The effect of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on a cerebral artery was investigated in anesthetized dogs. Intracisternal administration of IL-1β (0.03 and 0.3 μg) dilated the canine basilar artery in a dose-dependent manner, without affecting systemic blood pressure or heart rate. The increase in diameter induced by 0.3 μg of IL-1β was 28.4% ± 13.4% of control at 2 hours and was inhibited by 30 μg of the IL-1β receptor antagonist, zinc protoporphyrin (4.5% ± 13.5%, P < 0.05). Interleukin-1β did not affect the concentration of nitric oxide metabolites in CSF. However, there was an increase in the concentration of eicosanoids in CSF, and the elevation of 6-keto-PGF1α paralleled the vasodilation. Pretreatment with 30 μg of the selective inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitor NS-398 also inhibited the IL-1β-induced vasodilation significantly (5.9% ± 9.4% at 2 hours, P < 0.01). Western blot analysis revealed the expression of a 68-kD COX-2-like protein in basilar artery extracts. These findings suggest that the IL-1β-induced vasodilator effect is linked to the prostaglandin cascade, predominantly to prostaglandin I2, by induction of COX-2, but not to the stimulation of nitric oxide metabolism.


In this study we performed the sequence and phylogenetic analysis of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus isolates recovered from natural disease outbreaks in goats of central India. A total of 58 clinical samples comprised of blood, nasal/oral/rectal swabs were collected from 3 natural PPR disease outbreaks. The samples were tested by using N protein based MAb based sandwich ELISA (sELISA) and subsequently RT-PCR targeting Fusion (F) and Nucleoprotein (N) genes of PPR virus. The F and N gene specific PCR amplicons were sequenced and assessed for sequence variations with existing and circulating PPR virus strains and vaccine isolates. The results of this study presents PPR virus antigen in 48.27% clinical samples (28/58) using sELISA confirming this outbreak of PPR in goats. Amplification with primers F1/F2 for F gene yielded an expected amplicon of 372 bp and N1/N2 primer sets yielded an amplicon of 463 bp for N gene in reference vaccine virus as well as 28 field samples. In phylogeny, different patterns of branching based on N and F gene sequences and clustering of many of the central Indian PPR virus isolates with isolates from bordering countries was seen. The results confirm that heterogeneous population of PPR virus isolates is circulating in India which moreover emphasize the significance of molecular methods to understand the epidemiology and diversity of PPR virus in the country. The information from such studies will help in achieving the target of controlling and eradicating the disease, especially when the country is planning to launch the control programs in many states after the successful stamping out of the Rinderpest.


Backscatter Communication (BackCom), which is based on passive reflection and modulation of an incident radio-frequency (RF) wave, has emerged as a cutting-edge technological paradigm for self-sustainable Internet-of-things (IoT). Nevertheless, contemporary BackCom systems are limited to short-range and low data rate applications only, rendering them insufficient on their own to support pervasive connectivity among the massive number of IoT devices. Meanwhile, wireless networks are rapidly evolving toward the smart radio paradigm. In this regard, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have come to the forefront to transform the wireless propagation environment into a fully controllable and customizable space in a cost-effective and energy-efficient manner. Targeting the sixth-generation (6G) horizon, we anticipate the integration of RISs into BackCom systems as a new frontier for enabling 6G IoT networks. In this article, for the first time in the open literature, we provide a tutorial overview of RIS-assisted BackCom (RIS-BackCom) systems. Specifically, we introduce the three different variants of RIS-BackCom and identify the potential improvements that can be achieved by incorporating RISs into BackCom systems. In addition, owing to the unrivaled effectiveness of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), we present a case study on a RIS-assisted NOMA-enhanced BackCom system. Finally, we outline the way forward for translating this disruptive concept into real-world applications.


The lymphocyte proliferation is multicomponent mechanism of immune system reactivity. Many costimulatory factors take part in this process. Proinflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL-1 alpha and beta) enhance proliferation of activated lymphocytes. Female steroid hormones inhibit proliferation of mitogen and alloantigen-activated lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of progesterone and 17 beta-estradiol on the costimulatory proliferative activity of proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. Female steroid hormones inhibit lymphocyte response to antiCD3 antibody. Progesterone had a stronger effect than 17 beta-estradiol (64 and 13% of inhibition respectively). 17 beta-estradiol enhanced the TNF costimulatory effect on the lymphocyte proliferation. Progesterone neutralized this TNF-induced effect and reverted it (inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation was enhanced in the presence of TNF). We found dominant inhibitory effect of progesterone on the TNF costimulatory activity when progesterone and estrogen were added simultaneously. Progesterone and 17 beta-estradiol downregulated costimulatory proliferative activity of IL-1 alpha or beta. Thus female steroid hormones had suppressive effect on the antiCD3-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation. They downregulated costimulatory proliferative activity of IL-1 alpha/beta and had opposite effect on TNF costimulatory activity. Our results suggest possible roles female steroid hormones as regulators on activity of proinflammatory cytokines and their functions in lymphocyte proliferation.


Animal behavior is largely driven by the information that animals are able to extract and process from their environment. However, the function and organization of sensory systems often change throughout ontogeny, particularly in animals that undergo indirect development. As an initial step toward investigating these ontogenetic changes at the molecular level, we characterized the sensory gene repertoire and examined the expression profiles of genes linked to vision and chemosensation in two life stages of an insect that undertakes a dramatic metamorphosis, the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Using RNA-seq, we compared gene expression in the heads of late fifth instar larvae and newly-eclosed adults that were reared under identical conditions. Over 50% of all expressed genes were differentially expressed between the two developmental stages, with 4,046 genes upregulated in larval heads and 4,402 genes upregulated in adult heads. In larvae, upregulated vision-related genes were biased toward those involved with eye development, while phototransduction genes dominated the vision genes that were upregulated in adults. Moreover, the majority of the chemosensory genes we identified in the B. anynana genome were differentially expressed between larvae and adults, several of which share homology with genes linked to pheromone detection, host plant recognition, and foraging in other species of Lepidoptera. These results reveal promising candidates for furthering our understanding of sensory processing and behavior in the disparate developmental stages of butterflies and other animals that undergo metamorphosis.


Several baseball and softball physical properties relate directly or indirectly to the risk of head injury, namely size, weight, hardness, and liveliness. Rule book specifications for the official game balls in baseball and Softball specify the size and weight. Ball liveliness is sometimes specified. This study has evaluated the effects of ball hardness and liveliness on the risk of head injury in impact studies with humanoid head models, rigid head forms, and actual cadaver impact tests. The Severity Index (SI) and Head Injury Criteria (HIC) were both measured over a wide range of ball hardness and impact speeds. The risk of head injury was determined using the Prasad-Mertz risk curves. The results reveal a very strong relationship between ball hardness and head injury risk, ranging from 80% risk at 28.6 m/s (60 mph) for popular hard baseballs and softballs, down to 1% risk for softer balls now being used in some youth league programs. The cadaver impact tests confirmed that the humanoid head model and Severity Index injury criteria are well suited for the prediction of head injury risk for highly focal (concentrated in small area) blows from baseballs and softballs to the side of the unprotected head. Field test injury statistics show that the use of softer type baseballs in youth league play can reduce the incidence of ball impact injuries by about 70%.


The decrease in number and area of managed hay-meadows over the last century, in combination with the reduction of traditional management, threatens the biodiversity connected to these habitats. I experimentally examined how management intensity affected meadow characteristics and long-term population viability of three vascular plant species in wooded hay-meadows on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. I discovered that intensified management (extra raking and/or extra mowing) reduced the amount of litter and biomass, even in well-managed meadows. The effects of intensified management on population growth rate varied among species. Deterministic demographic models revealed that intensified management increased population growth rate in Succisa pratensis. Stochastic modelling confirmed this; all meadows displayed larger projected population sizes 50 years into the future with intensified management. Polygala amarella responded with lower growth rates in raked plots, a consequence of the plant's morphology, which makes it prone to being pulled out by raking. Hypochoeris maculata had population growth rates close to unity, and showed no response to an increase in management. Examination of the life-history characteristics of Polygala amarella showed that the species' strategy is aimed at reproduction and fast growth, which is in contrast to the other two species, with their success relying on the survival of older plants. The species-specific responses to management show that several species should be considered when evaluating management practices for conservation of semi-natural grasslands. Furthermore, I suggest that data on stage distributions alone may not be sufficient for identifying threatened populations.In a study of artificial dispersal between meadows, I found that establishment was twice as successful for planted plug-plants compared to sown seeds. Both methods may be useful for introducing or augmenting meadow populations, depending on access to seed sources and possibilities to nurse plants.An electronic coordinate measurement device for gathering location data to be used in demographic studies was developed. In the field, the device proved to be a simple and reliable method for locating individuals in permanent plots.


Conservation of biological diversity is one of the main elements of sustainable development, given that biodiversity is the basis of life on earth. The current and potential role of protected areas in biodiversity conservation cannot be overemphasized. The objective of the study was to provide protected area managers with new innovations in protecting area financing on how to improve and diversify funding sources, basically towards sustainable financing. This was a case study, using a qualitative research design where a purposive sample of various levels of management of the Swaziland National Trust Commission's protected areas was selected for interviews. It can be concluded that the Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC) has great potential for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage in Swaziland, as well as venturing into tourism. However, the SNTC is faced with financing challenges and needs interim models to ensure sustainable financing through the transition phase (restructuring and commercialisation) which might take a long time. Seven recommendations were made. These are: development of a sustainable tourism framework; adopting a business approach; embarking on a joint natural product enterprise development; designing a set of criteria for a viable marketing strategy; considering project finance as an option; developing investment proposals; and a theoretical framework for long-term financing of SNTC's protected areas.

 Key words: Protected area, sustainable financing, tourism, international conventions, values, biodiversity, conservation, heritage.


A study has been carried out to contribute to Indonesia's disaster management system for nuclear emergency preparedness and response. This study is very important to improve nuclear emergency preparedness and responses to local authorities who have the potential risk of a nuclear disaster arising from an emergency nuclear research reactor. The difference in reactor power provides an overview of the different potential hazards. This paper analyzes the nuclear emergency response plan of the Indonesian nuclear research reactor. They are RSG-GAS (30 MWth) in Serpong, TRIGA2000 (2 MWth) reactor in Bandung, and Kartini reactor (100 KWth) in Yogyakarta. A good quality management strategy can contribute to people's satisfaction compared to current international standards. This study concludes that the potential danger of the reactor is in line with the power and characteristics of the reactor. Among the three, RSG-GAS has the highest potential hazard with a potential impact of up to 5 Km, followed by the TRIGA2000 reactor with a potential impact of up to 1 Km, and the least is the Kartini reactor with a potential impact of up to 200 m. The operation concept used in the contingency plan is in line with international standards. This research found that a good service strategy management plan is not equipped with a reference value for every protective action taken will cause community satisfaction will not be of good value. Therefore, reviews and updates are needed to improve the plan. Another challenge found in this study, one of which is the availability of Iodine Thyroid Blocking Agent (KI pills), also needs to be solved so that it is prepared for an effective response.


Modern microeconomics foundations of industrial regulation policies were developed during the second half of the 19th century. One of the main theoretical and applied debates which is still an issue today concerns natural monopolies. Railroads were at the center of these debates, because of their technological and industrial significance. The main question raised at this time was the participation of the State on the provision and regulation of this industry. In France, between the 1840s and 1880s the evolution of regulatory legislation was deeply related with the academic contributions, in particular coming from liberal economists belonging to the Societe d'Economie Politique. The dominant views among these French economists advocated for a Private provision and incentives to create competition within this industry and some defenses of a private-public partnership through concessions. Contrary to this point of view L. Walras was in favor of a purely public provision of railroads and transportation. Walras's point of view was developed with twofold argument of theoretical and a moral nature. This paper analyses the logic and coherence of these arguments and concludes that they are constructed upon an original vision on human nature and economic dynamics that contrast with the traditional views on Walras's pure political economy. The case made in favor of the State intervention on Railroads industry considers altruistic motivations of human action, public servants surrounded by democratic institutions as free press and the role of education. On the economic side we found an interesting dynamic argument based on the importance of the network nature of railroads, the possibility for the State to improve the general economic development through the impetus given to railroads and the possibility to take advantage of the monopoly rents of some railways in order to finance new parts of the network. These ideas are mainly establish trough a dynamic conception of the development of the railroads network and its consequences on economic growth.


In the presence of 2mM-Ca2+, alpha-thrombin slowly cleaved thrombospondin (Mr 180 000) into 150 000-Mr and 30 000-Mr fragments. In the absence of Ca2+, the platelet glycoprotein was progressively and completely hydrolysed by 3 units of the enzyme/ml to 130 000-Mr, 95 000-Mr and 65 000-Mr fragments. In contrast, the nonclotting enzyme form, gamma-thrombin, did not hydrolyse the platelet protein either in the presence or in the absence of Ca2+, even at 10-fold higher concentrations of enzyme. Protein-interacting regions removed from the catalytic site, like those required for fibrinogen recognition, are necessary for thrombin proteolysis of thrombospondin.


SUMMARY: The finding of a pleuropenumonia-like organism associated with infertility and epididymitis in a dog led to the examination of throat and vaginal swabs from all the animals in a breeding kennel. Pleuropneumonia-like organisms were isolated from the majority of samples. Strains differed in colonial appearances, and a classification into types based on these differences was confirmed by the serological demonstration that each type was antigenically distinct. Nearly all the strains belong to one of three types, provisionally called α, β and γ. Each type was regarded as a distinct species of the pleuropneumonia group, and its biological properties were studied.


Churchill reviews Norman Daniels' Am I My Parents' Keeper (Oxford University Press; 1988) and Daniel Callahan's Setting Limits (Simon & Schuster; 1987). Both books present their authors' reflections on one of the most pressing problems of social ethics, how to allocate health care resources to the elderly in a climate of scarcity. Churchill first analyzes Daniels' response to the problem, the "prudential lifespan account," by which health care rights might give persons legitimate claims to services at one stage of their lives but not at another. This approach is contrasted with Callahan's "return to virtue" argument, which rests upon two major claims, one about the appropriate ends of medicine and the other about the meaning of old age. Churchill discusses both works within the context of the problematic relation in the United States between private and public goods, and between individual and social well-being.


Polyaniline coated conducting fabrics have been obtained by chemical oxidation of aniline by potassium peroxydisulfate on polyester fabrics. Two different acids have been employed to carry out the synthesis (HCl and H2SO4), obtaining the best results of conductivity with the latter one. The conducting fabrics have been characterized chemically by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR), energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The morphology of the coatings has been observed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The conducting properties of the fabrics have been measured by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical characterization has been carried out by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The conducting fabrics have also shown electrochromic properties, changing its color from green yellowish at -1 V to dark green at +2 V. The durability of the coating has been evaluated by means of washing and rubbing fastness tests.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To identify risk factors associated with 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions in adults with cancer.

DESIGN
Case-control study.

SETTING
A teaching hospital in an urban center in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

SAMPLE
302 adults with solid tumors.

METHODS
The Conceptual Model of Re-Hospitalization was used as a theoretic framework. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to identify risk factors for hospital readmission.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Risk factors included patient, clinical, hospitalization, and discharge-planning characteristics.

FINDINGS
From November 2011 to November 2012, 29% of patients were readmitted within 30 days after discharge, and a higher percentage of those readmissions occurred within the first week of discharge. Several predictors for hospital readmission were identified in the univariate logistic analysis, but the most relevant in the final multivariate logistic model were moderate to high risk for falls and advanced stage disease (metastatic).

CONCLUSIONS
Hospital readmission is an indicator of quality care. Learning about risk factors allows opportunities to prevent hospital readmission by identifying those at high risk and implementing optimal discharge-planning systems and early referrals to palliative care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Oncology nurses are best positioned to develop strategic plans aimed at improving discharge planning and transitions of care that will decrease unplanned hospital readmissions.


The banning of all mesh for prolapse by the FDA has failed to recognize that there is a major difference between mesh sheets applied behind the vagina for POP and repair of POP by shortening and reinforcing damaged suspensory ligaments, much as is used in the midurethral sling (MUS) which retains endorsement by the FDA.

Mesh sheets interfere with the vaginal elasticity essential for function and may cause pain and massive urine loss postoperatively, in some cases; tapes far less so, as they have little contact with vagina and work by shortening and reinforcing damaged ligaments in the same way as the MUS operation. The main pathogenesis of POP is leaching out of collagen after the menopause. Weakened ligaments cannot support the organs so they prolapse. Only artificial collagenous neoligaments created by implanted tapes (as per the MUS) can create the new collagen required to repair these ligaments.

The major advances developed over the past 30 years for treatment of POP using these ligament repair techniques has in one stroke been abolished. The treatment of POP has been set back 100 years. In their twilight years, many women will suffer the consequences of loose posterior ligaments, major prolapse, urge, nocturia, chronic pelvic pain, obstructed micturition defecation and fecal incontinence.

The FDA needs to reconsider its ban, at least for tapes, which are supported by individual, multicentre and long-term studies.


"Intimacy with God: Practicing the Presence of God": A Master's Level Course Patricia H. West Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2012 The purpose of this study is to establish and address the need for a graduate course, "Intimacy with God: Practicing the Presence of God," among seminary students that includes experiential learning in regards to growing a deeper relationship with God. This project argues that scriptural knowledge alone cannot fulfill students' needs for the intimacy they seek with God. This premise will be tested among the seminarians at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This project will be presented in three parts. Part One exegetes the culture of Regent University Divinity School, revealing the diversity among students and faculty. It also describes the need that exists among the student body for a deeper relationship with God. Part Two offers the theological basis for spiritual intimacy among seminarians. Here the concept of intimacy is defined, and its necessity in the life of the seminary student is supported by Scripture. Scripture also is used to establish the manner in which intimacy can be achieved. The spiritual lives of the saints from the past, examples of revivals, and today's spiritual openness and receptivity to God's invitation also are examined. The final part outlines the strategy for helping students move into an intimate relationship with God. The role of worship, specific spiritual disciplines, and the church community are set forth. The role of the instructor is defined, and the instructor's needs in preparation are identified. Part Three also explains the course design, its purpose, and its implementation. This discussion also evaluates the course's effectiveness. Student feedback and general insights from this project will guide future revisions and teaching of this class. Content Reader: Tom Schwanda, PhD Words: 266


Psychometric Test has been used as an individual trait measurement for a long time for both experienced entrepreneurs as well as young generation who are looking for their potential in entrepreneurship. The assessment and measurement of strength and weaknesses of key entrepreneurial traits provides the entrepreneurial level and personal development planning for entrepreneur or those who want to venture into business. However, the traditional psychometric test lacks of fun element which is less enjoyable activity during answering the test. Furthermore, it requires basic understanding of business jargon that difficult for certain respondents to provide accurate respond. The purpose of this study is to propose a gamification approach which is mobile game application called 'Freezer' that can measured entrepreneurial traits of the player. In this sense, 'Freezer' creates a simulated scenario for respondents to play as an ice cream business owner and to win as a successful business person, each action done will be measured as entrepreneurial traits criteria. At the end of the game, the result will be presented that can describe the entrepreneurial characteristics of the individuals based on their planning and activities during playing the game.


The presence of carriers usually complicates the dynamics and prevention of a disease. They are not recognized as disease cases themselves unless they are screened and they usually spread the infection without them being aware. We argue that this has been one of the major causes of the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We propose, in this paper, a model for the heterogeneous transmission of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the presence of disease carriers. The model allows us to assess the role of screening, as an intervention program that can slow the epidemic. A threshold value c * , for the screening rate is obtained. It is shown numerically that if 80% or more of the carrier population is screened, the epidemic can be contained. The qualitative analysis is done in terms of the model reproduction number R .T he model has two equilibria, the disease free equilibrium and a unique endemic equilibrium. The disease free equilibrium is globally stable of R , 1 and the endemic equilibrium is is locally stable forR . 1. A detailed discussion of the model reproduction number is given and numerical simulations are done to show the role of some of the important model parameters.


The NAD-dependent histone/protein deacetylase activity of Sir2 (silent information regulator 2) accounts for its diverse biological roles including gene silencing, DNA damage repair, cell cycle regulation, and life span extension. We provide crystallographic evidence that 2′-O-acetyl ADP-ribose is the reaction product that is formed at the active site of Sir2 from the 2.6-Å co-crystal structure of 2′-O-acetyl-ADP-ribose and Sir2 from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. In addition, we show that His-116 and Phe-159 play critical roles in the catalysis and substrate recognition. The conserved Ser-24 and Asp-101 contribute to the stability for NAD binding rather than being directly involved in the catalysis. The crystal structures of wild type and mutant derivatives of Sir2, in conjunction with biochemical analyses of the mutants, provide novel insights into the reaction mechanism of Sir2-mediated deacetylation.


We construct a large class of dynamical vacuum black hole spacetimes whose exterior geometry asymptotically settles down to a fixed Schwarzschild or Kerr metric. The construction proceeds by solving a backwards scattering problem for the Einstein vacuum equations with characteristic data prescribed on the event horizon and (in the limit) at null infinity. The class admits the full "functional" degrees of freedom for the vacuum equations, and thus our solutions will in general possess no geometric or algebraic symmetries. It is essential, however, for the construction that the scattering data (and the resulting solution spacetime) converge to stationarity exponentially fast, in advanced and retarded time, their rate of decay intimately related to the surface gravity of the event horizon. This can be traced back to the celebrated redshift effect, which in the context of backwards evolution is seen as a blueshift.


Abstract Gender has been theorised and studied in many ways and across different disciplines. Although a number of these theorisations have been recognised and adopted in marketing and consumer research, the significance of feminism in knowledge construction has largely remained what we would call 'unfinished'. Based on a critical reframing of gender research in marketing and consumer research, in dialogue with feminist theory, this article offers theoretical and practical suggestions for how to reinvigorate these research efforts. The analysis highlights dominant theorisations of gender, relating to gender as variable, difference and role; as fundamental difference and structuring; and as cultural and identity constructions. This reframing emphasises various neglected or 'missing feminisms', including queer theory; critical race, intersectional and transnational feminisms; material-discursive feminism; and critical studies on men and masculinities. A more detailed discussion of the latter, as a relatively new, growing and politically contentious area, is further developed to highlight more specifically which feminist and gender theories are mainly in use in marketing and consumer research and which are little or not used. In the light of this, it is argued that marketing and related disciplines have thus far largely neglected several key contemporary gender and feminist theorisations, particularly those that centre on gender power relations. The potential impact of these theoretical frames on transdisciplinary studies in marketing and consumer research and research agenda(s) is discussed.


This paper presents an observer-based fault detection approach for inter-turn stator short circuit fault in doubly fed induction generators (DFIG). A state-space model is developed, which can represent both the healthy and faulty conditions. Based on this model, two different adaptive observers: asymptotic adaptive observer and exponential adaptive observer are constructed, which are both able to estimate the fraction of short circuited winding online. The case when the rotor speed is immeasurable is also considered in this paper. The proposed exponential adaptive observer is reformulated into a new observer, which is capable of estimating the fault level and the rotor speed simultaneously. The simulation results demonstrate that this approach has effectiveness on fault detection under both steady state operation and transient state operation. It has strong robustness against the speed and load variations. This advantage has significance on fault detection of wind turbine DFIGs, since the DFIGs are predominantly under varying speed operation.


Abstract Work on mind style (Fowler 1977) has suggested that unusual world views may be indicated in fiction via such elements as deviant grammatical constructions, graphological deviation and the use of certain conceptual metaphors. In this article I suggest that a further way in which a deviant mind style can be indicated is through the abnormal use of inductive logic. I also propose that the sociological notion of paradigms of reality (Harris 1984) may be employed in the analysis of mind style to distinguish between those mind styles which are the result of genuine cognitive impairment and those which are employed simply for tactical reasons.


Entrepreneurship is an important force in China's economic quality and efficiency upgrading, but entrepreneurial firms are faced with legitimacy in doubt and growth difficulties, and social entrepreneurial identity is difficult to obtain. Based on resource dependence theory, this paper builds the theoretical model of entrepreneurial passion and political behavior affecting entrepreneurial identity, and introduces the entrepreneurial environment properties as situational variables. Studies have found that entrepreneurial passion can influence cognition, behavior, and role change of entrepreneurs to influence the efficiency of resource acquisition, and political behavior as a non-market way creates the conditions for entrepreneurial firms to obtain key resources, which helps enterprises to rapidly get through creation, and receive entrepreneurial recognition; environment munificence suppresses the effectiveness of corporate political behavior and environmental dynamism promotes the effectiveness of corporate political behavior. This paper shows that the entrepreneurs need to stimulate and maintain their entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial firms should create favorable conditions for entrepreneurial passion to play the role. In transitional economy the governments should accelerate the development of the industry through continuous improvement of various institutional environment, and strive to create a relaxed entrepreneurial atmosphere, create good conditions for entrepreneurial firms to obtain resources from the market, and guide enterprises to the shift of their focus to products, operation and marketing, so as to enhance competitiveness in market.


The taxonomy of the European stenonoid horses is revised using multivariate statistical techniques in this paper. The objectives are: to identify the taxonomic status of this group; to revise the specific and subspecific diagnoses, and the valid taxa; and to analyze their paleoecology and evolution. We conclude that: 1) there are six species among the Plio-Pleistocene European stenonoids: Equus major Depéret, in Delafond and Depéret 1893, ex Boule; Equus livenzovensis Bajgusheva, 1978; Equus stenonis Cocchi, 1867; Equus senezensis Prat, 1964; Equus altidens von Reichenau, 1915; and Equus sussenbornensis Wüts, 1901; 2) There are seven subspecies, three of E. stenonis, two of E. senezensis, and two of E. altidens; 3) There are two monophyletic groups according to the "neighbor-joining method," one composed of the middle-to-small-size species, and the other of the biggest ones; 4) There is a trend toward decreasing body size through time in stenonoid horses. This trend, that follows the inverse direction of Cope's rule, can be related to the climatic-environmental changes that occurred from the middle Villafranchian to the early Galerian; 5) Large stenonoids were recorded in the middle Villafranchian and were associated with open and dry habitats (steppes), whereas the small ones lived in more closed and wet habitats (savanna-mosaic, woodlands) from late Villafranchian to earliest Galerian.


This study explored the relationship between prior learning portfolio development and Kegan's theory of constructive-developmentalism, i.e., the changes individuals go through in their epistemology or ways of knowing. Of specific concern was whether students who completed a narrative prior learning portfolio through the University Without Walls changed their way of knowing – an indicator of transformative learning – as a result of this process. Findings indicated that some students, though not all, did experience a change in order of mind and that these were related to the prior learning portfolio development process. Suggestions are made regarding avenues for future research and how educators might better foster transformative learning within a student's current order of mind, enhancing the likelihood of developmental change. Keywords: Prior learning assessment, constructive-developmentalism, ways of knowing, order of mind, transformative learning, subjective-object interview


Abstract Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and spectroscopy are outstanding methods in several fields of geosciences. Cathodoluminescence can be examined using a wide variety of electron-beam equipment. Of special interest to geologists are optical microscopes (OMs) equipped with an electron gun, scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) and electron microprobes. Despite the similar kind of excitation, the results obtained may show marked differences. These are related to the use of focused or defocused as well as a scanned or stationary electron beam and the kind of signal acquisition. Images obtained by OM-CL (hot or cold acceleration) and SEM-CL differ due to different spatial resolution, true colour, grey-scale, or monochromatic detection, contrast inversion, phosphorescence effects, etc. Instrumentation used for spectroscopic studies may differ in sequential or parallel signal acquisition, wavelength range, spectral resolution, and the kind of analytical spot limitation. This is particularly important when investigating transient CL, rare earth element (REE) emissions, or luminescence in the near UV and IR regions as well as samples with small grain sizes and contrasting CL behaviour of adjacent mineral phases. In the present study, the influence of analytical parameters is demonstrated for certain mineral examples including zircon, fluorite, apatite, feldspar, quartz, corundum, kaolinite, and dickite.


To the Editor .—Spontaneous renal rupture is a rare complication of pregnancy, but is hazardous to both the mother and the infant. It seems hardly possible to initially diagnose spontaneous renal rupture in a pregnant woman, mainly because it presents the symptoms of acute abdomen, and because the incidence of the disease is rare. We report a case of a pregnant women with spontaneous renal rupture in whom renal arteriography confirmed the diagnosis. Report of a Case .—A 31-year-old pregnant woman, in the third trimester, was admitted to the hospital on June 15, 1986, because of severe left flank pain of sudden onset that was accompanied by shock. When she recovered from the shock by means of multiple infusions, her blood pressure was 134/80 mm Hg, and her heart rate was 90 beats per minute. Fetal heart sounds were not audible. Marked tenderness was found in the lower left abdominal


On January 27, 2020, Virginia became the thirty-eighth state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Yet despite having met the amending requirements of Article V, the Twenty-Eighth Amendment has not been promulgated by the National Archivist, as required by federal statute. The ERA remains in legitimacy limbo as we await judicial resolution of a number of legal questions. And while we wait, the two-year window continues to wind down for federal, state, and local governments to implement the equality mandate of equal rights on the basis of sex. Whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, or will decide the issues in favor of equality, are questions that only the nine unelected justices can answer. But the future implications of any decision the Court makes will likely stretch far beyond the Twenty-Eighth Amendment, as the ERA has landed in a vortex of constitutional indeterminacy. For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, numerous substantive and procedural questions have arisen, been dismissed or narrowed, lingered in the shadows, become moot, or otherwise left unresolved, apparently awaiting the perfect test case. Virtually all of these unresolved issues are implicated by the century-long passage of the ERA. The ERA was first proposed in 1923 at the urging of suffragette Alice Paul. But it did not receive Congressional approval until forty-nine years later, in 1972. But when submitted to the states for ratification, it was saddled with a seven-year deadline in its preamble. Only thirty-five states had ratified by the end of the seven-year deadline and five states had purported to rescind their ratifications. In 1978, Congress extended the deadline by three years and three months, until June 22, 1982; however, no states ratified or rescinded during the extension period. When the ratification period expired, the proposal was lacking either three or eight ratifications to reach the thirty-eight required by Article V. In 2017, however, Nevada ratified the ERA, Illinois did so in 2018, and Virginia did in 2020, forty-eight years after it was sent to the states. After ninety-seven years, the legal issues underlying the ERA are no longer mere abstractions, but present direct, unresolved constitutional questions about the scope and interpretation of the Article V process. In this article, I focus exclusively on the narrow issue of whether states may change their minds, whether they may ratify after having rejected an amendment, and whether they may rescind after having ratified. The Supreme Court has held that a state may ratify after rejection, but it has not provided any clear precedent on whether states may rescind, and Article V does not provide any explicit power to do so. Any implied powers seem inconsistent with the text and historical understanding of Article V, and prior precedents have denied states the power to rescind. Moreover, legislation and amendments proposed by Congress to expressly permit states to rescind up until the ratification by three-fourths of the states have all failed. In this article, I explore the complex process underlying the rescission question and the evidence a court is likely to examine in its effort to settle this intriguing question.


Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) maintained in high glucose are more responsive to IGF-I than SMC maintained in normal glucose due to a difference in the Shc phosphorylation response. In this study we aimed to determine the mechanism by which glucose regulates the sensitivity of SMC to IGF-I. For Shc to be phosphorylated in response to IGF-I it must be recruited to tyrosine-phosphorylated sites on Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase (SHP) substrate-1 (SHPS-1). The association of integrin-associated protein (IAP) with SHPS-1 is required for SHPS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation. When SMC were grown in 5 mm glucose, the amount of intact IAP was reduced, compared with SMC grown in 25 mm glucose. This reduction was due to proteolytic cleavage of IAP. Proteolysis of IAP resulted in loss of its SHPS-1 binding site, which led to loss of SHPS-1 phosphorylation. Analysis of the conditioned medium showed that there was more protease activity in the medium from SMC cultured in 5 mm glucose as compared with 25 mm. Inhibition of matrix metalloprotease-2 synthesis using RNA interference or its activity using a specific protease inhibitor protected IAP from cleavage. This protection was associated with an increase in IAP-SHPS-1 association, increased recruitment and phosphorylation of Shc, and increased cell growth in response to IGF-I. Our results show that the enhanced response of SMC in 25 mm glucose to IGF-I is due to the protection of IAP from proteolytic degradation, thereby increasing its association with SHPS-1 and allowing the formation of the SHPS-1-Shc signaling complex.


Objective: Glandular cell abnormality (GCA) in Pap smears is uncommon. Detection is important as the possibility of underlying high-grade lesions is greater in this entity than in atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. This study was undertaken with an aim to correlate GCA cases with histology, scrutinize its mimics and identify cytologic features to segregate significant lesions from benign. Study Design: A total of 22,618 conventional Pap smears were retrospectively analyzed. In all, 74 GCA cases were identified, correlated with histology and reevaluated using parameters based on architectural pattern, cellular features and background. Results: This study revealed 15 false positives. On review, 11 cases [1 adenocarcinoma, 5 atypical glandular cells (AGC), not otherwise specified, 5 AGC, favor neoplasia (FN)] were recategorized as reactive. Of 9 cases reported as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia on histology, cytodiagnosis in 5 was revised from AGC-FN to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion involving glands. Initial overall cytohistology concordance was 79.7%. Reevaluation of the smears, based on stringent cytomorphological criteria, enhanced overall agreement to 94.59%. Conclusions: A diagnosis of AGC has considerable clinical implications. Dissociated atypical cells, nuclear membrane, architecture and chromatin pattern are the key distinguishing features between neoplastic and benign lesions.


Summary: Plant species preferences of birds were determined by comparing the proportional bird use of plant species during direct observations with the proportions of plant species present on point-height intercepts in lowland rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) forest in North Okarito, Westland. Plant species and bird use of plant species were divided into 5 m height classes, and rimu trees were divided into four age classes (sapling, pole, mature, and old). The frugivorous New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) used mature and old rimu more than expected from the proportion of these age classes present, and it preferred the upper tiers of the forest. The omnivorous tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) had similar preferences to the pigeon. Other omnivorous species, viz., the bellbird (Anthornis melanura) and silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), shared preferences with both the pigeon and insectivorous species. Most insectivorous species, viz., the brown creeper (Mohoua novaeseelandiae), grey warbler (Gerygone igata), New Zealand fantail (Rhipidurafuliginosa), New Zealand tomtit (Petroica macrocephala), and rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris), used pole rimu more than expected and preferred the middle and lowest tiers. The insectivorous New Zealand robin (Petroica australis) had no preference for any plant species but had a strong preference for deadwood and the lowest tier of the forest. Of the 10 species s.ufficiently abundant to be monitored, the pigeon, bellbird, and tui are most likely to be detrimentally affected by selective-logging of mature and old rimu.


This paper uses GMDH method to establish a prediction model to forecast the output value of transport&storage of Guangxi in China, since the original samples of the output value of transport&storage are less enough to be used with the traditional methods. Compared with traditional linear regression and artificial neural network, the predicted results show that GMDH method is an effective way to predict car ownership with a small sample of history data in the complex economic system.


Teachers are prime resources of schools in enhancing good performance which in turn provides assurance for quality education. Despite that Mvomero District has been doing its own best to facilitate teachers' professional efficiency by enhancing motivation, there have been shortcomings that many teachers have been inadequately motivated. The general objective of the study was to assess the motivational factors affecting teachers' professional efficiency in public secondary schools in Mvomero district. Case study research design was utilized in the methodology. A sample of 120 respondents was used. Data were collected using interview, questionnaires and analysed descriptively by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The findings from the study indicated that, salaries have influenced teachers negatively as they seem to be unworthy of services rendered (80%), do not meet their monthly expenses and remain with nothing to save (90%). Promotion opportunities were available but lack or misplacement of documents due to negligence of officers led to promotion among teachers taking a long time (92%). Lazy or non performing teachers were warned and sometimes demoted as a sign for non-fulfilment of obligations (80%). However, there have been few or no houses for teaching and non-teaching staff, inadequate classrooms, desks, tables, playgrounds etc. were available, and do not match the requirements of a fully furnished school (82%). Delays of payment de-motivated teachers while decent and equitable salary need to be paid. It is recommended that salaries, promotion practices, rewarding system and teaching-learning environment need to be enhanced for both teachers and students in Mvomero District.


The direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dcELISA) kit was developed for detecting tetrodotoxin (TTX). The working conditions of the dcELISA kit including the anti-TTX mAb coating concentration, coating method, enzyme-labeled antigen concentration, the antigen diluents, reaction time and temperature were all optimized. The result showed that mAb coating concentration was 3.72 μg/ml, it was coated at the condition of minimal power treatment of microwave oven for 3 min. The enzyme-labeled antigen concentration was 4.08 μg/ml. The competitive reaction was under the condition of room temperature 25 °C for 30 min. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the standard curve was 20.4 ng/ml, detection limit was 1.1 ng/ml, linear range 3.3~137 ng/ml, the intra-assay CV and inter-assay CV were 6.25% and 7.34% respectively. And recovery rate of TTX ranged from 65.0% to 93.2% with the CV of 9.41~12.77%. This method is convenient, sensitive and time-saving, hope this dcELISA kit can bring benefits and reference for TTX detection.


Background In the hospital setting, commercially available multi-dose formulations in solution are more practical but also more expensive in comparison with products reconstituted on site. In Italy, cyclophosphamide (CP) is sold by Baxter as a galenic solution with 40 day stability at 2–8°C, including 12 days for microbial release, using safe compounding practices. Reconstitution of lyophilised Endoxan (also sold by Baxter) in saline solution is less practical but lower in cost. Its use is recommended within 2–3 h from preparation. Purpose To evaluate the stability of Baxter solution formulations of CP after 12 days (common delivery time to hospital) and 40 days from the preparation date and to compare with the stability profile of reconstituted saline solutions of solid CP (Endoxan), under the same storage temperature (2–8°C). Material and methods Analyses were performed directly on saline formulations without any pretreatment, under controlled temperature and using a high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (600 MHz). Results After 12 days from preparation of Endoxan (4°C), about 0.5% of degradation compounds were present with an increase to approximately 2% after 40 days (4°C). For the Baxter formulation, more than 2% of degradation products were present after 12 days with an increase to 6% after 40 days. Traces of ε-caprolactam were detected in the Baxter formulations as well as in the Baxter saline solution, although this compound does not seem to interfere with the degradation pathways. Conclusion Stability of CP is highly dependent on storage conditions (cold chain from factory to hospital). This can be better controlled for in laboratory reconstituted lyophilised Endoxan than in multi-dose formulations that need logistic support. To achieve the best quality therapy, the results support the reconstitution procedure as opposed to the use of pre-made formulations, even if the compounding procedures are less safe. Finally, the use of Endoxan offers a cost benefit. Nuclear magnetic resonance demonstrates its potential as a quantitative and non-invasive technique for detecting degradation products and eventual contaminants. Its use could also support the hospital pharmacy in terms of safety. No conflict of interest.


Sm: Rollin's fascinating description of Sherlock Holmes (Journal, August 1988, 153, 241—242) prompted us to put pen to paper. He writes that "¿ mental or physical deterioration is the inevitable penalty of prolonged cocaine abuse.― However, we have in our care a patient who has been addicted to cocaine for 50 years and has not suffered any physical, mental, or social deterioration during this period.


The post-Taliban democratic reforms in Afghanistan were in part a recreation of the past. Afghanistan has had six constitutions between 1923 and 1990, and most have provided for national assemblies and elections in one form or other. Yet the degree of foreign involvement in the most recent reform process was unprecedented. The heavy foreign hand contradicted the promise of national autonomy, representation, and fair process held out by the democratization agenda. By implicitly devaluing the institutions it sought to promote, the democratization process has also had potentially counterproductive effects. Moreover, while promoting democratization, Western governments simultaneously created a state so dependent on external support that it deprived the critical institution of liberal democracy – the legislature – of its meaning. The logical response of the national assembly has been to engage mostly in politics with symbolic or nuisance value. This study focuses on three areas of political reform: the structuring of the interim administration, the promulgation of a new constitution, and the establishment of the legislature.


It is necessary to choose proper methodology and indicators for assessing sustainable economic development as the information becomes a tool for decision-making support of sustainable development policies and implementation of programs. In Ukraine, evaluating the results of implementation of different programs for development is essential as an analytical basis for making a strategy for the next period and a prerequisite for further progress.Certain shortcomings of linear models for evaluating the results appeared during the design and implementation of the strategy to manage sustainable economic development. The potential for establishing erroneous targets increases in the formation of strategic objectives for the next forecast period. There is a special need to choose adequate indicators to comprehensively approximate the factors of economic development and evaluation methods that allow more sensitively measuring the results of management decisions in the implementation of the strategy.The article evaluates the results of the Sustainable Development Strategy "Ukraine – 2020", employing the potential of the neural network method for a flexible combination of a large number of factors in constructing nonlinear models of impact on the resulting indicator. As a result of applying the neural network model with one hidden layer for evaluation, based on 16 indicators identifying economic, social, and institutional aspects of sustainable development of Ukraine, it was found that institutional transformations contribute most to achieving sustainable development. Reforms in terms of deregulation and support of entrepreneurship, property rights protection, and competitive environment have the most significant positive impact. On the other hand, low efficiency of capital market reforms, implementation of the energy efficiency program, and reform in the field of public procurement determine the need to revise the program of their fulfilment.


From one cell to another, from one individual to another, and from one species to another, the content of DNA molecules is often similar. The organization of these molecules, however, differs dramatically, and the mutations that affect this organization are known as genome rearrangements. Combinatorial methods are used to reconstruct putative rearrangement scenarios in order to explain the evolutionary history of a set of species, often formalizing the evolutionary events that can explain the multiple combinations of observed genomes as combinatorial optimization problems. This book offers the first comprehensive survey of this rapidly expanding application of combinatorial optimization. It can be used as a reference for experienced researchers or as an introductory text for a broader audience. Genome rearrangement problems have proved so interesting from a combinatorial point of view that the field now belongs as much to mathematics as to biology. This book takes a mathematically oriented approach, but provides biological background when necessary. It presents a series of models, beginning with the simplest (which is progressively extended by dropping restrictions), each constructing a genome rearrangement problem. The book also discusses an important generalization of the basic problem known as the median problem, surveys attempts to reconstruct the relationships between genomes with phylogenetic trees, and offers a collection of summaries and appendixes with useful additional information. Computational Molecular Biology series


Many companies now use crowdsourcing to leverage external as well as internal crowds to perform specialized work, and so methods of improving efficiency are critical. Tasks in crowdsourcing systems with specialized work have multiple steps and each step requires multiple skills. Steps may have different flexibilities in terms of obtaining service from one or multiple agents due to varying levels of dependency among parts of steps. Steps of a task may have precedence constraints among them. Moreover, there are variations in loads of different types of tasks requiring different skill sets and availabilities of agents with different skill sets. Considering these constraints together necessitate the design of novel schemes to allocate steps to agents. In addition, large crowdsourcing systems require allocation schemes that are simple, fast, decentralized, and offer customers (task requesters) the freedom to choose agents. In this paper, we study the performance limits of such crowdsourcing systems and propose efficient allocation schemes that provably meet the performance limits under these additional requirements. We demonstrate our algorithms on data from a crowdsourcing platform run by a nonprofit company and show significant improvements over current practice.


Game development is an emerging area of development for new types of interaction between computers and humans. New forms of communication are now being explored there, influenced not only by face to face communication but also by recent developments in multi-modal communication and tangible interfaces. This demo will feature a computer game, FantasyA, where users can play the game by interacting with a tangible interface, SenToy (see Figure 1). The main idea is to involve objects and artifacts from real life into ways to interact with systems, and in particular with games. So, SenToy is an interface for users to project some of their emotional gestures through moving the doll in certain ways. This device would establish a link between the users (holding the physical device) and a controlled avatar (embodied by that physical device) of the computer game, FantasyA.


China promulgated the Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in 2007, which included targets of 2010 and 2020 for various renewable energy technologies including biofuels. The 2010 biofuel targets were met and even surpassed except for non-grain fuel ethanol; however, there is debate on whether and how the country will be able to meet the 2020 biofuels target. This paper provides a resource and technological assessment of biofuel feedstocks, compares biofuel production costs from various feddstocks and technologies, and evaluates policies introduced in the country for the development of biofuels. The paper also presents the projections on the production of biofuels under various policy scenarios. The study shows that China can potentially satisfy its non-grain fuel ethanol target by 2020 from the technology perspective. But it will probably fall far short of this target without additional fiscal incentives as production costs of non-grain feedstock based biofuels are expected to remain relatively high. By contrast, the 2020 target of biodiesel production has a high probability of being achieved because the target itself is relatively small. With additional support policies, it could develop even further.


This document shows the equations and some calculation results of two new Diffusion parameters. The Diffusion parameters assist the calculation of different temperature or time values for equivalent diffusion processes. The Diffusion parameters include temperature dependent and temperature independent factors. The document shows that the introduced Diffusion parameter is suitable for the accurate calculations of the temperature and time values for equal simple diffusion processes. The document shows, that the frequently used Larson-Miller parameter (LMP) does not give accurate results if we use the temperature and time values of equal simple diffusion equations for the LMP calculations.


Composite beam using asymmetric H-shaped steel is one of the constructional structures developed in the advanced countries in Europe since early 1990s. The purpose of this study on composite beams where H-shaped steel is partially laid in concrete slabs was to find how to design fire protection and improve fire-resistance to make deep deck plates provide the beams with advantages upon a fire and to improve stiffness in structural aspect. Only lower flange which is directly exposed to a fire was included in fire-resistance design in order to decide optimal fire- protection design condition and test was conducted for spray-coating and paint-coating. In the fire resistance test, web thickness and lower flange thickness were varied to derive the optimum condition for improving fire-resistance performance. It was observed from the test that 90-minute-protection employed to lower flange provided fire resistance for 3 hours. It was also observed that the basic shape resisted fire for 89 minutes, while web reinforcement and lower flange reinforcement provided fire-resistance for 112 and 157 minutes, respectively. The result showed that lower flange reinforcement is the most effective way to improve fire-resistance.


The binary superposition mix design method is constructed to quantitatively calculate the compositions of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), which brings into sufficient cement paste wrapping steel fibers to strengthen the boundary surfaces of steel fibers with base concrete. The principle of the method is firstly introduced. The experiments were carried out to evaluate the validity of the method. In the experiment, the cubic and axial compressive strength as well as the splitting tensile strength of SFRC affected by the fraction of steel fiber by volume and the average thickness of cement paste wrapping steel fibers were tested. The results are analyzed on the basis of former studies specified in the current technical specification for fiber reinforced concrete structures, which show that the larger strengths especial the splitting tensile strength of SFRC in grade CF50 can be got by the method, but the less splitting tensile strength of SFRC in grade of CF40 should be further studied.


Live coding commonly takes pieces of code from algorithmic composition systems. However, sometimes algorithmic generators either do not consistently show high-level properties, like dramatic transition among parts, or simply, our aesthetic criterion prefers some particular cases among all the possible. In such cases it is useful to have tools for exploring the output space of generative systems, in order to identify and categorize outputs with specific properties. This paper presents an approach to creating linguistic rules out of human-evaluated patterns and their potential uses in live coding to create high-level structures. The methodology starts with a set of sampled examples from an algorithmic system that are evaluated by the user through qualitative linguistic variables. Then, the examples along with the user's evaluation are analysed through an inductive and rule extraction methodology. For a particular example case, these rules are extracted and evaluated. Its application then as information used for writing code on the fly, as well as its implementation in the form of filters or generators is presented.


A new method of synthesizing mullite nanocomposite from raw natural kaolin is presented in the paper. Raw kaolin is processed by oxidation-reduction fining method and then baked to produce fine kaolin powder. The fine kaolin powder is further synthesized into mullite nanocomposite by open-system hydrothermal crystallization method under normal pressure. With proper controls of NaOH mole ratio in the hydrothermal solution, crystallization time, and constant temperature, the average grain size of synthesized nanocomposite changed from 80nm to 100nm. The morphology of the nanocomposite could gradually change from platy to short prismatic, lamellar, and needle-like with increasing nucleation rate.


A 5-week-old foal was evaluated for fever and hematuria of 3 days duration. Cystoscopy localized the blood to be originating from the left ureter. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed left hydronephrosis, hydroureter, and omphaloarteritis of the left umbilical artery with abscess formation that communicated with an arterial structure. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a large aortic aneurysm within the center of the abscess. An exploratory celiotomy was performed and the infection was nonresectable. The prognosis for life was grave; therefore the colt was euthanized. Necropsy findings confirmed the antemortem diagnosis. Ultrasound and CT imaging in this case provided an accurate antemortem diagnosis.


Growth is an important concept in Dewey's philosophy, and, indeed, its ultimate focus. It is not, however, an easy task to posit growth as an ethical ideal, for here Dewey immediately faces a metaphysical dilemma: whether to offer us an objective standard of growth, which becomes a type of absolutism, or to inevitably fall into relativism. This paper explores how Dewey avoids this dilemma with his concept of experience, which is interrogated through the relationship between human beings and nature. Still, human growth in nature involves the cultivation of virtuosities ( de 德) in accordance with the rhythm of nature, and requires a completely different way of life other than our technological one. For this reason, I use Chinese philosophy, specifically ideas from the Yijing , to show how growth can be illustrated through the interaction between humans and the natural world.


It is well known that a three dimensional (closed, connected and compact) manifold is obtained by identifying boundary faces from a polyhedron P . The study of (∂P )/ ∼, the boundary ∂P with the polygonal faces identified in pairs leads us to the following conclusion: either a three dimensional manifold is homeomorphic to a sphere or to a polyhedron P with its boundary faces identified in pairs so that (∂P )/ ∼ is a finite number of internally flat complexes attached to each other along the edges of a finite graph that contains at least one closed circuit. Each of those internally flat complexes is obtained from a polygon where each side may be identified with more than one different sides. Moreover, Euler characteristic of (∂P )/ ∼ is equal to one and the fundamental group of (∂P )/ ∼ is not trivial.


Starting in the 1990s, states began filling the gap left by the federal government's failure to enact climate change legislation. Policies adopted by states, such as regional greenhouse gas cap and trade regimes and renewable portfolio standards, have been lauded as demonstrations of the continuing ingenuity of the states as "laboratories of democracy," devising new and innovative solutions to the global problem of climate change. This view is in tension with the predictions of well-respected economists that states will innovate at sub-optimal levels due to the risk-averse nature of politicians and the ability of one state to free-ride off the innovative ideas of other states. This chapter concludes the truth lies somewhere in the middle. While state governments are the original source of only a few of the most touted climate policy initiatives, they are frequently the first to adapt a policy previously adopted only on the national level. As opposed to "policy innovators," state and local governments might more accurately be described as "scale innovators." Given the overarching necessity of cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, policy adoption on multiple scales is arguably of greater social value than developing new and original policy tools.


This research looks at the application of online teaching techniques and resources in the field of creative design education. Teaching creative design principles and delivering content around this topic is often viewed as being more suited to a hands-on, face-to-face style of delivery. Yet online techniques can be extremely effective in these creative fields. This paper describes the findings of a five year study, involving more than five hundred participants from various age groups, cultures and locations, and compares face-to-face teaching methods with online delivery of creative course materials. The study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. Results from each method, including learning outcomes, student satisfaction and engagement clearly demonstrate that online techniques are highly effective in transferring knowledge and providing students with the skills needed for developing effective creative outcomes. Yet there are other more subtle advantages that are often overlooked, including the fact that participants in online groups had a tendency to be more daring in their work. The relative anonymity provided by online methods led to students taking greater risks with their creative works and overall achieving better creative outcomes. Risk taking and experimentation is an important element of creative learning and online methods show potential to improve this area. Although knowledge transfer and outcomes were more effective with online approaches, the level of student engagement and satisfaction was lower. Clearly the nature of face-to-face personal interaction was a preferable form of engagement for student participants. An interesting exception to this was for students who are normally more excluded in face-to-face interaction scenarios. These participants, often distanced due to language, culture or physical issues such as disabilities, performed significantly better in online groups and also reported higher levels of engagement and satisfaction. This project also developed and compared several different types of online resources and delivery. The use of more personalized online resources proved to be much more effective in terms of student engagement. With large group recorded lectures showing much lower engagement than the same information being presented in a personal discussion form. With online delivery of teaching materials becoming more widespread, the application of online teaching in creative fields is an important area for future development, this research has demonstrated the potential for online delivery in creative courses as well as defining some key principles in targeting these resources and developing effective content and delivery.


We report on the spin dependence of elastic and inelastic electron tunneling through transition metal atoms. Mn, Fe and Cu atoms were deposited onto a monolayer of Cu2N on Cu(100) and individually addressed with the probe tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. Electrons tunneling between the tip and the substrate exchange energy and spin angular momentum with the surface-bound magnetic atoms. The conservation of energy during the tunneling process results in a distinct onset threshold voltage above which the tunneling electrons create spin excitations in the Mn and Fe atoms. Here we show that the additional conservation of spin angular momentum leads to different cross-sections for spin excitations depending on the relative alignment of the surface spin and the spin of the tunneling electron. For this purpose, we developed a technique for measuring the same local spin with a spin-polarized and a non-spin-polarized tip by exchanging the last apex atom of the probe tip between different transition metal atoms. We derive a quantitative model describing the observed excitation cross-sections on the basis of an exchange scattering process.


ABSTRACT Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is a seedborne pathogen causing bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease, and reduces the quality of seed and rice production. One of the efforts to control the BLB disease and to improve the quality Xoo infected seeds is the seed coating technique enriched with biological agents. The experiment was aimed to study the effect of coating on seed quality and storage life, as well as the Xoo and biological agents resistence (P. diminuta A6 and B. subtilis 5/B) on the seeds. The experiment was carried out from August 2011 to March 2012, using a split plot design with four replications. The main plot was storage period, i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 months. The sub plot was seed coating treatment consisted of negative control (healthy seed); positive control (seeds contaminated with Xoo); seed infested with biological agens;  alginate 3% + 1% peat + biological agents; arabic gum 3% + 1% gypsum + biological agents; CMC 1.5% + 1% talc + biological  agents;  and  bactericide  streptomycin  sulfat 20%. The  coated  seeds were  stored an air-conditioned room (18-20 °C,  RH  48-50%). The results showed that the treatments were able to maintain seeds quality during storage, i.e. germination percentage, uniformity percentage, and vigor index, better than those of the positive control. The P. diminuta A6 was still presence (0.08 x 106 cfu mL-1) in seeds coated after 7 month storage, and the B. subtilis 5/B was still presence (0.07 x 106 cfu mL-1) up to 6 month storage with 3% arabic gum + 1% gypsum + biological agents. Keywords: Bacillus subtilis 5/B, Pseudomonas diminuta A6, seed quality, storage space, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae


Background : Based on the high prevalence of diabetes and depression in Rasht, we conducted a study to evaluate the prevalence of depression in type 2 diabetic patients, and its association with glycemic control, chronic complications, and some clinical and paraclinical parameters in this northern state of Iran. Materials and Methods : Beck depression inventory was used for evaluating depression on 90 type 2 diabetics and 90 healthy controls selected. Information on demographic and clinical and paraclinical characteristics was collected by interviews and from medical records. Results : This cross-sectional study was performed on 90 type 2 diabetic patients (63 female and 27 male with a mean age of 54.17 ± 10.57 years) and 90 healthy matched controls. Overall, depression was significantly more prevalent in case group [37.8% vs. 16%, odds ratio (OR) = 3.29, P = 0.001]. The prevalence of depression in diabetic women was significantly higher than nondiabetic ones (39.7% vs. 15%, P = 0.002). We could not find any significant correlation between depression and positive family history of depression, duration of diabetes, HBA1c level, and body mass index. The prevalence of depression was prominently more in diabetic patients with retinopathy than in those without this complication (55.6% vs. 24%, P = 0.015). Logistic regression analysis indicated that diabetes itself was the only significant determinant of having depression (OR = 3.29, P = 0.005, 95% confidence interval: 0.118-0.667). Conclusion : There was a prominent prevalence of depression in type 2 diabetics overall. Depression was not correlated with duration of diabetes and glycemic control. There was a significant association between depression and retinopathy in diabetic patients. Diabetes itself was the only significant determinant of having depression after matching with other variables.


Cryptographic Privacy Enhancing Technologies The growth of information and communication technology creates difficulties for individuals to monitor and control their private information which can be copied, transferred from one location to another within a second and accessible to many people. This thesis focuses on a number of cryptographic technologies, which have been introduced and developed to protect user privacy, including anonymous signatures, anonymous authentication, anonymous credentials and anonymous routing. Our contributions to these technologies are in three aspects: more efficiency, more security and better functionality. We identify and formalize new security requirements, and improve and build formal security models for a number of privacy-preserving primitives. We construct new anonymous routing systems whose security relies on complexity assumptions different from those of previous systems. We propose several anonymous signature schemes with constant computation costs, very short signatures and keys and compact system parameters that can be shared by multiple groups. These schemes can be converted into anonymous authentication schemes and used as building blocks for anonymous credential systems. Our systems provide diversified properties, such as anonymity revocability, ad-hoc group formation, signature traceability, identity-based and limitation on the number of anonymous signatures, that allow applications in many realistic scenarios. We prove security of all proposed schemes and compare their efficiencies with previous schemes.


Background Gene-environment interactions are relevant for several respiratory diseases. This communication raises the hypothesis that the severity of COVID-19, a complex disease where the individual response to the infection may play a significant role, could partly result from a gene-environment interaction between air-pollution and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) genes. Methods To evaluate the impact of the AAT and air pollution interaction on COVID-19, we introduced an AAT*air pollution global risk score summing together, in each country, an air pollution score (ozone, nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter) and an AAT score (which sums the ranked frequency of MZ, SZ, MS). We compared this global score with the ranking of European countries in terms of death number per million persons. Results The ranking of the AAT*air pollution global risk score matched the ranking of the countries in terms of the observed COVID-19 deaths per 1M inhabitants, namely in the case of the first European countries: Belgium, UK, Spain, Italy, Sweden, France. We observed parallelism between the number of COVID deaths and the AAT*air pollution global risk in Europe. AAT anti-protease, immune-modulating and coagulation-modulating activities may explain this finding, although very speculatively. Conclusions Even if further studies taking into account genetic background, population density, temporal dynamics of individual epidemics, access to healthcare, social disparities and immunological response to SARS-CoV2 are needed, our preliminary observation urges to open a discussion on gene-environment interactions in COVID-19.


Food insecurity is a global issue that's concern not only in poor and developing countries, but also in developed countries. Its conditions have worsened since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic where social restrictions and economic contraction caused many people to lose their jobs, incomes, and increased poverty. DKI Jakarta was one of the most economically affected provinces at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic where economic growth in the first quarter of 2020 recorded grow 5.06 percent year on year (the lowest in the last ten years) and slowed down by 0.56 percent overall quarter to quarter, and an increase of poverty 1.11 percent, the highest in Indonesia. This study examines the effect of household characteristics in DKI Jakarta on their food insecurity status at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data used is the March 2020 Susenas which was analyzed descriptively and inferentially using firth logistic regression. The results showed that there were 4.47 percent of households in DKI Jakarta had food insecurity status at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In general, households with food insecurity status are poor, don't have social security, the head of the household doesn't work and less than high school education.


Background:
 Immunomodulatory (IMiD) compounds are effective therapies for multiple myeloma (MM) acting via modulation of the CUL4 E3-ubiquitin ligase cereblon. Based on their structure individual IMiD compounds have different substrate specificities altering both their efficacy and side effect profile. These mechanistic differences impact the optimum sequencing of these agents as induction and maintenance. Within the UK NCRI Myeloma XI trial we compared triplet induction regimens containing Lenalidomide (Len) or Thalidomide (Thal) and maintenance treatment with Len or observation. With extensive long term follow up data we have explored the interaction of the induction and maintenance use of Thal and Len before and after ASCT.
 Methods:
 Myeloma XI is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial for newly diagnosed MM, with pathways for transplant eligible (TE) and non-eligible patients. TE patients were randomized between Len or Thal plus cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CRD vs CTD) continued for a minimum of 4 cycles and to max. response. For patients with a suboptimal response there was a subsequent randomization to intensification with a proteasome inhibitor containing triplet or no further therapy prior to ASCT. A maintenance randomization at 3 months post ASCT compared Len till disease progression vs observation (Obs). Analyses by molecular risk strata were pre-specified in the protocol. Adverse cytogenetic abnormalities were defined as gain(1q), t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), or del(17p): standard risk (SR, no adverse cytogenetic abnormalities), high risk (HiR, one adverse cytogenetic abnormality), or ultra-high risk (UHiR, two or more adverse cytogenetic abnormalities).
 Results:
 2042 TE patients were randomized to CRD n=1021 and CTD n=1021. After a median follow up of 68 months (interquartile range 49-83) for the induction randomization, 1378 PFS and 728 OS primary endpoint events had occurred. Patients received a median (range) of 5 (1-18) cycles of CRD and 5 (1-13) cycles of CTD induction therapy. There were higher rates of haematological toxicity with CRD and peripheral neuropathy with CTD.
 CRD induction was associated with a significantly improved median PFS (hazard ratio (HR) 0.86, 95%CI 0.77, 0.96, CRD 36 months vs CTD 33 months, P=0.005, Figure 1A) and median OS (HR 0.81, 95%CI 0.70, 0.93, CRD 96 months vs CTD 85 months, P=0.004, Figure 1B). Responses were deeper with CRD (>=VGPR 65.3%, PR 24.5%) than CTD (>=VGPR 52.8%, PR 33.2%) and depth of response was associated with outcome. Significant heterogeneity in PFS outcome was identified between molecular risk groups with HiR and UHiR benefiting most from induction with CRD rather than CTD (SR HR 0.99 [95%CI 0.79, 1.24], HiR HR 0.58 [0.44, 0.78], UHiR HR 0.60 [0.38, 0.94], P.het 0.01).
 897 TE patients were randomized to Len (n=496) and Obs (n=401). After a median follow up of 68 months (interquartile range 51-84) for the maintenance randomization, 527 PFS primary endpoint events had occurred. Lenalidomide was associated with a significant improvement in PFS compared to observation (median PFS Len 64 [54,76] vs Obs 32 [28,36], HR 0.52 [0.45,0.61], P<0.001). This was consistent across all risk subgroups (SR HR 0.44 [95%CI 0.34, 0.56], HiR HR 0.50 [0.37, 0.67], UHiR HR 0.52 [0.31, 0.87], P. het 0.87).
 Optimum outcomes were seen in those receiving Len as both induction and maintenance therapy (Figure 1C). Patients receiving CRD induction followed by Len maintenance (CRD-R) had a median PFS of 77 months [56, 86] compared to CTD-R 64 [49, 74], CRD-Obs 37 [33, 42] and CTD-Obs 44 [38, 51].
 Conclusions:
 In this study the use of Len as both induction and maintenance was associated with the best outcomes irrespective of cytogenetic risk group. With long term follow up CRD induction for newly diagnosed transplant eligible myeloma patients was associated with both a PFS and OS benefit compared to CTD and was better tolerated. The PFS impact of CRD was particularly notable in patients with high and ultra-high risk disease. Lenalidomide maintenance was associated with significantly longer PFS than observation across all risk groups.
 on behalf of the NCRI Haematological Oncology Clinical Studies Group

 Jackson: Celgene, Amgen, Roche, Janssen, Sanofi: Honoraria. Pawlyn:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides: Honoraria; Amgen, Celgene, Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen, Janssen, Celgene, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Cairns:Celgene, Amgen, Merck, Takeda: Other: Research Funding to Institution. Jones:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Kishore:Celgene, Takeda, Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene, Jazz, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Garg:Janssen, Takeda, Novartis: Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Honoraria; Novartis, Janssen: Research Funding. Lindsay:Celgene: Other: personal fees and non-financial support ; Takeda: Other: personal fees and non-financial support ; Amgen: Other: non-financial support. Russell:Jazz: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; DSI: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Astellas: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Jenner:Abbvie, Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Janssen, Sanofi Genzyme, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Cook:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Consultancy, Equity Ownership. Owen:Janssen: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene, Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding. Gregory:Abbvie, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen, Merck: Research Funding. Kaiser:Takeda, Janssen, Celgene, Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Amgen, Abbvie, Karyopharm: Consultancy. Davies:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides, Roche, Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Consultant/Advisor; Janssen, Celgene: Other: Research Grant, Research Funding. Morgan:Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen, Janssen, Takeda, Celgene Corporation: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene Corporation, Janssen: Research Funding.

 CTD/CRD induction therapy and Lenalidomide maintenance 10mg 21/28 days


Monolayer to multilayer ultrathin films of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide have been prepared on Au(111) and Cu(100) surfaces using physical vapor deposition. The ion-surface interactions are studied using a combination of scanning tunnel microscopy, as well as ultraviolet and x-ray photoemission spectroscopies. It is found that the IL does not decompose at the surface of the metals, and that the IL interaction with the Cu(100) surface is much stronger than with the Au(111) surface. As a consequence, STM imaging at room temperature results in more stable imaging at the monolayer coverage on Cu(100) than on Au(111), and work function measurements indicate a large interface dipole upon deposition of a monolayer of IL on Cu. Additional IL depositions on the two surfaces result in two distinct behaviors for the IL core levels: a gradual energy shift of the core levels on Au and a set of two well defined monolayer and multilayer core level components found at fixed energies on Cu, due to the formation of a tightly bound monolayer. Finally, it is proposed that the particularly strong cation-Cu interaction leads to stabilization of the anion and prevents its decomposition at the surface of Cu(100).


Fruit appearance is of critical importance in apples, but fruit rejected for russet make up a significant proportion of the crop each year. Nonylphenol ethoxylates have been the standard adjuvants in New Zealand for many years, but since their classification as endocrine disruptors, alternatives are needed for major export markets. Two studies in separate years established the russeting potential, in either dilute or concentrate sprays, of a range of adjuvants: alcohol ethoxylates (Actiwett, Chemwet 1000), pinolene polymers (Nu-Film-17, Sprayfast), polyalkoxylate/aliphatic alcohol blends (Regulaid, Spray Aid), an organosilicone/latex polymer blend (Bond Xtra), an organosilicone superspreader (Silwet L-77) and an organosilicone blend superspreader (Du-Wett). Both alcohol ethoxylates significantly increased russet, while no other adjuvant had any effects on export packout levels of the russet-sensitive varieties, Sciros (Pacific RoseTM) and Sciearly (Pacific BeautyTM). In the following year, concentrate sprays containing Du-Wett were compared with dilute spray programmes in four commercial orchards in different locations. Export packouts of 90-98% were achieved. The concentrate programmes reduced stem-end, cheek and total russet in two orchards. Fruit quality and the level of export grade fruit (cv. Tenroy (Royal Gala) and Braeburn) were not compromised by the use of Du-Wett adjuvant in concentrate spray programmes.


Abstract 114 patients with fracture dislocations of the proximal end of humerus have been treated and observed. 83 of them were subjected to conservative and 31--to surgical treatment. Clinical, roentgenologic and radiologic evaluation of the immediate and long-term results allowed to formulate recommendations as to the selection of the treatment method of humerus fracture dislocations depending upon their type and general state of the patients.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection is difficult to eradicate due to the multiple (intrinsic and acquired) antibiotic resistance of bacteria and to their ability to produce a thick biofilm. Antibiotic treatment is hampered by poor antibiotic diffusion, efflux pump overexpression and the development of a persistent subpopulation with low metabolic activity. This is a cause for special concern in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients, where P. aeruginosa lung infection is the chief cause of morbidity and mortality. Combined tobramycin-ciprofloxacin treatment is routinely adopted due to the low frequency of resistant strains and its ostensible ability to control the infection. Nevertheless, symptoms usually recur, mainly due to the antibiotic persisters, which are difficult to detect in routine cultural microbiological assays. This chapter describes the issues involved in the microbiological diagnosis of P. aeruginosa lung infection in CF patients and the possible role of subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations in persister development and infection recurrence.


Several methods of testicular punch biopsy were proposed for obtaining material for histologic or cytologic evaluation, but did not received enough clinical acceptance because it was considered to be too traumatizing. The fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) is considered a useful, simple and fast method to obtain samples from tissues. Regarding the importance of FNA in wild animals, this technique was tried in captive adult jaguar (Panthera onca) aiming the evaluation and possible causes of infertility. Using a needle and disposable syringe, the testis were aspirated. The whole aspirated was smeared onto a microscope slide and stained with Diff-quick method. Semen samples were collected by electroejaculation and analyzed for pH, total volume, motility, status, total spermatozoa count and morphology. Evaluation of sperm volume, pH, motility vigor and morphology were normal. However, was found below concentration. Cytologic quantification revealed germinative cells in all testicles. Among serial types of morphological normal spermatogenesis cells, there were found theratological forms of double final spermatids. These anomalous forms of final spermatids have not been noticed yet in FNA papers. So, we concluded that FNA together with other techniques, provides a useful tool in male infertility diagnostics, mainly when related to endangered species.


The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike IgG titers passively transferred to the fetus from maternal vaccination during pregnancy and timing of infant SARS-CoV-2 infection. Pregnant, vaccinated individuals (n = 105) and their infants (n = 107) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study from July 2021 to June 2022, linking infant anti-Spike IgG titer at birth to risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first fifteen months of life. Cord blood sera were collected at delivery and infant sera were collected at two and six months of age. Anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike IgG levels were quantified in cord and infant sera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Infants were followed for SARS-CoV-2 infection through fifteen months of age. Anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike IgG titers in infants declined significantly with increased age (p < 0.001). Infants with higher anti-Spike cord blood levels had significantly longer disease-free intervals prior to infection with SARS-CoV-2 (p = 0.027). While higher anti-Spike IgG titer at two months of age was associated with a longer interval to infection through nine months of age (p = 0.073), infant anti-Spike IgG titers by six months of age had no impact on disease-free interval. This cohort study suggests that passively transferred maternal IgG is protective against infant SARS-CoV-2 infection, with higher antibody levels at birth significantly associated with longer disease-free intervals. Infant antibodies and protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection wane significantly after six months, suggesting that vaccination is needed at this stage to optimize protection against COVID-19.


When used for visualization of high-dimensional data, the self-organizing map (SOM) requires a coloring scheme, such as the U-matrix, to mark the distances between neurons. Even so, the structures of the data clusters may not be apparent and their shapes are often distorted. In this paper, a visualization-induced SOM (ViSOM) is proposed to overcome these shortcomings. The algorithm constrains and regularizes the inter-neuron distance with a parameter that controls the resolution of the map. The mapping preserves the inter-point distances of the input data on the map as well as the topology. It produces a graded mesh in the data space such that the distances between mapped data points on the map resemble those in the original space, like in the Sammon mapping. However, unlike the Sammon mapping, the ViSOM can accommodate both training data and new arrivals and is much simpler in computational complexity. Several experimental results and comparisons with other methods are presented.


Flows in manifolds is a ubiquitous and important area to implement flow improvements. In almost all applications of industrial pipe flows, there is the requirement to distribute the flow of fluid. There is a deficiency of studies in the area of flow distribution in manifolds with high speed flows. The present work is aimed at providing a further understanding of transient high speed flow distribution in manifolds. The different manifold configurations were analysed computationally. A comparison was focused between through the different aspect ratio manifolds. The velocity field and the eddy viscosity parameters where compared between the simulated flow models to ascertain the key features in the distributed flow field and especially, to determine the areas that showed greater flow recirculation or flow eddies and the separated flow regions. The CFD study was conducted as a high speed flow/ compressible flow regime accounting for the ideal gas dynamic model being air as the working fluid. The study showed that the transient behaviour of flow field can significantly affect distribution of the flow depending on the aspect ratio and number of branches on the manifold. Efficiency gains can be achieved in high speed flows that can be of benefit in industrial and other engineered flow applications.


The difference between the influence of largest family shareholders and institutional block-holders in the price discovery process is investigated, using a sample of firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Largest family shareholders are positively related to the overall informed trading level, but not to the structure change of informed trading. In contrast, institutional block-holders are not related to the overall level of informed trading but to the change in its structure. More informed trading tends to have a worse structure since it includes negative aspects of information. Largest family shareholders promote price discovery in positive strategic private information but their dominating effects hamper the process due to negative opportunistic effects, which leads to a loss of firm valuation. In contrast, institutional block-holders do not change the overall transparency of the information environment but do effect the structure of informed trading, increasing economic efficiency. There is more equality in the availability of opportunistic negative private information for the overall market, but only more availability of strategic positive private information to informed traders, which leads to a positive impact on firm valuation. Finally, investors put a bigger discount on the firm-level component of private information risk than overall private information risk, which contains market wide private information. They also put a bigger premium on the expected signal that indicates a good structure of informed trading. JEL Classification: D82, G14, G34


Abstract: The release of γ‐hydroxybutyrate from preloaded rat brain striatal slices was investigated. K+‐induced depolarization caused an efflux of γ‐hydroxybutyrate of about 50 fmol min‐1 mg‐1 (wet weight), but in a Ca2+‐free medium containing Mg2+, the evoked release was reduced by 50–60%. The release was higher when 100 μM veratridine was used as a depolarizing agent. The efflux of γ‐hydroxybutyrate is related to veratridine and K+ concentration, and is strongly inhibited by 10 μM tetrodotoxin. The Ca2+ channel blocker verapamil induces a large decrease in the efflux of γ‐hydroxybutyrate after both K+‐ and veratridine‐induced depolarization. These results are in favour of a possible transmitter function for γ‐hydroxybutyrate in rat striatum.