Abstract The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) was requested to deliver a scientific opinion on the implications for human health of the flavouring substance 4‐amino‐5‐(3‐(isopropylamino)‐2,2‐dimethyl‐3‐oxopropoxy)‐2‐methylquinoline‐3‐carboxylic acid [FL‐no: 16.130], in the Flavouring Group Evaluation 407 (FGE.407), according to Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The substance has not been reported to occur in natural source materials of botanical or animal origin. It is intended to be used as both the parent compound and its hemisulfate monohydrate salt as a flavouring substance with modifying properties in specific categories of food. The chronic dietary exposure to the substance estimated using the added portions exposure technique (APET), is calculated to be 882 μg/person per day for a 60‐kg adult and 547 μg/person per day for a 15‐kg 3‐year‐old child. There is no concern with respect to genotoxicity. A 90‐day dietary administration study in rats showed no adverse effects for doses up to 100 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day, providing an adequate margin of safety. Developmental toxicity was not observed in a study with rats at the dose levels up to 1,000 mg/kg bw per day. The Panel concluded that [FL‐no: 16.130] and its hemisulfate monohydrate salt are not expected to be of safety concern at the estimated levels of dietary exposure calculated using the APET approach. This conclusion applies only to the use of the substance as a flavour modifier as requested and when used at the levels as specified for foods from different food categories.


The modified Pereyra procedure, a retropubic urethropexy for the correction of anatomic stress urinary incontinence represents a safe, rapid, and well-tolerated technique for restoration of the normal retropubic position of the urethrovesical junction in selected patients. When general or regional anesthesia seem contraindicated due to age, medical risk, or anatomic factors, the procedure may be performed satisfactorily under local anesthesia. Of ten patients who underwent this procedure, nine reported excellent tolerance of the local technique. The postoperative hospital stay averaged three days. The average time from the injection of anesthesia to the termination of the surgical procedure was 45 minutes. Results were successful in 90%. This dependable surgical procedure for the correction of anatomic stress urinary incontinence may be performed in selected patients under local anesthesia with a high degree of patient tolerance.


The Central Aragua area is on the southern flank of the mountain ranges of north-central Venezuela. The south boundary of the map area separates the mountainous metamorphic zone from the low hills and plains underlain by unmetamorphosed rocks to the south.

Most of the area is underlain by a sequence of metamorphosed volcanic rocks more than 3000 m thick, the Villa de Cura group. This sequence has been subdivided into four conformable formations. The lowest three formations (El Cano, El Chino, and El Car-men) consist of metamorphosed spilitic basalts and associated volcanic sedimentary rocks. These rocks are now greenstones, some of which contain glaucophane. A striking feature of the metalavas is the presence of unaltered augite. The uppermost (Santa Isabel) formation is considerably more siliceous than the lowest three formations and consists of chlorite-quartz-albite schists and granulites; many rocks contain glaucophane. The Santa Isabel rocks closely approximate keratophyre lavas in chemical composition but are clearly of sedimentary origin. Dioritic rocks intruded into the Santa Isabel formation predate the main metamorphism.

North of the Villa de Cura group a sequence of carbonaceous phyllitic schists and metamorphosed lithic arenite sandstones and conglomerates and a distinctive limestone with large clastic calcite grains crop out. The sequence, the Tucutunemo formation, is considered to be the uppermost member of the Caracas group of metasedimentary rocks and to overlie conformably the Las Mercedes formation.

The volcanic rocks of the Villa de Cura group are considered to have been erupted after the deposition of the Tucutunemo formation. Possibly the volcanic rocks were erupted in a geographically separate area. Scanty paleontologic evidence suggests an Early Cretaceous age for the Caracas group.

In mid-Cretaceous times the main crustal deformation took place, accompanied by the intrusion of ultramafic rocks. The grade of metamorphism attained was not greater than that represented by the albite-epidote-amphibolite facies of regional metamorphism.

After the deformation another series of spilitic basalts and tuffs, the Tiara volcanic rocks, was extruded. These extrusions are texturally and mineralogically distinct from those of the Villa de Cura group. The Arrayanes formation on the southern boundary of the map area consists of lithic wacke siltstones, sandstones, and conglomerates composed largely of Tiara pebbles. The formation is dated by a Coniacian ammonite found near San Juan de los Morros. Neither the top nor the bottom of the formation have been observed.

In Maestrichtian to Paleocene times deposition of calcareous lithic wacke siltstones and sandstones and aphanitic foraminiferal limestones was continuous. The Maestrichtian sequence in the present mountain belt is referred to as the Paracotos formation. A second weaker orogeny began after the deposition of the Paracotos formation. The Tiara and Paracotos formations were caught within the deforming mountain belt and underwent mild dynamic metamorphism. The Arrayanes and Maestrichtian rocks to the south were merely carried northward on the south limb of this belt and were unaffected by the metamorphism. During Paleocene time, deposition was conformable with the Maestrichtian in the south but unconformable in the north. A third weak deformation took place in late- or post-Paleocene time.

The dominant structural trend of N.75°E. is explained by north-northwest—south–southeast compression. This compression could have resulted from an east–west shear couple produced by the movement of the Caribbean block eastward into the deforming arcuate tectogene. Normal faulting, possibly in response to isostatic adjustment, took place after the deformations. This faulting was accompanied by solid reinjection of the ultramafic rocks.


Robotic Surgery is getting widely spread and applied to more and more clinical cases due to its advantages compared to open surgery, for both the patients and surgeons. However, Robotic Surgery requires a different set of skills and learning compared to open and also laparoscopic surgery. Tele-operation for a robotic system with hand controllers, the delay in the hand commands to be translated into robotic movements, slowness of the robotic movements, remote 2D or 3D vision of the actual operation, and lack of haptic feedback are some of the challenges that Robotic Surgery poses. Surgeons need to go through an intensive training for Robotic Surgery, and the learning and skill development continues throughout their early professional years. Despite the importance of training for Robotic Surgery, there are not yet dedicated, low-cost, and widespread training platforms; rather, surgeons mostly train with the same Robotic Surgery system they use in surgery; hence institutions need to invest on a separate surgical setup for training purposes. This is expensive for the institutions, it provides very limited access to the surgeons for training, and very limited, if any, access to researchers for experimentation. To address these, we have developed in our laboratory a low-cost, and experimental Robotic Surgery Trainer. This setup replicates the challenges that a Robotic Surgery system poses and further provides widespread access through internet connected control of the actual physical system. The overall system is composed of equipment that a standard engineering laboratory can afford. In this paper, we introduce the Robotic Surgery Training System and explain its development, parts, and functionality.


In Act 4 of Shakespeare's The Second Part of King Henry VI, the Duke of Suffolk is captured after a battle at sea. The Captain of the ship plans to execute him. As Suffolk prepares to die, he says to Walter Whitmore, "Pene gelidus timor occupat artus: / 'Tis thee I fear" (2 Hen. VI 4.1.116-17); or, "Frozen fear seizes my joints almost entirely." (1) In a study of the classical background of Shakespeare's plays, J. A. K. Thomson has commented on Suffolk's exclamation: Apparently suggested by Lucan, 1.246: "gelidus pavor occupat artus." But it is possible that our poet, like Lucan himself, had in mind certain phrases in Virgil, e.g. Aeneid, 6.54: "gelidus Teucris per dura cucurrit / ossa tremor," "a cold shuddering ran through the hard bones of the Trojans." Cf., Aeneid, 2.120. In Aeneid, 7.446, we find "subitus tremor occupat artus." It needs a certain amount of scholarship to misquote in this way, for "timor" is as good (or nearly) as "pavor." (2) Shakespeare's editors have similarly noted the presence of Virgil, Lucan, or both in Suffolk's remark. In a gloss on the passage in the Arden edition, Andrew S. Cairncross says that Suffolk's words are "Possibly a confused and inaccurate recollection of AEneid, 7.446 (cf. 11.424): `subitus tremor occupat artus' and Lucan, Pharsalia, 1.246: `gelidos pavor occupat artus.' Cf. J. A. K. Thomson, Shakespeare and the Classics, 89-90." And in The Norton Shakespeare, Stephen Greenblatt remarks: "Cold fear seizes my limbs almost entirely (perhaps alluding to Virgil, Aeneid 7.446; Lucan, Pharsalia 1.246; or both)." (3) As Cairncross's reference and the paucity of commentary by other editors suggests, Thomson's brief discussion may be the most thorough exposition of the classical background of Suffolk's speech. While Thomson and Shakespeare's editors have pointed to the presence of Lucan and Virgil in 4.1.116 of The Second Part of King Henry VI, they have not fully explored the intertextual relationship between the passage from the play and the relevant lines from Virgil's Aeneid. A close examination shows that Shakespeare probably did not have Lucan's poem in mind, and that he deliberately echoes Virgil to compare Suffolk with Turnus. In Book 7 of the Aeneid, the Fury Allecto assumes the form of Calybe, the elderly priestess of Juno. She then appears to Turnus in his sleep. She tells him to burn the Trojan ships that are anchored in the Tiber, so as to persuade King Latinus to give him Lavinia as a bride. But Turnus responds by rebuking her: sed te victa situ verique effeta senectus, o mater, curis nequiquam exercet, et arma regum inter falsa vatem formidine ludit. cura tibi divum effigies et templa tueri; bella viri pacemque gerent, quis bella gerenda. (Aen. 7.440-44) (4) [But thee, O mother, old age, enfeebled by decay and barren of truth, frets with vain distress, and amid the feuds of kings mocks thy prophetic soul with false alarms. Thy charge it is to keep the gods' images and temples; war and peace men shall wield, whose work war is.] Allecto then reveals her true identity: Talibus Allecto dictis exarsit in iras. at iuveni oranti subitus tremor occupat artus, deriguere oculi: tot Erinys sibilat hydris tantaque se facies aperit. (Aen. 7.445-48) [At such words Allecto blazed forth in fury. But even as the youth spoke, a sudden tremor seized his limbs, and his eyes were set in fear; so many are the Fury's hissing snakes, so monstrous the features that unfold themselves.] She then triumphantly chastizes the fearful Turnus: en ego victa situ, quam veri effeta senectus arma inter regum falsa formidine ludit. respice ad haec: adsum dirarum ab sede sororum, bella manu letumque gero. (Aen. 7.452-55) [Behold me, enfeebled by decay, whom old age, barren of truth, amid the feuds of kings, mocks with vain alarm! Look on this! …


Objectives: The study was conducted to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of cancer in systemic sclerosis (SSc) by evaluating the incidence, prevalence, relative risk of overall and site-specific malignancies, predictors and cancer-attributable mortality. Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and Cochrane Library (inception-May 2012) were searched. Estimates were combined using a random effects model. Consistency was evaluated using the I2 statistic. Results: 4876 citations were searched to identify 60 articles. The average incidence of malignancy in SSc was 14 cases/1000 person-years; the prevalence ranged between 4%-22%. Cancer was the leading cause of non-SSc related deaths with a mean of 38%. Overall SIR for all-site malignancy risk was 1.85 (95%CI 1.52, 2.25; I276%). There was a greater risk of lung (SIR 4.69, 95%CI 2.84, 7.75; I293%) and haematological (SIR 2.58, CI 95% 1.75, 3.81; I20%) malignancies, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SIR 2.55, 95%CI 1.40, 4.67; I20%). SSc patients were at a higher risk of leukemia (SIR 2.79, 95%CI 1.22, 6.37; I20%), malignant melanoma (SIR 2.92, 95%CI 1.76, 4.83; I235%), liver (SIR 4.75, 95%CI 3.09, 7.31; I20%), cervical (SIR 2.28, 95%CI 1.26, 4.09; I254%) and oropharyngeal (SIR 5.0, 95%CI 2.18, 11.47; I258%) cancers. Risk factors include a-RNAP I/III seropositivity, male sex, and late onset SSc. Smoking and longstanding interstitial lung disease increase the risk of lung cancer; Barrett's esophagus and a positive family history of breast cancer, respectively, increase the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma and breast cancer. Conclusions: SSc patients have a two-fold increase in all-site malignancy, and greater risk of lung and haematological malignancies that contribute significantly to mortality. Vigilance should be considered in SSc patients with risk factors for cancer.


On the 9th of February, 1870, I brought under the Society's notice the neural arch of a huge Wealden vertebra which in the preceding summer I had obtained at Brooke, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. As it was quite unlike any known form, I referred it to a provisional genus Eucamerotus. From certain peculiarities of its internal structure I strongly suspected that when evidence of the form of its missing centrum should be obtained, it would be found to resemble a Mantellian Streptospondylian centrum in the British Museum, labelled "No. 28632. Wealden, S. E. England," And in a foot-note to my paper, I wrote "should their identity be hereafter established, there will still be the further question, What is this Streptospondylus?" During the past summer my suspicion has been verified, and the question concerning this Streptospondylus is also solved. I find that my Eucamerotus, Ornithopsis, Seeley, probably Streptospondylus Cuvieri, and the huge Cetiosaurus, Owen, whose recently restored remains strike the visitor to the Oxford Geological Museum with amazement, are all members of one genus (the first two are probably one species) characterized by opisthocœ trunk-vertebræ, having an unusually complex and very highly developed neural arch, but more particularly marked by a large and deep excavation in the side of the centrum beneath the root of the neuraphophysis†. I have learned from Prof. Phillips that this Cetiosaurus furnished the moterials out of which Prof. Owen constructed his genus; it claims, therefore to be its type. Should this


Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology that often affects women during childbearing age. Pregnant women with SLE are considered high-risk patients, with pregnancy outcomes being complicated by high maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. Obstetric morbidity includes preterm birth, fetal growth restriction (FGR), and neonatal lupus syndromes. Active SLE during conception is a strong predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes and exacerbations of disease can occur more frequently during gestation. Therefore, management of maternal SLE should include preventive strategies to minimize disease activity and to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes. Patients with active disease at time of conception have increased risk of flares, like lupus nephritis, imposing a careful differential diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, keeping in mind that physiological changes of pregnancy may mimic a lupus flare. Major complications arise when anti-phospholipid antibodies are present, like recurrent pregnancy loss, stillbirth, FGR, and thrombosis in the mother. A multidisciplinary approach is hence crucial and should be initiated to all women with SLE at childbearing age with an adequate preconception counseling with assessment of risk factors for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes with a tight pregnancy monitoring plan. Although treatment choices are limited during pregnancy, prophylactic anti-aggregation and anticoagulation agents have proven beneficial in reducing thrombotic events and pre-eclampsia related morbidity. Pharmacological therapy should be tailored, allowing better outcomes for both the mother and the baby. Immunosuppressive and immunomodulators, must be effective in controlling disease activity and safe during pregnancy. Hydroxychloroquine is the main therapy for SLE due to its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects recommended before and during pregnancy and other immunosuppressive drugs (e.g. azathioprine and calcineurin inhibitors) are used to control disease activity in order to improve obstetrical outcomes. Managing a maternal SLE is a challenging task, but an early approach with multidisciplinary team with close monitoring is essential and can improve maternal and fetal outcomes.


In the standard configurations of metal halide perovskite solar cell, the active layer, or absorber, follows a p-i-n or n-i-p electronic structure that is designed to enhance the separation and extraction of photo-induced charge carriers. The control of the Fermi level position across the film, between electron and hole transport layers, is therefore of paramount importance. Direct localized doping in metal halide perovskites being still elusive, the design of n-i-p and p-i-n structures has so far relied predominantly on surface and interface doping of the perovskite as well as on the control of the work function of the substrate and transport layers on which, or between which, the absorber is being placed. We provide here a short review of that work, emphasizing the fundamental studies of electronic structure performed on systems modified with organic molecular dopants. The review starts with a justification for the effectiveness of interface doping, based on the ability to move the Fermi level across the gap of the perovskite. We then review work done on the deposition of molecular oxidants and reductants on perovskite surfaces, including the mitigation of the surface states, and the impact of these dopants on energy level alignment with substrate and charge transport layers. The second part of the review focuses on the use of molecular dopants to either modify the work function of electron or hole transport layers to establish the boundary conditions for a p-i-n or n-i-p structure, or to enhance the conductivity of these layers in order to facilitate charge carrier extraction. Final considerations are also given on recent work on bulk doping of the perovskite layer with molecular dopants.


The binding of nonspecific human IgM to the surface of infected erythrocytes is important in rosetting, a major virulence factor in the pathogenesis of severe malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum, and IgM binding has also been implicated in placental malaria. Herein we have identified the IgM-binding parasite ligand from a virulent P. falciparum strain as PfEMP1 (TM284var1 variant), and localized the region within this PfEMP1 variant that binds IgM (DBL4beta domain). We have used this parasite IgM-binding protein to investigate the interaction with human IgM. Interaction studies with domain-swapped Abs, IgM mutants, and anti-IgM mAbs showed that PfEMP1 binds to the Fc portion of the human IgM H chain and requires the IgM Cmu4 domain. Polymerization of IgM was shown to be crucial for the interaction because PfEMP1 binding did not occur with mutant monomeric IgM molecules. These results with PfEMP1 protein have physiological relevance because infected erythrocytes from strain TM284 and four other IgM-binding P. falciparum strains showed analogous results to those seen with the DBL4beta domain. Detailed investigation of the PfEMP1 binding site on IgM showed that some of the critical amino acids in the IgM Cmu4 domain are equivalent to those regions of IgG and IgA recognized by Fc-binding proteins from bacteria, suggesting that this region of Ig molecules may be of major functional significance in host-microbe interactions. We have therefore shown that PfEMP1 is an Fc-binding protein of malaria parasites specific for polymeric human IgM, and that it shows functional similarities with Fc-binding proteins from pathogenic bacteria.


Nanoparticles exhibit unusual properties in contrast with their bulk properties due to small particle size and quantum confinement. In the present work, ultrasonic velocity and density measurements have been carried out in solutions of silver nanoparticles in micellar dispersion of cetyl tri-metyl ammonium bromide, CTAB. Ultrasonic velocity measurements at different concentrations of surfactant and temperatures were carried out using Sing-Around technique, operated at 2MHz. It is observed that ultrasonic velocity and adiabatic compressibility show abnormal behaviour with increase in concentration of CTAB in the solution, indicating the existence of the phase separations in nano-colloidal solution.


Abstract The evolution of glyphosate resistance in weedy species places an environmentally benign herbicide in peril. The first report of a dicot plant with evolved glyphosate resistance was horseweed, which occurred in 2001. Since then, several species have evolved glyphosate resistance and genomic information about nontarget resistance mechanisms in any of them ranges from none to little. Here, we report a study combining iGentifier transcriptome analysis, cDNA sequencing, and a heterologous microarray analysis to explore potential molecular and transcriptomic mechanisms of nontarget glyphosate resistance of horseweed. The results indicate that similar molecular mechanisms might exist for nontarget herbicide resistance across multiple resistant plants from different locations, even though resistance among these resistant plants likely evolved independently and available evidence suggests resistance has evolved at least four separate times. In addition, both the microarray and sequence analyses identified non–target-site resistance candidate genes for follow-on functional genomics analysis. Nomenclature: Glyphosate, horseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. ERICA


Accurate Energy Expenditure (EE) estimation is key in understanding how behavior and daily physical activity (PA) patterns affect health, especially in today's sedentary society. Wearable accelerometers (ACC) and heart rate (HR) sensors have been widely used to monitor physical activity and estimate EE. However, current EE estimation algorithms have not taken into account a person's cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), even though CRF is the main cause of inter-individual variation in HR during exercise. In this paper we propose a new algorithm, which is able to significantly reduce EE estimate error and inter-individual variability, by automatically modeling CRF, without requiring users to perform specific fitness tests. Results show a decrease in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between 28 and 33% for walking, running and biking activities, compared to state of the art activity-specific EE algorithms combining ACC and HR.


Purpose: To develop techniques for direct lungtumor tracking in fluoroscopic images without implanted markers. Method and Materials: During the patient setup session, a pair of 15 second orthogonal fluoroscopic images are taken and processed off‐line to generate reference templates. Each breathing cycle is divided into 12 phase bins. Setup image frames falling in a specific bin are motion‐enhanced and averaged, and an ROI that contains the tumor is selected to be the reference template for that phase bin. Each reference template corresponds to a tumor position in the image. During the treatment, as soon as a fluoroscopic image is acquired, the cross‐correlation score between each reference template and this image is maximized by allowing small shifts of the template in both X and Y directions. Then the tumor position is derived by averaging the tumor centroid coordinates in those templates of high scores (above 85% of the maximum score). For comparison, tumor position in each image frame was also marked by a clinician. Results: We tested our algorithm on six sequences of fluoroscopic images from six lungcancer patients. The automatically detected tumor centroid coordinates agree well with the manually marked results, with an average error of 1 mm. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of tracking lungtumor mass in fluoroscopic images without implanted fiducial markers. Future research will concentrate on further improvement of the accuracy and robustness, and reducing the computational cost. The project is partially supported by NCI grant (1 R21 CA110177 A 01A1) and NSF Grant No. IIS‐0347532.


The child support obligation of step-parents has recently emerged as a significant issue in child support law in Canada, both for legal practitioners and government policy makers. The promises of predictability and consistency which that heralded the introduction of child support guidelines have not been realized in this area. Since the introduction of the guidelines in May of 1997, there have been a significant number of litigated cases dealing with issues relating to step-parent liability for support. Practitioners dealing with such cases are faced with an uncertain and unpredictable body of case law, but one which raises the possibility, depending upon the discretion of the court and the circumstances of the case, of the imposition of fairly extensive financial obligations upon step-parents. The existence of step-families - in ever increasing numbers - gives rise to many legal issues with respect to the recognition and regulation of the relationship between step-parents and step-children. The very formation of a step-parent relationship raises issues about existing child support obligations that must be addressed by a legal system.The purpose of this paper is to review the developing law on step-parent liability for child support in Canada with a view to identifying and clarifying the assumptions and values that are structuring the law. I hope thereby to set the stage for an informed discussion of the appropriateness of our current legal response and the need, if any, for a change or clarification of policy direction, whether by judicial or legislative means. My view is not that imposition of support obligations on step-parents is necessarily wrong or that we should model our law on that of countries that impose either no or very limited obligations on step-parents. Rather my concern is that we should be conscious that we are moving into new territory and that we need to have a clear, informed sense of the nature of step-family relationships and the reasons that justify the imposition of stepparent support obligations. Without that, there is a danger that support obligations may be extended overbroadly and imposed for the wrong reasons - such as the privatization of support obligations to save public funds and or the reconfiguration of very traditional family structures.


The increasing amount of email data has led many companies to new challenges with their employees now having to deal with information overload while managing multiple communication channels at the same time, e.g., email, mail, and phone. Moreover, emails can contain attachments, i.e., files with additional information. Most existing approaches for reducing email processing time require significant domain specific customization efforts to achieve good performance and lack attachment handling. We aim at providing a more domain independent approach by integrating the process context and using the information expectations of a process to guide the document analysis (DA) schedule for emails and their attachments. We rely on the concepts of Attentive Tasks (ATs) and Specialist Board (SB). ATs are templates that describe all relevant and expected information about a process currently waiting for input. The SB provides a machine readable description of DA methods, so-called specialists, that extract all relevant information for further processes. We present our approach and demonstrate the benefits for a domain specific application, i.e., a financial institution.


Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Anti-tuberculosis drug resistance is an emerging health problem in Kenya and especially in Coastal region. This is a major challenge in tuberculosis control. Diagnosis is based on Ziel-Neelsen staining alone and patients are treated without information on sensitivity patterns. Aim: This study aimed to determine drug susceptibility patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Coastal Kenya. Study Design: Hospital and laboratory based cross-sectional study was carried between April 2015 and July 2016 at Coast General Referral hospital; Tudor, Port-Reitz, Likoni Sub-County hospitals; Mlaleo, Kongowea and Mikindani health centers. Methodology: Sputum samples from patients with bacteriological confirmed TB on microscopy were cultured on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) media. Strains of MTB complex from Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) slopes were subjected to drug susceptibility testing (DST) to first-line drugs including isoniazid (H), rifampicin (R), streptomycin (S) and Ethambutol (E) using proportional method on the Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) conventional method. Participants were offered diagnostic testing and counselling for HIV testing. Results: Drug sensitivity test was performed for a total of 210 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates for the first line anti-TB drugs. About seventy eight percent and twenty nine percent of the strains from new patients and previously treated patients were fully sensitive to all the drugs tested respectively. Prevalence of any resistance to one drug was 102 (48.6%, 95% CI: 20.45 - 28.23). Any single drug resistance was most frequent in isoniazid 30 (16.0%), Ethambutol 20 (10.0%), Streptomycin 18 (18.3%) and Rifampicin 4 (2.1%) in newly diagnosed patients. Among previously treated patients any resistance to streptomycin, ethambutol, isoniaziad and rifampicin was 10 (58.8%), 9 (52.9%), 7 (41.2%) and 4 (23.5%) respectively. Prevalence of MDR-TB defined as resistant to at least both isoniazid and rifampicin was 10 (4.8%) among new and previously treated patients respectively. Conclusion: The current study reveals that the overall resistance to first line anti-TB drugs was high. Although the rate of MDR-TB was relatively low, this signifies that conditions favouring the spread of MDR-TB are on high rise. Therefore, it is essential to address the problems of development of drug re-sistant strains of TB by establishing good TB programmes (DOTS). Patients' adherence to anti-TB drugs and introducing drug sensitivity testing (DST) services at County level hospitals will minimize occurrence of drug resistant.


The limited quality of public service given by PT. PLN District Soe as electricity supplier for people who live in Regency of Southern Timor Tengah arouses customer's dissatisfaction. The electricity's power outage or blackout will disturb and annoys costumer's activities, because electric power is one of many basic necessities in our daily lives for cooking, lighting, as energy source for some electronic equipments, supporter for health services and lots more. The purposes of this research are: (1) How does the quality image of National Electricity Company services in Regency of Southern Timor Tengah. (2) What factors that constraint and support service quality of National Electricity Company in the Province of Southern Timor Tengah. This research is held at working area location of PT. PLN District Soe for three months started from January to March 2016. The method of this research is Descriptive Qualitative, with purposive sampling as its sample collection's technique. Data source was taken from primary and secondary data by using research instruments of questionnaire, interview, observation, and documentations. The result of analysis shown that the quality of its public service is less than satisfactory because of too many blackouts for compensating insufficient electric power.  Slow responses in service occur because of insufficient manpower, many stealing of the electrical cable and electricity selling prize. As for supporting factor is physical facility. However, electricity is needed by our society, if there exists limited or poor quality in electricity services, the impact will make customer trust reduce to minimum level. Keywords: Service Quality, Electricity


The Tnt1 transposable element of tobacco belongs to the retrotransposon family and shares the structural features of viral retroelements including two long terminal repeats (LTRs) which are known to contain promoter regions. We show that two Tnt1 RNAs of 5.2 and 6.5 kb can be found. The 5.2 kb RNA matches with the size of the Tnt1 elements so far isolated (5.3 kb), whilst the evidence suggests that the 6.5 kb RNA could be a chimaeric RNA initiated in a gene in which Tnt1 has inserted. The Tnt1 5.2 kb RNA starts in the LTR, and the LTR can promote the expression of a translational LTR‐beta‐glucuronidase (GUS) fusion at a high level in transient expression assays. The Tnt1 5.2 kb RNA and the LTR‐GUS fusion of transgenic tobacco plants are specifically expressed in leaf‐derived protoplasts whereas they are not expressed in leaf tissue. The 5.2 kb RNA is also transcribed at low levels in roots. This RNA is induced after 2 h of maceration in the protoplast isolation medium, and its level declines rapidly after protoplast isolation. The induction requires only the presence of cell wall hydrolases, and is independent of wounding and plasmolysis. The induction of Tnt1 expression is not mediated by typical oligosaccharide elicitors released from the cell wall known to mediate defense gene responses. Tnt1 transcription features provide a first example of tissue culture‐induced mutagenesis in plants and a molecular basis for some of the somaclonal variation events.


Abstract. Space-borne measurements of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) columns are up to 10x more sensitive to upper tropospheric (UT) NO2 than near-surface NO2 over low-reflectivity surfaces. Here, we quantify the effect of adding simulated lightning NO2 to the a priori profiles for NO2 observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) using modeled NO2 profiles from the Weather Research and Forecasting–Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model. With observed NO2 profiles from the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) aircraft campaign as observational truth, we quantify the bias in the NO2 column that occurs when lightning NO2 is not accounted for in the a priori profiles. Focusing on late spring and early summer in the central and eastern United States, we find that a simulation without lightning NO2 underestimates the air mass factor (AMF) by 25 % on average for common summer OMI viewing geometry and 35 % for viewing geometries that will be encountered by geostationary satellites. Using a simulation with 500 to 665 mol NO flash−1 produces good agreement with observed NO2 profiles and reduces the bias in the AMF to


The female reproductive tract simultaneously guides and selects high-quality sperm using rheotaxis in mammalian species. Sperm quality, however, is traditionally evaluated only by their movement velocities and concentration using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), which ignores sperm rheotaxis. Here, by mimicking the female reproductive tracts' dimensions and hydrodynamic features, a new method is introduced to quantify sperm rheotaxis ability for evaluating semen quality. The combination of our RHEOtaxis quaLity indEX (RHEOLEX) and motile sperm concentration is able to predict sperm fertility levels in artificial insemination at various shear rates within 5 minutes. This means that RHEOLEX could be a biomarker for determining male in vivo fertility, unlike conventional semen quality parameters which fail to provide statistically significant predictions. In addition, a high RHEOLEX is associated with a low DNA fragmentation index (DFI), showing that this new parameter is able to identify low-DFI samples. Not only does this work highlight the importance of rheotaxis in determining male in vivo fertility, but it also provides a solid benchmark for developing fast microfluidic devices for male fertility prediction as well as DFI. Last, the data imply that the female reproductive tract might use rheotaxis to keep sperm with fragmented DNA from reaching the fertilization site.


Tone‐mapping constitutes a key component within the field of high dynamic range (HDR) imaging. Its importance is manifested in the vast amount of tone‐mapping methods that can be found in the literature, which are the result of an active development in the area for more than two decades. Although these can accommodate most requirements for display of HDR images, new challenges arose with the advent of HDR video, calling for additional considerations in the design of tone‐mapping operators (TMOs). Today, a range of TMOs exist that do support video material. We are now reaching a point where most camera captured HDR videos can be prepared in high quality without visible artifacts, for the constraints of a standard display device. In this report, we set out to summarize and categorize the research in tone‐mapping as of today, distilling the most important trends and characteristics of the tone reproduction pipeline. While this gives a wide overview over the area, we then specifically focus on tone‐mapping of HDR video and the problems this medium entails. First, we formulate the major challenges a video TMO needs to address. Then, we provide a description and categorization of each of the existing video TMOs. Finally, by constructing a set of quantitative measures, we evaluate the performance of a number of the operators, in order to give a hint on which can be expected to render the least amount of artifacts. This serves as a comprehensive reference, categorization and comparative assessment of the state‐of‐the‐art in tone‐mapping for HDR video.


Stem cells intrinsically express a subset of genes which are normally associated with interferon stimulation, and thus the innate immunity response. Expression of these interferon stimulated genes (ISG) in stem cells is independent of external stimuli such as viral infection. Here we show that the interferon regulatory factor 1, Irf1, is directly controlled by the murine formative pluripotency gene regulatory network and therefore upregulated in the transition from naive to formative pluripotency. IRF1 in turn binds to regulatory regions of a conserved set of ISGs and is required for their faithful expression in formative pluripotent cells. IRF1 also binds to an enhancer of the formative pluripotency transcription factor Oct6 and is partially required for upregulation of Oct6. IRF1 therefore acts as a link between the formative pluripotency network and the regulation of innate immunity genes in formative pluripotency.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to begin to explore the relationship among teachers' knowledge of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), knowledge of common treatments for ADHD, and acceptability of different approaches to treatment for ADHD (medication and behavior management). Relationships also were explored between these variables and teachers' training and experience in working with children with ADHD. Results indicated that teachers' knowledge of ADHD, years of teaching experience with students with ADHD, and training demonstrated positive relationships with ratings of medication acceptability. In addition, teachers' participation in ADHD training was positively correlated with knowledge of ADHD and acceptability of behavior management strategies. Overall, fewer positive relationships were observed than predicted. In addition, observed statistically significant relationships were relatively small in magnitude, raising questions about the importance of considering these variables in intervention planning for students with ADHD. Directions for future research are discussed.


Diurnal raptors were counted monthly in the "Playón de Mismaloya", reserve, Jalisco, Mexico, from November 1997 to October 1998. We identified 11 species; eight of them migrants, one resident and two resident with migrant populations. The highest increase in total number of individuals was from December to March, influenced mainly by the presence of Caracara polancus (Crested Caracara), Falco sparverius (American Kestrel) and Pandion haliaetus (Osprey). The two former species were observed frequently in open areas, where they could detect prey more easily, while ospreys were found only in estuaries, lagoons and beach, where food was available.


AIM
This methodological study aimed to adapt the MISSCARE Survey-Patient, which evaluates patients' experiences regarding nursing care based on their reports, and to test it for validity and reliability in Turkish.

BACKGROUND
Identifying the missed care interventions on the basis of nurse and patient reports are important to ensure an objective evaluation and develop solutions to the causes behind the failure to meet care needs.

METHOD
The study sample consisted of 267 in-patients in the internal and surgery services in a university hospital (n=267). The Turkish version of the survey was subjected to language and content validity analyses and to confirmatory factor analysis for construct validity. The reliability of the survey was tested through test-retest method and the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient.

RESULTS
It was determined that the original construct was preserved in the Turkish version of the MISSCARE Survey-Patient. The findings indicated that the scale was stable and reliable.

CONCLUSION
The Turkish version of the MISSCARE Survey-Patient was found to be valid and reliable.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
The survey can be used to determine the frequency and duration of nursing care based on patients' reports and is a valid and reliable instrument for cross-cultural studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with laryngeal hemiplegia (LH) show a frequency-dependent increase in specific airway resistance (sRaw), measured by body plethysmography. In addition to the flow-volume loop, usually considered in the functional evaluation of upper airway obstructions, variations in sRaw at respiratory frequencies of 30±5 (=0.5 Hz), 60±5 (=1 Hz) and 90±5 breaths·min−1 (=1.5 Hz) in 21 never-smoking patients (LH group, mean age±sd 55±12.09 yrs; 17 females) whose unilateral vocal-cord paralysis was documented by laryngoscopy and who had no signs or symptoms of other respiratory diseases studied. They were compared to 21 healthy control subjects (C group: 50.1±15.44 yrs; 10 females). The sRaw values at 30±5 breaths·min−1 were similar in the two groups (5.54±1.88 versus 5.68±1.06 cmH2O·s−1; p=ns), but at increasing frequencies (30±5, 60±5 and 90±5 breaths·min−1), they progressively and significantly increased in the LH patients (from 5.54±1.88 to 6.63±1.96 and 8.05±2.6 cmH2O·s−1; p<0.0005), and not significantly in controls (5.68±1.06, 5.85±0.95 and 5.9±1.12 cmH2O·s; p=ns). Linear discriminant analysis using ΔsRaw (sRaw at 1.5 Hz-sRaw at 0.5 Hz) and forced inspiratory flow at 50% of the vital capacity made it possible to correctly classify all of the controls and 19 of the 21 patients. In conclusion, the multiple, rapid and noninvasive plethysmographical testing of frequency-dependent increase in specific airway resistance with the flow-volume loop, allows the sufficiently satisfactory discrimination of laryngeal hemiplegia patients from controls.


With advances in medicine and people living longer with chronic medical conditions new subsets of patients emerge. One such subset is a group of patients for which seizure control is paramount yet they are not actively dying and their oral and intravenous route of administration has become unavailable/inappropriate. Traditional treatment for seizure management has been subcutaneous (S/C) midazolam, however this often does not balance Quality of Life (QOL) favourably for this interim period, primarily due to associated drowsiness. There have been numerous case reports using continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSCI) levetiracetam as an alternative for this group of patients, as a consequence of the perceived more favourable side effect profile. We have collated the research published to date which outlines the appropriate scenarios and limitations of levetiracetam S/C route (either intermittent or CSCI). We have outlined the side effects, dose regimens and practical issued regularly encountered. We have sought expert neurological advice and explored the limitations of other anti-epileptics via the S/C route and noted hopeful upcoming newer therapies such as Brivaracetam and Lacosamide. We have made recommendations regarding starting doses, disease aetiology considerations and practical titration and conversion issues. Within this area of rapidly progressing research, collating what has been studied so far and gaining support out-with specialist palliative care organises our thoughts and creates an overview on which we can base future research and develop guidelines to encourage consistent safe practice.


As a relatively new phenomenon compared to other ways of executing an international strategy, Strategic Business Alliances (SBAs) lack the theoretical support that most of their longer-established counterparts enjoy. Yet, it is our belief that the widespread use of SBAs in a large number of manufacturing and service sectors necessitates the development of a theoretical foundation. One of the contributions of this thesis is the assessment of the suitability of an established theoretical framework: Nalebuff and Brandenburger's game theoretical "Co-opetition". Whilst the authors had a much wider domain than SBAs in mind when they developed their theory, we will argue that Co-opetition can be an extremely suitable theory to assess deciding developments with regard to SBAs. Our empirical analysis of the major telecommunication SBAs does, thereto, not only provide a comprehensive overview of the most prominent alliance activities in this sector but it also serves as input to assess Co-opetition's suitability as a theoretical framework on developments related to SBAs. Besides the overall suitability of Co-opetition we will further assess which of the two extremes of the theory's central notion of the new Mindset, peace and war, best represents developments we witness in the telecommunication industry. In order to achieve that we have selected two theories that provide a clear representation of the two extremes. The comparison of the applicability of these two representing theories leads us to conclude that regarding SBAs in telecommunications the "peace element" of Co-opetition's Mindset is more applicable than the "war element".


Pneumothorax in the ED most often will be primary and spontaneous in a young person who may be treated with either chest tube, mini-chest tube, or aspiration of pneumothorax according to local preference. The other large group of pneumothoraces will be spontaneous but secondary to a disease process, procedure, or drug abuse. The treatment of these must be individualized because conservative measures may not work and the underlying process may require attention as well. Although gaining in popularity, the use of devices or procedures other than formal chest tubes is still not general practice. The major complication of pneumothorax is tension pneumothorax, which is rapidly fatal and must be excluded immediately in all patients regardless of the etiology. Treatment of this complication must be carried out without delay for further diagnostic studies by venting the chest. The significance of pleural effusion depends on its volume and composition. If the cause is not known with certainty or if the patient is dyspneic, thoracentesis should be performed. The fluid is sent for numerous tests including specific gravity, pH, glucose, LDH, and protein. On this basis it is determined as either transudate, which tends to be associated with more benign disorders, or exudate, which is seen with infection, malignancy, and numerous other processes. In all cases the underlying disease requires therapy but only certain exudates require aggressive treatment primarily. Many parapneumonic effusions and all empyemas are exudates that require tube thoracostomy.


The C++ Actor Framework (CAF) was designed for using multiple, exchangeable schedulers with a default choice of random work stealing (RWS) for load-balancing. RWS is excellently scalable, and by choosing a random victim scheduling is kept simple with minimal information required. On the downside, it ignores data locality and misses opportunities to improve the application performance. In this paper, we contribute a locality-guided scheduling that exploits knowledge about the host system to adapt runtime deployment and thereby improves the performance of actor based applications. We implement and thoroughly analyze a CAF scheduler which considers the trade-off between communication locality and execution locality. The former describes the locality of communicating actors, while the latter the locality between a worker, which executes an actor, and the location of its data. Extensive performance evaluations show a performance gain for data intensive application of up to 25% on a 64 core NUMA machine.


Travelling hexagon patterns have been observed in dielectric barrier discharge in an air-argon mixture. The phase diagram of hexagon pattern appearance as functions of applied voltage and air concentration is given. The spatial frequency of hexagon pattern increases with increasing applied voltage and air concentration. The current waveforms of hexagon pattern also vary with the air concentration. The drift velocity of travelling hexagon pattern changes from 4 mm/s to 18 mm/s.


Studies on audiences' information behavior paint a mixed picture of young and old people's interests, their involvement with news and information, and the effects news consumption has on their learning. By adapting Giddens's structuration approach, this study aims to assess audience behavior and its relationship with journalism by comparing the use behavior and attitudes of three age groups—adolescents, young adults, and adults—as characterized by distinct media socialization and use patterns. We identify types of information orientation—that is, a typology of behavior and attitudes towards news and information—for the examination of news audiences. Based on a representative face-to-face survey (N = 1,508) with German adolescents (14–17 years old), young adults (18–24 years old), and adults (40–53 years old), we identify four types that can be characterized by a certain pattern of news-related attitudes, the use of sources, and their relevance to opinion formation, as well as the perceived information level of participants. We examine how these types of information orientation differ between and among the three age groups and explore their relationship with audiences' socio-political knowledge. The findings show that not all young people are necessarily less interested and engaged with news and journalism than older people. Moreover, it is a combination of interest with the use and perceived relevance of journalistic sources that is relevant for positive effects on information levels.


Calm technologies help us avoid distraction by embedding notifications in our surroundings with peripheral updates. However, users also lose out on the passive awareness that comes from more overt notifications. In our paper, we present an initial study setup on shape changing circuits as notifications. We compare near and far peripheral locations to determine the optimal location for these notifications by assigning a primary task of arithmetic questions, and a secondary task of responding to bend notifications. Our demonstration will show the set-up of our study to encourage discussion on possible applications of shape changing notifications in peripheral locations.


The work reported in this thesis investigates the relationships between the structural features of oxide ion conductors and the resulting oxide ion conduction mechanisms. This is achieved using a combination of attempted syntheses of new materials with novel structural features, direct observation of oxide ion dynamics via neutron scattering and simulation of oxide diffusion pathways using ab initio molecular dynamics.
The results of a variable temperature solid state 23Na NMR investigation into nominal Sr0.6Na0.4SiO2.8 are reported, showing conclusively that the charge carriers in the material are Na+ ions rather than O2-. The preparation, characterisation and conductivity properties of the Sr1-xLaxSiO3+0.5x and Sr1-xLaxGeO3+0.5x series as well as Y3+ and Ce3+ doped BaZrSi3O9 are also reported.
Quasieleastic and inelastic neutron scattering studies have been carried out, investigating diffusion processes in La2Mo2O9, Bi0.913V0.087O1.587 and La10-xBixGe6O27. These studies extend the body of work reporting the use of neutron scattering techniques on oxide ion conductors significantly. Phonon density of states derived from inelastic neutron scattering provide corroboration of the results gained from ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. The quasielastic neutron scattering results allow direct observation of long range oxide ion dynamics on timescales of nanoseconds, the longest timescales observed in oxide ion conductors reported to date.
The findings from in depth ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) investigations into La2Mo2O9 and Bi0.913V0.087O1.587, with a larger simulation boxes and significantly longer simulation times than those previously reported, are also presented. These calculations have allowed the individual conduction mechanisms in these materials to be examined in much greater detail than in previous work. AIMD simulations have also been carried out to probe the dynamics in La10-xBixGe6O27 and explore the effects that Bi3+ doping has on individual oxide conduction mechanisms and overall conductivity. The AIMD simulations are supported by the first explicit electronic calculations of the lone pair locations and orientations in apatite materials, calculated via the use of the electron localisation function (ELF).1


: In 2013, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation embarked on a pioneering effort to advance a Culture of Health. This report focuses on two questions that are central to understanding how individuals and sectors think about health and are motivated to promote it: How can the commonly understood concepts of cultural identity (e.g., ethnic or religious; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus; military) and organizational culture be harnessed to develop a Culture of Health? How can incentives be used to promote individual health and engage investors and leaders within organizations or governments to promote health and well-being broadly? This study draws on 43 one-hour semistructured interviews that RAND researchers conducted with stakeholders whose work focused on cultural alignment, incentives, or both to learn how organizations are addressing and leveraging culture and incentives to promote health and well-being, as well as to identify facilitators, barriers, potential best practices, and lessons learned. Key findings include the following: Equity is often addressed in silos, which impedes progress toward a unified goal of health equity for all; members of specific cultural groups need to be given a voice in health-related activities; systems are built around prevailing cultural norms, making it challenging for those working with specific cultures to make cultural adaptations; and not all incentives are monetary. Recommendations include institutionalizing practices that ensure ongoing input from marginalized populations, identifying ways to help smaller organizations overcome structural inequalities, and institutionalizing health promotion efforts in sectors other than public health or health care to sustain collaborative efforts.


Abstract.  In the context of survival analysis it is possible that increasing the value of a covariate X has a beneficial effect on a failure time, but this effect is reversed when conditioning on any possible value of another covariate Y. When studying causal effects and influence of covariates on a failure time, this state of affairs appears paradoxical and raises questions about the real effect of X. Situations of this kind may be seen as a version of Simpson's paradox. In this paper, we study this phenomenon in terms of the linear transformation model. The introduction of a time variable makes the paradox more interesting and intricate: it may hold conditionally on a certain survival time, i.e. on an event of the type {T>t} for some but not all t, and it may hold only for some range of survival times.


Attempts are made to assign indication for cesarean deliveries to one of the four or five categories. Each delivery is assigned to the highest ranked indication noted for that pregnancy regardless of other indications recorded. A 10-group classification of cesarean deliveries which would be helpful in finding the contribution of different indications for the cesarean rate and also for comparison of the trends in cesarean deliveries among different study groups, or in the same group during different time periods. Most of these are audits and are based on retrospective assignment of indication(s) for cesarean. During auditing the obstetrician actually involved in the management may not always be present to assign the ranking to the indications.
It is suggested that the reason for the termination of pregnancy by cesarean be elaborately documented and foresee that the proposed way of documentation is 'easy-to-edit' and provides analyzed authentic information to any kind of audit that can be undertaken at any time. It will nullify the built-in bias prevalent in methods that allocate the highest ranked indication to a cesarean delivery. In addition, the obstetrician will be actively involved in reporting the delivery methodically which will indirectly compel one to analyze the decisions made.


The present study examines the feeding habits of anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus ), sardine ( Sardina pilchardus ) and round sardinella ( Sardinella aurita ). The results are combined with previously published information on feeding-related morphological features (i.e. mouth area, intestine length and tail area) in order to explore morphological affinities between species and the effect of ecomorphology on their co-existence. These species were mainly zooplanktivorous and no dietary differences were found with sex and season. Anchovy preyed mainly on Crustacea larvae, whereas sardine and round sardinella on Copepoda. In the majority of cases (>90%), the individual fractional trophic level of all species ranged between 3.0 and 3.5, classifying them as omnivores with preference to animals. The feeding-related morphological features differed between anchovy and the two other species, whereas only intestine length differed between sardine and round sardinella. The fact that round sardinella's diet and morphology show a greater resemblance to those of sardine, further support the hypothesis that is a particulate feeder as sardine. Hence the three species tend to exploit the same food resources differently throughout the year. Thus, they make best use of the environment and its resources, in order to avoid competition and achieve optimum feeding conditions throughout their life cycles


Genetic reporters such as the green fluorescent protein (GFP) can facilitate measurement of promoter activity and gene expression. However, animal autofluorescence limits the sensitivity of GFP and other fluorescent reporters in whole-animal settings like in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we present a highly sensitive Nanoluciferase (NanoLuc)-based method in a multiwell format to detect constitutive and inducible gene expression in C. elegans. We optimize detection of bioluminescent signals from NanoLuc in C. elegans and show that it can be detected at 400,000-fold over background in a population of 100 animals expressing intestinal NanoLuc driven by the vha-6 promoter. We can reliably detect signal in single vha-6p::Nanoluc-expressing worms from all developmental stages. Furthermore, we can detect signal from a 1/100 dilution of lysate from a single vha-6p::Nanoluc-expressing adult and from a single vha-6p::Nanoluc-expressing adult "hidden" in a pool of 5000 N2 wild-type animals. We also optimize various steps of this protocol, which involves a lysis step that can be performed in minutes. As a proof-of-concept, we used NanoLuc to monitor the promoter activity of the pals-5 stress/immune reporter and were able to measure 300- and 50-fold increased NanoLuc activity after proteasome blockade and infection with microsporidia, respectively. Altogether, these results indicate that NanoLuc provides a highly sensitive genetic reporter for rapidly monitoring whole-animal gene expression in C. elegans.


Velocity and temperature profiles and laminar boundary-layer characteristics have been computed for Mach numbers from 1 to 10, utilizing experimental values of the heat capacity, viscosity, and conductivity. The analysis shows that effective temperature, which is a function of the surface temperature and stream conditions, arises naturally and is the proper reference temperature to be used in heat-transfer calculations. The effective temperature and the recovery temperature become identical for the condition of zero heat transfer.


The relationship between self-efficacy (a situation or task specific form of confidence) and performance has long been accepted as positive and reciprocal. However, recent challenges in the literature have demonstrated that it is only under certain conditions that the relationship remains positive, and that a number of boundary conditions affect the direction of the relationship when examined at the within-person level of analysis. One consistent factor throughout the within-person research is that overconfidence (confidence levels above that of actual performance), is related a decrease in effort, which in turn may contribute to poorer performance. Thus, a negative relationship between self-efficacy and performance at the within-person level is observed. Despite the surge in research examining the within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance and moderating variables, the potential moderating role of the self (e.g., individual differences) seems to have been neglected and the role of effort is yet to be fully understood. Thus, the aims of the thesis are twofold. The primary aim of the thesis is to explore the role of the self within the within-person self-efficacy and performance relationship. In chapter 2, participants performed a golf putting task in front of an on-looking peer, in order to examine the positive bias often found in self-predictions of performance (but not in peer predictions). Contrary to previous research, results revealed that the self was no more biased than the on-looking peer, perhaps due to the presence of objective performance feedback. Chapter three examined subclinical narcissism as a moderator of the within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance, since individuals high in subclinical narcissism have demonstrated overly positive views of the self. Results revealed that narcissism moderated the relationship between previous performance and subsequent self-efficacy but not the relationship between self-efficacy and subsequent performance. Chapters three and four addressed the secondary aim of the thesis, to further explore the role of effort. Chapter three adopted a
2
psychophysiological measure of effort, and found tentative evidence that individuals high in subclinical narcissism may have engaged in ego-protecting strategies (under-reporting their self-report effort). Chapter four sought to find evidence for the argument that the relationship between preparatory self-efficacy and preparatory effort would be an inverted 'U' (Feltz et al., 2008), however no evidence was found. Overall, the results demonstrate the importance of considering the role of the self within the self-efficacy and performance relationship, and suggests that advances in the measurement of effort are needed in order to understand the role of effort as an underlying mechanism further.


The IRSDACE project - Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue in the Age of Collaborative Economy -,
funded by DG EMPL of the European Commission, aims to identify how traditional players in the
labour market, e.g. trade unions, employers' associations, member states and the EU, experience and
respond to the collaborative economy.
IRSDACE had five main tasks: i) conceptualisation of platform work, its place in the labour market,
employment policy and industrial relations; ii) analysis of discourse on platform economy among
established industrial relations actors; iii) assessment of the implications of workers' experience with
the platform economy for industrial relations and social dialogue; iv) comparative analysis of national
experiences; and v) analysis of how EU-level employment policy and the industrial relations agenda
should respond to the emergence of work in the platforms economy.
One of the project's initial difficulties and findings relates directly to the name collaborative. It has
become clear to the research partners that this new reality encompasses many situations where no
collaboration (nor sharing) takes place. Hence, the partners have opted for the use of the neutral
term platform economy. Nevertheless, when contacting platform workers or national stakeholders,
the researchers were faced with the need to use the corresponding local language terms of
collaborative or sharing economy as these are the names known to the general public. We therefore
recommend that these terms are treated as synonyms in the context of the IRSDACE results.
Seven country case studies have been produced in this project covering Belgium, France, Germany,
Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and Denmark. The country case studies were prepared based on literature
reviews, interviews and country focus groups. The methods used as well as the results for each
country are described in each individual report. The reports show both the perspectives of industrial
relations actors at the national level and the experiences of platform workers. A final project output
brings the national case study results together in a comparative study.
The project started in January 2017, finishing in December 2018. CEPS is the project coordinator in a
partnership with IZA (DE), FAOS at the University of Copenhagen (DK), Fundacion Alternativas (ES)
and CELSI (SK).


Randomly labeled tritiated angiotensin has been prepared with a specific activity of 300 �c/mg and with undiminished pressor and oxytocic activity. After infusion, angiotensin accumulated in the kidneys, adrenal glands, and uterus. Thirty minutes after infusion high levels of radioactivity appeared in brain, but the electrophoretic mobility differed from that of angiotensin II. Incubation of angiotensin with hemolyzed human red blood cells or diluted human plasma rapidly inactivated the pressor activity with production of metabolic products separable by paper chromatography. But if undiluted plasma is used with incubation up to 6 hours, no loss of activity occurs.


The dynamic agent based model of system which turn out the self-adjusting system, are considered in this text. As a distinguish from usual microeconomic approach we characterise the choice of participant not by utility function but by algorithm of behavior(automaton) . Each participant uses only part of the all information i.e. he uses only information which is his own information. There two kinds of participants - sellers and buyers, each seller interacts with several buyers (and vice versa) and these interactions are a pair interactions. Nevertheless the system (model of market) for any initial condition reaches the steady state and this steady state is a equilibrium of this market.The fact that rather complex and large dynamic system really reach the state which is nearly equilibrium state at condition that nobody has all information and each participant has only small own information is surprisingly, by our opinion .


We propose a simple and efficient algorithm for FEM‐based computational fracture of plates and shells with both brittle and ductile materials on the basis of edge rotation and load control. Rotation axes are the crack front nodes, and each crack front edge in surface discretizations affects the position of only one or two nodes. Modified positions of the entities maximize the modified mesh quality complying with the predicted crack path (which depends on the specific propagation theory in use). Compared with extended FEM or with classical tip remeshing, the proposed solution has algorithmic and generality advantages. The propagation algorithm is simpler than the aforementioned alternatives, and the approach is independent of the underlying element used for discretization. For history‐dependent materials, there are still some transfer of relevant quantities between elements. However, diffusion of results is more limited than with tip or full remeshing. To illustrate the advantages of our approach, three prototype models are used: tip energy dissipation linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), cohesive‐zone approaches, and ductile fracture. Both the Sutton crack path criterion and the path estimated by the Eshelby tensor are employed. Traditional fracture benchmarks, including one with plastic hinges, and newly proposed verification tests are solved. These were found to be very good in terms of crack path and load ∕ deflection accuracy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The purpose of this research were to compare the comprehensive reading skill after learning classic Thai literature with a mind mapping technique of mathayomsuksa 3 students, and also study the student's attitudes towards studying reading classic Thai literature with a mind mapping technique. The sample was a class of 50 students from mathayomsuksa 3 in academic year of 2017, at Assumption College, Surasak, Sriracha, Chonburi, selected by cluster random sampling. The research instruments consisted of 10 lesson plans, a pretest and a posttest of reading classic Thai literature with a mind mapping technique, and attitude test towardslearning the classic Thai literature with a mind mapping technique. The data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation and t-test dependent sample.The posttest scores of mathayomsuksa 3 student after learning with Thai literature comprehensive reading using mind mapping technique, was higher than the pretest results at the significance level of .01.The attitude of mathayomsuksa 3 student towards the teaching using mind mapping technique was at "good" level.


2D arrays of cylindrical and rectangular gold nanopillars in square and triangular lattice were investigated for maximum field intensity enhancement above the metal dielectric interface. 3D-FDTD method was used for investigation and design of metallic photonic crystal. Photonic crystal was designed for maximum electromagnetic field intensity enhancement in infrared radiation centered at 980 nm wavelength. It was found that gold nanopillars of thickness 70nm, diameter 310nm and periodic in 620nm enhances the electromagnetic intensity by 100 times above the metallic nanopillars by exciting surface plasmon resonance. Enhancement of near-field intensity by two orders of magnitude is the promising way to increase the upconversion of infrared radiation by rare earth doped nanoparticles, such as NaYF4:Er,Yb.


Social development is the transformation of institutions to empower people. Since there is no comprehensive theory guiding on how this is achievable, World Bank, based on their experience, identified three operational principles to guide its approach to social development: inclusion, cohesion, and accountability. Social Inclusion encourages equal opportunities for men and women to contribute to society. Cohesive society allows individuals to work together to achieve common goals peacefully by overcoming hurdles. Accountable institutions ensure transparency and respond to public interests effectively and equitably. This paper employs an exploratory study and aims to address how Grameenphone Limited, a leading multinational telecommunication company in Bangladesh is contributing to the country?s social development. To investigate the research questions a documentary research approach is pursued. Documentary research is the use of documentary sources in social research. It refers to the analysis of the documents that contains information about the phenomenon under investigation. The findings show that Grameenphone Ltd. played a crucial role in creating equal opportunities for men and women to contribute to society. Furthermore, it also contributed in creating a cohesive society which allowed individuals to work together to achieve common goals peacefully by overcoming hurdles. Lastly, though social compliance, CSR and environmental sustainability, GP ensured transparency and responded to public interests effectively and equitably. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies which strive to explore how mobile telecommunications can contribute to social development.


Sport injuries can prevent athletes from maintaining a high level of performance; keep them away from competitions during long periods of recovery, resulting in loss of income or even career. An objective system to assess the nature of the sport injury, adopt effective rehabilitation training at each stage and determine more effectively the time that the injured athletes can safely return to competition can reduce such liabilities. The diagnosis and monitoring of rehabilitation of sport injuries are critical for professional athletes. This study explores the feasibility of using inertial sensors to objectively aid in the assessment of sporting injuries and to monitor the progress made by an injured athlete during rehabilitation. This is proposed through observation, and contrasting the resultant deficits of muscle strength, and balance control, between healthy and injured parts of the body. The posture and gait of an athlete is monitored using a motion capture suit consisting of 17 tri-axial inertial sensor units. Three methods of Centre of Mass (COM), Symmetry angle (SA) and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) are applied to injured and control limbs, for a group from professional athletes when they perform single leg stance and one meter forward hopping. All of the three methods successfully distinguish between injured and control limbs. The results are presented and future extension of the methods is discussed.


The poet and painter Lucas d'Heere (1534-1584) is best portrayed by his pupil Karel van Mander. Through his Schilder-Boeck (1604; 'The Book of Painters') we are informed that D'Heere was a portrait painter with a good memory, a designer of patterns for tapestries and collector of antiques. After the iconoclasm (1566) he left for England in 1567 because of his Calvinist ideas, where he was admitted as an elder into the Dutch religious community. There he made contacts with Dutch people, most of whom were also Protestants who had left their country, such as the historian Emanuel van Meteren, the poet Jan van der Noot, the merchant-poet Johannes Rademacher (Rotarius), the cartographer Ortelius and William of Orange's friend, the statesman and writer Marnix van St. Aldegonde. The manuscript Theatre by Lucas D'Heere is a sixteenth-century handwritten document that after some wandering was found again in the university library of Ghent.There are 98 watercolours, starting with Aaron, who represents the Old Testament. Aaron is the only figure whose clothing is described in great detail in the Bible. The last watercolour is a representation of a nearly naked man with a piece of cloth and a pair of scissors preceded by a poem on human vanity and followed by two poems in which the reader is told to lead a virtuous and humble life.Lucas d'Heere drew pictures of clothing from Antiquity as well as from the Middle Ages. Whereas the interest in Antiquity was common in his time, the interest in the Middle Ages was less usual. For many figures, illustrations in other books served as an inspiration, although the resemblance varies. Their analysis also sheds some light on the chronology of these watercolours. For most of the figures D'Heere used models. D'Heere is not very accurate in terms of dates and titles, especially not concerning the illustrations from the past. A number of folios have been left blank. It must haven been D'Heere's intention to provide these places with illustrations of figures later on.A stylistic analysis of the 195 figures in the 98 watercolours attempts to find a relationship between the way of painting and the type of source used as a model. We know that D'Heere was an excellent copier and a gifted painter as well. By making changes in a great many places he created his own costume watercolours. His figures are narrower in comparison with their models. It is quite possible that he used proportion figures. Through Van Mander we know that he had a sample book by Durer in his possession.Neither the manuscript by Heldt (1560-1580) nor the book by Vecellio (1590, 1598), which so far has been regarded as the first costume book, meet the criteria of the definition of a costume book as defined in this work. If the manuscript of Theatre by Lucas d'Heere had appeared in print in the 1580's, it would have been considered the very first costume book.


Sweet lime split bark is a disorder of increasing importance in Fars province. Previously we showed that a new variant of hop stunt viroid (HSVd-sb) was related to the disorder. It had homology with a noncachexia variant of hop stunt viroid (CVd-IIa-117) which causes cracking the bark of trifoliate orange rootstocks. In this study, showed that M.NgoBIX, BglI and BsrI restriction enzymes can cut HSVd-sb according to putative RFLP analysis using Vector NTI program (version 9.0.0) database but these restriction enzymes can't cut CVd-IIa117. In other hand some restriction enzymes can cut CVd-IIa-117 but can't cut HSVd-sb. Therefore these two variants can be recognized by these restriction enzymes.


This paper explores employees' use of organizational values in the context of a post-merger integration (PMI) change process, which entails adopting a new set of values. Within such a dynamic corporate context, organizational values may assist employees in proactively managing their work performance and job satisfaction by putting organizational values into practice and using them ('crafting') in the context of work. A four-week diary study was conducted in which 71 employees participated. Diary records and validated questionnaire data were collected during a post-merger integration process in a multi-national corporation, and were then analyzed using multi-level modelling. This study suggests that using and practicing organizational values can affect people's motivation to act proactively in changing work settings. We discuss the implications of our findings for future work in helping organizational members craft their work by drawing on organizational values for sustainable collaboration.


Economics can make good policy better and bad policy go away- a message often constrained by the political realities surrounding federal resource policy toward the West. This essay responds to these challenges to economic reasoning based on the lessons learned after a stay at the Council of Economic Advisers. My goal is to help make apolitical economists more effective advocates of efficiency.


Although research on three-dimensional virtual environments abounds, little is known about the social and business aspects of virtual worlds. Given the emergence of large-scale social virtual worlds, such as Second Life, and the dramatic growth in sales of virtual goods, it is important to understand the dynamics that govern the purchase of virtual goods in virtual worlds. Employing the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, we investigate how technological (interactivity and sociability) and spatial (density and stability) environments in virtual worlds influence the participants' virtual experiences (telepresence, social presence, and flow), and how experiences subsequently affect their response (intention to purchase virtual goods). The results of our survey of 354 Second Life residents indicate that interactivity, which enhances the interaction with objects, has a significant positive impact on telepresence and flow. Also, sociability, which fosters interactions with participants, is significantly associated with social presence, although no such significant impact was observed on flow. Furthermore, both density and stability are found to significantly influence participants' virtual experiences; stability helps users to develop strong social bonds, thereby increasing both social presence and flow. However, contrary to our prediction of curvilinear patterns, density is linearly associated with flow and social presence. Interestingly, the results exhibit two opposing effects of density: while it reduces the extent of flow, density increases the amount of social presence. Since social presence is found to increase flow, the net impact of density on flow depends heavily on the relative strength of the associations involving these three constructs. Finally, we find that flow mediates the impacts of technological and spatial environments on intention to purchase virtual products. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the theoretical and practical contributions of our findings.


Background : Spirituality plays an important role in the patients' health, well-being and quality of life. Spiritual well-being that can coordinate different aspects of human life had been considered as an important dimension of individual or public human life by the health care experts. We aimed to explore the concept of spiritual well-being from the viewpoint of nurses caring for heart patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of nurses (n=76) caring for heart disease patients during 2015. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of nurses' demographic characteristics and statements evaluating their attitudes towards spiritual health. Face and content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed, and its reliability was assessed by the Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 18 using descriptive and inferential statistics of Chi-square, t-test and ANOVA. P-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Findings : The mean age and work experience of nurses was 36.2±2.64 and 13.6±3.6 years, respectively. 48 (63.15%), 12 (15.7%) and 16 (21.05%) of the nurses had a high (Favorable), a medium (somewhat favorable) and a poor (Not favorable) attitudes towards spiritual well-being, respectively. In general, the nurses' attitude toward spiritual well-being has been good and favorable (38.1±4.02%). According to ANOVA test results, nurses' spiritual well-being was significantly correlated with their work experience (P<0.05). Conclusion: Considering the importance of spiritual well-being together with physical and mental aspects in nursing for providing spiritual care and the need for empowering the nurses with this skill, continuing educational workshops on spiritual care are recommended. Keywords: Nurse, cardiac care unit, Spiritual well-being.


Reliably predicting video quality as perceived by humans remains challenging and is of high practical relevance. A significant research trend is to investigate visual saliency and its implications for video quality assessment. Fundamental problems regarding how to acquire reliable eye-tracking data for the purpose of video quality research and how saliency should be incorporated in objective video quality metrics (VQMs) are largely unsolved. In this paper, we propose a refined methodology for reliably collecting eye-tracking data, which essentially eliminates bias induced by each subject having to view multiple variations of the same scene in a conventional experiment. We performed a large-scale eye-tracking experiment that involved 160 human observers and 160 video stimuli distorted with different distortion types at various degradation levels. The measured saliency was integrated into several best known VQMs in the literature. With the assurance of the reliability of the saliency data, we thoroughly assessed the capabilities of saliency in improving the performance of VQMs, and devised a novel approach for optimal use of saliency in VQMs. We also evaluated to what extent the state-of-the-art computational saliency models can improve VQMs in comparison to the improvement achieved by using "ground truth" eye-tracking data. The eye-tracking database is made publicly available to the research community.


Today, the most secure steganographic schemes for digital images embed secret messages while minimizing a distortion function that describes the local complexity of the content. Distortion functions are heuristically designed to predict the modeling error, or in other words, how difficult it would be to detect a single change to the original image in any given area. This dissertation investigates how both the design and detection of such content-adaptive schemes can be improved with the use of side-information. We distinguish two types of side-information, public and private: Public side-information is available to the sender and at least in part also to anybody else who can observe the communication. Content complexity is a typical example of public side-information. While it is commonly used for steganography, it can also be used for detection. In this work, we propose a modification to the rich-model style feature sets in both spatial and JPEG domain to inform such feature sets of the content complexity. Private side-information is available only to the sender. The previous use of private side-information in steganography was very successful but limited to steganography in JPEG images. Also, the constructions were based on heuristic with little theoretical foundations. This work tries to remedy this deficiency by introducing a scheme that generalizes the previous approach to an arbitrary domain. We also put forward a theoretical investigation of how to incorporate side-information based on a model of images. Third, we propose to use a novel type of side-information in the form of multiple exposures for JPEG steganography.


Aqueous, organic and alcoholic extracts of 163 Bolivian, Chinese and Pakistani medicinal plants were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the binding of radioligands selective for the D1 and D2 dopamine receptor subtypes expressed in Sf9 cells. Based upon the results of the initial screen, 25 extracts were selected for further evaluation. Concentrationresponse competitive radioligand binding studies were performed to obtain IC 50 values for the inhibition of the binding at D1 or D2 receptors by the selected extracts. The D1:D2 receptor ratio of IC 50 values for the extracts ranged from approximately two-fold selective for the D1 receptor to threefold selective for the D2 receptor. D1 and D2 dopamine receptors are known to be linked to the activation and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity, respectively. Therefore, the selected extracts were tested for the ability to either a) stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity using stably transfected HEK 293 cells expressing human D1 receptors (hD1-HEK) or b) inhibit forskolin-dependent stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity in stably transfected HEK 293 cells expressing rat D2 dopamine receptors (rD2-HEK). Two extracts were found to stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity in hD1-HEK cells. However, similar results were observed when untransfected HEK cells were used, suggesting that the ability of these two extracts to increase cAMP levels in hD1-HEK cells was not mediated through a D1-like dopamine receptor. While the majority of extracts did not have an effect on forskolin-dependent stimulation in rD2-HEK cells, six extracts were capable of inhibiting adenylyl cyclase activity in these cells. For five of these extracts, the inhibitory effect appeared to be dependent upon the expression of D2 receptors because no inhibitory effect was observed when untransfected HEK 293 cells were used. In summary, the results of this preliminary radioligand binding and functional activity screen of extracts from medicinal plants for pharmacologic activity at D1 and D2 dopamine receptors indicated that the majority of components capable of binding to the D1 and D2 dopamine receptor subtypes appeared to be essentially nonselective. While none of the selected extracts were found to have agonist activity at D1 receptors, several of the extracts exhibited inverse agonist activity at D1 dopamine receptors. Five of the extracts appeared to be agonists at D2 dopamine receptors. Therefore, several classes of extracts were identified which appeared to contained unique combinations of the following pharmacologic properties: D1 dopamine receptor antagonist, D2 dopamine receptor antagonist, D1 receptor inverse agonists and D2 receptor agonists. In addition, two of the extracts tested appeared to modulate adenylyl cyclase activity, but this activity did not appear to be mediated through activation of a dopamine receptor subtype.


The purpose of the paper is to improve methodology of teaching Mathematics via the use of digital technologies. The task of the paper is to identify the issues that require a theoretical and experimental solution. The objective of the paper is the educational process in the higher education institution, the subject of the paper is modern ICT. The result of the study is the learning tools of pedagogically considered and adequate bending of conventional and modern learning environment implemented into the educational process. The possibilities of using cloud technologies and Dynamic Mathematics system GeoGebra in the educational process through Stereometry specialized training have been revealed. The use of GeoGebra Dynamic Mathematics in Stereometry teaching will favourably influence the formation of students' STEM competencies. In order to encourage Mathematics and Computer Science teachers to implement effectively the elements of STEM education, it is suggested that cloud-based learning tools such as GeoGebra be used in the teaching process.


To investigate effects of cowpea addition and level of ripeness of plantain on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of Kaklo and Ofam in Ghana, A 2X4 factorial experiment with firm and soft ripe plantain and cowpea fortification of 0, 10, 20 and 30% was designed. The proximate composition and acceptability of products using a 7-point hedonic scale were evaluated. With the addition of 30% cowpea, the protein content of the Kaklo from the firm ripe and soft ripe plantain increased from 2.92% to 7.32% and 3.65% to 8.05% respectively, whilst the protein of the Ofam from the firm and soft ripe plantain also increased from 3.80% to 8.45% and 3.75% to 8.15% respectively. The 10% fortified Kaklo and Ofam were the most acceptable. The cowpea addition significantly affected the nutritional value of the Kaklo and Ofam. To obtain an acceptable cowpea fortified plantain-based snack, the fortification should be done at 10%.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by death of motor neurons in the cortex, brain stem, and spinal cord, progresses relentlessly, resulting in death within several years of diagnosis in most patients. Although the etiology of ALS is not fully understood, mutations in the SODI gene encoding Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase have been linked to some patients with the familial form of ALS. Both oxidative


This article examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the development of the principles of theft. The Roman and South African law of theft forms the basis of such a study. This investigation is made against the background principle that the law of theft has to do with the traditional forms of property, for example corporeals and incorporeals. Therefore, it is enquired whether the non-traditional forms of property, for example information or data is or can be regarded as property that is capable of being stolen for legal purposes or not. Keywords : ICTs; World Wide Web; codes; architecture; hardware; software; information; data.


The present investigation was carried out to study phosphatase and transferase enzymes leakage in the neat and extended Punganur bull semen before and after freezing with Tris and Biociphos-plus extenders. Among the bulls studied, the Alkaline Phosphatase (AKP) concentration in fresh semen was significantly different but Acid Phosphatase (ACP) was not significantly different and a positive correlation between the concentration of AKP and semen volume, individual motility, sperm concentration and total abnormalities were observed. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations were not significantly different and positively correlated with individual motility, sperm concentration, percentage of live sperms and acrosomal damage. Leakage of AKP, ACP, AST and ALT enzymes before freezing the semen of Punganur bulls was observed to be significantly higher in the semen extended with Biociphos-plus extender.


Clustering aims to identify groups of similar objects. To evaluate the results of cluster algorithms, an investigator uses cluster-validity indices. While the theory of cluster validity is well established for vector object data, little effort has been made to extend it to relationship-based data. As such, this paper proposes a theory of reformulation for object-data validity indices so that they can be used to rank the results produced by the relational -means clustering algorithms. More specifically, we create a class of relational validity indices, which is called dual-relational indices, that are guaranteed under certain, but easily met, constraints to produce the same results and, hence, the same cluster counts, as their object-data counterparts.


The limited number of orthogonal channels and the autonomous installations of hotspots and home wireless networks often leave neighboring 802.11 basic service sets (BSS's) operating on the same or overlapping channels, therefore interfering with each other. However, the 802.11 MAC does not work well in resolving inter-BSS interferences due to the well-known hidden/exposed receiver problem, which has been haunting in the research community for more than a decade. In this paper we propose SELECT, an effective and efficient self-learning collision avoidance strategy to address the open hidden/exposed receiver problem in wireless networks. SELECT is based on the observation that carrier sense with received signal strength (RSS) measurements at the sender and the receiver are strongly correlated. A SELECT-enabled sender exploits such correlation using automated on-line learning algorithm, and makes informed judgment of the channel availability at the intended receiver. SELECT achieves collision avoidance at packetlevel time granularity, involves zero communication overhead, requires no hardware support beyond what is available in offthe-shelf 802.11 devices, and easily integrates with the 802.11 DCF. Our evaluation in both analysis and simulations show that SELECT addresses the hidden/exposed receiver problem well. In typical hidden/exposed receiver scenarios SELECT improves the throughput by up to 140% and channel access success ratio by up to 302%, while almost completely eliminating contention-induced data packet drops.


We propose a mechanism to learn communicative action structure to analyze adversarial reasoning patterns in customer complaints. An efficient way to assist customers and companies is to reuse previous experience with similar agents. A formal representation of customer complaints and a machine learning technique for handling scenarios of interaction between conflicting human agents are proposed. It is shown that analyzing the structure of communicative actions without context information is frequently sufficient to advise on complaint resolution strategies. Therefore, being domain-independent, the proposed machine learning technique is a good complement to a wide range of customer response management applications where formal treatment of inter-human interactions is required.


We examine a multiple object tracking problem by jointly optimizing the transmit waveforms used in a multimodal system. Coexisting sensors in this system were assumed to share the same spectrum. Depending on the application, a system can include radars tracking multiple targets or multiuser wireless communications and a radar tracking both multiple messages and a target. The proposed spectral coexistence approach was based on designing all transmit waveforms to have the same time-varying phase function while optimizing desirable performance metrics. Considering the scenario of tracking a target with a pulse–Doppler radar and multiple user messages, two signaling schemes were proposed after selecting the waveform parameters to first minimize multiple access interference. The first scheme is based on system interference minimization, whereas the second scheme explores the multiobjective optimization tradeoff between system interference and object parameter estimation error. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the performance tradeoffs due to different system requirements.