Originally identified from eukaryotes, the Mg2+- or Mn2+-dependent protein phosphatases (PPMs) are a diverse group of enzymes whose members include eukaryotic PP2C and some prokaryotic serine/threonine phosphatases. In a previous study, unexpectedly large numbers of PPMs were identified in two Streptomyces genomes. In this work, a phylogenetic analysis was performed with all the PPMs available from a wide variety of microbial sources to determine the evolutionary origin of the Streptomyces PPM proteins. Consistent with earlier hypotheses, the results suggested that the microbial PPMs were relatively recent additions from eukaryotic sources. Results also indicated that the Streptomyces PPMs were divided into two major subfamilies at an early stage of their emergence in Streptomyces genomes. The first subfamily, which contains only six Streptomyces PPMs, possesses a catalytic domain whose sequence and architecture are similar to that of eukaryotic PPMs; the second subfamily contains 89 Streptomyces PPMs that lack the 5a and 5b catalytic domain motifs, similar to the PPMs SpoIIE and RsbU of Bacillus subtilis. Significant gene duplication was observed for the PPMs in the second subfamily. In addition, more than half (54 %) of the Streptomyces PPMs from the second subfamily were found to have at least one additional sensory domain, most commonly the PAS or the GAF domain. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these domains tended to be clustered according to the putative physiological functions rather than taxonomic relationship, implying that they might have arisen as a result of domain recruitment in a late evolutionary stage. This study provides an insight into how Streptomyces spp. may have expanded their PPM-based signal transduction networks to enable them to respond to a greater range of environmental changes.


The generalized linear inverse technique has been applied to the problem of determining earthquake source models for five moderately large earthquakes in the Zagros Fold Thrust Belt (ZFTB). These earthquakes occurred in the southeastern (29 April 1987, mb=5.9, 12 July 1983, mb=5.8), central (12 July 1986, mb=5.6), northwestern (28 May 1983, m =5.1, 18 December 1980, mb=5.8) parts of the ZFTB. Propagation and instrumental effects are deconvolved from the long period P and SH wave records of GDSN stations to obtain the teleseismic source time function using a damped least squares inversion. The inversion has the additional constraint that the source time function is positive everywhere. A comparison of source time function of these events show that the average source duration of earthquake along the strike-slip Kazerun fault is greater than the other parts of the region. Generally slow earthquakes have long source duration. Slow risetime presumably results from a very low stress drop. Focal mechanisms of the earthquakes are thrust in the southeastern ZFTB, and have strike-slip components in the central and northwestern ZFTB. Depth values of these events are estimated to vary between 5-15km. Considering the depths and observed emergent moment release, we speculate that these events occurred beneath the sedimentary sections near to the detachment horizon. The slip vectors along the Zagros zone that are computed on the basis of compiled focal mechanism solutions in this and previous studies show a similarity with direction of convergence between the Arabian plate and the Iranian plateau.


Background Clinical decision support (CDS) tools in electronic health records (EHRs) are often used as core strategies to support quality improvement programs in the clinical setting. Monitoring the impact (intended and unintended) of these tools is crucial for program evaluation and adaptation. Existing approaches for monitoring typically rely on health care providers' self-reports or direct observation of clinical workflows, which require substantial data collection efforts and are prone to reporting bias. Objective This study aims to develop a novel monitoring method leveraging EHR activity data and demonstrate its use in monitoring the CDS tools implemented by a tobacco cessation program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I). Methods We developed EHR-based metrics to monitor the implementation of two CDS tools: (1) a screening alert reminding clinic staff to complete the smoking assessment and (2) a support alert prompting health care providers to discuss support and treatment options, including referral to a cessation clinic. Using EHR activity data, we measured the completion (encounter-level alert completion rate) and burden (the number of times an alert was fired before completion and time spent handling the alert) of the CDS tools. We report metrics tracked for 12 months post implementation, comparing 7 cancer clinics (2 clinics implemented the screening alert and 5 implemented both alerts) within a C3I center, and identify areas to improve alert design and adoption. Results The screening alert fired in 5121 encounters during the 12 months post implementation. The encounter-level alert completion rate (clinic staff acknowledged completion of screening in EHR: 0.55; clinic staff completed EHR documentation of screening results: 0.32) remained stable over time but varied considerably across clinics. The support alert fired in 1074 encounters during the 12 months. Providers acted upon (ie, not postponed) the support alert in 87.3% (n=938) of encounters, identified a patient ready to quit in 12% (n=129) of encounters, and ordered a referral to the cessation clinic in 2% (n=22) of encounters. With respect to alert burden, on average, both alerts fired over 2 times (screening alert: 2.7; support alert: 2.1) before completion; time spent postponing the screening alert was similar to completing (52 vs 53 seconds) the alert, and time spent postponing the support alert was more than completing (67 vs 50 seconds) the alert per encounter. These findings inform four areas where the alert design and use can be improved: (1) improving alert adoption and completion through local adaptation, (2) improving support alert efficacy by additional strategies including training in provider-patient communication, (3) improving the accuracy of tracking for alert completion, and (4) balancing alert efficacy with the burden. Conclusions EHR activity metrics were able to monitor the success and burden of tobacco cessation alerts, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of potential trade-offs associated with alert implementation. These metrics can be used to guide implementation adaptation and are scalable across diverse settings.


Representation learning in dynamic graphs is a challenging problem because the topology of graph and node features vary at different time. This requires the model to be able to effectively capture both graph topology information and temporal information. Most existing works are built on recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which are used to exact temporal information of dynamic graphs, and thus they inherit the same drawbacks of RNNs. In this paper, we propose Learning to Evolve on Dynamic Graphs (LEDG) - a novel algorithm that jointly learns graph information and time information. Specifically, our approach utilizes gradient-based meta-learning to learn updating strategies that have better generalization ability than RNN on snapshots. It is model-agnostic and thus can train any message passing based graph neural network (GNN) on dynamic graphs. To enhance the representation power, we disentangle the embeddings into time embeddings and graph intrinsic embeddings. We conduct experiments on various datasets and down-stream tasks, and the experimental results validate the effectiveness of our method.


Background: Faced with the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) pandemic, we compared the susceptibilities of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae to ertapenem, meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam with and without clavulanate. Methods: 121 strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella were studied. 70 strains were originally reported as resistant to ceftazidime based upon disk diffusion; 51 strains were originally reported as sensitive to ceftazidime based upon previous guidelines of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, but subsequently shown to be ESBL producers. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the strains towards ertapenem, meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam were determined by Etest. The effect of adding clavulanate on the MICs was determined by performing the Etest, using plates containing 2 µg/ml of clavulanate. Results: The MIC90 of all isolates was 0.094 and 0.25 µg/ml for ertapenem, 0.032 and 0.064 µg/ml for meropenem, and 16 and 256 µg/ml for piperacillin-tazobactam with and without clavulanate, respectively. Conclusions: ESBL-producing organisms were more susceptible to meropenem than to ertapenem, although the MICs to ertapenem were well within clinically achievable levels. Piperacillin-tazobactam was ineffective in a large percentage of isolates. The presence of clavulanate resulted in a 5-fold decrease in the MIC of ertapenem and in a drastic reduction in the MIC of piperacillin-tazobactam. The decrease observed with ertapenem is unlikely to be of clinical significance. Thus, in our hospital, ertapenem could be a good meropenem-sparing agent for infections due to ESBL-producing organisms. Piperacillin-tazobactam appeared to be a poor choice, as our isolates produce ESBLs which are not successfully inhibited by tazobactam.


Collaborative problem solving based on different perspectives is an effective strategy for constructing new knowledge and discoveries. It remains unclear what kind of interaction process underlies development of an abstract or integrated perspective upon experiencing conflict with different perspectives in a group. The present study investigates two factors in an experimental setting: (1) groups with a single opposing perspective (maverick) would hold an advantage over groups and (2) groups with positive moods would hold an advantage over groups with negativity. We investigate the factors influencing perspective taking in problem-solving groups using conversational agents. Results showed that (1) a single different perspective in the group can be accepted for perspective taking compared to several members with an opposing perspective, and (2) positive mood generated by group members facilitating perspective taking compared to negative mood.


Background: Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma are airways chronic inflammatory processes, with a correlation of 28-78%. Objectives : To determine the prevalence and classification of allergic rhinitis on asthmatic patients, according to the workshop Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA), and to assess the total serum concentrations of IgE and the presence of nasal and blood eosinophilia. Material and method: A study was done with asthmatic patients ages 7 to 14, attending the Pediatric Service at the Hospital General del Sur Dr. Pedro Iturbe, Maracaibo, Estado Zulia, Venezuela. Subjects were polled for signs and symptoms suggesting allergic rhinitis and its impact on quality of life. Blood and nasal swab samples were taken to perform laboratory tests in study. Results: There were 60 asthmatic patients, 73.3% males and 70% scholar age patients. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 93.3%, according to ARIA classification. Mild intermittent group was the most frequent type, with 42.8% the most frequent clinic sign was the allergic shiners (86.6%), and the predominant symptom was the nasal aqueous trickle (83.3%), while sleep disorders were the most common affection of quality of life (39.2%). In 85.7% of patients eosinophil percentage was higher than 3%, whereas in 75% total serum IgE values were higher than 100 Ul/mL. In patients with rhinitis, 61.9% of the nasal mucus showed altered eosinophils percentage higher than 10%. Conclusion: A high prevalence of allergic rhinitis is present in asthmatic patients, confirmed by laboratory tests, which proves an inflammatory response mediated by IgE.


The prevention and treatment of spontaneous atherosclerotic lesions presents one of the most challenging clinical problems to internists, surgeons, and pathologists, since our knowledge of the pathogenesis of the basic alterations of the arterial wall is at present fragmentary and ill-defined. Since the early work of Anitschkov 2 on the production of experimental lesions in the rabbit, after prolonged dietary hypercholesterolemia, that have some resemblance to those found in man, and the high concentration of cholesterol in the early spontaneous plaque, a natural relation between disturbances in lipid metabolism and atherogenesis has been suspected. 5,6,14 Recent emphasis on studies of local factors in this disease has been the direct result of efforts to reconcile extensive data on aberrations of the blood lipid spectrum with the histochemical and morphological changes encountered in early atheroma, since a satisfactory correlation between specific lipid changes and the degree of atherosclerosis present in many clinical


Multichannel coil arrays are increasingly being used to improve signal-to-noise ratio in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The decoupling between coils is an important parameter in array design. Indeed coupling between elements affects the resonance frequency of each single coil and decreases its sensitivity. Many solutions have been developed to achieve decoupling between elements of the multichannel coil array. Presented is a capacitive solution to restore channel decoupling of a specific four-channel receiver coil array using common conductors. The principle of an effective decoupling was first demonstrated by circuit simulations of |S|-parameters. A receive-only four-channel coil array was design for rat head MRI. Experimental |S|-parameter measurements validated the proposed capacitive approach by restoring decoupling between elements and particularly between external loops.


Rhetoric is a difficult discipline to define. For centuries, rhetoricians have argued and discussed the question: what is rhetoric? Over the past 20 years, Sweden has seen a new breed of companies enter the labor market - the rhetoric consultants. If the adverts are correct, these consultants will help you become a better speaker, a greater debater and a more critical and conscious listener. In other words, you can pay to become a greater rhetorician. But as with all products sold, it must first be defined. What are we paying for when we pay for rhetoric? This paper intends to define rhetoric as a product in 21st century Sweden.


Social evolution theory posits the existence of genes expressed in one individual that affect the traits and fitness of social partners. The archetypal example of reproductive altruism, honey bee reproductive caste, involves strict social regulation of larval caste fate by care-giving nurses. However, the contribution of nurse-expressed genes, which are prime socially-acting candidate genes, to the caste developmental program and to caste evolution remains mostly unknown. We experimentally induced new queen production by removing the current colony queen, and we used RNA sequencing to study the gene expression profiles of both developing larvae and their care-giving nurses before and after queen removal. By comparing the gene expression profiles between both queen-destined larvae and their nurses to worker-destined larvae and their nurses in queen-present and queen-absent conditions, we identified larval and nurse genes associated with larval caste development and with queen presence. Of 950 differentially-expressed genes associated with larval caste development, 82% were expressed in larvae and 18% were expressed in nurses. Behavioral and physiological evidence suggests that nurses may specialize in the short term feeding queen- versus worker-destined larvae. Estimated selection coefficients indicated that both nurse and larval genes associated with caste are rapidly evolving, especially those genes associated with worker development. Of the 1863 differentially-expressed genes associated with queen presence, 90% were expressed in nurses. Altogether, our results suggest that socially-acting genes play important roles in both the expression and evolution of socially-influenced traits like caste.


ICT projects in developing countries need to integrate requirements of the local context in order to be successful. Appropriate Technology (AT) has been applied in many domains to deliver technological solutions that are suitable to the local contexts for which they are intended. The Appropriate ICT framework has adopted the principles of AT within the domain of ICT. This paper assesses the Appropriate ICT framework in the context of developing and implementing an Academic Registry Information System (ARIS) in Mozambique, and proposes an enhancement to the Appropriate ICT framework in order to facilitate further research on appropriate ICT tools and methods.


HIGH DIETARY SALT AND FRUCTOSE INCREASE NFAT5 EXPRESSION IN THE KIDNEY AND LIVER OF SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS. B. Herman1, K. Ferguson1, J. Halterman1, 2 & J. Fernandez2, 1Dept. of Biology and 2MA in Biomedicine Program, Eastern Mennonite University. In the current diet of an average American, there is an increasing amount of both salt and high fructose corn syrup. Individuals with a higher sensitivity to salt or fructose can develop hypertension and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to determine how the consumption of a high salt diet or a high fructose diet altered tissue-specific expression of the NFAT5 gene. A total of 50 Sprague Dawley rats were put either on a control diet of 0.25% NaCl and 6% fructose, a 4% NaCl diet, 8% NaCl diet, or 64% fructose diet over the course of 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, 16 different body tissue samples were harvested. RNA was then purified from the samples, reverse transcription was used to convert the purified RNA into DNA, and DNA samples were then run under real-time PCR in order to measure expression of the NFAT5 gene. The results showed an increase in NFAT5 expression in the kidney medulla under a 4% NaCl diet and in the kidney cortex under a 64% fructose diet. The results also displayed an increase in NFAT5 expression in the liver under a 64% fructose diet and 8% NaCl diet. From this study it can be concluded that NFAT5 is differentially expressed in different tissues in response to various diets. This study was funded by The Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, Bank of America, Trustee.


The integration of fossil and extant lineages in evolutionary analyses allows for morphological change to be examined over long periods of time. This tudy explores how fossil archaeid species compare with extant species in terms of morphological diversity. By adding additional data for fossil species, this tudy builds upon the total evidence phylogenetic data matrix and the carapace/chelicerae measurements of an earlier analysis. Phylogenetic analyses recovered a monophyletic Archaeidae crown-group, and there is ome support for a monophyletic fossil clade. However, analyses did not recover a monophyletic Archaeidae: the fossil Lacunauchenius Wunderlich, 2008 fell outside of the remaining archaeids, although its placement was only weakly supported. Fossil archaeids are morphologically diverse, and compared to extant species, occupy a novel morphological space characterized by shorter features. There has been a shift hrough time towards the more elongated features of the extant species. Given the unique morphologies of the fossil species, it is likely that fossil archaeids occupied unique niches that are no longer occupied by extant species.


Ankle sprains are among the most common injuries in sports. The majority involve the lateral ligaments of the ankle following a rapid inversion of the weight bearing joint. The ability of prophylactic stabilization to minimize the impact of these forces has been studied extensively. An innovative device designed to evoke a 20o inversion perturbation was used to demonstrate that application of ankle prophylaxis is effective in improving muscular response in healthy individuals. Forty one volunteers (21 males, 20 females) underwent EMG analysis of the peroneus longus (PL) and tibialis anterior (TA), measuring reflex latency (RL) and time to peak amplitude (TPA) while performing a dynamic task. Data were collected while subjects were fitted with two types of ankle braces (lace-up and semi-rigid) and standard closed basketweave ankle taping, each compared with a no support control. In addition, a comparison of PL and TA was conducted to determine muscle differences on measures of RL and TPA. Significantly shorter RL in the PL were observed in the lace-up and semi rigid brace conditions compared to the no brace (p=0.004, p less than 0.001) control. Similarly, the semi-rigid brace was significantly shorter than the tape (p less than 0.001) condition. In the TA, RL were significantly shorter for the lace-up than the no brace (p less than 0.008) control. TPA values were significantly shorter for the lace-up and semi rigid brace conditions in the TA compared to the no brace (p=0.007, p=0.001) control; and the semi-rigid brace TPA was significantly shorter than tape (p less than 0.001). No significant differences were observed in either RL or TPA measurements (p greater than 0.05) between the PL and TA. The dynamic task in this study better replicates the conditions which often precipitate ankle injury. Results indicate the application of ankle support may be beneficial in heightening the sensitivity of dynamic restraints, thus minimizing the effects of a rapid inversion mechanism. In particular, the lace-up and semi-rigid braces appeared to be the most effective in hastening muscular responses observed during a dynamic task. The implications for these findings would be of particular interest to the clinician when recommending the type of prophylactic support to be employed during sport activity.


Ips sexdentatus (Boerner) and I. Typographus (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are considered to be important destructive pests of coniferous forests in Europe and Asia. In this study, the efficacy of Beauveria pseudobassiana strain ARSEF 9271 isolated from Dendroctonus micans (Kugelann) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) was evaluated against I. Sexdentatus and I. Typographus adults. Insects were treated with different conidial concentrations of the fungus to determine the virulence. A conidial suspension of 1 × 108 conidia mL-1 caused 100% mortality in both I. Sexdentatus and I. Typographus within 5 and 7 days, respectively. Additionally, 100% mycosis was obtained in the concentration-response experiments for both insects. LC50 values of the fungus were calculated as 3.94 × 104 conidia mL-1 and 1.32 × 104 conidia mL-1 for I. Sexdentatus and I. Typographus, respectively. I. Sexdentatus and I. Typographus adults were also inoculated with a conidial suspension of 1 × 106 conidia mL-1 at inoculation rates of 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% to determine the horizontal transmission of the fungus. Mortality values from horizontal transmission experiments were determined as 100% at all rates after 15 days at 20 °C under laboratory conditions. Our results indicate that B. Pseudobassiana ARSEF 9271 is a promising microbial control agent against the tested Ips species and can horizontally spread among a population of both I. Sexdentatus and I. Typographus.


The lower medieval Catalan model of the estudi general (university) exemplified by the case of Lleida emphasises the weight achieved by the students as a body, the jurisdictional conflicts and, especially, the serious economic difficulties, that poisoned the relations with the poorly paid teaching staff and made the centre impossible to run. In that sense, the monarchy's incapacity to provide the jurisdictional and financial bases, pushed higher education under a growing ecclesiastical weight snd municipal dependence. The local government, for its part, would have to increase the means of taxation needed to produce the necessary financing. All together, this generated difficulties that would burden the estudis generals throughout the lower Middle ages and into modern centuries, until their closure in the 18th century.


Social Networks, like Facebook, have become an important part of life for millions of people, with many people using them on a daily basis. While there are games that simulate life-to-life interactions, there are not as many that simulate social network interactions, and even fewer where social network interactions are an important part of the gameplay. Having models for the simulation of interactions on social networks is the first step needed to be able to create games where a social network is an important component of the gameplay. In this paper we present a model to create dy-namic and believable interactions in social networks and in-dicate how it was used in a serious game about cyberbullying. The model is based on personality models and Berne's so-called Social Games.


Dogs were trained before operation on a go, no-go test with symmetrical reinforcement. Lesions situated on the medial surface of the prefrontal cortex caused slight or no impairment in retention, whereas removal of the lateral prefrontal cortex induced severe and long-lasting impairment. The lateral prefrontal cortex is probably related to selection of the proper instrumental responses to corresponding stimuli.


Additional information is Abstract Nowadays, many kinds of robots are used in industries to help in manufacturing or placing objects. However, teaching young people and children about robot design and work can be difficult, turning this into a complicated area for them. This chapter pro - vides a detailed description of the design and implementation of a robotic arm mounted on a mobile robot using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit® and the starter kit DaNI 2.0, designed by National Instruments®. The mobile palletizer robot takes a box from place A and navigates in the indoor environment until it reaches a predefined place B. The characterization of the robotic arm is based on a parallel structure considering that the end-effector has only two points to hold the object; the gripper is also built using LEGO®. The robot performs the path computed using an A-star algorithm; moreover, actions like moving up and down, opening and closing the gripper and picking up the box and put - ting it down are executed by the robotic arm using the central unit of the NXT kit. Each stage of the robot design and implementation is explained in detail using diagrams and 3D graphical views with the aim of illustrating the implementation step by step for edu cational purposes (mainly for young people or children).


Anti-DNA antibodies occur in outwardly normal individuals as well as in various forms of autoimmune disease. A number of publications have reported on the ability of added DNA to either induce or inhibit the in vitro production of anti-DNA antibody. In this study, the in vitro production of IgM anti-single stranded DNA (alpha ssDNA) antibody by spleen cells from normal or autoimmune mice neither depends upon, nor is inhibited by, the addition of high molecular weight DNA to the culture. The decrease in antibody forming cell plaques, reported previously, is due solely to the artifactual carryover of inhibitory material into the assay system, where it interferes with the expression of plaques by preventing anti-DNA antibody from reaching the DNA-coated erythrocytes. Similarly, plaque forming cell (PFC) methods have not detected alpha ssDNA antibody producing cells in murine spleen cells without culturing, but various other systems for measuring antibody normally detect anti-DNA antibodies in vivo. This discrepancy is also due to inadequate washing of freshly harvested cells to rid them of inhibitory substances which prevent them from registering as PFC. While S1 nuclease was able to prevent PFC interference by purified DNA, it did not remove the inhibitory substances from the culture supernatants; therefore substances other than ssDNA are able to interfere with alpha ssDNA PFC, suggesting that the alpha ssDNA PFC detected are polyspecific. Levels of alpha ssDNA PFC in spleen cells from non-autoimmune mice begin at one-quarter of the peak in vitro response, decrease to one-tenth in the first day and then reach peak values after 3 to 5 days of culture, suggesting that spleen cells are actively producing alpha ssDNA antibodies an in vivo and that then in vitro response is observed. Despite this evidence for an in vitro alpha ssDNA response, this response was not inhibited markedly by 1000 rad gamma-irradiation, while the response to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) was profoundly suppressed. These findings suggest that anti-self B lymphocytes are resistant to interphase, possibly apoptotic, lymphocyte death due to gamma-irradiation, while anti-nonself B lymphocytes remain sensitive.


We employ the quasiharmonic approximation to study the temperature-dependent lattice dynamics of the four different phases of cesium tin iodide $({\mathrm{CsSnI}}_{3})$. Within this framework, we obtain the temperature dependence of a number of structural properties, including the cell volume, bulk modulus, and Gr\"uneisen parameter. The Gibbs free energy of each phase is compared against the temperature-dependent Helmholtz energy obtained from the equilibrium structure within the harmonic approximation. We find that the black tetragonal perovskite phase is not dynamically stable up to at least 500 K, with the phonon dispersion displaying negative optic modes, which pass through all of the high-symmetry wave vectors in the Brillouin zone. The main contributions to the negative modes are found to be motions of the Cs atom inside the perovskite cage. The black cubic perovskite structure shows a zone-boundary instability, indicated by soft modes at the special $\mathbf{q}$ points $M$ and $R$. These modes are present in calculations at the equilibrium (0 K) lattice constant, while at finite temperature additional negative modes develop at the zone center, indicating a ferroelectric instability. The yellow crystal, composed of one-dimensional $({\mathrm{SnI}}_{6}){}_{n}$ double chains, has the same heat of formation as the orthorhombic perovskite phase at 0 K, but becomes less energetically favorable at higher temperatures, due to its higher free energy.


Stellar bars are a common feature in massive disc galaxies. On a theoretical ground, the response of gas to a bar is generally thought to cause nuclear starbursts and, possibly, AGN activity once the perturbed gas reaches the central supermassive black hole. By means of high-resolution numerical simulations, we detail the purely dynamical effects that a forming bar exerts on the gas of an isolated disc galaxy. The galaxy is initially unstable to the formation of non-axisymmetric structures, and within ˜1 Gyr it develops spiral arms that eventually evolve into a central stellar bar on kpc scale. A first major episode of gas inflow occurs during the formation of the spiral arms while at later times, when the stellar bar is establishing, a low-density region is carved between the bar corotational and inner Lindblad resonance radii. The development of such `dead zone' inhibits further massive gas inflows. Indeed, the gas inflow reaches its maximum during the relatively fast bar-formation phase and not, as often assumed, when the bar is fully formed. We conclude that the low efficiency of long-lived, evolved bars in driving gas towards galactic nuclei is the reason why observational studies have failed to establish an indisputable link between bars and AGNs. On the other hand, the high efficiency in driving strong gas inflows of the intrinsically transient process of bar formation suggests that the importance of bars as drivers of AGN activity in disc galaxies has been overlooked so far. We finally prove that our conclusions are robust against different numerical implementations of the hydrodynamics routinely used in galaxy evolution studies.


: In this work, the metabolic elicitors extracted from the beneficial rhizobacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens N 21.4 were sequentially fragmented by vacuum liquid chromatography to isolate, purify and identify the compounds responsible for the extraordinary capacities of this strain to induce systemic resistance and to elicit secondary defensive metabolism in diverse plant species. To check if the fractions sequentially obtained were able to increase the synthesis of isoflavones and if, therefore, they still maintained the eliciting capacity of the live strain, rapid and controlled experiments were done with soybean seeds. The optimal action concentration of the fractions was established and all of them elicited isoflavone secondary metabolism—the fractions that had been extracted with n-hexane being more e ff ective. The purest fraction was the one with the highest eliciting capacity and was also tested in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings to induce systemic resistance against the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC 3000. This fraction was then analyzed by UHPLC / ESI–QTOF–MS, and an alkaloid, two amino lipids, three arylalkylamines and a terpenoid were tentatively identified. These identified compounds could be part of commercial plant inoculants of biological and sustainable origin to be applied in crops, due to their potential to enhance the plant immune response and since many of them have putative antibiotic and / or antifungal potential.


Abstract Expanding on political ecology analyses that are increasingly applied to water-related challenges, this essay calls for greater attention to the political and social consequences of proposed water solutions. Concern about environmental health in Palestine often highlights a lack of water access, with proposed solutions focusing on increasing water supplies. Drawing on fieldwork in the West Bank, northern Israel, and Tel Aviv, this essay compares how differently situated residents and water managers evaluate the potential impacts of one type of supply-side infrastructure: desalination. This comparison counters avowedly apolitical technical evaluations of such initiatives by showing uneven sociopolitical costs and benefits.


The Information and Communications for Development report takes an in-depth look at how information and communication technologies (ICT) are impacting economic growth in developing countries. This new report, the fourth in the series, examines the topic of data-driven development, or how better information makes for better policies. The objective is to assist developing country firms and governments to unlock the value of the data they hold for better service delivery and decision making, and to empower individuals to take more control of their personal data. The chapters of the report explore different themes associated with the supply of data, the technology underlying it, and the demand for it. The concluding chapter considers government policies for data, including data protection and privacy.


Abstract. Long-term monitoring of carbon monoxide (CO) mixing ratios in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean is being carried out on commercial cargo vessels participating in the National Institute for Environmental Studies Voluntary Observing Ships program. The program provides a regular platform for measurement of atmospheric CO along four cruise routes: from Japan to Oceania, the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia. Flask samples are collected during every cruise for subsequent analysis in the laboratory, and in 2005, continuous shipboard CO measurements were initiated on three of the routes. Here, we describe the system we developed for onboard measurement of CO mixing ratios with a commercially available gas filter correlation CO analyzer. The fully automated system measures CO in ambient air, and the detector sensitivity and background signals are calibrated by referencing the measurements to a CO-in-air standard gas (~1 ppmv) and to CO-free air scrubbed with a catalyst, respectively. We examined the artificial production of CO in the high-pressure working gas standards during storage by referencing the measurements to CO standard gases maintained as our primary scale before and after use on the ships. The onboard performance of the continuous CO measurement system was evaluated by comparing its data with data from laboratory analyses of flask samples using gas chromatography with a reduction gas detector. The reasonably good consistency between the two independent measurement methods demonstrated the good performance of both methods over the course of 3–5 years. The continuous measurement system was more useful than the flask sampling method for regionally polluted air masses, which were often encountered on Southeast Asian cruises.


Engineering immune cells to target cancer is a rapidly advancing technology. The first commercial products, chimeric-antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, are now approved for hematologic malignancies. However, solid tumors pose a greater challenge for cellular therapy, in part because suitable cancer-specific antigens are more difficult to identify and surrounding healthy tissues are harder to avoid. In addition, impaired trafficking of immune cells to solid tumors, the harsh immune-inhibitory microenvironment, and variable antigen density and presentation help tumors evade immune cells targeting cancer-specific antigens. To overcome these obstacles, T cells are being engineered to express defined T-cell receptors (TCR). Given that TCRs target intracellular peptides expressed on tumor MHC molecules, this provides an expanded pool of potential targetable tumor-specific antigens relative to the cell-surface antigens that are targeted by CAR T cells. The affinity of TCR T cells can be tuned to allow for better tumor recognition, even with varying levels of antigen presentation on the tumor and surrounding healthy tissue. Further enhancements to TCR T cells include improved platforms that enable more robust cell expansion and persistence; coadministration of small molecules that enhance tumor recognition and immune activation; and coexpression of cytokine-producing moieties, activating coreceptors, or mediators that relieve checkpoint blockade. Early-phase clinical trials pose logistical challenges involving production, large-scale manufacturing, and more. The challenges and obstacles to successful TCR T-cell therapy, and ways to overcome these and improve anticancer activity and efficacy, are discussed herein.


Call graphs have been used widely in different software engineering areas. Since call graphs provide us with detailed information about the structure of software elements and components and how they are connected with each other, they could be used in detecting specific structures and patterns in the code such as malware, code clones, unreachable code, and many other software symptoms that could be searched by their structural features. In this work, we have analyzed parallel paths in function call graphs in three Java open-source projects. Parallel paths emerge when there is more than one path between two nodes in the call graph. We investigated the reasons such paths are created and used for and also the problems that result in removing them. Moreover, we have used the results of our analyses to find instances of parallel paths in the projects that we analyzed and suggest some changes to developers based on that. Based on our results, we found three categories of problems associated with parallel paths and four categories of usages of them.


Global attention was drawn to the severe and pervasive effects of urban slums when the United Nations included it in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a few years ago. Urban slums are areas or neighbourhoods that suffer infrastructure deprivation. Infrastructure refers to the physical framework of facilities through which goods and services are delivered to neighbourhood dwellers by the government. A fundamental issue in slum upgrading projects is the provision of adequate infrastructure. In a developing nation like Nigeria, there is a need to examine urban slum upgrading in a wider conceptual and technical context that will be more sustainable than what currently exists in large cities like Lagos. Nigerian architects and other professionals in the built-environment have been trying to grasp key concepts required to comprehend the phenomenon of slum upgrading and therefore be able to address it by sustainable design. The wider conceptual and technical perspectives constitute the main problem addressed in this study. The techniques employed include the review of the literature and review of interviews on slums and slum upgrading in some parts the globe. Observation technique and visits to nine large slum settlements in Lagos were also employed to validate the general information obtained from the literature. This paper discusses a wide range of urban slum characteristics and slum upgrading issues that are applicable to the study area. The paper examines specific aspects where the architect can contribute substantially to infrastructural upgrading of the built-form and spaces in Lagos' slums. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.68.2.4794


BACKGROUND
Meatpacking is dangerous, dirty, and demanding (3-D) work-much of which is done by immigrant workers. It is characterized by high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses due to the speed of the production line, repetitive motions, and other inherent exposures. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore perceptions of safety culture among Hispanic/Latino meatpacking workers in the Midwest.

METHODS
Five focus groups with a total of 28 participants were conducted between March 2019 and February 2020 with Hispanic/Latino meatpacking workers in Nebraska. Workers were asked about the type of work performed, how the work was physically done, and perceptions of health risks and exposures. Thematic analysis was used to build a description of safety culture within the meatpacking industry.

RESULTS
Three main themes were found: (1) workers depicted a culture where companies cared more about production than people; (2) workers felt powerless in improving their situation; and (3) workers noted that the work was precarious, both dangerous and one where much of the responsibility for safety was shifted to the individual workers.

CONCLUSIONS
The meatpacking industry has a poor safety culture. Safety culture within the industry may be improved by ensuring that organizational values and artifacts are aligned with safety by addressing the critical role of supervisors, providing culturally and linguistically appropriate consistent safety training and messaging to the workforce, and enforcing and strengthening safety regulations.


The Polish translation of the most famous treatise of Newton has just been published, which is a good opportunity to recall some of the episodes related to the origin of Principia. In the first part of this three piece paper, the historical context is presented, in which unsolved scientific problems – specially those of planetary motions – were discussed before Newton; in the second part, the circumstances of the process of the writing of the Principia are outlined; in the third part, some facts are recalled which show that not all scientists and philosophers at once recognized the value and the importance of Newton's treatise. Finally, some remarks on the Polish edition are made.


Spatial databases maintain space information which is appropriate for applications where there is need to monitor the position of an object or event over space. Spatial databases describe the fundamental representation of the object of a dataset that comes from spatial or geographic entities. A spatial database supports aspects of space and offers spatial data types in its data model and query language.
The spatial or geographic referencing attributes of the objects in a spatial database permits them to be positioned within a two (2) dimensional or three (3) dimensional space. This chapter looks into the fundamentals of spatial databases and describes their basic component, operations and architecture. The study focuses on the data models, query Language, query processing, indexes and query optimization of a spatial databases that approves spatial databases as a necessary tool for data storage and retrieval for multidimensional data of high dimensional spaces.


The study seeks to clarify why donors such as the World Bank still insist on the use of their financial management system rather than the recipient country's financial management system, despite the intention under the Paris Declaration 2005 to use the respective government's systems. The study then explores the reasons why the financial management system used by the World Bank is more effective in managing risks related to public financial management and aid as compared to the Government of Malaysia approach. The study compares financial management by the World Bank and Ministry of Education, Government of Malaysia, in their parallel implementation of Educational Sector Support Projects (ESSP) under the Eighth Malaysian Plan, 2001-2005. The quality of financial management of projects in two systems is compared using established criteria of good financial management practice. Findings are based on evidence from interviews, documentation and direct observations. The study demonstrates the significant roles in reducing risks played in the World Bank approach by the Project Management Reports (PMR), the high quality of Project Implementation Unit (PIU) staff and the better procurement procedures. The implication is that more effective risk management and financial management reporting were needed by the Ministry of Education in implementing the ESSP under the Eighth Malaysian Plan 2001 - 2005.


Heather Payne speaks to Gemma Westcott, Commissioning Editor: Heather Payne was appointed as a consultant in Clinical Oncology at University College Hospital (London, UK) in 1997. Following her training at St Mary's Hospital London Medical School and after qualifying, she spent time working in general medicine in both London and Haiti. Currently, she specializes in the management of urological malignancies, and is actively involved in clinical research as well as being the principal investigator in a number of international multicenter and local studies. She enjoys helping patients with quality of life and decision-making issues with regard to their treatment options. In addition, she is the chairman of the British Uro-oncology Group, and is a member of the Department of Health Prostate Cancer Advisory Group. Further to this, she is a trustee of the Prostate Cancer Research Centre and clinical lead for the National Prostate Cancer Audit.


Life Cycle Costing is a strategic managerial tool supporting
decision making process even in the beginning phase. This
calculation in its own base takes into account costs during the
whole life cycle and creates a precondition for precise
information database for decision making. The utilization of
this calculation is often connected with the issue of the
Environment. The aim of the paper is to propose LCC utilization
in condition of goods transport by truck.
Case-Based-Methodology for cost estimation as well as the time
factor of discount rate for expected payments calculation of
two vehicle acquisition cases with Net Present Value
determination are used in this paper.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Objective: People with HIV infection experience excessive mortality compared with their noninfected counterparts. It is unclear whether the impact of HIV infection on mortality varies by comorbidities or whether sex difference exists in this relationship. This study assessed the effect of newly diagnosed HIV infection on overall mortality among Medicare beneficiaries for both disabled and older adults (≥65 years old) based on their original entitlement. Methods: We constructed a retrospective matched cohort using a 5% nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries between 1996 and 2015. People with incident HIV diagnoses were individually matched to up to three controls based on demographics. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for baseline demographics and comorbidities were used to assess the effect of HIV status on survival among four disabled groups by sex strata. Within each stratum, interactions between comorbidity variables and HIV status were examined. Results: People with HIV, especially older women, had a higher prevalence of baseline comorbidities than controls. HIV--mortality association varied according to sex in older adults (P = 0.004). Comorbidity--HIV interactions were more pronounced in disabled groups (P < 0.0001). People with HIV with more chronic conditions had a less pronounced increase in the risk of death than those with fewer conditions, compared with uninfected controls. Conclusion: Medicare enrollees with newly diagnosed HIV had more prevalent baseline comorbidities and were at higher risk of death than people without HIV. HIV infection has a more pronounced effect among those with fewer comorbidities. Sex differences in HIV--mortality association exist among older Medicare enrollees.


It has been recognised that that the mechanical characteristics of Energy Storing and Returning (ESR) prosthetic running feet are not well understood and inconsistent static rating results have been reported elsewhere. The hypothesis that the inconsistent results are due to the varying foot mounting methods used during non-destructive testing was investigated. An ESR prosthetic running foot was rigidly mounted to the load cell of a hydraulic test machine while the metatarsal region of the foot contacted the machine bed. The friction between the foot and the machine bed was varied to create different mounting conditions. For each mounting condition, the foot was displaced vertically and force-displacement data was collected to compare the measured peak force and efficiency of the foot. It is shown that the mounting method affects both the peak measured force (1.2-2.83kN) and efficiency (71-97%) of the foot under test. A novel mounting strategy was then proposed and assessed to overcome the limitations of the previously used mounting methods. The new mounting method produced a linear spring rate across the entire displacement leading to an efficiency of 99.4% and peak measured force of 1.71kN which was in agreement with previously collected data during amputee running. It is concluded that the inconsistencies in reported mechanical characteristics of Energy Storing and Returning prosthetic feet are due to the varying foot mounting methods used during non-destructive testing. A novel foot mounting method has been shown to overcome the limitations of the previous research. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the effect of the prostheses mechanical properties on running performance.


Biomedical image processing has experienced dramatic expansion, and has been an interdisciplinary research field attracting expertise from applied mathematics, computer sciences, engineering, statistics, physics, biology and medicine. Computeraided diagnostic processing has already become an important part of clinical routine. Accompanied by a rush of new development of high technology and use of various imaging modalities, more challenges arise; for example, how to process and analyze a significant volume of images so that high quality information can be produced for disease diagnoses and treatment. The principal objectives of this course are to provide an introduction to basic concepts and techniques for medical image processing and to promote interests for further study and research in medical imaging processing. We will introduce the Medical Image Processing and summarize related research work in this area and describe recent state-of-the-art techniques.


In this work, the survey of simuliid species and the study of their spatial distribution in four streams of a small watershed situated in Londrina, Paraná State, were carried out from January to October 2007. Changes in the species composition of the breeding sites were also checked along the sampling months. Seventeen black fly species were found, being Simulium botulibranchium Lutz, Simulium travassosi d'Andretta & d'Andretta, Simulium anamariae Vulcano, Simulium brachycladum Lutz & Pinto and Simulium metallicum s. l. Bellardi new records for Paraná State. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that the environmental variables most correlated to the species distribution among sample sites were water conductivity and those linked to physical dimensions of the breeding sites, like width, depth and water velocity. The matrix of faunistic similarity among collecting dates was negatively correlated to the time interval of sampling matrix for three of the water bodies studied, showing the existence of temporal changes in the species composition. According to Multiple Regression Analysis, temporal abundance variation of Simulium perflavum Roubaud, Simulium inaequale Paterson & Shannon and Simulium lutzianum s. l. Pinto was not linked to air temperature, photoperiod and rainfall, suggesting the influence of other factors, probably those directly associated to specific breeding site conditions. The results indicate that differences in physical and chemical characteristics among water bodies may affect the taxonomic composition of simuliids in this watershed.


This paper focuses on the practice of serial correlation correcting of the Linear Regression Model (LRM) by modeling the error. Simple Monte Carlo experiments are used to demonstrate the following points regarding this practice. First, the common factor restrictions implicitly imposed on the temporal structure of yt and xt appear to be completely unreasonable for any real world application. Second, when one compares the Autocorrelation-Corrected LRM (ACLRM) model estimates with estimates from the (unrestricted) Dynamic Linear Regression Model (DLRM) encompassing the ACLRM there is no significant gain in efficiency! Third, as expected, when the common factor restrictions do not hold the LRM model gives poor estimates of the true parameters and estimation of the ACLRM simply gives rise to different misleading results! On the other hand, estimates from the DLRM and the corresponding VAR model are very reliable. Fourth, the power of the usual Durbin Watson test (DW) of autocorrelation is much higher when the common factor restrictions do hold than when they do not. But, a more general test of autocorrelation is shown to perform almost as well as the DW when the common factor restrictions do hold and significantly better than the DW when the restrictions do not hold. Fifth, we demonstrate how simple it is to, at least, test the common factor restrictions imposed and we illustrate how powerful this test can be.


The classic buffer insertion algorithm of van Ginneken has time and space complexity O(n/sup 2/), where n is the number of possible buffer positions. For more than a decade, van Ginneken's algorithm has been the foundation of buffer insertion. In this paper, we present a new algorithm that computes the same optimal buffer insertion, but runs much faster. For 2-pin nets, our time complexity is O(nlogn) and space complexity is O(n). For multipin nets, our time complexity is O(nlog/sup 2/n) and space complexity is O(nlogn). The speedup is achieved by four novel techniques: predictive pruning, candidate tree, fast redundancy check, and fast merging. On industrial test cases, the new algorithms is 2-80 times faster than van Ginneken's algorithm and uses 1/4-1/500 of the memory. Since van Ginneken's algorithm and its variations are used by most existing algorithms on buffer insertion and buffer sizing, our new algorithm significantly improves the performance of all these algorithms. The predictive pruning technique has been applied to buffer cost minimization (Shi et al., 2004), and significantly improved the running time.


Upregulation of a T-Type Ca2+ Channel Causes a Long-Lasting Modification of Neuronal Firing Mode after Status Epilepticus Su H, Sochivko D, Becker A, Chen J, Jiang Y, Yaari Y, Beck H J Neurosci 2002;22:3645–3655 A single episode of status epilepticus (SE) causes numerous structural and functional changes in the brain that can lead to the development of a chronic epileptic condition. Most studies of this plasticity have focused on changes in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic properties. However, the intrinsic firing properties that shape the output of the neuron to a given synaptic input also may be persistently affected by SE. Thus 54% of CA1 pyramidal cells, which normally fire in a regular mode, are persistently converted to a bursting mode after an episode of SE induced by the convulsant pilocarpine. In this model, intrinsic bursts evoked by threshold-straddling depolarizations, and their underlying spike after depolarizations (ADPs), were resistant to antagonists of N-, P/Q-, or L-type Ca2+ channels but were readily suppressed by low (30–100 μM) concentrations of Ni2+ known to block T- and R-type Ca2+ channels. The density of T-type Ca2+ currents, but not of other pharmacologically isolated Ca2+ current types, was upregulated in CA1 pyramidal neurons after SE. The augmented T-type currents were sensitive to Ni2+ in the same concentration range that blocked the novel intrinsic bursting in these neurons (IC50 = 27 (μM). These data suggest that SE may persistently convert regular-firing cells to intrinsic bursters by selectively increasing the density of a Ni2+-sensitive T-type Ca2+ current. This nonsynaptic plasticity considerably amplifies the output of CA1 pyramidal neurons to synaptic inputs and most probably contributes to the development and expression of an epileptic condition after SE.


Filarial nematode parasite infections are endemic in developing countries of the Tropics. Collectively known as filariasis, these helminth parasite infections can occasionally induce gross inflammatory pathology in the infected host, however, more commonly, the host exhibits a somewhat suppressed non-inflammatory immune response to the parasite, permitting longevity of infection. Improved sanitation, increased use of antibiotics and vaccination has all but eradicated parasite infection in developed. Western society. Coincident with this improvement in hygiene, however, inflammatory autoimmune (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and allergic disease (e.g. asthma) has become more prevalent in these countries; a trend not observed in parasite-endemic countries. The hygiene hypothesis controversially proposes that these trends are directly associated, by predicting that insufficient exposure to pathogens in childhood results in development of an aberrant immune system that responds inappropriately to non-pathogenic stimuli as is manifested by allergy and/or autoimmunity. Thus, conversely, it has been proposed that exposure to parasite infection may prevent development of autoimmune and/or allergic diseases. Filarial nematodes secrete immunomodulatory excretory-secretory (ES) products into the host bloodstream, which act to modulate inflammatory host immune responses and thus, protect the parasite from elimination. ES-62, an immunomodulatory glycoprotein product of rodent filarial nematode, Acanthocheilonema viteae, has previously been shown to modulate the responses of several immune cell types to promote an anti-inflammatory immune response in vitro and in vivo. Thus, it was hypothesised that ES-62 may exhibit anti-inflammatory potential in models of inflammatory disease prevalent in the Western world. Indeed, in a collagen-induced model of rheumatoid arthritis (CIA) ES-62 treatment induced amelioration of inflammation. Furthermore, this effect was mediated when ES-62 was administered before or after the onset of clinically detectable inflammation. In Chapter 3 of this thesis, progress towards dissection of the mechanisms of action of ES-62 in the CIA model was made, by analysing the role of phosphorylcholine (PC), a component of ES-62 and several other immunomodulatory pathogen-derived products. Utilising a TH2 mediated ovalbumin (OVA)-induced model of allergic airway inflammation (such as that exhibited in asthma), it was determined that treatment with ES-62 during or after the onset of disease reduced peri-bronchial inflammation and airway eosinophilia (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, prophylactic ES-62 treatment of MRL/lpr mice was demonstrated to inhibit development of nephritis and articular inflammation, two pathologies commonly associated with SLE in humans. It was demonstrated in Chapter 6 that A. suum-derived GSL inhibited the response of DC to LPS, evidenced by a reduction in LPS- induced cytokine production and upregulation of cell surface co-stimulatory molecules. In Chapter 7, it was demonstrated that 2S seed albumins, SFA 8 and Ber e 1, which exhibited distinct allergenic properties also mediated distinct effects on DC functions in vitro. It was concluded that allergenic proteins can also mediate their effects via modulation of DC in susceptible individuals. In summary, the novel findings presented in this thesis support the theory that parasite infection may be protective against development of autoimmune and allergic inflammatory diseases prevalent in developed society. Furthermore, this protective effect may be facilitated by the immunomodulatory actions of parasite-derived, PC-containing ES products. Thus, via modulation of the function of innate antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, immunomodulatory molecules are capable of manipulating the action of immune system as a whole. This discovery draws attention to a highly evolved anti-inflammatory mechanism employed by parasites, which could potentially be exploited to design therapy for human inflammatory diseases of today. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


In recent years there has been a growing interest in the impact of co-operative union‐management relations on firm performance and organizational outcomes such as employee turnover and absenteeism. This paper seeks to identify the factors that affect the development of a co-operative industrial relations climate and analyses the effects of that climate on organizational and union allegiance and on employee attendance behaviour. The data are drawn from a study of a large automotive manufacturer in Australia. The results indicate that a positive union‐management relationship is associated with higher levels of work attendance. Moreover, this outcome is consistent with the presence of strong and effective unionism at the workplace.


For the purpose of carrying on studies on presbycusis from clinical standpoint the author conducted precise examinations of 137 cases over 40 years old visiting the Okayama National Hospital by conducting various systemic examinations, audiometry, electroencephalogram and automatic audiometry in some. In the pilot study, by classifying the hearing-loss into five new steps and by pursuing the relationship between the hearing in old age and various functions of different organs, the author odtained the following results. 1. The majority of hearing-loss show high tone-loss, and in the age range of forty and fifty years the disorders are more frequeutly of a mild degree, showing no marked difference in the two groups. However, in the age over 60 years these disorders increase in intensity and iu the age over 70 years this tends to become quite marked. 2. The aortensclerosis (as revealed by roentgenograms), urine protein content, and arteriosclerosis of retina are more frequently pathological along with the progress of hearing-loss clinicaly suggesting the relationship between the hearing disorders in old age and arteriosclerosis. 3. No relationship can be recognized between the hearing-loss and snch findings as the systemic blood pressures, blood pressure of fundus, the ratio detween the systemic blood pressure and that of fundus, cold pressure test, renal function, urine sugar content, heart muscle disturbances as revealed by electrocardiogram and hypertensive changes in the fundus, 4. The majority of the hearing type belong to abrupt type of high tone-loss, followed in the descending order of gradual type, horizontal type and dip type. In the age over 60 years the gradual type tends to increase as compared with the age range in forty and fifty years. In examining 38 cases with presbycusis out of those examined in the part Ⅰ by means of automatic audiometer, the author studied mainly the amplitude in the automatic audiogram, and odtained the following results. Moreover, the classification of the amplitude in the 26 ears of normal adults is divided into the amplitude decreasing type under 4 db, normal type between 5 db to 17 db, and the amplitude increasing type over 18 db. 1. Those showing the amplitude decreasing type amounted to 23 cases (60.5%); normal type 12 cases (31.5%); and the amplitude increasing type 3 cases (7.9%); and the majority of the amplitude decreasing type showed the decrease in the high tone area. 2. The amplitude decreasing type was found mostly in those with mild disorders, and it decreased along with the progress in hearing disorders. 3. The amplitude decreasing type was found mostly in high: while the increasing type in the abrupt type of high-tone-loss, gradual type and in the horirizontal type. 4. The amplitude decreasing type decreased, though slightly, along with the advance in age. 5. The tinnitus had no special association with the amplitude in the audiogram. 6. The amplitude decreasing type decreased along with the advance in the degrees of arteriosclerosis of retina and hypertensive changes. In the electroencephalographic examinations of 130 cases previously mentioned in the Part Ⅰ, the author studied the relationship between the electroencephalogram and the hearing in old age, and obtained the following results: 1. (Irregularity in) the wave legnth and the amplitude of α-wave as well as the breakdown in the wave fomation are revealed more markedly along with the advance in the hearingloss. 2. Of the abnormal waves, slow wave and spike appear in a direct proportion to the degree of hearing-loss. 3. As the hearing-loss in the age range of forty and fifty years are milder, the same holds true of the changes in electroencephalogram in the majority of cases. In the age range over sixty years both tend to be more marked. 4. Most of those belonging to the amplitude decreasing type reveal a milder degree of electroencephalographic changes,


The problem of position estimation from time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements occurs in a range of applications from wireless communication networks to electronic warfare positioning. Correlation analysis of the transmitted signal to two receivers gives rise to one hyperbolic function. With more than two receivers, we can compute more hyperbolic functions, which ideally intersect in one unique point. With TDOA measurement uncertainty, we face a non-linear estimation problem. We suggest and compare a Monte Carlo based method for positioning and a gradient search algorithm using a nonlinear least squares framework. The former has the feature of being easily extended to a dynamic framework where a motion model of the transmitter is included. A small simulation study is presented.


intensity on the external actions have been found in static experiment. This enabled us to obtain dynamic control of laser characteristics: periodical sweeping of oscillation frequency and cavity Qswitch operation when the laser emits regular spikes at rates up to 50 kHz or giant pulses. The performed experiments have shown as well the possibilities of obtaining mode-locking operation in a fiber laser and, in particular, kinematic mode-locking. Fiber-cavity lasers can find application in optical data transmission and processing systems as sensors of mechanical, thermal, and some other physical quantities and in studies of fiber mode properties.  (13 min) 1. R. T. Hawkins, H. Egger. J. Bokor, and C. K. Rhodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 36, 391 (1980). 2. H. Egger, T. Srinivasan, K. Hohla, H. Scheingraber, C. R. Vidal, H. Pummer, and C. K. Rhodes, A Tunable, Ufrahigh Spectral Brightness ArF * Excimer Laser Source, to be published. 3. H. Egger, R. T. Hawkins, J. Bokor, H. Pummer, M. Rothschild. and C. K. Rhodes, Opt. Lett. 5, 282 (1980). 4. M. Rothschild. H. Egger, R. T. Hawkins, J. Bokor, H. Pummer, and C. K. Rhodes, Phys. Rev. A: 23, 206 (1981). 5. H. Puell, H. Scheingraber, and C. R. Vidal, Phys. Rev. A: 22, 1165 (1980). 6. J. Berkowitz, Photoabsorption, Photoionization and Photoelectron Spectroscopy (Academic, New York, 1979). 7. D. W. Lynch, in Synchrotron Radiation, C. Kunz, Ed. (Springer, Berlin, 1979), p. 357.


In all scienti c domains causality plays a signi cant role. This study focused on evaluating and re ning e cient algorithms to learn causal relationships from observational data. Evaluation of learned causal output is di cult, due to lack of a gold standard in real-world domains. Therefore, we used simulated data from a known causal network in a medical domain|the Alarm network. For causal discovery we used three variants of the Local Causal Discovery (LCD) algorithms, that are referred to as LCDa, LCDb and LCDc. These algorithms use the framework of causal Bayesian Networks to represent causal relationships among model variables. LCDa, LCDb and LCDc take as input a dataset and a partial node ordering, and output purported causes of the form variable Y causally in uences variable Z. Using the simulated Alarm dataset as input, LCDa had a false positive rate of 0.09, LCDb 0.08, and LCDc 0.04. All the algorithms had a true positive rate of about 0.27. Most of the false positives occurred when a causal relationship was confounded. LCDc output as causal only those causally confounded pairs that had very weak confounding. We identify and discuss the causally confounded relationships that often seem to induce false positive results.


Endothelin has previously been localised in perivascular nerves of the rat basilar artery. Considering its potent vasoconstrictor and mitogenic properties on vascular smooth muscle, the potential role of a neural source of this peptide in hypertension has been investigated. The trigeminal, superior cervical and sphenopalatine ganglia of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at 16 weeks of age have been examined for immunolocalisation of endothelin at the light and electron microscope level. At the light microscope level, neurones immunopositive for endothelin were detected in these ganglia of the SHR but were not seen in ganglia from WKY rats. This difference was particularly marked in the trigeminal ganglia where endothelin-positive neurones colocalised with substance P immunoreactivity. Using in situ hybridisation techniques, endothelin-1 mRNA was localised to the cytoplasm of neurones in the ganglia and was more prominent in the SHR. At the electron microscope level, endothelin-immunoreactivity was localised at the peripheral perikarya of some neuronal cell bodies of the trigeminal, superior cervical and sphenopalatine ganglia of WKY rats but was more prominent with heavy labelling throughout the cytoplasm of neurones in the SHR. Notably, in the trigeminal ganglia of the SHR only, some endothelin-immunopositive nerve fibres appeared to be damaged and contained vacuoles with granular material. Ultrastructural examination of the basilar artery revealed an increased number of endothelin-positive axons in the SHR, but these axons usually showed selective damage. In summary, in the SHR, there was a marked increase in endothelin particularly in sensory neurones projecting to the basilar artery which also appear to be undergoing degenerative changes. An increased neural source of endothelin in the SHR may contribute to the development of hypertension or may be a consequence of selective degenerative change.


Pop goes the coccus Daughter cell separation in Staphylococcus aureus proceeds much like the cracking of an egg. So say Zhou et al., who examined dividing cells with millisecond precision using high-speed videomicroscopy. Rather than proceeding gradually, tiny imperfections in the mother cell wall were seen to crack open, leaving two daughter cells linked by a hinge. Science, this issue p. 574 Daughter cell separation in Staphylococcus aureus proceeds much like the cracking of an egg. When Staphylococcus aureus undergoes cytokinesis, it builds a septum, generating two hemispherical daughters whose cell walls are only connected via a narrow peripheral ring. We found that resolution of this ring occurred within milliseconds ("popping"), without detectable changes in cell volume. The likelihood of popping depended on cell-wall stress, and the separating cells split open asymmetrically, leaving the daughters connected by a hinge. An elastostatic model of the wall indicated high circumferential stress in the peripheral ring before popping. Last, we observed small perforations in the peripheral ring that are likely initial points of mechanical failure. Thus, the ultrafast daughter cell separation in S. aureus appears to be driven by accumulation of stress in the peripheral ring and exhibits hallmarks of mechanical crack propagation.


Woman, a being forgotten by history, finds ways to situate herself in a reality that never allows her to exist. The feminists' fight to end men's determination of women's fate becomes a frequent theme of conversations in our time. But rarely do the feminists seek for answers in the way women shape epistemic claims. Rather they busy themselves in fighting for women's political recognition, discounting the fact that the first step to win that fight is to understand women. The institution of woman's identity in human discourses is a significant element in successfully taking part in the affairs of humanity. Thus, constructing one's identity also means taking hold of one's rights, and it is for this very reason that the study of women's knowledge production becomes an urgent endeavor.


We demonstrate the use of gold nanorods as molecularly targeted contrast agents for two-photon luminescence (TPL) imaging of cancerous cells 150 µm deep inside a tissue phantom. We synthesized gold nanorods of 50 nm x 15 nm size with a longitudinal surface plasmon resonance of 760 nm. Gold nanorods were conjugated to antibodies against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and labeled to A431 human epithelial skin cancer cells in a collagen matrix tissue phantom. Using a 1.4 NA oil immersion objective lens, we found that excitation power needed for similar emission intensity in TPL imaging of labeled cells was up to 64 times less than that needed for two-photon autofluorescence (TPAF) imaging of unlabeled cells, which would correspond to a more than 4,000 times increase in emission intensity under equal excitation energy. However, the aberrations due to refractive index mismatch of the immersion oil and the sample limit imaging depth to 75 µm. Using a 0.95 NA water immersion objective lens, we observe robust two-photon emission signal from gold nanorods in the tissue phantoms from at depths of up to 150 µm. Furthermore, the increase in excitation energy required to maintain a constant emission signal intensity as imaging depth was increased was the same in both labeled and unlabeled phantom, suggesting that at the concentrations used, the addition of gold nanorods did not appreciably increase the bulk scattering coefficient of the sample. The remarkable TPL brightness of gold nanorods in comparison to TPAF signal makes them an attractive contrast agent for early detection of cutaneous melanoma.


Second-metacyclic finite 2-groups are finite 2-groups with some non-metacyclic maximal subgroup and with all second-maximal subgroups being metacyclic. According to a known result there are only four non-metacyclic finite 2-groups with all maximal subgroups being metacyclic. The groups pointed in the title should contain some of these groups as a subgroup of index 2. There are seventeen second-maximal finite 2-groups, four among them being of order 16, ten of order 32 and three of order 64.


The open circuit voltage (VOC) plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of organic solar cells. Models of the VOC based on (i) the energy difference between the LUMO of the acceptor material and the HOMO of the donor material at the heterointerface and (ii) chemical potential gradient which depends on the carrier mobility in a bilayer cell, are inadequate to understand the exact origin of the VOC. In this review article, the VOC in various planar and non-planar metal phthalocyanine/C60 solar cells are analyzed. These results are compared in CuPc/C60 and SubPc/C60 solar cells as a representative case of the planar and non-planar metal phthalocyanine/C60 solar cells, respectively. Regardless of unfavorable characteristics of SubPc films, the VOC value of 0.92 to 0.98V in SubPc (13 nm)/C60 (33 - 32.5 nm) compared to 0.44 to 0.49V in CuPc (20 - 40 nm)/C60 (40 - 30 nm) solar cells was noticed. It is suggested that the structure, morphology, and absorption properties of the evaporated film of the donor materials and the efficient separation of charges at the donor/acceptor interface in bilayer planar and non-planar metal phthalocyanine/C60 solar cells are also imperative in determining the VOC. Copyright © 2011 VBRI press.


Tris(p-sulfoanilino)triazine (TSAT), readily prepared from the reaction of sulfanilic acid and cyanuric chloride, as a cheap and commercially available reagents, can be used as an easily reusable catalyst for one-pot condensation of 2-naphtholwith aldehydes to construct dibenzoxanthene derivatives under solvent-free conditions.Avariety of techniques including Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclearmagnetic resonance (NMR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize this solid acid catalyst. Simple and easy work-up, low cost, green process, short reaction times and excellent yields of the products are the advantages of this procedure. The catalyst was recovered by simple filtration and used several times with high catalytic activity.


Standing in front of a mostly white audience at the Second Sex Conference held in New York City on September 29, 1979, the black feminist Audre Lorde offered a searing critique of white feminists for using what she called "the master's tools." Lorde argued that whether self-consciously or not, white feminists were reproducing patriarchal forms of oppression by using old conceptual tools, only now directed toward women who do not fit the dominant straight, white middle-class model of being a woman—that is, "those who stand outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women . . . those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older."2 Several years later, and building on Lorde's critique, the poet and author Alice Walker proposed the concept of "womanism" as a way of getting at the particular role that women of color can, and should play in the making of "a world in which we can all flourish."3


Electric fields have been used in the processing of thin film, liquid crystal thermosets to produce cured network structures selectively oriented either parallel or perpendicular to a film substrate. Orientation, which depends on both the liquid crystal nature of the thermosets and their dielectric anisotropy, is selected by varying the frequency of the alternating electric field and is locked into a robust network structure by a cross-linking reaction that takes place concurrent with orientation. Structural changes and orientation during the curing reaction were measured in real time with synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Diffraction studies show that, before curing in a modest electric field of 1 volt per micrometer, reorientation can be induced by changing, for example, from a high-frequency (>1000 hertz) to a low-frequency (<50 hertz) electric field, which causes a 90-degree flip in the molecular orientation.


A novel Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, vibrio-shaped, anaerobic, alkaliphilic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain PAR22NT, was isolated from sediment samples collected at an alkaline crater lake in Guanajuato (Mexico). Strain PAR22NT grew at temperatures between 15 and 37 °C (optimum, 32 °C), at pH between pH 8.3 and 10.1 (optimum, pH 9.0-9.6), and in the presence of NaCl up to 10 %. Pyruvate, 2-methylbutyrate and fatty acids (4-18 carbon atoms) were used as electron donors in the presence of sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor and were incompletely oxidized to acetate and CO2. Besides sulfate, both sulfite and elemental sulfur were also used as terminal electron acceptors and were reduced to sulfide. The predominant fatty acids were summed feature 10 (C18 : 1  ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω9t and/or C18 : 1 ω12t), C18 : 1  ω9c and C16 : 0. The genome size of strain PAR22NT was 3.8 Mb including 3391 predicted genes. The genomic DNA G+C content was 49.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that it belongs to the genus Desulfobotulus within the class Deltaproteobacteria. Its closest phylogenetic relatives are Desulfobotulus alkaliphilus (98.4 % similarity) and Desulfobotulus sapovorans (97.9 % similarity). Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, we propose that the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Desulfobotulus with the name Desulfobotulus mexicanus sp. nov. The type strain is PAR22NT (=DSM 105758T=JCM 32146T).


Three 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) degrading bacterial strains DNB19, DNB20 and DNB21 isolated from herbicide/dioxin contaminated soil in former military base in Danang were compared by BOX-PCR fingerprint technique and sequence analysis a part of 16S rRNA gene. Although there are few differences on conoly morphology, three these strains are identity on sequence 16S rRNA gene (550 bp) as well as ADN patterns of BOX-PCR products. The result of sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes shown that three strains DNB19, DNB20 and DNB21 had high similar to bacterial strains in genus Arthrobacter . Based on the morphological features and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, three strains DNB19, DNB20 and DNB21 should be belong to genus Arthrobacter and named as Arthrobacter sp. DNB19, Arthrobacter sp. DNB20 and Arthrobacter sp. DNB21. The strain DNB19 was selected to study the present of cadA and tfdA genes involved in the first step of 2,4-D degradation pathways. The sequence of a part of cadA and CadA hypotherical amino acid in DNB19 shown highest levels to cadA (93%) and CadA (97%) from Sphingomonas sp. B6-10. The sequence of a part of tfdA and TfdA hypotherical amino acid in DNB19 shown highest levels to tfdA (94%) from Burkholderia sp. RASC, Burkholderia sp. Ff54, Ralstonia sp. Y103 and TfdA from Burkholderia sp. RASC (96%), Delftia acidovorans P4a (95%). The sequence of CadA hypotherical amino acid in DNB19 also shown similarlity 48% to TftA from 2,4,5-T degrading bacterium


Background: The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze the available scientific evidence of the impact of seasonality on physical activity (PA). PA refers to walking, biking, sports and/or active recreation. Methods: The search was performed in the following databases: PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane and Embase. All publications from January 2015 to September 2020 assessing seasonal variations on physical activity development in adults were selected. Results: A total of 1159 articles were identified, of which 26 fulfilled the selection criteria involving 9300 participants from 18 different countries. The results obtained suggest that seasonality affects PA independently of the countries, pathologies of the participants and the tool to collect PA information. Conclusions: PA level varies across the seasons, with higher PA level in summer compared with other seasons, especially in winter. Sedentary behavior follows the opposite trend. Impact of seasonality variations should be considered in clinical research involving PA as a primary outcome as well as in interventions on PA promotion.


Limpopo provincial departments like all other South African government departments are required to report on performance against predetermined objectives in terms of Section 40 of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999, read in conjunction with Section 5.1.1 of the Treasury Regulations. The purpose of this article is to report on a study that was undertaken to establish the challenges faced by the Limpopo provincial departments in reporting on performance against predetermined objectives to the Auditor-General (AG). Reporting on predetermined objectives has been a challenge over the past financial years and this is evident in the AG's reports, in which Limpopo provincial departments continued to receive qualified audit reports. The literature review carried out for purposes of this study revealed that performance management is fundamental to enhancing organisational performance. A qualitative research design was used to collect and analyse data. Key findings of the study included that management should prioritise strategic planning, performance reporting, monitoring and evaluation to enable it to be in a position to make a determination as to whether what was planned by the department was actually realised. It is also of paramount importance that performance reporting is highly prioritised at strategic, tactical and operational management meetings to ensure more effective and efficient organisational performance.


A small traction drive that diverted a tapered roller bearing was developed for trial purposes, and the performance was evaluated. We expect that gears as a small transmission cause some problems with decrease of their size, deterioration of accuracy on hobbing, grinding, and heat treatment, tooth profile and lead measurement method and their accuracy, decreasing permissible transmission torque and so on. Authors developed the small size transmission system named a micro traction drive in consideration of these situations. Micro traction drive is a transmission by using of modified rolling bearings in so much transmitted power 70W. The traction force is easily generated by pre-load between inner race and outer race as thrust force. The driving force is transmitted by the contact of retainer combined output shaft with the rolling element in rotating direction. Authors reported on the traction drive that based on the angular contact ball bearing with retainer as an output shaft, and it has succeeded in the deceleration from a super-high velocity revolution about the 2-stage micro traction drive. However the micro traction drive based on the angular contact ball bearing is easy to drive at high speed, the risk of seizure increase along with torque because the contact area between retainer and rolling element is in condition with point contact and pure sliding. Authors developed a micro traction drive, which can transmit larger torque using tapered roller bearing with line contact between retainer and rolling element, and operating behaviours were compared under large torque conditions. As a result, tapered roller bearing type micro traction drive transmits torque bigger than 1.5 or more times of angular ball bearing type micro traction drive after taking consideration for difference of outer diameter. Efficiency was also satisfactory at 80%∼90%. The contact surface of roller, retainer, inner race and outer race was good after operation, and so we report that possibility of utilization of a micro traction drive using tapered roller bearing.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Contact frequency and duration estimates between individuals are important to understanding the behavioral ecology of wildlife species and the epidemiology of infectious diseases. A new technology uses proximity data loggers to record time and duration of contacts. We conducted an experiment at Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, located near Babcock, Wisconsin (USA) to compare probabilities of detecting intraspecific contacts among white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) maternal pairs (dams/fawns) based on detections from proximity loggers deployed on collars versus those obtained from direct observation. We defined 5 discrete probabilities of detection of a contact in terms of P (probability of detection by a single proximity logger) and V (probability of detection by visual observer) and estimated P and V by minimizing the Kullback-Liebler distance between distributions of theoretical probabilities and observed distributions in experimental data. We used parametric jackknifing to estimate means and variances for P and V. Mean estimates of P and V were 0.64 (95% CI ¼ 0.62-0.67) and 0.34 (0.32-0.35), respectively. Estimates of P and V enabled the calculation of the probability that an encounter was undetected by both proximity loggers and the visual observer, which was 0.09 (95% CI ¼ 0.073-0.094). Estimates of P and V provide estimates of nondetection bias for future studies that use proximity loggers to estimate frequencies of encounters and help quantify the usefulness of this technology relative to visual observation. Management concerns such as chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis could be better understood and addressed by using proximity loggers because they are better able to quantify close contact than conventional methods such as radiotelemetry or Global Positioning System telemetry. 2011 The Wildlife Society.


On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta and swept across the region toward Yangon. By the time the storm had passed, it had killed over 140,000 people, tearing apart families, destroying homes, and shattering livelihoods. In the months and years following Nargis,communities, supported by the national and international aid community, worked to rebuild their lives and repair the devastation that the cyclone had caused. Homes were rebuilt, paddy field walls repaired, and new fishing boats purchased. However, even as the process of recovery inched forward, villagers have had to contend with new and diverse shocks and changes that have both enabled and slowed their efforts to rebuild. Among others, climate change has led to unpredictable weather, hampering livelihoods, while the migration boom to Yangon and elsewhere has provided economic opportunity even as it has altered the local social fabric. These more recent issues have had a complex inter-relationship with changes wrought by Nargis. As time has passed, they have become the primary concern of most villages studied by the social impacts monitoring (SIM) research. But the long-term effects of Nargis remain visible, combining with newer issues to create new challenges,exacerbate old problems, and, in some cases, even hasten the recovery process. By focusing on a panel of 40 Nargis-affected villages across time, five rounds of SIM have been able to track how village life has changed both post-Nargis and, in more recent years, as villagers faced both new challenges and continued recovery from Nargis. This fifth round of SIM (SIM 5) provides a snapshot of village economic and social life in 2017 and analyzes change over more than nine years since Nargis. It assesses three main areas: (i) This focus area examines the conditions of livelihoods and the local socioeconomy in the context of Nargis' destruction and the evolving context of the rural economy across Myanmar over the past five years. It looks at the three main livelihood groups (farmers, fishers, and landless laborers) and at key issues such as debt, land, and housing and local infrastructure; (ii) This area assesses how communities have dealt with both the long-term social upheaval caused by Nargis and the more recent (but no less dramatic) changes that have accompanied Myanmar's political and economic transition; (iii) New to this round of SIM, the final analytical focus area identifies what recovery and resilience mean for households and communities in the Ayeyarwady Delta, what factors are most important in the recovery process and in building resilience, and to what extent villagers have had and have the capacity to develop both; SIM 5 placed particular emphasis on understanding change over time, both since 2013 (when the SIM 4 research was conducted) and prior to Cyclone Nargis. As much as possible, SIM 5 draws causal links between exogenous events (such as cyclones, other natural disasters, political change, and national economic development) and household and community actions.


It is well noticed that hydrogen promotes catalyst activity in Cr/PNP-catalyzed ethylene tetramerization, but the mechanism of this boost is unclear. A density functional theory (DFT) study devoted to exploring this effect was conducted, and conformation changes were carefully taken into consideration to build a clear reaction pathway. Three components in the catalytic cycle was examined in detail: the production of 1-hexene from the metallacycloheptane, the production of 1-octene from met-allacyclononane, and the formation of active center on the catalyst. The result indicates that the formation of active center on the catalyst becomes more favorable upon imposition of hydrogen, where hydrogen function as a second ligand. This easing effect could be the key factor leading to the outperformed catalyst activity.


Field experiments were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to investigate the effect of irrigation method on populations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and natural enemies in cotton fields in Aydin Province, Turkey. Two irrigation methods, sprinkler and border, were studied each year. All plots were irrigated during different phenological periods including initial bloom, boll initiation, 50% boll filling and 5-10% boll opening stages. Irrigation methods and periods significantly affected whitefly populations. Densities of B. tabaci were significantly reduced in sprinkler-irrigated plots compared to border-irrigated plots in 2000 but not in 1999. Irrigation methods did not affect the population of natural enemies. However, significant differences in numbers of natural enemies were observed among irrigation periods. Natural enemies were most abundant during the second irrigation period when whiteflies were also most abundant. These results suggest that sprinkler irrigation may be useful in cotton fields as a management practice for whitefly without reducing natural enemy populations.


financial crisis is believed as the worst during the history. Many says that neither this is the first and nor the last. The discussions on the background are still on progress. Howover, some causes are indicated to be responsible for the crisis such as strategic complementarities, leverage, asset-liquidity mismatch, regulatory failure, fraud, contagion effect, and lack of liquidity. Without ignoring those factors, according to sharia economics view there are other causes contribute to the current crisis such as involving interest (or riba in general), gharar, maysir, and tadlis in mainstream global financial transactions. Furthermore, bad modern human lifestyles such as debt-based transactions also play an important role to cause the crisis. This article is an attempt to discuss this problem from Islamic economic approach. It would suggest some ideas to prevent any kind of financial crisis in the future. They are ereasing financial operations involving riba, gharar, maysir, and tadlis in financial transactions, promoting equity financing, strengthening small business enterprises, aligning financial and real sectors, and revitalization of gold dinar.


This study aimed to compare the perceived facial profile attractiveness of borderline class I malocclusion patients after simulated first premolar extraction and non-extraction orthodontic treatment from the perspective of Iranian orthodontists, general dentists and laypersons. Seven borderline class I patients were chosen and the outcome of orthodontic treatment with and without extraction of the four premolars was simulated using lateral cephalograms. Images showing the outcomes of extraction and non-extraction treatments were placed next to each other pairwise and were shown to 12 Iranian orthodontists, 10 general dentists and 21 laypersons. The observers were asked to score the images as 0 (least attractive) and 10 (most attractive) the data were analyzed by ANOVA statistical analysis. The results demonstrated that the orthodontists did not observe any difference in the profile attractiveness between extraction and non-extraction treatments however, the general dentists and laypersons found the non-extraction profile more attractive. There was a significant difference between the three observer groups regarding the profile attractiveness. The present study may assist in understanding the demands of orthodontic patients to further meet their esthetic expectations.


Heat management in thermoelectric and power devices as well as in random access memories poses a grand challenge and can make the difference between a working and an abandoned device design. Despite the prevalence of dislocations in all these technologies, the modeling of their thermal resistance is based on 50-year-old analytical approximations, whose simplicity was driven by practical limitations rather than physical insight. We introduce an efficient ab initio approach based on Green's functions computed by two-dimensional reciprocal space integration. By combining elasticity theory and density functional theory, we calculate the scattering strength of a 90◦ misfit edge dislocation in Si. Because of the breakdown of the Born approximation, earlier literature models fail, even qualitatively. We find that a dislocation density larger than 109 cm−2 is necessary to substantially influence thermal conductivity at room temperature and above. We quantify how much of the reduction of thermal conductivity measured in nanograined samples can be explained by realistic dislocation concentrations.