Studies related to cavitation inception process in separated flows are reported. Experimental observations of bubble appearance in grooves with laminar or turbulent boundary layer over them have clearly shown that gaseous diffusion process is significantly enhanced in turbulent flow. This process can lead to local nuclei size modification in environment similar to that of flow over a groove, like laminar separation "bubbles." Cavitation inception modeling including this aspect is carried out for predicting inception conditions associated with "bubble-ring" cavitation commonly observed on hemispherically nosed axisymmetric body. Qualitative dependence of predicted inception numbers with velocity is found to agree very well with experimental observations of Carroll (1981).


We present a family of simulation models of agents with energy from social interactions. We take the concept of "energy" from social network analysts Cross & Parker, from Collins's micro-sociology of interaction rituals, and from the social psychologists Ryan & Deci's studies on intrinsic motivation. We use simulation models as "tools for thinking" about what energy is, and how it relates to the take up of ideas, the formation of cultural groups and the performance of work. Our models also provide insight into phenomena from studies of "communities of practice", social capital and computer models of networks. Baker & Quinn have also developed simulations of agents with energy, and so we offer a critique of those. We develop our models as extensions of the Axelrod Cultural Model. Our family of energy models include those that ascribe "emotional energy" variously to individual agents, to agents' individual attributes, and to agents' memories of interactions rituals. Agents obtain energy payoffs from interactions based variously on their sense of autonomy, belongingness and competence. We compare the behaviour of each model and choice of payoff function through experiments to test claims derived from Cross & Parker: namely that "energisers" cause greater take up of their ideas, cause larger cultural groups to form around them, and raise the problem-solving performance of the agent population. We demonstrate this first claim for several model scenarios, but fail to find scenarios where the second two hold. We then conduct experiments to relate the capabilities of energisers to tasks of: disseminating ideas to otherwise homogeneous groups, and; spanning boundaries across cultural divides between groups. In all experiments we find two factors play critical roles in determining the diffusion and homogenisation of culture: the decay of energy charges on memories, and; the initial number of cultural traits in the population.


Background: Deep-vein reflux has been a major cause for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Secondary reflux due to obstructive lesions has been treated with conservative methods. The advent of dedicated venous stent and intravascular ultrasound has renewed interest in the correction of obstructive component in CVI pathophysiology. We have followed a protocol-based approach for identifying the patients who would probably be benefitted with iliac vein stenting. Materials and Methods: Of the 156 patients who have presented to our institution over a 3-year period (2015–2018) with chronic venous insufficiency, based on the inclusion criteria, 31 patients were included with a probable diagnosis of deep-vein reflux due to obstructive iliac vein lesion. All these patients were subjected to duplex study initially and all had deep-vein reflux. Twenty-three patients had presented with superficial vein reflux. Magnetic resonance (MR) venogram was performed in all patients prior to proceeding with digital subtraction venography. Iliac vein stenting was performed in seven patients using wall stent. All patients had lesion on the left side with lesion ranging from 4 to 12 cm. Results: Seven patients who had iliac stenting had significant improvement in symptoms. Three patients had superficial venous ablative procedure done after 3 months combined with foam sclerotherapy. There were no procedure-related complications. Six-month follow-up study revealed one recurrent ulceration with bleeding superficial varices. Stent patency at 1-month follow-up was 100%. Symptomatic relief was achieved in all patients. Conclusion: Iliac vein stenting is effective in controlling CVI symptoms in selected patients. Those patients with potentially correctable lesions were identified with the application of duplex criteria for initial screening. Clinical examination and duplex criteria had equivalent predictive value compared to MR study. Symptom relief was achieved in all patients after iliac stenting. Those presenting with recurrence had adjunctive procedures with optimal results.


The gimmicks have ranged from golf balls covered with pink ribbons to designer nightshirts, but the message is deadly serious. This is international breast cancer awareness month, and one in twelve women in Britain will develop the disease. While almost every disorder from dyslexia to constipation has awareness weeks, none, with the exception of AIDS, has captured the media so successfully as breast cancer.

This month, in over 40 countries and particularly in Britain and the United States, breast cancer has been publicised in television documentaries, in women's magazines, and on the health pages of newspapers. The Independent had an eight page supplement produced jointly with the Health Education Authority. The Breast Cancer Campaign, one of at least six charities dealing with breast cancer in Britain, has put information pages on the Internet. Manufacturing industry has offered enthusiastic support. Estee Lauder is giving away pink ribbons, the symbol of breast cancer awareness, at their cosmetic counters, as well as leaflets on self examination; Wonderbra, symbol of …


ABSTRACT A mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase gene, PMK1, is known to regulate appressorium formation and infectious hyphal growth in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. In this study, we constructed a green fluorescent protein gene-PMK1 fusion (GFP-PMK1) to examine the expression and localization of PMK1 in M. grisea during infection-related morphogenesis. The GFP-PMK1 fusion encoded a functional protein that complemented the defect of the pmk1 deletion mutant in appressorium formation and plant infection. Although a weak GFP signal was detectable in vegetative hyphae, conidia, and germ tubes, the expression of GFP-Pmk1 was increased in appressoria and developing conidia. Nuclear localization of GFP-Pmk1 proteins was observed in a certain percentage of appressoria. A kinase-inactive allele and a nonphosphorylatable allele of PMK1 were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis. Expression of these mutant PMK1 alleles did not complement the pmk1 deletion mutant. These data confirm that kinase activity and activation of PMK1 by the upstream MAP kinase kinase are required for appressorium formation and plant infection in M. grisea. When overexpressed with the RP27 promoter in the wild-type strain, both the kinase-inactive and nonphosphorylatable PMK1 fusion proteins caused abnormal germ tube branching. Overexpression of these PMK1 mutant alleles may interfere with the function of native PMK1 during appressorium formation.


Urbanization is a worldwide historical process that is related to the deep transformation of the existing cities and settlements. This process is based on the development of the industry, transport, housing, construction, as well as the spread of the urban way of living. Among the negative factors of urbanization, the following ones can be outlined: an active increase in environmental pollution by means of industrial emissions and waste, the lag of technological and sanitary welfare, as well as engineering communications, utilities and services from the housing stock growth, increase in level of city noise. Apart from the ever-increasing pollution levels of air, water and soil, an increased sociability aspect common for the urban community takes place. On the one hand, this characteristic brings positive influence and facilitates into the formation of a more balanced and stable nervous system of a younger generation, an improved mental fitness and the support of a professional and constructive tone. On the other hand, however, when processing an increased amount of information, a nervous system of a person is not able to recreate the previous operating state, when the level of adaptability was higher. This causes for a new dynamic stereotype to be formed, which in certain cases can lead to a disruption that can be found in neurosis and neurotic states. Despite the constantly accelerating pace of life, observed among urban residents, however paradoxical, a presence of hypodynamy can be distinguished, which influences the formation of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this publication is to develop a mathematical model of a new hybrid technology in the form of a modular autonomous house "Urbanrelax", which serves for the removal of an emotional overload and stress of urban residents. The aim, therefore, is to develop a system that would be supplied solely by renewable energy sources. Design of engineering communication and supply systems (including lighting, ventilation, light and music background, etc.) will be taken into account. As an outcome, a model of a complex system is planned based on the synergy of various science sectors such as energy, medicine, music, economy, etc., as well as smart grid technologies.


The objective of this paper is to demonstrate through a practical example how an end-user should deal with functional safety while designing a safety instrumented function and implementing it in a safety instrumented system. The paper starts with explaining the problems that exist inherently in safety systems. After understanding the problems the paper takes the reader from the verbal description of a safety function through the design of the architecture, the process for the selection of safety components, and the role of reliability analysis. After reading this paper the end-users understands the practical process for implementing the design of safety instrumented systems without going into detail of the requirements of the standard.


Evaluating user experience in wireless communication systems is, especially for operators, an important issue and ongoing research topic. In contrast to most of the literature, where the main focus is on network capacity evaluations using full-buffer traffic assumptions, we focus on more realistic traffic models to evaluate impacts of different network deployment strategies. We define three different service classes each having its own requirements regarding user experience. Goal of the presented approach is to recreate aggregated data volumes and active times by flexible service combinations. In this paper a traffic modeling methodology is presented and used, in order to assess the impact of increasing user data demand in conjunction with available wireless spectrum extensions, on the user experience and the average cell load in 4G (Long Term Evolution, LTE) networks. Results show non-linear impact of the investigated parameters, which highlights the need of realistic traffic model simulations for the evaluation of user experience improvement strategies.


The significance and extent of band-tail states in the luminescence and dosimetry properties of natural aluminosilicates (feldspars) is investigated by means of studies using low temperature (10 K) irradiation and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) stimulation spectroscopy, and thermoluminescence (TL) in the range 10–200 K, made in comparison with high temperature (300 K) irradiation and photo-transferred OSL and TL investigations undertaken at low temperature. These measurements allow mappings of the band-tails to be made; they are found to be ∼0.4 eV in extent in the typical materials studied. Furthermore, by populating charge trapping centres at high temperature (300 K) and monitoring the OSL stimulation spectra at temperatures in the range 10–300 K, clear evidence is presented for the presence of both thermally activated and non-thermally activated OSL processes; it is argued that the former result from thermally activated hopping through the band-tail states, whilst the latter are due to tunnelling processes, either from the excited state of the OSL centres or through the tail states. The spectral measurements are supported by analysis of the temporal dependence of the OSL signals, which correspond to either tunnelling or general order kinetic decay processes.


With the development of monitoring technology, increasing attention has been paid to condition-based maintenance (CBM). Also, if condition information for maintenance can be obtained with fewer inspections, the cost of the entire maintenance process could be reduced. However, in application, the monitoring equipment cannot maintain always a reliable operating state, for example, due to various uncertain factors, such as sensor errors, component tolerances, and environment disturbances, the inspections from the sensors are often unreliable. Motivated by these simple observations, we propose a nonperiodic CBM policy under unreliable inspections. The time interval of the nonperiodic inspections is obtained via an inspection scheduling function. The unknown parameters of the component degradation process are updated by GD, while simultaneously the maintenance decision variables are adjusted. A catastrophe strategy-based particle swarm optimization is used to set the optimal decision variables by minimizing the long-run cost rate. Application to laser degradation data illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.


This paper will argue that design capability is one of the most significant capacities of the human mind and is therefore essential for young people's education. Underlying this assertion is the belief that design capability distinguishes technology from technicity (procedural knowledge in a technical context). Extrapolating Ryle's (1949) ontology to technology education, the author has previously asserted that Know that ) Know relevance ) )-----a Strategy knowledge Know how ) inserting know relevance into Ryle's two-fold distinction. Additionally, the role of the inner eye is central to design: seeing in (Wollheim, 1987) and seeing as (Wittgenstein, 1989). The recognition of the use of extrapolation, simile, metonym and metaphor transforms Ryle's distinction between declarative and procedural knowledge into something much more powerful for thinking about design processes. In a technological context, it represents the transformation of an initial perception of possibility into an innovative product, process or system. This theoretical understanding grew from the author's doctoral research into young children's use of drawing as a tool for designing, part of which involved a 2-year longitudinal study in which the purpose of using drawing for designing was explained to a class of 6-7 year olds using the dual metaphor of drawing as both a container and a journey. This metaphor enabled them to understand the potential and purpose of using drawing to support the generation and development of design ideas. Not only were these young children able to use drawing in a much more powerful way than previously observed in children of this age, but the products and design solutions that they produced were more creative and effective. Within education, as in the real world, the ability to transfer and apply knowledge from one area to another is highly valued. Within technological design, an effective solution frequently requires the ability to extrapolate, to use metonyms and metaphors from other realms of experience and expertise. The success of the container / journey metaphor depended on this capacity. The transformational capability of the human mind, to see things from multiple perspectives and to take leaps of imagination stems, this author believes, from our love of story. Essentially, I told the children a good story. To apply narrative to the use of science to engineer a solution is, I believe, a uniquely human capability and empowering children to do so may be imperative for all our futures.


Mating behavior in Drosophila depends critically on the sexual identity of specific regions in the brain, but several studies have identified courtship genes that express products only outside the nervous system. Although these genes are each active in a variety of non-neuronal cell types, they are all prominently expressed in the adult fat body, suggesting an important role for this tissue in behavior. To test its role in male courtship, fat body was feminized using the highly specific Larval serum protein promoter. We report here that the specific feminization of this tissue strongly reduces the competence of males to perform courtship. This effect is limited to the fat body of sexually mature adults as the feminization of larval fat body that normally persists in young adults does not affect mating. We propose that feminization of fat body affects the synthesis of male-specific secreted circulating proteins that influence the central nervous system. In support of this idea, we demonstrate that Takeout, a protein known to influence mating, is present in the hemolymph of adult males but not females and acts as a secreted protein.


White Lies - Estelle Thompson is an exhibition and a text. As an exhibition it is a partial survey of works produced by acclaimed British artist Estelle Thompson over the last 17 years. It brings together works on linen, aluminium, panel, and paper, and draws together central strands of her practice and lasting and recurrent obsessions within it. It draws from the wealth and richness of Thompson's work, from chromatic monochromes, spatial block paintings, vertical stripe fuse paintings, geometrically divided and subdivided paintings, and cut paper collages. These final works, Thompson's collages, some reduced to the size of postage stamps, have been a consistent part of her studio practice for over 10 years and are being shown publically for the first time.


In the field of scene recognition using only one type of visual feature is not powerful enough to discriminate scene categories. In this paper we propose an innovative method to integrate global and local feature space into a map function based on a novel distance function. A subset of train images denoted as exemplar-set are selected. The local and global distances are defined according to the images in the exemplar-set. Distances are defined such that they indicate the contribution of different semantic aspects and global information in each scene category. An empirical study has been performed on the 15-Scene dataset in order to demonstrate the impact of appropriately incorporating both local and global information for the purpose of scene recognition. The experiments show, our model achieved state-of-the-art accuracy of 87.47.


The problem of combined bending and torsion of cantilever plates of variable thickness, such as might be considered for solid thin high-speed airplane or missile wings, is considered in this paper. The deflections of the plate are assumed to vary linearly across the chord; minimization of the potential energy by means of the calculus of variations then leads to two ordinary linear differential equations for the bending deflections and the twist of the plate. Because the cantilever is analyzed as a plate rather than as a beam, the effect of constraint against axial warping in torsion is inherently included. The application of this method to specific problems involving static deflection, vibration, and buckling of cantilever plates is presented. In the static-deflection problems, taper and sweep are considered.


The scope of this deliverable is to present the approach adopted by the PREATY project (PRoposing modern E-assessment Approaches and Tools to Young and experienced in-service teachers) in Workpackage 3, and to report the main results of the teacher training activities as well as the school pilot cases studies carried out.
This deliverable will be structured in three main parts. Part I will provide an overview of the organization of training seminars organized in each country. Part II will be focused on the pilot case studies that will happen in each country and the lessons learned. Part III will contain the global results.


High resolution velocity map ion imaging methods have been used to explore the photofragmentation dynamics of state-selected BrCl+(X2ΠΩ, v=0) cations following excitation in the wavelength range 370–420 nm. The parent ions are formed by 2 + 1 resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) via the [2Π1/2]5sσ, v=0 Rydberg level. Experimental measurables include the wavelength dependent branching ratios and recoil anisotropies of the various Br+(3 P J )  + Cl(2 P J ) product channels. Ground state Br+(3 P 2) fragments dominate the fragment ion yield throughout the photolysis wavelength range investigated, with spin–orbit excited Cl(2 P 1/2) atoms the preferred co-fragment whenever energetically allowed. All fragmentation channels show a predominantly parallel recoil anisotropy, consistent with an initial A2Π ← X2Π (ΔΩ=0) excitation in the parent cation, but the best-fit description of the fragment angular distributions requires use of higher terms in the Legendre expansion than is traditionally the case for a one-photon dissociation process. The additional angular modulation is rationalised by recognizing that the REMPI preparation laser induces unwanted (but unavoidable) parent ion fragmentation, leaving a spatially aligned distribution of ions for the intended photolysis study. Interpretation of the measured product branching ratios and recoil anisotropies is guided by complementary ab initio calculations of spin–orbit free potential energy curves for many of the lower lying electronic states of BrCl+ and subsequent semi-empirical inclusion of spin–orbit effects. The adiabatic potentials so derived exhibit a plethora of avoided crossings. Preliminary wavepacket propagations following excitation to the A2Π state show rapid flux redistribution to adiabatic potentials that correlate with the lower dissociation asymptotes, but are unable to reproduce the details of the experimentally determined product branching ratios.


The paper develops a foundational model of the decentralized allocation of subsidies through competitive grantmaking. Casting the problem in a simple supply and demand framework, we characterize the level of applications and acceptance standard that result in equilibrium. The equilibrium success rate (grants over applications) decreases in the budget, consistent with some recent evidence, if and only if the distribution of types has decreasing hazard rate. In all stable equilibria resulting when funds are allocated across fields proportionally to applications--as well as under apportionment rules in a general class characterized in the paper--an increase in noise in the evaluation in a field perversely raises applications in that field and reduces applications in all the other fields. We characterize how the design of allocation rules can be modified to improve welfare.


Fruit flies are the major insect pests of fruit and vegetable production, worldwide. In developing countries, fruit crop losses are so large that they contribute significantly to reduced household food security, poor human nutrition and poverty. In addition to the direct crop losses, many countries lose export trade opportunities if they have major pest fruit fly species, while others spend considerable sums on quarantine detection and eradication procedures in order to remain free of fruit fly. Indeed, fruit flies rate with some of the major animal diseases in terms of economic losses and quarantine problems.


The Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) program is an injury prevention program set up in 2011 at a Level-1 trauma center in Germany. Its objective is the prevention of road traffic accidents among young road users. Our goal is to enable adolescents to recognize risks and to improve life-changing behavior to reduce the severity of injury and the number of killed young road users. Since 2011, a standardized program was set up. It is designed as a 1-day interactive course showing the workaday life of a trauma unit and to provide information about potential physical and psychological impact that result from traumatic injury. Besides showing young road users the way of trauma management using an in-vivo setting, the PARTY program is supported by former trauma patients, the police and paramedics who talk about their daily life. At present, the program is set up in 18 locations and was done more than 200 times in Trauma hospitals across Germany. To obtain a certain standard, Instructors are getting educated to set up the program across the nation. A first systematic evaluation was made between 2011 and 2013 including 219 young road users. The results were analyzed to find out whether it is possible to implement the program and the impressions gained by the participants of the program in order to be able to make further adjustments. A national study designed as a complete survey evaluating efficiency and awareness concerning high-risk behavior of young road users is planned for 2016/2017. Based on the results of our first evaluation we are able to show a positive feedback with regard to the implementation and feasibility of the program. All participants reviewed the structure of the program with the help of school grades. 59% (n=129) of the participants rated the program as "very good" and 41% gave the rating of "good". Overall, 70% of all participants advocated that all people the same age should participate in the program. The structure was described as being well-balanced with respect to the theoretical and practical items. The P.A.R.T.Y. program is a standardized and well-established concept that can contribute to accident prevention in Germany. It provides the possibility to implement an accident awareness program throughout Germany. Initial results show that the program can be implemented in German hospitals. Further investigations are needed to proof efficiency and an alteration of awareness in young road users. Language: en


Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a
3-dimensional (3D), artificially simulated environment
which allows the user to immerse himself/herself in it.
From rehabilitation to data visualization, VR has been
found to have many profound applications over the past
decade or so. The addition of a suitable interface (e.g:
haptics) is necessary in order to improve the quality of
interaction with VR. Artificial Neural Network (ANN),
a learning algorithm [i.e., a mathematical representation
of any form of biological activity], which is one of the
most widely adopted algorithms, is used for maintaining
the properties of virtual reality (i.e., Immersivity and Interactivity).
The primary objective of this review is to
explore the limitless possibilities through the integration
of ANN and VR. In addition to this, it also highlights the
fact that an incumbent association of VR and ANN can
lead to the construction of a highly interactive and immersive
module in virtual reality.


Trinocular active devices have the advantage of freedom from mechanical scanning and rapid image capture compared with more conventional active designs based on scanning laser stripes. Their efficient operation relies, however, on a good solution to the correspondence problem. This requires careful geometric design to take account of epipolar geometry and thorough modeling of image-measurement error. A design that, involves setting up the projector-camera geometry to be degenerate-so that depth computation is ill-conditioned-and then backing off a little is presented. This is called near-degenerate epipolar alignment. The result is that unambiguous stereo matching can, in principle, be guaranteed within a given working volume. This is in marked contrast with passive stereo in which ambiguity cannot be guaranteed, merely minimized statistically. The principles have proved to work well in laboratory tests, achieving unambiguous operation over a working volume of a 50-mm cube with a depth resolution of around 0.2 mm. >


We analyzed the near-degenerate states of the firefly dioxetanone anion (FDO-) and its prototypes, especially in the biradical region, using multi-configurational approaches. The importance of utilizing full valence active spaces by means of density-matrix renormalization group self-consistent field (DMRG-SCF) calculations was described. Our results revealed that the neglect of some valence orbitals can affect the quantitative accuracy in later multi-reference calculations or the qualitative conclusion when optimizing conical intersections. Using all of the relevant valence orbitals of FDO-, we confirmed that there were two conical intersections, as reported in previous work, and that the intersecting states were changed when the active space was enlarged. Beyond these, we found that there were strong interactions between states in the biradical regions, in which the changes in entanglements can be used to visualize the interacting state evolution.


In the last decade there has been a proliferation of academic studies examining the links between social networking websites (SNSs) and citizens' political participation. Focusing on Facebook and on the specific contexts of Italy and the United Kingdom, this article adds to this strand of research and explores the limitations of this SNS as a political platform. The findings indicate three possible factors limiting the contributions of Facebook to political participation, namely, the non-universality of Facebook, its questionable credibility as a political information source and the enduring relevance of the offline dimension of political participation. In the light of these results, the article goes on to argue that the mobilizing force of Facebook rests, at least in part, on its connection with the offline world. Moreover, the research evidence underpinning this article suggests that the most effective way in which Facebook can aid political participation is, perhaps, by bridging the online–offline divide, integrating and supporting other media and offline activities.


Objectives: This work aims at formulating licorice as topical gel preparation and at exploring its antimicrobial efficacy against different types of microorganisms including two types of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.aerueginosa) and one type of yeast, Candida albicans (C.albicans). Materials and Method: Different gel formulas were prepared using two different types of gelling agent Carbopol 934 and HPMC (methocel E5) with different extract concentrations. All the prepared formulas were physically and chemically characterized, and the selected formula showed good appearance and consistency, spreadability, accepted pH and physiologically compatible to the skin. The selected formula was further characterized by studying the invitro antimicrobial activity. Result and Discussion : Results showed that licorice gel can be formulated successfully using Carbopol 934 as gelling agent and the selected formula exhibited good antimicrobial activity against (S.aureus) and (C.albicans), but it showed no antimicrobial activity against (P.aerueginosa). Consequently, the prepared topical gel of licorice could be considered as an efficient alternative to the common topical antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the results pointed out that the prepared licorice gel has good stability at room temperature with no significant difference (p≤0.05) after storing for four months. Conclusion: In this work a suitable candidate of new herbal antimicrobial topical gel formulation was proposed to enter into the market. Received 5.11.2020 Accepted 5.12.2020


Ribosome distribution in skeletal-muscle fibres was investigated immunohistochemically by using polyclonal antibodies raised against large-ribosomal-subunit proteins isolated from rat liver. Immunoblot analysis showed the antibodies to recognize five major proteins of the large subunit; these were identified as L4, L6, L7, L15 and L17 by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Immunohistochemistry of frozen rat skeletal-muscle sections showed staining of both the subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar cytoplasm. A distinct banding pattern was observed, and when peroxidase and phase-contrast images of the same field were compared by image analysis the anti-ribosome staining was found to correspond to the A-bands. These results suggest that a proportion of muscle ribosomes are present in the myofibrillar cytoplasm in a regular fashion, possibly associated with myosin. Densitometric analysis of the peroxidase immunostaining showed that the ratio of myofibrillar to sub-sarcolemmal ribosomal material was lower in muscle from 51-day-old rats compared with those from 14-day-old animals.


Hemocoagulation is a Ca(2+)-dependent process, and we suppose that other bivalent cations (BC) can also influence this system. The effects of some BC (Ca2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Co2+ and Ni2+) on thrombin-induced plasma clotting and clot lysis caused by streptokinase have been studied. All BC studied, except Fe2+, maintained the formation of fibrin clot followed by its lysis. In the presence of BC the coagulation part of the turbidimetry curve changed in a dose-dependen manner and was characterized by: (1) the decrease of the induction period which seems to be due to thrombin activation or accelerating fibrin self-association; (2) the elevation of the maximal optical density of the fibrin clot and the velocity of its achievement. The fibrinolytic part of the curve was characterized by the optical density downfall acceleration at low Co2+, Cd2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ concentrations but marked delay of the process at BC higher concentrations. So, ions of Co2+, Cd2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ but not Fe2+ significantly influence the dynamics of thrombin-induced clot formation and optical clot characteristics. At different ion concentrations BC may activate or inhibit fibrinolysis.


Background Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life threatening hyper inflammatory disease. Micro RNAs (miRNA) are about 22 nucleotide-long, small RNAs encoded with genes, and they have regulatory functions in immune response. Objective To determine the miRNA expression levels of 11 secondary HLH patients, we evaluated the associations of miRNA levels with pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and prognosis of the disease. Patients and Methods Patients who were diagnosed with secondary HLH from January 2011 to December 2012 were included in this study. We profiled the expressions of 379 miRNAs in plasma of both HLH patients and healthy controls. Patients were evaluated regarding with age, clinical findings, miRNA expresions, laboratory data, treatment, and prognosis, by using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 11 secondary HLH patients and 11 healthy children were included in this study. miR-205-5p was expressed in all case and controls and expression level of miR-205-5p was found 6.21 fold higher than control group (p=0.01). We detected the second highest expression percent in miR-194-5p with 81% of cases and controls. Expression level of miR-194-5p was found to have 163 fold higher than controls (p= 0.009). miR-30c-5p showed 77% expression percent in cases and controls together. The expression level of this miRNA was detected 9 fold decreased in HLH patients compared to healthy children (p= 0.031). Conclusion We showed that miR-205-5p, miR-194-5p and miR-30c-5p could be useful plasma biomarkers for HLH. Further research is needed in larger and homogenous study groups, especially for these miRNAs as biomarkers for HLH.


Contamination at surfaces and interfaces is known to cause lowered damage threshold in high power laser optical components; therefore, it is important to be able to identify and measure the amount of adsorbed species. A technique has been developed for detecting water and other adsorbed molecules on optical surfaces at incident intensities below the damage threshold. A pulsed laser is focused onto the optical surface of interest in a UHV chamber. The laser energy absorbed in the surface layer causes desorption of the contaminants. Detection and identification of the desorbed species are via a quadrupole mass analyzer. As water and other contaminants such as hydrocarbons are strong optical absorbers in the 2.8- to 3.8-μm wavelength region, an HF/DF laser was chosen for the initial investigation. H 2 O, OH, and other species have been observed from both coated and uncoated optical surfaces. Surface mapping of adsorbed H 2 O with a 121-μm focal spot shows considerable variation with spatial position. This effect may be associated with surface microcracks and other defects which may precipitate laser damage. Possible applications are characterization of laser optical components and laser cleaning of optical surfaces prior to film deposition.


Abstract. We present an experimental apparatus for 3-D thermo-mechanical analogue modeling of plate tectonic processes such as oceanic and continental subductions, arc-continent or continental collisions. The model lithosphere, made of temperature-sensitive elasto-plastic analogue materials with strain softening, is submitted to a constant temperature gradient causing a strength reduction with depth in each layer. The surface temperature is imposed using infrared emitters, which allows maintaining an unobstructed view of the model surface and the use of a high resolution optical strain monitoring technique (Particle Imaging Velocimetry). Subduction experiments illustrate how the stress conditions on the interplate zone can be estimated using a force sensor attached to the back of the upper plate and adjusted via the density and strength of the subducting lithosphere or the lubrication of the plate boundary. The first experimental results reveal the potential of the experimental set-up to investigate the three-dimensional solid-mechanics interactions of lithospheric plates in multiple natural situations.


The phenomenon of under pricing initial public offerings is documented for 53 Egyptian share issue privatizations (SIPs) between 1994 and 1998. In the long run, I find mixed results. SIPs sustain their positive performance and provide investors with abnormal returns over a one-year period, however, over 3 and 5 year horizons, the results document negative abnormal returns. The initial excess returns are determined by ex-ante uncertainty and demand multiplier, while the aftermarket abnormal returns are dominated, mainly, by initial excess return and price-earning ratio, in addition to ex-ante uncertainty and demand multiplier. The empirical findings of this paper are consistent with the initial public offerings market in which investors are over optimistic towards the performance of these issues but grow more pessimistic over time.


Abstract. The application of the POLIPHON (POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking)
method is presented for the first time in synergy with continuous
24/7 polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar (P-MPL)
measurements to derive the vertical separation of two or three particle
components in different aerosol mixtures, and the retrieval of their
particular optical properties. The procedure
of extinction-to-mass conversion, together with an analysis of the mass extinction efficiency (MEE) parameter, is described, and the relative mass
contribution of each aerosol component is also derived in a further step. The
general POLIPHON algorithm is based on the specific particle linear
depolarization ratio given for different types of aerosols and can be run in
either 1-step (POL-1) or 2 steps (POL-2) versions with dependence on either the
2- or 3-component separation. In order to illustrate this procedure, aerosol
mixing cases observed over Barcelona (NE Spain) are selected: a dust event
on 5 July 2016, smoke plumes detected on 23 May 2016 and a
pollination episode observed on 23 March 2016. In particular, the 3-component
separation is just applied for the dust case: a combined POL-1 with POL-2
procedure (POL-1/2) is used, and additionally the fine-dust contribution to
the total fine mode (fine dust plus non-dust aerosols) is estimated. The
high dust impact before 12:00 UTC yields a mean mass loading of
0.6±0.1 g m−2 due to the prevalence of Saharan coarse-dust
particles. After that time, the mean mass loading is reduced by two-thirds,
showing a rather weak dust incidence. In the smoke case, the arrival of fine
biomass-burning particles is detected at altitudes as high as 7 km.
The smoke particles, probably mixed with less depolarizing non-smoke
aerosols, are observed in air masses, having their origin from either North
American fires or the Arctic area, as reported by HYSPLIT back-trajectory
analysis. The particle linear depolarization ratio for smoke shows values in
the 0.10–0.15 range and even higher at given times, and the daily mean smoke
mass loading is 0.017±0.008 g m−2, around 3 % of that found
for the dust event. Pollen particles are detected up to 1.5 km in height from
10:00 UTC during an intense pollination event with a particle linear
depolarization ratio ranging between 0.10 and 0.15. The maximal mass loading
of Platanus pollen particles is 0.011±0.003 g m−2,
representing around 2 % of the dust loading during the higher dust
incidence. Regarding the MEE derived for each aerosol component, their values
are in agreement with others referenced in the literature for the specific
aerosol types examined in this work: 0.5±0.1 and
1.7±0.2 m2 g−1 are found for coarse and fine dust particles, 4.5±1.4 m2 g−1 is derived for smoke and
2.4±0.5 m2 g−1 for non-smoke aerosols with Arctic origin, and a MEE of 2.4±0.8 m2 g−1 is obtained
for pollen particles, though it can reach higher or lower values depending on
predominantly smaller or larger pollen grain sizes. Results reveal the high
potential of the P-MPL system, a simple polarization-sensitive elastic
backscatter lidar working in a 24/7 operation mode, to retrieve the
relative optical and mass contributions of each aerosol component throughout
the day, reflecting the daily variability of their properties. In fact, this
procedure can be simply implemented in other P-MPLs that also operate within the
worldwide Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET), thus extending the aerosol
discrimination at a global scale. Moreover, the method has the advantage of also
being relatively easily applicable to space-borne lidars with an equivalent
configuration such as the ongoing Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal
Polarization (CALIOP) on board NASA CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared
Pathfinder Satellite Observation) and the forthcoming Atmospheric
Lidar (ATLID) on board the ESA EarthCARE mission.


62 INTERNATIONAL DENTISTRY – AUSTRALASIAN EDITION VOL. 7, NO. 1 Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the repair process in the reconstruction of the anterior wall of the frontal sinus of monkeys with bovine bone matrix. Four adult Cebus apella monkeys underwent an ostectomy of the anterior wall of the frontal sinus. The frontal sinus mucosa and the nasofrontal duct were not manipulated. Reconstruction occurred with implants of bovine bone matrix laminae measuring 2.0 x 2.5 cm and 0.4 mm thick, stabilized under pressure in the lateral wall of the frontal sinus. The monkeys were sacrificed over a period of 150 days and routine laboratory procedures were followed for hematoxylin-eosin staining and histologic evaluation of the specimens. Neoformed bone tissue was observed in contact with the frontal sinus mucosa and the bovine bone matrix. The frontal sinus mucosa remained whole without fibrous tissue or cystic formations. There was no occurrence of cellularization as well as revascularization of the bovine bone matrix, though it has permitted bone conduction on this surface. It was possible to conclude that the demineralized bovine bone matrix was biotolerable, being incorporated into the bone without the presence of inflammatory cells with characteristics of inertness and antigenicity and behaved as an osteoconductive material.


Anomaly detection for non-linear dynamical system plays an important role in ensuring the system stability. However, it is usually complex and has to be solved by large-scale simulation which requires extensive computing resources. In this paper, we propose a novel anomaly detection scheme in non-linear dynamical system based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to capture complex temporal changes of the time sequence and make multi-step predictions. Specifically, we first present the framework of LSTM-based anomaly detection in non-linear dynamical system, including data preprocessing, multi-step prediction and anomaly detection. According to the prediction requirement, two types of training modes are explored in multi-step prediction, where samples in a wall shear stress dataset are collected by an adaptive sliding window. On the basis of the multi-step prediction result, a Local Average with Adaptive Parameters (LAAP) algorithm is proposed to extract local numerical features of the time sequence and estimate the upcoming anomaly. The experimental results show that our proposed multi-step prediction method can achieve a higher prediction accuracy than traditional method in wall shear stress dataset, and the LAAP algorithm performs better than the absolute value-based method in anomaly detection task.


Vibrational spectra of biological species suffer from the influence of many extraneous interfering factors that require removal through preprocessing before analysis. The present study was conducted to optimise the preprocessing methodology and variable subset selection during regression of and confocal Raman microspectroscopy (CRM) and Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM) spectra against ionizing radiation dose. Skin cells were γ-irradiated in-vitro and their Raman and FTIRM spectra were used to retrospectively predict the radiation dose using linear and nonlinear partial least squares (PLS) regression algorithms in addition to support vector regression (SVR). The optimal preprocessing methodology (which comprised combinations of spectral filtering, baseline subtraction, scaling and normalization options) was selected using a genetic algorithm (GA) with the root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) used as the fitness criterion for selection of the preprocessing chromosome (where this was calculated on an independent set of test spectra randomly selected from the dataset on each pass of the algorithm). The results indicated that GA selection of the optimal preprocessing methodology substantially improved the predictive capacity of the regression algorithms over baseline methodologies, although the optimal preprocessing chromosomes were similar for various regression algorithms, suggesting an optimal preprocessing methodology for radiobiological analyses with biospectroscopy. Feature selection of both FTIRM and CRM spectra using genetic algorithms and multivariate regression provided further decreases in RMSEP, but only with non-linear multivariate regression algorithms.


As a community, physicians with expertise in child development and an appreciation of school-related challenges are uniquely positioned to enhance the well-being of children with specific learning disabilities. Efforts in such areas as differential diagnosis, enhancing communication between home and school and among parents and related service providers, accountability for effective and timely intervention, advocacy, and the application of scientific approaches to instruction and progress monitoring are among the ways in which the medical community can support children with special learning needs.


Introduction Inducible laryngeal obstruction (Ilo) is defined as inappropriate adduction of the vocal cords on inspiration. Currently, there is no agreed aetiology for Ilo described in literature. Exploration of relationships between patient-reported onset factors and Ilo classification on video laryngoscopy may further understanding of the nature and causes of Ilo. Previous research by our Tertiary Airways service described patient-reported Ilo onset factors in a five category taxonomy: Respiratory, Medical, Psychological, Irritant and Exercise (BTS Winter Meeting, 2017), and classified laryngeal presentation of Ilo on videolaryngoscopy according to the ERS/ACCP (2014) International Consensus nomenclature (BTS Winter Meeting, 2017), including speed of initiation of Ilo symptoms (i.e. fast or slow). Aims and objectives To explore possible relationships between Ilo onset factors and observed speed of Ilo initiation as seen on laryngoscopy. Methods Self-reported Ilo onset factors for 102 patients were compared with videolaryngoscopy classification of initiation timing of Ilo. Results There were significant relationships between Ilo initiation speed and certain onset factors. 'Slow' initiation was associated with Medical (e.g. surgery, medication) onset factors (χ 2=4.627, df=1, p=0.031). 'Fast' initiation was associated with Respiratory (e.g. Asthma, chest infection) onset factors (χ 2=7.976; df=1; p=0.005). A binary logistic regression assessed the impact of these onset factors on initiation speed. The model was significant (χ2=12 (2, n=102) p=0.002), and explained between 11% and 16% of the variance in onset timing, correctly classifying 74% of cases. Patients with Medical onset factors were five times more likely to have fast Ilo initiation, whilst patients with Respiratory onset factors were two and a half time as likely to have slow Ilo initiation. Conclusions Comparing Ilo onset factors with initiation speed highlighted associations which may help to elucidate relationships between onset factors and subsequent Ilo presentation. The 'slow' pattern associated with Medical onset factors may suggest a steady-state physiological or neuropathic aetiology, whereas the 'fast' pattern, associated with Respiratory onset factors may indicate mechanisms related to airway hyper-responsiveness.


Background Iran is among countries with highest road traffic injuries and mortality. Road traffic mortality is the second cause of death of Iranian population. The share of motorcycles in road injuries and mortalities varies in different cities, but it is highest (60 percent) in a southern city of Iran, Dezful. Methods An action research project which is partly reported here was designed to strengthen community action to reduce road traffic accidents. Through many advocacy measures, a team including more than 25 public and private stakeholders was formed. By holding several meetings and also conducting complementary individual interviews and comprehensive content analysis, current situation, local determinists of the problem and most highly effective change strategies were determined. A 6 months educational campaign was developed. A valid developed questionnaire was used to measure individual determinates of unsafe motorcycle driving. Pretest and post test was conducted to evaluate the effect of campaign on the rate of motorcycle related accidents and level of change in individual determinants of unsafe driving. Results Early analysis of formative research showed that absence of safety culture, hot and humid climate of the city and also narrow structure of the streets were among most important determinants of unsafe behaviour. Process evaluation showed that for the first time, such collaboration and intersectoral action has been formed at city level with effective participation of the community. The result of outcome evaluation, the rate of change in road traffic accidents and individual determinants would be reported in this presentation after final data analysis. Conclusions Effectiveness and sustainability of success of any road safety intervention depends on deep and comprehensive understanding of local determinates of the problem, local solutions and assets and also the quality of community participation in the program.


This paper argues that the texts surviving from the Old English period do not reflect the spoken language of the bulk of the population under Anglo-Saxon elite domination. While the Old English written documents suggest that the language was kept remarkably unchanged, i.e. was strongly monitored during the long OE period (some 500 years!), the spoken and "real Old English" is likely to have been very different and much more of the type of Middle English than the written texts. "Real Old Engish", i.e. of course only appeared in writing after the Norman Conquest. Middle English is therefore claimed to have begun with the 'late British' speaking shifters to Old English. The shift patterns must have differed in the various part of the island of Britain, as the shifters became exposed to further language contact with the Old Norse adstrate in the Danelaw areas and the Norman superstrate particularly in the South East, the South West having been least exposed to language contact after the original shift from 'Late British' to Old English. This explains why the North was historically the most innovative zone. This also explains the conservatism of the present day dialects in the South West. It is high time that historical linguists acknowledge the arcane character of the Old English written texts.


This article reports the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution by the surface modified Guazuma ulmifolia (SMGU) seeds as an adsorbent and this material was prepared by treating the Guazuma ulmifolia seeds with sulphuric acid. The effectiveness of the SMGU has been investigated as a function of solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and initial Pb(II) ion concentration. The Pb(II) adsorption was favored with maximum adsorption at pH 6.0. The Pb(II) adsorption equilibrium was attained within 60 min. The experimental data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations. The equilibrium data fit wellthe Freundlich isotherm. The experimental data were analyzed using four adsorption kinetic models: the pseudo‐first‐order and pseudo‐second‐order equations, the Elovich equation, and intraparticle diffusion equation to determine the best fit equation for the adsorption of Pb(II) ions onto SMGU. The characteristic parameters for each kinetic model have been determined and the coefficient of determination have been calculated to assess which model provides the best fit predicted data with experimental results. The kinetic results show that the pseudo‐second‐order equation provides the best correlation for the adsorption process. The nature of the possible adsorbent and metal ion interactions was examined by the FTIR technique. Surface morphological study was also done using BET and scanning electron microcopy analysis. The equilibrium data were applied for a single‐stage batch adsorber design. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 307‐316, 2013


This article illustrates an approach to therapeutic supervision informed by a philosophy of solidarity and social justice activism. Called a Supervision of Solidarity, this approach addresses the particular challenges in the supervision of therapists who work alongside clients who are subjected to social injustice and extreme marginalization. It asks, "How can we as therapeutic supervisors support therapists to do this difficult work in the margins in ways that are in accord with our collective ethics? How can we (both therapists and their supervisors) experience sustainability and transformation collectively across time?" The article provides an example of this form of supervision, highlighting key aspects of the work.


For a long time, married women were treated differently from married men in the Dutch personal income tax Act (PITA). The PITA reflected the political, religious and legal situation, but at the same time was often behind on developments in those areas. Currently, there is a strong pressure in the Netherlands to take a step back again. Christian parties and some academics have criticized the current semi-individual tax system in which single earner families pay more tax than double earner families. The academics suggested the introduction of a family taxation with a splitting system such as exists in Germany to reduce the tax burden of single income earners. In such system the spouse with low income in a dual income earner family would pay significantly more tax. As most Dutch women work part-time and earn less than their partner and taking into account price-elasticities, this compensation of single income earning families would be a disincentive for married women to work and gain economic independence. To put these proposals in perspective, this paper analyses the history of the tax treatment of married women and relates this to the Dutch political, religious and legal situation.


The need for coding efficiency is being increased with applications in which high resolution video processing is being performed. Power consumption and memory are important constraints for devices capable of recording and transmitting video, such as ultra-high definition televisions (UHD TVs), cameras, smartphones. In video encoders, motion estimation is the process which utilizes the most complex tasks and consumes most of the power. Therefore, low complexity motion estimation methods have been developed which can provide efficient hardware architectures. In this work, a novel integer 1-bit transform method is proposed. Additionally, proposed method and multiplication-free one bit transform method are compared by taking hardware cost which originates from binarization process into account and experimental results are presented.


Management of heart failure is complex, often involving interaction with multiple providers, monitoring of symptoms, and numerous medications. Employing principles of user-centered design, we developed a high- fidelity prototype of a mobile system for heart failure self-management and care coordination. Participants, including both heart failure patients and health care providers, tested the mobile system during a one-hour one-on-one session with a facilitator. The facilitator interviewed participants about the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype, necessary features, and willingness to use the technology. We performed a qualitative content analysis using the transcripts of these interviews. Fourteen distinct themes were identified in the analysis. Of these themes, integration, technology literacy, memory, and organization were the most common. Privacy was the least common theme. Our study suggests that this integration is essential for adoption of a mobile system for chronic disease management and care coordination.


In recent years, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been applied in myriad of applications. As the sensor nodes are battery operated, the critical issue is to design WSNs with long life-time to fulfill their application requirements. Many energy conservation schemes have been proposed so far to increase the life-time of WSNs. In this paper, we explored the interactions between energy conservation protocols and introduced a novel hybrid protocol called Topology Control based On Demand MAC (TCODM) Algorithm that combines the benefits of Topology Control and Sleep Wake up schemes. It was found that by simultaneously applying multiple energy conservation schemes the average energy conservation increased by 68–82 % when compared to energy conservation protocols that are operated independently.


We numerically investigate crystalline order on negative Gaussian curvature capillary bridges. In agreement with the experimental results in [W. Irvine et al., Nature, Pleats in crystals on curved surfaces, 2010, 468, 947] we observe for decreasing integrated Gaussian curvature, a sequence of transitions, from no defects to isolated dislocations, pleats, scars and isolated sevenfold disclinations. We especially focus on the dependency of topological charge on the integrated Gaussian curvature, for which we observe, again in agreement with the experimental results, no net disclination for an integrated curvature down to -10, and an approximately linear behavior from there on until the disclinations match the integrated curvature of -12. In contrast to previous studies in which ground states for each geometry are searched for, we here show that the experimental results, which are likely to be in a metastable state, can be best resembled by mimicking the experimental settings and continuously changing the geometry. The obtained configurations are only low energy local minima. The results are computed using a phase field crystal approach on catenoid-like surfaces and are highly sensitive to the initialization.


This paper presents solo-learn, a library of self-supervised methods for visual representation learning. Implemented in Python, using Pytorch and Pytorch lightning, the library fits both research and industry needs by featuring distributed training pipelines with mixed-precision, faster data loading via Nvidia DALI, online linear evaluation for better prototyping, and many additional training tricks. Our goal is to provide an easy-to-use library comprising a large amount of Self-supervised Learning (SSL) methods, that can be easily extended and fine-tuned by the community. solo-learn opens up avenues for exploiting large-budget SSL solutions on inexpensive smaller infrastructures and seeks to democratize SSL by making it accessible to all. The source code is available at https://github.com/vturrisi/solo-learn.


In my essay I argue Kyle Baker's 2008 graphic novel Nat Turner delivers a complex reimaging of history, which positions readers to confront an Antebellum past that produced few undamaged heroes. Recent criticism surrounding Baker's work has split on how to understand Turner's actions, but I argue Baker neither wholly celebrates nor condemns the rebellion. Instead, he focuses on the overwhelming violence that characterized Turner's nineteenth century environment. The insurrection then becomes a natural part of a devastating cycle of violence caused by enslavement, and Turner himself is cast as a man who is simply acting rationally within a deeply troubled reality. Therefore, while Baker's characterization of Turner and his rebellion does not leave readers with clear answers or heroes, it does offer a deeper understanding of slavery's all-consuming violence and continuing impact on the nation.


Sequence-to-Sequence models were introduced to tackle many real-life problems like machine translation, summarization, image captioning, etc. The standard optimization algorithms are mainly based on example-to-example matching like maximum likelihood estimation, which is known to suffer from data sparsity problem. Here we present an alternate view to explain sequence-to-sequence learning as a distribution matching problem, where each source or target example is viewed to represent a local latent distribution in the source or target domain. Then, we interpret sequence-to-sequence learning as learning a transductive model to transform the source local latent distributions to match their corresponding target distributions. In our framework, we approximate both the source and target latent distributions with recurrent neural networks (augmenter). During training, the parallel augmenters learn to better approximate the local latent distributions, while the sequence prediction model learns to minimize the KL-divergence of the transformed source distributions and the approximated target distributions. This algorithm can alleviate the data sparsity issues in sequence learning by locally augmenting more unseen data pairs and increasing the model's robustness. Experiments conducted on machine translation and image captioning consistently demonstrate the superiority of our proposed algorithm over the other competing algorithms.


Kinetic reaction mechanisms are necessary for modeling the combustion, oxidation and ignition of commercial fuels consisting of complex mixtures of hydrocarbons. Since they are generally too complex to be considered in the models directly, simple model-fuels are preferred. These model-fuels consist in a simple mixture of hydrocarbons for which kinetic oxidation models are validated. The oxidation of a large variety of hydrocarbons was studied experimentally in a jet-stirred reactor to build the needed kinetic reaction mechanisms. These detailed kinetic reaction mechanisms were assembled to model the oxidation of commercial fuels. The capabilities of these kinetic models to simulate the oxidation of natural gas, kerosene and gas oil are presented together with needs for new kinetic measurements.


The US debate over the ethics of abortion is the context for this discussion of problems in reporting the results of research when the topic is a controversial social movement on which the researcher and members of the academic community hold strong personal views. The author worked with local right-to-life and prochoice activists in Fargo, North Dakota, in the early 1980s. This article describes the political climate in those years after the election of Reagan to the presidency, as well as the composition of the prolife movement and its emergence with the New Right in the 1970s. The local scope of much right-to-life activity in that era made it an appropriate topic for ethnographic research using participant-observation techniques. The collective portrait of local prolife activists in Fargo was more complex than their stereotype of reactionary housewives left behind by social change would suggest. Right-to-lifers are often considered hostile to feminism, but a large part of their rhetoric actually covered the same ground. Much of the right-to-life program can be interpreted as the expression of a desire to reform the most dehumanizing aspects of contemporary capitalist culture. From this point of view, prolifers are more similar to their prochoice opponents than to their presumed New Right allies, who prefer a more libertarian social philosophy. Activists on both sides of the debate share a common sociohistorical context providing common references, particularly regarding procreation and sexuality. The debate has a dialectical quality in that a large part consists of reactions to the positions of the other side. Militants on both sides agree on such points as the need for equal pay for equal work and the need to make the economic system more responsive to the needs and responsibilities of women. The credibility of the author's findings was questioned by colleagues, which prompted reflection on the presentation of results of research on a controversial group belonging to the same society. The initial strategy of attempting to serve as a mediator between opposing camps by discovering common concerns was replaced by an attempt to allow the militants to present their own positions through extensive quotations. 21 interviews with prolife and 14 with prochoice activists constituted formulations of what the subjects considered models of the place of reproduction, motherhood, and work in the lives of American women.


Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are desirable DNA markers for marker-assisted selection because of their high abundance, codominant inheritance, locus specificity and potential for automated high-throughput analysis. The average number of SNPs in introns has been reported to be several times higher than that in exons in many organisms. Potential intron polymorphism (PIP) markers, designed from expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences (exon regions), could amplify potential flanking intron regions without requiring genome sequence information. In this study, we used PIP markers designed from apple (Malus × domestica) ESTs to identify intron regions and to detect SNPs in pear (Pyrus spp.). We evaluated 170 PIP markers for Japanese pear P. pyrifolia cultivar 'Housui' and the European pear P. communis cultivar 'Bartlett'. Of the 170 PIP markers, 142 markers amplified fragments in both cultivars. The fragment size was larger than the size predicted from the apple EST sequences, suggesting the existence of introns in the amplified fragments. We sequenced the amplified fragments and detected candidate bi-allelic SNPs in intron regions of both cultivars. The genome sequences obtained from pear were aligned to the apple EST sequences, revealing that the sequences included donor and acceptor sites, and contained deduced exons and flanking introns in pear. SNP analysis showed that 55 and 54 markers were mapped on the genetic linkage maps of 'Bartlett' and 'Housui', respectively. The PIP markers designed from apple ESTs were applicable in pear and could be used to detect SNPs in intron regions and to develop SNP markers in pear. The PIP markers will facilitate marker-assisted selection for disease resistance and other important traits in pear breeding programs.


Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Taiwan, and the number of breast cancer cases reported annually continues to increase. In 2018, breast cancer ranked fourth in terms of mortality. Early stages (stages 0–2) of malignant breast lesions can be diagnosed during regular screening, and early treatment via advanced medical therapies increases survival rates. Ultrasound imaging, including acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging, is the first-line examination technique used to locate breast lesion tissue, which can then be quantitated by virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI). ARFI-VTI elastography is a breast imaging modality that creates two-dimensional (2D) images to visualize the texture details, elasticity, and morphological features of a region of interest (ROI). The 2D Harris corner convolution is applied during digital imaging to remove speckle noise and enhance the ARFI-VTI images for extrapolation of lesion tissue in a ROI. Then, 2D Harris corner convolution, maximum pooling, and random decision forests (RDF) are integrated into a machine vision classifier to screen subjects with benign or malignant tumors. A total of 320 ARFI-VTI images were collected for experiments. In training stages, 122 images were randomly selected to train the RDF-based classifiers and the remaining images were randomly selected for performance evaluation via cross-validation in recalling stages. In a 10-fold cross-validation, promising results with mean sensitivity, mean specificity, and mean accuracy of 86.02%, 87.63%, and 86.97%, respectively, are achieved for quantifying the performance of the proposed classifier. Breast tumors visualized on ARFI-VTI images can be used for rapid screening of malignant or benign lesions by using the proposed machine vision classifier.


Abstract Extractable contents of heavy metals such as Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Bi in soil and plant tissue samples (fruit, leaf, twig and root) collected, along a distance of 1100 m to the West, from the surroundings of a metallurgical factory producing mainly zinc, cadmium and lead were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In addition, the determinations of Ca and Mg, macro nutrient elements for plants, were also performed. Three extractant solutions were used for dissolution of soil samples, namely aqua regia (1 HNO3+ 3 HCl) for total metal analysis, 1 mol L−1 ammonium acetate for exchangeable metal contents, and a dilute acid mixture (0.1 M HCl in 0.025 M H2SO4) for acid soluble metal contents. A mixture of HNO3 and HClO4 was used to analyze the fruit samples. The analyses of the leaf, the twig, and the root tissue samples were made by dry ashing method. The detection limits of the metals were in the range of 0.04 to 0.45 μg/mL for all soil extracts and 0.01 to 1.50 μg/mL for the fruit samples. The recovery values for all the determinations were higher than 95%. The results obtained from the analyses of plant tissue and soil samples were evaluated using linear correlation analysis and concentration factors to identify the effect of the factory near the grape-vine area.


Aimed for current situation that most scholars concerned with mechanics, deformation, flow performance of modified cement mortar, the paper selected carboxyl styrene-butadiene latex as the modified material, researched on cement mortar' water reducing effect, wear resistance, corrosion resistance-mechanical properties, drying shrinkage before modifing and after modifing. Compared cement fine mortar's properties with cement mechine-made mortar's properties before and after modification. Research results showed that the addition of carboxyl SB latex, the overall performance of cement mortar is greatly improved, and with the increase of polymer cement ratio, this improvement trend is more obvious, those changes especially are suitable for extra-fine cement mortar. The results clarify the properties variation law of cement mortar before and after modification, this provides scientific guidance for polymer latex modified cement mortar mix design.


This paper contains the information about the investigation of two-dimensional MoS2 structure with vacancy clusters within the framework of basic Grid computing approaches. Simulation results of electron density and band diagram are presented. All the calculations were performed using Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package (VASP) with the multiprocessor computer complex (supercomputer) SKIF K1000.


Molecular dynamics was adopted to simulate the flow behavior of water through nanopores at atomistic level. Effects of the pressure difference, the diameter and the length of nanopipes to the flux of fluid were validated according to Hagen-Poiseuille(HP) equation with diameter of the nanopipe between 2 nm and 2.8 nm. Further investigation found that thereis the end effect to the flow behavior of fluid and the end effect depends on the nanopipe length and more significant for shorter nanopipes. In order to understand the flow behavior of real nanopores, we proposed four different nanopipe models possessing variational diameters along the pipe, which consists of two different diameter pipes and finally result in different fluxes. The behavior of fluid through the diameter variational nanopipes was elementarily discussed with a binary pipe model, which was put forward in the present study.


Abstract The magma source and evolution of a zoned breccia pipe on the southern Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland are investigated using the geochemistry of the host mineral assemblages. The clast-poor inner zone of the pipe has a magnesium-rich silicocarbonatite whole-rock composition (14.30 wt.% MgO; 31.80 wt.% SiO2). The silicocarbonatite has retained an ultimate mantle source 13C isotopic composition after metamorphism, consistent with the presence of mantle debris. The silicocarbonatite is Cr-, Ni- and Co-rich (847 ppm, 611 ppm and 60 ppm, respectively) but REE depleted compared with volcanic dolomite carbonatites worldwide. The mineral assemblage consists of Sr-rich (0.55 wt.% SrO) ferroan dolomite, magnesite and pseudomorphs of chlorite after phlogopite, consistent with derivation from a carbonated and hydrated mantle. However, chrome spinel crystals (≤40.14 wt.% Cr2O3) are compositionally indistinguishable from unmetasomatized spinel macrocrysts in kimberlites. The silicocarbonatite is inferred to represent a magma produced by partial melting of metasomatized mantle at physical conditions between those in which primary dolomite carbonatite and ultramafic magmas of high-pressure origin form. The primary silicocarbonatite magma ascended and sampled mantle material in a manner similar to kimberlite, and subsequently lost volatile components due to release of metasomatic fluids and later metamorphism.


Pulmonary gangrene is a rare complication of severe pulmonary infection in which a pulmonary segment or lobe is sloughed. In the English literature, pulmonary gangrene secondary to bacterial infection is uncommon, and fewer to other etiologies. Characteristic roentgen patterns of a mass within a cavity is the hallmark of this disease, which differentiates from a lung abscess. Some authors have emphasized that surgical resection of the infected lobe is the principal option of treatment. In contrast, some have advocated that patients with pulmonary gangrene can be managed with medical therapy. Recently we successfully treated a case of pulmonary gangrene with appropriate antibiotics and percutaneous small bore catheter drainage, even though the complication of bronchopleural fistula was encountered, which led to prolonged hospitalization. The serial roentgenograms and the pictures of computed tomography (CT) will be demonstrated.


Studies of the hydroxylated fatty acids in strains of Nocardia otitidis-caciarum showed variations in mycolic acid patterns, some strains containing only nocardomycolic acids and other strains having both nocardomycolic and corynomycolic acids. Mass spectroscopy showed that most of the nocardomycolic acids contained 52 to 56 carbon atoms and two double bonds in the main chain; the corynomycolic acids had saturated or monounsaturated chains and 30 to 34 carbon atoms. In the strains having both types of mycolic acid, only nocardomycolic acids were found as cell wall components.


In this study it was hypothesized that field dependence or independence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' overall and task-specific performance on task-based reading comprehension tests. One thousand, seven hundred, forty-three freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students, all majoring in English at various Iranian universities and colleges, took the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The resulting 582 field-independent (FI) and 707 field-dependent (FD) students then took the 1990 version of the IELTS. Using SPSS commands for collapsing continuous variables into groups and participants' IELTS scores (based on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles), four proficiency groups were identified for each cognitive style. From each proficiency group, 36 FD and 36 FI individuals were selected through a matching process. The resulting sample of 288 participants took the Task-Based Reading Test (TBRT) designed for the study. Data analysis revealed that individuals' cognitive
styles resulted in a significant difference in their overall test performance in the proficient, semiproficient, and fairly proficient groups, but not in the low-proficient group. The findings also indicated that cognitive style resulted in a significant difference in participants' performance on true-false, sentence completion, outlining, scanning, and elicitation tasks in all proficiency groups.


A periodic load balancing method is proposed according to the load imbalance of network server in a clustered system of high concurrency. It is divided into different load periods based on the load condition of server node. Corresponding load balancing strategy is adopted for each period that the strategy of fast select is used in the period of small load while the server node with stable response time is first adopted in the period of large load. Periodic load strategy avoids the load imbalance caused by the single load strategy. It can be known from the experimental comparison that the improved periodic load balancing strategy is superior to the load balancing strategy of weighted least connection.


Geologic and geomorphic analyses reveal the effects of fluvial processes within Tyrrhena Terra, Promethei Terra and Libya Montes, Mars. High-resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible and thermal infrared wavelength images, Viking Orbiter images, Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic data are used to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize highland fluvial systems and analyze the role of water in the evolution of these highland terrains. Highland materials--including rugged uplands, intermontane basin-filling materials, plains and impact crater ejecta deposits--are dissected by both widespread, well-integrated valley networks, such as Vichada Valles in Tyrrhena Terra, and small-scale isolated networks and single channels. The interior and exterior rims of impact craters, such as crater Millochau, are also dissected by gullies. Characterization of these features and the geologic units in which they occur is necessary to fully understand the nature of martian fluvial activity and the history of Mars' climate. High-resolution (128 pixels/degree) MOLA Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are used with the Arc/Info GIS software (including GRID, ARCPLOT, and ArcView 3.2a) and GRIDVIEW to quantitatively characterize the surface hydrology of Tyrrhena Terra, Promethei Terra and Libya Montes. Drainage basin divides and valley networks are modeled at different scales dependent on the depth to which anomalous pixel sinks are filled. Modeled drainage divides are defined by the distribution of highland peaks and impact crater rims. Hydrologic modeling results suggest that large areas of apparently undissected terrain in Tyrrhena Terra may have been influenced by fluvial processes. Compared to mapped networks, models of large-scale valley systems in Tyrrhena Terra accurately represent the locations of valleys down to at least second order. Smaller-scale systems observed in Promethei Terra and Libya Montes are more difficult to accurately represent with the model due to a combination of a large amount of topographic interpolation within the MOLA DEM and the close spacing of short, narrow valleys Rigorous comparison of the model results to image data is helping to produce accurate maps of martian drainage basins and their associated valley networks, which provide critical constraints for valley formation mechanisms and climate history.


To determine the relative time courses of changes in peripheral and hepatic insulin action and skeletal muscle GLUT4 protein levels after a streptozotocin (STZ) injection in rats, we performed hyperinsulinemic (14–18 nM), euglycemic (7.5 mM) clamps in control (n = 8) and diabetic rats at 1 (n = 7), 3 (n = 8), 7 (n = 8), and 14 (n = 6) days after intraperitoneal STZ (65 mg/kg). Basal plasma glucose concentrations increased from 8.1 ± 0.2 mM in control rats to 23.5 ± 1.2 mM 1 day after STZ (P < 0.01) and remained constant thereafter. Basal plasma insulin levels were ∼ 35% of control levels in all STZ groups (P < 0.01). Insulin-stimulated whole-body glucose uptake decreased significantly as early as one day after STZ injection (P < 0.01), resulting predominantly from a decrease in whole-body glycolysis. Insulin action to suppress hepatic glucose output was normal on day 1 after STZ but impaired markedly on day 3 and thereafter (P < 0.01). Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in individual skeletal muscles was not altered until day 7 after STZ, and the magnitudes of decreases in skeletal muscle insulin action on days 7 and 14 were not fully accounted for by the decreases in GLUT4 protein level measured from the same muscles. Our data indicate that there is a temporal hierarchy in the development of insulin resistance in STZ-induced diabetes. Insulin resistance is manifested initially (within one day) as a reduction in insulin-mediated glucose uptake and glycolysis in tissues other than skeletal muscle; available data suggest that the liver is a potential site of the initial reduction in insulin-mediated glucose uptake. Resistance of hepatic glucose output to suppression by insulin appears next, by day 3. Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle appears last (between days 3 and 7 after STZ administration), and the resistance in muscle cannot be fully accounted for by reduced GLUT4 expression.


Background Women with obesity and infertility are counseled to lose weight prior to conception and infertility treatment to improve pregnancy rates and birth outcomes, although confirmatory evidence from randomized trials is lacking. We assessed whether a preconception intensive lifestyle intervention with acute weight loss is superior to a weight neutral intervention at achieving a healthy live birth. Methods and findings In this open-label, randomized controlled study (FIT-PLESE), 379 women with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and unexplained infertility were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to 2 preconception lifestyle modification groups lasting 16 weeks, between July 2015 and July 2018 (final follow-up September 2019) followed by infertility therapy. The primary outcome was the healthy live birth (term infant of normal weight without major anomalies) incidence. This was conducted at 9 academic health centers across the United States. The intensive group underwent increased physical activity and weight loss (target 7%) through meal replacements and medication (Orlistat) compared to a standard group with increased physical activity alone without weight loss. This was followed by standardized empiric infertility treatment consisting of 3 cycles of ovarian stimulation/intrauterine insemination. Outcomes of any resulting pregnancy were tracked. Among 191 women randomized to standard lifestyle group, 40 dropped out of the study before conception; among 188 women randomized to intensive lifestyle group, 31 dropped out of the study before conception. All the randomized women were included in the intent-to-treat analysis for primary outcome of a healthy live birth. There were no significant differences in the incidence of healthy live births [standard 29/191(15.2%), intensive 23/188(12.2%), rate ratio 0.81 (0.48 to 1.34), P = 0.40]. Intensive had significant weight loss compared to standard (−6.6 ± 5.4% versus −0.3 ± 3.2%, P < 0.001). There were improvements in metabolic health, including a marked decrease in incidence of the metabolic syndrome (baseline to 16 weeks: standard: 53.6% to 49.4%, intensive 52.8% to 32.2%, P = 0.003). Gastrointestinal side effects were significantly more common in intensive. There was a higher, but nonsignificant, first trimester pregnancy loss in the intensive group (33.3% versus 23.7% in standard, 95% rate ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79 to 2.50). The main limitations of the study are the limited power of the study to detect rare complications and the design difficulty in finding an adequate time matched control intervention, as the standard exercise intervention may have potentially been helpful or harmful. Conclusions A preconception intensive lifestyle intervention for weight loss did not improve fertility or birth outcomes compared to an exercise intervention without targeted weight loss. Improvement in metabolic health may not translate into improved female fecundity. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02432209.


Background. Specific plaque characteristics, such as ulcers and subocclusive lesions, may increase the complication rate in carotid stenting (CAS) procedures, however, few data have been published in this regard. Aim. Our goal was to investigate the risk of technical failure and neurological symptoms in complicated and uncomplicated plaques after CAS. Methods. From January 2005 to March 2007, all patients submitted to CAS were divided into two groups depending on plaque morphology: complicated plaque patients (ComP) (plaques with ulcers diameter > 2 mm and plaques determining subocclusive stenosis [i.e., > 99%]); the rest being uncomplicated plaques (UnComP). The two groups were compared in terms of baseline characteristics, preoperative neurological symptoms, cerebral computed tomography, type of arch, presence of stenosis or occlusion of the contralateral carotid, type of stent and protection system, and technical and clinical outcome. Differences across groups in the frequency of technical success and neurological symptoms were compared using standard bivariate analyses and confirmed with logistic regression. Results. Of 298 consecutive patients undergoing CAS, 77 had complicated plaques (25.8%) and 221 uncomplicated plaques (74.2%). The two groups were not different in terms of baseline characteristics (excluding age) and preoperative symptoms. Overall, technical success was achieved in 91.2% of the sample, postoperative neurological symptoms occurred in 7.7% of the patients. All symptoms were temporary. We found no significant differences between the two groups regarding neurological complications (7.8% vs. 7.7% P = 0.98) and technical failure (9.1% vs. 8.6%, P = 0.97), also controlling for age and gender. At multivariate analyses, an older age was a significant predictor of technical failure (OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.05‐1.22). Conclusion. The plaque morphology does not seem to be associated with CAS failure and may not be considered a contraindication to CAS. Vascular Disease Management 2007;4(4):112‐115.


Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) access schemes are becoming more prevalent among cellular and wireless broadband systems, accelerating the need for smaller, more energy efficient receiver solutions. Up to now the majority of OFDM texts have dealt with signal processing aspects. To address the current gap in OFDM integrated circuit (IC) instruction, Chiueh and Tsai have produced this timely text on baseband design. OFDM Baseband Receiver Design for Wireless Communications covers the gamut of OFDM technology, from theories and algorithms to architectures and circuits. Chiueh and Tsai give a concise yet comprehensive look at digital communications fundamentals before explaining modulation and signal processing algorithms in OFDM receivers. Moreover, the authors give detailed treatment of hardware issues -- from design methodology to physical IC implementation. Closes the gap between OFDM theory and implementation Enables the reader to transfer communication receiver concepts into hardware design wireless receivers with acceptable implementation loss achieve low-power designs Contains numerous figures to illustrate techniques Features concrete design examples of MC-CDMA systems and cognitive radio applications Presents theoretical discussions that focus on concepts rather than mathematical derivation Provides a much-needed single source of material from numerous papers Based on course materials for a class in digital communication IC design, this book is ideal for advanced undergraduate or post-graduate students from either VLSI design or signal processing backgrounds. New and experienced engineers in industry working on algorithms or hardware for wireless communications devices will also find this book to be a key reference.


The volatile compounds of guava wine were isolated by continuous solvent extraction and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. A total of 124 volatile constituents were detected, and 102 of them were positively identified. The composition of guava wine included 52 esters, 24 alcohols, 11 ketones, 7 acids, 6 aldehydes, 6 terpenes, 4 phenols and derivatives, 4 lactones, 4 sulfur-compounds, and 5 miscellaneous compounds. The aroma-active areas in the gas chromatogram were screened by application of the aroma extract dilution analysis and by odor activity values. Twelve odorants were considered as odor-active volatiles: (E)-β-damascenone, ethyl octanoate, ethyl 3-phenylpropanoate, ethyl hexanoate, 3-methylbutyl acetate, 2-methyltetrahydrothiophen-3-one, 2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-3(2H)-furanone, ethyl (E)-cinnamate, ethyl butanoate, (E)-cinnamyl acetate, 3-phenylpropyl acetate, and ethyl 2-methylpropanoate.


This study is devoted to a comparative analysis of three "Adaptive ZOOM" (ZOom Overlapping Multi-level) methods based on similar concepts of hierarchical multigrid local refinement : L.D.C. (Local Defect Correction), F.A.C. (Fast Adaptive Composite), and F.I.C. (Flux Interface Correction), which we proposed recently. These methods are tested on two examples of a bidimensional elliptic problem. We compare, for V-cycle procedures, the asymptotic evolution of the global error evaluated by discrete norms, the corresponding local errors, and the convergence rates of these algorithms.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the volume stability of a sinus augmented with a collagenated bovine bone mineral (CBBM) in case of an intact or perforated Schneiderian membrane (SM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A bilateral sinus augmentation procedure was performed in eight rabbits. The SM was intentionally perforated in one side (SMP group), while it remained intact in contralateral side (control group) and the same amount of CBBM was then grafted. At 12 weeks, the animals were euthanized for radiographic and histomorphometric analyses.

RESULTS
The augmented volume did not differ significantly between the two groups: 262.2±32.1 mm3 in SMP group and 261.9±48.5 mm3 in the control group (p=0.959). There was no significant difference in the total augmented area: 24.7±5.2 mm2 in SMP group and 23.2±2.9 mm2 in the control group (p=0.773). The areas of newly formed bone also did not differ significantly between the two groups, but was significantly lower at the center of the augmented region than in the region of the surgical window in both groups (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
A perforation of the SM in a rabbit model, does neither impact the augmented volume nor new bone formation following grafting of the sinus with a CBBM.


PURPOSE
To record symptoms experienced by people with HIV/AIDS, and describe useful self-care strategies and how symptoms impact on daily life.

METHOD
A questionnaire was used with self-reported answers and descriptions of how symptoms impact on daily activities and suggestions for useful self-care strategies. Four hundred and twenty-two (n = 422) HIV-positive persons from seven sites in the USA and one site in Norway (n = 20) answered the questionnaire.

RESULTS
In this article subjective symptom descriptions from the Norwegian sample are presented along with self-care strategies and their effectiveness. Findings revealed the Norwegian sample to be a little older, maybe less anxious and depressed, than participants in the larger study. This difference might be explained by the structure of the national social and health care system in Norway, where treatments, medications and social services are available to all citizens without cost. Respondents described a number of related symptoms as well as their subjective explanations of what triggered the symptoms. Most of the self-care strategies were learnt by trial and error.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Community health providers, nurses and physicians should become more knowledgeable about the symptoms that infected persons struggle with, as well as the impact these symptoms have on routine daily self-care activities and a person's quality of life. There is need for more research about helpful self-care strategies to assist HIV-positive persons to manage their symptoms and to disseminate these to community health providers and support groups for HIV infected persons.


The first hundred days of Donald Trump's presidency led many commentators to ask whether the United States was in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Drawing on previous work written with Sanford Levinson, this essay explains why that is not the case. Trump's demagogic rise to power, however, suggests that a different phenomenon is at work: constitutional rot.
When politicians disregard norms of fair political competition, undermine the public's trust in government, stoke polarization, encourage mutual fear and hatred of fellow citizens, and repeatedly overreach to rig the political system in their favor, they cause the system of democratic and republican constitutionalism to decay. The decay of norms that maintain a democratic republic is the phenomenon of constitutional rot. Many claims about "constitutional crisis" during Trump's presidency reflect a growing recognition of the constitutional rot in our nation's political institutions.
The essay explains the differences between constitutional crisis and constitutional rot and how the two are connected. Whereas constitutional crises normally occur over brief periods of time, constitutional rot is often a long and slow process of change and debilitation, which may be the work of many hands over many years.
The election of a demagogue like Trump is evidence that our institutions have seriously decayed, and judging by his presidential campaign and his first hundred days in office, Trump promises to accelerate the corruption. The constitutional system in the United States may well be able to survive even Donald Trump's misadventures. But Trump's rise to power, his conduct of the presidency, and the inability (or unwillingness) of members of Congress to stop him, are signs that all is not well in American constitutional democracy. At some point, if we put too much weight on our democratic institutions, they will snap. There is currently no actual constitutional crisis in the United States. But if constitutional rot continues, we are living on borrowed time.


This article introduces the development of therapeutic recreation in Taiwan. Existing professional organizations are identified. The Taiwanese definition of therapeutic recreation is to use diverse recreational activities with meaningful purpose, such as horse riding, chess, play balls, hiking, etc., to help people with imbalanced health conditions. Taiwan has rich resources for recreational activities and leisure services, which satisfy the needs of the general population; these programs rarely accommodate the needs of the populations with special needs. Taiwan has experienced rapid population aging, and the government invests financial resources to build aging care sites and activity centers to provide health-promotion activities. Subscribe to TRJ


In this work, the numerical equation has been established to simulate the vibratory compaction system based on the hysteresis loop of Davidenkov and with the gap ignored between the piston and the materials, and the dynamical characteristics and influence of parameters on the vibration compaction effect were analyzed with different stiffness, damping, amplitude and mass with different water saturation. The two types of experiments were carried out to study the dynamical characteristics and validate the numerical analysis and simulation. The first type of experiments was done with the different exciting vibration amplitude. A second type of experiments was done with the different water saturation (3%, 8% and 17%) instead of the stiffness and damping. The numerical and experimental results show that the equivalent natural frequency and vibration amplitude of the system increased with the stiffness, exciting amplitude increased and damping decreased. The experimental results agree well with results from a theoretical model in general. The research results will be used in intelligent soil compaction in the future.