ABSTRACT A geomorphic and stratigraphic investigation of lacustrine delta deposits in the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana, revealed that lacustrine delta formation is rapid and cyclic in nature. During the Holocene, thin, coarse-grained, regionally extensive, fluvially dominated lacustrine deltas filled interdistributary basins in the transition zone between the alluvial valley and the marine delta plain of the Mississippi River. One delta, Lake Fausse Pointe delta, prograded 6.5 km, partially filling the lake and covering more than 29 km2 in area in twelve years. Depositional processes in Lake Fausse Pointe ranged from suspension-settling of mud and organic matter during low sediment input to traction deposition of sand during floods. Hyperpycnal flow conditions, set up by the introdu tion of sediment-laden river water into the freshwater lake, induced underflows that scoured the lake bottom and deposited upward-coarsening lobes. The low relief of the Mississippi basin, a constant large volume of fine-grained sediment supply, and prevalent fluvial processes have formed fluvially dominated lacustrine deltas that differ sedimentologically and stratigraphically from "Gilbert-type" and brackish-water lacustrine deltas. Parallel-laminated prodelta mud, rippled to cross-laminated delta-front silty sand, and very finegrained to medium-grained distributary-mouth-bar sand are characteristic of rapidly deposited sediment, whereas rooted and burrowed sediments signify periods of minimal deposition. In a fluvially dominated setting, delta geometry and sediment distribution patterns are controlled by river-mouth processes, basin shape, and bathymetry. Thickest sand accumulations occur in linear, dip-elongate distributary-m uth-bar and natural-levee lobes that are separated laterally by mud-filled channels and interdistributary troughs. Lacustrine-delta deposition is driven by basin subsidence (regional downwarping and sediment compaction) and the concomitant development of distributary channels in the interdistributary basins. Numerous lacustrine-deltaic wedges, each bounded by rooted backswamp clay, are preserved multilaterally in Atchafalaya Basin sediments. Although lacustrine-deltaic deposits constitute much of the basin's sedimentary fill, each individual delta sequence records depositional events of only 100 years duration. These deltaic deposits represent basin-filling (aggradational) episodes that preceded the formation of marine delta complexes such as the Maringouin, Teche, La Fourche, and Atchafalaya deltas of the Mississippi River.


Thermal injury destroys the physical skin barrier that normally prevents invasion of microorganisms. This and concomitant depression of local and systemic host cellular and humoral immune responses are important factors that contribute to colonization and infection of the burn wound. One of the most common burn wound pathogens is Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus is both a human commensal and a frequent cause of infections leading to mild to life-threatening diseases. Despite a variety of infection control measures, for example patient cohorting and contact precaution at burn centres, S. aureus is still frequently encountered in burn wounds. Colonization with S. aureus has been associated with delayed wound healing, increased need for surgical interventions, and prolonged length of stay at burn centres. In this minireview, we focus on S. aureus nasal carriage in relation to S. aureus burn wound colonization and subsequent infection, and its impact on strategies for infection control.


Thirty-eight isolates of Escherichia coli (E.coli) were isolated from chickens either ill or dead suspected with E.coli. These chickens come from chicken breeding farms in the districts of Baoding, Qinhuangdao and Beijing of China. The results of the antibiotics sensitivity test in the thirty-eight isolates to twenty-four kinds of antibiotics show that all isolates have presented antibiotic resistance disparately as well as multiresistance. All isolates are sensitive to Cephalosporins antibiotics and Aminoglycosides antibiotics such as Amikacin, Cefazolin, Cefradine, Cefoperazone and Ceftriaxone. Thirty-eight isolates are extremely resistant to Penicillins antibiotics, Lincomycins antibiotics, Tetracyclines antibiotics and Macrolides antibiotics such as Midecamycine, Lincomycin, Carbenicillin, Tetracycline, Amoxicillin. Antibiotics sensitivity test provides a guidance for antibiotic application and scientific research on poultry farms.


Breath mass spectrometry is a useful tool for identifying important compounds associated with health. However, there have been few studies that have explored human exhaled breath by full-scan mass spectrometry as a non-invasive method for medical diagnosis, which may be attributed to the difficulties resulting from multicollinearity and small sample sizes relative to a large number of product ions. In this study, breath samples from 54 chronic kidney disease patients were analyzed by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry in the full-scan mode. With the signal intensities of product ions, we developed a novel and robust algorithm, iterative PCA with intensity screening (IPS), to build linear models for estimating important clinical parameters of chronic kidney disease. It has been shown that IPS provided good estimations in cross-validated samples, and furthermore the identified product ions could have direct medical relevance to the disease. The study demonstrated the potential of quantitative breath analysis using mass spectrometry for medical diagnosis, and the importance of applying appropriate statistical tools to unveil the rich information in this type of data.


Abstract This paper proposes a data projection method (DPM) to detect a mode switching and recognize the current mode in a switching system. The main feature of this method is that the precise knowledge of the system model, i.e., the parameter values, is not needed. One direct application of this technique is fault detection and identification (FDI) when a fault produces a change in the system dynamics. Mode detection and recognition correspond to fault detection and identification, and switching time estimation to fault occurrence time estimation. The general principle of the DPM is to generate mode indicators, namely, residuals, using matrix projection techniques, where matrices are composed of input and output measured data. The DPM is presented in detail, and properties of switching detectability (fault detectability) and discernability between modes (fault identifiability) are characterized and discussed. The great advantage of this method, compared with other techniques in the literature, is that it does not need the model parameter values and thus can be applied to systems of the same type without identifying their parameters. This is particularly interesting in the design of generic embedded fault diagnosis algorithms.


Aim: Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Treatment with insulin substantially reduces C - reactive protein (CRP) because of its anti-atherosclerotic action. This study was designed to explore and compare the cardio protective role of regular human insulin (RHI), aspart and lispro insulin in type II DM. Materials and Methods: A randomized, open, parallel group, comparative clinical study was conducted on 90 patients of type II DM. After baseline clinical assessment and investigations, RHI was prescribed to 30 patients, aspart insulin to 30 patients and lispro insulin to another 30 patients for 12 weeks. The efficacy variables were change in blood pressure, glycemic control, lipid profile, serum potassium, high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) and UKPDS 10-year CHD risk scoring over 12 weeks. At the end of the study, the patients were followed up and changes in variables from baseline were analyzed by statistical tools. Results: Systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in aspart group (P = 0.008) whereas diastolic blood pressure was decreased significantly both in aspart (P < 0.001) and lispro group (P = 0.01). Fasting, postprandial blood glucose and HbA1c were decreased in all three groups significantly but change in aspart group was superior (P = 0.01). Triglyceride was significantly better controlled by lispro (P < 0.01) whereas aspart insulin was superior to decrease total cholesterol and LDL (P < 0.05). The extent of potassium loss was significantly more with RHI (P = 0.004) than others. CRP-lowering effect (P = 0.017) and decrease in UKPDS risk scoring (P = 0.019) in aspart and lispro group was superior to RHI group. Conclusion: Short acting insulin analogues, especially aspart insulin have been found to have a better cardio protective role than RHI in type II DM.


The growth requirements and transport characteristics of folate compounds in a methotrexate-resistant L1210/R81 cell line were compared with parental cells. Concentrations for half-maximal growth of the resistant cells with folate (350 nM) and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate (20 nM) were found to be higher by 2.7-fold and 20-fold, respectively, relative to the parent, suggesting that changes had occurred in the transport of these folate compounds. Transport measurements revealed that the resistant cells have lost the capacity to transport methotrexate and other folate compounds via the reduced-folate transport system but that a second previously undescribed transport system is present. Uptake of folate via this second route is energy dependent, exhibits saturation kinetics, can be inhibited by substrate analogues, and is activated by a reduction in pH. The pH effect is substantial since uptake at 5.0 microM folate can be increased 10-fold by decreasing the pH from 7.4 to 6.2. The observed Kt for half-maximal influx of folate at pH 6.8 was 5.2 microM, and the Vmax was 0.55 pmol/min/mg of protein. Ki values for methotrexate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate were 10.2, 3.2, and 2.7 microM, respectively. Transport activity was not affected by depleting internal stores of folate by growth in folate-free medium, and this same transport system was also present in comparable amounts in wild-type cells. In the latter case, interfering uptake via the reduced-folate transport system was blocked by bromosulfophthalein and thiamine pyrophosphate. Methotrexate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate were also transported via this alternative, pH-dependent route, whereas little or no uptake of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate could be detected. The results indicate that antifolate resistance in L1210/R81 cells was induced by inactivating the reduced-folate transport system and by utilizating a secondary route which has a low capacity for transporting methotrexate but whose activity is sufficient to permit cell growth in medium supplemented with folate or 5-formyltetrahydrofolate.


Computer-based disease spread models are frequently used in veterinary science to simulate disease spread. They are used to predict the impacts of the disease, plan and assess surveillance, or control strategies, and provide insights about disease causation by comparing model outputs with real life data. There are many types of disease spread models, and here we present and describe the implementation of a particular type: individual-based models. Our aim is to provide a practical introduction to building individual-based disease spread models. We also introduce code examples with the goal to make these techniques more accessible to those who are new to the field. We describe the important steps in building such models before, during and after the programming stage, including model verification (to ensure that the model does what was intended), validation (to investigate whether the model results reflect the modeled system), and convergence analysis (to ensure models of endemic diseases are stable before outputs are collected). We also describe how sensitivity analysis can be used to assess the potential impact of uncertainty about model parameters. Finally, we provide an overview of some interesting recent developments in the field of disease spread models.


The Reguibat Shield of north Mauritania comprises a western Archaean terrane dominated by gneisses and granitic rocks and an eastern Eburnean terrane largely made up of Palaeoproterozoic granitic and metasedimentary rocks. These were juxtaposed during the c. 2.1–2.0 Ga Eburnean Orogeny, which formed an approximately north-trending front contiguous with the Eburnean belt of the Leo Shield in equatorial West Africa. Geological surveying in the Sfariat region of the Reguibat Shield has shown that a metamorphosed Palaeoproterozoic continental margin succession has been intruded by and intercalated with synorogenic granitoids and transported SW onto the Archaean foreland during sinistral oblique collision preserved as strongly partitioned D1 shortening and D2 strike-slip-dominated transpression within the Sfariat Belt. This was subsequently affected by retrogressive dextral transcurrent deformation and the propagation of the en echelon Imarkene and Tmeimichat fault zones. Laser ablation and conventional thermal ionization mass spectrometry U–Pb geochronology were carried out on five samples of granitic rock and migmatitic gneiss from the region, which reveal that anatexis and sinistral transpression took place between c. 2117 and 2064 Ma. Timing and kinematics of the Eburnean event in the Reguibat Shield are similar to those for the Leo Shield, which underwent SW-directed sinistral transpression at this time.


Composite insulated wall panels using carbon fiber grid in combination with expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation have been produced for over 5 years. The carbon fiber grid and the EPS act together to provide shear transfer between the wythes of the composite panel. A design procedure has been developed, based on testing at Washington University and North Carolina State University. The approach discussed here is to ensure that the flexural strength, the cracking moment, and the deflection are all within acceptable limits. This paper first discusses the testing that has been performed to develop the material properties used in the design procedure. Then methods for computing the flexural strength, the cracking moment and the deflection are also presented. Deflections are not often an issue and cracking moments can be easily controlled by the amount of prestress. Therefore, the most important concern is providing adequate shear transfer. The design procedures discussed here were later verified by full scale testing at North Carolina State University.


Today's mobile service providers aim at ensuring end-to-end performance guarantees. Hence, ensuring an efficient content delivery to end users is highly required. Currently, transmitting popular contents in modern mobile networks rely on unicast transmission. This result into a huge underutilization of the wireless bandwidth. The urban scale mobility of users is beneficial for mobile networks to allocate radio resources spatially and temporally for broadcasting contents. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive analysis on a human activity/mobility model and the content broadcasting system in 5G mobile networks. The objective of this work is to describe how human daily activities could improve the content broadcasting efficiency. We achieve the objective by analyzing the transition probabilities of a user traveling over several places according to the change of states of daily human activities. Using a real-life simulation, we demonstrate the relationship between the human mobility and the optimization objective of the content broadcasting system.


In this paper, a comparison between the improved element-free Galerkin (IEFG) method, based on the improved moving least square (IMLS) approximation, and the element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, based on the moving least square (MLS) approximation, is presented. The IMLS approximation is obtained when an orthogonal basis function with a weight function is used. The IMLS approximation has a greater computational efficiency than the existing MLS approximation and does not lead to an ill-conditioned system of equations. The comparison is made for two-dimensional (2D) potential problems and 2D elastic problems. From these problems, the efficiency of the IEFG method is validated by comparing the results obtained with the IEFG method and EFG method with those obtained analytically.


In ordinary radio broadcast of symphony music, the effort is to create the effect of taking the listener to the scene of the program, whereas in reproducing such music in a large hall before a large gathering the effect required is that of transporting the distant orchestra to the listeners. Lacking the visual diversion of watching the orchestra play, such an audience centers its interest more acutely in the music itself, thus requiring a high degree of perfection in the reproducing apparatus both as to quality and as to the illusion of localization of the various instruments. Principles of design of the loud speakers and microphones used in the Philadelphia-Washington experiment are treated at length in this, the third paper of this symposium.


This paper explores the processes of transforming a network of non-mandated exchange relations into a cohesive and innovative partnership. The question this paper attempts to answer is how to speed up innovation processes in such networks. The paper demonstrates that transformation of networks is a consequence of participants' ability to set the agenda and provide the justification necessary to mobilise others for shared ends. However, to utilise the individuals' interests in worthwhile directions requires facilitation able to bridge local discourses by nurturing inquiries and comparison of the differences among the present operational contexts. This calls for grammatical inquiries in which the participants examine the different ways of wording a phenomenon as a means to build a shared language from within their everyday conversation. The paper builds on a seven years research project of constructing and developing an inter-firm network among eight SMEs in the electronics industry in Norway. The paper concludes by outlining four recommendations for facilitation that aim to speed up innovation processes in networks consisting of non-mandated exchange relations.


Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) are undirected probabilistic graphical models that were introduced for solving sequence labeling and segmenting problems. CRFs have several advantages compared to other well understood and widely used techniques such as Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) or Maximum Entropy Markov Models (MEMMs). Being a conditional model, it does not explicitly model the input data sequences but uses feature functions (features) to incorporate the arbitrary interactions and inter-dependencies that exist in the observation sequences. The number of all possible features is extremely large, up to millions, and is usually specified and designed in advance or according to a feature-generating scheme based on domain knowledge. This paper introduces a feature subset selection method for CRFs based on genetic algorithms, in which a population of candidate feature function subsets is evolved to achieve a maximal CRF performance. The method was experimentally validated on the well known bioinformatics problem of protein phosphorylation site prediction, phosphorylation being one of the most important protein modification mechanisms.


Spare parts organizations of elevator original equipment manufacturers (OEM) face enormous challenges on how to manage their excess and dead inventory due to the life-cycle of the equipment. On one hand, the long life-cycle of equipment's requires that organizations ensure the provision and availability of the spares until equipment termination / retirement. On the other hand, these organizations need to control their inventory carrying cost, inventory write-offs and ensure that only needed spare parts are available for their customers. This study explores operations and inventory strategies for reducing and controlling excess inventory. Through a combination of literature review, root cause analysis and the implementation of these strategies in a case company, a managerial tool-box for managing and controlling excess inventory was developed. Root causes of excess inventory were shown to be due to data errors in inventory planning parameters, inappropriate demand forecasting methods, lack of ownership, lack of part life-cycle management and part lifecycle pricing as well as internal practices within the organizations. The paper proposes managerial tool-box that includes both Strategic (ownership and key performance indicators, strategic policy on reverse logistics, customer buybacks, large purchase volumes for sourcing savings, leveraging Big Data and Analytics); Reactive (lateral transshipment, scraping & disposal of excess inventory, sales discounts, spare parts dismantling into sub spare parts) and Proactive (Croston/SBA forecasting, exception management for data errors, tool/algorithm for new spare parts forecasting, part replacement control measures, forecasting sudden decrease in demand and part life-cycle pricing) measures on how excess inventory can be controlled and reduced.


The flood-duration-frequency (QDF) analysis is performed using annual maximum streamflow series of 1–10 day durations observed at Pingshi and Lishi stations in southern China. The trends and change point of annual maximum flood flow and flood duration are also investigated by statistical tests. The results indicate that (1) the annual maximum flood flow only has a marginally increasing trend, whereas the flood duration exhibits a significant decreasing trend at the 0.10 significant level. The change point for the annual maximum flood flow series was found in 1991 and after which the mean maximum flood flow increased by 45.26%. (2) The period after 1991 is characterized by frequent and shorter duration floods due to increased rainstorm. However, land use change in the basin was found intensifying the increased tendency of annual maximum flow after 1991. And (3) under nonstationary environmental conditions, alternative definitions of return period should be adapted. The impacts on curve fitting of flood series showed an overall change of upper tail from "gentle" to "steep," and the design flood magnitude became larger. Therefore, a nonstationary frequency analysis taking account of change point in the data series is highly recommended for future studies.


Casein kinase 2 activity as measured by phosphorylation of the peptide substrate Arg-Arg-Arg-Glu-Glu-Glu-Thr-Glu-Glu-Glu is increased by about 50% in extracts from insulin-treated epididymal fat-pads or isolated fat-cells after purification by Mono Q chromatography. Insulin acts to increase the Vmax. of the kinase. An acid-soluble protein with an apparent subunit molecular mass of about 22 kDa appears to be a substrate for casein kinase 2. The protein possesses a number of properties in common with the acid-soluble heat-stable 22 kDa protein which exhibits increased phosphorylation in rat adipose tissue exposed to insulin.


We introduce the probabilistic sequential matrix factorization (PSMF) method for factorizing time-varying and non-stationary datasets consisting of high-dimensional time-series. In particular, we consider nonlinear Gaussian state-space models where sequential approximate inference results in the factorization of a data matrix into a dictionary and time-varying coefficients with (possibly nonlinear) Markovian dependencies. The assumed Markovian structure on the coefficients enables us to encode temporal dependencies into a low-dimensional feature space. The proposed inference method is solely based on an approximate extended Kalman filtering scheme, which makes the resulting method particularly efficient. PSMF can account for temporal nonlinearities and, more importantly, can be used to calibrate and estimate generic differentiable nonlinear subspace models. We also introduce a robust version of PSMF, called rPSMF, which uses Student-t filters to handle model misspecification. We show that PSMF can be used in multiple contexts: modeling time series with a periodic subspace, robustifying changepoint detection methods, and imputing missing-data in high-dimensional time-series of air pollutants measured across London.


ABSTRACT: The ultrastructure of the male accessory glands of the blow fly, Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius), was presented using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A pair of accessory glands was separated at opposite sites. Morphometric results using LM yield evidenced no significant difference in the median of either length or width of the left and right glands. A significant increment in both length and width was seen to plateau between three to six days. SEM observation showed that the surface of the glands revealed a faint irregular groove pattern throughout, and it was occasionally penetrated by tracheoles. Each gland was a slender, elongated sac-like tubule having apical rounded ends, with a slight constriction at the sub-apical part of the gland being observed occasionally. TEM analyses of three-day-old males showed that the glands consisted of external capsular cells with a basement membrane underneath, glandular cells, and gland lumen. The capsular cell was flat and contained a nucleus with electron dense material in the nuclear envelope. The glandular cell, appearing as columnar, consisted of a vacuolated component that contained a large oval nucleus centrally or sub-basally located, with dense mitochondria, numerous rough endoplasmic reticulum, and secretory vesicles containing electron-lucent materials. In the gland lumen, the cross-section through the middle portion revealed dense secretory materials, characterized by electron-dense materials. Some sections revealed a large lumen where secretion accumulates within the delicate sac. The seven-day-old glands exhibited a remarkable change in the lumen, where the whole space contained a large amount of secretory materials, with the electron-dense materials being characterized as similar to those observed in three-day-old glands. About four prominent types of secretions were observed on the basis of difference in electron-density.


INTRODUCTION
A report on the prevalence of glomerular disease diagnosed via renal biopsy in Salvador, BA, Brazil was published in 1973 and showed a predominance of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, which was frequently associated with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis.

OBJECTIVE
In this study, we investigate the potential changes in the distribution of glomerular diseases after a period of important epidemiological transition in Brazil.

METHODS
Pathology reports of all patients subjected to kidney biopsy from 2003 to 2015 in a referral nephrology service were reviewed. Clinical, laboratorial and pathological diagnoses were collected for analysis. Histological slides of the biopsies performed between 2003 and 2006 were reviewed to examine the accuracy of the estimates based on the pathology reports.

RESULTS
Among the biopsies performed during the time period, 1,312 met the inclusion criteria for the study. Focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis was the most prevalent diagnosis, followed by lupus nephritis. However, a trend toward a decrease in the prevalence of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis was detected (p < 0.05), and an increase in lupus (p < 0.0001) and membranous glomerulonephritis (p < 0.005) was observed.

CONCLUSION
The data presented herein suggest the occurrence of changes in the distribution of nephrological diseases in Salvador, Brazil. The disease that was most prevalent shifted from membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis from 1975 to 2006 and from focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis to lupus nephritis from 2006 to 2015.


OBJECTIVE
To obtain spirometry and maximal respiratory pressure (MRP) reference values for elderly persons.

DESIGN
Survey.

SETTING
General community.

PARTICIPANTS
Four hundred seventy-one healthy ambulatory white women and men age 65+ years.

METHODS
A stringent spirometry quality assurance program exceeded American Thoracic Society recommendations. A "healthy" subgroup of 176 women and 112 men between the ages of 65- and 85 years were identified by excluding those with conditions that negatively influenced FEV1 in a multiple regression analysis. Reference equations and normal ranges for FEV1, FVC, FEF25-75%, peak flow, and maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MRPs) were determined from the healthy group with good quality maneuvers.

RESULTS
Less than 10% of the subjects were unable to perform three acceptable spirometry maneuvers and ten MRP maneuvers. When the age and height corrected FEV1s from this group were compared with other spirometry reference studies, mean values from the women were nearly identical to those from Morris, while these men had substantially lower FEV1 values (by 0.3- to 0.5L) than elderly men in Crapo's study. Mean peak flow was over 20% higher when compared with previous studies, suggesting greater initial expiratory effort by our subjects. The maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) values were about 20% higher than those reported by the Cardiovascular Health Study, perhaps because five MIP maneuvers were always performed.

CONCLUSION
Spirometry and MRP reference values used for elderly patients should come from population studies using similar techniques and with large numbers of subjects over age 65 years.


The participation in the company is a longstanding issue in research on business organization, but usually is explained around workers and not around the highest levels of corporate governance. In the modern businesses, the value contribution of capital is dwindling, and the risk, in many situations, is shared by all of the stakeholders of the company. If the added value and the assumed risk are not unique to the shareholders, why should be the government right unique for shareholder? In this paper we reflect on the foundations of the participation of different stakeholders that group the company. We debate the problems associated with the manipulation of Stakeholder Theory, and the depletion deduction of it; moreover, we propose to take the ontological perspective and a practical approach of inductive character. The main contribution of work is to provide a methodological guide which summarizes the participation in organizations of stakeholders.


The melting process of Pd-Ni alloy nanobelts with different Ni atom content has been simulated by molecular dynamic (MD) method. The radial distribution function, the Lindemann index, and pair analysis method were used to characterize Pd-Ni nanobelt models in simulation. The results indicate that the melting temperature of Pd-Ni nanobelt with composition far from pure metal was lower than that of othermodels, and the breaking point of the nanobelt can be illustrated by the Lindemann index. Pair analysis indicates that the number of FCC pairs will decrease and almost disappear at melting point with increasing temperature. The melting points of Pd-Ni alloy nanobelts were also calculated by thermodynamic method, and the results were close to that obtained by MD simulation.


A simplified radioimmunoassay system for aldosterone secretion rate was developed by using radioiodine-labelled aldosterone and highly specific antiserum to aldosterone. An antibody was produced in rabbits by injecting aldosterone-oxime coupled with bovine gamma-globulin once a month. Aldosterone-oxime was labelled with 125I by using the chloramine T method described by Hunter and Greenwood. 3 ml of a twenty-four-hour urine specimen was used for the radioimmunoassay. Following CH2Cl2 extraction, pH 1 hydrolysis was carried out for twenty-four hours. Separation of the aldosterone extract was achieved by paper chromatography (hexane:benzene:methanol:water = 1:9:5:2.5). The minimum measurable concentration was under 1pg, and adequate intraassay and interassay precision were obtained. Aldosterone secretion rate was 89.6 +/- 25.8 (mean +/- SD)mug/day in normal subjects and was similar in low- and normal-renin essential hypertension. Significant high values (806.4 +/- 65.8mug/day) were obtained in primary aldosteronism and were slightly high in secondary aldosteronism and high-renin essential hypertension. The aldosterone secretion rate correlated positively with plasma aldosterone level (r = 0.731, p < 0.01). Aldosterone secretion rates were obviously higher than plasma levels in primary and idiopathic aldosteronism. From these results, it is concluded that this method is a very useful and reliable one for measuring aldosterone secretion rate and for discriminating primary aldosteronism from low-renin essential hypertension. it is superior in its simplicity, and there is no need to use a liquid scintillation counter.


Metal-dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs) catalyze the deacetylation of lysine residues in histones and other proteins in eukaryotic cells. Isozyme HDAC8 is perhaps the archetypical member of the class I HDAC family and serves as a paradigm for studying structure-function relationships. We report the structures of HDAC8 complexes in a new crystal form. Comparison of unliganded and liganded structures illustrates ligand-induced conformational changes in the L2-loop that likely accompany substrate binding and catalysis. These structures, along with four D101 variants, support the proposal that D101 is critical for the function of the L2 loop. Additionally, the structure of H143A HDAC8 complexed with an intact substrate confirms the importance of D101 for substrate binding and reveals how Y306 and the active site zinc ion together bind and activate the scissile amide linkage of acetyl-L-lysine. The metal-dependent HDACs adopt an α/β protein fold first identified in rat liver arginase. Despite insignificant overall amino acid sequence identity, these enzymes share a strictly conserved metal-binding site with divergent metal specificity and stoichiometry. HDAC8, originally thought to be a Zn2+metallohydrolase, exhibits increased activity with Co2+ and Fe2+ based on kcat/KM (Gantt, S. L., Gattis, S. G. & Fierke, C. A. (2006). Biochemistry 45, 6170-6178). Here, we report the first X-ray crystal structures of metallosubstituted HDAC8: Co2+-HDAC8, D101L Co2+-HDAC8, and D101L Fe2+-HDAC8 in complex with the inhibitor M344. The arginase enzyme from Plasmodium falciparum contains a low complexity region insert of ~75 residues within the L2-loop, confirming this protein region to be highly evolvable in proteins which adopt the arginase fold. Kinetics analyses indicate this insertion to be nonessential for catalytic activity. An N-terminally tagged construct shows KM and kcat values similar to the mammalian arginase enzymes and has been used for crystallization. We have solved the crystal structure of the P. falciparum arginase in complex with the inhibitor 2(S)-amino-6-boronohexanoic acid, highlighting differences at the trimer interface and novel interactions within a L8-loop insertion. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Chemistry First Advisor David W. Christianson


Self-silencing is a tendency to suppress the expression of thoughts and opinions from a romantic partner due to the fear that this self-expression would lead to a dissolution of the relationship. The aim of the current study was to assess the longitudinal effects of self-silencing during adolescence and its change across time in the context of future romantic relationships at the age of 23. In the current study, the level of self-silencing was assessed among 144 adolescents (86 females) aged 16–18 years (mean age = 16.57 years). Seven years later at the age of 23, participants reported again on the level of self-silencing, the quality of their romantic relationships, and their ability to cope with romantic stressors. Employing regression analyses, results showed that self-silencing at age 16 predicted more concealment. In addition, changes in self-silencing over time explained the variance within future levels of concealment, partner support, relationship certainty, and posttraumatic growth. Embedded within a developmental framework, our results illuminate the importance of considering both initial levels of relational vulnerabilities and their change over time in future romantic relationships.


We examined the pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic effects of administering soluble nitric oxide (NO) donor compounds (NO/nucleophile adducts, i.e., NONOates) directly into the trachea of animals with experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension. Steady-state pulmonary hypertension was created by using the thromboxane agonist U-46619. Yorkshire pigs were randomly assigned to one of four groups: group 1, intratracheal saline (control; n = 8); group 2, intratracheal sodium nitroprusside (n = 6); group 3, intratracheal ethylputreanine NONOate (n = 6); and group 4, intratracheal 2-(dimethylamino)-ethylputreanine NONOate (DMAEP/NO; n = 6). Pulmonary and systemic hemodynamics were monitored after drug instillation. Group 4 had significant reductions in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) at all time points compared with steady state and compared with group 1 (P < 0.05), whereas systemic vascular resistance index did not change. The mean change in mean pulmonary arterial pressure in group 4 was -33.1 +/- 1.2% compared with +6.4 +/- 1.3% in group 1 (P < 0.001), and the mean change in mean arterial pressure was -9.3 +/- 0.7% compared with a control value of -0.9 +/- 0.5% (P < 0.05). Groups 2 and 3 had significant decreases in both PVRI and systemic vascular resistance index compared with steady state and with group 1. In conclusion, intratracheal instillation of a polar-charged tertiary amine NONOate DMAEP/NO results in the selective reduction of PVRI. Intermittent intratracheal instillation of selective NONOates may be an alternative to continuously inhaled NO in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.


The packet delivery ratio and throughput in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) depend on the network connectivity and degrade as the connectivity decreases. A delay-tolerant approach increases the packet delivery ratio in partially connected networks. In the previous studies, the packet lifetime and the vehicle's packet carry time are determined to maximise the packet delivery ratio in partially connected VANETs. However, IPv6 uses the hop count in the Hop Limit field instead of using seconds in the TTL field, as in IPv4. Similarly, although IPv4 packets are designed to carry the packet lifetime in seconds in the TTL field, this field is used for the hop count in practice. In this case, there is no mechanism to determine how long vehicles will carry packets in VANETs when delivering packets in a delay-tolerant fashion. In this study, we propose approaches for the delivery of IPv6 packets in a delay-tolerant fashion in partially connected networks. We also propose another method that enhances these proposed approaches and optimises the packet delivery ratio. Our analysis shows that the proposed approaches can be easily adopted for IPv6/IPv4 packets to be delivered in a delay-tolerant fashion. Additionally, we observe that our approaches increase the packet delivery ratio in partially connected VANETs and can also be used in networks where the nodes are mobile or connections get broken frequently.


Intracranial hypotension (IH) is a treatable condition due to cerebrospinal fluid leak, characterised by variable clinical and MRI findings.1

Positional headache, neck stiffness, hearing changes with subdural fluid collection, enhancement of meninges, engorgement of venous structures and brain sagging are among the most frequent clinical and MRI findings. Typical abnormalities are found in 68%–85% of patients1. Hearing alterations (ranging from misperception to severe hearing loss) are known clinical symptoms of IH.1

The mechanism involves secondary perilymph depression due to patency of the cochlear aqueduct, inducing a compensatory expansion of the endolymphatic compartment, decreasing basilar or Reissner's membrane compliance. Some reports showed internal auditory canal (IAC) MRI abnormalities in IH.1 As brainstem acoustic evoked potentials (BAEPs) track internal ear structure and brainstem acoustic pathways integrity,2 we assessed possible BAEP abnormalities in IH. In order to improve IAC imaging we performed contrast-enhanced spectral adiabatic inversion recovery (SPAIR) 3T MRI in each patient with IH.

The study was carried out according to the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the local ethical committee of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. Eighteen patients (12 women, 43±3 years old) presented with IH with one or a combination of the following symptoms: orthostatic headache (100%), chronic headache (89%), hearing loss, tinnitus or acoustic misperception (78%), confusion (22%) and lethargy (22%). IH was diagnosed 45–750 days after onset of symptoms, and recovered in 18–48 days, with bed rest and hydration (56%) and blood patch (33%). BAEPs were recorded according to standard guidelines, with 90 dB sensation level (SL) 10 Hz …


Organizations are struggling to survive, so they are dependent on the productiveness and well-being of their employees. Nowadays, work engagement – the focal construct of this thesis – is one of the most established well-being constructs within organizational psychology. Work engagement is defined as a positive work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. More insight into individual antecedents of work engagement and ways to enhance engagement by means of individual-level interventions is badly needed. Though, based on Broaden-and-Build theory, we do have quite some empirical knowledge on how individual antecedents such as positive emotions and personal resources relate to general well-being. In this thesis, we embrace this knowledge in order to develop theory on an individual perspective on engagement. The studies of this thesis confirmed that positive emotions and personal resources (i.e., hope, optimism, and self-efficacy) either directly or indirectly relate to work and study engagement over time. Next to these empirical notions, this thesis also had the objective to design and evaluate individual interventions to enhance engagement. We hypothesized that the variance in engagement that we could influence by means of self-initiated individual interventions was about forty per cent. In the current thesis, we tested three types of individual interventions, i.e., behavioral (i.e., acts of kindness), cognitive (i.e., thoughts of gratitude), and motivational (i.e., goal setting), to promote engagement. These types of interventions have already been investigated with regard to their effects on happiness, and we modified them for use in an academic and work-related context. We found that stimulating thoughts of gratitude resulted in higher levels of positive emotions among university students. Performing acts of kindness showed stronger effects because this also had a positive effect on study engagement. These results indicate that in an academic context, positive behavioral interventions (i.e., acts of kindness) work better and/or faster than cognitive interventions (i.e., thoughts of gratitude) in enhancing engagement. In addition, we tested the effects of an online intervention containing behavioral, cognitive, and motivational activities among employees. The intervention had a significant positive effect on positive emotions and self-efficacy. For work engagement, however, we only found a significant positive effect for those who scored low on baseline work engagement. This finding underlines that the positive activities that were initiated by the online intervention were more beneficial for those who were expected to gain from it the most. All in all, the individual perspective on the prediction and enhancement of engagement that was adopted in this thesis seems promising. Moreover, it is in line with the current trend of empowerment which holds every individual responsible for his or her own growth and (mental) health. Nevertheless, organizations (including universities) carry great responsibility for the well-being of their employees (and students) in creating a positive organizational climate. This context is, in our opinion, the prerequisite to enable individual employees to build towards higher levels of engagement.


There is much interest in using genome-wide expression time series to identify circadian genes. However, the cost and effort of such measurements often limit data collection. Consequently, it is difficult to assess the experimental uncertainty in the measurements and, in turn, to detect periodic patterns with statistical confidence. We show that parametric bootstrapping and empirical Bayes methods for variance shrinkage can improve rhythm detection in genome-wide expression time series. We demonstrate these approaches by building on the empirical JTK_CYCLE method (eJTK) to formulate a method that we term BooteJTK. Our procedure rapidly and accurately detects cycling time series by combining information about measurement uncertainty with information about the rank order of the time series values. We exploit a publicly available genome-wide data set with high time resolution to show that BooteJTK provides more consistent rhythm detection than existing methods at typical sampling frequencies. Then, we apply BooteJTK to genome-wide expression time series from multiple tissues and show that it reveals biologically sensible tissue relationships that eJTK misses. BooteJTK is implemented in Python and is freely available on GitHub at https://github.com/alanlhutchison/BooteJTK.


Ensuring that the experiences provided by Extension, including those associated with the 4-H program, are impactful to participants is of paramount importance. To ensure the continued success and relevance of the 4-H program, it is crucial for practitioners to measure the impact of 4-H involvement and use these results to develop highly impactful programs. This study proposed and validated the Impacts of 4-H scale. The scale was developed based on previous research and literature review. Based on content, response process, and internal structure validation, a single factor consisting of eight items was proposed. The results of the study indicate the proposed scale may provide a valid and reliable measure to capture, quantify, and report the impacts associated with participating in the 4-H program. Additional recommendations for future research and practice are provided.


The aim of our case study is to illustrate what teaching methods the teachers in an elementary school in southern Thailand use and if they motivate the students and in that case, how they do it. In the background we briefly report about Thailand, their school system and their development. The following presentation processes previous research that has been made within our chosen subjects. The theories are linked to our research questions, such as teaching methods, learning environments and approaches to motivate the students.Through a qualitative method ten observations have been conducted and the result of our observations have been analyzed and discussed. The result shows that the teachers in our case study use very personal and different teaching methods. The Ministry of education (2006) describes that the educational reform that took place in Thailand should develop teachers' education methods to be more student-centered. The result of our observation shows that the teachers are in different stages in this development. Some of the teachers have much to develop before they reach this goal. The teachers also motivate the students differently. Some teachers motivated the students through external motivation where the goal was to pass the examiner's tests, while others used the students' internal motivation.The results cannot be generalized for all schools in Thailand. Since the study is relatively small, it only shows how a part of the teachers implemented their teaching at the school where the study was conducted.


In this paper the concept of time‐reversal signal processing is briefly reviewed and its evolution is motivated as a viable technique to ''focus'' energy on a source through an inhomogeneous medium using an array of transducers. Discussed (briefly) are the underlying mathematics of this process and how it is a natural extension of the concept of phase conjugate mirrors, based on monochromatic waves (as in optics) to temporally broadband waves, which occur in ultrasonics or any pulse‐echo based application such as ground penetrating radar. Once the basic theory and principles motivating this tantalizingly simple (algorithmically) approach have been developed some simulations to motivate the processing are developed. Shown here, this approach can be applied to ''detect'' anomalies, or more appropriately, scatterers in a medium and an optimization technique to sequentially remove the dominant (strongest) to detect even the weakest scatterer is discussed. This approach is similar to the CLEAN algorithm utiliz...


Coronary artery aneurysm is a rare disease and its surgical indication is still controversial. We present a 63-year-old male having left main coronary artery aneurysm with 6 mm in diameter and symptomatic severe triple vessel disease. It was saccular and expanding into the myocardium. The patient successfully underwent off-pump quadruple coronary artery bypass and suture ligation of the aneurysmal neck. We believe that this technique is effective and less invasive to manage small or medium-sized coronary artery aneurysm in case aneurysmal shape, size, and location should be fitting for it.


The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid infrastructure includes about 200 participating computing centers affiliated with several partner projects over the world. It is built by integrating heterogeneous compute and storage resources in diverse data centers in order to provide CPU and storage capacity to the LHC experiments to perform data processing and physics analysis at petabytes scale data operations. Moreover the experiments extend the capability of WLCG distributed environment by actively connecting opportunistic cloud platforms, HPC and volunteer resources. In order to be effectively used by the LHC experiments, these distributed resources should be well described, which implies easy service discovery and detailed description of service configuration. CRIC represents the evolution of ATLAS Grid Information System (AGIS) into the common experiment independent high-level information framework which has been evolved in order to serve not just ATLAS Collaboration needs for the description of distributed environment but any other virtual organization relying on large scale distributed infrastructure as well as the WLCG on the global scope. CRIC collects information from various information providers, complements it with experiment-specific configuration required for computing operations, performs data validation and provides coherent view and topology description to the LHC VOs for service discovery and usage configuration. In this contribution we describe the design and overall architecture of the information system, recent developments and most important aspects of the CRIC framework components implementation and features like flexible definition of information models, built-in collectors, user interfaces, advanced fine-granular authentication/authorization.


Few avenues of scientific inquiry raise more thorny ethical questions than the cloning of human beings, a radical way to control our DNA. In August 2001, in conjunction with his decision to permit limited federal funding for stem-cell research, President George W. Bush created the President's Council on Bioethics to address the ethical ramifications of biomedical innovation. Over the past year the Council, whose members comprise an all-star team of leading scientists, doctors, ethicists, lawyers, humanists, and theologians, has discussed and debated the pros and cons of cloning, whether to produce children or to aid in scientific research. This book is its insightful and thought-provoking report. The questions the Council members confronted do not have easy answers, and they did not seek to hide their differences behind an artificial consensus. Rather, the Council decided to allow each side to make its own best case, so that the American people can think about and debate these questions, which go to the heart of what it means to be a human being. Just as the dawn of the atomic age created ethical dilemmas for the United States, cloning presents us with similar quandaries that we are sure to wrestle with for decades to come.


In the present study, protoscolices and hydatid fluid were prepared from livers or lungs of sheep with hydatid cyst in sterile conditions. The protein concentration of samples was then measured by Bradford method. 12 lambs 4 - 6 months of age of mixed sex were randomly allocated to 3 groups of 4 lambs. Each lamb in groups 1 and 2 was immunized subcutaneously in the neck with a 2 - ml dose of vaccine (1 mg of protoscolex and hydatid fluid proteins dissolved in 1 ml of PBS) and emulsified with an equal volume of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) respectively. Control lambs were immunized with adjuvant in PBS. Lambs were boosted at day 28 with the same preparation except that FCA was replaced by Freund's incomplete adjuvant (FIA). Three weeks after the second immunization, each lamb received a challenge infection with 2000 protoscolices intrapritoneally and 10 adult E. granulosus. All lambs were euthanized after 7 months and examined for hydatid cysts. Results showed that, the number of cysts in immunized lambs with protoscolices were lower than in control group and also the number of cysts in immunized lambs with hydatid fluid antigen was significant (p<0.05). This result indicated that the protective immunity in lambs with protoscolices and hydatid fluid was 54.5% and 75.75% respectively.


Study of the stoichiometry of the DNA-methyl green reaction by dialysis, precipitation of stain-nucleic acid mixtures, and the staining of nuclei of known DNA content, indicate that the compound consists of one dye molecule per 10 P. The significance of this result was discussed in the preceding paper (1). Histone and lanthanum (and probably other multivalent cations (3)) compete with the dye for the nucleic acid molecule, indicating a common site of attachment, presumably the phosphoric acid groups. With care in the avoidance of procedures which might depolymerize DNA, and the use of a buffer at about pH 4.1, a quantitative histochemical method for DNA by the use of methyl green is possible. Pyronin staining appears to be of qualitative significance only. Slight differences in degree of polymerization, as between the shad and mammalian DNA appear to have no effect on methyl green staining. It may be that a critical level of polymerization for DNA staining exists. This level must exceed 20 nucleotides to account for the 10 P to 1 dye molecule and the effect on the methyl green absorption spectrum; but it may be considerably greater. Beyond this critical level, whatever it may be, further polymerization probably has no influence on staining.


ABSTRACT Physicochemical and structural properties of soluble jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) elastin recovered from skin by-products were evaluated. The molecular weight of isolated elastin was ~40 kDa with an isoelectric point (pI) between 9 and 10. Aspartic, glutamic, arginine, proline, glycine, and lysine amino acids were the most abundant in squid elastin, whereas the hydroxyproline absence, ~0.7% cysteine content, and the calculated 0.35 isoleucine/leucine ratio were used as purity index. Total and reactive sulfhydryl contents were similar (247.0 ± 5.1 vs 242.0 ± 7.5 μmol mg−1 of protein, P ≥ 0.05) in purified squid elastin but surprisingly higher than previously reported in other elastins. On the other hand, the secondary structures of squid elastin analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were ~45% β-sheets, ~15% α-helices, ~10% β-turns, and ~30% undefined structures. In addition, squid elastin experienced glass transition at 82.01 ± 0.01ºC, denaturation temperature at 110.45 ± 0.64ºC, and aggregation at 197.5 ± 0.23ºC. In conclusion, the prevalence of charged amino acids and pI of squid elastin can facilitate its solubilization in hydrophilic systems, whereas the secondary structure profile and thermostability are desirable features in proteins used for biopolymer designs such as food biofilms or barrier systems.


The diverse, interdisciplinary team of investigators involved in this project span 9 CTSA Hubs, including UAB, Rockefeller, UC Denver, HMC-Penn State, UMass, UC Davis, Emory/Georgia Tech, Miami and Michigan. This team was funded by NCATS in 2015–2016 to participate in the CTSA I-Corps Train-TheTrainer Program in conjunction with the NIH-SBIR/STTR I-Corps national program. The goals were to observe the curriculum, interact with and learn from the NSF National Teaching Team and begin implementation of similar programs at our home institutions. Our I-Corps@NCATS team has been holding monthly, and more recently weekly, conference calls to discuss our experiences implementing local programs and to develop a strategy for expanding CTSA offerings that include innovation and entrepreneurship. Our experience revealed several challenges with the existing NSF/NIH I-Corps program offerings: (1) there is no standard curriculum tailored to academic clinical and translational research and biomedical innovations in the life sciences, and (2) the training process to certify instructors in the I-Corps methodology is a much more rigorous and structured process than just observing an I-Corps program (eg, requires mentored training with a national NSF I-Corps trainer). Our team is proposing to address these gaps by taking best practices from NSF I-Corps and adapting the program to create the I-Corps@NCATS Program, tailored to meet the needs of researchers and clinicians in academic medical centers. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: There are 3 primary anticipated results of our project. First, develop a uniform curriculum for the I-Corps@NCATS Program using the National Teaching Team of experts from the NIH's SBIR I-Corps program. Second, build the I-Corps@NCATS network capacity through a regional Train-The-Trainer Program. Third, develop a set of common metrics to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the I-Corps@NCATS Program across the community of CTSA Hubs and their respective collaborative networks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Over the past 10 years, CTSA Hubs have accelerated science by creating/supporting programs that provide research infrastructure, informatics, pilot funding, education/training, and research navigator services to investigators. These investments help to ensure that we are "doing science right" using the best practices in clinical research. Even so, it is equally important to make investments to ensure that we are "doing the right science." Are our investigators tackling research problems that our stakeholders, patients, and communities want and need, to make sure that our investments in science have real-world impact? In order to accelerate discoveries toward better health, scientists need to have a better way to understand the needs, wants and desires of the people for whom their research will serve, and how to overcome key obstacles along the path of innovation and commercialization. To fill this gap, we propose that the CTSA Hubs should include in their portfolio of activities a hands-on, lean startup program tailored after the highly successful NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.We hypothesize that by adapting the NSF I-Corps program to create an I-Corps@NCATS program tailored to medical research, we will better prepare our scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and broaden the impact of their research. Investigators trained through I-Corps@NCATS are expected to be able to produce more innovative ideas, take a more informed perspective about how to evaluate the clinical and commercial impact of an idea, and quickly prototype and test new solutions in clinical settings.


Despite having succeeded in passing important and even epochal reforms(health care, financial sector) and avoided the US economy falling in a depressive spiral, the Obama Administration and the Democrats were heavily punished at the mid-term elections of November 2010. What went wrong? This article argues that by choosing a strategy aimed at fighting the global financial crisis while pushing forward major economic and social reforms may have overstretched President Obama's political resources. As a result, the compromises that his Administration reached with Congress to ensure that both strands of the strategy would go through weakened somewhat the content of the reforms, and, more importantly, limited and distributed poorly the resources allocated to the anti-cyclical response to the crisis.When in spring 2010 the fiscal stimulus started to fade, the private sector was not strong enough to keep the growth momentum of the previous quarters and the economy slowed markedly. With an unemployment rate uncomfortably close to 10%, the housing sector still in trouble and little perceived benefits from the reforms that were approved (for instance, most of the implementation of the health care reform will take place after 2013), the electoral defeat of November 2010 could not be avoided. Ex-post, it could be argued that a more focused strategy, based mostly on measures to support the economic recovery and the reform of the financial sector would have been more effective and electorally rewarding. However, by pursuing a more ambitious strategy, Obama succeeded where all post-World War II Democratic Presidents failed, namely to provide health care universal coverage, which Edward Kennedy considered «the great unfinished business» of the US society. Only the presidential elections of 2012 will tell whether this strategy, despite its drawbacks, was ultimately successful.Looking forward, bringing unemployment down while consolidating public finances will be the two major economic challenges that the Obama Administration will have to tackle. In the next two years this task will be made particularly difficult by a bitterly divided Congress that will limit significantly its margins of maneuver.


The Compact Linear Collider study (CLIC) is in the process of completing a Conceptual Design Report (CDR) for a multi-TeV linear electron-positron collider. The CLICconcept is based on high gradient normal-conducting accelerating structures. The RF power for the acceleration of the colliding beams is produced by a novel two beam acceleration scheme, where power is extracted from a high current drive beam that runs parallel with the main linac. In order to establish the feasibility of this concept a number of key issues have been addressed. A short summary of the progress and status of the corresponding studies will be given, as well as an outline of the preparation and work towards an implementation plan by 2016.


ABT-869 (A-741439) is an investigational new drug candidate under development by Abbott Laboratories. ABT-869 is hydrophobic, but is oxidized in the body to A-849529, a hydrophilic metabolite that includes both carboxyl and amino groups. Poor solubility of ABT-869 in aqueous matrix causes simultaneous analysis of both ABT-869 and its metabolite within the same extraction and injection to be extremely difficult in human urine. In this paper, a high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for high-speed simultaneous quantitation of the hydrophobic ABT-869 and its hydrophilic metabolite, A-849529, in human urine. The deuterated internal standards, A-741439D(4) and A-849529D(4), were used in this method. The disparate properties of the two analytes were mediated by treating samples with acetonitrile, adjusting pH with an extraction buffer, and optimizing the extraction solvent and mobile phase composition. For a 100 microL urine sample volume, the lower limit of quantitation was approximately 1 ng/mL for both ABT-869 and A-849529. The calibration curve was linear from 1.09 to 595.13 ng/mL for ABT-869, and 1.10 to 600.48 ng/mL for A-849529 (r2 > 0.9975 for both ABT-869 and A-849529). Because the method employs simultaneous quantification, high throughput is achieved despite the presence of both a hydrophobic analyte and its hydrophilic metabolite in human urine.


The study analyzed the economics of sesame production in Katsina State, Nigeria. Farmers in Katsina State are mostly small-scale farmers and are often faced with the problem of low productivity and profitability. Despite the economic importance of sesame seed, export potentials and world demand, sesame producers are yet to achieve a significant increase in their output and income Primary data were collected from 90 selected sesame producers using a multistage sampling technique across Katsina State and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Gross Margin (GM) model was used for data analysis. The results revealed that sesame producers in Katsina State incurred an average Total Variable Cost (TVC) of ₦117,942.28 with the cost of labour amounting to ₦46,611.50 which accounts for about 39.52% of the TVC of production. The result also revealed a positive gross margin of ₦118,469.29/Ha with a Return per Naira Invested (RNI) of ₦2.00. It was concluded that sesame production is an important and profitable enterprise in Katsina State based on a positive GM and RNI of ₦2.00. The study recommends that there should be more investment in the sesame production enterprise by the sesame farmers to increase output and profit. Effective extension services should be put in place by KTARDA to educate sesame farmers on improved production techniques while community-based organizations should be strengthened for accessing agricultural loans as a group.


The adsorption of the herbicides quinmerac 7-chloro-3-methylquinoline-8-carboxyl ic acid (QMe) and quinclorac 3,7-dichloroquinoline-8-carboxylic acid (QCl) on homoionic Fe3+-, Al3+-, Cu2+-, Ca2+-, K+- and Na+-exchanged montmorillonite was studied in aqueous solution. Adsorption data were fitted to the logarithmic form of the Freundlich equation. Ca- and Na-exchanged montmorillonites were ineffective in the adsorption of QMe. On the other hand, the QMe adsorption on Fe-exchanged montmorillonite was rapid and the equilibrium was attained after 15 min. An H-type isotherm was observed for the QMe adsorption on Fe-clay, indicating a high affinity of the solute for the sorption sites and almost complete adsorption from dilute solution. On the other hand, the adsorption isotherm of QMe on Al- and K-clay was of the S-type. This shape suggests that the solvent molecules may compete for the sorption sites. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) study suggested that the adsorption mechanism of QMe on Fe-, Al- and K-clay involves the protonation of QMe molecule due to the acidic water surrounding the saturating cations. The greater acidity of Fe-clay compared with Al- and K-clay explains both the lower QMe adsorption observed on Al and K systems and the lack of adsorption on Na and Ca systems. In contrast, the formation of a Cu complex permitted QMe to be adsorbed to a large extent to Cu-clay as shown by FTIR analysis. The QCl was adsorbed only by Fe-clay and the adsorption isotherm of QCl on Fe clay was of the S-type. This finding is consistent with the lower basic character of the QCl molecule nitrogen. In fact, the replacement of the electron-releasing methyl group in QMe with an electron-withdrawing Cl atom to form QCl makes the nitrogen lone-pair electrons of the quinoline ring unavailable for either protonation or complexation.


The object of this paper is to study the effects of nanofluid on NH3/H2O bubble absorption performance under adiabatic and non-adiabatic conditions. Mono nano Ag with the concentration of 0.02wt% was used as the enhancement medium, and the absorption performance experiments under the heat insulation and water cooling for absorption test section were respectively conducted and contrastively analyzed. The results showed that the absorption rate with mono nano Ag in bubble absorption process is higher than that without any nanoparticles; in adiabatic case, when the initial temperature of NH3/H2O solution is gradually increased within 6~18°C, the absorption rate decreases correspondingly, and so does the effective absorption ratio; in non-adiabatic case, with the cooling water temperature rising within 10~25°C, the absorption rate decreases but the effective absorption ratio increases. Therefore, it is concluded that the heat transfer enhancement of nanofluid can promote the NH3/H2O bubble absorption performance to a certain degree, and the enhancement of the absorption is not completely dependent on heat transfer.


As growing numbers of lesbian mother families enter the Australian education system, there comes with this an injunction to better include such families. The first step in such inclusion is to ensure that teachers are provided with knowledge about lesbian mother families that moves beyond simply refuting stereotypes, and toward acknowledgement of the specific experiences and needs of this family form. At the same time, however, it is important that educators, when attempting to include lesbian mothers and their children, do not reinstate new norms at the same time as challenging old stereotypes. The present paper reports on the development and application of a workshop aimed at providing education students at one South Australian university with a framework for understanding lesbian mother families that is critical of norms in all their forms, including amongst those who research lesbian mother families. It is suggested that the positive findings from the workshop may reflect the utility of challenging both heteronormativity and homonormativity in conjunction with one another so as to present students with a broadly critical approach to understanding sexuality education.


Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries with a total area of 825 600 km2. There are still many residents in the country without access to electricity, and with the present rapid technological development the need for electricity is increasing constantly. However, the expansion of the electricity grid is slow and costly, resulting in that many cannot afford to be connected and therefore a clear need for small scale electricity production has been identified. For this reason it was chosen to investigate this need closer and examine how a small-scale vertical axis wind turbine designed by InnovEd would meet the demand; also to identify suitable sites as well as purchase and maintenance schemes to promote wind turbines or other similar off-grid renewable energy solutions in rural Namibia. Additionally, an identification of possible variations and sensitivity of wind turbine performance and guidance and recommendation for future work were desired.In this study it was chosen to follow a grounded theory where the qualitative data was collected through interviews and general observations during a field trip in northern Namibia. The data were collected for two months in collaboration with the Creative Entrepreneurs Solutions.The results showed that the demand for electricity in rural areas was large but that a small amount of electricity can make a big difference to primarily run the most important devices. Lighting turned out to be most significant for the respondents, even if they would like to run all sorts of electrical equipment for everything if given a reliable and low-cost energy supply. This was in line with the literature that shows that it is normally the next step after meeting the most basic needs. It showed also that the price of electricity was of utmost importance for the local population.Finally, the authors recommend continuing to involve the users in the next stages of development where the major step would be to test the product with the users and to develop reasonable pricing and maintenance procedures. This should be followed by the creation of a local business and production plan for such products to reach a wider market as soon as possible.


There are many declarative frameworks that allow us to implement code formatters relatively easily for any specific language, but constructing them is cumbersome. The first problem is that "everybody" wants to format their code differently, leading to either many formatter variants or a ridiculous number of configuration options. Second, the size of each implementation scales with a language's grammar size, leading to hundreds of rules. In this paper, we solve the formatter construction problem using a novel approach, one that automatically derives formatters for any given language without intervention from a language expert. We introduce a code formatter called CodeBuff that uses machine learning to abstract formatting rules from a representative corpus, using a carefully designed feature set. Our experiments on Java, SQL, and ANTLR grammars show that CodeBuff is efficient, has excellent accuracy, and is grammar invariant for a given language. It also generalizes to a 4th language tested during manuscript preparation.


Besides the occurrence of frame corruption when nodes from nearby cells transmit in parallel, CSMA/CA-based networks also suffer another form of co-channel interference known as the 'exposed node' problem. Here, nodes are unnecessarily blocked from spatially reusing the channel although parallel transmissions would have most likely been successful had they occurred. For mitigating this well-known problem, transmit power control schemes have been at the forefront of solutions. In this paper, we propose another scheme: By the assignment of a 'cell number' selected by the coordinating node to all other nodes in each cell, nodes only retain the payload portion of frames with headers indicating the same number while their long-term fail rates do not exceed a limit. With the aid of a realistic IEEE 802.11b simulator as our evaluation platform, we show that this scheme provides comparable results to as well as enhances the performance of a conventional open loop transmit power control scheme.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of manual communication in the acquisition of the first 50 spoken words in typically-developing children. It was hypothesized that typically-developing children exposed to manual communication would have a different composition of their first 50 words compared to typically-developing children not exposed to manual communication. More specifically a greater portion of dual-functioning words and action words were predicted as a result of the visual and motor aspects of gestures and manual communication. Twelve participants who were enrolled in a six-week baby-sign playgroup were involved in the study. Parents recorded their child's first 50 words in a diary. The diary was collected and spontaneous first words were analyzed. The first words of the current sample were then compared to Nelson's (1973) landmark study on the basis of six grammatical categories. These grammatical categories included general nominals, specific nominals, action words, modifiers, personal social words, and function words. Statistical analysis revealed a lack of significant differences between each of the sample means in the current study and each of Nelson's means. A qualitative analysis suggested different trends in the first 50 spoken word lexicons for these two groups. Sixty-six percent of the participants were expressive in their functional use of language, learning a more self-oriented and social interactive language with less than 50% general nominals in their vocabularies, compared to 44% of Nelson's (1973) participants. Greater percentages of action words and personal social words were also noted for the study sample.


Oriflame is a famous international direct sale cosmetics company with complicated supply chain operation but it lacks of a product classification system. It is vital to design a product classification method in order to support Oriflame global supply planning and improve the supply chain performance. This article is aim to investigate and design the multi-criteria of product classification, propose the classification model, suggest application areas of product classification results and introduces the product classification system into Oriflame ERP system. The research scope is defined within Oriflame supply chain from the order placed to suppliers by Global Supply department to the products received in Global Hubs.Investigation approaches in this article including information collection, multi-criteria integration, and quantified analysis. In addition, sample calculation and test to stakeholder departments have been done after the proposal of product classification system.The product classification applies a cross tabulate matrix to classify products into four classes (ABCD classification), it is believed that the results keep consistent at high level with both the calculation time horizons" increasing and the monthly forecast report update.Hence, Product Classification System is supposed to be applied in supply planning prioritization, inventory management and workforce balancing, etc.


In the first part of the planned thesis, the author will use previously presented and published conference materials to make generalisations about the specific topic of the doctoral thesis. In doing this, the author will rely on the analysis of real estate value and its various aspects which the author and his co-authors began in 2003 in Kuopio and built on between 2004 and 2007 in Milan, Dublin, Weimar and London; the author will develop and further build on this analysis, focusing primarily on the sources, components and motivational factors of (real estate and buildings) value. This in-depth analysis will focus on the historical aspects of analysis and on the formation of user preferences in determining the sustainability of all the studied aspects, whereas the thesis will clearly distinguish between sustainability and efficiency. These aspects of value to be studied as well as the decisions of their preference are connected to the status quo of the valueis user; therefore, in parallel to what has already been outlined, attention must also be paid to the motivations behind the choices that the users of value (property and buildings) make. An analysis of the motivations will clearly require the author of the doctoral thesis to analyse the factor system and its different structures as a certain coding intended to be read by the users and prepared by specialists in the field (Eco: 1972). Linguistically, both already established languages as well new meta-language mutations of all the various multimedia could be used for such coded presentation of value. Once the researcher has been placed into the role of the reader of the coded messages of a value judgment, the next stages must be the generalised levels of over-coding and re-coding whereby the impact of these on value dynamics is observed, taking into account the multi-complexity of the relevant parameters. The elementary discourse of this entire approach is based on, in addition to the above, on a division into two generalised opposites n the components of value are considered as nature or as artefact, and the potential construction of value is considered as a set of signs, as space (semiosphere), or as a set of values, the components of real estate (real estate space - reality). At the same time, following from the suggested topic and its detailed analysis, the attention of the research must be focused on the motivations behind the behaviour of the valueis user, such as (in addition to what has been mentioned above) membership in the society, in identity groups or some specific ethnic factors (Korzenny: 2006). This latter aspect creates a situation where in addition to Wellsi psychographic approach to decision-making, the author will also look at the so-called Zetterbergis eight lifestyle factors and their potential impact on peopleis behaviour, their figurative (post-, co- and pre-figurative) compositions, as described by Margaret Mead in 1970. These specifications and this partially behavioural analysis will take the discussion back to the historical paradigm which attributes significant meaning to places and events (Camus: 1943); since the interpretation of these is a dynamic process, time-wise, we will arrive at a special level of marketing n the marketing of value, considering the specifics and the nature of the time. The entire approach to the subject, as planned thus far, fluctuates around the various aspects (as certain descriptions) of value and its development. Therefore, the author considers it important to focus on the movement in time, from a narrative description or judgment of value to certain formalised description practices, and from these back to a developed narrative description as an integrated method for emphasising the various aspects of value. In conclusion, the thesis will determine the connections between real estate space and semiosphere and will also offer additional ways for the description of value and will explain the existing methods, both in terms of the concepts canonised in standards and the concepts legalised in acts of legislation. It must also be pointed out that that the author is convinced that this proposed doctoral thesis will also make it possible to introduce new discourses into the academic study and the teaching of real estate value, so that various professional disciplines can be adequately presented.


We reassess the empirical evidence for a positive relationship between income and democracy, commonly known as the "modernization hypothesis," using discrete democracy measures. While discrete measures have been advocated in the literature, they pose estimation problems under fixed effects due to incidental parameter issues. We use two methods to address these issues, the bias-correction method of Fernandez-Val, which directly computes the marginal effects, and the parameterized Wooldridge method. Estimation under the Fernandez-Val method consistently indicates a statistically and economically important role for income in democracy, while under the Wooldridge method we obtain much smaller and not always statistically significant coefficients. A likelihood ratio test rejects the pooled full sample used under the Wooldridge estimation method against the smaller fixed effects sample that only admits observations with changing democracy measures. Our analysis therefore favors a positive role for income in promoting democracy, but does not preclude a role for institutions in determining democratic status as the omitted countries under Fernandez Val-fixed effect method appear to differ systematically by institutional quality measures which have a positive impact on democratization.


Backstresses or long range internal stresses (LRIS) in the past have been suggested by many to exist in plastically deformed crystalline materials. Elevated stresses can be present in regions of elevated dislocation density or dislocation heterogeneities in the deformed microstructures. The heterogeneities include edge dislocation dipole bundles (veins) and the edge dipole walls of persistent slip bands (PSBs) in cyclically deformed materials and cell and subgrain walls in monotonically deformed materials. The existence of long range internal stress is especially important for the understanding of cyclic deformation and also monotonic deformation. X-ray microbeam diffraction experiments performed by the authors using synchrotron x-ray microbeams determined the elastic strains within the cell interiors. The studies were performed using, oriented, monotonically deformed Cu single crystals. The results demonstrate that small long-range internal stresses are present in cell interiors. These LRIS vary substantially from cell to cell as 0 % to 50 % of the applied stress. The results are related to the Bauschinger effect, often explained in terms of LRIS.


Despite the high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), relatively few individuals with CKD progress to ESRD. A better understanding of the risk factors for progression could improve the classification system of CKD and strategies for screening. We analyzed data from 65,589 adults who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health (HUNT 2) Study (1995 to 1997) and found 124 patients who progressed to ESRD after 10.3 yr of follow-up. In multivariable survival analysis, estimated GFR (eGFR) and albuminuria were independently and strongly associated with progression to ESRD: Hazard ratios for eGFR 45 to 59, 30 to 44, and 15 to 29 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) were 6.7, 18.8, and 65.7, respectively (P < 0.001 for all), and for micro- and macroalbuminuria were 13.0 and 47.2 (P < 0.001 for both). Hypertension, diabetes, male gender, smoking, depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, physical activity and education did not add predictive information. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analyses showed that considering both the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio and eGFR substantially improved diagnostic accuracy. Referral based on current stages 3 to 4 CKD (eGFR 15 to 59 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)) would include 4.7% of the general population and identify 69.4% of all individuals progressing to ESRD. Referral based on our classification system would include 1.4% of the general population without losing predictive power (i.e., it would detect 65.6% of all individuals progressing to ESRD). In conclusion, all levels of reduced eGFR should be complemented by quantification of urinary albumin to predict optimally progression to ESRD.


In the last years, temporal metamaterials have been
exploited as a novel platform for conceiving several
electromagnetic and optical devices based on the
anomalous scattering response achieved at a single or
multiple sudden change of their medium properties,
which however is difficult to carry out in a realistic
scenario In this letter we investigate on the possibility to
emulate the scattering response of a temporal
metamaterial without acting on the medium properties,
but on the effective refractive index and wave impedance
perceived by the wave during the propagation within a
guiding structure rather than the actual material, by
acting on its boundaries. The work presents in closed
form the scattering coefficients achieved when the
boundary properties are suddenly modified for inducing
an effective temporal interface. In this framework,
temporally controlled metasurfaces can be used to
implement the proposed concept, giving an easier path
also to the design and realization of novel devices at
microwave and optical frequencies.


In this paper we employ relay selection in two-hop distributed orthogonal space time coding system. The proposed system has a single source, a single destination, and N relays. In the second hop, before transmitting signal to destination the best two relays out of N relays are selected based on the instantaneous channel conditions between the source and relays. This simple technique of relay selection can improve the end to end bit error performance of system without any increase in the total transmission power of the network and without any added complexity to the decoding process at the receiver side. The bit error performance (BER) of the proposed system is examined using computer simulation. The results show that a gain of about 3 dB at BER=10−2 is achieved by selecting the best two relays out of three. Further improvement in the BER performance can be achieved by increasing the number of relays N. However, no significant improvement in BER performance can be observed by increasing the number of relays N beyond 8.


A new plasma dental probe (PDP), powered with 4-6-kV ~100-ns electric pulses at repetition rates of up to 2 kHz, generates a room-temperature > 2-cm-long ~2-mm-diameter plasma plume at ambient atmospheric pressure. The shape of the plasma plume depends on the gas flow rate and the pulse voltage. Growth of Bacillus atrophaeus on nutrient agar plates is completely inhibited by exposure to both He and He/(1%)O2 plasmas for 60 s. A 300-s treatment with the He/(1%)O2 plasma disinfected a human tooth root canal colonized with saliva-derived biofilms, demonstrating the potential of the PDP as a simple, safe, and effective tool or adjunct for the disinfection of root canals during endodontic therapy. He/(1%)O2 plasma is more effective than He alone for B. atrophaeus growth inhibition, and the emission spectrum of the He-O2 plasma supports the identification of atomic oxygen as the likely primary reactive chemical species contributing to bacterial inactivation.


In the last few years, there has been a renewed interest in the validity of patenting business methods. The issue appeared to be settled in 1998 with State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. However, in 2008, the Federal Circuit, responding to a more restrictive approach toward the patent system adopted by the Supreme Court, began questioning the soundness of the policy to extend patent protection to business methods. The Federal Circuit's adjustment of its position occurred explicitly in In re Bilski when the court decided to rehear the case en banc and reconsider the conclusions previously reached in State Street. The Supreme Court subsequently granted certiorari on In re Bilski, and its Bilski decision in June 2010 exacerbated an already heated debate on the patentability of certain subject matters. Ultimately, this quandary about patentability revolves around the empirical question of whether the patent system in a specific sector is "doing its job" or, more specifically, whether the patent system is fostering the creation of additional business methods. To answer this question, I conducted an empirical investigation that involved structured interviews with market participants about the production and consumption of financial methods as a subset of business methods. The data collected in this study reveal that market participants are ambivalent about the benefits that both the financial market and their companies can derive from having exclusive rights on financial inventions. The data also provide a description of the financial market and its dynamics that is difficult to reconcile with the protection of business methods, as currently provided by the patent system. Thus, it raises serious doubts that, in the ten years between State Street and In re Bilski, patent protection has had any impact on innovation in the financial industry.


the purpose of this thesis is to document and explore the subjective struggles I have encountered in my own practise as a generative artist rather than to provide an objective overview of computational generative art. Hopefully this process will give some context from the ground up (from an artist's perspective) to some of the larger questions that I and others in the field are asking about generative art.  From the preliminary questions arising from these struggles I begin to explore and develop a generative art practise that primarily focuses on the topics of human experience and ideas directly related to human experience. This is opposed to using generative processes to explore ideas fundamentally based on computation (a-life, emergence, computational creativity, and data etc..). The foundation of, and reasons behind, such a focus are based on the non-realist and non-materialist philosophical tenets of Tibetan Buddhism, in particular the philosophy of the Madhyamika-Prasangika school of thought. The purpose of developing a generative practise based on the philosophy and symbolism of Tibetan Buddhism is to find a method to create personally relevant artwork with a firm foundation in a well established culture of art and philosophy. I might add however, that this isn't merely a self-reflective exercise but rather it should be of interest to others in the field of (and study of) Generative art to see how this artistic method might be approached from a vastly different philosophical stance to the materialist view that receives the majority of attention in the field.


After a brief survey of the remarkable accomplishments of the current heavy ion collision experiments up to 200A GeV, we address in depth the role of strange particle production in the search for new phases of matter in these collisions. In particular, we show that the observed enhancement pattern of otherwise rarely produced multistrange antibaryons can be consistently explained assuming color deconfinement in a localized, rapidly disintegrating hadronic source. We develop the theoretical description of this source, and in particular study QCD based processes of strangeness production in the deconfined, thermal quark-gluon plasma phase, allowing for approach to chemical equilibrium and dynamical evolution. We also address thermal charm production. Using a rapid hadronization model we obtain final state particle yields, providing detailed theoretical predictions about strange particle spectra and yields as function of heavy ion energy. Our presentation is comprehensive and self-contained: we introduce in considerable detail the procedures used in data interpretation, discuss the particular importance of selected experimental results and show how they impact the theoretical developments.


This paper analyses the time-to-built (gestation lag) technology on a multi-sector growth model that includes a housing sector. Gestation lags are explicitly modelled for the real estate sector (developers) so as to investigate the dynamics of property investments as well as the dynamics of business cycles. I have two .nal-goods sectors in my model. A consumption (and business investment) good is produced in the .rst sector. The second sector produces residential structures which are combined with newly available land to establish the real estate good. I incorporate a time-to-built technology in the property sector to better account for stylized facts such as (i) Property investment co-moves with investment in business capital. (ii) Investment in real estate is twice as volatile as business investment. (iii) Residential investment is leading the business cycle. I calibrate the model to US and German data and use standard linearization methods to solve the model near the steady state. I use policy functions that were obtained from numerical solutions to perform Monte Carlo experiments to approximate moments of the system. I then compare the moments of artificial data with the moments of real world date. My initial results indicate that construction lags in the property sector helps to better match the stylized facts mentioned above.


Accidental falls have always been a serious problem for the elderly. There is considerable demand for pre-impact fall detection systems with long lead times. According to the zero moment point criterion, the zero moment point should be kept beneath the supporting foot for stability during humanoid robot standing or walking. However, the zero moment point in the human walk does not stay fixed under the supporting foot. In this paper, we define a dynamic supporting area containing both feet and the area between the two feet, and propose a method of fall prediction based on a modified zero moment point criterion using motion-monitoring data from a Kinect sensor. A fall event is predicted if the projection of the zero moment point locates outside of the dynamic supporting area. The proposed method is compared with a method identifying the imbalance state based on a support vector machine classifier. Experimental results show that fall events could be detected with an average lead time of 867.9 ms (SD = 199.2), a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 81.3%, a positive predictive value of 87.0%, a negative predictive value of 100%, and an accuracy of 91.7% using the modified zero moment point criterion. The lead time was 571.9 ms (SD = 153.5) and accuracy was 100% for the support vector machine classifier. The modified zero moment point criterion-based method achieved the longest lead time in the pre-impact fall detection.


Experiments have been made on 4 elands at the age of 3--4 months, mean body weight 78 kg. At ambient temperature 31.5degrees combined with solar radiation, polypnoe was observed in the animals. Under these conditions, only small changes in the body temperature were observed, although skin temperature became 4--6degrees higher than in the morning. Heat production was 10% lower than that at 22.5degrees. The animals eliminated about 8% of metabolic heat through respiration in the morning and about 7%--in the afternoon.


Nosocomial infections caused by gram-negative bacilli which produce extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) are associated with the increase of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ESBL, specifically the TEM and SHV type, produced by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. strains, and also to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of these isolates in comparison with other antibiotic families. A total of 326 strains were collected between 2002-2004 from hospitals in Havana City. The susceptibility tests were carried out according to the NCCLS guides and they were confirmed as. ESBL producers by the double disk diffusion method. The molecular characterization of these enzymes was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using two sets of oligonucleotides to amplify genes encoding TEM and SHV type beta-lactamase. The ESBL phenotype was detected in 31 (10%) Escherichia coli isolates, 19 of these strains (61%) carried the blaTEM genes, 5 (16%) blaSHV genes, 4 (12%) strains carried both genes and 11 strains (35%) carried the non-ESBL blaTEM and blaSHV genes. In Klebsiella spp. the ESBL phenotype was detected in 10 (36 %) isolates, only one strain carried the blaTEM gene. The most active antimicrobials against Escherichia coli were ciprofloxacin (64.5%) and gentamicin (58.07%); in the case of Klebsiella spp. the same antimicrobials were the most active with similar susceptibility (70%) for both. The carbapenems still remain the most active antibiotics against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. strains, which are ESBL producers. However, their use should be closely controlled.