This paper analyses whether and how B2B e-commerce applications might increase access to the global economy for firms in developing and transitional economies. E-marketplaces are considered according to two variables: the extent to which access to the marketplaces are open or restricted, and the extent to which the marketplace is focused on online transactions or provision of information. The paper highlights how different types of e-marketplaces address the issues of the reduction of search costs, co-ordination of the activities of buyers and sellers and containment of the risks posed by opportunistic behaviour. It concludes that transaction-oriented, open e-commerce marketplaces are likely to be less important for firms in developing countries firms than both open, information-oriented marketplaces and private and industry-sponsored marketplaces. Policies aimed at promoting B2B ecommerce in developing country firms will need to be tailored to these different types of marketplaces.


Recent Self-Supervised Learning (SSL) methods are able to learn feature representations that are invariant to different data augmentations, which can then be transferred to downstream tasks of interest. However, different downstream tasks require different invariances for their best performance, so the optimal choice of augmentations for SSL depends on the target task. In this paper, we aim to learn self-supervised features that generalize well across a variety of downstream tasks (e.g., object classification, detection and instance segmentation) without knowing any task information beforehand. We do so by Masked Augmentation Subspace Training (or MAST) to encode in the single feature space the priors from different data augmentations in a factorized way. Specifically, we disentangle the feature space into separate subspaces, each induced by a learnable mask that selects relevant feature dimensions to model invariance to a specific augmentation. We show the success of MAST in jointly capturing generalizable priors from different augmentations, using both unique and shared features across the subspaces. We further show that MAST benefits from uncertainty modeling to reweight ambiguous samples from strong augmentations that may cause similarity mismatch in each subspace. Experiments demonstrate that MAST consistently improves generalization on various downstream tasks, while being task-agnostic and efficient during SSL. We also provide interesting insights about how different augmentations are related and how uncertainty reflects learning difficulty.


Oils and fats are vital constituents in our daily diet, which provide energy,
essential fatty acids, and serve as a carrier of fat soluble vitamins. In India, about 80%
of the edible oils such as ground nut, sunflower, safflower, mustard, rice bran and
coconut oil as well as hydrogenated fats are used for cooking and frying. During frying
several undesirable physical and chemical changes occur in oils/fats such as
hydrolysis, oxidation as well as thermal decomposition and thermal polymerization.
Extensive research has been reported in literature to describe the chemical changes in
frying oils, but very few have attempted to relate these chemical changes to the
physical and thermal properties of the oil. Physical properties of oil influence its heat
transfer characteristics during immersion frying. There is an awareness regarding the
utilisation of blended oil for culinary uses. The blended oil was reported to show higher
oxidative stability, less free fatty acid and less polar compound formation as well as
higher heat stability during frying operations. However, biotransformation of edible oil
through enzymatic interesterification holds further promise as such modifications
produce clear, transparent, homogeneous, highly stable oils with improved physical
and/or thermal characteristics. These various aspects is addressed in this investigation.


In this work, the feasibility of using interdigitated electrodes to measure the kinetics of photoacid generation in a resist film has been examined. Interdigitated electrodes provide a quick, noninvasive, nondestructive alternative to traditional Dill C measurement techniques and unlike traditional techniques is easily performed in a wafer fab environment. The initial results indicate that the interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) used in this work are capable of both detecting the small quantities of acid generated by photoacid generators (PAGs) at loadings typical of those found in chemically amplified resists and quantifying the amount of acid generated during exposure. In addition, a linear relationship has been observed between measured IDE capacitance and both PAG and photoacid content. This relationship has been utilized to determine the Dill C parameter from the measured IDE capacitance response vs. exposure dose for films consisting of triphenylsulfonium triflate (TPS-Tf) in a poly(hydroxystyrene) (PHOST) matrix. A Dill C value of 0.0445 cm 2 /mJ was measured for TPS-Tf in PHOST, which is in agreement with literature values for similar PAG-polymer systems.


This study focuses on the development and application of a hybrid moving horizon estimator (HMHE) to achieve simultaneous estimation of both continuum and noncontinuum states in a constrained switching dynamic system. One of the major issues in a moving horizon estimation approach is the development of an arrival cost to summarize the effect of past and a prior information. In this work, we have developed a generalized arrival cost, which accounts for both continuum and noncontinuum states. A generalized hybrid state estimator, which can be used as a stand-alone continuum state estimator, or as a simultaneous continuum and noncontinuum state estimator, is developed. The effects of constraints, process, and measurement noise levels, as well as a moving horizon length on the simultaneous estimation of both the continuum and noncontinuum states are analyzed. The effectiveness of the HMHE is demonstrated through simulation studies, while its practical reliability is tested by conducting experimental studies on a distillation column. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012


Since 2015, educational policy has required post-sixteen learners in England to resit GCSE English if
they had marginally failed to gain Grade 4 (C). Nationally, results for post-sixteen GCSE resits have
been poor, with less than a quarter of learners reaching the required standard at GCSE English
each year, and vocational education (VE) learners have had the poorest results. The aim of this
research was to examine the experience of VE learners subject to this policy.
Dominant policy and institutional discourses have positioned GCSE as a benchmark of attainment,
a determiner for future success and a lever for economic productivity. However, the findings did
not uncover morose participants, disenfranchised because of their failure to pass GCSE. Using the
construct of Figured Worlds, analysis revealed that the confluence of VE and GCSE retake created a
hybridised learning experience. Using the theoretical framework of Figured Worlds, the findings
reveal that this hybridised experience created agentic learner identities through learner discourses
that positioned the GCSE as meaningless assessment compared with the experience of tangible,
relevant and progressive learning in VE. The findings suggest that the experience of VE and GCSE
retake has accidentally created the conditions for a positive learner identity and indicates
implications of this finding for future practice and policy in VE.


Disabled women in Zanzibar as other disabled women in Africa are engulfed in a number of problems. This study evaluated the social response measures taken by the government and other stakeholders to curb the gender-based violence facing disabled women in Zanzibar. Data for this study were collected using structured interviews and focus group discussions with social welfare officers, representatives of disabled people's organizations, disabled women and disabled girls. In addition, to data from the interview and focus group discussions, data from relevant documents including acts and policies were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings of the study have revealed that although Zanzibar has designed and implemented some interventions to eliminate gender-based violence, still disabled women and girls were the major victims of gender based violence. The findings further indicated that the interventions aimed to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls with disabilities included policy formulation, enacting laws and providing specific support services to the victims. The research findings have also shown that the challenges facing interventions included lack of collaboration between family members, the police and other legal organs in Zanzibar. The study has concluded that the social response over violence against women and girls with disabilities need to be reinforced by gradually attempting to change the attitude of the society towards women and girls with disabilities. The study has recommended that social workers, social welfare officers, legal and paralegal professionals as well as NGOs should collaborate to eliminate the offence; stern measures should be employed against the perpetrators of gender based violence against women and girls with disabilities.


This study aims to highlight the causes behind the misuse of punctuation marks in order to help Libyan students reduce committing less mistakes in both skills writing and reading. In addition, this current study investigates the relationship between writing and reading in terms of punctuations, it is restricted only to punctuation marks, not all the cohesive devices. A writing test and a reading passage is formulated to test Libyan university students' ability in using punctuation marks as well as an interview is conducted to collect more accurate data. In this research paper, the participants are chosen according to Solven's formula using the qualitative descriptive study, results of this study, could provide solutions that may help to overcome punctuation problems, which many EFL students of the English Department, Faculty of Arts Misurata University face. Finally, the findings refer to the fact that Libyan students do suffer from dealing with punctuation mechanics continuously. Moreover, these findings can be used by teachers to improve students' ability to acknowledge the effective use of punctuations and reduce their problem of misusing punctuation marks in both skills writing and reading. On the light of the findings, it is clear that they committed a large number of remarkable errors progressively, yet in this study, having students become aware of their punctuation mistakes, would possibly enhance and help students to improve their capability to write and read committing less errors. Additionally, their educational motivation and interaction have been turned out extremely higher.


This study presents data on the food composition of the Near Eastern Fire Salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata, from Bingöl, eastern Turkey. A total of 139 prey items was determined in the food content of 28 individuals (14 juveniles, 7 males, and 7 females). Insecta (N%= 37.4), Gastropoda (27.3%), and Isopoda (25.9%) constitute together 91% of the food items. The most frequent prey groups in the diet are Coleoptera (F%=50.0%), Isopoda (57.1%), and Gastropoda (46.4%). Coleoptera (V%= 34.6%), Gastropoda (28.0%), and Isopoda (23.5%) had the highest prey volumes. No significant difference was found between the sexes in food composition. The species generally feeds upon poorly flying or slow-moving invertebrates, but is opportunistic in taking up more mobile prey species as well. Diptera, Odonata and Hemiptera were found in small numbers only.


Data from the C-band weather radar located in central Estonia in conjunction with the latest reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), ERA5, and Nordic Lightning Information System (NORDLIS) lightning location system data are used to investigate the climatology of convective storms for nine summer periods (2010–2019, 2017 excluded). First, an automated 35-dBZ reflectivity threshold-based storm area detection algorithm is used to derive initial individual convective cells from the base level radar reflectivity. Those detected cells are used as a basis combined with convective available potential energy (CAPE) values from ERA5 reanalysis to find thresholds for a severe convective storm in Estonia. A severe convective storm is defined as an area with radar reflectivity at least 51 dBZ and CAPE at least 80 J/kg. Verification of those severe convective storm areas with lightning data reveals a good correlation on various temporal scales from hourly to yearly distributions. The probability of a severe convective storm day in the study area during the summer period is 45%, and the probability of a thunderstorm day is 54%. Jenkinson Collison' circulation types are calculated from ERA5 reanalysis to find the probability of a severe convective storm depending on the circulation direction and the representativeness of the investigated period by comparing it against 1979–2019. The prevailing airflow direction is from SW and W, whereas the probability of the convective storm to be severe is in the case of SE and S airflow. Finally, the spatial distribution of the severe convective storms shows that the yearly mean number of severe convective days for the 100 km2 grid cell is mostly between 3 and 8 in the distance up to 150 km from radar. Severe convective storms are most frequent in W and SW parts of continental Estonia.


In previous reports (Annunziato ejt al., we have described two classes of newly replicated chromatin which differ 1n structure, solubility properties, and requirements for maturation. One class is nucleosomal, soluble at low to Intermediate ionic strengths, and acquires mature nucleosomal composition and normal repeat length in the absence of concurrent protein synthesis. In contrast, the other class 1s cleaved irregularly by MNase* (appearing as a smear in DMA gels), Is Insoluble at moderate ionic strengths, requires protein synthesis to gain normal subunit structure, and comprises^60% of total new chromatin DNA after mild nuclease digestion. It is now demonstrated that this heterogeneous component (produced by the action of either MNase or Hae III on chromatin replicated 1n cycloheximide) yields nudeosomes when redigested with MNase. The presence of nudeosomes within heterogeneous chromatin fragments suggests that nucleosomal and non-nucleosomal regions may be juxtaposed during chromatin replication. These findings are discussed with respect to current models of nucleosome segregation.


Purpose Previous studies in Euro-American populations have shown that women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have increased levels of "psychological burden". While PCOS has been reported in Arab countries such as Oman, there is a dearth of studies of the occurrence of psychological burden among PCOS women in the Arab region. This study aimed to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of PCOS women diagnosed with non-PCOS women and prevalence of severity of depression, anxiety and stress and to explore the association between PCOS and indices of psychological disturbances after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Patients and methods This hospital-based case–control study was conducted among women aged 16–49 years. The study included 52 women diagnosed with PCOS (as per Rotterdam 2003 criteria) and 60 control who were PCOS-free. The presence of psychological burden – depression, anxiety and stress – was quantified using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Results The crude odds ratios (ORs) generated by logistic regression models indicated an increased risk of depression, anxiety and stress among women with PCOS compared to controls. The adjusted OR also indicated an increased risk of depression (OR =1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50, 2.43), anxiety (OR =1.09; 95% CI 0.47, 2.52) and stress (OR =1.45; 95% CI 0.68, 3.12), However, no statistical differences were observed along the three psychological distresses (p>0.05) between the two study groups. Conclusion The study indicates that the presence of PCOS is associated with an increased risk of psychological burden. If this study will withstand further scrutiny, meeting psychological needs of such population would need to be contemplated.


This paper present the performance analysis of an 11kV grid connected photovoltaic system. World energy consumption is increasing day by day .Growing scarcity and rising prices of fossil fuels may lead to economic instability. Continuously increasing energy consumption will overload the distribution grids as well as the power stations, therefore having a negative impact on power availability, security and quality. The photovoltaic system is green and renewable source of energy; it can enhance the operation of distribution system by improving the voltage profile and by reducing the energy losses of distribution feeders. The simulation diagrams of 11kV grid connected photovoltaic system are carried out in MATLAB (R2013A) / Simulink environment to evaluate the performance of grid connected system.


Distant context view of modern Delphi, looking east over the Gulf of Itea, off the Gulf of Corinth, with Mt. Parnassos in the background (Ancient Delphi is just beyond the modern town); Site in Phokis in central Greece, about 165 km north-west of Athens, which flourished from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. It was one of the most important sacred sites of ancient Greece, the home of the Delphic Oracle and reputed to be the centre of the world. High in the foothills of Mt Parnassos, Delphi lies between the twin cliffs of the Phaidriades ('shining rocks'), overlooking the valley of the River Pleistos and the plain of Kirrha (now Itea) on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/9/2007)


Aboriginality survives the long history of a violent colonial project. In the contemporary space an Aboriginal resistance and survival struggle continues. However, the colonial project also continues. The state still has assimilation agendas, intent upon the removal of Aboriginal peoples from traditional lands and the absorption of Aboriginality into a 'white Australia'. Colonising acts of violence, both past and present, have been read as being beneficial to Aboriginal communities, saving them from their violent selves. A comprehensive analysis of the sources of Aboriginal community violence from a diversity of Aboriginal perspectives is rarely made by the mass media or given space for communication and conversation. The Howard government's intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal communities is supported by the current Rudd government, and remains largely immune from a critical gaze at its underlying impulses.


This paper reports on erros made by bilingual speakers of Swahili-English in Tanzania. The paper argues that code switching or mixing is not always an indication of insufficient knowledge of grammar, hence, when speakers code-switch or mix always obey the grammar of each language. However, the fact that some Tanzanian speakers have low level of English proficiency is revealed in the analysis. This is because there are errors which appear to affect only those who lack principles and patterns of English language. Among the most pertinent errors affecting Swahili-English bilinguals the paper discusses (i) number concordial inflection (ii) double marking (iii) tense/aspect errors, and (iv) adjectival and adverbial inflection. It is generally argued that among other factors unrelated linguistic structures of L1 and L2 generate ill-formed blendings.


The Dirac equation written on the boundary of the Nutku helicoid space consists of a system of ordinary differential equations. We tried to analyze this system and we found that it has a higher singularity than those of the Heun equations which give the solutions of the Dirac equation in the bulk. We also lose an independent integral of motion on the boundary. This facts explain why we could not find the solution of the system on the boundary in terms of known functions. We make the stability analysis of the helicoid and catenoid cases and end up with an Appendix which gives a new example wherein one encounters a form of the Heun equation.


There are two subtypes of sluicing, merger and sprouting. This paper investigates the structure of matrix sprouting in Japanese, which has not been studied in literature. The previous studies of matrix sluicing have looked at only merger-type sluicing and argue that matrix sluicing is derived differently from embedded sluicing in Japanese (Abe 2015; Hasegawa 2008). It has been argued that embedded sluicing is derived from cleft by CP-deletion, while matrix sluicing is derived by TP-deletion. However, this study shows that matrix sprouting is derived by cleft like embedded sluicing. In addition, I argue that even matrix merger should be analyzed under the cleft-based approach. Thus, I attempt to unify Japanese sluicing under the cleft-based approach. Furthermore, I argue that Japanese sprouting is derived by PFdeletion, not by LF-copying (Chung et al. 1995, 2010; Oku 1998; Saito 2007; Sakamoto 2017) based on the novel finding that the remnant wh-phrase in sluicing cannot drop its morphological case. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol26/iss1/11


Stress-induced features, such as borehole breakout and drilling-induced fractures, often observed on borehole image logs, reflect the orientation of the in situ stress in the formation. If a large database of stress data is available from a given region this may be used to create a "conceptual model", forming a link between structural geology and geomechanics. This paper presents a conceptual model of the North African region based on data from 100 oil and gas wells across Algeria.

Stress orientations show an overall NNW-SSE trend, which may be linked to the relative motion of the African and Eurasian plates. Local fluctuations of the stress field occur on all scales, ranging from large regional structures over local faults to localized deflections near fractures. Relatively flat surfaces, such as formation boundaries, also deflect the stress field if associated with a significant mechanical contrast. Examples of all have been observed on image logs. Borehole breakout is systematically located in mechanically strong rocks, such as sandstone reservoirs, but absent from softer shales, indicating that stresses are partitioned with higher magnitudes and/or high deviatoric stress in reservoirs. This has implications for borehole stability as well as for completion applications, such as hydraulic fracture stimulation.


The dependence of pigment granule migration (PGM) upon the receptor potential was examined using several strains of electroretinogram (ERG)- defective mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. The mutants that have a defective lamina component but a normal receptor component of the ERG (no on-transient A [nonA] and tan) exhibited normal pigment granule migration. The mutants that have very small or no receptor potentials (certain no receptor potential A [norpA] alleles), on the other hand, exhibited no PGM. In the case of the temperature-sensitive norpA mutant, norpAH52, normal PGM was present at 17 degrees but not at 32 degrees C or above, corresponding to its electrophysiological phenotype. In the transient receptor potential (trp) mutant, whose receptor potential decays to the baseline within a few seconds during a sustained light stimulus, the pigment granules initially moved close to the rhabdomere when light was turned on but moved away after about 5 s during a sustained light stimulus. All these results lend strong support to the notion that PGM is initiated by a light-evoked depolarization of the receptor membrane, i.e., the receptor potential. However, under certain experimental conditions, the receptor potentials failed to induce PGM in the trp mutant. The depolarization of the receptor, thus, appears to be closely associated with PGM but is not a sufficient condition for PGM.


Patterns of scleractinian distribution and abundance, reproductive ecology, recruitment and mortality were studied over a 2 year period on a patch reef site at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. The purpose of the study was to examine aspects of the population ecology of a range of coral species, and to determine the relationships between community structure and the ecology of the component species in that community. In particular, an attempt was made to examine dynamic aspects of community structure.

In a series of five 10m x 1m transects, 117 scleractinian species were recorded. Coral cover was significantly higher on the shallow reef top (2m deep) than at the reef base (< 9m deep), but there were no significant differences in number of colonies, number of species, Shannon's diversity index, Pielou's evenness, or mean size class of colonies between the two sites. Coral species showed distribution patterns that could be related to a depth gradient.

Reproductive ecology of five scleractinian species present in this community, Lobophyllia corymbosa (Forskal), Favia favus (Forskal), Porites lutea (Edwards and Haime), Porites australiensis (Vaughn) and Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) was studied for two years. All but P. damicornis released gametes that were probably fertilized externally. Two major reproductive patterns were found amongst the 4 non-viviparous species: L. corymbosa and F. favus were simultaneous hermaphrodites and released gametes over several days in summer; P. lutea and P. australiensis were dioecious and released gametes over several weeks to several months respectively, also in summer. The predominance of non-viviparous species amongst those sampled supports the generalization that a brief annual spawning period with larvae developing externally may prove to be the dominant form of sexual reproduction in hermatypic corals.

The fifth species, Pocillopora damicornis showed indications of seasonality in gametogenesis and planula release at Lizard Island, in contrast with several previous reports on the species at other locations. Gametogenesis occurred predominantly in winter, and planulae were released with lunar periodicity that was dependent on the season. P. damicornis planulae settled preferentially on biologically conditioned, algal-covered substrata, rather than unconditioned, bare coral substrata, but showed subsequent mortality inversely related to this settlement preference.

Coral mortality rate varied amongst these five species. P. damtcornts had the highest mortality, followed by L. corymbosa, the massive Porites species, and F. favus in order of decreasing mortality rate. Mortality was very high during a summer period when extensive bleaching (=loss of zooxanthellae) was noted. For most species, mortality rate declined with increasing colony size.

There were no significant differences in recruitment (at ›1cm diameter) or mortality rates between colonies in shallow and deep transects over an 18 month period. Between 32% and 48% of all colonies recorded in transects died during the 18 month study period. Despite the potential for large changes in generic abundances as a result of the high rate of turnover in coral colonies, there was usually less difference in the same transect over time than there was between neighbouring transects, i.e. the composition of the coral fauna tended to be maintained over time. Recruitment and mortality rates varied greatly among genera, but were similar in genera from the same families.

Coral spat recruited exclusively onto the lower and vertical surfaces of coral blocks used as settlement plates. Fish grazing on plates in shallow water and sediment deposition in deeper water were concluded to be primary causes of spat death. Spat of three families were abundant. Acroporids were most abundant and recruited mainly in summer, but at low densities at other times. Pocilloporids were second most abundant and recruited evenly throughout the year. Poritids were least abundant of these families and recruited almost exclusively in summer. These temporal patterns could be related to known spawning times of some coral species. Spat were most abundant in shallow sites, but the familial composition of spat was similar at deep and shallow sites. The deep/ shallow variation in abundances of spat on settlement plates, and the fact that these differences were not reflected in recruitment at 1cm diameter in transects, raises questions as to whether either settlement space or availability of planulae limit recruitment.

Overall, both coral species diversity and colony mortality rate (which may be assumed to reflect the degree of disturbance at a site) did not vary significantly between the deep and shallow sites. This is consistent with the intermediate disturbance model of diversity maintenance. However, the fact that coral composition at the site did not change over 18 months is consistent with equilibrium models of diversity maintenance. A mechanism for succession in the absence of major interspecific competition is proposed, and a number of processes, both equilibrium and non-equilibrium, are concluded to play a role in the maintenance of high diversity in this community.


Abstract Well and seismic data were combined with existing radiometric data and 1328 new laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb zircon ages from igneous, sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks in three wells to determine the origin and evolution of key crustal terranes, and the timing of initial rifting and synrift deposition in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and western Bahamas. These data reveal that several southeastern Gulf of Mexico crustal terranes, distinguished by their zircon age distributions and geochemistries, were amalgamated into a single terrane of mixed Pan-African and Amazonian crustal affinity (the newly named West Florida Terrane) during the formation of Pangaea. Sinistral offset along the Florida Transfer Zone (FTZ) during the Late Triassic–Middle Jurassic was likely to have been facilitated by crustal heterogeneity at the boundary between the West Florida and Suwannee terranes, a prime area for reactivation during the break-up of Pangaea. Initial extension, igneous activity and synrift deposition in the region began during the Middle Triassic in the western Bahamas and offshore North Florida, and rapidly expanded into the South Florida Basin by the Early Jurassic. Peak igneous activity and accommodation in the region was diachronous from north to south, beginning in the north during the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian–Pliensbachian) before ending in the south in the Early–Middle Jurassic (Sinemurian–Aalenian/early Bajocian). Detrital zircons in sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks were primarily derived from local erosion of pre-existing crustal terranes. Long-distance transport was likely for pre-Neoproterozoic and post-Cambrian Paleozoic zircons. Middle Jurassic detrital zircons in volcaniclastic rocks of the western Bahamas may have been deposited during ash-fall events from hotspot activity in the southeastern Bahamas.


INCREASING administrative and legal responsibilities have been added to the traditional roles of physicians. This became even clearer to me as a medical adviser to administrative law judges considering appeals of applicants who have been initially denied disability claims under the Social Security system. Guidelines are published listing specific medical requirements for disability under Social Security regulations. The physician's role is to interpret the medical guidelines and advise the judge if the objective medical data meet the requirements. However, what does one do when no objective medical data exist? I recently served as medical adviser in 3 cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) that created a dilemma. Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by a principal complaint of severe fatigue of at least 6 months' duration associated with appreciable disability and unexplained by recognized organic disease.1,2A recent study3has concluded that adding cognitive behavior therapy to the medical


This study aims to design an optical system based on the model of Liu & Brennan by using Zemax EE2006 program. This model was selected because it more accurately reflects anatomical and visual data as compared to the physiological eye model. Polyurethane lens (Pu) is designed for patients with presbyopia patients by using multi-configuration function in Zemax. According to human eye structure, three distances were defined, namely, far (10.0 +09 mm), middle (1000mm), and near (500mm), to simulate the position of the body, investigate the difference in image received by the eye, and determine the effect of visual defect on image quality. Several techniques have been adopted in the Zemax program to evaluate the visual design efficiency and the magnitude of the difference in the image before and after lens insertion. Results showed that bi-focal polyurethane lens exhibited good performance for far and intermediate distances.


In this thesis, the atmospheric pressure nitrogen dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma modified polyproylene (PP) melt blown non-woven surface wettability are investigated. The change of surfaces physical and chemical properties are studied by water contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after plasma treatment. The experimental results indicate the surface hydrophilic can be greatly improved when the PP simples is treated by atmospheric pressure nitrogen DBD plasma for a short time. And a large number of oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing functional groups are inplanted on the PP non-woven sample surface.


The author indicates as the best measures regarding the prophylaxie of hanseniasis a) The active involvement of the patients as well as those in immediate contact in the struggle against the disease. They should be put on the alert for the discovery of new cases and their indication to a specialist. b) The unrestricted sale of sulfone in order to give to the patients, easer access to that drug. c) The creation of an Institute of Scientific Research for the study of hanseniasis. d) The raising of fundi through government or private (tax deductible), contributions of national and international institutions.


Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurological disorders among children, that affects different areas in the brain that allows executing certain functionalities. This may lead to a variety of impairments such as difficulties in paying attention or focusing, controlling impulsive behaviors and overreacting. The continuous symptoms may have a severe impact in the long-term. This paper discusses the existing literature on the identification of ADHD using eye movement data and fMRI together including different deep learning techniques, existing models and a thorough analysis of the existing literature. We have identified the current challenges and possible future directions to provide computational support for early identification of ADHD patients that enable early treatments.


In this paper we present a scheduling algorithm for VLIW architectures with chained functional units. We show how our algorithm can help speed up programs at the instruction level, for an architecture called REPLICA, a configurable emulated shared memory (CESM) architecture whose computation model is based on the PRAM model. Since our LLVM based compiler is parameterizable in the number of different functional units, read and write ports to register file etc. we can generate code for different REPLICA architectures that have different functional unit configurations. We show for a set of different configurations how our implementation can produce high quality code; and we argue that the high parametrization of the compiler makes it, together with the simulator, useful for hardware/software co-design.


Ultraviolet and infrared sensors at high quantum efficiency on-board a small satellite (UVSQ-SAT) is a CubeSat dedicated to the observation of the Earth and the Sun. This satellite has been in orbit since January 2021. It measures the Earth's outgoing shortwave and longwave radiations. The satellite does not have an active pointing system. To improve the accuracy of the Earth's radiative measurements and to resolve spatio-temporal fluctuations as much as possible, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the attitude of the UVSQ-SAT CubeSat. The attitude determination of small satellites remains a challenge, and UVSQ-SAT represents a real and unique example to date for testing and validating different methods to improve the in-orbit attitude determination of a CubeSat. This paper presents the flight results of the UVSQ-SAT's attitude determination. The Tri-Axial Attitude Determination (TRIAD) method was used, which represents one of the simplest solutions to the spacecraft attitude determination problem. Another method based on the Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) was used to improve the results obtained with the TRIAD method. In sunlight, the CubeSat attitude is determined at an accuracy better than 3° (at one σ) for both methods. During eclipses, the accuracy of the TRIAD method is 14°, while it reaches 10° (at one σ) for the recursive MEKF method. Many future satellites could benefit from these studies in order to validate methods and configurations before launch.


The molecular characterization of bipartite geminiviruses infecting the common leguminous weed Macroptilium lathyroides was accomplished using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hybridization, and nucleotide sequence analysis. The predicted PCR-amplified fragments for DNA-A and DNA-B showed that M. lathyroides was infected with bipartite geminiviruses with a genome organization similar to other Western Hemisphere geminiviruses. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that M. lathyroides from Jamaica was infected with two different viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of these macroptilium viruses from Jamaica and Western Hemisphere viruses, including three viruses from Jamaica indicated that macroptilium golden mosaic virus Jamaica strain 1 (MacGMV-JM1) was phylogenetically related to PYMV and SiGMV-JM, while the other virus, macroptilium golden mosaic virus Jamaica strain 2 (MacGMV-JM2) was closely related to two Jamaican viruses, TDLCV and WGMV. The results suggest that crop and weed geminiviruses from Jamaica are related but distinct, and that M. lathyroides is not host to previously described crop-infecting geminiviruses from Jamaica.


Intensive formation of the investment and innovation process contributes to the diversification of the industry, the modernization of the basic spheres of the economy, thereby increasing the return on invested capital. Under investments we will become aware of a purposeful investment for a specific period of money in all its configurations.


Hepatic uptake and efflux transporters govern the systemic and hepatic exposure of many drugs and metabolites. Enalapril is a pharmacologically inactive prodrug of enalaprilat. Following oral administration, enalapril is converted to enalaprilat in hepatocytes and undergoes translocation into the systemic circulation to exert its pharmacologic effect by inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme. Although the transport proteins governing hepatic uptake of enalapril and the biliary excretion of enalapril and enalaprilat are well established, it remains unknown how hepatically derived enalaprilat translocates across the basolateral membrane into the systemic circulation. In this study, the role of ATP-binding cassette transporters in the hepatic basolateral efflux of enalaprilat was investigated using membrane vesicles. ATP-dependent uptake of enalaprilat into vesicles expressing multidrug resistance – associated protein (MRP) 4 was significantly greater ( ∼ 3.8-fold) than in control vesicles. In contrast, enalaprilat was not transported to a significant extent by MRP3, and enalapril was not transported by either MRP3 or MRP4. The functional importance of MRP4 in the basolateral excretion of derived enalaprilat was evaluated using a novel basolateral efflux protocol developed in human sandwich-cultured hepatocytes. Under normal culture conditions, the mean intrinsic basolateral efflux clearance (CL int,basolateral ) of enalaprilat was 0.026 6 0.012 m l/min; enalaprilat CL int,basolateral was significantly reduced to 0.009 6 0.009 m l/min by pretreatment with the pan-MRP inhibitor MK-571. Results suggest that hepatically derived enalaprilat is excreted across the hepatic basolateral membrane by MRP4. Changes in MRP4-mediated basolateral efflux may alter the systemic concentrations of this active metabolite, and potentially the efficacy of enalapril.


While deep learning through empirical risk minimization (ERM) has succeeded at achieving human-level performance at a variety of complex tasks, ERM is not robust to distribution shifts or adversarial attacks. Synthetic data augmentation followed by empirical risk minimization (DA-ERM) is a simple and widely used solution to improve robustness in ERM. In addition, consistency regularization can be applied to further improve the robustness of the model by forcing the representation of the original sample and the augmented one to be similar. However, existing consistency regularization methods are not applicable to covariant data augmentation, where the label in the augmented sample is dependent on the augmentation function. For example, dialog state covaries with named entity when we augment data with a new named entity. In this paper, we propose data augmented loss invariant regularization (DAIR), a simple form of consistency regularization that is applied directly at the loss level rather than intermediate features, making it widely applicable to both invariant and covariant data augmentation regardless of network architecture, problem setup, and task. We apply DAIR to real-world learning problems involving covariant data augmentation: robust neural task-oriented dialog state tracking and robust visual question answering. We also apply DAIR to tasks involving invariant data augmentation: robust regression, robust classification against adversarial attacks, and robust ImageNet classification under distribution shift. Our experiments show that DAIR consistently outperforms ERM and DA-ERM with little marginal computational cost and sets new state-of-the-art results in several benchmarks involving covariant data augmentation. Our code of all experiments is available at: https://github.com/optimization-for-data-driven-science/DAIR.git


Foreign aid is the subject in development economics that created controversies about its influences on the economy of the recipient countries. This study is an attempt to explain the effects that aid may have on trade, with a focus on the trade costs associated with the creation of business ties. Tied aid creates incentives for the developing countries to keep positive trading relationships with their donors, mainly because of the diminishing trad-ing costs associated with long term contacts. Subsequently, programs related to infra-structure and trade enforcement have been launched, that work towards the integration of the Least Developing Countries into the world economy.This study includes the analysis of the trade flows and foreign aid disbursement be-tween the "Group of Seven" countries (G7) and the Least Developing Countries, for a time span of 22 years (1988-2009). The results show that aid does have a significant ef-fect on the trade flows between the developed and developing countries. The explana-tion to this is related to the trading costs and the infrastructure development that tends to diminish the costs linked to distance- and border-related issues, and the sunk costs of market research and entry. In accordance, the distance coefficient is smaller after 1997, as result of decreased trade costs and increased export flows from recipients to donors.


A convolutional neural network (CNN)-based image reconstruction algorithm for two-phase material imaging is presented and verified with experimental data from a capacitively coupled electrical resistance tomography (CCERT) sensor. As a contactless version of electrical resistance tomography (ERT), CCERT has advantages such as no invasion, low cost, no radiation, and rapid response for two-phase material imaging. Besides that, CCERT avoids contact error of ERT by imaging from outside of the pipe. Forward modeling was implemented based on the practical circular array sensor, and the inverse image reconstruction was realized by a CNN-based supervised learning algorithm, as well as the well-known total variation (TV) regularization algorithm for comparison. The 2D, monochrome, 2500-pixel image was divided into 625 clusters, and each cluster was used individually to train its own CNN to solve the 16 classes classification problem. Inherent regularization for the assumption of binary materials enabled us to use a classification algorithm with CNN. The iterative TV regularization algorithm achieved a close state of the two-phase material reconstruction by its sparsity-based assumption. The supervised learning algorithm established the mathematical model that mapped the simulated resistance measurement to the pixel patterns of the clusters. The training process was carried out only using simulated measurement data, but simulated and experimental tests were both conducted to investigate the feasibility of applying a multi-layer CNN for CCERT imaging. The performance of the CNN algorithm on the simulated data is demonstrated, and the comparison between the results created by the TV-based algorithm and the proposed CNN algorithm with the real-world data is also provided.


Mitochondrial very-long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (VLCAD) was purified from human liver. The molecular masses of the native enzyme and the subunit were estimated to be 154 and 70 kD, respectively. The enzyme was found to catalyze the major part of mitochondrial palmitoylcoenzyme A dehydrogenation in liver, heart, skeletal muscle, and skin fibroblasts (89-97, 86-99, 96-99, and 78-87%, respectively). Skin fibroblasts from 26 patients suspected of having a disorder of mitochondrial beta-oxidation were analyzed for VLCAD protein using immunoblotting, and 7 of them contained undetectable or trace levels of the enzyme. The seven deficient fibroblast lines were characterized by measuring acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenation activities, overall palmitic acid oxidation, and VLCAD protein synthesis using pulse-chase, further confirming the diagnosis of VLCAD deficiency. These results suggested the heterogenous nature of the mutations causing the deficiency in the seven patients. Clinically, all patients with VLCAD deficiency exhibited cardiac disease. At least four of them presented with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This frequency (> 57%) was much higher than that observed in patients with other disorders of mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid oxidation that may be accompanied by cardiac disease in infants.


Electrophysiological recordings with electrodes, or more generally, with arrays of multielectrodes, are key for recording neural activity data from the central nervous system. This technique delivers high temporal and spatial resoluti on, as well as enables neuron stimulation by current injection. The neuronal activity en coded by action potentials (simply called "spikes") of individual neurons, however, i s not recorded directly; rather the measurement contains a mixture of spike trains from seve ral n urons and additional noise. To determine the spiking times of a neuron and to deter min a spike's originating neuron, spike detection and spike sorting algorithms are ne eded. The main focus of this thesis is the development of such algorithms. The system consisting of neurons emitting spike trains, the ir mixture and corruption by noise, and of the process of recording these data with seve ral el ctrodes channels, is modelled as a linear time-invariant multiple input, multip le output system. The problem of spike detection /sorting can then be regarded as a blind equalisation and sour ce separation task. We use finite impulse response filters for eq ualisation and source separation throughout the thesis, and therefore, we first start w ith analysing some properties of these filters. Amongst others, their performance in terms of detection probability and false alarm probability is studied in the case when the sp ike waveform is perfectly known, and when it is estimated from the data themselves. The subsequently presented spike detection and sorting algorithms are two stage algori thms, consisting of a system identification phase and the following equalisation /separation. Common to them is that both stages can be performed with minimal human supervi sion although the spatial mixing and temporal distortion are unknown, and the ability to adapt to changing waveforms during the equalisation /separation stage. As such they can be termed as adaptive and blind array processing techniques. Finally, we also pro pose an unsupervised control algorithm for electrodes, which allows to move them to favou rable recording sites. This closes the loop, as the system can now perform spike detectio n/sorting at any position and decides by itself whether to move the electrode to a more p romising position or whether current quality of data is su fficient.


Abstract Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a kind of common and disabling complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Emerging studies have demonstrated that tendon fibroblasts play a crucial role in remodeling phase of wound healing. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying high glucose (HG)-induced decrease in tendon fibroblasts viability. In the present study, the rat models of DFU were established, and collagen deposition, autophagy activation and cell apoptosis in tendon tissues were assessed using Hematoxylin–Eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) assay, respectively. Tendon fibroblasts were isolated from Achilles tendon of the both limbs, and the effect of HG on autophagy activation in tendon fibroblasts was assessed using Western blot analysis, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and flow cytometry. We found that cell apoptosis was increased significantly and autophagy activation was decreased in foot tendon tissues of DFU rats compared with normal tissues. The role of HG in regulating tendon fibroblasts viability was then investigated in vitro, and data showed that HG repressed cell viability and increased cell apoptosis. Furthermore, HG treatment reduced LC3-II expression and increased p62 expression, indicating that HG repressed autophagy activation of tendon fibroblasts. The autophagy activator rapamycin reversed the effect. More importantly, rapamycin alleviated the suppressive role of HG in tendon fibroblasts viability. Taken together, our data demonstrate that HG represses tendon fibroblasts proliferation by inhibiting autophagy activation in tendon injury.


PURPOSE
The aim of the present study is to characterize the maturational changes during the first 6 months of life in the neural encoding of two speech sound features relevant for early language acquisition: the stimulus fundamental frequency (fo), related to stimulus pitch, and the vowel formant composition, particularly F1. The frequency-following response (FFR) was used as a snapshot into the neural encoding of these two stimulus attributes.

METHOD
FFRs to a consonant-vowel stimulus /da/ were retrieved from electroencephalographic recordings in a sample of 80 healthy infants (45 at birth and 35 at the age of 1 month). Thirty-two infants (16 recorded at birth and 16 recorded at 1 month) returned for a second recording at 6 months of age.

RESULTS
Stimulus fo and F1 encoding showed improvements from birth to 6 months of age. Most remarkably, a significant improvement in the F1 neural encoding was observed during the first month of life.

CONCLUSION
Our results highlight the rapid and sustained maturation of the basic neural machinery necessary for the phoneme discrimination ability during the first 6 months of age.


Recovery of plants from disturbance is frequently associated with the presence of an extensive seed bank. In a cut-off channel of the Rhone River subjected to fluctuating water levels and scouring forces during flash floods, regenerative strategies of aquatic plants were investigated through the study of the sediment propagule bank and its comparison with the established vegetation. Within this channel, the zone disturbed only by scouring floods (zone F) had a small propagule bank (as assessed by greenhouse germination trials), whereas more propagules regrew in zone FE which was subjected to both scouring floods and episodic sediment emersion. There, regrowth was mostly from sexual propagules, with the stonewort Chara vulgaris being the dominant component. In zone F, no relationship between propagule bank composition and established vegetation was demonstrated. In zone FE, a strong positive relationship between vegetative propagules (buds + rhizomes + fragments) and the established vegetation occurred. The disturbance history of the site indicated that the flowering and seed production of most species was disrupted by the flood regime, the result being that only one third of the hydrophyte species present in the established vegetation were present in the seed bank. Consequently, in this habitat, resistance type regenerative strategies, involving fragments and rhizomes, were adopted by most species. Resilience regenerative strategies involving seed- or bud-banks, together with resistance strategies involving the development of a terrestrial growth form, were adopted by plants that had to face both floods and sediment emersions. The precise nature of disturbance appears to affect regenerative strategies of aquatic plants and merits greater attention in studies of trait-environment relationship. The diversity of regenerative strategies within and between aquatic plant species is likely to contribute significantly to the underlying stability of vegetation in flood disturbed habitats.


American jurisdictions seeking to reduce their heavy reliance on prison sentences should emulate European practices, but they should also learn from practices already found in some American states, and in all states at earlier times in our history. European countries make much less use of custodial sentences by employing alternatives such as prosecutorial diversion, fines and day fines as the sole sanction, suspended custodial sentences, and community service or training orders imposed as conditions of probation. These European practices should not be dismissed on the assumption that they are "too foreign"; each of them is well-known in the United States, and their use may be more common than we imagine. If we had better data on these practices – which we should – jurisdictions that aren't often using them could learn from those that are. There may also be uniquely American practices that help to explain why some states have been able to maintain consistently low prison rates, or to lower their formerly high rates. One such practice is the use of sentencing guidelines combined with parole abolition, developed and monitored by an adequately funded independent sentencing commission, and matching prison use with available prison capacity. Finally, we should learn from our collective past; the United States has not always had extremely high "mass incarceration" rates, nor has it always had rates much higher than those in Europe. Americans should not accept, as the new normal, prison rates five times higher than those that prevailed for fifty years prior to the mid-1970s.


SUMAT is a project funded through the EU ICT Policy Support Programme (2011–2014). It involves four subtitling companies (InVision, DDS, Titelbild, VSI) and five technical partners (ALS, ATC, TextShuttle, University of Maribor, Vicomtech).For the SUMAT project, translated subtitles for seven language pairs have been collected. Four subtitling companies have contributed to this effort, which has so far resulted in collections numbering between 200,000 and 2 million subtitles per language pair. This paper describes the process of converting, classifying and aligning the subtitles. Conversion to a common text format and cross-language alignment were automatically done, using specially built converters, whilst classifying the subtitles according to text genre was a manual process, performed by the teams harvesting the subtitles.The resulting subtitle corpora are perfectly suited for various applications. The focus of the SUMAT project is to use them as training material for statistical machine translation systems, and this paper will report on the initial experiences with some of the language pairs. In addition, the parallel corpora may serve as input data for parallel concordancing systems. As part of the project, a small prototype has been built which shows how word-aligned parallel subtitles offer new insights for translation science.


The classical GTD (Geometrical Theory of Diffraction) gives a recipe, based on high-frequency asymptotics, for calculating edge diffraction coefficients in the geometrical regions where only diffracted waves propagate. The Uniform GTD extends this recipe to transition zones between irradiated and silent regions, known as penumbra. For many industrial materials, e.g. steels, and frequencies utlized in industrial ultrasonic transducers, that is, around 5 MHz, asymptotics suggested for description of geometrical regions supporting the head waves or transition regions surrounding their boundaries, known as critical rays, prove unsatisfactory. We present a numerical extension of GTD, which is based on a regularized, variable step Simpson's method for evaluating the edge diffraction coefficients in the regions of interference between head waves, diffracted waves and/or reflected waves. In mathematical terms, these are the regions of coalescence of three critical points - a branch point, stationary point and/or pole, respectively. We show that away from the shadow boundaries, near the critical rays the GTD still produces correct values of the edge diffraction coefficients.


ABSTRACT:  This analysis documents the outcomes and impacts from a series of food protection and defense educational programs conducted over a 3-y period for private and public sector food system professionals. Several measures were used to determine the professions of participants; their improvements in skills and abilities that resulted from workshops; the audiences' most valued program content; practice changes resulting from educational program participation; abilities to recognize and change food system vulnerabilities; and changes in knowledge levels. Findings indicate that the knowledge level and interest within the target audience progressed over the 3-y period from basic awareness level through more complex and higher order skills and competencies such as being able to walk through a food production, processing, distribution, or retail facility and identify specific vulnerabilities and make specific risk control recommendations. Pre- and posttest scores from the 3rd y of educational activities indicate that baseline awareness levels of core content on food protection and defense is now high among those most likely to attend these types of events, and that participants need to be challenged with additional higher-level education to promote specific skills. This program series proved successful in building important relationships among food industry and regulatory partners. Analysis of the food security investigation (FSI) series will be useful in the development and delivery of new education and outreach efforts. It is hoped that the analysis and discussion will provide the motivation to further develop a set of competencies that can be used to ground educational efforts that focus on securing and defending our food system.


Objective To evaluate the effects of skin colour and life-course socioeconomic indicators on waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in adolescence in a population-based birth cohort study. Methodology All the 5249 individuals born in Pelotas (southern Brazil) in 1993 were repeatedly visited from birth to age 15 y. In 2008 the whole cohort was traced. The analysis was restricted to individuals located and measured at age 15 y (2004 males, 2094 females). Results WC was higher in men that in women (72.4 and 68.9 cm, respectively, p<0.001), but WHtR showed no difference (0.43 in both cases, p=0.9). In men, family income at birth and at age 15 y were positively associated with WC, but only the former was associated with WHR. After adjustment for current family income and maternal education, men born to better-off families remained with larger WC in adolescence, but the association with WHtR was missed. Skin colour was not associated with any outcome. In women, neither skin colour nor family income (at birth or at age 15 y) were associated with WC or WHtR. All the associations in men remained even after adjustment for adolescent's behavioural variables (physical activity, fat intake, smoke and alcohol intake). Conclusions In men, early and current socioeconomic position are directly associated with abdominal obesity. The effects of early socioeconomic conditions on WC persist even after adjustment for maternal education, adult wealth and current behavioural variables, highlighting the importance of interventions during the first years of life.


Activity of AO group from the beginning of its formation till now is presented in that paper. From 1958, in which Muller presented three main principles of osteosynthesis, which brought world wide revolution in therapy of injuries of muscoskeletal system, opinions on therapy of fractures changed. Evaluation of these opinions was investigated from absolute stability of fractures with union of fractured bones without formation of callus, which was considered as phenomenon of healing, and which method was promoted for years till relative stability. Causes that led to change of these opinions were presented, from completely mechanical to biological attitude. These opinions were accompanied by changes of therapy methods from anatomical reduction of fractures and absolute stability through biological connections till microinvasive unions of fractured bones. Changes that occurred in applied implants were also investigated, from simple DCP plate, LC-DCP to LCP plate, plates distant from bone with screws blocking in the plate. Also visible changes took place in intramarrow nails from normal nails through blocked to nails of new generation. That paper presented in what way AO philosophy influenced on change of attitude to therapy of fractures in Poland, as well as participation of Polish idea in that philosophy. Actual state of polish traumatology was taken into consideration as well as trends in training of Polish orthopaedists and cooperation of Polish orthopaedic surgeons with AO group.


This paper examines whether investors chase hedge fund investment styles. We find that better-performing and more popular styles are rewarded with higher inflows in subsequent periods. This indicates that investors compare hedge fund styles in terms of recent performance and popularity, and they subsequently reallocate funds from less successful to more successful styles. Furthermore, we find evidence of competition between individual hedge funds of the same style. Funds outperforming the other funds in their styles and funds whose inflows exceed the average flows in their styles experience higher inflows in subsequent periods. One of the reasons for competition among same-style funds is investors' search for the best managers. The high minimum investment required to invest in a hedge fund limits investors' diversification opportunities and makes this search particularly important. Finally, we show that hedge fund investors' implementation of style chasing in combination with intra-style fund selection represents a smart strategy.


The use of silicon powder to produce plasmonic Ag nanocomposite phosphate glasses which also exhibit improved transparency in the ultraviolet (UV) is proposed. Ag2O/Si codoped glasses were prepared in a barium-phosphate matrix by a simple melt-quench method in ambient atmosphere. The as-prepared glasses exhibit enhanced UV transparency, whereby the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) is manifested for the glasses with higher Ag2O contents. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is consistent with the formation of P–O–Si bonds, thus suggesting their possible role on the improved UV light transmission. Consequently, a model was presented accounting for the influence of silicon on the polymerization of the phosphate network concomitant with the creation of highly reactive oxygen species. Further exploiting the proposed reactive species, a real-time spectroscopic study of the plasmonic response of Ag NPs in Ag/Si codoped glass samples was carried out during an in situ thermal processing. The temperature dependence of the Ag particle precipitation was studied in the 400°C–430°C range, from which an Arrhenius-type plot allowed for estimating the activation energy of the process at 3.42 (±0.38) eV. Ultimately, the vanishing of the luminescence ascribed to Ag+ ions was observed in a heat-treated sample, consistent with the high reactivity acquired by the glass matrix. Silicon thus appears promising for producing UV transparent glasses for high-performance optics and for the reduction of Ag+ ions to produce Ag nanocomposites valuable for photonic (nanoplasmonic) applications.


Background Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common complaint in children. Significant portion of them are of functional origin. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of abdominal pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) and its types in Jordanian school children. Methods This is a school-based survey at south Jordan. Information using the self-reporting form of the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Rome III Version (QPGS-RIII) - the official Arabic translation - was collected. Classes from academic years (grades) 6 - 8 were selected. SPSS Statistical Package Version 17 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) was used. Categorical data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, and continuous data were analyzed using t-test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results Five hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 454 returned answered (91%). Two hundred twenty-nine (50.8%) were males. The average age of participants was 12.7 years (11 - 15 years). One hundred sixteen (25.7%) had abdominal pain-predominant FGID. Seventy-nine (68%) of them were females. Forty-seven (10.6%) had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Thirty-six (8%), 17 (3.8%), 11 (2.4%) and five (1.1%) had abdominal migraine, functional abdominal pain, functional abdominal pain syndrome and functional dyspepsia, respectively. Conclusion Abdominal pain-predominant FGID has become a major health issue in Jordanian children. One of four children between the ages of 11 and 15 years exhibits at least one abdominal pain-predominant FGID. The most common form of abdominal pain-predominant FGID in our children was IBS. Females are affected more often than males. Intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms are seen regularly with abdominal pain-predominant FGIDs.


Abstract Background Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) is a systematic approach to grading strength of recommendation (SOR) and quality of evidence (QOE) for guideline recommendations. We aimed to assess the relationship between SOR and QOE in current Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines. Methods In this cross-sectional analysis, we analyzed the frequency of SOR-QOE pairings, including discordance (defined as strong SOR based on expert opinion, very low, or low QOE) for GRADEd recommendations in IDSA guidelines published since 2010. Data for each recommendation were extracted on SOR, QOE, the domain of disease management (one or more of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other categories), and relevance to drug or nondrug treatment. Results Seventeen eligible guidelines provided 1042 unique GRADEd recommendations (n = 237, 711, 76, and 73 pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other domains, respectively; n = 574 and 137 pertaining to drug and nondrug treatment). Overall, the most common SOR was strong (71.8%; n = 748) and the most common QOE was low (48.6%; n = 506). Among all strong recommendations, 47.1% (n = 352) demonstrated discordance with QOE. By domain, strong recommendations were discordant in 36.6%, 51.4%, 29.3%, and 58.1% of recommendations pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and other domains, respectively. Similarly, 50.7% and 54.0% of strong recommendations related to drug and nondrug treatment were discordant, respectively. We identified 39.6% of discordant recommendations to be consistent with good practice statements, which are recommended to be labeled as such without formal GRADEd designations of SOR or QOE. Conclusions Among all IDSA guideline recommendations with strong SOR, approximately half were discordant with QOE, and this frequency varied across strata of domains of disease management.


A method called local point density approach is presented for solving the difficulty of radius selection for point-based data integration in 3D model reconstruction by Ladar (laser radar) range images. After data integration, a set of points is properly selected for point density computing by setting the radius with different values. An optimal radius can be obtained when the variance of the point density is minimum. The algorithm is easy to adopt. The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.


This paper analyzes the potential for fintech to facilitate cheaper and more efficient remittances, and to enhance financial inclusion in Central America. Digital remittances remain nascent in the region, primarily reflecting behavioral inertia, small cost advantages of digital over traditional channels, and inadequate financial literacy. Through expanded alliances between traditional and fintech operators, digital remittances can further reduce transaction costs and reach those remote, low-income households in a timely and secure manner. A meaningful expansion of fintech remittances necessitates an enabling regulatory environment for digital financial services, and KYC and AML/CFT requirements proportionate to the value of transfers.


BACKGROUND: The students must engage early in safety principles within their academic programs. This study aims to determine the differences in knowledge, attitude, and perception from interns' demographic information and correlates between knowledge, attitudes, and perception on patient safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative comparative-correlational study was conducted at the hospital hemodialysis units in the Hail Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There were 118 nurse interns who participated in the study resulting from simple random sampling. The survey questionnaire was used for data collection from May to July 2019. RESULTS: Nurse interns have a good knowledge (x̄= 2.94), attitudes (x̄= 3.51), and perception (x̄= 3.26). The t-test found significant differences between type of program to knowledge (P < 0.01) and attitudes (P < 0.02). However, no significant differences found between knowledge to sex (P > 0.18.) and patient safety (P > 0.73); perception to sex (P > 0.60), type of program (P > 0.45), and patient safety training (P > 0.68); and attitudes to sex (P > 0.14) and patient safety training (P > 0.51). There is a significant moderate positive correlation between the knowledge, attitude, and perception, and attitude to perception. CONCLUSION: The good results of knowledge, attitudes, and perception of the nurse interns suggest a continuous improvement of the nursing intern program for patient safety. Further, the knowledge translation to attitude and perception is a good indication that nurse interns can acclimatize the patient safety in their future actual practice. Study findings contribute to the improvement of the outcomes of the educational process for the nursing internship program.


In both wired and wireless networks, synchronization is an important service for a wide range of applications in distributed systems. This includes radio interferometry. However, literature researches show that many distributed protocols cannot satisfy sub-ns time synchronization accuracy due to asymmetric delay errors, accumulated jitters and because of the strategy used to adjust offsets. This paper proposes a global time synchronization algorithm in distributed networks. The algorithm allows us to minimize asymmetric delays with sub-ns accuracy better than 10ps and achieved global time synchronization. The theory of the algorithm used is presented and analysed to prove that it achieves global time synchronization. Simulation results are given to show the performance and limitations of the proposed algorithm.


Marine organisms precipitate 0.5–2.0 Gt of carbon as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) every year with a profound impact on global biogeochemical element cycles. Biotic calcification relies on calcium ions (Ca2+) and generally on bicarbonate ions (HCO3−) as CaCO3 substrates and can be inhibited by high proton (H+) concentrations. The seawater concentration of carbonate ions (CO32−) and the CO32−-dependent CaCO3 saturation state (ΩCaCO3) seem to be irrelevant in this production process. Nevertheless, calcification rates and the success of calcifying organisms in the oceans often correlate surprisingly well with these two carbonate system parameters. This study addresses this dilemma through rearrangement of carbonate system equations which revealed an important proportionality between [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 and the ratio of [HCO3−] to [H+]. Due to this proportionality, calcification rates will always correlate equally well with [HCO3−]/[H+] as with [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 when temperature, salinity, and pressure are constant. Hence, [CO32−] and ΩCaCO3 may simply be very good proxies for the control by [HCO3−]/[H+] where [HCO3−] would be the inorganic carbon substrate and [H+] would function as calcification inhibitor. If the "substrate-inhibitor ratio" (i.e. [HCO3−]/[H+]) rather than [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 controls CaCO3 formation then some of the most common paradigms in ocean acidification research need to be reviewed. For example, the absence of a latitudinal gradient in [HCO3−]/[H+] in contrast to [CO32−] and ΩCaCO3 could modify the common assumption that high latitudes are affected most severely by ocean acidification.


Treatment of the injured peripheral nerve with a long defect remains one of the most difficult problems in nerve reconstructive surgery. Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) have the potential to differentiate into neuronal and adipose tissue and osteogenic cells. We investigated the effect of MSCs on histological and functional regeneration of facial nerve. After transection of facial nerve in twenty rats, we divided the experimental animals into four groups. In five rats, direct anastomosis was done. In fifteen rats, nerve defect were connected with silicone tubes which were left empty or filled with fibrin or filled with fibrin and MSCs. MSCs were tagged with ferumoxides before transplantation. After 8 weeks, motion of the vibrissae was analyzed and histological examinations were performed. Amplitude and frequency of vibrissae were significantly larger in MSCs group. On H&E and anti-S100 immunohistochemical staining, the maximal diameter of the regenerated nerves was significantly larger in MSCs group. On Prussian blue staining, we could identify the MSCs in the regenerated nerve. We concluded that transplantation of MSCs into a facial nerve gap substantially increased axonal regeneration.


In the calculation of the traditional large fluctuation transition process, the influence of the connecting pipe at the bottom of the surge tank is often considered as the impedance hole. When the connecting pipe is long, the elasticity of the connecting pipe is neglected, which is liable to cause a large error. The surge joint have been mathematically modelized in two ways: with and without its connection to the pipe. Then these models have been used with the Gardel's formula to treat the impulse coefficient of the surge tank. This study have been combined with concrete examples in order to figure out the influence of the connecting pipe's diameter and length on the surge tank pressure, inlet pressure and unit speed of the surge tank. If the length of the linking pipe is too long, it would be necessary to consider its role. If the area of the linking pipe is too small, the surge tank will not be able to operate properly, causing water hammer waves.


This article examines the process of neoliberalization in the Shenzhen special economic zone in Guangdong province, China. Building on the case study of a former peasant and almost single-lineage village that has become a part of Shenzhen city, I show how neoliberal principles aimed at advancing the transition to capitalism are combined with and countered by other ethical traditions. Owing to the long-standing conception of the lineage as an enterprise, the maintenance of the lineage structure in the transformation of the rural collectives has offered fertile ground for the emergence of a local capitalist coalition. Yet the current discourses on the necessity of obliterating the remains of the collective economy and introducing individual ownership run counter to the collectivist values of the lineage-village community and the embeddedness of its economy in kinship and territorial ties. I further illustrate this discordance by the way in which the villagers managed to save their founding ancestor's gravesite following government requests to clear the land by removing tombs. These policies form a complex blend of state interventions in the economy, neoliberal governance and Confucian principles.


Nanoparticles (NP) can be released into the environment either purposefully e.g., for groundwater remediation of hazardous contaminants such as radionuclide or inadvertently from various sources such as consumer products. Crucially, models are required that can predict the fate and transport of NP in the environment. Continuum models have been pioneering in describing most mechanisms for NP transport in porous media. This study aims at addressing challenges that hinder the efficient application of such models. These can be broken down into six main areas, diversity in basis, assumptions made, ability to predict, transport mechanisms included, the efficiency of models, and finally not taking all natural environmental conditions into account. Among transport mechanisms, aggregation phenomenon is the most important one while it has less been considered within continuum models. In this study, extensive literature data analysis has been conducted using artificial neural network (ANN), Monte Carlo, and a sensitivity analysis technique to develop empirical correlations for predicting five unknown continuum model parameters based on 20 experimental factors. Comprehensive experiments and modelling were performed on the aggregation of NP in quiescent aqueous environments to find the best modelling approaches describing NP aggregation and removal. The selected model set was combined with continuum models of NP transport in porous media to predict the transport and aggregation of NP at environmentally-relevant scales, i.e., aquifer. This, however, revealed a need for a more efficient aggregation model. Further work was committed to proposing an efficient mass-concentration-based aggregation model and to investigating the impacts of system dynamics on aggregation. The results suggest that ANN can be a useful way of developing empirical correlations for predicting continuum model parameters, and many insights were obtained from its sensitivity analyses. For instance, porous media heterogeneity, which was considered as a parameter for the first time, showed sensitivities higher than those of dispersivity. Investigations in aqueous media showed that considering both early and late stages of aggregation and sedimentation in the model yielded highest sedimentation rate at an intermediate ionic strength rather than the highest ionic strength. A mass concentration-based chain-reaction model, which was more efficient than the standard population balance model with a comparable or better accuracy in describing NP aggregation was proposed for future combinations with continuum models. System dynamics can enhance aggregation rate and lead to relatively compact aggregates over different stages of aggregation, sedimentation, and resuspension. Although several challenges for using continuum models were mitigated in this study, incorporating aggregation, which is the most important mechanism that triggers other transport mechanisms and controls the final fate of NP in the environment, remains an issue due to complications identified in this study. This issue is mainly brought about because of dynamics of porous media. Nevertheless, continuum models are currently pioneering among various modelling approaches for simulating the fate and transport of NP in subsurface environments.


During 2015 and 2016, Lesotho experienced a large increase in the price of cereals, the main staple food in the country. This has led to an erosion of purchasing power and to a decrease in the consumption of staple foods. For the study, we used a demand system to simulate the effects of an increase in the price of staple foods. We based our analysis on data collected for the evaluation of the Child Grants Programme, which offers unconditional cash transfers to poor households with orphans and vulnerable children. We estimated the necessary increase in total income that is needed to counter the impacts of the current price hike and to maintain households' utility unchanged. In particular, every percentage increase in the price of cereals would need to be matched by a 0.4% increase in income. As for the possible policy measures, we suggest the country's social protection system as the source for the extra income.


The growing acceptance of cannabis use for medical and recreational purposes across the world has sparked interest in evaluation of the therapeutic potential of the drug. While the beneficial effects of cannabis use to treat physical pain are well-known, its efficacy as a treatment for mental health disorders has not been as extensively investigated. As the most prominent and widespread of these disorders, depression and anxiety have been diagnosed in individuals across the world. Despite the wide range of severity for these disorders, tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are predominately prescribed to treat any case. However, these compounds are not always effective treatments, which leaves a need to investigate alternative treatment options for depression and anxiety. This review article aims to identify prominent research studies focused on evaluating the potential of the human endocannabinoid system, which consists of two main cannabinoid receptor subtypes (CB1 and CB2). Prior studies have focused on the use of exogenous cannabinoids such as oleamide or phytocannabinoids such as delta-9THC, but this review gives more consideration to endocannabinoids that are produced by the human body. In addition to experiments testing the independent capacity of endocannabinoid receptor ligands as antidepressants, the additive and synergistic potentials of these ligands have been examined in conjunction with cholinergic receptor ligands through the use of mice FST. Recent studies have also indicated that certain genetic variants within the endocannabinoid system such as the CB1 rs1049353 G allele have been linked to increased prevalence of mental health disorders and provide a rationale for gender discrepancies in disorder incidence. Although current research into the prospective use of endocannabinoids as antidepressants is limited, this review details the field's most salient advancements toward potential clinical applications.


Inter-stage turbine reheat is an effective gas turbine retrofit which can easily be used with simple and steam injected gas turbines as well. Owing to the uncertainties relating to an efficiency comparison of steam injected and no-injection cycle designs, thermoeconomics and environmental impacts have been considered to evaluate reheat and steam injection which regards pollutant emissions and environmental costs together. Being the complemental of the authors previous studies on steam injected gas turbines, simple, reheat, steam injected (STIG) and reheat steam injected (RHSTIG) gas turbine cycles are compared. Economic feasibility of steam injection as well as inter-stage turbine reheat are discussed according to 2018 plant cost data. Optimal cycle parameters are determined using a new comprehensive cycle model which permits to work with realistic working fluids, simulates the combustion process regarding 14 exhaust species and determines NOx and CO emissions.


ABSTRACT Biological control of postharvest diseases, utilizing wild species and strains of antagonistic yeast species, is a research topic that has received considerable attention in the literature over the past 30 years. In principle, it represents a promising alternative to chemical fungicides for the management of postharvest decay of fruits, vegetables, and grains. A yeast-based biocontrol system is composed of a tritrophic interaction between a host (commodity), a pathogen, and a yeast species, all of which are affected by environmental factors such as temperature, pH, and UV light as well as osmotic and oxidative stresses. Additionally, during the production process, biocontrol agents encounter various severe abiotic stresses that also impact their viability. Therefore, understanding the ecological fitness of the potential yeast biocontrol agents and developing strategies to enhance their stress tolerance are essential to their efficacy and commercial application. The current review provides an overview of the responses of antagonistic yeast species to various environmental stresses, the methods that can be used to improve stress tolerance and efficacy, and the related mechanisms associated with improved stress tolerance.


This study examined the 3-month rate of bullying experience, associated factors, and measure the relationships between bullying experience with health-related quality of life and different mental disorders among secondary school students. We performed a cross-sectional study in four secondary schools in Hanoi, Vietnam. Bullying experience was evaluated by using questions about eighteen specific-bullying behaviors. EuroQol-5 dimensions-5 levels (EQ-5D-5L) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale– 21 items (DASS-21) were used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mental health of participants, respectively. Among 712 secondary school students, the 3-month prevalence of physical, social aggression, verbal, and sexual bullying experience were 8.4%; 31.2%; 11.9%, and 2.7%, respectively. Being bullied were negatively associated with levels of classmates and family support, as well as levels of school security. Being overweight or obese was related to a higher likelihood of suffering social aggression compared to normal BMI. Being bullied was significantly associated with the decrement of HRQOL, and the increased risk of depression, anxiety, and stress among adolescents. Findings of this study suggested that holistic approaches involving family, peers, and schools, along with enhancing school security, are potential approaches to reduce the impact of bullying on adolescents' life and well-being.


This paper discusses the interaction of technology and policy in enabling widespread rural access to clean solar electric power using retail delivery of beamed power. Recent advances in power beaming have made it possible to deliver electric power to off-grid locations using millimeter-wave beams and compact, efficient transmitters and receivers. The research question is how to bring about the public policy initiatives needed to enable widespread adoption of this clean and sustainable contribution to meeting energy needs. It is seen that this question leads to synergy between three national priorities: (a) the campaign to control global climate change, (b) the drive to improve air quality, and (c) the need for increased availability of energy for development. A benefit of the Beamed Power approach is that retail power transfer using beamed power will facilitate the realization the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the United State's vision for the modern grid.


PURPOSE
18 F-FDG PET quantitative features are susceptible to respiratory motion. However, studies using clinical patient data to explore the impact of respiratory motion on 18 F-FDG PET radiomic features are limited. In this study, we investigated the impact of respiratory motion on radiomics stability with clinical 18 F-FDG PET images using a data-driven gating (DDG) algorithm on the digital PET scanner.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 101 patients who underwent oncological 18 F-FDG PET scans were retrospectively included. A DDG algorithm combined with a motion compensation technique was used to extract the PET images with respiratory motion correction. 18 F-FDG-avid lesions from the thorax to the upper abdomen were analyzed on the non-DDG and DDG PET images. The lesions were segmented with a 40% threshold of the maximum standardized uptake. A total of 725 radiomic features were computed from the segmented lesions, including first-order, shape, texture, and wavelet features. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (COV) were calculated to evaluate feature stability. An ICC above 0.9 and a COV below 5% were considered high stability.

RESULTS
In total, 168 lesions with and without respiratory motion correction were analyzed. Our results indicated that most 18 F-FDG PET radiomic features are sensitive to respiratory motion. Overall, only 27 out of 725 (3.72%) radiomic features were identified as highly stable, including one from the first-order features (entropy), one from the shape features (sphericity), four from the gray-level co-occurrence matrix features (normalized and unnormalized inverse difference moment, joint entropy, and sum entropy), one from the gray-level run-length matrix features (run entropy), and 20 from the wavelet filter-based features.

CONCLUSION
Respiratory motion has a significant impact on 18 F-FDG PET radiomics stability. The highly stable features identified in our study may serve as potential candidates for further applications, such as machine learning modeling.


Background: In the laboratory, factor VIII can be measured by three different methodologies, such as one-stage clotting assay, two-stage clotting assay, and chromogenic assay. These assays differ in ease of use, variety of reagents available, sensitivity to mild hemophilia A, and interference from lupus anticoagulants (LACs). Certain factor VIII gene mutations can cause discrepancy in results between one-stage activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and chromogenic assays. Materials and Methods: The coagulometer for factor VIII assay is Sysmex CS-5100. All data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Results: A total of 135 cases were studied. Of these, 100 cases were of mild hemophilia A diagnosed by molecular genetics and, 15 cases were positive for LAC, which were confirmed by dilute Russell Viper venom test. Clot-based one-stage APTT assay showed 65% sensitivity and 80% specificity in diagnosing mild hemophilia A cases and out of 15 LAC cases, it showed false positivity in five cases. Chromogenic assay showed 85% sensitivity and 90% specificity in diagnosing mild hemophilia cases and was 100% specific in excluding LAC cases. Conclusions: One-stage APTT assay is the most commonly used test for determining factor VIII levels but chromogenic assay are considered as the gold standard and recommended as the reference method by European Pharmacopoeia and ISTH subcommittee. Mild hemophilia A patients with missense mutations show discrepancy between the one-stage clot-based APTT assay and chromogenic assays for determination of factor VIII level and this can lead to misdiagnosis or misclassification of mild hemophilia A. Therefore, it is recommended that both the assays should be used in the evaluation of mild hemophilia cases.


The effects of martensitic transformation on the coaxing behavior were studied in austenitic stainless steels. The materials used were austenitic stainless steels, type 304 and 316. Conventional fatigue tests and stress-incremental fatigue tests were performed using specimens subjected to several tensile prestrains from 5% to 60%. Under conventional tests, the fatigue strengths of both steels increased with increasing prestrain. Under stress-incremental tests, 304 steel showed a marked coaxing effect, where the failure stress significantly increased irrespective of prestrain level. On the other hand, the coaxing effect in 316 steel decreased with increasing prestrain up to 15%, where the failure stresses were nearly the same. Above this prestrain level, the coaxing effect increased with increasing prestrain. In 304 steel, the coaxing effect is primarily dominated by work hardening at low prestrains, while the effect of strain-induced martensitic transformation increases with increasing prestrain. The coaxing effect in 316 steel is dominated by both work hardening and strain aging at low prestrains, but strain-induced martensitic transformation could play a significant role at high prestrains.


1. The facilitation by zinc (Zn2+) of neurotransmission and the mechanisms underlying it were electrophysiologically investigated in rat cultured hippocampal neurones using whole‐cell voltage‐ and current‐clamp techniques. 2. Under whole‐cell voltage clamp with an intracellular solution containing CsCl as a major salt, inward postsynaptic currents were observed at ‐40 mV in a cell culture where a neuronal network had been formed. The postsynaptic currents appeared to be mediated by gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) because the inward currents were abolished when intracellular CsCl was replaced with caesium phosphate and they were blocked by bicuculline (10 microM), an antagonist to GABA‐gated channels. The currents were, however, also blocked by 6‐cyano‐7‐nitroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione (CNQX, 30 microM), an antagonist to non‐NMDA glutamate‐gated channels, suggesting a contribution of a glutamatergic mechanism to the generation of the currents. Zn2+ (10 and 100 microM) potentiated the postsynaptic currents. 3. In addition to the potentiation of the postsynaptic currents, Zn2+ shifted net membrane current at ‐60 mV in an outward direction. The current‐voltage relationship obtained under various ionic conditions indicated that Zn2+ inhibits a current component which is mainly carried by extracellular Na+. 4. Under whole‐cell current clamp, Zn2+ (10 microM) induced a small hyperpolarization (up to 20 mV), which was accompanied by potentiation of the postsynaptic potentials and spike potentials. Tests were carried out to examine whether changes in resting potential by different protocols mimic responses observed with Zn2+. Hyperpolarization induced by current injection through patch pipettes increased the amplitude of postsynaptic currents, but did not enhance the appearance of spike potentials. In contrast, when extracellular K+ concentration was decreased from 5 to 2.5 mM, cells were hyperpolarized and spike potentials of large amplitude appeared. 5. The results suggest that Zn2+ potentiates neurotransmission and inhibits a background cationic current mainly carried by extracellular Na+ under physiological conditions. The inhibition of the Na+ permeation may increase membrane excitability and thereby contribute to the potentiation of neurotransmission.


The domestic manufactured CT80, Φ33×3.18 coiled tubing is supplied as heat-treated low-alloy steel. The relationship between thermo cycle, microstructure, tensile properties and hardness were researched for butt welded joint. The results show that CT80 is very sensitive to welding heat input, and the thermo accumulation was obvious for small dimension coiled tubing, varying degrees of softening always exist in HAZ. The reasons include growing of block ferrite, decreasing and isolating of continuous directional bainite. In order to get good properties, the strength of consumable welding wire should be properly matched with base metal, keep uniform strength distribution along welded joint, and avoid the plastic strain concentrate in local area.