The behavior of the Earth's magnetic field has been investigated in recent years through experiments and numerical models. At the University of Maryland, experimental studies are implemented in a three-meter spherical Couette device filled with liquid sodium driven by two independently rotating concentric shells, an applied approximately dipole magnetic field, and dynamo action. These experiments incorporate high velocity flows with Reynolds numbers ∼ 108 aiming to replicated the turbulence of convection-driven flows in celestial bodies like Earth. Collaborators at ISTerre have created the numerical code XSHELLS which features finite difference methods in the radial direction and pseudospectral spherical harmonic transforms for the angular directions. Highly turbulent flows are unfeasible to resolve limiting the abilities of purely numerical models. Experiments can produce highly turbulent flows but measurement can be intrusive. Our goal is to synchronize the numerical code with the experimental magnetic boundary data to get an idea of the unknown velocity field. In this project, we propose a validation study implementing Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filtering (LETKF) on the numerical model with synthetic observation data to study the behavior. This would allow us to prepare for scaling to the experimental data which introduces additional constraints such as asynchronous observations and model error.


Overconfidence has been extensively documented in psychology and economics. This paper studies the long-term interaction between two overconfident agents who learn about common payoff-relevant fundamentals, such as the quality of a joint project or their working environment, and choose how much effort to exert. Overconfidence causes agents to underestimate the fundamental to justify their worse-than-expected performance. We show that in many settings, agents create informational externalities for each other. When informational externalities are positive, the agents' learning processes are mutually-reinforcing: when one agent best responds to his own overconfidence, the other agent underestimates the fundamental more severely and takes a more extreme action, generating a positive feedback loop. The opposite pattern, mutually-limiting learning, arises when informational externalities are negative. Additionally, overconfidence can lead to Pareto improvement in welfare as it corrects the inefficiencies that arise in public good provision problems. This contrasts with the analogous single-agent environment, in which there is no scope for informational externalities, and overconfidence can only decrease welfare. Finally, we prove that under certain conditions, agents' beliefs and effort choices converge to a steady state that is
a Berk-Nash equilibrium.


The T4 molecule (CD4) is an important component of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receptor. As yet, no other component has been demonstrated. We report here that two cell lines, a B lymphoblastoid cell line (Gupta) and a glial cell line (HEB) derived from human embryonal brain tissue, are productively infectable with two distinct isolates of HIV as judged by electron microscopy and immunological and virological studies. These two cell lines do not display detectable surface CD4 glyco‐protein. However, using S1 nuclease analysis, we have found that both cell lines do express low levels of CD4 mRNA. Neither of them produced syncytia formation upon HIV infection, a recognized feature of HIV‐infected cells strongly expressing the CD4 glycoprotein. It is conceivable that the CD4 mRNA is translated, resulting in meager surface expression of CD4 molecules undetectable by conventional techniques. Therefore, infection with HIV may be one of the most sensitive methods of demonstrating low levels of CD4 expression by human cells. Furthermore, HIV‐infected Gupta cells have here been shown to be more susceptible to the lytic activity of natural killer (NK) cells than their uninfected counterparts. These phenomena may be important for pathogenesis of HIV‐associated disorders.


Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a specific group of bacteria interacting beneficially with plants. Among the known PGPRs, the species Pseudomonas fluorescens and Burkholderia pyrrocinia have been highlighted in both growth promotion and control of rice diseases. Ensuring the stability of the microorganism during production, formulation, distribution and storage has been a challenge for these species. In this context, the objective of this work was to develop liquid formulations, through a simplified process, that allows increase in the shelf life of these rhizobacteria for commercial application. Both bacteria were tested in 32 formulations under two storage temperature conditions: 8 and 28°C, resulting in 64 treatments for each species, which were evaluated for 180 days. Combinations of the adjuvants: molasses, glycerol, NaCl, PVP, MgSO4, K2HPO4 and yeast extract were evaluated. Formulations containing molasses, stored at 8°C, were considered the most efficient in maintaining microbial viability. The method used was considered efficient to select three formulations that allowed maintenance of the concentration of viable cells of P. fluorescens and B. pyrrocinia in 108 cfu.mL-1, for at least 90 and 150 days, respectively, not interfering with bacterial action potential.

 Key words: Pseudomonas fluorescens, Burkholderia pyrrocinia, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, shelf life, liquid formulations.


The Letter of James is one of the most significant, yet generally overlooked, New Testament books. Because Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, disliked this letter for its emphasis on good deeds, the book has come to be viewed as being in opposition to Paul's letters, which emphasize faith in God. To correct these and other misperceptions about James, Luke Timothy Johnson embarks on an unprecedented history of the interpretation of this pivotal letter, highlighting the vast appreciation for James over the centuries. Johnson boldly identifies the first-century author as none other than James, the brother of Jesus Christ. While modern skepticism casts doubt on this conclusion, early textual witnesses, as well as saints and scholars throughout the centuries, corroborate Johnson's position.


Increasing evidence indicates immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) after covid-19, but it remains unclear for how long the protection remains. Serology testing seems to have a higher sensitivity than molecular diagnostics from 8 days after onset of symtoms, and should be part of risk assessment and epidemiological studies of COVID-19. The performance of commercial serological point-of-care (POC) lateral flow tests are highly manufacturer-dependant. Low sensitivity increases the risk of false negative results and could result in unnecessary quarantine of test persons with developed antibodies. Low specificity increases the risk of false positive results and could lead to false assumptions of immunity. Carefully selected serological POC tests for sars-cov-2 can be used in large scale testing but should only be used by licensed medical staff able to understand their limitations and interpret the results.


We study $k$-GenEV, the problem of finding the top $k$ generalized eigenvectors, and $k$-CCA, the problem of finding the top $k$ vectors in canonical-correlation analysis. We propose algorithms $\mathtt{LazyEV}$ and $\mathtt{LazyCCA}$ to solve the two problems with running times linearly dependent on the input size and on $k$.
Furthermore, our algorithms are DOUBLY-ACCELERATED: our running times depend only on the square root of the matrix condition number, and on the square root of the eigengap. This is the first such result for both $k$-GenEV or $k$-CCA. We also provide the first gap-free results, which provide running times that depend on $1/\sqrt{\varepsilon}$ rather than the eigengap.


On the 15th of June 2006, the PAMELA satellite‐borne experiment was launched from the Bajkonur cosmodrome and since July 2006 it has been collected data. The core of the apparatus is a silicon‐microstrip magnetic spectrometer combined with a time‐of‐flight system, a silicon‐tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail counter scintillator and a neutron detector. The overall devices allow precision studies of the charged cosmic radiation to be conducted over a wide energy range (100 MeV–100's GeV) with high statistics.The primary scientific goal is the measurement of the antiproton and positron energy spectra in order to search for exotic sources, such as dark matter particle annihilation. PAMELA is also searching for primordial antinuclei (He). Concomitant, but not secondary, goals are the measurements of light nuclei and their isotopes for studying the energy dependence of cosmic ray lifetimes in the Galaxy, the monitoring of the solar activity and the study of the radia...


In Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV), deletions in the highly polymorphic region (HPR) in the near membrane domain of the haemagglutinin-esterase (HE) stalk, influence viral fusion. It is suspected that selected mutations in the associated Fusion (F) protein may also be important in regulating fusion activity. To better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in ISAV fusion, several mutated F proteins were generated from the Scottish Nevis and Norwegian SK779/06 HPR0. Co-transfection with constructs encoding HE and F were performed, fusion activity assessed by content mixing assay and the degree of proteolytic cleavage by western blot. Substitutions in Nevis F demonstrated that K276 was the most likely cleavage site in the protein. Furthermore, amino acid substitutions at three sites and two insertions, all slightly upstream of K276, increased fusion activity. Co-expression with HE harbouring a full-length HPR produced high fusion activities when trypsin and low pH were applied. In comparison, under normal culture conditions, groups containing a mutated HE with an HPR deletion were able to generate moderate fusion levels, while those with a full length HPR HE could not induce fusion. This suggested that HPR length may influence how the HE primes the F protein and promotes fusion activation by an ubiquitous host protease and/or facilitate subsequent post-cleavage refolding steps. Variations in fusion activity through accumulated mutations on surface glycoproteins have also been reported in other orthomyxoviruses and paramyxoviruses. This may in part contribute to the different virulence and tissue tropism reported for HPR0 and HPR deleted ISAV genotypes.


Background: Molecular breeding is an essential tool for accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement, towards meeting the need to feed an ever-growing world population. Establishing low-cost, flexible genotyping platforms in small, public and regional laboratories can stimulate the application of molecular breeding in developing countries. These laboratories can serve plant breeding projects requiring lowto medium-density markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS) and quality control (QC) activities. Methods: We performed two QC and MAS experiments consisting of 637 maize lines, using an optimised genotyping workflow involving an in-house competitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) genotyping system with an optimised sample collection, preparation, and DNA extraction and quantitation process. A smaller volume of leaf-disc size plant samples was collected directly in 96-well plates for DNA extraction, using a slightly modified CTAB-based DArT DNA extraction protocol. DNA quality and quantity analyses were performed using a microplate reader, and the KASP genotyping and data analysis was performed in our laboratory. Results: Applying the optimized genotyping workflow expedited the QC and MAS experiments from over five weeks (when outsourcing) to two weeks and eliminated the shipping cost. Using a set of 28 KASP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) validated for maize, the QC experiment revealed the genetic identity of four maize varieties taken from five seed sources. Another set of 10 KASP SNPs was sufficient in verifying the parentage of 390 F1 lines. The KASP-based MAS was successfully applied to a maize pro-vitamin A (PVA) breeding program and for introgressing the aflatoxin resistance gene into elite tropical maize lines. Conclusion: This improved workflow has helped accelerate maize improvement activities of IITA's Maize Improvement Program and Open Peer Review Reviewer Status AWAITING PEER REVIEW Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. Gates Open Research Page 1 of 14 Gates Open Research 2022, 6:3 Last updated: 17 JAN 2022


Abstract: Crystals of Glycine with Sodium Nitrate (GSN) taken in concentration ratio of 1:1 were grown by slow evaporation technique. Solubility of the material was determined in double distilled water at different temperatures. Purity of the grown crystal was checked by CHN and EDAX analysis whereas crystalline nature was confirmed from powder X-ray diffraction pattern. Dielectric study of the sample was carried out between the frequency range 1Hz to 100 KHz. FTIR spectra along with Raman spectra was used to look at the presence of different chemical bonds and groups present. Optical absorption spectra recorded in UV-Vis (250-800nm) region for the GSN crystal was analyzed to determine the optical energy bandgap of the sample. GSN crystal was thermally investigated between 323-773 K at three different heating rates (5, 10, 15 K/min) and activation energy was computed using Kissinger method.


Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, or distal arthrogryposis type 2A (DA2A), is an autosomal dominant condition caused by mutations in MYH3 and characterized by multiple congenital contractures of the face and limbs and normal cognitive development. We identified a subset of five simplex cases putatively diagnosed with "DA2A with severe neurological abnormalities" in which the proband had Congenital Contractures of the LImbs and FAce, Hypotonia, and global Developmental Delay often resulting in early death, a unique condition that we now refer to as CLIFAHDD syndrome. Exome sequencing identified missense mutations in sodium leak channel, nonselective (NALCN) in four families with CLIFAHDD syndrome. Using molecular inversion probes to screen NALCN in a cohort of 202 DA cases as well as concurrent exome sequencing of six other DA cases revealed NALCN mutations in ten additional families with "atypical" forms of DA. All fourteen mutations were missense variants predicted to alter amino acid residues in or near the S5 and S6 pore-forming segments of NALCN, highlighting the functional importance of these segments. In vitro functional studies demonstrated that mutant NALCN nearly abolished the expression of wildtype NALCN, suggesting that mutations that cause CLIFAHDD syndrome have a dominant negative effect. In contrast, homozygosity for mutations in other regions of NALCN has been reported in three families with an autosomal recessive condition characterized mainly by hypotonia and severe intellectual disability. Accordingly, mutations in NALCN can cause either a recessive or dominant condition with varied though overlapping phenotypic features perhaps depending on the type of mutation and affected protein domain(s).


Canonical theories of bureaucracy demonstrate the need for enhanced monitoring in government hierarchies. I argue that intensive top-down monitoring may reduce the productivity of bureaucrats by frightening them away from the informal practices that they would otherwise rely on when completing daily tasks. Utilizing a unique dataset of sub-provincial inspections in China's recent anti-corruption campaign, I identify this "chilling effect" by exploiting variation in the timing of inspections from 2012 to 2017. I show that these anti-corruption activities lower the area of land development projects proposed by bureaucrats. Causal mediation analyses with investigation data and original measures of corruption potential reveal that these effects are unlikely driven by reduction of actual corruption. Extension analyses suggest similar consequences on revenue collection and environmental regulation. Although scholars of state-building equate low corruption with effective bureaucracy, these findings present a paradox where intensive state-led efforts to lower corruption may further undermine bureaucrats' productivity.


This thesis included five essays studying the performance of local governments in Norway. Four of the essays address variation in resource allocation and efficiency between the local governments, the fifth analyses variation in service level. The thesis has mainly an empirical orientation. One essay, presented in Chapter 4, provides a theoretical contribution to the study of efficiency variation in public sector service production. The empirical analyses concentrate on two spending components local government administration and long-term care. Chapter 2 and 3 study variation in the size of local government administration. Administration is a necessary input in both service provision and in the political decision-making process, and administrative spending competes with the welfare services for resources. The size of the administrative component determines the amount of resources available for the production of welfare services. Cost efficiency and service level within long-term care are the topics of Chapter 5 and 6 respectively. Long-tem care for elderly and disabled persons is, besides primary education, the major expenditure component of the municipalities.


We compared masses of definitive basic and alternate plumages of male Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) to evaluate the hypothesis that nutritional investments in basic and alternate plumages are related to the duration that plumages are worn and to assess the relative costs of prebasic and prealternate molls. Because these plumages are worn by males for approximately equal durations, we predicted that masses of the basic and alternate body plumages would be similar. To assess nutritional stress (demands greater than available resources) associated with molt, we examined the relation between remigial length and structural size and compared predicted and observed plumage masses of Blue-winged Teal and other ducks. If birds were nutritionally challenged during remigial molt, then we predicted remigial length would be influenced by nutrition rather than size, and remigial length and size would be unrelated. Alternate body plumage of male Blue-winged Teal weighed about 10% more than the basic body plumage; however, masses of both plumages were less than that predicted on the basis of lean body mass. We argue that deviations between observed and predicted plumage masses were related to factors other than nutrition. Further, remigial lengths were significantly, albeit weakly, related to structural size. We therefore concluded that, although the potential for molt-induced stress may be greatest in small-bodied waterfowl species, there was no clear evidence that molting male Blue-winged Teal were nutritionally stressed.


Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha (PPARα) is a therapy target in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. However, anti-inflammatory effects of PPARα in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remain unknown. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of fenofibrate, a ligand of PPARα, in ICH rat model. We found that engagement of fenofibrate increased nissl body and astrocytes, and reduced the neuronal damage, which was observed in paraffin section of ICH rat brain. Fenofibrate also promoted the proliferation of astrocytes that were isolated from adult rat brain. Fenofibrate significantly upregulated heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) at protein and mRNA levels in human glioblastoma LN-18 cells and rat brain astrocytes respectively, but nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells(NFκB) was downregulated after fenofibrate treatment. Results showed that fenofibrate-induced upregulation of HO-1 expression were inhibited after LN-18 cells were transfected with 50nM small interfering RNA(siRNAs) for 48 hours to knockdown PPARα. Further studies in rat astrocytes confirmed the rescue effects of PPARα silence against fenofibrate induced upregulation of HO-1 expression. Our data indicated that fenofibrate benefits neuronal protection through increasing HO-1 expression level and decreasing NFκB expression in PPARα-dependent manner. In conclusion, PPARα and HO-1 may function as significant targets to protect the brain during ICH.


Abstract. To monitor and manage the changes in the land use and land cover, is vital the process of classification; machine learning offers the potential for effective and efficient classification of remotely sensed imagery. However, not many articles have explicitly dealt with the effects of image fusion on land-cover classification accuracy. Although some studies have compared thematic mapping accuracy produced using different classification algorithms, there are no currently many studies that utilize image fusion for assessing different machine learning algorithms for classification purposes. The main aim of this study is to compare different machine learning algorithm for pixel classification of imagery fused with sensors Sentinel-2A and PlanetScope. The method used for image fusion is a variational model, the high spectral resolution of Sentinel-2A imagery and the high spatial resolution of PlanetScope imagery was fused; the machine learning algorithms evaluated are six that have been widely used in the remote sensing community: DT (Decision Tree), Boosted DT, RF (Random Forest), SVM radial base (Support Vector Machine), ANN (Artificial Neural Networks), KNN (k-Nearest Neighbors), for the classification four spectral indices (NDVI, NDMI, NDBI, MSAVI) were included, derived of the image fusion. The results show that the highest accuracy was produced by SVM radial base (OA: 87.8%, Kappa: 87%) respect to the other methods, nevertheless the methods RF, Boosted DT and KNN shown to be very powerful methods for classification of the study area.


Virtually all firms listed on Japanese stock exchanges report point forecasts of sales and earnings in their annual press releases. The availability of management forecasts in Japan provides a unique research opportunity to investigate managers' prediction of cost behavior of their company. Forecasted costs are available by subtracting forecasted earnings from forecasted sales. Using recent "sticky cost" research methods, the forecasted rate of change in costs can be compared with the actual rate of change in costs. Specifically, I describe the forecasted rate of change in costs as a function of the forecasted rate of change in sales, and comparing the forecasted rate of change in costs with the actual rate of change in costs. The rationale for this approach is, in theory, that costs are resources sacrificed to generate sales; hence, it is generally expected that costs increase (decrease) as sales increase (decrease). Basically, focusing on the relationship between forecasted sales and costs provide deeper insights into management earnings forecasts than focusing on the forecasted earnings because earnings are the aggregated measure of sales and costs. The major findings of this paper are that managers underestimate the rate of increase in costs when sales are expected to increase; however, they tend to overestimate the rate of decrease in costs when sales are expected to decrease, indicating that costs are underestimated regardless of the forecasted direction of change in sales. These findings imply that optimistic bias in management earnings forecasts can partly be attributed to the forecast error of rate of change in costs.


So-called D-neuron (trace amine (TA) neuron) is the ligand neuron of trace amine-associated receptor, type 1 (TAAR1). Reduced stimulation of TAAR1 on dopamine (DA) neurons in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) has been revealed to increase firing frequency of VTA DA neurons. A Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)-required histochemical methods (K. Ikemoto) were used to specify subgroups of D-neurons in the human brain (Ikemoto et al. 1997, 2016 (in press)), and to show D-neuron decrease in the nucleus accumbens (Acc) (D16, subgroup of D-neurons) of postmortem brains with schizophrenia (Ikemoto et  al. 2003). The human D-neuron system is found to be far developed in the forebrain in comparison with that of other species, including non-human primates (Kitahama et  al.2009). TA decrease caused by D-neuron reduction, and consequent TAAR1 stimulation decrease on terminals of midbrain VTA DA neurons leads to mesolimbic DA hyperactivity. Neural stem cell (NSC) dysfunction in the subventricular zone of lateral ventricle, which overlaps with the Acc, is supposed to be the cause of D-neuron reduction of schizophrenia. The rational is that the "D-cell hypothesis (TA hypothesis)" (Ikemoto 2012)  is essential hypothesis to link DA hypothesis (Hokfelt et  al, 1974)  with NSC dysfunction hypothesis (Reif et  al. 2006). From a therapeutic direction, (1) TAAR1 agonists or TAAR1 partial agonists (Revel et al. 2013), (2) DA D2 antagonists, and (3) neurotropic substances (e.g., brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), lithium, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants) have potential to normalize mesolimbic DA hyperactivity. Intranasal administration of these neuroactive substances and/or their precursors to reach the neuroleptic acting site, such as the subventricular-accumbal region, by using nanotechnology, is a possible prospective therapeutic strategy, which is devoid of gastrointestinal side effects. PM495 Neuropathology and functional analysis of schizophrenia associated variant in the MIR137 locus Murray Cairns, Heath Cairns, Adam Carroll, Simonne Sherwin University of Newcastle, Australia Abstract Small non-coding microRNA (miRNA) coordinate mRNA translation in the brain, and their dysregulation has significant consequences in neurodevelopmental disorders. This hypothesis is supported by strong genetic evidence at the genome-wide associated variant in MIR137 (rs1625579) in recent PGC mega analysis of schizophrenia. We used a TaqMan genotyping and expression strategy to investigate the allelic expression (rs2660304) in postmortem DLPFC from subjects with schizophrenia and controls with no history of psychiatric disorder (n=74). While no significant difference was observed in the expression of miR-137 in postmortem DLPFC between the controls and schizophrenia, we found that mature miR-137 expression was significantly reduced in the samples homozygous for the risk allele compared to those homozygous for the alternative. Expression in the heterozygotes was not significantly different to either of the homozygotes, however, when we examined the allelic imbalance by differentiating pri-miR-137 expression at each allele (rs2660304), the risk allele was significantly lower compared to the alternative. Functional consequences of dysregulated miR137 in neurons was then examined human SH-SY5Y neuroblastsSmall non-coding microRNA (miRNA) coordinate mRNA translation in the brain, and their dysregulation has significant consequences in neurodevelopmental disorders. This hypothesis is supported by strong genetic evidence at the genome-wide associated variant in MIR137 (rs1625579) in recent PGC mega analysis of schizophrenia. We used a TaqMan genotyping and expression strategy to investigate the allelic expression (rs2660304) in postmortem DLPFC from subjects with schizophrenia and controls with no history of psychiatric disorder (n=74). While no significant difference was observed in the expression of miR-137 in postmortem DLPFC between the controls and schizophrenia, we found that mature miR-137 expression was significantly reduced in the samples homozygous for the risk allele compared to those homozygous for the alternative. Expression in the heterozygotes was not significantly different to either of the homozygotes, however, when we examined the allelic imbalance by differentiating pri-miR-137 expression at each allele (rs2660304), the risk allele was significantly lower compared to the alternative. Functional consequences of dysregulated miR137 in neurons was then examined human SH-SY5Y neuroblasts electroporated synthetic miR-137 and its antisense antagonist using gene expression profiling. While over expression of miR137 produced relatively few changes in target gene expression the repression of miR-137 in these cells produced changes in a large number of target genes, many of which have also been associated with schizophrenia. These genes were also enriched in several pathways believed to be involved in the neuropathology of the disorder including, axon guidance, glucocorticoid receptor signalling, ErbB signalling, dopamine-DARPP32 feedback in cAMP signalling, and mTOR signalling. This suggests that the risk variant in MIR137 is an eQTL and results in haploinsuficiency in carriers causing dysfunction in several pathways relevant to schizophrenia. PM496 How delusion is formed? Hee Jun Kim, M.Da, Jong Suk Park a,d, Ung Gu Kang a,b,c,* a Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110–744, Republic of Korea b Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National


Much remains to be understood about the nature of exoplanets smaller than Neptune, most of which have been discovered in compact multi-planet systems. With its inner ultra-short period planet b aligned with the star and two larger outer planets d-c on polar orbits, the multi-planet system HD 3167 features a peculiar architecture and offers the possibility to investigate both dynamical and atmospheric evolution processes. To this purpose we combined multiple datasets of transit photometry and radial velocimetry (RV) to revise the properties of the system and inform models of its planets. This effort was spearheaded by CHEOPS observations of HD 3167b, which appear inconsistent with a purely rocky composition despite its extreme irradiation. Overall the precision on the planetary orbital periods are improved by an order of magnitude, and the uncertainties on the densities of the transiting planets b and c are decreased by a factor of 3. Internal structure and atmospheric simulations draw a contrasting picture between HD 3167d, likely a rocky super-Earth that lost its atmosphere through photo-evaporation, and HD 3167c, a mini-Neptune that kept a substantial primordial gaseous envelope. We detect a fourth, more massive planet on a larger orbit, likely coplanar with HD 3167d-c. Dynamical simulations indeed show that the outer planetary system d-c-e was tilted, as a whole, early in the system history, when HD 3167b was still dominated by the star influence and maintained its aligned orbit. RV data and direct imaging rule out that the companion that could be responsible for the present-day architecture is still bound to the HD\,3167 system. Similar global studies of multi-planet systems will tell how many share the peculiar properties of the HD3167 system, which remains a target of choice for follow-up observations and simulations.


In prenatal nutrition, intake of adequate and balanced diet is required for successful pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is an association between different levels of nutritional knowledge of pregnant women and healthy attitude and practice. This was a cross-sectional study among a group of normal pregnant Malay women who were selected based on systematic sampling during their routine antenatal follow up in the clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.A self-administered questionnaire of knowledge, attitude and practice of food and nutrition was used. The association of knowledge with healthy food practice and attitude was obtained with chi-square test. Findings of this study showed there was a significant association between level of nutritional knowledge and food practices on: frequency of snack (P= 0.003) and fast food consumption (P= 0.043), choice of healthy food for dinner (P = 0.005) and lunch (P= 0.016), frequency of eating chicken (P= 0.002), consumption of vitamin and mineral supplements (P= 0.006), type of activity during free time (P<0.001), kind of drink (P= 0.038), attitude about significance of physical activity (P= 0.003) and most important items when buying foods (P= 0.006). On the other hand, there was no significant association between knowledge level of participants and their frequency and type of breakfast intake (P= 0.836), consumption of healthy snacks (P= 0.168), frequency of consumption of fish and sea foods, meat, egg, beans, vegetables, fruits, and milk. This study showed most pregnant women have moderate or good nutritional knowledge. But their knowledge needs to be improved in order to affect their practices more effectively.


Feminist human rights activists make up but a small subsection of civil society in Serbia. These activists embody the epitome of active citizenship through their resistance to the hegemonic culture of denial, nationalism, and sexism. Establishing the link between civil society, transnational feminism, the alternative movement, and the contemporary feminist movement in Serbia became a pivotal site of inquiry for this research. To gain a fuller understanding of the current manifestation of this feminist subsection of the alternative movement, the investigation focused on how feminist civil society has changed and what additional dimensions the emerging generational dynamics have added as well as the role of globalization. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with three generations of feminist human rights activists in Belgrade. Each interviewee had a multifaceted conceptualization of the research question, which allowed for a variety of additional issues that had been invisible during preliminary research to materialize. The generational dynamics referred to above played a notable role in respondents' answers. It became clear throughout the research that the evolution of the movement has resulted in an evolution of the feminist theories and approaches needed to tackle contemporary concerns. However, the diversity of feminist approaches and activists shows the maturity of the movement and its ability to take on these issues on a wide, even global, scale by taking the pulse of the society and focusing energy on what will have the greatest effect at the most opportune time.


A simple, low-cost, efficient, and easily scaled-up process for fabricating materials with special wettability for efficient oil/water separation under harsh conditions remains a great challenge. Herein, a fluorine-grafted graphene-based coating was fabricated by a facile solution-processable dip-coating method. The coating, composed of fluorine-grafted graphene (f-rGO) and γ-oxo-1-pyrenebutyric acid (OPBA) as molecular glue, can densely adhere on the surface of commercial materials (e.g., polypropylene membrane, cotton fabric, and polyurethane foam) and can tolerate harsh practical environments such as boiling water, high acid, high base, and saturated salty solutions. Importantly, the coated membrane exhibits efficient separation of surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions under these harsh conditions with high recyclability and extreme flux as high as 1395 L m−2 h−1 only under gravity. The coated foam can uptake oils from an oil/water mixture with high absorption capacity and recyclability. The outstanding performances (including durability, recyclability, scalability, and resistance to harsh environments) of the coating highlights its practical applications for separation of emulsions and cleanup oil-spills.


Very little attention has been given to the combined effects of aging and disuse as separate factors causing deterioration in muscle mechanical function. Thus the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 2 wk of immobilization followed by 4 wk of retraining on knee extensor muscle mechanical function (e.g., maximal strength and rapid force capacity) and muscle fiber morphology in 9 old (OM: 67.3 ± 1.3 yr) and 11 young healthy men (YM: 24.4 ± 0.5 yr) with comparable levels of physical activity. Following immobilization, OM demonstrated markedly larger decreases in rapid force capacity (i.e., rate of force development, impulse) than YM (∼ 20-37 vs. ∼ 13-16%; P < 0.05). In contrast, muscle fiber area decreased in YM for type I, IIA, and IIx fibers (∼ 15-30%; P < 0.05), whereas only type IIa area decreased in OM (13.2%; P < 0.05). Subsequent retraining fully restored muscle mechanical function and muscle fiber area in YM, whereas OM showed an attenuated recovery in muscle fiber area and rapid force capacity (tendency). Changes in maximal isometric and dynamic muscle strength were similar between OM and YM. In conclusion, the present data reveal that OM may be more susceptible to the deleterious effects of short-term muscle disuse on muscle fiber size and rapid force capacity than YM. Furthermore, OM seems to require longer time to recover and regain rapid muscle force capacity, which may lead to a larger risk of falling in aged individuals after periods of short-term disuse.


This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm (EA) for developing locomotion gait of Sony legged robots. The selection of EA parameters such as the population size and recombination methods is made to be flexible and strive towards optimal performance autonomously. An interactive software environment with an overhead CCD camera is used to evaluate the performance of the generated gaits. The experimental results are given to show that the stable and fast gaits have been achieved.


Our objective in this work is video-text retrieval – in particular a joint embedding that enables efficient text-to-video retrieval. The challenges in this area include the design of the visual architecture and the nature of the training data, in that the available large scale video-text training datasets, such as HowTo100M, are noisy and hence competitive performance is achieved only at scale through large amounts of compute.We address both these challenges in this paper. We propose an end-to-end trainable model that is designed to take advantage of both large-scale image and video captioning datasets. Our model is an adaptation and extension of the recent ViT and Timesformer architectures, and consists of attention in both space and time. The model is flexible and can be trained on both image and video text datasets, either independently or in conjunction. It is trained with a curriculum learning schedule that begins by treating images as 'frozen' snapshots of video, and then gradually learns to attend to increasing temporal context when trained on video datasets. We also provide a new video-text pretraining dataset WebVid-2M, comprised of over two million videos with weak captions scraped from the internet. Despite training on datasets that are an order of magnitude smaller, we show that this approach yields state-of-the-art results on standard downstream video-retrieval benchmarks including MSR-VTT, MSVD, DiDeMo and LSMDC.


The left vagus was cut in rats on the neck; this was followed by a reduction of the glycogen content in the myocardium and by an increase in the intensity of its metabolism (by the glucose-I-C14 incorporation). Sympathetic denervation of the heart led to the increase in the glycogen level and a fall of the intensity of its metabolism in the cardiac muscle.


This book serves as an introduction to the statistical analysis of biological sequences using Markovian methods. It is the English version of the text by Robin, Rodolphe, and Schbath (2003). Although this book centers on DNA sequences, most of the lessons learned can be applied to more general sequences. The authors claim that a limited knowledge of mathematics is needed outside of basic probability theory, but this seems to be an optimistic perspective. However, given the material covered, the authors have done a fine job of presenting this material in a manner that does not require knowledge of measure theory. Chapters 1 and 2 briefly cover fundamental material on biology and simple sequence models. Chapter 3 introduces Markov chains of orders 1 and m, and discusses parameter estimation by maximum likelihood. Chapter 4 presents several types of heterogeneous Markov chains, including hidden Markov models, which have become quite popular in computational biology. Chapter 5, the heart of the book, focuses on the statistical properties relating to the occurrence of a general "word" of finite length in a random sequence. These words are commonly called motifs by biologists, and the sequence comprises of letters from the four-letter DNA "alphabet." The chapter presents models for studying both the frequencies of a motif along a sequence, and their locations. Chapters 6 and 7 apply the material from Chapter 5 to real genomes such as E. coli and H. influenzae. These chapters also give practical advice on competing models and different approximation methods. For statisticians with a little background in biology, this book delivers a very readable presentation on the analysis of DNA sequences to determine whether a motif is of statistical significance due to its overabundance (or underabundance) in terms of frequencies or location. This book is concise but sufficiently detailed. Biologists without a background in mathematical statistics may find the learning curve a little steep but tractable. The authors' continuous use of practical examples will be greatly appreciate by biologists and statisticians alike. This book is one of a kind, and I recommend it to any statistician interested in learning about DNA sequences and motifs.


Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of rear-end collision warnings presented in different sensory modalities while drivers were engaged in cell phone conversations in a driving simulator. Background: Tactile and auditory collision warnings have been shown to improve braking response time (RT) in rear-end collision situations. However, it is not clear how effective these warnings are when the driver is engaged in attentionally demanding secondary tasks, such as talking on a cell phone. Method: Sixteen participants in a driving simulator experienced three collision warning conditions (none, tactile, and auditory) in three conversation conditions (none, simple hands free, complex hands free). Driver RT was captured from warning onset to brake initiation (WON2B). Results: WON2B times for auditory warnings were significantly larger for simple conversations compared with no conversation (+148 ms), whereas there was no significant difference between these conditions for tactile warnings (+53 ms). For complex conversations, WON2B times for both tactile (+146 ms) and auditory warnings (+221 ms) were significantly larger than during no conversation. During complex conversations, tactile warnings produced significantly shorter WON2B times than no warning (—141 ms). Conclusion: Tactile warnings are more effective than auditory warnings during both simple and complex conversations. Application: These results indicate that tactile rear-end collision warnings have the potential to offset some of the driving impairments caused by cell phone conversations.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine how the typical purchasers of products with nutrition symbols differ from other purchasers with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. Furthermore the authors examine if the typical purchaser is similar across six product types in Denmark and in the Netherlands.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors estimate probit models using a representative panel of households registering all their daily purchases during a year, three years after the introduction of a nutrition symbol in Denmark and the Netherlands (the Keyhole and the Choices). The purchase data are matched with information about labelling status. Other product and purchase characteristics, such as store-type and organic, are controlled for.

Findings

Households with children tend to have a lower probability of purchasing labelled products compared to other household types, while urbanity increases the probability. This holds both across countries and across products. In Denmark education is positively correlated with label purchase, while in the Netherlands it is income. Generally, the observable characteristics of the consumers are poor in explaining the probability of purchasing labelled products which suggests that other aspects as the underlying attitudes and general health awareness may be of greater importance in identifying these consumers.

Originality/value

There is a lack of studies analysing the effect of front-of-pack symbols on households' product choices based on observed data as most previous studies are based on stated observation or purchase intentions.


The thesis focuses on the experiences of sixteen to nineteen year-old, full-time, Level 3 early years student-practitioners and considers how their understanding of the role of the practitioner changes from the start of their course to when they commence employment. The aim is to develop a coherent understanding of their developing knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions in preparation for employment. The study uses a mixed-methods approach to identify how their pre-service qualification contributes to the development of their practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using an on-line survey, a focus group and semi-structured interviews. From the one-hundred and fifty-eight responses to the survey, seven student-practitioners participated in a focus group and three participants, who had taken up employment, were interviewed.
Building on existing research, which has provided strong evidence to show the impact of highly qualified staff on children's outcomes, this study concluded that young, developing practitioners are motivated, knowledgeable and passionate about their contribution to children's learning and development. Of central importance to them were: the development of caring relationships and communication. Knowledge of child development theory was considered an essential knowledge base for ECEC practice; however, the newly qualified practitioners were unprepared for the level of responsibility of being in sole charge of children's care, learning and development.
The study has contributed a new understanding of the process of transformation of the student practitioners in three dimensions: Principles, Professional, and Practice. However, the transformations are not consistent and do not represent each student-practitioner in the same way; The constant across all student-practitioners is the Level 3 qualification, which, the thesis argues, is a proxy for what the student-practitioners know, can do, and understand, as well as a catalyst for their continued individual development.


In this next instalment of the series examining the responses to the 'status quo' of the credit rating sector, the focus of this article will be on the ever-increasing option being offered by Scope Ratings, a European firm that is aiming to represent a viable alternative by way of merging most, if not all of the small and niche credit rating agencies that exist within the European Union. The agency is advertising itself as one that is concerned with increasing the qualitative research that is undertaken when developing a credit rating, whilst also basing its approach on the incorporation of 'stress testing' issuances, in order to ensure the highest levels of accuracy. However, the composition of the firm and its leaders alludes to a potential of a continuation of the business practices that are now, rightly, seen as part and parcel of the credit rating industry – this article will therefore examine the viability of Scope Ratings in terms of its potential for offering a real alternative to the hegemony of the Big Three.


High-spin resonances observed in 28Si+ 28Si collisions are studied with a dinuclear molecular model. At high spins, a stable dinuclear configuration of the oblate-oblate system ( 28Si+ 28Si) is found to be an equator-equator (E-E) touching one. Normal modes have been investigated around the equilibrium, which are expected to be an origin of a large number of the resonances observed. Analyses of physical quantities are made and compared with the recent experimental data measured at Strasbourg. Since the E-E configuration is slightly triaxial, rotations of the total system induce mixing of K quantum numbers, called wobbling motion, which clearly explains the particleγ angular correlations observed as well as the disalignments observed in the angular distributions, in a simple and natural way. Furthermore, predictions are given for the angular correlations of the wobbling excited states. The importance of the angular correlation measurements is stressed, which provide identification of the dinuclear configurations by spin orientations of the constituent nuclei 28Si.


Buffer management in continuous-media systems is a frequently studied topic. One of the most interesting recent proposals is the idea of buffer sharing for concurrent streams. As analyzed in~\cite{ny94}, by taking advantage of the temporal behaviour of concurrent streams, buffer sharing can lead to a 50\% savings in total buffer space. In this paper, we study how to actually implement buffer sharing. To this end, we develop the CES Buffer Sharing scheme that is very efficient to implement, and that permits savings asymptotically very close to the ideal savings predicted by the analysis in~\cite{ny94}. We show that the CES scheme can operate effectively under varying degrees of disk utilizations, and during transition periods when the number of concurrent streams changes. We also demonstrate how the scheme can be further improved, particularly for situations when the number of concurrent streams is small. In ongoing work, we will integrate the proposed scheme into a distributed continuous-media file system which is under development at the University of British Columbia.


Introduction: There are few studies assessing pulmonary function and quality of life of PIBO patients.

Objective: Assess the pulmonary function and the quality of life of patients with PIBO and the correlation between both variables.

Methods: 14 Children with PIBO in follow up at the pediatric pulmonology, were included in this study. Study period: April 2009 - April 2010. Pulmonary function was assessed with spirometry, flow/volume curve and intrathoracic gas volume. A survey of self-administered Quality of Life was applied at the visit to investigate their global, physical and psychosocial quality of life. The Pearson linear correlation between quality of life and the pulmonary function test parameters was assessed, for statistical analysis p<0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The mean age of our patients was 12.4. The functional alterations were characteristics of an obstructive respiratory disorder in 85.7% and only 14.3% showed normal pulmonary functionof the patients. The quality of life parameters were in average 58.6% of overall quality of life, 60.9% of physical quality of life and 57.9% of psychosocial quality of life. We found a positive correlation between global quality of life and VEF1, FVC and FEF25-75% (correlation index 0.54, 0.53 and 0.53 respectively) as well between physical quality of life and VEF1, FVC, FEV1/FVC and FEF25-75% (correlation index 0.86, 0.81, 0.70 and 0.74 respectively).

Conclusions: Most patients with PIBO showed pulmonary function impairment characterized by an obstructive respiratory pattern. Better quality of life correlates with better values in spirometric parameters.


With the dissemination of knowledge in higher education, the publish or perish principle has become the norm for academics around the world to remain competitive. The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) phenomenon has thus emerged in academia and been utilized as a benchmark for research excellence and tenure considerations. While research has revealed that the publish or perish principle could have a multitude of issues in higher education, little attempts have been made to explore academics' outlook on the SSCI phenomenon in a broader geographical area, particularly in the field of English language teaching (ELT). To bridge this gap, twelve ELT academics were recruited from China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan with an aim to explore their perceptions, attitudes, and their perceived pros and cons of the SSCI phenomenon in their own institutions. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed through an interview protocol based on a matrix analysis via phenomenology. The findings demonstrate four conceptualizations that are formed and predicated on the SSCI phenomenon. Data also evince that although these academics were recruited from different countries, the SSCI phenomenon seems to be identical with regard to how academics are evaluated for promotion and tenure at the expense of several salient practices in ELT.


This booklet presents actions taken by the Nordic countries to speed the transition to a sustainable low-carbon society. It shows how sustainable development is possible, with strong climate polici ...


Although the etiology of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) remains unknown, the histopathologic examination of affected organs provides tissue diagnosis, a way to assess severity, and clues to pathogenesis. A common feature in organs affected by SS is lymphocytic infiltration, which presumably causes the functional changes and the diverse clinical features associated with this disease. So far, the salivary glands are the best studied organs in SS. Biopsy of major salivary glands is not a clinically convenient nor a very effective way to diagnose SS and can have serious sequelae. For these reasons, the minor salivary glands in SS have been studied for the last 20 years and used in diagnosing the salivary component of SS for more than 10 years. However, minor gland specimens can present different patterns of inflammation, and in diagnosing SS it is critical to distinguish between these patterns. Furthermore, a minor gland biopsy specimen must be taken from clinically normal-appearing mucosa and must contain sufficient glandular tissue for assessment.


An organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, imidazolium diphenylacetate diphenylacetic acid (IDA), was synthesized and grown by the slow evaporation method. Formation of the new crystalline compound was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The title compound crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system with the space group P. UV-vis-NIR spectral study showed that the grown crystal is transparent in the entire visible region with a lower cut-off wavelength of 275 nm. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to calculate the frontier molecular orbitals and natural bonding orbitals of the IDA compound. The frontier energy gaps calculated theoretically were useful to understand the charge transfer taking place in the molecule. The natural bonding orbital analysis provides a convenient basis for the investigation of the charge transfer or conjugative interactions in the molecular system. Vicker's microhardness study revealed that the title material belongs to the soft material category. The values of fracture toughness, brittleness index and yield strength have also been calculated for Palmqvist and median types of cracks. The title compound IDA is thermally stable up to 201 °C, as assessed by thermogravimetric and differential thermal (TG-DTA) analyses. The specific heat capacity of IDA is found to be 3.25 J kg−1 K−1 at 65 °C. The laser induced surface damage threshold of the grown crystal was measured to be 0.2645 GW cm−2 with 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser radiation. The nonlinear refractive index (n2), absorption coefficient (β) and third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ(3)) were determined using the Z-scan technique. An optical limiting study revealed that the transmitted output power increases linearly with the input power up to an irradiance of around 3.6 mW cm−2.


Background: Tobacco use in the United States is the chief cause of preventable disease and death. Preventing and identifying tobacco use through screening and education is essential to assist users to quit and to decrease overall tobacco associated health risks. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the integration of the 5A's tobacco engagement framework into the workflow at one Primary Care Center. Study objectives included determining baseline tobacco screening data prior to 5A's education, providing providers and support staff education on the 5A's process, reviewing and interpreting pre/post data of the 5A's process, and identification of barriers to using the 5A's process. Methods: This was a descriptive two-phase study. Providers and support staff were educated on implementing the 5A's framework. Retrospective chart reviews included pre and post data. Results: The chart reviews pre and post-implementation included 100 patients each. There was no significant difference in age (p=.22), race/ethnicity (p=.86), between the pre and post intervention samples. Twenty-five percent of the pre-implementation sample were current tobacco users compared to 44% tobacco user's post-implementation (p=.01). Among the tobacco users, there was no significant difference noted between documentation in the problem list (p=.67), provider note (p=.98), or cessation plan documentation within the provider note (p=.27) pre or post-implementation. Post-implementation chart reviews only identified 2 completed 5A's forms. Due to insufficient use of the 5A's tool, data analysis and interpretation related to implementation of the newly introduced tool was contraindicated. An additional report identified that 11 total 5A's forms were completed and scanned into the electronic medical record correctly over the 3-month study period. Furthermore, 10 out of 11 (91%) of the 5A's forms retrieved had all the 5A's components completed. Conclusion: Due to several barriers and limitations including time constraints and lack of provider familiarity with the 5A's framework, the 5A's were not routinely utilized by providers during the implementation period. Organizational support and additional provider education are needed prior to integrating the 5A's into the primary care workflow. Additional studies are needed to assess health outcomes related to the 5A's intervention tool. Running Head: TOBACCO SCREENING AMONG ADULTS IN PRIMARY CARE


In order to reduce the risk of induced seismicity related to underground mining, a number of preventive actions are applied in the form of passive and active prevention methods. The former are mainly of an organisational nature and their effectiveness is usually considered in the long term, while the active methods are mostly based on the detonation of explosives and are aimed to release the seismic energy accumulated in the rock mass. In this paper, modifications of the firing pattern aimed to concentrate the paraseismic vibrations while maintaining the appropriate excavation of the mining face has been verified on the basis of underground tests. The evaluation was based on fragmentation analysis. The obtained results confirmed, that the blasting pattern modifications related to the reducing of the face firing time do not cause significant differences in terms of the appropriate excavation of the mining face.


The Yakima River drainage is one of the most heavily irrigated regions in the state, and water use has been much contested and litigated. Due to this water demand and the increase in drilling of domestic wells, a moratorium on exempt well drilling was proposed in 2007. In this study geochemical data is used to evaluate the surface-groundwater interaction in the area around Cle Elum, WA. The hydrogeology of this area is poorly understood due to the complex stratigraphy where the valley floor meets the bedrock of the Cascade Range. It is important to understand the relationship between groundwater and surface water because more than the available surface water in the Yakima drainage is appropriated and many water rights holders depend on this water for their livelihood. This study began as a class project for an Environmental Geochemistry class at Central Washington University. Students collected samples from over 30 domestic wells and nearby surface water sources in the Cle Elum/Roslyn area. Trace element and major ion data are presented for these samples and are used along with geochemical analysis to draw conclusions regarding the different sub-surface water bearing units as well as the relationship between the surface and ground waters. This report concludes that exempt wells need monitoring and suggests the current policy of over-appropriation be reviewed.


This study examined the effectiveness of the Otago screening protocol in identifying school-aged children with severe speech and language impairments. In order to do so, the results of the Otago screening protocol were compared with those of comprehensive language assessment as determined by best practice protocol (Gillon & Schwarz, 1998, Kennedy, 2002). Following the completion of the screening and the comprehensive assessments, an evaluation of the true positives and false positives was calculated, and an analysis of the false negative outcomes made. Findings indicated that fourteen of the twenty participants were true positives, three were true negatives, three were false positives, and none were false negatives. The Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of the screening protocol was 100%. Test Sensitivity and Specificity were very high at 82% and 100%. Interrater reliability was very high, generally ranging from 92-100%. Adding a standardised measure of phonological awareness would improve efficiency of the screening protocol. Consideration of alternative screening tools, such as the GAPS test (Gardner et al, 2006) and the CELF-4 screening test (Semel, Secord & Wiig, 2004), should be made. Additional factors which could influence a screening protocol are discussed. The Otago screening protocol is a valid procedure to detect severe speech and language impairments in school-aged students referred to Special Education.


This paper presents a decision-support system for the management of highway assets that uses a dominance-based rough set approach (DRSA). The decision concerns the allocation of maintenance funds among various highways owned by a central agency, and it takes into account multiple evaluation criteria. The proposed methodology supports the distribution of available resources to improve safety on highways, and it considers the current condition of each component of the highway infrastructure (pavements, bridges, signs, guardrails, culverts, and vegetation). The multiple-criteria decision problem in this paper is a sorting problem, i.e., the highways are assigned to preference-ordered classes, and the resources are allocated according to this sorting. The DRSA enables consideration of the quantitative and qualitative criteria, and it provides recommendations in terms of if-then decision rules, which are easily understandable by the decision maker. This approach enables an interaction between the analyst and the decision maker, and the decision maker's preferences can be considered in the allocation of funds. This paper then presents an application of the proposed methodology to a case study performed for an Italian highway agency.


ABSTRACT Although calcification processes and the carbonate deposits in Halimeda have been described in many papers, previous workers have failed to recognize that a reorganization of crystals occurs within living individuals of common species of this alga. Detailed SEM observations of live Halimeda incrassata collected in Biscayne Bay, Florida, show that calcification occurs in two basic stages: (1) uniform-sized, small aragonite needles, 1-3 µm long, are precipitated in inter-utricle spaces and (2) these needles alter to anhedral equant aragonite approximately 0.1-0.5 µm in size. In addition, large aragonite needles, up to 15 µm long, are precipitated in open spaces, typically in the inner cortical and medullary regions during the second stage of calcification. Micritization of original skeletal needles in H. incrassata is extensive but is not readily detected with the petrographic microscope. Preliminary observations of another common species, H. opuntia, suggest that similar alteration processes also occur in this alga. Early micritization in live algae may be an important process of skeletal alteration that has not previously been recognized. This early alteration must be distinguished from postdepositional diagenetic processes in the sediment.


Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are one of the top causes of death worldwide. As there is a difficulty of drug penetration into the brain due to the blood–brain barrier (BBB), many CNS drugs treatments fail in clinical trials. Hence, there is a need to develop effective CNS drugs following strategies for delivery to the brain by better selecting them as early as possible during the drug discovery process. The use of in vitro BBB models has proved useful to evaluate the impact of drugs/compounds toxicity, BBB permeation rates and molecular transport mechanisms within the brain cells in academic research and early-stage drug discovery. However, these studies that require biological material (animal brain or human cells) are time-consuming and involve costly amounts of materials and plastic wastes due to the format of the models. Hence, to adapt to the high yields needed in early-stage drug discoveries for compound screenings, a patented well-established human in vitro BBB model was miniaturized and automated into a 96-well format. This replicate met all the BBB model reliability criteria to get predictive results, allowing a significant reduction in biological materials, waste and a higher screening capacity for being extensively used during early-stage drug discovery studies.


Background: Most preterm infants who develop necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) have received enteral feeds. Uncertainty exists about which aspects of the feeding regimen affect the risk of NEC. Aim: To examine associations between various enteral feeding practices and the development of NEC in preterm infants. Methods: Multicentre case–control study. 53 preterm infants with NEC were enrolled together with a gestational age frequency-matched control without NEC from a randomly selected neonatal unit. Clinical and feeding data were extracted and compared between the groups. Results: Significantly fewer cases than controls had received human breast milk (75% vs 91%; OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.98). The day on which enteral feeding was started did not differ significantly (mean (SD) days after birth: cases 2.9 (2.8) and controls 2.8 (1.8)). The mean (SD) duration of trophic feeding (<1 ml/kg/h) was significantly shorter in the cases (3.3 (3.1) days) than controls (6.2 (6.7) days) (mean difference (MD) −2.9, 95% CI −4.9 to −0.9) days. Cases were fully fed significantly earlier than controls (mean (SD) days after birth: cases 9.9 (4.2) and controls 14.3 (9.8); MD −4.4, 95% CI −7.3 to −1.5). Conclusions: These data suggest that the duration of trophic feeding and rate of advancement of feed volumes may be modifiable risk factors for NEC in preterm infants. Further randomised controlled trials are warranted to assess the effect of different rates of feed advancement on the incidence of NEC, as well as other outcomes.


Bovine tuberculosis, caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis, is a major endemic disease affecting cattle populations worldwide, despite the implementation of stringent surveillance and control programs in many countries. The development of high-throughput functional genomics technologies, including gene expression microarrays and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), has enabled detailed analysis of the host transcriptome to M. bovis infection, particularly at the macrophage and peripheral blood level. In the present study, we have analyzed the peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) transcriptome of eight natural M. bovis-infected and eight age- and sex-matched non-infected control Holstein-Friesian animals using RNA-seq. In addition, we compared gene expression profiles generated using RNA-seq with those previously generated using the high-density Affymetrix® GeneChip® Bovine Genome Array platform from the same PBL-extracted RNA. A total of 3,250 differentially expressed (DE) annotated genes were detected in the M. bovis-infected samples relative to the controls (adjusted P-value ≤0.05), with the number of genes displaying decreased relative expression (1,671) exceeding those with increased relative expression (1,579). Ingenuity® Systems Pathway Analysis (IPA) of all DE genes revealed enrichment for genes with immune function. Notably, transcriptional suppression was observed among several of the top-ranking canonical pathways including Leukocyte Extravasation Signaling. Comparative platform analysis demonstrated that RNA-seq detected a larger number of annotated DE genes (3,250) relative to the microarray (1,398), of which 917 genes were common to both technologies and displayed the same direction of expression. Finally, we show that RNA-seq had an increased dynamic range compared to the microarray for estimating differential gene expression.


The home run is indeed baseball's ultimate weapon. It can change a game in a heartbeat, making a tight game into a blowout or a seemingly easy win into a nail-biter. Homers are majestic, powerful, and awe inspiring. And sluggers are the sport's biggest stars, from the days of Babe Ruth through Barry Bonds. David Vincent, called"The Sultan of Swat Stats" by ESPN, delves into the long history of the home run with great detail and color. He starts when the rules of the game were highly unstable and sometimes the definition of a home run could change in a park from year to year; follows through the "Deadball Era," when the home run was rare; explores the explosion Babe Ruth brought to baseball in the 1920s; discusses how both world wars affected homer statistics; looks at great home run races such as Maris versus Mantle in 1961; assesses the effects of the juiced ball, juiced players, thin air, and smaller ballparks; and so much more. If there is something to know about home run history, look to David Vincent for the answer-Major League Baseball does. With Home Run: The Definitive History of Baseball's Ultimate Weapon, now you can know it too. A 1990s Nike commercial proclaimed that "chicks dig the long ball." In this thorough and colorful look at baseball's ultimate weapon, David Vincent shows you why.


Background: Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is an uncommon complication of Graves' disease, characterized by the triad of acute hypokalemia without total body potassium deficit, episodic muscle paralysis, and thyrotoxicosis. Graves' encephalopathy is an extremely rare form of encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (EAATD), characterized by neuropsychiatric symptoms, increased antithyroid antibodies and cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration, nonspecific electroencephalogram abnormalities, and cortico-responsiveness. Coexistence of both these complications in the same patient has not been reported before. Case Report: We herein present a 48-year-old white male patient with TPP and encephalopathy as initial presentations of Graves' disease. Flaccid tetraparesis was reversed a few hours after potassium level correction and the patient did not suffer any relapse with the successful pharmaceutical management of the thyroid function. One month later, the patient presented with dizziness and behavioral symptoms, such as inappropriate laughter and anger. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed meningeal enhancement and cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed a mild protein increase, with a blood-brain barrier disruption. With the suspicion of EAATD, the patient was treated with high doses of corticosteroids and improved dramatically. Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first reported coexistence of potentially treatable TPP and EAATD as initial neurological manifestations of Graves' disease, thereby underscoring the necessity of suspicion of possible underlying Graves' disease in patients with acute paralysis and encephalopathy of unclear origin.


Abstract Southern yellowjackets, Vespula squamosa (Drury) were collected at sites in Guatemala, in the Departments of Baja Verapaz, El Progresso, and Zacapa. Collection localities ranged in elevation from 500 to 1,880 m. These locations were forested, or partially forested with some pasture land and coffee plantings, Coffea arabica L. Two active colonies of this wasp were collected and analyzed in May of 2006. The two colonies were subterranean, and the nests had 9 and 11 layers, respectively, of paper comb completely surrounded with external paper envelope. The two nests included 10,581 and 20,715 cells, with 2,818 and 6,105 workers, 203 and 313 queens, and 790 and 454 males respectively. Samples of queens from each nest were dissected. These included numerous queens that were mated and possessed mature eggs, as well as numbers of queens that were unmated and had no eggs. Workers from each nest showed no ovarian development. The nest sizes and populations of wasps for these colonies were within ranges of those reported for nests of this species in North America.


The paper discusses the work of the correlation algorithm for automatically tracking objects of interest in a two-channel optical-electronic system in a complex background-target environment and the presence of intentional interference. Conditions in which the contrast of the desired object in both channels is negligible but not equal to zero are considered difficult in the paper. Intentional interference refers to masking interference of natural and artificial origin, which helps to reduce the contrast of the object in both channels. By two-channel means an optical-electronic system, which includes channels of the visible and infrared ranges. It is believed that the multi-spectral images of both channels are reduced to a single time and scale, which allows them to be integrated using various methods. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the likelihood of disruption of automatic tracking is reduced when complexing the source images of the visible and infrared ranges, when the contrast of the desired object in both channels is negligible. For research the mathematical apparatus of the theory of random functions and simulation with subsequent statistical data processing are used. It is shown that the probability of disruption, characterized by the ratio of the correlation coefficients of two fragments of images, one of which contains the desired object, and the second not, depends on both the correlation coefficients and the values of their mean square deviations. The simulation shows that the breakdown of tracking occurs both when the mean square deviations of these correlation coefficients are equal, and at their different values, moreover, an increase in their difference increases the probability of a breakdown. The article shows that the likelihood of a breakdown in a two-channel optoelectronic system will decrease when using two channels, compared to working only in the visible or infrared channel. The obtained results substantiate the promise of using image complexing in multichannel systems of automatic tracking of objects in a complex background-target environment and the presence of deliberate interference.


Rock, Michael T.; Toman, Michael A. China's Technological Catch-up Strategy: Industrial Development, Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions , Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 296 pp. £37.49 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-19-938532-4  . The book by Rock and Toman is themed on the extensively discussed and debated issue of China's transition towards a low-carbon economy. The issue is of tremendous significance and meaning to both China and the world, as the country has become the single largest emitter of greenhouse gases since 2007, accounting for 29% of the world's total CO2 emissions in 2013 (Olivier, Janssens-Maenhout, Muntean and Peters, 2014, p.13). The central argument of the book is that improved energy efficiency in Chinese industries is highly dependent on industrial policies and institutions that encourage enterprises to build technological capabilities. It is pointed out that enterprise investments in technological upgrading lead to successful technology transfer and the building of more robust technological capabilities...


The co-cross-linking of gp49B1, a member of the Ig superfamily containing immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs, with the high affinity Fc receptor for IgE on mouse bone marrow culture-derived mast cells inhibits IgE-dependent exocytosis and lipid mediator generation. We now describe the cloning of human cDNAs homologous to the mouse gp49 family. A human monocyte cDNA library was probed with the mouse gp49A cDNA, which is 97% identical with mouse gp49B1, to obtain a homologous partial cDNA that was then used to identify and clone full-length cDNAs from monocyte and human lung cDNA libraries. The 1.6-kbp cDNA, HM18, predicts a 49-kDa type 1 integral membrane protein that, like mouse gp49B1, contains two extracellular C2 type Ig superfamily domains and two consensus immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs in the cytoplasmic domain. ALIGN analysis of the amino acid sequence of the extracellular domains showed that HM18 belongs to a family that includes mouse gp49, the bovine Fc receptor for IgG2, the human myeloid Fc receptor for IgA, and the human NK cell inhibitory receptors. The gene encoding HM18, in common with the genes for the human Fc receptor for IgA and the human NK cell inhibitory receptors, was localized to chromosome 19q13.4. Two other closely related cDNAs, each with four C2 Ig superfamily domains, were characterized. Transcripts for these novel Ig superfamily members were identified in peripheral blood monocytes, the THP-1 monocytic cell line, human lung, human lung mast cells, and NK cells. The data suggest that HM18 is a novel mononuclear cell inhibitory receptor homologous to mouse gp49B1.


The paper investigates the dynamic response of laminated composite plate subjected to underwater explosive loading. The cell-based smoothed discrete shear gap method (CS-FEM-DSG3) based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and von-Karman non-linear kinematics are used to model the behavior of the laminated composite plate. The study is carried out in framework of a geometrical non-linear model of composite structures, in conjunction with the unsteady pressure generated by an underwater explosion. The effects of the number of layers and fiber of orientations to behavior of laminated composite plate are discussed. Numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the present method compared with previous published methods.


We present three cousins who have normal karyotypes, despite having clinical features of Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation techniques confirmed that all three relatives were monosomic for the distal short arm of chromosome 4 and that a cryptic translocation involving chromosomes 4 and 11 was segregating within the family. Segregation analysis indicated that the risk of an affected child being born to a parent carrying the translocation was 15%. Molecular analysis showed that loci D4S111 and D4S115 were not deleted in the proband, thus excluding these loci from the "Wolf-Hirschhorn critical region". Surprisingly, DNA studies also suggested that the translocation breakpoint on chromosome 4 was within the region of a preexisting paracentric inversion.


This statement addresses the following issues of public policy in the context of the Lehman failure: The extent to which corporate governance should be enhanced to appropriately manage firm risk. The role of the SEC as Lehman's primary regulator in oversight, examination and enforcement in advance of Lehman's bankruptcy filing, and the role of the other government agencies, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), that were monitoring Lehman during the crisis; The relationship and means of communication, especially formal and informal information sharing, between the SEC and FRBNY as Lehman's financial condition deteriorated as well as between Lehman, the SEC, the Treasury Department, the Board of Governors Federal Reserve, and the FRBNY.The appropriateness of accounting practices such as Repo 105 or 108 and the adequacy of the disclosure of such accounting practices.The quality of Lehman's Management Discussion and Analysis disclosures in its public filings for the 2007 reporting periods.


This paper presents a method of thermography-based damage detection that employs an economic sensor setup that is feasible for permanent deployment in operational structures. The setup includes a joule (resistive) heating element and an array of IC temperature sensors mounted to the boundary of a metallic plate. As the heat is conducted from the resistor through the metal, sensors measure the time variance in temperature rise at the sensor locations. This data can then be used in an inverse manner using a high-fidelity finite element model (FEM) to solve for imperfections in the metal that cause delays in heat conduction. Aluminum plate specimens with and without damage are used. Sensor data is collected via wireless sensing nodes. Correlations between the finite element and the IC temperature sensor system data are analyzed.


We describe the newly developed flexible micro processing system assisted by 1 inch size robots in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The basic performances of the small robot composed of piezo-elements and electromagnets are presented and then the magnetic shield property is considered to prevent the SEM image distortion due to magnetic flux. In order to handle some small objects, an electrostatic micromanipulator driven by the piezo-bimorph is also incorporated on the robot. The small sliding table on the robot can transport them at SEM focusing point accurately. This arrangement can allow the X-Y accurate positioning at any location within the chamber. On the sample table, a micromanipulator from another small robot can pick up and down the small objects simultaneously. In addition, the fiber guided YAG-laser is also employed to provide the micro-material abrasion. The operator can control each small robot easily with the help of the real time monitoring of SEM image and the PC assisted interface.


CONTEXT
Critically short telomeres produce apoptosis, cell senescence, and chromosomal instability in tissue culture and animal models. Variations in telomere length have been reported in severe aplastic anemia but their clinical significance is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between telomere length and clinical outcomes in severe aplastic anemia.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS
Single institution analysis of 183 patients with severe aplastic anemia who were treated in sequential prospective protocols at the National Institutes of Health from 2000 to 2008. The pretreatment leukocyte age-adjusted telomere length of patients with severe aplastic anemia consecutively enrolled in immunosuppression protocols with antithymocyte globulin plus cyclosporine for correlation with clinical outcomes were analyzed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Hematologic response, relapse, clonal evolution, and survival.

RESULTS
There was no relationship between hematologic response and telomere length with response rates of 56.5% of 46 patients in the first, 54.3% of 46 in the second, 60% of 45 in the third, and 56.5% of 46 in the fourth quartiles. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that telomere length was associated with relapse, clonal evolution, and mortality. Evaluated as a continuous variable, telomere length inversely correlated with the probability of hematologic relapse (hazard ratio [HR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03-0.69; P = .01). The probability of clonal evolution was higher in patients in the first quartile (24.5%; 95% CI, 8.7%-37.5%) than in quartiles 2 through 4 (8.4%; 95% CI, 3.2%-13.3%; P = .009), and evolution to monosomy 7 or complex cytogenetics was more common in the first quartile (18.8%; 95% CI, 3.5%-31.6%) [corrected] than in quartiles 2 through 4 (4.5%; 95% CI, 0.5%-8.2%; P = .002) [corrected]. Survival between these 2 groups differed, with 66% (95% CI, 52.9%-82.5%) surviving 6 years in the first quartile compared with 83.8% (95% CI, 77.3%-90.9%) in quartiles 2 through 4 (P = .008).

CONCLUSION
In a cohort of patients with severe aplastic anemia receiving immunosuppressive therapy, telomere length was unrelated to response but was associated with risk of relapse, clonal evolution, and overall survival.


The numerical modeling and modal analysis had been investigated on vibration of magnesium alloy honeycomb panels. With a simplified model of honeycomb panel, imposing the boundary and initial conditions, the distribution of the natural frequency and inherent vibration mode of the honeycomb sample could be simulated by using Lanczos method, the summit amplitudes and the most dangerous points are found. The effective factors such as materials modulus, the density as well as the assembling all contribute to the analyzed results. The vibration modes and the basic vibration frequencies were analyzed. According to the analysis, the risk-reduction program is proposed.


Open house. Tour the world's most exceptional recent homes. This third installment in our popular "Architecture Now! Houses" series includes 60 of the most dramatic new residences around the world. See the extraordinary House Turtle designed by the artists Carten Holler and Marcel Odenbach in Biriwa, Ghana; visit Tadao Ando's dramatic House in Monterrey, Mexico, or take off to see the Flight of Birds House in the Azores by Bernardo Rodrigues. More than any magazine or website, this new book allows you to explore the most beautiful and spectacular houses, both inside and out. These private worlds, designed by some of the most talented architects of the moment, suddenly open their doors to you for a private tour. As in all the "Architecture Now!" books, the houses are presented with photos and drawings, but so too are the architects, with their project lists and their addresses for those who may be tempted to ask Shigeru Ban to design an 800-square-meter house on a cliff in Sri Lanka for them (Villa Vista). But even if the budget for such extravagance is lacking curiosity will surely bring you to plunge into "Architecture Now! Houses 3".


Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. It is well known that hyperglycemia and/or diabetes potentially exacerbate the neuronal damage observed following ischemic stroke. Recent reports have shown that hyperglycemia/glucose intolerance may be induced by cerebral ischemic stress, and that normalization of blood glucose levels during the first 48 h of hospitalization appears to confer greater survival outcomes in stroke patients. However, the mechanisms underlying post-ischemic glucose intolerance remain unclear. Here, we review research to date on the mechanisms through which ischemic neuronal damage develops and on the role of post-ischemic glucose intolerance focusing on insulin and adiponectin signaling and communication between the brain and peripheral tissues. The relationship between ischemic neuronal damage and post-ischemic glucose intolerance is also discussed. With respect to therapeutic options, in addition to traditional post-stroke therapies, we also discuss the effect of anti-diabetic drugs and glucose-sensing neuropeptides on the development of the post-ischemic glucose intolerance and neuronal damage. In conclusion, we support the idea for focusing research on the development of post-ischemic glucose intolerance as a new therapeutic target for the stroke patients.


This editorial addresses some important circadian patterns of rumination in ruminants of food-producing nature. Rumination is a crucial bioprocess during which the rumen environment maintains its buffering capacity towards functioning and optimal health. As a result, the health of the host ruminant and optimal production of microbial mass depend largely on successful and durable rumination. Research is required to discover circadian patterns of rumination in high-producing dairy and beef cattle under varying managemental conditions.


This article investigates care provided to parents and parents-in-law by mid-life adults with dependent children at home. Data from the General Household Survey are used first to estimate the prevalence of this 'two-way' care over the past decade, and second to develop forecasts of two-way care for a generation of women who have just finished their childbearing years. Having a higher education qualification is associated with later ages both of caring for parents and of having children at home. Increasingly late first childbearing, however, points towards a potentially greater caring 'squeeze' for higher-qualified women, with a little over 1 in 10 at age 45 projected to be caring for a parent while still having a child under 18 in the household.


Deoiling single-strength orange juice extracted from FMC extractors utilizing a centrifugal separator has traditionally been a difficult task. New technology utilizing hermetic separators has proven very successful for this application. Processors are able to use maximum yield recovery settings in the extractors and hold the separator accountable for reducing the oil content and defects in the juice to acceptable levels.With the demand for Not-From-Concentrate premium orange juice rapidly increasing in the United States, the processor must be able to recover as much juice from the fruit as they can. During certain periods of the production season, the oil in the juice exceeds the USDA grade standards of 0.035%. In order to maintain this high quality juice throughout the processing season, the demand for new technology in oil reduction was required. New technology, utilizing hermetic separators for deoiling, has lead to significant gains in juice yields.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME


Inclusive education stands for improvement of schoo ls in all dimensions to address the educational needs of all children. Recommendations t send children with disabilities to mainstream schools were first made in the Sargent R port in 1944, and again in 1964 by the Kothari Commission (Julka, 2005). Despite this, the change has been slow, with segregation in special schools dominating the scene until recently. There is no need of reinforcing the fact that teacher education remains a very weak link with respect to equipping teachers to be prepared for an inclusive classroom environment. The teacher education diplomas and degrees offer "Education of children with special needs" as an optional subject, in order to prepare teachers to i dentify and diagnose disability. However it gives them a holistic perspective with r espect to dealing with diversity or challenge negative attitudes. The challenges and pr ospects in India are elucidated in the


Background: In the last decade, sodium mag-netic resonance imaging was investigated for its potential as a functional cardiac imaging tool for ischemia. Later interest was developed in contrast enhancement for intracellular sodium. Little success was reported to suppress extracellular sodium resulting in the intracellular sodium MRI image acquisition using quantum filters or sodium transition states as contrast properties. Now its clinical application is ex-panding as a new challenge in brain and other cancer tumors. Contrast enhancement: We highlight the physical principles of sodium MRI in three different pulse sequences using filters (single quantum, multiple quantum, and triple quantum) meant for sodium contrast enhancement. The optimization of scan parameters, i.e. times of echo delay (TE), inversion recovery (TI) periods, and utility of Dysprosium (DyPPP) shift contrast agents, enhances contrast in sodium MRI images. Inversion recovery pulse sequence without any shift reagent measures the intracellular sodium concentration to evaluate ischemia, apoptosis and membrane integrity. Membrane integrity loss, apoptosis and malignancy are results of growth factor loss and poor epithelial capability related with MRI visible intracellular sodium concentration. Applications and limitations: The sodium MR imaging technical advances reduced scan time to distinguish intracellular and extracellular sodium signals in malignant tumors by use of quantum filter techniques to generate 3D sodium images without shift regents. We observed the association of malignancy with increased TSC, and reduced apoptosis and epithelial growth factor in breast cancer cells. The validity is still in question. Conclusion: Different modified sodium MRI pulse sequences are research tools of sodium contrast enhancement in brain, cardiac and tumor imaging. The optimized MRI scan pa-rameters in quantum filter techniques generate contrast in intracellular sodium MR images without using invasive contrast shift agents. Still, validity and clinical utility are in questi


In recent years the efforts Latin American countries have made in educational policies account for significant achievements, especially in regards to educational inclusion. It is possible, however, to identify the persistence of gaps such as the unequal access to knowledge related to the academic processes and results accomplished by boys, girls and youth throughout their educational trajectories. This article discusses the potential and challenges of ICT integration policies for addressing this problem. It does so in an articulate manner as the use of this potential requires guaranteeing a minimum set of conditions, and the building of possible and desirable conditions. Among these, the pending issues of connectivity and the question of change in educational practice are developed.


Synchrotron X-ray microtomography (SPring-8, Japan) has been used for the microstructure characterization in a closed cell Al-Zn-Mg alloy foam. Some sophisticated microstructure features, such as micropores and intermetallic particles inside the cell wall, were visualized and quantified three dimensionally(3D) by the high-resolution phase contrast imaging technique. By microtomographies tuned to energies above and below the Zn K-absorption edge, the 3D quantitation of Zn distribution was obtained using subtraction imaging technique. It has been clarified that the Zn distribution was inhomogeneous in the cell wall of the foam. And the agglomeration of Zn-bearing particles was confirmed to induce the brittle fracture of cell wall. The distributions of Ti and Ca in the foam were also visualized by subtraction method. The current tomographic techniques provide novel solutions for the 3D microstructure analysis in the highly inhomogeneous foam materials.


The descriptions of the development of events in nature from the moment of the Big Bang are using concepts of 'energy' and 'matter'. Systemically, these descriptions lack the third component of every system – information. This brings up the question of where in these descriptions information is and does it possibly precede energy. The analysis used the general systems theory, one of the powerful methods in modern science. For the description of the general technology (natural and artificial technology), from the Big Bang to the final point (a state of complete rest), we used our own concept based on two thoughts: the technology is nothing special but quite general (O. Spengler) and the fractal concept of Nature (M. Deege). It was found that the descriptions lack the answers to the question of the origin of information system whose activity began with the Big Bang. That information input is divided into command and data. With the help of philosophical knowledge, including Plato, Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, it was concluded that someone had to make the natural laws that are transmitted in the form of information into energy during the Big Bang before inflation and the creation of matter. The question of who ordered the construction of the laws of nature and started the Big Bang is especially important. This article does not state explicitly who gave the order for the making and who made the transmitted information.


We introduce the BriarPatch, a pixel-space intervention that obscures sensitive attributes from representations encoded in pre-trained classifiers. The patches encourage internal model representations not to encode sensitive information, which has the effect of pushing downstream predictors towards exhibiting demographic parity with respect to the sensitive information. The net result is that these BriarPatches provide an intervention mechanism available at user level, and complements prior research on fair representations that were previously only applicable by model developers and ML experts.


Indenoisoquinolinediones are a class of non-camptothecin topoisomerase I poisons that display marked cytotoxic and potent antitumor properties. Currently three indenoisoquinoline derivatives LMP400 (indotecan, NSC724998), LMP776 (indimitecan, NSC725776) and LMP744 (MJ-III-65, NSC706744) have been poised for Phase 2 clinical trials. In the last two decades, various synthetic methodologies for the syntethesis of indenoisoquinolines and its analogs have been developed. These compounds are of great research significance owing to their novel structures and broad biological activities including antitumor, cytotoxic and topomerase I inhibitory properties. Thus, this review addresses some of the most important indenoisoquinolines synthesis methodologies and their cytotoxicity, antitumor properties and topomerase I inhibitory efficacy during the period 2015-2020. The ample synthetic methodologies reviwed herein along with the bioactivities of these compounds might serve as a nice refence to facilitate future research.