Abstract Virtual reality environments can be manipulated allowing controlled visual disturbances. These environmental manipulations (textures, objects, and movements) can affect postural control by creating a sensory mismatch, making it possible to investigate multisensory reweighting. VR integration with motion capture equipment is relatively new; these environmental factors have not received sufficient attention to be employed in postural related research and in VR environment development. Seventeen subjects performed 48 trials of forward and backward translational optic flow in single and double support presented on a head mounted display. Each condition was presented in three different velocities: 3 m/s, 5 m/s and 8 m/s. The effect on center of pressure distance and velocity were analyzed. A repeated measures, counterbalanced experimental design was used. Center of pressure distance travelled increased in the single support condition (p < 0.001). The largest single support postural disturbance was observed in the slowest velocity and longest duration (3 m/s) and the smallest in the fastest velocity shortest duration (8 m/s). A slow optic flow velocity and higher duration of sudden visual translations generates greater disruption to postural control in single support. The velocity and duration of perturbations need to be carefully considered when studying human postural control and the design of VR environments.


I investigated the discrimination of objects with diffractive bifocal contactlenses, when objects in different distances are presented simultaneously. Computer assisted considerations suggested an impairment of discrimination as compared to monofocal correction for far as well as for near. The theoretical loss of image information has been shown to occur also in a visual test with steric arrangement of object points. However, the experiments suggested, that this kinds of visual quality impairment does not play a dominant role in the qualification of diffractive bifocals, since a rather sophisticated procedure was needed to demonstrate the expected effect.


Modern society is characterized by speed, a hectic pace of life and mobility. Travelling is an important part of it, and being on the move gives the impression of being both effective and active in everyday life. Mobility embedded in everyday life makes it necessary to have a good understanding of the social processes creating and maintaining the social context and especially the framework of the daily lives of children conditioning the choice of transport mode. This article deals with the characteristics, social processes and trends contributing to our understanding mobility in daily life, while concentrating on aspects of importance in the organization of everyday life in families with children. While there are several societal trends contributing to increased use of the car in the mobility of children, there is at the same time a decline in children's independent mobility, i.e. walking and cycling. Individualization and organized leisure activities for children, perception of time and time pressure, access to and habituation of car-use, interplay between transport and information and communication technology are all discussed and illustrated with empirical examples.


The rarefaction-condensation differential potential (RCDP) obtained by subtracting brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEPs) to C clicks from those to R clicks has been studied in 32 normal subjects and 31 cases of cochlear hearing loss. In normal subjects, no RCDP was recorded along the lower 30-55 dB of the JV latency-intensity function, thus defining the pre-RCDP range. The pre-RCDP range was always abolished in losses unmasking BAEPs from lower ( < 1 kHz) tonotopic regions. When the BAEP originated from higher ( > 1 kHz) tonotopic regions, the pre-RCDP range was either reduced or abolished. These results led to a working hypothesis based on single-unit data and stating a dual dependence of polarity effects on variables distributed along the tonotopic and intensity dimensions, with respective break-points at 1 kHz, and at the junction of the tip and tail of unit frequency tuning curves. The 1 kHz break-point could represent the upper frequency limit for phase locking in man.


Electrical control of spin dynamics in Bi2Se3 was investigated in ring-type interferometers. Aharonov-Bohm and Altshuler-Aronov-Spivak resistance oscillations against a magnetic field, and Aharonov-Casher resistance oscillations against the gate voltage were observed in the presence of a Berry phase of pi. A very large tunability of spin precession angle by the gate voltage has been obtained, indicating that Bi2Se3-related materials with strong spin-orbit coupling are promising candidates for constructing novel spintronic devices.


Although the quasi-adiabatic calculations have led to an improved description of the measured observables, the theoretical justifications of the assumptions made in the model have not yet been studied. The first part of the work described in this thesis is therefore concerned with the clarification of these theoretical uncertainties by performing a rigorous investigation of the accuracy and the validity of the model. In addition, we reformulate the quasi-adiabatic theory to give a more general formalism, approaching the three-body problem in a different way. This alternative formulation provides a clear understanding of the assumptions made in the original quasi-adiabatic theory. Using the spirit of the new quasi-adiabatic formalism, we also develop alternative approximation schemes for the treatment of quantum mechanical three-body systems. The accuracy and the range of validity of the developments, together with the quasi-adiabatic theory, are investigated carefully and precisely by comparing their predictions with those essentially exact CDCC technique for the 66Zn (d,p)67Zn reaction at 88.2 MeV. It is found that the alternative models and quasi-adiabatic theory are reliable techniques for the treatment of deuteron breakup process at intermediate energies of interest. The remainder of this thesis is devoted to the investigation of the mechanism of (p,d*) reactions. As the treatment of the final state interactions in such reactions has not previously been studied consistently, we develop an adiabatic method and apply it to new data for the 13C(p,d)12C reaction with 35 MeV incident proton energy. Due to the weak coupling between spin channels of the continuum n-p system at the energies of interest, the singlet and triplet state pickup cross-sections for the final n-p system are analyzed separately. We find that the contribution from the singlet state is dominant for small relative energies while the triplet state dominates for large energies. This application clarifies the relationship between the three-body dynamics in the final state of (p,d) and (p,d*) reactions.


The use of cytokines to modify antigen expression on syngeneic murine tumor cells has led to immunization of the host from subsequent challenges with the parent tumor cell line. To determine whether this approach can be applied to human malignancies we introduced the human interferon gamma gene (IFN gamma) into the human breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-435 and MDA-MB-231 using retroviral-mediated gene transfer. Retroviral transfer of the IFN gamma gene was associated with decreased growth, decreased tumor invasiveness, IFN gamma production, and upregulation of MHC antigens. While the MDA-MB-435 produced higher levels of IFN gamma than MDA-MB-231, MHC class I and class II antigens were upregulated in both cell lines. Introduction of this vector into the human leukemia cell line K562 led to increased expression of MHC class I antigens, but not class II. Our findings suggest that expression of interferon gamma in breast cancer cells may lead to increased recognition of breast cancer cells by the host immune system. Furthermore, these data suggest that further development of this approach to cancer immunotherapy is warranted.


The influence of biochar (biomass-derived black carbon) on crop growth and nutrient uptake varies based on the rate of biochar applied with fertilisers. We investigated the effect of deep-banded oil mallee biochar at different rates (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 6 t/ha) with 2 types of fertiliser (non-inoculated MultiMAPS® at 30 or 55 kg/ha; inoculated Western Mineral Fertiliser at 100 kg/ha) on wheat growth at a farmer's field in a low rainfall area of Western Australia. Wheat yield increased significantly when biochar was applied with inoculated fertiliser and 30 kg/ha non-inoculated fertiliser. Mycorrhizal colonisation in wheat roots increased significantly with biochar application with inoculated mineral fertiliser. Mycorrhizal hyphae may have improved water supply to reduce drought stress in these treatments by extending crop exploration of water from the wide inter-rows. Grain yield increases were due to better grain survival and grain fill with reduced drought stress. Early stage phosphorus uptake was not improved by mycorrhizal colonisation—phosphorus supply from the soil and applied fertiliser was already adequate. The residual effect of biochar and mineral fertilisers was assessed using a mycorrhizal bioassay for soil collected from the field trial 2 years after application of biochar. Biochar and both fertilisers increased mycorrhizal colonisation in clover bioassay plants. Deep-banded biochar provided suitable conditions for mycorrhizal fungi to colonise plant roots.


Aggregate nearest neighbor (ANN) query has been studied in both the Euclidean space and road networks. The flexible aggregate nearest neighbor (FANN) problem further generalizes ANN by introducing an extra flexibility. Given a set of data points P, a set of query points Q, and a user-defined flexibility parameter ϕ that ranges in (0, 1], an FA N N query returns the best candidate from P, which minimizes the aggregate (usually max or sum) distance to any ϕ |Q| objects in Q. In this paper, we focus on the problem in road networks (denoted as FANNR), and present a series of universal (i.e., suitable for both max and sum) algorithms to answer FANNR queries in road networks, including a Dijkstra-based algorithm enumerating P, a queue-based approach that processes data points from-near-to-far, and a framework that combines Incremental Euclidean Restriction (IER) and kNN. We also propose a specific exact solution to max-FANNR and a specific approximate solution to sum-FANNR which can return a near-optimal result with a guaranteed constant-factor approximation. These specific algorithms are easy to implement and can achieve excellent performance in some scenarios. Besides, we further extend the FANNR to k-FANNR, and successfully adapt most of the proposed algorithms to answer k-FANNR queries. We conduct a comprehensive experimental evaluation for the proposed algorithms on real road networks to demonstrate their superior efficiency and high quality.


The principal purpose of this paper is to adapt to the conditional moment context the GEL unconditional moment methods described in Smith(1997, 2001) and Newey and Smith(2004). In particular we develop GEL estimators which achieve the semiparametric efficiency lower bound. The requisite GEL criteria are constructed by local smoothing and parallel the local semiparametric efficient EL method formulated by Kitamura, Tripathi and Ahn (2004) for conditional moment restrictions. A particular advantageof these efficient local methods is the avoidance of the necessity of providing explicit estimators for the Jacobian and conditional variance matrices. The class of local GEL estimators admits a number of alternative first order equivalent estimators such as local EL, local ET and local CUE as in the unconditional moment restrictions case. The paper also provides a local GEL criterion function test statistic for parametric restrictions.


Due to the large computation power needed for Markovian random field (MRF) based image processing, new variations of the basic MRF model are implemented. The transportation of the model to the very fast cellular neural networks (CNN) gave new tasks and opportunities to improve the technique, since the CNN has a special local architecture. This CNN architecture can be implemented in real VLSI circuits of superior speed in image processing. A type of MRF image segmentation with modified metropolis dynamics (MMD) can be well implemented in the CNN architecture. In this paper we address the improvement of this existing CNN method by introducing anisotropic diffusion as the smoothing process in the model. We suggest that this new feature with the MRF representation will give a new approach to solving early vision problems in the future.


Background and Objectives: Urinary tract infection is one of the most common bacterial infections in the human population, and more frequent infection during pregnancy. With notice to this point that most of urinary tract infections during pregnancy are asymptomatic, they could lead to serious complications such as prematurity, low-birth weight, hypertension, and higher fetal mortality rates if untreated. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, bacterial agents and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern in pregnant women attending Semnan public health centers during 2007-8. Patients and Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study, pregnant women attending Semnan public health centers during May 2007 and June 2008 were investigated. Clean catch mid stream urine samples were collected and cultured on Eosin Metylene Blue agar and Blood agar by calibrated loop method. Suspected colonies were identified, antibiotic susceptibility test was done. Results: Of 297 samples, 10 (3.3%) were positive for asymptomatic urinary tract infection. The dominant bacterial isolate was Escherichia coli (70%). The antibiotic susceptibility was observed to ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime and cefotaxime (80%), the most resistance was amoxicillin- clavulanic acid (90%). Conclusion: Frequency of asymptomatic UTI in pregnant women in this study is significantly lower than similar studies. Antibiotic susceptibility rate to using antibiotics do not show significant differences with most other studies.


Previous research for adapting a general neural machine translation (NMT) model into a specific domain usually neglects the diversity in translation within the same domain, which is a core problem for domain adaptation in real-world scenarios. One representative of such challenging scenarios is to deploy a translation system for a conference with a specific topic, e.g., global warming or coronavirus, where there are usually extremely less resources due to the limited schedule. To motivate wider investigation in such a scenario, we present a real-world fine-grained domain adaptation task in machine translation (FGraDA). The FGraDA dataset consists of Chinese-English translation task for four sub-domains of information technology: autonomous vehicles, AI education, real-time networks, and smart phone. Each sub-domain is equipped with a development set and test set for evaluation purposes. To be closer to reality, FGraDA does not employ any in-domain bilingual training data but provides bilingual dictionaries and wiki knowledge base, which can be easier obtained within a short time. We benchmark the fine-grained domain adaptation task and present in-depth analyses showing that there are still challenging problems to further improve the performance with heterogeneous resources.


Abstract Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) is a teleost whose gonadal development is stimulated by shortened daylength and is a useful model to study the mechanism of photoperiodism. However, localization and characteristics of the photoreceptor that mediates photoperiodism in gonadal development remain to be determined. To identify the photoreceptive molecule that regulates photoperiodic responses, in the present study, we have cloned and characterized the cDNA encoding an opsin gene expressed in the ayu brain, a putative site of the photoreceptor for photoperiodism. The identified opsin was rhodopsin that is identical to the rhodopsin expressed in the retina. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that this rhodopsin belongs to the retina-type but not to the pineal-specific rhodopsin group. Genomic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated that the ayu rhodopsin gene is intron-less. Southern and Northern blots and reverse-transcription PCR analyses indicate that the same rhodopsin gene is expressed in the retina and the brain but not in the pineal organ of ayu. These results indicate that the rhodospin gene is expressed in the retina and brain and mediates not only visual but also nonvisual functions such as photoperiodism and entrainment of the circadian clock.


Embedded boundary methods model e uid e ows in complex geometries by treating boundaries as tracked interfaces in a regular mesh. Though often referred to as Cartesian grid methods, they are equally well-suited to axisymmetric problems. This paper describes a formulation of the discrete ordinates method for radiative transfer calculations with embedded boundaries. The method uses diamond-difference stencils in the interior with a conservative extension to boundary cells based on a volume-of-e uid approach. Numerical examples are presented in both two-dimensional Cartesian and axisymmetric geometries, including a model of the BERL 300-kW natural gas burner.


Constraint based programming provides a versatile framework for combining several different constraints into a single robot control scheme. We take advantage of the redundancy of a robot manipulator to improve the execution of a reactive tracking task, in terms of a task-dependent measure which is a weighted sum of velocity transmissions along the current directions of motion. With inspiration from recent work, we provide analytical gradients and computable weights of the task-dependent measure, which enable us to include it in a reactive constraint based programming framework, without relying on inexact numerical approximations and manually tuning weights. The proposed approach is illustrated in a set of simulations, comparing the performance with a standard constraint based programming method.


Data cubes are used in online analytical processing (OLAP) systems to support decision making. Constructed from base business data, this interactive visualization system introduces a conditional 1D cuboid hierarchical tree structure to represent data cubes and use 2D graphical icons to illustrate data elements. Users can then interactively explore multidimensional data in hierarchical levels.


BACKGROUND
Tart cherries contain numerous polyphenolic compounds that could potentially improve endothelial function and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

OBJECTIVE
We sought to examine the acute effects of Montmorency tart cherry (MC) juice on vascular function in subjects with early hypertension.

DESIGN
A placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover, randomized Latin square design study with a washout period of ≥14 d was conducted. Fifteen men with early hypertension [systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mm Hg, or both] received either a 60-mL dose of MC concentrate or placebo. Microvascular reactivity (laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis), arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity and analysis), blood pressure, and phenolic acid absorption were assessed at baseline and at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 h postconsumption.

RESULTS
MC consumption significantly lowered SBP (P < 0.05) over a period of 3 h, with peak reductions of mean ± SEM 7 ± 3 mm Hg 2 h after MC consumption relative to the placebo. Improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors were closely linked to increases in circulating protocatechuic and vanillic acid at 1-2 h.

CONCLUSIONS
MC intake acutely reduces SBP in men with early hypertension. These benefits may be mechanistically linked to the actions of circulating phenolic acids. This study provides information on a new application of MCs in health maintenance, particularly in positively modulating SBP. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02234648.


Wildlife is exposed to increasing anthropogenic disturbances related to shale oil and gas extraction in response to rising worldwide demands. As these disturbances increase in intensity and occurrence across the landscape, understanding their impacts is essential for management. On Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada), we equipped six white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus with GPS collars taking hourly locations. We then designed a playback experiment by simulating constant drilling noise emitted by generators to which half of the collared deer were exposed for a three-week period. Deer tolerated noise levels up to 70 dB(C). However, the number of locations recorded in areas where the noise was above 70 dB(C) was on average 73% (SE ± 18%) lower than before the disturbance, which suggests that deer experienced fine scale functional habitat loss. This loss of habitat occurred up to 200 m from the noise source. The size of home ranges and movement rates did not appear to be affected by the noise disturbance. In addition, during the experiment, deer were able to relocate in areas of their home range where food availability was similar to that of sites used before the disturbance. These results show that drilling noise can affect the habitat use of white-tailed deer. However, future research is needed to better understand the cumulative impacts of shale mining on large mammals, as this study isolated only one of the many disturbances present near mining sites and for a limited period.


Not long ago, economists denied the existence of monopsony in labor markets. Today, scholars are talking about using antitrust law to counter employer wagesetting power. While concerns about inequality, stagnant wages, and excessive firm power are certainly to be welcomed, this sudden about-face in theory, evidence, and policy runs the risk of overlooking some important concerns. The purpose of this Essay is to address these concerns and, more critically, to discuss some tensions between antitrust and labor law, a more traditional method for regulating labor markets. Part I addresses a question raised in the very recent literature, about why antitrust has not been a traditional tool of labor market regulation. Part II addresses some drawbacks in the social objectives of antitrust regulation, namely, the so-called consumer welfare standard or, as proposed for the labor market, the "worker welfare" standard, and suggests an alternative standard. Finally, Part III asks whether antitrust is an appropriate response to labor market monopsony. That Part shows that there are some significant tensions between antitrust and labor law and, given those tensions, explains why more traditional methods of wage regulation, collective bargaining, and even minimum wage legislation offer some distinct advantages.


We report scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) studies on iron-based superconductors of Ba1−xKxFe2As2 and nearly optimally doped Fe(Te,Se). Mode-like features were observed universally outside the superconducting gaps in the tunneling spectra, which are similar to our previous observations in other samples and can be ascribed to the interaction between electrons and spin excitations. Furthermore, an almost linear relationship between the superconducting gaps and the superconducting transition temperatures was noted and should also be taken into account in understanding the mechanism of iron-based superconductors.


The Medicare Quality Improvement Demonstration Project has examined agencies' ability to integrate OASIS into standard admission, recertification, and discharge processes. One pilot agency succeeded in implementing OASIS smoothly and with very little increase in patient-admission time using a six-step strategic planning cycle and effective communication tools.


This paper introduces Afrobits, an interactive installation about African music and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Its main aim is to bring to light invisible stories hidden behind geographic epistemologies. The installation highlights the contribution that African cultures had on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the world, such as popular music. Although it covers diverse countries, we focused on the Americas, placing emphasis on Latin-America as the biopolitical space that enabled the integration of native cultures with African peoples. As this project involved web scientists, graphic designers, historians, digital humanists and artists, we also discuss the benefits of interdisciplinary research; contributions from University researchers for the development of storytelling projects for the Cultural Heritage sector; and the implementation of complex technologies and research methods.


Mobile robots are used in many applications, such as carpet cleaning, pickup and delivery, search and rescue, and entertainment. Energy limitation is one of the most important challenges for mobile robots. Most existing studies on mobile robots focus on motion planning to reduce motion power. However, motion is not the only power consumer. In this paper, we present a case study of a mobile robot called Pioneer 3DX. We analyze the energy consumers. We build power models for motion, sonar sensing and control based on experimental results. The results show that motion consume less than 50% power on average. Therefore, it is important to consider the other components in energy-efficient designs. We introduce two energy-conservation techniques: dynamic power management and real-time scheduling. We provide several examples showing how these techniques can be applied to robots. These techniques together with motion planning provide greater opportunities to achieve better energy efficiency for mobile robots. Although our study is based on a specific robot, the approach can be applied to other types of robots


We test the efficiency of the California electricity reserves market by examining systematic differences between its day- and hour-ahead prices. We uncover significant day-ahead premia, which we attribute to market design characteristics. On the demand side, the market design established a principal-agent relationship between the markets' buyers (principal) and their supervisory authority (agent). The agent had very limited incentives to shift reserve purchases to the lower priced hour-ahead markets. On the supply side, the market design raised substantial entry barriers by precluding purely speculative trading and by introducing a complicated code of conduct that induced uncertainty about which actions were subject to regulatory scrutiny. We use a high-dimensional vector moving average model to estimate the premia and conduct correct inferences. To obtain exact maximum likelihood estimates of the model, we develop a new EM algorithm that seamlessly incorporates missing data and applies directly to general moving average time series models. Our algorithm uses only analytical expressions: the Kalman filter and a fixed interval smoother in the E step and least squares-type regressions in the M step. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The aim of this study is to bring about better understanding of the view that the individual Iranians have on the matter of discrimination in the labor market and the effect that it may have on their individual identity construction in their new home country Sweden. The study is built around three main themes: discrimination, integration and identity. Previous research shows that Iranians in Sweden successfully integrate in their new home country despite having severe difficulties in entering the new labor market. In an attempt to explain this contradiction some patterns have been recognized in how Iranian immigrants experience and explain their situations post-migration. As the focus of this study is on the individual's identity construction life course interviews were used to collect the data. This method enables focusing on individual life events and life trajectories while simultaneously seeking explanations and understanding of social change and social phenomena. The results show that Iranians in Sweden take great personal responsibility over their own integration to the labor market and do therefore not recognize discrimination. Their understanding of discrimination lets many forms of discrimination pass unnoticed and their way of seeing their own situation in the labor market does appear to have a dominantly positive effect on their identity construction.


Effect of stress on pre-pubertal ovarian follicular development was studied. Fifteen day old female rats were administered under stress (exposed to maternal separation; 6 hours/day) from post-natal day 15 to 21 for 7 days, and appropriate controls were maintained. The time of exposure was randomly changed every day during light phase (7AM to 7 PM) of the day to avoid habituation. There was a significant decrease in serum estrogen levels on post-natal day 21 in stress group rats compared to controls indicating stress response in these rats. However, mean number of healthy follicles in all categories of follicles were significantly lower in stressed rats compared to controls. Concomitant with these changes, mean number of atreitic follicles showed an increase over control values in stressed rats. In contrast administration of Naltrexone (5µg NTX/rat/day), Mifepristone (1 µg MP/rat/day), FSH (10 IU FSH/rat/day) with stressed the significant increases in the relative weight of ovary, uterus, fallopian tube, body weight and the mean number of healthy follicles in the ovary compared to the controls. In the ovary treatment of stressed did not affect primordial follicles. Primordial follicles were reduced in number significantly in the ovary of controls and treated groups when compared with the initial controls whereas there was no significant variation among the controls and the treated groups. The results indicate that stress dose not interfere with the progress of pre-pubertal follicular development. However, it causes increased loss of follicles by atretia.


A biographical reference work devoted to heads of state. This edition contains information on both present day leaders and rulers of the past from all over the world. Included are heads of state, government leaders, governors, prime ministers, colonial ministers and provincial governors of earlier empires.


We investigated the expansion of single Shockley stacking faults (SSFs) in a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer under high-intensity scanning laser beam during room temperature photoluminescence mapping, which is similar to the degradation of bipolar pin diodes during forward current injection. In an epitaxial layer on an 8 off-axis (0001) substrate, the SSF-related intensity patterns induced by scanning high-intensity laser beam were classified into two types. The first one was a triangular pattern and the second a pattern which expanded in accordance with the motion of the scanning laser beam. The origins of the SSFs responsible for both patterns are presumably due to the preexisting basal plane dislocations and the dislocation-loops on the basal plane in the epitaxial layer, respectively. On the other hand, most of the SSF-expansion in on-axis (11 2 0) epitaxial layers were similar to the second type in the (0001) epitaxial layer. We, therefore, suggest that the dislocation-loops, which were located close to the surface, were dominant nucleation-sites of the SSFs in the (11 2 0) epitaxial layers.


Measuring and quantifying nonequilibrium dynamics in active biological systems is a major challenge because of their intrinsic stochastic nature and the limited number of variables accessible in any real experiment. We investigate what nonequilibrium information can be extracted from noninvasive measurements using a stochastic model of soft elastic networks with a heterogeneous distribution of activities, representing enzymatic force generation. In particular, we use this model to study how the nonequilibrium activity, detected by tracking two probes in the network, scales as a function of the distance between the probes. We quantify the nonequilibrium dynamics through the cycling frequencies, a simple measure of circulating currents in the phase space of the probes. We find that these cycling frequencies exhibit power-law scaling behavior with the distance between probes. In addition, we show that this scaling behavior governs the entropy production rate that can be recovered from the two traced probes. Our results provide insight into how internal enzymatic driving generates nonequilibrium dynamics on different scales in soft biological assemblies.


Personal profiles on social network sites have become an important tool for social evaluation – that is, assessing profile owners' characteristics (e.g., personality traits, narcissism, physical and social attractiveness). The present study is one of the first to examine how users' trustworthiness is evaluated by naïve observers based on information contained in Facebook profiles, or profile cues. Drawing on uncertainty reduction theory, warranting theory, and hardwired perceptions of facial displays, we propose a framework that identifies cues associated with trustworthiness in Facebook profiles. Results show that six profile cues (number of friends, number of tagged photographs, number of "about me" categories filled out, number of comments and "likes" received from friends, and smiling profile photographs) explained about a third of the variance in Facebook users' perceived trustworthiness. Number of friends had a curvilinear, U-shaped effect on trustworthiness perceptions, with an inflection point at about 500 friends. That is, trustworthiness decreased as number of friends increased up to 500, and then trustworthiness increased as number of friends increased beyond 500. Theoretical and design implications of the findings are discussed.


Experiments were designed to determine when, during the cryopreservation process, sperm lose fertilizing capacity and whether the cryoprotectant, methyl cellulose (MC), could be used in combination with glycerol to cryopreserve sperm and remain in the inseminate without reducing fertility. Semen diluted in Minnesota Avian extender (MNA) and inseminated immediately had greater fertility (75%) than semen processed for cryopreservation (12 to 60%). The largest decreases in fertility were due to addition of glycerol to sperm and to cryopreservation. In another experiment, fertility of inseminates containing 0, 1, and 2% glycerol were 82, 29, and 21%, respectively, for eggs collected 2 to 5 d after insemination. When 0.5% MC was added to the same three treatments, fertility rates were 88, 63, and 69%, respectively. Semen cryopreserved in MNA con taining 9% glycerol; MC + 3% glycerol; MC + 4% glycerol; MC + 9% glycerol; or 9% glycerol with the cryoprotectant removed post-thaw by dilution and subsequent centrifugation exhibited 59, 30, 35, 60, and 69% viable cells, respectively; and 65, 38, 46, 69, and 65% motile sperm, respectively. Sperm cryopreserved with MC and either 4 or 9% glycerol exhibited similar numbers of sperm binding to chicken perivitelline layers in vitro as did fresh sperm, whereas sperm frozen with MC and 3% glycerol bound oocytes with only 31% efficiency (P < 0.05). The extent to which cryopreserved sperm penetrated the perivitelline layer in vitro was independent of glycerol concentration, but was four times more efficient than that of fresh sperm (P < 0.05). The fertility rates of fresh semen, semen frozen in 9% glycerol with the cryoprotectant removed after thawing, and semen frozen in MC with either 3 or 4% glycerol were 87.4, 27.6, 0.8, and 0.5%, respectively (P < 0.05). The MC reduces the contraceptive effects of glycerol when inseminated with fresh sperm, but does not maintain fertilizing capacity in frozen-thawed sperm when used in combination with 3 or 4% glycerol.


Visual Clustering on a Computer Display: A Validation Study Bella Veksler Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Abstract: In order to better model eye movements in a visual task, it was important to understand whether the layout of a display exerted an influence on where the eye wants to go next. A study was therefore conducted to determine how people naturally perceive items to be visually clustered in a given display. The goal was to use the parameter values derived from clustering judgments for the eye data analysis of a radar choice task. A validation study was also conducted to determine whether the clustering judgments made by participants using a web-based interface are comparable to judgments made by participants who did a paper-based version of the task and therefore had the more intuitive task of circling the visual clusters. Data was collected both at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and through Amazon Mechanical Turk and results will be compared.


Several artificial neural network (ANN) implementations require two-quadrant multiplications for neural state computations. Almost all previous analogue hardware implementations of two-quadrant multipliers for ANNs have used circuits operating in voltage mode. In the paper a chip consisting of synapses using current mode principles is presented. By basing the multiplier circuits on dynamic current mirrors, the aspirations were to produce synapse arrays that were easy to set up, were robust and cascadable and that also possessed better process tolerance than previous voltage mode devices. The hardware results presented from the Dynamic Mirror Pulsed Experimental Synapse (DYMPLES) chip are extremely encouraging, fulfilling all initial aspirations and showing that the synapse design does indeed possess the potential for process tolerance.


Accurate and reliable 3D detection is vital for many applications including autonomous driving vehicles and service robots. In this paper, we present a flexible and high-performance 3D detection framework, named MPPNet, for 3D temporal object detection with point cloud sequences. We propose a novel three-hierarchy framework with proxy points for multi-frame feature encoding and interactions to achieve better detection. The three hierarchies conduct per-frame feature encoding, short-clip feature fusion, and whole-sequence feature aggregation, respectively. To enable processing long-sequence point clouds with reasonable computational resources, intra-group feature mixing and inter-group feature attention are proposed to form the second and third feature encoding hierarchies, which are recurrently applied for aggregating multi-frame trajectory features. The proxy points not only act as consistent object representations for each frame, but also serve as the courier to facilitate feature interaction between frames. The experiments on large Waymo Open dataset show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods with large margins when applied to both short (e.g., 4-frame) and long (e.g., 16-frame) point cloud sequences. Code is available at https://github.com/open-mmlab/OpenPCDet.


To make use of the full geochronological potential of accessory minerals such as zircon, allanite, monazite, and titanite, high spatial resolution isotopic analysis of the Th–U–Pb system is required. Laser ablation ICP-MS techniques are increasingly applied for this purpose, yet the matrix-dependence of analysis and the paucity of high-quality standards for most of these minerals impose major limitations – as for all in situ microbeam analytical techniques. A novel approach for LA-ICP-MS data reduction is presented here that allows for non-matrix-matched external standardization while yielding highly accurate isotopic ratios and age data. The matrix-dependent downhole fractionation during laser ablation is empirically quantified and corrected; hence, well constrained reference materials (here: Plesovice zircon) can be employed as primary standards for the analysis of rare yet petrologically essential minerals (here: SISS, CAP, and TARA allanite). Using laser beam sizes of 32 and 24 μm, transient isotope ratio data show systematic differences between zircon and allanite; these are attributed to matrix effects and are combined to correct for the temporal evolution of the matrix-dependent downhole fractionation. The new data reduction technique was tested on three allanite standard reference materials demonstrating analytical accuracy at precisions equal to those achieved by ion probe and LA-ICP-MS rastering. The analytical procedures presented here could be applied to any combination of two different matrices (calibration standard and sample), thus greatly mitigating dependence on precisely characterized calibration materials, and contribute to establishing universally applicable LA-ICP-MS dating protocols that can be applied to a much broader range of minerals and chronometers.


Twenty Swiss albino mice (male) randomly divided into four groups were administered orally with vehicle (5% tween 80), 1/20 th (i.e. 175 mg/kg), 1/10 th (i.e. 350 mg/kg) and 1/5 th (i.e. 750 mg/kg) LD50 doses of methanolic leaf extract of Eupatorium adenophorum respectively; for a period of 60 days and the levels of various antioxidant enzymes such as lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were studied. Treatment of the mice with methanolic extract of E. adenophorum at the dose levels of 175, 350 and 750 mg/kg revealed marked increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels and decreased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) as compared to control. The present findings suggest that methanolic leaf extract of E. adenophorum may be having dose dependant hepatotoxic effect on mice as it markedly induced lipid peroxidation and reversed the activities of the antioxidant enzymes.


Calibration, the practice of choosing the parameters of a structural model to match certain empirical moments, can be viewed as minimum distance estimation. Existing standard error formulas for such estimators require a consistent estimate of the correlation structure of the empirical moments, which is often unavailable in practice. Instead, the variances of the individual empirical moments are usually readily estimable. Using only these variances, we derive conservative standard errors and confidence intervals for the structural parameters that are valid even under the worst-case correlation structure. In the over-identified case, we show that the moment weighting scheme that minimizes the worst-case estimator variance amounts to a moment selection problem with a simple solution. Finally, we develop tests of over-identifying or parameter restrictions. We apply our methods empirically to a model of menu cost pricing for multi-product firms and to a heterogeneous agent New Keynesian model.


Summary Myo-inositol uptake by erythrocytes from humans, rabbits and rats was studied with an isotope technique. In human erythrocytes, the inhibitory effect on myo-inositol uptake was stronger with glucose than with ouabain. However, an aldose reductase inhibitor (ONO-2235, 100 /uM) or insulin (200 MU/ml) failed to correct the decrease in myo-inositol uptake in packed RBC, produced by either 10 mM glucose or 2 mM ouabain. Ten mM ouabain had an inhibitory effect on myo-inositol uptake in all species, but an inhibitory ef fect was not observed with 20 mM glucose in rabbit ery throcytes. The results suggest that myo-inositol uptake by erythrocytes may be dependent on the active transport system via sodium-ATPase and that erythrocytes may not be a suitable model to monitor the possible effect of an aldose reductase inhibitor on myo-inositol concentra tions in other tissues concerned with diabetic complications.


In general, the most effective means of malaria vector control is the killing of adult mosquitoes with a residual insecticide applied to bednets or sprayed on house walls and ceilings. Major reductions in all-cause child mortality have been achieved in Africa by these means. In some circumstances, personal protection and larval control may also make a contribution. We discuss the prospects of genetic control by release of sterile male mosquitoes or driving genes for refractoriness to malaria into wild populations. Many major malaria vectors belong to complexes of sibling species which differ in vectorial and biological characteristics. Distinguishing the species by cytogenetic or molecular methods is important for epidemiological studies and could improve the targeting of control.


Jews have been represented in Latvian literature for centuries. This dissertation investigates the images of Jews in a comprehensive selection of Latvian novels published between 1934–1944 in order to establish whether, and to what extent, the traditional images are subject to change under the pressure of modernity, nationalism and a rapidly changing political situation.Since most representations of, and references to, Jews in this literature are very brief, it is necessary to initially deprive the individual works of their titles and authors and let them form an authorless entity, a Corpus, however diverse, yet representative of Latvian society at the time.Through this approach the centres of attention are put aside, and the scattered images of Jews are brought into focus. With the help of a Matrix designed for this purpose, all 'Jews' are sorted and analysed. The Matrix, including also linguistic references, illustrates how Jews in the discourse are made to represent the 'other' through the provision of certain pieces of information and the omission others. The Jews in the Corpus, with very few exceptions, are thus systematically and consistently reduced to blank images and stereotypes. Through this process they are also subject to 'othering' and dehumanisation, albeit not necessarily articulated as such.The social distance between Latvians and Jews becomes more pronounced in the Corpus compared to in the Latvian literary tradition, and there are several examples of negative attitudes and anti-Semitism. Yet, with regard to the extreme political situation, especially under Soviet and Nazi occupations, these examples are fewer than expected: the investigated literature follows its own traditions and, with hardly any exceptions, does not reflect societal and political changes immediately.


We review the variegated mud-loving beetle fauna of the southeastern United States (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae), with an emphasis on Mississippi and Alabama. A key is presented to all species known to occur in the southeastern US, and includes several extra-limital species. Descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps are presented for each species. One new species, Tropicus nigrellus, is described and a lectotype is designated for Heterocerus schwarzi Horn. Our molecular data suggest that many previously recognized generic concepts are unnatural. As a result, the following generic synonymies are proposed: Culmus Pacheco 1964, Damfius Pacheco 1964, Efflagitatus Pacheco 1964, Erus Pacheco 1964, Filiolus Pacheco 1964, Gradus Pacheco 1964, Lanternarius Pacheco 1964, Lapsus Pacheco 1964, Neoheterocerus Pacheco 1964, Olmedous Pacheco 1964 and Peditatus Pacheco 1964 are synonyms of Heterocerus Fabricius; the genera Centariatus Pacheco 1964, Explorator Pacheco 1964, and Microaugyles Pacheco 1964 are synonyms of Augyles Schiodte. New combinations proposed and used in this paper include: Augyles auromicans (Kiesenwetter 1851, Heterocerus), Heterocerus parrotus (Pacheco 1964, Lanternarius), Heterocerus sandersoni (Pacheco 1964, Neoheterocerus) and Heterocerus selanderi (Pacheco 1964, Efflagitatus), Heterocerus texanus (Pacheco 1964, Peditatus). Other new combinations for North American species formed as a result of these generic reconfigurations, but not used in this paper, include: Heterocerus inciertus (Pacheco 1964, Damfius), Heterocerus longilobulus (Pacheco 1964, Neoheterocerus), Heterocerus sinuosus (Pacheco 1964, Lanternarius), Augyles canadensis (Fall 1920, Heterocerus), Augyles compactus (Fall 1937, Heterocerus), Augyles moleculus (Fall 1920, Heterocerus) and Augyles mundulus (Fall 1920, Heterocerus). New combinations for South American species suggested by molecular data, all originally described in the genus Efflagitatus, include: Heterocerus boliviensis (Pacheco 1964), Heterocerus freudei (Pacheco 1973), Heterocerus furmidus (Pacheco 1964), Heterocerus ingeniosus (Pacheco 1964), Heterocerus meridianus (Pacheco 1975), Heterocerus reticulatus (Pacheco 1964), Heterocerus solitarius (Pacheco 1973), Heterocerus splendidus (Pacheco 1964), Heterocerus tortuosus (Pacheco 1973), Heterocerus woodruffi (Pacheco 1975). No new combinations involving synonymy within the genera Culmus, Erus, Filiolus, Gradus, Lapsus, and Olmedous were proposed because all included species were originally described as Heterocerus.


The aim of this study is to achieve a better understanding of tax planning in practice, identifying and taking account of the multiple arenas within which it operates, and thereby highlighting its social and institutional dimensions. In the current rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, in which tax is an extremely important source of revenue for governments around the world, an enhanced understanding of tax planning in practice benefits and has implications for taxpayers and tax policymakers alike. The four research questions posed in this study address: the organisation and strategic alignment of the tax planning function in multinational corporations (MNCs); performance measurement of this function; tax risk management; the nature and impact of the relationship between the tax planning function within MNCs and the external environment within which it operates. Empirically this study focuses on US MNCs, primarily in respect of mainstream corporation tax planning. In line with the interpretive inductive methodological approach adopted, face-to-face interviews were conducted with senior tax executives in US MNCs, and tax advisors to such companies. A theoretical framework is developed which combines core themes and theoretical constructs within three strands of literature, namely, tax planning, new institutional sociology and endogeneity of law. This framework provides a powerful explanatory lens through which the findings are presented and interpreted. The role ofpower and powerful actors is an important and recurring theme, and partly explains prevailing tax planning practices through the intensity of professional and social interaction between tax executives. Increasingly tax risk management is more important and there is evidence that this may change the way in which the tax planning function is given strategic recognition and integrated operationally. with business units. The focus on tax risk management results in an isomorphic trend towards conservatism in tax planning, and competitor and peer company influence are significant in shaping tax risk management mechanisms. Measuring the performance of the tax planning function is found to be variable, although there was a view that the effective tax rate (ETR), although an important external measure of corporate performance, was inappropriate as an internal measure. Tax laws are often portrayed as exogenous factors, however this study has found that companies invest heavily in external affairs and direct lobbying to secure changes in the law to suit their purposes; evidencing its endogeneity. Networking costs, reputational risk management and lobbying costs therefore represent non-tax costs that are difficult to measure, but are important components of tax planning activities, overlooked in the current tax planning literature. In addition to the findings themselves this study contributes to knowledge through its interpretive methodological approach which provides a new and rich perspective on tax planning in practice, highlighting some shortcomings of the positivistic approach. It also develops a theoretical framework which uniquely combines theoretical constructs from three strands of literature.


We present a visible multi-band photometry of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) observed by the Subaru Telescope in the framework of Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) from March in 2014 to September in 2016. We measured the five broad-band (g, r, i, z, and Y) colors over the wavelength range from 0.4 um to 1.0 um for 30 known TNOs using the HSC-SSP survey data covering ~500 deg2 of sky within +/-30 deg of ecliptic latitude. This dataset allows us to characterize the dynamical classes based on visible reflectance spectra as well as to examine the relationship between colors and the other parameters such as orbital elements. Our results show that the hot classical and scattered populations share similar color distributions, while the cold classical population has a reflective decrease toward shorter wavelength below the i band. Based on the obtained color properties, we found that the TNO sample examined in the present work can be separated into two groups by inclination (I), the low-I population consisting of cold classical objects and high-I population consisting of hot classical and scattered objects. The whole sample exhibits an anti-correlation between colors and inclination, but no significant correlation between colors and semi-major axis, perihelion distance, eccentricity, or absolute magnitude. The color-inclination correlation does not seem to be continuous over the entire inclination range. Rather, it is seen only in the high-I population. We found that the low- and high-I populations are distinguishable in the g-i vs. eccentricity plot, but four high-I objects show g-i colors similar to those of the low-I population. If we exclude these four objects, the high-I objects show a positive correlation between g-i and eccentricity and a negative correlation between g-i and inclination with high significance levels.


The Windrush scandal refers to the mistreatment of British citizens, notably those born in the Caribbean and arriving in Britain as children between 1948 and 1971 (the so called 'Windrush generation'), who were wrongly accused of living in Britain illegally. Despite widespread awareness of their plight, we know little about the lives of the children of the Windrush. Here, we examine social inequalities among this group in five life domains: education, employment, occupation, housing, and health. Our aim is to provide an overview of the different types of social inequality experienced by the children of the Windrush. We fit a series of logistic regression models on a 5% sample of the resident population of England and Wales from the 2011 Census. We examine two outcomes per domain and analyse both baseline and adjusted levels of inequality among three generations (the G1.5, G2, and G2.5) of the children of the Windrush. We find evidence of inequality in each life domain, with variation by sex (men of all generations are uniformly disadvantaged) and generation (G2.5 men and women are the most disadvantaged). Our multi-generation, multi-outcome study provides evidence that inequality among the children of the Windrush generation is both pervasive and persistent.


Introduction: Generalized bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is multi-factorial, and can be divided into erosions of the joint and osteoporosis. Biomarkers of bone remodeling provide a dynamic view of the remodeling process and they contribute to a better understanding of bone physiology and the pathogenesis of metabolic bone diseases. To examine whether treatment with biologics agents reduces of disease activity and changes the markers of bone metabolism, including osteocalcin (OC), N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), cross-linked Cterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), receptor activator of the NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG).
Materials and methods: 125 patients with active RA, who were treated with DMARDs (44 patients) and biologics agents including 49 patients on Etanercept, 16 patients on Adalibumab/Golibumab/Infliksimab and 16 patients on Rytuksymab/Tocilizumab were included in this study. Clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity were measured at baseline and after 90 days of treatment and an index of disease activity (DAS-28) calculated. Changes in bone markers levels were measured by ELISA before start the treatment and after.
 Results: As a result of treatment of the active RA with biologics agents, after 90 days, parameters such as DAS-28, VAS, number of swollen/tender joints, CRP and ERS decreased in the biologics group compared to the DMARDs group. The sRANKL/OPG ratio, and carboxylated (GLA)–OC and CTX levels were higher in RA patients compared to healthy subjects (p<0.001, p=0.02 and p=0.002, respectively). DMARDs therapy decreased the CTX level and sRANKL/OPG ratio in RA patients (p=0.006 and p=0.06, respectively). OPG was increased, whereas the sRANKL/OPG ratio was decreased in RA patients after 90 days biologics treatment.
 Conclusion: The biologics therapy has protective effect against clinical disease activity as well as joint damage compared to conventional DMARDs in patients with RA.


Realistic on‐screen computer ''assistants'' need synthetic visible speech that has accurate, pleasing articulation; they also need to run in real‐time on a personal computer. Previous visible speech systems have used 9–32 ''visemes,'' minimal contrastive units of visible articulation. Viseme‐based animation has been choppy, inaccurate, and insufficiently plastic. In contrast, concatenative speech synthesis utilizes a large inventory of diphone units. Therefore, two improvements are needed: expansion beyond simple visemes, and reduction of the number of diphones so that they may be mapped to the facial images in real‐time. To this end, visible and articulatory archiphones and diphone ''aliases'' were formalized, using standard phonological distinctive features, and a system of disemes was created. Disemes begin during one viseme (phone) in an archiphonic family and end somewhere during the following viseme (phone), in another archiphonic family. In this way, many transitions that occur in approximately 180...


Introduction The Framework for K-12 Science Education (the Framework) and the Next- Generation Science Standards (NGSS) define three dimensions of science: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts and emphasize the integration of the three dimensions (3D) to reflect deep science understanding. The Framework also emphasizes the importance of using learning progressions (LPs) as roadmaps to guide assessment development. These assessments capable of measuring the integration of NGSS dimensions should probe the ability to explain phenomena and solve problems. This calls for the development of constructed response (CR) or open-ended assessments despite being expensive to score. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology such as machine learning (ML)-based approaches have been utilized to score and provide feedback on open-ended NGSS assessments aligned to LPs. ML approaches can use classifications resulting from holistic and analytic coding schemes for scoring short CR assessments. Analytic rubrics have been shown to be easier to evaluate for the validity of ML-based scores with respect to LP levels. However, a possible drawback of using analytic rubrics for NGSS-aligned CR assessments is the potential for oversimplification of integrated ideas. Here we describe how to deconstruct a 3D holistic rubric for CR assessments probing the levels of an NGSS-aligned LP for high school physical sciences. Methods We deconstruct this rubric into seven analytic categories to preserve the 3D nature of the rubric and its result scores and provide subsequent combinations of categories to LP levels. Results The resulting analytic rubric had excellent human- human inter-rater reliability across seven categories (Cohen's kappa range 0.82–0.97). We found overall scores of responses using the combination of analytic rubric very closely agreed with scores assigned using a holistic rubric (99% agreement), suggesting the 3D natures of the rubric and scores were maintained. We found differing levels of agreement between ML models using analytic rubric scores and human-assigned scores. ML models for categories with a low number of positive cases displayed the lowest level of agreement. Discussion We discuss these differences in bin performance and discuss the implications and further applications for this rubric deconstruction approach.


Mr M CAREW-MCCOLL, Mr T F BEATTIE, and Dr J W GERRARD (Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Preston Hospital, Preston PR2 4HT) write: We share the concern expressed by Mr D W Yates and Ms H Chambers about the number of assaults that they see in their accident department and the strong relation between such assaults and alcohol (4 April, p 901). We recently reviewed the problem in this hospital. Assaults constituted 2-5% of our workload, alcohol was a factor in 80% of assaults, and we estimated that the cost to our health authority in 1986 was £100 000.


1. Tejasvi K. Dasari, BS*
2. Shabana Yusuf, MD, MEd†

1. *Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

2. †Division of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX

An 11-year-old boy presents to the emergency department (ED) with a 1-month history of intermittent vomiting and fatigue. Further history revealed a 10-lb (4.5-kg) weight loss during the past few months, progressively decreasing energy and appetite, and polyuria and polydipsia for more than 2 months. Within the past month he was observed drinking approximately 2 gal (7.6 L) of water a day and urinating 10 or more times a day, including 2 to 3 times during the night. Although he did not endorse a history of headache, weakness, or paresthesia, he reported intermittent blurry vision and dizziness. During the past few months, he had been evaluated by his pediatrician multiple times for these concerns.

Six months before ED presentation his weight was 93.7 lb (42.5 kg) (74th percentile) and his height was 60 in (152.4 cm) (85th percentile). Two weeks before the ED visit his weight had declined to 86.6 lb (39.3 kg) (45th percentile) and his height was 61 in (155 cm) (82nd percentile), indicating a change in BMI from 18.3 (65th percentile) to 16.4 (34th percentile) during this period. He had undergone evaluations for diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus (DI), which were negative; results of an upper gastrointestinal series were negative as well. A serum osmolality ordered by his pediatrician 10 days before his ED visit was 292 mOsm/kg (292 mmol/kg) (normal range, 278–305 mOsm/kg [278–305 mmol/kg]); urine osmolality was 99 mOsm/kg (99 mmol/kg) (normal range, 50–1,200 mOsm/kg [50–1,200 mmol/kg]), and his serum sodium level was 137 mEq/L (137 mmol/L) (normal range, 135–146 mEq/L [135–146 mmol/L]).

On ED arrival his vital signs were stable. Physical evaluation showed …


This study investigated whether internet addiction is related to gender, academic achievement, duration of internet use, loneliness and shyness. The study was carried out with 206 adolescents aged between 15-18 years (X=16.50) and studying public high schools. 55.8% (115) of the participant students are female and 44.2% (91) are male. To collect data, the "Personal Information Form" developed by the researchers, the "Internet Addiction Scale" developed by Young (1998), the "UCLA Loneliness Scale" developed by Russel, Peplau and Cutrona (1980), and the "Shyness Scale" developed by Cheek and Buss (1981) were used. The results indicated that internet addiction changed according to gender, academic achievement and duration of internet use. Moreover, while academic achievement significantly and negatively predicted internet addiction, duration of internet use and shyness significantly and positively predicted internet addiction. However, the variables of gender and loneliness were found to have no significant effects on internet addiction.


An asymmetric elastic modulus is a recently discovered and unexpected property of hybrid molecular materials that has significant implications for their underlying thermomechanical reliability. Elastic asymmetries are inherently related to terminal groups in the molecular structure, which limit network connectivity. Terminal groups sterically interact to stiffen the network in compression, while they disconnect the network and interact significantly less in tension. Here we study the importance of terminal group molecular weight and size (OH, methyl, vinyl, and phenyl) on the resulting elastic asymmetries and find that increasing the terminal group size actually leads to even larger degrees of asymmetry. As a result, we develop a molecular design criterion to predict how molecular structure affects the mechanical properties, a vital step toward integrating hybrid molecular materials into emerging nanotechnologies.


Clostridium bifermentans, C. sporogenes and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius were grown in Fastidious Anaerobe Broth with glucose concentrations from 0-1.5% (w/v). Gas chromatographic (GLC) analysis of fermentation end-products revealed that a change in glucose concentration markedly affected fermentation patterns of each microorganism. Increased glucose concentration resulted in stimulation of ethanol production by all strains, and of butanol and butyric acid by C. sporogenes. With C. bifermentans, there was a parallel increase in ethanol and acetic acid production and decreased formation of propanol and propionic, iso-butyric and iso-valeric acids. Increased ethanol formation by P. anaerobius was accompanied by an increase in acetic acid and a decrease in butan-1-ol production. The greatest incremental change in GLC profiles occurred when glucose concentration was raised from zero to 0.1% (w/v). These data suggest that glucose concentration in a medium for GLC analysis must be rigorously controlled if reproducible results are to be obtained.


Deep learning (DL) is becoming increasingly popular in several application domains and has made several new application features involving computer vision, speech recognition and synthesis, self-driving automobiles, drug design, etc. feasible and accurate. As a result, large scale "on-premise" and "cloud-hosted" deep learning platforms have become essential infrastructure in many organizations. These systems accept, schedule, manage and execute DL training jobs at scale. This paper describes the design, implementation and our experiences with FfDL, a DL platform used at IBM. We describe how our design balances dependability with scalability, elasticity, flexibility and efficiency. We examine FfDL qualitatively through a retrospective look at the lessons learned from building, operating, and supporting FfDL; and quantitatively through a detailed empirical evaluation of FfDL, including the overheads introduced by the platform for various DL models, the load and performance observed in a real case study using FfDL within our organization, the frequency of various faults observed including faults that we did not anticipate, and experiments demonstrating the benefits of various scheduling policies. FfDL has been open-sourced.


Abstract The royal fern (Osmunda regalis L.) is a threatened species, which reaches the northeastern border of its natural range in Poland. The number of royal fern stands is decreasing due to decline of its natural habitat - alder carrs. The main aim of this paper was to compare features of stands in habitats representing different levels of anthropogenic transformation and to investigate all stands of the royal fern in the 'Baszków' nature reserve (3.76 ha; Krotoszyn Forest District, Poland). We distinguished four plant communities within the nature reserve: Carici elongatae-Alnetum, Molinio-Pinetum, Leucobryo-Pinetum and Pinus-Padus. In total, we found 144 royal fern specimens within the nature reserve area growing in 20 stands: 97 specimens in Carici-Alnetum (9 stands), 32 specimens in Molinio-Pinetum (4 stands) and 15 specimens along a drainage ditch (7 stands). Specimens from Carici-Alnetum had the highest proportion of sporophylles (41%), which shows the habitat preferences of the royal fern. Low proportion of sporophylles and the low number of specimens in the stands in ditches prove lower vitality of royal ferns and possibility of local extirpation in these stands. Royal fern populations in secondary habitats such as ditches and borders of forest divisions should be particularly monitored. Passive royal fern protection in the nature reserve gave positive results due to better availability of light, connected with mortality of some trees.


Pre-honor cases are those in which a demand for payment under an LC has been dishonored by the issuer of the LC. These actions typically focus on (i) whether timely and sufficient notice of dishonor was given, (ii) whether the discrepancies stated in that notice justify dishonor, or (iii) whether there are extraordinary reasons requiring or permitting dishonor (such as forgery or material fraud, injunction, governmental order, or insolvency).


This article defends and extends the concept of workplace regimes, understood as the existence of identifiable systematic patterns of managerial control. In doing so a conceptual framework is developed for explaining both patterns in control and the dynamics of workplace politics. Specifically, this article elaborates on the approach of Michael Burawoy and extends it through an engagement with Science and Technology Studies (also known as Science, Technology and Society Studies) (STS) and Economic Sociology. The core of Burawoy's framework is identified as the use of ideal - typical 'workplace regimes' to represent historically distinct positions upon a continuum between legitimation and coercion. This core is defended and it is argued that granular firm-level variations in the use of legitimation and coercion would only invalidate the theory if they were to make the identification of shifts in historical tendencies at the macro level of world systems impossible. In fact, it is claimed that once fully elaborated the resultant framework is able to explain commonalities and regularities across seemingly divergent contexts as well as variations within regimes. In the course of making this argument, an important distinction, that has not previously been fully recognised, between workplace regimes and workplace politics is highlighted. Finally, the potential explanatory power of this workplace regime approach is illustrated by drawing on recent qualitative research in the retail sectors of the UK and the US.


Accurate age-depth models for proxy records are crucial for inferring changes to the environment through space and time, yet traditional methods of constructing these models assume unrealistically small age uncertainties and do not account for many geologic complexities. Here we modify an existing Bayesian age-depth model to foster its application for deep time U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. More flexible input likelihood functions and use of an adaptive proposal algorithm in the Markov Chain Monte Carlo engine better account for the age variability often observed in magmatic crystal populations, whose dispersion can reflect inheritance, crystal residence times and daughter isotope loss. We illustrate this approach by calculating an age-depth model with a contiguous and realistic uncertainty envelope for the Miocene Santa Cruz Formation (early Miocene; Burdigalian), Argentina. The model is calibrated using new, high-precision isotope dilution U-Pb zircon ages for stratigraphically located interbedded tuffs, whose weighted mean ages range from ca. 16.78 ± 0.03 Ma to 17.62 ± 0.03 Ma. We document how the Bayesian age-depth model objectively reallocates probability across the posterior ages of dated horizons, and thus produces better estimates of relative ages among strata and variations in sedimentation rate. We also present a simple method to propagate age-depth model uncertainties onto stratigraphic proxy data using a Monte Carlo technique. This approach allows us to estimate robust uncertainties on isotope composition through time, important for comparisons of terrestrial systems to other proxy records.


Surface wrinkling of materials offers a simple yet elegant approach to fabricating cell culture substrates with highly ordered topographies for investigating cell mechanobiology. In this study we present a tunable shape memory polymer (SMP) bilayer system that is programmed to form, under cell compatible conditions, wrinkles with feature sizes on the micron and sub-micron length scale. We found that with increasing deformation fixed into the SMP substrate, wrinkled topographies with increasing amplitudes, decreasing wavelengths, and increasing degree of wrinkle orientation were achieved. Analysis of the cellular response to previously wrinkled (static) substrates revealed that cell nuclear alignment increased as SMP deformation increased. Analysis of the cellular response to an actively wrinkling substrate demonstrated that cell alignment can be controlled by triggering wrinkle formation. These findings demonstrate that the amount of deformation fixed (and later recovered) in an SMP bilayer system can be used to control the resulting wrinkle characteristics and cell mechanobiological response. The tailored and dynamic substrate functionality provided by this approach is expected to enable new investigation and understanding of cell mechanobiology.


Multi-camera systems are becoming ubiquitous and have found application in a variety of domains including surveillance, immersive visualization, sports entertainment and movie special effects amongst others. From a computer vision perspective, the challenging task is how to most efficiently fuse information from multiple views in the absence of detailed calibration information and a minimum of human intervention. This thesis presents a new approach to fuse foreground likelihood information from multiple views onto a reference view without explicit processing in 3D space, thereby circumventing the need for complete calibration. Our approach uses a homographic occupancy constraint (HOC), which states that if a foreground pixel has a piercing point that is occupied by foreground object, then the pixel warps to foreground regions in every view under homographies induced by the reference plane, in effect using cameras as occupancy detectors. Using the HOC we are able to resolve occlusions and robustly determine ground plane localizations of the people in the scene. To find tracks we obtain ground localizations over a window of frames and stack them creating a space time volume. Regions belonging to the same person form contiguous spatio-temporal tracks that are clustered using a graph cuts segmentation approach.
Second, we demonstrate that the HOC is equivalent to performing visual hull intersection in the image-plane, resulting in a cross-sectional slice of the object. The process is extended to multiple planes parallel to the reference plane in the framework of plane to plane homologies. Slices from multiple planes are accumulated and the 3D structure of the object is segmented out. Unlike other visual hull based approaches that use 3D constructs like visual cones, voxels or polygonal meshes requiring calibrated views, ours is purely-image based and uses only 2D constructs i.e. planar homographies between views. This feature also renders it conducive to graphics hardware acceleration. The current GPU implementation of our approach is capable of fusing 60 views (480x720 pixels) at the rate of 50 slices/second. We then present an extension of this approach to reconstructing non-rigid articulated objects from monocular video sequences. The basic premise is that due to motion of the object, scene occupancies are blurred out with non-occupancies in a manner analogous to motion blurred imagery. Using our HOC and a novel construct: the temporal occupancy point (TOP), we are able to fuse multiple views of non-rigid objects obtained from a monocular video sequence. The result is a set of blurred scene occupancy images in the corresponding views, where the values at each pixel correspond to the fraction of total time duration that the pixel observed an occupied scene location. We then use a motion de-blurring approach to de-blur the occupancy images and obtain the 3D structure of the non-rigid object.
In the final part of this thesis, we present an object class detection method employing 3D models of rigid objects constructed using the above 3D reconstruction approach. Instead of using a complicated mechanism for relating multiple 2D training views, our approach establishes spatial connections between these views by mapping them directly to the surface of a 3D model. To generalize the model for object class detection, features from supplemental views (obtained from Google Image search) are also considered. Given a 2D test image, correspondences between the 3D feature model and the testing view are identified by matching the detected features. Based on the 3D locations of the corresponding features, several hypotheses of viewing planes can be made. The one with the highest confidence is then used to detect the object using feature location matching. Performance of the proposed method has been evaluated by using the PASCAL VOC challenge dataset and promising results are demonstrated.


Abstract. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to investigate convection-aerosol interactions in the United Arab Emirates for a summertime convective event. Both an idealised and scaled versions of a 7-year climatological aerosol distribution are considered. The convection on 14 August 2013 was triggered by the low-level convergence of the circulation associated with the Arabian Heat Low (AHL) and the daytime sea-breeze circulation. The cold pools associated with the convective events, as well as the low-level wind convergence along the Intertropical Discontinuity (ITD) earlier in the day, explain the dustier environment, with Aerosol Optical Depths (AODs) in excess of two. Due to a colder surface and air temperature, the AHL is incorrectly represented in WRF, which leads to a mismatch between the observed and modelled clouds and precipitation. Employing interior nudging in the outermost grids of the three-nested simulation has a small but positive impact on the model predictions of the innermost nest. This is because the higher temperatures from more accurate boundary conditions are offset by colder temperatures from locally enhanced precipitation, the latter arising from a shift in the position of the AHL. Numerical experiments revealed a high sensitivity to the aerosol properties. In particular, replacing 20 % of the rural aerosols by carbonaceous particles has an impact on the surface radiative fluxes comparable to increasing the aerosol loading by a factor of 10, with a daily-averaged reduction in the UAE-averaged net shortwave radiation flux of ~90 W m−2 and an increase in the net longwave radiation flux of ~51 W m−2. However, in the former, WRF generates 20 % more precipitation than in the latter, due to a broader and weaker AHL. The surface downward and upward shortwave and upward longwave radiation fluxes are found to scale linearly with the aerosol loading, while the downward longwave radiation flux varies by less than ±12 W m−2 when the aerosol amount and/or properties are changed. An increase in the aerosol loading also leads to drier conditions due to a shift in the position of the AHL and rainfall occurring in a drier region, with a domain-wise decrease in the daily accumulated rainfall of 16 % when the aerosol loading is increased by a factor of 10. In addition, the onset of convection is also delayed.


David Linden read medicine, classics and philosophy in Germany. He obtained a DPhil from the University of Oxford for his work on medical ethics in antiquity in 2000 and a Dr. med. in neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in 1999. He trained in psychiatry at Frankfurt University and has a special interest in clinical neuropsychiatry and neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes. Since 2011 he has been Professor of Translational Neuroscience at Cardiff University and Head of the Neuroimaging theme group of the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. He is also the director for clinical research at the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre. In his research, he applies structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neurophysiological techniques and genetics in order to understand the function of the brain in health and disease. Current research interests include functional imaging of psychopathology, neural substrates of social cognition and decision making, genetic imaging, treatment and training effects on the brain, and neurofeedback. David is the author of "The Biology of Psychological Disorders" (2012), "Brain Control" (2014) and "Neuroimaging and Neurophysiology in Psychiatry" (2016) and over 180 scientific papers in the fields of biological psychiatry, functional brain imaging, visual and social cognitive neuroscience, and neurofeedback. He has coordinated trials of functional MRI-based neurofeedback in depression and Parkinson's disease. He is also the coordinator of the European Consortium "BRAINTRAIN" (www.braintrainproject.eu), funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, which develops and evaluates imaging-based neurofeedback methods for a range of mental disorders. He is a consultant psychiatrist with the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and provides clinics at the Welsh Neuropsychiatric Service, the Cardiff University Psychiatric Service (specialising in neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes) and the Welsh Huntington's Disease Service. He has been a member of the board of directors of the BNPA since 2014. The techniques of brain imaging and neurophysiology (both invasive and non-invasive) hold considerable promise for the understanding of human mental processes. One branch of neurophysiology and cognitive neuroscience research is concerned with the inference of particular mental states from neural activation patterns. One of the aims of this research is to identify intentions in patients with severe communication disorders (for example the "locked-in" state). Another proposed application is in the distinction between disorders of consciousness and disorders of communication. Recent advances in the analysis of functional brain images that allow for the classification of mental states also raise the question whether these techniques can be used to underpin psychiatric diagnoses, possibly even support or refute patients' claim about their own mental states. This talk discusses the clinical promise and also the technical and ethical limitations of these approaches and puts them in the context of the history and future of neuropsychiatry. References . David Linden. Brain Control – Developments in Therapy and Implications for Society. Palgrave Macmillan 2014. . Sarah Richmond, Geraint Rees, Sarah JL, Edwards (eds). I know what you're thinking – Brain imaging and mental privacy. Oxford University Press 2012.


A novel method for the spectropolarimetric measurement of materials using the channeled spectrum is described. A pair of high order retarders are incorporated into the illuminating optics of a broadband spectropolarimeter, so that the sample under measurement is illuminated with the light that is modulated in the spectral-dependence of its polarization. The Fourier analysis of the channeled spectrum obtained from the spectropolarimeter allows determining the four spectrally-resolved polarimetric parameters of the sample simultaneously. This approach has a feature that it requires neither mechanically- nor electrically-controllable components for polarization modulation, similar to the previous method for the channeled spectropolarimetry in which the high-order retarders are placed in the receiving optics. The new method can offer the same information about the sample as has been obtained by the previous method, provided that all the optical components satisfy the principle of reciprocity. Furthermore, the new method has an additional advantage over the previous method that it is less susceptible to the sample-induced fluctuations of the wavefront or ray-direction. The effectiveness of this method is experimentally demonstrated with the measurement of a birefringent sample.


Background: Little is known about the pathways through which maladaptive beliefs impact adaptation to illness. In this regard, the aim of this study was to examine whether illness representations mediate the relation of maladaptive health beliefs to patients' subjective health. There is considerable evidence that an adaptive representation of a curable/controllable illness is related to better health, whereas a less adaptive representation of a severe, troublesome and less controllable condition is associated with worse health outcomes. Methods: Patients suffering from cancer (N=125) participated in this cross-sectional study. Mean age of the sample was 58 years (sd =11.49), 78 were women and 47 men. Findings: Personal control and emotional representations mediated the relation of maladaptive beliefs to health. Also, personal control and illness coherence mediated the relation of maladaptive beliefs to coping behaviour. Discussion: It seems that maladaptive health beliefs, as deeply-rooted ways of processing health-related information, 'urge' patients to represent illness in a more negative way, which in turn impact adaptation to illness.


The complexity of the hep detectors for LHC (CMS tracker has more than 50 millions of electronic channels) the large number of people in charge of it (more than 100 people from 10 labs distributed worldwide) and the availability of the grid computing environment require novel ways to visualize data coming from detector for use in online monitoring. We suggest here an approach that takes advantage of the distributed computing environment. Web services will ship the data from the control room to the user desktop in the form of SVG maps. These contain the monitoring information represented in a compact way and have interactive features that allow the user to diagnose quickly detector problems


This paper takes the Daliushu Dam Site in Yellow River as an example, which is located near the active fault zone with high seismic intensity. It studies the seepage of dam abutment rock mass in meizoseismal area and the stability under earthquake condition. The assessments on the key engineering problems of this project are based upon a large number of investigations, in-situ and laboratory tests, etc., which are carried out in the field by the author. We know that the "5∙12" Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 triggered strong ruptures and damages of massif, and destructed the concrete facing of the Zipinpu rock-fill dam in Minjiang River, which is very close to the earthquake source and sufferd a 0.56g' seismic acceleration. For this reason, this paper analyzes the possible damage on the Daliushu Dam site rock mass under the grouting in the future earthquake, returning to the present poor quality condition of rock mass, while this dam shares the seismic intensity, seismic acceleration, dam type and dam height similar to the Zipinpu Project. This paper puts forward a new research thought, which is the longtime -lasting strong earthquake,first causes the rupture of rock mass and the decrease of rock mass mechani cal parameters, and the lasting earthquake will then worsen the rock mass structure mechanics parameters, and even cause the large-scale massif damage. From this viewpoint, this paper, analyzes the stability of the dam foundation and abutment rock mass especially the stability of the thin massif of the right dam abutment by the numerical analysis. The analysis show that under the normal and the earthquake conditions (excluding the rock mass damage and mechanical parameters decrese resulted from the lasting earthquake), The Daliushu Dam Site and the right dam abutment are still stable when the safety factor is assumed to be 0.802 under the lasting earthquake. In addition, the calculation results show that the stability is not enough.


Objective: As diabetes technologies increase in prevalence and complexity, flexible models of care are needed to provide ongoing support. The objective of this study is to determine whether a streamlined Diabetes Device Clinic (DDC) model is associated with improvement in glycemic control and education utilization among insulin pump users. Research Design and Methods: The DDC was available for patients in need of focused device-related education; all patients had previously received comprehensive education and insulin pump training. The DDC consists of an abbreviated visit with a certified diabetes educator (CDE, 40 minutes) followed by a hand-off and visit with the endocrinologist (20 minutes). Participants were compared to insulin pump users who received traditional care. Pre- and post-HbA1c values were obtained within 6 months prior to and 6 months after the DDC visit. The two most recent HbA1c values at least 3 months apart were obtained for non-device clinic patients. Results: A total of 437 patients were identified, 79 of whom attended the DDC. Of the non-attendees (n=358), 48.7% were referred to the CDE and 39% completed an education visit. Among patients with a baseline HbA1c >8.0%, those who attended the DDC witnessed a significant reduction in HbA1c (-0.52% +/- 0.71, p=0.002) whereas non-attendees saw no such improvement (-0.14% +/- 1.29, p=0.29). For patients with a baseline HbA1c Conclusions: These data illustrate that the streamlined DDC model of care may improve glycemic control and education utilization among established insulin pump patients. Additional study is needed to address ongoing education needs. Disclosure C.K. Park: None. J.G. Zappe: None. E. Snyder: None. K.M. Dungan: Advisory Panel; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, Elsevier, Sanofi-Aventis. Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Viacyte. Other Relationship; Self; DKBmed, UpToDate.


There is considerable interest in mitigating secondary electron emission (SEE) from surfaces and electrodes produced by incident electrons, due to the deleterious effects of SEE in vacuum electron devices, accelerators, and other technologies. Since surface conditions are known to affect SEE, here the role played by crystal orientation and a vacancy (which is a simple example of a surface defect) is probed through Monte Carlo simulations. The effect of the lattice imperfection on the frequency-dependent permittivity, which then influences inelastic energy losses, mean free paths, and secondary generation profiles, is obtained on the basis of density-functional theory. The Monte Carlo simulations are in good agreement with previous experimental reports. The results indicate that the secondary electron yield for pure copper is the highest for the 110 orientation and the lowest for the 111 case, with a relatively higher differential predicted between a single vacancy and ideal copper for the 111 orientation. The results underscore the benefit of annealing or reducing inhomogeneities through laser or charged particle beam surface treatments.There is considerable interest in mitigating secondary electron emission (SEE) from surfaces and electrodes produced by incident electrons, due to the deleterious effects of SEE in vacuum electron devices, accelerators, and other technologies. Since surface conditions are known to affect SEE, here the role played by crystal orientation and a vacancy (which is a simple example of a surface defect) is probed through Monte Carlo simulations. The effect of the lattice imperfection on the frequency-dependent permittivity, which then influences inelastic energy losses, mean free paths, and secondary generation profiles, is obtained on the basis of density-functional theory. The Monte Carlo simulations are in good agreement with previous experimental reports. The results indicate that the secondary electron yield for pure copper is the highest for the 110 orientation and the lowest for the 111 case, with a relatively higher differential predicted between a single vacancy and ideal copper for the 111 orientation....


Prior studies have theorized a positive association between people's populist attitudes and an increased use of social media to consume news, which will be mainly driven by individuals' engagement with news that reflects their people-centered, anti-elitist, and Manichean understanding of politics. However, such general connection remains elusive. This research seeks to further clarify this strand of the literature by incorporating people's belief that important political information will find them without actively seeking news—"News Finds Me" perception (NFM). For that, we use online survey data from two European countries that differ regarding the ideological political supply side of populism (Italy and Portugal). The main results suggest that citizens who hold stronger populist attitudes will also develop stronger NFM. Furthermore, findings reveal a mediating effect of social media news use on the effects of populist attitudes over NFM. That is, those who hold stronger populist attitudes tend to use social media to get exposed to public affairs news more often, which in turn explains the development of the NFM. These results emphasize the importance of systematically exploring citizens populists' attitudes within today's social media, social networks, and complex information systems.


Storing drinking water in the home is common in the developing world. Several studies have documented increased concentrations of fecal coliforms during household storage. This has led to the belief that in-house water contamination is an important transmission route for enteric pathogens and. moreover, that improving water source quality is not warranted until that quality can be maintained in the home. We contend that in-house water contamination does no! pose a serious risk of diarrhea because family members would likely develop some level of immunity to pathogens commonly encountered in the household environment. Even when there is no such immunity, transmission of these pathogens via stored water may be inefficient relative to other household transmission routes, such as person-to-person contact or food contamination. A contaminated water source poses much more of a risk since it may introduce new pathogens into the household. The effects of water source and in-house contamination on diarrheal disease are estimated for 2355 Filipino infants: The results confirm our hypothesis: contaminated water sources pose a serious risk of diarrhea while contamination of drinking water in the home does not. Water boiling is shown to eliminate the risk of diarrhea due to water source contamination. The results imply that improvements in water source quality are more important than improving water storage practices.


Summary: The stimulation by betaine of vitamin B12 and extracellular coproporphyrin production in the industrial species Pseudomonas denitrificans GY57/2 was confirmed using a replacement culture technique; biosynthesis of haem was also found to be stimulated. In the absence of betaine, δ-aminolaevulinic acid synthase decreased in specific activity from time zero. In the presence of betaine, the enzyme activity increased markedly after 3 h and then decreased after exhaustion of extracellular betaine. The peak specific activity of δ-aminolaevulinic acid synthase increased in a dose-dependent manner. The enzyme was inhibited by haem. δ-Aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase was present in considerable excess over δ-aminolaevulinic acid synthase under all conditions studied and its specific activity was not affected by the addition of betaine. Our tentative conclusion is that the betaine effect is exerted via some positive effect on δ-aminolaevulinic acid synthase, the initial, rate-limiting and very labile enzyme of porphyrin and corrin biosynthesis.


With the rapid development of technology, this development led to the emergence of microarray
technology. It has the effect of studying the levels of gene expression in a way that makes it easier
for researchers to observe the expression levels of millions of genes at the same time in a single experiment. Development also helped in the emergence of powerful tools to identify interactions between
target genes and regulatory factors. The main aim of this study is to build models to predicate the
relationship (Interaction) between Transcription Factors (TFs) proteins and target genes by selecting
the subset of important genes (Relevant genes) from original dataset. The proposed methodology
comprises into three major stages: the genes selection, merge datasets and the prediction stage. The
process of reducing the computational space of gene data has been accomplished by using proposed
mutual information method for genes selection based on the data of gene expression. In the prediction, the proposed prediction regression techniques are utilized to predict with binding rate between
single TF-target gene. It has been compared the efficiency of two different proposed regression techniques including: Linear Regression and Random Forest Regression. Two available data sets have
been utilized to achieve the objectives of this study: Gene's expression data of Yeast Cell Cycle
dataset and Transcription Factors dataset. The evaluation of predictions performance has been performed depending on two performance prediction measures (Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and
Mean Absolute Error (MAE) with (10) Folds-Cross Validation.


Current Google image search adopt a hybrid search approach in which a text-based query (e.g., "Paris landmarks") is used to retrieve a set of relevant images, which are then refined by the user (e.g., by re-ranking the retrieved images based on similarity to a selected example). We conjecture that given such hybrid image search engines, learning per-query distance functions over image features can improve the estimation of image similarity. We propose scalable solutions to learning query-specific distance functions by 1) adopting a simple large-margin learning framework, 2) using the query-logs of text-based image search engine to train distance functions used in content-based systems. We evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of our proposed system through comprehensive human evaluation, and compare the results with the state-of-the-art image distance function used by Google image search.