Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates recovered from goats were originally classified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp. caprae; however, this subspecies was recently reclassified as Mycobacterium bovis subsp. caprae. Besides biochemical (sensitivity to pyrazinamide) and epidemiological features, strains of this unusual member of the M. tuberculosis complex show a special combination of pncA, oxyR, katG and gyrA gene polymorphisms. Sequence analysis of the gyrB gene in these strains reveals special nucleotide substitutions not found in other members of the M. tuberculosis complex that can be used to differentiate caprine mycobacterial strains from M. bovis and other members of the M. tuberculosis complex. M. tuberculosis subsp. caprae now appears not to be restricted to Spanish goats, as strains of this organism have been isolated from cattle, wild boar and pigs. Its occurrence has also been reported in France, Austria and Germany. Two studies on the evolution of the M. tuberculosis complex based on the presence/absence of regions of difference have shown that the group of caprine isolates (or its ancestor) is older than M. bovis (or its ancestor). These findings reinforce the original suggestion that the caprine mycobacterial strains are a taxon of the M. tuberculosis complex, independent of M. bovis. Within the current context of the existing nomenclature of the M. tuberculosis complex, it is proposed that M. tuberculosis subsp. caprae be elevated to species status, as Mycobacterium caprae comb. nov., sp. nov.


AIMS: To evaluate the correlation of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and frozen section biopsy in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. METHODS: The medical records of 662 patients who underwent FNA cytology of the thyroid and thyroid surgery were analysed. Frozen section biopsies were taken from 586 of the 662 patients. The diagnostic correlations of FNA cytology, frozen section, and both FNA cytology and frozen section with definitive histological assessment were evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 662 patients who received FNA cytology, there were 356 cases (53.8%) diagnosed as benign, 114 cases (17.2%) as malignant, 148 cases (22.4%) as indeterminate, and 44 cases (6.6%) as unsatisfactory. The positive predictive value for the detection of malignancy by FNA cytology was 92.1% and the negative predictive value was 95.2%. The incidence of malignancy in the indeterminate cytological diagnosis was 23%. The diagnosis from frozen sections was benign in 445 cases (75.9%), malignant in 134 cases (22.9%), and deferred in 7 cases (1.2%). By frozen section, the positive and negative predictive values were 97% and 95.5%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy up to 98% was achieved when FNA cytology and frozen section diagnoses were in agreement. No false positives were observed when FNA cytology and frozen sections were both positive for malignancy. When FNA cytology and frozen section diagnoses were discordant, frozen section showed a higher accuracy (78.9%) than FNA cytology (21.1%). In the face of an indeterminate or unsatisfactory cytological diagnosis, the diagnostic accuracy of frozen sections reached 92.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that FNA cytology is a useful tool in the initial evaluation of thyroid nodules. Intraoperative frozen section is a valuable procedure to confirm the cytological diagnosis and identify malignancy in patients with indeterminate or unsatisfactory cytological diagnosis. With reliance on frozen sections as an intraoperative guide of thyroid surgery, the possibility of unnecessary extensive surgery and the need for the second operation are considerably lower.


Background: This study evinces how the community engagement (CE) approach of the Malaria Elimination Task Force (METF) in the Karen/Kayin State of southeast Myanmar contributed to generating participation in program activities, such as early detection and treatment, malaria blood surveys and mass drug administration. Methods: We investigated the CE approach through ethnographic and key-informant unstructured interviews as well as focus group discussions and participant observation with program participants METF team members. Interview transcripts were analysed manually applying inductive content analysis. Results: In the context of the Thai-Myanmar border, CE had two main dimensions: The first was to enable the politically sensitive entry of the program into intervention areas, the second was to create mutual understanding among the METF team and people from the population and gain trust. For the first, the METF needed to acknowledge, get permission and communicate with a complex landscape of governing actors and leaders. For the second, creating mutual understanding meant to spend time learning about villagers' lifeworlds and adapting engagement accordingly to create understanding of the program in resonance with these lifeworlds. Gaining trust meant to leverage leadership and build trust through informal "horizontal" engagement and acts of caring. Three key dimensions of villagers' lifeworlds that appeared most crucial for staff to learn about were: villagers' experience with the outside world; leadership and governing relationships to villagers: authority and distrust; and their perceived need for malaria care. Conclusions: Successful CE is highly context specific. CE success was based on the adaptability of the approach towards the complex political and socio-cultural contexts of the different areas of the Karen/Kayin State. Hence, CE is not a fixed approach or strategy defined before entering the setting, but constantly evolving based on the encounters with stakeholders and people of the population.


Regulatory authorities face the challenge to strike a fair balance between the interests of consumers to ensure the safety of innovative foods and agricultural products and the interest of innovative businesses.Worldwide prior authorization schemes are applied. This contribution explores characteristics, pros and cons of such schemes. It identifies concerns but also best practices that may contribute to improving food safety without unduly hampering innovation.


Objective: It is known that the underlying trauma may be related to the remission and symptom severity of the disease in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Studies have shown that PTSD patients exposed to sexual trauma experience higher, more severe and permanent PTSD symptoms than those exposed to other types of trauma. However, as far as we know there is no study comparing sexual trauma with non-sexual trauma in Turkey. In this study, it was aimed to investigate differences in trauma types and symptom severity in PTSD patients. Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 76 consecutive volunteer PTSD patients who 29 patients developed after sexual trauma and 47 patients developed after non-sexual trauma, whose diagnosis was confirmed by two psychi-atrists. The researchers collected the data of the research by applying the Clinician-Applied Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (CAPS) and forms including the Sociodemographic Form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (UAE) and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Results: Thirty-eight (50%) of the patients included in the study with the diagnosis of PTSD were 38 (50%). The mean age of the participants was 32.66±8.27 years. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of age and gender. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of application types, duration untreat-ment period, BDI, DES, CAPS-avoidance or blunting, CAPS-Hyper arousal and CAPS-total scores. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the likelihood of applying PTSD after sexual trauma and CAPS total score were predictive. Conclusion: Patients who developed PTSD after sexual trauma had more severe symptoms than patients with PTSD after non-sexual trauma, long-term admission for treatment, although the admission period is longer and was discussed in the light of the literature.


AIMS
Little is known about how atrial oxygen supply responds to increased demand, and under which conditions it falls short (supply-demand mismatch). Here, we have investigated the vasodilator response, oxygen extraction, and lactate production of the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV) in response to atrial pacing and atrial fibrillation (AF).

METHODS AND RESULTS
Series A (n = 9 Dutch landrace pigs) was instrumented to measure LA and LV vascular conductance in branches of the circumflex artery. Coronary conductance reserve (CCR) was calculated as the ratio between conductance during adenosine infusion and baseline. Series B (n = 7) was instrumented with sampling catheters in LA and LV veins for determination of blood gases and lactate levels. LA CCR (1.76 ± 0.14) was significantly lower than LV CCR (3.16 ± 0.27, P = 0.002). However, basal oxygen extraction was lower in LA (27 ± 3%) than that in the LV (58 ± 6%, P = 0.0006), indicating a larger extraction reserve in the LA than that in the LV (4.68 ± 0.84 vs. 1.88 ± 0.26, P = 0.01). Atrial pacing caused an increase in LA conductance (Series A) and oxygen extraction (Series B). AF increased LA vascular conductance to 177 ± 14% at 1 min, 168 ± 14 at 5 min, and 164 ± 31% at 10 min of AF (P < 0.05 vs. baseline). Atrial oxygen extraction also increased from 26 ± 3% at baseline to 63 ± 5% (P < 0.01) at 5 min and 60 ± 11% (P < 0.01) at 10 min of AF. Arterio-venous lactate difference increased significantly (P = 0.02) during AF.

CONCLUSIONS
In healthy pigs, the LA has a lower CCR, but a higher extraction reserve compared with the LV. Although both reserves were recruited during AF, atrial lactate production increased significantly.


Design, synthesis, and esterase and ion channel activity of a novel barrel-stave supramolecule with hydrophobic exterior and histidine-rich interior are reported. Voltage-dependent binding of pyrenyl-8-oxy-1,3,6-trisulfonates by histidines within p-octiphenyl beta-barrels (and not monomers) via ionic (and not hydrophobic) interactions (K(D), K(I), K(M) < 1 microM) is the basis for superb esterolytic proficiency up to (k(cat)/K(M))/k(uncat) = 9.6 x 10(5) in water and bilayer membranes. The conductance of labile ion channels formed in planar bilayer membranes is shown to be reduced by 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate on the single- and multichannel level. [reaction: see text]


Glycopeptides were isolated from the cell surfaces of mouse brain cortical tissue that inhibited both cell division and protein synthesis by cells in culture. The protein-synthesis inhibition appeared to affect most cells exposed and was equally effective against glycoprotein and protein synthesis. The inhibition of protein metabolism was independent of mRNA synthesis and uptake of labelled precursors into intracellular pools, indicating that it was directed at intracellular translational events. Fractionation of chloroform/methanol-extracted preparations of this brain cell-surface substance on Bio-Gel P-100 revealed the material to be quite heterogenous, although inhibitory activity was found only in fractions of mol.wt. 25000--30000 and 6000--10000. Biochemical analysis of these fractions demonstrated that they were 6% carbohydrate and 94% amino acid by weight. The 25000--30000-mol.wt. glycopeptides were shown to inhibit cell growth at concentrations of 2 microgram/ml in cultured cells and to inhibit protein synthesis by 50% at concentrations of 3 microgram/ml. The 25000--30000-mol.wt. brain-cell-surface-substance glycopeptides were further purified by ultrafiltration and affinity chromatography with Ulex europaeus agglutinin, resulting in a 400-fold increase in specific biological activity. The inhibitor was not lethal to cells and was not species- or tissue-specific.


Mobile-bearing knees such as rotating platform knee (RPK) prosthetic implant systems were developed to improve knee kinematics, reduce torque transmitted to the implant-bone interface, allow implant self-alignment, and reduce wear. This study evaluated the wear performance of a RPK implant [the Optetrak® (RBKTM)] characterized by a wave-shaped distal bearing intended to reduce the risk of central tibial insert peg wear by shielding it from loading. This system was compared to its clinically proven fixed-bearing knee counterpart (the FBK) (1) as well as other historical RPKs (2). Wear tests were conducted by an independent laboratory using a procedure following ISO 14243-1 with the exception of the fluid test medium. The laboratory disclosed individual wear rates for historical RPK systems (n=9). After correcting for fluid test medium absorption, the net wear rate averaged 2.11±0.47 and 3.00±0.47  mg/Mc for the RBK and the FBK, respectively (P>0.05), while the mean wear rate reported for the historical RPK systems was 6.65 mg/Mc. Visual analysis after testing showed all evaluated RBK inserts exhibited identical contact patterns. Microscopic visual examination revealed minimal central peg and tibial tray bore wear. Based on this study, wear performance was similar for both the RBK and FBK systems. Compared to historical RPKs, the RBK was associated with a lower wear rate, demonstrating that the wave-shaped bearing reduces wear caused by contact between the central peg and tibial tray bore (when tested on a knee simulator).


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and a major health care challenge globally. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a primary underlying pathological process in the majority of cardiovascular disease cases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can play a potentially important role in the management of CAD as a noninvasive imaging modality without ionizing radiation, although its early promise has not been delivered because of several crucial technical limitations. However, recent innovations in MRI have reopened the door, with tremendous opportunities for multiparametric assessment of CAD including luminal stenosis, plaque burden and composition, and disease activities such as infl ammation and hemorrhage. Novel MRI acquisition and reconstruction strategies now offer much increased spatial resolution and image quality and shortened examination times compared with conventional approaches. Recent clinical experiences of coronary MRI indicated the potential to improve the current management of coronary atherosclerosis, such as identifying the patients at the highest risk and evaluating therapeutic responses. In this review we discuss the latest technical advances and clinical insights in coronary MRI.


ZnS as an inorganic passivation agent has been proven to be effective in suppressing charge recombination and enhancing power conversion efficiency (PCE) in quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). In the present study, we constructed a novel TiO2/ZnS/CdS/ZnCdS/CdSe/ZnS photoelectrode via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and chemical bath deposition (CBD). The complementary effects of multi-ZnS layers on the optical and electrochemical performance of the QDSCs were systematically investigated. The multi-ZnS can not only facilitate the growth and distribution of QDs, but also suppress the different interface charge recombination effectively. We suggest that the formation of the ZnCdS intermediate layers via ion-exchange route during CBD process contributes to the higher photoelectrochemical cell performance of the QDSCs with the middle ZnS layer. When the three-layer ZnS was employed in CdS/CdSe co-sensitized system, the PCE reached 6.05%, which is much higher than that observed for solar cells with the conventional single ZnS treatments and the two layers inserted at the interface between CdS QDs and CdSe QDs and electrolyte (4.80% and 5.42%, respectively).

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: Osteosynthetic bone fixation devices made from composites of uncalcined and unsintered hydroxyapatite (u-HA) particles and poly-L-lactide (PLLA) are widely adopted for clinical use because of their bioresorbability and osteoconductive properties. However, how the plate systems constituting these devices change during long-term use in vivo is unknown. In this study, we present cases of two patients fitted with u-HA/PLLA devices for >5 years after surgery and evaluate the resorption process on the basis of the residual versus the resorbed material. In both cases, the majority of the degraded plates and screws had been replaced by bone. In post-operative three-dimensional (3D) CT imaging, plate and screws were maintained until two years after surgery, and then they were degraded and replaced to bone in 4-6 years after surgery. Examination of the aggregation of hydroxyapatite and decrease in molecular weight suggested that the residual material was in the final stages of resorption. The plate system examined demonstrated stable degradation without foreign body reactions in vivo. Although complete resorption is a lengthy process, it is possible to follow its progress using CT.


The drag force method shows the potential for applications in the field of nondestructive evaluation of surface-localized material degradation. By analyzing the difference in drag force signature between both forward and backward movement directions, it is possible to deduce whether a part of material was, during a cyclic bending test, subjected to applied cyclic compression or tension. Moreover, the position of the localized stressed region can be indicated. Further quantitative analysis shows that the increase of flexural stress amplitude leads to an increased variation between the drag force difference corresponding to the localized stressed region, and the drag force difference of an unaffected part of the material. The drag force method shows higher sensitivity to surface-related properties than the field-metric magnetic NDE techniques


Security facilities of information systems with high security requirements should be consistently and continuously developed, used, and maintained based on some common standards of information security. However, there is no engineering environment that can support all tasks in security engineering consistently and continuously. To construct a security engineering environment, a database that can manage all data concerning all tasks in security engineering is indispensable. This paper presents an Information Security Engineering Database System, named "ISEDS," that we are developing based on ISO standards, and shows its some possible applications. ISEDS manages data of ISO standards of information security and various cases of system development and maintenance. We adopted the international standard ISO/IEC 15408 (Common Criteria) for information security evaluation as one of ISO standards to underlie ISEDS, and implemented major functions of ISEDS and its application tools to manage and use data oflSO/IEC 15408. Developers, users, and maintainers can create, correct, and verify specification documents of security facilities with the application tools.


Right anterior oblique cineangiograms from 19 subjects without evidence of heart disease were analysed to assess regional non-uniformity in the time of onset of systolic inward motion, amplitude of systolic motion, time of peak inward motion, and wall motion during the isovolumic relaxation period. The left ventricular silhouette was digitised frame by frame for a full cardiac cycle. These four wall motion variables were quantitatively measured along 40 chords drawn from equally spaced points on the end diastolic silhouette to the nearest point on the end systolic silhouette. Onset of systolic inward motion was significantly non-uniform, being delayed by up to 120 ms in the anterior apical chords compared with the areas of earliest inward motion near the base of the heart. More uniformity was noted in time of peak inward motion; the differences between regions were not statistically significant. Amplitude of systolic motion was significantly less at the apical and mid-anterior segments than elsewhere in the heart. Wall motion during the isovolumic relaxation period is outward and greatest in the mid-anterior segments, but inward in the proximal inferior segments and mitral valve region. These data suggest that contraction of muscle fibres in the anterior apical segments is initially isometric due to the considerable afterload at the onset of contraction, this afterload being the result of earlier contraction elsewhere in the ventricle. This may partly explain the propensity for aneurysms to be located in the anterior apical region. When the timing and extent of wall motion in disease states are analysed, account must be taken of the non-uniformity in the normal heart.


There is a saying that "people get the government they vote for." The implication of the maxim is that if undesirable or unwise legislation is enacted, if executive branch officials are inept or ineffective, or if the government is beset with widespread corruption, then such unfortunate results are the consequence of the electorate's decision regarding whom to trust with the powers and prestige of public office. The Constitution does not forbid people from enacting wrongheaded policies. If voters elect leaders that fail them, then the citizenry is saddled with the consequences of its choice until the next election. Such is the reality in a democratic republic. But this argument begs the question of whether voters did in fact elect the individuals who take their oaths of office. How do citizens know which candidate actually won in any given election? Election results are legitimate only to the extent that the returns include every legal vote-and only those legal votes-undiluted by fraudulent or otherwise unacceptable votes. The task of counting every legal ballot and excluding every unlawful one is the challenge faced by practitioners of election law, whether as lawyers or as election officials. Primary authority for elections in America rests with the states, and in each jurisdiction the secretary of state is the senior executive officer responsible for ensuring a free and fair election. Thus the secretary of state is involved in the unique act of balancing the duty to ensure access to the ballot box with protecting the integrity of the voting process.


Abstract While coalbed methane (CBM) is a significant source of natural gas production globally, uncertainties regarding the proportions of biogenic and thermogenic natural gas in CBM reservoirs still remain. We integrate major gases, hydrocarbon composition, hydrocarbon stable isotopes and noble gases in fluids from 20 producing CBM wells to more accurately constrain the genetic source of natural gases in the eastern Illinois Basin, USA. Previous studies have indicated primarily biogenic production of methane (>99.6%) with negligible contributions from thermogenic natural gases. However, by integrating noble gases, we identify quantifiable (up to 19.2%) contributions of exogenous thermogenic gas in produced gases from the Seelyville and Springfield coal seams. Thermogenic gases are distinguished by a positive relationship between methane, ethane and helium-4, lower C1/C2+, heavier δ13C-CH4, more radiogenic noble gases (4He, 21Ne*, 40Ar*), and lower abundances of atmospherically derived gases (20Ne, 36Ar). Biogenic gases displayed lighter δ13C-CH4, higher C1/C2+, higher levels of atmospheric gases and lower abundances of radiogenic noble gases. Our data suggest that natural gases from a deeper, exogenous thermogenic source likely migrated to the Pennsylvanian-aged coals at an unknown time and later mixed with biogenic methane diluting the geochemical signature of the thermogenic methane within the Springfield and Seelyville coal seams.


It is well established that sensory cortices of animals can be modified by sensory experience, especially during a brief early critical period in development. Theoretical analyses indicate that there are two synaptic plasticity mechanisms required: input-specific synaptic modifications and global homeostatic mechanisms to provide stability to neural networks. Experience-dependent homeostatic synaptic plasticity mechanisms have subsequently been demonstrated in the visual cortex of juvenile animals. Here, we report that experience-dependent homeostatic synaptic plasticity persists through adulthood in the superficial layers of the mouse visual cortex. We found that 2 d of visual deprivation in the form of dark rearing is necessary and sufficient to cause an increase in AMPA receptor-mediated miniature EPSC amplitude in layer 2/3 neurons. This increase was rapidly reversed by 1 d of light exposure. This reversible change in synaptic strength persisted in adult mice past the critical period for ocular dominance plasticity, which is reported to end at ∼1 month of age in rodents. Interestingly, the mechanism of homeostatic synaptic modifications in 3-month-old mice differed from that in young mice (3 weeks old) in that the multiplicative nature of synaptic scaling is lost. Our results demonstrate that the superficial layers of adult mouse visual cortex retain the ability to undergo reversible experience-dependent homeostatic synaptic plasticity.


Highly sensitive detection of molecular tumor markers is essential for biomarker-based cancer diagnostics. In this work, we showcase the implementation of fiber light-coupled optofluidic waveguide (FLOW) immunosensor for the detection of p53 protein, a typical tumor marker. The FLOW consists of a liquid-core capillary and an accompanying optical fiber, which allows evanescent interaction between light and microfluidic sample. Molecular binding at internal surface of the capillary induces a response in wavelength shift of the transmission spectrum in the optical fiber. To enable highly sensitive molecular detection, the evanescent-wave interaction has been strengthened by enlarging shape factor R via fine geometry control. The proposed FLOW immunosensor works with flowing microfluid, which increases the surface molecular coverage and improves the detection limit. As a result, the FLOW immunosensor presents a log-linear response to the tumor protein at concentrations ranging from 10 fg/mL up to 10 ng/mL. In addition, the nonspecifically adsorbed molecules can be effectively removed by the fluid at an optimal flow rate, which benefits the accuracy of the measurement. Tested in serum samples, the FLOW successfully maintains its sensitivity and specificity on p53 protein, making it suitable for diagnostics applications.


The reported occurrence of synergistic false-positive coliform reactions on M-Endo MF medium was investigated. The objectives of the study were (i) to isolate populations of bacteria which produced such false-positive reactions, (ii) to determine whether false-positive sheen reactions are a result of synergistic interaction, and (iii) to determine the metabolic intermediates involved in false-positive sheen production. Samples of river water were subjected to coliform analysis by the membrane filter technique with M-Endo MF medium. Suspect sheen-forming colonies were analyzed to determine purity and identity of cultures. Mixed cultures were separated, and individual isolates were examined for sheen production. The isolates not producing a sheen were recombined and tested further for sheen production. Those mixtures reproducing the sheen were characterized biochemically and tested to determine the metabolic intermediates involved. Chromatographic analysis of the metabolites showed that individual isolates produced an assortment of neutral organic compounds including 2-butanone, 2,3-butanedione, formaldehyde, and butyraldehyde, whereas acetaldehyde or propionaldehyde was produced only by the mixed cultures. Tests showed that both propionaldehyde and acetaldehyde could react to produce a sheen on M-Endo medium. The conclusion was reached that synergistic false-positive coliform reactions do indeed occur on M-Endo MF medium.


A series of 1636 patients with leukemia, representing the white residents of Brooklyn diagnosed in the period 1943-52, is compared with selected census data for the population. After standardization for age differences in the two populations, the incidences of leukemia in the native-born and foreign-born populations of the borough are 45.3 and 61.0 per million per annum, respectively. The data suggest that a high incidence of leukemia in the Russian-born population accounts for the higher rate in the foreign-born group.

Using affiliation of cemetery of burial as an index of religion, a series of 1368 deaths from leukemia is compared with a systematic one in 200 samples of all deaths in the same area. Leukemia is recorded as cause of death twice as frequently among Jews, as among others. This relationship is seen in both native-born and foreign-born groups, in males and females, at all ages and in all the common pathologic varieties of leukemia. No difference in leukemia incidence is seen between predominantly Catholic and predominantly Protestant groups.

Evidence from United States vital statistics is used to show that the commonly observed difference between whites and Negroes imi leukemia death rates is closely associated with social differences between the two groups. Little or no difference in leukemia death rate exists between these two groups in Brooklyn, when allowance is made for the apparently high rate in the white Jewish population.


Levels of electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa are low with large populations living far from existing electricity infrastructure. This has led to interest in decentralized electrification solutions like microgrids, which can reach remote communities more quickly. To address a lack of capital to deploy these projects, governments have sought private investment in the sector. Studies have found that hybrid microgrids using both conventional and renewable generators provide electricity at lower cost than diesel powered systems. These studies focus on metrics such as levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and life cycle cost (LCC) and do not account explicitly for investment risk. This paper employs a stochastic techno-economic model to examine the impact of PV array sizing in microgrids on debt and equity investment metrics like debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and net present value (NPV) using a risk based approach. Results indicate that high levels of PV penetration mitigate fuel price risks when low-cost capital is available.


Fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) have been introduced by Kosko to model complex behavioral systems in various scientific areas. One issue that has not been adequately studied so far is the conditions under which they reach a certain equilibrium point after an initial perturbation. This is equivalent to studying the existence and uniqueness of solutions for their concept values. In this paper, we study the existence of solutions of FCMs equipped with continuous differentiable sigmoid functions having contractive or, at least, non-expansive properties. This is done by using an appropriately defined contraction mapping theorem and the non-expansive mapping theorem. It is proved that when the weight interconnections fulfill certain conditions, the concept values will converge to a unique solution, regardless of the exact values of the initial concept values perturbations, or in some cases, a solution exists that may not necessarily be unique; otherwise, the existence or the uniqueness of equilibrium cannot be assured. Based on these results, an adaptive weight-estimation algorithm is proposed that employs appropriate weight projection criteria to assure that the uniqueness of FCM solution is not compromised. In view of these results, recently proposed extensions of FCM, which are the fuzzy cognitive networks (FCN), are invoked.


OBJECTIVES
Open arterial revascularization using venous segments is frequently associated with the development of intimal hyperplasia (IH), leading to severe restenosis and graft failure. The lack of treatment to prevent this pathology is a major problem. Therefore, we generated a new porcine model, which closely mimics the clinical development of human IH, to test the therapeutic potential of candidate drugs.

METHODS
A patch of jugular vein was sutured to the right common carotid artery of pigs, to expose the vein to haemodynamic conditions of the arterial bed. Four weeks after surgery, the operated vessels which received no further treatment (the control group) were compared with (i) contralateral, non-operated vessels (the healthy group); (ii) vessels of pigs that received a perivascular application of a drug-free microparticle gel (the placebo group) and (iii) vessels of pigs that perioperatively received the same gel loaded with 10-mg atorvastatin (the atorvastatin group).

RESULTS
When compared with non-operated vessels, all operated segments displayed a sizable IH which was thicker in the venous patch than in the host artery. These alterations were associated with a thickening of the intima layer of both vessels in the absence of inflammation. The intima/media ratio has been significantly increased by 2000-fold in the vein patches. Perivascular application of atorvastatin did not prevent IH formation. However, the drug increased the adventitial neovascularization in the operated vessels.

CONCLUSIONS
The novel porcine model allows for monitoring IH formation under haemodynamic conditions which mimic clinical situations. It should facilitate the screening of innovative treatments to prevent restenosis.


In this issue, Love and Vogel bring attention to the fact that most breast cancers are not inherited but are the result of several, varied hormonal influences. This is an important message because prevention of breast cancer for some women can be accomplished by hormone manipulation from moderate exercise, maintaining low body mass, abstention from alcohol, and lactation. The authors discuss the physiologic role of delayed pregnancy but avoid the issue in terms of preventive strategy. Many women choose to delay pregnancy in pursuit of career development for economic reasons. This makes for a difficult choice in terms of breast cancer risk, but one that should be addressed. The article proposes that lobular maturation and exposure of the breast to hormones are two key processes in breast cancer. Indeed, emerging data also suggest that excess hormonal exposure in utero may influence adult breast cancer risk.


Background— Long-QT syndrome is a potentially fatal condition for which 30% of patients are without a genetically confirmed diagnosis. Rapid identification of causal mutations is thus a priority to avoid at-risk situations that can lead to fatal cardiac events. Massively parallel sequencing technologies are useful for the identification of sequence variants; however, electrophysiological testing of newly identified variants is crucial to demonstrate causality. Long-QT syndrome could, therefore, benefit from having a standardized platform for functional characterization of candidate variants in the physiological context of human cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results— Using a variant in Kir2.1 (Gly52Val) revealed by whole-exome sequencing in a patient presenting with symptoms of long-QT syndrome as a proof of principle, we demonstrated that commercially available human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes are a powerful model for screening variants involved in genetic cardiac diseases. Immunohistochemistry experiments and whole-cell current recordings in human embryonic kidney cells expressing the wild-type or the mutant Kir2.1 demonstrated that Kir2.1-52V alters channel cellular trafficking and fails to form a functional channel. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes, we not only confirmed these results but also further demonstrated that Kir2.1-52V is associated with a dramatic prolongation of action potential duration with evidence of arrhythmic activity, parameters which could not have been studied using human embryonic kidney cells. Conclusions— Our study confirms the pathogenicity of Kir2.1-52V in 1 patient with long-QT syndrome and also supports the use of isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes as a physiologically relevant model for the screening of variants of unknown function.


Aluminum has been recycled since the days it was first commercially produced
and today almost one-third of the global aluminum consumption worldwide is
contributed by recycled aluminum.
The aluminum soda / beverage can is by far the most recycled consumer beverage
package globally by units, pounds and percentage recycled. It amounts to more
than twice the recycling rate and recycled content percentages for beverage
packages of other materials.
The research project seeks to investigate and study on the process of collection to
packaging of Lian Gim Aluminum & Supply Pte Ltd with an aim to improve the
whole process in terms of cost, quality and safety at the end of the project.


The complex atmospheric and glaciological dynamics of West Antarctica make this region of particular interest in addressing the continent's cause and effect relationship in the global climate system, and for evaluating future global change scenarios. Ice core records from this region provide the resolution necessary to both improve our understanding of modern regional climate variability, and to reconstruct past changes in a number of climate components. High-resolution (subannual to biannual) snow and ice core samples collected from two regions of West Antarctica, Siple Dome and Marie Byrd Land, were analyzed for water soluble major ion content. Examination of detailed surface snow data is used to determine seasonal chemical input timing, spatial variability, depositional and post-depositional processes, chemical sources, and transport pathways. To develop quantitative relationships between temporal changes in ice core records and regional climatic conditions, Siple Dome glaciochemical data are correlated with meteorological observations, satellite sea ice data, and numerical modeling output. Results indicate that seasalt glaciochemistry at Siple Dome is a reliable proxy for changes in the Amundsen Sea Low pressure system. Multivariate time-series statistical investigation using high-resolution (subannual) chemical data suggests no significant trend in sea level pressure and atmospheric circulation strength over the past 110 years in the high-latitude South Pacific. West Antarctic ice core glaciochemical records are correlated with other high-resolution climate proxy records to investigate climatic change over the last millennia. Comparison of Siple Dome and Central Greenland (GISP2) glaciochemical records reveals the synchronous onset of the Little Ice Age (LIA) in the polar South Pacific and North Atlantic. In these records, the LIA is recorded as a period of increased meridional wind strength beginning at $\sim$1400 AD, and continuing to present in these two regions. The research presented in this dissertation provides necessary baseline information for interpreting additional shallow and deep ice core records eventually recovered from West Antarctica. Such records will greatly advance our understanding of the high-latitude Southern Hemisphere climate system, as well as evaluate the past global extent, timing, and phasing of rapid climate change events.


This research study builds an understanding of the relationship between storytelling approaches and their impacts at a design pitch, where concepts are presented to external clients. Storytelling is an integral part of design, with evidence of storytelling techniques found throughout the design process: from the use of digital media such as videos and animation during design pitches, to the use of personas and scenarios during research and evaluative phases.

In building this understanding, a literature review was conducted to explore storytelling from a broad societal perspective and more specific organisational and design perspectives. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees from Unilever's Household Care and Laundry departments, and Accenture's Innovation Centre. Discussion centred on identifying storytelling approaches used by designers when pitching product and service concepts, and their relationships to various impacts, with student projects (at Unilever) and consultancy work (for Accenture) focusing the interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to establish themes in approach, building a framework of relationships with their determined impacts.

The study's contribution to knowledge is the presentation of a framework, entitled 'Design Pitch Storytelling: The Impact-Approach Framework'. It builds on the current understanding of storytelling in design theory by identifying the important role that storytelling approaches play in the presentation of design concepts whilst offering insights into how designers use storytelling approaches in a design pitch. It serves as a descriptive tool offering an alternative viewpoint of the cases that may have a wider relevance to comparable large scale, internationally facing organisations and designers involved in similar design projects. In terms of an analytical process, this research study contributes further original knowledge in that it can be replicated to better understand existing working relationships between organisations and designers working on design projects in different contexts.


BACKGROUND
This study assessed the construct validity of a measure of nicotine dependence that was used in the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

METHODS
Using 2007-2009 data from the GYTS, subjects from 6 countries were used to assess current smokers' odds of reporting time to first cigarette or craving positive (TTFC/C+) by the number of cigarette smoking days per month (DPM) and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD).

RESULTS
The percentage of GYTS smokers who reported TTFC/C+ ranged from 58.0% to 69.7%. Compared with students who smoked on 1-2 DPM, those who smoked on 3-9 DPM had 3 times the adjusted odds of reporting TTFC/C+. The adjusted odds of reporting TTFC/C+ were 3 to 7 times higher among those who smoked 10-29 DPM and 6 to 20 times higher among daily smokers. Similarly, the adjusted odds of TTFC/C+ were 3-6 times higher among those who smoked 2-5 CPD and 6 to 20 times higher among those who smoked >6 CPD, compared to those who smoked <1 CPD.

CONCLUSION
Associations of TTFC/C+ prevalence with both frequency and intensity of cigarette smoking provide a construct validation of the GYTS question used to assess respondents' TTFC/C status.


A survey of macroinvertebrates inhabiting the freshwater habitats of St. Kitts and Nevis was conducted during June 1996, May 1997, and January 2000. Qualitative collections were made by sweeping a dip net through the water column and by hand examination of rocks, plants, and debris submerged in both flowing and standing bodies of freshwater across these islands. These collections yielded at least 90 species, 57 from St. Kitts and 61 from Nevis. Many of the species encountered are being reported for the first time from these islands. Dominant taxa collected included several species of gastropods, decapod crustaceans, odonates, hemipterans, and coleopterans. Generally the macroinvertebrate fauna of St. Kitts and Nevis is sparse, most likely due to their oceanic origins and disturbances of their freshwater environments.


A standard practice for lead identification in drug discovery is ligand virtual screening, which utilizes computing technologies to detect small compounds that likely bind to target proteins prior to experimental screens. A high accuracy is often achieved when the target protein has a resolved crystal structure; however, using protein models still renders significant challenges. Towards this goal, we recently developed eFindSite that predicts ligand binding sites using a collection of effective algorithms, including meta‐threading, machine learning and reliable confidence estimation systems. Here, we incorporate fingerprint‐based virtual screening capabilities in eFindSite in addition to its flagship role as a ligand binding pocket predictor. Virtual screening benchmarks using the enhanced Directory of Useful Decoys demonstrate that eFindSite significantly outperforms AutoDock Vina as assessed by several evaluation metrics. Importantly, this holds true regardless of the quality of target protein structures. As a first genome‐wide application of eFindSite, we conduct large‐scale virtual screening of the entire proteome of Escherichia coli with encouraging results. In the new approach to fingerprint‐based virtual screening using remote protein homology, eFindSite demonstrates its compelling proficiency offering a high ranking accuracy and low susceptibility to target structure deformations. The enhanced version of eFindSite is freely available to the academic community at http://www.brylinski.org/efindsite.


BACKGROUND
Acid suppression with a proton pump inhibitor is standard treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease and erosive esophagitis in adults and increasingly is becoming first-line therapy for children aged 1-17 years. We evaluated endoscopic healing of erosive esophagitis with esomeprazole in young children with gastroesophageal reflux disease and described esophageal histology.

METHODS
Children aged 1-11 years with endoscopically or histologically confirmed gastroesophageal reflux disease were randomized to esomeprazole 5 or 10 mg daily (< 20 kg) or 10 or 20 mg daily (≥ 20 kg) for 8 weeks. Patients with erosive esophagitis underwent an endoscopy after 8 weeks to assess healing of erosions.

RESULTS
Of 109 patients, 49% had erosive esophagitis and 51% had histologic evidence of reflux esophagitis without erosive esophagitis. Of the 45 patients who had erosive esophagitis and underwent follow-up endoscopy, 89% experienced erosion resolution. Dilation of intercellular space was reported in 24% of patients with histologic examination.

CONCLUSIONS
Esomeprazole (0.2-1.0 mg/kg) effectively heals macroscopic and microscopic erosive esophagitis in this pediatric population with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dilation of intercellular space may be an important histologic marker of erosive esophagitis in children.


The MIT's Space Systems Laboratory developed the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) as a risk-tolerant spaceborne facility to develop and mature control, estimation, and autonomy algorithms for distributed satellite systems for applications such as satellite formation flight. Tests performed study interferometric mission-type formation flight maneuvers in deep space. These tests consist of having the satellites trace a coordinated trajectory under tight control that would allow simulated apertures to constructively interfere observed light and measure the resulting increase in angular resolution. This paper focuses on formation initialization (establishment of a formation using limited field of view relative sensors), formation coordination (synchronization of the different satellite s motion) and fuel-balancing among the different satellites.


Due to some drawbacks, mainly because of semantic issues such as synonymy and polysemy, people consider some approaches to improve the performance of full-text indexing. The alternative approaches include latent semantic indexing, keyword indexing, social indexing (web 2.0) and linked data-based indexing (semantic web). The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the applications of machine learning methods for the alternative approaches. The application areas are concept extraction, keyword extraction and tag recommendation. Firstly, we propose a new learning method called two-level learning hierarchy (TLLH) to extract concepts from tagged textual contents. This learning method executes separately the existing textual sources, i.e. the user-created tags and the textual contents. At the lower level, concepts and conceptdocument relationships are discovered by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm based on the user-created tags. Having these relationships, the concepts are populated by terms existing in the textual contents at higher level. We expect this method to be successful because the hidden document structures are discovered based on tags collectively created by users who understand the semantic content of documents. Another advantage is that the NMF algorithm executes more compact and cleaner data representations. On the other hand, concept extraction from the textual contents is handled by non-negative least squares (NNLS) algorithm which is much more efficient than the NMF algorithm. Moreover, the TLLH approach may have richer vocabularies because it can combine vocabularies from the user-created tags and the textual contents. Therefore, this approach is not only more reliable but also more efficient than the standard one-level learning hierarchy (OLLH) which extracts concepts only from the textual contents. Next, we apply the extracted concepts for a keyword extraction method. In other words, we propose a new keyword extraction method called concept-based keyword extraction (CBKE). Its basic idea is that a term of a document is important if the term is associated to important concepts of the document and important itself in the document. The flexibility regarding the characteristics of learning data is one of the advantages of the method. This method can operate on learning data either with or without manually assigned keywords. Finally, we apply our proposed CBKE methods to content-based tag recommendations in folksonomy. The results show that the tag recommendations have competitive performances in ICML PKDD Discovery Challenge 2009.


The ability of cluster analysis to simplify deductions about a massive dataset is instrumental in modern data analysis. In this work, we used the k-means algorithm to cluster the genesis points of the North-West Pacific Basin (NWPB) Tropical Cyclones (TCs) to identify inherent spatial clustering and unique temporal characteristics. The dataset consisted of 1698 TC from 1945 to 2015 with the following data included: TC name, longitude, latitude, wind speed, pressure, and date of occurrence. The clustering performance metrics are the silhouette score and inertia with the k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) used for added cluster validation. Clustering performance metrics show that the optimal number of NWPB genesis TC clusters is five with a silhouette score, inertia, and average kNN accuracy of 0.42, 75412.60 and 0.989, respectively. Cluster temporal analysis shows a shift in TC genesis formation location as previously shown in the literature. This study demonstrates how ML technique complements traditional methods in analyzing climate variables.


Meloidogyne incognita induces a unique feeding structure, termed giant cells, by
reprogramming plant cells in the feeding site within host plant roots. The nematode
modifies the function of cells including giant cell wall composition. Characterisation
of pectin, hemicellulose and glycoproteins of giant cell walls formed in different hosts
was analysed. In addition the role of cell-wall genes in nematode feeding site
development was also analysed.
In situ analysis was performed to determine the presence and distribution of giant cell
wall components; cell wall elements were quantified using enzyme linked
immunosorbent assay in nematode feeding sites on different host plants Arabidopsis
thaliana (Brassicaceae), Vigna angularis (Fabaceae) and Zea mays (Poaceae). The
cell wall compositions in the M. incognita feeding site were observed by comparison
with uninfected root tissues. There were distinct responses in terms of detection of
cell wall polysaccharides in the nematode feeding site of the different hosts.
Modifications of cell wall polysaccharides in giant cells formed in Arabidopsis were
minor compared to uninfected sections. By contrast, analysis of the giant cell wall
formed in Vigna angularis revealed decreased amounts of mannan, xylan, galactan,
processed arabinan, arabinogalactan protein and extensin. In Zea mays, xyloglucan,
methyl esterified pectic homogalacturonan, galactan, arabinogalactan proteins
increased in abundance in giant cell walls.
Arabidopsis plants that carried mutations in cell-wall related genes were analysed.
Mutants for genes important in the formation of hemicellulose (GLZ1, MSR1 and
MUR3) together with those of the pectin related genes BGAL5 and RGXT1 all resulted
in smaller gall development together with a concomitant reduction in nematode size
in addition to a reduction in the number of nematodes recovered. Converselymutation
of the pectin-related genes ARAD1 and ARAD2 or the glycoprotein-related genes led
to increased susceptibility to the nematodes.


Within a given enterprise, database management involves the monitoring, administration, and maintenance of the databases, which constantly change with new technologies and new forms of data.Cross-Disciplinary Models and Applications of Database Management: Advancing Approaches is an updated look at the latest tools and technology within the burgeoning field of database management. Perfect for the network administrator, technician, information technology specialist or consultant, or for academics and students, this volume presents the latest the field has to offer by way of cases and new research. As database languages, models, and systems change, its vital for practitioners within the field to stay abreast of the latest research and methods being used around the world, and this book offers the most current advances available.


Immigrants' housing position is often explained by (lack of) resources or differences in cultural backgrounds. Recent studies have included the importance of local context. The aim of this paper is to examine Somalis' perceptions of their possibilities in four Nordic capitals' housing markets: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. The approach is an interview study based on immigrants' own explanations of what they strive for and how they assess the impact of local conditions and cultural background for their possibilities. We found that local context and cultural background intertwine and sometimes conflict with each other, but that the negotiation between cultural background and local context was individual. The conclusion is that local context and cultural background are important factors for understanding differences between Somalis on different housing markets, thus emphasising that local context and cultural background have to be studied together to understand perceived housing possibilities.


In electrohydrodynamics (EHD) conduction pumping, Coulomb force is the main driving force for fluid motion. The process of dissociation and recombination of electrolytic species produces heterocharge layers in the vicinity of electrodes. Asymmetric electrodes are used to arrange heterocharge layers to induce net motion in fluid. In this paper, EHD conduction pumping is experimentally studied with stratified liquid film in a channel. Liquid flow rate and the generated pressure are measured for different applied voltages and liquid film heights. Two different designs of electrode pairs, including flushed electrodes having virtually no drag force, are considered in this paper. Liquid pumping using EHD conduction phenomenon is significant for heat transfer and mass transport in thermal equipment of macro- and microsizes, in the presence and absence of gravity. This is particularly true for nonmechanical pumping of liquid film in phase change equipment.


Plantar fibromatosis is a complex problem encountered by many surgeons in different specialties. Understanding the complexity of this debilitating disease and awareness of the concept of the reconstructive toolbox is crucial in achieving best surgical outcome. We present a case where an instep defect following an excision of recurrent plantar fibromatosis was reconstructed with a sensate free radial forearm flap. We selected this flap as it is thin and pliable therefore allowing restoration of the anatomic contour of the foot. It is relatively quick and easy to raise with a two team approach and can cover a large defect. It is also sensate hence providing protection to the foot. The use of a free radial forearm flap for instep defect has provided a good cosmetic and functional outcome in this case.


CT angiography is a powerful technique for assessing visceral arteries that may obviate catheter angiography. A quality CTA with good contrast timing, minimal visual noise, and proper 3D postprocessing techniques provides excellent detail of arterial anatomy. CTAs are particularly important for patients with unresectable liver metastases, in whom regional chemotherapy is an alternative treatment option.


We examine the effects of disorder on dimerized quantum antiferromagnets in a magnetic field, using the mapping to a lattice gas of hard-core bosons with finite-range interactions. Combining a strong-coupling expansion, the replica method, and a one-loop renormalization-group analysis, we investigate the nature of the glass phases formed. We find that away from the tips of the Mott lobes, the transition is from a Mott insulator to a compressible Bose glass, however the compressibility at the tips is strongly suppressed. We identify this finding with the presence of a rare Mott glass phase and demonstrate that the inclusion of replica symmetry breaking is vital to correctly describe the glassy phases. This result suggests that the formation of Bose and Mott glass phases is not simply a weak localization phenomenon but is indicative of much richer physics. We discuss our results in the context of both ultracold atomic gases and spin-dimer materials.


The Fourier transform spectrum of the isotopologue of methanol has been recorded in the 120–350 cm−1 far-infrared region at a resolution of 0.00096 cm−1 using synchrotron source radiation at the Canadian Light Source. The study, motivated by astrophysical applications, is aimed at generating a sufficiently accurate set of energy level term values for the ground vibrational state to allow prediction of the centres of the quadrupole hyperfine multiplets for astronomically observable sub-millimetre transitions to within an uncertainty of a few MHz. To expedite transition identification, a new function was added to the Ritz program in which predicted spectral line positions were generated by an adjustable interpolation between the known assignments for the and isotopologues. By displaying the predictions along with the experimental spectrum on the computer monitor and adjusting the predictions to match observed features, rapid assignment of numerous sub-bands was possible. The least squares function of the Ritz program was then used to generate term values for the identified levels. For each torsion-K-rotation substate, the term values were fitted to a Taylor-series expansion in powers of J(J + 1) to determine the substate origin energy and effective B-value. In this first phase of the study we did not attempt a full global fit to the assigned transitions, but instead fitted the sub-band J-independent origins to a restricted Hamiltonian containing the principal torsional and K-dependent terms. These included structural and torsional potential parameters plus quartic distortional and torsion–rotation interaction terms.


KUTIYATTAM FESTIVAL (KUTIYATTAM MAHOTSAVAM). Centre for Kutiyattam (Kutiyattam Kendra), Trivandrum (Kerala), sponsored by Sangeet Natak Akademi (Delhi). Vyloppilli Sanskriti Bhavan Trivandrum (Malayalam, Thiruvananthapuram), 23-28 February 2011. Kutiyattam, the ancient temple Sanskrit theatre tradition of India dating back more than two thousand years, is sustained only in Kerala, in the southwest corner of India. The art, previously performed only in temples by the upper-class Hindu caste named Chakyar, was brought out of the temple precincts in 1956, and, since 1965, has become a secular form with institutionalized training. Kutiyattam actors still offer their work primarily to the divinity present in the flame burning downstage center, and secondarily to the audience. Traditionally, a single episode from the Sanskrit plays adapted from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata might take three days to a week to perform. The driving force of the performance is the transference of an internalized vision of sacred narrative from actor to the divine or human audience member through the intricate visual and aural stage languages of rasas, mudras, dance, costume, makeup, chanting, and drumming. K. K. Gopalakrishnan, newly appointed director of the Centre for Kutiyattam of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, curated the second Kutiyattam Mahotsavam, 23-27 February 2011, at the Vyloppilli Sanskriti Bhavan in Trivandrum. Introducing the festival, he emphasized the importance of showcasing members of the gurukulams (schools), which are training the next generation of kutiyattam performers under the fiscal support of the center. (1) A mix of proficient masters and emerging practitioners presented eight varied pieces, selected so that festivalgoers might experience the wide range of kutiyattam's form and content. Gopalakrishnan took pride in the relaxed ambience created by inaugurating the festival with ten minutes of ensemble music by accompanying musicians rather than with the customary Kerala tradition of long speeches by VIPs. All programs started "dot-on-time"! Mathavilasam Prahasanam (Pranks of a Drunkard), a rarely performed farce from the early kutiyattam repertoire, opened the festival. The plot revolves around the resolution of accusations concerning a lost begging bowl made of a skull. The cast of characters, from ridiculous to sublime, includes a drunken mendicant who is also an earthly representation of God Shiva with powers to expiate sin, his female companion, a lunatic, another mendicant, and a judge. The variety of extreme role types, stylization displayed in acting such eccentrics, and the beauty of elaborate kutiyattam facial makeup and costume ensured audience delight from aficionados to the uninitiated. Performers came from Margi, Trivandrum, which is at the forefront of efforts to revive and spread the reach of the classical theatre arts of Kerala. The second night's performers came from Pothiyil Gurukulam, a school near Kottayam offering training in koothu folk theatre, kutiyattam, and the mizhavu drum, with Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar in the lead role of the demonic king of the Ramayana, Ravana. The first part of Thoranayudham (Battle at the Gate), based on Bhasa's Abhisheka Natakam (Coronation Bath), ends with Ravana's sorrow on hearing that Hanuman has destroyed the Asoka Garden. From act 3 we see the elaboration of Ravana raising Mt. Kailasa, just at the moment the goddess Parvathi is accusing her divine husband Shiva of dalliance with the river Goddess, Ganga. …


OBJECTIVE
To examine whether telephone counselling based on the stages of change component of Transtheoretical model of behaviour change together with educational materials could help non-motivated smoking parents of young children to cease.

DESIGN
Randomised controlled trial.

SETTING
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China.

PARTICIPANTS
952 smoker fathers and mothers of Chinese children aged 5 years.

INTERVENTION
Participants were randomly allocated into two groups: the intervention group received printed self-help materials and three-session telephone-based smoking cessation counselling delivered by trained counsellors; the control group received printed self-help materials only. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 month follow up.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The main outcome is 7 day point prevalence quit rate at 6 months (defined as not smoking during the 7 days preceding the 6 month follow up) determined by self reports. Other secondary outcomes were self reported 24 h point prevalence quit rate and self-reported continuous quit rate and bio-chemically validated quit rate at 6 months.

RESULTS
A total of 952 smoker fathers and mothers were randomized to the intervention (n = 467) and control (n = 485) groups. Most were daily smokers (92.4%) and the mean number of cigarettes smoked per day was 14.5 (SD = 8.9). By using intention-to-treat analysis, the 7 day point prevalence quit rate at 6 month follow up was significantly greater in the intervention group (15.3%; 68/444) than the control group (7.4%; 34/459) (P < 0.001). The absolute risk reduction was 7.9% (95% confidence interval: 3.78% to 12.01%). The number needed to treat to get one additional smoker to quit was 13 (95% CI: 8-26). The crude odds ratio of quitting was 2.3(95% CI: 1.5-3.5). The adjusted odds ratio was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.4) (adjusted for age, number of years smoked, and alcohol dependency).

CONCLUSION
Proactive telephone counselling is an effective aid to promote smoking cessation among parents of young children.


Sarcasm is a pervading linguistic phenomenon and highly challenging to explain due to its subjectivity, lack of context and deeply-felt opinion. In the multimodal setup, sarcasm is conveyed through the incongruity between the text and visual entities. Although recent approaches deal with sarcasm as a classification problem, it is unclear why an online post is identified as sarcastic. Without proper explanation, end users may not be able to perceive the underlying sense of irony. In this paper, we propose a novel problem -- Multimodal Sarcasm Explanation (MuSE) -- given a multimodal sarcastic post containing an image and a caption, we aim to generate a natural language explanation to reveal the intended sarcasm. To this end, we develop MORE, a new dataset with explanation of 3510 sarcastic multimodal posts. Each explanation is a natural language (English) sentence describing the hidden irony. We benchmark MORE by employing a multimodal Transformer-based architecture. It incorporates a cross-modal attention in the Transformer's encoder which attends to the distinguishing features between the two modalities. Subsequently, a BART-based auto-regressive decoder is used as the generator. Empirical results demonstrate convincing results over various baselines (adopted for MuSE) across five evaluation metrics. We also conduct human evaluation on predictions and obtain Fleiss' Kappa score of 0.4 as a fair agreement among 25 evaluators.


With the increase of new devices and applications, the past decade has witnessed exponential growth of traffic volume in communication networks. This triggers much effort for designing NWNs in both academia and industry. To gain natural evolution and meet emerging requirements, it is widely agreed that NWNs shall be multi-tier with overlay coverage and small cell deployment. However, dense deployment of small cells introduces numerous challenges, including inconsistent interfaces, frequent handovers, and extensive backhauling. By decomposing the control plane and data plane, SDN offers a new direction to address the above challenges. In this article, by introducing SDNC, we propose an intelligent wireless network architecture for NWNs. In our architecture, virtual RATs design using interface sets is brought up to support diverse services. Along with our earlier handover approach, low handover latency between heterogeneous networks is achieved. Furthermore, we present SH mechanisms targeted at different failure cases in backhaul connections. With programmability provided by SDN, the aforementioned functions can be deployed as modules in the SDNC. Experimental results validate the efficiency of our proposal.


Abstract In this study, we asked whether different predatory assemblages (i.e., flying invertebrates, crawling invertebrates, and birds, representing vertebrate predators) in a temperate forest impose significantly different levels of predation on larvae of Orgyia leucostigma (J. E. Smith), the whitemarked tussock moth and also whether the size of whitemarked tussock moth larvae influence invertebrate and vertebrate predation. Predation by species in vertebrate and invertebrate predator assemblages on two sizes of O. leucostigma larvae on box elder, Acer negundo (L.) (Sapindales: Aceraceae) was compared using exclusion cages. Cages covered with mesh of different sizes and sticky barriers were used to exclude different kinds of predators (i.e., birds, flying invertebrates, and crawling invertebrates). Five small and five large larvae were placed on box elder saplings. Predation by birds was the greatest source of mortality of large larvae when compared with that caused by flying and crawling invertebrates. Predation played an insignificant role in the disappearance of small larvae whose disappearance was associated with their dispersal behavior.


Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become a widely accepted method for treating gastrointestinal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ESD for gastric cancer in patients with liver cirrhosis. A total of 18 gastric cancers were treated by ESD in 15 patients with cirrhosis. The rate of en bloc resection was 88.9% (16/18). En bloc resection with tumor-free lateral/basal margins (R0 resection) was 77.8% (14/18). Three patients had postoperative bleeding and underwent emergency gastroscopy for hemostasis. No recurrence was observed during the median follow-up of 21.4 months, excluding three patients in whom additional endoscopic resection or surgery was carried out. ESD can be safely performed for gastric cancer in patients with cirrhosis, resulting in a high en bloc resection rate.


—Autonomous Driving (AD) is a rapidly developing technology and its security issues have been studied by various recent research works. With the growing interest and investment in leveraging intelligent infrastructure support for practical AD, AD system may have new opportunities to defend against existing AD attacks. In this paper, we are the first to systematically explore such a new AD security design space leveraging emerging infrastructure-side support, which we call I nfrastructure-Aided Autonomous Driving Defense (I-A2D2). We first taxonomize existing AD attacks based on infrastructure-side capabilities, and then analyze potential I-A2D2 design opportunities and requirements. We further discuss the potential design challenges for these I-A2D2 design directions to be effective in practice.


Public policies in taxation and revenue management are key to ensuring natural resource wealth results in economic development. Tax policy and systems should ensure that whenever natural resources are extracted, the host state receives a fair share of revenue. Revenue management policies are required to ensure that government revenues from natural resources are wisely used to finance sustainable economic development.
This Economic Paper analyses key issues in natural resource taxation and revenue management and recommends policies that can improve countries' economic performance. The discussion draws on economic theory, empirical evidence and the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat.


Two trotter stud farms were visited on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during 1972 and 1973. A total of 356 mares were bored on these farms during these breeding seasons. There were 194 nursing, 113 barren, and 49 maiden mares. Of the 356 mares, 78 (21.9%) had functional disorders of the ovaries at one time or another. The functional disorders consisted of: 27 anoestrous mares after early embryonic death, 20 with low ovarian activity, 19 with multifollicular ovaries, and 12 mares with persistent corpora lutea. The following therapies were used: (a) 1000 I.U. PMSG i.v. + 10 mg stilboestrol i.m. Of 13 treated mares, 3 (23.1%) came into heat and all 3 became pregnant in the first oestrus following treatment. (b) Intra-uterine infusion of 0.5 - 1 liter physiological saline solution. Of the 26 treated mares, 19 (73.1%) came into oestrus and 14 (53.9%) became pregnant in the first oestrus following treatment. (c) Chlormadinone acetate, 10 mg. orally for 17 days. Of 38 treated mares, 35 (92.4%) came into oestrus and 22 (57.9%) became pregnant in the first oestrus following treatment. This therapy was also used in early spring (February-March) in 15 mares, of which 10 (66.7%) came into oestrus and 4 (26.7%) became pregant in the first oestrus following treatment. (d) Prostaglandin F2alpha, 25 mg intra-uterine. Of the 9 mares treated, al came into oestrus and 8 (88.9%) became pregnant in the first oestrus following treatment. (e) Curettage of the uterus. In this treatment group, none of the 5 treated mares showed improvement. Altogether, 54.7% of the treated mares became pregnant in the first oestrus after treatment, and 76.9% of the mares became pregnant after one of more breedings.


Eptesicus isabellinus was originally described as Vespertilio isabellinus by Temminck (1840, p. 205, pl. 52 figs. 1, 2) from a series of specimens obtained by J. F. H. Clifford Cocq van Breugel in the vicinity of Tripoli, Libya. Unfortunately Temminck's original description did not include any cranial measurements and as a result the precise affinities of this bat have been uncertain ever since. Lataste (1887, p. 625) described a small serotine bat from the vicinity of Cairo, which he named Vesperugo (Vesperus) Innesi. He stated that he had compared this with a specimen of E. isabellinus (the essential data of which were not given) and that E. innesi was smaller. Lataste evidently regarded E. isabellinus as a form of E. serotinus (Schreber, 1774). Once again, however, full cranial measurements were not given for the new form E. innesi. Harrison (1962) re-examined the lectotype and other specimens of E. innesi in the British Museum; extracted the skull of the lectotype and gave full cranial and external measurements. Setzer (1957, p. 40) in his review of Libyan mammals, treated E. isabellinus as a distinct species and stated that it had not been taken since Temminck's description. He noted that Zavattari (1934, p. 887) listed it as Vespertilio serotinus isabellinus. Allen (1939, p. 87) also listed it as a subspecies of E. serotinus. Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951, p. 156) treated E. isabellinus as a distinct species on the grounds that the measurements given by Tate (1942, p. 275) were too small for E. serotinus and they regarded Lataste's small species E. innesi as a subspecies of it. In view of all this uncertainty it seemed essential to re-examine the original type material of E. isabellinus and make direct comparisons with E. innesi and the European E. serotinus in order to finally clarify its status. Three


Abstract This paper defines the syntax and semantics of the input language of the ASP grounder gringo. The definition covers several constructs that were not discussed in earlier work on the semantics of that language, including intervals, pools, division of integers, aggregates with non-numeric values, and lparse-style aggregate expressions. The definition is abstract in the sense that it disregards some details related to representing programs by strings of ASCII characters. It serves as a specification for gringo from Version 4.5 on.


PROJECTING LAND USE CHANGES USING PARCEL-LEVEL DATA: MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION TO HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY Florencio Ballesteros, Jr. Abstract This dissertation is to develop a parcel-based spatial land use change prediction model by coupling various machine learning and interpretation algorithms such as cellular automata (CA) and decision tree (DT). CA is a collection of cells that evolves through a number of discrete time steps according to a set of transition rules based on the state of each cell and the characteristics of its neighboring cells. DT is a data mining and machine learning tool that extracts the patterns of decision process from observed cell behaviors and their affecting factors. In this dissertation, CA is used to predict the future land use status of cadastral parcels based on a set of transition rules derived from a set of identified land use change driving factors using DT. Although CA and DT have been applied separately in various land use change models in the literature, no studies attempted to integrate them. This DT-based CA model developed in this dissertation represents the first kind of such integration in land use change modeling. The coupled model would be able to handle a large set of driving factors and also avoid subjective bias when deriving the transition rules. The coupled model uses the cadastral parcel as a unit of analysis, which has practical policy implications because the responses of land use changes to various policy usually take place at the parcel level. Since parcel varies by their sizes and shapes, its use as a unit of analysis does make it difficult to apply CA, which initially designed to handle regular grid cells. This dissertation improves the treatment of the irregular cell in CA-based land use change models in literature by defining a cell's neighborhood as a fixed distance buffer along the parcel boundary.This dissertation is to develop a parcel-based spatial land use change prediction model by coupling various machine learning and interpretation algorithms such as cellular automata (CA) and decision tree (DT). CA is a collection of cells that evolves through a number of discrete time steps according to a set of transition rules based on the state of each cell and the characteristics of its neighboring cells. DT is a data mining and machine learning tool that extracts the patterns of decision process from observed cell behaviors and their affecting factors. In this dissertation, CA is used to predict the future land use status of cadastral parcels based on a set of transition rules derived from a set of identified land use change driving factors using DT. Although CA and DT have been applied separately in various land use change models in the literature, no studies attempted to integrate them. This DT-based CA model developed in this dissertation represents the first kind of such integration in land use change modeling. The coupled model would be able to handle a large set of driving factors and also avoid subjective bias when deriving the transition rules. The coupled model uses the cadastral parcel as a unit of analysis, which has practical policy implications because the responses of land use changes to various policy usually take place at the parcel level. Since parcel varies by their sizes and shapes, its use as a unit of analysis does make it difficult to apply CA, which initially designed to handle regular grid cells. This dissertation improves the treatment of the irregular cell in CA-based land use change models in literature by defining a cell's neighborhood as a fixed distance buffer along the parcel boundary. The DT-based CA model was developed and validated in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The data on historical land uses and various land use change driving factors for Hunterdon County were collected and processed using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Specifically, the county land uses in 1986, I995 and 2002 were overlaid with a parcel map to create parcel-based land use maps. The single land use in each parcel is based on a classification scheme developed thorough literature review and empirical testing in the study area. The possible land use status considered for each parcel is agriculture, barren land, forest, urban, water or wetlands following the land use/land cover classification by the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection. The identified driving factors for the future status of the parcel includes the present land use type, the number of soil restrictions to urban development, and the size of the parcel, the amount of wetlands within the parcel, the distribution of land uses in the neighborhood of the parcel, the distances to the nearest streams, urban centers and major roads. A set of transition rules illustrating the land use change processes during the period 1986-1995 were developed using a TD software J48 Classifier. The derived transition rules were applied to the 1995 land use data in a CA model Agent Analyst/RePast (Recursive Porous Agent Simulation Toolkit) to predict the spatial land use pattern in 2004, which were then validated by the actual land use map in 2002. The DT-based CA model had an overall accuracy of 84.46 percent in terms of the number of parcels and of 80.92 percent in terms of the total acreage in predicting land use changes. The model shows much higher capacity in predicting the quantitative changes than the locational changes in land use. The validated model was applied to simulate the 2011 land use patterns in Hunterdon County based on its actual land uses in 2002 under both "business as usual" and policy scenarios. The simulation results shows that successfully implementing current land use policies such as down zoning, open space and farmland preservation would prevent the total of 7,053 acres (741 acres of wetlands, 3,034 acres of agricultural lands, 250 acres of barren land, and 3,028 acres of forest) from future urban development in Hunterdon County during the period 2002-2011. The neighborhood of a parcel was defined by a 475-foot buffer along the parcel boundary in the study. The results of sensitivity analyses using two additional neighborhoods (237and 712-foot buffers) indicate the insignificant impacts of the neighborhood size on the model outputs in this application. PROJECTING LAND USE CHANGES USING PARCEL-LEVEL DATA: MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION TO HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY by Florencio C. Ballesteros, Jr. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology And Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science May 2008 Copyright © 2008 by Florencio C. Ballesteros, Jr. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED APPROVAL PAGE PROJECTING LAND USE CHANGES USING PARCEL-LEVEL DATA: MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION TO HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY Florencio C. Ballesteros, Jr. Dr. Zeyuan Qiu, Dissertation Advisor Date Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science, NJIT Dr. Maurie Cohen, Committee Member Date Associate Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science, NJIT Dr. Daniel J. Watts, Committee Member Date Executive Director, York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science, NJIT Dr. Richard G Lathrop, Jr., Committee Member Date Professor of Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources, Rutgers University Dr. Daniel Van Abs, Committee Member Date Senior Director of Planning and Science, New Jersey Highlands Council, Chester, NJ


Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a unique polymer with outstanding physical and mechanical properties that makes it particularly attractive to fabricate the bearing surface for artificial joints. Despite the requirement of visco-elastic properties of the UHWMPE and its composites, the characterization of them has received relatively little attention. The objective of this work is concerned with the studies on visco-elastic behaviour of UHMWPE and nanocomposites, which were prepared at optimized ball milling time with different cooling techniques. It is observed that stiffness of the materials increases appreciably at 0.2wt.% CNTs with an increase of frequency till 30Hz which confirms the reinforcing effect of CNTs in composites. The loss modulus of the sample is observed to be converged at higher temperature irrespective of frequency. The damping effect of the sample could be kept within the limit of polymer at any frequency range when the temperature is low and it is also possible at any temperatures at higher frequencies except LN2 cooled sample. The relaxation fraction increases with an increase of temperature and decreases with an increase of frequency. It is concluded that air cooled sample could be used wherever modulus is the main criteria irrespective of temperature and frequency, LN2 cooled sample can be used where more damping is required and water cooled samples may be used where more strength and toughness are required.


Many telecom operators are deploying their own cloud infrastructure with the two-fold objective of providing cloud services to their customers and enabling network function virtualization. In this article we present an architecture we call SHINE, which focuses on orchestrating cloud with heterogeneous access and core networks. In this architecture intra and inter DC connectivity is dynamically controlled, maximizing the overall performance in terms of throughput and latency while minimizing total costs. The main building blocks are: a future-proof network architecture that can scale to offer potentially unlimited bandwidth based on an active remote node (ARN) to interface end-users and the core network; an innovative distributed DC architecture consisting of micro-DCs placed in selected core locations to accelerate content delivery, reducing core network traffic, and ensuring very low latency; and dynamic orchestration of the distributed DC and access and core network segments. SHINE will provide unprecedented quality of experience, greatly reducing costs by coordinating network and cloud and facilitating service chaining by virtualizing network functions.


Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) can be considered the embodiment of the Renaissance artist since he was an architect, a painter and a sculptor. Writing poetry was the fourth activity in which he engaged himself. This choice was not unusual among contemporaries: indeed also Raphael, Titian and Bronzino wrote some verses. The difference with these colleagues is that Michelangelo's commitment to poetry was a long lasting one: from the beginning of the 1500s until his death. He wrote circa three hundred poems of various themes, metrical structures and literary-philosophical derivation. Although this activity was well known during his lifetime among a group of connaisseurs – around 1546 there had already been a project of printing a selection of texts – the first publication was only realized in 1623. Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, nephew of the artist and a man of letters himself, considered only some of the poems good enough for 'his' volume and to these he applied strong editorial work. These manipulations were considered 'necessary' both to polish the text according to the new Baroque aesthetics and also to remove some sexual and religious references that could damage the image of Michelangelo as well as that of the Buonarroti family. For approximately the next two centuries these poems were not reprinted. It was not until the 19th century that the Rime received renewed attention both in Italy as well as abroad, especially in England and Germany, where in cultural circles, thanks to the Romantic revolution, a strong interest in the Italian Renaissance emerged. However, only in the Novecento Michelangelo's poetry received a more constant and coherent attention. In the last years, many studies – from different perspectives and with diverse methodologies – have been dedicated to his lyrical production; moreover, some verses have been placed in school-anthologies and the Rime enjoy a steady presence in book-shops with new critical and pocketbook editions. These can be regarded as the tangible signs that Michelangelo's poetry, by now, can fully be considered as accepted within the Italian literary tradition. My dissertation tries to explore a very specific path of reception: the one amongst other writers. The hypothesis is that while the academia have for a long time and for different reasons neglected this production, writers have had the sensibility needed to appreciate the content as well as the stylistic characteristics of these texts. I have tried to consider the concept of reception inter scriptores as widely as possible: chronologically (from Michelangelo's times to the contemporaneity) and linguistically (Italian and foreign writers). Moreover, this attention has been given to the critical and to the creative reception, as well as to some of the major translations. The results of the creative reception have persuaded me that even though Michelangelo's renown as a poet was not wide, it encouraged some writer-critics to reflect on it, and inspired other poets. Michelangelo from being a little known poet has been included, since the Sixties of the last century, in the Italian canon.


Two forms of cooperation in distributed problem solving are considered: task-sharing and result-sharing. In the former, nodes assist each other by sharing the computational load for the execution of subtasks of the overall problem. In the latter, nodes assist each other by sharing partial results which are based on somewhat different perspectives on the overall problem. Different perspectives arise because the nodes use different knowledge sources (KS's) (e.g., syntax versus acoustics in the case of a speech-understanding system) or different data (e.g., data that is sensed at different locations in the case of a distributed sensing system). Particular attention is given to control and to internode communication for the two forms of cooperation. For each, the basic methodology is presented and systems in which it has been used are described. The two forms are then compared and the types of applications for which they are suitable are considered.


In the present work, we perform a systematic investigation on p-type codoping in (Ga,Mn)As. Through gradually increasing Zn doping concentration, the hole concentration increases, which should theoretically lead to an increase of the Curie temperature (TC) according to the p-d Zener model. Unexpectedly, although the film keeps its epitaxial structure, both TC and the magnetization decrease. The samples present a phase transition from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism upon increasing hole concentration. In the intermediate regime, we observe a signature of antiferromagnetism. By using channeling Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and particle-induced x-ray emission, the substitutional Mn atoms are observed to shift to interstitial sites, while more Zn atoms occupy Ga sites, which explains the observed behavior. This is also consistent with first-principles calculations, showing that the complex of substitutional Zn and interstitial Mn has the lowest formation energy.


Preliminary field observations on a large-scale multi-reef artificial reef system in Scotland indicated that the provision of artificial habitat of varying design alters the numbers and types of fishes present in areas where they were previously largely absent. These modifications could, in time, be highly beneficial to any programme of fishery enhancement, protection or restoration but only where the scale of habitat manipulation was relevant to the target fisheries. Ecosystem simulations provide a theoretical basis on which to conduct examinations of habitat manipulation at scales that could not be tested empirically. In the present study, a series of ecosystem models was constructed based on broad-scale simulations for the west coast of Scotland in order to examine the potential consequences to selected fisheries of different scales and types of intervention using artificial reefs. Initialized with a large-scale mass-balance model, a number of smaller-scale dynamic ecosystem simulations covered management situations that encompassed habitat type and reef design for open, restricted and closed fisheries. Spatial simulations examined the presence and absence of artificial habitat with natural reefs and marine protected areas (MPAs) under realistic environmental situations. The simulated trends supported preliminary field observations that artificial habitats would support similar biotic aggregations to natural reefs. Designs that maximized the reef edge as a function of the total reef volume were more productive for some of the functional groups examined compared with larger single deployments of identical area. Increasing the area of artificial habitat did result in improvements to some of the fisheries. The behaviour of some functional groups, however, highlighted the limitations of the broad-scale primary model to smaller-scale investigation. Future simulations used to inform management decision at the sub-regional level would require evidence-based revision to improve their relevance.


We present new constraints on the star formation histories of the ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies, using deep photometry obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). A galaxy class recently discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the UFDs appear to be an extension of the classical dwarf spheroidals to low luminosities, offering a new front in efforts to understand the missing satellite problem. They are the least luminous, most dark-matter-dominated, and least chemically evolved galaxies known. Our HST survey of six UFDs seeks to determine if these galaxies are true fossils from the early universe. We present here the preliminary analysis of three UFD galaxies: Hercules, Leo IV, and Ursa Major I. Classical dwarf spheroidals of the Local Group exhibit extended star formation histories, but these three Milky Way satellites are at least as old as the ancient globular cluster M92, with no evidence for intermediate-age populations. Their ages also appear to be synchronized to within ∼1 Gyr of each other, as might be expected if their star formation was truncated by a global event, such as reionization.


Background: Drinking water is a major source of microbial pathogens in developing regions although, poor sanitation and food sources are integral to enteric pathogen exposure. Poor water quality, sanitation and hygiene are responsible for the majority of deaths a year world-wide and mainly through infectious diarrhea. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the bacteriological quality of drinking water at the source and point of use, to analyze the relationship between the presence of bacteria in water and diarrheic illness. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 water samples collected from various sources-bore wells, municipal tap waters, wells, and mineral water plants and also from storage containers in the house. Simultaneously, stool samples were also collected from households and processed. Results: Out of 100 water samples majority of them were consuming municipal water 16 (32%), followed by mineral water 14 (28%). For storage majority of them were using the candle filter 17 (34%), followed by steel containers 13 (26%). Escherichia coli was isolated in candle filters in the majority of cases 10 (29.4%), Enterobacter isolated in steel containers 6 (23%). Only in 50% diarrheal cases similar bacteria were observed both in water and stool samples. Conclusion: Water has become non-potable after storage due to various hygienic practices. Water may get contaminated at various levels, which is responsible for diarrheic illness. Safe water is essential for health. An efficient and well-maintained distribution system coupled with good hygienic practices would ensure that water is safe at the point of collection and before consumption.


Abstract Object-based audio techniques have become common since they provide the flexibility for personalized rendering. In this paper a multi-stage encoding scheme for multiple audio objects is proposed. The scheme is based on intra-object sparsity. In the encoding phase the dominant Time Frequency (TF) instants of all active object signals are extracted and divided into several stages to form the multistage observation signals for transmission. In the decoding phase the preserved TF instants are recovered via Compressed Sensing (CS) technique, and further used for reconstructing the audio objects. The evaluations validated that the proposed encoding scheme can achieve scalable transmission while maintaining perceptual quality of each audio object.


Chronic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress results in toxicity that contributes to multiple human disorders. We report a stress resolution pathway initiated by the nuclear receptor LRH-1 that is independent of known unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways. Like mice lacking primary UPR components, hepatic Lrh-1-null mice cannot resolve ER stress, despite a functional UPR. In response to ER stress, LRH-1 induces expression of the kinase Plk3, which phosphorylates and activates the transcription factor ATF2. Plk3-null mice also cannot resolve ER stress, and restoring Plk3 expression in Lrh-1-null cells rescues ER stress resolution. Reduced or heightened ATF2 activity also sensitizes or desensitizes cells to ER stress, respectively. LRH-1 agonist treatment increases ER stress resistance and decreases cell death. We conclude that LRH-1 initiates a novel pathway of ER stress resolution that is independent of the UPR, yet equivalently required. Targeting LRH-1 may be beneficial in human disorders associated with chronic ER stress.


Recent claims that orchestras around the world are facing new financial pressures
threatening their survival, suggest that it is critical to investigate the potential for musicology
to adapt to commercial outcomes. This paper takes the Australian music industry as a case
study to prototype a new and sustainable orchestral model appropriate for twenty first
century audiences. The paper includes a review of musical and social innovations from
previous and current orchestral models, a review of arts marketing strategies developed for
the new consumer, the identification of successful new performance modes including
distribution methods and developments in acoustic and digital instrument design, and the
documentation of the implementation and testing of such a model to live audiences.


In the present situation of metropolitan urban areas tall structures are assuming an imperative part as there is lack of area. Step by step trek in the area rates are confronting interest for the tall structures. So as to complete activities of tall structures part of basic investigation should be finished. As the tallness of the structure builds, the lateral strengths like quake and wind powers overwhelm. The primary point of the present Paper is to excuse the position for the shear wall for a G+9 Residential building by considering the heap case such quake, twist by Response spectrum method for different type of buildings, for example, Symmetric building, Plan irregular building and with RC surrounded structures by finding the shear walls at distinctive positions, for example, Shear wall at the internal center of the model, Shear wall at the fringe side edges and Shear wall at the corner edges for all the structures by considering the parameters like Maximum Story Displacements and Maximum story Drifts investigating both by the static and element examination systems by the procurement of programming bundle ETABS-2013.