Background The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of myocardial infarction (MI) prior to the diagnosis of SLE and within the first 2 years of follow-up. Materials and methods The SLICC atherosclerosis inception cohort enters patients within 15 months of SLE diagnosis. MIs were reported and attributed on a specialised vascular event form. MIs were confirmed by one or more of the following: abnormal EKG, typical or atypical symptoms with EKG abnormalities and elevated enzymes (≥2 times ULN), or abnormal stress test, echocardiogram, nuclear scan or angiogram. Descriptive statistics were used. Results 31 of 1848 patients that entered the cohort had an MI. Of those, 23 patients had an MI prior to SLE diagnosis or within the first 2 years of disease. Of the 23 patients studied 60.9% were female, 78.3% were Caucasian, 8.7% Black, 8.7% Hispanic and 4.3% other. The mean age at SLE diagnosis was 52.5 ± 15.0 years. Of the 23 MIs that occurred, 16 MIs occurred at a mean of 6.1 ± 7.0 years prior to diagnosis and 7 occurred within the first 2 years of follow-up. Risk factors associated with early MI in univariate analysis are male sex, Caucasian, older age at diagnosis, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, family history of MI and smoking. In multivariate analysis only age (OR = 1.06 95% CI: (1.03, 1.09)), hypertension (OR = 5.01, 95% CI: (1.38, 18.23)), hypercholesterolemia (OR = 4.43, 95% CI: (1.51, 12.99)) and smoking (OR = 7.50, 95% CI: (2.38, 23.57)) remained significant risk factors. Conclusions In some lupus patients MI may develop even before the diagnosis of SLE or shortly thereafter, suggesting that there may be a link between autoimmune inflammation and atherosclerosis. Acknowledgements This abstract is being submitted on behalf of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) group.


Large carnivores are important components of many ecosystems and play an integral role in determining the composition and structure of ecological communities. The influences of pumas (Puma concolor) on other species, including prey and competitors, vary across their range and among individuals. I used novel methodologies, including intensive real-time GPS investigations of potential kill sites using ARGOS satellite collars, and motion-triggered video cameras to study the intra- and inter-specific interactions of pumas and understand their influences on ecological communities. Results from my dissertation support previous findings that pumas play an integral role in shaping their respective ecosystem, but that pumas are also influenced substantially by their local environment. Overall, my dissertation highlights the importance of understanding intra- and inter-specific interactions of large carnivores when attempting to understand their influences on ecological communities. I tested whether pumas exhibited sexual variation in their use of communication behaviours at community scrape areas, and what factors influenced their mating strategies. I found that males more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on 'producing' behaviours (scraping and body rubbing), while females more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on 'consuming' behaviours (olfactory investigation and flehmen response behaviours). This suggests that male reproductive strategy is based on advertisement for possible mates, while female reproductive strategy is based on assessment of potential mates. Pumas also exhibited sexual variation in their patterns of visitation. Males were regular visitors, while females were irregular visitors whose visitation cycles were apparently correlated with oestrus. Mate selection by females was complex and based on multiple cues, the two most important of which were the visitation rate and mass of males. The frequency of male visits and the display of some behaviours were influenced most by visits from female pumas, but were also influenced by visits from competing males. I used real-time and fine-scale GPS location data to find prey killed by individual pumas, and analysed seasonal patterns to understand local influences on puma behaviour and feeding ecology. I found that black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) were the main prey of pumas, constituting 98.6% of their diet by mass, and that the elevations at which pumas killed black-tailed deer correlated significantly with seasonal elevations used by black-tailed deer. I found pumas had relatively high ungulate kill rates ( ̅ = 1.07 ungulates/week, and ̅ = 5.78 kg/day), and that kill rates in ungulates/week varied among seasons and were highest in summer and autumn. Importantly, the handling times of black-tailed deer >1 year old showed an inverse seasonal relationship with kill rates in ungulates/week, and the lower handling times may have been due to black bear kleptoparasitism. These findings suggest that puma feeding ecology can be strongly influenced by seasonal behaviour of their prey and dominant scavengers. Given the potential for large carnivores to influence scavengers, I studied the influences of both pumas and black bears on the scavenger community. I found that pumas and black bears were a source of limitation for scavengers, both on the species richness and sum feeding times of the scavenger community, as well as the occurrence, total feeding times, and mean feeding bout durations of scavenger species. However, pumas had some positive influences, for example they facilitated the acquisition of carrion by scavengers, and they apparently initiated a cascading pattern that led to an increase in the acquisition of carrion by small carnivores. In contrast, black bears, as dominant scavengers, monopolized carrion resources and substantially limited the acquisition of carrion by other scavengers, and in fact they had larger limitations for scavengers than pumas as top-level predators. The influences on carrion acquisition suggest that large carnivores have important influences on the scavenger community, and their influences could be a mechanism for the effects large carnivores have on community composition.


File prefetching based on previous file access patterns has been shown to be an effective means of reducing file system latency by implicitly loading caches with files that are likely to be needed in the near future. Mistaken prefetching requests can be very costly in terms of added performance overheads, including increased latency and bandwidth consumption. Such costs of mispredictions are easily overlooked when considering access prediction algorithms only in terms of their accuracy; we describe a novel algorithm that uses machine learning not only to improve overall prediction accuracy, but also as a means to avoid those costly mispredictions. Our algorithm is fully adaptive to changing workloads, and is fully automated in its ability to refrain from offering predictions when they are likely to be mistaken. Our trace-based simulations show that our algorithm produces prediction accuracies of up to 98%. While this appears to be at the expense of a very slight reduction in cache hit ratios, application of this algorithm actually results in substantial reductions in unnecessary (and costly) I/O operations.


Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder with a general population prevalence of 3–10%. A single, previous epidemiological study performed in south‐east Europe reported the lowest prevalence rate amongst European countries. We conducted a population‐based survey of RLS in central Greece. A total of 4200 subjects were randomly recruited. We used the international RLS study group criteria for diagnosis and the severity scale for severity assessment in subjects with RLS. We also included questions to assess the level of awareness of RLS in our region. A total of 3033 subjects were screened. The overall lifetime prevalence was 3.9% with a female‐to‐male ratio of 2.6:1. Nearly half of RLS patients reported moderate to severe intensity of symptoms. After adjustment for multiple comparisons we found no association of RLS with education level, smoking, alcohol intake, caffeine consumption, shift work, professional pesticide use or comorbid illness. Our study revealed a low level of awareness amongst the population and physicians in our region and sub‐optimal management. We provide further evidence for low prevalence of RLS in south‐east Europe and a low level of awareness of RLS in our region.


Abstract Since beginning of human history, child labour exists in our society and it indicates the social inequality. Child ragpicking also form of child labour, where children live without education from childhood. The central question of this paper is that Government of India implemented different scheme for children to providing education like Sarva Sikhya Abhijan, Midday Meal Programme and the most important is Compulsory and free education to all children age group between 4 to 14, under Article 21-A, where compulsory education is the part of fundamental rights are legally valuable but till now why rag picking children are not getting proper education? What are the main hurdles behind the Implementation process? The main objective of this paper is to find out the answer of above question and also examine the living conditions and educational situations of rag picking children. A sample of 100 rag pickers children in age group of 4 to 14 years will be selected from different areas of Cuttack district of Odisha.


The comparison of the efficiency of three ozonation systems (ozonation alone and ozonation in the presence of alumina or PFOA) in attempting the removal of aromatic hydrocarbons from water was made. The results obtained indicate that PFOA shows a great catalytic activity, as opposed to alumina. Moreover, ozonation in the presence of PFOA results in a much higher level of ozonation efficiency in comparison to ozonation alone. The effect of ozone dosage, catalyst dosage and pH value was investigated and was found to have a great influence on hydrocarbons removal efficiency. The degradation rate was shown to decrease with increasing ozone and catalyst dosage. The efficiency of the PFOA/O3 system was observed to be at its greatest at the lowest pH examined.


We use gravitational wave (GW) standard sirens, in addition to Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) mock data, to forecast constraints on the electromagnetic and gravitational distance duality relations (DDR) . We make use of a parameterised approach based on a specific DDR violation model, along with a machine learning reconstruction method based on the Genetic Algorithms. We find that GW provide an alternative to the use of BAO data to constrain violations of the DDR, reaching 3% constraints on the violation parameter we consider when combined with SNIa, which is only improved by a factor of ≈1.4 if one instead considers the combination of BAO and SNIa. We also investigate the possibility that a neglected modification of gravity might lead to a false detection of DDR violations, even when screening mechanisms are active. We find that such a false detection can be extremely significant, up to ≈10σ for very extreme modified gravity scenarios, while this reduces to ≈4σ in a more realistic case. False detections can also provide a smoking gun for the modified gravity mechanism at play, as a result of the tension introduced between the SNIa+GW and SNIa+BAO combinations.


Background: Understanding the morphological characteristics between the floor of the maxillary sinus and the tips of the maxillary posterior roots is crucial in orthodontics involving diagnosis and treatment planning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distances from the maxillary posterior root apices to the inferior wall of the maxillary sinus, thickness and density of maxillary sinus floor using cone-beam computed tomography images and the relationships between roots and maxillary sinus according to side, and gender. Materials and methods: Three-dimensional images of each root were checked, and the distances were measured along the true vertical axis from the apex of the root to the sinus floor, and the thickness and density of maxillary sinus floor in 60 patients (30 males, 30 female) aged 18 to 25 years. Results: The results showed that the frequency of root contact with the sinus floor increased from 42.5% at the second premolar to more than 91% at the mesiobuccal roots of the second molars. The more protruded root into the sinus floor was the mesiobuccal root apices of the second molars. The distances of both mesiobuccal and palatal roots of second molars and density of second premolar and first molar in left side were significantly higher than the right side, while the thickness of mesiobuccal roots of the second molar was higher in right side than in left side. The distance and density had no significant difference in both males and females, while the thickness of distobuccal and palatal roots of the second molar is higher in females than in males. Conclusion: In conclusion intrusion of the maxillary molars in small distances between root tips and sinus floor could be difficult and slow due to the pneumatization of the maxillary sinus.


The farm crisis of the 1980s quickly became a media event, with scenes depicted starkly in black and white on color TV. The embattled farmers, accompanied by their advocates, stood holding off bankers and sheriffs wielding foreclosure notices. In this new book, using findings from interviews and participant observation, agricultural historian Mark Friedberger peels away the emotion and rhetoric of the "save the family farm" movement to provide a realistic picture of what happened in on important farm state. "Shake-out: Iowa Farm Families in the 1980s" depicts the farm crisis of the 1980s in all its complexity, providing a useful corrective to popular accounts. Friedberger's approach and his focus on individuals present the problem in America's heartland at a truly grass roots level. Those seeking a better understanding of American agriculture in the 1980s and of rural life generally will find it invaluable.


This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the event-based metering strategy proposed by Simonov et al. This strategy is an alternative to the traditional periodic (time-based) metering where the power demand is average in fixed time periods (e.g. every 15 minutes). The event-based approach considers two thresholds that trigger an event, one related to the (instantaneous) power demanded, other to the accumulated energy consumed. The original work assumed these thresholds fixed for the measurements. Our present contribution relaxes this assumption by proposing a method to set the thresholds from the percentage of the peak power consumption over the period under analysis. This approach, in contrast to the time-based and the fixed thresholds, better captures the actual power demanded when different households with diverse power demand profiles are studied.In this sense, our method provides a more efficient way to store electricity demand data while maintaining the estimation error (in relation to the real-time power demand) under acceptable values. Numerical examples presented to illustrate the advantage and possible drawbacks of the proposed method.


Lineups [4, 28] have been established as tools for visual testing similar to standard statistical inference tests, allowing us to evaluate the validity of graphical findings in an objective manner. In simulation studies [12] lineups have been shown as being efficient: the power of visual tests is comparable to classical tests while being much less stringent in terms of distributional assumptions made. This makes lineups versatile, yet powerful, tools in situations where conditions for regular statistical tests are not or cannot be met. In this paper we introduce lineups as a tool for evaluating the power of competing graphical designs. We highlight some of the theoretical properties and then show results from two studies evaluating competing designs: both studies are designed to go to the limits of our perceptual abilities to highlight differences between designs. We use both accuracy and speed of evaluation as measures of a successful design. The first study compares the choice of coordinate system: polar versus cartesian coordinates. The results show strong support in favor of cartesian coordinates in finding fast and accurate answers to spotting patterns. The second study is aimed at finding shift differences between distributions. Both studies are motivated by data problems that we have recently encountered, and explore using simulated data to evaluate the plot designs under controlled conditions. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is used to conduct the studies. The lineups provide an effective mechanism for objectively evaluating plot designs.


The selection and artificial preparation of high-titered test serums, the study of the cause and prevention of hemolytic transfusion reactions, the consideration of the role of subgroups and intragroup agglutinins in transfusion accidents, and the adoption of a simple, accurate technic for determination of blood grouping and compatibility have been described. All are parallel actions directed toward a single purpose, the transfusion of blood with the greatest simplicity and the least possible delay in laboratory procedure, with observance of the best known standards of safety. Another major obstacle to the dispatch of blood transfusion service in large municipal hospitals is the inaccessibility of blood donors. There are delays, inefficiency and tragic results attendant to location of friends and relatives and the laboratory search for compatible and suitable bloods for patients whose bloods are of the rare groups. Occasionally, there is an emergency which does not permit even the time used


When should a patient with abdominal pain be referred to the emergency ward? The following goals must be achieved upon managing patients with acute abdominal pain: 1) identify vital emergency situations; 2) detect surgical conditions that require emergency referral without further diagnostic procedures; 3) in "non surgical acute abdomen patients" perform appropriate diagnostic procedures, or in selected cases delay tests and reevaluate the patient after an observation period, after which a referral decision is made. Clues from the history and physical examination are critical to perform this evaluation. A good knowledge of the most frequent acute abdominal conditions, and identifying potential severity criteria allow an appropriate management and decision about emergency referral.


Youth exposure to trauma is a significant public health problem in the United States, particularly in urban areas. Although trauma-informed care (TIC) training of service providers to address this challenge is increasing nationwide, we lack empirical evidence regarding the feasibility and acceptability of cross-organizational TIC training, including perspectives of training participants. The purpose of our study was to evaluate participating service providers' self-reported changes in knowledge about trauma, attitudes toward traumatized individuals, and beliefs in their capacity to provide referrals to trauma services after completion of the TIC intervention. Intervention participants represented a range of service sectors, including government health and education agencies, social services, law enforcement, as well as nonprofits. Participants completed a pre–post quantitative survey assessing TIC-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (N = 88). A subset of participants was interviewed using a semistructured interview format (n = 16). Mixed methods were used to evaluate the intervention's impact on participants' knowledge about trauma and to understand participants' experience in the training. Quantitative results revealed significant improvements in TIC-related knowledge and attitudes. Five themes emerged from qualitative analysis of interviews: the intervention provided a framework for understanding TIC; useful lessons were learned from other participants; there was a need for outreach to upper-level management; real-life applicability was lacking; and guidance regarding next steps was wanting. Study findings suggest the training may be a starting point for enhancing service providers' capacity to address traumatized youth.


The amount of information that can be perceived and processed will be partly determined by attentional breadth (i.e., the scope of attention), which might be narrowed in social anxiety due to a negative attentional bias. The current study examined the effects of stimulus valence on socially anxious individuals' attentional breadth. Seventy-three undergraduate students completed a computerized dual-task experiment during which they were simultaneously presented with a facial picture at the center of the screen and a black circle (i.e., a target) at the periphery. Participants' task was to indicate the gender of the model in the picture and the location of the peripheral target. The peripheral target was presented either close to or far from the central picture. Higher levels of social anxiety were significantly associated with greater difficulties detecting the target presented far from the central facial pictures, suggesting that social anxiety is associated with narrowed attentional breadth around social cues. Narrowing of attentional breadth among socially anxious individuals might hamper their ability to process all available social cues, thereby perpetuating social anxiety.


On the basis of first‐principles calculations, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ru, Rh, Ag, Ir, Pt, and Au decorated Mo2CO2−δ monolayers are investigated as potential single‐atom catalyst (SAC) candidates for low‐temperature CO oxidation reaction. From a first screening based on intuitive criteria concerning metal sintering, CO poisoning, and O2 adsorption strength, the Zn/Mo2CO2−δ system is selected for further scrutiny by means of reactivity calculations for different CO concentrations. A lower barrier is found for Eley–Rideal reaction mechanism than for the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism. The low Eley–Rideal barrier (0.15 eV) is attributed to the fact that the Zn atom weakens the O‐O bond considerably and the electrophilic attack of CO weakens it further. The main conclusion is that this system is a promising low‐temperature SAC candidate with a lower energy barrier for CO oxidation than noble metal and other 2D SAC systems investigated.


We consider the input/output-stability of linear time-invariant single-input/singleoutput systems in terms of singularities of the transfer function F(s) in Laplace domain. The approach is based on complex analysis. A fairly general class of transfer functions F(s) is considered which can roughly be characterized by two properties: (1) F(s) is meromorphic with a finite number of poles in the open right half plane and (2), on the imaginary axes, F(s) may have at most a finite number of poles and branch points. For this class of systems, a complete and thorough characterization of BIBO stability in terms of the singularities in the closed right half-plane is developed where no necessity arises to differentiate between commensurate and incommensurate orders of branch points as often done in literature. A necessary and sufficient condition for BIBO stability is derived which mainly relies on the asymptotic expansion of the impulse response f(t). The second main result is the generalization of the well-known Nyquist citerion for testing closed-loop stability in terms of the open-loop frequency response locus to the class of systems under consideration which is gained by applying Cauchy's argument principle.


For the large-scale coastal wetland system of the Baltic Sea, this study develops a methodology for investigating if and to what degree the variability and changes in certain hydro-climatic drivers control key coastal–marine physical conditions. The studied physical conditions include: (a) water temperature, (b) water salinity, and (c) flow structures (magnitudes and directions of flows between marine basins and the associated coastal zones and wetlands). We use numerical simulations of three hydro-climatically distinct cases to investigate the variations in hydro-climatic drivers and the resulting physical conditions (a–c) among the cases. The studied hydro-climatic forcing variables are: net surface heat flux, wind conditions, saltwater influx from the North Sea, and freshwater runoff from land. For these variables, the available observation-based data show that the total runoff from land is significantly and positively correlated with precipitation on the sea itself, and negatively correlated with saltwater influx from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. Overall, the physical condition (a–c) variability in the Baltic Sea and its coastal zones is found to be pairwise well-explained by simulation case differences as follows: (a) Net heat flux is a main control of sea water temperature. (b) Runoff from land, along with the correlated salt water influx from the North Sea, controls average sea salinity; with the variability of local river discharges shifting some coastal zones to deviate from the average sea condition. (c) Wind variability and change control the Baltic Sea flow structure, primarily in terms of flow magnitude and less so in terms of flow direction. For specific coastal wetland zones, considerable salinity differences from average Baltic Sea conditions (due to variability in local river discharges) are found for the coasts of Finland and Estonia, while the coastal wetland zones of south-eastern Sweden, and of Estonia and Latvia, emerge as particularly sensitive to wind shifts.


A teacher is a person who helps students or other people to acquire knowledge and values. A teacher could be in a form of informal or formal, the point of difference their profession at different place. Formal teaching is carried out by paid professional's teachers. Prior to the modern technique teachers  simply used black boards and chalk to write but now with the advent of technology many things have changed from teaching tool to teaching method.  Contemporary teaching tool have changed from Black Board to White Board. Teachers used to use black boards to write something but now schools are shifting from black boards and chalk to white board and dry erase marker. In many places students have turned out from thick textbook to easily carry laptop that makes them more comfortable in contemporary time. This single gazette has placed much information into and provides up to date information at student's fingertips. In contemporary time, the latest development in education world is the fastest growing use of You Tube. This is a latest video sharing Web site where anyone can share any type of video of any kind. Different educational programmes, different subject related videos are running through You Tube. Institutes and university teachers are also upload subject related videos on this site and make students more informative and knowledgeable.


This study compared time to correction of mandibular anterior crowding using two arch wire sequences, one with conventional nickel-titanium (NiTi) arch wires and the other with conventional and NiTi heat-activated arch wires. Twenty-two boys and girls (mean age: 16.68 ± 2.66) with moderate crowding (3-6 mm) were assigned randomly to one of two groups and followed up for five months (six assessments) when arch wires were changed. Time to crowding correction was analyzed statistically using the Kaplan-Meier method. Data were collected during the five-month follow-up, and time to correction was compared between groups using the log rank test. At the end of follow-up, mandibular crowding was corrected in 100% of the cases in the group treated with the sequence that included NiTi heat-activated arch wires, whereas about 30% of those treated with NiTi arch wires were not completely corrected. There was a significant difference in time to complete treatment between groups (log rank = 5.996; p < 0.05). In the group treated with the sequence that included heat-activated wires, alignment and leveling of mandibular anterior teeth were completed earlier than in the group treated only with conventional NiTi arch wires. Clinical trial registration is found at RBR-7g5zng.


Biliary tract (BT) diseases occupy one of the first places among the gastrointestinal diseases in children. The term "biliary tract" includes the gallbladder and intra-and extrahepatic bile ducts. The structure of biliary tract diseases had a significant increase in metabolic and inflammatory diseases, functional disorders. According to this, purpose of this study was to propose algorithms for children examination with biliary tract diseases in outpatient and hospital phases. In this article, based on their own experience was described the features and significance of laboratory and instrumental methods in the diagnosis of biliary tract disease in children. It was shown that the diagnostic significance of intrascope research methods in the identification of bile-excreting system diseases in children.


The decolourisation of C.I. basic yellow1 in aqueousmediumwas studied using a 25W low-pressure ultra-violet (UV) lamp along with H2O2 as an oxidant. It was observed that when H2O2 was used with UV radiation, the decolourisation rate became faster and 98.1% of colour removal was occurred in 20min at 20mg/L of initial dye concentration. Itwas also observed that decolourisation is dependent on initial concentration of H2O2, initial concentration of dye solution, UV dosage and pH. The decolourisation rate followed pseudo-first order kinetics with respect to the dye concentration.


A gradient reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the determination for eight related substances of Dabigatran Etexilate Mesylate. The successful chromatographic separation of Dabigatran Etexilate from its related substances was achieved on octadecyl silane chemically bonded to porous silica particles stationary phase i.e Inertsil ODS-4, 250mm x 4.6mm, i.d., 5m column maintained at temperature at 25°C by using phosphate buffer pH 3.0 and acetonitrile as mobile phases A & B respectively. Wavelength for UV detection: 220nm, flow rate: 1.0ml/min and Injection volume: 10μl. The performance of the method was validated according to the ICH guidelines for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantification, limit of detection robustness and ruggedness and also DEM was subjected to stress conditions of thermal, hydrolysis, humidity, peroxide and photolytic to observe the degradation products. Limit of detection of impurities was in the range of 0.007%–0.008% indicating the high sensitivity of the developed method. The experiment results are given in detailed in this paper.


Abstract Magnesium-rich forsterite grains (>Fo98) in FeO-poor chondrules show variations in cathodoluminescence (CL) intensity that are associated closely with variations in Al2O3 and TiO2 contents. CL thus can be used to map the distribution of Al and Ti in individual grains. We describe several categories of CL distribution, including grains that are homogeneous, grains that are zoned continuously, grains that show oscillatory zoning, and grains that show a heterogeneous distribution of CL intensity. Heterogeneous CL intensity is interpreted as the result of disequilibrium growth from the chondrule melt. CL surveys of individual chondrules help to identify forsterite grains that are potentially relics in their host chondrules, i.e., grains that did not crystallize in situ from the chondrule melt. Several of these grains show minor-element variations that differ from the majority of melt-grown grains in their host chondrules: this observation supports the inference that they are relics. Little evidence exists for growth of individual grains in multiple brief heating episodes. Identification of the abundance of relict grains is important for determining the thermal histories of chondrules as well as the nature of the precursor assemblages from which they formed.


The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), launched in August 1996, is designed to measure wind vectors over ice-free oceans. To prevent contamination of the wind measurements, by the presence of sea ice, algorithms based on neural network technology have been developed to classify ice-free ocean surfaces. Neural networks trained using polarized alone and polarized plus multi-azimuth look Ku-band backscatter are described. Algorithm skill in locating the sea ice edge around Antarctica is experimentally evaluated using backscatter data from the Seasat-A Satellite Scatterometer that operated in 1978. Comparisons between the algorithms demonstrate a slight advantage of combined polarization and multi-look over using co-polarized backscatter alone. Classification skill is evaluated by comparisons with surface truth (sea ice maps), subjective ice classification, and independent over lapping scatterometer measurements (consecutive revolutions).


A novel technique is presented for obtaining a single in-vivo image containing both functional and anatomical information in a small animal model such as a mouse. This technique, which incorporates appropriate image neutron-scatter rejection and uses a neutron opaque contrast agent, is based on neutron radiographic technology and was demonstrated through a series of Monte Carlo simulations. With respect to functional imaging, this technique can be useful in biomedical and biological research because it could achieve a spatial resolution orders of magnitude better than what presently can be achieved with current functional imaging technologies such as nuclear medicine (PET, SPECT) and fMRI. For these studies, Monte Carlo simulations were performed with thermal (0.025 eV) neutrons in a 3 cm thick phantom using the MCNP5 simulations software. The goals of these studies were to determine: 1) the extent that scattered neutrons degrade image contrast; 2) the contrasts of various normal and diseased tissues under conditions of complete scatter rejection; 3) the concentrations of Boron-10 and Gadolinium-157 required for contrast differentiation in functional imaging; and 4) the efficacy of collimation for neutron scatter image rejection. Results demonstrate that with proper neutron-scatter rejection, a neutron fluence of 2 ×107 n/cm2 will provide a signal to noise ratio of at least one ( S/N ≥ 1) when attempting to image various 300 μm thick tissues placed in a 3 cm thick phantom. Similarly, a neutron fluence of only 1 ×107 n/cm2 is required to differentiate a 300 μm thick diseased tissue relative to its normal tissue counterpart. The utility of a B-10 contrast agent was demonstrated at a concentration of 50 μg/g to achieve S/N ≥ 1 in 0.3 mm thick tissues while Gd-157 requires only slightly more than 10 μg/g to achieve the same level of differentiation. Lastly, neutron collimator with an L/D ratio from 50 to 200 were calculated to provide appropriate scatter rejection for thick tissue biological imaging with neutrons.


Economic developments in the rest of the world affect New Zealand consumer prices. This article traces the channels through which the consumers price index (CPI) is affected by the exchange rate. Changes in the exchange rate that result from changes in the prices of commodities New Zealand exports appear to have had materially different inflationary implications than other changes in the exchange rate.


Cloud computing is one of the leading technology in IT and computer science domain. Business IT infrastructures are equipping themselves with modern regime of clouds. In the presence of several opportunities, selection criteria decision becomes vital when there is no supporting information available. Global clouds also need evaluation and assessment from its users that what they think about and how new ones could make their selection as per their needs. Recommended systems were built to propose best services using customer's feedback, applying quality of service parameters, assigning scores, trust worthiness and clustering in different forms and models. These techniques did not record and use interrelationships between the services that is true impact of service utilization. In the proposed approach, service association factor calculates value of interrelations among services used by the end user. An intelligent leaning based recommendation system is developed for assisting users to select services on their respective preferences. This technique is evaluated on leading service providers and results show that learning base system performs well on all types of cloud models.


This paper studies signal detection in multiuser systems where the uncertainty is due to fading as well as a strong co-channel interference of the same form as that of the desired signal. In particular, unlike for the desired signal, no pilot for the interference signal is available for measuring its fading channel state. Still, the interference is a non-Gaussian process and treating it as Gaussian noise can lead to poor performance. We propose a joint channel estimation and interference mitigation scheme based on belief propagation. Simulation results show that the receiver performs significantly better compared to conventional receivers with linear channel estimation.


This second collection of John Osborne's dramatic work includes The Entertainer, The Hotel in Amsterdam, West of Suez and Time Present. 'A lifelong satirist of prigs and puritans, whether of the Right or Left, he took no hostages, expecting from other people the same unyielding, unflinching commitment to their view of the truth which he took for granted in his own. Of all the British playwrights of the twentieth century he is the one who risked the most. And risking most, frequently offered the most rewards.' David Hare, Spectator 'Osborne was an instinctive writer, but he had genius in his early years for capturing the national mood and conveying undiluted feeling...one wonders whether any of the bright new talents will have the courage to do what Osborne did in the past: to encapsulate on the tiny stage the state of the nation at large.' Guardian Praise for The Entertainer 'The rancid, dead-accurate domestic dialogue is a joy, with cliches dropping like bats from the ceiling...the play becomes a flamboyant coronach for England's lost greatness, enshrining one of the great characters in modern drama.' Daily Telegraph 'Like all Osborne's best work, this is a play about personal failure, individual desolation, the frustration of a community. One of the reasons why Osborne changed the face of English theatre is that he made passionate personal drama out of a national malaise.' Sunday Times


Multiple leaf area index (LAI) products have been generated from remote-sensing data. Among them, the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI product (MOD15A2) is now routinely derived from data acquired by MODIS sensors onboard Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. However, the MODIS LAI product is not spatially and temporally continuous and is inaccurate in many areas for some vegetation types. In this paper, a new algorithm is developed to estimate LAI from time-series MODIS reflectance data (MOD09A1). A radiative-transfer model is coupled with a double-logistic LAI temporal-profile model, and the shuffled complex evolution optimization method, developed at the University of Arizona, is used to estimate the parameters of the coupled model from the temporal signature in a given time window. Preliminary analysis using MODIS surface-reflectance data at flux sites was performed to validate this method. The results show that the new algorithm is able to construct a temporally continuous LAI product efficiently, and the accuracy has been significantly improved over the MODIS LAI product as compared to field-measured LAI data.


In recent research, we have proposed a new framework for examining the determinants of income inequality, which emphasizes firm and worker heterogeneity and selection into export markets. In this paper, we use our framework to examine how wage inequality and unemployment vary across workers with different abilities. Both in the closed and open economy, the unemployment rate is decreasing in worker ability, whereas both the average wage and wage inequality are increasing in worker ability. Upon opening the economy to trade, however, intermediate-ability workers experience reductions in average wages and increases in unemployment rates relative to both lower and higher ability workers. (JEL: F12, F16, E24) (c) 2010 by the European Economic Association.


Background and aims Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants have a greater risk for the oxidative stress related diseases (OSRDs) like retinopathy of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, periventricular leukomalacia and necrotizing enterocolitis. Naturel antioxidant activity of phenols, flavonoid and tocopherols in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) may be preventive for the OSRDs. The purpose of conducting a randomised controlled pilot study is to compare the weight gaining, length of hospitalisation and the OSRDs of VLBW infants who received early enteral nurtition with and without EVOO support. Methods VLBW newborns were divided into two groups in this pilot study. Group 1 received enteral nutrition and EVOO, Group 2 received only enteral nutrition. Nutritional analysis was undertaken for EVOO that was added as 0.5 ml/day in 100 ml enteral nutrition. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and minimal enteral nutrition was initiated both of two groups. Results A total of 26 VLBW infants were divided into two groups (Group 1)(n = 13) and (Group 2) (n = 13) and assessed the birth weight: Group 1= 1,329 ± 35 g, Group 2 = 1,276 ± 32 g. gestational age: Group 1= 31 ± 2.79, Group 2 =29 ± 2 weeks. There was no significant difference between two groups for weight gaining, length of hospitalisation and the OSRDs. Conclusions EVOO is very important natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients for preterm infants particularly VLBW. A larger randomised controlled trials are needed to show the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of olive oil for prevention of OSRDs in this high risk group.


Intraperitoneal, intravenous or oral administration of sodium oestrone [(35)S]-sulphate to male and female Medical Research Council hooded rats is followed by the rapid excretion of the bulk of the radioactivity in urine in the form of inorganic [(35)S]sulphate. Pre-treatment of rats with an antibiotic regimen does not affect the results except in the case of oral administration, when relatively large amounts of the dose are recovered as ester [(35)S]sulphate in faeces. Intravenous administration of the labelled ester to male and female rats with cannulae in bile duct and ureter gave results similar to those obtained with free-range animals. Only small amounts of radioactivity appeared in bile and this was mainly in the form of ester sulphate, including both oestrone [(35)S]sulphate and oestradiol-17beta 3[(35)S]-sulphate. Whole-body radioautography pinpointed the liver as the probable site of the desulphation of the sulphate ester and this was confirmed by liver and kidney perfusion experiments and by studies with rats in which kidney function had been eliminated by ligation of the renal pedicles.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of fat suppression T1-weighted compared to conventional T1-weighted gadolinium-DTPA-(Gd-)enhanced spin echo sequences in orbital imaging.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
31 patients with pathologic conditions or clinically suspected pathology of the orbita were examined using conventional T1-weighted (TR 400-500 ms/TE 15 ms/AC 3) and fat suppression T1-weighted (TR 370-500 ms/TE 15 ms/AC 3) spin echo-sequences before and after i.v. injection of 0.1 mmol/kg Gd-DTPA. All images were evaluated by three radiologists experienced in MR imaging, concerning anatomical and pathological structures as well as artifacts. The images were graded on a scale of 1-5 (5 = excellent to 1 = poor).

RESULTS
The evaluation of anatomic structures showed that the fat-suppression technique was superior to the conventional technique in respect of visualising the extraocular muscles (4.4 to 3.4, p < 0.05) and also with regard to the optic nerve (3.68 to 3.78). Pathological conditions of the orbit (optic glioma and neuritis, spread of local tumours to the orbit), however, were better visualised using the fat suppression technique (4.3 to 2.95, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted fat suppressed spin echo-sequences are useful in pathological conditions of the orbita. In optic neuritis they may be the only sequences to show the lesion.


ABSTRACT This article explores genocide recognition politics (GRP) with a specific focus on Saddam Hussein's Anfal campaign (1988) against the Kurdish population in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the context of a pending referendum on independence in the KRI, this study investigates the evolution of GRP in relation to secession, nation-building and commemoration as well as the social, political and economic drivers in the process. In addition, the study zeroes in on the internationalization of genocide recognition claims via diaspora lobbying and the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq (KRG)'s bureaux of representation in Europe. The results are based on extensive fieldwork conducted with KRG representatives, diaspora entrepreneurs and other stakeholders between 2012 and 2016 in Europe and Iraqi Kurdistan. The KRG's genocide recognition claims are not explicitly associated with secession, but instead are employed to legitimize local rule by referencing collective trauma and shared victimhood. In this way, Anfal – as the 'chosen trauma' – has become a component of (local) nation-building mechanisms. Nevertheless, recognition claims can become instrumentalized for secession so long as the political circumstances in the region become favourable to Kurdish independence. In the diaspora context, GRP serve to establish a link to homeland through commemoration practices, but they also provide greater space for lobbying and transnational advocacy networking.


Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a well-known method used to measure muscle oxygenation and hemodynamics in vivo. The application of arterial occlusions allows for the assessment of muscle oxygen consumption (mVo(2)) using NIRS. The aim of this study was to measure skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity using blood volume-corrected NIRS signals that represent oxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (O(2)Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (HHb). We also assessed the reliability and reproducibility of NIRS measurements of resting oxygen consumption and mitochondrial capacity. Twenty-four subjects, including four with chronic spinal cord injury, were tested using either the vastus lateralis or gastrocnemius muscles. Ten healthy, able-bodied subjects were tested on two occasions within a period of 7 days to assess the reliability and reproducibility. NIRS signals were corrected for blood volume changes using three different methods. Resting oxygen consumption had a mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 2.4% (range 1-32%). The recovery of oxygen consumption (mVo(2)) after electrical stimulation at 4 Hz was fit to an exponential curve, which represents mitochondrial capacity. The time constant for the recovery of mVo(2) was reproducible with a mean CV of 10% (range 1-22%) only when correcting for blood volume changes. We also examined the effects of adipose tissue thickness on measurements of mVo(2). We found the mVo(2) measurements using absolute units to be influenced by adipose tissue thickness (ATT), and this relationship was removed when an ischemic calibration was performed, supporting its use to compare mVo(2) between individuals of varying ATT. In conclusion, in vivo oxidative capacity can be assessed using blood volume-corrected NIRS signals with a high degree of reliability and reproducibility.


Caching can reduce the bandwidth requirement in a wireless computing environment as well as minimize the energy consumption of wireless portable computers. To facilitate mobile clients in ascertaining the validity of their cache content, servers periodically broadcast cache invalidation reports that contain information of data that has been updated. However, as mobile clients may operate in a doze or even totally disconnected mode (to conserve energy), it is possible that some reports may be missed and the clients are forced to discard the entire cache content. In this paper, we reexamine the issue of designing cache invalidation strategies. We identify the basic issues in designing cache invalidation strategies. From the solutions to these issues, a large set of cache invalidation schemes can be constructed. We evaluate the performance of four representative algorithms-two of which are known algorithms (i.e., Dual-Report Cache Invalidation and Bit-Sequences) while the other two are their counterparts that exploit selective tuning (namely, Selective Dual-Report Cache Invalidation and Bit-Sequences with Bit Count). Our study shows that the two proposed schemes are not only effective in salvaging the cache content but consume significantly less energy than their counterparts. While the Selective Dual-Report Cache Invalidation scheme performs best in most cases, it is inferior to the Bit-Sequences with the Bit-Count scheme under high update rates.


T involuntary, uncomfortable, and irregular jerking movements of the head which characterize spasmodic torticollis impose a physical and mental burden upon the patient. They interfere with and sometimes prevent the proper performance of occupational duties and enjoyment of social activities. The disorder has been recognized for centuries and has failed to respond to many forms of treatment. However, modern neurosurgical technics have brought many successful results. Spasmodic torticollis has been adequately defined by Patterson and Little as "an involuntary hyperkinesis manifesting itself by mobile, tonic, or clonic spasms of the neck musculature, and producing more or less stereotyped deviation of the head into an abnormal position, the chin being rotated to one side or the head bent directly forward (antecollis) or backward (retrocollis)." The spasms are abolished by sleep and aggravated by emotional stress, but the cause of the disorder is not known. Although a pure psychogenic origin is upheld by a few neurologists, such a cause is extremely rare, and most modern writers favor the theory of organic origin. This condition must be differentiated from the ischemic or traumatic wry-neck of childhood due to injury to the sternomastoid muscle; in the latter there is a constant contraction due to shortening of the muscle as a result of infiltration of the intramuscular fasciae, as pointed out by Rugh, while the muscle contractions of spasmodic torticollis are irregular and clonic in nature. It is also obviously different from the constant moderate head tilt observed in ocular torticollis, caused by disorders of the eye muscles, as described by Kennedy.


An approach to perform controlled acid-catalyzed oligomerization via vapor pressure control of the reactions inside Nafion membranes is presented. The interaction of Nafion with several classes of aromatic (pyrrol, furan, thiophene) and unsaturated (methyl-acetylene) gas phase monomers was studied as a function of contact time and temperature by in situ vibrational (FTIR) and electronic (UV-Vis) spectroscopy with the support from theoretical linear response and time dependent DFT calculations to monitor the vibrations and the effective number of conjugated double bonds. The formation of H-bonded adduct as seen from IR spectroscopy transforms the hydrogen bonded species into positively charged oligomers through an activated proton transfer mechanism where oligomerization progress through increasing contact time with the respective gas phase reactants at room temperature. The activated proton transfer oligomerization proceeds through the stepwise growth propagation cycles via carbocationic intermediates, finally leads to the formation of irreversible, conjugated charged oligomers as a product. The colored, conjugated oligomeric Nafion composite products are formed at room temperature as a function of reaction time and are irreversible after complete degassing of the gas phase reactants as well stable in ambient environment stored for many days in pure oxygen or air and cannot be extracted with common solvents, appearing strongly encapsulated inside Nafion membranes. This is crucial for future applications of the presented route for direct production of conjugated species inside Nafion and thus production and control of composite membrane materials of interest in fuel cells and catalysis.


Conceptual energy-based pedogenic models present a framework for quantitatively linking pedon energy throughflow to soil development. In this study, we utilized a quantitative pedogenic energy model (QPEM) based on rates of effective energy and mass transfer (EEMT, kJ m- 2 yr -1 ) to the soil system to predict pedogenesis across a wide range of pedogenic environments. Our objectives were to: (i) derive a global equation for estimating EEMT; (ii) test the QPEM framework at the pedon scale across a series of environmental gradients on igneous rock residuum; and (iii) develop quantitative transfer functions between pedogenic indices and EEMT. We derived a simplified two-dimensional Gaussian expression for estimating EEMT from mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) (R 2 = 0.96, significant at P < 0.001) using a global climate data set. Environmental gradient data indicated significant differences in EEMT between soil orders (i.e., Entisol = 14,586 vs. Ultisol = 36,521 kJ m -2 yr -1 ), whereas neither MAT nor MAP demonstrated significant differences among soil orders. Pedon data from the gradients were used to derive quantitative transfer functions between EEMT and pedogenic indices, including pedon depth, clay content, subsurface chemical index of alteration minus potassium (CIA-K), and the ratio of free Fe oxides to total Fe (Fe d /Fe T ). Significant linear and nonlinear functions were derived between EEMT and all of the pedogenic indices, whereas no significant functions could be fit between pedogenic indices, MAT, or MAP. The favorable results from this study suggest that the QPEM framework and EEMT may provide a basis for quantitative pedogenic modeling and prediction of soil properties.


Objectives A model based on time and cost is proposed in order to quantitatively study last mile distribution of emergency medical supplies. Because cost is not particularly important in the distribution of emergency medical supplies in earthquake disasters, but time should be considered, the MAGTD (multi-attribute grey target decision) strategy was proposed. The novel method of cloud computing is proposed to solve the problem of minimizing delivery time while maximizing loading rate in the distribution of emergency medical supplies. Methods The distribution model for an earthquake disaster region is divided into direct and indirect parts, and the characteristics of emergency medical supplies are summarized and analyzed. Secondly, the AHP-OWA operator based on cloud computing is constructed to evaluate the importance of the emergency medical supplies. Finally, the last mile delivery risk assessment model is established. Results The use of the experimental examples and comparison with the existing algorithm shows that the proposed cloud computing method can deliver the optimal solution in a shorter period for emergency medical supplies distribution in earthquake disasters. Conclusions The proposed method needs less time and the loading rate is higher for last mile distribution than other existing algorithms to help minimize further problems following destructive earthquakes. Acknowledgments This research was financially supported by Liaoning Social Planning Fund, China (Grant No. L16BGL008), National Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant No. 51579024), and Dr scientific research fund of Liaoning Province (Grant No. 201601244).


We propose a theory of intermediation as rent extraction, and explore its implications for the extent of intermediation, welfare and policy. A frictional asset market is populated by agents who are heterogeneous with respect to their bargaining skills, as some can commit to take-it-or-leave-it offers and others cannot. In equilibrium, agents with commitment power act as intermediaries and those without act as final users. Agents with commitment trade on behalf of agents without commitment to extract more rents from third parties. If agents can invest in a commitment technology, there are multiple equilibria differing in the fraction of intermediaries. Equilibria with more intermediaries have lower welfare and any equilibrium with intermediation is inefficient. Intermediation grows as trading frictions become small and during times when interest rates are low. A simple transaction tax can restore efficiency by eliminating any scope for bargaining.


Hydroquinone (HQ), a reactive metabolite of benzene, is present in cigarette smoke and is known to inhibit mitogen-stimulated activation of both T and B lymphocytes. Despite extensive study, the underlying mechanism for HQ's immunotoxicity is not clear. NF-kappa B is a transcription factor known to regulate the expression of a number of genes critical for normal T cell activation. We therefore hypothesized that NF-kappa B might be involved in HQ-induced immunosuppression. In this study, we demonstrate that 1 microM HQ inhibits tumor necrosis factor alpha induced activation of NF-kappa B in primary human CD4+ T cells. This inhibition is not accompanied by a loss in viability, and HQ-treated T cells maintain other active signaling pathways throughout the exposure duration. Additionally, the inhibition of NF-kappa B is reversible as HQ-treated T cells regain normal functioning after 72 h in culture. HQ does not appear to alter NF-kappa B directly as preincubation of nuclear extracts with HQ does not diminish activity of this protein. We further demonstrate that 1 microM HQ inhibits intracellular IL-2 production in T cells stimulated with phorbol ester but does not alter surface expression of CD25 (the alpha-subunit of the IL-2 receptor). These data suggest that NF-kappa B may be an important molecular mediator of HQ's (and benzene's) immunotoxicity.


Objective: Anaemia, thrombocytopenia, leucopenia, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and functional deficiencies of coagulation factors are all common in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. There is no standard protocol for blood and blood product transfusion for this disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate prospectively the blood and blood products transfusion in patients who are diagnosed with sepsis and septic shock. Material and Methods: This prospective descriptive study was performed on patients who are 18 years of age and over, with septic/septic shock who stay for 48 hours or more in the intensive care unit. Results: One hundred three patients were enrolled in this study. Fifty six percent of the patients were male and fourty four percent were female. The mean age was 60.9±17.2 years. APACHE II score of the patients was 23.2±4.1. Patients were included in study in 6 (1-22) hours after being diagnosed with sepsis or septic shock in the intensive care unit. Patients were monitored for 6 (3-26) days as sepsis or septic shock. Blood and blood products were transfused to the 67 patients (65%). The most frequently transfused blood product was red blood cell suspension and the second most frequently transfused blood product was platelet suspension. Red blood cell suspension was transfused to 56% of the patients. The pretransfusion Hb values of patients transfused erythrocyte suspension was 8.6±1.5 g/dL. A total of 167 units of red blood cell suspension were transfused. Hemoglobin decrease was the most common cause of red blood cell transfusion. A part of 94.8% patients who received red blood cell transfusion died. The mortality rate was statistically higher in the group of red blood cell transfusion compared to the group without transfusion (p=0.005). Platelet suspension was transfused to 30% of the patients. The pre-transfusion platelet values of patients transfused platelet suspension was 23000 (6000-191000) 103/ μL. A total of 163 units of platelet suspension were transfused. Thrombocytopenia was the most common cause of platelet transfusion. All of patients who received platelet transfusion died. Patients mortality rate was 86% in intensive care unit. Conclusion: Patients with sepsis and septic shock who are followed up in intensive care unit are transfused high percent blood and blood products. The most transfused blood products were red blood cell and platelet suspensions. The mortality was higher in patients transfused blood and blood products.


Examination of 770 days of heliospheric magnetic field data recorded within polar solar wind by the Ulysses spacecraft revealed a number of occasions when the wave power decreased by more than an order of magnitude for several hours. These power dropouts were found to be associated with intervals when the magnetic field was closely aligned with the radial direction. A case by case study showed that there was no obvious signature in bulk plasma parameters. A statistical study of 24 intervals when the field was close to radial for at least 6 hours showed that the wave power in those intervals was significantly lower than that outside. There were no significant power changes when the field lay close to either the Parker spiral or an arbitrary direction. Although they are likely to be of solar origin, the exact source for these events is not clear.


The choice between automatic and manual sampling of urban stormwater quality has been addressed in the past as an issue of economic efficiency, field safety, and practicality. Nevertheless, there is experimental evidence that both types of sampling may yield statistically different stormwater quality data. While the past attention focused on differences in sampled solids, a new issue was addressed in this study, the potential impacts of sampling methods on concentrations of indicator bacteria. Towards this end, four indicator bacteria (coliforms, E. coli, enterococci and C. perfringens) were sampled in storm sewers of two urban catchments in Ostersund, Sweden, using both automatic samplers and manual sampling. Such data were further supplemented by measurements of total suspended solids (TSS) and turbidity, recognizing that bacteria are mostly transported in the attachment to solids. Preliminary results indicate that there may be large differences between indicator bacteria in automatic and manual samples, with E. coli measurements yielding the least differences, and turbidity readings were correlated well with all the indicator bacteria and particularly E. coli. These findings will be used in the continuation of this study for refining the existing experimental design and developing practical guidance for surveys of municipal storm sewers for faecal pollution.


Network survivability is gaining increasing attention from the Internet research community. The ubiquity of IP services has fueled increasing interest in ensuring their dependability, by making IP networks more disruption-tolerant. After providing a brief overview of how routing is accomplished in the Internet, this article reviews how the protocols react to failures or changes in network state within an autonomous system. The problems associated with current restoration schemes, with respect to newer and more stringent requirements posed by emerging services such as voice over IP, are identified. We present an overview of the schemes proposed to ameliorate fault recovery and critique their contributions. We also outline future research directions for improving IP resilience.


This paper analyzes the test memory requirements for core-based systems-on-a-chips and identifies useless test data as one of the contributors to the total amount of test data. The useless test data comprises the padding bits necessary to compensate for the difference between the lengths of different chains in multiple scan chain designs. Although useless test data does not represent any relevant test information, it is often unavoidable, and leads to the tradeoff between the test bus width and the volume of test data in multiple scan chain-based cores. Ultimately, this tradeoff influences the test access mechanism design algorithms leading to solutions that have either short test time or low volume of test data. Therefore, in this paper, a novel test methodology is proposed which, by dividing the wrapper scan chains (WSCs) into two or more partitions, and by exploiting automated test equipment memory management features, reduces the amount of useless test data. Extensive experimental results using ISCAS'89 and ITC'02 benchmark circuits are provided to analyze the implications of the number of WSCs in the partition, and the number of partitions on the proposed methodology.


Artificial intelligence is invading the medical practice and radiology field in particular. Many medical professionals concerned about replacing humans with robots to conduct medical examinations, diagnoses, and treatments. The aim of this paper is to explain-in details- the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence on radiology field and whether or not medical professionals' jobs will be in risk.


Purpose: To assess the effect of incorrect assignment of respiration phases and irregular breathing on 4DCT image quality. Artifacts are manifested as deformations in the reconstructed images and quantitative effects are measured along with qualitative evaluations. Modifications to the current 4DCT implementation are recommended. Methods and Materials: For the evaluation of image artifacts, we used a motion simulation platform and simulated the respiration patterns of real patients. Artifacts due to inaccurate phase sorting are quantitatively evaluated by comparing differences in the volumes of spherical phantoms with and without the presence of phase assignment problems. Artifacts due to irregular breathing are demonstrated using 4DCT and recommendations are made for modifying the standard acquisition mode to enable gating for motion reproducibility. The advantage of this modified acquisition is proved using an electronic portal imager.Results: Review of clinical 4D scans performed in our clinic showed discrepancies in the phase assignments for about 45% of the cases when compared to our independent check. Significant image artifacts are also observed and measured as a function of the respiration motion amplitude and target size. Volumetric inaccuracies of up to 43% are measured. For the evaluation of irregular breathing, our proposed technique of gated imaging for the reproducibility of the respiration proved to yield superior image integrity when compared to standard acquisition mode. Conclusions: We identified two sources of quality degradation factors associated with 4DCT images and performed quantitative evaluations of associated artifacts. We conclude that for improved image reconstruction, an independent check of the sorting procedure should be performed for each clinical case; also we recommend a modification to the 4DCT acquisition technique to include gating of the x‐rays for the reproducibility of the respiration pattern. Conflict of Interest: Research supported by GE Medical Systems.


Electromyographical studies were made on the gastric motility of dogs following selective vagotomy (SV) and selective proximal vagotomy (SPV) as the subsequent studies on the changes after truncal vagotomy (TV) after which gastric motility is fairly disturbed, and the influence of pyloroplasty additionally performed to SPV. Gastric discharge frequency was suppressed by SV similar to that by TV. Dysrhythmia of motility occurred after gastric vagotomy. Restoration to the normal was the fastest after SPV. Changes in the discharge frequency after SPY did not differ much from those in the normal stomach and other types of vagotomy. With SPY, the decrease in the propagation velocity of basic electrical rhythms (BER) was mild, and a pattern similar to the control was shown compared with TV and SV. The antiperistaltic discharge was observed even with SPV, but the frequency was low compared with TV and SV. The frequency of peristaltic discharge was the highest when pyloroplasty was performed in addition to SPV. The reponses to vagostigmine, insulin, tetragastrin in SPV were similar to those in the normal stomach . During the gastric emptying time, there was neither difference before and after SPV, nor any significant difference due to the presence or absence of pyloroplasty. The above data show that SPV is advantageous for retaining the function of gastic peristalsis, also for gastric secretion, but the addition of pyloroplasty will not be advantageous for the elimination of gastric content.


The cordierite powders have been synthesized by low temperature combustion technique using urea as fuel, nitrates as oxidizer and silicic acid as silica source. The sintering behavior and crystallization process were investigated. The results showed that the powders could be sintered at a temperature lower than 1000 °C. The μ-cordierite crystallized from glass at first, and then transformed into α-cordierite at higher temperature. The obtained cordierite based glass ceramics at different temperatures have low dielectric constant (4.16 ~ 5.02 at 1 MHz) and low dielectric dissipation factor (≈ 0.003 at 1 MHz) as well as low temperature sintering behavior, which is compatible for electronic packaging.


patients with severe depressions, and the expectation is that those patients with elevated 2-7 patterns will show more antidepressant responses to lithium than those with lower 2-7 patterns, our findings suggest that obsessional thinking might be as important as depression as a discriminator variable of antidepressant responses to lithium. For example, when scale 7 was used alone, our results approximated the 2-7 hit rate found by House and Martin (74",, v 8000 respectively) for the responders, suggesting that response to lithium is almost equally dependent on high scores on obsessional thinking almost as much as on depression. These suggestions from several studies seem worthy of further investigation, given the interest being taken in attempts to find patient subgroups and potential responders prior to the weeks of treatment usually required to evaluate response or non-response to psychoactive drugs. EDWARD F DONNELLY DENNIS L MURPHY IVAN N WALDMAN


The strain Streptomyces cacaoi CA-170360 produces the cyclic pentapeptides pentaminomycins A–H and BE-18257 A–C, two families of cyclopeptides synthesized by two non-ribosomal peptide synthetases encoded in tandem within the same biosynthetic gene cluster. In this work, we have cloned and confirmed the heterologous expression of this biosynthetic gene cluster, demonstrating that each of the non-ribosomal peptide synthetases present in the cluster is involved in the biosynthesis of each group of cyclopeptides. In addition, we discuss the involvement of a stand-alone enzyme belonging to the Penicillin Binding Protein family in the release and macrocyclization of the peptides.


Differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells into IFN-γ-producing T helper 1 (TH1) cells is pivotal for protective immune responses against intracellular pathogens. T-bet, a recently discovered member of the T-box transcription factor family, has been reported to play a critical role in this process, promoting IFN-γ production. Although terminal TH1 differentiation occurs over days, we now show that challenge of mice with a prototypical TH1-inducing stimulus, Toxoplasma gondii soluble extract, rapidly induced IFN-γ and T-bet; T-bet induction was substantially lower in IFN-γ-deficient mice. Naive T cells expressed little T-bet, but this transcription factor was induced markedly by the combination of IFN-γ and cognate antigen. Human myeloid antigen-presenting cells showed T-bet induction after IFN-γ stimulation alone, and this induction was antagonized by IL-4 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Although T-bet was induced rapidly and directly by IFN-γ, it was not induced by IFN-α, lipopolysaccharide, or IL-1, indicating that this action of IFN-γ was specific. Moreover, T-bet induction was dependent on Stat1 but not Stat4. These data argue for a model in which IFN-γ gene regulation involves an autocrine loop, whereby the cytokine regulates a transcription factor that promotes its own production. These findings substantially alter the current view of T-bet in IFN-γ regulation and promotion of cell-mediated immune responses.


IPTV systems are beginning to be deployed by telcos, to compete with cable and other television service providers. While cable network spectral bandwidths are larger than their wireline equivalents, bandwidth-consuming services such as HDTV are quickly filling this spectrum, prompting cable operators to consider video switching options as a means to increase programming capacity. This article examines the cable video network architecture, and in particular new emerging technologies that can provide cable networks with the means to transition to an IPTV architecture.


We evaluated the preferences of nursery pigs for diets containing increasing distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), varying in color, or high-protein distillers dried grains (HP-DDG) and the effects of flavor supplementation on pig preference and growth performance. In Exp. 1 through 5, diet preference was determined in weanling pigs adjusted to a commercial diet for at least 10 d, and then housed individually for a 2-d double-choice preference test. In Exp. 1, a total of 60 pigs (11.6 ± 0.3 kg of BW) were given a choice between a reference diet (0% DDGS) and test diets containing 0, 10, 20, or 30% DDGS. In Exp. 2, a total of 80 pigs (10.8 ± 0.1 kg of BW) were given a choice between a reference diet (0% HP-DDG) and diets containing 0, 10, 20, or 30% HP-DDG. In Exp. 3, a total of 80 pigs (10.3 ± 0.2 kg of BW) were given a choice between a reference diet (0% DDGS) and a diet containing 0%, 30% light, or 30% dark DDGS. In Exp. 4, a total of 80 pigs (11.2 ± 0.2 kg of BW) were given a choice between a reference diet without DDGS and a diet containing either 0% DDGS, 10 or 20% light DDGS, or 10 or 20% dark DDGS. In Exp. 5, a total of 108 pigs (9.0 ± 0.2 kg of BW) were given a choice between a reference diet (0% DDGS and no flavor) and a diet without or with flavor and containing 0, 10, or 20% DDGS. In Exp. 1 and 2, DDGS and HP-DDG, respectively, linearly decreased (P < 0.01) pig preference. In Exp. 3, dark DDGS were preferred (P < 0.05) compared with light DDGS. In Exp. 4, preferences were linearly reduced (P < 0.01) with DDGS inclusion, and dark DDGS tended (P = 0.06) to be preferred compared with light DDGS. In Exp. 5, DDGS reduced preference (P < 0.01) and flavor reduced preference (P < 0.01) regardless of DDGS level. In Exp. 6, a total of 192 pigs (6.7 ± 0.1 kg of BW) were fed starter 1 diets without or with flavor for 1 wk. Subsequently, pigs were fed starter 2 and 3 diets (2 wk each) containing 0, 10, or 20% DDGS while continuing to receive their respective flavor treatment. Flavor addition during the starter 1 phase increased ADFI (P = 0.02), and DDGS inclusion tended to decrease ADG (P = 0.06) and decreased ADFI (P = 0.03) during the starter 2 phase. Volatile components in DDGS and HP-DDG varied greatly depending on the source. Nursery pigs preferred a diet without DDGS or HP-DDG, and this appeared to be unrelated to color differences between sources. Knowledge of volatile compounds that enhance or suppress the palatability of feed may lead to further development of feed additives for masking relatively unpalatable, albeit cost-effective, ingredients.


: An essential goal of anti-discrimination law is to break the connection between disadvantage and group membership. There should not be a predictable link between being a member of a group with a protected characteristic and being disadvantaged in society. Positive action is the ultimate tool to achieve this aim, however, its application in the UK has been scarce. In this paper, I argue that the relevant concept of disadvantage in discrimination claims is different from the one used to justify positive action. This distinction impacts on the proportionality test and allows clarification of the potentialities and limitations of positive action to redress inequality. This attempt stands from a theoretical point of view but also highlights the reasoning behind recent cases under UK and EU anti-discrimination law.


Mycobacterial carbonic anhydrases, such as the essential protein Rv3588c, are attractive drug targets since they constitute a different class of carbonic anhydrases than those found in humans. A natural product library has been screened for compounds that inhibit mycobacterial carbonic anhydrases but lack the much-exploited sulfonamide/sulfamate group. The identified inhibitors of mycobacterial Rv3588c are likely to affect the enzyme at a site different from the catalytic centre – a concept which may be exploited for novel specific anti-mycobacterials.


Abstract. Pakistan and neighbourhood experience numerous earthquakes, most of which result in damaged or collapsed buildings and loss of life that also affect the economy adversely. On 29 October, 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred in Ziarat, Quetta Region, Pakistan which was followed by more than 400 aftershocks. Many villages were completely destroyed and more than 200 people died. The previous major earthquake was in 2005, known as the South Asian earthquake (Mw=7.6) occurred in Kashmir, where 80 000 people died. Inadequate building stock is to be blamed for the degree of disaster, as the majority of the buildings in the region are unreinforced masonry low-rise buildings. In this study, seismic vulnerability of regionally common unreinforced masonry low-rise buildings was investigated using probabilistic based seismic safety assessment. The results of the study showed that unreinforced masonry low-rise buildings display higher displacements and shear force. Probability of damage due to higher displacements and shear forces can be directly related to damage or collapse.


Background and Purpose: Hypericum perforatum belonging to the family Hypericaceae is a reputed medicinal plant including a wide ranges of important phytochemical components. Chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, quercitrin, quercetin, pseudohypericin, hypericin and hyperforin are of the major components. Crude extract and individual compounds of H. perforatum have been reported to exert antidepressant, antibiotic, and antitumoral activities. It is worthy to note that the quantity and efficacies of the crude extracts or individual compound are not constant, which are strongly influenced by different climatic conditions, harvesting times, harvested plant organs and post-harvest practices. Hence, numerous studies on H. perforatum collected from different parts of the World are carried out for their desired quality and biological efficacy. Methods: Wild collected plant materials were dried and preserved with a voucher specimen number and were extracted using maceration at room temperature for 24 h in dark. Subsequently, extracts were screened for their phenolic and flavonoid contents, plausible antioxidant activities using two methods namely DPPH radical scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays and DNA protective activities. Results: The highlights of the study were are listed as 1) the highest total phenolic content in ethanol extracts of leaf, ii) the highest total flavonoid content in flower, iii) DPPH scavenging activity in leaf (80.51 %), flower (63.42 %) and stem (48.20 %), iv) highest ferric reduction capacity in ethanol extracts of stem were determined. Also, potent DNA protection activity was observed even at the lowest concentration value (25μg/ml) of the extracts. Conclusion: The phenolic content and strong antioxidant activities of ethanol extracts of different parts of the plant are reported. All the extracts exhibited strong DNA protective activities in response to the UV radiation in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.


We have studied the origin and decay dynamics of triplet excitons in the conjugated polymer poly(4BCMU) in its sol(yellow) and gel(red) phases. Wavelength and intensity dependencies of the triplet yield show that the triplet exciton cannot be produced by excitation into the singlet exciton edge but only from higher lying states. The observed lifetime of the triplet state, coupled with the magnetic field dependence of the triplet state production and decay, indicate that the triplet state is created by a fission process from the excited singlet. The time and magnetic field dependence of the triplet exciton decay indicate that the triplet exciton decay in the red phase occurs by diffusive bimolecular fusion, but in the yellow phase the triplet exciton decay is nondiffusive. We postulate that the unimolecular decay of the triplet exciton in the yellow phase results from exciton pinning by conformational disorder.


Cassia fistula L. (Fabaceae) fruit is used traditionally in Nepal as an antipyretic and to treat constipation, while the leaves are used to treat jaundice, piles, rheumatism, ulcers, insect bites, facial paralysis and skin eruptions. C. fistula leaves are important ingredients in Ayurvedic medicine. This study was undertaken to characterize the volatile constituents of C. fistula leaves and to evaluate their antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. The essential oil from the leaves of Cassia fistula collected from Biratnagar, Nepal, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. Antimicrobial activities (minimum inhibitory concentration) against Bacillus cereus , Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Aspergillus niger , and Candida albicans , were determined using the microbroth dilution technique, in-vitro cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 human adenocarcinoma cells was determined using the MTT method. C. fistula leaf oil was composed of only seven components, all of which were identified: eugenol (25.0%), ( E )-phytol (21.5%), camphor (13.5%), limonene (11.0%), salicyl alcohol (10.4%), linalool (9.9%), and 4- hydroxybenzyl alcohol (8.7%). The leaf oil showed antifungal activity against A. niger (MIC = 78 μg/mL) and C. albicans (MIC = 313 μg/mL), but only marginal cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells (19.63 ± 11.89% kill at 100 μg/mL). All of the individual essential oil components were screened for activity. Eugenol exhibited antifungal properties (MIC on A. niger = 78 μg/mL) and limonene and phytol were cytotoxic ( IC 50 = 74.7 and 54.3 μg/mL, respectively).


The public health benefit of school physical education (PE) depends in large part on physical activity (PA) provided during class. According to the literature, PE has a valuable role in public health, and PA levels during PE classes depend on a wide range of factors. The main objective of this study, based on ecological models of behaviour, was to analyse what personal, psychosocial and environmental factors were associated with moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) during PE lessons. The sample consisted of 189 adolescents (60.8% girls; M = 16.3 years, SD = 0.7) from nine high schools. PA was assessed by accelerometer. Differences in PA behaviour between the study groups were evaluated using the analysis of variance. Mixed-model regression analysis, adjusted for clustering within schools, evaluated the relation of each independent variable with MVPA. Results indicated that MVPA represented 21.5% of the total time of the session (11.8 minutes, SD = 5.3). Boys performed more MVPA than girls (13.6 versus 10.7 minutes), specifically during sessions in which fitness activities (cardiorespiratory endurance and strength), net games and sports were performed. The highest levels of MVPA occurred among students with high physical self-efficacy perception, when lessons were held outdoors, in schools with high socio-economic status, and during lessons with cardiorespiratory fitness activities and invasion games and sports. Gender, number of students per session and PE content were significantly related to MVPA according to regression analysis. Present findings show that PA levels during the PE sessions depend on several personal, psychosocial and environmental factors.


Roads constitute a direct and often permanent loss of wildlife habitat; they can serve as physical or psychological barriers to animal movements, and are often the source of exceedingly high levels of animal mortality. Our goal was to better understand the effects of roads on amphibian populations in a planned landscape corridor in southern California. Road cruising was employed to examine the usage of roadways and related mortality levels of amphibians. Two hundred and fifty four evening road cruising surveys were conducted between February and April 1999 and 2000. During 93 road nights with "wet roads," we recorded 465 dead animals and 505 live animals on roadways, yielding an overall mortality rate of 48%. In contrast, during 161 road nights that were classified as having "dry roads," we recorded only 25 dead animals and 105 live animals, yielding an overall mortality rate of 19%. In addition to rainfall, the type of road surveyed also influenced road mortality; as expected, the highest mortality rates occurred on highly traveled roads, with small two-lane roads exhibiting the lowest mortality rates. Our results suggest that roadways in the region are negatively impacting amphibian populations, particularly when roads are wet in areas of high traffic volume.


A full-wave finite-element method (FEM) is formulated and applied in the analysis of practical electronic packaging circuits and interconnects. The method is used to calculate S-parameters of unshielded microwave components such as patch antennas, filters, spiral inductors, bridges, bond wires, and microstrip transitions through a via. Although only representative microwave passive circuits and interconnects are analyzed in this paper, the underlined formulation is applicable to structures of arbitrary geometrical complexities including microstrip and coplanar-waveguide transitions, multiple conducting vias and solder bumps, multiple striplines, and multilayer substrates. The accuracy of the finite-element formulation is extensively verified by calculating the respective S-parameters and comparing them with results obtained using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Computational statistics for both methods are also discussed.


Maritime transportation is one of the essential drivers of the global economy as it enables both lower transportation costs and intermodal operations across multiple forms of transportation. Maritime ports are essential interfaces that support cargo handling between sea and hinterland transportation. Besides, in this area, environmental protection is becoming extremely important. Global warming, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions are all having a detrimental influence on the environment and will most likely continue to do so for future generations. Hence, there is a growing need to promote environmental sustainability in maritime-based transportation. The application of machine learning (ML), as one of the main subdomains of artificial intelligence (AI), can be considered a component within the process of digital transformation to advance green activities in maritime port logistics. Thus, this article presents the results of a systematic literature review of the recent literature on machine learning for promoting environmentally sustainable maritime ports. It collects and analyses the articles whose contributions lie in the interplay between three main dimensions, i.e., machine learning, port-related operations, and environmental sustainability. Throughout a review protocol, this research is constituted on the major focuses of impact, problems, and techniques to discern the current state of the art as well as research directions. The research findings indicate that the articles using polynomial regression models are dominant in the literature, and the recurrent neural network (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) are the most recent approaches. Moreover, in terms of environmental sustainability, emissions and energy consumption are the most studied problems. mAccording to the research gaps observed in the review, two broad directions for future research are identified: (i) altering attention on a greater diversity of machine learning approaches for promoting environmental sustainability in ports and (ii) leveraging new outlooks to perform more green practical works on port-related operations.


Singlemode-multimode-singlemode fiber structures (SMS) based on distinct sections of a pure silica multimode fiber (coreless-MMF) with diameters of 125 and 55 μm, were reported for the measurement of curvature and temperature. The sensing concept relies on the multimode interference that occurs in the coreless-MMF section and, in accordance with the length of the MMF section used, two fiber devices were developed: one based on a bandpass filter (self-image effect) and the other on a band-rejection filter. Maximum sensitivities of 64.7 nm·m and 13.08 pm/°C could be attained, for curvature and temperature, respectively, using the band-rejection filter with 55 μm-MMF diameter. A proof of concept was also explored for the simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature by means of the matrix method.


This study assessed the influence of personal characteristics on knowledge and attitude of Pamol plantation workers (n = 75) towards HIV/AIDS in Southwest Region of Cameroon. The percentage of workers with correct knowledge on the etiology/transmission, symptoms and prevention of HIV/AIDS and positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS was determined. Knowledge indices on etiology/transmission (KIET), symptoms (KIS) and prevention (KIP) of HIV/AIDS and attitude indices (AI) of the various age groups, marital status, educational level, religious groups, sex, migration status and rank of the workers were constructed. Regression analysis, Analysis of Variance and Students t-test were used to analyze the data. None of the personal characteristics of the workers had any significant (p>0.05) influence on their knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS. However, the mean KIET of supervisory workers (16.75) was significantly different (p<0.05) from that of their hourly rated counterparts (15.78). The mean AI of respondents in the supervisory category (14.46) was higher than those of the hourly rated category (12.35). Despite the existence of HIV/AIDS programmes in the plantation workers, HIV/AIDS stigmatization was still present. This stigmatization would have a negative impact on the productivity of affected workers. Hence, intervention programmes aimed at eliminating stigmatization among the workers should be pursued.

 Key words: Cameroon, HIV/AIDS, knowledge, attitude, stigmatization plantation workers.


Reduction
of ketimine with trichlorosilane was carried out using bisformamide catalyst 1a derived from cyclohexanediamine
to give the corresponding product in 81% yield with 39% ee. Deprotection of the
formyl groups of the catalysts 1 gave the corresponding diamines 2 which were utilized in aldol reaction of acetone with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde. The
reaction using 2b in brine afforded
the aldol adduct in 81% yield with 29% ee.


: Poly-X syndromes are very uncommon in Indian and Black South Africans. Two affected males of each race group are described; the Indians are probably the first to be reported in this country, and there are now 8 case histories of Klinefelter's syndrome in Blacks. The possible reasons for the rarity of the poly-X syndromes in South Africa are discussed and it is suggested that these syndromes are less common here than in other countries.


Clostridium difficile is a major cause of hospital-acquired antibiotic-associated diarrhea. C. difficile produces two cytotoxins, TcdA and TcdB; both toxins are multidomain proteins that lead to cytotoxicity through the modification and inactivation of small GTPases of the Rho/Rac family. ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile is a major cause of hospital-acquired antibiotic-associated diarrhea. C. difficile produces two cytotoxins, TcdA and TcdB; both toxins are multidomain proteins that lead to cytotoxicity through the modification and inactivation of small GTPases of the Rho/Rac family. Previous studies have indicated that host glycans are targets for TcdA and TcdB, with interactions thought to be with both α- and β-linked galactose. In the current study, screening of glycan arrays with different domains of TcdA and TcdB revealed that the binding regions of both toxins interact with a wider range of host glycoconjugates than just terminal α- and β-linked galactose, including blood groups, Lewis antigens, N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, and glycosaminoglycans. The interactions of TcdA and TcdB with ABO blood group and Lewis antigens were assessed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The blood group A antigen was the highest-affinity ligand for both toxins. Free glycans alone or in combination were unable to abolish Vero cell cytotoxicity by TcdB. SPR competition assays indicate that there is more than one glycan binding site on TcdB. Host glycoconjugates are common targets of bacterial toxins, but typically this binding is to a specific structure or related structures. The binding of TcdA and TcdB is to a wide range of host glycans providing a wide range of target cells and tissues in vivo.


Aviation training has remained largely untouched by decades of development in cognitive science. In aviation, people must be trained to perform complicated tasks and make good operational decisions in complex dynamic environments. However, traditional approaches to professional aviation training are not well designed to accomplish this goal. Aviation training has been based mainly on relatively rigid classroom teaching of factual information followed by on-the-job mentoring. This approach tends to compartmentalize knowledge. It is not optimal for teaching operational decision-making, and it is costly in time and personnel. The effectiveness of training can be enhanced by designing programs,that support the psychological processes involved in learning, retention, retrieval, and application. By building programs that are informed by current work in cognitive science and that utilize modern technological advances, efficient training programs can be created. Such programs could accommodate individual differences in training, experience, and temperament, and could build upon the learner's existing mental organization. In this paper, we present a brief analysis of how training can be designed to increase the likelihood that learners will be able to retrieve and apply their knowledge when it is needed, and we present concrete examples of how these ideas are being applied in the NASA in-flight icing training program.


Recently, an alternative strategy for the parallelization of molecular dynamics simulations with short-ranged forces has been proposed. In this work, this algorithm is tested on a variety of multi-core systems using three types of benchmark simulations. The results show that the new algorithm gives consistent speedups which are depending on the properties of the simulated system either comparable or superior to those obtained with spatial decomposition. Comparisons of the parallel speedup on different systems indicates that on multi-core machines the parallel efficiency of the method is mainly limited by memory access speed.


Among many factors that are associated with drought tolerance in legume crops, root traits have been considered to be the most important attributes enabling the plant to mine water efficiently from deeper soil layer under dry environments. Most of the methods used to evaluate roots are time consuming that provide valuable information about the root morphology but they do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of roots and root systems. Considerable amount of genetic variability with respect to root traits involving length, dry weight and root length density (RLD) has been observed. Apart from the observed morphological variation in roots which has specific significance of adaptation, their functional aspects involving direct water uptake and their related kinetics are equally important. A large lysimetric system has been developed at ICRISAT to make progress in this direction. Compared to other legumes, root traits in chickpea have been thoroughly investigated and consequently, preliminary breeding works have been initiated using root traits. Root measurements in plants grown in cylinders showed almost similar relationship with depth and RLD determined in the field and thus have been used to explore diversity for these traits in chickpea. The possible diversity for root traits has been analysed in wild relatives and transgenics as well. Using this method, root depth and RLD are being phenotyped in several recombinant inbred line populations. A major putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) for RLD was identified in a population involving a profuse rooting parent ICC 4958 and the contrasting Annigeri. These QTLs will be a faster and easier replacement technique against time-consuming phenotyping of roots and will be the way forward to introgress superior root characteristics. Efforts are also being made to use wild relatives of Cicer for inheriting some adaptive traits. In chickpea, a preliminary study is being carried out to test the response to drought stress of DREB1A and P5CSF transgenic events using a lysimetric system. The study demonstrated a modest increased in water uptake but not yield under water stress in one transgenic event of DREB1A and one P5CSF event. In groundnut, DREB1A triggers native genes that might be involved in root development. In this review, the progress made so far on roots in legume crops has been elucidated which might explore possibilities of breeding genotypes to inherit efficient root system in legumes.