A nonlinear portfolio model was formulated by applying a nonlinear prediction method and its prediction error to the Markowitz mean-variance portfolio model. Also, the Sharpe ratio, which is a typical evaluation function of portfolio optimization, was modified to adopt stock-trading commissions and the trading-unit system, which are inevitable for portfolio rebalancing in real investment. Then, we discussed the best rebalancing frequency from the viewpoint of the trade-off between prediction accuracy and rebalancing costs. By investment simulations based on real stock data, we confirmed that shorter-term rebalancing is more effective even if we are required to pay higher commissions because short-term nonlinear prediction works better to estimate future return rates and to reduce investment risks.


Abstract Objectives To examine neonatal risk factors associated with recurrent Staphylococcus aureus colonization and to determine the genetic relatedness of S. aureus strains cultured from neonates before and after decolonization. Study design Single-center retrospective cohort study of neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from April 2013 to December 2015, during which weekly nasal cultures from hospitalized NICU patients were routinely obtained for S. aureus surveillance. Setting Johns Hopkins Hospital's 45-bed level IV NICU in Baltimore, Maryland. Methods Demographics and clinical data were collected on all neonates admitted to the NICU with S. aureus nasal colonization who underwent mupirocin-based decolonization during the study period. A decolonized neonate was defined as a neonate with ≥1 negative culture after intranasal mupirocin treatment. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used for strain typing. Results Of 2,060 infants screened for S. aureus, 271 (13%) were colonized, and 203 of these 271 (75%) received intranasal mupirocin. Of those treated, 162 (80%) had follow-up surveillance cultures, and 63 of these 162 infants (39%) developed recurrent colonization after treatment. The S. aureus strains were often genetically similar before and after decolonization. The presence of an endotracheal tube or nasal cannula/mask was associated with an increased risk of recurrent S. aureus colonization (hazard ratio [HR], 2.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19–5.90; and HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.02–4.75, respectively). Conclusion Strains identified before and after decolonization were often genetically similar, and the presence of invasive respiratory devices increased the risk of recurrent S. aureus nasal colonization in neonates. To improve decolonization efficacy, alternative strategies may be needed.


Previous methods of analyzing the substance of political attention have had to make several restrictive assumptions or been prohibitively costly when applied to large-scale political texts. Here, we describe a topic model for legislative speech, a statistical learning model that uses word choices to infer topical categories covered in a set of speeches and to identify the topic of specific speeches. Our method estimates, rather than assumes, the substance of topics, the keywords that identify topics, and the hierarchical nesting of topics. We use the topic model to examine the agenda in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2004. Using a new database of over 118,000 speeches (70,000,000 words) from the Congressional Record, our model reveals speech topic categories that are both distinctive and meaningfully interrelated and a richer view of democratic agenda dynamics than had previously been possible.


One considers a model of accumulation of the human capital in the presence of the international migration offers. One shows that under certain conditions,this option can support the increase in the stock of the national human capital by taking of account the externalities. Thus the `brain drain' would have a positive impact on the national economy under a well controlled restrictive migratory policy. The difficulty of this control scheme leads us to propose an alternative model suggesting the internalisation of the human capital externalities thus allowing the implementation of the social optimum. The mechanism of this internalisation is based on the endogenous creation of cultural norm with the accumulation of the knowledge. This social norm avoids the risks of conditionalities inherent in a migratory policy as a mechanism of internalisation of the externalities of the human capital.


In this paper, we investigate the existence of solution for the following fractional Hamiltonian systems: \begin{eqnarray}\label{eq00} _{t}D_{\infty}^{\alpha}(_{-\infty}D_{t}^{\alpha}u(t)) + L(t)u(t) = & \nabla W(t,u(t))\\ u\in H^{\alpha}(\mathbb{R}, \mathbb{R}^{N}).\nonumber \end{eqnarray} where $\alpha \in (1/2, 1)$, $t\in \mathbb{R}$, $u\in \mathbb{R}^{n}$, $L\in C(\mathbb{R}, \mathbb{R}^{n^{2}})$ is a symmetric and positive definite matrix for all $t\in \mathbb{R}$, $W\in C^{1}(\mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{R}^{n}, \mathbb{R})$ and $\nabla W$ is the gradient of $W$ at $u$. The novelty of this paper is that, assuming there exists $l\in C(\mathbb{R}, \mathbb{R})$ such that $(L(t)u,u)\geq l(t)|u|^{2}$ for all $t\in \mathbb{R}$, $u\in \mathbb{R}^{n}$ and the following conditions on $l$: $\inf_{t\in \mathbb{R}}l(t) >0$ and there exists $r_{0}>0$ such that, for any $M>0$ $$ m(\{t\in (y-r_{0}, y+r_{0})/\;\;l(t)\leq M\}) \to 0\;\;\mbox{as}\;\;|y|\to \infty. $$ are satisfied and $W$ is superquadratic growth as $|u| \to +\infty$, we show that (\ref{eq00}) possesses at least one nontrivial solution via mountain pass theorem. Recent results in \cite{CT} are significantly improved. We do not assume that $l(t)$ have a limit for $|t| \to \infty$.


Screening lower high cholesterol and secretion of bile salt hydrolase (BSH) from yeast strains, and study the environmental factors for increasing the activity of BSH, then investigate the mechanism of cholesterol lowering. We obtained two yeasts to lower cholesterol by high-throughput screening technology and o-phthalaldehyde : strain K1 and strain M3 are Kluyveromyces marxianus, are the highest rate of cholesterol-reducing strains by far, the lower cholesterol rates were 68.14% ~ 70.34% , 80.51% ~ 99.12%. The two yeasts can secretion BSH in the metabolic process with the Oxford cup method, and the BSH activity is proportional to the rates of cholesterol-reducing. Strain M3 has a higher BSH production capacity than strain K1, and high cholesterol-lowering effect. That indicating efficient yeast strains to lower cholesterol production is due to their abundant or high activity BSH. The BSH secretion of strain K1 and strain M3 demonstrated a key enzyme in cholesterol-lowering effect for the first time. BSH can hydrolyze conjugated bile salt and free bile salt, which can precipitate with cholesterol state, to reduce the effect of cholesterol. To aim directly at 4 major factors can affect the synthesis of BSH, the fermentation conditions of strain M3 producing BSH highly were determined with four factors and three levels[L9(34)]orthogonal experiment: fermentation temperature is 32 °C, fermentation time is 24h, the initial pH of medium is 6.0, inoculums is 3%. The activity of BSH secreted by Strain M3 increased 50% in the optimization of fermentation conditions. Strain K1 and M3 fermented milk with excellent performance, we could research and develop functional fermented dairy products and micro-ecology preparation, by using the characteristics of efficient to lower cholesterol and complementary advantages of lactose fermentation performance of the two strains.


Focusing on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's apology to British child migrants in 2010, this article proposes that public apology, as a moral and political act, is a compelling site for examining attempts to redefine and redress previously silenced pasts. Postwar child migration has been something of a silenced chapter in British history. In my research I examine one such child migration scheme, namely a project which sent select British children (aged 4 to 13) to colonial Southern Rhodesia—today's Zimbabwe—between 1946 and 1962. Through this case, I discuss two intertwined aspects of the transformative intentions of apologizing. First, the apology aims at amending the relationship between the apologizer and the victims and at remodeling the recipients' political subjectivities. Second, the apology discloses distinct, but contradictory, understandings about the relationship between past, present, and future. It emphasizes the continuous effects the past has in the present, but simultaneously purports to create a temporal break with the past, marked by a moral transformation of the state. However, although the apology aspires and has potential to give voice to those previously silenced and to re-articulate a more legitimate version of the past, its framing eliminates the broader historical context of the Empire. Thus, while partially overcoming silences, the article suggests, the apology also reproduces and reinforces others.


The Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) is seeking to develop a strategic research plan to improve the sleep health of Australians and New Zealanders, and to contribute to scientific understanding and clinical practice worldwide. To develop the plan, the ASA Research Committee undertook two projects: (i) a membership survey to establish the research activities, interests, and priorities of members; and (ii) compilation of an electronic library of citations of sleep-related research that involved one or more Australia-based or New Zealand-based researchers. Although the intent had been to develop an investigator-initiated research agenda for the ASA, these two projects revealed that such an approach would not provide a comprehensive and systematic research base to improve sleep health in Australasia. In particular, membership research interests were considered insufficient to adequately address public health issues relevant to the populations of Australia and New Zealand, clinical research for non-respiratory sleep disorders, and pediatric sleep research. The identification of these gaps raises a tension. If the ASA is to endorse additional research priority areas that are not major interests among its members, then additional research funding needs to be found, to avoid competing with the interests of members for limited existing research funding. To address this problem, a series of recommendations are offered to improve the proportion of existing health research funding that is directed towards sleep research, and to develop sources of new funding for sleep research.


A rapid review of current evidence examining psychological issues regarding the use of antibiotics and antimicrobials and resistance to these in both human and animal populations was conducted. Specific areas of interest were studies examining psychological determinants of AMR and interventions which attempt to change behavior with regard to AMR in the general population; animals; and fish, in particular. Although there is some evidence of the effectiveness of behavior change in general human populations, there is limited evidence in farmed animals, with a particular dearth in fish farming. We conclude there is an urgent need for more psychological research to identify major barriers and facilitators to change and evaluate the effectiveness of theory-based interventions aimed at reducing AM use in food production animals, including the promotion of alternatives to AMs, such as vaccination.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Studies have linked adolescent alcohol use with adverse consequences in adulthood, yet it is unclear how strong the associations are and to what extent they may be due to confounding. Our aim was to estimate the strength of association between different patterns of adolescent drinking and longer-term psychosocial harms taking into account individual, family and peer factors.

DESIGN
Participant-level data were integrated from four long-running longitudinal studies: Australian Temperament Project, Christchurch Health and Development Study, Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy and Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study.

SETTING
Australia and New Zealand.

PARTICIPANTS
Participants were assessed on multiple occasions between ages 13 and 30 years (from 1991 to 2012). Number of participants varied (up to n = 9453) by analysis.

MEASUREMENTS
Three patterns of alcohol use (frequent, heavy episodic and problem drinking) were assessed prior to age 17. Thirty outcomes were assessed to age 30 spanning substance use and related problems, antisocial behaviour, sexual risk-taking, accidents, socio-economic functioning, mental health and partner relationships.

FINDINGS
After covariate adjustment, weekly drinking prior to age 17 was associated with a two- to threefold increase in the odds of binge drinking [odds ratio (OR) = 2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.57-2.90], drink driving (OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.84-4.19), alcohol-related problems (OR = 3.04; 95% CI = 1.90-4.84) and alcohol dependence (OR = 3.30; 95% CI = 1.69-6.47) in adulthood. Frequency of drinking accounted for a greater proportion of the rate of most adverse outcomes than the other measures of alcohol use. Associations between frequent, heavy episodic and problem drinking in adolescence and most non-alcohol outcomes were largely explained by shared risk factors for adolescent alcohol use and poor psychosocial functioning.

CONCLUSIONS
Frequency of adolescent drinking predicts substance use problems in adulthood as much as, and possibly more than, heavy episodic and problem drinking independent of individual, family and peer predictors of those outcomes.


A bacteriophage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was characterized. Bacteriophage PIK was found to adsorb on the cell wall of the host organism. Electron microscopy of the phage PIK revealed that it had a bipyramidal hexagonal prismatic head of 110 nm in diameter, a tail which was 158 nm long and a tail plate of 47 nm width. This paper describes its basic characters, and a quantitative study was made of its adsorption to exponential phase cells of two different strains of P. aeruginosa. PIK was found to contain double stranded DNA and it appears to be virulent towards its host, P. aeruginosa PAO1. It was classified into the group of phages possessing a contractile tail.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although the number of enhancing lesions is the typical outcome measure of choice in clinical trials in MS, a potentially more sensitive and statistically more powerful outcome measure is the volume of enhancing lesions. In this study, we assessed the distribution and statistical power of the volume of enhancing brain lesions as an outcome measure by means of their required sample size, and we compared the results with the number of enhancing lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: First, a literature search was performed to compare the effects of treatment on the number and volume of enhancing lesions. Then, a statistical model was proposed to describe the distribution of the volume of enhancing lesions in 2 datasets of patients with RRMS, and sample sizes for enhancing-lesion volume as primary outcome measure were calculated. RESULTS: A mixture of the binomial and Weibull distribution was determined to model enhancing-lesion volumes in patients. Sample size calculations for enhancing-lesion volumes showed that approximately 94 patients per arm would be required to detect a combination of 20% decrease in lesion volume and 20% increase in patients without enhancing lesions, whereas calculations for enhancing-lesion counts showed that approximately 129 patients would be required to detect a 50% decrease. CONCLUSIONS: The mixture of the binomial and Weibull distribution is a suitable approach in modeling new enhancing-lesion volumes in MS and yielded feasible sample size estimates for clinical trials, showing lesion volumes to be an advantageous outcome measure compared with lesion counts in terms of statistical power.


Optical properties of composites MWNTs/HDPE were explored by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). It was found that with the increasing of frequency from 0.4 to 2 THz the absorption coefficient increases gradually whereas the refractive index decreases. Furthermore, composites with thick MWNTs possesses larger absorption coefficient and index of refraction compared to that with the thin MWNTs at the same concentration. The dielectric properties of the MWNTs were extracted with reverse effective medium approach (REMA) from that of the composites. The results of the absorption coefficient and refractive index for MWNTs calculated from different concentrations coincides well with each other. The extracted results were then analyzed with the Drude model combined with a localized Lorentz absorption.


The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the worldwide spread of the RNA virus SARS-CoV-2. Because of its mutational rate, wide geographical distribution, and host response variance this coronavirus is currently evolving into an array of strains with increasing genetic diversity. Most variants apparently have neutral effects for disease spread and symptom severity. However, in the viral spike protein, which is responsible for host cell attachment and invasion, the D614G variant, containing the amino acid substitution D to G in position 614, was suggested to increase viral infection capability. Here we propose a novel method to test the epidemiological impact of emergence of a new variant, by a combination of epidemiological curves (for new cases) and the temporal variation of relative frequencies of the variants through a logistic regression model. We applied our method to temporal distributions of SARS-CoV-2 D614 or G614, in two geographic areas: USA (East Coast versus West Coast) and Europe-Asia (East Countries versus West Countries). Our analysis shows that the D614G prevalence and the growth rates of COVID-19 epidemic data curves are correlated at the early stages and not correlated at the late stages, in both the USA andEurope-Asia scenarios. These results show that logistic models can reveal the potential selective advantage of D614G, which can explain, at least in part, the impact of this variant on COVID-19 epidemiology.


ABSTRAK
Triglycerides are one of the fats in the body. Increased triglyceride levels occur due to obesity, alcohol consumption, and lack of activity, causing a buildup of triglycerides in the blood. Decreasing triglyceride levels can be done in various ways, one of which is to regulate lifestyle patterns such as diet regulation and physical activity. This research aimed to determine the effect of the types of running on triglyceride levels on runners. This study is a Pre-Experiment. The number of samples used was 27 people. The results of the study in the form of runner triglyceride levels were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test to see differences in the results of triglyceride levels before and after running. The results obtained from this study were before running (119,56)> after 100m run (75,11), before running (88,11)> after a 1500m run (67,22), before running (71,44 )> after running 5000m (56,33). The results of the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test show that the probability in the 100m and 1500m run group is (Sig) 0.008 and in the 5000m run group is (Sig) 0.007 which means that the P <α 0.05 value. The farther the distance a runner traveled, the greater the triglyceride level obtained by the runner.
Keyword: Running type, Triglycerides


Abstract Many species of trogons (Trogoniformes: Trogonidae) gather in mixed-gender calling assemblages during the breeding season. These assemblages have been compared to leks and are usually assumed to function in mate choice; however, no field data exist to support this hypothesis. I present five non-mutually exclusive hypotheses for the function of mixed-gender calling assemblages and test the predictions using field data from Black-headed Trogons (Trogon melanocephalus) in a lowland dry forest in Costa Rica. Adult trogons gathered in mobile assemblages of 3–12 individuals that called frequently and chased one another from perch to perch while moving through the forest. Groups formed at sunrise throughout all stages of the breeding cycle and were not significantly male-biased. Both breeding and non-breeding individuals participated in assemblages, and copulations were not observed in assemblages. Prey capture rates of individuals foraging in groups did not differ from those foraging alone. Males called and chased other individuals more often than did females; however, males chased females and other males at equal rates. Assemblages of trogons frequently prospected (investigated potential nest sites and active nests of conspecifics). These data suggest that communal assemblages of calling trogons do not function solely in social mate choice, nor do they enhance foraging efficiency. They may have a role in maintenance of territorial boundaries and selection of future nest sites.


Background: Communication is an essential dimension of human life and of social spheres, such as health sphere, and concretely of therapeutic relations. And having health decides the human well-being. However, Europeans face an urging problem related with low levels of health literacy and human communication in doctor-patient relationship has not concentrated in doses of an effective comprehension, indispensable to the health treatment. There are several studies on the need to use communication competences due to better health outcomes are based on the ability to communicate with patients. And studies show that a fragile communication quality within health professional influences the relationship between low health literacy and a deficient health. This article focuses on the contribution of communication competences, used by healthcare professionals in the clinical relationship with patients, to improve therapeutic adherence through a better understanding of health instructions and, hence, higher competences in health literacy. It is a main and specific goal to construct and validate by health specialists a model of communication competences, that includes the interdependent use of assertiveness, clear language and positivity by the healthcare professional.
Methods and findings: The research is based on the literature review and on technique of focus group (FG), used to obtain validation of the 3-factor model of communication by health specialists. The four focus groups are composed by Portuguese medical doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals and specialized professors on health literacy. A semi-structured script and a 40-item list, that configures the quantitative form to complete the qualitative approach, allows to ascertain the items / indicators that the participants most associate with the three interdependent variables / factors of health communication. Operationalizing the model and decomposing the three key factors / variables of model, all the participants in focus group validate the model and most punctuate, in assertiveness, active behavior, ability to listen and ability to openly speak; in clarity, the simple language, utilization of verbs; and, in positivity, orientation to a positive behavior of the patient.
Conclusion: The results confirm that the investment in the communication competences by the health professional is reflected in the optimization of the results on the health literacy of the patient. Concretely, the concerted use of assertiveness, clarity (of language) and positivity are a key solution to the optimization of health literacy and clinical practices, recognized and validated by the participants in the focus groups.


Traditional IT service-deployment technologies are based on scripts and configuration files, but their limited ability to express dependencies and verify configurations results in hard-to-use and erroneous system configurations. Emerging language- and model-based tools promise to address these deployment challenges, but their benefits aren't yet clearly established. The authors compare manual, script-, language-, and model-based deployment solutions in terms of scale, complexity, expressiveness, and barriers to first use.


By coupling a CW C02 and a TEA CO2 laser through a grating simultaneously used for both resonators, without any additional optical elements, the CW laser radiation was injected without loss into the TEA CO2 laser optical cavity. Thus, longitudinal and transverse single mode operation of the TEA CO2 laser was achieved successfully without any intracavity limiting apertures an evident by the smooth shape of detected pulses. Furthermore, a 3x3 cm cross section single mode beam with unaffected energy of about 4 J/pulse was obtained. This specially designed array due to its observed spectral coincidence of CW radiation and pulsed emission indicates exact alignment of injected CW radiation with the optical axis of TEA CO2 laser resonator without significant angular deviation. Slight radial deviation, however, did not have any detectable destructive effect on the single mode output signals. This compact and simple structure single mode TEA CO2 laser with its stability and simple adjustability can be very useful particularly for portable units such as atmospheric lidar instruments.


EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC, AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Correction for "Global airborne sampling reveals a previously unobserved dimethyl sulfide oxidation mechanism in the marine atmosphere," by Patrick R. Veres, J. Andrew Neuman, Timothy H. Bertram, Emmanuel Assaf, Glenn M. Wolfe, Christina J. Williamson, Bernadett Weinzierl, Simone Tilmes, Chelsea R. Thompson, Alexander B. Thames, Jason C. Schroder, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Andrew W. Rollins, James M. Roberts, Derek Price, Jeff Peischl, Benjamin A. Nault, Kristian H. Møller, David O. Miller, Simone Meinardi, Qinyi Li, Jean-François Lamarque, Agnieszka Kupc, Henrik G. Kjaergaard, Douglas Kinnison, Jose L. Jimenez, Christopher M. Jernigan, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Alan Hills, Maximilian Dollner, Douglas A. Day, Carlos A. Cuevas, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, James Burkholder, T. Paul Bui, William H. Brune, Steven S. Brown, Charles A. Brock, Ilann Bourgeois, Donald R. Blake, Eric C. Apel, and Thomas B. Ryerson, which was first published February 18, 2020; 10.1073/pnas.1919344117 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 4505–4510). The authors note that "hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF) mixing ratios have been reduced, based upon recent experimental work that has identified a correction to the calibration method used to determine the instrument sensitivity for HPMTF measurements during ATom-3 and ATom-4. In the original calibration procedure, described in SI Appendix, section 1, HPMTF was produced using Cl• radical reaction with dimethyl sulfide (DMS). The measured change in Cl2 was used to determine HPMTF production; however, a contaminant yielded an overestimation in the measured Cl• radical concentration. More recent and more accurate actinometry of the produced Cl radicals has shown that instrument sensitivity to HPMTF was underestimated in these initial experiments. "HPMTF mixing ratios published in this manuscript are corrected by applying a project average scaling factor of 0.62 ± 0.11 (1 s) to the observations. The publicly available dataset has been updated through the Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics (1). The HPMTF uncertainties have also been updated and are now reported for 1-s data to be 17% + 0.3 ppt accuracy and 0.4 ppt precision for ATom-3 and 12% + 0.4 ppt accuracy and 0.3 ppt precision for ATom-4." As a result of this change, Figs. 1–4 have been updated. The corrected figures and their legends appear below. Also as a result of this change, the authors note that some text in the main article and SI Appendix should be corrected. On page 4506, right column, first paragraph, line 6, "Detection limits were better than 1 parts per trillion as a mole fraction in dry air (ppt), with an uncertainty of 55% + 0.06 ppt and a precision of 0.1 ppt for 1-s measurements (details in SI Appendix)" should instead appear as "Detection limits were better than 1 parts per trillion as a mole fraction in dry air (ppt), with an uncertainty of 17% + 0.4 ppt and a precision of 0.4 ppt for 1-s measurements (details in SI Appendix)." On the same page, right column, first full paragraph, line 8, "HPMTF is globally ubiquitous in the lower atmosphere over both seasons sampled, withMBLmixing ratios frequently exceeding 50 ppt and periodically as large as several hundred ppt (Fig. 2)" should instead appear as "HPMTF is globally ubiquitous in the lower atmosphere over both seasons sampled, withMBLmixing ratios frequently exceeding 10 ppt and periodically as large as 100 ppt (Fig. 2)." Also on the same page, right column, second full paragraph, line 6, "HPMTFwas typically observed in a 1:1 ratio with DMS in the MBL; however, values in excess of 2:1 were frequently encountered. For example, the largest HPMTF mixing ratios of more than 300 ppt were observed over the South Atlantic Ocean (46°S and 53°W) during ATom-3" should instead appear as "HPMTF was typically observed in a 0.5:1 ratio with DMS in the MBL; however, values in excess of 1:1 were periodically encountered. For example, the largest HPMTF mixing ratios of more than 150 ppt were observed over the South Atlantic Ocean (46°S and 53°W) during ATom-3." In the SI Appendix, the authors note that "we originally stated that 'Cl2 quantification is possible using the iodide CIMS instrumentation (6) allowing for the determination of Cl• concentration following photolysis' and later stated 'Under these conditions we assume that the concentration of HPMTF produced is equivalent to twice the measured concentration of Cl2 lost via photolysis.' In the updated calibration procedure, the change in Cl2, from photolytic loss and subsequent reaction with DMS, is below the detection limit of the instrument. For quantification of Cl• concentration we utilize a more accurate actinometry of chlorine radicals." Panel A of Fig. S8 has been removed. Therefore, the following statement is no longer applicable: "Fig. S8A shows an example of a calibration experiment where loss of Cl2 is accompanied by an increase in HPMTF during photolysis." These sentences have been omitted in the updated SI Appendix. On page 4, second full paragraph, line 1, "An absolute sensitivity of 2.4 ± 1.2 Hz ppt was determined for the detection of HPMTF using iodide-adduct TOF CIMS in ATom. This sensitivity is about 5x less than the most sensitive compounds (e.g. Cl2, ClNO2, N2O5) and similar to that for BrO" should instead appear as "The average normalized instrument sensitivity to the detection of HPMTF using iodide-adduct TOF CIMS was 9.0 ± 3.2 (1σ) Hz ppt, normalized to 1MHz IH2O − averaged across ATom-3 and ATom-4. This sensitivity is similar to the most sensitive compounds (e.g. Cl2, ClNO2, N2O5)." In addition, the following changes have been made to the SI Appendix reference list: The authors note that ref. 6 "was used to establish the mass spectrometer as a quantitative method for Cl2 measurement. The updated calibration procedure no longer utilizes the observed change in Cl2 as a method for quantification of Cl radicals (Cl•) production; therefore, the reference is no longer relevant to the manuscript."Ref. 6 has been removed. Citations for refs. 57–59 were out of order and appeared earlier in the SI than indicated. The citations have been renumbered and refs. 57–59 now appear as references 19–21. Furthermore, refs. 50 and 61 were duplicated and have now been combined into a single ref. 52. The SI Appendix reference list has been renumbered to reflect these changes. Lastly, Figs. S1, S2, S5, and S8 are also affected by the correction to HPMTF data. The legend for Fig. S8 has been updated to reflect the changes. The online version has been updated to include the corrected text described above, the corrected Figs. 1–4, and the corrected SI Appendix.


Th is inquiry outlines Karl Buhle's three kinds of deixis, focusing particularly on his most advanced use – deixis am phantasma (deictics to refer to absent referents). This use is of primary import to the semiosis of index, given the centrality of the object and the interpretant in changing the function of the indexical sign in ontogeny. Employing deictic signs to refer to absent objects (some of which are mental) constitutes a catalyst from more social, conventional, uses to more internal, imaginative, ones. Buhler's analogy of mental objects as a "mimesis" serves as the genesis for the claim that static and more dynamic memories, fuelled by affect, drive deictics to refer to more dynamic objects and more dynamic interpretants, into more constructed realities. Peirce's two types of objects and three types of interpretants complete Buhler's deictic framework; they determine advances in deictic semiosis undeveloped by Buhler, and offer rationale for how it is that deictic use extends the semiosis of index.


A new concept for a precise compensation of the static capacitance of piezoelectric silicon-based micromembranes is proposed. Combining analog and digital field-programmable gate array hardware elements with specific software treatment, this system enables the parallel excitation and detection of the resonant frequencies (and the quality factors) of matrices of piezoelectric micromembranes integrated on the same chip. The frequency measurement stability is less than 1 ppm (1-2 Hz) with a switching capability of 4 micromembranes/sec and a measurement bandwidth of 1.5 MHz. The real-time multiplexed tracking of the resonant frequency and quality factor on several micromembranes is performed in different liquid media, showing the high capability of measurement on dramatically attenuated signals. Prior to these measurements, calibration in air is done making use of silica microbeads successive depositions onto piezoelectric membranes surface. The mass sensitivity in air is, thus, estimated at, in excellent agreement with the theoretical corresponding value.


The present paper reports the results of microcreep tests and microstructure of alloy 617 foils of 100μm thick specimens at 800 and 900 oC in air. Before each test, the specimens were annealed in vacuum at 950 oC for 17 hrs. The dynamic recrystallizations were observed during creep test. The voids and cracks were observed along grain boundaries. The maximum elongation of grains was found at the lowest applied stress along the loading direction. The average grain size decreases from 20 μm to 2 μm as applied stress increases from 48 to 120 MPa at 800 oC and from 50 μm to 5 μm as the applied stress increases from 35 to 60MPa at 900 oC. The steady state creep rates were increased as applied stress increased in all the specimens.


Previous great earthquakes have performed serious structural damages to masonry structure, which also have caused great casualties and property damage, in order to enhance the structural anti-seismic class of civilian buildings, a new kind of combined structure form is introduced in the thesis, which is formed by two parts, masonry structure and special reinforced concrete shear wall structure. The reinforced concrete part can be effective in enhancing the anti-seismic performance of masonry residence, besides reinforced concrete tube structure can also become the nearest refuge when disaster occurred, even when the whole structure collapse, it can still remain relatively complete partial structures and a large space of survival. LS-DYNA, software of finite element, is used to study the structure, simulations of the response procedures of composite structure under earthquake load are made, as well as the destruction of composite structure. According to calculation and analysis, it can be known that this kind of composite structure can obviously improve seismic resistant capability, and the level of destruction is relative smaller, which can meet the requirements for fortification against earthquake that is "keeping intact in minor earthquakes, repairable in medium earthquakes, standing upright in major earthquakes"


As an artist, my work has been my research, and, as with the majority of artists, my specific viewpoints are best substantiated by said projects. My work can best be catagorized as falling into two general areas; that of social commentary and personal enjoyment. In retrospect, I feel the area of social commentary has been more beneficial to me as an artist and personality. The area of personal enjoyment has also been beneficial, but moreso in the sense of creating a "resting period" for the more complex thinking required during the social commentary period. Thoughts tend to become more organized during retrospective thinking, and I now wonder if the two periods are not dependent upon one another, much as a simple stimuli-response situation. The fact remains, however, that one period necessiated the other, and vice-versa.


The paper shows the research results related to the development of methods to increase the yield of spring wheat using Megamix liquid mineral fertilizers in the presowing treatment of seeds, treatment of crops on vegetation when introducing mineral fertilizers in seedbed preparation in the forest-steppe conditions of the Middle Volga region. The studies were carried out on the experimental field of Samara State University in 2017-2020. During the three-factor field experiment, dry matter accumulation and photosynthetic activity were evaluated with the analysis of photosynthetic potential and net productivity of photosynthesis. It was established that the best indicators are formed on versions with the treatment of seeding material with Megamix Seeds or Megamix Profi agents with subsequent double treatment on vegetation with Megamix Profi in the amount of 0.5l/ha (in the tillering phase) + Megamix Nitrogen in the amount of 0.5l/ha (in the flag leaf phase) against the background of N32P32K32 fertilizer application. The application of Megamix agents in the system of seed treatment + treatment of crops with Megamix stimulating agents provides the maximum accumulation of dry matter in the version of Megamix Seeds treatment and the treatment of crops with a mixture of Megamix Profi + Megamix Nitrogen – 591.9 g/m on soft crops and 622.6 g/m2 – durum wheat against the background of N32P32K32 application. The maximum photosynthetic potential of 0.968…1.091 million m2/ha per day is formed in these versions, and, consequently, the maximum yields with values of 3.73 t/ha on soft wheat crops and 3.44 t/ha on durum wheat crops. It was found that the use of liquid mineral fertilizers on all versions of the experiment reliably increases the yield of spring wheat.


The group is interested in all aspects of assessment and aims to promote and develop effective assessment practices in biomedical education. This will include collating and disseminating examples of best practice to strengthen the capacity for the design and implementation of effective and innovative assessment strategies that will help transform student learning. In addition implementation of good assessment practices will enable us to harness assessment information in creative ways that will allow them to measure performance and evaluate educational programs.
Specific goals are to:
•develop and disseminate an inventory of best practice assessment resources
•work with academics to assist with design, implementation and evaluation of effective and innovative assessment strategies
•establish a list of experts who are willing to mentor inexperienced academics
•disseminate information regarding: collaborations sought, expertise required
•develop guides and examples for assessing the Threshold Learning outcomes


It is not often that a journal decides to accept for publication a twenty-year-old manuscript. Archives of Asian Art is pleased to accept this article for a number of reasons. First is the lasting importance of the topics it engages: the relationship in Chinese painting history between literati and professional artistic styles, their conventions and their audiences' expectations of them; the encounter between collector choices and random survivals, which artificially shape (expand or limit, focus or diffuse) our opportunity to see and understand the distant history of this medium; the scholarly engagement, unusual in our field, with ''second-class paintings'' (the author's own term for those discussed here) in order to reconstuct a history of common practice, rather than the more typical engagement with exclusive ''masterpieces,'' which creates what we ought properly to recognize as a history of exceptionalism. To amplify a bit, the literati-professional relationship referred to here contributes to a long-standing dialogue concerning the tension between artistic freedom (in this case, the literati artists' much-esteemed ''spontaneity'') and prescribed social roles, conventions, and expectations. That discussion has sometimes taken on its own conventions, dividing participants into ''lumpers'' and ''splitters''—the latter (including the author, Professor Cahill) arguing that an artist's social background (whether ''lofty'' scholar or ''lowly'' artisan) can be discerned in the style of his work, which conformed to the social expectations that bore on him; the ''lumpers'' claiming this to be unreliable, deterministic, and socially biased. What is intriguing about his article, however, is its concern with a group of works (rare for having been archaeologically excavated) which, in the author's words, ''do not raise the amateur-professional issue by displaying any clear distinctions between 'amateurish' and 'professionallooking' works, but rather by representing types of painting in which the distinctions are minimized or imperceptible.'' This is not a reworking of old arguments but a new and nuanced approach to them, in which the author has abandoned his steadfast ''splitter'' position and instead blurred the ''lumper-splitter'' distinction. More briefly, then, a second reason for bringing forth this article now is that little scholarly literature bearing on the subject has come forth in the past two decades. (A few important exceptions could be noted.) Publication here will, I hope, keep these important issues alive and inspire a new generation of scholars to consider them. Finally, a third reason for Archives, in particular, to welcome this essay is that it serves to complement an earlier, outstanding article published here by Professor Cahill, ''Continuations of Ch'an Ink Painting,'' similarly concerned with the complex and subtle modes of transmission and transformation of earlier conventions into the art of later times.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the catch-up growth of abused infants who stayed in foster care for 1 year. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Longitudinal study over an 8 year period (1992-1999). All infants were aged between 5 and 7 months at the time of entry into foster care. Weight, length, and arm circumference were established on entry and were reassessed 3,6, and 12 months after initial placement. Results were compared with normal regional longitudinal standards of reference(Zscore). Student's t-test was used to assess statistically significant differences. RESULTS: Sixty-four infants (34 boys and 30 girls) entered foster care during the study period. Mean age was 6 months (boys: 0.69 SDU/girls 0.70 SDU). At placement, the analyzed parameters were below the normal standards (boys: weight Z = -1.98 SDU, length Z = -2.09 SDU, arm circumference Z = -1.34 SDU; girls: weight Z = -1.86 SDU, length Z = -1.61 SDU, arm circumference Z = -1.22 SDU) and showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Catch-up growth during the first 3 months after placement was considerable (improvement in boys: weight Z = +1.20 SDU, length Z = + 1.18 SDU, arm circumference Z = +0.95 SDU; improvement in girls: weight Z = +0.82 SDU, length Z = +.63 SDU, arm circumference Z = +0.77 SDU). Differences were no longer statistically significant but still remained below normal standards. Six months after initial placement, there was no significant catchup growth for length (improvement in boys = + 0.34 SDU; improvement in girls = +0.05 SDU) and growth impairment for weight and arm circumference was minimal. Twelve months after initial placement, impairment of catch-up growth for all parameters was mild. No statistically significant differences compared with normal standards were found (boys: weight Z = -0.84 SDU, length Z = -0.74 SDU, arm circumference Z = - 0.56 SDU; girls: weight Z = -1.09 SDU, length Z = -1.04 SDU, arm circumference Z = -0.52 SDU). CONCLUSIONS: In 6 month old infants of both sexes, catch-up growth was significant during the first 3months after placement into foster care. A stay of more than 6 months did not produce improvement in catch-up growth.


In Malaysia, honey is chiefly obtained from species of honeybees known as Apis dorsata and to a lesser extent Apis cerana. Honey from Apis dorsata is a supplementary source of income to many rural poor in the district of Marang, Terengganu. The colonies of A. dorsata are found to nest in aggregates on tall bee trees (tree emergent) in the open, as well as, nesting singly in concealed locations when nesting low, especially in the submerged forest of Melaleuca cajuputi as in the vast hectare (> 200,000 hectares) of Melalueca forest along the coastal areas of Terengganu. So, Melaleuca forest mapping and flower mapping can be reliable methods for determining this species distribution as the main source of nectar and pollen for these aforementioned honey bees. In ecology, biomass can be defined as accumulation of living matter which is useful as a biophysical index for mapping of flower in forest. In this study, we used SPOT-5 and RADARSAT-1 for inventory of Melaleuca forest in Marang and developed Above Ground Biomass (AGB) estimation model as indirect index for obtaining and producing distribution of Melaleuca cajuputi flowers. Also, Apis dorsata colonies distribution and motorbike parking points of honey hunters were collected using GPS in field survey to determine distribution of colonies and improve searching ability in Apis dorsata colonies harvesting by honey hunters in the study area.
The Melaleuca forest, located in Marang, Terengganu, Malaysia which is lying in upper left latitude 5°17'15.473"N, and longitude 103°05'25.021"E and lower right latitude 4°37'55.236" N, longitude 103°45'47.568"E was chosen for this research. SPOT-5 was enhanced, classified and vectorized using image processing software for the purpose of Melaleuca forest mapping. Based on the image analysis of the SPOT-5 image the Melaleuca forest were classified as five classes Melaleuca Cajuputi, Acacia auriculiformis, non-vegetation, water bodies and Cloud/haze/Shadow. The analysis showed that Melaleuca cajuputi covered 76,061.73ha (61.72%), Acacia auriculiformis 24,484.32ha (19.88%), non-vegetation 9,991.76ha (8.11%), water bodies 2,203.47ha (1.79%) and Cloud/Haze/Shadow 10,491.86ha (8.51%) with an overall classification accuracy of 91.79% while the statistics value obtained from kappa coefficient was more than 0.86 which is relatively quite good results for image processing.
Based on Melaleuca forest inventory, 10 plots of 10m


We study locally compact metric spaces that enjoy various forms of homogeneity with respect to Mobius self-homeomorphisms. We investigate connections between such homogeneity and the combination of isometric homogeneity with invertibility. In particular, we provide a new characterization of snowflakes of boundaries of rank-one symmetric spaces of non-compact type among locally compact and connected metric spaces. Furthermore, we investigate the metric implications of homogeneity with respect to uniformly strongly quasi-Mobius self-homeomorphisms, connecting such homogeneity with the combination of uniform bi-Lipschitz homogeneity and quasi-invertibility. In this context we characterize spaces containing a cut point and provide several metric properties of spaces containing no cut points. These results are motivated by a desire to characterize the snowflakes of boundaries of rank-one symmetric spaces up to bi-Lipschitz equivalence.


BACKGROUND
It has been hypothesized that the pathogenesis of diseases induced by cigarette smoking involves oxidative damage by free radicals. However, definitive evidence that smoking causes the oxidative modification of target molecules in vivo is lacking. We conducted a study to determine whether the production of F2-isoprostanes, which are novel products of lipid peroxidation, is enhanced in persons who smoke.

METHODS
We measured the levels of free F2-isoprostanes in plasma, the levels of F2-isoprostanes esterified to plasma lipids, and the urinary excretion of metabolites of F2-isoprostanes in 10 smokers and 10 nonsmokers matched for age and sex. The short-term effects of smoking (three cigarettes smoked over 30 minutes) and the effects of two weeks of abstinence from smoking on levels of F2-isoprostanes in the circulation were also determined in the smokers.

RESULTS
Plasma levels of free and esterified F2-isoprostanes were significantly higher in the smokers (242 +/- 147 and 574 +/- 217 pmol per liter, respectively) than in the nonsmokers (103 +/- 19 and 345 +/- 65 pmol per liter; P = 0.02 for free F2-isoprostanes and P = 0.03 for esterified F2-isoprostanes). Smoking had no short-term effects on the circulating levels of F2-isoprostanes. However, the levels of free and esterified F2-isoprostanes fell significantly after two weeks of abstinence from smoking (250 +/- 156 and 624 +/- 214 pmol per liter, respectively, before the cessation of smoking, as compared with 156 +/- 67 and 469 +/- 108 pmol per liter after two weeks' cessation; P = 0.03 for free F2-isoprostanes and P = 0.02 for esterified F2-isoprostanes).

CONCLUSIONS
The increased levels of F2-isoprostanes in the circulation of persons who smoke support the hypothesis that smoking can cause the oxidative modification of important biologic molecules in vivo.


Energy transfer between the Sm3+, Eu3+, Tb3+, and Dy3+ ions has been systematically studied in the sodium rare-earth tungstate hosts. Evidence has been obtained for the transfer of excitation energy between all ion pairs of this group. Direct evidence for exchange of energy was established by the method of selective excitation for the Dy3+ → Tb3+, Tb3+ → Eu3+, and Sm3+ → Eu3+ ion pairs. Indirect evidence for energy transfer was found by fluorescence enhancement for the Tb3+ → Sm3+ ion pair and by lifetime measurements for the Dy3+ → Sm3+ and Dy3+ → Eu3+ ion pairs. The results are consistent with the "resonant" exchange mechanism as the dominant process responsible for the transfer of energy between these ions.


The author discusses some of the unique problems related to teaching psychotherapy in a community mental health center. These problems arise principally from the diversity of philosophies and backgrounds of the health center staff and the lack of an overriding institutional tradition of psychotherapy. They often result in increased anxiety among trainees and require special attention from the teacher of psychotherapy in this setting.


This year, the thirteenth annual IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2021was an all virtual event. Cosponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS), this flagship event presented the latest in energy conversion, electric machines and drives, applications, and engineering tutorials. Setting new records in virtual attendance, the ECCE 2021 organizing team, led by the general chair Giovanna Oriti of Naval Postgraduate School, USA, delivered an exciting program comprising enlightening plenary talks, inspiring special sessions, educational technical papers, informative industry panel discussions, entertaining social events, and instructive tutorials combined with a virtual exposition demonstrating state-of-the-art products and technologies.


This article proposes a semi-analytical solution of von Karman's rolling equation on the elastic foundation. The roll indentation is considered as the spring compression of the elastic foundation of the work roll. A non-circular contact arc is obtained naturally as a part of the solution of the governing equation. Two elastic zones and four plastic zones are included. Hooke's law is applied in elastic zones, von Mises' yield criterion is used in plastic yielding and unyielding zones, and material stress-strain curves are employed in plastic loading and unloading zones. The solution of each zone was derived separately and a computer program was designed accordingly. The computing time is very short and the required core memory is very small. The results show that the compressive stress curves form a "friction hill" while the shape of the normal stress curve depends on the rolling parameters. A typical cold rolling case is selected as the basic study case. The results of this proposed model and the popular Bland-and-Ford model are shown to make comparison between these two models. Key rolling parameters included in the comparison results are the entry gage, the exit gage, the entry tension, the exit tension, the work roll diameter, the yield stress, and the friction coefficient. Rolling feasibility derived from this proposed model is not only on the existence of the convergent solution but also on whether or not the solution can follow the properties of the rolled material.


Studies are needed to identify useful biomarkers to assess the severity and prognosis of COVID‐19 disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) virus. Here, we examine the levels of various plasma species of the SARS‐CoV‐2 host receptor, the angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), in patients at different phases of the infection. Human plasma ACE2 species were characterized by immunoprecipitation and western blotting employing antibodies against the ectodomain and the C‐terminal domain, using a recombinant human ACE2 protein as control. In addition, changes in the cleaved and full‐length ACE2 species were also examined in serum samples derived from humanized K18‐hACE2 mice challenged with a lethal dose of SARS‐CoV‐2. ACE2 immunoreactivity was present in human plasma as several molecular mass species that probably comprise truncated (70 and 75 kDa) and full‐length forms (95, 100, 130, and 170 kDa). COVID‐19 patients in the acute phase of infection (n = 46) had significantly decreased levels of ACE2 full‐length species, while a truncated 70‐kDa form was marginally higher compared with non‐disease controls (n = 26). Levels of ACE2 full‐length species were in the normal range in patients after a recovery period with an interval of 58‐70 days (n = 29), while the 70‐kDa species decreased. Levels of the truncated ACE2 species served to discriminate between individuals infected by SARS‐CoV‐2 and those infected with influenza A virus (n = 17). In conclusion, specific plasma ACE2 species are altered in patients with COVID‐19 and these changes normalize during the recovery phase. Alterations in ACE2 species following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection warrant further investigation regarding their potential usefulness as biomarkers for the disease process and to asses efficacy during vaccination.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined roles via trust relationships of the two technology cores of the firm: information technology (IT) and R&D and their impact on new product success.

Design/methodology/approach

A model was tested whereby trust and the integrated IT strategy account for a significant amount of the variance in a broad range of new product development (NPD) outcomes for a survey sample of 223 manufacturing firms. Respondents said design practices and quality methods like Six Sigma accounted for a total of over 25 percent of the reports of the most helpful approaches in promoting effective NPD. At the same time their biggest challenges were having a clear strategic direction within which to operate and resolving cost and resource issues which accounted for over a third (34 percent) of barriers to success.

Findings

Respondents reported that a total of over 25 percent of the reports of the most helpful approaches in promoting effective included these quality methods. At the same time their biggest challenges were having a clear strategic direction within which to operate and resolving cost and resource issues which accounted for over a third (34 percent) of barriers to success. High-tech firms were less likely to report integrated IT strategies, but this tended to be counterbalanced by high levels of trust in the IT function and adoption of organizational innovations for execution of strategic intent. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

Survey methods produce broad results with low response rates in most studies involving R&D and NPD, and this study is no exception.

Practical implications

With the challenge of strategy alignment reported by many of these firms, it seems clear that the top management team cannot afford to leave NPD challenges to engineering teams and NPD programs without guidance and general vision.

Social implications

NPD has become the staple of most manufacturing firms as a way of meeting and beating the competition worldwide. However, trust between functional areas often starts before people are even employed and should begin in training and educational programs.

Originality/value

Designing NPD programs is at the heart of many firms' competitive strategies and the fast learning companies are the winners. Very little is known about the trust relationship between IT and R&D and their combined effects on new product success which we have found to be significant and unexpected in their impacts.


This paper is a direct extension of the paper of Jones (2007). This author presents a simple Mincerian approach to endogenizing schooling time in market economy. His specification is closest to that in Mincer (1958) which does not take into account the social benefits of education. Our note extends his paper on the social returns to accumulation of human capital, with particular emphasis on the social returns to education which are given by the sum of the private and external marginal benefits of a unit of human capital. In other words, we study the problem of human capital externalities which comes from social interactions. We propose a policy of decentralization of the optimal education .


Do multiparty elections facilitate or hinder the process of democratic consolidation in Zanzibar? Since Tanzania's return to a multiparty system in 1992 three rounds of general elections have been held in Zanzibar, all of them marred by gross irregularities, fraud, violence, and insecurity. All three elections were also followed by a political stalemate, with a major opposition party rejecting defeat, refusing to recognise the elected government, and challenging the results. Consequently, the legitimacy of the elected government has remained questionable for more than a decade. This puts in question the reliance on the 'election-centric concept' of the 'consolidation' phase, which tends to place a great deal of hope in the holding of periodic elections. This by no means suggests that elections do not matter in Zanzibar. They matter in terms of keeping the flame of democratic struggle alive. Also, as the findings in this article indicate, there is a need to pay attention not only to elections but, equally importantly, to other processes and institutions of governance that enhance the rule of law and individual rights.


Objective This study was performed to determine the most common causes, locations, and treatments of metastasizing primary tumors through evaluation of patients with metastatic bone tumors who were admitted to our clinic. Methods In total, 96 patients with metastatic bone tumors who were admitted to our clinic from 2000 to 2016 were included in the study. Results The breast (30 patients, 31.3%) and lung (18 patients, 18.8%) were the most commonly metastasized primary organs. The femur was the most commonly metastasized bone. Conclusions Bone tumors in patients of advanced age are, unless otherwise proven, considered to be metastatic, and the development of specific diagnostic and treatment algorithms is needed. Clinicians should attempt to improve the general condition of patients with tumors exhibiting bone metastasis to increase the patients' quality of life by providing early mobilization. Thus, appropriate patient selection and proper internal fixation are essential.


This in vitro study compared the abrasivity of commercial desensitizing dentifrices with a sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) dentifrice using a Surface Profile Method. Dentin specimens were made from the root of extracted human molars. The cervical part of the teeth was sectioned with a diamond wheel disk. The teeth were embedded into an epoxy resin mold and the surface was gradually polished by silicone carbide paper. After grinding, the degree of surface roughness was tested within the range of 2 mm with tapping. The British Standard Institution reference dentifrice (BSI: CaCO3 40%) and experimental dentifrices (group 1: Na2SiO3 25%, CaCO3 10% and SiO2 10%, group 2: CaCO3 10% and SiO2 10%, group 3: CaCO3 10% and SrCl2 10%, group 4: Colloidal Silica 2-3% and Hydroxyapatite 10-20%) were evaluated. The dentifrice slurries were prepared by mixing 24 grams of the dentifrice in 12 ml distilled water. Each tooth specimen was brushed with the dentifrice slurries 1,000 times. The relative abrasivity of each dentifrice was evaluated from the ratio of the BSI standard dentifrice to each experiment. The results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparisons using Window SPSS (Statistical analysis system) 12.0. Groups 1 (71), 2 (74.2), 3 (38) and 4 (7.8) showed a lower abrasivity than the BSI dentifrice (100) (p<0.05). The relative abrasivity of groups 3 (38) and 4 (7.8) was the lowest compared with the BSI dentifrice (100). However, group 1 (71) containing Na2SiO3 showed a similar abrasivity to group 2 (74.2), which did not contain Na2SiO3 (p>0.05). Therefore, Na2SiO3 had no influence on the abrasivity of the dentifrice. In conclusion, the dentifrice containing Na2SiO3 had a lower abrasivity than the BSI reference dentifrice, but showed a significantly higher abrasivity than the existing commercial desensitizing dentifrices. Overall, the relatively high abrasivity of Na2SiO3 dentifrice is believed to be the result of other components in the abrasive system.


Interactive image segmentation is an important problem in computer vision with many applications including image editing, object recognition and image retrieval. Most existing interactive segmentation methods only operate on color images. Until recently, very few works have been proposed to leverage depth information from low-cost sensors to improve interactive segmentation. While these methods achieve better results than color-based methods, they are still limited in either using depth as an additional color channel or simply combining depth with color in a linear way. We propose a novel interactive segmentation algorithm which can incorporate multiple feature cues like color, depth, and normals in an unified graph cut framework to leverage these cues more effectively. A key contribution of our method is that it automatically selects a single cue to be used at each pixel, based on the intuition that only one cue is necessary to determine the segmentation label locally. This is achieved by optimizing over both segmentation labels and cue labels, using terms designed to decide where both the segmentation and label cues should change. Our algorithm thus produces not only the segmentation mask but also a cue label map that indicates where each cue contributes to the final result. Extensive experiments on five large scale RGBD datasets show that our proposed algorithm performs significantly better than both other color-based and RGBD based algorithms in reducing the amount of user inputs as well as increasing segmentation accuracy.


In this report, the trends in refractories technologies for iron and steel production at Nippon Steel Corporation in the last few decades are outlined. Amid dramatic changes in crude steel production accompanying increased ratios in higher quality of steel and sophisticated refining methods, in in our refractory ceramics R&D Div., actual machines have been realized by practicing developed outcomes with technologies for every production process relating to: refractory material quality, furnace building or execution, reparation, diagnosis, demolition, and recycling. Thus, continuing reduction in the unit consumption of refractories has been steadily performed. Additionally, technical issues are reduced to further enhance and maintain our international competitiveness in refractories technologies.


We propose a numerical model adapted to the analysis of the (sub)picosecond dynamics of broad area semiconductor optical systems with a simultaneous description of the 2-D spatial and spectral behaviors. The model combines the advantages of the beam propagation method and time-domain method and treats the 2-D spatial inhomogeneities of the laser structure as well as the gain nonlinearities, the finite gain bandwidth, the presence of grating reflectors and the optical index dependence on carrier concentration. The model is applied to simulate the transient response of a DBR unstable cavity laser under current step excitation. The CW regime is calculated as a limit of the dynamic one.<<ETX>>


Small volumes (4 mL/kg body weight (bw)) of hypertonic sodium chloride dextran effectively restore cardiac output and nutritional blood flow and increase arterial pressure in severe hemorrhagic shock. It has been suggested that the chloride anion be replaced with acetate to provide a solution that avoids the risk of hyperchloremia and has the advantage of supplying a buffering base to optimize hypertonic resuscitation. This study compares the effects of hypertonic sodium chloride dextran solution (7.2% NaCl/10% dextran 60 [NaCl-Dx]; n = 7) with sodium acetate dextran (10.4% Na-Ac/10% dextran 60 [NaAc-Dx]; n = 6) on hemodynamic, oxygen transport, and metabolic variables. Both solutions had the identical osmolality (2400 mOsmol/kg). Dogs (16.9 +/- 1.9 kg) were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. Shock was induced by exteriorization of intestine and blood withdrawal (50% of blood volume) to maintain mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) at 40 mm Hg for 75 min. Thereafter, resuscitation was performed either with NaCl-Dx (4 mL/kg over 2 min) or NaAc-Dx (4 mL/kg over 4 min). During hypertonic resuscitation, there was a short-lasting decrease in MAP, which was more pronounced in the NaAc-Dx group (delta MAP -7.3 +/- 2.5 mm Hg). Cardiac index and oxygen consumption were normalized within 5 min after resuscitation with both solutions. In NaAc-Dx-treated animals, MAP remained at lower values as compared to NaCl-Dx-treated dogs at 5 and 30 min after resuscitation (52 +/- 3 vs 74 +/- 6, and 61 +/- 7 vs 79 +/- 12 mm Hg; P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


ABSTRACT Plasmopara viticola populations collected from three islands in the Ionian Sea-an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the west of Greece-were analyzed with microsatellite molecular markers in order to investigate the pathogen population structure. Downy mildew populations from mainland regions previously studied were found to have high genotypic diversity and limited clonality; however, populations under Mediterranean island conditions mostly showed limited variation and the epidemics basically were driven by the multiple clonal infections of one or a few genotypes. Populations from different islands were differentiated from each other, whereas genetic divergence also was found among subpopulations of the same plot. Polyploid individuals and individuals that overwintered in asexual form were observed in some cases. The findings obtained by this population genetics study improve our understanding of the biology of the pathogen and lead to potential alternative control measures for the disease.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Prescription opioids are a mainstay of postoperative pain management. We outlined the course and severity of postoperative pain in patients undergoing urethroplasty and inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) in order to improve patient counseling and medication stewardship moving forward. METHODS: This IRB approved, prospective study was completed between 2017 to 2018 across two institutions. All patients who underwent urethroplasty or IPP placement were invited to participate. Patients did not receive any preprocedural pain management. Patients with chronic pain or active narcotic usage were excluded. The study consisted of completing a patient-reported questionnaire which monitored end of day pain on a 1-10 visual analog scale (VAS), pain medication usage (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and oxycodone 5 mg), and bladder spasms until initial post-operative visit 2-3 weeks after surgery. VAS was categorized into severe (10-7), moderate (6-4) and mild (3-1). Post-operative pain was similar between the two operations and was therefore evaluated together. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (9 urethroplasty, 6 IPP) appropriately completed and returned the questionnaire. 13 patients (87%) reported mild or undetectable pain at follow up, while 2 patients had persistent pain. These groups were evaluated separately. Of the 13 patients who reported mild or resolved pain, they were only in severe pain for mean 1.4 days, with only 3 (23%) reporting any days in severe pain. Patients had their pain reduced to a mild level by a mean of 5.9 postoperative days. 9/13 (69%) patients used narcotics for a mean 3.9 days. Only 5 (38%) patients used narcotics for more than 1 day, 13 (87%) patients had leftover medication, and only 1 patient required a refill for narcotics. Patients used acetaminophen for a mean of 10.1 days and ibuprofen for 6.3 days. Only 1/9 urethroplasty patients in this group had bladder spasms. In the 2 patients whose pain persisted, they spent an average of 4.5 days in severe pain, 10.5 days in moderate pain, and 3 days in mild pain. They took narcotics, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen for a mean of 12.5, 13, and 9 days, respectively. Despite having extended pain, neither of these patients required a refill or used all prescribed narcotic. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients reported an improvement to mild pain by 6 days and used narcotics for less than 4 days after urethroplasty and IPP. The results from this study have improved our pre-operative patient counseling and helped to decrease the strength and quantity of pain medication prescribed after surgery, thereby limiting exposure to potentially dangerous narcotics. Source of Funding: None


Textile industries discharge large quantity of colored wastewater which is harmful to the ecosystem. In this study, two kinds of dyes were investigated: the mono azo Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and diazo Reactive Green 19 (RG19). The photocatalytic degradation of single (AO7, RG19) azo dye and binary (AO7 and RG19 mixture) azo dye aqueous solutions were photocatalyzed by commercial titanium dioxide (TiO2, P25) under solar light irradiation. The objectives of this study are to compare the photocatalytic degradation between single and binary azo dye aqueous solution and to study the various parameters such as effect of different initial azo dye concentration, different initial azo dye pH values, compare the adsorption capacity of azo dyes between with and without solar light irradiation that influence the photocatalytic activities of single and binary azo dye aqueous solution on TiO2 suspension. The results showed that photocatalytic degradation of AO7 and RG19 in single azo dye aqueous solution was faster than binary azo dye solution under solar light irradiation process. Chemical oxygen demand results revealed that complete mineralization could be achieved for both AO7 and RG19 azo dyes under solar light irradiation within 22 hours time intervals.


Gathering, analyzing and disseminating up-to-date information related to incidents and disasters is key to disaster management and relief. Satellite imagery, geo-information, and in-situ data are the mainly used information sources to support decision making. However, limitations in data timeliness as well as in spatial and temporal resolution lead to systematic information gaps in current well-established satellite-based workflows. Citizen observations spread through social media channels, like Twitter, as well as freely available webdata, like WikiData or the GDELT database, are promising complementary sources of relevant information that might be utilized to fill these information gaps and to support in-situ data acquisition. Practical examples for this are impact assessments based on social media eyewitness reports, and the utilization of this information for the early tasking of satellite or drone-based image acquisitions.

The great potential, for instance of social media data analysis in crisis response, was investigated and demonstrated in various related research works. However, the barriers of utilizing webdata and appropriate information extraction methods for decision support in real-world scenarios are still high, for instance due to information overload, varying surrounding conditions, or issues related to limited field work infrastructures, trustworthiness, and legal aspects.

Within the current DLR research project "Data4Human", demand driven data services for humanitarian aid are developed. Among others, one project goal is to investigate the practical benefit of augmenting existing workflows of the involved partners (German Red Cross, World Food Programme, and Humanitarian Open Street Map) with social media (Twitter) and real-time global event database (GDELT) data. In this contribution, the general concepts, ideas and corresponding methods for webdata analysis are presented. State-of-the-art deep learning models are utilized to filter, classify and cluster the data to automatically identify potentially crisis-related data, to assess impacts, and to summarize and characterize the course of events, respectively. We present first practical findings and analysis results for the 2019 cyclones Idai and Kenneth.


ABSTRACT This article offers an analysis of Indigenous and African slavery in the Illinois Country during the eighteenth century. It shows that slavery did not operate as an institution and was not organized around plantation production, but that human bondage was a set of adaptable practices. Slavery took many forms, and masters had to adapt to that diversity and, in so doing, they forged a single, heterogeneous slave system. Frenchmen brought enslaved workers of African descent to the Illinois Country, and masters worked them on grain farms to sustain an export economy. In this way, Illinois's economy shared much with the wider Atlantic World. Yet they had to revise their slaving practices in light of the reality that indigenous forms of bondage pre-dated their arrival. In Native North America, slavery operated as a kin-based system of captivity that could structure alliances and sustain local politics between diverse groups. Masters participated in this form of slavery, and incorporated Indigenous slaves into their economies. Rather than stressing the differences that existed between diverse forms of human bondage, this article moves beyond an institutional analysis of slavery to show how slavery's many guises mutually defined each other across generations.


Fruit and vegetables are high-value, nutritious crops that can provide solutions to economic and food insecurity. However, losses between production and postharvest stages are serious, averaging annually at up to 50% or higher in developing Asian countries. Factors contributing to these losses include the lack of postharvest knowledge, techniques and facilities combined with the perishable nature of fruit and vegetables, the complex and inefficient supply chains, and the hot and humid climates in many Asian countries. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 targets reducing food losses by 50% by 2030, providing impetus for postharvest loss reduction efforts. About half of the current postharvest losses can be prevented with a more efficient supply chain. The saved food can feed about one billion extra people. This can reduce the pressure to raise more food to feed an additional two billion people by 2050. As developing countries integrate into the world economy and global value chains proliferate, postharvest technologies can enable these countries to improve the quality of their horticultural produce in domestic and international markets at competitive price. In Asia, a value chain approach was forged to improve postharvest management of fruit and vegetables, comprising value chain analysis, technology generation and capacity building. Practical postharvest technologies and best practices have been developed and introduced to reduce postharvest losses of fruit and vegetables, particularly for smallholders. These included harvesting, field handling, sorting, washing, sanitizing, modified atmosphere packaging, evaporative cooling, ice cooling and low-cost cold storage techniques. Economic analysis indicated most of these techniques were potentially highly profitable. These postharvest techniques were documented in local languages and disseminated to various stakeholders through trainings and other capacity building programs. Basic to effective mainstreaming of postharvest technologies is for smallholders to organize and collectively deal with markets that should direct production and postharvest efforts. A farm-packhouse-market system has been introduced including financing scheme for farmer groups and cooperatives in three countries for this purpose. The impact of these technological and organizational interventions relative to reducing postharvest losses, increasing and diversifying income sources and promising employment opportunities. Furthermore, there are other postharvest technologies commercially employed in established, export-oriented fruit and vegetable firms, such as ethylene management techniques (e.g., removal with ethylene scrubbers and ethylene inhibition using 1-MCP), insect pest and disease control (slow-release fumigation, hot water treatment, vapour heat treatment), packaging system, controlled atmosphere storage, refrigerated transport and storage, and cold chain. These technologies can be introduced to smallholder groups to capacitate them to engage more competitively with high value markets.


In one respect, the restriction of our subject to the New Orleans locale gives me a distinct advantage over the other speakers on this program, for while they must depend upon the records of the past for at least a portion of their material, I have but to refer to my own memory, practically the entire history of bubonic plague in New Orleans having transpired within my personal experience. In another respect, this places me at a disadvantage because I am not alone in having lived through plague in New Orleans, there being many present to note promptly such variations from the straight line of accuracy as are unfortunately normal to the functioning of the human memory. Furthermore, the interpretation placed upon the facts by others who have observed them may differ from my own. This, then, must remain the history of bubonic plague in New Orleans as I have seen it.


Antiepileptic drugs may cause the changes in the oxidant/antioxidant status of the body. Reactive oxygen species have been suggested to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of various diseaases as well as drug interactions and/or adverse effects. The aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate the status of major antioxidant enzyme activities as well as the end products of lipid peroxidation in erythrocyte and plasma from epileptic children after therapy with sodium valproate (VPA). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in erythrocyte and plasma were analyzed in 41 epileptic patients under long-term antiepileptic therapy with VPA and 32 healthy controls. Erythrocyte SOD activity was found to be increased (p=0.024) whereas erythrocyte CAT activity decreased (p=0.016) in patients with epilepsy under VPA treatment compared to the controls. MDA levels in erythrocyte were found to be markedly decreased in epileptic children compared to controls (p<0.001). In conclusion, decreased CAT activity seems to be compensated with increased SOD activity in erythrocytes protecting erythrocyte membranes from lipid peroxidation in patients with epilepsy under VPA treatment.


indoor localization systems have grown considerably, in order to obtain a high performance in dense multipath propagation channels. Many studies have been done in this area. Different methods have been proposed based on the use of Impulse Radio Ultra Wide band (IR-UWB) signals. These systems are usually based on time of arrival estimation using different algorithms. In this paper, a new time of arrival estimation algorithm is proposed for impulse radio UWB systems, which is based on the EXTENDED-MUSIC algorithm. Furthermore, Simulation results show these performances in multipath channels. The proposed method is compared with other high resolution algorithms such as Multiple SIGNAL Classification (MUSIC), estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance technique (ESPRIT) and the MATRIX PENCIL method. Simulation will justify the high accuracy and resolution localization capabilities of the proposed algorithm. KeywordsRadio Ultra Wide band (IR-UWB), Time of arrival estimation (TOA), EXTENDED-MUSIC, ESPRIT, MATRIX PENCIL


We present an experimental analysis of two parameters that are important in knowledge engineering for large belief networks. We conducted the experiments on a network derived from the Internist-1 medical knowledge base. In this network, a generalization of the noisy-OR gate is used to model causal independence for the multivalued variables, and leak probabilities are used to represent the nonspecified causes of intermediate states and findings. We study two network parameters, (1) the parameter governing the assignment of probability values to the network, and (2) the parameter denoting whether the network nodes represent variables with two or more than two values. The experimental results demonstrate that the binary simplification computes diagnoses with similar accuracy to the full multivalued network. We discuss the implications of these parameters, as well other network parameters, for knowledge engineering for medical applications.


This study aims to gain insight into the distribution of genes within a local bacterial population. It is based on genomic and phenotypic data for seventy-two Rhizobium leguminosarum strains isolated from Trifolium repens and Vicia sativa plants growing in a 1 m2 area of roadside vegetation located between Wentworth College and Walmgate Stray on the University of York campus, UK. These were previously classified into five genospecies based on a phylogeny of 305 universal core genes. Because of the incongruence in the phylogeny of genes from different replicons shown in the previous study, the congruence of each rhizobium gene was first analysed by clanistics. Clanistics were applied to each gene tree of the population and can not only identify conserved genes in symbiovar and genospecies but also genes shared between two symbiovars and within genospecies. Genes of the rhizobium population were investigated along with their occurrence patterns in the population using Pearson's correlation. A broader view of occurrence of genes in the population was illustrated in the gene co-occurrence network, which reflected the organisation of genes with favoured and disfavoured co-occurrence in the population. The computation demonstrated clusters of genes involved in the nodulation process including both annotated and unannotated genes. Due to the diversity of ability to utilise carbon substrates in the rhizobium population, class association rule was chosen as the method to relate the ability to utilise carbon substrates with the distribution of genes in the population. Results demonstrated that there not only exists a relationship between the ability to utilise a substrate and the distribution of genes in the population, but also cooperation of genes involved in the substrate utilisation. The methods discovered genes involved in the utilisation of γ-hydroxybutyric acid, which were consistent with evidence from experiments and the literature. Hence, it can be concluded that gene transfer and loss can cause variation in the gene content of a population, resulting in recognisable sets of genes present in a particular symbiovar or genospecies, or associated with phenotypes such as substrate utilisation.


Thomas Elsaesser (2014) presents us with a timely definition for found footage films, which consists of using archival material to create new contexts for those found images, which in turn allows for new associations and meanings that lead to new ideas and understandings. This article contends that Timothy Treadwell's found footage fell into the hands of the one who could best make use of it, both from a creative point of view and from the perspective that Treadwell's images would be treated respectfully. The film Grizzly Man (2005), by Werner Herzog (1942-), investigates the life and death of Timothy Treadwell (1957-2003), a conservationist and self-proclaimed savior of the Alaskan grizzly bear. He spent thirteen summers among these animals before being killed by one, together with his companion Amie Huguenard (1966-2003). Had some of Treadwell's footage, seen in Herzog's film, been used in a different context, the creation of a caricatural image of the adventurer would not have been unlikely. Werner Herzog has an extensive and successful career. For Lúcia Nagib, he tries, through cinema, "to recover something like a 'virgin look', which will determine, on the one hand, his way of filming and, on the other (as a result of the first), its whole theme". Thus, considering his entire career as a director, it is unsurprising that upon hearing of a man who lived among wild bears in Alaska and was killed by one of them, Herzog would probably be interested in shooting this story.


OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the use of a topical anesthetic as a feasible approach to reduce pain during piglet castration using a minimal anesthesia protocol.

ANIMALS
18 male piglets, aged 3-6 days, were included in this study.

METHODS
A minimal anesthetic state was induced with isoflurane administered by facemask, with anesthetic depth individually adjusted based on responses to interdigital pinch. To desensitize the scrotal skin, a vapocoolant was applied 3 times. Scrotal incisions were made subsequently and Tri-Solfen (TS) or Placebo (P) was administered in both incisional gaps. After 30 seconds, the spermatic cords were severed followed by a further application of TS/P to both incision edges. Nociception-related variables, such as mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and nocifensive movements, were assessed.

RESULTS
Significant differences in MAP changes were assessed between the TS (14 ± 4 mmHg) and the P group (36 ± 8 mmHg) for cutting the spermatic cords. Furthermore, significantly fewer nocifensive movement score points appeared in the TS than in the P group (0; IQR = 0 vs 5; IQR = 6).

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In this anesthesia model, the application of TS after skin incision significantly reduced MAP responses and nocifensive movements with spermatic cord transection compared with the application of P. However, the waiting period between TS-application and spermatic cord transection might limit the benefit of the method in conscious piglets, as pain during castration is reduced but additional stress is caused by the prolonged handling. Furthermore, using a vapocoolant did not provide anesthesia for skin incisions.


Seventy-five cerebrospinal fluid polyamine determinations were evaluated in 16 patients with medulloblastoma. Parameters utilized in evaluating patient status for correlation with the polyamine concentrations were neurological examination, computerized tomography, radionuclide scan, myelography, and cerebrospinal fluid cytology. Fifteen of the 16 patients showed absolute correlation with the eventual clinical picture. One determination on one patient resulted in a false negative. No false positives have been observed to date.


Problem. This study sought to develop a tool to identify the nonsuccessful, at-risk community-college student for correct placement, monitoring, and retention. A comparison in academic achievement of at-risk, remediated students with nonremedial students in a first college-level mathematics class (Intermediate Algebra 101) was also studied. Method. The ex post facto study sought to determine to what extent the successful and nonsuccessful at-risk mathematics students (n = 358) differ on ASSET test scores, criterion referenced pretest scores, mathematics attitude scores, attendance profile, race, gender, and demographic variables. Statistical analyses using descriptive procedures, ANOVA, MANOVA, Chi-square, and discriminant analysis were used with an alpha =.05. The achievement of the at-risk students (n = 40) with non-at-risk students (n = 48) in a first college-level mathematics class (Intermediate Algebra 101) was studied. Results. The variables found in fractions, whole numbers, ASSET (Numerical Skills), age, and gender were significant in the prediction of successful or nonsuccessful achievement in the Basic Mathematics class with a 65.35% correct classification rate. Decimals, ratio and proportions, percentages, attitude, race, attendance, and educational goals were nonsignificant for academic prediction. There was no significant difference in achievement between the remediated at-risk students and the nonremedial students in the Intermediate Algebra (101) course. Conclusions. Older students generally outperformed their younger counterparts. These students had better attendance, and thus used their time for academic achievement. Females in both the younger and older age groups tended to academically outperform their male counterparts. This study suggests that knowledge of a community-college student's demographic information, the ASSET test, and a criterion referenced test can, to a limited extent, aid in predicting whether an at-risk student will or will not finish the first remedial mathematics course. Results from grade analysis in the Intermediate Algebra course suggest that the mathematics laboratory has removed the mathematics deficiencies and thesestudents are academically comparable with the nonremedial students in this course. In fact, the remediated at-risk students had a higher grade average in this course and a higher cumulative GPA than their nonremedial counterparts, although they were not statistically significantly different at alpha =.05.


Large‐scale genomic characterization of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has revealed several putative oncogenic driver mutations that may constitute druggable therapeutic targets. However, there are little data to suggest that such gene alterations have clinical relevance. Over 12 consecutive months, tumor biopsy samples from 80 patients with stage IV NSCLC were analyzed for mutations in selected exons of 508 cancer‐related genes using next‐generation sequencing. From 85 specimens referred for genomic characterization, 80 (94%) specimens were successfully genotyped, and all had identifiable somatic alterations. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and TP53 genes contained the highest frequency of observed mutations (65% and 40%, respectively) in the stage IV NSCLC cases. Notably, patients with EGFR mutations showed a significantly shorter survival time compared with patients expressing wild‐type EGFR (p = 0.0053). Moreover, of the 32 patients harboring EGFR mutations, EGFR‐L858R mutant patients showed a significantly shorter survival time compared with patients with other EGFR mutations (p = 0.036). In conclusion, tumors from stage IV NSCLC patients harbor characteristic gene alterations, of which EGFR L858R in particular appears to be a poor prognostic factor for overall survival.


While attention is a predictor for digital asset prices, and jumps in Bitcoin prices are well-known, we know little about its alternatives. Studying high frequency crypto data gives us the unique possibility to confirm that cross market digital asset returns are driven by high frequency jumps clustered around black swan events, resembling volatility and trading volume seasonalities. Regressions show that intra-day jumps significantly influence end of day returns in size and direction. This provides fundamental research for crypto option pricing models. However, we need better econometric methods for capturing the specific market microstructure of cryptos. All calculations are reproducible via the quantlet.com technology.


From the 1990s governments in many countries with extensive social protection systems have sought to realign their labor market policies by shifting their policy focus from "passive" income support payments towards more "active" programs. Such "active" measures include a diverse range of interventions and programs aimed at improving the functioning of the labor market, notably by matching the unemployed and other disadvantaged groups to jobs or, by enhancing their employability and skills to improve their employment prospects. This paper reviews recent findings on the relative effectiveness of different active labor market programs with an emphasis on the extent to which they meet the needs of women and young people. It then reviews findings on the role and effectiveness of publicly funded training and skills programs. It also considers reforms to the public employment service and related delivery organizations with a particular focus on evaluation findings concerning the impact of front line case managers and of subcontracting program delivery to external providers. The paper aims to facilitate learning from developments in the OECD area and the conclusion considers how these findings may be of relevance to Latin American and Caribbean countries.


Summary The paper presents measurement and calculation results of volume samples taken from the bedforms of the sand-gravel bed river in Polish Carpathians. As a sample method the "in situ" sample freezing method was applied. River channel geometry and changes in the morphology of the river bed were investigated using laser geodimeter. The procedures have been carried out on the Raba River downstream of its confluence with the Vistula River. The main research was conducted in spring and autumn 2006. To give a picture of the long term processes which have the influence on the changes of the river bed along the investigated reach for comparison some of the results from year 2005 are also presented. The basic information about research catchment, its location, gravel sampling methodology and characteristics of sand-gravel dunes are included. Development of riverbed forms as a mixture of sand and gravel according to their granulometric composition was detailed. The samples were analyzed considering the layered structure of the dunes and the results of statistical calculations are provided. Tables of granulometric parameters in metric and logarithmic scales are presented among other information such as: mean diameter, sorting index, sorting degree, coefficient of grains uniformity and non-uniformity, standard deviation, skewness, flatness. With this information the genealogy of dune and their mobility along the river bed could be predicted.


Ternary organic solar cells (OSCs), which blend two donors and fullerene derivatives with different absorption ranges, are a promising potential strategy for high‐power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). In this study, inverted ternary OSCs are fabricated by blending a highly crystalline small molecule BDT‐3T‐CNCOO in a low band gap polymer PBDTTT‐C‐T:PC71BM. As the small molecule is introduced, the overall PCEs increase from 7.60% to 8.58%. The morphologies of ternary blends are studied by combining transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray scattering techniques at different length scales. Hierarchical phase separation is revealed in the ternary blend, which is composed of domains with sizes of ≈88, ≈50, and ≈20 nm, respectively. The hierarchical phase separation balances the charge separation and transport in ternary OSCs. As a result, the fill factors of the devices significantly improve from 58.4% to 71.6%. Thus, ternary blends show higher hole mobility and higher fill factor than binary blends, which demonstrates a facile strategy to increase the performance of OSCs.


BACKGROUND
Supraomohyoid neck dissection (SOHND) is currently used as a staging procedure for patients with clinically negative nodes in the neck who are at increased risk (>20%) for metastatic disease.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the potential role of SOHND in patients with clinically positive nodes at levels I, II, or III. We evaluated, in particular, whether selective neck dissection in patients with clinically positive nodes results in decreased regional control and/or diminished survival.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients who underwent SOHND from January 1, 1971, to December 31, 1997. The oral cavity and oropharynx represented the primary sites in the majority of the patients. Two-year follow-up information was available on all patients.

RESULTS
During the study period, 69 patients underwent 84 SOHNDs. Of the 69 patients, there were 30 patients with clinically negative nodes and 39 patients with clinically positive nodes in the neck. The overall regional control rates were 88% vs 71% for pathologically negative vs positive nodes, respectively, with or without adjuvant radiation therapy. Adjuvant radiation therapy significantly improved regional control in patients with pathologically positive nodes but not in patients with NO disease (P = .005). Similar results were noted in patients with both clinically and pathologically positive nodes.

CONCLUSIONS
Supraomohyoid neck dissection in patients with pathologically positive nodes in the neck is inadequate therapy for regional control without postoperative radiation therapy. However, in patients with pathologically positive nodes in the neck, SOHND with postoperative radiation therapy can achieve regional control comparable to that of comprehensive neck dissection and postoperative radiation therapy.