Estimate the burden of the disease (BoD) of IBD in Portugal and quantify society's cost of illness (CoI) associated, including direct and indirect costs. Raise awareness to IBD in Portugal and thus bringing empowerment to the patient community.

 Burden of disease was assessed considering the impact in terms of DALY, estimated considering a prevalence-based model. Costs were estimated considering the societal perspective, using a prevalence-based model. Direct costs comprise hospitalizations, surgeries, medical appointments, emergency visits, pharmacological treatment, exams and transportation. Indirect costs were calculated from patient and caretaker absence, presenteeism, early retirement and premature death.
 An expert panel composed by 5 Portuguese gastroenterologists and a patient reported study were conducted to support the cost analysis and fill in information gaps. The expert panel followed a two-round modified Delphi methodology. The patient reported study was conducted with 370 Portuguese IBD patients by the Portuguese Association of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (APDI).

 Considering a prevalence of 24,070 patients, 6,067 DALYs were estimated to be lost in Portugal due to IBD. This result reflects a total of 507 YLLs (8%) and a total of 5,560 YLDs (92%)
 The total annual cost associated with IBD patients in Portugal was estimated to be €146,293,082, with an average annual cost of €6,075 per patient. This value is divided into €86,834,011 direct costs (59%) and €59,459,070 (41%) indirect costs.
 Indirect costs account for 41% of IBD's total cost. Interestingly, costs of patient work absences showed very similar values to those associated with presenteeism. This demonstrates that IBD does not manifest its impact only in isolated timepoints, but rather that it is present in the everyday lives of patients.

 It is essential to discuss the relationship between the burden of disease and its cost, especially when discussing a clinical condition with an increasing incidence rate in an ageing population as it is in Portugal. Due to the need to generate further data and evidence regarding IBD, this study provides the first comprehensive insight at a national level considering all the dimensions of disease burden. The results presented will raise social-economic awareness of IBD, allow for the definition of disease management strategies and support prioritization on resource allocation, especially considering the availability of new treatment approaches. Moreover, this study will set the basis for the thorough assessment of the real burden of IBD in the Portuguese healthcare system and society overall.


Building information modeling is only beginning to incorporate human factors, although buildings are sites where humans and technologies interact with globally significant consequences. Some buildings fail to perform as their designers intended, in part because users do not or cannot properly operate the building, and some occupants behave differently than designers expect. Innovative buildings, e.g., green buildings, are particularly susceptible to usability problems. This paper presents a framework for prospectively measuring the usability of designs before buildings are constructed, while there is still time to improve the design. The framework, which was implemented as an agent-based computer simulation model, tests how well buildings are likely to perform, given realistic occupants. An illustrative model for lighting design shows that this modeling approach has practical efficacy, demonstrating that, to the extent that users exhibit heterogeneous behaviors and preferences, designs that allow greater local control and ease of operation perform better.


SUMMARY
Biological and engineered networks have recently been shown to display network motifs: a small set of characteristic patterns that occur much more frequently than in randomized networks with the same degree sequence. Network motifs were demonstrated to play key information processing roles in biological regulation networks. Existing algorithms for detecting network motifs act by exhaustively enumerating all subgraphs with a given number of nodes in the network. The runtime of such algorithms increases strongly with network size. Here, we present a novel algorithm that allows estimation of subgraph concentrations and detection of network motifs at a runtime that is asymptotically independent of the network size. This algorithm is based on random sampling of subgraphs. Network motifs are detected with a surprisingly small number of samples in a wide variety of networks. Our method can be applied to estimate the concentrations of larger subgraphs in larger networks than was previously possible with exhaustive enumeration algorithms. We present results for high-order motifs in several biological networks and discuss their possible functions.

AVAILABILITY
A software tool for estimating subgraph concentrations and detecting network motifs (mfinder 1.1) and further information is available at http://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/UriAlon/


ABSTRACT The information that is gained through various analyses of the residual scores yielded by the least squares regression model is explored. In fact, the most widely used methods for detecting data that do not fit this model are based on an analysis of residual scores. First, graphical methods of residual analysis are discussed, followed by a review of several quantitative approaches. Only the more widely used approaches are discussed. Example data sets are analyzed through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (personal computer version) to illustrate the various strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and to demonstrate the necessity of using a variety of techniques in combination to detect outliers. The underlying premise for using these techniques is that the researcher needs to make sure that conclusions based on the data are not solely dependent on one or two extreme observations. Once an outlier is detected, the researcher must examine the data point's source of aberration. (Contains 3. figures, 5 tables, and 14 references.) (SLD)


Summary
Synthesis of turnip rosette virus (TRosV)-induced RNA was examined in turnip protoplasts inoculated in vitro. TRosV RNA (mol. wt. 1.4 × 106; approx. 4.3 kb) was first detected 10 to 20 h post-inoculation by 32P labelling. When actinomycin D was added to protoplast cultures 6 h or less post-inoculation, labelling of virus RNA was less than in untreated cultures. Synthesis of TRosV RNA in infected protoplasts appeared to involve a double-stranded (ds)RNA; a replicative form (RF) of the virus RNA was isolated and characterized. The RF, mol. wt. 2.8 × 106 (approx. 4.3 kbp), was not degraded by treatment with RNase or DNase, contained 50% sequences complementary to TRosV RNA (as determined by hybridization) and was denatured to singlestranded (ss)RNAs of mol. wt. (× 10-6) of 1.4, 0.7, 0.3 and 0.09 (4.3, 2.1, 0.9 and 0.27 kb respectively). Virus infection apparently induced the synthesis of a ssRNA of mol. wt. 0.3 × 106 which could be resolved from other RNA species in nucleic acid extracts from infected protoplasts. A minor dsRNA of 1.4 × 106 mol. wt. (2.1 kbp) was also apparently induced by virus infection. These virus-induced small RNA species may represent subgenomic messengers or their RF.


Bile stones formation prognostification method, based on the chemical analysis of bile of patients with chronic cholecystitis, is developed. The method employs the phenomenon of chemiluminescense of the investigated bile in comparison with the model system. Hence, bile in chronic cholecystitis possess antioxidative qualities, whereas bile in chronic cholecystitis combined with cholelithiasis, is oversaturated with free radicals.


This article addresses the question: how do different sound qualities contribute to the believability of post-synchronised voices? Production examples are discussed where the post-synchronised voices balance on the border between the 'believable' and the 'unbelievable'. The discussion also draws on examples of 'redubs' – a term that is used when creative but non-professional online users add new voices to popular film and television clips. Redubbed amateur productions as well as some non-traditional examples from professionally produced films, are used as means to explore the issues surrounding the production of post-synchronised voices. Five central aspects of voices structure the discussion: 1) synchrony – connecting voice and character movements, usually lip movements; 2) physicality – voice qualities connected to a character's physiology; 3) spatiality – the matching of spatial qualities between character voice and visually presented character surroundings, weighted against the need for intelligibilit...


This paper aims to examine housewives self-reported intention to buy counterfeit products by employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as the research framework. In total, 600 housewives completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to seven constructs in the TPB. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the technique for data analysis with two step approach. The results of this study showed that overall the variables in the TPB model (attitude, subjective norms, perceived control behaviors) were able to explain and predict housewives intention to buy counterfeit products. Attitudes toward behavior have a greater influence on intentions to buy. Additional variables that are included: values were able to explain and predict attitudes toward buying behavior, past behavior was able to explain and predict perceived behavioral control, and social status could explain and predict housewives intention to buy counterfeit products.


Abstract Research on the impact of male emigration on stay-behind wives shows that gossip, which transnational migration intensifies, surveils the women's morality and constricts their mobility. Based on semi-structured interviews supplemented by field observations, this article examines the impact of gossip on the lives and experiences of stay-behind Filipino seafarer wives. First, it looks into how the women negotiated an environment in which their morality became dominated by the need to keep their reputation as faithful wives intact. As women whose husbands were away for long periods of time, they were seen as being 'like parched earth in need of rain' and therefore susceptible to temptation and seduction. Second, it examines how through dibersyon – activities that translated work into recreation – they counteracted the constricting effects of gossip on their mobility without compromising their perceived morality. The article concludes with a reflection on the contradiction the women's negotiation of gossip creates: they inadvertently help to maintain gendered conceptions of morality and mobility while simultaneously working around the gender ideological and normative boundaries gossip enforces.


: Results are submitted of ultrasonic monitoring of gallbladder, pancreas and duodenum during the I, II, III phases of digestion in 186 patients who ranged from 30 to 60 years old. The form was studied of the gallbladder as was its size and location together with the volume, thickness of walls, presence of deformities; echogenicity of pancreas, outline, state of the main duct. Interdigestive duodenal motility and intracavitary pressure were recorded. Relationship has been established of the gallbladder and pancreas contraction phases to the condition of the intracavitary pressure in the duodenum.


This master thesis focuses on pyrolysis of electronic waste (e-waste) for energy production and material recovery. Firstly, in the theoretical section a description of electronic waste their composition and the current waste management techniques is presented in order to get insights about their properties. As more and more sustainable solutions are required for waste handling, the advantages and disadvantages of the current treatment methods are analyzed in order to compare them with the innovative technique of waste pyrolysis. The substrate used for pyrolysis in terms of this master thesis was the printed circuit boards' fraction (PCBs) and thus a particular description of this fraction is included. Furthermore, the pyrolysis as a thermal treatment method is fully described for getting an overview of the entire process.The next section of the current master thesis includes a description of the instrumentation used for conducting the experimental part, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the Analytical Pyrolysis (PY-GC-MS).The experimental part included as well the samples preparation in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture since various substances are used for PCBs manufacturing. Furthermore, samples were sent to an external company for elemental, proximate and ultimate analysis. After the samples preparation, the TGA and GC-MS were both used as analytical tools in order to identify the main substances produced, the reactions kinetics taking place, and various others important parameters. Furthermore, the results derived from the experimental were further analyzed using various calculations tools such as Microsoft Office Excel and Matlab as well as the software of GC-MS. The results section also includes a deep discussion of the results since the pyrolysis of electronic waste is still under research an extensive analysis is necessary.Summarizing, the results illustrates all the data gathered from the composition analysis, the TGA curves and a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The main product of pyrolysis of printed circuit boards is phenol and hydrocarbons with high heating value, while the increased ash content is promising for the recovery of metals.Finally, the report includes several recommendations for the future work to be done and the basic directions for the research of pyrolysis process for materials and energy recovery should get.


ABSTRACT This paper demonstrates the architectural design of an energy-efficient sustainable single-family house with verified results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and energy performance analyses. The main objective is to take advantage of local architecture by identifying and analysing the traditional design strategies and techniques that applied often in practice through making use of the natural environment to create efficient and sustainable building. The study reveals the importance of using the natural environmental forces as well as the topographic and climatic features that were incorporated into the architectural design, to achieve optimized building energy performance. The site's topography with hilly features and climate with dry and diurnal temperature variations adds thermal advancements of the house design. The house utilizes sun energy, wind pressures and building envelope's thermal properties by precisely integrating them into the design. The challenge of this design is to take advantage of traditional architectural techniques to minimize the need for mechanical systems.


Recently, George Beck posed many interesting partition problems considering the number of ones in partitions. In this paper, we first consider the crank generating function weighted by the number of ones and obtain analytic formulas for this weighted crank function under conditions of the crank being less than or equal to some specific integer. We connect these cumulative and point crank functions to the generating functions of partitions with certain sizes of Durfee rectangles. We then consider a generalization of the crank for $k$-colored partitions, which was first introduced by Fu and Tang, and investigate the corresponding generating function for this crank weighted by the number of parts in the first subpartition of a $k$-colored partition. We show that the cumulative generating functions are the same as the generating functions for certain unimodal sequences.


We described the error-control problems associated with supporting ATM transmission of multimedia services on line of sight (LOS) radio circuits. The major problems to address are associated with poor circuit quality and limited transmission bandwidths. Poor circuit quality is manifested by low received SNRs and high delivered BERs and can be improved by judicious application of error-control coding. The desire to support as many ATM users as possible and the constraint of limited bandwidth favor the use of high-rate coding techniques. To provide an acceptable QoS, however, the selected coding technique must be effective for all realistic channel conditions, including AWGN and slow Rician fading. It was shown that binary BCH codes can be used to provide a highly effective error-control technique for ATM transmission on LOS circuits. The wide selection of block lengths, rate, and error correction power allows solutions to be tailored to the wireless ATM application. It was shown that the best designs result when a powerful binary BCH code is used to protect the header and a somewhat less powerful code is used to protect the payload. The effects of residual uncorrected error events can then be addressed with an appropriate end-to-end error-control technique, or, in the case of MPEG video, with error concealment algorithms. It was also shown that Reed Solomon codes with erasure filling can provide an effective, high-rate, end-to-end coding scheme to protect against cell loss due to congestion in ATM networks and decoding failure events associated with the link codes.


This work analyzes the solution trajectory of gradient-based algorithms via a novel basis function decomposition. We show that, although solution trajectories of gradient-based algorithms may vary depending on the learning task, they behave almost monotonically when projected onto an appropriate orthonormal function basis. Such projection gives rise to a basis function decomposition of the solution trajectory. Theoretically, we use our proposed basis function decomposition to establish the convergence of gradient descent (GD) on several representative learning tasks. In particular, we improve the convergence of GD on symmetric matrix factorization and provide a completely new convergence result for the orthogonal symmetric tensor decomposition. Empirically, we illustrate the promise of our proposed framework on realistic deep neural networks (DNNs) across different architectures, gradient-based solvers, and datasets. Our key finding is that gradient-based algorithms monotonically learn the coefficients of a particular orthonormal function basis of DNNs defined as the eigenvectors of the conjugate kernel after training. Our code is available at https://github.com/jianhaoma/function-basis-decomposition.


Diversification return is the amount by which the geometric mean return (i.e., average compounded return) of a portfolio exceeds the weighted average of the geometric means of the portfolio's constituent assets. Diversification return has been touted as a source of added return, even if markets are informationally efficient. Portfolio rebalancing has been advocated as a valuable source of diversification return. The authors demonstrate that diversification return is not a source of increased expected value. However, portfolio rebalancing can be an effective mean-reverting strategy. Any enhanced expected value from rebalancing emanates from mean-reversion, rather than from diversification or variance reduction.


Herd literature suggests that people tend to discount their own beliefs and imitate others when making adoption decisions. However different people based on their characteristics exhibit different degrees of herd behavior. In the same vein, the characteristics of technology must fit with the requirements of the task that an adopter wants to fulfill Characteristics of individuals and of the technology-to-be-adopted both influence adoption behaviors. It is important to understand these phenomena because they are strongly related to the staying power of technology. A research model is developed to study the influence adopter characteristics and technology characteristics. An online experiment will be conducted to examine the research model.


We demonstrate that functionalized pyrene derivatives effectively stabilize single- and few-layer graphene flakes in aqueous dispersions. The graphene/stabilizer yield obtained by this method is exceptionally high relative to conventional nanomaterial stabilizers such as surfactants or polymers. The mechanism of stabilization by pyrene derivatives is investigated by studying the effects of various parameters on dispersed graphene concentration and stability; these parameters include stabilizer concentration, initial graphite concentration, solution pH, and type and number of functional groups and counterions. The effectiveness of the pyrene derivatives is pH-tunable, as measured by zeta potential, and is also a function of the number of functional groups, the electronegativity of the functional group, the counterion, the relative polarity between stabilizer and solvent, and the distance from the functional group to the basal plane. Even if the dispersion is destabilized by extreme pH or lyophilization, the graphene does not aggregate because the stabilizer remains adsorbed on the surface. These dispersions also show promise for applications in graphene/polymer nanocomposites (examined in this paper), organic solar cells, conductive films, and inkjet-printed electronic devices.


The aims of this project were to develop non-halogenated, non-toxic and environmentally benign
synthetic inorganic compounds capable of imparting flame retardant and/or synergistic activity
with selected conventional flame retardants to selected engineering polymer systems.
Following a comprehensive literature survey with specific focus centered upon the degradation and
fire retardancy of polyamide 6,6 (PA66), an initial study of the effect of several metal oxalates on
the burn rate of impregnated cotton in combination with sources of bromine and phosphorus was
performed, with some promising synergistic activity detected with the former.
Following this, a matrix of potential non-toxic inorganic flame retardant candidates (FRCs) was
devised from a range of non-toxic, water-soluble precursors. And 180 FRCs were successfully
synthesised and a cursory characterisation was conducted using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). These
were screened for potential flame retardant properties with polyamide 6,6 (PA66) as a suitable
engineering polymer. PA66 pellets were powdered and mixed with each FRC in 3:1 mass ratio,
and subjected to simultaneous differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA/DTA), to which a range of selection parameters were applied, assessing their stability and
char-forming potential. All FRCs which did not conform to these conditions were eliminated,
reducing the number to 60. Differential mass analysis was performed on TGAs of the 60 FRCs to
better define their char promotion potential in PA66, thereby narrowing these down to 16
samples: aluminium, zinc and tin (II) tungstates (AlW, ZnW and SnW respectively); zinc molybdate
(ZnMo); iron aluminate (FeAl); iron (III) hypophosphite (FeHP); zinc oxalate (ZnOx); three stannic
metal nitrite complexes (SnMNO where M = Mn, Cu or Zn), tin (II) oxide (SnO), hydrogenphosphite
(SnH2PO3), triphosphate (SnTP) and phenylphosphonate (SnPhPO3); and tin (IV) silicate (SnSi).
The 16 selected were synthesised on a larger scale and fully characterised, of which 6 were
discounted due to difficulties in synthesis scaling, or characterisation. The final 10 FRCs were
selected for small-scale fire testing in PA66 (at 5 wt%), using UL94, LOI and cone calorimetry with
additional analysis provided by TGA/DTA. All samples were prepared by melt compounding,
during which two of the samples (ZnMo and FeHP) displayed erroneous activity during processing
and so were eliminated.
The remaining 8 FRCs had little effect on PA66 LOI performance with only two samples (AlW and
SnW) marginally improving UL94 performance. All samples reduced cone peak heat release rate
(PHRR) to levels ranging from 70 % (ZnW) to 53 % (FeAl) compared to the PA66 control. Two FRCs
(SnPhPO3 and SnH2PO3) incorporated at a higher level (10 wt%) showed improved performance
iv
although insufficient for achieving acceptable levels of flame retardancy. Further studies were
undertaken to test potential synergism of the FRCs with several phosphorus- and bromine containing
flame retardants.
Combinations of 3 phosphorus-containing flame retardants (PFRs) with each of the 4 FRCs, FeAl,
AlW, SnW and ZnW were studied. A degree of synergy with AlW and SnW combined with
aluminium phosphinate (AlPi) was observed and for SnW with a combination of AlPi with
melamine polyphosphate (MPP) with respect to UL94 and LOI performance. A moderate
reduction in cone PHRR was observed for all FRCs combined with AlPi, and a significant reduction
for all with AlPi/MPP. AlW, SnW and ZnW combined with MPP showed moderate improvements
in UL94 and LOI and slight reductions in PHRR relative to the MPP control. These results indicate a
degree of synergism of several FRCs with PFRs, the greatest effect being observed with the
combined vapour and condensed-phase active AlPi/MPP.
Two polymeric brominated flame retardants (BrFRs) were selected: brominated polystyrene,
(BrPS) and poly(pentabromopolybenzl acrylate (BrPBz), and were compounded with AlW, ZnW
and SnW into PA66. AlW displayed significant antagonism with both BrFRs while SnW and ZnW
both showed promising improvements in terms of UL94 and LOI performance and significant
reductions in cone-derived PHRR values. These results were replicated at various differing Sn:Br
and Zn: Br molar ratios.
Mechanisms of action of AlW, SnW and ZnW were studied with both PFRs and BrFRs using TGAFTIR
and analysis of cone-derived chars. Based on the detailed analysis, the inherent action of
these tungstates alone was proposed to be condensed phase, Lewis-acid catalysed cross-linking
of PA66), thereby promoting the formation of char, whereas any vapour phase activity for the
FRCs such as SnPhPO3 and SnH2PO3 could originate from volatilisation of either phosphorus or
metal (Sn, Fe, Zn) acting as vapour-phase radical quenching agents. With regards to the specific
mechanism of action of the tungstates with other flame retardant elements, in combination with
BrFRs, formation of metal halides and oxyhalides are proposed to contribute to condensed-phase
char promotion and vapour-phase radical quenching. In combination with PFRs, increased chain
cross-linking promotes the formation of greater char, stabilised by the presence of phosphorus
groups and metal oxide residues, coupled with vapour phase activity inherent to AlPi.
In conclusion, of 180 FRCs synthesised and screened for potential FR behaviour in PA66, the
tungstates in particular were observed to possess both some level of flame retardant behaviour
as well as function as synergists with selected phosphorus- and bromine-containing flame
retardants. A method for screening future FRCs was also developed.


When evaluating a site, whether for oil, minerals, or contaminants in ground water, a principle concern is the distribution of material properties. A traditional approach has been to apply geostatistical methods such as kriging or conditional simulation. These approaches are based on the assumption of stationarity (i.e. that the spatial variation of properties is consistent across the site). At many sites, the stationarity assumption is not valid and can lead to inaccurate results. One approach to circumvent this limitation is to divide the area into zones where the stationarity assumptions are reasonable, krige each zone, and manually merge the results together. This approach has three major draw backs, (1) boundaries between zones are abrupt, (2) the merging process is tedious, and (3) there is no way to manage[open quote]gradational[close quote] boundaries. An integrated system which allows a modeler to: (1) define multiple, distinct zones within a model; (2) define zonal inter-relationships (e.g. Zone A grades into zone B. Zone C and Zone D have a sharp contact), and model the results using simple or ordinary kriging, or conditional simulation is presented. This technique is integrated into a modeling package which allows users to examine basic site statistics, develop and modelmore » semivariograms, krige and simulate material properties, model ground water flow and contaminant transport, assess risk or uncertainty, and visualize results with 2D, 2-1/2D, and 3D tools.« less


Resource flexibility, arguably among the most celebrated operational concepts, is known to provide firms facing demand uncertainty with such benefits as risk pooling, revenue-maximization optionality, and operational hedging. In this paper, we uncover a heretofore unknown benefit: we establish that resource flexibility facilitates learning the demand when the latter is censored, which could, in turn, enable firms to make better-informed future operational decisions, thereby increasing profitability. Further, we quantify these learning benefits of flexibility and find that they could be of the same order of magnitude as the extensively studied risk-pooling benefits of flexibility. This suggests that flexibility's learning benefits could be a first-order consideration and that extant theories, which view flexibility only as the ability to act ex post, could be underestimating its true value when learning the demand is desirable, for example, when it enables managers to make better ex ante capacity, assortment, or pricing decisions in future periods. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.


The use of medicinal plants is a deeply rooted tradition which transcends the social strata of the Philippines. Syzygium aqueum (water apple) belongs to family Myrtaceae found to have red, green and white varieties. The study aimed to compare the three varieties of Syzygium aqueum in its antimicrobial activity and the presence of secondary metabolites. Fruits and leaves were collected and subjected to histochemical test, phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial activity against Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis; and fungi Aspergillus flavus and Saccharomyses cerevisiae. The screening of bioactive components indicates the presence of alkaloid, tannins, glycosides, formic acid, tartaric acid, flavonoids and steroids. Crude ethanolic extracts of fruits and leaves of the three varieties showed to be effective against the growth of S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa. However, no inhibition is observed against Aspergillus flavus, Saccharomyses cerevisiae .


Mouse L cell fibroblasts were infected with vaccinia virus and labeled 2 to 3 h postinfection with [35S]methionine. Labeled proteins were fractionated on native and denatured DNA-cellulose columns and then analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Twenty-four 90,000 to 12,500, were detected. VDP-12A (molecular weight, 29,750) had affinity for denatured but not native DNA, and its synthesis was dependent on viral DNA replication. VDP-20 (molecular weight, 41,000) bound very tightly to native and denatured DNA and was displaced only after boiling the protein-DNA-cellulose matrix in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. VDP-8,-11,-12,-13, -and-14 behaved electrophoretically like the polypeptide species previously shown to be present in DNA-protein complexes prepared from infected cells. The molecular weights of VDP-10 (50,000), VDP-11 (36,000), and VDP-8 (67,000) were similar to the polypeptide subunits of polyadenylate polymerase and phosphohydrolase I, enzymes purified from virions which have also been shown to have affinity for DNA.


Lessons learnt from the UK's largest outbreak of legionnaires' disease.

If the term "catastrophe management" is not an oxymoron, the staff at Furness General Hospital in the north west of England are uniquely experienced in this area. In the summer of 2002 this 400 bed hospital was confronted with the UK's largest ever outbreak of legionnaire's disease.1 The disease was confirmed microbiologically in over 170 people, with 498 suspected cases being admitted to the hospital over a 10 day period. The mortality rate was about 3%. This compares favourably with another large recent outbreak in the Netherlands, where at least 188 people were infected by a contaminated fountain at a flower show (mortality 13%)2 and with sporadic cases in the UK (11% in 1998).3 We feel that this was due to prompt recognition and appropriate management rather than low virulence of the organism. The outbreak also provided an early—and very public—test for the nascent Health Protection Agency (HPA).

The trust was able to secure funding for a study reporting the hospital's response to the incident and exploring the relation between the its major incident plan (drawn up in 1997 according to national guidance4) and what took place in practice. The study was reported in the Emergency Medicine Journal in April last year.5 The researchers interviewed in detail 15 managerial and clinical staff involved in the outbreak. In this editorial, inspired by that paper, some of the key players in the handling of the outbreak join the paper's lead author to summarise the management of the outbreak and draw out some pointers for the future.

A case of legionnaire's disease was identified in Barrow-in-Furness on 30 July. A second case was identified in east Lancashire two days later; this person had recently visited Barrow and an …


A new 0.01-ml serological microtechnique system produced accurate and reproducible complement-fixation and indirect hemagglutination tests. This equipment involves the use of smaller amounts of antigens and sera, and thus increases the value of the method when employed with expensive reagents or limited qualities of sera.


In order to establish and maintain a quality of service (QoS) framework in wireless network, a major requirement is to prolong network lifetime, with simultaneous preservation of other major requirements like coverage, connectivity and adequate resources. In this work an approach is proposed which on a periodic basis it schedules the interfaces into active and inactive phases by using a layered state model and a tiered-based architecture. The model takes into account metrics like the signal strength and devices' capacity limitations, and encompasses them into the layered asynchronous scheduling scheme for end-to-end reliability and performance measures extraction. Each device schedules the next state (active, semi-sleep or sleep state) according to traffic and channel data rate measures, combined with the layered state scheme. Through the designed tiered architecture, and through experimental simulation, the proposed QoS energy-aware management scheme is thoroughly evaluated in order to meet the parameters' values where the optimal QoS and throughput response for each device/user is achieved.


This book traces a most obscure and yet most intriguing theme concealed in Heidegger's thinking and work, which has hitherto not yet been made the focus of a thorough and sustained investigation: that is, the emergence and course of Heidegger's interest in East Asian thought and of his reflection on East-West dialogue. Lin Ma covers such complex issues as Heidegger's thoughts on language, Being, technology, the other beginning, and the journey abroad, with a view to their implications for East-West dialogue. It reveals the significance of his remarks on the early Greek's confrontation with the Asiatic, and presents contextualized interpretations of his fleeting references to the topic of East-West dialogue and of his encounter with the Daodejing. Finally, it delves into "A dialogue on language" and exposes the strains and tensions that accompany Heidegger's extension of dialogue and the Same, the two notions central to his thought, to the question of East-West dialogue. In the end, Lin Ma concludes that Heidegger's fundamental concerns and philosophical orientations as articulated in terms of the history of Being and the other beginning have restricted him from engaging more seriously with the irresolvable and yet enduring issue of East-West dialogue.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Endogenous trypsin inhibitors are believed to inhibit protease activity if trypsin becomes inadvertently activated within the acinar cell. However, this action remains unproven, and the role of endogenous pancreatic trypsin inhibitors in acute pancreatitis is unknown. In this study, we tested whether increased levels of pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor-I (PSTI-I) in mice could prevent secretagogue-induced pancreatitis.

METHODS
Rat PSTI-I expression was targeted to pancreatic acinar cells in transgenic mice by creating a minigene driven by the rat elastase I enhancer/promoter. Secretagogue-induced pancreatitis was achieved by 12 hourly intraperitoneal injections of caerulein. The severity of pancreatitis was assessed by measurements of serum amylase, histologic grading, and pancreas wet weight-to-body weight ratio. Trypsinogen activation and trypsin activity were measured in pancreatic extracts.

RESULTS
Targeted expression of PSTI-I to the pancreas increased endogenous trypsin inhibitor capacity by 190% (P <.01) in transgenic vs. nontransgenic mice. Caerulein administration to nontransgenic mice produced histologic evidence of acute pancreatitis, and significantly elevated serum amylase and pancreas weight ratio. In caerulein-treated transgenic mice, the histologic severity of pancreatitis was significantly reduced. There was no difference in trypsinogen activation peptide levels between caerulein-treated transgenic and nontransgenic mice. However, trypsin activity was significantly lower in transgenic mice receiving caerulein compared with nontransgenic mice.

CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that the severity of secretagogue-induced pancreatitis is significantly ameliorated in mice with higher pancreatic levels of trypsin inhibitor. We propose that PSTI-I prevents pancreatitis by inhibiting the activity of trypsin, rather than by reducing trypsinogen activation.


By combining the two phenomena 'knowledge' and 'interaction', in terms of how they can vary in both intensity and content, this article attempts to deepen the understanding of the relationship between different types of interaction and learning, and, more specifically, how it appears within the construction industry. As an industry, construction displays some specific features in relation to interactional patterns that seem to hinder the establishment of more extensive long-term interactions. Through distinguishing between different types of interactions we discuss potential learning opportunities. The theoretical discussion is exemplified with empirical material from the construction industry that we glean from both earlier studies and from an ongoing investigation of Swedish construction firms. Our results indicate that there are different degrees of knowledge being transferred in the construction network, and that there are examples of close interaction where joint learning takes place. However, the organisational conditions characterising the construction industry seem to provide little incentive to invest inlong-term relationships, thus affecting what can be learned from others. This research project has been financial supported by the Swedish Construction Federation and The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation.


Understanding the subjective meaning of a visual query, by converting it into numerical parameters that can be extracted and compared by a computer, is the paramount challenge in the field of intelligent image retrieval, also referred to as the ¿semantic gap¿ problem. In this paper, an innovative approach is proposed that combines a relevance feedback (RF) approach with an evolutionary stochastic algorithm, called particle swarm optimizer (PSO), as a way to grasp user's semantics through optimized iterative learning. The retrieval uses human interaction to achieve a twofold goal: 1) to guide the swarm particles in the exploration of the solution space towards the cluster of relevant images; 2) to dynamically modify the feature space by appropriately weighting the descriptive features according to the users' perception of relevance. Extensive simulations showed that the proposed technique outperforms traditional deterministic RF approaches of the same class, thanks to its stochastic nature, which allows a better exploration of complex, nonlinear, and highly-dimensional solution spaces.


A hybrid two-layer evaporator wick is proposed for passive, high-heat-flux dissipation over large areas using a vapor chamber heat spreader. For such applications, the evaporator wick layer must be designed to simultaneously minimize the device temperature rise and minimize the flow resistance to a capillary feeding of the wick. This requires a strategy that exploits the benefits of a thin wick for reduced thermal resistance and a thick wick for liquid feeding. In the present design, a thick cap layer of wick material evenly routes liquid to a thin, low-thermal-resistance base layer through an array of vertical liquid-feeding posts. This two-layer structure decouples the functions of liquid resupply (cap layer) and capillary-fed boiling heat transfer (base layer), making the design scalable to heat input areas of ~1 cm2 for operation at 1 kW/cm2. A reduced-order model is developed to demonstrate the potential performance of a vapor chamber incorporating such a two-layer evaporator wick design. The model comprises simplified hydraulic and thermal resistance networks for predicting the capillary-limited maximum heat flux and the overall thermal resistance, respectively. The reduced-order model is validated against a higher fidelity numerical model and then used to analyze the performance of the vapor chamber with varying two-layer wick geometric feature sizes. The two-layer wick design is found to sustain liquid feeding at higher heat fluxes, without reaching the capillary limit, compared to single-layer evaporator wick designs.


Since the SEA and the complexion of the Single Market, the increasing flow of EU directives – with its inherent characteristics of supremacy over national law and of direct effect characterizing de facto most of the EU legislation, including most directives made member states realize the usefulness of being proactive negotiators in EU law making. Consequently, all member States elaborated procedures and established ad hoc coordinating bodies to deal at best with the formative phase of EC law – i.e. that phase in which the national administrations (in primis the governments and its bureaucracies, but also the Parliaments and the parties in them and, where relevant, also regional authorities) determine their "national position" to be negotiated with their European partners.


The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) provides a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of agar (E 406) as a food additive. In the European Union (EU), agar (E 406) has been evaluated by the Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) in 1989, who allocated to agar a not specified acceptable daily intake (ADI), and by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 1974, who considered very few data to conclude to a not limited ADI. According to the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain food additives re-evaluated under Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010, the Panel considered that the safety assessment is limited to the use and use levels received from industry in 7 food categories for which data were considered in this opinion out of the 70 food categories in which agar (E 406) is authorised; an indicative high refined exposure assessment up to 26 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day has been calculated in toddlers at the 95th percentile (non-brand-loyal scenario); agar is unlikely to be absorbed unchanged and slightly fermented by intestinal microbiota; sufficient toxicity data were available; there was no concern with respect to the genotoxicity of agar; no carcinogenic effects were reported in carcinogenicity studies in mice and rats at the doses of 4,500 mg/kg bw per day and 2,500 mg/kg bw per day, respectively, the highest doses tested; oral intake of agar (4,500 mg/person corresponding to 64 mg/kg bw per day) was tolerated in humans for 12 weeks without noticeable side effects. Therefore, the Panel concluded that there is no need for a numerical ADI for agar and that there is no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses of agar as a food additive.


The author concludes that the Supreme Court of Canada's narrow interpretations in Wal-Mart and Honda undermine the purposes of collective bargaining and human rights legislation, respectively. Wal-Mart involves an unfair labour practice complaint following the closing of a store in Jonquiere, Quebec. The author contests the analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada, as being far removed from the context of the real difficulties in dealing with determined anti-union employers, instead facilitating statutory evasion. Honda involves a claim for wrongful dismissal, where the issue at the Supreme Court of Canada level is one of remedy, premised on the dismissal amounting to disability discrimination in breach of human rights legislation. The author criticizes the majority holding that the case did not involve such a breach, as flying in the face of well-established human rights law.


This study investigated TiO2 photocatalytic degradation of caffeine, a stimulating drug, in aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide under a variety of conditions. Pure TiO2 powders were prepared using a modified homogeneous-precipitation process at low temperature (HPPLT) method. The degradation was studied by monitoring the intermediates employing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation coupled to an atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry (API-MS) system operated under selected ion monitoring (SIM). These results indicate the original concentration of caffeine almost completely degraded within 360 min, and a degradation ratio of more than 50 % appearing within 120 min of irradiation in a pH range of 3—10. The reaction rates for the decomposition of caffeine in water are higher for runs at pH 3 (k = 0.013 min-1) and pH 11 (k = 0.012 min-1). The proposed conversion mechanism of caffeine was used. The caffeine was first oxidized to become dimethyl parabanic acid and further degraded to di(hydroxymethyl) parabanic acid. This study also detected the product from N-demthylation, theophyline.


Various classification techniques have been explored by the distinct researchers previously for the prediction of a software fault. It is noticed that the result of several technique changes for software to software and no technique has always given a good result in various fields.Moreover, ensemble methods take the benefits of different individual prediction techniques and produce a better performance as compared to a single technique. Most of the works are available to classify the software system whether it is fault prone or non-fault prone but very few efforts are present for the prediction of faults using ensemble techniques. The main objective of a presented system is to find how many faults detected in software. We have implemented the most popular and widely used machine learning algorithms such as Linear Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, Ada Boost, Extra Tree, k-Nearest Neighbour,Gradient-Boosting, Multi-Layer Perceptron, Bagging Regression, Bayesian Ridge Regression, Stochastic Gradient Descent and Support Vector Machine. These machine learning techniques have been implemented to find the better base learners for heterogeneous ensemble learning. We have selected the best 4 base learner (by analyzing the result of all used techniques on various data set) Support Vector Machine, bagging Regression, Random Forest and k- Nearest Neighbour for Stacking Regression to improve the performance of the model. Fifteen different data sets are used in this work is accumulated from publicly available Promise repository. The presented work gives a uniform result on all the data set. Several performance evaluation measures including AAE, ARE, MSE, RMSE and accuracy have been considered to evaluate the presented heterogeneous technique. We have observed that in all data set Stacking Regression gives a better result among all selected top four machine learning techniques. The AAE, ARE, MSE, RMSE and accuracy provide better performance of the presented system. Comparision between homogeneous regression technique and heterogeneous ensemble technique provides an enhanced result for prediction of the quantity of faults in utilized software. The principal consequence of this work is to provide greater use of limited testing sources helping in right on time and immediate recognition of greater part of the fault in software modules.


With the increasing popularity of game meat, greater emphasis is being placed on ensuring high hygienic quality of this food. Biogenic amines are among possible indicators of the hygienic quality of meat. The aim of this study was to monitor biogenic amine concentrations in the muscle tissues of pheasants (n = 20) killed by pithing and treated by drawing (guts are removed from the body cavity through the cloaca using a specially fashioned hook). The pheasants' bodies were stored hanged by the neck for 21 days at ±7 °C. Breast and thigh muscle samples were collected at weekly intervals (day 1, 7, 14 and 21 of storage). Biogenic amines (putrescine, cadaverine, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine and phenylethylamine) were analysed by reverse phase liquid chromatography and detected by tandem mass spectrometry. In breast muscle, the most evident change was noted in the concentration of cadaverine (0.026 and 1.070 mg/kg for storage day 1 and 21, respectively) and tyramine (0.001 and 0.958 mg/kg for storage day 1 and 21, respectively). Throughout the storage period, the concentration of 5 mg/kg (indicating a loss of high hygienic quality of meat) was not exceeded by any of the assessed biogenic amines. In thigh muscle, the concentration indicating high hygienic quality of meat was exceed after 14 days of storage in the case of cadaverine, tyramine and putrescine (at the end of storage their concentrations were 9.058, 10.708 and 3.345 mg/kg, respectively). Hygienic quality of thigh muscle decreased faster compared to breast muscle. This study brings new information about the content of biogenic amines in the meat of pithed pheasants treated by drawing. Cadaverine, feathered game, hygienic quality, post-mortem treatment, putrescine


Technological changes in renewable energy technologies play an important role in the context of climate change as they contribute to a reduction of technology costs and lead to an increasing market penetration of emission reducing technologies. This paper provides a comprehensive literature review highlighting numerous motivations and necessities underlying the introduction of renewable energy policies. Starting with a brief overview on the induced innovation hypothesis, we show that policy intervention has been an effective tool to change relative prices, thus, incentivizing innovation, but that also various influencing factors are at play. We show that the literature agrees on the need for specific renewable energy policies in order to overcome concomitant market failures and barrier. We highlight that technology specific policies are generally understood as necessary complements to environmental non-technology specific policies in order to generate adequate demand in energy markets. However, in that respect, we outline the ongoing debate on the effectiveness of different technology specific policies on the demand-pull side and the role of technology-push policies. Additionally we provide a summary on methodological approaches to measure policy efforts and technological change respecting different impact levels and stages within the technological change process. Finally, by focusing on international competitiveness and technology cost we highlight two aspects of the effects renewable technology innovation and respective policy support.


Two kinds of thick-walled rings, consisted of WCP/Fe-C gradient composites layers containing about 54 and 70 vol.% of WCP and Fe-C alloy core, were cast by centrifugal casting method. The microstructure, mechanical properties and wear resistance of the gradient composites were investigated. Meanwhile the results were compared with those made of the high speed steel. It was found that WCP in the two kind of gradient composites layers were even well distributed, WCP/Fe-C composites layer of 23-28mm was obtained, the transition layer between the composites layer and matrix alloy core was perfect. The tensile strengths of the two gradient composites layers achieved 345MPa, 460MPa and the impact toughness were 4.6J/cm2, 6.2J/cm2 respectively. Moreover the hardness of the composites layers attained HRA81 and HRA 78. The result of the comparison among the gradient composites layers and that made of the high speed steel showed that the wear resistance of the gradient composites layers containing about 50 and 70 vol.% of WCP was more than 20 times higher than that of the high speed steel under loads of 100N and 200N and sliding velocity of 60 m/s. Finally, the wear-mechanism was discussed.


OBJECTIVE
Identification and development of new biomarkers could be beneficial for diagnosis and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) patients. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical significance of miR-133a expression in tissues from ESCC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptive-PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine miR-133a expression levels in 126 ESCC tissues. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and differences in survival rates were analyzed using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to determine whether miR-133a was an independent predictor of survival.

RESULTS
We found that the levels of miR-133a in ESCC tissues exhibited lower than that in matched normal tissues (p < 0.01). Low miR-133a expression was positively associated with T stage of ESCC (p = 0.013) and tumor length (p = 0.007). Moreover, low levels of miR-133a was associated with lower overall survival (OS) (p = 0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.001). According to multivariate analysis, miR-133a level was confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor for worse survival.

CONCLUSIONS
MiR-133a may represent a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in esophageal squamous cell cancer prognosis and treatment.


Looking back, 2011 has been another successful year for Journal of Interprofessional Care (JIC). This success is expressed in a number of different ways. The editorial office has continued to receive an increasing number of submissions over the past 12 months. Last year, the editorial team processed over 250 articles, editorials, commentaries, reports and reviews. The quality of the submissions has continued to increase, indicating that the academic work of our colleagues in the interprofessional field strives forward. For example, we have seen an expansion of methodological papers that outline innovative approaches by which we can build more robust empirical work. Also, our current call for papers on theoretical perspectives (due to be published later this year) has yielded nearly 20 potential contributions, with a range of stimulating ideas for using social science theories to illuminate and better understand the interprofessional domain. Importantly, in 2011, JIC was awarded its first impact factor (0.793) from Thomson Reuters. Securing an impact factor provides an indication of the value of a journal in its academic domain, and is therefore a cause for celebration among editorial team and board members, authors, peer reviewers and our publisher – Informa. However, as the first JIC editorial of 2012 points out, while it is important to recognize the opportunities an impact factor offers an academic journal (e.g. increased attraction for authors), one also needs to understand the limitations of the methods used to calculate an impact factor (Reeves, Kenaszcuk, SawatzkyGirling & Goldman 2012). In 2011, we have also strengthened our editorial team by a number of new appointments whose talents will further enhance the quality of our editorial work. I am delighted to announce that we have four new associate editors – Julia Coyle (University of New South Wales, Australia), Craig Kuziemsky (University of Ottawa, Canada), Angus McFadyen (AKM-STATS, Glasgow, UK), Flemming Jakobsen (Regional Hospital Holstebro, Denmark); a new co-editor for the short reports section – Tina Martimianakis (University of Toronto, Canada) and a new co-editor of our reviews section – Tyler Law (McMaster University, Canada). Encouragingly, the Journal's social media sites continue to have a widening presence on the Internet. For example, the JIC Twitter account now has over 400 followers, while the JIC Facebook account has nearly 100 members. Earlier this year, the Journal launched its own YouTube Channel and Blog, and posted a number of podcasts on its main website. Collectively, these different forms of social media provide additional insights and information which aim to complement the Journal's conceptual, empirical and theoretical papers and reports, editorials, commentaries and reviews. Personally, this year has been one of change. After 6 years at the University of Toronto, I moved to the University of California, San Francisco, to begin an exciting new role as the Founding Director for the Center for Innovation in Interprofessional Healthcare Education. This new post allows me to extend my increasing interest in leading interprofessional initiatives while continuing my research and editorial work. As a result of this move, the editorial office is now more virtual in nature, spanning both San Francisco and Toronto, as Joanne Goldman continues her invaluable work as JIC Managing Editor based in Toronto. This means that the editorial office work is now undertaken by use of various information technologies, similar to many journals that have online submission systems like JIC. Looking into 2012, our aim is to continue to build upon these successes: strengthen the quality of JIC papers through robust editorial work, work to increase our impact factor and extend our Internet presence by continued use of different social media applications. Once again, I would like to thank all the members of our editorial team and editorial board, whose hard work and contributions ensure the continued success of Journal of Interprofessional Care.


Summary Walter Benjamin famously argued that the mass public of the twentieth century would necessarily correlate with a newly politicized art. But the world has changed considerably since Benjamin's article was written, as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer already were assessing less than a decade later. It is the purpose of this article to examine how the aesthetics of the Frankfurt school, though frequently still invoked, have lost some of their immediate relevance. The anti-establishment phase of the 60s, compounded by a pronounced taste for irony, rendered aura and exhibition outmoded values, while on the other hand, more recently, price escalation in the art market and digitization have made certain of the Frankfurt school arguments more pertinent than ever. Taking as examples Goldsworthy and Kentridge, this essay argues that a deliberate loosening of the artist's control over both medium and reception displaces the warmed-over religious responses endorsed by Benjamin, positing instead increased intellectual agency on the part of viewers, whose identity as a mass public has become newly complicated.


By study on the current domestic cutting technics of vertical-pull glass pipe, in this paper a new and practical design of automatic cutting robot is peoposed. Its motion process is introduced on the basis of performance requirement, and then the overall structure of automatic cutting robot for vertical-pull glass pipe is designed, especially the electro-hydraulic proportional control systems for frame rotation and fuselage lifting. Meanwhile the stability and respond speed of hydraulic systems is well analyzed with matlab software. The results of open-loop bode diagram of the frame rotation system and unit step response diagram of fuselage lifting system indicate that the automatic cutting robot has excellent system stability and respond speed. It can content the requirement of position accuracy, reduce the labor intensity with high productivity and liberate the workers from wicked environment.


Insidious, multi-dimensional forms of organised crime embody one of the most extreme forms of illegality often believed to bedevil Greece. Additionally spurred by the intensification of international attention upon organised crime over the last twenty years, this issue has become a prominent public concern in Greece, alongside –if sometimes overshadowed by– domestic political violence, foreign affairs, immigration, and corruption. Nevertheless, just as in other jurisdictions regionally and internationally, the evolution of policy in Greece has seen questions raised about the appropriate definition and measurement of organised crime. As has been the case in other countries, Greece has seen official strategies to counter organised crime shaped and, more importantly, limited, as much by what they have included as by what they have left out; high-level corruption and white collar crime being key examples of the latter. Equally, Greece has also seen the unfurling of official strategies to counter organised crime whose priorities have had very little logical basis in empirical assessments, and have been far more significantly structured by the content and styles of domestic and international policy dogmas, themselves produced by quite different priorities and assessments. Indeed, the discussion of the Greek case presented here does not suggest any significant aberration from the international trend in which the problematisation of organised crime has been overwhelmingly determined by political, rather than expert, pressures. Yet, indicative of the preponderantly legal more than sociological character of sociolegal scholarship in Greece, the socio-political context that has conditioned the problematisation of organised crime in the country has rarely been subjected to systematic analysis. The review presented in this article of the challenges faced in defining and assessing the threat posed by organised crime in Greece is therefore offered as a synoptic contribution towards this end.


Career indecision refers to the phenomenon where individuals especially students are unable to make decisions about the careers they wish to pursue. Career decisions enable us to label students as being either 'decided' or 'undecided' on their career choices. To a greater extent, career indecision could also invoke the idea of readiness or career maturity in terms of the career developmental tasks they have to complete. The aim of this study was to determine predictive factors of career indecision among Malaysian undergraduates. Data for this study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. There were 1229 respondents who consisted of undergraduate students from four public universities. The respondents were identified via multistage stratified sampling. The Career Factor Inventory (CFI; Chartrand, Robbins, Morrill & Boggs, 1990) was used to measure career indecision while the My Vocational Situation (MVS; Holland et al., 1980) was used to measure the three core dimensions of career identity namely vocational identity, occupational information and career barriers. The multiple regression analysis indicated that female undergraduates with high academic achievement and low occupational information, and vocational identity were more unlikely to have decided on their career. An understanding of factors contributing to career indecision among university students will provide insights for educators and student personnel in improving the students' career developmental process.


In this study, an attempt was made on the AA2024 alloy based hybrid nanocomposites reinforced with different weight percentage of SiC and B4C particles to investigate their physical and machinability characteristics including surface morphology. The Material Removal Rate (MRR), Surface Roughness (SR) of the nanocomposites machined by various machining processes namely Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) machining, Wire Electrical Discharge (WED) machining and Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) turning processes were studied comparatively. The machined surface formed by the each machining process is examined and its surface quality was discussed for each hybrid nanocomposite. Results show that the hardness is increased to 101.6 BHN from 179.4 BHN, when 2 wt.% of B4C and SiC particles is added to AA2024 matrix. Observed from the results that the addition of 2 wt.% of B4C and SiC particles produces the highest porosity of 3.36% for nanocomposite samples. The experimental results revealed that the addition of particulates in to the matrix reduces the MRR and increases SR. MRR results showed that hybrid nanocomposites machined by AWJ technique has minimum MRR of 0.0221 mm3/min. The surface roughness of the nanocomposites machined with AWJ process was 3.2 µm and increased to 6.81 µm for the AA2024-B4C-SiC hybrid nanocomposites machined with CNC process.


The inhibitory effects of local anesthetics (LAs) of cocaine and bupivacaine optical isomers on Na+ currents were studied in clonal GH3 cells under whole-cell patch clamp conditions. At holding potential of - 100 mV, all four isomers inhibited peak Na+ currents when the cell was stimulated infrequently. The dose-response curves of this tonic block of peak Na+ currents by (-)/(+) cocaine and (-)/(+) bupivacaine were well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm, suggesting that one LA isomer blocked one Na+ channel. Each pair of isomers showed no greater than a twofold difference in stereoselectivity toward Na+ channels. Additional block of Na+ currents occurred when the cell was stimulated at 2 Hz. This use-dependent block was also observed in all four isomers, which again displayed little stereoselectivity. The voltage dependence of the use-dependent block produced by cocaine isomers did not overlap with the activation of Na+ channels but did overlap with the steady-state inactivation (h infinity), indicating that cocaine can bind directly to the inactivated state of Na+ channels before channel opening. In comparison, the peak batrachotoxin (BTX)-modified Na+ currents were little inhibited by cocaine and bupivacaine isomers. However, the maintained BTX-modified Na+ currents were highly sensitive toward the (- ) form of cocaine and bupivacaine isomers during a prolonged depolarization. As a result, a profound time-dependent block of BTX- modified Na+ currents was evident in the presence of these LA isomers. The estimated values of the equilibrium dissociation constant (KD in micromolar) at +50 mV were 35.8, 661, 7.0, and 222 for (-)/(+) cocaine and (-)/(+) bupivacaine, respectively. Although chloramine-T (CT) also modified the fast inactivation of Na+ channels and gave rise to a maintained Na+ current during a prolonged depolarization, LA isomers showed no greater stereoselectivity in blocking this maintained current than in blocking the normal transient Na+ current. We conclude that (a) cocaine and bupivacaine isomers exhibit only weak stereoselectivity toward the LA receptor in normal and CT-treated Na+ channels, (b) BTX drastically modifies the configuration of the LA binding site so that the LA stereoselectivity of the open Na+ channels is altered by an order of magnitude, and (c) the (-) forms of cocaine and bupivacaine interact strongly with the open state of BTX-modified Na+ channels but only weakly, if at all, with the closed state. The last finding may explain why most LA drugs were reported to be less effective toward BTX- modified Na+ channels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Protein energy malnutrition is well-recognized in children with acute leukemia and may result in loss of lean body mass (LBM) with attendant morbidities. Much of the LBM consists of skeletal muscle, the mass of which is reflected in urinary creatinine excretion. As accurate 24 hours urine collections are challenging in children, we investigated the prospect that serum creatinine concentration provides a measure of LBM. Eleven children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were assessed at 7 time points (6-mo intervals) from diagnosis to 1 year after the completion of therapy. LBM was measured as fat-free mass by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA scans) and correlated with serum creatinine concentration and 24 hours urine creatinine excretion. As expected, there was a strong correlation between 24 hours urinary creatinine excretion and LBM from DXA scans (r=0.79, P<0.001). Serum creatinine concentration also correlated with LBM (r=0.52, P<0.001). Serum creatinine concentration provides a surrogate measure of LBM in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This will be especially useful in countries with limited resources in which more sophisticated measures, such as DXA scans, are seldom available.


Cdc42 organizes cellular polarity and directs the formation of cellular structures in many organisms. By locating Cdc24, the source of active Cdc42, to the growing edge of the yeast cell, the scaffold protein Bem1 is instrumental in shaping the cellular gradient of Cdc42. This gradient instructs bud formation, bud growth, or cytokinesis through the actions of a diverse set of effector proteins. To address how Bem1 participates in this transformation we systematically mapped its protein interactions in time and space. SPLIFF analysis defined a unique ensemble of Bem1 interaction-states for each cell cycle stage. The characterization of mutants of Bem1 that interact with a discrete subset of the interaction partners allowed to assign specific functions to different interaction states and identified the determinants for their cellular distributions. The analysis characterizes Bem1 as a cell cycle specific shuttle that distributes active Cdc42 from its source to its effectors and helps to convert the PAKs Cla4 and Ste20 into their active conformation.


Voluntary standards certifying environmental qualities of labeled products have proliferated across sectors and countries. Effectuating these standards requires the collaboration among and between creators (typically firms and nongovernmental organizations) and adopters (firms across a particular supply chain). However, the need to collaborate does not rule out the presence of controversy. Drawing on the case of the Marine Stewardship Council, a leading seafood standard to conserve the world's threatened marine fauna, we analyze how this controversy, from economic and sociologic vantage points, impacts a sustainability transition. In essence, interest divergence drives controversy over standard design, which spurs controversy over standard effectiveness and prompts the proliferation of competing standards. Controversy is magnified by the opacity or nontransparency of the fields which such standards seek to govern. We conclude that, while interest divergence and field opacity entail inherent controversy over voluntary environmental standards, the impact of this controversy on sustainability transitions is typically predominantly positive.


We have identified the reality of economic development in the Arab world from our review of a number of economic indicators, we found that they are far below the required level, and far from economic progress and achieve the desired economic development. Therefore, we must advance and start preparing and completing the means to catch up and not stand idly by The experiences of different countries in this area, especially as we have in the Arab world the fundamentals of this advancement and we have to start now, to start late is better than not to start at all. Keywords : development, Arab world, economic indicators, Oil prices.


Visual servoing methods are reviewed along with their limitations in low-cost uncalibrated situations. A description of the camera model is then given including an overview of visual Jacobian calculations. The problem of selecting suitable gains for implementation in real-time is developed. The model system used is of the anthropomorphic service robot HERMES. It is highly nonlinear and redundant with 6-DOF in the camera system and 6-DOF in each of its two arms. The selection of gains is difficult due to the nonlinearity of the Jacobian over the complete robot. A conservative controller for the camera is developed and a single measure for gripper orientation is outlined along with its limitations. Two solutions to the problems of alignment in visual servoing over a large workspace are given. The first approach weights the alignment heavily during the initial stages, and the second one uses a starting point grid derived by "visually voxellating" the workspace. Results of exhaustive and local motion tests are then given. The proposed alignment method improved the visual servoing alignment performance.


This final report is the result of research during the five and one-half year period from September 1948 to March 1954. Throughout the investigation the apparent decline of sport fish was causing sport fishermen great concern. Among other factors, kelp harvesting was blamed for the poor catch of the sportsman. More than a year after the beginning of this investigation, the Kelco Company approached the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, with the request that the problems of kelp cutting in relation to the fish supply be attacked by the University under a fellowship grant, by unprejudiced research. The Company wanted to determine whether the kelp operations were adversely affecting fishing, and if so, how harvesting methods might be altered to prevent this. The first phase of the program was concerned with observation and identification. Thousands of hours were spent above and below the surface observing the organisms in their own environment. Extensive use was made of scuba diving equipment for observations, collection, and placing of equipment. Underwater photography was developed to a point where many observations could be recorded. The second phase of the program was to appraise the effects of kelp harvesting on fish life. Because of the lack of pertinent published data on the ecology of the inshore waters, it was necessary to investigate not only the beds of the main commercial kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), but also many other regions, in order to obtain comparative data. Such areas included bays, rocky areas below the levels where kelp grows, rocky areas with no kelp, the surf zones, sandy areas, and regions outside the West Coast range of Macrocystis. Kelp beds were studied as far north as Monterey and as far south as the San Benito Islands, Baja California. Diving observations in the kelp were made at Monterey, Morro Bay, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Point Dume, Palos Verdes, Newport, Laguna, Dana Point, San Clemente, Del Mar, Solana Beach, La Jolla, Point Loma, Ensenada, Punta San Carlos, Punta Blanca, Punta Santa Rosalia, and numerous other points along the mainland; also at San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Catalina, Coronado, San Martin, and San Benito Islands. Intensive studies of the problem were carried out in Orange and San Diego Counties, with special concentration on the nearby La Jolla kelp beds. One portion of the La Jolla kelp beds was left uncut as a control. Little difference has been noted in the fish life within the bed as contrasted with harvested beds. The kelp itself became more sparse, probably because of reduced light penetration through the heavy canopy that developed temporarily. In the 1952-53 winter season much of the kelp was destroyed by storms. These studies yielded a vast amount of information bearing not only on the kelp problem but also on the life ways of the fishes. As a result of these long and thorough studies, it is concluded that kelp harvesting, as cutrrently practiced, has no seriously detrimental effects on fishing. The various claims as to the ways in which kelp harvesting was supposed to destroy fish life and to decrease the fish catch were completely investigated and found to be in error. Spawning and nursery grounds of fish are not being destroyed. Sufficient cover and food are always available during and after harvesting. The kelp beds are not destroyed by harvesting methods. Harvesters do not frighten sportfish from an area. For several decades California has experienced a tremendous increase in population. Cities have grown where deserts and foothills were the homes of deer, rabbits, ground squirrels, ground owls, doves,and quail. In most places these animals have largely disappeared, and with them the intertidal mollusks — Pismo clams, butter clams, abalone, and many other species. The shore fishes such as corbina and spotfin croaker are less common in the individual fisherman's catch. Over kelp beds where a man might have fished alone a decade or two ago, we may see 50 sport boats with a total of 1000 anglers. Thus, even though the annual catch may be the same as or higher than 10 or 20 years ago, the catch per fisherman is much lower. The kelp industries have arisen indirectly from our social-economic needs for new raw materials to fill new markets. They have become established in our economy and are essential for the production of certain new products. As is typical of modern, young industries, they have conducted research to determine the maximum sustained yield. The industry naturally has no desire to destroy kelp. The sportfishing industry is large and provides recreation, necessary for our nation's health, to thousands of persons. With the addition of thousands of newcomers to sportfishing and the reduction of catch per unit of effort, it is not difficult to understand the fishermen's concern over factors supposedly destroying their sport. It is necessary, however, to determine the real reason for the apparent decline of fish before any constructive action can be taken. It may be a problem of overfishing or of natural population fluctuations, but the blame cannot be laid to the kelp harvesting.


We introduce a simple empirical rule wherein the pairing interaction in superconductors is cancelled when normal and umklapp phonon scattering coexist. Superconductivity then arises solely from the residual umklapp contribution. As a result the deduced electron – phonon interactions in niobium, tantalum, lead and aluminum become virtually identical in the normal and superconducting states. Transition temperatures calculated under the rule are accurate within a few per cent when compared with experimental data. Features of the Matthias relations are also explained. The high T c so far predicted for metallic hydrogen is probably overly optimistic. normal and umklapp scattering coexist. We describe the


The aims and objectives are to prepare Gandhaka Rasayana by the classical method mentioned in Ayurved Prakash and to evaluate parameters for process standardisation of Gandhaka Rasayana. Shuddha Gandhaka obtained by Shodhan procedure was powdered. In the preparation of Gandhaka Rasayana Bhavana Sanskar is the key element. Gandhaka Rasayana is prepared by 67 bhavanas made by nine different Bhavya dravya and their Upkalpana. The powder of Shuddha Gandhaka, Kwath, Swarasa and Phanta were prepared by the classical method. Physicochemical analysis was performed keeping in view of standardisation aspects of formulation. Final product standardisation is a part of thorough process standardisation. There is change in organoleptic properties in the process of Gandhaka Rasayana formulation. Ash value increased and % sulphur decreased as number of Bhavana increases. There was a rightward shift in pH in the formulation of Gandhaka Rasayana. Gandhaka Rasayana is the abundant source of Potassium. Gandhaka Rasayana is a nine step chain reaction resulting in the final product. Fingerprint of every step of Gandhaka Rasayana can be measured or quantified with the help of total Ash value, % Sulphur and Spectrophotometric analysis. Thus these parameters help us in the process Standardisation of Gandhaka Rasayana. Parameters for final product standardisations of Gandhaka Rasayana are pH value and evaluation of minerals from Flame photometry.


World Trade Organization (WTO) judges are proposed by the WTO Secretariat and elected to act as 'judges' if either approved by the parties to a dispute, or, by the WTO Director-General in case no agreement between the parties has been possible. They are typically 'Geneva crowd', that is, they are either current or former delegates representing their country before the WTO. This observation holds for both first as well as second instance WTO judges (e.g., Panellists and members of the Appellate Body). In that, the WTO evidences an attitude strikingly similar to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Whereas the legal regime has been heavily 'legalized', the people called to enforce it remain the same.


Alterations of the retinal nerve fiber layer occur as a result of diseases affecting the anterior visual pathway. Optimal viewing conditions, familiarity with the appearance of the normal nerve fiber layer, precise focus, and a high index of suspicion are necessary for the ophthalmoscopic observation of pathologic alteration in the nerve fiber layer. The observer must learn to differentiate pseudodefects (reflexes) from true defects (areas of nerve fiber layer atrophy). Nerve fiber layer changes appear ophthalmoscopically as generalized attrition, slit defects, sector defects (all types of atrophic change), or changes in the appearance of the nerve fiber layer itself. These alterations, which occur in numerous conditions including congenital hemianopia, ocular hypertension and glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, acute Leber optic neuropathy, trauma, severe hypertension, congenital and heredity optic atrophy, toxic amblyopia, papilledema, retinochoroiditis, and following photocoagulation, may be of critical diagnostic importance.


eleed, Iss. 1 - We describe the use of log file analysis to investigate whether the use of CSCL applications corresponds to its didactical purposes. Exemplarily we examine the use of the web-based system CommSy as software support for project-oriented university courses. We present two findings: (1) We suggest measures to shape the context of CSCL applications and support their initial and continuous use. (2) We show how log files can be used to analyze how, when and by whom a CSCL system is used and thus help to validate further empirical findings. However, log file analyses can only be interpreted reasonably when additional data concerning the context of use is available.


Transition-metal hydrides represent a unique class of compounds, which are essential for catalysis, organic synthesis, and hydrogen storage. In this work we study IrH5(PPh3)2, (RuH5(P(i)Pr3)2)(-), (OsH5(P(i)Pr3)2)(-), and OsH4(PPhMe2)3 polyhydride complexes, inspired by the recent discovery of the σ-aromatic PtZnH5(-) cluster anion. The distinctive feature of these molecules is that, like in the PtZnH5(-) cluster, the metal is five-fold coordinated in-plane, and holds additional ligands at the axial positions. This work shows that the unusual coordination in these compounds indeed can be explained by σ-aromaticity in the pentagonal arrangement, stabilized by the atomic orbitals on the metal. Based on this newly elucidated bonding principle, we additionally propose a new family of polyhydrides that display a uniquely high coordination. We also report the first indications of how aromaticity may impact the reactivity of these molecules.


BACKGROUND
The objective of the study was to evaluate the implications of androgen receptor (AR) in breast cancers.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We investigated immunohistochemical AR expression from the tissue microarrays of 931 patients between 1999 and 2005, and analyzed demographics and outcomes using uni-/multivariate analyses. Tumors with ≥10% nuclear-stained cells were considered positive for AR.

RESULTS
AR was expressed in 58.1% of patients. AR was significantly related to older age at diagnosis, smaller size, well-differentiated tumors, higher positivity of hormone receptors, non-triple-negative breast cancers (non-TNBCs), and lower proliferative index. In estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors, AR was distinctively associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) overexpression. With a mean follow-up of 72.7 months, AR was positively related to survival in ER-positive but not in ER-negative tumors. In Cox's models, AR was an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival in ER-positive cancers. Interestingly, molecular apocrine tumors (ER negative and AR positive) with HER2 positive status showed trends of poorer outcome, but AR had no impact on survival in patients with TNBC.

CONCLUSIONS
AR is significantly associated with favorable features in breast cancers and related to better outcomes in ER-positive not in ER-negative tumors. These results suggest that AR could be an additional marker for endocrine responsiveness in ER-positive cancers and a candidate for therapeutic targeting of ER-negative tumors.


Sediments and water from Vikuge State Farm, Coast Region, Tanzania, where, in 1986, a "donation" of 170 m3 of partially expired pesticides were stored in an open shed- which eventually collapsed, were analysed for 80 different pesticide residues and metabolites. DDT and HCH, two of the most persistent organochlorines pesticides, were the most dominant pesticides found in both matrices. In sediments the levels were up to 99,620 mg/kg dry weight of ΣDDT and up to 7,400 mg/kg dry weight of ΣHCH. The mean total HCH concentrations were 0.95 μg/l in tap water, 0.28 μg/l in surface water and 3.09 μg/l in ground water. Of the four common HCH isomers,α-HCH and β-HCH had the highest on average concentrations in the water. Mean total DDT concentrations were 1.76 μg/l in tap water, 0.18 μg/l in surface water and 9 μg/l in ground water. The only other pesticides detected were in sediments and water are azinphos-methyl, an organphosphorous insecticide and thiabendazol, a systemic fungicide, respectively. During the rainy season, the well-water, which is used for domestic purposes by the villagers, has levels of pesticides higher than those allowed by WHO for drinking water. It is thus recommended that immediate decontamination measures be undertaken. In the meantime, villagers should sediment the well-water and should not use not use it at all during the rainy seasons.. Tanzania Journal of Science Vol. 30 (2) 2004: pp. 21-32


Genetic regulatory networks have emerged as a useful way to elucidate the biochemical pathways for biological functions. Yet, determination of the exact parametric forms for these models remain a major challenge. In this paper, we present a novel computational approach implemented in C++ to solve this inverse problem. This takes the form of an optimization stage first after which Bayesian filtering takes place. The key advantage of such a flexible, general and robust approach is that it provides us with a joint probability distribution of the model parameters instead of single estimates, which we can propagate to final predictions. We apply these ideas to time series data from gene circuit models using state space representation. We show that unsound terms from a more generalized model can be efficiently pruned by our approach. We believe our work offers a new insight towards understanding the behaviour, mechanisms and thermodynamics of system biology.


Virtual organizations (VO) consist of a group of agents (individuals, enterprises, or intelligent machines) that collaborate towards achieving some common goals. Partners of the VO are independent, autonomous, and heterogeneous, thus often exhibiting complex behaviors in working together. While behaving collaboratively facilitates both performing the joint tasks and achieving the common goals of the VO, frictional behavior even if demonstrated by a few partners, may cause drastic results and total failure of the VO. Therefore, it is necessary to define a suitable framework to be able to model and analyze the partners' behaviors. However, on one hand the VO contracts usually address partners' tasks at the high level only, and on the other hand VOs are dynamic and continuously evolving. Consequently, contract terms do not sufficiently define the detailed daily activities of partners. Rather, partners in the VO perform their daily activities according to the detailed set of tasks planned and agreed together with the VO coordinator. Nevertheless, partners' daily activities comply with the commitments they have made once in their written contracts. This paper introduces a framework in which promises are incrementally made by the agents, to indicate their detailed agreements on the daily tasks to perform, and in turn promises and their fulfillments formalize the VO partners' behavior.


Abnormal alternative splicing of tau exon 10 results in imbalance of 3R-tau and 4R-tau expression, which is sufficient to cause neurofibrillary degeneration. Splicing factor SC35, a member of the superfamily of the serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins, promotes tau exon 10 inclusion. The molecular mechanism by which SC35 participates in tau exon 10 splicing remains elusive. In the present study, we found that tau pre-mRNA was coprecipitated by SC35 tagged with HA. Mutation of the SC35-like exonic splicing enhancer located at exon 10 of tau affected both the binding of SC35 to tau pre-mRNA and promotion of tau exon 10 inclusion, suggesting that SC35 acts on the SC35-like exonic splicing enhancer to promote tau exon 10 inclusion. Dyrk1A (dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylated and regulated kinase 1A) phosphorylated SC35 in vitro and interacted with it in cultured cells. Overexpression of Dyrk1A suppressed SC35′s ability to promote tau exon 10 inclusion. Downregulation of Dyrk1A promoted 4R-tau expression. Therefore, upregulation of Dyrk1A in Down syndrome brain or Alzheimer's brain may cause dysregulation of tau exon 10 splicing through SC35, and probably together with other splicing factors, leading to the imbalance in 3R-tau and 4R-tau expression, which may initiate or accelerate tau pathology and cause neurofibrillary degeneration in the diseases.


Is there any redemption for the poverty line approach? Despite its narrow focus, the incomepoverty line approach does yield some pertinent information on its chosen scale, but it is essentially one-dimensional and overlooks the multifaceted nature of human deprivation. This can easily lead to a superficial and misleading understanding of the nature ard causes, as well as the cures of human poverty. The grave danger posed by the income-poverty line approach is that it inevitably leads to a misidentification of the poor, and subsequently to the adoption of targeting, monitoring and evaluation criteria which are equally narrow, thus carrying the many blind spots in the concept of deprivation into the operational phase of interventions.


This paper reviews pastoral lease arrangements across Australia and considers the extent to which these affect the emergence of non-pastoral land uses. Some 44 per cent of Australia is made up of pastoral leases. The predominant use of these leases is for grazing livestock (primarily sheep and cattle). However, there is increasing demand for this land to be used for non-pastoral uses, such as tourism, farming of nonconventional livestock (such as goats, kangaroos and camels) and conservation of native wildlife. More neutral and outcome-focused pastoral leasing arrangements may better facilitate pastoral and non-pastoral land uses in the future.


A new technique is proposed for robust multiuser detection in the presence of non-Gaussian ambient noise. This method is based on minimizing a certain cost function (e.g., the Huber penalty function) over a discrete set of candidate user bit vectors. The set of candidate points are chosen based on the so-called "slowest-descent search." starting from the estimate closest to the unconstrained minimizer of the cost function and along mutually orthogonal directions where this cost function grows the slowest. Simulation results show that this new technique offers substantial performance improvement over the previously proposed robust multiuser detectors with little attendant increase in computational complexity.


A substantial segment of the error in numerical weather prediction and climate projections comes from the intrinsic uncertainties of General Circulation Models of the atmosphere. Stochastic physics schemes are one of the preferred methods to represent the model uncertainty in Ensemble Prediction Systems, where different realizations of the same forecast are created to quantify the probabilities of different outcomes in the atmospheric flow. Stochastic physics schemes have been successfully employed in medium-range and seasonal forecasting systems, as they increase the skill of probabilistic forecasts. Similarly it has been demonstrated than these schemes can improve certain aspects of the model's climate. However, it is still not clear whether they are a truthful representation of the model uncertainties they aim to represent. In this thesis, a collection of stochastic physics schemes are evaluated using a seamless approach. It is found that they can improve the representation of the tropical climate and extra-tropical cyclones, but they degrade the individual representation of these processes deteriorating the deterministic skill of the model. Some important features of the model can be degraded by the stochastic physics schemes, like energy and moisture conservation on climate scales. Some closures to the schemes are proposed and successfully tested to remove or reduce some of the problems found. Alternative approaches in the development of stochastic parametrizations are also investigated. Stochastic physics schemes have some benefits but still require further development to produce a realistic representation of model error. It is also recommended that evaluation methodologies must be expanded to include process-based diagnostics to display the realism of its perturbations.


The Penggaron Bridge is one of the longest bridges on the Semarang-Solo Toll Road Section I Km.20. This bridge is in an area with less stable soil conditions. So, the deformation monitoring must be carried out to determine the deformation conditions in the area around the toll bridge. Measurement of deformation in the bridge area of Penggaron was conducted in 2015 and 2016 using the technology of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). This research was conducted by observing GNSS at eight observation points in the Penggaron Toll Bridge area. Measurements were taken three times over three months in 2018. The velocity rate of the horizontal component of the observation station of the Penggaron Toll Bridge area deformation after elimination of the effect of Sunda Block Rotation become ranged from 1.5 mm/year to 12.1 mm/year. The statistical test results that all observation stations have no movement or no deformation. Four new stations measured and installed in 2018 require another measurement the following year to get a good velocity rate.


Previous reports have indicated that the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum possesses two ras genes (rasG and rasD) and one rap gene (rap1). All three genes are developmentally regulated, with each showing a different pattern of transcription during the Dictyostelium life cycle. To establish whether there are additional ras or rap genes in Dictyostelium, we used degenerate oligonucleotide primers to the highly conserved GTP-binding domains and both ras- and rap-unique sequences to amplify products from cDNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No additional rap genes were amplified, but a fragment whose nucleotide sequence predicted a novel ras gene was isolated. Using this PCR product as a probe, a full-length cDNA clone was isolated and sequenced. Its deduced amino acid sequence predicted a 197 amino acid protein that is 71% and 68% identical to RasG and RasD respectively. The new ras gene contains the conserved Ras-specific effector domain, the conserved binding site for the Ras-specific Y13-259 monoclonal antibody, and shows greater sequence similarity to the human H-Ras protein than to any other mammalian Ras protein. In view of this high level of identity to the ras gene subfamily, we have designated this gene rasB. Northern blot analysis has shown that rasB is developmentally regulated with maximum levels of a single 950-bp message detected during vegetative growth and the first 8 h of development.