over their programme of study. Findings indicated strong associations between participants' academic achievement, satisfaction with life in the new environment and psychological well-being, and aspects of their intercultural competence, contact with non-co-nationals, including hosts, and with their language proficiency. Implications of these findings, and a future research agenda, are discussed.


That students find working on multimodal texts engaging isn't surprising - but what would be surprising is if that spilled over into increased engagement and achievement with traditional print texts. This is exactly what the author of this article found in an exploratory e-learning research project. Here she discusses this finding and explores some of the possible reasons behind it.


This article continued to do the scholastic pursuits on some profound mechanisms in the life systems, which are believed to be related to the further development of Medical Informatics. It discussed at first the structural nature of things, then probed a principle which is a basis for both of the fractal theory and the wavelet analysis, being called the shape-constancy law of the basic constructors at the different scale levels. And the paper also ventured the equivalency between the shape of wave and matrix, thus presented a new concept "shaped-number", being expected to work in the operations of some bio-medical functions or shapes.


BACKGROUND
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) are leading causes of bacterial meningitis in neonates and children. Each pathogen produces a pore-forming cytolytic toxin, β-hemolysin/cytolysin (β-h/c) by GBS and pneumolysin by SP. The aim of this study was to understand the role of these pore-forming cytotoxins, in particular of the GBS β-h/c, as potential neurotoxins in experimental neonatal meningitis.

METHODS
Meningitis was induced in 7- and 11-day-old rats by intracisternal injection of wild type (WT) GBS or SP and compared with isogenic β-h/c- or pneumolysin-deficient mutants, or a double mutant of SP deficient in pneumolysin and hydrogen peroxide production.

RESULTS
GBS β-h/c and SP pneumolysin contributed to neuronal damage, worsened clinical outcome and weight loss, but had no influence on the early kinetics of leukocyte influx and bacterial growth in the cerebrospinal fluid. In vitro, β-h/c-induced neuronal apoptosis occurred independently of caspase-activation and was not preventable by the broad spectrum caspase-inhibitor z-VAD-fmk.

CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that both cytolytic toxins, the GBS β-h/c and SP pneumolysin, contribute to neuronal damage in meningitis and extend the concept of a key role for bacterial pore-forming cytolysins in the pathogenesis and sequelae of neonatal meningitis.


Following the decoupling of the cotton subsidies in 2006 the production system has become less intensive in input usage with an average yield reduction of 40 per cent. Albeit the farm income has not been reduced, the reform has had a negative effect on the economy of some rural areas of Southern Spain, where there are few productive alternatives to cotton, with a 39% reduction of direct farm labour. Besides, the reform has been borne by the ginning industry (60% reduction), the agrochemical suppliers and the auxiliary sector. On the other hand, the environment has benefits from the extensification of the cotton production since three quarter of the production is now carried out under integrated production that implies a reduction in the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that farmers can use.


M IL LIONS OF MOBILE devices are stolen every year, along with associated credit card numbers, passwords, and other secure and personal information stored therein. Over the years, criminals have learned to crack passwords and fabricate biometric traits and have conquered practically every kind of user-authentication mechanism designed to stop them from accessing device data. Stronger mobile authentication mechanisms are clearly needed. Here, we show how multimodal biometrics promises untapped potential for protecting consumer mobile devices from unauthorized access, an authentication approach based on multiple physical and behavioral traits like face and voice. Although multimodal biometrics are deployed in homeland security, military, and law-enforcement applications,15,18 they are not yet widely integrated into consumer mobile devices. This can be attributed to implementation challenges and conMultimodal Biometrics for Enhanced Mobile Device Security


BackgroundDiarrhoeal diseases are among the leading causes of illness and death among children in developing countries, and do also cause considerable morbidity in industrialized countries. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), characterized by its ability to induce "attaching and effacing" (A/E) lesions the intestinal epithelium, is recognized as an important diarrheagenic agent in developing countries. Recently, EPEC has also been reported to be prevalent in the industrialized part of the world. Two main classes of EPEC have been recognized: typical EPEC has the ability to adhere to epithelial cells in discrete microcolonies, named "localized adherence" (LA). This trait is encoded by genes on a plasmid, called the EPEC adherence factor (EAF). Atypical EPEC does not contain the EAF and is not able to produce LA.AimsThe aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of EPEC and its epidemiological association with childhood diarrhoea in Norway. We also wanted to characterize the EPEC strains identified in the study by phenotypic and genotypic methods, and to search for bacterial factors statistically linked with diarrhoeal disease.Materials and methodsThe study was conducted in the County of Sor-Trondelag, Norway. The prevalence of EPEC was first investigated in a retrospective laboratory based study of the aetiology of diarrhoea in children less than two years of age. Next a case-control study was carried out in children less than five years old. Cases were recruited as in the previous study, and healthy controls were recruited through Maternal and Child Health Centres. EPEC was identified by PCR, and the bacterial strains were characterized by DNA microarray, multilocus sequence typing, pulsedfieldgel electrophoresis (PFGE) and serotyping.ResultsEPEC was the most frequently identified enteropathogenic agent in the retrospective study, and was isolated from 38 (15.1%) of 251 children less than five years of age with diarrhoea in the case-control study. Strains of the EPEC pathotype were also common in healthy children where they were isolated from 21 (10%) of 210 subjects. There was no overall statistical association between EPEC and diarrhoea (P=0.3). EPEC strains were rarely diagnosed in children with severe diarrhoea, and were less common in children less than 12 months of age. The majority of strains, 56/58 strains in the case-control study, were classified as atypical EPEC. The atypical EPEC strains showed extensive heterogeneity in sequence types and PFGE profiles. The strains were separated in three clusters based on all the virulence genes identified: one large cluster included all phylogenetic group A, B1 and D strains, and two smaller clusters consisted exclusively of phylogenetic group B2 strains. There was also considerable variation in serotypes, and almost half the strains were O serogroup non-typable.Among a total of 95 putative virulence genes detected, seven genes were positively statistically associated with diarrhoea. Among these, the strongest statistical association was observed for the pathogenicity island OI-122 gene efa1/lifA (P=0.0002). The phylogenetic marker gene yjaA was strongly negatively associated with diarrhoea (P=0 0004).The atypical EPEC strains could be classified in two virulence groups based on their content of virulence genes positively and negatively associated with diarrhoea. Strains belonging to the group which was not associated with diarrhoeal disease should probably be considered as colonizers which do not cause disease. The frequent isolation of such strains may be due to their apparent propensity for protracted colonization. Strains belonging to the other virulence group, which was significantly associated with diarrhoea, were isolated both from patients with acute and protracted disease.ConclusionsEPEC was frequently isolated from Norwegian children both with and without diarrhoea, but was rarely associated with severe diarrhoea. The majority of EPEC strains were characterized as atypical EPEC. Genetic characterization showed extensive heterogeneity among the atypical EPEC strains in the study. Several virulence genes were positively and negatively statistically associated with diarrhoea, and the strains could be classified in two virulence groups based on their content of these genes: one group was not associated with diarrhoea, but appeared to be associated with protracted colonization. The other group was associated with both acute and protracted diarrhoea.


The aim of this chapter is to detail the strategy being used for the assessment of sexual offenders within the Peaks, a specialist unit for the treatment of personality disordered individuals within a high security hospital setting. As such it is important to have an understanding of the type of population that is likely to be treated within the unit;a conceptual understanding of how factors related to personality disorder and risk are addressed within the unit and then how the strategy for assessing the needs of sexual offenders fits within that context.
Within England and Wales the provision of forensic mental health services for individuals who have a personality disorder has been very limited. Historically, classification
as 'psychopathically disordered' under the Mental Health Act (1983), often with a corresponding label of 'untreatable', has led to an exclusion from services
rather than a route to provision. It is only during the past five years that there has been the political impetus to develop specific services for those with a personality
disorder. The guidance Personality disorder: No longer a diagnosis of exclusion published by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (2003) has acted as the basis for the development of non-forensic services for people with personality disorders. At the same time, the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) Programme had been the focus of recent Home Office developments relating
to personality disordered individuals within forensic settings.


Abstract Objectives To determine the prevalence of the assumption that 'reading too much' could cause madness (i.e., severe mental illness) among medical, nursing, and community health students, and also explore the relationship between these students' status on this assumption and their academic performance. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study conducted among a convenient sample of medical, nursing, and community health students (n = 122) studying within the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital campus, Sokoto, Nigeria. Study tool was a paper questionnaire, which obtained information on the demographic profile, awareness of 'madness', assumption that 'reading too much' is a cause of madness, and self-rating of the participants' academic performance in their current course of study. Data collected was analysed using the SPSS version 20 software. Test of associations between variables were done using Chi square test. Results The mean age of the 122 respondents was 27.3 years, majority (61.5%) of them were males, and 53.3% were medical students. More than half of the surveyed nursing students (54.2%) and community health students (55.6%), unlike the surveyed medical students (24.6%), had the assumption that reading too much could make them run mad. There was no statistically significant relationship between the assumption that 'reading too much' is a cause of mental illness and academic performance of the respondents. Conclusion Assumption that reading too much could cause madness is a fairly common phenomenon among the surveyed tertiary school students, irrespective of their level of academic performance. There exists the need to disabuse the minds of tertiary school students from the assumption that reading too much could make one run mad.


Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutant lung adenocarcinomas are sensitive to the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) gefitinib and erlotinib. EGFR is one member of a family of four receptor tyrosine kinases (EGFR, ERBB2, ERBB3 and ERBB4) that can homo- and/or hetero-dimerize leading to activation of the RAS-MAPK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways. In EGFR mutant lung cancer cell lines, ERBB3 has been implicated in activation of the PI3K pathway. However, the requirement for ERBB3 in the initiation, progression and therapeutic response of EGFR mutant tumors remains undetermined. Using genetically engineered mouse models we investigated the contribution of Erbb3 to the development of EGFR-induced lung adenocarcinomas and their response to TKIs. We found that upon conditional deletion of Erbb3 in the lungs of mice that express mutant EGFR tumorigenesis and erlotinib sensitivity were unaffected. In the absence of Erbb3, tumors retained activation of the Pi3k pathway via the adapter proteins Gab1 and Gab2. Acute loss of ERBB3 in human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines with sensitizing EGFR mutations had a modest effect on phosphorylation of AKT and cell viability that varied among cell lines. These data demonstrate that activation of the Pi3k pathway in EGFR mutant tumors is independent of Erbb3 and has implications for the potential of ERBB3 as a therapeutic target in lung cancer. Knowledge of the role EGFR heterodimerization partners play in mutant EGFR-driven lung cancer can help guide the selection of which EGFR family members to target in the treatment of this disease. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):C113. Citation Format: Xiaoling Song, Pang-Dian Fan, Udayan Guha, David Threadgill, Harold Varmus, Katerina Politi. ERBB3 independent activation of the PI3K pathway in EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinomas. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C113.


Percussion robots have successfully used a variety of actuator technologies to activate a wide array of striking mechanisms. Popular types of actuators include solenoids and DC motors. However, the use of industrial strength voice coil actuators provides a compelling alternative given a desirable set of heterogeneous features and requirements that span traditional devices. Their characteristics such as high acceleration and accurate positioning enable the exploration of rendering highly accurate and expressive percussion performances.


This paper presents the formulation of a flight clearance criterion as a convex optimization problem. The criterion is the stability margins criterion which is specified as an allowable phase and gain margin of a certain loop transfer function. The satisfaction of the criterion amounts to the Nichols plot of the loop transfer function being outside a specified trapezoidal region. It was shown previously that the exclusion condition from an ellipsoidal region is implied by using the generalized stability margin bPC and its calculation was performed frequency-wise by solving a sequence of convex optimization problems. In this paper we formulate the calculation of a lower bound on bPC as a convex optimization problem using Integral Quadratic Constraints (IQCs) and avoid the gridding procedure in the frequency domain. Furthermore, we formulate the problem of obtaining a lower bound on the perturbed stability margin, which is defined as the worst-case bPC over variations in real uncertain parameters.


From the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem, it is expected that North-South trade reduces the real wage of unskilled labour in the North. This paper questions the underlying assumption that trading countries are diversified, and examines theoretically the trade-wage link when the South is completely specialised. While it remains true that trade with the South negatively affects wages in the North, it is no longer the case that the poorer the trade partner is, the more harmful is trade for Northern wages. The negative wage impact is largest when the South has an intermediate capital-labour ratio, since it is then a more efficient producer. This also gives the largest aggregate welfare gains from trade in the North. The specialised South also gains from trade, and these gains are relatively larger, the more extreme is its factor composition. But even if the poorest countries gain from trade, capital accumulation may be more important for their welfare.


First gas-lubricated compliant foil bearings (CFBs) were built in the 1950s. Due to their significant advantages, such as oil-free operation, good tolerance to bearing misalignment and very low maintenance, they have been penetrating the bearing applications for high speed compressors, air-cycle machines and gas turbines. The work presented here investigates a novel idea of water-lubricated compliant foil bearings, which could be used in applications where environmentally friendly lubrication is desired, for example in hydroelectric turbines or water pumps. Experimental results collected for three prototype water-lubricated foil journal bearings are presented. The tests were conducted under steady radial load and with the sliding speed varied incrementally. A sequence of design improvements is presented, with the best bearing demonstrating friction coefficient of about 0.01 at the sliding speed of about 4 m/s and the radial load of about 300 kPa. Encountered difficulties, research methodology and the testing equipment are also described.


ABSTRACT:The paper is interested in likely routes for the evolution of normative practice, which, it is here assumed, is a necessary precursor to the development of language. It argues that each normative practice requires a policing practice, consisting of, at least, moves of commendation, condemnation, and retraction, and it contrasts policing with mere monitoring practice. So the evolution of norms can be seen to be the development of policing from mere monitoring practice. It conjectures that a likely site for such a development to take place is in the active transmission of technology, notably, toolmaking technology. Using data and observations drawn from the archaeological record and the psychology of mimicry, it attempts to illustrate the likely emergence of policing practices.


We study the problem of network topology design within a sequence of policy-compliant topologies as a game between a designer and an adversary. At any time instant, the designer aims to operate the network in an optimal topology within this policy compliant sequence with respect to a desired network property. Simultaneously, the adversary counters the designer trying to force operation in a suboptimal topology. We show the existence of various mixed strategy equilibria in this game and systematically study its structural properties. We study the effect of parameters, and characterize the steady state behavior of the underlying Markov chain. While the intuitive adversarial strategy here is to attack links appearing early in the topology sequence, the Nash Equilibrium strategy is for the designer to defend the earlier links and for the adversary to attack the later links. We validate these properties through two use cases with example sets of network topologies.


Atomistic simulations are employed to investigate chemical short-range ordering in two body-centered cubic refractory multi-principal element alloys, HfMoNbTaTi and HfNbTaTiZr, and its influence on their ideal simple shear strengths. Both the alias and affine shear strengths are analyzed on the {110} and {112} planes in the two opposing [Formula: see text] directions. In both quinary alloys, local ordering of NbNb, TaTa, HfNb, HfTa, and NbTa is preferred as the annealing temperature decreases from 900 to 300 K. The pair that achieves the highest degree of local ordering is TiTi in HfMoNbTaTi and HfTi in HfNbTaTiZr. Subject to the affine shear, these alloys yield by first phase transformation at the most likely pairs followed by deformation twinning at those sites.


We present a digital signal processing technique that reduces the speckle content in reconstructed digital holograms. The method is based on sequential sampling of the discrete Fourier transform of the reconstructed image field. Speckle reduction is achieved at the expense of a reduced intensity and resolution, but this trade-off is shown to be greatly superior to that imposed by the traditional mean and median filtering techniques. In particular, we show that the speckle can be reduced by half with no loss of resolution (according to standard definitions of both metrics).


The effect of previous cultivation of sugarbeet, legume, cotton and corn on the subsequent crops of cotton and corn was studied in a two year rotation cycle at two Greek locations in 1994 and 1995. This paper only discusses the two cultivation systems, 1) sugarbeet cotton and 2) cotton cotton. The effect of sugarbeet in cotton cultivation is considered negative based on various field observations and the personal experience of farmers. Some of the supposed causes of this effect are evaluated. Growth analysis in cotton grown after sugarbeet showed that plants had a significant delay in appearance of squares, flowers and bolls, delayed weight development of vegetative and reproductive parts, delayed Leaf Area development and reduced chlorophyll, compared to cotton grown after cotton. This difference gradually declined or disappeared during plant life cycle. Thus although cotton grown after sugarbeet yielded less in the first picking, total yield was not inferior. Soil analytical data during the second year were not found to be influenced by the previous cultivation. Heavy rainfall in October 1994 and spring 1995 possibly leached residual N and balanced the differences between crops. In addition, no sugarbeet residues were left in the soil and it was hand harvested, possibly explaining the lack of effect on the C/N ratio and soil mycoflora. The increased soil compaction observed in plots planted to sugarbeet, combined with delayed cotton growth, support the hypothesis that the swollen sugarbeet roots increase soil compaction, prohibiting root penetration of the following cotton crop.


Marine strains of multiply appendaged prosthecate bacteria have been isolated. All three strains included in this study have characteristics that are typical of the genus Prosthecomicrobium. The deoxyribonucleic acid base compositions of the strains tested range from 66 to 67 mol% guanine plus cytosine; these values are similar to the value reported for Prosthecomicrobium enhydrum. However, the new strains which we studied differ from Prosthecomicrobium enhydrum because of their marine origin, immotility, requirement for a minimum salinity for growth of 5%, and lack of colony pigmentation. The marine strains have an absolute sodium ion requirement for growth, which is consistent with their being indigenous to marine environments. A new species, Prosthecomicrobium litoralum, is proposed.


We establish a baseline signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirement for the European Space Agency (ESA)-funded Solar Coronagraph for OPErations (SCOPE) instrument in its field of view of 2.5–30 solar radii based on existing observations by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Using automatic detection of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), we anaylse the impacts when SNR deviates significantly from our previously established baseline. For our analysis, SNR values are estimated from observations made by the C3 coronagraph on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft for a number of different CMEs. Additionally, we generate a series of artificial coronagraph images, each consisting of a modelled coronal background and a CME, the latter simulated using the graduated cylindrical shell (GCS) model together with the SCRaytrace code available in the Interactive Data Language (IDL) SolarSoft library. Images are created with CME SNR levels between 0.5 and 10 at the outer edge of the field of view (FOV), generated by adding Poisson noise, and velocities between 700 km s−1 and 2800 km s−1. The images are analysed for the detectability of the CME above the noise with the automatic CME detection tool CACTus. We find in the analysed C3 images that CMEs near the outer edge of the field of view are typically 2% of the total brightness and have an SNR between 1 and 4 at their leading edge. An SNR of 4 is defined as the baseline SNR for SCOPE. The automated detection of CMEs in our simulated images by CACTus succeeded well down to SNR = 1 and for CME velocities up to 1400 km s−1. At lower SNR and higher velocity of ≥ 2100 km s−1 the detection started to break down. For SCOPE, the results from the two approaches confirm that the initial design goal of SNR = 4 would, if achieved, deliver a comparable performance to established data used in operations today, with a more compact instrument design, and a margin in SNR before existing automatic detection produces significant false positives.


Purpose: To investigate the association of lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin C with age related maculopathy Methods: 4760 randomly sampled people aged 65 and over participated in an eye examination and risk factor assessment in seven study centres across Europe (Norway, Estonia, UK, France, Italy, Greece and Spain). Two non-simultaneous stereoscopic colour fundus images centred on the macula were taken for each eye, using a field of 350. All images were graded at a single reading centre using the International ARM Epidemiological Study Group classification and stratified into 5 exclusive stages based on the grading in the worst eye. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected from each participant and analysed in a central laboratory. Lutein and zeaxanthin were analysed by reverse phase HPLC and vitamin C by an enzyme-based assay in plasma stabilized with metaphosphoric acid. Multinomial modelling for clustered data, adjusted for potential confounders, was used to assess the associations (relative risk ratios RRR) of fifths of the antioxidants with stage of ARM and with the lowest decile of the distribution. Results: In either age and sex adjusted or fully adjusted analyses there were no significant trends for lutein, zeaxanthin or vitamin C with early ARM or with AMD. The lowest decile of vitamin C (<12.2 {micro}mol/L) was in the range associated with biochemical depletion and suggested a small adverse association with AMD (RRR= 1.36, 95% CI 0.88 to 2.10). Similar effects were observed also for the lowest decile of zeaxanthin and a weaker association for lutein. People with the lowest levels of both vitamin C and zeaxanthin were at highest risk of AMD (RRR=2.67, 95% CI 1.17 to 6.06), p=0.03. Conclusions: In a European population, we found no evidence to support an important association across the full distribution of vitamin C, lutein or zeaxanthin levels with stage of ARM. A high risk for AMD was observed for a small proportion of people with very low levels of antioxidants.


A discussion on the ray effect and false scattering occurring in discrete ordinates solution of the radiative transfer equation is presented in this article. Ray effect arises from the approximation of a continuously varying angular nature of radiation by a specified set of discrete angular directions. It is independent of the spatial discretization practice. False scattering, on the other hand, is a consequence of the spatial discretization practice and is independent of the angular discretization practice. In multidimensional computations, when a beam is not aligned with the grid line, false scattering smears the radiative intensity field. It reduces the appearance of unwanted bumps, but does not eliminate ray effect. An inappropriate view of false scattering is also presented. Four sample problems are used to explain these two effects.


Myositis Ossificans is characterized by the heterotopic formation of bone inside a muscle, tendons and ligaments. This pathology is traditionally classified into two groups: Myositis Ossificans Progressiva and Myositis Ossificans Traumatica. The pathogenesis of Myositis Ossificans Traumatica is still not well established. Because it is uncommon in the maxillofacial region, there are no consolidated treatment protocols. The purpose of this study is to present a case of a patient who evolved with Myositis Ossificans Traumatica of the masticatory muscles after performing third molar extraction.


It is well known that deforestation and habitat fragmentation, due to agriculture and urbanisation, modifies bat assemblages. Specifically, it has been found that bat diversity, abundance and foraging activity decrease as urban density increases and cover of remnant vegetation diminishes, although such effects are dependent upon functional identity of bat species. In many cases, remnant patches of vegetation are dispersed across complex, heterogeneous landscapes, whereby the landscape matrix is comprised of a complex suite of urban and agricultural habitats. Studies on other taxa, such as birds and invertebrates, have found that the configuration of the matrix often has a similar or greater influence on diversity within vegetation remnants than patch-scale attributes. However, the relative importance of patch and matrix characteristics on the diversity and activity of mammalian species in vegetation remnants is unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of habitat fragmentation on microbat diversity specifically, 1) the variation in microbat assemblages across a modified woodland landscape and 2) the effects of landscape matrix on diversity and activity of microbats within woodlands remnants. A total of 47 sites were chosen for sampling between January and April of 2015, including woodlands of varying sizes, urban areas and agricultural land. Anabat II detectors were used to record foraging and non-foraging microbat activity. Microbat activity was not influenced by habitat fragmentation, yet the number of species was greatest in larger woodlands and agricultural areas. Small woodlands were found to house the least amount of species. It is likely that roosting and foraging resources were minimal in these woodlands. Urban density exceeding 55 % in the matrix surrounding a woodland patch adversely affected microbat diversity. Clutter-adapted species may have been deterred from visiting woodlands surrounded by high urban density due to light and noise pollution, or limited foraging resources. This arguably is the first study to examine the impact matrix condition has on microbat activity and diversity within fragmented woodland patches.


The seismically active eastern and western margins of the northern Basin and Range have been extensively studied, yet the northwestern margin of the province remains incompletely understood. The Black Rock Range of northwestern Nevada straddles the transition from the Basin and Range province to the south and east, and flat-lying volcanic plateaus to the west. This poorly understood range preserves a remarkably complete record of Cenozoic magmatism and provides an important window into the pre-Miocene history of the unextended volcanic plateaus of northeastern California and southern Oregon. Geologic mapping and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from the northern Black Rock Range document three significant episodes of Eocene to middle Miocene volcanism. Eocene (35 Ma) basalts directly overlie Mesozoic granites and arc-related volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Locally erupted Oligocene to early Miocene (27–21 Ma) bimodal volcanic rocks comprise the bulk of the Cenozoic section and conformably overlie the Eocene basalt flows. These bimodal units include rhyolitic lavas, variably welded rhyolitic ash flows, unwelded ash-fall deposits, and thin basalt flows. In the neighboring Pine Forest Range ∼20 km to the north, similar Oligocene to early Miocene units are overlain by more than 500 m of ca. 16.4 Ma Steens-equivalent basalt flows and are capped by ca. 16 Ma rhyolitic ash-flow tuffs. In the northern Black Rock Range, the ca. 16.4 Ma middle Miocene basalts are absent from the section, and a 16.2 Ma rhyolitic ash-flow tuff directly overlies the early Miocene flows. Basaltic and rhyolitic volcanic products in the northern Black Rock Range span 35–16 Ma, with many of the Oligocene volcanic units derived from local vents and dikes. Despite the map-scale complexities of locally derived lava flows, the Cenozoic section is broadly conformable and dips gently (∼5°–10°) to the northwest. The region experi enced no significant tilting between 35 and 16 Ma, with moderate tilting (∼5°–10°) and concomitant uplift occurring after 16 Ma. This tectonic history is consistent with that of the nearby Pine Forest and Santa Rosa Ranges, where low-temperature thermochronology documents footwall exhumation along the range-bounding normal faults after 12 Ma. The velocity structure of the crust beneath the northern Black Rock Range is constrained by a recent geophysical survey (seismic reflection, refraction, and gravity) and contains gradients that correspond to basin depths predicted by our geologic mapping. Together with recently completed geological and geophysical studies from the surrounding region, our results suggest that the evolution of the northwestern margin of the Basin and Range was characterized by long-lived and voluminous volcanism without significant tectonism, followed by low-magnitude (≤20%) extension along high-angle normal faults.


In this paper we present a work of good practices for structuring a dimension of teaching-learning process for the cogeneration of knowledge. The topics proposed by the Academic Guide in a class of Master of Secondary Education, have been an opportunity to promote debates based on the life stories of students preparing for the teaching profession, who had already had experiences in the formal, non-formal and informal spheres of education. The teacher and the students from different areas and disciplines have structured a collective dimension of learning activating critical thinking. The project lasted one academic year, concluding with the broadcasting of a radio program called Radiopedagogies and the forming of a group for pedagogical reflection and renovation as a tool for the building of responsible, committed and participatory citizenship. This work, written in co-authorship between teacher and students, aims to describe and analyses the fundamental characteristics of the strategies where the students are the protagonists. We describe the process of participation, the underlying pedagogical model and the importance of the evaluation and self-evaluation as a tool for constructive exchange.


This paper presents the results of work on «Observar TV», a children's observatory of television launched in the city of Barranquilla (Colombia) in which children participated as protagonists in research, training and spaces for dialogue centred on their observations of television broadcasts. The goals of the project included: 1) to ascertain the reflection and discussion of preferences and opinions (expressed by boys and girls) regarding television; 2) to identify and discuss their imagery around citizenship in relation to coexistence and peace, multiculturalism and democratic responsibility and participation; 3) to understand the development processes that contribute to the construction of their critical thinking abilities regarding television and its consumption; 4) to increase the visibility of children as active participants in setting the public agenda of their city. This study was developed using a participatory action research approach that employed qualitative methods (focus groups, workshops, and observations) for the simultaneous execution of three components: research, training, and visibility/interaction. The results demonstrate that the child participants displayed a critical attitude toward television and expressed their likes and dislikes regarding television content. The participants took up the challenge to discuss, transform, or reaffirm their imagery relating to citizenship and strengthened their capacities in language and communication. The children expressed the reflections that came up in the work of the observatory by participating in the television program «Learning to watch television», that was produced by the regional station «Telecaribe».


The present paper reports a simple calculation of the size and shape dependent melting temperature of nanoparticles. The melting temperature of any nanoparticle basically depends on the ratio of surface atoms to the total atoms. Significant melting temperature suppression is observed when the particle size approaches the sub-20 nm range. The behavior of melting temperature is similar for the larger nanoparticles of all considered shapes but differs significantly for small nanoparticles. Different melting temperature is predicted for the nanoparticles of the same size in different shapes.


In the present work a solar receiver with reticulated porous ceramic foam bounded by two concentric cylinders, horizontal axis and length L is selected and studied. A receiver pre-sizing study based on the optimization work of Hischier allowed us to find the dimensions and the receiver input variables. We have developed a mathematical model based on the Representative elementary volume to model the flow and heat transfer within the absorber. The numerical solution of equations set was obtained with FLUENT. The power of 75 kW wanted in this study is obtained with a thermal efficiency equal to 87%. The fields of temperature and velocities from the simulation are analyzed and it is clear from this study that the temperature profiles show the excellent ability of the receiver to transfer the heat to the fluid. The influences of the porosity and mass flow on the thermal efficiency are analyzed also. It emerges from this study that the mass flow rate and porosity are very critical parameters on the thermal perf...


Single doses of the interferon inducing agents, poly rI·rC and tilorone, were shown to depress hepatic cytochrome P-450, cytochrome b5, catalase and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase. The cytochrome P-450 level of microsomes declined progressively after a single dose of poly rI·rC for 40 hr and then recovered to within 25% of the control level by 96 hr. The ethylmorphine N-demethylase activity of the microsomes paralleled the cytochrome P-450 level except during the first 4 hr after administration of poly rI·rC when there was a greater loss of demethylase activity than could be accounted for by the loss of cytochrome P-450. Tilorone had effects similar to those of poly rI·rC on cytochrome P-450 and ethylmorphine N-demethylase activity, but its action was delayed. Temporal aspects of the loss and recovery of the catalase of liver homogenates after the administration of poly rI·rC or tilorone were similar to those of microsomal cytochrome P-450. About 60% of the total tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (apo + holo enzyme) activity of the 100,000 x g supernatant fraction of liver homogenate was lost within 6 hr of the administration of poly rI·rC; activity returned to the control level by 15 hr. However, there was a transient rise in the ratio of holo:total tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase activity at 3 hr which returned to the control value by 5 hr. Tilorone had no statistically significant effect on either the total activity of this enzyme or the ratio of holo to total enzyme. The increase in the ratio of holo:total enzyme was followed by a depression of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase (ALA-S) activity at 5 hr and an induction of heme oxygenase activity at 6 to 8 hr. ALA-S activity returned to the control level within 24 hr, but the induced level of heme oxygenase activity remained for 40 hr and did not return to normal until 96 hr. Tilorone had a similar but delayed effect on ALA-S activity. Tilorone induced heme oxygenase activity to a degree equal to that produced by poly rI·rC, but a much longer time was required to reach maximal activity (2 to 3 hr versus 20 to 30 hr). These temporal aspects of the effects of interferon inducing agents on the ratio of holo:total tryptophan 2,3dioxygenase, ALA-S and heme oxygenase are thought to reflect changes in the size of an unassigned heme pool that regulates the synthesis of heme. Mitochondrial cytochromes a, b, and c were not depressed significantly after 4 daily doses of poly rI·rC; cytochrome C1 was depressed about 20%. The cytochrome P-450 content and benzo[a]pyrene activity of intestinal mucosa and adrenal were not affected by 4 daily doses of poly rI·rC; the cytochrome P-450 content of the kidney cortex was not altered, but the benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activity was lowered by 40%.


Sympathetic neurons internalize nerve growth factor (NGF) and transport it retrogradely to their cell bodies where it appears to serve a trophic function in maintaining neuronal survival. We have characterized the binding, internalization, and retrograde transport of 125I-NGF by cultured rat sympathetic neurons. After 3 to 4 weeks in culture, sympathetic neurons possessed approximately 2 X 10(7) specific, cell surface NGF binding sites per neuron with an apparent affinity constant of 2 to 5 X 10(9) M. The density of binding sites on the plasma membrane of the neurites approximately twice that on the plasma membrane of the cell bodies. Because of the extensive network of neuronal processes, the neurites probably account for more than 99.5% of the total binding in mature cultures. Using electron microscope autoradiography, we localized the distribution of 125I-NGF in the cell body following a 1-hr exposure to 125I-NGF. The majority of silver grains were associated with lysosomal organelles, including secondary lysosomes, residual bodies, and multivesicular bodies (MVB). The MVB were the most heavily labeled, with a labeling density (L.D.) of 21, while the lysosomes had a L.D. of 3.1. To study the retrograde transport of 125I-NGF, neurons were grown in compartmentalized culture dishes and their distal processes were exposed to 125I-NGF. Radioactive material was transported to the cell bodies at the rate of approximately 3 mm/hr. The transport mechanism was sensitive to colchicine and was saturable with respect to NGF. After 8 hr of transport, when the radioactivity in the cell bodies had reached a steady state, the label again was localized primarily to the MVB (L.D. = 16.8) and the lysosomes (L.D. = 3.8). The nuclei were not labeled significantly and had an overall L.D. of 0.47. We saw no evidence for the accumulation of NGF by the nuclear membrane, the nucleolus, or chromatin.


Personally, I associate musics inclined to follow the rules of the common practice with the overwhelming power of the Market; all others (including atonal and post-tonal ones of all kinds) with various statements of aesthetic, political, economic, psychological etc. resistance to it. Through the antithesis common vs uncommon practice in music we can also retrieve a hidden knowledge behind and inside a conceptual assonance that does not belong only to the Italian language: "protensione/propensione" ("protension/propensity" in English) and invites us to an etymological digging. The feeling that music is progressing or moving forward in time was doubtless one of the most fundamental characteristics of musical experience in Western culture; nevertheless, this tension towards a goal in a teleological perspective is still problematic: metrical time remains fi rmly cyclic in a trivial sense, since it involves a cyclic patterning of accents (as in the vast majority of musics created by following common practice's rules). Music theorists – using a well-tested language and a nomenclature inherited from the traditional tonal past – encounter many diffi culties when analyzing the post-tonal era's sounds. Indeed, surviving uncommon practices express themselves in musics that refuse a priori categories such as tension and direction: so the evidence shows them to be classifiable only as unica.


The information-carrying capacity of optical fields is usually stated in terms of an area density as being related to communication through a surface. We render these well-understood results in a form such that they can be interpreted as a volume-density limit, applicable to an arbitrary array of points communicating with one another. An important example of such a situation is an optically interconnected computing system. We show that regardless of their actual spread or mutual overlap, optical communication links may be viewed as solid wires of minimum cross section λ2/2π for the purpose of calculating bounds on volumes and cross sections. Thus the results of area–volume complexity theory for solid wires are also applicable to optically communicating systems. The maximum number of binary pulses that may be in transit in an optical communication network occupying volume V is found to be ρ2πV/λ3, ρ denoting the modulation bandwidth normalized by the carrier frequency. Previously suggested optical-interconnection schemes are discussed in this context.


We present a theoretical study on the system of laser-driven strongly interacting Rydberg atoms trapped in a two-dimensional triangular lattice, in which the dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg states result in exotic quantum phases. By using the mean-field theory, we investigate the steady state solutions and analyze their dynamical stabilities. We find that in the strong-interaction limit, the dynamics of the system is chaotic and exhibits random oscillations under appropriate laser detunings. Lyapunov exponent criterion is introduced to confirm the existence of this chaotic behavior. In addition, we present a full quantum calculation based on a six-atom model, and find that the system exhibits some bi-antiferromagnetic properties in every triangular cell when the one-photon detuning is exactly resonant or blue-shifted.


Consumption of dairy products in the usual diet may be important for improving the overall quality of dietary intake. This study aimed to assess the difference in nutrient intake adequacy according to the intake of dairy products based on a 1-day weighed dietary record of Japanese adults from the 2016 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Nutritional adequacy was determined based on the Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese 2015, with 2 goals: Tentative dietary goals (DG) for preventing lifestyle-related diseases, and the estimated average requirement (EAR). According to the dairy products consumption, participants were categorized into three groups (milk, other dairy product, or non-dairy), and the total number of those not meeting DG and EAR was compared. Non-dairy consumers were less likely to meet both DG and EAR compared to dairy consumers. Dairy consumers were more likely to exceed the DG for saturated fat than non-dairy consumers. Japanese adult dairy consumers were more likely to have adequate nutritional intake than non-dairy consumers, especially for calcium. We also observed a higher saturated fat intake in dairy consumers, which might be due to a certain dietary pattern in this group. Further investigation is needed to determine dairy intake and its influence on dietary quality among the Japanese population.


Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are currently two important blood-borne human pathogens of major public health concern with high prevalence rates in Africa. Objectives The study assessed the impact of HIV and HBV mono- and co-infections on serum total protein, albumin, globulin fractions and plasma free amino acids concentrations. Methods This was a cross-sectional study on adult (25 – 64 years old) patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy attending AIDS Preventive Initiative in Nigeria Centre, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, Nigeria. It involved 80 subjects; 20 HIV/HBV co-infected, 20 each of HIV and HBV mono-infected controls, and 20 seronegative controls. Results Significant (p<0.05) increases in total protein and gamma globulin but a reduction in albumin concentrations were observed in the HIV/HBV co-infected group. Similarly, significant (p<0.05) increases in alpha-1 and alpha-2 globulin concentrations were observed in the mono- and co-infected groups compared to the seronegative control group. There were significant (p<0.05) increases in the glucogenic, aromatic and branched-chain amino acid concentrations of the HIV/HBV co-infected subjects. Conclusion The study suggests prognostic importance of alpha and gamma globulin fractions of serum protein as well as amino acid profile in the management of HIV/HBV co-infection.


A B S T R A C T Enzymatic assay, based on oxidation-reduction reaction catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase, is one of the methods used to determine ethanol concentration. The present study was directed to determine the exact amount of enzyme required to accomplish oxidation-reduction reaction so that the concentration of ethanol in the sample can be determined precisely and accurately. Results of the present study indicate that the lowest unit activity of the enzyme that can be used for ethanol determination is 4000 units/mL, even though longer incubation time compared to the original method was used to ensure reaction completion. Validation of the method confirmed that the assay have acceptable linearity range within 0.01 - 0.06% (v/v) of ethanol with correlation coefficient of 0.9999. Both accuracy and precision parameters fulfill the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) International requirement, and therefore can be accepted as a quantitative analysis method. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation for the modified method were 0.0017% (v/v) and 0.0056% (v/v), respectively.


Since introduced to Lanai in 1954, European mouflon have been as controversial as feral domestic sheep, sheep hybrids, and mouflon introduced to other Isands in the Hawaiian Archipelago. To conservationists concerned with the impacts to native flora and fauna European mouflon are an introduced ungulate pest that needs to be eliminated to avoid degradation of the native environment and indigenous wild species. On the other hand European mouflon are considered a highly valued species for recreational and trophy hunting and in some locations, like Lanai, are important economically in a difficult economy. Many residents of Lanai value the recreational hunting of mouflon on the 14,000 ha Lanai public game management area. Mouflon also are an appreciated source of protein to some residents of Lanai. Providing locals with a recreational source of meat was one of the reasons for introducing mouflon. While controversial, mouflon have a strong contingent that advocates for their existence. Because the mouflon on Lanai are free ranging with no fenced populations, trophy hunters consider the Lanai mouflon a potential source of "phenotypically true" sheep suitable for inclusion in many different trophy records. As a result, in October 2011 we surveyed mouflon to determine if the Lanai population exhibited the physical characteristics typical of European mouflon as reported in the literature.


The objective of this paper is to develop a fiber-optic acoustic emission(AE) sensor applicable to on-line monitoring systems which is suitable for long-distance signal transmission. An AE sensor was developed by use of a fiber-optic cantilever and an extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer(EFPI). The efficiency of signal processing was improved by driving the high frequency AE signals into the low frequency ones. In order to verify the developed sensor, the tensile and the pencil lead fracture(PLF) tests were performed including the experiment showing the Kaiser effect. From tests, AE signals were successfully detected in the elastic-plastic deformation range, especially higher signals at the crack propagation. The developed sensor is expected to be used for an on-line monitoring of crack propagation in mechanical systems.


ObjectiveTo analyze outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) with emphasis on pretransplant variables that can potentially help predict posttransplant outcome. Summary Background DataFHF is a formidable clinical problem associated with a high mortality rate. While LT is the treatment of choice for irreversible FHF, few investigations have examined pretransplant variables that can potentially predict outcome after LT. MethodsA retrospective review was undertaken of all patients undergoing LT for FHF at a single transplant center. The median follow-up was 41 months. Thirty-five variables were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis to determine their impact on patient and graft survival. ResultsTwo hundred four patients (60% female, median age 20.2 years) required urgent LT for FHF. Before LT, the majority of patients were comatose (76%), on hemodialysis (16%), and ICU-bound. The 1- and 5-year survival rates were 73% and 67% (patient) and 63% and 57% (graft). The primary cause of patient death was sepsis, and the primary cause of graft failure was primary graft nonfunction. Univariate analysis of pre-LT variables revealed that 19 variables predicted survival. From these results, multivariate analysis determined that the serum creatinine was the single most important prognosticator of patient survival. ConclusionsThis study, representing one of the largest published series on LT for FHF, demonstrates a long-term survival of nearly 70% and develops a clinically applicable and readily measurable set of pretransplant factors that determine posttransplant outcome.


Information Centric Networking (ICN) has been a popular research topic in the last few years, but has not attracted industry attention because of its disruptive view; this is expected considering the evolution from PSTN to IP. Towards its adoption, ICN should not only address challenges raised by current applications, but also enable a compelling service framework for next generation of networking. We envision that in the next generation networks, the network narrow waist will allow an efficient distribution of intelligence across terminals, access, edge and core network. This will enable new applications, services and future business models to be realized. Two other technologies, NFV and SDN, which in essence are frameworks that enable service-centric networking, fit well with the objective of information-centric networking, where the delivered content is a result of contextual interaction between consumers and services orchestrated to meet service objectives. Most significant benefit of this interaction will be in the network-edge considering sensitivity to service latency, customization, and contextualization. This paper provides an overview of an ICN based edge service framework, with comprehensive discussion on service composition, orchestration, and routing logic with mapping to resources in the underlying substrate. We also provide a discussion of the prototype to realize this platform and a network based conferencing system scalable to large number of participants; however the platform itself is generic to handle any service type including content distribution, video conferencing, and M2M applications.


The established place of regular long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists at step 3 in asthma management guidelines has evolved as a consequence of evidence showing additive effects of salmeterol and formoterol on exacerbation rates, resulting in a putative inhaled corticosteroid sparing effect. There is however, evidence to show that although long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists facilitate using a lower dose of inhaled corticosteroid, this may occur at the expense of suboptimal anti-inflammatory control. This is likely to be the case especially with fixed dose combination inhalers where it is not possible to properly titrate anti-inflammatory therapy with inhaled corticosteroids without also inadvertently overtreating with unnecessarily high doses of long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists. Most patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma can be adequately controlled on monotherapy with inhaled corticosteroid in low or medium dosage, which is considerably cheaper than concomitant use of a long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonist. Subsensitivity to long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists is a predictable pharmacological phenomenon which occurs despite concomitant inhaled corticosteroid therapy and occurs more readily for bronchoprotective than bronchodilator effects. Subsensitivity of salbutamol protection against bronchoconstrictor stimuli occurs in patients receiving concomitant long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists, which may be due to beta2-adrenoceptor down-regulation or prolonged receptor occupancy. Prospective large scale long-term studies are required to further define the clinical relevance of beta2-adrenoceptor polymorphisms, to look at clinical control outcomes as well as propensity for subsensitivity. It would therefore make more sense to first of all optimize the dose of anti-inflammatory therapy with inhaled corticosteroid and to then consider adding a long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonist for patients who are poorly controlled.


Resource-based research sustains that organisations (and thus teams) create value through internally developed and complementary acquired resources, through the management of resources and the development of routines. In this study, we advance the understanding of the impact of resources and capabilities by investigating the role of moderators on the key factors of team performance and address the question of when the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We develop and test hypotheses as to how managerial experience helps to foster the development of internal resources and group routines, to extract more value from bought resources, how internally developed resources reinforce group routines and how financial resources influence group routines, the acquisition of resources and the development of internal resources. Data consisted of 270 observations from European professional football leagues over a five-year period. The results confirm that the edifice of competitive advantage is based on a complex resource bundle based on non-obvious interactions between its elements. The complex inter-linkages, reinforcing effects and trade-offs between resources require non-obvious decisions regarding their employment and are best understood by experienced managers.


This study investigates three competing but complementary perspectives on factors related to entrepreneurial firm growth. We examine individual (entrepreneur) firm and national environment factors associated with the growth expectations of nascent, baby and established firms. Using 25,384 data points from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)'s survey of entrepreneurial activity in 35 countries, we find male gender, personal acquaintance with an entrepreneur, innovative product/service, low levels of competition and based in less-developed countries are associated with high growth expectations for all three business stages. Nascent and baby firms' business growth expectations are also linked to having higher levels of start-up capital and outside investment. In contrast to some previous research, we find that a firm's initial size is the best predictor of growth expectations. Altogether, size-related factors determine not only initial growth expectations, but also growth expectations at later firm stages. The law of disproportionate growth (i.e. a small number of firms are responsible for most expected job creation) holds for both start-ups and established businesses, although the latter are more rare. While both start-up and established firm growth expectations are higher in the developing countries, the fastest growing young firms are mainly found in developed countries.


This article offers an action plan for CEOs who wish to constructively engage their boards in strategy development. In this approach, the board participates in the strategic thinking and strategic decision‐making processes, adding value but not infringing on the CEO's and executive team's fundamental responsibilities. More specifically, in value‐added engagement, the CEO and management lead and develop the strategic plan with directors' input, and the board generally approves the strategy and the metrics to assess progress. The author details the five key elements critical to successful engagement of the board in strategy development: view strategy as a process, not an event; design parallel but lagged processes; inform and educate the board; collect and analyze director input; generate strategic alternatives. The recommended framework for engaging the board in strategy development is called the "strategic choice process"; it has six steps, with the CEO and his/her team leading the way.


In their early larval stages, red drum migrate through coastal inlets and settle into shal- low seagrass meadows within estuaries. This study describes environmental rhythms in red drum nursery habitats and evaluates their role in larval growth and survival to determine nursery habitat quality. Well-defined diel cycles were observed in temperature (amplitude 3 to 7°C) and dissolved oxy- gen (DO) (range 2.9 to 17.5 mg O2 l -1 ), while sporadic cold fronts lowered temperatures by 6 to 10°C in 24 to 72 h. Groups of settlement and post-settlement larvae (3.9 to 17.3 mm standard length) were ex- posed in the laboratory to cycles of temperature and DO, and to combined temperature and DO diel cycles and then compared to fish grown in constant conditions (control). Relative to controls, growth was significantly reduced only in DO cycles with prolonged daily exposure to hypoxia (>8.2 h d -1 ). Survival was similar in all treatments. In response to water cooling during simulated cold fronts, fish previously exposed to temperature cycles grew faster and had a higher food intake than control fish. Fish exposed to DO cycles maintained a greater food intake than control fish but grew at a similar rate. These results indicate that (1) diel cycles impart a physiological advantage to red drum larvae, (2) field measurements of environmental characteristics at a frequency of once a day may be inadequate for assessing nursery values for red drum, and (3) increased exposure to transient hypoxia in oscillating environmental conditions can affect growth and reduce nursery value and recruitment strength.


For pt.1 see ibid., vol.21, no.4, p. 70-73 (2006). In this paper, we have laid out a theory of sensemaking that might be useful for intelligent systems applications. It's a general, empirically grounded account of sensemaking that goes significantly beyond the myths and puts forward some nonobvious, testable hypotheses about the process. When people try to make sense of events, they begin with some perspective, viewpoint, or framework - however minimal. For now, let's use a metaphor and call this a frame. We can express frames in various meaningful forms, including stories, maps, organizational diagrams, or scripts, and can use them in subsequent and parallel processes. Even though frames define what count as data, they themselves actually shape the data Furthermore, frames change as we acquire data. In other words, this is a two-way street: Frames shape and define the relevant data, and data mandate that frames change in nontrivial ways. We examine five areas of empirical findings: causal reasoning, commitment to hypotheses, feedback and learning, sense-making as a skill, and confirmation bias. In each area the Data/Frame model, and the research it's based on, doesn't align with common beliefs. For that reason, the Data/Frame model cannot be considered a depiction of commonsense views


This paper tried to analyze the polysemy structure of "bug" as a noun, which is interpreted as "mushi" in Japanese and "chong" in Chinese from perspective of cognitive semantics. Research methods this paper adopted were as the followings: (1) Collecting texts from dictionaries and text corpora of Japanese and Chinese. (2) Sorting out derivations of "bug" as a noun in order to understand its usage coverage and semantic range in synchronic reality. (3) Comparing fundamental usages of "bug" as a noun, as well as generalizing its fundamental semantic features referring to explanations from etymology dictionary. (4) Analyzing fundamental meaning and derivative meaning not only to testify features i.e. similarity, proximity, or hyponymy, but also define the semantic extensions in-between, regarding concepts of cognitive metaphor, such as metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche. (5) Summarizing polysemy structure of "bug" as a noun based on semantic network so that clarifications are made between its fundamental meaning and derivation semantic interaction which can be used as future references for teaching and learning Japanese.


The article presents the results of examination of 69 female weavers, spinners and office staff workers, which included studies of strength of the hand, pinching with the 1st-5th fingers, and endurance of the 1st and 2nd fingers under static load before and after work. Comparison was made of the different data received in the female workers depending on their labour productivity. It was established that professionalism specifically influenced the strength and endurance of fingers. In the workers with the labour productivity increasing the average level by 16-21%, individual functional characteristics were higher both at the beginning and at the end of the working shift.


Importance
Approval by the US Food and Drug Administration of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) for advanced gastroesophageal cancer (aGEC) irrespective of PD-L1 status has generated controversy. Exploratory analyses from individual trials indicate a lack of meaningful benefit from ICI in patients with absent or low PD-L1 expression; however, analysis of a single variable while ignoring others may not consider the instability inherent in exploratory analyses.

Objective
To systematically examine the predictive value of tissue-based PD-L1 status compared with that of other variables for ICI benefit in aGEC to assess its stability.

Data Sources
MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register (2000-2022).

Study Selection, Data Extraction, and Synthesis
Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included of adults with aGEC (adenocarcinoma [AC] or squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]) randomized to anti-PD-1 or PD-L1-containing treatment vs standard of care (SOC). Study screening, data abstraction, and bias assessment were completed independently by 2 reviewers. Of 5752 records screened, 26 were assessed for eligibility; 17 trials were included in the analysis.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The prespecified primary end point was overall survival. The mean hazard ratio (HR) for ICI vs SOC was calculated (random-effects model). Predictive values were quantified by calculating the ratio of mean HRs between 2 levels of each variable.

Results
In all, 17 RCTs (9 first line, 8 after first line) at low risk of bias and 14 predictive variables were included, totaling 11 166 participants (5067 with SCC, 6099 with ACC; 77.6% were male and 22.4% were female; 59.5% of patients were younger than 65 years, 40.5% were 65 years or older). Among patients with SCCs, PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) was the strongest predictor of ICI benefit (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.53-0.68] for high TPS; and HR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.75-0.95] for low TPS), yielding a predictive value of 41.0% favoring high TPS (vs ≤16.0% for other variables). Among patients with AC, PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) was the strongest predictor (after microsatellite instability high status) of ICI benefit (HR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.66-0.81] for high CPS; and HR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.84-1.07] for low CPS), yielding a predictive value of 29.4% favoring CPS-high (vs ≤12.9% for other variables). Head-to-head analyses of trials containing both levels of a variable and/or having similar design generally yielded consistent results.

Conclusions and Relevance
Tissue-based PD-L1 expression, more than any variable other than microsatellite instability-high, identified varying degrees of benefit from ICI-containing therapy vs SOC among patients with aGEC in 17 RCTs.


ABSTRACT Geological controls on the origin and preservation of organic-rich facies in Holocene barrier sequences of northern New England are documented using sedimentological and geophysical databases. In addition to backbarrier marsh interfingering with washover/aeolian deposits, several distinct modes of organic accumulation are recognized in association with clastic barrier facies. These include: 1) basal lake gyttja or wetland peats (thickness: 0.1–2.5 m); 2) intra-barrier saltwater/freshwater horizons (0.01–1.2 m); and 3) foreshore peat exposures (up to 1.2 m). Freshwater peat and gyttja underlying barrier lithosomes below contemporaneous Mid-Holocene sea level suggest extensive backbarrier lake and wetlands, possibly due to a wetter climate. Present freshwater organics accumulate up to several meters below lake level, which is controlled by the elevation of groundwater table and, over the long term, sea level trends. In some areas, the saltwater-freshwater peat transition is attributed to cessation of long-term saltwater input into the backbarrier, commonly as a result of tidal inlet closure, rather than relative sea-level fall. The association of well-preserved tree stumps and saltmarsh peat exposed on the foreshore suggests drowning of the upland fringe by rising sea level around 2.5–3.0 ka BP and subsequent barrier rollover. Whereas basal ages of high-marsh peats are conventionally used for sea-level reconstruction, radiocarbon dates of the top portions of in-situ organic units may provide near-maximum ages of burial by barrier sediments. This information is independent of compaction and type of dated material and may be used to estimate the timing of barrier emplacement at or near its present position. Age estimates are less constrained when dating allochtonous organic material, but may still provide upper age limits for overlying clastic sequences. Similar to other mid- to high-latitude coastal settings, parts of maritime bogs and ponds in mid-coastal Maine have been buried episodically by storm overwash or dune migration over the past 5,000 years. The chronology of these events varies over a short distance along the coast as a function of barrier exposure and morphology, antecedent geology, and changes in sediment supply and vegetation cover.


Recent decades have seen increased interest in transdisciplinary (TD) research. To deliver on the promise of TD working there has been a call for the expansion of TD education in emerging literature. The challenge with proposed approaches is that they are often difficult to implement requiring significantly changed courses structures, and the coordination of teams of academic and industry experts to deliver. This creates a barrier to the main-streaming of TD education. Our research aims to create a practical approach for Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE) education which can be easily incorporated within existing course designs and in doing so facilitate wider disseminated. This paper presents the design and pilot of a TE session with MRes students from the University of Bath's, Centre of Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems. The session is evaluated by way of student feedback. The results show broad satisfaction with the session. Six of the eight indicated that they were satisfied with the quality of the session (two students were neutral). All students considered that the course material was presented in a clear and understandable way. All students considered that the course was accessible to their level of understanding. Future work will see the session delivered within additional engineering MSc courses at Bath and internationally with informal agreements in place with Universities in Colombia, Korea and Poland.


Dual-Band Reflectarrays Using Microstrip Ring Elements and Their Applications with Various Feeding Arrangements. (August 2006) Chul Min Han, B.S., Korea University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Kai Chang In recent years there has been a growing demand for reduced mass, small launch volume, and, at the same time, high-gain large-aperture antenna systems in modern space-borne applications. This dissertation introduces new techniques for dual-band reflectarray antennas to meet these requirements. A series of developments is presented to show the dual-band capability of the reflectarray. A novel microstrip ring structure has been developed to achieve circular polarization (CP). A C/Ka dual-band front-fed reflectarray antenna has been designed to demonstrate the dual-band circular polarized operation. The proposed ring structure provides many advantages of compact size, more freedom in the selection of element spacing, less blockage between circuit layers, and broader CP bandwidth as compared to the patches. An X/Ka dual-band offset-fed reflectarray is made of thin membranes, with their thickness equal to 0.0508 mm in both layers. Several degrading effects of thin substrates are discussed. To overcome these problems, a new configuration is developed by inserting empty spaces of the proper thickness below both the X and Ka band membranes. More than 50 % efficiencies are achieved at both frequency ranges, and the iv proposed scheme is expected to be a good candidate to meet the demand for future inflatable antenna systems. An X/Ka dual-band microstrip reflectarray with circular polarization has also been constructed using thin membranes and a Cassegrain offset-fed configuration. It is believed that this is the first Cassegrain reflectarray ever developed. This antenna has a 0.75-meter-diameter aperture and uses a metallic sub-reflector and angular-rotated annular ring elements. It achieved a measured 3 dB gain bandwidth of 700 MHz at Xband and 1.5 GHz at Ka-band, as well as a CP bandwidth (3 dB axial ratio) of more than 700 MHz at X-band and more than 2 GHz at Ka-band. The measured peak efficiencies are 49.8 % at X-band and 48. 2 % at Ka-band. In summary, this dissertation presents a series of new research developments to support the dual-band operation of the reflectarray antenna. The results of this work are currently being implemented onto a 3-meter reflectarray with inflatable structures at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and are planned for other applications such as an 8-meter inflatable reflectarray in the near future.


Three vertical profiles of rare earth element concentrations and Nd isotopic compositions have been measured in the remote southeast Pacific Ocean. The three stations represent contrasting environments: the oligotrophic center of the gyre (station GYR), the "transition zone" east of the South Tropical Front (station EGY), and the Peru-Chile upwelling marked by a pronounced oxygen minimum (station UPX). Rare earth concentrations display nutrient like vertical profiles except at UPX where surface waters are enriched. At this station Nd isotopic compositions are clearly more radiogenic than in the open ocean, suggesting that boundary exchange process is releasing lithogenic rare earth element from the volcanic Andes. Unexpected radiogenic values (eNd reaching -3.7) are also observed at 2000m at station GYR in the Upper Circumpolar Deep Water that commonly have eNd values around -6. Exchange processes related to hydrothermal activity are suspected to produce this increase in eNd in the vicinity of the East Pacific Rise. These results provide some guidance for higher resolution studies planned in this region by the international GEOTRACES program.


The paper concerns three research projects promoted during the last 20 years by the University of Tuscia, aimed at the reconstruction of the ancient topography of areas inside southern Etruria, between Viterbo and the Tiber river valley; they are based on the systematic exploration of the territory and the production of archaeological maps. Two of these works, regarding the Ager Ciminius and Bomarzo-Bassano-Mugnano areas were completed and published in the series Carta Archeologica d'Italia - Contributi; the title of the series relates to the first project in the archaeological mapping of the national territory, performed in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The third research project, still in progress, regards the territory surrounding Viterbo, and between the city itself and the ancient settlement of Ferento and Acquarossa. The research projects produced archaeological maps aimed at supporting both the reconstruction of historical processes in a diachronic perspective and the activities in preservation of the archaeological heritage conducted by the Soprintendenza Archeologica per l'Etruria Meridionale. The systematic research activities allowed the collection of many new data about the ancient topography of these areas from the Proto-historic Age to the Medieval period, across the Etruscan and Roman epochs. The settlement pattern, the necropolises, the road networks, the rural and productive activities were studied and reconstructed. In general, the new data are very numerous in comparison to those previously known. Moreover, field-walking also provided the opportunity to document the condition of preservation of the archaeological evidence. In particular, in the area surrounding Viterbo, many ancient remains damaged or destroyed by new urbanisation and infrastructures are documented (also in comparison to the data documented during the surveys performed in the same territory at the beginning of 1970s). In the other two study areas, the most numerous damages are produced by mechanised agricultural works.


Grid technologies provide a valuable solution for distributed scientific applications but are not readily available for the 4th Generation Languages (4GLs) widely used in physics, climate modeling and medicine. Examples of 4GLs are interactive data language (IDL) and MATLAB. There is a need for tools allowing 4GLs to interoperate with the grid. This paper describes our design and the status of the tools under development, which include IDL bindings for Web services and tools for running and managing parallel and serial IDL processes on grids and clusters.


Dr. Taheri teaches courses in mechanics of materials, computations, finite element
 method (linear and non-linear), fracture mechanics and fatigue, and fiber-reinforced
 plastics. Dr. Taheri is mainly interested in understanding and modelling of structural
 and materials response with computational and experimental methods to offer cost-effective
 solutions. He has expertise in developing effective design and experimental programs
 for specific case studies. He has long record of experience in computational mechanics
 and experimental characterization (static & dynamic) of fiber-reinforced composite
 materials; structural rehabilitation and vibration-based damage detection of structures
 using smart sensors and materials; fatigue, and fracture of materials; characterization
 of impact response and other highly nonlinear events of structural materials. Dr.
 Taheri worked in industry for eight years before joining the Civil Engineering department
 in 1994. He has also been engaged in several consulting projects commissioned by prestigious
 entities such as the Canadian Space Agency, and the Defence Research Laboratories,
 as well as other industries. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the province
 of Nova Scotia. He is also a member of ASME and AAM.


Cesium lead halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have attracted significant interest for optoelectronic applications in view of their high brightness and narrow emission linewidth at visible wavelengths. A remaining challenge is the degradation of PQDs during purification from the synthesis solution. This is attributed to proton transfer between oleic acid and oleylamine surface capping agents that leads to facile ligand loss. Here, a new synthetic method is reported that enhances the colloidal stability of PQDs by capping them solely using oleic acid (OA). Quaternary alkylammonium halides are used as precursors, eliminating the need for oleylamine. This strategy enhances the colloidal stability of OA capped PQDs during purification, allowing us to remove excess organic content in thin films. Inverted red, green, and blue PQD light‐emitting diodes (LED) are fabricated for the first time with solution‐processed polymer‐based hole transport layers due to higher robustness of OA capped PQDs to solution processing. The blue and green LEDs exhibit threefold and tenfold improved external quantum efficiency (EQE), respectively, compared to prior related reports for amine/ammonium capped cross‐linked PQDs. The brightest blue LED based on all inorganic CsPb(Br1−xClx)3 PQDs is also reported.


Sub-threshold characteristics of the dual material gate 4H-SiC MESFET (DMGFET) are investigated and the analytical models to describe the drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) effect are derived by solving one- and two-dimensional Poisson's equations. Using these models, we calculate the bottom potential of the channel and the threshold voltage shift, which characterize the drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) effect. The calculated results reveal that the dual material gate (DMG) structure alleviates the deterioration of the threshold voltage and thus suppresses the DIBL effect due to the introduced step function, which originates from the work function difference of the two gate materials when compared with the conventional single material gate metal—semiconductor field-effect transistor (SMGFET).


Summary Effects of a Herbal Crataegus-Camphor Combination on the Symptoms of Functional Cardiovascular Disorders One hundred and ninety (190) patients presenting with "functional cardiovascular disorders" (ICD 10, F 45.3) received purely herbal combination therapy comprising crataegus and camphor (Korodin® Herz-Kreislauf-Tropfen) or a placebo, identical in colour and taste to the active treatment, over a period of four weeks within the scope of a multi-centre, placebocontrolled, double-blind study. The principal criterion was the fall in the overall score obtained for a heart-related symptom complex (HSK) during administration of the herbal combination or randomly allocated placebo. The overall score fell significantly by 5.5 or 4.5 points, respectively, from a baseline value of 10.0 points each (p = 0.0165). The sub-score for exhaustion, joint pain, heart disorders, pain on pressure and the total score on the Giessen discomfort chart (GBB) indicated better efficacy with the crataegus-camphor combination than with the placebo. On completion of treatment, the investigators assessed the efficacy of the active drug as "very good to good" in 70.5% of their patients compared with a similar evaluation in just 49.5% of the placebo patients. The degree of satisfaction with the drug therapy according to physician and patient reflected the objective results obtained. 71.6% of subjects in the active drug group were satisfied with their treatment compared with just 52.7% in the placebo group. Adverse events (undesirable side effects) were recorded in 8.3% and 8.5% of patients, respectively. A correlation with the active drug therapy was established in only two cases. Tolerance was therefore positively assessed.


Fimbriae and their constituent protein (fimbrilin) were purified to homogeneity from the bacterial wash fluid and cell lysate fraction, respectively, of Bacteroides gingivalis 381. Fimbriae, observed by negative staining, were curly, single-stranded filaments with a diameter of ca. 5 nm. The apparent molecular weight of the fimbrilin was 43,000. Fimbriae were resistant to sodium dodecyl sulfate denaturation at 70 degrees C. Heating at 100 degrees C in sodium dodecyl sulfate was needed to completely dissociate them to monomers of fimbrilin. Different sets of antigenic determinants seemed to be exposed on the surfaces of fimbriae and sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured fimbrilin. Purified fimbriae did not show either hemagglutinating activity or hemagglutination inhibitory activity, although it has been inferred on the basis of circumstantial evidence that fimbriae are correlated to hemagglutinating activity of the organism. Hemagglutinin activity, however, was detected in culture supernatant, and this observation suggests that fimbriae of a different type or a lectin-like protein may be acting as hemagglutinin in B. gingivalis.


Fathers in two-parent families are becoming increasingly involved in infant care, highlighting the need to understand the determinants and influence of father-infant interactions. Paternal responsiveness is a core component of positive father-infant interactions. This study investigated associations between paternal responsiveness and infant development; and paternal low mood and paternal responsiveness. Participants were a subsample of father-infant dyads (n=47) from a UK community cohort study: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The Mellow Parenting Coding System was used to measure paternal responsiveness within a video-recorded father-infant interaction at 12 months. Infant development was assessed using the Griffiths scales at 18 months and paternal low mood was measured using the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 8 months. Linear regression analysis provided no evidence for an association between paternal responsiveness and infant development. Due to methodological limitations it is unclear whether this reflects a true null relationship. Unexpectedly, lower paternal mood (indicated by higher scores on the EPDS), was found to be associated with greater paternal responsiveness. For every standard deviation increase in EPDS score, fathers displayed approximately two additional responsiveness behaviours per minute in the observed interaction; this corresponds to a standardised effect size of 0.32 standard deviations. The mechanisms for this association are unclear, but possibilities are discussed. The finding requires replication within larger studies, but clinicians may wish to consider that fathers who achieve very low scores on measures of depressed mood may be at risk for low paternal