MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) data have been collected for three male
speakers of Italian producing sustained consonants in VCV-context (with V=/{i, a,
u}/). For one speaker the resulting database consists of a midsagittal set of 42
Italian articulations (//, //, //, //, //, //, //, //, //, / /, /
/, //, / / and //) plus
9 dialectal sound configurations and 12 scans for specific nasal allophones. It is
associated with vowels, jaw and teeth references and dental casts. A subset of
images is also available, however, for a limited selection of articulations produced
by two other control speakers. It has been collected in view of dialect studies and it
includes midsagittal and coronal scans. As in previous partial publications of these
data, the aim of the present paper is to discuss only place and manner of
articulation in a descriptive framework.


Biogeochemical changes in marine sediments during coastal water hypoxia are well described, but less is known about underlying changes in microbial communities. Bacterial and archaeal communities in Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) hypoxic zone sediments were characterized by pyrosequencing 16S rRNA V4‐region gene fragments obtained by PCR amplification of community genomic DNA with bacterial‐ or archaeal‐specific primers. Duplicate LCS sediment cores collected during hypoxia had higher concentrations of Fe(II), and dissolved inorganic carbon, phosphate, and ammonium than cores collected when overlying water oxygen concentrations were normal. Pyrosequencing yielded 158 686 bacterial and 225 591 archaeal sequences from 20 sediment samples, representing five 2‐cm depth intervals in the duplicate cores. Bacterial communities grouped by sampling date and sediment depth in a neighbor‐joining analysis using Chao–Jaccard shared species values. Redundancy analysis indicated that variance in bacterial communities was mainly associated with differences in sediment chemistry between oxic and hypoxic water column conditions. Gammaproteobacteria (26.5%) were most prominent among bacterial sequences, followed by Firmicutes (9.6%), and Alphaproteobacteria (5.6%). Crenarchaeotal, thaumarchaeotal, and euryarchaeotal lineages accounted for 57%, 27%, and 16% of archaeal sequences, respectively. In Thaumarchaeota Marine Group I, sequences were 96–99% identical to the Nitrosopumilus maritimus SCM1 sequence, were highest in surficial sediments, and accounted for 31% of archaeal sequences when waters were normoxic vs. 13% of archaeal sequences when waters were hypoxic. Redundancy analysis showed Nitrosopumilus‐related sequence abundance was correlated with high solid‐phase Fe(III) concentrations, whereas most of the remaining archaeal clusters were not. In contrast, crenarchaeotal sequences were from phylogenetically diverse lineages, differed little in relative abundance between sampling times, and increased to high relative abundance with sediment depth. These results provide further evidence that marine sediment microbial community composition can be structured according to sediment chemistry and suggest the expansion of hypoxia in coastal waters may alter sediment microbial communities involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling.


Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death throughout the world. In order to understand the mechanisms by which the heart functions, computational models of a variety of cardiac myocytes have been developed. Although these models provide substantial information on the activity of single heart cells, there is limited understanding of the interactions of these cells at the tissue level. This thesis is concerned with the integration of such single cell models into larger, more complex tissue structures. Firstly, this thesis introduces and reviews a number of single cell models. These individual models were integrated into a structurally detailed 2D slice of heart with a histological geometry. This model was used to investigate the cardiac sequence of a rabbit heart, and a number of biophysical parameters were compared with, and found to closely reproduce experimental data. To further investigate, a 3D rabbit heart geometry was obtained and segmented into atrial, sino-atrial nodal, atrio-ventricular nodal, Purkinje fibre and ventricular tissue, with each ventricle divided into endocardial, epicardial and mid-myocardial regions, with an aim to investigate the effect of a number of pro- and anti-arrhythmic effects on the rabbit heart. Analysis of the 3D model predicted huge computational load related to the resolution of millions of cells. Currently, large scale computational simulations of cardiac activity are carried out using dedicated supercomputing facilities, but such solutions can be costly and unwieldy. To overcome this, investigation was carried out into the use of graphical programming to decrease the computational time required to resolve such equations. Investigation was carried out into the problem size at which graphical computation outperforms traditional computation, and found to give up to a hundred-fold increase in computational speed at 10^6 cells. These results pave the way for a new style of cardiac programming, allowing quick and detailed investigation into a multitude of problems using cheap, easily available hardware.


Biofuels contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Directive 2003/30/EC thus aims at increasing the share of biofuels in total EU fuel consumption by up to 5.75 % by 2010. The rationale behind this directive can be found in potentially positive environmental impacts, most notably the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and by positive employment effects in the agricultural sector. This paper investigates the environmental, economic, and social implications of the support of rapeseed-based biodiesel as a substitute for fossil diesel. Based on a meta-analysis of recent empirical studies, we find clearly positive energy and greenhouse gas balances of this environmental strategy. Yet, the overall environmental balance of the substitution of rapeseed-based biodiesel for fossil diesel is currently far from being unequivocally positive. Our major finding is, however, that biodiesel is not a cost-efficient emission abatement strategy. When taking all economic, ecological, and social aspects into account, we conclude that Biodiesel is not a sustainable solution. We therefore suggest more efficient climate gas abatement strategies. Among these alternatives are synthetically generated biofuels that can substitute for fossil fuels in the future.


above the surface of thermal water cave pools in the active sulfuric acid caves of Aghia Paraskevi on the Kassandra peninsula, northern Greece. Gypsum also occurs as small interstitial crystals or encrustations. Orpiment is of high significance since it has not previously been reported as a cave mineral. In addition, tamarugite and pickeringite rarely occur in karst caves. Water from a borehole and a spring is of Na-Cl type and contains traces of CO 2 and H 2 S. The B/Cl ratios indicate seawater participation with a possible mixing with geothermal water of meteoric origin. Oxidation of fumarolic H 2 S and incorporation of seawater is a possible cause for the deposition of tamarugite. Orpiment accumulated from vapors under sub-aerial conditions at low temperatures in acidic conditions through an evaporation-condensation process. Fluid cooling and/or acidification of the solution resulting from H 2 S oxidation were responsible for orpiment precipitation. Oxidation of H 2 S to sulfuric acid dissolved the limestone bedrock and deposited gypsum.


Abstract. Hyperspectral camera operating in sequential acquisition mode produces spectral bands that are not recorded at the same instant, thus having different exterior orientation parameters (EOPs) for each band. The study presents experiments on bundle adjustment with time-dependent polynomial models for band orientation of hyperspectral cubes sequentially collected. The technique was applied to a Rikola camera model. The purpose was to investigate the behaviour of the estimated polynomial parameters and the feasibility of using a minimum of bands to estimate EOPs. Simulated and real data were produced for the analysis of parameters and accuracy in ground points. The tests considered conventional bundle adjustment and the polynomial models. The results showed that both techniques were comparable, indicating that the time-dependent polynomial model can be used to estimate the EOPs of all spectral bands, without requiring a bundle adjustment of each band. The accuracy of the block adjustment was analysed based on the discrepancy obtained from checkpoints. The root mean square error (RMSE) indicated an accuracy of 1 GSD in planimetry and 1.5 GSD in altimetry, when using a minimum of four bands per cube.


BiCuSeO oxyselenides have recently acquired ever-increasing attention and have been extensively studied as very promising thermoelectric materials. The ZT of the BiCuSeO system was significantly increased from 0.5 to 1.4 in the past three years, which indicates that BiCuSeO oxyselenides are robust candidates for energy conversion applications. In this review, we first discuss and summarize the crystal structures, microstructures, electronic structures and physical/chemical properties of BiCuSeO oxyselenides. Then, the approaches that successfully enhanced the thermoelectric performances in the BiCuSeO system are outlined, which include increasing carrier concentration, optimizing Cu vacancies, a simple and facile ball milling method, multifunctional Pb doping, band gap tuning, and increasing carrier mobility through texturing. Theoretical calculations to predict a maximum ZT in the BiCuSeO system are also described. Finally, a discussion of future possible strategies is proposed to aim at further enhancing the thermoelectric figure of merit of these materials.


In this paper, first-principles calculations are performed to study the influence of atomic design on the structural and electronic properties of pseudo-cubic BC2N. The calculated results indicate that atomic structures and bond configurations have significant effects on the electronic properties. From band structure and total density of state, it is found that there exist five semiconductor configurations and two semi-metal configurations in pesudo-cubic BC2N. Within LDA approximation, the predicted band gaps vary from 0.7 eV to 2.6 eV for the five semiconductor configurations. A recently proposed band gap calculation method, termed Δ-sol method, is applied to correct the obtained energy band gaps, and the corrected range is from 2.9 eV to 4.4 eV. These results indicate that the band gap tuning in super hard materials can be implemented via atomic design.


Characterizing natural fracture systems involves understanding fracture types (faults, joints, and veins), patterns (orientations, sets, and spacing within sets), size distributions (penetration across layering, aperture, and trace length), and timing relationships. Traditionally, observation-based relationships to lithology, mechanical stratigraphy, bed thickness, structural position, failure mode, and stress history have been proposed for predicting fracture spacing along with the relative abundance of opening-mode fracture versus faults in fractured rocks. Developing a conceptual fracture model from these relationships can be a useful process to help predict deformation in a fractured reservoir or other fractured rock systems. A major pitfall when developing these models is using assumptions based on general relationships that are often site specific rather than universal. In this paper, we examine a mixed carbonate-shale sequence that is cut by a seismic-scale normal fault where fracture attributes do not follow commonly reported fracture relationships. Specifically, we find (1) no clear relationship between frequency (or spacing) of opening-mode fractures (joints and veins) and proximity to the main fault trace and (2) no detectable relationship between fracture spacing and bed thickness. However, we did find that (1) the frequency of small-displacement faults is strongly and positively correlated with proximity to the main fault trace, (2) fracture networks change pattern and failure mode (extension versus shear fracture) from pavement to pavement through the mechanically layered stratigraphic section, and (3) faults are more abundant than opening-mode fractures in many areas within the fracture network. We interpret that the major fracturing initiated near maximum burial under relatively high-differential stress conditions where shear failure dominated and that mode-1 extension fracturing occurred later under lower differential stress conditions, filling in between earlier formed shear fractures. We conclude that whenever possible, site-specific observations need to be carefully analyzed prior to developing fracture models and perhaps a different set of fracture network rules apply in rocks where shear failure dominates and mechanical stratigraphy influences deformation.


The effect of membrane load on the behaviour of axisymmetric bistable circular curved microplates on Berger's based axisymmetric reduced order (RO) model, incorporating radial prestress, is studied. The model is first validated for a "mechanical" load, against a Föppl-von-Kármán's RO model with twenty degrees of freedom (DOF), a finite differences (FD) solution and a finite elements (FE) model, serving as the reference. All solutions implement the "Riks" method to track possible unstable branches, which can swerve in due to the presence of higher buckling modes. A convergence study is carried out for the snap-through location and load, as well as for the critical elevation and prestress required for bistability. Based on validated results of the analysis, the reliability of the model for predicting the effect of prestress on the plate behaviour under nonlinear electrostatic load is then investigated while using FD solutions as the reference. The study furnishes a reliable expended RO model, which includes prestress on the as-fabricated curved plate. The resulting model can further be used to estimate the value of residual prestress, present in an electrostatically actuated curved plate, based on its response.


ABSTRACT Although many extant normative data sets for standardized neuropsychometric instruments feature adjustments for subject variables, there are reasons to believe that improvements in interpretive accuracy that result from such adjustments are less than optimal. In particular, several theoretical considerations suggest that years of formal education may be less closely related to test performances than is general intellectual functioning. In this first of four reanalyses of results from the Mayo Clinic's Older Americans Normative Studies (MOANS) databases, age-adjusted scores on the Boston Naming Test, the MAE Token Test, and the Judgment of Line Orientation Test were indeed found to be more strongly associated with Mayo Age-adjusted WAIS-R Full Scale IQ scores (rs = .608, .473, and .502, respectively) than with education (rs = .310, .306, and .236, respectively) for healthy older examinees (56–99 years). Consistent with the remarks of Dodrill (1997 1999), these correlations generally decreased at higher levels of intelligence. The magnitude and pattern of such declines varied across the three tests, however, suggesting that IQ-test score associations must be empirically determined rather than assumed to be linear. Tables of Age- and IQ-Adjusted percentile equivalents of MOANS Age-adjusted BNT, Token Test, and JLO scaled scores are presented for eleven age ranges and seven IQ ranges. The article concludes with a discussion of factors that may underlie observed relations among age, intelligence, and neuropsychometric test performances.


Cryogenic correlated light and electron microscopy (cryo-CLEM) is a valuable tool for studying biological processes in situ. In cryo-CLEM, a target protein of interest is tagged with a fluorophore and the location of the corresponding fluorescent signal is used to identify the structure in low-contrast but feature-rich cryo-EM images. To date, cryo-CLEM studies of mammalian cells have relied on very bright organic dyes or fluorescent protein tags concentrated in virus particles. Here we describe a method to expand the application of cryo-CLEM to cells harboring genetically-encoded fluorescent proteins. We discovered that a variety of mammalian cells exhibit strong punctate autofluorescence when imaged under cryogenic conditions (80K). Compared to fluorescent protein tags, these sources of autofluorescence exhibit a broader spectrum of fluorescence, which we exploited to develop a simple, robust approach to discriminate between the two. We validate this method in INS-1 E cells using a mitochondrial marker, and apply it to study the ultrastructural variability of secretory granules in a near-native state within intact INS-1E pancreatic cells by high-resolution 3D electron cryotomography.


ABSTRACT Ten undisturbed samples of scarp-derived colluvium from the 1983 Borah Peak, Idaho, fault scarp were subjected to laboratory grain-size and fabric measurements to characterize typical colluvium from a Basin and Range fault scarp. Colluvial deposits consisted of poorly-sorted pebble gravels (mean diameter -0.3 to -3.75 ; 1.2 to 13.5 mm) with 25-79% matrix (< 4 mm). Stereograms of long-axis orientations of 115 clasts from each colluvial wedge yielded girdle-type distributions, with typical eigenvalue ratios of In S1/S2 = 0.05-0.50 and In S2/S3 = 0.3-1.0 These girdle distributions indicate preferred orientation in angle-of-repose planes coincident with colluvial wedge depositional planes. Short-axis stereograms display single or du l maxima with mean bearing parallel to transport direction and plunge perpendicular to the colluvial wedge surface. Clast fabric strength is not strongly correlated with scarp aspect (corr. coeff. = 0.03 to 0.68) or with the slope of the faulted geomorphic surface (corr. coeff. = -0.16 to +0.57), but it improves with increasing matrix content (corr. coeff. = -0.04 to -0.42). Fabrics in measured wedges are weaker than those reported for other colluviums and talus and resemble fabrics in debris flows. However, the stronger girdle tendencies and distinct orientation subgroups in scarp-derived colluvium should distinguish it from suspected debris flow deposits in fault-zone exposures.


Drug Eluting Stents (DES) have distinct advantages over other Percutaneous Coronary Intervention procedures, but have been associated with the development of serious complications after the procedure. There is a growing need for understanding the risk of these complications, which has led to the development of statistical risk evaluation models. Conformal Predictors are a recently developed set of machine learning algorithms that allow not just risk classification on new patients, but add valid measures of confidence in predictions for individual patients. In this work, we have applied a novel Support Vector Machine (SVM) based conformal prediction framework to predict the risk of complications following a coronary DES procedure. This predictive model helps to risk stratify a patient for post-DES complications, and the valid measures of confidence can be used by the physician to make an informed, evidence-based decision to manage the patient appropriately.


In real uplink multicarrier CDMA (MC CDMA) communication system, the asynchrony of active userspsila signature is a key factor of multiple access interference(MAI). Considering users access randomly, not only the location of active users, but also their number varies with time. In typical analysis, multi-user detection theory for MC CDMA has been developed under the assumption that the number of active users is constant and known at the receiver, and coincides with the maximum number of users entitled to access the system. Since many users might be inactive at any given time, detection under the assumption of the number of users larger than the real one may impair performance. The main goal of this paper is to introduce a general approach to the problem of identifying active users and estimating their data in a MC CDMA random-access system where users are continuously and independently entering and leaving the system. The tool we advocate is random-set theory (RST) and we propose a new particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for discrete multi-values with the similar properties of BPSO to reduce the computation, the simulation result prove the efficiency of the new algorithm.


The present study aimed to investigate the effect of apigenin on glioma cells and to explore its potential mechanism. U87 human glioma cells treated with apigenin were used in the current study. Cell Counting Kit‑8 solution and Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide Apoptosis Detection kit were used to analyze the effect of apigenin on U87 cell viability and apoptotic cell death. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was also used to determine microRNA‑16 (miR‑16) and MMP‑9 gene expression levels. Nuclear factor‑κB (NF‑κB) and B‑cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL2) protein expression levels were determined using western blot analysis. An anti‑miR‑16 plasmid was constructed and transfected into U87 cells. The current study demonstrated that apigenin significantly decreased cell viability and induced apoptotic cell death of U87 cells in a dose‑dependent manner. Additionally, it was demonstrated that apigenin significantly increased miR‑16 levels, suppressed BCL2 protein expression and suppressed the NF‑κB/MMP9 signaling pathway in U87 cells. Furthermore, downregulation of miR‑16 using the anti‑miR‑16 plasmid reversed the effect of apigenin on cell viability, BCL2 protein expression and the NF‑κB/MMP‑9 pathway in U87 cells. The results of the present study suggested that apigenin inhibits glioma cell growth through promoting miR‑16 and suppression of BCL2 and NF-κB/MMP-9. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the potential anticancer effects of apigenin on glioma cells.


Time-resolved imaging is carried out to study the dynamics of the laser-induced forward transfer of an aqueous solution at different laser fluences. The transfer mechanisms are elucidated, and directly correlated with the material deposited at the analyzed irradiation conditions. It is found that there exists a fluence range in which regular and well-defined droplets are deposited. In this case, laser pulse energy absorption results in the formation of a plasma, which expansion originates a cavitation bubble in the liquid. After the further expansion and collapse of the bubble, a long and uniform jet is developed, which advances at a constant velocity until it reaches the receptor substrate. On the other hand, for lower fluences no material is deposited. In this case, although a jet can be also generated, it recoils before reaching the substrate. For higher fluences, splashing is observed on the receptor substrate due to the bursting of the cavitation bubble. Finally, a discussion of the possible mechanisms which lead to such singular dynamics is also provided.


Reliability of the Fuzzy Association Rules (FARs) extraction is a challenging research in knowledge discovery and data mining. Reliability refers to the trade-off between the prediction accuracy and the rules diversity. In this paper, an approach called Diverse Fuzzy Rule Base (DFRB) is proposed to extract the FARs which are used later to predict the future values. This approach also aims to ensure high quality and diversity of the FARs. This is achieved through four phases: firstly, the integration of Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) and Multiple Support Apriori (MSapriori) algorithms are applied to extract the FARs. The second phase calculates the correlation values for these FARs, and performs an efficient orientation for filtering FARs as a post-processing method. In the third phase, the FARs diversity is maintained through the clustering of FARs, based on the concept of the sharing function technique used in multi-objectives optimization. After that, the best and the most diverse FARs are evaluated and then stored in the Knowledge Base (KB). Finally, these FARs, stored in the KB, are utilized within the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) for prediction. Experimental results for two case studies have shown that the proposed DFRB approach predicted the future values effectively, thus, outperforming the existing work.


Research within the Cardiff Marine Energy Research Group
(CMERG) has considered the integrated mathematical
modelling of Tidal Stream Turbines (TST). The modelling
studies are briefly reviewed. This paper concentrates on the
experimental validation testing of small TST models in a
water flume facility. The dataset of results, and in particular the measured axial thrust signals are analysed via timefrequency methods. For the 0.5 m diameter TST the
recorded angular velocity typically varies by ± 2.5% during
the 90 second test durations. Modelling results confirm the
expectations for the thrust signal spectrums, for both
optimum and deliberately offset blade results. A discussion
of the need to consider operating conditions, condition
monitoring sub-system refinements and the direction of
prognostic methods development, is provided.


In this paper, an integrated and distributed modeling and simulation environment is developed for the next generation manufacturing systems. A distributed colored timed Petri net (DCTPN) is the modeling technique for the proposed environment. Based on the DCTPN, the shop floor process and the manufacturing execution system (MES) can be integrated horizontally and vertically. In addition, a component-based three-tier application architecture is developed to achieve the distributed transparency, fault tolerance and load balance. Finally, an order release server is integrated to the shop floor process DCTPN model to provide the wafer release orders based on different order releasing control policies.


The Effects of Geriatric Sexual Orientation on Caregiver Reactions to Resident Sexual Behavior within Long Term Care Facilities Andrew J. Ahrendt Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2014. Within the paucity of literature regarding older adult sexuality, a larger dearth exists concerning biases of long-term care facility staff toward gay and lesbian older adult residents. Prior literature has documented that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals' perceive that they do not receive the same quality of care as that of heterosexual individuals within long-term care facilities. Thus researchers aimed to evaluate whether these biases truly exist within care facilities that can prevent holistic care from being comprehensively provided to everyone regardless of sexual orientation. 153 residential care facility staff members from two separate facilities read one of three vignettes. Each vignette described a scenario in which a staff member walks in on two residents engaging in sexual activity. Residents' gender was manipulated in the three vignettes (male/female, male/male, female/female). Following this, participants completed two questionnaires assessing their views toward older adult sexuality, as well as their opinions on how well the staff member responded to the situation. Although no main effects were discovered for vignette type, exploratory analysis yielded that the facility where participants were employed was significantly related to their levels of situation approval. Along with this main effect, an interaction effect was discovered between vignette and facility type with caregivers' situational approval level. More specifically, Facility 2's mean values were significantly higher (indicating less staff member approval) for the male/female and female/female vignettes as compared to Facility 1's vignette approval ratings. Researchers did not confirm their hypothesis that male/male relationships would be stigmatized, but postulate that this could be reflective of the preponderance of male residents in facility 2. Furthermore researchers believe that the significant main and interaction effects discovered are indicative of overall pathologizing of older women's sexuality as lower approval rates for women existed across both facilities.


This timely book chronicles the history of Hong Kong from its misty beginnings to the present day. The territory's unique and turbulent political and economic development form the backdrop to a still more compelling and human story. The essence of The Hong Kong Story is the interwoven sagas of the family dynasties and business houses - vital ingredients in transforming the 'barren rock' into a miracle city state. These families were by no means all British and Chinese: by the mid-nineteeth century Hong Kong was already a cosmopolitan city with a prominent American contingent. It is the collective spirit of these nationalities - grit, optimism, practicality, ruthlessness, generosity, resilience - that lies at the heart of modern Hong Kong's unique East-West chemistry. The book follows the waxing and waning fortunes of these dynasties and entrepreneurs through the convulsions of the Opium Wars, the collapse of imperial China, Japanese occupation, mass immigration, communist takeover in China, the Cultural Revolution, frequent booms and busts, and the approach of 'one country, two systems'. It a fascinating story of how human enterprise, rising above ethnic divides, has endowed a coastal enclave in Asia with not only unimaginable riches but a unique identity.


Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the etiological agents responsible for botulism, a disease characterized by peripheral neuromuscular blockade and a characteristic flaccid paralysis of humans. BoNTs are the most lethal known poisons affecting humans and has been recognized as a potential bioterrorist threat. Current treatments for botulinum poisoning are predominately prophylactic in nature relying on passive immunization with antitoxins. Inhibition of the BoNT light chain metalloprotease (LC) has emerged as a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of botulism that may provide an effective post-exposure remedy. A high-throughput screening effort against the light chain of BoNT serotype A (LC/A) was conducted with the John Hopkins Clinical Compound Library comprised of over 1,500 existing drugs. Lomofungin, a natural product first isolated in the late 1960's, was identified as an inhibitor of LC/A, displaying classical noncompetitive inhibition kinetics with a K(i) of 6.7 ± 0.7 µM. Inhibitor combination studies reveal that lomofungin binding is nonmutually exclusive (synergistic). The inhibition profile of lomofungin has been delineated by the use of both an active site inhibitor, 2,4-dichlorocinnamic hydroxamate, and a noncompetitive inhibitor d-chicoric acid; the mechanistic implications of these observations are discussed. Lastly, cellular efficacy was investigated using a rat primary cell model which demonstrated that lomofungin can protect against SNAP-25 cleavage, the intracellular protein target of LC/A.


Abstract This paper is a contribution to the academic debate on populism and Islamophobia in contemporary Europe. Its goal is to analyze Czech President Miloš Zeman's strategy in using the term "security" in his first term of office. Methodologically speaking, the text is established as a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) of a data set created from all of Zeman's speeches, interviews, statements, and so on, which were processed using MAXQDA11+. This paper shows that the dominant treatment of the phenomenon of security expressed by the President is primarily linked to the creation of the vision of Islam and immigration as the absolute largest threat to contemporary Europe. Another important finding lies in the fact that Zeman instrumentally utilizes rhetoric such as "not Russia, but Islam", which stems from Zeman's relationship to Putin's authoritarian regime. Zeman's conceptualization of Islam and migration follows the typical principles of contemporary right-wing populism in Europe.


Background and Aims: Many drugs with narrow therapeutic range and high toxicity risk are used in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) Units. The increase in the number of drugs raises the likelihood of interactions. This is particularly important in pediatric patients and may adversely affect the treatment process. In this study, we aimed to determine the potential drug interactions and to evaluate the clinical significance of them in terms of physician's and pharmacist's perceptions. Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective descriptive study over a six-month period in a tertiary care hospital's Pediatric HSCT Unit. A pharmacist evaluated inpatients' drugs for drug interactions by using a drug interaction checker program and the clinical significance of the interactions were evaluated by the physician and the pharmacist separately. Results: Drugs used in 20 patients (median age= 8 years, range= 0.6–17 years) were evaluated. A total of 525 potential drugdrug interactions were identified. Two hundred and forty seven interactions (47.05%) were major; 238 (45.33%) were moderate; 23 (4.38%) were contraindicated. The number of the interactions considered "clinically significant" by the pharmacist and "clinically insignificant" by the physician at the preparative regimen and post-transplant period were 15 (35.7%) and 37 (29.4%), respectively. Conclusion: The management of drug interactions is important in pediatric HSCT patients as a vulnerable group. Drug interactions should be interpreted according to the patient's clinical presentation, not only theoretically. Cooperation between physicians and pharmacists in the management of interactions will contribute to optimize the patient's treatment.


Abstract. The volcanic aerosol plume resulting from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland in April and May 2010 was detected in clear layers above Switzerland during two periods (17–19 April 2010 and 16–19 May 2010). In-situ measurements of the airborne volcanic plume were performed both within ground-based monitoring networks and with a research aircraft up to an altitude of 6000 m a.s.l. The wide range of aerosol and gas phase parameters studied at the high altitude research station Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l.) allowed for an in-depth characterization of the detected volcanic aerosol. Both the data from the Jungfraujoch and the aircraft vertical profiles showed a consistent volcanic ash mode in the aerosol volume size distribution with a mean optical diameter around 3 ± 0.3 μm. These particles were found to have an average chemical composition very similar to the trachyandesite-like composition of rock samples collected near the volcano. Furthermore, chemical processing of volcanic sulfur dioxide into sulfate clearly contributed to the accumulation mode of the aerosol at the Jungfraujoch. The combination of these in-situ data and plume dispersion modeling results showed that a significant portion of the first volcanic aerosol plume reaching Switzerland on 17 April 2010 did not reach the Jungfraujoch directly, but was first dispersed and diluted in the planetary boundary layer. The maximum PM 10 mass concentrations at the Jungfraujoch reached 30 μgm −3 and 70 μgm −3 (for 10-min mean values) duri ng the April and May episode, respectively. Even low-altitude monitoring stations registered up to 45 μgm −3 of volcanic ash related PM 10 (Basel, Northwestern Switzerland, 18/19 April 2010). The flights with the research aircraft on 17 April 2010 showed one order of magnitude higher number concentrations over the northern Swiss plateau compared to the Jungfraujoch, and a mass concentration of 320 (200–520) μgm −3 on 18 May 2010 over the northwestern Swiss plateau. The presented data significantly contributed to the time-critical assessment of the local ash layer properties during the initial eruption phase. Furthermore, dispersion models benefited from the detailed information on the volcanic aerosol size distribution and its chemical composition.


Numerous mammals possess whiskers (tactile hairs, also known as vibrissae) to explore their environment. These complex mechano-sensitive vibrissae are located, e.g. in the snout region (mystacial vibrissae). Because of the deformation of the vibrissa by contact with objects and obstacles, the animal gets additional information about the environment. Despite different morphology of animal vibrissae (e.g., cylindrically or conically shaped, precurved, multi-layer structure), these biological tactile hairs are modeled in a mechanical way to develop and analyze models concerning their bending behavior with a glance to get hints for a technical implementation as a technical sensor. At first, we investigate the bending behavior of cylindrically shaped and tapered rods which are one-sided
clamped and are under the load of an external force, using the Euler-Bernoulli non-linear bending theory. Then, a quasi-static sweep of these rods along various obstacle profiles is used for an obstacle profile reconstruction procedure. While scanning the object, the clamping reactions are determined, which are the only observables an animal relies on in biology. In plotting these observables and using them in a reconstruction algorithm to determine the scanned contour, we try to identify special features in dependence on the different geometries of
the rods. The clamping reactions tremendously depend on the form and position of the profile which is shown in several numerical simulations.


This work aims to test the ability of liquid carbon dioxide to remove grease from bearings in wind turbines. Currently, the removal of grease from wind turbines offshore in the North Sea is done by dismantling the bearing covers and scraping off the grease. This procedure is long, labour intensive and raises maintenance cost. Another issue is the environmental policy, the approval for newly introduced chemicals for flushing purposes are procedurally long. If the problems with grease removal could be solved in a different way other than manual removal or using chemicals, it will open many new market opportunities and would carved out a niche for the wind turbine maintenance industry. The solution of flushing grease could lower cost, time and reduce environmental impact by applying Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. The oil based grease SKF LGWM 1 was designed to handle extreme pressure and low temperature conditions. The grease covered the main bearing for 4 - 5 y in a wind turbine at Horns Rev 1 Offshore Wind Farm in the North Sea, 14 km from the west coast of Denmark. The series of experiments focused on higher pressures and temperatures as well as the use of some co-solvents. The highest recovery by pure carbon dioxide is 26 % and was achieved at 60 MPa and 80 ˚C while the addition of Kirasol-318SC improved the recovery by 8 % at the same conditions. Outgassing losses increase with the addition of kirasol. The low recoveries and high pressures obtained by the experiment do not provide an applicable method for grease removal; however it can be implemented for the removal of the contaminants from grease wastes.


Although cross-disciplinary research collaboration is necessary to achieve a better understanding of how human and natural systems are dynamically linked, it often turns out to be very difficult in practice. We outline a framing approach to cross-disciplinary research that focuses on the different perspectives that researchers from different backgrounds use to make sense of the issues they want to research jointly. Based on interviews, participants' evaluations, and our own observations during meetings, we analyze three aspects of frame diversity in a large-scale research project. First, we identify dimensions of difference in the way project members frame the central concept of adaptive water management. Second, we analyze the challenges provoked by the multiple framings of concepts. Third, we analyze how a number of interventions (interactive workshops, facilitation, group model building, and concrete case contexts) contribute to the connection and integration of different frames through a process of joint learning and knowledge construction.


The article discusses appropriate technologies for software implementation of the Virtual Accelerator. The Virtual Accelerator is considered as a set of services and tools enabling transparent execution of computational software for modeling beam dynamics in accelerators on distributed computing resources. Distributed storage and information processing facilities utilized by the Virtual Accelerator make use of the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) according to a cloud computing paradigm. Control system toolkits (such as EPICS, TANGO), computing modules (including high-performance computing), realization of the GUI with existing frameworks and visualization of the data are discussed in the paper. The presented research consists of software analysis for realization of interaction between all levels of the Virtual Accelerator and some samples of middleware implementation. A set of the servers and clusters at St.-Petersburg State University form the infrastructure of the computing environment for Virtual Accelerator design. Usage of component-oriented technology for realization of Virtual Accelerator levels interaction is proposed. The article concludes with an overview and substantiation of a choice of technologies that will be used for design and implementation of the Virtual Accelerator.


The paper extends the work of Akerlof and Kranton [2004] on social identity and economics of organization to an adverse selection framework. The inclusion of social identity in the principal's problem alters the contracts offered to the agents. A pooling contract is a Pareto optimal contract when the agent attaches greater weight on conformity to ideal behavior prescribed by group membership. Precisely how this pooling contract is characterized depends on the ideal behavior of the agent. This result is generalized when social interaction and social influence among members of different groups are allowed. Using the concept of accentuation effect in social psychology, the model provides theoretical justifications for the existence of a representative (or stereotypic) wage for a given social category.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate feasibility and accuracy of intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement by rebound tonometry in adult red-eared slider turtles and determine the effects of manual and chemical restraint on IOP.

ANIMAL STUDIED
Seventeen adult red-eared slider turtles.

PROCEDURES
Intraocular pressure was measured with TonoLab® and TonoVet® tonometers in conscious, unrestrained turtles. To evaluate the effects of manual restraint, turtles were restrained by digital pressure on the rostral head or proximal neck. The effect of two chemical restraint protocols (dexmedetomidine, ketamine, midazolam [DKM] and dexmedetomidine, ketamine [DK] subcutaneously) on IOP was evaluated. Triplicate TonoLab® and TonoVet® readings were compared with direct manometry in three ex vivo turtle eyes.

RESULTS
TonoLab® correlated better with manometry at IOPs < 45 mmHg than TonoVet® (linear regression slopes of 0.89 and 0.30, respectively). Mean (±SD) IOP in unrestrained conscious turtles was significantly lower (P < 0.01) with TonoLab® (10.02 ± 0.66 mmHg) than with TonoVet® (11.32 ± 1.57 mmHg). Manual neck restraint caused a significant increase in IOP (+6.31 ± 5.59 mmHg), while manual rostral head restraint did not. Both chemical restraint protocols significantly reduced IOP (DKM: −1.0 ± 0.76 mmHg; DK: −1.79 ± 1.17) compared with measurements in conscious unrestrained turtles.

CONCLUSIONS
Chemical and manual neck restraint affected IOP. Rostral head restraint had no significant effect on IOP and is, therefore, recommended as the appropriate restraint technique in red-eared slider turtles. TonoLab® measurements estimated actual IOP more accurately, within physiologic range, than measurements obtained using the TonoVet®.


Aims: To study the imprints of a rotating bar on the kinematics of stars in the thin and thick disks throughout the Galaxy. Methods: We perform test particle numerical simulations of the thin and thick disks in a 3D Galactic potential that includes a halo, a bulge, thin and thick disks, and a Ferrers bar. We analyze the resulting velocity distributions of populations corresponding to both disks, for different positions in the Galaxy and for different structural parameters of the bar. Results: We find that the velocity distributions of the disks are affected by the bar, and that strong transient effects are present for approximately 10 bar rotations after this is introduced adiabatically. On long (more realistic) timescales, the effects of the bar are strong on the kinematics of thin disk stars, and weaker on those in the thick disk, but in any case significant. Furthermore, we find that it is possible to trace the imprints of the bar also vertically and at least up to z ~ 1 kpc for the thin disk and z ~ 2 kpc for the thick disk.


Many previous studies assessed the adoption of mobile shopping by employing technology adoption models such as Technology Adoption Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). However, there has been a lack of effort in re-assessing the usage of these models for investigating mobile shopping adoption through the aspect of the advantages offered by mobile devices, compared to desktop devices. Furthermore, a new outlook into the aspect of customer behavior on mobile shopping is required as mobile technology continues to advance and progress within the context of the online shopping environment. The objective of this paper is to propose a new aspect to identify mobile shopping behavioral intention where the theoretical foundation of convenience and utilitarian advantages of mobile devices over PCs are taken into consideration. The paper suggests a conceptual framework where these variables will be discussed based on the fundamental variables. The framework will assist in improving the mobile platform to encourage more mobile shoppers in the future. Keyword: Mobile shopping behavior, utilitarianism, perceived convenience, behavioral intention, attitude, shopping motivation, lazy user model.


Certain transformed subclones of the mouse cell line BALB/3T3 release 5 to 15 times more type C virus per cell than the parent cell line after treatment with 5-bromodeoxyuridine. Virus release begins within 8 hours and exponentially increases for the first 24 to 48 hours. Superinducibility is associated with the transformed phenotype.


Geophysicists disagree whether Earth's mantle is a single convective cell or whether it is divided into convective layers. In his Perspective, Anderson reviews the evidence and concludes that the case for layered convection is strong. He also argues that plate tectonics may be driving upper mantle convection, rather than the other way around as traditionally believed. Sophisticated convection simulations will be needed to test this hypothesis.


Epidemiological data indicate that obesity is a risk factor for asthma. These data are supported by observations in several murine models of obesity. Ob/ob, db/db and Cpe mice each exhibit innate airway hyperresponsiveness, a characteristic feature of asthma. These mice also respond more vigorously to common asthma triggers, including ozone. Here we discuss the implications of these data with respect to several mechanisms proposed to explain the relationship between obesity and asthma: 1) common etiologies; 2) co-morbidities; 3) mechanical factors; and 4) adipokines. We focus on the role of adipokines, especially TNFα, IL6, leptin, and adiponectin. Understanding the mechanistic basis for the relationship between obesity and asthma may lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of the obese asthmatic.


Introduction: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are one of the main occupational health hazards affecting dental practitioners. Prolonged sitting and awkward posture can lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This can result in early retirements. Therefore, ergonomic principles should be followed to establish a safe, healthy, and comfortable working environment for dental practitioners, as this also affects the quality of work. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of ergonomic principles in routine dentistry. Materials and Methods: A single photograph of each practitioner while working on their patient was clicked, and a grid was then developed over these photographs. An assessment form was formulated which was used to evaluate various parameters. The parameters included eye, neck, elbow, upper back, lower back, thigh, and distance of headlight from the oral cavity. Measurements were done manually using ruler and protractor. After assessing all the parameters and determining the values, the evaluation of the results was done using Chi-square test. Results: The photographic analysis was completed by a total of 75 individuals, where 56 (74.6%) were female and 19 (25.3%) of them were male dental practitioners. None of the operators had a correct position of the neck, thus the neck being the most neglected parameter. Only three individuals were observed to follow the correct position of the elbow (P = 0.530). The majority of the individuals failed to position their back (P = 0.098) in the correct manner while performing clinical work. Moreover, it was found that only 15 individuals were following the correct thigh position while operating. Conclusion: Proper implementation of ergonomic principles and maintenance of balanced posture can prevent the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders and thus increases the work productivity.


Author(s): Pospischil, Reiner; Schnorbach, Hans-Jurgen | Abstract: Coumatetralyl (Racumin®) has been known since 1957 as a multiple dose anticoagulant and has been used successfully over many decades. In the seventies and especially the eighties, rats developed an increased resistance to anticoagulants in certain regions of Central Europe. Also, the addition of vitamin K to animal feed (especially to chicken feed) has reduced the efficacy against rats and mice in farm buildings. Combinations of anticoagulants with different types of vitamin D are generally described to increase the efficacy of action against rodents. It was found that especially the combination of coumatetralyl with cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) could overcome the above mentioned problems. Cholecalciferol causes hypercalcemia and, therefore, has a different mode of action compared to anticoagulants. The combination of these active ingredients leads to an obvious increase in efficacy against rodents, even under difficult conditions. The formulation with optimal rodenticidal efficacy contains 0.04% coumatetralyl and 0.025% cholecalciferol mixed in rolled oats.


OBJECTIVES
This experimental study aimed to create a prefabricated vascularized bone graft using the interconnected porous coralline hydroxyapatite ceramic by combining vascular bundle implantation, mesenchymal stem cells, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) administration in a rat model.

METHODS
Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups, each containing 15 rats. The hydroxyapatite ceramics were vascularized by the superficial inferior epigastric artery and vein in all groups. These vessels passed through the hole of the hydroxyapatite blocks. In Group 2, mesenchymal stem cells were administered into the hydroxyapatite. In Group 3, both mesenchymal stem cells and HBOT were administered. The presence and density of any new bone formation and neovascularization were evaluated by radiography, microangiography, scintigraphy, biochemical analysis, and histomorphometry.

RESULTS
Neovascularization and bone formation were significantly greater in Group 3, in which both mesenchymal stem cells and HBOT were applied, than the other groups.

CONCLUSION
HBOT enhances neovascularization and osteogenesis, thus HBOT can provide optimal and faster prefabrication of a vascularized bone graft.


The Arabidopsis AtHKT1;1 protein was identified as a sodium (Na+) transporter by heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, direct comparative in vivo electrophysiological analyses of a plant HKT transporter in wild-type and hkt loss-of-function mutants has not yet been reported and it has been recently argued that heterologous expression systems may alter properties of plant transporters, including HKT transporters. In this report, we analyze several key functions of AtHKT1;1-mediated ion currents in their native root stelar cells, including Na+ and K+ conductances, AtHKT1;1-mediated outward currents, and shifts in reversal potentials in the presence of defined intracellular and extracellular salt concentrations. Enhancer trap Arabidopsis plants with GFP-labeled root stelar cells were used to investigate AtHKT1;1-dependent ion transport properties using patch clamp electrophysiology in wild-type and athkt1;1 mutant plants. AtHKT1;1-dependent currents were carried by sodium ions and these currents were not observed in athkt1;1 mutant stelar cells. However, K+ currents in wild-type and athkt1;1 root stelar cell protoplasts were indistinguishable correlating with the Na+ over K+ selectivity of AtHKT1;1-mediated transport. Moreover, AtHKT1;1-mediated currents did not show a strong voltage dependence in vivo. Unexpectedly, removal of extracellular Na+ caused a reduction in AtHKT1;1-mediated outward currents in Columbia root stelar cells and Xenopus oocytes, indicating a role for external Na+ in regulation of AtHKT1;1 activity. Shifting the NaCl gradient in root stelar cells showed a Nernstian shift in the reversal potential providing biophysical evidence for the model that AtHKT1;1 mediates passive Na+ channel transport properties.


The most significant feature of the archaic Roman private process is the linking of the decision of the litigation to a judgment that was religious in nature, due to the close correlation of the ius with the fas. The term ius expresses religious values, when it is connected with the fas which, in this case, indicates the divine approval of a human conduct. Therefore, the sentence did not focus on the legal reasons of the parties, but had to establish conformity or not with the ius of the sacramentum. The latter was originally a solemn oath that coincided with a religious act carried out by each side, which thus created contact with the divinity and became a participant in its power. It emerges from the sources that the legis actiones in rem and in personam of the origins were based on a structure where religion played a preponderant role. At a later stage, the priests who interpreted the divine will formulated their evaluations using rational reasoning: already with the XII tables, the legis actiones underwent a change towards a process more marked by a judgment of a secular type.

Keywords: private process; ius; fas; sacramentum; legis actio sacramenti in rem; legis actio sacramenti in personam.


Copper nitride films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering on glass sheets at different deposition conditions. The surface morphology of the films was evaluated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM images demonstrate that the films have a compact structure. The structure of the films was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). We focused on the influence of preparation parameters on the adhesion and electrical properties of the films. The metallurgical microscope results indicate that the adhesion of the films enhances with increasing deposition power. The current-voltage (I-V) measurement results show that the resistivity of the films increases with the increasing lattice constants.


The objective of the Drug Information Center Arthritis Project was to create and assess the value of a patient-focused interactive arthritis education program. A multidisciplinary team developed three content areas: an interactive ask-a-pharmacist component with a satisfaction survey; health assessment tools (SF-8™, osteoarthritis [OA] Impact Survey™, and rheumatoid arthritis [RA] Impact Survey™); and disease and drug information. Results: There were 1,800 patients with OA, RA, or both from a collaborating rheumatology practice who were invited to use a personalized, interactive, secured Internet arthritis Web site. During a 6-week pilot, 56 patients accessed the site for a total of 128 visits. Patient satisfaction scores showed that 83% of patients rated the site as useful to very useful; 83 % would both use the site again and recommend the site to a friend. Overall health-related quality of life as measured by the SF-8 physical and mental component scores and the OA and RA Impact Surveys for patients accessing the Web site was slightly higher than the US population norms for patients with arthritis. Conclusions: To our knowledge, there are no other Web sites that provide confidential, patient-specific arthritis Internet information as an extension of a rheumatology practice. Our Web site provided novel access to personalized, evidence-based, and up-to-date information for patients.


Abstract For measurement of existing thread parameters using profile scanning, system error increases as pitch diameter, difference between the calibrating thread and measuring thread increases with the single gauge calibration method. There are several alignment deviations affecting the measurement of pitch diameter. To reduce the system error, a compensation method using two standard thread gauges to calculate the alignment deviations is proposed here. Finally, the theoretical and experimental comparisons between the single gauge calibration method and the proposed method are presented. The results demonstrate that the two gauges calibration method can effectively reduce the system error.


Many companies, such as Aramex, FedEx, and SMSA, offer product delivery services. However, the delivery process through these companies is costly and/or requires the customer's physical attendance at the company to get the sent shipments. There is a persistent need to improve the delivery process in Saudi Arabia to reduce the effort, cost, and time that the customer spends to get the shipped products. This paper presents a new delivery approach in Saudi Arabia by developing an Android-based MobApp that allows the customers to use their mobile devices to send and receive shipped products at their doorstep by submitting online requests through the developed MobApp. The proposed MobApp, named as Door-to-Door (D2D) product delivery MobApp, guarantees fast and costless service among its competitors. The MobApp will provide its customers a reliable delivery process. It aims to provide a domestic delivery chain with whomever to wherever within Saudi Arabia. In addition, the proposed delivery MobApp allows the customers to create, update and track the delivery orders. Moreover, the proposed D2D delivery MobApp is easy to install and use, it provides a friendly GUI and has a powerful steady performance.


The problem of allocating task interaction graphs (TIGs) to heterogeneous computing systems to minimize job completion time is investigated. The only restriction is that the interprocessor communication cost is the same for any pair of processors. This is suitable for local area network based systems, such as Ethernet, as well as fully interconnected multiprocessor systems. An optimal polynomial solution exists if sufficient homogeneous processors and communication capacity are available. This solution is generalized to obtain two faster heuristics, one for the case of homogeneous processors and the other for heterogeneous processors. The heuristics were tested extensively with 60,900 systematically generated random TIGs and shown to be stable independent of the size of the TIG. A performance model is also proposed to predict the performance of the heuristic algorithms, and it is successful in explaining the experimental results qualitatively.


Silicone preparations possess a wide variety of physical characteristics that are uniquely suited for ophthalmic use. Their optically clear fluids may serve as substitutes for aqueous and vitreous. Their rubber preparations, though opaque, yield fine cords or tubes that may provide more permanent drainage channels for aqueous. Their solid and optically clear preparations may provide intraocularly placed optical lenses; the procedure of siliconizing cloth and providing a uniform and thorough coating of each fiber permits the use of the physical properties of the cloth and the biological properties of the silicones; such preparation may be of value in reinforcing the sclera. Indeed, if these compounds are tolerated by the eye, the variety of situations wherein their mechanical or refractive properties may be used in ocular conditions is very great. Stone1reported tolerance of the rabbit eye to silicone fluid injected in the vitreous. These attractive features suggested an investigation


Many network data encountered are two-mode networks. These networks are characterized by having two sets of nodes and links are only made between nodes belonging to different sets. While their two-mode feature triggers interesting interactions, it also increases the risk of privacy exposure, and it is essential to protect sensitive information from being disclosed when releasing these data. In this paper, we introduce a weak notion of edge differential privacy and propose to release the degree sequence of a two-mode network by adding non-negative Laplacian noises that satisfies this privacy definition. Under mild conditions for an exponential-family model for bipartite graphs in which each node is individually parameterized, we establish the consistency and asymptotic normality of two differential privacy estimators, the first based on moment equations and the second after denoising the noisy sequence. For the latter, we develop an efficient algorithm which produces a readily useful synthetic bipartite graph. Numerical simulations and a real data application are carried out to verify our theoretical results and demonstrate the usefulness of our proposal.


The YTH-domain family protein ECT2 is a reader of the epitranscriptomic mark m6A that affects trichome morphology and functions in mRNA stability and 3′ UTR processing in Arabidopsis. The epitranscriptomic mark N6-methyladenosine (m6A) can be written, read, and erased via the action of a complex network of proteins. m6A binding proteins read m6A marks and transduce their downstream regulatory effects by altering RNA metabolic processes. The characterization of m6A readers is an essential prerequisite for understanding the roles of m6A in plants, but the identities of m6A readers have been unclear. Here, we characterized the YTH-domain family protein ECT2 as an Arabidopsis thaliana m6A reader whose m6A binding function is required for normal trichome morphology. We developed the formaldehyde cross-linking and immunoprecipitation method to identify ECT2-RNA interaction sites at the transcriptome-wide level. This analysis demonstrated that ECT2 binding sites are strongly enriched in the 3′ untranslated regions (3′ UTRs) of target genes and led to the identification of a plant-specific m6A motif. Sequencing analysis suggested that ECT2 plays dual roles in regulating 3′ UTR processing in the nucleus and facilitating mRNA stability in the cytoplasm. Disruption of ECT2 accelerated the degradation of three ECT2 binding transcripts related to trichome morphogenesis, thereby affecting trichome branching. The results shed light on the underlying mechanisms of the roles of m6A in RNA metabolism, as well as plant development and physiology.


Introduction. In modern scientific literature it is becoming increasingly popular to study Quality of Life (QoL) index as an integral indicator of the entire therapeutic complex. QoL along with physical examination, laboratory and instrumental tests allows a doctor to fully assess patient's condition. That is why the QoL researches has been recently become more and more widespread in the scientific papers. Aim. The aim of this study was to determine applicability of the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life Questionnaire (WISQOL) and the SF-36 General Questionnaire for evaluating treatment outcomes and postoperative follow-up in patients with ureterolithiasis. Materials and methods. 123 patients with diagnosed urolithiasis (ureteral stone) were included in the study. Clinical efficacy of the shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) and contact (laser) ureterolithotripsy (CLT) was assessed after 1 week, 1 and 3 months using stone free rate (SFR). To analyze clinical factors influencing patients QoL, differences in the WISQOL and SF-36 total scores and scores before and after treatment were compared. At the third step, the dynamics of QoL indicators at different stages of treatment was analyzed. Results. The SFR at 1 week, 1 and 3 months after SWL and CLT were 47,1%, 58,8%, 72,5% and 6,4%, 84,7, 93,1% respectively. Gender, age, stone size and the Stone Free Rate achieved during treatment had a significant effect on QoL (p <0.05), while localization and density of a stone showed no effect. According to the WISQOL and SF-36 questionnaire, 1 week after CLT patients had lower levels of QoL, than after SWL (p < 0.05), but after 1 month the QoL for SWL and CLT reached the same levels and by 3 months became submaximal. Conclusions. Despite the higher rates of clinical efficacy, CLT showed lower QoL levels in the early postoperative period. Male sex, age up to 40 years, stone size more than 7 mm, and not achieved SFR during treatment contribute to lower QoL. To assess the dynamics of QoL levels in patients with ureterolithiasis, it is advisable to use the WISQOL.


THE WORD nevus is derived from natus ("born") and was originally used loosely to designate almost any type of the so-called birthmark. It is still applied rather ambiguously to various unrelated conditions, principally to pigmented lesions of the skin and mucous membranes, but also commonly to certain types of hemangioma (naevus flammeus and port-wine hemangioma of the skin) and sometimes to various pigmented tumors of the uveal tract. It is now generally believed that the term should be restricted to lesions composed of so-called nevus cells. The nevus cell is a ubiquitous component, with definite characteristics ; but its precise nature has been the subject of extensive controversy. The argument has been raging, indeed, virtually from the birth of the cellular concept, and only in recent years have there been any areas of agreement among observers. At the present most pathologists accept the Masson theory that nevus cells are modified Schwann


Humanities have been in crisis for a long time, because they continuously need to grow and to be updated, which is not necessarily always negative. This crisis in the humanities has a strong relationship with cultural changes. During the 20th century the concept of culture has been revised for several times, especially during the sixties, but it has not been until the book of Lyotard Postmodernity when "globalization" has started to play an important role in this area. The key points of the current crisis of the humanities are consequence of a strong criticism (which comes from the period of Descartes and Kant, who settled the basis of this crisis), of the lack of authority, and of the common culture. The solution has to be searched in the creation of new reactions towards the power of these pressure groups. In this paper, we will analyze the repercussions of all these factors in the Spanish humanities, and we will study the solutions which are being offered to organize that reaction, such as the creation of literary prizes, the foundation of philosophical communities, the defence of human rights and law studies, the development of cultural inheritance, the increase of social conscience (non-profit organizations), the proliferation of activities related with the Arts, and religious development. All these strategies have three common aims: to flee of authoritarian or imposed solutions, to look for concrete and positive expressions, and to boost concrete and local cultural projects. As far as the situation in Spain is concerned, although the perspectives are not very dark, they can suffer changes due to political conflicts and interests, which can damage severely the future of our national thought.


We study the interaction between constraint release and contour length fluctuations in well entangled polymers, by means of a set of slip-spring simulations in which the rate of constraint release is precisely controlled. In the present simulations, a fraction f = 0.9 of the slip-springs undergo constraint release, while the remaining slip-springs do not, as an idealized model to mimic the constraint release environment of a bidisperse polymer melt. Both populations of slip-springs allow reptation of the chain. Our analysis of the data indicates the time and parameter regions in which contour length fluctuations occur effectively along a thin tube, or along a diluted fat tube. We predict the parameters for which case each is observed and the rate of relaxation due to contour length fluctuations in each region. Finally, we draw the implications of the simulations for bidisperse blend rheology, by revisiting the classic "Viovy diagram" for such melts. We relocate some of the lines on the original diagram, and identify new regimes, based on the physics and quantitative information supplied by the simulation data. In particular, we identify a new region in the diagram in which along-tube motion of the long chains is predominantly along the contour of the thin tube, yet contour length fluctuations occur in the fat tube, resulting in an acceleration of the terminal relaxation. We successfully and quantitatively locate a wide range of literature data on our redrawn diagram.We study the interaction between constraint release and contour length fluctuations in well entangled polymers, by means of a set of slip-spring simulations in which the rate of constraint release is precisely controlled. In the present simulations, a fraction f = 0.9 of the slip-springs undergo constraint release, while the remaining slip-springs do not, as an idealized model to mimic the constraint release environment of a bidisperse polymer melt. Both populations of slip-springs allow reptation of the chain. Our analysis of the data indicates the time and parameter regions in which contour length fluctuations occur effectively along a thin tube, or along a diluted fat tube. We predict the parameters for which case each is observed and the rate of relaxation due to contour length fluctuations in each region. Finally, we draw the implications of the simulations for bidisperse blend rheology, by ...


Skin cancer is the most frequent form of malignancy in the world, and UV radiation is the primary environmental carcinogen responsible for its development. Herein we demonstrate that Gadd45a is a critical factor protecting the epidermis against UV radiation-induced tumorigenesis by promoting damaged keratinocytes to undergo apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest, two crucial events that prevent the expansion of mutant or deregulated cells. Whereas Gadd45a has been implicated in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and DNA repair, to determine the physiological function of endogenous Gadd45a after genotoxic stress, the skin of Gadd45a-null mice was targeted with UV radiation. We report that Gadd45a induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by maintaining p38 and c-JNK MAPK activation in keratinocytes. The absence of Gadd45a results in loss of sustained p38/JNK MAPK activity beyond 15–30 min after UV radiation that leads to inadequate p53 activation and loss of normal activation of G1 and G2 checkpoints. Moreover, loss of Gadd45a dramatically reduces UV-induced apoptotic keratinocytes, "sunburn cells." Consequently, Gadd45a-null mice are more prone to tumors relative to wild-type mice. Therefore, we conclude that Gadd45a, like p53, is a key component protecting skin against UV-induced tumors.


The growth of broad money in the UK economy has slowed dramatically since the start of the recession. In part, that weakness reflects reduced borrowing by households and companies during the recession. But money balances held by asset managers also fell as deposits were used to purchase new equity and long-term debt issued by the banking sector in response to the financial crisis. Offsetting the weakness from these two factors was the programme of asset purchases — so-called 'quantitative easing' or QE — conducted by the Bank of England on behalf of the Monetary Policy Committee, which boosted broad money holdings. The evidence from the monetary data suggests that the programme of asset purchases contributed to an increase in asset prices and, ultimately, an increase in nominal demand in the economy, corroborating other evidence from financial market prices.


Abstract Socioeconomic status (SES) is relatively stable across generations, but social policies may create opportunities for upward social mobility among disadvantaged populations during periods of economic growth. With respect to expanded educational opportunities that occurred in Québec (Canada) during the 1960s, we hypothesized that children's social and academic competence would promote upward mobility, whereas aggression and social withdrawal would have the opposite effect. Out of 4,109 children attending low-SES schools in 1976–1978, a representative subsample of 503 participants were followed until midadulthood. Path analyses revealed that parents' SES predicted offspring's SES through associations with offspring's likeability, academic competence, and educational attainment. Interaction effects revealed individual risk factors that moderated children's ability to take advantage of intrafamilial or extrafamilial opportunities that could enhance their educational attainment. Highly aggressive participants and those presenting low academic achievement were unable to gain advantage from having highly educated parents. They reached lower educational attainment than their less aggressive or higher achieving peers who came from a similarly advantaged family background. Growing up with parents occupying low-prestige jobs put withdrawn boys and outgoing girls at risk for low educational attainment. In conclusion, social policies can raise SES across generations, with great benefits for the most disadvantaged segments of the population. However, children presenting with emerging psychopathology or academic weaknesses do not benefit from these policies as much as others, and should receive additional, targeted services.


This study examined the extent of reference services provided to users in Ebonyi State Public Library, Abakiliki. Six research questions were used in the study. The survey research design was used to conduct the study. The population of the study  comprises 200 users of the reference information sources in the public library studied. Data for the study were collected through questionnaire. Data collected for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings regarding the extent of reference services offered to the users by the public library studied show that the reference section of the library is manned by only one librarian. Users are very satisfied with the extent of reference services provided to them by the public library studied. Findings further show that the reference section of Ebonyi State Public Library, Abakiliki is faced with the problems of inadequate reading space, equipment and furniture, reference information sources, unconducive reading  environment and insufficient number of reference librarians. It is recommended that adequate reading space, fund, reference information materials, equipment and furniture should be provided to the public library studied for more efficient reference services to the users. Key Words : Reference, Service. Users. Public, Library


Heparin-free dialysis (HFD) with and without saline flushes, although not a new concept, is a strategy that can be easily employed for managing patients at high risk for bleeding. The purpose of this article is to review the concept of HFD as described in reference literature and to report on the protocol and success of using this technique at Stanford University Hospital.


In this paper i have done sentiment analysis on IMDB dataset using Recurrent Neural network.Sentiment analysis based on text mining or opinion mining based on different dataset.Sentiment classification is done in three categories- Positive,Neagtive and Neutral.Text classification is done on the dataset and data preprocessing is done to remove hastags, synonms,acronyms etc.LSTM Recurrent Neural Networks to other algorithms for classifying the sentiment of movie reviews.Recurrent neural network provides high accuracy and polarity as compared to different machine learning classifiers.To address this task deep learning has become popular method. LSTM (Long short-term memory) model has been used which is a modified version of RNN (Recurrent Neural Networks). Recurrent Neural Networks has ability handle sequential data very effectively and without performing any feature engineering it can learn directly from low-level features. Instead of exploring LSTMs abilities and capabilities, main focus was to learn how embedding can help us to understand user expectations from text. Proper pre- processing for data has been implemented. Informal language, contextualization, bad grammatical structure, misspellings are additional complicating factors. Reviews are analysed as binary classification task, after processing reviews are classified as either negative or positive. Features for training and testing the deep learning model were retrieved by using new method called ?word-vector?. Moreover, effect of sentence length has also been investigated. Sentiment analysis for short sentences becomes difficult because of lack of contextual information. Multiple hidden layers have been used in the architecture. Dropout, Normalization and Parametric Rectified Linear Unit (PReLU) technology has been used to generalize and improve the accuracy of model. Also, the impact of various hyper-parameter has analysed. Different neural network configurations are evaluated. The performance of model is discussed with respect to the input data and modelconfiguration.


Clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCAC) of the uterine cervix is a rare variant of cervical adenocarcinoma accounting for approximately 4-9% of this disease. Given the rarity of this pathological entity, the optimal treatment management is far from being defined. Earlier evidence suggested that the prognosis of patients bearing cervical CCAC is worse than with other histotypes, thus making the investigation of multimodal treatment strategies clinically worthwhile. Herein, we report the first case of locally advanced, large size cervical CCAC in a young woman who was triaged to concomitant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery and experienced a pathologically assessed optimal response to this multimodal approach.


Abstract In India, drip irrigation with plastic mulch is a common practise for irrigation that conserves water. For the design and administration of irrigation regimes, a thorough understanding of the distribution and flow of soil water in the root zone is required. It has been demonstrated that simulation models are effective tools for this purpose. In this work, an automated drip-irrigated Okra field with seven treatments namely T1- Soil moisture-based drip irrigation to 100% FC, T2- Soil moisture-based drip irrigation to 80% FC, T3- Soil moisture-based drip irrigation to 60% FC, T4- Timer based drip irrigation to 100% CWR, T5- Timer based drip irrigation to 80% CWR, T6- Timer based drip irrigation to 60% CWR and T7- Conventional drip irrigation at 100% CWR were utilised to mimic the temporal fluctuations in soil water content using the numerical model HYDRUS- 2D. With the help of the observed data, the inverse solution was used to optimise the soil hydraulic parameters. The model was used to forecast soil water content for seven field treatments at optimal conditions. Root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) were used to assess the congruences between the predictions and data. With RMSE ranging from 0.036 to 0.067 cm3 cm- 3, MAE ranging from 0.020 to 0.059, and R2 ranging from 0.848 to 0.959, the findings showed that the model fairly represented the differences in soil water content at all sites in seven treatments.


TiO2 colloids prepared by sol-gel method were autoclaved and then deposited onto a transparent conducting oxide substrate by screen-printing. The TiO2 films electrode was characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM and Alpha-Step profilometer and then sensitized by zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), 2,9,16,23-tetracarboxy zinc phthalocyanine (ZnTCPc) and ZnTCPc/lauric acid respectively. Photocurrent density (I) and photovoltage (V) of the electrode were measured with the solar simulator. The ZnTCPc-sensitized electrode was found the best performance with the short-circuit photocurrent density (Isc) 16.66 3A/cm2, the open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) 277.9 mV and the fill factor (FF) 0.39. And the ZnPc-sensitized electrode was found the worst performance with Voc 114.2 mV, Isc 2.26 3A/cm2 and FF 0.31. It was also found that lauric acid promoted Voc of the the ZnTCPc sensitized system.


Halogen is one of the leading digital design consultancies in Norway, with expertise in design of critical systems and applications, websites, intranets, products and processes. One common denominator in all of Halogen's services and projects is a human-centered design approach aiming for holistic user experiences. The company has through recent years gone from being experts in digital user experience to become a strategic design expertise with focus on service design, design of critical systems, innovation and work processes. This means that projects are much more complex on many levels such as operation, process and deliveries.
Halogen has established a partnership with The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) by applying the proven methods and techniques of Systems Oriented Design into a practical and commercial context. Through the last couple of years Halogen has carried out more than 20 design projects using System Oriented Design as a central approach.

Our experience with applying Systems Oriented Design in a commercial context has led us to develop new techniques and expand the usage of the method. This includes:
1. The use of predesigned GIGA-map layouts.
2. The development of four main GIGA-map typologies.
3. Commercial usage of the concept of establishing ceative spaces both at company office and mirrored to our clients.
4. Developing techniques for selling Systems Oriented Design.

Systems Oriented Design has proven to be a cost effective and practical tool for dealing with development in complex settings. It provides and delivers an organisational strategic alignment. At the same time it creates a basis for the development of products and services that connects and fits into larger contexts.


Traditional video search engines retrieve the results on the basis of correspondence between user's textual query and tags associated with the videos. Only that content that matches the tags is returned as a result to the user. Given the ever-increasing immensity of videos on the internet, especially those with zero or irrelevant tags, such traditional methodology has eventually led to rise in ratio of missing important context. Content based searching within a video library is definitely an alternative solution but it requires time consuming computations and comparisons which renders exhaustive search unpractical. The purpose of this paper is to provide an efficient methodology that will lead to incremental improvement in the video search results against a user's query image. Our method employs Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), an evolutionary population based search algorithm, to look for frames within the video library. The fitness of each swarm particle is the degree of similarity with respect to the content present in both the input image provided by the user and the video frame(s) fetched through PSO. This exempts us from the exhaustive and linear search of every frame of every video in the library. The relative best match in each generation of PSO is shown to the user for his engagement. For calculating the fitness of each swarm particle we have tested three similarity measures, 1) correlation based template matching, 2) score from scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm and, 3) convolution. Preliminary results on real video library are promising.


The feasibility of laying offshore pipelines in deep waters, to 3000 feet and beyond, has been established by theoretical studies by a number of different individuals and organizations over the past several years. These various theoretical studies are now being tested and refined as pipelines and production facilities are being installed in ever-deeper waters. A pipeline failure in these great depths would be intolerable, among other reasons because of the great difficulty and exorbitant expense of performing a deepwater repair. A thorough understanding of the buckling and collapse behavior of pipe is, therefore, becoming ever more critical as these oil and gas production facilities get progressively deeper.

Recognizing a need for further research into the collapse behavior of pipe, Pipeline Research Council International, Inc. undertook in 1984 a three-phase program to develop a deeper understanding of basic pipe collapse phenomena. Phase I of this program (1984-1985) focused on the effects of imperfections on pipe collapse. This work was done in the laboratory of Professor Stelios Kyriakides at The University of Texas at Austin, and involved the testing of numerous small-scale steel and aluminum tubes. The Phase II program (1986-1987), also performed at The University of Texas, considered the effects of construction loads. The final Phase III program (1988-1989) was intended as a full-scale verification of the small-scale tests conducted in the previous two phases. This program was conducted at Stress Engineering Services in Houston under the direction of Dr. Joe Fowler, and consisted of Pure Collapse Tests of 16-inch Pipe (16 samples). Pressure vs. Tension Tests of 6 5/8-inch Pipe (18 samples), and Pressure vs. Bending Tests of 6 5/8-inch Pipe (18 samples).


Objectives To establish a reference range for acylcarnitines (ACs) and amino acids (AAs) concentrations in dried blood spot (DBS) samples of Omani neonates to detect inborn errors of metabolism (IEM), and to evaluate the effect of age and sex on ACs and AAs. Methods Electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry (+ESI-MS/MS) was used to determine ACs and AAs concentrations in DBS samples collected from 1302 healthy newborns (0–7 days) delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital between August 2008 and May 2009. Results More than fifty biomarkers that allow diagnosis of various IEMs were measured, their 1stand 99thpercentile values determined, and compared with published international data. Our results were comparable with the corresponding figures from Collaborative Laboratory Integrated Report, despite a much smaller sample size. We found that age had a significant effect on most ACs and AAs except decadienoylcarnitin, decenoylcarnitine, adipylcarnitine, palmitoylcarnitine, steatoylcarnitine, tyrosin, phenylalanine, and valine. Sex of the neonate had insignificant effect on most ACs and AAs except free-carnitine, acetylcarnitine, hexanoylcarnitine, octanoylcarnitine, malonylcarnitine, decanoylcarnitine, dodecenoylcarnitine, dodecanoylcarnitine, and tetradecanoylcarnitine. Conclusions Tandem mass spectrometer is a highly effective tool for high throughput screening of IEM. This study is the first to publish reference intervals for ACs and AAs from DBS samples of Omani newborns. The results may prove to be of significance when determining cut-off values for newborn screening in the near future.


No-till (NT) practices usually increase the P content in soil surfaces. The main purpose of this work was to study the long-term effects of the soil tillage system on the P release potential in the surface layer of a Vertisol from southwest Spain and to correlate it with changes in P content and forms. The three tillage treatments investigated were: (i) conventional tillage (CT) with a moldboard plow and field cultivator; (ii) minimum tillage (MT) with a field cultivator; and (iii) NT, which involved direct sowing into crop residue from the previous year. After 21 yr, NT resulted in enhanced organic matter, Olsen P, organic P, and total P contents relative to CT and MT in the top 5 cm of soil. The ratio of labile inorganic P fractions to P related to sparingly soluble pedogenic Ca phosphates in the surface soil layer was much greater under NT (0.8) than under CT (0.57) or MT (0.55). This was ascribed to a decreased precipitation of sparingly soluble Ca phosphate because of the enrichment in organic matter under NT, and accounted in part for the higher portion of inorganic P related to labile fractions in NT (0.19 vs. 0.09 in CT and 0.10 in MT). The increased P release potential of surface soil as estimated by using P sinks indicated that an increased dissolved P concentration in runoff and a greater amount of potentially releasable P per unit mass of surface soil lost through erosive processes can be expected with NT than with MT or CT.


There is a growing need for parametric design software that communicates building performance feedback in early architectural exploration to support decision-making. This paper examines how the circuit of design and analysis process can be closed to provide active and concurrent feedback between architecture and services engineering domains. It presents the structure for an openly customisable design system that couples parametric modelling and energy analysis software to allow designers to assess the performance of early design iterations quickly. Finally, it discusses how user interactions with the system foster information exchanges that facilitate the sharing of design intelligence across disciplines.


After a decade of movement-based interaction in human–computer interaction, designing for the moving body still remains a challenge. Research in this field requires methods to help access, articulate, and harness embodied experiences in ways that can inform the design process. To address this challenge, this article appropriates bodystorming, an embodied ideation method for movement-based interaction design. The proposed method allows for early consideration of the physical, collocated, and social aspects of a designed activity as illustrated with two explorative workshops in different application domains: interactive body games and interactive performances. Using a qualitative methods approach, we used video material from the workshops, feedback from participants, and our own experience as participants and facilitators to outline important characteristics of the bodystorming method in the domain of movement-based interaction. The proposed method is compared with previous ones and application implications are discussed.


Active control constitutes the state of the art in vibration management in rotating machines. However, existing designs are impractical and costly, and hence not yet widely applied. The goal of the research reported here was to develop a design which would allow the implementation of active technology in a wider range of rotating machine applications. Thus, this study focuses on a novel active rotor topology, consisting of a hollow rotor with internally mounted sensors and actuators. This layout provides greater freedom to select the sensor and actuator positions along the rotor, and naturally protects the devices from harsh working environments. The research was structured according to four themes. Firstly, the concept feasibility was explored by constructing a fully functioning prototype. MEMS accelerometers and mass balancer actuators were mounted in an assembled rotor, together with a microcontroller and radio unit to enable wireless transmission of data. Secondly, the behaviour of MEMS accelerometers in a rotating frame of reference was studied. An output model was derived and applied to the study of whirl orbits and transient vibration. Further, techniques were developed to extract mean displacement and angular velocity information from the sensor signals. An analysis of potential sources of measurement error was conducted, and methods for their mitigation devised. The third theme focused on developing active vibration control techniques suitable for use with active rotors. The core of this work is the development and successful implementation of a non a priori method, Algorithmic Direct Search Control. This technique enables vibration to be minimised without knowledge of the system characteristics, by applying a direct search optimisation technique as a control law. Finally, the combination of active rotors and Active Magnetic Bearings was considered to tackle the problem of sensor/actuator non-collocation. The challenge of levitating a rotor on AMBs using only internal accelerometers was approached via integration-based displacement information extraction, to exploit existing PID controllers. This method proved unfeasible in practice, but valuable lessons were derived from the study. The key finding of this work is that active rotor technology is versatile, cost-effective, powerful and feasible. As such, it offers great potential as a route to achieving a more practical and generalised implementation of active control technology in rotating machinery.


Long-term immunization of rabbits with postsynaptic densities (PSD) from bovine brain produced an antiserum specific for PSD as judged by binding to subcellular fractions and immunohistochemical location at the light and electron microscope levels. (a) The major antigens of bovine PSD preparations were three polypeptides of molecular weight 95,000 (PSD-95), 82,000 (PSD-82), and 72,000 (PSD-72), respectively. Antigen PSD-95, also present in mouse and rat PSDs was virtually absent from cytoplasm, myelin, mitochondria, and microsomes from rodent or bovine brain. Antigens PSD-82 and PSD-72 were present in all subcellular fractions from bovine brain, especially in mitochondria, but were almost absent from rodent brain. The antiserum also contained low-affinity antibodies against tubulin. (b)Immunohistochemical studies were performed in mouse and rat brain, where antigen PSD-95 accounted for 90 percent of the antiserum binding after adsorption with purified brain tubulin. At the light microscope level, antibody binding was observed only in those regions of the brain where synapses are known to be present. No reaction was observed in myelinated tracts, in the neuronal cytoplasm, or in nonneuronal cells. Strong reactivity was observed in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus, stratum oriens and stratum radiatum of the hippocampus, and the molecular layer of the cerebellum. Experimental lesions, such as ablation of the rat entorhinal cortex or intraventricular injection of kainic acid, which led to a major loss of PSD in well- defined areas of the hippocampal formation, caused a correlative decrease in immunoreactivity in these areas. Abnormal patterns of immunohistochemical staining correlated with abnormal synaptic patterns in the cerebella of reeler and staggerer mouse mutants. (c) At the electron microscopic level, immunoreactivity was detectable only in PSD. The antibody did not bind to myelin, mitochondria or plasma membranes. (d) The results indicate that antigen PSD-95 is located predominantly or exclusively in PSD and can be used as a marker during subcellular fractionation. Other potential uses include the study of synaptogenesis, and the detection of changes in synapse number after experimental perturbations of the nervous system.


Although research on conflict has tended to separately study interstate conflict and civil war, states experiencing civil wars are substantially more likely to become involved in militarized disputes with other states. Scholars have typically focused on opportunistic attacks or diversionary wars to explain this domestic–international conflict nexus. The authors argue that international disputes that coincide with civil wars are more often directly tied to the issues surrounding the civil war and emphasize intervention, externalization, and unintended spillover effects from internal conflict as important sources of international friction. They empirically demonstrate that civil wars substantially increase the probability of disputes between states. An analysis of conflict narratives shows that the increased risk of interstate conflict associated with civil wars is primarily driven by states' efforts to affect the outcome of the civil war through strategies of intervention and externalization and not by an increase in conflicts over unrelated issues.


Multiple class queueing models arise in situations where some flexibility is sought through pooling of demands for different services. Earlier research has shown that most of the benefits of flexibility can be obtained with only a small proportion of cross-trained operators. Predicting the performance of a system with different types of demands and operator pools with different skills is very difficult. We present an approximation method that is based on equivalent loss systems. We successively develop approximations for the waiting probability, the average waiting time and the service level. Our approximations are validated using a series of simulations. Along the way we present some interesting insights into some similarities between queueing systems and equivalent loss systems that have to our knowledge never been reported in the literature.