Osteocytes are the most abundant cell in the bone, and have multiple functions including mechanosensing and regulation of bone remodeling activities. Since osteocytes are embedded in the bone matrix, their inaccessibility makes in vivo studies problematic. Therefore, a non-invasive technique with high spatial resolution is desired. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of third harmonic generation (THG) microscopy as a noninvasive technique for high-resolution imaging of the lacunar-canalicular network (LCN) in live mice. By performing THG imaging in combination with two- and three-photon fluorescence microscopy, we show that THG signal is produced from the bone-interstitial fluid boundary of the lacuna, while the interstitial fluid-osteocyte cell boundary shows a weaker THG signal. Canaliculi are also readily visualized by THG imaging, with canaliculi oriented at small angles relative to the optical axis exhibiting stronger signal intensity compared to those oriented perpendicular to the optical axis (parallel to the image plane). By measuring forward- versus epi-detected THG signals in thinned versus thick bone samples ex vivo, we found that the epi-collected THG from the LCN of intact bone contains a superposition of backward-directed and backscattered forward-THG. As an example of a biological application, THG was used as a label-free imaging technique to study structural variations in the LCN of live mice deficient in both histone deacetylase 4 and 5 (HDAC4, HDAC5). Three-dimensional analyses were performed and revealed statistically significant differences between the HDAC4/5 double knockout and wild type mice in the number of osteocytes per volume and the number of canaliculi per lacunar surface area. These changes in osteocyte density and dendritic projections occurred without differences in lacunar size. This study demonstrates that THG microscopy imaging of the LCN in live mice enables quantitative analysis of osteocytes in animal models without the use of dyes or physical sectioning.


Against the background of China's increasing political and economic influence and the Chinese government's efforts on public diplomacy, this article examines the extent to which the publics in various countries are interested in news about China as well as the national- and individual-level factors that explain audience interest in China. Drawing upon a cross-national survey conducted in 10 countries in 2009 and 2010, the analysis shows that China has attracted a level of global public attention comparable to other regional powers in the world. Consistent with studies about the determinants of foreign news content, the interest in news about China is stronger in countries that have closer economic connections with China. At the individual level, people with higher levels of education and income, as well as people who are more interested in the international political economy when consuming foreign news, are more likely to express an interest in news about China. The findings and analysis illustrate how the rising economic and political influence of China in the international arena is shaping the world's interest in the country.


The molluscicidal activities of ten Baylis-Hillman adducts against Biomphalaria glabrata (Say) snails, the intermediate host of schistosomiasis, have been determined. Nine of these compounds showed significant molluscicidal activity against B. glabrata, falling below the threshold of 100 microg ml(-1) set for potential molluscicidal activity by the World Health Organisation. Among these compounds, 3-hydroxy-2-methylene-3-(4-nitrophenyl)propanenitrile had the highest activity, with LC(50) = 6.64 microg ml(-1).


We introduce a fully stochastic gradient based approach to Bayesian optimal experimental design (BOED). Our approach utilizes variational lower bounds on the expected information gain (EIG) of an experiment that can be simultaneously optimized with respect to both the variational and design parameters. This allows the design process to be carried out through a single unified stochastic gradient ascent procedure, in contrast to existing approaches that typically construct a pointwise EIG estimator, before passing this estimator to a separate optimizer. We provide a number of different variational objectives including the novel adaptive contrastive estimation (ACE) bound. Finally, we show that our gradient-based approaches are able to provide effective design optimization in substantially higher dimensional settings than existing approaches.


This 'country study' analyses substantial samples of research papers by Brazilian authors drawn from two global databases. The approach and the findings may each be of interest. Our approach is to examine R&D outputs through bibliometrics (to identify key authors, institutions, journals, etc.) and text mining with taxonomy generation (to identify pervasive research thrusts). We extend prior country studies by providing for interactive data access and exploring military-relevant R&D information. The resulting publication activity profiles provide insight on Brazilian R&D strengths and investment strategies, and help identify opportunities for collaboration. Brazil, a nation of 190 million, evidences a substantial research enterprise, with major capabilities in the life and biomedical sciences, as well as the physical sciences. We benchmark research patterns and trends against several other countries. We find a large measure of international collaboration, particularly with the USA.


Electron tomography enables the study of complex threedimensional objects with nanometre resolution. In materials science, scanning transmission electron microscopy provides images with minimal coherent diffraction effects and with high atomic number contrast that makes them ideal for electron tomographic reconstruction. In this study, we reviewed the topic of scanning transmission electron microscopybased tomography and illustrated the power of the technique with a number of examples with critical dimensions at the nanoscale.


Abstract The article deals with the concept of femme fatale as presented in Gladys Huntington's 1956 novel Madame Solario. The eponymous protagonist, Natalia Solario, displays several characteristics of this female archetype, omnipresent in literature, culture and visual iconography. As a femme fatale, Natalia is beauty, danger and mystery incarnate. The cause of tragedies, but also a tragic figure herself, Madame Solario is both victim and victimizer. The article explores the interplay between innocence and experience, life and death, the erotic and the thanatic, as well as the motifs of transgression, ambiguity, love, passion, desire, perversion, dominance and control crucial to Huntington's novel. Madame Solario reminds us that, paradoxically, the femme fatale usurps certain stereotypically masculine traits. This, in turn, brings us to the novel's feminist dimension: the femme fatale is victimized by men, but she is also the agent of female revenge and, ultimately, liberation, symbolically marking the transition from patriarchy to women's emancipation.


SUMMARY Metschnikowiella zobellii sp.nov. and M. krissii sp.nov. are described and Latin diagnoses given. Both species form on V8 agar (Wickerham, 1951) club-shaped asci containing a single needle-shaped ascospore and are capable of parasitizing Daphnia magna under experimental conditions. M. zobellii differs from M. krissii by its capacity to ferment glucose and to assimilate galactose, l-sorbose, d-xylose, d-glucosamine, adonitol, d-sorbitol and pyruvate. In infected daphnias the asci and cells of both yeasts resemble Metschnikoff's drawings of M. bicuspidata. As cultures of M. bicuspidata do not exist and its physiological properties are unknown, the possible identity of either M. zobellii or M. krissii with M. bicuspidata cannot be verified and M. bicuspidata (Metschnikoff 1884) Genkel 1913 is therefore considered a nomen dubium. Both yeasts were repeatedly isolated from marine substrata on and off the coast of La Jolla, California, U.S.A. Minimum numbers of viable organisms in positive samples varied for M. zobellii as follows: sea water, 2-58/100 ml.; fish gut contents (of Atherinopis affinis littoralis and Trachurus symmetricus), 25-5,730/ml.; surface of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), 520-39,200/g. M. krissii was isolated only from sea water, 1-57/100 ml.


Background/Aims: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to tumorgenesis, invasion and metastasis, and are typically resistant to chemotherapy. Recent reports showed that SIRT2 was upregulated in several cancers. However, whether SIRT2 may be a CSC marker in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is not clear. Methods: The SIRT2 levels in both RCC samples and the corresponding normal kidney samples (NT) were assessed by RT-qPCR and ELISA. The association between SIRT2 levels and patient survival was examined using Bivariate correlation analysis by Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficients. The survival of the patients was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curve. In vitro, 2 RCC cell lines were co-transduced with a lentivirus expressing both a green fluorescent protein and a luciferase reporter under a cytomegalovirus promoter, and another lentivirus expressing a nuclear red fluorescent protein reporter under the control of a SIRT2 promoter for differentiating SIRT2+ vs SIRT2- RCC cells by flow cytometry. The SIRT2+ vs SIRT2- RCC cells were examined for the potential of forming tumor sphere in a tumor sphere formation assay, resistance to fluorouracil-induced apoptosis by CCK-8 assay, and the frequency of forming tumor in vivo after serial adoptive transplantation by bioluminescence. Results: The levels of SIRT2 were higher in RCC samples than NT. The prognosis of RCC patients with high SIRT2 was worse than that of with low SIRT2. Compared to SIRT2- cells, SIRT2+ cells formed more tumor spheres, appeared to be more resistant towards fluorouracil-induced apoptosis, and generated bigger tumors with higher frequency after serial adoptive transplantation. Conclusion: SIRT2 may be highly expressed in the RCC stem-like cells and regulates cancer metastasis. Selective knockout of SIRT2 or elimination of SIRT2+ cells may improve the therapeutic outcome for patients with RCC.


BACKGROUND
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in the elderly, but data are limited on the distribution of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and albuminuria and the prevalence of CKD and related complications in this population.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study of 3173 older Icelandic adults [42% men; mean (standard deviation, SD) age of 80 (5) years] was performed to examine the distribution of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from creatinine and cystatin C, the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), and CKD-related metabolic complications (hyperparathyroidism, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased anion gap, acidosis, hyperphosphatemia and hyperkalemia).

RESULTS
There was substantial variability in eGFR [mean (SD) 64 (18) mL/min/1.73 m(2)] and ACR [median (interquartile range) 8 (5, 17) mg/g]. The prevalence (95% confidence interval) of reduced eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)), albuminuria (ACR >30 mg/g) and CKD (either reduced eGFR or albuminuria) was 40% (38-41), 14% (12-15) and 45% (43-47), respectively. The prevalence of complications was higher among those with versus without CKD: hyperparathyroidism (38 versus 15%), anemia (26 versus 14%), hypoalbuminemia (19 versus 13%), increased anion gap (9 versus 5%), acidosis (5 versus 1%); (P ≤ 0.02 for all), except hyperphosphatemia (1 versus 1%) and hyperkalemia (0% overall).

CONCLUSIONS
The burden of CKD and CKD-related complications is high among community dwelling elderly Icelandic adults. The wide range of eGFR and ACR suggests heterogeneity in processes leading to CKD and that factors beyond aging contribute to the development of CKD in the elderly.


We introduced methanol into the buffer gas of an ion mobility spectrometer with an electrospray ionization source, coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer, and mobilities of selected compounds changed to different extents, depending on their structures, due to the formation of slow ion–methanol clusters. This differential change in ion mobility was applied to the baseline separation of a mixture of valine, asparagine, and tetraethylammonium ions (TEA) that overlapped in the mobility spectrum; the drift time of TEA did not increase due to steric hindrance to the attachment of methanol molecules to its positive charge by TEA's four ethyl substituents; the valine ion extensively clustered because its positive charge is more accessible for clustering with methanol and, therefore, its drift time increased the most, allowing resolution from TEA and asparagine; asparagine had an intermediate increase in drift time due to the formation of intramolecular bridges that hid the positive charge from methanol molecules and delocalized it; this bridge and clustering made asparagine to show less clustering than valine. Other results show that when the methanol concentration increased from 0.0 to 6.3 mmol m−3, changes in ion mobilities were: −5.0% (valine), −4.2% (phenylalanine), −3.2% (asparagine), −1.5% (glutamine), −1.4% (2,4-lutidine), −0.9% (arginine), −0.3% (2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine, DTBP), −0.2% (tetramethylammonium ion), and 0.0% (other tetraalkylammonium ions). Methanol in the buffer gas produced ion clusters with one to three methanol molecules in compounds with little steric hindrance on the charge as ethanolamine. The introduction of buffer gas modifiers has the potential to be a tool for resolution of complex mixtures in ion mobility spectrometry.


Abstract Environmental differences influence the evolutionary divergence of mating signals through selection acting either directly on signal transmission ("sensory drive") or because morphological adaptation to different foraging niches causes divergence in "magic traits" associated with signal production, thus indirectly driving signal evolution. Sensory drive and magic traits both contribute to variation in signal structure, yet we have limited understanding of the relative role of these direct and indirect processes during signal evolution. Using phylogenetic analyses across 276 species of ovenbirds (Aves: Furnariidae), we compared the extent to which song evolution was related to the direct influence of habitat characteristics and the indirect effect of body size and beak size, two potential magic traits in birds. We find that indirect ecological selection, via diversification in putative magic traits, explains variation in temporal, spectral, and performance features of song. Body size influences song frequency, whereas beak size limits temporal and performance components of song. In comparison, direct ecological selection has weaker and more limited effects on song structure. Our results illustrate the importance of considering multiple deterministic processes in the evolution of mating signals.


often difficult to decide if diminished ability to think or concentrate is a consequence of dementia alone or results from both dementia and depression. Assessment of other symptoms contributing to DSM-III-R diagnosis would also be complicated by the presence of dementia: diminished interest in activities, insomnia or hypemmnia, psychomotor agitation or retardation, and energy loss. Because of these difficulties in establishing a diagnosis of depression in the cognitively impaired patient, it would seem important that the investigators in this study provide more explicit information about the false positives in the DAT group. Particularly given that diagnosis was determined from retrospective chart review, it would be important to know whether assessment of each of the criteria contributing to diagnosis of major depression was explicitly documented with respect to the presence or absence of the symptom. This would be especially important for those false positives with high GDS scores that appear to be having such a strong inauence on the outcome of their study. It would also be helpful to have more specific information about how the DSM-111-R criteria were applied. For example, was the symptom of diminished ability to think or concentrate eliminated for both subject groups? In this regard, it would be of interest to know if there is any relationship between dementia severity as measured by the MiniMental State Examination and depression as determined categorically (DSM-111-R major depression) or symptomatically (GDS). Finally, it is unclear when the GDS was obtained relative to the entry of clinical data that were used in establishing the diagnosis. Until these questions are addressed, we believe that a more reasonable conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the GDS is an appropriate test for screening depression in cognitively intact older adults, but that evaluation of the efficacy of the scale in DAT will require further prospecbe study with very careful attention to the criteria for diagnosis of depression in patients with dementia.


Composite fibers from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and hydroxyapatite (HA) particles were prepared using melt spinning. Different loading concentrations of HA particles (i.e., 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt %) in the PLA fibers and solid-state draw ratios (SSDRs) were evaluated in order to investigate their influence on the fibers' morphology and thermal and mechanical properties. A scanning electron microscopy investigation indicated that the HA particles were homogeneously distributed in the PLA fibers. It was also revealed by atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy that HA particles were located on the fiber surface, which is of importance for their intended application in biomedical textiles. Our results also suggest that the mechanical properties were independent of the loading concentration of the HA particles and that the SSDR played an important role in improving the mechanical properties of the composite fibers.


We have fabricated a resonant-cavity-enhanced photodiode (RCE-PD) with InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) as an active medium. This sort of QD-embedded RCE-PD is capable of a peak external quantum efficiency of 32% and responsivity of 0.27 A/W at 1.058μm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 5nm. Angle-resolved photocurrent response eventually proves that with the detection angle changing from 0° to 60°, the peak-current wavelength shifts towards the short wavelength side by 37 nm, while the quantum efficiency remains larger than 15%.


Psychologists and physicians are frequently approached by parents and, indirectly, by classroom teachers to diagnose and treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Requests are also frequently made for psychostimulant medication to control ADHD behavioral symptoms. One reason for such requests is that alternative classroom approaches to treating ADHD have focused on positive reinforcement, response cost, and token reinforcement programs, all of which can require extensive teacher involvement. One of the major problems with such behavioral approaches is the fact that teachers have limited time to reinforce positive, attentive behaviors, and/or alternative behaviors to ADHD symptoms. This study examined the efficacy of an automated reinforcement device, the Attention Training System (ATS), in decreasing off-task behavior in an 11-year-old, fifth-grade student who had been diagnosed as being affected with ADHD and had been placed in Special Education Resource Room programming. The Attention Training System provides automated token reinforcement in the form of points on a fixed interval schedule when the youngster is on-task. When distractible, impulsive, or hyperactive behavior occurs, the Attention Training device can be activated by a teacher to provide a response-cost consequence of loss of points. The device in this study was coupled with a token reinforcement program whereby points could be exchanged for selected reinforcers at the end of each day. Results indicated that the ATS plus token reinforcement was successful in reducing off-task behavior across classes of three subject areas: Science, Reading, and Social Studies. Results have implications for psychologists and physicians in their attempts to assist families and schools in their management of youngsters with ADHD.


This PhD project is set out to study the mechanism of gigaseal' formation and to provide techniques which enable the frequent formation of high resistance seals. Such techniques are highly desirable at both research and industrial levels. The research can be divided into three main sections. In the first section the most important factors in seal formation were identified. Then a group of novel approaches have been developed to alter these factors and achieve better sealing conditions. In the second section the effect of roughness, hydrophilicity and tip size on gigaseal' formation has been studied. Patch clamp experiments were carried out using conventional and treated pipettes. In the third section of this research, glass micropipettes were characterized using various measurement techniques. The proposed techniques in this thesis not only explain the gigaseal formation in more detail, but also provide techniques to increase both the seal resistance and probability of seal formation. FIB polished pipettes improved the seal resistance significantly and chemically treated pipettes resulted in the formation of seals for more than 80% of trials. Therefore the research aims have been successfully met.


The electrochemistry of a poly(anilineboronic acid)/carbon nanotube composite was studied in the presence of dopamine and ascorbic acid. To understand the binding affinity of dopamine and ascorbic acid to the boronic acid functional groups in the composite, the association constants between the diol groups in dopamine and ascorbic acid and the boronic acid were experimentally determined using a fluorescence-based binding assay. The results demonstrate that ascorbic acid could severely interfere with the detection of dopamine in nonoxidative boronic acid-binding approaches: Ascorbic acid was able to electrocatalytically reduce the fully oxidized polyaniline backbone during the electrochemical oxidation process; similarly to dopamine, ascorbic acid was also able to bind to the boronic acid groups through its planar diol group even though the binding affinity is much lower. The examination of the dopamine transduction mechanism and ascorbic acid interference mechanism in this nonoxidative approach will benefit the design of future boronic acid-based sensors.


The mobile Internet business is entering a new era in Japan with the emerging revenue being generated from item purchasing in mobile social games. Users using high-speed mobile Internet with flat-rate data services have acceptance of micro-payments and increased payment acceptance in mobile social games. This has been impacting mobile business and the game business in Japan since the emergence of Open Social-based platforms in October 2009.With all of hype being generated by mobile social games, the author attempts to identify the key success factors in this mobile business landscape. The author proposes a four-layer approach to identify the success factors for the mobile social games business in Japan. The author presents the implications for mobile business ecosystems from the emerging real-time Web. Then, the author provides a strength analysis of Mob age, one of the leading service providers of mobile social games.


The nervous system often combines visual and haptic information about object properties such that the combined estimate is more precise than with vision or haptics alone. We examined how the system determines when to combine the signals. Presumably, signals should not be combined when they come from different objects. The likelihood that signals come from different objects is highly correlated with the spatial separation between the signals, so we asked how the spatial separation between visual and haptic signals affects their combination. To do this, we first created conditions for each observer in which the effect of combination--the increase in discrimination precision with two modalities relative to performance with one modality--should be maximal. Then under these conditions, we presented visual and haptic stimuli separated by different spatial distances and compared human performance with predictions of a model that combined signals optimally. We found that discrimination precision was essentially optimal when the signals came from the same location, and that discrimination precision was poorer when the signals came from different locations. Thus, the mechanism of visual-haptic combination is specialized for signals that coincide in space.


By the end of 2012, 12 states and the District of Columbia had support for same-sex marriage at or above 50%. Of these 12 states, all currently perform marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Thirteen additional states presently are within 5 percentage points of majority support. In the last eight years, every state has increased in its support for marriage for same-sex couples with an average increase of 13.6%. If present public opinion trends continue, another 8 states will be above 50% support by the end of 2014.


Angiogenesis is thoroughly balanced and regulated in health; however, it is dysregulated in many diseases including cancer, age-related macular degeneration, cardiovascular diseases such as coronary and peripheral artery diseases and stroke, abnormal embryonic development, and abnormal wound healing. In addition to angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis is pivotal for maintaining the immune system, homeostasis of body fluids and lymphoid organs; dysregulated lymphangiogenesis may cause inflammatory diseases and lymph node mediated tumor metastasis. Anti-angiogenic or anti-lymphangiogenic small peptides may play an important role as therapeutic agents normalizing angiogenesis or lymphangiogenesis in disease conditions. Several novel endogenous peptides derived from proteins containing a conserved somatotropin domain have been previously identified with the help of our bioinformatics-based methodology. These somatotropin peptides were screened for inhibition of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis using in vitro proliferation, migration, adhesion and tube formation assays with blood and lymphatic endothelial cells. We found that the peptides have the potential for inhibiting both angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. Focusing the study on the inhibition of lymphangiogenesis, we found that a peptide derived from the somatotropin conserved domain of transmembrane protein 45A human was the most potent lymphangiogenesis inhibitor, blocking lymphatic endothelial cell migration, adhesion, and tube formation.


Objective: To explore the clinical effects of posterior microendoscopy discectomy and open surgery on lumbar disc herniation.
Methods: A total of 97 patients with lumbar disc herniation treated in our hospital from January 2017 to August 2017 were selected as the research objects followed by being randomly divided into microendoscopy discectomy group (n=43) and open surgery group (n=44) with the method of drawing lots in which the open surgery group were given open surgery while the discectomy group received posterior microendoscopy discectomy (MED) treatment. Then operation conditions, VAS score, JOA, ODI score and recurrence rate were compared between the two groups.
Results: After treatment, there were significant differences in operation conditions, VAS score, JOA, ODI score and recurrence rate between the discectomy group and the open surgery group, P<0.05.
Conclusion: Posterior discectomy is more effective in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and is worthy of clinical application.


A paradigm accompanies coronary artery pathology since decenies now: which is our main argument used when taking the decision how to make treatment ? This argument is the presence of ischemia.

The 70% stenosis or more is the most useful parameter. But why exactly 70%? Because starting from this point ischemia is generally presented. But not always. Than we may use the flow reserve. In practice is not used very often, because is costly.

It is indicated sometimes to search ischemia by different methods. The ECG stress test has its limits, especially for sensitivity. Scintigraphic perfusion scan and echocardiography are costly (the first) or operator dependent and time consuming (the second).

It is logical to look for viable myocardium by different methods, but this is applicable only when heart failure accompanies coronary artery disease. Most of the coronary patients don't have heart failure.

But now comes the main question: is our main goal to treat chronic ischemia ? Most of the heart attacks come not because a severe stenosis is completing its progressive evolution, but because the plaque ruptures or becomes unstable and favors the development of an occlusive thrombus.

So, a patient with coronary arteries diseased may have or have not chronic ischemia. But for sure they are in danger of making acute ischemia when a thrombus adds to an existing plaque. And the main goal of therapy is not to treat chronic ischemia, but to treat or to prevent the acute thrombotic coronary phenomenon.

But the acute phenomenon has (almost) nothing to do with the previous presence of ischemia. Nobody demonstrated that at 70%, 80% and 90% stenosis are accompanied linearly or exponentially by a heart attack in the near future and the 60% stenoses are not (or significantly less often).

On the contrary: many pathological studies demonstrate that the ruptured or the unstable plaques originate mostly from less occlusive plaques, but with a soft composition which is unstable and may promote thrombogenesis.

Than why do not we use the diagnosis of an unstable plaque as the main argument to intervene promptly, instead to search for a significant stenosis? Because for the moment we do not know to identify with accuracy unstable plaques ant therefore we use the surrogate end point of ischemia produced by a significant stenosis.

We may notice from this point of view that revascularization by interventional cardiology is an incomplete term. When implanting a stent, the plaque bellow is much more stabilized than before in most cases. If a restenosis occurs, this is done by a proliferative material much more stable than the original atherosclerotic plaque. We may say that by doing PTCA with stent we revascularize AND stabilize the atherosclerotic coronary.

So, our main indicator to intervene should be the instability of the coronary plaque. Can we identify it today?

Not yet, but in this direction progress is remarkable. In an excellent editorial in this issue of the Journal (1) Viviana Aursulesei makes a very good synthesis of the methods used currently in clinical research to identify the unstable plaque. Some methods seem now to be familiar to clinicians: intravascular ultrasound with virtual histology, high resolution magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and even optical coherence tomography have results in identifying unstable plaques presented at general cardiology meetings and journals. Other methods, like palpografia, the elastogram or the modulogram of the plaque (1) are methods only known by a limited number of specialists.

The results of these methods are analyzed now in clinical trials with clinical outcome endpoints. The information given by the new methods are included in new risk factor charts to complete the traditional ones we use today. The accuracy of the new methods to predict acute events is profoundly analyzed.

The ability of the new indicators to predict coronary outcome is still the weak point. The sensibility and specificity of any of the new methods does not yet overcome the traditional way to predict bad outcome in coronary artery disease. Everything seems logical in the new parameters – however something is still missing to bring them in the pole position.

"Most likely, a multimarker strategy that includes risk factors, molecular and genetic biomarkers, noninvasive imaging markers, will be a truly viable option in terms of practice" – comments dr Aursulesei in her editorial and I totally aggree.

Looking for ischemia instead of looking for the potential instability of a plaque seems to me to be a historical error of cardiology, assumed consciously until the moment when we will be capable to identify correctly the unstable plaque. Ischemia should stay in that moment as the second main endpoint of coronary disease therapy.

The presence of a potential unstable plaque is the real argument that we should be promptly aggressive in the therapy of coronary artery disease.


The protective efficacy of diallyl tetrasulfide (DTS) from garlic on liver injury induced by cadmium (Cd) was investigated. In this study, Cd (3 mg/kg body weight) was administered subcutaneously for 3 weeks to induce toxicity. DTS was administered orally (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg body weight) for 3 weeks with subcutaneous (sc) injection of Cd. Cd-induced liver damage was evidenced from increased activities of serum hepatic enzymes, namely aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase, with significant elevation of lipid peroxidation indices (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and hydroperoxides) and protein carbonyl groups in the liver. Rats subjected to Cd toxicity also showed a decline in the levels of total thiols, reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin C and vitamin E, accompanied by an increased accumulation of Cd, and significantly decreased activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the liver. Administration of DTS at 40 mg/kg body weight significantly normalised the activities of hepatic marker enzymes, compared to other doses of DTS (10 and 20 mg/kg body weight). In addition, DTS (40 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced the accumulation of Cd and the level of lipid peroxidation, and restored the level of antioxidant defense in the liver. Histological studies also showed that administration of DTS to Cd-treated rats resulted in a marked improvement of hepatocytes morphology with mild portal inflammation. Our results suggest that DTS might play a vital role in protecting Cd-induced oxidative damage in the liver. Human & Experimental Toxicology (2007) 26, 527—534


Four-dimensional (4D) space is not intuitive to human mind. Commonly used examples of 4D space, such as the deep sea and the universe, are difficult for many people to feel or image. Research on the visualization of high dimensional polygons [1] helps people become aware of high dimensional spaces and feel their beauty, complexity and variations.


13 GABAergic interneurons are key regulators of hippocampal circuits, but our understanding of the diversity 14 and classification of these cells remains controversial. Here we analyze the organization of interneurons 15 in the CA1 area, using the combinatorial patterns of gene expression revealed by single-cell mRNA 16 sequencing (scRNA-seq). This analysis reveals a 5-level hierarchy of cell classes. Most of the predicted 17 classes correspond closely to known interneuron types, allowing us to predict a large number of novel 18 molecular markers of these classes. In addition we identified a major new interneuron population 19 localized at the border of strata radiatum and lacunosum-moleculare that we term "R2C2 cells" after their 20 characteristic combinatorial expression of Rgs12, Reln, Cxcl14, and Cpne5. Several predictions of this 21 classification scheme were verified using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, providing 22 further confidence in the gene expression patterns and novel classes predicted by the single cell data. 23


This paper examines the so-called "perquisites/constituency service" hypothesis that purports to explain incumbents' electoral margins in congressional elections. First, it reviews the individual-level and aggregate-level studies, pointing out serious problems in measurements and methodology and concluding that existing literature does not and cannot support the thesis. Second, using 1984 CPS/NES data, the paper models the voting decisions in 1984, finding that respondents' decisions were affected by shared partisanship with the incumbent, ideological compatibility, challenger spending, assessments of President Reagan, and (a dubiously measured) recollection of the incumbent's having done something for the district. Individual casework experience did not affect the voting decision. Third, with data gathered from over 200 House offices, the percentage of the vote won by incumbents in the 1982 election is modeled as a function of 1982 casework loads, staff allocation, mailings, and several baseline variables. The findings are that casework loads, trips home, and mailings did not affect the vote, but that district partisanship and ideology, redistricting, national electoral tides, and occasionally district education levels did. We conclude that, based on existing evidence, the perquisites and casework hypotheses have not been demonstrated and that to explore the theses further, panel data are needed.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical value of CT venography (CTV) after MDCT angiography (CTA) with venous compression sonography for the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II (PIOPED II) showed that lower extremity imaging detects about 7% more patients requiring anticoagulation than CTA alone.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
PIOPED II was a prospective multicenter study investigating the accuracy of CTA alone and CTA and CTV together. A composite reference standard was used to confirm, or rule out, pulmonary embolus. Adequate quality CTV and sonographic images were obtained in 711 patients.

RESULTS
There was 95.5% concordance between CTV and sonography for the diagnosis or exclusion of deep venous thrombosis (DVT); the kappa statistic was 0.809. The sensitivity and specificity of combined CTA and CTV were equivalent to those of combined CTA and sonography. Diagnostic results in subgroups, including patients with signs or symptoms of DVT, asymptomatic patients, and patients with a history of DVT, were similar whether CTV or sonography was used. Patients with signs or symptoms of DVT were eight times more likely to have DVT, and patients with a history of DVT were twice as likely to have positive findings.

CONCLUSION
CTV and sonography showed similar results in diagnosing or excluding DVT. The incidence of positive studies in patients without signs, symptoms, or history of DVT is low. In terms of clinical significance, CT venography and lower extremity sonography yield equivalent diagnostic results; the incidence of positive studies in patients without signs, symptoms, or history of DVT is low; thus the choice of imaging technique can be made on the basis of safety, expense, and time constraints.


As stress waves decay as they pass through the pile foundation system, it is extremely challenging for all nondestructive testing methods to evaluate the pile integrity of a shaft underneath a structure. In this study, time–frequency signal analysis (TFSA) is used for signal processing and adopted to interpret the pile integrity testing signal. An experimental case with pile lengths of 58m with caps, were tested by the low strain sonic echo method. Traditional time domain analyses can not identify the pile tip response signals 58m lengths. After time-history curves are transformed into a time–frequency domain distribution, the results indicate the pile tip can be located more easily and clearly than the traditional time-domain analyses of pile integrity testing allowed for.


Taking submarine platform inertial navigation system (PINS) as the research object, the space motion mathematical models of submarine are analyzed and established. Then according to the submarine symmetry and submarine motion characteristics, the model is reasonably simplified by theoretical and experiences study. Through coordinate transformation relationship research of the fixed coordinate system, the moving coordinate system and the local present coordinate system, the submarine actual space motion is embedded in inertial navigation system. It can provide INS the input information - the east acceleration and north acceleration real-timely by controlling submarine motion and get the navigation information which more close to submarine actual motion. The result of computer simulation shows that this embedded method is right. It is a good new method for the INS performance examination of submarine, moreover, it can provide theoretical design reference and basis for others navigation system testing.


Several challenging ethical issues have been associated with the shift to managed healthcare in the United States. Our objective was to develop, implement, and evaluate a curriculum designed to help physicians identify and examine ethical issues encountered in the managed care setting. The curriculum was developed during a year-long workshop at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The content of the curriculum was established through literature review, focus group discussions with physicians, and a needs assessment of targeted learners (primary care physicians practicing in managed care settings). Some of the key issues addressed in the curriculum include: changing professional responsibilities of physicians; fair use of resources; and threats to the doctor-patient relationship as a consequence of the new healthcare delivery system. The 7.5-h curriculum was taught over five sessions using varied teaching methods. Evaluations demonstrated that the curriculum was successful in increasing learner awareness of ethical issues confronted in the managed care environment and improved learner knowledge in these areas. The physician-learners reported that this educational experience would change their teaching of medical students and residents. After completing the curriculum, learners felt that they were at least somewhat better able to cope with ethical challenges encountered in the managed care setting. Future research might examine whether such a curriculum could positively affect physician behavior or enhance physician satisfaction with the managed care setting.


Cloud computing is a model for convenient, on-demand network access to virtualized environments of configurable computing resources. It is challenging to search data encrypted and stored in cloud storage servers. Searchable encryption enables data users to search on ciphertext without leaking any information about keywords and the plaintext of the data. Currently, a number of searchable encryption schemes have been proposed, but most of them provide unlimited search privileges to data users, which is not desirable in certain scenarios. In this paper, we propose a new construction of searchable encryption with fine-grained access control by using key-policy attribute-based cryptography to generate trapdoors to support AND, OR and threshold gates. The main idea is that the data owner encrypts the index keywords according to the specified access policy. The data user can generate a trapdoor to search on data, if and only if the attributes of the data user satisfy the access policy. We provide formal security proofs for the scheme, including the indistinguishability of ciphertexts and the indistinguishability of trapdoors, which are used to resist the chosen keyword attack and the keyword guessing attack of external adversaries. Comprehensive security analysis and implementation results show that the proposed scheme is provably secure and feasible in real-world applications.


Author(s): Li, Ao | Advisor(s): Wang, Mian | Abstract: Recent decades have witnessed the establishment of a dual system of Chinese special education, which is special education school and the Learning in Regular Classroom movement (LRC). Teacher's attitude about the rising special education system has become a focal research topic in the field. As an emerging trend, research has mainly focused on Chinese teachers' attitudes about LRC. Although special education school still remain as an important way of educating children with disabilities in China, research has seldom focused on teachers' attitudes towards special education, and thus merits a need of inquiry for better understanding. The aim of this study is to investigate what constitute Chinese teachers' attitudes about special education system and practice, and what factors affect Chinese teachers' attitudes. The study examined the effect of four types of variables: demographic variables, professional character variables, affective variables and support variable on teachers' attitudes about Chinese special education system. This study employed a large-scale nationally representative data set from the Study of Professional Development Status of Chinese Special Education Teacher for secondary data analysis. The survey was developed and distributed using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method by East China Normal University. A total of 3,485 special education school teachers from 126 schools of nine provinces participated in the study. Findings showed that teachers' attitudes did vary based on their gender, workplace and position category. Demographic variables including age (only slightly negatively correlated with public school teachers' attitudes when based on teacher's position category) , educational qualification, length of special education teaching did not pose effect on teachers' attitude. Some professional characters including teaching skills, in-service training, knowledge about special education were found positively correlated with teachers' attitudes, while other professional character variables, including major and the kind of special education school they teach did not pose effect on their attitudes. Affective variables (self-efficacy level, teaching efficacy level and sense of achievement) and support variable (level of support) were also positively correlated with teachers' attitudes about Chinese special education system. In the last section, implications were given for school leaders, teacher educators and researchers.


Within the social sciences, literature on third places attempts to assist in the construction of a social concept of "place". This notion of a place is an idealization of the bridging space with home and family on one side, and work with the rule-based impersonality of life in mass society, on the other. Like the idea of work-life balance—as seen through the vocabulary of placemaking—third places provide people with a place in which there is a balance between the emotive attachments of home and family and the challenge striving for merit and reward in the marketplace. To date, third places have been treated as a unified construct. This paper makes the case that both the discourse and design models used to make sense of third places are significantly different. After reviewing and placing third-place literature in its historical context, we distinguish communitarian, commercial and digital third places. These three types of places—in both their physical and virtual forms—are important parts of the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Subsequently employing a cui bono approach or who benefits framework, we highlight the ways in which ideological points of view imbedded in the varying versions of third places have implications for practice and theory. Key Terms: Third places; Mass society; Servicescapes; Civil society; Virtual communities; Cui bono framework; Ideology 2 Journal of Ideology, Vol. 38 [2017], No. 1, Art. 4 https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ji/vol38/iss1/4 "The Shifting Discourse on Third Places: Ideological Implications"


Abstract This article focuses on the involvement of governors in the governance of schools in Wales. Set within the context of the devolved education system, school governance has gone from being on the margins of interest to centre stage. This reflects a new focus on pupil performance and outcomes and the need for pupils in Wales to be successful internationally. As new regulations come into place in Wales which demand more from governors in relation to promoting school performance and educational achievement, there is a requirement for governors to undertake particular training. Governors will have to decide whether to federate governor arrangements or not in relation to their leadership of schools. Two key themes emerge in this article. First, there is greater control and direction from the centre over governors in how they undertake their governance roles. Second, there is an expectation that governors will collaborate with each other in the governance of schools. Both of these aspects are different from existing governance arrangements and the extent to which pupil outcomes improve will be fundamental to the success of the new regulations.


Shear strength parameters are crucial for stability analyses of slopes against slope failures and landslides. The three shear strength parameters that are required to define a failure envelope of an unsaturated soil are c' (apparent cohesion), Φ' (effective angle of friction) and Φb (shear strength change with change in matric suction). A soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) that relates the water content of a soil to matric suction is another important relationship for the unsaturated soil mechanics. The SWCC essentially shows the ability of an unsaturated soil to retain water under various matric suctions. This study concentrates on the shear strength-SWCC relationship that has been carried out on an unsaturated granitic residual soil. It is observed that the failure envelope of an unsaturated soil is non-linear due to the non-linear soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). At low matric suctions, where the suction is lower than the air-entry value of the soil, the soil is at or near saturation condition and behave as though it was saturated. Consequently an increase in matric suction produces the same increase in shear strength as does an increase in net normal stress. However, at matric suctions higher than the air-entry value of the soil, the soil starts to desaturate. The increase in shear strength with respect to matric suction becomes less than the increase with respect to the net normal stress.


.............................................................................................................................................. III PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................ V TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................................... VII


Binns et al 1 have reported that the reference growth curves of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) do not accurately reflect infant growth in a cohort of healthy, term infants from 10 pediatric community practices in the Chicago area. The possible explanations offered for the discrepancies were in the following: (1) methods of curve construction, (2) birth weights, and (3) patterns of postnatal growth. The authors reported that the Chicago-area cohort grew faster earlier and slower later in the first year compared with the current NCHS reference, and they suggested for future work that "the possibility of differences owing to breast or formula feeding should...be examined." 1 In 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) completed a comprehensive review of the uses and interpretations of anthropometry. 2 Based on contributions to this review by the WHO Working Group on Infant Growth, 3-5 WHO concluded that the current NCHS reference


Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is a kind of promising materials used in dental and orthopeadic restoration. Nowadays, CPC is of special interest due to its self-setting behavior when mixed with an aqueous liquid phase. In this study, α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) and tetracalcium phosphate (TeCP) were served as the solid component of the cement, and the liquid component was consisted of sodium phosphate dibasic dedocahydrate (SPDD, Na2HPO4·12H2O), and/or citric acid. The cement's properties as compressive strength and porosity were measured. The effects of preparing conditions, such as liquid-to-powder ratio (L/P) and liquid composition, on compressive strength of calcium phosphate were investigated. The results show that the compressive strength increases with the decreasing of pH value. There is a premium L/P in which the compressive strength gains its maxim. The compressive strength reached 21.69 MPa at the condition of L/P = 0.30mL/g and pH =5.


. Generally rubber products are a typical soft material, and a composite of a nano-filler (typically, carbon black or particulate silica) and a rubber (natural rubber and various synthetics are used). The properties of these soft nano-composites have been well known to depend on the dispersion of the nano-filler in the rubbery matrix. The most powerful tool for the elucidation of it has been transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The microscopic techniques are based on the projection of 3-dimensional (3D) body on a plane (x, y plane), thus the structural information along the thickness (z axis) direction of the sample is difficult to obtain. This paper describes our recent results on the dispersion of carbon black (CB) and particulate silica in natural rubber (NR) matrix observed by TEM combined with electron tomography (3D-TEM) technique, which enabled us to obtain images of 3D nano-structure of the sample. Thus, 3D images of CB and silica in NR matrix are visualized and analyzed in this communication. These results are precious ones for the design of soft nano-composites, and the technique will become an indispensable one in nanotechnology.


The experience of diagnosis and treatment in 15 patients with mediastinal abscess was introduced in this paper. Most mediastinal abscesses are the results of secondary infection. One of the main causes is esophageal perforation. The main clinica manifestations are fever, chest pain, dysphagia and dyspnea. A toxic shock develops in serious cases. Chest X-ray examination is an important diagnostic method showing widened mediastinum, air-fluid level in mediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema. The writer holds that once diagnosis is made, an adequate drainage of abscess should be made by individualized route of entry. In order to maintain enough nutrition, gastrostomy should be performed followed by tube feeding. In this series, the above mentioned treatment regime gave quite satisfactory result. Twelve of the 15 cases got cured or improved. Three cases failed to respond and died.


BACKGROUND
There have been inconsistent results regarding the contribution of the connexin family of genes to tumor cell proliferation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We aimed to clarify the role of connexin 30 (Cx30), by transfecting three kinds of vectors that express either full length Cx30 (Cx30-Full), Cx30 devoid of C-terminal region (Cx30-DelC) or Cx30 C-terminal region (Cx30-CT), in HSC-4, a head-and-neck cancer cell line.

RESULTS
Transfected Cx30-Full was localized on the plasma membrane, while Cx30-DelC and Cx30-CT was expressed in the cytoplasm or circumnuclear sites. We studied the effect on the growth rate followed by immunostaining with anti-Ki-67 (MIB-1). The MIB indices of HSC-4 cells transfected with Cx30-Full and Cx30-DelC, but not Cx30-CT were shown to be significantly higher than that of the controls.

CONCLUSION
Our results demonstrated that Cx30 enhanced the proliferation of HSC-4 cells and the proliferating activity was considered to be achieved without the transport of the protein onto the plasma membrane.


2.1 At what levels can swallowing a single dose of hydrogen peroxide be poisonous?.....................3 2.2 Can hydrogen peroxide affect skin, eyes, or mucous membranes?.........................................3 2.3 At what levels can repeated exposure to hydrogen peroxide harm health? .............................5 2.4 Can hydrogen peroxyde cause cancer or harm reproduction?................................................5 2.5 What genetic disorders make some individuals more vulnerable to hydrogen peroxide? ...........6


Background and Aim: Sexual violence is a serious global health problem with short and long-term physical, mental, and reproductive adverse-effects. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with sexual violence among rural women of reproductive age in Uganda.Methods: We used the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2016 data for 5,259 rural women aged 15 to 49 years. Multi-stage stratified sampling was used to select respondents, and data were collected using validated questionnaires. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine factors associated with sexual violence. All analyses we carried out in SPSS (version 25). Results: The overall prevalence of sexual violence was 24.3% (95% CI: 23.4-25.7), while that among pregnant women was 22.2% (95% CI: 19.1-25.6). Women of primary education had higher odds of sexual violence compared to those of tertiary education (AOR=3.01, 95% CI: 1.17-7.72), and those from the Western region compared to those in the Northern region (AORs=2.01, 95% CI: 1.41-2.87). Women of poorer wealth quintile also had higher odds of sexual violence compared to those of the richest quintile (AOR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.02-4.17). Higher odds of sexual violence were also found among women who justified beating (AOR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.12-1.79), those who were not involved in healthcare decision-making (AOR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.01-1.91), and those whose husbands often got drunk (AOR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.30-3.31), compared to their counterparts.Conclusions: The prevalence of sexual violence among rural women in Uganda was high and associated with factors such as education level, region, wealth index, justified beating, healthcare decision making, and husband drunk frequency. Thus, there is a need for improving livelihoods and income of rural women, promotion of girl-child education as well as strengthening protective laws and policies to curb this public health issue.


This paper is part of the contributions to the Proceedings of the 3rd Internacional Symposium on Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation, held in Tiberias, Israel, 6-11 September, 1992


A preliminary sensitivity examination of the ductility exhaustion based creep damage prediction model, currently used in the R5 high temperature assessment procedure, showed that material property inputs had significant effects on damage prediction. In the present work, the link between the microstructural factors and the susceptibility to inter-granular high temperature creep failure is considered. The latter was judged to be associated with the low creep ductility. Here, the longitudinal section of a creep specimen and the fracture surface were examined. Auger electron spectroscopy was used to investigate the grain boundary composition in this specimen, which failed after a creep test of 1038h at 550°C under a triaxial stress state. The present results demonstrate that there is a possibility to correlate the susceptibility to high temperature inter-granular fracture from the low temperature fracture investigations. Finally, the susceptibility of the pre-treated 316H stainless steel to inter-granular high temperature failure and the contribution to the creep damage model are briefly discussed.


Background: Current research in theoretical linguistics, experimental psychology, and clinical aphasiology suggests that adjective training may facilitate unique aspects of language production and functional communication in persons with aphasia. Although considerable research has been devoted to treatments targeting nouns and verbs, there has been relatively little treatment research directed towards adjectives. Aims: The goal of this study was to further investigate the viability of adjective training in aphasia by applying an integrated treatment approach targeting adjective production in the context of single word, sentence, and discourse levels of communication. Specific objectives were to quantify baseline adjective production, acquisition of target structures, and treatment generalisation effects. Method: A single-participant multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate treatment effects in three individuals with nonfluent chronic aphasia. A battery of experimental measures and standardised tests was also administered pre- and post-treatment to assess baseline performance and generalisation effects extending to adjectives, other parts of speech, sentence processing, and discourse production. Outcomes & Results: Two of the three participants acquired the target structures and maintained criterion performance levels 1 month after treatment. In spite of differences in baseline performance and responsiveness to treatment, all three participants demonstrated significant gains on standardised measures of language production. Conclusions: Findings add to existing literature supporting the viability of adjective training for individuals with aphasia. Participant characteristics and treatment factors that may contribute to variable outcomes are also discussed.


The methyl, ethyl and phenyl Salicylate derivatives of heterobimetallic-i- oxoisopropoxide [CaO2Ti2(OPri)6] have been prepared as a result of many reactions of i-oxoisopropoxide with methyl Salicylate (HRSAL1), ethyl Salicylate (HRSAL2), and phenyl Salicylate (HRSAL3) in differentmolar ratios (1:1-1:4). The Salicylate derivatives of the type [CaO2Ti2(OPri)6-n (RSAL)n] (where n is 1-4 and RSAL = Salicylate anion) were obtained. The Salicylate derivatives have been characterized by elemental, spectral (IR, 1H, 13CNMR), thermal and molecular weight measurement. Hydrothermally assisted solgel process gives the hydrolyzed product and thermal study of these products favors the formation ofmulticomponent oxides. The studies reveal that Salicylate derivatives are monomeric in nature and low susceptible to hydrolysis as compared to parent compound and may prove excellent precursors for the mixed metal oxides.


: Differential diagnosis of diseases manifested with lung diffuse dissemination syndrome is very difficult. Final diagnosis is possible only after pathologic examination of specimens taken during diagnostic surgical procedures. Results of open and videothoracoscopic lung biopsy at 107 patients are analyzed. Assessment of surgical trauma was based on respiratory function, neuroendocrine system response and doses of analgesics in postoperative period.


A number of fuzzy logic controllers are being designed till now to replace complex, non-linear and huge controlling equipment in numerous industrial sectors. But the designing of these controllers requires thorough knowledge about the controlled process. For this purpose a highly experienced experts are required, which is not feasible all the time. Most of these processes are non-linear and depend on large number of parameters. Thus mathematical representation of these systems is an arduous line of work. This project addresses these problems by proposing using of genetic algorithm based Fuzzy Logic systems as controllers. The system includes algorithms which are run on a capable computing platform, to read an experimental data sheet obtained from experimental observations of the system and generate a fine tuned rule base that is to be used in the fuzzy logic controller hardware. The hardware is implemented in an FPGA. Transfer of synthesized rule base from the computer to the FPGA implementation and crisp output value back to the computer is done by UART. A graphical user interface is provided that runs on the computer.


The aim of this research is presenting a model to explain the backgrounds of joining the imperial army to Iran's  Islamic revolution .The army was one of the most important group which accepted the policy of companionship and synchronization with the majority of the people in the accomplishment of Islamic revolution against the Pahlavi regime. It was while the king Mohammadreza was considered the army as a pillar of his power and he always was trying to reinforce it. The question of this research is what are the backgrounds of joining imperial army to Islamic revolution .The approach of this article is historical sociology and its method is inductive. Thus, after the identification of confounders and their relationship, a theoretical model will be presented to show the backgrounds of joining imperial army to Islamic revolution. According to the result of this research, the backgrounds of joining the army be revolutionary in the context of Islamic revolution are divided into three categories which are ideological, brokerage and structured grounds. The ideological   grounds of joining the army to revolutionary people are due to the belief of militaries to Islam teaching and the influence of revolutionary ideology that manifested in various cases, the brokerage grounds are due to the determining the power in kingdom system and the severe dependence of the Supreme commanders of military to the king . in the structural ground we can mention the structural dependence, patrimonial structure, the intensive military, the institutionalized and structural corruption in the army.


A series active filter (SAF) based method for the damping of resonant harmonics created by the LCL-filter of the grid connected PWM-VSI is proposed. Oscillations in multi-megawatt rated high power inverters with LCL-filters are damped with resistors which create undesired power losses typically up to 1% of the rated power of the system. The method stated in this paper overcomes the stability/oscillation problem while providing a solution to the resistive power loss. The proposed SAF compensated system performs satisfactorily under rated load conditions and the transition from passive damping to SAF is flawless. Adaptability of the proposed method to dynamic loads is also advantageous as opposed to passive damping methods. Simplified circuit diagrams and schematics are provided through the paper. Mathematical model of the passively damped filter is compared and contrasted with the SAF compensated system. The validity of the proposed method is proven via simulations.


To decrease NOx emissions from a combustion system, lean premixed combustion in combination with an annular combustor is used. One of the disadvantages is an increase in sound pressure levels in the combustion system, resulting in an increased excitation of the surrounding structure, the liner. This causes fatigue, which limits the life time of the combustor. To model the interaction between flame, acoustics and structure, a transfer function approach is used. In this approach, the components are represented by the frequency dependent linear transfer between their inputs and outputs. For the flame a low pass filter with convective time delay is used as transfer function between velocity perturbations at the burner outlet and the flame as acoustic volume source. The acoustic transfer from volume source to velocity perturbation at the burner outlet is obtained from a harmonic finite element analysis, in which a temperature field from CFD calculations is used. The calculated response is subsequently curve-fitted using a pole-zero model to allow for fast calculations. The finite element model includes the two way coupling between structural vibrations and acoustics, which allows extraction of the vibration levels. The different transfers are finally coupled in one model. Results show frequencies of high acoustic response which are susceptible to thermoacoustic instability. Damping mechanisms and the phase relation between the different components determine stable or unstable behavior and the amplitude of the resulting perturbations. Furthermore there are also frequencies of high structural response. Especially when the two coincide, the risk of structural damage is high, whereas when they move away from each other, the risk decreases.


There are clinics around nursing homes in foreign countries or family doctors for every elderly. When a disease occurs, doctors can provide door to door service to help patients. Since the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019, the elderly have been a high risk group of people infected with coronavirus disease 2019. In both the United States and Canada, the first recorded coronavirus disease 2019 deaths and outbreaks occurred in nursing homes with case fatality rates in these settings reported to be as high as 33.7 %. Due to the lack of adequate medical facilities and adequate medical staff to provide services, the elderly are more likely to be infected with the virus as a result of social interaction. All these show that foreign models can no longer meet the medical needs of the elderly. Therefore, we should take a different perspective and combine pension services with medical care. At present, China is exploring the mode of combination of medical and nursing services. In this study, we investigated the current situation of integrated medical and nursing services in China, exploring the transformation of primary medical institutions into medical and nursing service providers. The integrated eldercare services with medical care is that we make use of the existing medical resources to provide care services, which can meet the health needs of the elderly and reduce the infection rate of the elderly. Using a self-administered or interview questionnaire survey, we conducted t-test and one-way analysis of variance. It was found that the elderly are most satisfied with the geographical location (90.84 %) and medical services (90.82 %), and the most dissatisfied with consultation (87.66 %) and institutional fees (87.23 %). The elderly with the older age, the higher the monthly income of more than 3000 yuan, marriage and chronic diseases, are highly satisfied with their community health service institutions (p<0.05). Through one-way analysis of variance, there were significant differences in medical and health service demand among the groups with different monthly income (f=5.289 and 5.312, p<0.05), different occupation (f=5.574 and 2.325, p<0.05), and different ideal mode of providing for the aged (f=5.237, p=0.002<0.05). By independent sample t test, it was found that there were significant differences in basic medical service demand and health guidance service demand between people with chronic diseases and those without chronic diseases (p<0.05), and those who were willing and unwilling to use information technology for disease management (p<0.05). Through regression analysis, we can see that age (t=4.411, p<0.05) and income (t=2.061, p<0.05) have significant influence on basic medical service among the three variables of age, education and monthly income, and the coefficient is positive. Age (t=2.508, p<0.05) and income (t=3.143, p<0.05) had significant influence on rehabilitation guidance service, and the coefficient was positive. In summary, age, income, occupation, whether suffering from chronic diseases, whether they are willing to use information technology to detect and manage diseases and other factors, all affect the demand of the elderly for basic medical services and rehabilitation guidance services in medical service institutions. Through the research on the current situation of the integrated medical and nursing services in China, this study enriches the relevant evidence of the integrated medical and nursing services, and has a certain reference value for the relevant management departments to formulate policiesis.


A partially covered cavity, or trench, located along the edge of two intersecting metallic walls perpendicular to each other is considered. The cross section of the cavity is a quarter ellipse and is slotted along the interfocal distance. The cavity is filled with a double‐negative (DNG) metamaterial that is isoimpedance to the material filling the half‐space above the trench. This two‐dimensional boundary value problem is solved exactly, in the frequency domain, when the primary field is either a plane wave of arbitrary polarization and direction of incidence or an electric or magnetic line source. Numerical results are exhibited and discussed.


The theory of the interaction of electromagnetic waves with a suddenly created magneto plasma is presented. It is shown that a linearly polarized wave propagating along the magnetic field is converted into a frequency upshifted two forward and two backward propagating waves; in each propagation direction, one is right hand circular polarization and the other one is left hand circular polarization. A static wiggler magnetic field is also produced. The combined forward and backward waves are amplitude modulated with rotating polarizations. The extent of the frequency upshift increases with the increases of the plasma density and the background magnetic field intensity. By increasing the background magnetic field, the required plasma density for the frequency upshift is reduced; consequently, the drop rate of the conversion efficiency with the increase in the frequency upshift of the combined forward wave can be reduced considerably; the conversion efficiency of the combined backward wave also increases.


In 1901, the Arizona Territorial Legislature codified territorial law that illegalized advertising, causing, or performing abortions anywhere in Arizona. The 1901 code, in conjunction with the federal Comstock Act, regulated the advertisement and accessibility of abortion [3] services and contraceptives in Arizona. The Federal Comstock Act of 1873 [4] had illegalized the distribution of material on contraceptives and abortions through the US Postal Services by labeling contraceptive and abortive material as obscene. After the passage of that federal law, many states and territories, including Arizona, enacted or codified state or territory-level antiobscenity laws to augment the federal law's effects. Those laws became called Comstock laws, and Arizona's 1901 laws was its Comstock law. The Arizona Comstock law hindered Arizona women's access to abortion [3] services until the mid twentieth century, when state and federal court decisions dismantled Comstock laws nationwide.


Individual practice needs to be developed to improve effectiveness, safety and patient experience. Although good systems can support better individual performance, without personal development, individual practice can be a source of error. This, the final article in our series on the science of quality improvement, describes models of competence and practice and the causes of good or poor practice. We show how quality improvement techniques can be used to improve individual practice and how this can be incorporated into the appraisal process for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.


Vitrification of embryos is a routine procedure in IVF (in vitro fertilization) laboratories. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of vitrification on mouse preimplantation embryo development in vitro, and effect on the epigenetic status of imprinted gene Grb10 in mouse embryos. The blastocyst formation rate for vitrified 8-cell embryos was similar to the non-vitrified 8-cell embryos, whereas the blastocyst hatching rate was lower than that of the non-vitrified group. The expression level of Grb10 major-type transcript decreased significantly in vitrified blastocysts compared with non-vitrified and in vivo blastocysts. Moreover, the global DNA methylation level in 8-cell embryos and blastocysts, and the DNA methylation at CpG island 1 (CGI1) of Grb10 in blastocysts were also significantly decreased after vitrification. In vitro culture condition had no adverse effect, except for on the DNA methylation in Grb10 CGI1. These results suggest that vitrification may reduce the in vitro development of mouse 8-cell embryos and affect the expression and DNA methylation of imprinted gene Grb10.


Objectives We sought to identify the prevalence, commonest causes, and severity of home accident injuries and their effects on children who present to the emergency department (ED) of a university-tertiary hospital in Oman. Methods We conducted a retrospective study among children aged ≤ 18 years old who presented with home accidents to the ED between January and June 2017. A checklist for data collection was designed to include demographic data, causes and effects of home accidents, and treatment outcomes. The data was retrieved from the hospital electronic patient records. Results A total of 1333 children presented to the ED over six months as a result of unintentional home accidents, giving a prevalence of 7.7% from all children who visited the ED. There was a significant male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The most prevalent causes for home accidents were 'falls' in 716 (53.7%) children, followed by 'struck by/against-animate/inanimate mechanical force' in 201 (15.1%) children. 'Poisoning' was the third major cause in 117 (8.8%) children. Severity scale showed that around 36.0% of children suffered from severe injuries and 5.4% were admitted to the hospital. Conclusions Despite this study being a single-center study in Oman, it indicates a high prevalence and severity of unintentional home accidents among children. The study findings suggest the need for implementing strategies to raise public awareness of child safety at home and to improve the preparedness of healthcare providers in ED to deal with such accidents.


In this thesis, different modelling techniques, including physically based molecular
dynamics simulations and empirical models using neural network architectures have
been used to address particular problems in the understanding of microstructural
development in iron-based systems. The two main areas of investigation are concerned
with the prediction of composition and mechanical properties of steel welds
and the effect of irradiation on the grain boundary microstructure of a-iron, both
very important industrial issues.
Microstructural evolution models in steel welds require weld metal composition as
their starting point. Extensive analyses have been carried out concerned particularly
with the prediction of weld metal chemistry, and also complex mechanical properties
such as toughness, using neural network techniques and a database developed for
one pass per side submerged arc welds typical of those used in the manufacture of
linepipe. The neural network techniques used were based on a Bayesian framework,
implemented using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The results showed a significant
advantage in the use of neural network models for prediction of toughness
compared with simpler regression analyses.
In order to study the effects of irradiation on the structure of Fe-based systems,
a molecular dynamics methodology was initially set up to study the equilibrium
relaxed atomic configuration of symmetric tilt and twist grain boundaries in a-iron.
These structures have been classified in terms of both the energy and width of the
grain boundary region and the atomic arrangement has been also analysed for the tilt
models in terms of structuraJ units. Radiation damage has then been studied near the
relaxed structures of a symmetrical tilt and a symmetrical twist boundary in a-iron.
Collision cascades have been initiated.inthe structure by imparting an initial energy
of 1 keY to a single Fe atom, i.e. a primary knock-on atom (PKA). The subsequent
interaction of the cascade with the grain boundary has been studied using molecular
dynamics simulations. As a result of radiation, reordering is produced in the atomic
structure of the boundaries, the damage being more pronounced in the twist model
studied. Clusters of interstitial atoms are produced at the boundary. Changes in the
properties of the interfaces after irradiation are discussed.


Abstract This article provides a survey of the economic literature on investment behaviour and capacity adjustment in fisheries. An overview of the existing theoretical and the empirical work is provided, and areas that require more work are pointed out. The survey shows that while a large body of theoretical work has been developed on the issue of capital adjustment in fisheries, relatively less attention has been granted to the theory of investment, where this becomes a separate decision to the decision about capital levels; i.e., where capital is quasi-malleable. In addition, empirical studies have been fairly limited, and more work is still needed to analyse and further investigate these issues in practical situations. There is particularly a need for more empirical studies of investment behaviour and drivers of investment behaviour at the firm level based on adequate economic data. JEL Classification Code: Q22


In the Congenital Heart Program at San Diego Children's Hospital, alterations in medical practice have reduced costs without impairing quality or access. catheterization was done in 483 consecutive elective patients without overnight hospital stay. Hospital readmission was required in one patient for psoas tendinitis. Avoiding overnight hospital stay minimized attendant risks of hospital care, lessened psychosocial trauma and reduced the average hospital bill by $493 (29%). Hospital stay was also reduced for elective surgical correction of congenital heart disease on a case-by-case basis. Review of 151 consecutive cases (1978 through 1982) showed a decrease in both preoperative days in hospital and postoperative days in an intensive care unit. The duration of the postoperative stay was shortened from 6.8 days in 1978-1979 to 4.4 days in 1982 (P <.05). No increase in morbidity and no mortality resulted from the shortened perioperative hospital stay. Financial savings from this process averaged $991 per procedure. Diagnostic tests were reassessed and many precatheterization laboratory tests were eliminated. Without change in new patients seen or surgical volume, the use of cardiac catheterization decreased from 241 procedures in 1981 to 161 in 1982 and the number of operations without catheterization increased (11 to 22, 1981 to 1982). No increase in surgical morbidity or mortality was found comparing those diagnosed only by echocardiography with those who had preoperative cardiac catheterization. The decrease of 80 catheterizations in one year resulted in a savings of $188,800. True cost containment (reducing cost without reducing quality) can be accomplished in congenital heart programs. Similar cost containments in other disciplines may also be achieved.


Objective: To test the following hypothesis in the assessment of head injury patients: only patients with 5 min or more of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) are at risk of acute olfactory dysfunction (OD). Methods: This was a retrospective comparative study of olfactory status in head injury patients seen at a head injury clinic at Glasgow Royal Infirmary from 1985 to 2003. Of 828 clinic attenders, 101 had acute OD. These subjects were compared with a randomly selected control group of 102 patients with head injury but normal olfactory function. The main outcome measure was a significant likelihood of patients with PTA lasting for 5 or more minutes having acute OD compared with those with PTA of less than 5 min. Results: The likelihood of patients with a PTA of 5 min or more having acute OD compared to those with PTA of less than 5 min is clinically significant with an odds ratio of 9.6 (p<0.01). Conclusion: Examination of patients with 5 min or more of PTA should include a simple test of sense of smell. Patients with impaired smell sensation should be aware of their condition prior to discharge from hospital. In addition, the need for a CT brain scan and appropriate follow up should be considered.


The Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI), a precursor to the future Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols satellite instrument, is a remote-sensing instrument for the characterization of atmospheric aerosols and clouds. To help discriminate between different aerosol particle types, which is crucial to improve our understanding of their impact on climate and air quality, AirMSPI acquires imagery over multiple view angles in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared, and it employs dual photoelastic modulators (PEMs) to target an uncertainty requirement of ±0.005 in the degree of linear polarization (DoLP) at selected wavelengths. Laboratory polarimetric calibrations using a second-generation Polarization State Generator-2 (PSG-2) and validation measurements at 0<DoLP<1 demonstrate a systematic uncertainty of <0.002. In-flight calibrations of the temperature sensitivity of the PEMs, which could otherwise introduce DoLP errors up to 0.02, are extracted from onboard "validator" measurements as well as from the AirMSPI imagery of the Earth. After this in-flight calibration, the stability of measurements of the validator's DoLP throughout the POlarimeter Definition EXperiment and Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys field campaigns is ±0.001. Comparisons of DoLP data from these campaigns with the Research Scanning Polarimeter show root-mean-square differences ranging between 0.003 and 0.006, while the regression slopes deviate from unity by currently unexplained values up to 0.024. The observed differences are the result of measurement errors in both instruments, as well as imperfections in the intercomparison. A complete polarimetric uncertainty model for AirMSPI is presented, including the effects of absolute calibration uncertainty, in-flight modulation uncertainty, and random noise.


Scena. We are experiencing an explosion of recording (Ferraris 2015), which generates a proliferation of ontological and epistemological dimensions. For instance, our life here and now and our life in the datasphere (what we buy, when and why we were at the hospital, when we travel and with whom, etc.) today constitute two parallel dimensions intersecting and reciprocally defining each other (Floridi 2014). There is one Dr. AC buying milk, standing in front of a supermarket fridge on that date in that place, and there is one Dr. AC inhabiting the web through her publications, her visiting fellowships, and in the organisation of events, plus there is a patient, a mother, a daughter, etc. (the list made by John Searle is usually pretty long and contains all the functions we can have in the social world): the more that is recorded, the more can be traced back, and the more what we appear to be depends on how easily a datum can be found, iterated, re-interpreted. Technology, more than ever, is permanently producing and filling in a universal almost infinite archive, where information, transactions, communications (emails, telephone conversations, chats), intentions, mistakes and various other forms of human existence and traceability are contained. This journal article is available in Law Text Culture: https://ro.uow.edu.au/ltc/vol22/iss1/2 5 Law Text Culture Vol 22 2018 00 For the Record


On the basis of the relation between force and deformation when the plastic deformation of soil mass is studied, nonlinear vibration roller model is built. Based on one type vibratory rollers select the system parameters and calculate the natural frequency. And according to the selected numerical value proceed the numerical simulation with different excitation force frequencies. Meanwhile, obtain and analyze the experimental data according to the vibratory roller experiment. Then the system response characteristic of nonlinear vibration roller is obtained, and the availability of system model is checked. All above provide the valuable theoretical basis for the research of vibrating compacting.


In this paper I explore the concept of the 'lost river' and the implications this term has for our understanding of the history of changing urban environments. In taking a voyage down one of the London 2012 Olympic Park's now-filled waterways, the Pudding Mill River, charting it and its surrounding area's diverse history, I explore how rivers end up becoming 'losable'. Drawing on diverse methodologies from archaeology and geography and with a particular emphasis on mapping, I argue that a literal and metaphorical exploration of such a rapidly changing environment reveals a multitude of buried narratives and fluid histories. This research suggests that the labeling of a river as 'lost' is not a politically neutral act and that, with its romantic connotations, the term may actually serve to legitimize insensitive and contentious changes to our environment.


In commercial growth of horticultural plants in greenhouses, high financial losses are being suffered due to the so-called thick root syndrome (TRS), a phenomenon characterized by severe deterioration of the root system. The early symptoms of TRS in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) are strongly curving roots that are swollen and superficially damaged. Research focused on ethylene, as both the culture practice of cucumber and the known effects of ethylene on root growth point to a possible role for this phytohormone in TRS. Ethylene induced root curvature and swelling as well as damage of the epidermal layer and outer cortex of roots of cucumber plants similar to TRS symptoms. Formation of root hairs was stimulated and root elongation was also severely inhibited by exogenous ethylene. However, based on experiments with the ethylene inhibitor α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), a causal relation between ethylene and TRS in cucumber is doubted.


In view of the enormous expansion of English-taught programs at European universities over the last 10 years, it is imperative that appropriate tools for predicting student performance should be validated, and apposite cut-off scores established for different subject areas. In this context, listening skills are particularly important, since the traditional form of instruction through lectures tends to predominate. This study investigated the issue of student listening skills from a variety of perspectives. Groups of students enrolled on bilingual programs in Humanities, Law and Medicine took an IELTS Listening Test at the beginning of their first semester. Questionnaires on student listening ability and coping skills and strategies were developed, and these were administered to the students at the end of the semester. Qualitative interviews were also carried out with a sample of students in each faculty, and the results of these were analysed to provide a more detailed picture of the way that students face the challenge of taking academically demanding courses in English. Finally, statistical tests were performed to explore the relationship between students' numerical IELTS Listening scores and their final course grades, on the one hand, and their IELTS band scores and their self-report data, on the other. Small positive correlations were detected between students' numerical listening scores and their final grades in the courses that were taught in English. Moderate to large correlations were found between the IELTS Listening band scores and self-report data obtained from the questionnaires. In parallel to this process, a modified Angoff procedure was performed with eight experienced teachers of English for Academic Purposes. A consensus cut-off score of 23 was obtained, which was consistent with the general practice of requiring a minimum band score of 6 at universities in English-speaking countries. Nonetheless, when the final course grades of students who had obtained 6 or more were compared with those of students who had obtained Band 5 or less, it was established that Listening scores less than Band 6 were not predictive of academic failure. The report concludes with a recommendation that the ideal cut-off score for Law, Medicine and Humanities should be Band 6, but that this may not prove feasible under current circumstances. Instead, it is suggested that students with band scores below 6 should be informed that the course will require them to invest more time than for an equivalent course in their native language, and that they should be offered language support.


IMPORTANCE
Melanocytic neoplasms with prominent pigment synthesis mimicking equine melanoma represent a rare variant of biologically indeterminate or low-grade malignant melanocytic tumors in which the molecular profile and exact histologic classification are not established. Tumors with these characteristics rarely occur as congenital lesions. We performed genomic analysis of a congenital pigment synthesizing melanocytic neoplasm with indeterminate biological potential.

OBSERVATIONS
The patient was a 5-month-old girl presenting with a 6-cm protuberant scalp mass, which had doubled in size since birth. Histologic examination showed heavily pigmented intradermal proliferation of large, epithelioid melanocytes with mild cytologic atypia, low mitotic activity, focal necrosis, and ulceration. RNA sequencing identified a novel ATPase, Ca2+ transporting, plasma membrane 4(ATP2B4)-protein kinase C-alpha (PRKCA) fusion transcript. The fusion resulted in an in-frame linkage of the PRKCA catalytic domain with the N-terminal of ATP2B4 and high expression of the PRKCA kinase domain. Break-apart fluorescence in situ hybridization showed PRKCA rearrangement, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of the fusion transcript. The patient was alive and well, with no evidence of recurrence, at the 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
To our knowledge, this is the first report of PRKCA fusions in melanocytic neoplasms. Future studies need to determine the frequency of PRKCA fusions in pigment-synthesizing melanocytic neoplasms.


Abstract A real-time ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) antenna matching system has been successfully implemented on Alcator C-Mod. A triple-stub tuning system working at 80 MHz is used, where one stub acts as a pre-matching stub and the other two stubs incorporate fast ferrite tuners (FFT) to realize fast tuning. It uses a computer based digital controller for feedback control (200 uS per iteration) using real-time antenna loading measurements as inputs and the coil currents to the FFT magnets as outputs. The system has obtained and maintained matching for a large range of plasma parameters, including L-mode, H-mode, and plasmas with edge localized modes, and up to 1.8 MW net RF power into H-mode plasma. The RF power loss in the system has been found to be insignificant when the voltage in the system is below 30 kV. Achieving this level of performance involved several engineering challenges. The ferrite tuners available had to be used in their received configuration and their implementation would accommodate the existing characteristics of the tuners. A suitable range of load matching, operational speed, component protection and thermal management were factors that had to be balanced against tuner characteristics, system complexity and cost containment. The FFTs are permanently operational on Alcator C-Mod.


This work presents a one-of-a-kind historical data set on Berlin, Germany, from 1875 to 1936, in order to empirically test theoretical implications derived from a general Urban Economics framework in a historical context. A high level of spatial disaggregation of the data allows for assessing the role of rail-based public infrastructure in the generation of effective market access, and property prices within a rapidly growing and very dynamic urban area. It furthermore analyses the transport network's influence on urban decentralization and changing spatial patterns of economic activity. The development of a multi-level centrality indicator provides the opportunity to assess the contribution of generated market access to the emergence of gradually dispersed commercial activity and sub-centers. While working with both cross-sectional and time-difference estimates, the variation in transport technology serves to test for a gradual change in accessibility and hence the marginal effects of reduced transport costs and increased proximity to stations on historical land values, which are presented at block level. While endogenously determining the moving center of gravity (CBD) over time, it additionally features the observation of both land gradients and travel time gradients in order to test for variation in the city structure until a possible break-up of the historically evolved monocentric equilibrium. Results suggest that centrality generated by the public railway system had a major influence on (re-)location decisions for firms within a growing and decentralizing urban area, which permanently changed the urban patterns. While both a reduction in distance to a station and a reduction of transport costs to the CBD led to a significant premium paid for commercially used plots, which basically supports tendencies towards a rather polycentric structure, the evolution of land gradients in combination with travel time gradients indicates that the monocentric city model still fitted Berlin's structure until the mid-20th century.


The objective of this work is to determine reactivity ratios of the poly(α-methylstyrene-co-butadiene) polymerization in cesium-based catalyst system. These values can be used to describe the characteristic incorporation order of the monomers into the polymer chain and model the chain microstructure. The anionic solution polymerization of α-methylstyrene and 1,3-butadiene was polymerized at 10°C with different feed ratios in the presence of Cesium alkoxide, dialkyl magnesium, and chelating diamine. The reactivity ratio for butadiene at 50/50 wt% (35/65 molar ratio) α-methylstyrene/butadiene calculated as approximately 1.50, while that for α-methylstyrene calculated by both the integrated and differential methods were the values of 0.40 and -0.1. This would indicate that copolymer composition equation need to be modified to include propagation-depropagation equilibrium phenomenon.


Mathematics is a far reaching discipline and its tools appear in many applications. In this paper we discuss its role in music and signal processing by revisiting the use of mathematics in algorithms that can extract chord information from recorded music. We begin with a light introduction to the theory of music and motivate the use of Fourier analysis in audio processing. We introduce the discrete and continuous Fourier transforms and investigate their use in extracting important information from audio data.