Magnetometer data from recent low‐orbit satellite missions Ørsted and CHAMP offer an opportunity to improve our knowledge of electrical conductivity of the Earth's mantle. The forward modelling of electromagnetic induction (EM) is conventionally carried out in the frequency domain. We use a time‐domain technique to study the electromagnetic response of a realistic 3‐D electrical conductivity model based on seismic tomography and laboratory measurements. The model is excited by a Dst signal realistic in time evolution but simplified as spatial dipolar shape. The results show measurable response of simulated satellite time series to mid‐mantle conductivity inhomogeneities. The interpretation of satellite magnetic data for the determination of 3‐D mantle conductivity inhomogeneities will, however, require a more precise model of external ionospheric and magnetospheric currents. This can be obtained by simultaneous measurements by several satellites.


Pathfinder is a novel way of discovering, curating and disseminating heterogeneous metadata from multiple distributed systems at the scale of an entire enterprise. The management of metadata at scale has aspects that are similar to big data processing systems in regard to the need for handling high volumes of fast changing data derived from very varied sources. Pathfinder uses well known techniques from the data processing world such as schema-on-read, immutable logs, eventing, loose coupling etc. that are currently not widely used in metadata systems. At the core of Pathfinder is a Write-Ahead Log (WAL) for the entire set of metadata changes in an enterprise. This log contains a graph of an enterprise's data ecosystem that we call the Enterprise Data Map (EDM). The EDM is used by multiple independent processing systems that extract actionable information from the gathered metadata.


In order to establish a method for monitoring contamination in insulators based on leakage current waveforms and their frequency characteristics, the leakage current waveforms and frequency characteristics of an artificially polluted 180 mm diameter cap and pin type insulator were investigated by the wet contaminant and the clean fog methods at fixed applied voltages. As a result it was found that leakage current waveforms become similar to the symmetrical wave when strong local arcs occur; hence, the intensity of the odd order of harmonic components, e.g. 50, 150, and 250 Hz, is high. Furthermore, it was clarified that the transition of the leakage current waveforms, until flashover occurs, is classified into six stages and that a threshold exists by which the occurrence of flashover can be predicted.


The two-year mean (1993-1994) Dynamic Ocean Topography (DOT) field implied by the POCM_4B circulation model was used to develop normal equations for DOT, in a surface spherical harmonic representation. These normal equations were combined with normal equations from satellite tracking data, surface gravity data, and altimeter data from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1. Several least-squares combination solutions were developed in this fashion, by varying parameters such as the maximum degree of the estimated DOT and the relative weights of the different data. The solutions were evaluated in terms of orbit fit residuals, GPS/Leveling-derived undulations, and independent DOT information from in situ WOCE hydrographic data. An optimal solution was developed in this fashion which was originally presented at the 1998 EGS meeting in Nice, France. This model, designated here PGM2000A, maintains the orbit and land geoid modeling performance of EGM96, while improving its marine geoid modeling capability. In addition, PGM2000A's error spectrum is considerably more realistic than those of other contemporary gravitational models and agrees well with the error spectrum of EGM96. We will present the development and evaluation of PGM2000A, with particular emphasis on the weighting of the DOT information implied by POCM_4B. We will also present an inter-comparison of PGM2000A with the GRIM5-C1 and TEG-4 models. Directions for future work and problematic areas will be identified.


We write to raise some of a number of serious concerns about the recent paper 'Single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) of asthma: a critical appraisal'. 1 We believe that it is written in a misleading fashion and contains important errors of fact, presentation and inference. Tabulated data for symptoms, reliever use and exacerbations are presented only for patients randomly assigned to SMART. The lead author had access to the analysis by Bateman et al 2 that included full comparative data, as he wrote an accompanying editorial 3 and cited it in the present paper. It is unscientific, knowing that symptoms and reliever use outcomes are remarkably similar for fixed-dose and SMART, to not present all the data. It is worse then to imply that fixed-dose, even at the highest approved and marketed doses, achieved target levels of control in the populations studied. The Cochrane review by Cates and Lasserson, 4 limited to comparisons of SMART compared with inhaled corticoste-roid monotherapy, is wrongly invoked to support the contention that SMART does not reduce exacerbations compared with current best practice. Furthermore, the Cochrane authors' conclusions are selectively edited, removing their definition of current best practice and the qualifying phrase 'although results of five large trials are awaiting full publication'. Chapman and his co-authors are clearly aware of these data. Another Cochrane review that did examine SMART compared with fixed-dose combination therapy, concluding that SMART reduces severe exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids but not hospitalisation, is not mentioned. 5 Suggesting that SMART is proved to be associated with concerning airway inflammation is similarly disingenuous and is inconsistent with key messages constructed by the authors. 6 It is misleading to omit to say that eosinophil counts were in the range of control, that there was no difference in the number of patients who would have been eligible, per protocol, for a maintenance dose increase or decrease, and that fixed-dose combination treatment did not achieve greater improvement in any other asthma endpoint despite more than double the inhaled corticosteroid dose. This paper purports to be a critical analysis and is published under 'Review' in the table of contents. The authors could have presented a balanced description of peer-reviewed evidence, robustly discussing the pros and cons of different medication regi-mens in clinical practice, but did not. Misrepresentation of scientific evidence is of grave concern. The appropriate response is for the paper to be retracted. Competing interests …


This paper describes the UniRo Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Audio Video (AV) stack that was implemented in Java programming language. The UniRo UPnP AV Stack is a software component that can be used to develop AV applications (MediaServer, MediaRenderer, and AV Control Points). The AV interfaces form the core of this component. They provide a typing layer to access AV devices and AV services. AV interfaces hide the complexity of UPnP AV architecture and singularity of specific underlying UPnP stacks. AV applications written to this stack are portable to other UPnP stacks without changing the source code.


We analyze the interplay between license auctions and market structure in a model with several incumbents and several potential entrants. The focus is on the competitiveness induced by the number of auctioned licenses. Under plausible conditions, we show that auctioning more licenses need not result in a more competitive final outcome, contrary to what common sense suggests. This is due to the nature of competition among incumbents, which sometimes exhibits free-riding. We illustrate some results with examples drawn from the recent European license-auctions for third generation (3G) mobile telephony.


Background In contrast to the extensive amount of information available about their physical health, scientific knowledge about the mental well-being of professional footballers is scarce. In addition, the potential relation of musculoskeletal injuries with the mental well-being of professional footballers has not been studied yet. Objective To explore the mental well-being (distress, anxiety depression, sleep disturbance, adverse alcohol use) of professional footballers over twelve months and to assess its relation with musculoskeletal injuries. Design Observational prospective cohort study with a follow-up period of twelve months was conducted. Setting Professional football in five European countries: Finland, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Patients (or Participants) A total of 540 professional footballers were enrolled (mean age at recruitment was 27 years; mean career duration was 8 years; 55% from the highest national level). Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) The total number of time-loss (>4 weeks) injuries occurred during a player's career was examined by a single question. Main Outcome Measurements Distress, anxiety depression, sleep disturbance, adverse alcohol use were self-reported through validated scales. Results Among professional footballers, twelve-month incidence was 12% for distress, 37% for anxiety/depression, 19% for sleep disturbance and 14% for adverse alcohol use. At baseline, professional footballers who had sustained two or more time-loss injuries during their career were 2.5 to 3.5 times more likely to report distress, anxiety depression, sleep disturbance or adverse alcohol use. Conclusions A professional football team typically drawn from a squad of 25 players can expect in one season at least three players to struggle with their mental well-being. This study empowers the need of an interdisciplinary approach to the clinical care and support in professional football.


Damp-heat is a kind of Warm diseases which is presented as Heat characteristic manifestation and in concert with Dampness. Wu-Ju Tong, one of the Warm diseases medical experts advanced Triple burner Syndrome Differentiation to diagnose warm-heat disease, and this differential diagnosis method is crucial for diagnosing Damp-heat diseases which characteristic by permeating all three burners. His treatise "Detailed analysis of Warm diseases" and "Wu-Ju Tong's collection of Case Histories" brought a hugely influential to subsequent generations in treating Damp-heat diseases.
Objectives: Study on Wu-Ju Tong's Damp-heat theory based on his book, "Detailed Analysis of Warm Diseases" and study his clinical application of herbs in treating Damp-heat diseases based on "Wu-Ju Tong's collection of Case Histories". Through this, classifying the Damp-heat typed diseases described in this book, and identifying the syndrome differentiation used in diagnose Damp-heat diseases, as well as to investigate the treatment principle. Besides that, it aims to determinate the prohibition in treating Damp-heat. As for the study in clinical application, it proposed finding out the most commonly used herbs group and most commonly used herbs in treating Damp-heat diseases.
Methods: This research is applied analyzing and calculating methods of the journals, reference books and etc. literature review that related to it, so that concluded out the Damp-heat typed disease, syndrome differentiation, treatment principle, prohibitions, and the most common used herbs group and herbs in treating Damp-heat diseases.
Results and Conclusions: Triple burner syndrome differentiation is based on the characteristic of Damp pathogen, the development of the disease and the pathological changes of Organs and viscera, to divide the course of disease into Upper burner, Middle burner and lower burner. The main treatment principle is clearing Heat as well as resolving Dampness; the disease should be dispelled out via the efficient way. For resolving Dampness methods, there could be "dispersing upwardly", "smoothing Middle burner" and "leaching out downwardly", based on the location of the diseases. The result of the clinical application of herbs in treating Damp-heat diseases was presented as: Result 1- Water regulating and Dampness resolving herb group is the most frequently used herb group in treating Damp-heat diseases is Fu Ling which belongs to Water-regulating and Dampness resolving group, as for Result 3 that collected 62 Damp-heat cases without the following-up treatment cases, has the similar result with result 2, means Fu Ling is still the highest frequency in Result 3, From the result obtained, it can be concluded that Wu-Ju Tong tended to use Water-regulating and Dampness resolving herb group as a part of prescription in treating Damp-heat diseases, among those herbs, Fu Ling is the one that is used most often.


This article questions the application of religion in Pakistan, specifically in the legal context. For over two decades now, Pakistan has had on the books a number of statutory laws, which are collectively known as the Hudood Laws. These laws are purported to inject Qu'ranic doctrine into Pakistan's criminal legal structure. Unfortunately, a number of shortcomings have been identified with the change since its beginnings. Among these faults are a lack of religious knowledge and understanding by the judiciary, police force, and population; misuse and abuse of the laws by the nation's ruling elite, men, and the police; lacking legal and social infrastructure in support of the laws; and most devastatingly, imprecise and many times incorrect interpretation of Islam and its legal teachings. Out of respect for the divine law, an appeal is made first to suspend the Hudood laws, if not to cease their resulting injustices. It is subsequently recommended that a committee of legally and theologically trained experts be formed, that they re-examine Islam's legal teachings, and finally that they explore a just and appropriate manner in which to introduce correct principles to current Pakistani society and its primarily common law system.


By seamlessly integrating treatment simulation and planning into the treatment delivery process, online adaptive radiotherapy (ART) allows realtime treatment adaptations based on the current patient anatomy and therefore holds significant promise in maximally compensating for anatomical uncertainties. This new paradigm of cancerradiotherapy provides an opportunity to significantly reduce normal tissue toxicity and/or to improve tumor control. Additionally, online ART can also handle the interfraction variation of the organ motion pattern, the inaccuracy of patient positioning (fast but less accurate patient positioning is then allowed), direct treatment without a traditional CT simulation, and the change of treatment strategy in the middle of the treatment course. However, the clinical realization of online ART is extremely challenging, mainly due to three major barriers: the inability for real‐time treatment re‐planning, the concern of excessive imagingdose from daily CT/CBCT, and the lack of an efficient clinical workflow. To overcome these barriers, we have been developing a series of GPU‐based computational tools for real‐time re‐planning, GPU‐based low‐dose CT/CBCT reconstruction, and an innovative computational infrastructure for a streamlined clinical workflow. In this talk, we will discuss the current status of this effort and some initial clinical applications. This lecture will provide an overview of the technical barriers for the clinical realization of online adaptive radiotherapy as well as the current efforts to overcome these barriers. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the great potential of online adaptive radiotherapy; 2. Understand the major technical barriers for the clinical realization of online adaptive radiotherapy; 3. Understand the great potential of using graphics processing unit (GPU) to achieve high computational efficiency; 4. Understand an IMRT plan can be developed in seconds using GPU‐ based computational tools; 5. Understand CT/CBCT imagingdose can be reduced by 1–2 orders of magnitude using new reconstruction algorithms; 6. Understand a streamlined clinical workflow can be developed for online adaptive radiotherapy.


Abstract The Osteoglossomorpha are a clade of primitive teleostean fishes with modern representatives in five biogeogeographic regions and fossil representatives on six continents. The centre of modern diversity is in Africa but the centre of fossil diversity is in E Asia. Key fossil taxa include: †Phareodus, †Joffrichthys, and †Ostariostoma in N America; †Lycoptera, †Paralycoptera, and †Huashia among others in E Asia; †Brychaetus and possibly †Thaumaturus in Europe; †Palaeonotopterus, †Singida, and †Chauliopareion in Africa; †Tavernichthys in India; and †Musperia in SE Asia. Morphological phylogenies to date have disagreed on three main points: the relationships of †Lycoptera, of Pantodon, and of Notopterids and Mormyrids. Molecular phylogenies have similarly differed on the last two points. In this study a combined set of morphological data was generated from previous studies, including data from three recently described or redescribed taxa (the African †Singida and †Chauliopareion and the Chinese †Xixiaichthys) and maximum parsimony was used to generate a revised hypothesis of relationships. Our analysis recovered †Lycoptera, †Paralycoptera+ †Tanolepis, and †Xixiaichthys as stem-group osteoglossomorphs, †Singida as sister to Pantodon within Osteoglossidae, †Chauliopareion as a stem osteoglossid, †Ostariostoma as a stem osteoglossiform, and Notopteridae as sister to Mormyroidea and †Palaeonotopterus. These results do not lend themselves to easy explanations of osteoglossomorph biogeography involving either dispersal from a centre of origin or vicariant division of a widely distributed ancestor. Recent suggestions of an ancient (Palaeozoic) origin for osteoglossomorphs are flawed. The evidence, instead, is consistent with an origin within the Mesozoic and the biogeographic explanation involves extensive extinction of clades from continents where they occurred in the past.


The Albanian insurance market is not influenced considerably from current financial crisis. Early yet phase of development with the very low penetration level explains steadiness of insurance market to exposure influence of global financial crisis. Another factor contributed to stability of insurance market is focusing insurance businesses more on the compulsory insurance segment which is not fully liberalized. Conservative investment policies of Albanian insurers also contributed to avoiding influence of market risks induced by world financial crisis.


Simplified Monte Carlo collision model of real-time traffic flow prediction is proposed. In this model, two different road cells, roads and crosses, are configured. Vehicle distribution is generated by real-time traffic flow randomly. Based on two-dimensional topology, Monte Carlo collision between road and vehicles promote time evolution of the system. Monte Carlo collision is the core of the model and traffic flow is study target. The solution of relationship equations of road and vehicles is very simple in this model to speed up the computing. In addition, parameters can be corrected and configured at any time in the process of time evolution. Experimental results show that the model has the advantages of real-time, visual interface, easy configuration, and can be corrected by real-time feedback. The model can not only simulate and predict macroscopic data, such as flow, velocity distribution, but also follow the track of each vehicle in detail. So, the model can be used in researching both macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of vehicle movement.


AIM: To estimate the level of serum lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a)] in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and to determine the relationship between Lp(a) in
type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and micro-vascular complications.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed that enrolled 144 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus above the age of 25 years attending
outpatient Department of Medicine, Madhubani Medical College & Hospital, Madhubani, Bihar. Lp(a) levels were measured quantitatively in
venous samples using Turbidimetric Immunoassay in all subjects. Each patient was evaluated for micro vascular complications, namely diabetic
retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. The relationship between Lp(a) levels and the micro vascular complications was assessed by univariate
analysis.
RESULTS: Mean age of cases was 53.93 ± 10.74 years with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. Mean duration of diabetes was 9.53 ± 7.3 years.
Abnormal Lp(a) levels (≥ 30 mg/dL) were observed in 38 (26.4%) diabetic subjects. Seventy-eight (54.16%) cases had diabetic nephropathy and
signicantly higher Lp(a) levels were found among these cases [Median 28.2 mg/dL(Interquartile range; IQR 24.4-33.5) vs 19.3 mg/dL(IQR 14.7-
23.5); P< 0.05]. Retinopathy was present among 66 (45.13%) cases and peripheral neuropathy was detected among 54 (37.5%) cases. However,
Lp(a) levels were not signicantly different among those with or without retinopathy and neuropathy. Positive correlation was found between
higher Lp(a) levels and duration of diabetes (r = 0.165, P< 0.05) but not with HbA1c values (r = – 0.083).
CONCLUSION: Abnormal Lp(a) levels were found among 26.4% of diabetic subjects. Patients with diabetic nephropathy had higher Lp(a)
levels. No association was found between Lp(a) levels and diabetic retinopathy or neuropathy. Longer duration of diabetes correlated with higher
Lp(a) levels.


An established standard of care for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after major orthopedic surgery has been subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin. The non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban has demonstrated superior efficacy and similar safety to all tested regimens of enoxaparin in large Phase III clinical studies of venous thromboembolism prevention after elective hip and knee arthroplasty. Despite regulatory approval of rivaroxaban for this indication, concerns remain among physicians regarding its optimal and effective use in routine clinical practice. Real-life studies, such as XAMOS and ORTHO-TEP, are providing physicians with more information on the routine use of rivaroxaban for venous thromboembolism prevention after orthopedic surgery, helping to establish its safety and effectiveness in everyday clinical care. Among the most important issues are the risk of bleeding complications, wound healing, timing of first dose, impact of type of anesthesia on thromboprophylaxis effectiveness, patient comorbidities and comedication use, periprocedural management, associated costs, and clinical outcomes in trauma-related fractures. Many of these issues are difficult to study in randomized, double-blind, Phase III trials, and can be assessed more readily using real-life data. In particular, real-life or noninterventional studies lack many of the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria associated with Phase III trials and involve unselected patients who often present with significant comorbidities or comedication use.


The ability to reconfigure software is useful for a variety of reasons, including adapting applications to changing environments, performing on-line software upgrades, and extending base application functionality with additional nonfunctional services. Reconfiguring distributed applications, however, can be difficult in practice because of the dependencies that exist among the processes in the system. This paper formally describes a model for capturing the structure and run-time behavior of a distributed system. The structure is defined by a set of elements containing the state variables in the system. The run-time behavior is defined by threads that execute atomic actions called operations. Operations invoke code blocks to bring about state changes in the system, and these state changes are confined to a single element and thread. By creating input/output signatures based upon the variable access patterns of the code blocks, dataflow dependencies among operations can be derived for a given configuration of the system. Proposed reconfigurations can be evaluated through off-line tests using the formal model to determine whether the new mapping of operations-to-code blocks disrupts existing dataflow dependencies in the system. System administrators--or software components that control adaptivity in autonomic systems--can use the results of these tests to gauge the impact of a proposed reconfiguration on the existing system. The system model presented in this paper underpins the design of reconfigurable ARMOR (Adaptive Reconfigurable Mobile Objects of Reliability) processes that provide flexible error detection and recovery services to user applications.


In short-term chamber (GVK-250) "descents" by three healthy male volunteers mechanisms of hyperbaric narcosis against high partial pressures of indifferent nitrogen and argon were compared with anesthetic ketamine and sibason. Clinical biochemistry was engaged to determine any possible changes in metabolism due to the "descents" up to 0.4-0.6 MPa. Cubital vein blood was sampled prior to and following decompression. Plasma spectrophotometry was performed using biochemical analyzer EPAC-6140 (Eppendorf, Germany) and standard sets of reagents by Raichem (USA) and Biocon (Germany). On the whole, shifts in albumin, total protein, uric acid, lactate, and the creatine kinase activity were found to be within the physiological norm. However, several cases of excursion outside the boundaries of the clinical norm (A/T, AT, lactate dehydrogenase, triglycerides, lipase) could be associated with changes in the functional state of the liver caused by administration of the anesthetics during the hyperbaric exposure.


Abstract. Ozone plays a crucial role in tropospheric chemistry, is the third largest contributor to greenhouse radiative forcing after carbon dioxide and methane and also a toxic air pollutant affecting human health and agriculture. Long-term measurements of tropospheric ozone have been performed globally for more than 30 years with UV photometers, all relying on the absorption of ozone at the 253.65 nm line of mercury. We have re-determined this cross-section and report a value of 11.27 x 10−18 cm2 molecule−1 with an expanded relative uncertainty of 0.86% (coverage factor k= 2). This is lower than the conventional value currently in use and measured by Hearn (1961) with a relative difference of 1.8%, with the consequence that historically reported ozone concentrations should be increased by 1.8%. In order to perform the new measurements of cross-sections with reduced uncertainties, a system was set up to generate pure ozone in the gas phase together with an optical system based on a UV laser with lines in the Hartley band, including accurate path length measurement of the absorption cell and a careful evaluation of possible impurities in the ozone sample by mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This resulted in new measurements of absolute values of ozone absorption cross-sections of 9.48 x 10−18, 10.44 x 10−18 and 11.07 x 10−18 cm2 molecule−1, with relative expanded uncertainties better than 0.7%, for the wavelengths (in vacuum) of 244.06, 248.32, and 257.34 nm respectively. The cross-section at the 253.65 nm line of mercury was determined by comparisons using a Standard Reference Photometer equipped with a mercury lamp as the light source. The newly reported value should be used in the future to obtain the most accurate measurements of ozone concentration, which are in closer agreement with non-UV-photometry based methods such as the gas phase titration of ozone with nitrogen monoxide.


To investigate the vasorelaxant effect of puerarin, tension was recorded from rat thoracic aortic rings. Puerarin completely relaxed the contractions induced by phenylephrine (PE) in a concentration-dependent manner in endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded rat aorta, while had no effect on those preconstricted by a high concentration of potassium chloride (60 mM). Also, puerarin had no effects on the transient contraction elicited by PE or caffeine in Ca2+- free medium. The relaxant effect of puerarin was significantly inhibited by pretreatment of endothelium-denuded aorta with potassium channel antagonists tetraethylammonium and 4-aminopyridine, but not glibenclamide. These results indicate that puerarin induces an endothelium-independent relaxation in rat aortic rings. The mechanisms may involve the reduction in Ca2+influx through the non-voltage-sensitive calcium channels and the activation of the potassium channels (voltage-activated K+channels and large conductance Ca2+-activated K+channels, but not ATP-sensitive K+channels).


This work investigates the effect of abnormal microstructure on rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage of high-speed railway wheels under service and the formation mechanism of abnormal microstructure by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nano indentation and laser-induced break down spectroscopy. Results show that there are large amounts of upper bainite in the wheel tread, which destroyed the uniformity of the microstructures of the wheel matrix. The bainite is composed of ferrite with high density of dislocations and short bar-shaped cementite. The bainite exhibited higher hardness and elasticity but lower plasticity than the matrix microstructure. The incongruity of plastic deformation between upper bainite and matrix microstructures will lead to stress concentration at boundary of the microstructures, thus accelerating the RCF crack initiation and propagation. The formation of upper bainite is caused by carbon segregation. Segregation of carbon element will make the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) curve shift to the right significantly, thus increasing the probability of bainite transformation in segregation zone at higher cooling rate. Therefore, large amounts of upper bainite were formed at wheel tread.


Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common and potentially-malignant mesenchymal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract (1,2). GIST may arise at any age although it is frequently reported around the 60s. GISTs are found most often in the stomach, followed by the small intestine, but GISTs may occur at any sites of the gastrointestinal tract and peritoneal cavity including the colon and esophagus. The proliferation of most GISTs (80% to 90%) is driven by gain-of-function mutations either in the KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha ( PDGFRA ) gene, which are mutually exclusive. Surgery is the only potentially-curative treatment for primary GIST. Nearly 40% of GIST patients, however, have had disease recurrence even after complete resection (3). Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Basel, Switzerland) has revolutionized treatment of advanced and recurrent GISTs by inhibiting the KIT and PDGFRA signaling pathways (4).


The exploration of pattern may be usefully regarded as the strongest point of intersection between the computational strictures of text analysis and the open-ended interpretive landscape of literary studies. Seeing computational analysis in literary studies as a quest for interpretations inspired by pattern can, moreover, lead to a change in the perception of text analysis among more mainstream literary critics by moving the hermeneutical justification of the activity away from the denotative realm of science and toward the more broadly rhetorical and exegetical practices of the humanities. This article presents the author's creation of StageGraph -- a tool for the visualization of dramatic structure -- as a "narrative of process" and uses it to consider the implications of such a change against the broader backdrop of literary studies. By embracing a more humanistic vision of computational work, the author argues, text analysis can take its rightful place in the spectrum of critical tools.


We explored the effect of glucose-free hypoxia/reoxygenation of cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes on endothelin-1 and alpha 1-adrenoceptor induced activity of the phosphoinositide cycle. At the same time the influence of these agonists on depletion of energy-rich phosphates and cellular damage was assessed. Glucose-free hypoxia did not lead to an increase in basal phospholipase C activity. However, endothelin-1 (10(-8) M) and phenylephrine (10(-5) M) evoked activation of phospholipase C was attenuated after 60 min of hypoxia and declined to 38% and 30% respectively of normoxic values after 90 min of hypoxia. During glucose-free hypoxia, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, the substrate for phospholipase C, but not phosphatidylinositol or phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate was seen to decline to 59% of normoxic values which was independent of activation of phospholipase C by agonists. ATP levels decreased after 30 min of hypoxia and declined to 29% relative to normoxic control after 90 min of hypoxia. Total adenine nucleotide levels showed a similar pattern. The presence of 10(-8) M endothelin-1 during hypoxia did not influence the magnitude of ATP depletion. However, after 15 min of reoxygenation, by itself not significantly leading to recovery of ATP levels, ATP levels were decreased by endothelin-1 as compared to hypoxia/reoxygenation without phospholipase C agonist. Cellular damage as determined by lactate dehydrogenase leakage was not observed during 90 min hypoxia. Reoxygenation resulted in a three-fold increase in enzyme release relative to normoxic control. In the presence of endothelin-1 or phenylephrine this reoxygenation-induced damage was respectively 1.7 and 3.0-fold increased. We conclude that the agonist-induced activity of the phosphoinositide cycle is decreased in time during glucose-free hypoxia, partially through a decrease in phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate level. However, the remaining activity may give rise to increased cellular damage. As endothelin-1 and alpha 1-adrenergic amines are known to be released during myocardial ischemia, stimulation of the phosphoinositide cycle by these agonists might be an important factor in determining the magnitude of myocardial injury.


The inefficient manner in which psychotherapy is delivered renders mental-health practitioners vulnerable to the new emphasis in health-cost containment. It is estimated that in 1995 most health-care delivery will be controlled by five or six giant health corporations. Fifty percent of the mental-health practitioners in independent practice today are unlikely to survive. Those who do survive will either have learned the new delivery system, or they will be employees of corporate health. As frightening as these predictions may seem, there is also a window of opportunity for psychotherapists to get their house in order and to meet the challenge.


We present a remote sensing pipeline that processes LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data through machine & deep learning for the application of archeological feature detection on big geo-spatial data platforms such as e.g. IBM PAIRS Geoscope [1], [2].Today, archeologists get overwhelmed by the task of visually surveying huge amounts of (raw) LiDAR data in order to identify areas of interest for inspection on the ground. We showcase a software system pipeline that results in significant savings in terms of expert productivity while missing only a small fraction of the artifacts.Our work employs artificial neural networks in conjunction with an efficient spatial segmentation procedure based on domain knowledge. Data processing is constraint by a limited amount of training labels and noisy LiDAR signals due to vegetation cover and decay of ancient structures. We aim at identifying geo-spatial areas with archeological artifacts in a supervised fashion allowing the domain expert to flexibly tune parameters based on her needs.


Experimental testing represents the basic approach for mechanical characterization. Due to the high costs for test execution, the research is often developed with the collaboration of several laboratories, finally collating al the results. At this stage problems may arise due to data scattering, often due to (lateral or angular) misalignments between the fixed and the moving machine crossheads. The object of this work is to manufacture and experimentally validate a novel loading-constraining device for misalignment compensation. Conceptual design is applied to investigate on the optimal technical solution. The developed device achieves misalignment reduction with the use of a thrust bearing with sphered housing washers. The bearing is mounted under one of the specimen heads: the inverted orientation of the upper ring, allowing relative lateral displacement between the two rings, and the spherical shape of the washer compensate for offset and angular misalignments. Experimental results showed that such misalignments are respectively reduced to less than 0.02 mm and 0.05°, while the bending strain is lowered to just 6% of the nominal one, so that requirements in different standards for mechanical testing can be fulfilled.


Abstract The development of virus-free, oral vaccines against poliovirus capable of inducing mucosal protective immunity is needed to safely combat this pathogen. In the present study, a carrot cell line expressing the poliovirus VP2 antigen was established at the level of callus and cell suspensions, exploring the effects of culture media (MS and B5), supplementation with urea, phytoregulators (2,4-D : KIN), and light conditions (continuous light, photoperiod, and total darkness). The best callus growth was obtained on B5 medium supplemented with 2 mg/L of 2,4-D + 2 mg/L kinetin and 0.0136 g/L of urea and in continuous light conditions. Suspension cultures of the SMC-1 line in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks had a maximum growth of 16.07 ± 0.03 g/L DW on day 12 with a growth rate of µ=0.3/d and a doubling time of 2.3 days. In a 2 L airlift bioreactor, the biomass yield achieved was 25.6 ± 0.05 g/L DW at day 10 with a growth rate of µ= 0.58/d and doubling time of 1.38 d. Cell growth was 1.5 times higher in bioreactors than in shake flasks, highlighting that both systems resulted in the accumulation of VP2 throughout the time in culture. The maximum VP2 yield in flasks was 387.8 µg/g DW at day 21, while in the reactor it was 550.2 µg/g DW at day 18. In conclusion, bioreactor-based production of the VP2 protein by the SMC-1 suspension cell line offers a higher productivity when compared to flask cultures, offering a key perspective to produce low-cost vaccines against poliomyelitis.


Nanosculpting, the fabrication of two- and three-dimensional shapes at the nanoscale, enables applications in photonics, metamaterials, multi-bit magnetic memory, and bio-nanoparticles. A promising high resolution and high throughput method for nanosculpting is nanoimprint lithography (NIL). A key requirement to achieving manufacturing viability of nanosculptures in NIL is maintaining image fidelity through each step of the imprinting process. In particular, polymer densification during UV curing can distort the imprinted image. Here we study the shape changes introduced by polymer densification and develop a forward method for predicting changes in nanoscale geometries from UV curing. We show that shape changes by polymer densification are governed by the Poisson's ratio, the shrinkage coefficient of the polymer resist, and the geometric aspect ratios of the nanosculpted shape. We also show that the size of the residual layer does not impact the final profile of the imprinted shape.


There is a general agreement that before a therapy can be accepted into widespread clinical use, demonstration of efficacy in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is absolutely necessary. There are, however, a growing number of experts who believe that demonstration of RCT efficacy might not be a sufficient basis for widespread acceptance.1 RCTs may not enroll subjects representative of patients in community settings, who may differ from RCT subjects in age, gender distribution, disease severity, comorbidity burden, and intensity of ancillary therapy. Additionally, randomized trials may not enroll sufficient numbers of subjects to demonstrate safety from rare adverse events. As a result of these differences, some therapies with demonstrated efficacy may have a smaller effect or no effect at all in community patients. For example, spironolactone reduced mortality in a randomized trial,2 but in community-based studies, its effectiveness was limited by rates of adverse events significantly higher than in the trial.3,4

Article see p 7

Payers and consumers are increasingly concerned about unmeasured gaps between efficacy and effectiveness. As a result, calls are escalating for comparative effectiveness research to guide decisions regarding which new treatments to pay for. For example, the state of Washington has a health technology assessment committee that recently recommended limiting reimbursement for drug eluting stents to patients with diabetes mellitus, treatment of left main coronary disease, treatment of in stent restenosis, or situations in which stent diameter is 3 mm or less or stent length is 15 mm or more, on the grounds that effectiveness beyond these relatively narrow indications has not been demonstrated.5

These strong arguments for making effectiveness research customary, however, run headlong into the reality of a healthcare system poorly able to conduct such work. First, funding for routine collection of effectiveness data is scarce, and financially squeezed healthcare organizations …


Solar power generation and, in particular, space solar power generation seem to be one of the most promising electric power generation technologies for reducing emissions of global warming gases (denoted collectively as CO/sub 2/ emissions below). Calculating the precise amount of net reduction in CO/sub 2/ emissions of a solar power system over other alternative power systems requires careful life cycle considerations. For example, emissions from a space solar system must include the emissions from consuming rocket fuel during the launching the satellites, and the emissions from the energy consumed while producing the solar panels. In this paper, we calculate the CO/sub 2/ emissions observed through the life cycle of a solar power satellite (SPS). This life cycle consists of the production of rocket fuel and solar panels and the construction of a Rectenna (power receiving antenna), satellite, and all other equipment listed in the Department of Energy/NASA reference system. The calculation also includes indirect CO/sub 2/ emissions that occur in various stages of production of these materials. Our baseline scenario shows that the life cycle CO/sub 2/ emissions for an SPS system per unit of energy generated are almost the same as the emissions for nuclear power systems and are much less than the life cycle emissions for LNG-fired and coal-fired power generation systems. Furthermore, our SPS-Breeder scenario, in which SPSs supply electricity for producing further SPS systems, shows significantly lower CO/sub 2/ emissions. As electrical power generation constitutes one fourth of Japan's total CO/sub 2/ emissions, reducing emissions from electric power generation is one of the most important issues on Japan's policy agenda for dealing with global warming. Our findings suggest that the SPS is the most effective alternative power generation technology.


Here, the generalized inversion of S ‐wave amplitude spectra is employed for deriving the site response and S ‐wave attenuation (quality factor) in the northwest region of Iran. A total of 279 strong‐motion accelerograms recorded at distances below 200 km from 41 earthquakes with moment magnitudes ranging from M w 3.8 to 6.5 are used to determine the region‐specific attenuation model. The site responses have been determined for all 54 stations individually. The bulk of strong‐motion data (i.e., 184 records) comes from the 2012 Ahar–Varzaghan dual earthquakes in northwest Iran and their aftershocks. Also, the modified finite‐fault method, which is able to model nonuniform stress distribution on the fault plane, is employed to investigate the coseismic stress parameter for the first and second Ahar–Varzaghan dual earthquakes by minimizing the difference between the synthesized and observed pseudospectral accelerations for 5% damping. Results denote a concentration of stress drops on the northwestern part of the first event's fault and on the central and eastern part of the second fault. Stochastic simulations, using the calibrated stress distribution have been performed on a regular grid covering the study area for both rock‐ and soil‐site conditions (in total, 651 points). The results show that the maximum of peak ground accelerations (PGAs) during the Ahar–Varzaghan dual earthquakes for the rock‐site condition reached 557  cm/s/s, and the largest peak ground velocities (PGVs) were estimated around 76  cm/s. In general, comparisons between simulated data and empirical ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) show that the stochastic predictions (PGAs and PGVs) are higher than those predicted by the empirical GMPEs for distances less than 30 km and are smaller for distances more than 30 km. The simulated data are also consistent with the modified Mercalli intensity observations and show reasonable agreement. This can be considered as another validation of the method.


It is a challenge for visually impaired people (VIPs) to navigate independently whenever they attempt to find their way in unfamiliar buildings searching for amenities (i.e. exits, ladies/gents toilets) even with a walking stick or a guide dog. Camera-based computer vision systems have the potential to assist VIPs in independent navigation or way finding in unfamiliar places. To leverage on previous research of Signage Recognition Framework which could only recognize public signage with slanted angle less than30°, an improved OCR signage recognition model with skew and slant correction in public signage is presented. The proposed OCR method consists of Canny edge detection algorithm, Hough Transformation and Shearing Transformation were used to detect and correct skewed and slanted images. The proposed model would capture a public signage image, compare the image in the database using template matching algorithm and convert to machine readable text in a text file. The text will then be processed by Microsoft Speech Application Program Interface (SAPI) speech synthesizer and translated to voice as output. Experiments were conducted on 5 blind folded subjects to test the performance of the model. The proposed OCR recognition model has achieved satisfactory recognition rate of 82.7%.


AIMS
Our aim was to compare kinematic with mechanical alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We performed a prospective blinded randomised controlled trial to compare the functional outcome of patients undergoing TKA in mechanical alignment (MA) with those in kinematic alignment (KA). A total of 71 patients undergoing TKA were randomised to either kinematic (n = 36) or mechanical alignment (n = 35). Pre- and post-operative hip-knee-ankle radiographs were analysed. The knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), American Knee Society Score, Short Form-36, Euro-Qol (EQ-5D), range of movement (ROM), two minute walk, and timed up and go tests were assessed pre-operatively and at six weeks, three and six months and one year post-operatively.

RESULTS
A total of 78% of the kinematically aligned group (28 patients) and 77% of the mechanically aligned group (27 patients) were within 3° of their pre-operative plan. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean KOOS (difference 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) -9.4 to 12.1, p = 0.80), EQ-5D (difference 0.8, 95% CI -7.9 to 9.6, p = 0.84), ROM (difference 0.1, 95% CI -6.0 to 6.1, p = 0.99), two minute distance tolerance (difference 20.0, 95% CI -52.8 to 92.8, p = 0.58), or timed up and go (difference 0.78, 95% CI -2.3 to 3.9, p = 0.62) between the groups at one year.

CONCLUSION
Kinematically aligned TKAs appear to have comparable short-term results to mechanically aligned TKAs with no significant differences in function one year post-operatively. Further research is required to see if any theoretical long-term functional benefits of kinematic alignment are realised or if there are any potential effects on implant survival. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1360-8.


The Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST) are two new self-report measures of generalized trust that assess trust in strangers—both real and imaginary—across four trust domains. Prior research has established the reliability and validity of SFT and IST, but a number of measurement validation tests remain. Across three separate studies, I assess the test–retest reliability, measurement invariance, predictive validity, and replicability of SFT and IST, with the misanthropy scale (MST) and generalized social trust scale (GST) serving as benchmarks. First, tests of internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and longitudinal measurement invariance established that all four generalized trust scales were acceptably reliable, with SFT and IST yielding greater overall reliability than MST and GST. Second, tests of multiple group measurement invariance revealed that SFT and IST were equivalent across gender, race, education, and age groups, while MST and GST were non-equivalent across the same sociodemographic groups. Third, an investment game established the predictive validity of SFT and MST, with IST and GST yielding poor predictive validity. Fourth, tests of factor structure and measurement invariance indicated that all four generalized trust scales replicated across samples. The present findings bolster the validity, reliability, and measurement equivalence of SFT and IST, while illustrating the compromised validity and measurement non-equivalence of MST and GST. Implications for the measurement of generalized trust are discussed.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate wearing evaluation method in order to propose well fitted bodice pattern. For this study, the subjects were drawn from obese boys at the ages 9 to 11. Wearing evaluation had use of 3 bodice type and 3 evaluative method. The appearance evaluation was to evaluate subjects by professional group. The functional evaluation was to valued subjects by self-evaluation. The quantitative evaluation was to estimate subjects through Electomyograph. Wearing evaluation was done through questionnaire of 32 item in objectivity, 36 item in subjectivity, and 36 item in quantity. The data were analyzed by using ANOVA. From wearing evaluation, appearance and functional evaluation had significant most of them but quantitative evaluation had not significant. It was known that the human sense was more sensitive the quantitative mechanism. And its obtained by both functional evaluation and quantitative evaluation, respectively was found to be significantly correlated, Independent relation was observed in the results from both appearance evaluation and functional evaluation as well as from both functional evaluation and quantitative evaluation. Therefore, we propose that it is proper to evaluate the propriety of bodice pattern for obese boys of school year, mutually compromising both appearance evaluation and functional evaluation or both functional evaluation and quantitative evaluation.


Abstract This study advances scholarly debate on the impact of confidence and trust on flood risk perceptions using data from a random sample of 403 residents in New Orleans, a U.S. coastal city with hundreds of miles of levees to protect the city from flooding. The research focuses on several predictors including specific trust measures of local, state, and federal authorities, sociodemographic characteristics, and experience with flood damage. Using ordinal logistic regression, we find that residents who perceive the levee system as unlikely to protect their homes and the city are significantly more likely to perceive an increased risk of flooding. Previous flood experience, age, female gender, and race were also significant predictors of flood risk perception. In contrast to prevailing risk research that has found that general trust and general confidence negatively affect risk perception, our findings show mixed support for the hypothesis that higher levels of confidence and trust result in lower perceptions of risk. Our findings reveal the nuances of risk perception and suggest that specific notions of trust and confidence can have positive and negative influences on flood risk perception depending on respondent views toward flood protection systems and specific institutions and government agencies.


Paraglacial processes represent the dominant mechanism of geomorphic change in deglaciating landscapes worldwide and are now being increasingly recognised as controls on deglacial and postglacial landscape dynamics. This reflects the influence of glacigenic lithospheric loading/unloading cycles and patterns of glacigenic erosion and deposition. Ireland is an important location for studying the impacts of paraglacial processes in the landscape, as it was strongly imprinted by the erosional and depositional imprints of late Pleistocene glaciations and was affected by rapid shifts in North Atlantic climate. Using examples from mountains, rivers and coasts from across Ireland, this study examines some of the varied landscape responses to paraglacial relaxation in these different settings. The purpose behind this study is to show how the styles of paraglacial response may vary over time and space, even within a single regional landscape, and this can help assess the sensitivity of different environments affected by paraglacial relaxation. This study proposes an evolutionary model that describes the paraglacial sediment cascade that has shaped the Irish landscape during the lateglacial and Holocene. Consideration of paraglacial processes can yield a better understanding of the postglacial evolution of mountain, river and coastal landscapes in Ireland.


Thin metal films react with silicon substrates to form various metal silicides. The sequence and kinetics of phase formation are still an area of intense research. Comparatively much less work has been done on the issue of stress development caused by the appearance of these new phases. A detailed review of the subject has been done ten years ago. We present here recent results obtained on Pd-Si, Co-Si, Ni-Si and discuss them in the light of what is known today on the elastic and plastic properties of thin films. A simple model published by S. L. Zhang and F. M. d'Heurle takes into account the simultaneous stress formation due to the reaction and the relaxation of these stresses. It provides a qualitatively satisfying picture of stress evolution at least for the first phase which forms. The model relies on two basic elements: 1) stress formation due to the formation of a new phase, and 2) the stress relaxation mechanism at work in the growing silicide film. The sign of the stress can be understood from the variation in volume that occurs at the growing interface(s). The stress relaxation mechanisms at work in a growing film are complex. They are highly dependent on the microstructure (as we have shown when comparing Pd/Si(001) and Pd/Si (111)) but should be also highly size dependent (e.g. dislocation glide is more difficult in small scale structures). Inhomogeneous plastic relaxation in polycrystalline silicide films may be an important issue.


The human animal bond has been portrayed as loving, both in a figurative sense and in a physical and sexual context. Historically, human animal sex was described as sodomy or bestiality and viewed as either a sin against God or, later, as a mental illness. Today neither description is considered accurate. 'Zoophilia' is the recognised term describing human animal sex (DSM 4th ed. APA 2000), and the practice is considered a paraphilia. This definition carries no moral judgement. However, the term Zoophilia has been used to describe horrific cases of human animal sexual abuse and, consequently, the forging of a link with child abuse (Munro and Thrusfield 2005). Methodology
In 2006 UK animal welfare, legal, veterinary and psychological organisations were surveyed for their attitudes and policies regarding bestiality and zoophilia. Results
Some organisations declined to respond, or indicated they had no policy. Where policies did exist, they did not differentiate between bestiality and zoophilia. Development
Elements of empathy and attachment are often described by zoophiles as components of their interspecific relationships. This has lead to a distinction being made in the literature between zoophilia and zoosexuality (Beetz, 2005; Miletski 2005). The current study led to the development of a predictive model, differentiating further between zoophilia, zoosexuality and bestiality. It is suggested that these differences are predicated on underlying individual levels of empathy, attachment and sexual attraction. It is considered that zoophilia is an attachment based relationship, zoosexuality is a sexual orientation and that bestiality occurs in people whose sexual orientation may be predominately directed to other humans. Psychometric scales can be used to plot individual scores rated high/medium/low for:
1: Empathy to humans 2: Empathy to animals
3: Attachment to humans 4: Attachment to animals
5: Sexual attraction to humans 6: Sexual attraction to animals
It is hypothesised that an individual's 6 dimensional score could indicate a preference/likelihood for human-animal sex, and differentiate between type. This model is descriptive, does not indicate causation and is not judgemental. Conclusion
It is suggested that this hypothetical predictive 6-dimensional model may assist in providing deeper psychological understanding of human-animal sexual interactions. This in turn would lead to clearer legal interpretation, judgements and outcomes for those individuals involved, thereby engendering positive influences for both human and animal welfare.


Gas chromatography (GC) equipment classified chemical elements in a sample through a separation method based on the relative molecular mass. This paper describes the replacement of a capillary C5 and above Hydrocarbon Column of a Perkin Elmer Clarus 500 GC with a capillary C1-C5 hydrocarbon column from a different manufacturer. The use of appropriate carrier gas and a new standard procedure for C1-C5 hydrocarbons column, which produce the fastest appearance, largest and most stable detector signal area's patterns microVolt-seconds as qualitative and quantitative results were analysed. Several injector temperatures, sample split ratios, carrier gas flow rates and detector temperature were experimented. The effectiveness of nitrogen, helium and hydrogen as carrier gas were observed. The outcome showed that the combination of different column and GC equipment manufacturer works properly without any error. From the qualitative analysis of element configuration, the optimum setting found are; 250°C injector temperature, 1:15 split ratio, 2.5 ml / min flow rate and 275 ° C detector temperature. Hydrogen gas was found to be the best carrier for natural gas samples containing compounds that allot over a wide temperature range. In addition, a quantitative reference standard, detector signal area microVolt-seconds against concentration of Methane gas was prepared to be used as a benchmark for C1-C5 hydrocarbon conversion reaction analysis.


The objective of this work is to provide information on the ground and surface water Pimpari area in order to appreciate the impacts of mining activities on the quality of water and to discuss its suitability for human consumption from the water quality index values. The water quality of Pimpari village which is very near to the open cast coal mines (WCL Kolera Pimpari) were calculated by considering eight parameters viz. pH, total hardness, TDS, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, sulphate and sodium. For the study the water samples were collected from a Nalha, a river (surface water) and three tube wells (ground water) during Dec. 2003 to April 2006. The nalha receives discharged water from the mine. The river water analysis was carried out considering two stations one before discharged and other after discharged. The study revealed that the water quality is poor at Nalha and unfit for human consumption without treatment whereas, the river and ground water is acceptable.


Using 3 sets of multiple regression models, we examined the effectiveness of transformational and shared leadership styles in relation to team effectiveness, based on the perceptions of 424 employees of Korean financial and insurance firms. Transformational leadership is a vertical leadership style emanating from the formal leader of a team, whereas shared leadership is a distributed leadership style that emanates from the team members. We found that trans- formational leadership contributed to team output effectiveness, whereas shared leadership improved the team's organizing and planning effectiveness. These findings imply that different styles of leadership contribute to different aspects of team effectiveness. We suggest that managers should collaborate more with team members and should pay attention to the fit between the leader's behavior and the characteristics of the team output in order to promote overall team effectiveness.


Nonsymmoprhic symmetries, such as screw rotations or glide reflections, can enforce band crossings within high-symmetry lines or planes of the Brillouin zone. When these band degeneracies are close to the Fermi energy, they can give rise to a number of unusual phenomena: e.g., anomalous magnetoelectric responses, transverse Hall currents, and exotic surface states. In this paper, we present a comprehensive classification of such nonsymmorphic band crossings in trigonal materials with strong spin-orbit coupling. We find that in trigonal systems there are two different types of nonsymmorphic band degeneracies: (i) Weyl points protected by screw rotations with an accordion-like dispersion, and (ii) Weyl nodal lines protected by glide reflections. We report a number of existing materials, where these band crossings are realized near the Fermi energy. This includes Cu2SrSnS4 and elemental tellurium (Te), which exhibit accordion Weyl points; and the tellurium-silicon clathrate Te16Si38, which shows Weyl nodal lines. The ab-initio band structures and surface states of these materials are studied in detail, and implications for experiments are briefly discussed.


Dental caries and pulpal diseases are common oral bacterial infectious diseases, the prevention and treatment of these diseases require the control of the causative pathogens, such as Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Enterococcus faecalis. As a cationic antimicrobial peptide, Chrysophsin-3 has broad-spectrum bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria which may cause a variety of oral infectious diseases. The present study evaluated the potential of chrysophsin-3 against several oral pathogens and S.mutans biofilms. The cytotoxic activity of chrysophsin-3 against human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) was investigated for potential oral application. We use minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) and time-kill assay to evaluate the killing effect of chrysophsin-3. Then scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) were used to analyze the change of morphology and membrane of the pathogens, Live/Dead staining and confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) was used to observe S. mutans biofilms. The results indicate that chrysophsin-3 has varying antimicrobial activities against different oral bacteria. Chrysophsin-3 did not cause obvious cytotoxicity in HGFs at concentrations of 32-128 μg/ml for 5 min or 8 μg/ml for 60 min. SEM revealed membranous blebs and pore formation on the bacterial cell surface, and TEM showed loss of the nucleoid and dissolution of the cytoplasmic space. Furthermore, the CSLM images indicate that chrysophsin-3 can reduce the viability of the cells within the biofilms significantly and had a comparatively lethal effect against S. mutans biofilms. Taken together, our finding suggests that chrysophsin-3 has potential clinical application in oral infectious disease, especially in preventing and treating dental caries.


Author(s): Van Eenennaam, Alison | Abstract: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that is shaped like a double helix and made up of pairs of nucleotides. DNA transmits genetic information. DNA is packaged into chromosomes which are located within the nucleus of all cells. Every cell in the body contains all of the chromosomes that collectively make up the genome of that organism. DNA codes for amino acids which are linked together to make proteins. A gene is a stretch of DNA that specifies all of the amino acids that make up a single protein. Proteins are the building blocks of life. There are thousands of proteins in the body (encoded by thousands of genes). The interaction and structure of proteins determines the visible characteristics or phenotype of an organism, while the genotype refers to the genetic makeup.The sequence of nucleotides that encode a gene can differ between individuals. These differences are called genetic variants. As a result of these nucleotide differences, genetic variants or alleles may differ in the amino acid sequence of the protein they encode, or they may regulate the production of different quantities of the encoded protein. These differences can have an effect on phenotype.All individuals receive one copy (allele) of each gene from their mother, and one from their father. The DNA sequence of a gene inherited from each parent may be identical in which case the individual is said to be homozygous for that gene, or the sequence of a gene inherited from each parent may vary in which case the individual is said to be heterozygous. Genetic variants often differ from each other by the sequence of a single base pair. These differences are called single nucleotide polymorphisms SNPs (pronounced "snips"). Genotyping means using laboratory methods to determine the sequence of nucleotides in the DNA from an individual, usually at one particular gene or piece of a gene. SNPs are commonly the basis of genotyping tests. Genetic tests based on SNPs analyze DNA derived from an individual to determine the genetic variants that are present at one specific location (nucleotide pair) in the midst of the approximately 3 billion nucleotide pairs that make up the genome.Historically we have not known which genes contribute to performance characteristics (traits), and so we have used performance records and EPDs (expected progeny differences) to infer the genetic merit of animals. This method has been very successful at improving certain traits. Research has shown that some genetic variants of specific genes are associated in a positive way with a given trait. It is therefore possible to genotype an animal using a DNA-based genotyping test and select individuals carrying the preferred genetic variant. Marker-assisted selection is the process of using the results of DNA testing to assist in the selection of individuals to become parents in the next generation. The word "assisted" implies that the selection is also influenced by other sources of information, such as animal's observed performance and EPDs. The genotypic information provided by DNA testing should help to improve the accuracy of selection and increase the rate of genetic progress by identifying animals carrying desirable genetic variants for a given trait at an earlier age.It is not known which specific genes contribute to an EPD – the genes are anonymous. Complex traits, including most of the economically relevant traits for cattle production (birth weight, weaning weight, growth, reproduction, milk production, carcass quality) are controlled by many genes, and they are also greatly affected by the environment (e.g. feed conditions). Although complex traits are influenced by a number of genes – each one of these genes is still inherited in the same way. An animal inherits one copy of each gene from its sire, and one copy of each gene from its dam. These copies may differ from each other, and these differences may have either a positive or negative effect on the trait that the gene controls or influences. When an animal has a positive EPD for a certain trait, what that is effectively saying is that based on its pedigree and phenotype, it has inherited a greater than average number of "good" genetic variants of each gene affecting that particular trait.It is important to combine DNA results (which look at single genes) with other criteria, such as EPDs (which look at numerous genes) and the animal's actual phenotype for the trait (if available), to ensure that selection is distributed over all the genes that contribute towards the trait of interest. Don't ignore animals that have good EPDs for a given trait and yet are not carrying the favorable form of a gene for that trait. These animals are likely to be a source of good alleles for the many other genes that contribute towards that trait. Ideally the information from genetic tests should be integrated into a genetic evaluation system that weighs all the information about an animal. Combining information from both EPDs and genetic tests into a selection decision will be superior to selection on either EPDs or markers alone. The challenge will be to determine the weight that should be given to the marker information in this decision-making process. The magnitude of the effect of a genetic variant of a gene on the trait may vary among the different breeds, production systems and environments.


This paper reviews theory, measurements, and computer simulations of scattering from cancellous bone reported by many laboratories. Three theoretical models (binary mixture, Faran cylinder, and weak scattering) for scattering from cancellous bone have demonstrated some consistency with measurements of backscatter. Backscatter is moderately correlated with bone mineral density in human calcaneus in vitro (r2 = 0.66 - 0.68). Backscatter varies approximately as frequency cubed and trabecular thickness cubed in human calcaneus and femur in vitro. Backscatter from human calcaneus and bovine tibia exhibits substantial anisotropy. So far, backscatter has demonstrated only modest clinical utility. Computer simulation models have helped to elucidate mechanisms underlying scattering from cancellous bones.


With the adoption of cloud services and the reliability and resiliency it offers, enterprises are eager to understand how many of their legacy applications can be containerized. We propose Application Containerization advisor (ACA), a framework that provides a containerization advisory for legacy applications. Given an application description in terms of its technical components, ACA proposes a multi-step process that standardizes the raw inputs and curates technology stack into various components, detects missing components and finally recommends the best possible containerization approach.


Abstract We report a facile approach used for the simultaneous reduction and synthesis of a well dispersed magnetically separable palladium nanoparticle supported on magnetite (Pd/Fe3O4 nanoparticles) via continuous flow synthesis under microwave irradiation conditions, using a Wave Craft's microwave flow reactor commercially known as ArrheniusOne, which can act as a unique process for the synthesis of highly active catalysts for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation catalysis. The prepared catalysts are magnetic, which is an advantage in the separation process of the catalyst from the reaction medium. The separation process is achieved by applying a strong external magnetic field which makes the separation process easy, reliable, and environmentally friendly. Hydrazine hydrate was used as the reducing agent under continuous flow reaction conditions. The investigated catalysis data revealed that palladium supported on iron oxide catalyst synthesized by continuous flow microwave irradiation conditions showed remarkable high catalytic activity towards CO oxidation compared to the ones that were prepared by batch reaction conditions under the same experimental conditions. This could be attributed to the high degree of dispersion and concentration ratio of the Pd nanoparticles dispersed on the surface of magnetite (Fe3O4) with a small particle size of 5–8 nm due to the effective microwave-assisted reduction method under continuous flow conditions. These nanoparticles were further characterized by a variety of spectroscopic techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).


This paper presents a single phase AC/DC/AC converter based on parallel AC/DC and cascaded multi-level DC/AC Converter. For a two-cell AC/DC/AC converter, two units of full-bridges are connected in parallel and two units of full-bridges are connected in cascade. It is proposed that instead of using two separate control loops of DC link voltages at the AC to DC conversion stage, only a single control loop with only one voltage sensor is proposed in this paper when two cells are equally loaded. It is also shown that by controlling only one cell DC link voltage, the other dc link voltage also gets controlled automatically. Use of simple and unipolar ramp comparison control at both the stages leads to fixed switching frequency operation of all the switches along with the improved quality of input current and output voltage as compared to simple PWM control. The simulation result for the proposed topology has been obtained through the MATLAB simulation studies, for a two-cell based parallel cum cascaded AC/DC/AC converter. The experimental verification of the proposed topology and control strategy has been obtained.


The symbolistic manifest of Moreas grew up from the antipositivist turn and co-created its Dithley's line. The way of understanding symbol which has been located between the realm of spiritual, religious, soul expression or inner experience of "I" and the poetic imagination, rooted in the symbolism of different cultures and times – was associated with new definitions proposed by reviving and passing significant transformations modern hermeneutics. This symbolistichermeneutic tangle decided largely about the meaning of a symbol until the twentieth century interpretations of Gadamer and Ricoeur. Ricoeur, indicating "the areas of a symbol reign" and the structure of symbolic expression, is taking into account psychoanalysis, phenomenology of religion and poetic imagination. In his conception of a symbol has been also made an important shift associated with the focusing on speech, the attitude of "being in front of the text", approaching a significant way of thinking for reflection related to the "linguistic turn". Linguistic track turns out to be a creative gesture of creating the world and holding sway over it. The tangle of symbolism and hermeneutic therefore continues in the twentieth century, which shows the second part of the outline, concerning the symbolic representation of evil in Ricoeur's reflection and in Wat'sThe Bucolic Poem. Both Ricoeur and Wat reflections on this topic deem as an answer to the "misery" of modernity. In his Poem Wat takes the criticism of language establishing the states of affairs, in particular, symbolic language, what paves the way for symbolism, which is distrustful to authority of symbols and hermeneutics, which comes from the attitude of distrust.


Summary.  We consider a Bayesian forecasting system to predict the dispersal of contamination on a large scale grid in the event of an accidental release of radioactivity. The statistical model is built on a physical model for atmospheric dispersion and transport called MATCH. Our spatiotemporal model is a dynamic linear model where the state parameters are the (essentially, deterministic) predictions of MATCH; the distributions of these are updated sequentially in the light of monitoring data. One of the distinguishing features of the model is that the number of these parameters is very large (typically several hundreds of thousands) and we discuss practical issues arising in its implementation as a realtime model. Our procedures have been checked against a variational approach which is used widely in the atmospheric sciences. The results of the model are applied to test data from a tracer experiment.


—I analyzed the data on size and numbers of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) for four rattlesnake roundups in the southeastern U.S. (Opp, Alabama, and Whigham, Fitzgerald, and Claxton, Georgia) spanning a period of 50 years (1959-2008). Both numbers of snakes and weights of the largest snakes that participants turned in annually declined in the last two decades. Statements by roundup officials and rattlesnake hunters support that roundup hunting has depleted local rattlesnake populations and forced hunters to travel further to collect snakes in recent years. Declining maximum size of snakes reflects possible age-class truncation, whereby collectors cull older, larger individuals of this long-lived species. Roundups perpetuate negative attitudes about venomous snakes and reduce their populations whose skins and flesh are subject to high commercial demand. Before the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake becomes threatened throughout its range, state wildlife agencies should either ban the taking of individuals or regulate their taking by developing bag limits and seasonal harvest guidelines. The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake would further benefit by refocusing extant roundups as wildlife festivals in which participants celebrate rattlesnakes and other wildlife rather than exploit them, or alternatively changing their theme entirely (such as one roundup that became a Wild Chicken Festival).


On January 30, 2015, President Barack Obama announced the launch of a Precision Medicine Initiative—"a bold new research effort to revolutionize how we improve health and treat disease" (1). The success of this bold new initiative depends upon continued improvements in the genomics space. Arguably, the key technological player in precision medicine is next generation sequencing (NGS),2 an extremely powerful technology for detection of genetic variation. NGS has enabled a multitude of impressive research discoveries that have been translated toward more rapid, cost-effective, and comprehensive analyses for inherited conditions and cancer. However, despite its achievements, NGS analysis is still too expensive and time-consuming of a process to be carried out routinely on all patients. The technological platform and the clinical-grade reagents themselves are both costly, as is the scientific know-how to perform the benchwork, bioinformatics, and variant interpretation. Reducing the time, cost, and effort to perform clinical NGS is essential to achieve further adoption of personalized medicine.

Current NGS sequencing technologies generally use expensive and slow optic-based measurements of short copies of PCR-amplified DNA. Additionally, 3 major groups of genomic variation that are important for clinical diagnostics cannot be efficiently detected by de novo assembly of sequencing data from short DNA strands. The first of these, and closest to clinical optimization, are the copy number alterations that remove or add single or multiple exons, such as those commonly encountered in Duchene muscular dystrophy. The next major class is the trinucleotide repeat disorders. The classical example here is Fragile X, whereby a repeating CGG motif expansion (growing to over thousands of nucleotides in some cases) causes disease. Finally, regions of low sequence complexity, known as pseudogenes, or highly related gene family members, like members of the CYP family of genes, can be challenging to detect a real pathogenic change from …


Background Breast tumor growth is highly dependent on angiogenesis. Visualization of the breast vasculature helps assisting pre-surgical staging, treatment planning, detection of tumor reoccurrence and post-treatment evaluation in breast cancer management [1]. For example, in Magnetic Resonance guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (MRgHIFU), treatment planning and control would be improved by characterizing the vascular distribution around the target lesions and including the resulting convective effects in the appropriate models. Knowledge of the vasculature is also useful at the pre-treatment planning stage where an accurate segmentation of the treatment volume on a voxel-by-voxel basis is desired. Even though contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI has becoming a standard tool for breast cancer diagnosis, the association between contrast injection and the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) has raised concern, especially for patients with renal failure. To reduce these concerns, noncontrast enhanced breast vessel imaging has been investigated using a peripheral pulse gate (PPG)-triggered half-Fourier turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence [2]. In this work, an untriggered variable flip angle turbo spin echo (VFL-TSE) sequence was explored as a non-contrast flow-independent MR angiography (MRA) technique to achieve breast vasculature imaging.


With the growing number of primary arthroscopies performed, patients requiring revision hip arthroscopies for various issues is high including postoperative adhesion formation, a source of pain, mechanical symptoms, range of motion limitation, stiffness, and microinstability. Adhesions are a consequence of biological pathways that have been stimulated by injury or surgical interventions leading to an increased healing response. Preventative efforts have included surgical adjuncts during/after primary hip arthroscopy, biologic augmentation, and postoperative rehabilitation. Treatment options for adhesion formation includes surgical lysis of adhesions with or without placement of biologic membranes aimed at inhibiting adhesion reformation as well as systemic medications to further reduce the risk. Postoperative rehabilitation exercises have also been demonstrated to prevent adhesions as a result of hip arthroscopy. Ongoing clinical trials are further investigating pathways and prevention of adhesion formation.


[Purpose] To investigate the effects of a pelvic compression belt (PCB) and chair height on the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremity during sit-to-stand (STS) maneuvers in healthy people. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two people participated in this study. They were required to perform STS maneuvers under four conditions. Hip joint moment and angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle were measured. A PCB was also applied below the anterior superior iliac spine. [Results] The angular displacement of the ankle joint increased while performing STS maneuvers from a normal chair with a PCB in phase 1, and decreased during phase 2 when performing STS maneuvers from a high chair. The overall angular displacement in phase 3 was decreased while rising from a chair with a PCB and rising from a high chair. When performed STS maneuvers from a high chair, the angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle joint decreased considerably in phase 3. This decreased lower extremity motion in phase 3 indicated that participants required less momentum to complete the maneuver. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that a PCB might be appropriate for patients with pelvic girdle pain and lower back pain related to pregnancy.


Understanding the life history strategy of species can clarify their functional role, and contribution to the productivity and resilience of an ecosystem. We use otolith microstructure analysis to study the life history of 2 widespread and abundant Caribbean reef fishes, genetically identified here as the glass goby Coryphopterus hyalinus and masked goby C. personatus. Our analysis reveals that these species exhibit an extreme life history relative to other vertebrates due to their short lifespan, small adult body size, early maturity, and continuous growth in body length throughout reproductive age. We find that pelagic larval duration (PLD) varies widely, and average larval growth influences PLD where faster-growing larvae have shorter PLDs. We show that average daily growth substantially decreases during the settlement transition to reef habitat, approximately coinciding with reproductive maturity. Continuous somatic growth throughout reproductive age can serve to support greater fecundity in older, larger-bodied females and enhance survivorship. Several features of the ecology (i.e. broad depth range, planktivorous diet) and life history (i.e. small adult body size, quick generational turnover, short lifespan) of C. hyalinus and C. personatus indicate that they play a key trophic role in transferring nutrients from pelagic plankton to Caribbean reef predators and the reef benthos. Our analyses highlight why life history traits related to survival, reproduction, and population dynamics can enhance our understanding of ecosystem-scale processes and functioning on coral reefs.


Physical education teaching achievement is a direct reflection of the sporting quality of teaching is good or bad, and the statistical analysis of the results of the Physical Education is an important part of the process of physical education, teachers can draw through statistical analysis of the results, the effect of their teaching and student learning, exam real quality education services. How can you better, faster analysis of sports achievements in teaching is a very important issue. In this paper, we study on the methods and procedures of PE teaching statistic analysis based on SPSS software, and provide an approach for the analysis of the scores in PE teaching.


An intelligent biopotential amplifier [Electroneurograph] for measurement of conduction velocity has been fabricated and tested in diabetic type I & II patients with moderate to acute diabetic neuropathic conditions. The electrodes were placed in appropriate positions and resultant responses were measured. Latency of waveform was measured from which the conduction velocity was arrived at. Significant variations in conduction velocity in median nerve of specimen were observed in moderate to acute diabetic type I & II. Diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy at various stages is the primary significance of this technique which helps the doctor to take immediate steps for advanced treatment in patients to minimize conduction failure.


In this paper I will argue for the possibility of a kind of evolutionary anthropology of images. I will rely on the notion of cognitive evolution as Merlin Donald construed it, on the one hand, and on the enactive account of vision, on the other hand. The two approaches can be seen as divergent, since the Donaldian theory is based on the evolution of representational capabilities, while enactivism (both conservative and radical wings) challenges the necessity of mental representation, at least in certain cases. But, as I suggest, this divergence does not lead to a contradiction, rather both illuminate the importance of the extra-cranial context, and the importance of the representational techniques that make ideas, fears, etc. manifest. I will begin by outlining the special character of the image construed as the picture of something; then I will review the necessary cognitive capabilities of perception and depiction, and finally account for the role of pictorial representation in cognitive evolution. ZSUZSANNA KONDOR: REPRESENTATIONS AND COGNITIVE EVOLUTION: TOWARDS AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF PICTORIAL


Summary:The purpose of our pre–post intervention study was to reduce the number of near‐miss events pertaining to wrong‐site surgery, including incorrectly sided surgical bookings and incorrectly performed preoperative time‐out procedures. Pre‐ and postintervention, incorrectly booked cases, and improperly performed presurgical time‐out procedures were recorded. We then educated each surgeon and their staff regarding the importance of and proper way to perform these tasks. Subsequently, the monthly percentage of incorrectly booked surgical procedures and improperly performed time‐outs were significantly decreased. Introduction:In 2004, the Joint Commission published comprehensive guidelines to prevent wrong‐site surgery. Seven years have passed, and the incidence has not declined. The Joint Commission estimates that in the United States, wrong‐site procedures including surgeries occur at least 40 times a week. "Near misses" are events that could have harmed a patient, but did not due to chance or mitigation. Improperly performed time‐out procedures and inaccurate surgical bookings are considered near misses and could ultimately lead to "never events," such as wrong‐site surgery. Near‐miss analysis is a highly effective method of preventing rare, "never events." We hypothesize that proper education of surgeons and staff will be effective in reducing the number of near misses. Methods:All cases analyzed were performed at an academic, orthopedic surgery specialty institution. From August 2010 to May 2011, near misses were identified and stored in Patient Safety Net (PSN), an electronic database. We tracked these cases and educated each offending attending physician and his or her staff about the importance of accurate surgical bookings. Additionally, we began an observational program to carefully review presurgical time‐out procedures as they occurred. We tracked the percentage of these improperly performed time‐outs and counseled offenders (attending surgeon, or any member of the operating room staff who made the error) regarding the deficiencies that caused the time‐out to be ineffective. The number of near misses that occurred before and after the interventions were recorded and analyzed. Results:Of the 12,215 cases included in this study, 6,126 cases formulated the "pre‐education" cohort, while a total of 6,089 cases formulated the "post‐education" cohort. In the first four months of the study, the monthly rate of incorrectly booked cases was 0.75%. Since the intervention, the rate decreased to 0.41% (p = .0139). The percentage of improperly performed time‐out procedures decreased from 18.7% to 5.9% after the educational interventions were performed (p < .0001). Conclusion:A program designed to educate physicians to the importance of decreasing near misses for wrong‐site surgery is effective. When analyzing the literature, it is clear that the reduction in near misses observed in this study decreases the likelihood of a wrong‐site surgery.


We have established a quality model for the object oriented paradigm. Quality is divided into factors and these into criteria. We have designed 350 measures, bearing in mind a particular attribute of the object orientation, and have been connected to the criteria to set up the model. We outline a new methodology for applying this model to improve the object oriented software process by establishing a set of steps to be applied in the phases of object oriented development.


A computerised informal environmental management system for agriculture is currently being piloted and tested. Based upon the principles of anticipation and prevention the system aims to encourage sound environmental management to ensure that detrimental environmental effects are minimised. The software uses a unique numerical index to assess current performance by comparing actual practices with site specific 'ideal' practices for a wide variety of farm activities. In support of the assessment routines, the system utilises a hypertext information system. Further support is available via a variety of modules allowing exploration of 'what-if?' scenarios to identify cost-effective means of improving performance.


Abstract The fibre orientation in short fibre reinforced thermoplastics depends on injection moulding technology parameters. The aim of this paper is to propose possibilities for comparing fibre orientation of the real sample and the result from simulation software. Fibre orientation of selected injection moulding part is simulated. In some selected points secondorder tensor of orientation was estimated. Stereological metallography was used for possibility of comparison these results with experimental ones. An experimental result of estimation of degree of fibre orientation is described. The use of stereological metallography allows very simple and effective experimental estimation of short glass fibre orientation, which can be used for experimental verification of numerical simulation model, which can be optimized to obtained coincidence with experiments.


Contraction of the guinea pig saphenous artery induced by stimulation of perivascular nerves consists of an adrenergic and a purinergic component. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) potentiated the neural responses significantly at low stimulation frequencies but not at high frequencies when the contraction was maximal. After blocking the adrenoceptors with phentolamine, significant potentiation of the purinergic component by NPY could be demonstrated. The potentiating effect of NPY was abolished in the presence of nifedipine. After desensitizing the purinoceptors with alpha,beta-methylene-ATP, there was no potentiation of the remaining adrenergic component by NPY. NPY also has no effect on contractions induced by exogenous norepinephrine but potentiates those induced by alpha,beta-methylene-ATP. These results suggest that NPY potentiates neurally induced contraction in the guinea pig saphenous artery by a specific action on the purinergic response.


We compared the regulation of gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma GT) and glutathione-S-transferase-P (GST-P) expression in rat liver epithelial cells (228 cells) and a line derived from them (C5 cells) by stable transfection with a metallothionein-activated ras fusion gene (MTrasT24). Earlier studies demonstrated that steady state RNA levels of these genes are increased after transformation of liver cells by MTrasT24 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 85, 344-348, 1988). In the present study, we found that the rate of gamma GT transcription increased approximately 20 fold after transformation by MTrasT24 while the rate of GST-P transcription increased no more than two fold. However, the stability of GST-P RNA was increased about 3 fold in these cells. Comparisons of gamma GT RNA stability were not possible since nontransformed liver cells (228) contain little or no gamma GT RNA. Thus, the accumulation of gamma GT RNA in C5 cells is heavily dependent on increased rates of transcription while the more modest increases in GST-P RNA levels result in large part from increased RNA stability. In ras transformed cells both transcriptional and post-transcriptional events contribute to the increased steady state RNA levels of cellular genes.


Detailed description and illustrations of immature Trictenotoma Gray, 1832 (Trictenotomidae Blanchard, 1845) are presented for the first time, based on larvae and pupae of T. formosana Kriesche, 1919. Characters exhibited by the mature larva are similar to those described by Gahan (1908) for T. childreni Gray, 1832, which was based on a single specimen. The phylogenetic position of Trictenotomidae has varied among Scarabaeoidea, Chrysomeloidea and Tenebrionoidea, though recent studies place the family clearly among the latter. Features of the immature stages described here corroborate this placement. Evidence supports placement within or near the "salpingid group" (Pythidae, Salpingidae, Boridae, Pyrochroidae). Distinguishing features of the mature trictenotomid larva include the absence of stemmata, antennal sensorium, urogomphal pit(s) and lip, the presence of paired series of longitudinal ridges on the meso- and metathorax and abdominal tergites 1–8 and sternites 2–8, a paired arcuate row of 12–15 asperities on the anterior margin of sternite 9 and relatively short, upturned urogomphi. The systematic position of trictenotomids within the Tenebrionoidea Latreille, 1802 is confirmed. The phylogenetic relationships among Trictenotomidae and other "salpingid group" members (e.g., Pythidae Solier, 1834 and Salpingidae Leach, 1815) are highlighted and discussed, solving an almost two centuries old puzzle in Coleoptera systematics.


The effect of the mutual coupling between the array elements on the performance of the adaptive array antennas (AAA) is investigated when the actual received voltages which include the mutual coupling are directly used to estimate the weight vector based on the adaptive algorithm. The output signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR), the convergence of the adaptive algorithm and the synthesized pattern are evaluated to study the effect due to the existence of the mutual coupling. It is found that the mutual coupling affects the antenna adaptive gain, but does not affect the adaptive processing. It is also found that the mutual coupling does not always degrade the iterative convergence of the adaptive algorithm. It is proved that any invertible matrix for compensating the mutual coupling cannot improve the output SINR. It is also indicated that the radiation pattern can be correctly synthesized in the presence of the mutual coupling by introducing the universal steering vector (USV) whose element corresponds to the array element pattern.


Psychology is a fascinating subject which attracts much interest from both students and the general public. It covers the whole span of human activity from childhood development, to the study of the elusive concept of consciousness to disorders, such as those based around anxiety, mood and eating. The scientific study of psychology also requires an understanding of research methods and conceptual issues. The Encyclopacdic Dictionary of Psychology addresses all these issues and more, and is a core reference for any student of psychology. It is authoritative and accessible, and covers the basic curriculum content of a degree course along with more specialised material in areas of widespread interest. This important reference book presents more than 1500 different entries grouped into 8 thematic topic areas, and on a range of levels from brief definitions to more substantial discussions which allow the reader to obtain a fuller grasp of important terms and concepts. For key issues, the explanation is supported with illustrations, tables and photographs, and relevant contemporary references are provided throughout to allow the reader to pursue more widely their particular interests. The book is comprehensively cross-referenced for ease of use.