In many scenarios, human decisions are explained based on some high-level concepts. In this work, we take a step in the interpretability of neural networks by examining their internal representation or neuron's activations against concepts. A concept is characterized by a set of samples that have specific features in common. We propose a framework to check the existence of a causal relationship between a concept (or its negation) and task classes. While the previous methods focus on the importance of a concept to a task class, we go further and introduce four measures to quantitatively determine the order of causality. Through experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in explaining the relationship between a concept and the predictive behaviour of a neural network.


Technological development, nowadays, has entered a crucial stage that gives precedence to the innovative obsolescence over the physical one. To that effect, of utmost importance, therefore, is the accurate identification of the extent, i.e. the degree of innovative obsolescence in an effort to assess the effect of innovation upon the technical-economic performance and social outcomes of the industrial activity. Moreover, in an increasingly globalizing economy, innovations are bound to make a worldwide impact, accelerating the innovative technological obsolescence with the level of technology being utilised is globally lagging further behind the level of today's technology. Prolonged use of obsolete technology and outdated technological processes leads to certain losses, the amount of which is contingent on the extent of the lag range. Advanced in the paper is an alternative approach to determining innovative obsolescence of technological products and the respective solutions in pursuit of a marked reduction in its adverse effects.


The photoperiodic response of the testis in Anolis carolinensis is very temperature-sensitive. Body temperatures must be elevated to near preferred levels (about 32�C) during at least part of the daily light period for long daylengths to be effective in stimulating testicular recrudescence. High temperatures during the night, with cool days (20�C), may retard testicular growth more than do continuously low temperatures.


Icebergs generated from ice ablation processes continue to be a threat for operations conducted in polar regions. Systems that have been developed to track and observe these threats often use either space-based radar imaging or visual observation by the crew of the ship. Both of these methods have disadvantages, mostly in terms of real-time observation or the physical abilities of the crew. We propose a robotic solution for in-situ observation of icebergs, so that countermeasures may be quickly implemented. Our focus in this work is the problem of allocating resources to observation regions: once areas of iceberg activity have been identified, how are robot observers assigned to these regions and what cost metric may be used to determine the best placement of robot observers. Our solution is currently demonstrated and evaluated in simulation.


A largely unexplored type of hydrodynamic instability is examined: long-time algebraic growth. Such growth is possible when the dispersion relation extracted from classical stability analysis indicates neutral stability. A physically motivated class of partial differential equations that describes the response of a system to disturbances is examined. Specifically, the propagation characteristics of the response are examined in the context of spatiotemporal stability theory. Morphological differences are identified between system responses that exhibit algebraic growth and the more typical case of exponential growth. One key attribute of predicted algebraically growing solutions is the prevalence of transient growth in almost all of the response, with the long-time growth occurring asymptotically at precisely one wave speed.


Semi-supervised learning is especially important in data mining applications because it can make use of plentiful unlabeled data to train the high-quality learning models. Semi-Supervised Support Vector Machine (S3VM) is a powerful semi-supervised learning model. However, the high computational cost and non-convexity severely impede the S3VM method in large-scale applications. Although several learning algorithms were proposed for S3VM, scaling up S3VM is still an open problem. To address this challenging problem, in this paper, we propose a new incremental learning algorithm to scale up S3VM (IL-S3VM) based on the path following technique in the framework of Difference of Convex (DC) programming. The traditional DC programming based algorithms need multiple outer loops and are not suitable for incremental learning, and traditional path following algorithms are limited to convex problems. Our new IL-S3VM algorithm based on the path-following technique can directly update the solution of S3VM to converge to a local minimum within one outer loop so that the efficient incremental learning can be achieved. More importantly, we provide the finite convergence analysis for our new algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, our new IL-S3VM algorithm is the first efficient path following algorithm for a non-convex problem (i.e., S3VM) with local minimum convergence guarantee. Experimental results on a variety of benchmark datasets not only confirm the finite convergence of IL-S3VM, but also show a huge reduction of computational time compared with existing batch and incremental learning algorithms, while retaining the similar generalization performance.


Intra-articular injections of glucocorticoids (GC) or hyaluronic acid (HA) are commonly used interventions for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA). Both substances are combined to achieve a chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effect. Clinical studies have shown benefits, but data on the cellular level are still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the GC triamcinolone hexacetonide, HA, and a mix of both substances on cytokine-treated chondrocytes in vitro. Chondrocytes isolated from human articular cartilage were seeded on 6- and 24-well plates. Mimicking OA's inflammatory state, cells were treated with IL-1β and IL-17 for six days, whereby, after three days, test substances (10%) were added to the culture medium. Chondrocytes were analyzed on days three and six concerning their actin polymerization, expression of anabolic and catabolic genes, metabolic activity, cytokine release, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Adding HA or GC/HA to the inflammatory culture medium increased the metabolic activity of chondrocytes, while groups containing GC reduced catabolic gene expression and the release of TNF-α. In addition, enhanced F-actin content was shown supplementing HA or GC/HA to the culture medium. Supplementing GC with HA leads to an anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effect by diminishing the side effects of GC supplementation alone.


Margaret Swett Henson's, Juan Davis Bradburn: A Reappraisal of the Mexican Commander ofAnahuac (Collège Station, Texas: Texas A&M Press, 1983. Pp. 159. Appendices. $9.50.), compléments the author's earlier examination of Samuel May Williams and enhances her standing as one of the leading authorities on early Texas history. Utilizing private collections and the archivai resources available in Austin and Galveston, Henson provides new insights on the issues that divided European "Anglo" American immigrants from the Mexican citizenry including the anti-slavery law of 1829. As biography this work establishes new insights on the economy, workings of government and society of erpbryonic Texas. It is a welcome addition to the knowledge of both Mexican and Texas historians. J.M.H.


Background and purpose Posttraumatic hydrocephalus affects 11.9%–36% of patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy (DC) after traumatic brain injury and necessitates a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement. As bone and arachnoid trabeculae share the same collagen type, we investigated possible connections between the skull Hounsfield unit (HU) values and shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (SDHC) in patients that received cranioplasty after DC for traumatic acute subdural hematoma (SDH). Methods We measured HU values in the frontal bone and internal occipital protuberance from admission brain CT. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to identify the optimal cut-off skull HU values for predicting SDHC in patients receiving cranioplasty after DC due to traumatic acute SDH. We investigated independent predictive factors for SDHC occurrence using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 162 patients (>15 years of age) were enrolled in the study over an 11-year period from two university hospitals. Multivariable logistic analysis revealed that the group with simultaneous frontal skull HU ≤797.4 and internal occipital protuberance HU ≤586.5 (odds ratio, 8.57; 95% CI, 3.05 to 24.10; P<0.001) was the only independent predictive factor for SDHC in patients who received cranioplasty after DC for traumatic acute SDH. Conclusions Our study reveals a potential relationship between possible low bone mineral density and development of SDHC in traumatic acute SDH patients who had undergone DC. Our findings provide deeper insight into the association between low bone mineral density and hydrocephalus after DC for traumatic acute SDH.


Three series of rotaxanes have been synthesized variously by slipping synthesis, in which axis and wheel are melted in admixture, by recognition of amide groups inside the macrocyclic wheel, or by an anionic template method, in which the stoppering phenolates are hydrogen bonded to the wheel and then joined by reaction with a semi-axle. The 3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl stopper used for most of these rotaxanes is large enough to permit their isolation, but still allows the wheel to deslip from the axle under appropriate conditions. The deslipping activation parameters for all rotaxanes are derived from 1H NMR kinetic measurements and have been evaluated from the Arrhenius equation as well as according to Eyring theory. Small structural variations give rise to surprising effects on the activation parameters. Firstly, in some examples, the axle length affects the deslipping barrier, although the size complementarity of stopper and wheel remain unchanged. Secondly, stopper flexibility has an important influence on the deslipping rate. Thirdly, exchange of a carbonamide for a sulfonamide in the wheel significantly reduces the entropic costs of the deslipping, resulting in a pronounced deslipping rate enhancement. Fourthly, intramolecular hydrogen bonding within the wheel decelerates deslipping by a factor of more than 104.


This paper presents the results of an empirical comparative study investigating how the outcomes of a computerized figural creativity test are affected when the participants use two different versions of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) on a mouse-operated desktop PC. The results show that participants get insignificantly lower creativity scores with the elaborated GUI, contrary to the GUI that has no visual artifacts available and offers more similar user experience to pen and paper, even though they spend significantly more time on drawing with the elaborated one. That phenomenon is expected to contribute to the cumulative effect of GUI and input method noticed by previous research. That implies that creative drawing and testing should be carefully introduced into computer-based environments.


Methylxanthines and catecholamines both inhibit antigenically induced histamine release from human leukocytes. They act synergistically to inhibit the reaction, but must be present when antigen is added; preincubation is not effective. Since both increase cellular levels of cyclic 3 ', 5'-adenosine monophosphate it is postulated that this compound plays a role in the regulation of allergic histamine release.


This paper proposes a new approach to representing scalable hierarchical distributed multi-party protocols, and reasoning about their behavior. The established endpoint-to-endpoint message-passing abstraction provides little support for modeling distributed algorithms in hierarchical systems, in which the hierarchy and membership dynamically evolve. This paper explains how with our new Distributed Data Flow (DDF) abstraction, hierarchical architecture can be modeled via recursion in the language. This facilitates a more concise code, and it enables automated generation of scalable hierarchical implementations for heterogeneous network environments.


Background: Rapid changes in urbanization and associated mechanization and sedentary jobs increase the level of physical inactivity in the population. Physical inactivity is directly reflected in the growing burden of obesity in the Indian population predominantly in the urban areas. WHO developed STEP wise approach for surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable diseases. This study aimed at assessing prevalence of overweight, generalized obesity, abdominal obesity and physical activity status and find out association between them among urban slum population of Mumbai. Methods: Community based, cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in urban slum of Mumbai, India during the period of March 2013 to January 2014 by using WHO STEP wise approach. Total number of 600 participants of age group 25-64 years were interviewed and examined for information regarding physical activity and obesity. Results: About 60% of study participants were physical inactivity during work, leisure time and transport. Physical inactivity increased with increased age and female sex. Prevalence of overweight or obesity (generalized obesity) 41.8% was more than that of abdominal obesity 37.7%. Physical inactivity during work, leisure time and transport was significantly associated with obesity and high waist circumference. Conclusions: Physical inactivity was more so with increasing obesity, women and increasing age. To tackle the epidemic of obesity habitual moderate physical activity is the key. It is necessity of time to create environment for adoption of healthy lifestyle through properly channelled health education and advocacy.


Osteoporosis,a global age-related health problem in both male and female elderly,insidiously deteriorates the microstructure of bone,particularly at trabecular sites,such as vertebrae,ribs and hips,culminating in fragility fractures,pain and disability.Although osteoporosis is normally associated with senescence and estrogen deficiency,diabetes mellitus(DM),especially type 1 DM,also contributes to and/or aggravates bone loss in osteoporotic patients.This topic highlight article focuses on DM-induced osteoporosis and DM/ osteoporosis comorbidity,covering alterations in bone metabolism as well as factors regulating bone growth under diabetic conditions including,insulin,insulin-like growth factor-1 and angiogenesis.Cellular and molecular mechanisms of DM-related bone loss are also discussed.This information provides a foundation for the better understanding of diabetic complications and for development of early screening and prevention of osteoporosis in diabetic patients.


Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory form of arthritis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified to serve as therapeutic targets in various inflammatory diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine the functional mechanism of miR-148a-3p on AS. Specimens were collected from AS patients and non-AS patients. Fibroblasts were delivered with the aid of miR-148a-3p inhibitor. Cell staining was performed to observe the morphological changes, calcified nodules, and mineralization degree. The binding sites of miR-148a-3p and DKK1 were predicted on the Starbase website and subsequently verified by means of dual-luciferase reporter assay. AS fibroblasts with silenced miR-148a-3p were transfected with si-DKK1. Levels of RUNX2 and Osteocalcin, DKK1 and Wnt1 protein and phosphorylation level of β-catenin were detected by means of western blot analysis. Results of the present study denoted that AS upregulated miR-148a-3p in fibroblasts to exacerbate osteogenic differentiation, resulting in increased calcified nodules and mineralization degree. Silencing miR-148a-3p could reverse the upregulation of RUNX2 and Osteocalcin in AS fibroblasts and reduce the calcified nodules and mineralization degree. miR-148a-3p targeted DKK1. DKK1 knockdown averted the effect of silencing miR-148a-3p in AS fibroblasts. In addition, silencing miR-148a-3p reversed the upregulation of Wnt1 and β-catenin proteins in AS fibroblasts. To conclude, miR-148a-3p exacerbated the osteogenic differentiation of AS fibroblasts by inhibiting DKK1 expression and activating the Wnt pathway.


Through performative act the artist's body encounters many typologies of boundaries: the esthetic one, crossed in several moments in Art History, e.g. by the artists involved in Wiener Aktionismus; the politic one, exemplarily undermined by Marina Abramović Rhythm 0; the biological one, analyzed both by Stelarc in his posthuman experiments and by Regina José Galindo in performances such as Exalatión. This essay aims to give answers to the following questions: how do these encounters take place? What do they bring with them? Which is their very purpose?


A novel voltage-doubling circuit with parallel-resonant dc-dc converter is proposed. The converter consists of full-bridge inverter, resonant tank, high-frequency high-voltage transformer, and voltage-doubling circuit. In the high-voltage applications, low-output voltage ripple has been given much attention. The output voltage step-up ratio is increased by two parts. One is a high-frequency high-voltage transformer and the other is a voltage-doubling circuit. The novel voltage-doubling circuit can not only reach a higher output voltage but also reduce output ripple to a lower level than the conventional one. Therefore, while maintaining the same output voltage, the transformer's turn ratio can be reduced compared with the conventional voltage-doubling circuit. The output power can be adjusted by the phase-shift control technique. In addition, combining this technique with the parallel resonant tank can make all the switches achieve zero voltage turn on (ZVS). The operating principles, steady-state analysis, and the parameter designs are discussed in this paper. Finally, a prototype circuit with 400-V input voltage, 40-kV output voltage, and 300-W output power is developed in the laboratory to verify the performance of the proposed converter.


A total of 956 faecal samples were collected from buffaloes representing 21 districts of different agro-climatic zones of the Punjab state, India during April, 2013 to May, 2014 for detection of various gastrointestinal helminth (GIH) parasites. Coprological examination of the samples revealed an overall prevalence of 43.20% for GIH with mean egg per gram of faeces ranging from 170±7.07 to 226±7.14. The parasites recorded with their respective prevalences (%) in the descending order were: strongyles (27.62%), amphistomes (16.94%), Fasciola spp. (5.23%), Moniezia spp. (4.18%), Trichuris spp. (2.2%), Strongyloides spp. (1.88%) and Capillaria spp. (0.10%). The results of multivariate analysis showed that prevalence of GIH in buffalo population was associated with various risk factors viz. districts (P=0.000; OR: 0.474; CI 95%: 0.182-1.234), agroclimatic zones (P=0.000; OR: 1.156; CI 95%: 0.64-2.082) and seasons (P=0.316; OR: 1.138; CI 95%: 0.838-1.545). The maximum prevalence of GIH infection was recorded in monsoon season (47.84%) and lowest in winters (39.76%) with non significant differences (P>0.05). Agroclimatic zone-wise prevalence of GIH revealed the highest prevalence in undulating plain zone receiving maximum annual rainfall (62.88%) and lowest in western plain zone with minimum annual rainfall (33.33%) and the differences were highly significant (P<0.01). Coproculture analysis of the strongyle positive samples revealed the presence of larvae of genera Oesophagostomum, Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus, Cooperia, Chabertia and Strongyloides in decreasing order of their prevalence. The data generated could be of immense help in formulation of effective strategies for gastrointestinal parasite control in different agro-climatic zones of Punjab.


Background Studies suggest that persons with Huntington's disease (HD) benefit from intensive rehabilitation. Aims To assess preliminary results of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme on quality of life, cognitive and motor function. Methods 12 patients with early and middle stage (stages I–III of the Shoulson and Fahn Rating Scale) HD underwent a 3 week rehabilitation programme of up to 8 h 5 days per week including cognitive training, speech, physical and occupational therapy, group discussions and lectures on topics such as nutrition. A family member participated during the first week of the programme. Inclusion criteria: mild or moderate grade of HD, age 18+ years, no severe psychiatric illness, none/slight reduction in cognitive function and full/mostly full independence in Active Daily Living functions. Results Mean age was 48 years with an average of 6 years since symptom debut. Mean total functional capacity (TFC) score was 9 (not working and in need of light assistance i ADL function), mean Mini-Mental State Examination indicated a reduced general cognitive function (24 of 30) and mean Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score of 9 showed slight depression. Mean on Activity Specific Confidence scale showed 81% confidence to maintain balance in different situations. All subjects showed improvement in gait (6 min walking test (mean change +31.42 m (p=0.03); 10 m walking test (mean change −0.80 s (p=0.02); stand up and go test (mean change −1.24 s (p=0.003)). Bergs Balance Scale showed significant improvement (mean change 2 points, p=0.03). Conclusion A multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation programme is associated with improved balance and walking function in persons in the early and middle stages of HD.


This paper examined teachers' quality and internal efficiency of primary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. As an expo facto and descriptive research, the study population comprised all the 694 primary schools in the State. Out of this, a sample of 520 primary schools was selected through the simp le random samp ling techniques. The headteachers of the 520 primary schools were the respondents in the study. A cohort of 91,061 pupils who entered the schools in 2003 and graduated in 2008 were purposively selected for the study. Two instruments were used to collect data. These were an inventory and a questionnaire. The data collected were analy zed using frequency counts, percentages, Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis, Correlat ion Matrix, Regression Analysis of Variance and Multiple Regression. It was found that teacher quality had significant relat ionship with the internal efficiency of primary schools in the State. The best predictor of internal efficiency of the schools was teacher qualifications. It was then reco mmended that the State govern ment should intensify more effort in the training of teachers in order to acquire higher qualifications that would enhance the internal efficiency of primary schools in the State.


The primarily qualitative analysis reported in this paper is to investigate how the students, in a student-centered pedagogical focus, perceive their own learning progress in e-peer feedback activities, including the effectiveness of the use of blogs for e-peer responses in an L2 writing class. Thirty-two second year Vietnamese students at a university in Ho Chi Minh City participated in a 15-week writing course. Data collection was from the 20-item questionnaire and eight semi-structured interviews. Results of the study revealed that when students perceived good progression in their writing skills when they got involved in e-peer feedback on the blog and their writing was longer after revisions. In addition, the students highly evaluated the use of blogs for e-peer feedback activities because of its usefulness and effectiveness.


In this work, we demonstrate the potential use of SPRi for secretion-monitoring of pancreatic islets, small micro-organs that regulate glucose homeostasis in the body. In the islets, somatostatin works as a paracrine inhibitor of insulin and glucagon secretion. However, this inhibitory effect is lost in diabetic individuals and little is known about its contribution to the pathology of diabetes. Thus, the simultaneous detection of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin could help understand such communications. Previously, the authors introduced an SPRi biosensor to simultaneously monitor insulin, glucagon and somatostatin using an indirect competitive immunoassay. However, our sensor achieved a relatively high LOD for somatostatin detection (246 nM), the smallest of the three hormones. For this reason, the present work aimed to improve the performance of our SPRi biosensor using gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as a means of ensuring somatostatin detection from a small group of islets. Although GNP amplification is frequently reported in the literature for individual detection of analytes using SPR, studies regarding the optimal strategy in a multiplexed SPR setup are missing. Therefore, with the aim of finding the optimal GNP amplification strategies for multiplex sensing we compared three architectures: (1) GNPs immobilized on the sensor surface, (2) GNPs conjugated with primary antibodies (GNP-Ab1) and (3) GNPs conjugated with a secondary antibody (GNP-Ab2). Among these strategies an immunoassay using GNP-Ab2 conjugates was able to achieve multiplex detection of the three hormones without cross-reactivity and with 9-fold LOD improvement for insulin, 10-fold for glucagon and 200-fold for somatostatin when compared to the SPRi biosensor without GNPs. The present work denotes the first report of the simultaneous detection of such hormones with a sensitivity level comparable to ELISA assays, particularly for somatostatin.


We present a new technique for simultaneous measurement of chromatic dispersion and Brillouin shift distribution along conventional, single-mode optical fibers used in telecommunications. It is based on performing Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) over the four-wave mixing generated by two low-power pumps (< 10 mW). Unlike others, this technique can measure any arbitrary value of dispersion. With the use of this technique we have obtained consistent, high-resolution and low-noise measurements for both magnitudes. Our measurements indicate a certain correlation betwen the spatial distribution of both quantities, although the degree of correlation varies for the different manufacturers tested.

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/128364/files/Gonzalez Herraez-2004-Spatially resolved m.pdf


Given a universal Horn formula of Kleene algebra with hypotheses of the form
r = 0, it is already known that we can efficiently construct an equation which
is valid if and only if the Horn formula is valid. This is an example of
 elimination of hypotheses , which is useful because the equational theory
of Kleene algebra is decidable while the universal Horn theory is not. We show
that hypotheses of the form r = 0 can still be eliminated in the presence of
other hypotheses. This lets us extend any technique for eliminating hypotheses
to include hypotheses of the form r = 0.


. Some Poqomchi' Mayan communities in Guatemala actually practice traditional offering ceremonies. Through the mediation of a ritual specialist, they provide humans with an opportunity to submit requests to divine authorities for something they wish to obtain. The language used during this ritual communication differs from everyday Poqomchi' in certain lexical, grammatical and discursive respects. Based on primary fieldwork data, this paper discusses parallel syntactic constructions, the metaphorical use of certain lexemes, the functions of loanwords and the unexpected choice of tense/aspect/mood categories, among other features. In addition, this article presents morphologically annotated and translated textual extracts from three offering ceremonies, which may be useful for further studies on Poqomchi' ritual communication.


Although tunas and billfishes are of substantial economic importance and conservation concern, global patterns of diversity and distribution remain poorly understood. Many species are highly migratory and able to tolerate a wide thermal range. In the present study, ambient water temperature data for 18 species of tuna and billfish from 190 literature sources were combined according to geographical location. An empirical modelling approach was used to relate temperature tolerances of tunas and billfishes to their global diversity patterns. Mean preferred and tolerated temperature ranges were calculated for each species in the adult and juvenile life stages. Mean tolerance data were then overlaid in order to fit models relating the species richness of tunas and billfishes to ambient water temperature. The best-fit model was used in conjunction with gridded water temperature data to predict global species richness patterns. Cumulative species richness pre- dictions from water temperature data were positively correlated with observed longline-derived rich- ness data (r = 0.577, p < 0.0001). Diversity consistently peaked at intermediate latitudes (10 to 35° N and S) in a manner similar to other pelagic taxa. This analysis provides evidence that the ambient water temperature tolerances of tunas and billfishes can be used to predict broad species richness patterns on a global scale.


The purpose of this article is to investigate the optimal merger policy in the presence of deterrence as of well as of type I and type II errors. We consider the optimal number of merger investigations, both when the competition authorities commit to a particular activity level and when they do not commit. If they commit, it is shown that the low quality of final decisions may lead to the deterrence of mergers that would have been welfare improving. On the other hand, when potential mergers with the largest negative impact on welfare are deterred, we find that the merger investigations themselves might have a negative impact on welfare (enforcement effect). It is shown that the absence of commitment can lead to a less active merger policy and lower welfare than what is the case if the authority did commit to a certain level of activity. The results have important implications for how one should interpret the empirical studies of the effects of merger enforcement.


An act maps states of nature to outcomes; deterministic outcomes as well as random outcomes are included. Two acts f and g are comonotonic, by definition, if it never happens that f(s) >- f(t) and g(t) >- g(s) for some states of nature s and t. An axiom of comonotonic independence is introduced here. It weakens the von Neumann-Morgenstern axiom of independence as follows: If f >- g and if f, g, and h are comonotonic, then cff +(l-a)h>-ag+(1 -ac)h. If a nondegenerate, continuous, and monotonic (state independent) weak order over acts satisfies comonotonic independence, then it induces a unique non-(necessarily-)additive probability and a von Neumann-Morgenstern utility. Furthermore, one can compute the expected utility of an act with respect to the nonadditive probability, using the Choquet integral. This extension of the expected utility theory covers situations, as the Ellsberg paradox, which are inconsistent with additive expected utility. The concept of uncertainty aversion and interpretation of comonotonic independence in the context of social welfare functions are included.


Historian Eliza Earle Ferguson's meticulously researched study of domestic violence among the working class in France uncovers the intimate details of daily life and the complex workings of court proceedings in fin-de-siecle Paris. With detective-like methods, Ferguson pores through hundreds of court records to understand why so many perpetrators of violent crime were fully acquitted. She finds that court verdicts depended on community standards for violence between couples. Her search uncovers voluminous testimony from witnesses, defendants, and victims documenting the conflicts and connections among men and women who struggled to balance love, desire, and economic need in their relationships. Ferguson's detailed analysis of these cases enables her to reconstruct the social, cultural, and legal conditions in which they took place. Her ethnographic approach offers unprecedented insight into the daily lives of nineteenth-century Parisians, revealing how they chose their partners, what they fought about, and what drove them to violence. In their battles over money and sex, couples were in effect testing, stretching, and enforcing gender roles. Gender and Justice will interest social and legal historians for its explanation of how the working class of fin-de-siecle Paris went about their lives and navigated the judicial system. Gender studies scholars will find Ferguson's analysis of the construction of gender particularly trenchant.


Objective: To determine the frequency of deep venous thrombosis after abdominal surgery. Study Design: Cross Sectional Study. Settings: Department of Surgery, Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta Pakistan. Duration: Six-months started from 14-06-2014 to 13-12-2014. Methodology: All patients with age 40 years to 70 years of either gender presented with ASA status I or II underwent major abdominal operations lasting more than 30 minutes were enrolled. Patients were followed for 7th postoperative day and final outcome that is DVT was assessed. Results: Patients mean age was 58.40 ±9.59 years. Female preponderance was found to be higher, i.e. 47 (53.40%). Mean BMI of the patients was 25.3 ±5.4Kg/m2. There were 58 (65.9%) patients with HTN, 34 (38.60%) smokers and 42 (47.70%) diabetic patients. There were 14 (15.90%) DVT cases were reported. Conclusion: The frequency of deep venous thrombosis was found in 14 (15.90) patients after abdominal surgery.


Paper presents results of two-year study of a apartment market in Minsk, the 2-mln. capital city of Belarus. Every quarter, i.e. in April 1999, in July 1999, and in October 1999 as well as in January 2000 and in April 2000 cuts of the market were maid. From April 1999 till April 2000 an average price of 1sq.m of total area falls from USD429.1 to USD315.4. The growing of offer has form 23% at the decreasing of demand of 17%. This unprecednental fall of real estate market is characteristic for the whole country and is connected with a mutual impoverishment of populations. Trends gives a forecast of following falling of prices at least on the nearest half year.


We discuss the use of a photoactivated polycarbonate (PPC) microfluidic chip for the solid-phase, reversible immobilization (SPRI) and purification of genomic DNA (gDNA) from whole cell lysates. The surface of polycarbonate was activated by UV radiation resulting in a photo-oxidation reaction, which produced a channel surface containing carboxylate groups. The gDNA was selectively captured on this photoactivated surface in an immobilization buffer, which consisted of 3% polyethylene glycol, 0.4 M NaCl and 70% ethanol. The methodology reported herein is similar to conventional SPRI in that surface-confined carboxylate groups are used for the selective immobilization of DNA; however, no magnetic beads or a magnetic field are required. As observed by UV spectroscopy, a load of ∼7.6 ± 1.6 µg/ml of gDNA was immobilized onto the PPC bed. The recovery of DNA following purification was estimated to be 85 ± 5%. The immobilization and purification assay using this PPC microchip could be performed within ∼25 min as follows: (i) DNA immobilization ∼6 min, (ii) chip washout with ethanol 10 min, and (iii) drying and gDNA desorption ∼6 min. The PPC microchip could also be used for subsequent assays with no substantial loss in recovery, no observable carryover and no need for 'reactivation' of the PC surface with UV light.


These studies of a model liver cell line evaluate the mechanisms responsible for regulated release of K+ ions during metabolic stress. Metabolic inhibition of HTC hepatoma cells by exposure to 2,4-dinitrophenol (50 μM) and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (10 mM) stimulated outward currents carried by K+ of 974 ± 75 pA at 0 mV (n = 20, p < 0.001). Currents were inhibited by chelation of intracellular Ca2+ or exposure to apamin (50 nM), an inhibitor of SKCa channels. In cell-attached recordings from intact cells, removal of metabolic substrates (25/28 cells) or exposure to metabolic inhibitors (32/40 cells) opened K+-selective channels with a conductance of 6.5 ± 0.2 pS. Channels had an open probability of 0.31 ± 0.08 and opened in bursts averaging 3.55 ± 0.27 ms in duration (n = 6). Metabolic stress was associated with rapid translocation of the α isoform of protein kinase C (PKCα) from cytosol to membrane; and down-regulation of PKCα by phorbol esters or exposure to the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine (10 μM) each inhibited currents. Moreover, intracellular perfusion with purified PKCα activated currents in a Ca2+- and concentration-dependent manner. These findings indicate that metabolic stress leads to opening of apamin-sensitive SKCa channels in hepatoma cells through a Ca2+- and PKC-dependent mechanism and suggest that PKCα may be selectively involved in the response. This mechanism functionally couples the metabolic state of cells to membrane K+ permeability and represents a potential target for modification of liver injury associated with ischemia and preservation.


The quiet Sun may be the biggest laboratory to study physical elementary processes of fundamental importance to space plasma. The advantage is the continuous availability of small-scale events, carrying the hidden microphysics that is responsible for larger-scale phenomena. By small-scale events, we mean spatial dimensions of a few Mm at most, and durations of less than an hour. This thesis is an attempt to describe and understand the coupling between the photospheric flows, the photospheric magnetic flux, and small-scale energetic transient events. We adapted a highly efficient numerical method, called Balltracking, to derive the photospheric flows from images of the granulation. For studying the dynamics of magnetic flux, and more precisely, its cancellation at relevant sites, we developed a new tool called "Magnetic Balltracking", to track photospheric magnetic elements present in high-resolution magnetograms. In a multi-instrument study using observations of the low corona in soft X-rays, we analyse the triggering mechanism of small-scale network flares. Balltracking directly relates the flows with cancelling magnetic flux, while the latter is tracked with Magnetic Balltracking. We identify two patterns of horizontal flows that act as catalysts for efficient magnetic reconnection: Funnel-shaped streamlines in which the magnetic flux is carried, and large-scale vortices (>15 Mm) at the network intersections, in which distant magnetic features of opposite polarities are sucked in and ultimately cancel. The excess energy stored in the stressed magnetic field of the vortices is sufficient to power network flares.


Aim: Dental students have increasing patient contact during their education and clinical years, putting them at high risk of cross-infection; therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of infection control practices among dental students and interns at Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Total of 400 questionnaires were distributed among interns and clinical students at Riyadh Elm University. The questionnaire comprised 32 items assessing infection control practices, and the data were tabulated and analyzed by SPSS to produce descriptive statistics. Results: Three hundred nine questionnaires were answered (response rate 77%). The implementation of different infection control measures was good to excellent, except for hepatitis B vaccination and wearing eye protection: only (76%) of males and (83%) of females were vaccinated against HBV, and only (30%) of males and (26%) of females always wore protective glasses. Conclusion: Compared to previous studies, an increased awareness regarding infection control practices among dental students and interns was noticeable. However, greater emphasis on the importance of infection control, especially compliance with HBV vaccination and wearing protective eyewear, is necessary.


Background: Obesity prevalence in United States children ages 2-19 years has been consistently high since 2003. 1 These children are at a greater risk for many chronic disease. Educating children on how to make healthful food choices, and using fun characters in a classroom setting may be one step to reducing the obesity rate. Objective: Increase knowledge about MyPlate and heathy eating in children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Design: After the development of a nutrition lesson, an expert panel reviewed and suggested changes. Once changes were made the lesson was delivered to second and third graders at a summer camp. Data were analyzed to determine if an increase in nutrition knowledge existed. Participants: Six members of an expert panel, 6 second graders, and 8 third graders. Statistical Analysis: Means and standard deviations of the expert panel's rating were calculated. Percentages of students answering nutrition questions correctly were analyzed and compared from a pre-and post-evaluation. Results: The expert panel rated the lesson met the objectives, was age appropriate and clear, provided an overview of MyPlate, and followed the Experiential Learning Model. Second graders increased their ability to identify foods from the grain group (+16.7%) and protein group (+16.6%). Third graders increased their ability to correctly identify the number of food groups in a meal (23.2%), and identify the missing food group grain (12.5%) and vegetable (12.5%). Conclusions: The expert panel was a key component to developing the MyPlate lesson. A small increase in knowledge was seen through this lesson, students were engaged and learned about making healthy choices. iii Dedication To Zach-Your unfailing love and support pushed me to finish, you always knew I would be successful and for that I am forever grateful. iv Acknowledgements


We characterized the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal in humans and macaque monkeys by comparing the response in visual cortex to a single checkerboard or two checkerboards, spaced 1.5, 3.0, or 4.5 s apart. We found that the magnitude and shape of the BOLD response to a single checkerboard was similar in the two species. In addition, we found that the BOLD responses summed similarly, and that at an inter-stimulus interval (ISI) of 4.5 sec BOLD summation was nearly linear in both species. When comparing the ratio of the amplitude of the response to the second checkerboard at the 4.5 sec ISI with that of the single checkerboard between subjects in both species, the results from both monkey subjects fell within one standard deviation of the mean human results (human mean (n=12): .95 +/− .31 second/single response amplitude; monkey 1: 1.16; monkey 2: .86). At the shorter ISIs, both species demonstrated increased suppression of the BOLD response to the second checkerboard. These findings indicate that the magnitude of the BOLD response to events separated by 4.5 seconds can be accurately measured in and compared between human and monkey visual cortex.


ABSTACT Aims: To study the effect of recasting on the macrohardness of cobalt chromium (Co–Cr)alloy, and to evaluate the effect of finishing and polishing on it. Materials and methods: Two brand of Co–Cr alloys were used, divided into three groups, the specimens of the first group were casted from new materials, the second were casted from previously casted material without the addition of any new material (100% recast), the third were casted by combination 50% new material and 50% used material. Half of the specimens just finished and the other half were finished and polished , hardness for all of them were measured. Results: Showed that recasting, both 100% and 50%, significantly increase the macrohardness of Co–Cr alloys and no significant effect of finishing and polishing on it. Conclusion: Recasting may affect properties of Co–Cr alloy and new material should be used rather than recasted material.


The essential thesis of this paper is that the practices and associated expectations of participants in the Indian court system are significantly different from most other countries that have inherited their legal systems from the British. An examination of those differences can help to identify strategies that may be pursued in overcoming a significant case backlog and delay problem in Indian courts. International comparisons with courts in other jurisdictions are not only useful and appropriate, but offer new opportunities for reforming the Indian court system that may hitherto have been overlooked. If the reader agrees with the author's arguments and conclusions, then this paper offers a novel range of areas in which reforms may be advanced. If, on the other hand, the effect of this paper is to provoke a contradictory response from Indian commentators by reference to practices in other countries, then it will have achieved its purpose in seeking to gain recognition of the value of international comparisons as a means of identifying court system reform strategies in India and, hopefully, elsewhere.


Introduction Patients with colorectal cancers that have pathological extramural vascular invasion (EMVI+) are known to have a poorer prognosis than those with EMVI – tumours. EMVI status influences the need for neoadjuvant radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that DNA hypermethylation in specific gene promoter regions (CpG islands) is an important pathway in colorectal cancer tumourigenesis. Previous work by our group has suggested a link between these two processes. The purpose of this work is therefore to explore the relationship between CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) grade and EMVI in rectal cancer. Method In this study tissue blocks were obtained from 30 consecutive patients with known EMVI+ve tumours and 43 patients with EMVI-ve tumours who did not receive neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Following targeted DNA extraction, CIMP status was determined by methylation specific PCR (MSP) using a two panel approach. MSP is accomplished by performing bisulfite conversion of genomic DNA (Imprint DNA Modification Kit, Sigma Aldrich, USA). This is followed by a PCR reaction with primers for the methylated and unmethylated promoter regions of 8 DNA mismatch repair genes (hMLH, SOCS1, MINT1, ADAMSTS, HAND1, THBD, NEUROG and IGFBP3). The sample is then identified as CIMP-High, Intermediate or Low. Results DNA samples from 73 patients were analysed (30 EMVI+ve and 43 EMVI-ve) comprising 55 males and 18 females with median age 70 (range 45–84 years). As expected, the postoperative histopathological tumour (T) and nodal (N) status was more advanced in the EMVI+ tumours (p = 0.007 and <0.001 respectively). A greater proportion of EMVI+ tumours had the CIMP-high and CIMP-intermediate epigenotype compared to EMVI- tumours, which demonstrated mostly the CIMP-low epigenotype (p = 0.002). Of the 8 genes in the CIMP panel, two (IGFBP3 and ADAMSTS) had significantly greater methylation in the EMVI+ve group (p < 0.001 and 0.004 respectively). Conclusion These early results have demonstrated that there is a clear relationship between extramural vascular invasion and CIMP status in rectal cancer. The finding warrants further exploration given the drive to utilise methylation biomarker panels to inform treatment decisions in rectal cancer. Further research is underway to explore the molecular mechanisms responsible for this pathway. Disclosure of interest None Declared.


Context: Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS‐1) is a rare monogenic autoimmune disease caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene and characterized by chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, hypoparathyroidism, and primary adrenal insufficiency. Comprehensive characterizations of large patient cohorts are rare. Objective: To perform an extensive clinical, immunological, and genetic characterization of a large nationwide Russian APS‐1 cohort. Subjects and Methods: Clinical components were mapped by systematic investigations, sera were screened for autoantibodies associated with APS‐1, and AIRE mutations were characterized by Sanger sequencing. Results: We identified 112 patients with APS‐1, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest cohort described to date. Careful phenotyping revealed several additional and uncommon phenotypes such as cerebellar ataxia with pseudotumor, ptosis, and retinitis pigmentosa. Neutralizing autoantibodies to interferon‐&ohgr; were found in all patients except for one. The major Finnish mutation c.769C>T (p.R257*) was the most frequent and was present in 72% of the alleles. Altogether, 19 different mutations were found, of which 9 were unknown: c.38T>C (p.L13P), c.173C>T (p.A58V), c.280C>T (p.Q94*), c.554C>G (p.S185*), c.661A>T (p.K221*), c.821del (p.Gly274Afs*104), c.1195G>C (p.A399P), c.1302C>A (p.C434*), and c.1497del (p.A500Pfs*21). Conclusions: The spectrum of phenotypes and AIRE mutation in APS‐1 has been expanded. The Finnish major mutation is the most common mutation in Russia and is almost as common as in Finland. Assay of interferon antibodies is a robust screening tool for APS‐1.


Background: In 2017, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded State Targeted Response (STR) grants through the 21st Century Cures Act to help states address the opioid crisis. While there are publications that discuss how each state allocated their STR grant awards, there is a paucity of evaluations illustrating the impact of STR grant activities on clients of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, family members of persons living with OUD, community professionals whose work involves addressing OUD, as well as impacts on local communities. This longitudinal qualitative study assessed the impact of STR grant-funded projects on communities in Ohio particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic.
Methods: Data were collected through a mixed research methodology from November 2017 through April 2019. Epidemiologists conducted focus groups and administered surveys in 4 geographically different areas of the state. Study objectives included assessments of community messaging related to opioids, level of perceived stigma for OUD, knowledge of available services and processes for accessing them, and perception of community treatment service needs.
Results: A total of 940 respondents participated in 3 cycles (6 months each) of focus groups. Key findings included increased naloxone knowledge and experience, increased proportion of persons living with OUD receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and a 2.5 time increase in the number of reported positive observations of community change. While the level of perceived stigma for OUD remained consistent (moderate) throughout the study, respondents throughout cycles observed an increasing number of community approaches, such as public awareness campaigns and recovery rallies, to impart knowledge, change attitudes, and reduce stigma.
Conclusion: Evaluations of STR funded activities and programs could help illustrate the value that additional funding might have over time in reducing stigma related to OUD and increasing knowledge of available treatment services in communities.


In the presence of valvular aortic stenosis or of discrete subvalvular stenosis, the narrowed orifice is constant and its size is not altered by changes in the force of ventricular contraction. In hypertrophic subaortic stenosis the orifice narrows during systolic contraction of the hypertrophied muscle in the left ventricular outflow tract and the orifice size therefore is a function of the force of left ventricular contraction. In 75 patients, proved to have the discrete, "fixed" type of aortic or subaortic stenosis the beats following the compensatory pause after a premature contraction were always characterized by higher left ventricular systolic pressures and larger systemic arterial pulse pressures than the normal beats, i.e., arterial pulse pressure varied directly with left ventricular systolic pressure and with the duration of diastole. In 12 patients proved to have hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, the beats following premature contractions always exhibited lower arterial pulse pressures than did the normal beats, i.e., arterial pulse pressure varied inversely with left ventricular systolic pressure and with the duration of diastole. The distinction between these two types of obstruction to left ventricular outflow may be established with confidence by this analysis of the effects of premature ventricular contractions on either the simultaneously recorded left ventricular and arterial pressure pulses, or on the arterial pressure pulses alone. The recognition of hypertrophic subaortic stenosis is essential in formulating a rational plan of treatment for all patients with obstruction to left ventricular outflow, and the hemodynamic technic described affords a simple but reliable diagnostic approach.


Pigments Checker is a collection of swatches of historical pigments that offers art professionals, conservation scientists, conservators and fine art photographers, a tool to evaluate and test their imaging and spectroscopic methodologies for pigment identification. "Pigments Checker Free Spectra Database" is an ongoing project that wants to thoroughly characterize each pigment in the collection with a series of spectroscopic and imaging techniques and to make the data open access. This paper presents the free and downloadable database of XRF spectra, adding to the reflectance spectral database already published. The XRF analysis is in agreement with the information provided by the pigments' manufacturers since all of the pigments have XRF spectra consistent with the expected elemental content reported in literature. In addition to elemental characterization by XRF, future analysis with Raman, FT-IR and XRD will be pursued in order to achieve a broader characterization of the


The energy crisis scenario currently going on in Brazil, along with the need to reduce greenhouse emissions, lead to an urgent need to design buildings with greater energy efficiency. Shallow geothermal energy surges as a sustainable alternative to reduce the electricity consumption in buildings related to air conditioning and water heating systems. In Brazil, the use of this technique is still incipient due to the lack of studies that demonstrate its viability in the country's climatic conditions, as well as underground temperature and demand for acclimatization of buildings. The aim of the current work is to present a site characterization for the first geothermal energy investigation carried out in the Brazilian South region. This study is being conducted at the Geotechnical Experimental Site of the State University of Ponta Grossa, and this paper describes the physical, mineralogical, thermal and mechanical characteristics of this site, which comprises a thick layer of a lateritic sandy clay soil over a silty sand layer. The preliminary results of the ground temperatures are consistent with the common trends reported in the literature, showing more expressive oscillations near the ground surface, and becoming approximately constant at higher depths.


Thanks to advances in Internet of Things and crowd-sensing, it is possible to collect vast amounts of urban data, to better understand how citizens interact with cities and, in turn, improve human well-being in urban environments. This is a scientifically challenging proposition, as it requires new methods to fuse objective (heterogeneous) data (e.g. people location trails and sensors data) with subjective (perceptual) data (e.g. the citizens' quality of experience collected through feedback forms). When it comes to vast urban areas, collecting statistically significant data is a daunting task; thus new data-collection methods are required too. In this work, we turn to artificial intelligence (AI) to address these challenges, introducing a method whereby the objective, sensor data is analyzed in real-time to scope down the test matrix of the subjective questionnaires. In turn, subjective responses are parsed through AI models to extract further objective information. The outcome is an interactive data analysis framework for urban environments, which we put to test in the context of a citizens' well-being project. In our pilot study, each new entry (objective or subjective) is parsed through the AI engine to determine which action maximizes the information gain. This translates into a particular question being fired at a specific moment and place, to a specific person. With our AI data collection method, we can reach statistical significance much faster, achieving (in our city-wide pilot study) a 41% acceleration factor and a 75% reduction in intrusiveness. Our study opens new avenues in urban science, with potential applications in urban planning, citizen's well-being projects, and sociology, to mention but a few cases.


Control of optical fields at the nanoscale holds the promise of fast, efficient imaging methods, but is elusive due to the diffraction limit. This paper investigates how a single metasurface patch in the near field of a sample plane may be used to create a wide variety of intensity patterns by applying different illumination profiles from the far field. Numerical analysis shows that one metasurface patch may be used to generate complete bases of illumination patterns on a grid as fine as λ/16. The limits of control are explored in terms of degrees of freedom on the illumination side and spatial resolution on the sample side. These illumination patterns are expected to enable sub‐wavelength structured illumination microscopies, compressive imaging and sensing. Quantitative analysis of how the engineered fields may be used for detection of small scattering particles demonstrates the potential the approach holds for nanoscale optical sensing.


Purpose To ascertain whether there are differences in the histopathological appearance of tendinopathic Achilles and patellar tendons. Methods In males, we studied biopsies from tendinopathic Achilles (n = 28; average age 34.1 years) and patellar tendons (n = 28; average age 32.1), and Achilles tendons (n = 21; average age 61.8 years) from deceased patients with no known tendon pathology, and patellar tendons (n = 15; average age 28.3) from patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Haematoxylineosin stained slides were interpreted using a semi-quantitative grading scale (0: normal to 3: maximally abnormal) for fibre structure; fibre arrangement; rounding of the nuclei; regional variations in cellularity; increased vascularity; decreased collagen stainability; hyalinisation. All slides were assessed blindly twice, the agreement between two readings ranging from 0.170 to 0.750 (Kappa statistics). Results The highest mean score of tendinopathic Achilles tendons was not significantly different from that of tendinopathic patellar tendons (11.6 ± 5 and 10.4 ± 3, respectively). The ability to differentiate between an Achilles tendon and a patellar tendon was low. Conclusions Tendinopathic Achilles and patellar tendons show a similar histological picture. It was not possible to identify whether a specimen had been harvested from an Achilles or a patellar tendon on the basis of histological examination. The general pattern of degeneration was common to both tendinopathic Achilles and patellar tendons. A common, as yet unidentified, etio-pathological mechanism may have acted on both these tendon populations.


Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenyan economy. It accounts for 26% GDP and provides 18% and 42% formal and informal employment respectively. Tharaka Nithi has a population of about 400,000 persons, over 90% of whom rely on agriculture as a source of livelihood. Although surplus food production is common in the county, often farmers sell their produce at losses or lose it via post-harvest losses. Good output markets exist within the country but farmers lack sufficient knowledge to make use of them. This study aimed at establishing the importance of such information in addition to determining the challenges and opportunities for accessing the information in the County. The study sample included farmers and extension workers. Data was collected by use of semi-structured interview schedules and analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that farmers make losses due to lack of information. Unscrupulous middlemen confuse farmers with distorted market information causing them to make losses. Challenges facing access to information include poor physical/technological infrastructure among others. Opportunities for improving information access exist such as use of mobile telephony to communicate information to farmers. Despite these challenges, there are opportunities for increasing use of agricultural marketing information to improve farmers' livelihood.


Evergreening is the strategic extension of the duration of a temporary monopolistic or market dominant position by means of IP strategies, and in practice patent strategies particularly. This paper explores the evergreening phenomenon. After an introductory description of evergreening and its associated innovation and IP policy issues, the paper provides a literature review. We further present one case of the pharmaceutical blockbuster drug Losec (Omeprazol) that became the world's best selling drug from 1996 to 2000. The case is accompanied by short evergreeing examples based on other IPRs such as trade marks. A theoretical part discusses different types of evergreening approaches along with simple models. The paper ends with a discussion of implications for managerial counterstrategies and innovation and IP policies.


This study utilized available data sets from frame and catch assessment surveys from 19842011 to describe the marine artisanal fishery in mainland Tanzania. Results showed that catches have been fairly stable while fishing effort has been increasing, leading to a decline in catch per unit effort (CPUE). This could be attributed to population growth, poor fishing technology, use of non-motorized small vessels, and competition. Ring nets dominated the fishery in terms of catch landed per gear, and have been becoming more important to fishermen. Beach seines, and spears, which are declared illegal, have been increasing overtime. A linear regression analysis showed that fishers, vessels, gears, and catch value were significant variables in explaining the variations in landed catch over the time period (r 2 = 0.7833). Dar es Salaam recorded the highest catch (p = 2.6E-06) because of better markets and facilities while the lowest was observed in Mtwara (p = 0.01126). The coast region recorded more vessels and gear types. The catch was also significantly different (p = 2.2E-06) across the districts within the five regions, with the Ilala district recording the highest. Average income was significantly high in Dar es Salaam (p = 0.008469) because of urbanization and concentration of economic activities. Two clusters of regions that were similar according to the species landed were observed. Coast, Tanga, Lindi and Dar es Salaam were similar in species composition whereas Mtwara was different with fewer number of species observed. Data collection, entry and analysis need to be done in a more consistent manner. Proper data collection, management, and analysis could also lead to the fisheries sector being more representative towards the GDP of the country.


Whereas more than 10 % of the global amphibian richness is known to occur in Colombia, almost 16 % of these species are currently classified as Data Deficient according to the IUCN. These estimates suggest that the available data for a large portion of the amphibians occurring in Colombia is insufficient to assess extinction risk. Here we aim to (1) review the available information on the distribution of the Colombian Data Deficient (DD hereafter) amphibians, (2) analyze their geographic distribution, and (3) evaluate the relationship between anthropogenic impact and their current conservation status. For this, we first compiled geographical records for the DD amphibian species using primary sources. Geographical records were obtained mainly from taxonomic descriptions and non-systematic surveys. We then estimated the geographical range and inferred the potential distribution for each species using LetsR and MaxEnt, respectively. We quantified the human footprint for each species and tested the relationship between spatial distribution and anthropogenic change across populations. Analyses are here based on 128 of the 129 amphibians that occur in Colombia and are currently listed as DD. We found that most of these species were recently described and have small geographic ranges. A large proportion of these DD amphibians inhabit the Colombian Andes, and their populations have been strongly affected by human activities. Overall, the spatial clustering suggests that many of these species have faced similar environmental and anthropogenic pressures that have contributed to their rareness. We also suggest that the conservation status of several of the analyzed DD amphibians should be changed to account for the threats they face.


The Ebola crises that crippled West Africa from December 2013 onwards is a watershed moment in the history of those nations. The crises profoundly impacted the regions inadequate healthcare, obstructed the potential for socioeconomic development, and challenged long held traditional and religious beliefs. As Ebola began to take its toll by depleting human life, the world could not stand idly by and observe as poor post-war nations were overwhelmed by a colossal health catastrophe. By the time Ebola was contained, this obnoxious monster had taken an estimated 11,300 lives in the three worst affected countries in the region. But while medical practitioners were at the forefront of the battle, healing evangelists drawing inspiration from their understanding of Scripture, African culture and Charismatic spirituality, also provided responses that proved essential in the fight against Ebola. This article reviews the responses proffered by healing evangelists and discuss how the overall Charismatic spirituality inspired hope in the midst of the Ebola crises in Sierra Leone.


Doctors tend to be uncomfortable with homosexual patients, who make up a large part of an average practice. Homosexuality lies along the continuum of sexual expression and should not be considered a perversion. To a greater or lesser extent, it is present in all people, and is acted upon in a variety of ways. Physicians should be aware of the homosexual patient's lifestyle in order to give the best medical care. The epidemiology of disease differs in the homosexual and heterosexual population.


Recent irradiance level improvements in light-emitting diode (LED) technology has allowed this equipment to compete as suitable replacements to traditional high- pressure sodium (HPS) lamps in hydroponics growth environments. The current study compares LED and HPS lighting technologies for supplemental lighting in a greenhouse at HydroSerre Mirabel (Mirabel, Quebec, Canada) for the growth of Boston lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata). The light treatments were applied for 2 hours before sunset and 8.5 hours after sunset to extend the photoperiod to 18 hours. An average total light irradiance (natural and supplemental) of 71.3 molm -2 for HPS and 35.8 molm -2 for LED were recorded over the 4 weeks of each experimental run. Wet and dry biomass of the shoots was recorded. On average, HPS light treatments produced significantly similar shoot biomass compared with LED light treatment, although the LED lamps provided roughly half the amount of supplemental light compared with the HPS lamps during the 4 weeks of the experimental treatment. Analysis of the lettuce samples showed no significant difference in concentrations of b-carotene, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, neoxanthin, lutein, and antheraxanthin among the light treatments; however, violaxan- thin concentrations showed a statistical difference resulting from light treatment. When measured on an energy basis, the LED lamps provide an energy savings of at least 33.8% and the minimal ''regular'' HPS provided an energy savings of 77.8% over the HPS treatment.


There are a number of phenomena which can be analysed in relation to epistemic injustice, either as its sources, manifestations or implications. The aim of the study is to show social consequences of epistemic violence, and the related epistemic ignorance, as well as pointing out that social injustice is deeply rooted in the epistemic layer, which sanctions and justifies it, while making it invisible. Wide ramifications of relationships between these two necessitate complementing traditional epistemology with social epistemology focused on practical social effects of particular epistemological assumptions.


The food industry requires natural colouring agents in increasing quantities. Beet root is highly adapted to this purpose with its red (betacyanin) and yellow (betaxanthin) pigments suitable for numerous products. The two pigments are, however, very heat-sensitive depending not only on the method of drying as well. In our experiment we tested 6 table beet varieties with vacuum drying (instrument: Eurovac KIT-150) and obtained very big differences in the suitability of varieties for drying. The less colour loss was measured in Bordo (16.84%), while Rubin and Cylindra indicated 45.15 and 47.18% loss respectively. During the drying raw material with higher colour content produced higher rate of pigment loss (r = 0.880). In our experiment we found adverse effects on colour material and dry matter content in the fresh beet root. The variety with higher solids (mainly sugar) resulted in higher pigment loss (r = -0.847) during the vacuum drying process. Furthermore, we stated that the yellow pigments (betaxanthin) were less heat sensitive during drying than the red (betacyanin) ones. For the production of beet root powder varieties of high pigment content but low water soluble solids content (sugar) are needed.


The therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy in many types of hematological malignancies and solid tumors is dramatically hindered by multidrug resistance (MDR). This work presents a combination strategy of pretreatment of MDA-MB-231/MDR1 cells with quercetin (QU) followed by doxorubicin (DOX) to overcome MDR, which can be delivered by mixed micelles composed of the reduction-sensitive hyaluronic acid-based conjugate and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate. The combination strategy can enhance the cytotoxicity of DOX on MDA-MB-231/MDR1 cells by increasing intracellular DOX accumulation and facilitating DOX-induced apoptosis. The probable MDR-reversal mechanisms are that the pretreatment cells with QU-loaded mixed micelles downregulate P-glycoprotein expression to decrease DOX efflux as well as initiate mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways to accelerate DOX-induced apoptosis. In addition, this combination strategy not only can potentiate in vivo tumor-targeting efficiency but also can enhance the anti-tumor effect in MDA-MB-231/MDR1-bearing nude mice without toxicity or side effects. This research suggests that the co-administration of natural compounds and chemotherapeutic drugs could be an effective strategy to overcome tumor MDR which deserves further exploration.


This paper evaluates the BER performance of a spatial multiplexing system over finite scattering channel. We employ a `DBLAST-like' space-time convolutional code, which directly maps a convolutional code frame to a space-time code word. The finite scatterers channel model is used to account for the limited multipath scattering which occurs in practical channels. In the receiver, iterative joint MMSE detection, decoding and interference cancellation is applied to improve the system performance. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the performance of this spatial multiplexing system over this channel. We analyse the impact of this channel model on the system performance and examine the performance improvement obtained by the use of the iterative receiver


Biosynthesis of the receptor for epidermal growth factor was investigated in two human tumor-derived cell lines, Hep 3B and A431. When grown in the presence of tunicamycin, both cells expressed a receptor-related species p135, the presumptive aglycosylated form of the biosynthetic precursor, gp145, of the mature form of the receptor, gp165, expressed at the cell surface. Two additional receptor-related species, p15 and p70, were detected when A431, but not Hep 3B, cells were treated with tunicamycin. Furthermore, digestion of the A431 receptor-related proteins with endoglycosidase F resulted in the detection of these three aglycosylated species. P70 appears to be the aglycosylated form of gp95, the presumptive intracellular precursor of the receptorrelated species gpl20 that is secreted by A431 but not Hep 3B cells; gpl20 has a complex pattern of N-linked glycosylation, with consequent molecular weight and charge heterogeneity. P115 may be the aglycosylated form of a third biosynthetic intermediate, possibly a gp135 species detected in the early time points of pulse-chase labeling. Alternatively, p115 and gp135 may be derived coor post-translationally by Ca2+-mediated proteolysis from p135 and gp145, respectively. The implications of the complexity of the biosynthesis of this molecule with regard to the multiple opportunities it affords the cell to modulate cell proliferation are discussed.


The nature of scientific and technological data collection is evolving rapidly: data volumes and rates grow exponentially, with increasing complexity and information content, and there has been a transition from static data sets to data streams that must be analyzed in real time. Interesting or anomalous phenomena must be quickly characterized and followed up with additional measurements via optimal deployment of limited assets. Modern astronomy presents a variety of such phenomena in the form of transient events in digital synoptic sky surveys, including cosmic explosions (supernovae, gamma ray bursts), relativistic phenomena (black hole formation, jets), potentially hazardous asteroids, etc. We have been developing a set of machine learning tools to detect, classify and plan a response to transient events for astronomy applications, using the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS) as a scientific and methodological testbed. The ability to respond rapidly to the potentially most interesting events is a key bottleneck that limits the scientific returns from the current and anticipated synoptic sky surveys. Similar challenge arise in other contexts, from environmental monitoring using sensor networks to autonomous spacecraft systems. Given the exponential growth of data rates, and the time-critical response, we need a fully automated and robust approach. We describe the results obtained to date, and the possible future developments.


Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers found in the developing countries. Recently, it has been indicated that a diet with a high intake of red and processed meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer. This is mainly because high red meat consumption is known to enhance the endogenous formation of N-nitroso compounds, which are potent carcinogens. Studies have detected the presence of O6-carboxymethyldeoxyguanosine (O 6 CMdG), a DNA adduct due to the nitrosation of glycine, in human exfoliated colonocytes and human blood. O 6 CMdG in DNA, is resistant to repair proteins and may be a potential urinary biomarker of colorectal cancer risk. The aim of our present research is to develop analytical methodologies for the measurement of this adduct in urine and correlate it to dietary studies. Samples are from previous studies of human volunteers carried out at MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit at Cambridge in which high read meat diets were consumed over a period of 15 days and various samples collected including 24 h urine samples.
The ideal method for the routine screening in the general population of cancer risk biomarkers should be simple, fast, easy to perform and cost-effective. Biosensor technology fulfil this need, in particular thick film technology using screen-printing procedure allows inexpensive mass-production of disposable electrochemical sensors for point-of-care analyses. An immunosensor based on an indirect competitive assay is being developed and validated for the detection of O6CMdG in synthetic urine. The detection of this DNA adduct is based on competition for binding to a polyclonal antibody with an ovalbumin conjugate, followed by incubation with a secondary antibody labelled with horseradish peroxidise.


Ozone is a major gaseous pollutant that is known to have detrimental effects on plant growth and metabolism. We have investigated the effects of ozone on Arabidopsis thaliana growth and the pattern of expression of several stress-related genes. A. thaliana plants treated with either 150 or 300 parts per billion (ppb) ozone daily for 6 h exhibited reduced growth and leaf curling. Fresh and dry weights of ozone-treated plants were reduced 30 to 48% compared to ambient air controls. RNA blot analyses demonstrated that mRNA levels for glutathione S-transferase (GST), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), a neutral peroxidase, and a cytosolic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) were higher in plants treated with 300 ppb ozone than in ambient air-treated controls. The mRNA levels of lipoxygenase and a catalase were not affected by ozone treatment. Of the transcripts examined, GST mRNA levels increased the most, showing a 26-fold induction 3 h after the initiation of ozone treatment. PAL mRNA was also rapidly induced, reaching 3-fold higher levels than controls within 3 h of ozone treatment. The neutral peroxidase and SOD mRNA levels rose more slowly, with both reaching maximum levels corresponding to 5-fold and 3-fold induction, respectively, approximately 12 h after ozone treatment. These studies indicate that ozone-induced expression of stress-related genes in A. thaliana provides an excellent model system for investigating the molecular and genetic basis of ozone-induced responses in plants.


Implementing student-centered learning in hybrid/online settings is very challenging due to the physical separation of instructor and students. This article discusses the need for instructors to provide scaffolds and multimedia modules to facilitate knowledge construction in the student-centered learning process. To offer students solid learning supports, four types of scaffolds and multimedia modules were used in one hybrid and four online business course sessions. The design context and pattern of those scaffolds and modules are described in detail. At the end of each course session, a survey was used to investigate student perceptions of the scaffolds and multimedia modules. The survey results showed that the scaffolds and multimedia modules used were helpful to student-centered learning but that additional guidance might be needed to meet the needs of diverse learners and facilitate the group-work process.


MIT Lincoln Laboratory is working towards the development of a tileable radar panel to satisfy multimission needs. A combination of custom and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) have been developed and/or employed to achieve the required system functionality. The integrated circuits (ICs) are integrated into a low cost T/R module compatible with commercial printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. Sixty-four of the transmit/receive (T/R) modules are integrated onto the aperture PCB in an 8 × 8 lattice. In addition to the T/R elements, the aperture PCB incorporates transmit and receive beamformers, power and logic distribution, and radiating elements. The aperture PCB is coupled with a backplane PCB to form a panel, the line replaceable unit (LRU) for the multifunction phased array radar (MPAR) initiative. This report summarizes the evaluation of the second iteration LRU aperture PCB and T/R element. Support fixturing was developed and paired with the panel to enable backplane functionality sufficient to support the test objectives.


Due to an error made whilst producing a major butterfly book more than a century ago, a pair of specimens of the species Mydosama pitana (Staudinger, 1897) was used as the basis for the first published illustration of the species Mydosama marginata (Moore, 1881). This error is most likely the reason why today the specimen considered as the holotype of M. marginata is actually a specimen of M. pitana. This in turn appears to have led to another more recent major work on butterflies mixing up the two species. After finding the type series of M. pitana, and surveying collections at seven major museums for available specimens, we now have strong evidence for the identity of both these species. We did not find a single case of sympatry, despite this having been reported in recent literature. To clarify the use of the name M. pitana a lectotype is designated from the specimens in Staudinger's original type series.


Towards future applications, like nanoelectronic devices, techniques to obtain single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with specific electronic types (semiconducting or metallic ones) are urgently required. Herein, we developed a rational approach for the preferential etching of either metallic or semiconducting SWNTs assisted by selective adsorption of molecules onto the corresponding SWNTs. The adsorbed molecules were easily oxidized under a temperature below the threshold for the etching of SWNTs, and the heat generated during oxidation could accelerate the etching process of nearby SWNTs. Based on this design, we could obtain semiconducting-enriched or metallic-enriched SWNT arrays with a purity of 93% and 86% assisted by the adsorption of different molecules. Further in-situ observation by polarized optical microscope ensured the acceleration of the etching process of SWNTs adsorbed by the molecular igniters. Our method combines the advantages of solution separation (high selectivity and diversity) and gas-phase etching (clean and high efficiency), providing more feasibility in obtaining SWNT horizontal arrays with uniform properties.


We consider the problem of multi-step ahead prediction in time series analysis using the non-parametric Gaussian process model. k-step ahead forecasting of a discrete-time non-linear dynamic system can be performed by doing repeated one-step ahead predictions. For a state-space model of the form yt = f(yt-1,...,yt-L), the prediction of y at time t + k is based on the point estimates of the previous outputs. In this paper, we show how, using an analytical Gaussian approximation, we can formally incorporate the uncertainty about intermediate regressor values, thus updating the uncertainty on the current prediction.


1. Results from four field studies show that communities of trap-nesting bees and wasps and their natural enemies are promising bioindicators for ecological change or habitat quality. These small and easy-to-handle communities can be analysed with respect to (i) species richness and related parameters, and (ii) ecological functions or interactions. The communities comprise Hymenoptera (Apidae, Sphecidae, Eumenidae, Pompilidae) and natural enemies belonging to many insect taxa. Traps consisted of 150–200, 15–20-cm long, reed internodes, put into tins or plastic tubes of 13–15 cm diameter; wooden posts with 2–10 of such reed-filled tins were exposed in the target habitat.

2. Species richness and abundance of bees (but not wasps) were closely related to plant species richness of the habitat, a measure of the bees' food resource. However, availability of nest sites of above-ground nesting species was equally important: meadows with old trees supported greater populations than meadows without trees. A threefold increase in exposed traps resulted in a twofold increase in species.

3. The sensitivity of this bioindicator system profits from the fact that evaluations rely not only on presence/absence data, descriptive population attributes or diversity indices, but also on interactions or ecological functions. Monitoring ecological responses or multitrophic interactions, and their relationship to species diversity, is rarely done but much needed. Ecological functions include (i) the percentage mortality of trap-nesting bees and wasps due to parasitoids and predators, which was correlated with the species richness of these natural enemies; (ii) seed set of allogamous plants due to successful pollination by trap-nesting bees; and (iii) biological control by the predacious wasps.

4. With increasing isolation of fragmented habitats (when traps were exposed in a cleared agricultural landscape), both species richness of natural enemies and percentage mortality (parasitism and predation) declined significantly. In a comparison of habitat types (grasslands and field margins), species richness of the trap-nest community correlated with plant diversity, but percentage mortality, due to parasitism and predation, with field age only. The threshold distance to the nearest habitat was 106–530 m for a 10–50% decrease in mean mortality, and the mortality increased greatly in habitats that were older than 5 years. Accordingly, these studies emphasize the significance of a continuum of old habitat patches for the augmentation of natural enemies.

5. Exposure of standardized traps is an experimental approach with a small, interacting and reproducing community that can be easily characterized by simple parameters. Taxonomy and biology are well known, and quick evaluations can be done using the close correlation between the number of occupied traps and species richness. Species richness of trap-nesting bees and wasps was closely correlated with that sampled by sweep nets. Further criteria of indicator taxa that apply to this system are discussed in the text.


Virtual prototype (VP) technology is the research hotspot in the recent years. A review for the research and application on VP technology is expatriated. The main research content is the system architecture of cooperative design and simulation of complex products with VP and the key technologies under the concurrent engineering environment. The system framework and solution scheme of cooperative design and simulation with VP are set up. The multi-domain integrated numerical modeling theory and method for VP are presented. The model of integrated process management and conflict resolution for the lifecycle of VP development is built. The theory and methodology on multidisciplinary cooperative design, cooperative simulation and intelligent decision support for the VP of complex product development is described. The framework of cooperative support environment for VP of complex products is built and the result is satisfied.


Metallic oxides are widely used in the industry; these are object of intensive research due to the versatility of their applications and the possibility of modulating their properties when the techniques and the procedures of obtaining them vary. The soft chemistry technique is shown as an option to obtain films of metallic oxide for their use optoelectronic devices. This work emphasizes the importance of applying dip-coating techniques of low cost for the industry with good results.


To date, there is scant research on whether different domains of male body dissatisfaction vary in the strength of their relationships with psychological well-being. This paucity also extends to sexual minority men (i.e., men who report their sexual orientation as gay or bisexual). Thus, among sexual minority men, we examined the relative strength of the associations of four key male body dissatisfaction domains—body fat, muscularity, height, and penis size—with psychological quality of life impairment. A geographically representative sample of 2,733 sexual minority men completed a self-report survey, which was advertised nationwide across Australia and New Zealand to users of a popular geosocial-networking smartphone application. Participants completed a measure of psychological quality of life in addition to measures of body fat, muscularity, height, and penis size dissatisfaction. Results indicated that increased dissatisfaction with each domain of male body dissatisfaction was uniquely associated with psychological quality of life impairment. The strongest relationship with quality of life impairment was observed for muscularity dissatisfaction (effect size = small to medium), followed by dissatisfaction with body fat (small), height (small), and penis size (very small). These relationships were not moderated by participants' sexual orientation (exclusively gay vs. bisexual), cultural background, or relationship status. The findings emphasize the need to prioritize research on muscularity dissatisfaction and related psychopathology, a category inclusive of muscularity-oriented disordered eating, muscle dysmorphia, and anabolic steroid misuse and dependence. Contrary to common disparaging stereotypes about men and their body image concerns, penis dissatisfaction was relatively uncommon and evidenced the weakest association with quality of life impairment.


Phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) is a phospholipid second messenger generated by the activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in response to many hematopoietic growth factors. This activity is thought to be associated with the downstream survival and proliferative effects of such growth factors. PI3-kinase has also been shown to be activated in response to Bcr/Abl, the protein tyrosine kinase that is the hallmark of chronic myeloid leukemia. In order to confirm PI3-kinase activation it is necessary to prove that the levels of its main product PIP3 rise in vivo. The aim of this work is to assess changes in PIP3 in vivo in normal and Bcr/Abl-expressing hematopoietic progenitor cells and thus determine the role of this vital signal transduction pathway in normal hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis. We have generated a purified, baculovirus expressed, fluorescent probe for the detection of PIP3. The probe consists of a PH domain derived from GRP-1, a protein that specifically binds PIP3, fused to GFP. We have established a protocol for the use of this novel probe in fixed cell preparations and have verified its specificity for PIP3 by using binding competitors, such as inositol-(1,3,4,5)-tetrakisphosphate, and inhibitors of PIP3 generation, such as the specific inhibitor of PI3-kinase activity LY294002. Stimulation of normal hematopoietic cells with Interleukin-3 (IL-3) produces a consistent increase in the total amount of cellular fluorescence compared with unstimulated cells. In agreement with results obtained from in vitro PI3- kinase and PKB activity assays, Bcr/Abl activation also induces increased PIP3 generation in the absence of IL-3. Analysis of fixed cells stained with the GFPprobe by confocal microscopy confirms that IL-3 and Bcr/Abl both stimulate an increase in PIP3 levels. It also demonstrates that PIP3 localises in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm of resting cells, but it is generated within the nucleus of the cell after stimulation. These results thus present the exciting hypothesis that hematopoietic growth factors and Bcr/Abl can stimulate nuclear PI3-kinase activity to generate concentrated localized increases in this important second messenger.


In this paper, we propose a graph theoretic technique for recognizing human actions at a distance in a video by modeling the visual senses associated with poses. The proposed methodology follows a bag-of-word approach that starts with a large vocabulary of poses (visual words) and derives a refined and compact codebook of key poses using centrality measure of graph connectivity. We introduce a "meaningful" threshold on centrality measure that selects key poses for each action type. Our contribution includes a novel pose descriptor based on histogram of oriented optical flow evaluated in a hierarchical fashion on a video frame. This pose descriptor combines both pose information and motion pattern of the human performer into a multidimensional feature vector. We evaluate our methodology on four standard activity-recognition datasets demonstrating the superiority of our method over the state-of-the-art.


This work studies the motion of an expanding or contracting bubble pinned at a submerged tube tip and covered with an insoluble Volmer surfactant. The motion is driven by constant flow rate Q into or out of the tube tip. The purpose is to examine two central assumptions commonly made in the bubble and drop methods for measuring dynamic surface tension, those of uniform surfactant concentration and of purely radial flow. Asymptotic solutions are obtained in the limit of the capillary number Ca→0 with the Reynolds number Re=o(Ca−1, non-zero Gibbs elasticity (G), and arbitrary Bond number (Bo). (Ca=μQ/a2σc, where μ is the liquid viscosity, a is the tube radius, and σc is the clean surface tension.) This limit is relevant to dynamic-tension experiments, and gives M→∞, where M=G/Ca is the Marangoni number. We find that in this limit the deforming bubble at each instant in time takes the static shape. The surfactant distribution is uniform, but its value varies with time as the bubble area changes. To maintain a uniform distribution at all times, a tangential flow is induced, the magnitude of which is more than twice that in the clean case. This is in contrast to the surface-immobilizing effect of surfactant on an isolated translating bubble. These conclusions are confirmed by a boundary integral solution of Stokes flow valid for arbitrary Ca, G and Bo. The uniformity in surfactant distribution validates the first assumption in the bubble and drop methods, but the enhanced tangential flow contradicts the second.


The cross-sectional association between socioeconomic status (at both the individual and area-based level) and lung function, as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, in a large population-based cohort was investigated. The study population consisted of 22,675 males and females aged 39–79 yrs. They were recruited from the general community in Norfolk, UK using general practice age/sex registers, as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk). It was found that being in a manual occupational social class, having no educational qualifications and living in a deprived area all independently predicted significantly lower lung function, even after controlling for smoking habit. The influence of area-deprivation on lung function, independent of individual socioeconomic status and of individual smoking habit, suggests that apart from targeting individuals who are at high-risk, such as smokers, environmental determinants also need to be examined when considering measures to improve respiratory health.


Abstract. We propose a cellular automata model (CAM) to describe the substorm activity of the magnetospheric-ionospheric system. The state of each cell in the model is described by two numbers that correspond to the energy content in a region of the current sheet in the magnetospheric tail and to the conductivity of the ionospheric domain that is magnetically connected with this region. The driving force of the system is supposed to be provided by the solar wind that is convected along the two boundaries of the system. The energy flux inside is ensured by the penetration of the energy from the solar wind into the array of cells (magnetospheric tail) with a finite velocity. The third boundary (near to the Earth) is closed and the fourth boundary is opened, thereby modeling the flux far away from the tail. The energy dissipation in the system is quite similar to other CAM models, when the energy in a particular cell exceeds some pre-defined threshold, and the part of the energy excess is redistributed between the neighbouring cells. The second number attributed to each cell mimics ionospheric conductivity that can allow for a part of the energy to be shed on field-aligned currents. The feedback between "ionosphere" and "magnetospheric tail" is provided by the change in a part of the energy, which is redistributed in the tail when the threshold is surpassed. The control parameter of the model is the z-component of the interplanetary magnetic field (Bz IMF), "frozen" into the solar wind. To study the internal dynamics of the system at the beginning, this control parameter is taken to be constant. The dynamics of the system undergoes several bifurcations, when the constant varies from - 0.6 to - 6.0. The Bz IMF input results in the periodic transients (activation regions) and the inter-transient period decreases with the decrease of Bz. At the same time the onset of activations in the array shifts towards the "Earth". When the modulus of the Bz IMF exceeds some threshold value, the transition takes place from periodic to chaotic dynamics. In the second part of the work we have chosen as the source the real values of the z-component of the interplanetary magnetic field taken from satellite observations. We have shown that in this case the statistical properties of the transients reproduce the characteristic features observed by Lui et al. (2000). Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions) – Space plasma physics (nonlinear phenomena)