background: Hyperkeratotic hand eczema (HHE) is a typical clinical hand eczema subtype with a largely unknown pathophysiology. objective: To investigate histopathology, expression of keratins (K), epidermal barrier proteins, and adhesion molecules in HHE. Methods: Palmar skin biopsies (lesional and perilesional) were obtained from seven HHE patients and two healthy controls. Moreover, 135 candidate genes associated with palmoplantar keratoderma were screened for mutations. Results: Immunofluorescence staining showed a significant reduction of K9 and K14 in lesional skin. Upregulation was found for K5, K6, K16, and K17 in lesional skin compared with perilesional and healthy palmar skin. Further, upregulation of involucrin and alternating loricrin staining, both in an extracellular staining pattern, was found. Filaggrin expression was similar in lesional, perilesional, and control skin. No monogenetic mutations were found. conclusion: Currently, the phenotype of HHE is included in the hand eczema classification system; however, it can be argued whether this is justified. The evident expression of filaggrin and involucrin in lesional skin does not support a pathogenesis of atopic eczema. The upregulation of K6, K16, and K17 and reduction of K9 and K14 might contribute to the underlying pathogenesis. Unfortunately, comparison with hand eczema studies is not possible yet, because similar protein expression studies are lacking.


The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the fresh extract obtained from the fruits Bougainvillea glabra Linn. in rats. The fresh juice extracted from the flowers of B. glabra Linn. were evaluated for the anti-inflammatory activity by using the carrageenan induced model in rats at a doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg respectively. Biochemical parameters like paw oedema were studied. The B. glabra contains the phytochemical constituents like steroids. The fresh extract of B. glabra flowers showed the significant reduction in the paw volume at the doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. The results suggest that the flower extract of the Bougainvillea possess anti-inflammatory effect. The observed effect may be due to the presence of bioactive constituents.


Necklace maps visualize quantitative data associated with regions by placing scaled symbols, usually disks, without overlap on a closed curve (the necklace) surrounding the map regions. Each region is projected onto an interval on the necklace that contains its symbol. In this paper we address the algorithmic question how to maximize symbol sizes while keeping symbols disjoint and inside their intervals. For that we reduce the problem to a one-dimensional problem which we solve efficiently. Solutions to the one-dimensional problem provide a very good approximation for the original necklace map problem. We consider two variants: Fixed-Order, where an order for the symbols on the necklace is given, and Any-Order where any symbol order is possible. The Fixed-Order problem can be solved in O(n log n) time. We show that the Any-Order problem is NP-hard for certain types of intervals and give an exact algorithm for the decision version. This algorithm is fixed-parameter tractable in the thickness K of the input. Our algorithm runs in O(n log n + n2K4K) time which can be improved to O(n log n + nK2K) time using a heuristic. We implemented our algorithm and evaluated it experimentally.


With international trade increasingly undertaken within vertically fragmented supply chains, this paper considers the impact of changes in trade costs on domestic output. In the context of the UK's exit from the EU we show that the negative impact on UK output will depend on changes in both domestic and export competitiveness. Since for many firms the majority of their sales are to the domestic market, the domestic competitiveness impact may be quantitatively more important. The impact on output will be more significant the greater the integration of firms in international supply chains, and the greater the asymmetric impact of leaving the EU on UK firms relative to EU firms.


SUMMARY The aggregation of briefly trypsinized 16 C malignant rat dermal fibroblasts as measured by gyratory shaker/electronic particle counting technique is increased by neuraminidase. Enzyme treatment also exposes soybean and Ricinus communis agglutinin-binding sites as judged by cell agglutination. Desialysed bovine submaxillary mucin and desialysed, agalacto fetuin reversed the neuraminidase-stimulated increase in aggregation, whereas desialysed fetuin and ovalbumin did not. The effective glycoproteins also acted as acceptors in cellular sialyl- and galactosyltransferase reactions, and these activities are detected in plasma membrane fractions. The possibility that neuraminidase increases cellular aggregation by generating acceptor sites for interaction with cell surface glycosyltransferases, is discussed.


Quantitative information about positron and electron collisions with nucleobases is required in charged-particle track simulations to accurately model and assess any radiation damage at the subcellular level in biological systems. However, scattering experiments have so far been restricted to the pyrimidine nucleobases. In this paper we report on total-cross-section measurements for positron impact on indole, a parent molecule of the purine nucleobases, at impact energies between 1 and 25 eV. We also present theoretical cross sections for elastic and total scattering, positronium formation, electronic excitations, and direct ionization between 1 and 500 eV, as calculated with the independent-atom model with the screening-corrected additivity rule. Rotational excitation cross sections are additionally calculated within a Born framework over that same energy range. A significant discrepancy is found between the measured and computed total cross sections, which cannot be entirely accounted for by the lack of forward-angle-scattering discrimination in the experiment. The present results are also compared to the available theoretical cross sections for the purine nucleobases. In addition, total cross sections for electron-indole collisions computed within our theoretical formalism are provided.


A total of 1,607 stomachs from 19 species were analyzed to describe the food habits of the mesopelagic fishes in the Gulf of Alaska in 2007. Longfin dragonfish (Tactostoma macropus), Pacific viperfish (Chauliodus macouni), scaly wearyfish (Scopelosaurus adleri), Alaska dreamer (Oneirodes thompsoni), and northern pearleye (Benthalbella dentata) were the main piscivores observed. Myctophids were the dominant prey fish. Garnet lampfish (Stenobrachius nannochir), bigeye lanternfish (Protomyctophum thompsoni), brokenline lanternfish (Lampanyctus jordani), highsnout bigscale (Melamphaes lugubris), shining tubeshoulder (Sagamichthys abei), and northern lampfish (Stenobrachius leucopsarus), fed mainly on calanoid copepods. Blue lanternfish (Tarletonbeania crenularis) and bluethroat argentine (Nansenia candida), fed mainly on larvaceans. California headlightfish (Diaphus theta), northern smoothtongue (Leuroglossus schmidti), Bathylagidae, and crested bigscale (Poromitra curilensis) ate different combinations of larvacean, euphausiids, calanoids, ostracods, gastropods, and chaetognaths. Pinpoint lampfish (Nannobrachium regale) consumed large amounts of shrimp and cephalopods. Barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) fed only on jellyfish.


Glutaraldehyde is one of the most widely used reagents in the design of biocatalysts. It is a powerful crosslinker, able to react with itself, with the advantages that this may bring forth. In this review, we intend to give a general vision of its potential and the precautions that must be taken when using this effective reagent. First, the chemistry of the glutaraldehyde/amino reaction will be commented upon. This reaction is still not fully clarified, but it seems to be based on the formation of 6-membered heterocycles formed by 5 C and one O. Then, we will discuss the production of intra- and inter-molecular enzyme crosslinks (increasing enzyme rigidity or preventing subunit dissociation in multimeric enzymes). Special emphasis will be placed on the preparation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs), mainly in enzymes that have low density of surface reactive groups and, therefore, may be problematic to obtain a final solid catalyst. Next, we will comment on the uses of glutaraldehyde in enzymes previously immobilized on supports. First, the treatment of enzymes immobilized on supports that cannot react with glutaraldehyde (only inter and intramolecular cross-linkings will be possible) to prevent enzyme leakage and obtain some enzyme stabilization via cross-linking. Second, the cross-linking of enzymes adsorbed on aminated supports, where together with other reactions enzyme/support crosslinking is also possible; the enzyme is incorporated into the support. Finally, we will present the use of aminated supports preactivated with glutaraldehyde. Optimal glutaraldehyde modifications will be discussed in each specific case (one or two glutaraldehyde molecules for amino group in the support and/or the protein). Using preactivated supports, the heterofunctional nature of the supports will be highlighted, with the drawbacks and advantages that the heterofunctionality may have. Particular attention will be paid to the control of the first event that causes the immobilization depending on the experimental conditions to alter the enzyme orientation regarding the support surface. Thus, glutaraldehyde, an apparently old fashioned reactive, remains the most widely used and with broadest application possibilities among the compounds used for the design of biocatalyst.


An analysis of the head injuries sustained by fatally injured occupants in rollover crashes was conducted using the available online data from the Australian National Coronial Information System. All available autopsy, police reports, and findings were reviewed. Cases were selected for inclusion in the study if they could be identified as properly restrained and contained occupants in single event passenger vehicle rollovers. All head injuries were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale, 1990 update. The required online data were available from New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. Eighty-three cases were identified between 2000 and 2011 that met all inclusion criteria. The study was undertaken as part of a project with the aim of developing a dynamic test protocol to assess injury in the rollover crash mode, with specific interest in serious head injuries. The patterns and types of head injury were identified and cross referenced with known rollover conditions and occupant factors. The patterns of head injuries appear to differ based on many factors such as seat position and head contact location. Head injuries were the most frequently occurring serious injury among fatally injured occupants with a presence in 67 per cent of all cases. Of the cases that sustained a serious head injury 50 per cent had a serious thorax injury and 20 per cent had a serious spine injury. The findings help to identify which countermeasures may be effective in mitigating serious head injuries in rollover crashes as well as appropriate test methods that could assess the safety of a vehicle in the rollover crash mode.


The aim of this study is to assess a group of project reports as an indicator of their ability to do scientific inquiry. The SSSTs conducted their own environmental research projects with innovative technologies after they were taught the Technology-embedded Scientific Inquiry (TESI) model. A total of 29 environmental research project reports were assessed using Scientific Inquiry Ability rubrics. The generally reflected attainment of various levels of scientific inquiry abilities. The study implies that the science education classes that integrate innovative technologies focus on developing the sophisticated attributes of scientific inquiry so that SSSTs put forth a conscious effort in attaining higher levels of proficiency when they engage in environmental research projects. 12 Published by Elsevier Ltd.


2-Hydroxyphenyl-lapazole (HPL) is shown to undergo excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) in the protic solvents methanol, propan-2-ol and octan-1-ol at room temperature. Investigation of the kinetics of this process, using time-resolved single photon counting and transient absorption spectroscopy, indicates the presence of three different excited-state species. These results are very different from that already reported for HPL in non-protic solvents, where it was found that the ESIPT process attains equilibrium during the lifetime of the excited state. Factor analysis of the steady state spectra supports the conclusions drawn from the kinetic results. The difference in behavior as a function of solvent is attributed to two factors that depend on the stronger solute–solvent interactions in the case of the protic solvents. (1) The slight slowing down of the process of proton transfer, which prevents equilibrium from being established
during the lifetime of the excited singlet state. (2) The weakening of the intramolecular hydrogen bond, which allows rotation of the hydroxyphenyl moiety.


"NoSQL solution" is today a term that represents a wide spectrum of ways of storing and requesting data. From graph-oriented databases to key-value databases, each solution has been developed to be the best choice in a specific case and for given parameters. As NoSQL solutions are new, there is no guide explaining which solution is best depending on someone's use case. In the first part of this document, we give an overview of each type of solution, explaining when and why a certain type of solution would be a good or a poor choice for a given use case. Once a company has chosen the technology that seems to fit well its need, it faces another problem : how to deploy this new type of data store. Directly deploying a production store would certainly result in poor performances, because some pieces of knowledge are absolutely necessary to implement an efficient NoSQL store. However, there is no "best practices" guide to get this knowledge. This is the reason why building a prototype, with fewer resources, can improve everyone's knowledge. Then, with the experience retrieved from this first experience, engineers and technicians can deploy a store that will be much more efficient than the store they would have deployed without the prototype experience. For this reason, we decided to implement a MongoDB prototype store. Building this prototype, we have tested several configurations that resulted in different levels of performance. In the second part of this document, we explain the main result we got from our experiments. These results could be useful for other companies that are willing to use MongoDB, but they mostly show why a specific knowledge is essential to deploy a good NoSQL store.


A certain class of superselection sectors of the free massless scalar field in 3 space dimensions is considered. It is shown that these sectors, which cannot be localised with respect to the vacuum, acquire a much better localisation, namely in spacelike cones, when viewed in front of suitable " infravacuum " backgrounds. These background states coincide , essentially, with a class of states introduced by Kraus, Polley and Reents as models for clouds of infrared radiation.


Electroencephalogram (EEG), which is widely used for brain computer interface (BCI) systems for input signal, is easily interrupted by physical or mental tasks, and contaminated with various artifacts including power line noise, electromyogram and electrocardiogram. Therefore, such kind of artifacts cause to decrease the accuracy rate and motivate the researchers substantially develop the performance of all components of the communication system between the subject and a BCI output device. So, it is vital to use the most suitable classification algorithm and fewer feature set to implement a fast and accurate BCI system. Addition to this, it is worthwhile mentioning that the classifiers should have the ability for recognizing signals which are collected in different sessions to make brain computer interfaces practical in use. In this study, we proposed fast and accurate classification method for classifying EEG data of up/down/right/left computer cursor movement imagery. EEG signals were collected from three healthy male adults and on two different offline sessions with about one week of delay. The average test classification accuracy calculated as 53.07%.


Objective(s): Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with circadian disruption. Our previous experimental results have showed that dietary Lycium barbarum. polysaccharide (LBP-4a) exhibited hypoglycemic and improving insulin resistance (IR) activities. This study was to explore the mechanisms of LBP-4a for improving hyperglycemia and IR by regulating biological rhythms in T2DM rats. Materials and Methods: The rats of T2DM were prepared by the high-sucrose-fat diets and injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The levels of insulin, leptin and melatonin were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The effect of LBP-4a on mRNA expression of melatonin receptors (MT2) in epididymal adipose tissue was evaluated by RT-PCR. The expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in pancreatic islet cells was detected by Western blotting. Results: Our data indicated that the 24-hr rhythm of blood glucose appeared to have consistent with normal rats after gavaged administration of LBP-4a for each day of the 4 weeks, and the effects of hypoglycemia and improving hyperinsulinemia in T2DM rats treated at high dose were much better than that at low dose. The mechanisms were related to increasing MT2 level in epididymal adipose tissue and affecting circadian clocks gene expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in pancreatic islet cells. Conclusion: LBP-4a administration could treat T2DM rats. These observations provided the background for the further development of LBP-4a as a potential dietary therapeutic agent in the treatment of T2DM.


We propose novel motion representations for animating articulated objects consisting of distinct parts. In a completely unsupervised manner, our method identifies object parts, tracks them in a driving video, and infers their motions by considering their principal axes. In contrast to the previous keypoint-based works, our method extracts meaningful and consistent regions, describing locations, shape, and pose. The regions correspond to semantically relevant and distinct object parts, that are more easily detected in frames of the driving video. To force decoupling of foreground from background, we model non-object related global motion with an additional affine transformation. To facilitate animation and prevent the leakage of the shape of the driving object, we disentangle shape and pose of objects in the region space. Our model1 can animate a variety of objects, surpassing previous methods by a large margin on existing benchmarks. We present a challenging new benchmark with high-resolution videos and show that the improvement is particularly pronounced when articulated objects are considered, reaching 96.6% user preference vs. the state of the art.


A significant proportion of hemophilia A patients receiving transfusions of factor VIII (FVIII) develop a specific antibody response towards FVIII. These antibodies are usually detected by assays in which they inhibit the function of the molecule, such as the Bethesda clotting test. We have prepared anti-FVIII antibodies by specific immunoadsorption from the plasma of four hemophiliacs with stable inhibitor levels. The isotypic distribution of such antibodies was determined and their capacity to bind to insolubilized FVIII was compared with their inhibitory activity in two functional assays, namely, the Bethesda assay and a chromogenic assay. In addition, the FVIII epitope specificity was determined by competition with monoclonal antibodies for the binding to insolubilized FVIII. We show here that (1) anti-FVIII antibodies are not isotypically restricted; thus, a significant proportion of specific IgG2 was found; (2) antibodies are frequently directed towards epitopes of FVIII that are not directly involved in the function of the molecule and therefore escape detection in the Bethesda method or chromogenic assay; and (3) each patient shows a unique pattern of FVIII epitope recognition. We conclude that evaluation of anti-FVIII antibodies by a functional method does not provide an accurate evaluation of the specific antibody response. These findings have important implications for the comparison of the immunogenicity of FVIII molecules produced by different technologies and for the development of methods to control anti-FVIII antibody production.


We estimate the productivity loss attributable to breast cancer in Norway, using a human capital approach where the value to the national economy of subjects' labor is estimated through their income. Since the approach takes the viewpoint of the society, it includes reduced labor due to mortality as well as reduction among survivors. A case-control design was used. The Norwegian Cancer Registry identified 2,010 patients aged 45-54 years, with breast cancer as their first life-long malignancy diagnosis in 1992-1996. Statistics Norway matched these with random controls of the same age, marital status and municipality residency, and provided data on pension qualifying income until the year 2005, inflation adjusted to 2012 €. The effect of the cancer diagnosis on income throughout the follow-up period was estimated as the difference between the cases' and controls' income, corrected for systematic differences between cases and controls before the diagnosis. A quadratic curve approximation was used to estimate effects after the 13 years follow-up period, and a bootstrap resampling approach was applied to compute confidence intervals (CI). Regression modeling was used to estimate life-long productivity loss as a function of age at diagnosis. This was combined with the current Norwegian age distribution of breast cancer incidence, to estimate the national productivity loss due to breast cancer. For our cohort, the 13-years productivity loss attributable to the diagnosis was estimated to 102,600 € per case, with 95% CI (88,500, 116,700). The life-long estimate was 119,200 €, CI (95,400, 155,600). The annual national productivity loss was estimated to 179,900,000 €, or 58,200 € per case. For those aged < 65 at diagnosis, the estimate was 94,300 € per case. The estimated life-long productivity loss depends heavily on the age at diagnosis. The results can be used for evaluating the societal economic benefit from breast cancer prevention programs. Published: Online December 2017. In print December 2017.


Stearic acid coated nanometer CaCO3 was encapsulated by polystyrene (PS) network via emulsion polymerization, where a polyfunctional monomer trimethyol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) or divinyl benzene (DVB) was used as crosslinker. The feed modes of monomer and initiator are investigated. Batch mode is shown to be more convenient than semi-continuous mode in view of network perfection. With the amount of crosslinkers increased from 1 wt% to 7 wt%, the percentage of unextractable PS is high (not lower than 95%) for all samples in the system of TMPTMA, while this value decreases sharply from 74% to 3% in the system of DVB. The yield in the system of DVB is higher than that of TMPTMA. With increased amount of CaCO3, encapsulation ratio can be varied from 5.2 to 2.6, while the yield and unextractable PS decrease. FT-IR spectra of the products after extraction indicate tight encapsulation between PS and CaCO3, and TEM photographs of composite particles give direct evidence of encapsulation.


We propose Guided-TTS, a high-quality text-to-speech (TTS) model that does not require any transcript of target speaker using classifier guidance. Guided-TTS combines an unconditional diffusion probabilistic model with a separately trained phoneme classifier for classifier guidance. Our unconditional diffusion model learns to generate speech without any context from untranscribed speech data. For TTS synthesis, we guide the generative process of the diffusion model with a phoneme classifier trained on a large-scale speech recognition dataset. We present a norm-based scaling method that reduces the pronunciation errors of classifier guidance in Guided-TTS. We show that Guided-TTS achieves a performance comparable to that of the state-of-the-art TTS model, Grad-TTS, without any transcript for LJSpeech. We further demonstrate that Guided-TTS performs well on diverse datasets including a long-form untranscribed dataset.


After assuming the Government of the captaincy of Sao Paulo in 1765, Morgado de Mateus established an expansion process of the settlement. The crisis of the colonial economy and conflicts with the Castilians demanded the intervention of the Crown, seeking to deploy new economic activities and preparing the defense of the territory. When creating towns and villages, the Governor would seek bringing together individuals classified as unruly and would send them, sometimes by force, to be the pioneers in border areas. Many of these settlers were indigenous people, considered as vagabonds, who should be submitted to the new model of social organization proposed by the Crown. This effort can be accessed through inhabitants lists of three settlement initiatives: Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Piracicaba and the Caminho de Goias. The profile analysis of the individuals installed in these new villages allows for a better understanding of the organizational strategies of the colonial population desired by the Crown.


This project is a continuation of an ongoing phosphorus (P) fertility evaluation that began in 1998, at Safford, AZ on a grower cooperator field. The field study conducted during the 2003 season consisted of five treatments of varying rates of P fertilizers from 0 through 165 lbs. of P2O5 per acre. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plot sizes were 12, 36 in. rows wide and extended the full length of the irrigation run of 1250 feet. Three of the five treatments (treatments 3, 4, and 5) consisted of varying rates of P fertilizer applied as a liquid blend (11-30-0-5S) proprietary to United Agri Products (UAP) injected in the soil at approximately the 4 leaf stage prior to the first post plant irrigation. An additional treatment (treatment 2) of calcium thiosulfate (CATS) proprietary to Tessenderlo-Kerley was also applied. In an effort to ensure uniform application of fertilizer nitrogen (N) across all treatments, a solution of urea-ammonium-nitrate (UAN) was applied to bring uniform the level of all treatments with respect to N fertilizer. Lint yield results indicate a strong positive response to applied P, consistent with the previous fours years of P fertility work done in this area. The highest applied P treatments resulted in the highest lint yields with an increase of approximately 155 lbs. lint/acre above the control, an increase of about 12%. Fiber quality data did not indicate any significant differences among treatments for any of the fiber quality parameters measured. Compiling all yield data from the prior six years and plotting percent relative yield as a function of applied P fertilizer demonstrates a positive response to P fertilization. These results indicate the need for local growers to consider P fertilization as an important component of their fertility program. This is particularly true for cotton fields that have had very little or no rotation with small grain crops that are commonly fertilized with a P based fertilizer such as 1620-0.


Background: Prolonged storage of cryopreserved isolated hepatocytes is now possible and such cells have been used with success for drug metabolism and toxicity studies. Quality of the cells before cryopreservation is important for viability and function after freezing. Methods: In this study, fresh rat hepatocytes were incubated with the thiol-containing compounds N-acetylcysteine (NAC), dithiotheritol (DTT) and fructose as ATP supplier, at incubation times 1 and 3 hrs. The preincubated hepatocytes cryopreserved for 24 hour, and 1 and 3 months. Hepatocytes, viability were determined immediately postthaw by Trypan Blue exclusion. Results: Fructose preincubation improved the viability of hepatocytes at a concentration of 300 mM. Preincubation with DTT (50, 100 and 200 μM) prior to cryopreservation had beneficial effects on viability of hepatocytes. The postthaw viability of hepatocytes preincubated with NAC was uniformly poor. Conclusion: Preincubation with DTT, improved GSH levels before freezing which could be responsible for the reduction in membrane damage during cryopreservation. It may be concluded that the intracellular


This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current methods used for the texurization of proteins, with emphasis on soy proteins. The sensory characteristics, i.e., flavor, texture, and color are discussed, particularly in relation to the problems of simulating meat flavored products. The nutritional qualities of texturized products are reviewed, and current regulations concerning their use in foods are cited.


The localization of the covalent bond in the conjugates of bleomycin A5 and oligonucleotides was established by 13C NMR using the bleomycin derivative of uridine-5'-phosphate synthesized as a model compound. The phosphate group of the nucleotide was shown to form a phosphamide bond with the primary amino group of the spermidine moiety of bleomycin A5. The formation of the P-N bond causes the downfield shift of the signals of the neighboring carbon atoms of the spermidine fragment by 1.8 and 4.2 ppm and the splitting of the signal of the C-2 atom of the spermidine fragment with J 6.8 Hz due to vicinal spin-spin coupling with the phosphorous atom.


Plastic deformation creates orientation differences in grains of originally uniform orientation. These disorientations are caused by a local excess of dislocations having the same sign of the Burgers vector. Their increase with increasing plastic strain is modeled by dislocation dynamics taking into account different storage mechanisms. The predicted average disorientation angles across different types of boundaries are in close agreement with experimental data for small and moderate plastic strains. At large plastic strains after severe plastic deformation, saturation of the measured average disorientation angle is observed. This saturation is explained as an immediate consequence of the restriction of experimentally measured disorientation angles to angles below a certain maximum value imposed by crystalline symmetry. Taking into account the restrictions from crystalline symmetry for modeled disorientation angles does not only lead to an excellent agreement with experimental findings on Ni after high pressure torsion, but also rationalizes the work-hardening behavior at large plastic strains as well as a saturation of the flow stress.


The identity of Vaiśālī is changing through the constructions of Buddhist Shanti Stupas, temples and monasteries of Eastern and South- East Asian countries. These modern developments raise several questions about their history, local and international identity, reclaim and conflicts. I would like to discuss Vaiśālī in relation to their archaeological past and historical importance in the Buddhist world, and how they became important in the modern world. This paper proposes to examine the revival of Buddhist Modernism[1] through art & architectures of Buddhist temples and monasteries of Eastern and South- East Asian countries in Vaiśālī.[2]

[1] The German Buddhologist heinz Bechert coined the term ' Buddhist Modernism' and defined it as follows: "Buddhist modernism is characterized by the emphasis laid on rationalist elements in Buddhist teachings, by the belief that the teachings of Buddhism and those of modern science are not only in conformity but identical, by the tacit elimination of the traditional cosmology, and by a reinterpretation of the objective of the Buddhist religion in terms of social reform and the building of a better world." Bechert noted that Buddhist modernism is also characterized in part by the creation of lay religious organizations that did not previously exist. For him, the primary ethos animating this modern interpretation of Buddhism is the attempt to bridge the traditional gap between otherworldly and this-worldly practices and aims, transforming a religion of world-renunciation into one stressing societal reform and human development. (David L. McMahan, Buddhism in the Modern World. Routledge, 2012.)

[2] Vaiśālī has more than ten temples and monasteries built by Buddhist countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka.


SUMMARY Effective monitoring is a fundamental requirement for adaptive management. The need for better tools for monitoring livelihoods is particularly acute. A simple indicators-based livelihoods monitoring tool to be used at the village scale was developed and tested. Participatory methods were used to elicit local perceptions and aspirations about development and conservation. That information was used to develop a prototype set of indicators, organized using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Data were collected for the indicators in six villages to calibrate and test the tool. Indicators of financial and physical capital worked well. Social capital and natural capital were more difficult to capture with low-cost indicators. Most of the indicators are applicable in rural areas of the district and beyond. Despite some shortcomings, the tool shows good potential as a way to focus attention on key aspects of rural development and as a way to inform and facilitate discussion and negotiation between communities and other stakeholders.


This thesis investigates preferences for housing, neighbourhoods, and transport in Auckland, New Zealand, supplemented by a comparison with similar research in Wellington and Hamilton. The topic is significant for New Zealand as there is an increasingly urban population, and the interconnected areas of urban form and transport can help the country reduce carbon emissions and provide a healthier, more enjoyable lifestyle for its people. The influence of residents' preferences and their relationship with urban form on achieving compact city development is investigated.  Historical and current planning rules and policies provide context for an analysis of how urban planning, preferences, and location and travel choices interact. Auckland's housing and transport policies show a pattern of path dependency: decisions favouring greenfield development, sprawling low-density suburbs, and car-centred transport have driven subsequent investments and influenced the ease of using alternative transport modes. Such rules have also reduced the availability of housing in accessible, medium- to high-density neighbourhoods and may have contributed to the rising costs of this type of housing.  A stated choice survey of 3,285 Auckland households was conducted to investigate the extent to which there is an unmet demand for compact development and alternatives to car travel.  Using the survey results, a multinomial latent class model was developed to examine the preferences of households and the trade-offs they may be willing to make when choosing where to live. This type of model allows for identification of preference groups as a means of understanding the heterogeneity of preferences across the population. There was an unmet demand for accessible, medium-density housing, with some households willing to trade off dwelling size and neighbourhood type for higher accessibility or lower prices. The study also found that more people currently drive than would prefer to, with long journey times, safety concerns, unreliable services, and a lack of infrastructure acting as barriers to active and public transport. Households preferring low density are more likely to occupy their preferred dwelling type and be able to use their preferred transport mode. In contrast, those preferring high accessibility or driven by price are more likely to experience a mismatch between their preferred and current dwelling type, and are less likely to be able to use their preferred transport mode.


Citation: Mounir MMF. Pulp Regeneration: The Ultimate Goal of Regenerative Endodontics. J Orthod Endod. 2016, 3:1. The dental pulp, this sophisticated tissue protected inside the tooth dentin, when is destroyed or dead causes a great deal of pain and suffering to the patient. The only viable treatment is either root canal treatment RCT or extraction. To eliminate infection and protect the decontaminated tooth from further deterioration, root canal treatment RCT is performed. The conventional means of RCT means removing the pulp and packing the chamber with a plastic material. Regenerative endodontics uses the concept of tissue engineering to deliver biologically based regenerative endodontic treatment of necrotic immature permanent teeth resulting in continued root development, increased thickness in the dentinal walls and apical closure. The ultimate goal of regenerative endodontics is pulp regeneration. Recombinant amelogenin protein can provide signals that regulate gene expression and modify the inflammatory response, as well as advance the repair mechanisms of odontoblasts. Mounir et al. [1] have developed a technology to use recombinant amelogenin protein to recruit the regenerative capacity of the patient, resulting in the regeneration of a complete pulp. The regenerated pulp is predicted to function identically to the one destroyed by disease thus transforming the tooth to a disease free state. This material closes the opened apex with a regenerated dentin bridge. The treated teeth show a regenerated complete dental pulp, and in turn, revitalize a dead tooth with all the nerves, blood vessels restoring tooth function eliminating any possibility of infection thus the tooth is less subject to material failure as is the case for RCT treated teeth. The regenerated pulp tissue that fills the pulp chamber and root canal eliminates sites that can harbor even minimally active biofilms that can form in root canal treated teeth. Biofilms can contain many different types of microorganism, such as bacteria that causes infection. A healthy apical tissue is regenerated forming the tooth attachment apparatus made of dentin, cementum, periodontal ligament (PDL) and bone. This tissue is the hole that allows the nerve tissue, with its accompanying blood vessels, to enter the tooth by regenerating a dent in bridge and stops any infection that is present restoring the root canals to a healthy state. This development in regeneration of a functional pulp-dentin complex will have a promising impact on efforts to retain the natural dentition. Received: December 21, 2016; Accepted: December 26, 2016; Published: December 30, 2016 Pulp Regeneration: The Ultimate Goal of Regenerative Endodontics


OBJECTIVE--To describe the epidemiology of endometriosis in women attending family planning clinics with special reference to contraceptive methods. DESIGN--Non-randomised cohort study with follow up of subjects for up to 23 years. Disease was measured by first hospital admission rates since endometriosis can be diagnosed with accuracy only at laparotomy or laparoscopy. SETTING--17 family planning centres in England and Scotland. SUBJECTS--17,032 married white women aged 25-39 years at entry during 1968-74 who were taking oral contraceptives or using an intrauterine device or diaphragm. About 99% of the women approached agreed to participate and annual loss to follow up was about 0.3%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Diagnosis of endometriosis, age, parity, and history of contraceptive use. RESULTS--Endometriosis was significantly related to age, peaking at ages 40-44 (chi 2 for heterogeneity = 30.9, p < 0.001). Endometriosis was not linked to duration of taking oral contraceptives. Nevertheless, the risk of endometriosis was low in women currently taking oral contraceptives (relative risk 0.4; 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 0.7), but higher in women who had formerly taken them (1.8; 1.0 to 3.1 in women who had stopped 25-48 months previously) compared with women who had never taken the pill. A similar pattern was seen for use of intrauterine devices (relative risk 0.4 (0.2 to 0.7) in current users and 1.4 (0.4 to 3.2) in users 49-72 months previously compared with never users). No association was found between endometriosis and use of the diaphragm. CONCLUSIONS--Oral contraceptives seem to temporarily suppress endometriosis. Endometriosis may be diagnosed late in women using intrauterine devices as pain and bleeding occur with both.


Currently, allergen specific immunotherapy is administered to allergic rhinitis or asthmatic patients with uncontrolled symptoms despite medical treatment and avoidance of environmental allergens. Local or systemic reactions can occur after subcutaneous immunotherapy. Although almost all severe systemic reactions are reported to begin within 30 minutes after administration of injections, late onset reactions could be seen. Our case was 15 years old female patient with asthma whose complaints could not controlled by medical treatment and subcutaneous immunotherapy with "Dermatophagoides farinae" extract that she was sensitized was administered to her. Severe systemic reaction (anaphylaxis) has developed in the patient within fourth hours of post-injection observation period at the maintenance dose of 0.8 mL. We want to emphasize that severe late onset systemic reactions are rare but could occur after subcutaneous immunotherapy injections.


The discovery of carbon nanostructures, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, has led to the creation of many novel nano-devices. In this paper, we consider an environmental application of carbon nanostructures for filtering and adsorbing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are environmental pollutants. We mathematically investigate the adsorption of PAHs onto a graphene sheet and determine the underlying mechanisms of suction of PAHs into a carbon nanotube. We adopt a continuum approach together with the semi-empirical Lennard-Jones potential to determine van der Waals interaction forces and energies. Results obtained here for certain PAHs are well in agreement with existing experimental and theoretical results. We comment that the use of elementary mechanical principles and classical applied mathematical modelling techniques in this paper enables the formulation of explicit analytical criteria and ideal model behaviour for problems in nanotechnology for which previously only experiments and molecular dynamics simulations were available. Further the method presented here is less computationally intensive compared with conventional methods, such as ab initio calculations and density functional theory, making it an ideal approach for modelling molecules with large numbers of atoms, such as PAHs, carbon nanostructures and biomolecules.


We study two large classes of alternative theories, modifying the action through algebraic, quadratic curvature invariants coupled to scalar fields. We find one class that admits solutions that solve the vacuum Einstein equations and another that does not. In the latter, we find a deformation to the Schwarzschild metric that solves the modified field equations in the small-coupling approximation. We calculate the event horizon shift, the innermost stable circular orbit shift, and corrections to gravitational waves, mapping them to the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework.


Observation consists of two parts which though theoretically they have much in common yet practically are of almost contrary natures. The first is a sort of subconscious induction, by which upon repeatedly reviewing an object of perception a certain element of it acquires great associational potency, – that is, has a magnified tendency to call up other ideas. [—] The other part of observation consists in moulding in the upper consciousness a more or less skeletonized idea until it is felt to respond to [the] object of observation. [—]


Background Psychosocial aspects of HIV infection and use of medications may be associated with dyspareunia. In middle-aged women there's also problems associated with climacteric symptoms that may influence the presence of dyspareunia, a topic not fully investigated in women with HIV in the ageing process. Methods Cross sectional study involving 273 women aged 40–60 years. From these 128 women informed having sexual activities with vaginal penetration and were included in the present study. The evaluation instrument was based on the Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire (SPEQ). Sociodemographic, clinical, behavioural, reproductive, HIV issues and partner-related factors were assessed. Dyspareunia was defined as pain during sexual intercourse, graded from 1 to 6, where a score of 2 or more represented the presence of dyspareunia. A bivariate analysis was performed in which dyspareunia was considered the dependent variable according to the independent variables. The qui-square test was applied with Yates correction or Fisher's exact test. Results A total of 41.4% (53) of these women reported dyspareunia. It was associated with low formal education (p < 0.10), vaginal dryness (p < 0.001), urinary incontinence (p = 0.02), muscular pain (p = 0.013), partner status HIV+ or unknown (p = 0.02), and use of statins (p > 0.05 and < 0.10). Dyspareunia was less prevalent in women who were in use or previously used biovir (p < 0.05) or efavirenz (p < 0.05). compared with non-users of these medications. Conclusions Dyspareunia was common in this cohort of women associated with social, health, partner and medication factors and measures should be adopted to minimise the repercussions of these factors on sexuality.


This paper investigates the effects of the three-dimensional arrangement of antennae and frequency on temperature distributions that can be achieved in regional hyperthermia using an electromagnetic phased array. It compares the results of power-based and temperature-based optimization. Thus, one is able to explain the discrepancies between previous studies favouring more antenna rings on the one hand and more antennae per ring on the other hand. The sensitivity of the results is analysed with respect to changes in amplitudes and phases, as well as patient position. This analysis can be used for different purposes. First, it provides additional criteria for selecting the optimal frequency. Secondly, it can be used for specifying the required phase and amplitude accuracy for a real phased array system. Furthermore, it may serve as a basis for technological developments in order to reduce both types of sensitivities described above.


This exploratory study illustrates the effects of the application of electrical energy efficiency programs in 7 food processing companies in Cuenca, Ecuador. The research encompassed phases of diagnosis, intervention and evaluation. A comparative analysis between the companies was conducted: energy consumption versus product volume, energy-quality analysis, relation between compliance/specific energy consumption, and the impact on CO 2 emissions. Results revealed that the acceptance to the recommendations of savings is biased by the level of investments and the willing/proneness of the administration. The study showed that interventions had a partial effect on the reduction of the specific energy consumption in 4 companies. In addition, it has obtained a positive effect on the power factor correction in one company and an improvement on the load balance in 5. The research showed the existence of a significant reduction of emissions post-intervention, highlighting the effectiveness of the programs.


Khanam, U. K. S. and Oba, S. 2013. Bioactive substances in leaves of two amaranth species, Amaranthus tricolor and A. hypochondriacus. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 47-58. Bioactive substances and phenolic contents of Amaranthus tricolor and A. hypochondriacus leaves were evaluated using four cultivars of each species. Leaf colour attributes (L*, a* and b*) and betacyanins varied widely among the cultivars. The a* value, betacyanins and betaxanthins, appeared to be rich in A. tricolor, whereas betxanthins were twofold higher in A. hypochondriacus. Isoqercetin and rutin were the most abundant flavonoids in all amaranth cultivars. Hyperoside was found only in the A. hypochondriacus cultivar New Aztec. Salicylic acid, syringic acid, gallic acid, vanilic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid and sinapic acid were the most common phenolic acids in all amaranth cultivars. Significant amounts of ellagic acid and sinapic acid were detected in A. hypochondriacus cultivars. Total phenol content (TPC) was found to be strikingly greater than total phenol index (TPI) in A. tricolor than in A. hypochondriacus. All the amaranth cultivars showed a high correlation between total antioxidant activity and total phenol content.


The outer capsid spike protein VP4 of rotaviruses is a major determinant of infectivity and serotype specificity. Proteolytic cleavage of VP4 into 2 domains, VP8* and VP5*, enhances rotaviral infectivity. Interactions between the VP4 carbohydrate‐binding domain (VP8*) and cell surface glycoconjugates facilitate initial virus‐cell attachment and subsequent cell entry. Our saturation transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance (STD NMR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies demonstrated that VP8*64‐224 of canine rotavirus strain K9 interacts with N‐acetylneuraminic and N‐glycolylneuraminic acid derivatives, exhibiting comparable binding epitopes to VP8* from other neuraminidase‐sensitive animal rotaviruses from pigs (CRW‐8), cattle (bovine Nebraska calf diarrhoea virus, NCDV), and Rhesus monkeys (Simian rhesus rotavirus, RRV). Importantly, evidence was obtained for a preference by K9 rotavirus for the N‐glycolyl‐ over the N‐acetylneuraminic acid derivative. This indicates that a VP4 serotype 5A rotavirus (such as K9) can exhibit a neuraminic acid receptor preference that differs from that of a serotype 5B rotavirus (such as RRV) and the receptor preference of rotaviruses can vary within a particular VP4 genotype.


Cold forming and welding of stainless steel sheets is becoming a leading technology in mass production of multistage, radial flow pumps. The stages of these machines are usually manufactured by resistance spot welding of cylindrical (i.e. 2D) blades on flat surfaces. Such stages commonly feature the so-called "compact design", i.e. the maximum stage diameter is close to the impeller one. Accordingly, an annular chamber connects the impeller and the return channels that drive the flow to the stage outlet. Although competitive in terms of production cost, this technology introduces strong constraints to the fluid dynamic design. Some design methods specifically conceived for compact stages made by moulding or casting technologies are presented in the literature. However, these methods result in blade geometries that are not suited to the present manufacturing technology, due to their complex 3D shape. In the light of this, a dedicated approach is needed for the hydraulic design of compact stages for sheet metal pumps. The present work reports and discusses experimental data on performance and efficiency of several industrial machines, featuring compact stages made from sheet metal. The pumps considered in the study feature a high technological level, as assessed by comparing the measured efficiency with reference values provided by Reg. 547/2012 EC. Nevertheless, the performance measured on these machines does not meet the data suggested in the literature for conventional pumps. Consequently, a theoretical analysis of the compact stage performance is presented in order to explain the difference between traditional and compact machines. In particular, the influence of the dynamic head contribution on the total head rise and on the efficiency of the compact design stages is discussed. The theoretical and experimental results suggest that the design methods for traditional machines are not suitable for compact stages of high efficiency, sheet metal pumps.


Collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry of the ammonium ions 4a and 4b results in the formation of the seleniranium ion 5, the structure and purity of which were verified using gas-phase infrared spectroscopy coupled to mass spectrometry and gas-phase ion-mobility measurements. Ion-molecule reactions between the ion 5 (m/z = 261) and cyclopentene, cyclohexene, cycloheptene, and cyclooctene resulted in the formation of the seleniranium ions 7 (m/z = 225), 6 (m/z = 239), 8 (m/z = 253), and 9 (m/z = 267), respectively. Further reaction of seleniranium 6 with cyclopentene resulted in further π-ligand exchange giving seleniranium ion 7, confirming that direct π-ligand exchange between seleniranium ion 5 and cycloalkenes occurs in the gas phase. Pseudo-first-order kinetics established relative reaction efficiencies for π-ligand exchange for cyclopentene, cyclohexene, cycloheptene. and cyclooctene as 0.20, 0.07, 0.43, and 4.32. respectively. DFT calculations at the M06/6-31+G(d) level of theory provide the following insights into the mechanism of the π-ligand exchange reactions; the cycloalkene forms a complex with the seleniranium ion 5 with binding energies of 57 and 62 kJ/mol for cyclopentene and cyclohexene, respectively, with transition states for π-ligand exchange having barriers of 17.8 and 19.3 kJ/mol for cyclopentene and cyclohexene, respectively.


This Paper designs a political economy model of invasive species management in order to explore the effectiveness of tariffs in mitigating the risk of invasion. The revenue interests of the government together with the interests of the lobby group competing with the imported agricultural commodity, that is believed to be the vector of invasive species, are incorporated in a Nash Bargaining game. The government, however, also considers the impact of tariffs on long run risks of invasion and decides optimal tariffs based upon its welfare in the pre and post-invasion scenarios. Along with the size of the lobby group, which is a function of the slope of the demand and supply curves, the weights assigned to the various components in the government welfare function too play a key role in influencing the extent to which tariffs could be an effective policy tool for invasive species management.


In this study, we investigated the quality of glasswort (Salicornia herbacea L.) mixture fermented by Aspergillus oryzae at for 7 days. Changes of pH, titratable acidity, amino-nitrogen content, reducing sugar content, activities of -amylase and protease and number of mold were determined in the course of the fermentation. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activities and electron donating ability (EDA) were measured after 7 days fermentation. The pH lowered from 6.19~6.22 into the level of 5.41~6.08 after fermentation for 7 days. Titratable acidity increased from 0.59~0.68 into the highest level of 0.95~1.13% after 6 days fermentation. Furthermore, the amino-nitrogen content increased from 128.0~167.2 mg% to 159.4~209.0 mg% after fermentation for 7 days. For the reducing sugar content, it decreased from 2.0~5.9% into the level of 0.4~1.1% during 7 days fermentation. The number of molds decreased from to approximately after 5 days fermentation. -Amylase activity showed from the beginning of the fermentation in all samplings, but protease activity reached the value of food code standards after 5 days of fermentation. ACE inhibition activities were slightly increased from 9.5~16.6% to 19.3~22.7% and electron donating ability were slightly increased from 55.6~57.8% to 60.9~62.7% after 7 days of fermentation.


After its 1980 explosive eruption, Mount St Helens developed a lava dome that grew intermittently for several years. Each growth episode was followed by a long repose, suggesting that the magma column above the reservoir was in hydrostatic equilibrium. A mechanism allowing an increasingly thicker dome is proposed. Loading of the crater floor by the dome acts to prevent gas leakage from magma by closing fractures around the volcanic conduit. Fractures get closed down to a depth that increases as the dome grows. Calculations of dome thickness as a function of dome radius are in good agreement with observations. Renewed growth is triggered by the spreading of the dome. Gas retention over a larger depth extent allows smaller magma densities and a taller magma column above the reservoir. According to this model, small domes can in fact promote explosive volcanic conditions and be unstable.


One of the deadliest cancers among women is a breast cancer. Research has shown that two natural substances occurring in propolis, caffeic acid (CA) and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), have significant anticancer effects. The purpose of our in vitro study was to compare cytotoxic activity and migration rate inhibition using CA and CAPE (doses of 50 and 100 µm) against triple-negative, MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma line cells, drawn from Caucasian women. Viability was measured by XTT-NR-SRB assay (Tetrazolium hydroxide-Neutral Red-Sulforhodamine B) for 24 h and 48 h periods. Cell migration for wound healing assay was taken for 0 h, 8 h, 16 h, and 24 h periods. CAPE displayed more than two times higher cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells. IC50 values for the XTT assay were as follows: CA for 24 h and 48 h were 150.94 µM and 108.42 µM, respectively, while CAPE was 68.82 µM for 24 h and 55.79 µM for 48 h. For the NR assay: CA was 135.85 µM at 24 h and 103.23 µM at 48 h, while CAPE was 64.04 µM at 24 h and 53.25 µM at 48 h. For the SRB assay: CA at 24 h was 139.80 µM and at 48 h 103.98 µM, while CAPE was 66.86 µM at 24 h and 47.73 µM at 48 h. Both agents suspended the migration rate; however, CAPE displayed better activity. Notably, for the 100 µM CAPE dose, motility of the tested breast carcinoma cells was halted.


Shear-induced damage of Red Blood Cell (RBC) is an imminent problem to be solved for the practical application of artificial organs in extra corporeal circulation, as it often happens and affects physiological homeostasis of a patient. To design and operate artificial organs in a safe mode, many investigations have been set up to correlate shear and shear-induced cell damage. Most studies were focused on hemolysis i.e. the extreme case, however, it is important as well to obtain a clear understanding of pre-hemolytic mechanical damage. In this study, the change in deformability of RBC was measured by ektacytometry to investigate the damage of RBC caused by shear. To a small magnitude of pre-shear, there is little difference, but to a large magnitude of pre-shear, cell damage occurs and the effect of shear becomes significant depending on both the magnitude and imposed time of shearing. The threshold stress for cell damage was found to be approximately 30 Pa, which is much less than the threshold of mechanical hemolysis but is large enough to occur in vitro as in the extra corporeal circulation during open-heart surgery or artificial heart. In conclusion, it was found and suggested that the decrease of deformability can be used as an early indication of cell damage, in contrast to measuring plasma hemoglobin. As cell damage always occurs during flow in artificial organs, the results as well as the approach adopted here will be helpful in the design and operation of artificial organs.


The opening verse of Q al-Najm 53, an oath by "the star" (najm) and its movement in the night sky, is followed by a relatively lengthy description of two vision experiences of the Prophet. This study aims to better understand the opening oath in the sūrah and its relationship to the subsequent visions. I will argue on the basis of evidence from Safaitic inscriptions, the anwāʾ works, and pre-Islamic poetry that the oath by the star refers to the rising and setting of the Pleiades in the night sky, and that these allusions would have been readily understood by the Qurʾān's audience. The appearance and motion of the Pleiades serve to provide a visual analogy to the supernatural visions of the Prophet. Appreciating the relationship between the oath and the subsequent visions then allows us to better understand the visions themselves, and address questions such as whether the object of the vision was God or an angel.


Stress-strain relationship of waste body under different side pressures, water contents and particle fractions are investigated in this paper. The bearing features of waste filled body of entry retaining besides gob-side entry retaining are: (1) filling waste gob-side entry retaining requires adequate horizontal restraint; (2) gangue water content has little effect on filling body intensity and waste in natural water content state can be used to fill in gob-side entry retaining; (3) stress and -strain relationship of waste body (grain size ranges from 0 to 10mm) is nonlinear. The bearing capacity can meet the requirement of beside gob-side entry retaining support. Based on above experimental results, the industrial roadway retained experiment is successful. The research results provide theory design basis for wide application.


Power electronics converters play an important role in realization and performance improvement of electrical power system. With the demand for new power resource and better power supply quality, more and more distributed energy resources (DERs) come into practice. As a new network configuration, microgrid attracts much attention, consequently lots of new power electronics devices and engineering experiments are brought forward. The paper focus on the multilevel inverters in microgrid, discusses its topologies and characteristics. A model predictive controller is designed to decrease common mode voltages and errors between the capacitor voltages and their reference values. Finally, simulation diagram, parameters and results using software PLECS are provided to demonstrate the merits of multilevel inverters and the validity of proposed control method.


Field studies were conducted in 2014 and 2015 in Tennessee to examine pyroxasulfone dissipation under field conditions of winter wheat production. Three formulations were examined: (1) a single component active ingredient in an 85% dry flowable, (2) dry flowable formulation in combination of pyroxasulfone + flumioxazin, and (3) a liquid SC formulation of pyroxasulfone + carfentrazone. The liquid formulation is a suspo-emulsion. When averaged across the three studies, the DT 50 were 34.4, 30.2 and 29.9 d for pyroxasulfone plus carfentrazone, pyroxasulfone, and pyroxasulfone plus flumioxazin, respectively. These trends would indicate that formulation had little or no effect on pyroxasulfone dissipation in this experiment. Pyroxasulfone DT 50 in all studies ranged from a low of 15.4 d to a high of 53.3 d, and loss was more rapid under warm, moist conditions. These results indicate that pyroxasulfone would last long enough to provide residual weed control, but would not persist excessively to injure rotational crops. Nomenclature: Pyroxasulfone; wheat, Triticum aestivum L.


Alternative splicing of aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetases ablates the catalytic domain to yield diverse alternative functions. Proteins, the workhorses of the cell, are made on a messenger RNA (mRNA) template. An enzyme called aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (AARSs) attaches the correct amino acid to a transfer RNA so that mRNA is accurately translated. Over evolution, additional sequences have been added to AARSs. Lo et al. found a large number of AARS variants in which the domain responsible for enzyme function was deleted. Ninety-four such variants had diverse signaling activities. Thus, AARSs are used both as enzymes and alternately as regulators of signaling pathways. W.-S. Lo, E. Gardiner, Z. Xu, C.-F. Lau, F. Wang, J. J. Zhou, J. D. Mendlein, L. A. Nangle, K. P. Chiang, X.-L. Yang, K.-F. Au, W. H. Wong, M. Guo, M. Zhang, P. Schimmel, Human tRNA synthetase catalytic nulls with diverse functions. Science 345, 328–332 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of sphincter preservation in abdominoperineal resection candidates by combining high-dose preoperative radiation therapy with restorative proctectomy through an endoanal anastomosis. Radiation to the pelvis was given using a three- or four-field technique to 4680 cGy (180 cGy/d) with portals from the top of S1 to 2 cm below the anus. The tumor bed received an additional 360-cGy boost. Four to 6 weeks after radiation therapy was completed, the patients underwent radical surgery. Phase I results for 14 patients are presented. All surgical specimens had negative distal and lateral margins. Surgical complications included one small-bowel obstruction requiring reoperation at 3 weeks, one pulmonary embolism, and one partial disruption (30% of the circumference) of the anastomosis. Bowel control and function were excellent in 8 and good in 4 patients. Function was not yet assessable in the remaining 2 patients.


Botulism is caused by toxin production from many species of Clostridium, most commonly Clostridium botulinum as well as C. baratii and C. butyricum. Development of wound botulism is associated with injection drug users but has also been described in traumatic injuries with exposure to soil. A patient presented to the emergency department with a complaint of descending, progressive weakness. He recently reported skin popping with heroin injections. Heptavalent botulinum antitoxin was obtained from the [Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]. On hospital day seven, the anaerobic wound cultures resulted with growth of Clostridium subterminale.


Context. In powerful cosmic nonthermal radiation sources with dominant magnetic-field self generation, the generation of magnetic fields at almost equipartition strength by relativistic plasma instabilities operates as fast as the acceleration or injection of ultra-high energy radiating electrons and hadrons in these sources. Consequently, the magnetic field strength becomes time-dependent and adjusts itself to the actual kinetic energy density of the radiating electrons in these sources. This coupling of the magnetic field and the magnetic field energy density to the kinetic energy of the radiating particles changes both the synchrotron emissivity and the intrinsic temporal evolution of the relativistic particle energy spectrum after injection. Aims. The nonlinear kinetic equation for the intrinsic temperoral evolution of relativistic electrons is solved for the case of instantaneous injection of monoenergetic particles. Methods. Analytical derivations and graphical illustrations. Results. In blazar and gamma-ray burst sources, the nonlinear synchrotron cooling of each particle under equipartition conditions is then orders of magnitude quicker than the linear cooling behaviour in constant magnetic-field strength sources. This dramatic reduction for the intrinsic radiation loss time may be essential for understanding the observed rapid time variation, of the order of days in the case of the non-blazar radio galaxy M 87 and minutes in flaring blazar jets such as PKS 2155-304. Significant differences in the optically-thin, synchrotron spectral distributions at different times and in the synchrotron light curves at different frequencies are predicted.


PURPOSE
To examine the feasibility and dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of once-weekly gemcitabine at doses predicted in preclinical studies to produce radiosensitization, concurrent with a standard course of radiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer. Tumor incorporation of gemcitabine triphosphate (dFdCTP) was measured to assess whether adequate concentrations were achieved at each dose level.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Twenty-nine patients with unresectable head and neck cancer received a course of radiation (70 Gy over 7 weeks, 5 days weekly) concurrent with weekly infusions of low-dose gemcitabine. Tumor biopsies were performed after the first gemcitabine infusion (before radiation started), and the intracellular concentrations of dFdCTP were measured.

RESULTS
Severe acute and late mucosal and pharyngeal-related DLT required de-escalation of gemcitabine dose in successive patient cohorts receiving dose levels of 300 mg/m(2)/wk, 150 mg/m(2)/wk, and 50 mg/m(2)/wk. No DLT was observed at 10 mg/m(2)/wk. The rate of endoscopy- and biopsy-assessed complete tumor response was 66% to 87% in the various cohorts. Tumor dFdCTP levels were similar in patients receiving 50 to 300 mg/m(2) (on average, 1.55 pmol/mg, SD 1.15) but were barely or not detectable at 10 mg/m(2).

CONCLUSION
A high rate of acute and late mucosa-related DLT and a high rate of complete tumor response were observed in this regimen at the dose levels of 50 to 300 mg/m(2), which also resulted in similar, subcytotoxic intracellular dFdCTP concentrations. These results demonstrate significant tumor and normal tissue radiosensitization by low-dose gemcitabine. Different regimens of combined radiation and gemcitabine should be evaluated, based on newer preclinical data promising an improved therapeutic ratio.


This study examines whether the spread in the climate sensitivity of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models also captures the spread in the Southern Hemisphere dynamical response to greenhouse gas forcing. Three metrics are proposed to quantify the "dynamical sensitivity" of the Southern Hemisphere: the poleward expansion of the Hadley circulation, the poleward expansion of the subtropical dry zone, and the poleward shift of the midlatitude jet. In the CMIP5 abrupt 4 × CO2 integrations, the expansion of the Hadley circulation is well correlated with climate sensitivity in all seasons; in contrast, the shifts in the subtropical dry zone and midlatitude jet are significantly correlated with climate sensitivity only in summer and fall. In winter, those responses are more strongly linked to the control climatology in each model. Thus, a narrow focus on traditional climate sensitivity alone might miss out on important features of the atmospheric circulation's response to increasing greenhouse gases, particularly in the extratropics.


How does the Prime Minister organize her government so that she can implement her policy agenda? In our model, a Prime Minister appoints individuals to her cabinet, allocates their portfolios, and assigns their policy tasks-that is, she decides the relevant jurisdiction of departments and the type of proposals a minister can make. Upon appointment, ministers obtain expertise on policies specific to their jurisdiction and strategically communicate this information to the Prime Minister before a policy is implemented. Assignment allows the Prime Minister to implement her agenda even when she is constrained to appoint ministers whose policy preferences are far from her own. A Prime Minister weakly prefers a diverse cabinet. In equilibrium, the Prime Minister is indifferent between delegating policy or implementing policy herself.


The migration crisis of the past few years has influenced Hungary and Austria; therefore, migration, as well as its linguistic effect on society and education, and the cultural and social variation came to the front in both countries' educational policies. Nonetheless, while Austria is a well-developed welfare country, and according to Esping-Andersen's analysis, a conservative/corporatist welfare regime, Hungary is a post-communist developing welfare state, which is currently conservative. In terms of their divergent historical and political trajectories, immigration policy, the number of immigrants, their native language, and country of origin, the two countries present significant differences. It is controversial whether education has a crucial role in economic and social integration of migrants. Despite contextual differences, Austrian and Hungarian educational systems are confronted with challenges emerging from the presence of migrant children in education. The aim of this article is to present the Austrian and Hungarian models with regard to migrant children in formal education: at macro level to identify the educational policies applying to migrant children, analyzing the syllabuses that provide control in the consistency of education, and at micro level analyzing the implementation of these guidelines and the syllabuses in the pedagogical practice and the challenges for educational integration.


Both image registration and fusion are essential steps to produce high-resolution multispectral images in remote sensing. Traditionally, they are viewed as two independent processes. As a result, the registration errors ignored in the fusion process can significantly affect the fusion quality. In this context, an iterative optimization approach, which jointly considers the registration and fusion processes, is proposed for panchromatic (PAN) and multispectral (MS) images. Given a registration method and a fusion method, the joint optimization process is described as finding the optimal registration parameters to gain the optimal fusion performance. In our approach, the downhill simplex algorithm is adopted to refine the registration parameters iteratively. Experiments on a set of PAN and MS images of ZY-3 and GeoEye-1 show that the proposed approach outperforms several competing ones in terms of registration accuracy and fusion quality.


Abstract In today's economy, which is extremely challenging and competitive at the same time, many people want to have their own business and manage their own incomes. Entrepreneurship is a key driver of today's economy. This observation underscores the need to ensure adequate entrepreneurial education, in line with the demands on the labor market. The purpose and role of this experience are to educate students to understand the entrepreneurial activity, to develop their entrepreneurial skills and competencies and the intention to run a business. The learning environment is crucial for a successful entrepreneur and he can generate change. This article describes experiences from developing and using the entrepreneurial learning environment in high schools with a technological profile. In this study 1200 students from three technological high schools were observed, the behavior and the results obtained after studying the specialized economic modules were analyzed. Our goal was to identify the main challenges of these students. In our study, we used a mixed-method: questionnaires, topic-based interviews, direct and participatory observation as data collection methods. According to our results, the main challenges were: difficulties in understanding new entrepreneurial notions due to traditional teaching methods, lack of ICT skills, lack of team learning principles and inefficient communication within a group.


Purpose of reviewThis review discusses the inhalational route as a clinically important route of exposure to food allergens. Recent findingsIn childhood, we have recently demonstrated that food allergens can induce both early and late phase bronchial reactions within blinded, placebo-controlled challenges. Additionally, clinically important levels of food allergens have been measured in environmental air samples. SummaryIt is well known that the ingestion of food allergens frequently causes respiratory symptoms and that the mechanism of death in fatal anaphylaxis is usually profound bronchospasm. The mechanism by which ingested food allergens induce bronchial reactions is unclear. There are many case reports of bronchial reactions to aerosolized food allergens. Within the food industry the problems have been examined more systematically. From such work it is possible to gain an impression of the potential prevalence of the problem. With 10% of adult asthma being occupational and 10% of occupational asthma being induced by aerosolized food, inhalational exposure to food allergens plays a major role in at least 1% of adult asthma. For a patient with co-existent food allergy and asthma it is important that both dietary and environmental avoidance be practised. The similar pathophysiology of allergic and occupational asthma and the ability of inhaled food allergens to cause the latter raises the question as to whether aerosolized food could play a role in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma.


A previously healthy 38-year-old woman presented with gradually progressive ptosis and downward deviation of her left eye and a palpable left superonasal orbital mass. The mass was excised, and histopathologic examination revealed a tumor composed of spindle cells arranged in both Antoni A and B patterns. Presence of S-100 antigen was determined by immunoperoxidase staining. The diagnosis was neurilemoma. A right apical extraparenchymal mass detected on a preoperative chest roentgenogram and computed tomography was most consistent with a benign neurogenic tumor. The presentation was that of a recently discovered neurilemoma in a patient with preexisting, but previously undiagnosed, neurofibromatosis.


In the present research work new 4-thiazolidinones possessing dual cyclooxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibition were synthesized. Sixteen N-(2-(aryl/substitutedaryl)-4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-yl)pyridine-4-carboxamide derivatives(5a-q) differing by the phenyl group substitution were synthesized by sonication. Compounds N-(2-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-oxo-1, 3- thiazolidin-3-yl) pyridine-4-carboxamide (5d) and N-(2-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-oxo-1, 3-thiazolidin-3-yl) pyridine-4-carbox- amide (5f) showed promising anti-inflammatory activity investigated by the carrageenan induced edema model in rats. Compound 5f, was the most active in the series with low ulcerogenic index and good safety profile with highest in vitro inhibition of COX-1/COX-2 (89.28; 52.80%, p<0.01) with 27.36% inhibition of 15-LOX. Compounds 5d and 5f, at the dose of 100mg/kg p.o. were also effective in lowering the elevated levels of AST, ALT and ALP in serum and also lowered the elevated levels of MPO in edematous tissue comparable to standard anti-inflammatory drug, Indomethacin. The Autodock investigation of the synthesized compounds within the COX and LOX enzymes predicted fairly good correlation between the anti-inflammatory activities (IC 50 ) and their binding affinities. The 3D-QSAR studies (V-Life Molecular Design Software) of the synthesized 4-thiazolidinones for their anti-inflammatory activity by the developed kNN, PLRS and MLR models suggested that presence of electron withdrawing functional groups like -NO 2, -Cl on the phenyl ring were favourable for activity. The results of the present study may help to identify the relative positions and ranges of important electrostatic and steric fields at various positions around the pharmacophore that could be useful in the design of new molecules with improved anti-inflammatory activity.


Problem. If schools are to improve and become more accountable to the community they serve, relevant leadership training programs that help principals to function more effectively need to be provided. It is important that such training programs address the problems and needs of the principals. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the leadership training needs as perceived by the secondary-school principals of Fiji. Method. A descriptive survey design was utilized for this study. The Leadership Training Needs questionnaire was sent to all 140 secondary-school principals in Fiji to survey (1) their perceived needs for leadership training, (2) past sources of leadership expertise, (3) sources of assistance for principals, and (4) demographic characteristics. The 110 completed returns were processed by the Andrews University Center for Statistical Services. The SPSS computer program was used in the analysis which yielded frequency, percentages of responses, and mean weight for each of the eight categories of demographic data . Findings. 1. Educational authors studying school leadership since the early 1970s generally agreed that effective schools were the result of the activities of effective principals who demonstrated strong instructional leadership, created positive school climate conducive to learning, and knew how to manage time and people efficiently and effectively. 2. Secondary-school principals in Fiji expressed high priority need for additional leadership training in the skills of instructional leadership and human relations/staff development. 3. The principals who most often expressed the need for additional leadership training were those who were (1) under 40 years of age; (2) Fijian; (3) assigned to medium-sized schools; (4) in charge of secondary high schools; and (5) who had the most recent educational training. 4. Secondary-school principals of Fiji reported that on-the-job experience, teaching experience, and deputy-principalship were their most valuable sources of leadership expertise. 5. In-service training and taking courses at colleges or universities were seen by the Fiji principals as effective sources of assistance in improving leadership skills. Conclusions. Secondary-school principals in Fiji are not satisfied with their present level of leadership expertise. While they consider their experience as administrators to be their most valuable source of leadership expertise, they look toward in-service training, and college and university course work as potentially effective means of improving leadership skills.


The trend of unsustainable power consumption and large memory bandwidth demands in massively parallel multicore systems, with the advent of the big data era, has brought upon the onset of alternate computation paradigms utilizing heterogeneity, specialization, processor-in-memory and approximation. Approximate Computing is being touted as a viable solution for high performance computation by relaxing the accuracy constraints of applications. This trend has been accentuated by emerging data intensive applications in domains like image/video processing, machine learning and big data analytics that allow inaccurate outputs within an acceptable variance. Leveraging relaxed accuracy for high throughput in Networks-on-Chip (NoCs), which have rapidly become the accepted method for connecting a large number of on-chip components, has not yet been explored. We propose APPROX-NoC, a hardware data approximation framework with an online data error control mechanism for high performance NoCs. APPROX-NoC facilitates approximate matching of data patterns, within a controllable value range, to compress them thereby reducing the volume of data movement across the chip. Our evaluation shows that APPROX-NoC achieves on average up to 9% latency reduction and 60% throughput improvement compared with state-of-the-art NoC data compression mechanisms, while maintaining low application error. Additionally, with a data intensive graph processing application we achieve a 36.7% latency reduction compared to state-of-the-art compression mechanisms.


The author deals with the effects of environmental chemical-, and physical carcinogens playing predominant role in nearly 90% of the cancer development. Different steps of chemical carcinogenesis, classification and evaluation of carcinogens according to the criteria of International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the most important biological markers of genotoxic exposures are presented. Among physical agents the carcinogenic effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiations are demonstrated, including limited, inadequate or proved carcinogenic action of UV, microwave, static and low-frequency electric and magnetic fields.


This study evaluates the cumulative multifactorial physical and chemical impacts resulting from coca production on amphibian populations in comparison with the potential impacts produced by the herbicide glyphosate (Glyphos), which, mixed with the surfactant Cosmo-Flux, is used in the spray control program for illicit crops in Colombia. Using similar worst-case assumptions for exposure, several other pesticides used for coca production, including mancozeb, lambda cyhalothrin, endosulfan, diazinon, malathion, and chlorpyrifos, were up to 10- to 100-fold more toxic to frogs than the Glyphos–Cosmo-Flux mixture. Comparing hazard quotients based on application rates, several of these compounds demonstrated hazards 3–383 times that of formulated glyphosate. Secondary effects, particularly of insecticides, are also a concern, as these agents selectively target the primary food source of amphibians, which may indirectly impact growth and development. Although the potential chemical impacts by other pesticides are considerable, physical activities associated with coca production, particularly deforestation of primary forests for new coca plots, portend the greatest hazard to amphibian populations. The entire production cycle of cocaine has been linked to ecosystem degradation. The clearing of pristine forests for coca propagation in Colombia is well documented, and some of these regions coincide with those that contain exceptional amphibian biodiversity. This is particularly problematic as coca production encroaches more deeply into more remote areas of tropical rain forest. Transportation of disease, including the chitrid fungus, to these remote regions via human intrusion may also adversely affect amphibian populations. Therefore, the cumulative impacts of coca production, through habitat destruction, application of agrochemicals, and potential transmission of disease, are judged to pose greater risks to amphibian populations in coca-growing regions than the glyphosate spray control program.


Abstract Products and technologies that aid health care professionals in vascular access practice save staff time, and while promoting patient safety and prevention of infection can provide excellent opportunities for evaluations to support evidence- based practice. This was an industry sponsored, prospective, single site, controlled, randomized clinical evaluation pilot study of two catheter dressings, 3M™ Tegaderm™ Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) IV Securement Dressing (CHG gel dressing) (3M Health Care, St. Paul, MN) and BIOPATCH ® Antimicrobial Dressing with Chlorhexidine Gluconate (BIOPATCH ® Protective Disk with CHG, Johnson & Johnson, Somerville, NJ). Twelve intravascular (IV) therapy health care professionals (Clinicians) were asked for their professional evaluations of the catheter dressings: the ease of application and performance factors featured in specific questions. Catheters were secured on 12 healthy volunteers to simulate inserted jugular catheters (IJ) and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) using StatLock ® PICC Plus and 3M™ Steri-Strip™. Each clinician applied and removed one CHG gel dressing and one CHG disk on one simulated PICC and one simulated IJ site, according to the manufacturers' instructions. The clinicians concluded, based upon a 1 to 5 rating scale, that the CHG gel dressing is better in regard to ease of application, ease of applying correctly, ease of removal, ability to visualize the insertion site, ease of training another clinician to apply the dressing, and more intuitive application. Twelve out of 12 clinicians favored the CHG gel dressing over the CHG disk in overall performance.


Abstract : The objective of this project is to develop and understanding of the fundamental material electronics response from a gadolinium-based GaN semiconductor device exposed to neutron radiation. The GaN Schottky diode radiation sensor has been successfully fabricated and shown alpha and beta response. Neutron spectrum using 6Li as a converter was successfully obtained. To understand devices' electronic properties, the detector has been characterized by current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, charge collection efficiency, alpha spectroscopy, etc. In addition, numerical simulations using TCAD software have been performed to reveal the charge migration and to understand the fundamental material and device properties at picosecond scale. The proposed twin-detector design for gamma-ray discrimination was validated both theoretically and experimentally.


Static task allocation is concerned with the assignment, scheduling, and mapping of individual units of execution among a set of parallel processors in a manner that results in near-optimal performance. Two types of heuristics often applied individually to the allocation problem are list-based methodologies and simulated annealing. This paper describes the results of combining these two approaches to create an improved heuristic that produces quality allocations for certain types of real-time and deterministic systems. The resulting methodology performs static allocations of non-preemptive executable tasks to the available set of processors that are interconnected to one another via an arbitrarily-linked static message-passing topology. Its effectiveness is analyzed empirically by applying it to randomly-generated task systems that span a wide range of inherent concurrency, and by applying it to the task system of a simulation of a Space Shuttle main rocket engine.<<ETX>>


The marked brittleness of concrete could be overcome by the addition of fibers. This paper experimentally investigated the mechanical properties and constitutive relationship of different fiber reinforced concrete. It is shown from the results that the compressive strength and peak strain of concrete with fiber have little improvement, but the ultimate strain, deformation capacity, toughness and energy dissipation capacity are improved greatly. The damage constitutive model recommended by the emendatory code for design of concrete structure (appendix C) (GB50010-2002) is applied for calculations and analyses according to the test results. The damage constitutive model and non-elastic constitutive model of different fiber reinforced concrete are established based on the test results. It is indicated from the analyses that the constitutive models established in this paper are in accordance with the characteristic of the fiber reinforced concrete in loading process. The damage constitutive model in appendix C in code could be applied directly in some low precision calculation and engineering application.


SUMMARY Energy expenditure (EE) is an important criterion for design and control of biped walking robots. However, the cause-effect analyses enabled by total EE, which is lumped over a time duration and all system degrees-of-freedom (DOFs), are limited. In this study, robotic gait energetics is evaluated through a DOF-based instrumentation system designed for instantaneous evaluation of bidirectional current and applied voltage at each joint actuator. The instrumentation system includes a dual-module arrangement of buffers and attenuators, and accommodates and synchronizes the voltage and current measurements from multiple actuators. For illustrative purposes, this system is implemented at each DC servomotor in a biped robot, DARwIn-OP, to analyze the electrical EE rates for walking at various speeds. In addition, a DOF-based model of instantaneous human EE rate is employed to enable quantitative characterization of robotic walking EE relative to that of humans. The robot's instantaneous lower-body EE rates are consistent with its periodic walking cycle, and their relative trends between single and double support phases are analogous to those of humans. The robotic cost of transport (COT) curve as a function of normalized speed is also consistent with the human COT in terms of its convexity. Conversely, the contrasting distributions of EE throughout the robot and human DOFs and the robotic COT curve's considerably larger magnitudes, smaller speed ranges, and higher sensitivity to speed illustrate the energetic consequences of stable but inefficient static walking in the biped robot relative to the more efficient dynamic walking of humans. These energetic characteristics enable the identification of the joints and gait cycle phases associated with inefficiency in biped robotic gait, and reflect the noticeable differences in the system parameters (rigid and flat versus segmented feet) and gait control strategies (bent versus straight knees, instants of peak ankle actuator torques, static versus dynamic balance stability). The proposed general instrumentation provides a quantitative approach to benchmarking human gait as well as general guidelines for the development of energy-efficient walking robots.


In the Cantabrian Mountains stromatoporoids only have been found up to now in Devonian formations. They occur together with tabulate and rugose corals and brachiopods. Together with these organisms they form biostromes or just biogenetic layers of brecciated and overturned colonies. Four primary microstructures could be distinguished: compact, microlaminate, ordinicellular, and cellular. Alteration seems to begin before fossilization in many cases: the microtissue becomes flocculent by migration and/or destruction of specks. After fossilization the microstructure is altered mainly by migration of specks along slip planes and by rearrangement of the calcite crystals. In this paper the original microstructure is used as the main character for the determination of genera. The form of the coenosteum and features of the gross structure such as superposition of pillars, absence or presence of ring pillars, spacing of laminae and pillars, and others, are strongly influenced by ecological factors. Therefore they cannot be used as characters for the definition of genera and often not even for species. Four genera can be distinguished in the Spanish material: Actinostroma (compact with continuous pillars), Stromatoporella? (microlaminate), Stromatoporella? (ordinicellular) and Stromatopora (cellular). The genera Geronostroma and Atelodictyon are considered to be synonyms of Actinostroma. The genus Stromatoporella should be divided into two genera: one genus with microlaminate and one genus with ordinicellular microstructure. In the microlaminate genus the genera Clathrocoilona, Trupetostroma and Stictostroma (partly) should also be included and perhaps Idiostroma (partly). The ordinicellular genus can be combined with part of the genus Stictostroma and some species of Anostylostroma. The genera Parallelopora and Ferestromatopora are considered to be synonyms of Stromatopora. For the determination of species an attempt is made to establish the variability of the gross structure for each species. As this variability seems to be rather wide, species determinations are only given when sufficient material was available. The following species are described: Actinostroma papillosum (= A. clathratum), Actinostroma verrucosum?, Actinostroma stellulatum, Stromatoporella? granulata? (microlaminate), Stromatoporella? selwyni (ordinicellular), and Stromatopora huepschi?. Stromatopora concentrica


The synthesis and solution and thin-film characterization of eight octasubstituted dendritic phthalocyanines (Pcs) and their zinc complexes are reported. The Pc chromophore was substituted in the 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-positions with three generations of benzylaryl ether dendrons with either a benzyl (3a-3c) or 3,5-di-t-butylbenzyl periphery (3d-3f). Visible spectra in solution (CH2Cl2-EtOH mixtures, toluene, THF, dioxane, acetone, and EtOAc) indicated a varying degree of chromophore aggregation that depended on solvent, dendrimer generation, and whether the Pc was metallated. Variable-concentration visible spectroscopic studies were analyzed using a nonlinear least-squares fitting procedure giving Kd values. These values further quantitated the observations that the t-butyl-substituted den-drimers 3d-3f were all less prone to aggregation in solution than the unsubstituted dendrimers 3a-3c, with a monotonic decrease in Kd across the series 3a 3b 3c 3d 3e 3f. Second-generation t-butyl-substituted dendrimer 3f showed little to no aggregation in all solvents studied. Thin-film studies indicated that the largest members of the two dendrimer groups, third-generation 3c and second-generation 3f, were largely monomeric as evidenced by split Q-bands, similar to that seen in dilute CH2Cl2 solution when deposited via spin-coating onto glass slides. The metallated zinc Pcs 4a-4f all exhibited significantly less tendency toward aggregation in both solution and thin-films than their unmetallated analogues.


Verifying specifications for large-scale control systems is of utmost importance, but can be hard in practice as most formal verification methods can not handle high-dimensional dynamics. Contract theory has been proposed as a modular alternative to formal verification in which specifications are defined by assumptions on the inputs to a component and guarantees on its outputs. In this paper, we present linear-programming-based tools for verifying contracts for control systems. We first consider the problem of verifying contracts defined by time-invariant inequalities for unperturbed systems. We use $k$-induction to show that contract verification can be achieved by considering a collection of implications between inequalities, which are then recast as linear programs. We then move our attention to perturbed systems. We present a comparison-based framework, verifying that a perturbed system satisfies a contract by checking that the corresponding unperturbed system satisfies a robustified (and $\epsilon$-approximated) contract. In both cases, we present explicit algorithms for contract verification, proving their correctness and analyzing their complexity. We also demonstrate the verification process for two case studies, one considering a two-vehicle autonomous driving scenario, and one considering formation control of a multi-agent system.