Objective: The combination of paclitaxel-cisplatin regimen is one of the chemotherapy regimens used at Sanglah General Hospital, Denpasar. Cisplatin is a potent chemotherapeutic agent, but the nephrotoxic effects of cisplatin reported that research is needed to see the toxic effect on the kidneys before and after 6 series of paclitaxel-cisplatin chemotherapy. Toxicity assessment of the chemotherapy can be observed by evaluating kidney function from monitoring both blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine serum value. Methods: The research was conducted as an observational study using a prospective cohort method. The research was conducted from January 2016 to June 2016. Patients' follow-up was conducted from the first until the last series of chemotherapy. The data were statistically analyzed with STATA version 14 with paired t-test when the data were normally distributed or the data were analyzed with Wilcoxon test when they were not normally distributed. Results: A total of seven patients were evaluated with both their BUN and creatinine serum values during six series of chemotherapy. Statistically, the BUN and creatinine serum values before the first and after the last paclitaxel-cisplatin chemotherapy series are not statistically significantly different (p>0.05). Conclusion: There are no significant changes of both BUN and creatinine serum values before the first and after the last paclitaxel-cisplatin chemotherapy series in patients with stadium IIB-IIIB squamous cell cervical cancer. Research with larger sample size is essential to provide optimal information for other health-care professionals.


Sexual objectification is a subtle manifestation of sexist discrimination and violence against women that involves seeing and treating women as sex objects of male sexual desire. The primary aim of this research was to connect sexual objectification experiences with heterosexual intimate partner violence. This set of studies examined the impact of sexual objectification on intimate partner violence for both the female victim (Study 1) and the male perpetrator (Study 2). Female (Study 1) and male (Study 2) participants were asked to rate the extent they are victims or perpetrators of sexual objectification experiences and intimate partner violence. Moreover, women's self-silencing and men's ascriptions of humanity and empathy (through empathic concern and perspective taking) toward their partner was assessed. The results of the first study (including 154 heterosexual women) showed that general sexual objectification victimization indirectly leads to higher psychological and physical violence through the internalization of self-silence schemas. The second study (including 165 heterosexual men) demonstrated a link between general sexual objectification perpetration and psychological and physical intimate partner violence. Moreover, the relation between men's perpetration of objectification and intimate partner violence was mediated by ascriptions of humanity and empathic concern toward their female partner (but not through perspective taking toward her). Results of both studies demonstrate the effect of sexual objectification (as target or perpetrator) on global intimate partner violence and explain the different psychological mechanisms through which it takes place depending on the gendered perspective. Theoretical implications and practical considerations for interventions on intimate partner violence are discussed.


Submillimeter rotational lines of H2O are a powerful probe in warm gas regions of the interstellar medium (ISM), tracing scales and structures ranging from kiloparsec disks to the most compact and dust-obscured regions of galactic nuclei. The ortho-H2O(423 − 330 line at 448 GHz, which has recently been detected in a local luminous infrared galaxy, offers a unique constraint on the excitation conditions and ISM properties in deeply buried galaxy nuclei because the line requires high far-infrared optical depths to be excited. In this letter, we report the first high-redshift detection of the 448 GHz H2O(423–330) line using ALMA in a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) at z = 3.63. After correcting for magnification, the luminosity of the 448 GHz H2O line is ∼106 L⊙. In combination with three other previously detected H2O lines, we build a model that resolves the dusty ISM structure of the SMG, and find that it is composed of a ∼1 kpc optically thin (optical depth at 100 μm τ100 ∼ 0.3) disk component with a dust temperature Tdust ≈ 50 K that emits a total infrared power of 5 × 1012 L⊙ with a surface density ΣIR = 4 × 1011 L⊙ kpc−2, and a very compact (0.1 kpc) heavily dust-obscured (τ100 ≳ 1) nuclear core with very warm dust (100 K) and ΣIR = 8 × 1012 L⊙ kpc−2. The H2O abundance in the core component, XH2O ∼ (0.3–5) × 10−5, is at least one order of magnitude higher than in the disk component. The optically thick core has the characteristic properties of an Eddington-limited starburst, providing evidence that radiation pressure on dust is capable of supporting the ISM in buried nuclei at high redshifts. The multicomponent ISM structure revealed by our models illustrates that dust and molecules such as H2O are present in regions that are characterized by highly differing conditions and scales, extending from the nucleus to more extended regions of SMGs.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Chronic abuse of toluene by inhalation causes variable white matter changes and thalamic hypointensity on T2-weighted MR images. The purpose of our study was to assess cranial MR findings in a large series of patients who chronically abuse toluene-containing solvents to investigate the factors causing the qualitative variability of white matter changes and thalamic hypointensity.

METHODS
We studied the neurologic signs, symptoms, and cranial MR findings in 41 patients who chronically abused thinner, a toluene-containing solvent. We classified white matter changes as diffuse or restricted. We tested the associations of the development of white matter lesions and thalamic hypointensity with patient age at onset of abuse and duration of abuse.

RESULTS
MR images revealed white matter lesions in 46% of the patients, atrophic dilatation of ventricles and sulci in 27%, and thalamic hypointensity in 20%. White matter changes were restricted in 53% and diffuse in 47%. The development of white matter changes and thalamic hypointensity were significantly associated with duration of abuse longer than 4 years (P <.05 and P <.01, respectively).

CONCLUSION
White matter changes seem to start in the deep periventricular white matter, and they spread into peripheral white matter, causing the loss of gray matter-white matter differentiation with continued toluene abuse. The deposition of iron due to demyelination and axonal loss is the most probable mechanism for the thalamic hypointensity found in solvent abusers.


BACKGROUND Atrioventricular (AV) delay optimization can be an important determinant of the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with medically refractory heart failure and a ventricular conduction delay. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to compare two Doppler echocardiographic methods of AV delay optimization after CRT. METHODS Forty consecutive patients (age 59 12 years) with severe heart failure, New York Heart Association class 3.1 0.4, QRS duration 177 23 ms, and left ventricular ejection fraction 26% 6% referred for CRT were studied using two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography. In each patient, the acute improvement in stroke volume with CRT in response to two methods of AV delay optimization was compared. In the first method, the AV delay that produced the largest increase in the aortic velocity time integral (VTI) derived from continuous-wave Doppler (aortic VTI method) was measured. In the second method, the AV delay that optimized the timing of mitral valve closure to occur simultaneously with the onset of left ventricular systole was calculated from pulsed Doppler mitral waveforms at a short and long AV delay interval (mitral inflow method). RESULTS The optimized AV delay determined by the aortic VTI method resulted in an increase in aortic VTI of 19% 13% compared with an increase of 12% 12% by the mitral inflow method (P .001). The optimized AV delay by the aortic VTI method was significantly longer than the optimized AV delay calculated from the mitral inflow method (119 34 ms vs 95 24 ms, P .001). There was no correlation in the AV delay determined by the two methods (r 0.03). CONCLUSION AV delay optimization by Doppler echocardiography for patients with severe heart failure treated with a CRT device yields a greater systolic improvement when guided by the aortic VTI method compared with the mitral inflow method.


Written for undergraduate and graduate students of finance, economics and business, the fourth edition of Financial Markets and Institutions provides a fresh analysis of the European financial system. Combining theory, data and policy, this successful textbook examines and explains financial markets, financial infrastructures, financial institutions and the challenges of monetary policy, financial supervision and competition policy.

The fourth edition features not only greater discussion of the financial and euro crises and post-crisis reforms, but also new market developments like FinTech, block-chain, cryptocurrencies and shadow banking. On the policy side, new material covers unconventional monetary policies, the Banking Union, the Capital Markets Union, Brexit, the Basel 3 capital adequacy framework for banking supervision and macro-prudential policies. The new edition also features wider international coverage, with greater emphasis on comparisons with countries outside the European Union, including the United States, China and Japan.


Norway's Global Pension Fund, a sovereign wealth fund worth over $300 billion, is the second largest in the world. Beginning in 2004 it adopted ethical guidelines intended to promote sustainable development and, in particular, to minimize the risk of complicity in serious human rights violations. The turn to ethical investment strategies to promote corporate social responsibility can be seen as an important supplement to emerging regulation of multinational corporations - or as an admission that regulation has failed. In the case of Norway, it has seen controversial decisions such as disinvestment from Wal-Mart and a decision not to disinvest from companies operating in Myanmar (Burma). This article discusses the creation and work of the Council on Ethics, focusing on the ambiguous legal and ethical meanings of complicity and the uncertain impact that disinvestment has on behavior. The turn to ethics offers an opportunity but also an opportunity cost: ethics can be a means of generating legal norms, through changing the reference points of the market and providing a language for the articulation of rights; yet they can also be a substitute for generating those norms, providing illusory rather than genuine accountability.


• Summary: The present study explores the relationship between perceived social support and well-being among students in the two main populations living in Israel: Jews and Arabs. More specifically, it compares the well-being of Israeli Jewish students and Palestinian students and examines the role of social support in their well-being. The sample comprised 207 undergraduate students in the schools of social work and nursing at one of the major universities in Israel, where more than half of the Palestinian students are enrolled. Three instruments were used: Psychological distress was measured by both the Brief Symptoms Inventory Scale(BSI;Derogatis, 1979) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck and Steer, 1987); perceived social support was assessed by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS;Zimet et al., 1988). • Findings: Findings show that the Palestinian students are significantly more distressed than their Jewish counterparts, according to all measures of well-being. At the same time, their perceived social support is significantly higher than that of the Jewish students. • Applications: The significance of the findings is discussed within the frameworks of stress and social support theories, as well as the modernization process and the prevailing norms and values of Arab culture.


This paper analyses the relationship between innovation and job creation in firms. In particular, it seeks out data on the role played by innovation during the latest phase of expansion in Argentine manufacturing employment (2010–2012). It uses the model proposed by Harrison and others (2014), taking an instrumental variables approach and drawing data from the recently concluded National Survey of Employment Dynamics and Innovation (ENDEI). The results show that process innovations do not influence employment growth, but that this is positively affected by product innovations. The latter also enable production efficiency to be increased by more than it can with existing products. Where the composition of employment in terms of skills is concerned, product innovation is found not to present any particular bias.


This article provides a review and analysis of Algeria' s employment policies and their implementation under a planned economy and the reasons for the recent changes towards a more liberalised economic system. It starts with a brief account of the economic, political and social context in which people are employed and managed. The main functions of employing and managing people are explained by examining the practice of employee resourcing, employee training and development, rewards and remuneration, and employee relations before and after recent reforms. We conclude that the problems of employment in Algeria are the outcome of contradictory socio-economic policies and there is a need for further institutional restructuring.


The increasing amount of export assistance provided to firms of rich and poor countries, shows the high priority given by national and international policy makers to the encouragement of international trade. Despite this, relatively few international business researchers have discussed the effectiveness of such export assistance. This paper provides an empirical foundation for simultaneously analyzing the effects of export assistance, together with management international experience/expertise and competition in the industry/commerce, on the decision to adapt or standardize the domestic pricing strategy to the main foreign market and ultimately improve a firm's annual export performance. Surprisingly, the findings reveal that the total effects of export assistance on export performance are non-significant because exporters use the support they receive to develop inaccurate pricing strategies (i.e. although support has a direct positive impact on performance, there is a negative indirect impact of support on performance through pricing strategy). These and other surprising results have important implications for both public policy and marketing management decision-making, and suggest several potentially fruitful streams of research.


The goal of paper is recalling the development of debt burden of the Czechoslovakia in the period of the first republic. These questions faded away from young generation consciousness. The Czech public finance existed since 1954 without a debt. The first part of paper recalls a situation in the European countries from the view of public debts since starting points to World War. The circumstances in our republic are described in the second part. The part contains possible views of public debt. The third part outlines a development of debt burden of the Czechoslovakia. The fourth part analyses a relationship between public debt and GDP.


This article delves into the biopolitical dimension of Jesus and Korean comfort women by engaging with the insight yet to be gleaned from Giorgio Agamben's notion of bare life. Seen through this biopolitical prism, Jesus in the passion narratives of the Gospels can be understood as a paradigmatic bare life in his sheer ambiguity, which swings back and forth between terrestrial and celestial dominions. Similarly, Korean comfort women, albeit in a different historical and sociocultural context, can also be viewed as bare lives under ruthless Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). My contention here is that, through the process of theological thinking, the reconfiguration of Jesus as a subversive bare life offers fresh insight into the agency of Korean comfort women in the sense that their bare lives have so far resisted the unjust world in their search of human rights and dignity. In spite of his tribulations between the Jewish and Roman authorities, Jesus unsettles these sovereign powers in such an ambiguous space. In a similar fashion, Korean comfort women have broadcast the atrocious brutality of Japanese colonial rule in the ambiguous zone beyond the juridical realms—Korean, Japanese, or otherwise—at the national and international levels. The foremost point to remember is that a commemoration of Jesus' life as the most paradigmatic example of bare life can inspire Korean comfort women to deal with their agony in assuming bare life in the unswerving hope of justice yet to be served through divine intervention in the terrestrial sovereignty in liminal space and time.


The Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) offers publicly-funded vouchers to students in low-performing schools with family income no greater than 250 percent of the poverty line, allowing them to enroll in participating private schools. Established in 2008 as a pilot program in New Orleans, the LSP was expanded statewide in 2012. This report examines the experimental effects of using an LSP scholarship to enroll in one's first choice private school on student achievement in the three years following the program's expansion. Large negative achievement effects in the first year of the program appear to have been followed by improvement in the second and third years. Based on our primary analytic sample, the effects of the LSP on English Language Arts (ELA) are positive and math are negative in Year 3, but neither is statistically significant. These results are partially reflective of declining statistical power and appear to be influenced by the return of students to public schools for whom the program was not working. Subgroup analyses indicate that students with lower ELA scores at baseline realized statistically significant achievement gains in ELA from the program, while students applying to the earlier elementary grades experienced large achievement losses from the program in math.


congenital contractural syndrome type 2 (LCCS2) (OMIM 607598) which is also associated with renal and cardiac malformations. A genome-wide linkage analysis, demonstrating linkage to approximately 6 cM homozygosity region on chromosome 12q13 between markers D12S1604 and D12S83, was found. Therefore, early genetic detection of this syndrome is possible. However, many patients known to be carriers of this genes deny an invasive procedure and in others this genetic diagnosis is not found. Thus, sonographic detection may be the sole tool for early detection of this abnormality. The sonographic appearance of LCCS2 in our area may appear late in second trimester and early sonographic diagnosis may be important in counseling these patients, Lately, we have sonographically diagnosed 3 patients in the fetal malformation clinic at 13–14 weeks gestation. The main sonographic symptom was myoclonic jerks of hands and feet of these fetuses. Hands were flexed in the elbow joints and the jerks were from the shoulder girdle. Jerks were from the hip joint. At that time no joint contractures were apparent. These appeared only at 17 weeks gestation. In summary, tonic myoclonic jerks are demonstrated sonographically and can be an early neurologic sign for hypokynesia/akinesia syndrome. Future sonographic observations in first trimester should be offerred to high risk patients prone to neurological accidents and congenital malformations.


This letter deals with turbo equalization for coded data transmission over intersymbol interference (ISI) channels. We propose a message-passing algorithm that uses the expectation propagation rule to convert messages passed from the demodulator and decoder to the equalizer and computes messages returned by the equalizer by using a partial Gaussian approximation (PGA). We exploit the specific structure of the ISI channel model to compute the latter messages from the beliefs obtained using a Kalman smoother/equalizer. Doing so leads to a significant complexity reduction compared to the initial PGA implementation. Results from Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed approach leads to a significant performance improvement compared to state-of-the-art turbo equalizers and allows for trading performance with complexity.


Exploratory search is a difficult activity that requires iterative interaction. This iterative process helps the searcher to understand and to refine the information need. It also generates a rich set of data that can be used effectively to reflect on what has been found (and found useful). While traditional information retrieval systems have focused on organizing the data that was retrieved, in this paper, we describe a systematic approach to organizing the metadata generated during the search process. We describe a framework for unifying transitions among various stages of exploratory search, and show how context from one stage can be applied to the next. The framework can be used both to describe existing information-seeking interactions, and as a means of generating novel ones. We illustrate the framework with examples from a session-based exploratory search system prototype.


Oxford Archaeology (OA) was commissioned by Town House Investments Ltd. to undertake a programme of historic building recording of the Adeline Genee Theatre at
Charter Towers near East Grinstead, West Sussex. The theatre is to be demolished to enable the redevelopment of the site as a Continuing Care Retirement Community, and
a recording condition has been placed to mitigate against the loss and to create a record for posterity.
The theatre, which was constructed in 1967 was named after the celebrated dancer Dame Adeline Genee and it was used by the adjacent Bush Davies School for its inhouse shows. Although the school had a very high reputation, being among the best ballet schools in the country, it closed in 1989 together with the theatre, which had been financially insecure from its original construction. The theatre and the
remaining site were purchased and used by a security firm, Sabrewatch. The building remains in good condition with minimal changes from its original function and has
been well maintained.
The focus of the recording work was to complete a photographic record of the building internally and externally prior to the commencement of works. Historic plans were also obtained from the Tanbridge Council archives which were useful in illustrating the functions of areas and rooms. The structure is not protected under statutory designation, nor is it one of the best examples of post-war architecture, it is however of general interest in the history of theatre design.
The initial recording was undertaken in October 2010 but part of the basement was inaccessible at this time due to flooding so further recording of this area was
undertaken in March 2011.


Datasets are necessary for evaluating and comparing security solutions. Today, the most well-known public dataset is still the oft-decried IDEVAL dataset. Even if we don't take into account all the inherent shortcomings of this dataset, the fact that it dates back to 1999 means its relevance is all but lost. Without a public dataset, new security solutions cannot be compared to existing ones. In this article, we argue for the need of a public and modern dataset for the evaluation of security solutions. Moreover, we argue that traditional datasets are too restrictive in the approaches they allow. Thus, we present Moirai. Instead of sharing datasets, Moirai shares the scenarios used to create datasets. This allows for the creation of complex scenarios which could, for example, represent an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). By sharing the scenarios, Moirai allows solutions based on disparate ideas to be compared.


Agile software development has become, in the last twenty years, a popular approach to software development. It puts people and working software at the forefront of the development process. The emphasis on people stresses development carried out by teams of developers and stakeholders working together for the regular delivery of solutions.
There is long experience of teaching software development at a distance at the Open University, UK; however, teaching agile software development at a distance creates new challenges due to its heavy reliance on face-to-face communication. Developing these skills with students who are at a distance, studying online, and mostly part-time adds significant difficulties.
This paper reports a case study of the use of an online communication tool to help students develop agile communication practices, and to help tutors assess these skills. The tool is based on a studio-based approach to learning, where students work independently and in groups, learning from each other in an apprenticeship model. Using this tool, students share their mental models of problems and solutions, as they would in an agile development team.
A survey was carried out with students and tutors on the perceived impact of the use of this tool in learning; the results are discussed, in particular the importance of supporting students in using the peer feedback they receive in a reflective way in order to improve their work. The lessons learned for improving the quality of the collaboration and the richness of the learning experience are discussed.


Co-creation as a concept has won terrain over the past 10 years. In practice as well as in literature, co-creation is climbing the agenda in relation to contemporary opportunities and challenges within management, organisation design and change initiatives. This paper aims to build an overview of the literature on co-creation to explore what the existing literature relates to and indeed to pinpoint if any patterns or streams can be identified. The paper illustrates how the use of the concept of co-creation suggests a necessity for focusing further on specific co-creation-related issues and challenges of significance to business and society. The paper highlights new co-creation-related issues and challenges. Further, the paper crystallises an emerging design trajectory in theory and practice.


Prions are infectious particles composed exclusively of protein and can cause a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Prions are coded for by a normal chromosomal • gene which is found in the genomes of all mammals. A posttranslational event, as yet unidentified, converts the normal prion protein into a pathogenic isoform. Incubation time in prion diseases is controlled by either the prion gene itself or a scrapie incubation time gene closely linked to the prion gene. Gene cloning techniques were used to attempt to demonstrate the existence of the incubation time gene. DNA of two control mice, B6.I and I/lnJ, was compared to DNA from congenics with B6.I and I/lnJ parents. B6.I mice are known to have a shorter incubation time than the I/lnJ mice. Both mice have different alleles of the prion gene. Analysis of the DNA surrounding the prion gene was accomplished by using the polymerase chain reaction. Two markers showed polymorphisms between DNA of a control mouse and the DNA of a congenic. A polymorphism in these markers would allow the PCR to show the parental origin, either B6.I or I/lnJ, of the flanking DNA. A difference in incubation time of these mice from their parents shows that an incubation time gene, rather than the prion gene, is responsible for incubation time.


Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is an emerging technology in medical diagnosis and rehabilitation. In this study, by the acquisition of Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from 30 healthy participants who perform four different hand movements, necessary features are extracted and classified to determine their accuracies. Statistical time domain features are extracted from the mu and beta frequency band. The Event related desynchronization (ERD)/Event related synchronization (ERS) measurements are extracted, from which it was evident that both mu and beta frequency bands are more efficient in the C3 channel. By applying the Paired Samples t -test, the extracted features are analyzed and were determined to have a 95% significant level of difference between the mu and beta band, being statistically efficient in the beta band of the C3 channel. By employing different classifiers such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), Naive Bayesian classifier and Binary Decision Tree (BDT) algorithms on both channel's mu and beta frequency bands, it was observed that the performance of beta frequency band classifiers shows 90% accuracy in binary class classification. In the comparative study of all these classifiers, LDA and Naive Bayes show above 95% accuracy for binary class classification.


Recent studies of schizophrenia have begun to demonstrate the complex nature of its outcome characteristics and their predictors. However, generalization of findings has been limited by methodological problems such as relatively short-term follow-up the use of retrospective data, or employment of evaluation techniques without demonstrated reliability. This report describes a prospective, five-year follow-up using reliable evaluation techniques to determine whether specific relations between predictors and outcome variables represent behavior patterns persisting over an extended period. Results demonstrate the prognostic importance and specificity of certain predictors over five years. These results support the view that outcome function is comprised of persisting open-linked systems of behavior.


ABSTRACT Long-span roofs are widely used worldwide as they provide large internal spaces without obstructions like columns. In designing long-span roofs, the traditional design method faces many difficulties, such as uncertainty in buckling effective length. The advanced second-order direct analysis (SODA) method for design shows and has many advantages for structural safety and cost saving. In this paper, the SODA considering P-Δ and P-δ effects as well as initial imperfections is proposed for designing of long-span roofs and the assumption of effective length is no longer required. The application of this concept of SODA to the design of practical structures appears to be new and unique, especially on the aspects of design at the construction stages. Key considerations for the construction of long-span structures by SODA are first reported. The planning of the lifting procedure, temporary support system (TSS) and off-loading sequences for load transfer from a TSS to permanent structure is guided by SODA such that an economic design and safe construction can be achieved. A constructed long-span single-layer roof structure in Macau is used to demonstrate the validity, practicality, accuracy and reliability of the proposed method and is taken as an example of successful joint work for advanced design by academicians and engineers in practice.


Context. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are some of the most metal-poor, and least luminous objects known. Detailed elemental abundance analysis of stars in these faint objects is key to our understanding of star formation and chemical enrichment in the early universe, and may provide useful information on how larger galaxies form. Aims. Our aim is to provide a determination of [Fe/H] and [Ca/H] for confirmed red-giant branch member stars of the Hercules dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Based on this we explore the ages of the prevailing stellar populations in Hercules, and the enrichment history from supernovae. Additionally, we aim to provide a new simple metallicity calibration for Stromgren photometry for metal-poor, red giant branch stars. Methods. High-resolution, multi-fibre spectroscopy and Stromgren photometry are combined to provide as much information on the stars as possible. From this we derive abundances by solving the radiative transfer equations through marcs model atmospheres. Results. We find that the red-giant branch stars of the Hercules dSph galaxy are more metal-poor than estimated in our previous study that was based on photometry alone. From this, we derive a new metallicity calibration for the Stromgren photometry. Additionally, we find an abundance trend such that [Ca/Fe] is higher for more metal-poor stars, and lower for more metal-rich stars, with a spread of about 0.8 dex. The [Ca/Fe] trend suggests an early rapid chemical enrichment through supernovae of type II, followed by a phase of slow star formation dominated by enrichment through supernovae of type Ia. A comparison with isochrones indicates that the red giants in Hercules are older than 10 Gyr.


OBJECTIVE INT131 besylate is a potent, nonthiazolidinedione, selective peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ (PPARγ) modulator (SPPARM) designed to improve glucose metabolism while minimizing the side effects of full PPARγ agonists. This placebo-controlled study compared the efficacy and side effects of INT131 besylate versus 45 mg pioglitazone HCl in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled study of 0.5–3.0 mg INT131 versus 45 mg pioglitazone or placebo daily in 367 subjects with T2D on sulfonylurea or sulfonylurea plus metformin. The primary efficacy analysis was the comparison of change from baseline to week 24 in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) across treatment groups. Fluid status was assessed with a prospective scoring system for lower-extremity pitting edema. RESULTS INT131 had a steep dose response for efficacy as measured by changes in HbA1c. After 24 weeks' treatment, the 0.5-mg dose demonstrated minimal efficacy (HbA1c −0.3 ± 0.12%) and the 2-mg dose demonstrated near-maximal efficacy (HbA1c −1.1 ± 0.12%), which was not statistically different from the efficacy of 45 mg pioglitazone (HbA1c −0.9 ± 0.12%; P < 0.01 for noninferiority). With the 1-mg dose, INT131 provided significant improvements in glycemic control (HbA1c 0.8 ± 0.12; P < 0.001 vs. placebo) but with less edema, weight gain, and hemodilution than observed with 45 mg pioglitazone. CONCLUSIONS INT131 demonstrated dose-dependent reductions in HbA1c, equivalent to 45 mg pioglitazone, but with less fluid accumulation and weight gain, consistent with its SPPARM design.


The BioCreative IV CHEMDNER Task provides participants with the opportunity to compare their methods for chemical named entity recognition (NER) and indexing in a controlled environment. We contributed to this task with our previous conditional random field based system [1] extended by a number of novel general and domain-specific features. For the latter, we used features derived from two existing chemical NER systems, ChemSpot [2] and OSCAR [3], as well as various external resources. In this paper, we describe our approach and present a detailed ablation study that underlines the positive effect of domain-specific features for chemical NER.


The overwhelming scale of climate change demands new ways of bridging national, cultural, and taxonomic differences. However, ecocritical frameworks that emphasise non-human agency in an attempt to make human individuals empathise with other people, other species, and the earth are haunted by the tenacious spectre of nineteenth-century classical liberalism's characterization of personhood through specious, fragile dichotomies that can largely fall under the general rubric of agency versus determinism. The putatively opposed terms of these binaries are malleable, and control of their designation is a key element of control societies. Contemporary scholarship has identified several ways subjects bleed into objects, but, even though the 'individual' should theoretically collapse under its own ontological pressure in our current biopolitical age, neoliberalism largely holds onto classical liberalism's central dogma of a person as an agential individual. I analyse the novel Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro and its critical analyses to show how the plight to recognise agency is a prison of analysis that upholds an ideal of the individual as the bastion of personhood. As seen through the afterlife of slavery post-emancipation, those in power can discursively recognise the humanity in people formerly designated 'things' while still perpetuating systematic exploitation and dehumanisation. The metric of 'agency' as a unit of hope is an epistemic barrier to effective political rhetoric regarding climate change and species thinking.


The well-known power wall resulting in multi-cores requires special techniques for speeding up applications. In this sense, parallelization plays a crucial role. Besides standard serial optimizations, techniques such as input specialization can also bring a substantial contribution to the speedup. By identifying common patterns in the input data, we propose new algorithms for sparse grid interpolation that accelerate the state-of-the-art non-specialized version. Sparse grid interpolation is an inherently hierarchical method of interpolation employed for example in computational steering applications for decompressing high-dimensional simulation data. In this context, improving the speedup is essential for real-time visualization. Using input specialization, we report a speedup of up to 9x over the non-specialized version. The paper covers the steps we took to reach this speedup by means of input adaptivity. Our algorithms will be integrated in fastsg, a library for fast sparse grid interpolation.


Abstract Codon usage bias, where certain codons are used more frequently than their synonymous counterparts, is an interesting phenomenon influenced by three evolutionary forces: mutation, selection, and genetic drift. To better understand how these evolutionary forces affect codon usage bias, an extensive study to detect how codon usage patterns change across species is required. This study investigated 668 single-copy orthologous genes independently in 29 Drosophila species to determine how the codon usage patterns change with phylogenetic distance. We found a strong correlation between phylogenetic distance and codon usage bias and observed striking differences in codon preferences between the two subgenera Drosophila and Sophophora. As compared to the subgenus Sophophora, species of the subgenus Drosophila showed reduced codon usage bias and a reduced preference specifically for codons ending with C, except for codons with G in the second position. We found that codon usage patterns in all species were influenced by the nucleotides in the codon's 2nd and 3rd positions rather than the biochemical properties of the amino acids encoded. We detected a concordance between preferred codons and preferred dinucleotides (at positions 2 and 3 of codons). Furthermore, we observed an association between speciation, codon preferences, and dinucleotide preferences. Our study provides the foundation to understand how selection acts on dinucleotides to influence codon usage bias.


This study analyses the intergenerational transmission of book reading and television viewing preferences. Central are the long-term effects of the parental media example and parental media guidance activities during one's childhood on adult highbrow and lowbrow media preferences. We used information from the Family Survey of the Dutch Population (FSDP 2003, 2009) on 2,539 Dutch respondents born between 1955 and 1984. Estimating structural equation models provided insights into the lasting effects of parental reading and television socialization. Disentangling direct and indirect effects of parental media socialization showed that both imitation and guidance are important in the intergenerational transmission of media preferences. Our results suggest that imitation is the main mechanism underlying the media socialization process. Yet, parental media guidance and a child's school success partly mediate the imitation process. Foremost, this study demonstrates that parental media socialization activities during childhood have lasting effects on a person's current media preferences.


Abstract To develop efficient just-in-time personalised treatments, dynamical models are needed that provide a description of how an individual responds to treatment. However, available system identification approaches cannot effectively be applied to most behavioural datasets since, usually, the data collected is subjected to a large amount of noise and time sampling is not uniform. To be able to circumvent these issues, in this paper a new method is proposed for parsimonious system identification of continuous-time systems that does not require specially structured data. The developed algorithm provides an effective way to leverage these 'non-standard' datasets to identify continuous time dynamical models that are compatible with a-priori information available on the process. The algorithm developed is tested on data obtained from a behavioural study on adolescents and violence. The objective is to model the temporal dynamics of the association between violence exposure and mental health symptoms (depression and anxiety) in day-to-day life among a sample of adolescents at heightened risk for both substance use exposure and problem behaviour. The information extracted from individual models of behaviour such as the maximum burden and the time of fading away of depression/anxiety does differ substantially from person to person. This information has the potential to be useful to design personalised interventions that would have a better chance of succeeding.


Several serological tests have been used successfully in the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). In contrast, data about the use of these tests in the follow-up of PCM patients have been heterogeneous. In this study, serum samples from 43 PCM patients with different clinical forms were analysed by counter-immuno-electrophoresis (CIE), complement fixation (CF) and ELISA before treatment. With CIE and ELISA, the chronic unifocal form showed significantly lower antibody levels compared with chronic multifocal and acute forms. Acute form patients had significantly higher titres than patients with multifocal disease by CIE but not by ELISA. No significant differences were observed with CF. Twenty-seven of these patients were followed-up for 2 years and showed a decline in antibody levels by all three tests, paralleling clinical improvement. However, only patients with unifocal disease cleared their antibodies after 1 year of treatment as analysed by CF and ELISA and after 2 years by CIE, suggesting that these patients may need shorter courses of therapy. Patients with the other clinical form of the disease needed > or =2 years of therapy to clear their antibodies. Sera from a further five patients who presented with a relapse were analysed. At the time of relapse all showed increases in antibody levels by CIE and ELISA, but only three showed increases by CF tests. Therefore, CIE and ELISA demonstrated a better clinical correlation than CF, probably reflecting the fungal burden of PCM patients more accurately.


Numerous media campaign evaluations use self-reported exposure measures in assessing media effects, and many of these measures rely on participant recognition of campaign material. Rather than accepting the utility of such measures at face value, however, we should probe their limits. We can predict at least one theoretically important limit on the basis of what we know about age-related memory changes. Specifically, the utility of a recognition item as an indicator of past exposure should decline as audiences age, especially for the most elderly. Analysis of data from a science communication project evaluation offers support for these ideas, demonstrating that age predicts recognition error and that the relationship between experimentally assigned physical exposure and subsequent self-reported recognition wanes among adults 70 and older. We also examine the possibility that media content might nonetheless affect older adults in ways often overlooked by reliance on recognition items.


Middleware designed to describe sensing, control, and computational communications of components within unmanned systems enables the creation of clean interfaces between the low-level mechanics of such systems and the higher-level logic designed to control them. This paper presents a modeling environment with a domain-specific ontology for autonomous systems, capable of generating software necessary for intercomputer communications according to existing autonomous systems middleware standards. Metamodels are used to specify the domain-specific modeling language to model the messages used, the interfaces between components, and some of the functionality of the components that transmit and receive messages. The generated code supports the high data rates expected in autonomous systems that use lossy message compression. Tests for the messaging infrastructure are also generated for the messages. Also, using this research, this code generation process can be extended to any component-based platform with a sim...


Monday, April 3, 2006 - 8:00 to 10:00 am Room 274/276 - Moscone Convention Center Organizer Name: Maren L. Mahowald, MD Minneapolis VAMC/University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota J. Oliver Dolly, MSc, PhD, DSc Science Foundation Ireland Research Professor of Neurotherapeutics Director, The International Centre for Neurotherapeutics, Dublin City University Patrick W. Mantyh, PhD, JD Professor, Department of Preventive Science, Neuroscience and Psychiatry University of Minnesota Cancer Center Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center Eric R. First, MD Director, Regional Scientific Services, Medical Affairs Allergan, Inc. Maren L. Mahowald, MD Professor of Medicine University of Minnesota Rheumatology Section Chief Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center Abstract: Chronic joint pain represents a high-prevalence disabling condition with an unmet need for effective treatment. Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of the inhibitory effects of botulinum toxin on neuronal exocytosis, as well as the neurobiology of persistent osteoarticular pain, are emerging with preclinical animal studies and initial clinical experience with intra-articular administration of botulinum toxin type A. The convergence of notable progress in these basic and clinical science investigations presents a sound and attractive foundation for a timely discussion of interactive translation of basic research findings into clinical experience and back again to the laboratory. BOTOX has proved extremely successful in the clinical treatment of conditions arising from overactive cholinergic nerves in the motor and autonomic nervous systems. This is due to its unique abilities—experimentally demonstrated in animal models—to (a) target the nerves via binding to ecto-acceptors located exclusively thereon, (b) undergo internalization by acceptor-mediated endocyosis, and (c) block acetylcholine release, thereby inducing long-term muscle weakening due to proteolytic cleavage and disabling of a SNARE protein, SNAP-25, that is essential for transmitter release. Fortunately, when successfully delivered into other neuronal types, this highly potent neurotoxin can also inhibit the exocytosis of transmitters that mediate pain, including those from small clear vesicles (eg, glutamate) and large dense-core vesicles (eg, peptides such as cGRP, substance P). With the current availability in the Dolly lab of fully active BoNT, produced by recombinant means, it is now feasible to exploit the proven technologies for retargeting this novel protein to sensory nerve endings. This is an exciting new development in toxic science that should be exploited by close cooperation with clinical researchers. Such an advance would greatly improve the targeting specificity of this new therapeutic as well as raise its potency. As the unmodified BOTOX has already been shown to be effective in long-term control of chronic joint pain due to knee and shoulder arthritis when administered directly into the affected site, the above-noted improvement ought to prove highly successful, both as a research tool for studying the mechanisms of nociception and as a novel agent for treating chronic pain due to arthritis


The information bottleneck method is an unsupervised model independent data organization technique. Given a joint distribution P(A, B), this method constructs a new variable T that extracts partitions, or clusters, over the values of A that are informative about B, In a recent paper, we introduced a general principled framework for multivariate extensions of the information bottleneck method that allows us to consider multiple systems of data partitions that are inter-related. In this paper, we present a new family of simple agglomerative algorithms to construct such systems of inter-related clusters. We analyze the behavior of these algorithms and apply them to several real-life datasets.


Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting over 2% of the population in the UK (Shaw et al., 2010). Diabetes of all types can lead to complications in many parts of the body, including the retina of the eye where it can lead to vision loss. In the retina, diabetes can lead to diseases called diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic macular edema (DME) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which are among the major causes of blindness in the working population of industrialised countries. Fortunately, diagnosing it in its early stages is useful for effective treatment and it is usually treatable. DR or DME are mainly characterised by red spots, namely microaneurysms and bright lesions, specifically exudates, whereas AMD is mostly identified by white or tiny yellow deposits known as drusen lesion. Since exudates might be the only early signs of DR, there is an increased demand for automatic DR diagnosis. Exudates and drusen may share a similar appearance; hence discriminating between them is of interest in enhancing diagnostic performance. However, due to the increased demand for automatic diagnosis from retinal lesion images, computerized systems have nowadays become essential. Although the process of diagnosis and decision-making is challenging for ophthalmologists when analysing retinal lesion images, it needs to be time-efficient. This thesis is concerned with an investigation of novel image processing techniques in the diagnosis of diabetes with different types of diseases such as DR, DME and AMD. The thesis focuses on feature extraction in image processing and proposes diagnostic techniques based on state-of-the-art technology. The first contribution of the thesis is the use of a new LBP-based feature extraction technique after dividing the image into number of patches instead of using the whole image in the analysis. The extracted features have been applied with both the radial basis function neural network (RBF-ANN) and k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) classifiers for training and testing purposes. The second contribution involves a novel technique used to propose a multi-label machine learning model for classification problem combining the diagnosis of diabetic macular edema (DME) with other factors such as patient age and LBP-based feature extraction being applied for classification. The third and main contribution of this thesis is to demonstrate that colour vector angles (CVAs) and local binary patterns (LBPs) are more suitable for the analysis and classification of retinal images and their use leads to high classification performance as compared to other textural and colour features. A codebook is generated using a bagged combination of local binary pattern (LBPs) and colour vector angles (CVAs) features to exploit colour and textural information.

The overall system has been assessed through intensive experiments using different classifiers with a dataset of 352 retinal images collected from various datasets, namely: DIARETDB0 (Kauppi et al., 2006), DIARETDB1 (Kalviainen and Uusitalo, 2007), HEI-MED (Giancardo et al., 2012), STARE (Hoover and Goldbaum, 2003), and MESSIDOR (Decenciere et al., 2014). Correct classification is reported with an average sensitivity of 99.51%, specificity of 99.60% and accuracy of 99.63% and an overall average area under the curve of 98.59%. This represents the best performance achieved so far when compared to existing state-of-the-art systems for the diagnosis of retinal lesions.


We are interested in whether family relations are replicated from generation to generation. Is the daughter of a single mother, for example, more likely to become a single mother herself? Inter- and intra-cultural variation indicates that environment has strong influences on the development of family behavior. Different cultures each have distinct systems of mating and parenting, including patterns of within-culture variation. Reproductive behavior may be strongly influenced by environmental conditions and social experience during ontogeny (Alexander, 1990). There is controversy, however, concerning the effect of family environment on children's long-term developmental outcomes (Collins et al. 2000; Harris, 1995).We use an evolutionary theoretical framework to explore intergenerational patterns of conjugal stability. The objective is to examine the effects of a child's family environment on her or his subsequent mating and parenting behavior as an adult. We test the hypothesis that father absence during early childhood is associated with conjugal instability as an adult. In contrast to this hypothesis, we suggest that adolescence may be more important than early childhood in shaping adult reproductive behavior. Lack of parental control of adolescents' sexual behavior may permit the formation of early and unstable conjugal unions.A cross-cultural comparative perspective is essential for evaluating theories of family formation and development. We compare evidence of intergenerational transmission of conjugal stability in Western industrial populations with multi-generation patterns of conjugal stability in a rural Caribbean community. In addition, we compare the influence of parental supervision on children's behavior in Western populations and in a rural Caribbean community. Data analyzed include genealogies and quantitative behavioral observations collected during a twelve-year ethnographic study of Bwa Mawego, a rural village on Dominica in the Lesser Antilles.OMOGENY OF FAMILY ENVIRONMENTS:THE DRAPER-HARPENDING MODELFamily environments presumably affect child development (Bornstein, 1995; Bowlby, 1982). Children in turn become parents, and generate family environments that are influenced by their own early experiences. The evolutionary basis for intergenerational transmission of family behavior, however, is controversial.In their seminal work, Draper and Harpending (1982,1988) propose that humans evolved psychological mechanisms that use conjugal stability in the early childhood family environment as a cue for development of subsequent reproductive strategies. Unstable conjugal unions of parents cue the child to develop a "mating effort strategy" (early maturation, short term mating relationships, high fertility). Conversely, stable conjugal unions cue the child to develop a "parental effort strategy" (delayed maturation, stable long term mating relationships, low fertility). Early childhood (the first five to seven years of life) is proposed as a sensitive period for reproductive development. Developmental canalization of reproductive behavior may be adaptive when adult environment is reliably predicted by childhood environment. In effect, toddlers can use cues in their family environment to prepare for their reproductive future.Following the logic of parental investment theory (Trivers 1972), resource abundance is linked to father-absence: "If there is abundant food, then a male does not benefit from provisioning his offspring to the extent that he does if food is scarce, so the payoff to male labor must be a crucial element in our theory" (Draper & Harpending, 1988, p. 351 ). Mating effort strategies are hypothesized to be adaptive in environments with plentiful resources, because the added effort of a second parent may do little to improve children's survival and eventual reproduction. Parental effort strategies are hypothesized to be adaptive in environments with scarce resources, because biparental care is important for child survival and ultimate reproduction (i. …


Timely vaccination after childhood cancer treatment is vital for protecting against vaccine-preventable diseases during survivorship. However, caregiver intention for restarting vaccinations, such as getting catch-up or booster vaccines, after cancer treatment is unknown. Methods: We surveyed primary caregivers ages 18 or older with a child who had completed cancer treatment in the prior 3–24 months (N = 129; participation rate = 60.3%). Participants were asked about demographics, their child's vaccination status, and healthcare factors (e.g., provider recommendations, barriers). We examined the influence of whether the oncology care team recommended catch-up or booster vaccines on caregiver intention to restart vaccines using multivariable generalized linear models. Vaccine barriers were examined by intention in chi- square tests. Results: Caregivers were primarily aged 30–49 years (82.0%), mothers (81.2%), college graduates (44.8%), married (89.1%), and Non-Hispanic (90.3%). In total, 67% of caregivers intended to restart vaccines for their child and 49.6% reported that they had a discussion with the cancer care team about catch-up or booster vaccines. Caregivers who discussed vaccines with their child's cancer care team were much more likely to report intention to restart vaccination (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.82, 95% CI 1.37–2.45). The most common barrier to restarting vaccines after cancer was not knowing which vaccines to get, which was common across both groups (intend to restart = 31% vs. did not intend = 40.5%, P = 0.29). Of caregivers, 93.1% who intended to restart vaccines felt vaccines were safe compared to 79.5% of those who did not (P = 0.02). Conclusions: Caregivers of childhood cancer survivors need guidance for restarting vaccinations after cancer treatment, including information on safety and which vaccines their child needs. Provider recommendations positively influence caregiver's intention to restart vaccines. Clinical guidelines are needed to support providers in making tailored vaccination recommendations after cancer treatment.


The generating functional approach to Green's functions in the thermal equilibrium is applied to explore the geometrical origin of the temperatures of the quantum fields in the Rindler spacetime and black hole spacetimes. It is shown that under the transformation from Minkowski space to the Rindler space the path integral representation for the Euclidean generating functionals of Green's functions at zero temperature would transform into the corresponding ones of the quantum fields at a certain finite temperature, and the Minkowski vacuum state would have the same properties as that of the quantum mixed state at that temperature. All thermal Green's functions for the mixed state are given. Similar results would be obtained for the Schwarzschild, the Reissner-Nordstrom and the Kerr black holes and whereupon the Hawking temperature for the black holes would have geometrical origin as well as that in the Eindler spacetime. The various density operators of the mixed states at the Hawking temperature for the black hole spacetimes are specified.


Objective In the phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Supplementation of Vigantol Oil versus Placebo Add-on in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) Receiving Rebif Treatment (SOLAR) study (NCT01285401), we assessed the efficacy and safety of add-on vitamin D3 in patients with RRMS. Methods Eligible patients with RRMS treated with SC interferon-β-1a (IFN-β-1a) 44 μg 3 times weekly and serum 25(OH)D levels <150 nmol/L were included. From February 15, 2011, to May 11, 2015, 229 patients were included and randomized 1:1 to receive SC IFN-β-1a plus placebo (n = 116) or SC IFN-β-1a plus oral high-dose vitamin D3 14,007 IU/d (n = 113). The revised primary outcome was the proportion of patients with no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) at week 48. Results At 48 weeks, 36.3% of patients who received high-dose vitamin D3 had NEDA-3, without a statistically significant difference in NEDA-3 status between groups (placebo 35.3%; odds ratio 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53–1.63; p = 0.80). Compared with placebo, the high-dose vitamin D3 group had better MRI outcomes for combined unique active lesions (incidence rate ratio 0.68; 95% CI 0.52–0.89; p = 0.0045) and change from baseline in total volume of T2 lesions (difference in mean ranks: −0.074; p = 0.035). Conclusions SOLAR did not establish a benefit for high-dose vitamin D3 as add-on to IFN-β-1a, based on the primary outcome of NEDA-3, but findings from exploratory outcomes suggest protective effects on development of new MRI lesions in patients with RRMS. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01285401. Classification of evidence This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with RRMS treated with SC IFN-β-1a, 48 weeks of cholecalciferol supplementation did not promote NEDA-3 status.


The recent advances and development of inexpensive computers and high speed networking technology have enabled the Video on Demand (VoD) application to connect to shared-computing servers, replacing the traditional computing environments where each application was having its own dedicated computing hardware. The VoD application enables the viewer to select, from a list of video files, his favorite video file and watch its reproduction at will. Early video on demand applications were based on single video server where video streams are initiated from a single server, then with the increase in the number of the clients who became interested in VoD services, the focus became on Distributed VoD architectures (DVoD) where the context of distribution may be distributed system components, distributed streaming servers, distributed media content etc.The VoD server must handle several issues in order to be able to present a successful service. It has to receive the clients' requests and analyze them, calculate the necessary resources for each request, and decide whether a request can be admitted or not. Once the request is admitted, the server must schedule the request, retrieve the required video data and send the video data in a timely manner so that the client does not suffer data starvation in his buffer during the video reproduction. So, the overall objective of a VoD service provider is to provide a better Quality of Service (QoS). Some issues related to QoS are-efficient use of bandwidth, providing better throughput etc.One of the important issues is to retrieve the video data from the servers in minimum time and to start the playback of the video at client side with a minimum waiting time. The overall time elapsed in retrieving the video data and starting the playback is known as access time. The thesis presents an efficient retrieval strategy for a distributed VoD environment where the basic objective is to minimize the access time by maintaining the presentation continuity at the client side. We have neglected some of the network parameters which may affect the access time, by assuming a high speed network between the servers and the client. The performance of the strategy has been analyzed and is compared with the referred PAR (Play After Retrieval) strategy. Further, the strategy is also analyzed under availability condition which is a more realistic approach.


A new robust online fault diagnosis method based on least squares estimation for nonlinear difference-algebraic systems (DAS) with uncertainties is proposed. Based on the known nominal model of DAS, it firstly constructs an auxiliary system consisting of a difference equation and an algebraic equation, then based on the relationship between the state deviation and the faults in the difference equation and the relationship between the algebraic variable deviation and the faults in the algebraic equation, it identifies the faults on-line through least squares estimation. This method can not only detect, isolate and identify faults for DAS, but also give the upper bound of the error of fault identification.


Current autonomous driving systems are composed of a perception system and a decision system. Both of them are divided into multiple subsystems built up with lots of human heuristics. An end-to-end approach might clean up the system and avoid huge efforts of human engineering, as well as obtain better performance with increasing data and computation resources. Compared to the decision system, the perception system is more suitable to be designed in an end-to-end framework, since it does not require online driving exploration. In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end approach for autonomous driving perception. A latent space is introduced to capture all relevant features useful for perception, which is learned through sequential latent representation learning. The learned end-to-end perception model is able to solve the detection, tracking, localization and mapping problems altogether with only minimum human engineering efforts and without storing any maps online. The proposed method is evaluated in a realistic urban driving simulator, with both camera image and lidar point cloud as sensor inputs. The codes and videos of this work are available at our github repo† and project website‡.


We report the synthesis of novel alkaline earth metal complexes [κ2-SS-(Bmp)2M(THF)n] [M = Ca (2), Sr (3) n = 2; M = Ba (4), n = 3] of a flexible dihydrobis(2-thiopyridone)borate (Bmp) ligand based on 2-mercaptopyridine. Complexes 2–4 were isolated in good yield by the reaction between sodium dihydrobis(2-thiopyridone)borate, [{(Bmp)Na(THF)}2]n (1) and the corresponding alkaline earth metal diiodides in toluene at ambient temperature. The solid-state structures of the strontium and barium complexes, complexes 3 and 4 respectively, were established using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The solid-state structure of sodium complex 1 was also confirmed using X-ray techniques. The solid-state structures of complexes 3 and 4 revealed that the Bmp ligand coordinates through sulphur atoms to the metal ions in κ2 fashion. The strontium ion is attached symmetrically and the barium ion is asymmetrically linked with the Bmp ligand, manifesting the 2-thiopyridone and pyridine-2-thiolate tautomeric form of the Bmp ligand. The strontium ion in complex 3 adopts a distorted octahedral geometry whereas the geometry around the barium ion can best be described as a distorted pentagonal bipyramidal. Both complexes 3 and 4 also have a short B⋯H⋯M interaction due to the presence of the BH2 group in the ligand. In the solid state, sodium complex 1 is polymeric in nature and in the asymmetric unit each sodium ion is bonded to two sulphur atoms through η1 and μ2 modes. The adjacent BH2 group is also linked with each sodium ion through hydrogen atoms via μ2 and η1.


This paper focuses on NKRI (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia/ The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) versus Khilafah issues in Indonesian cyber media. It was represented by hizbut-tahrir.or. id (representing HTI and other radical groups), nu.or.id (representing NU and moderate groups), and islamlib.com (representing JIL and other liberal groups). The study aims to examine tendency, intensity, discourse functions, and language styles on news and articles in the sites. Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis will be used to dismantle the contents of all sites on the issue of NKRI and Khilafah. It is known that NU (Nahdlatul Ulama, the biggest Islamic organizations in Indonesia) and HTI (Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia) sites have a tendency to always differ on the issue of Khilafah ideology. JIL (Jaringan Islam Liberal; Islam Liberal Network) site was not the main source for news and articles of Khilafah. HTI site is more numerous and more diverse in developing the ideology of Khilafah. This is natural because HTI site has a primary mission to campaign for Khilafah ideology and counteract all different views. It is also known in discourse functions that the sites commonly use directive function and referential function. In the language style, the sites use persuasive more than narrative. Denotative meaning is more condensed than connotative meaning. The titles in some of the articles look more straightforward and provocative. Keywords— Indonesian cyber media; discourse war; Khilafah; cyber Islam


Sexual selection for divergent female preferences has been proposed to stimulate speciation. We tested this basic model by selecting for divergence in the courtship repertoire of the house fly Musca domestica L. Specifically, we subjected replicate strains to artificial selection for differentiation along the first two principal components of the phenotypic intercorrelation structure of five courtship traits. Highly significant differentiation in courtship repertoire resulted, and the magnitude of the selection response was highest along the first principal component (representing the 'size', or general intensity, of courtship). Videotaped matings of the crosses between divergent lines (i.e. males of one strain mating with females from a different line) showed that the selection responses in the intensities of male performances were due to shifts in female preferences. In particular, the males were able to accommodate the demands of 'foreign' females (as well as their own) in the no-choice situation (i.e. only one male and one female per mating chamber). In contrast to this plasticity of the males, the females were consistent in their differential resistance responses, regardless of the type of male involved in the courtship. Multiple-choice mate choice tests revealed significant reproductive isolation among some lines, although the effect was asymmetrical. The patterns of nonrandom mating were largely due to females from more genetically healthy lines (i.e. with overall high mating propensity) discriminating against males from populations with more inbreeding depression. We suggest that the inability to achieve true (symmetrical) reproductive isolation could have been due to low evolutionary potential in the 'shape' of courtship, as defined by the second principal component. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Some possibilities of using convolutional artificial neural networks (ANN) for powder diffraction structural analysis of crystalline substances have been investigated. First, ANNs are used to classify crystalline systems and space groups according to calculated full-profile diffractograms calculated from the crystal structures of the ICSD database (2017 year). The ICSD database contains 192004 structures, of which 80% was used for in-depth network training, and 20% for independent testing of recognition accuracy. The accuracy of classification by a network of crystalline systems was 87.9%, and that of space groups was 77.2%. Secondly, the ANN is used for a similar classification of structural models generated by the stochastic genetic algorithm in the search processes for triclinic crystal structures of test compound K4SnO4 according to their full-profile diffraction patterns. The classification criterion was the entry of one or several atoms into their crystallographic positions in the structure of a substance. Independent deep network training was performed on 120 thousand structural models of the K4PbO4 triclinic structure generated in several runs of the genetic algorithm. The accuracy of the classification of K4SnO4 structural models exceeded 50%. The results show that deeply trained convolutional ANNs can be effective for classifying crystal structures according to the structural characteristics of their powder diffraction patterns


The 1981 slaughter of more than a thousand civilians around El Mozote, El Salvador, by the country's U.S.-trained army was the largest massacre of the Salvadoran civil war. The story was covered and soon forgotten by the international news media. It was revived in 1993 only when the U.S. government was accused of covering up the incident. Such reportage, argues anthropologist Leigh Binford, sustains the perception that the lives of Third World people are only newsworthy when some great tragedy strikes. He critiques the practices of journalists and human rights organizations for their dehumanizing studies of "subjects" and "victims." Binford suggests that such accounts objectify the people involved through statistical analyses and bureaucratic body counts while the news media sensationalize the motives and personalities of the perpetrators. In relating the story of this tragic event, Binford restores a sense of history and social identity to the fallen people of this Salvadoran village. Drawing on interviews he conducted with El Mozote-area residents, he offers a rich ethnographic and personal account of their lives prior to the tragedy. He provides an overview of the history and culture of the area and tells how such a massacre could have happened, why it was covered up, and why it could happen again.


Fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) plays a pivotal role as the initial diagnostic modality of choice when dealing with salivary gland (SG) lesions. Due to the heterogeneous nature of most SG neoplasms, cytologic interpretation on FNA can be quite challenging. This is particularly valid when dealing with rare tumor types, such as the papillary‐cystic variant of acinic‐cell carcinoma (ACC‐PCV), resulting in a high rate of false‐negative cytologic diagnoses. Seven cases of ACC‐PCV diagnosed on tissue resection with a prior FNA performed in cytology were studied. Material consisted of Diff‐Quik and Papanicolaou stained cytologic smears, as well as hematoxylin‐eosin stained cell block and histopathologic sections. In no case did the FNA performed prior to the surgical resection eventuate in a cytopathologic diagnosis of cancer. A retrospective morphologic review of the smears disclosed several characteristics common to all 7 cases, i.e., mostly tightly cohesive fragments of neoplastic epithelium seen as monolayered sheets or with a prominent papillary architecture, high nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio ductal‐type epithelium, cystic material and degenerated cellular debris, histiocytes, cells with squamoid and metaplastic oncocytic changes, vacuolated and pigmented histiocyte‐like tumor cells, and lack of a predominant single‐cell component or naked neoplastic cell nuclei. ACC‐PCV represents a rare yet significant cause of false‐negative results for cancer on SG aspirations. An erroneous interpretation may occur due to lack of experience in dealing with this tumor type, the rarity of published literature on ACC‐PCV, and a predominantly cystic, somewhat variegated appearance of the tumor mimicking other benign and malignant SG lesions. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2002;27:244–250. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This study aimed to explore students' attitudes towards using YouTube to improve speaking skills at the context of a Binh Duong based university. A total of one hundred and fifty students participated in the research. Both quantitative and qualitative data was obtained through two instruments, namely questionnaires and interview. For analysing the data collected, descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed. The results of the study revealed that non-English majors hade positive attitudes towards using YouTube to improve speaking skills. More interestingly, the findings revealed that they had affective attitudes towards the use of YouTube higher than the cognitive and behavioural attitudes. The study also made several suggestions for both teachers and students with the aim of contributing a small part to the teaching and learning of English speaking skills.


Vav1, one of the genetic markers that correlates with the differentiation of hematopoietic
cells, belongs to a family of multidomain signal transduction proteins involved in the regulation of
diverse cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, survival and migration.
Normal and tumoral myeloid precursors are characterized by a low expression of this protein, that
increases in amount and in tyrosine phosphorylation level during agonist-induced granulocytic
differentiation. In blasts derived from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the M3 subtype of acute
myeloid leukemias, Vav1 plays a crucial role in the overcoming of the differentiation blockade. In
particular, this protein promotes differentiation, potentiates ATRA-induced maturation and is
involved in regulating expression of genes up-regulated by ATRA. It has also been demonstrated
that in differentiating APL-derived cells Vav1 is tyrosine phosphorylated by Syk and this event is
crucial for the maturation-related changes of cell morphology.
Starting from these notions, the first aim of this study was to evaluate a possible role for Vav1
in modulating protein expression during ATRA-treatment of APL-derived cells. With this purpose,
high-resolution 2-DE coupled with mass spectra analysis was performed on HL-60 and NB4
promyelocytes induced to differentiate with ATRA under conditions in which either the amount or
the tyrosine phosphorylation of Vav1 were reduced. In both cell lines, the down-regulation of Vav1
affected the expression level of various proteins, including cell cycle/apoptosis- and cytoskeletonrelated
proteins, that may constitute a common part of the ATRA-induced maturation pathway.
These data indicate for Vav1 an unprecedented role in the differentiation of myeloid cells as a
regulator of protein expression.
A second aim of this work was to identify tyrosine residue(s) of Vav1 phosphorylated during
ATRA treatment and involved in the overcoming of the differentiation blockade of APL-derived
cells. Vav1 was then immunoprecipitated from differentiating NB4 cells and subjected to mass
spectra analysis, allowing to identify the Y745 residue phosphorylated after ATRA treatment. The
mutation of the residue Y745 of Vav1 impaired the completion of maturation program of NB4 cells,
in terms of CD11b expression and migration capability. Since a functional role for Y745 has not
been described so far, the tyrosine phosphorylation of this residue could be at the basis of a role of
Vav1 alternative to the best known activity as guanosine exchange factor.
As previously reported, the Syk-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of Vav1 plays a role in
the regulation of cell morphology of differentiating HL-60 cells. Since Vav1 interacts with Syk by
means of its SH2 domain, where 4 tyrosines are present, the last part of this study was aimed to
establish if these residues are possible substrates of Syk and to determine their functional role
during ATRA-induced granulocytic differentiation. With this aim, HL-60 cells were transfected with
plasmids containing mutated forms of Vav1 and induced to differentiate with ATRA. The role of
each tyrosine residue on the differentiation process was studied by evaluating both CD11b
expression and migration capability. The results indicate that both Y672 and Y711 are possible Syk
substrates since their mutation, as well as Syk inhibition, have no effect on CD11b expression, but
affect migration capability of ATRA-treated cells.
The data reported in this work have considerably contributed to define the involvement of
Vav1 in the maturation process of APL-derived cells, even though further analysis will be
necessary to clearly establish its functional role.


In a suggested radio propagation experiment using a deep space antenna, accurate calibration of the propagation delay through the Earth's atmosphere is essential. One or two microwave radiometers can be used for this purpose. Differences in precise locations of the radiometer(s) and antenna to be calibrated leave a residual wet path delay value. We computed the Allan Standard Deviation (ASD) of this residual, as well as the one resulting from different pointing positions in the plane of the sky, by simulations. Pointing offsets, e.g., to avoid solar radiation into the radiometer beam, lead in general to an increased ASD. However, for many observation geometries a deliberate pointing offset can compensate for the location differences. In the case studied we found a reduction of the ASD with up to 45% compared to the ASD obtained for a zero pointing offset. The size of the calculated ASD depends strongly on the model parameters used, e.g., the turbulence strength parameter Cn2, which has a significant natural variation over a year.


Nondestructive cell membrane permeabilization systems enable the intracellular delivery of exogenous biomolecules for cell engineering tasks as well as the temporal sampling of cytosolic contents from live cells for the analysis of dynamic processes. Here, we report a microwell array format live-cell analysis device (LCAD) that can perform localized-electroporation induced membrane permeabilization, for cellular delivery or sampling, and directly interfaces with surface-based biosensors for analyzing the extracted contents. We demonstrate the capabilities of the LCAD via an automated high-throughput workflow for multimodal analysis of live-cell dynamics, consisting of quantitative measurements of enzyme activity using self-assembled monolayers for MALDI mass spectrometry (SAMDI) and deep-learning enhanced imaging and analysis. By combining a fabrication protocol that enables robust assembly and operation of multilayer devices with embedded gold electrodes and an automated imaging workflow, we successfully deliver functional molecules (plasmid and siRNA) into live cells at multiple time-points and track their effect on gene expression and cell morphology temporally. Furthermore, we report sampling performance enhancements, achieving saturation levels of protein tyrosine phosphatase activity measured from as few as 60 cells, and demonstrate control over the amount of sampled contents by optimization of electroporation parameters using a lumped model. Lastly, we investigate the implications of cell morphology on electroporation-induced sampling of fluorescent molecules using a deep-learning enhanced image analysis workflow.


Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a member of the genus Begomovirus of the Geminiviridae family, causes leaf curl disease of tomato that significantly affects tomato production worldwide. SA (salicylic acid), JA (jasmonic acid) or the JA mimetic, COR (coronatine) applied exogenously resulted in improved tomato resistance against TYLCV infection. When compared to mock treated tomato leaves, pretreatment with the three compounds followed by TYCLV stem infiltration also caused a greater accumulation of H2O2. We employed RNA-Seq (RNA sequencing) to identify DEGs (differentially expressed genes) induced by SA, JA, COR pre-treatments after Agro-inoculation of TYLCV in tomato. To obtain functional information on these DEGs, we annotated genes using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) databases. Based on our comparative analysis, differentially expressed genes related to cell wall metabolism, hormone signaling and secondary metabolism pathways were analyzed in compound treated samples. We also found that TYLCV levels were affected in SlNPR1 and SlCOI1 silenced plants. Interestingly, compared to the mock treated samples, SA signaling was hyper-activated in SlCOI1 silenced plants which resulted in a significant reduction in viral titer, whereas in SINPR1 silencing tomato plants, there was a 19-fold increase in viral load. Our results indicated that SA, JA, and COR had multiple impacts on defense modulation at the early stage of TYLCV infection. These results will help us better understand SA and JA induced defenses against viral invasion and provide a theoretical basis for breeding viral resistance into commercial tomato accessions.


We present a novel framework, based on Germander's pattern theoretic concepts, for high-level interpretation of video activities. This framework allows us to elegantly integrate ontological constraints and machine learning classifiers in one formalism to construct high-level semantic interpretations that describe video activity. The unit of analysis is a generator that could represent either an ontological label as well as a group of features from a video. These generators are linked using bonds with different constraints. An interpretation of a video is a configuration of these connected generators, which results in a graph structure that is richer than conventional graphs used in computer vision. The quality of the interpretation is quantified by an energy function that is optimized using Markov Chain Monte Carlo based simulated annealing. We demonstrate the superiority of our approach over a purely machine learning based approach (SVM) using more than 650 video shots from the You Cook dataset. This dataset is very challenging in terms of complexity of background, presence of camera motion, object occlusion, clutter, and actor variability. We find significantly improved performance in nearly all cases. Our results show that the pattern theory inference process is able to construct the correct interpretation by leveraging the ontological constraints even when the machine learning classifier is poor and the most confident labels are wrong.


Results are presented for a column leaching experiment designed to evaluate the relationship among leachate properties, weathering processes, and solid phase characteristics of an alkaline fly ash. Fly ash was weathered with 0.005 mol/L H₂SO₄ in a series of five leaching columns. Acidification of the ash leachates occurred in a stepwise fashion involving three buffer stages. Chemical dissolution and mobilization of elements was greatest in the first column and decreased to minimal dissolution and maximum accumulation of weathered products in ash of the fifth column. Results indicated that unreacted fly ash consists of spherical micron-sized particles composed of mullite enclosed in a two-phase glassy matrix. The external glass was enriched in Ca, Mg, Fe, and Al. The interior glass matrix was composed primarily of Si and a major portion of the total Na and K. The ash also contained a highly reactive inorganic phase composed largely of submicron-sized CaO fragments on the surfaces of ash particles. Initial dissolution characteristics were dictated by the reactions of the CaO fragments and surface-associated soluble salts. Leachate characteristics were largely controlled by dissolution of the external glassy matrix after the rapid dissolution of surface salts. Solid state migration and removal of Na from the interior glassy matrix was active under acidic leaching conditions.


The research was done because there was an inconsistence of the result found about the impact of finance performance to the stock return. This inconsistence of result encourage the used of moderator  variable  that expected gave impact to the relevance between independent variables and dependent variables, that is dividen payout ratio. This research was done in 6 Real Estate and Property company in Indonesian Stock Exchange by year 2006-2010. The F-test result showed that simultantly the finance performance were giving a significant impact . The T-test shows Current ratio and Debt to Equity Ratio were giving a negative and significant impact to the stock returns, but partially Return on Assetss and Price Earning Ratio did not give any impact to the stock returns. After the residual test was done, dividend payout ratio was not able to reinforce the relation between financial performance and stock returns.


The BCR-ABL oncogene plays an essential role in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In NOD/scid mice injected with soft agar clones of a human CML cell line (K562), we observed a leukemia syndrome involving not only leukemia but also a severe reduction of normal mouse hematopoiesis (Lin et al., Oncogene, 2001). Some of these mice died of a wasting syndrome that involved suppression of hematopoiesis without extensive tumor cell invasion of the spleen and marrow. In CML patients, since normal hematopoietic cells in marrow and spleen are replaced with proliferating leukemic blasts, we postulate that this is an active process mediated by the leukemia cells. The lipocalin 24p3 is secreted by mouse hematopoietic cells deprived of IL-3, resulting in apoptosis induction in a variety of hematopoietic cells including bone marrow cells (Devireddy et al., Science, 2001). We found that BCR-ABL+ mouse hematopoietic cells induce a persistent secretion of a modified form of 24p3 (21 kDa). Co-culture studies show that BCR-ABL+ cells induced apoptosis in BCR-ABL negative cells. Importantly, BCR-ABL+ hematopoietic cells are resistant to apoptosis under the same conditions. Conditioned medium (CM) from BCR-ABL+ cells expressing anti-sense/siRNA 24p3 or CM mixed with 24p3 antibody have reduced apoptotic activity for target cells. We also found that the expression of the Bcr-Abl oncoprotein and its tyrosine kinase are required for induction of 24p3 expression. Leukemic mice induced by BCR-ABL+ cells expressing anti-sense/siRNA 24p3 have increased levels of normal hematopoiesis (marrow and spleen erythropoiesis and blood platelet levels) and reduced invasion of leukemia cells in marrow and spleen tissues, but the leukemia cells readily invade liver and the abdomen as ascites (Lin et al, Oncogene, 2005). These findings indicate that suppression of normal hematopoiesis in BCR-ABL induced leukemia is an active process involving the apoptotic factor 24p3, raising the possibility that similar factors are involved in BCR-ABL+ CML patients. We have found that the K562 clones (Lin et al. 2001) have enhanced expression of NGAL (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, human homologue of 24p3) transcripts compared to uncloned K562 cells. We generated additional soft agar K562 clones, each with different expression levels of NGAL transcripts. NOD/scid mice injected with the clone (C5) of K562 cell line expressing a high level of NGAL had severe depression of hematopoiesis and significantly shorter survival time as compared with mice injected with parental K562 cells and a clone (C6) expressing a low level of NGAL. Co-culture studies showed that the C5 K562 clone also induced apoptosis in BCR-ABL negative cells. We detected two glycosylated forms of NGAL/24p3 migrating at 24 kDa and 21 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The 21 kDa form is the major form in CM from mouse BCR-ABL+ cells and K562 clones. Our preliminary data with CML patient samples showed that levels of 21 kDa NGAL protein in bone marrow fluid correlated with BCR-ABL/ABL ratio. Further studies with more patient samples are ongoing to confirm the role of NGAL in suppressing normal hematopoiesis in CML patients and to determine the structural change(s) that leads to the modified form of 24p3/NGAL secreted by CML cells.


record of making important contributions to the study of the history of anaesthesia, and many of those contributions have been published in Anaesthesia. However, if the wider academic community and professional historians in particular are to recognise the value of these contributions, then the review process for historical papers must be every bit as rigorous as that to which clinical and research papers are subjected.


We study network capacity limits and optimal routing algorithms for regular sensor networks, namely, square and torus grid sensor networks, in both, the static case (no node failures) and the dynamic case (node failures). For static networks, we derive upper bounds on the network capacity and then we characterize and provide optimal routing algorithms whose rate per node is equal to this upper bound, thus, obtaining the exact analytical expression for the network capacity. For dynamic networks, the unreliability of the network is modeled in two ways: a Markovian node failure and an energy based node failure. Depending on the probability of node failure that is present in the network, we propose to use a particular combination of two routing algorithms, the first one being optimal when there are no node failures at all and the second one being appropriate when the probability of node failure is high. The combination of these two routing algorithms defines a family of randomized routing algorithms, each of them being suitable for a given probability of node failure.


In the present study, effects of increased IP3K-A [Ins(1,4,5)P(3) 3-kinase-A] expression were analysed. H1299 cells overexpressing IP3K-A formed branching protrusions, and under three-dimensional culture conditions, they exhibited a motile fibroblast-like morphology. They lost the ability to form actin stress fibres and showed increased invasive migration in vitro. Furthermore, expression levels of the mesenchymal marker proteins vimentin and N-cadherin were increased. The enzymatic function of IP3K-A is to phosphorylate the calcium-mobilizing second messenger Ins(1,4,5)P(3) to (Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4). Accordingly, cells overexpressing IP3K-A showed reduced calcium release and altered concentrations of InsPs, with decreasing concentrations of Ins(1,4,5)P(3), InsP(6) and Ins(1,2,3,4,5)P(5), and increasing concentrations of Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4). However, IP3K-A-induced effects on cell morphology do not seem to be dependent on enzyme activity, since a protein devoid of enzyme activity also induced the formation of branching protrusions. Therefore we propose that the morphological changes induced by IP3K-A are mediated by non-enzymatic activities of the protein.


In this paper a novel logarithmic edge detection algorithm is presented. The algorithm is an extended and modified version of PLIP Sobel edge detection algorithm. Six new kernels are suggested to achieve a higher level of independence from scene illumination and provide obvious distinction between edge and non-edge pixels. We present experimental results for this method, and compare results of the algorithm against several leading edge detection methods such as Sobel, Canny and conventional logarithmic edge detection. To compare results objectively, we computed edginess judging index (EJI) for edge detection algorithms. The proposed technique is effective, as demonstrated by computer simulations, conceptually straight forward, and easy to use.


We have developed a new multifunction instrument for use during bimanual vitreoretinal surgery. The illuminating laser probe provides the functions of endolaser photocoagulation and fiberoptic illumination in a single 19- or 20-gauge instrument. The probe can be coupled to standard laser and illumination sources, and it simplifies endophotocoagulation in select surgical settings.


Herein we describe the isolation of homarine and piridiniumbetaine B from the sponge Aaptos sp. Although homarine has a common occurrence among animals, piridiniumbetaine B was only recently isolated from the marine sponge Agelas dispar. The isolation of piridiniumbetaine B from two taxonomically distant marine sponges corroborate previous assumptions that such betaines should be regarded rather as primary metabolites. We have also isolated (9-[5'-(methylthio)-b-D-xylofuranosyl]adenine (xylosyl-MTA) from the mantle of a nudibranch identified as Doris aff. verrucosa. The occurrence of xylosyl-MTA in the mantle of this animal strongly suggests that it is the same nudibranch species described for the Mediterranean sea. We have been unable to detect any other compound in the mantle extract of D. aff. verrucosa other than xylosil-MTA and sterols. GC-MS analysis of the sterol fraction from the nudibranch and its prey, the sponge Hymeniacidon aff. heliophila, revealed the occurrence of the ubiquitous sterols, cholesterol, brassicasterol, cholestanol, 24-methylcholesterol and 24-ethylcholesterol, as the only common metabolites, therefore precluding any assumption concerning the sequestration of secondary metabolites by the nudibranch from H. aff. heliophila.


In 2008 a section of a Middle Iron Age cemetery was unearthed at Alsónyék (Tolna County, Hungary). The 16 graves can be dated broadly to the 5th and maybe the early 4th century BC. The significance of this discovery lies in the diversity of burial customs and grave goods as well as in the fact that sites from this period are relatively rare in Transdanubia. In addition, already these 16 graves make the cemetery the second largest Middle Iron Age graveyard in the region between the Kapos and Sava Rivers.


Increasingly sophisticated quantum computers motivate the exploration of their abilities in certifying genuine quantum phenomena. Here, we demonstrate the power of state-of-the-art IBM quantum computers in correlation experiments inspired by quantum networks. Our experiments feature up to 12 qubits and require the implementation of paradigmatic Bell-State Measurements for scalable entanglement-swapping. First, we demonstrate quantum communication advantages in up to nine-qubit systems while only assuming that the quantum computer operates on qubits. Harvesting these communication advantages, we are able to certify 82 basis elements as entangled in a 512-outcome measurement. Then, we relax the qubit assumption and consider quantum nonlocality in a scenario with multiple independent entangled states arranged in a star configuration. We report quantum violations of source-independent Bell inequalities for up to ten qubits. Our results demonstrate the ability of quantum computers to outperform classical limitations and certify scalable entangled measurements.