In this paper, we present a novel unsupervised algorithm, called CLimate and rEmote sensing Association patteRns Miner, for mining association patterns on heterogeneous time series from climate and remote sensing data integrated in a remote sensing information system developed to improve the monitoring of sugar cane fields. The system, called RemoteAgri, consists of a large database of climate data and low-resolution remote sensing images, an image preprocessing module, a time series extraction module, and time series mining methods. The preprocessing module was projected to perform accurate geometric correction, what is a requirement particularly for land and agriculture applications of satellite images. The time series extraction is accomplished through a graphical interface that allows easy interaction and high flexibility to users. The time series mining method transforms series to symbolic representation in order to identify patterns in a multitemporal satellite images and associate them with patterns in other series within a temporal sliding window. The validation process was achieved with agroclimatic data and NOAA-AVHRR images of sugar cane fields. Results show a correlation between agroclimatic time series and vegetation index images. Rules generated by our new algorithm show the association patterns in different periods of time in each time series, pointing to a time delay between the occurrences of patterns in the series analyzed, corroborating what specialists usually forecast without having the burden of dealing with many data charts.


Inconsistency in the definition of conflict is a fundamental issue of the traffic conflict technique and raises questions about the validity of this technique. A significant aspect of inconsistency is that thresholds to distinguish traffic conflicts from normal events have not been clearly determined. The study presented in this paper proposed a peak-over-threshold (POT) approach to determine postencroachment time thresholds between traffic conflicts and normal events. The determined thresholds were evaluated by testing the correlation between the defined conflicts and observed crashes. A further regression analysis was conducted to explain heterogeneity of POT-determined thresholds. The results show that traffic conflicts defined by POT-determined thresholds have a relatively strong relationship with observed crashes, and the Pearson's correlation coefficient is .66. Moreover, the threshold heterogeneity in this study mainly stems from the variety of exposure (i.e., traffic volume). This study also implies that the POT approach, which can account for possible heterogeneity in thresholds, is promising for improving the validity of the traffic conflict technique.


Accurate and efficient generative models are significant for the design and performance evaluation of wireless communication protocols as well as error-control schemes. In this paper, deterministic processes are used to derive a new class of hard and soft generative models for simulation of digital wireless channels with hard and soft decision outputs, respectively. The proposed deterministic-process-based generative models (DPBGMs) are all based on a properly parameterized and sampled deterministic process followed by a threshold detector and two parallel mappers. The target hard and soft error sequences are provided by computer simulations of uncoded enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) systems with typical urban and rural area channels. Simulation results indicate that the proposed DPBGMs enable us to approximate very closely all the interested burst-error statistics of the target hard and soft error sequences. The validity of the suggested DPBGMs is further confirmed by the excellent match of the simulated frame-error rates and residual bit-error rates of coded EGPRS systems obtained from the target and generated error sequences


In the following paper, the character of the quantity known as reactive volt-amperes is first discussed and its dependence on the assumption of a definite type of periodicity is brought out, this in contrast to certain other a-c quantities. It is pointed out that on account of the rather complicated relation that it bears to the flow of energy in an electric circuit serious difficulties are met in its measurement except in the simpler conditions of balanced voltages, in a polyphase circuit, and sinusoidal waves. Two procedures are outlined which though they are not premised on balanced voltages have frequency and wave form limitations. In the latter part of the paper, the relation of the quantity of energy that surges in an a-c circuit in which there is energy storage, to the average flow of energy is considered, and advantages of this conception as a basis for rates are indicated. Finally, it is pointed out that reactive volt-amperes is of the nature of a complementary quantity rather than a specific activity of the electric circuit which when suitably combined with power gives volt-amperes.


Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most harmful greenhouse gases inducing global warming, and also one of the leading causes towards the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. In the ecological nitrogen cycle, an enzyme called nitrous oxide reductase converts N2O into completely benign materials: nitrogen and water. There are two N2O-activating sites in this particular enzyme, denoted as CuZ* and CuZ. Both active sites contain 4 copper atoms adjoined to a single sulfur (µ4-S). Although nitrous oxide reductase has been the focus of several structural and electronic studies, very little is known about the precise interaction between N2O and the enzyme active sites. More specifically, no experimental evidence exists detailing the binding mode of N2O to the active sites during substrate activation; nor has the catalytic reduction mechanism been experimentally established. Our studies are aimed at constructing synthetic, small-molecule complexes that serve as structural and/or functional models to the catalytically relevant CuZ* active site. Development of biomimetic complexes, as a means for investigating the intimate dynamics of the metalloenzyme active sites, provides an additional scientific approach for divulging the reduction of N2O facilitated by CuZ*.


We analysed gross primary productivity (GPP), total ecosystem respiration (TER) and the resulting net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the terrestrial biosphere during the summer of 2018 through observed changes across the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) network, through biosphere and inverse modelling, and through remote sensing. Highly correlated yet independently-derived reductions in productivity from sun-induced fluorescence, vegetative near-infrared reflectance, and GPP simulated by the Simple Biosphere model version 4 (SiB4) suggest a 130–340 TgC GPP reduction in July–August–September (JAS) of 2018. This occurs over an area of 1.6 × 106 km2 with anomalously low precipitation in northwestern and central Europe. In this drought-affected area, reduced GPP, TER, NEE and soil moisture at ICOS ecosystem sites are reproduced satisfactorily by the SiB4 model. We found that, in contrast to the preceding 5 years, low soil moisture is the main stress factor across the affected area. SiB4's NEE reduction by 57 TgC for JAS coincides with anomalously high atmospheric CO2 observations in 2018, and this is closely matched by the NEE anomaly derived by CarbonTracker Europe (52 to 83 TgC). Increased NEE during the spring (May–June) of 2018 (SiB4 −52 TgC; CTE −46 to −55 TgC) largely offset this loss, as ecosystems took advantage of favourable growth conditions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'.


The basic division between white matter 'fibrous' astrocytes and grey matter 'protoplasmic' astrocytes is well established in terms of their morphological differences. The availability of transgenic animals with green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression restricted to specific glial cell types now provides an approach for looking at changes in cell number and morphology in the two astrocyte types in whole mount preparations. This is an important goal, as the ease of generating astrocyte cultures has led to a proliferation of studies that have examined ischaemic effects on astrocytes in vitro. This has in turn engendered a belief that astrocytes have an extraordinary resistance to ischaemic injury, a belief that runs counter to almost all the data available from in vivo and whole‐mount preparations. One possible source of this confusion is the reactive changes that occur in astrocytes following injury, which include an increase in cell number that may obscure early astrocyte cell death and which has been reported to initiate within hours of an ischaemic event. However, we show here that neither white matter nor grey matter GFP(+) astrocytes exhibit any feature of reactive astrocytosis within a 180‐min period of reperfusion following modelled ischaemia in neonatal whole‐mount preparations. We also show that white matter astrocytes are much more sensitive to ischaemia‐reperfusion injury than are grey matter astrocytes, a feature that may have high significance for developmental disorders of white matter tracts such as cerebral palsy.


Precision of released figures is not only an important quality feature of official statistics,
it is also essential for a good understanding of the data. In this paper we show a case
study of how precision could be conveyed if the multivariate nature of data has to be
taken into account. In the official release of the Swiss earnings structure survey, the total
salary is broken down into several wage components. We follow Aitchison's approach
for the analysis of compositional data, which is based on logratios of components. We
first present diferent multivariate analyses of the compositional data whereby the wage
components are broken down by economic activity classes. Then we propose a number
of ways to assess precision


BACKGROUND
Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy may improve renal function after ischemia-reperfusion injury in transplantation. Ex vivo renal intraarterial administration is a targeted delivery method, avoiding the lung vasculature, a known barrier for cellular therapies. In a randomized and blinded study, we tested the feasibility and effectiveness of MSC therapy in a donation after circulatory death autotransplantation model to improve posttransplant kidney function, using an ex vivo MSC delivery method similar to the clinical standard procedure of pretransplant cold graft flush.

METHODS
Kidneys exposed to 75 min of warm ischemia and 16 hrs of static cold storage were intraarterially infused ex vivo with 10 million male porcine MSCs (Tx-MSC, n=8) or vehicle (Tx-control, n=8). Afterwards, the kidneys were autotransplanted after contralateral nephrectomy. Biopsies an hour after reperfusion confirmed the presence of MSCs in the renal cortex. Animals were observed for 14 days.

RESULTS
Postoperatively, peak p-creatinine was 1230 and 1274 µmol/L (Tx-controls vs Tx-MSC, p=0.69). During follow up, no significant differences over time were detected between groups regarding p-creatinine, p-NGAL, or u-NGAL/creatinine ratio. At day 14 measured glomerular filtration rates were 40 and 44 mL/min, p=0.66. Renal collagen content and fibrosis related mRNA expression were increased in both groups but without significant differences between the groups.In conclusion, we demonstrated intraarterial MSC infusion to transplant kidneys as a safe and effective method to deliver MSCs to the graft. However, we could not detect any positive effects of this cell treatment within 14 days of observation.


Abstract Accurate estimation of the magnitude of seismic events is essential to effective monitoring of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The standard estimator of body-wave magnitude in the International Data Center (IDC) bulletins is the average m b reading at the detecting stations in a prescribed distance window. Two sources of bias may affect these magnitudes. First, some stations may tend to give high readings and others low readings, so the average may be biased by the particular set of detecting stations. Second, the averaging method ignores eligible stations that could have, but failed to, detect an event. The first source of bias can be reduced by estimating station correction terms. The second source of bias can be handled by applying maximum likelihood methods that take into account both detecting and nondetecting stations. We compare several different methods that have been proposed to estimate station correction terms and show that a joint maximum likelihood method is clearly superior to other alternatives. A least-squares method that was used by Murphy and Barker (2003) to estimate correction terms leads to biased estimates of correction terms because it fails to take into account nondetecting stations. The joint method provides accurate estimates of station correction terms and is also superior to applying maximum likelihood to single events without estimating station corrections or with the least-squares corrections. We illustrate our ideas by analyzing data from about 15,000 seismic events recorded by the prototype IDC. We caution that our correction terms are for primary stations only and are not meant to be final estimates; to obtain final correction terms would require applying our methods to a complete data set including both primary and auxiliary stations.


Aims: Pediatric emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a challenge. This study was designed to evaluate if a hospital-integrated primary care unit (HPCU) reduces less urgent visits at a pediatric ED. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out at a university hospital in Sweden, where the HPCU, open outside office hours, had been integrated next to the ED. Children seeking ED care during 4-week high- and low-load study periods before (2012) and after (2015) implementation of the HPCU were included. Information on patient characteristics, ED management, and length of ED stay was obtained from hospital data registers. Results: In total, 3216 and 3074 ED patient visits were recorded in 2012 and 2015, respectively. During opening hours of the HPCU, the proportions of pediatric ED visits (28% lower; P < .001), visits in the lowest triage group (36% lower; P < .001), patients presenting with fever (P = .001) or ear pain (P < .001), and nonadmitted ED patients (P = .033), were significantly lower in 2015 than in 2012, whereas the proportion of infants ≤3 months was higher in 2015 (P < .001). Conclusions: By enabling adjacent management of less urgent pediatric patients at adequate lower levels of medical care, implementation of a HPCU outside office hours may contribute to fewer and more appropriate pediatric ED visits.


From 1910 to 1945, doctors in Singapore received postgraduate training through apprenticeship. During the early post-war period, some doctors in the public service were given scholarships to study in Britain and to obtain higher professional qualifications from the British Royal Colleges. The events that most influenced subsequent development of postgraduate education in Singapore occurred between 1956 and 1969: the formation of the Academy of Medicine and the Singapore Medical Association (SMA); organisation of courses for candidates preparing for examinations of the Royal Australasian and British Colleges; competition between the Academy and the University over responsibility for postgraduate medical education; the inauguration of the School of Postgraduate Medical Studies (SPMS); and the introduction of Master of Medicine (M Med) degrees in various medical specialties. From 1970 to 1999, there was expansion in several aspects of postgraduate medical education: SPMS awarded more than 2000 M Med degrees; the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) established a Register of Specialists and formed a Specialist Accreditation Board; the Academy formed Chapters in 10 specialties and developed Advanced Specialty Training programmes leading to Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine Singapore (FAMS); the SMA formed Societies in some 20 specialties; and a College of Family Physicians was inaugurated. There have been more developments from 2000 to 2005: the University restructured SPMS as a Division of Graduate Medical Studies within the Faculty of Medicine; the SMC implemented compulsory Continuing Medical Education; and the Academy converted 6 of its 10 Chapters into Colleges.


Society's use of plastic is increasing, while the ability to properly manage plastic waste is decreasing. In response, improved waste management systems and the adoption of reusable products made from sustainable materials are needed. Municipal governments in the United States are beginning to institute policies reducing unlimited free access to plastic products such as bags, straws, and Styrofoam. However, some state governments in the Great Lakes region, and elsewhere, have responded by making these pro-environmental policies illegal. Such policies shift the onus of using less plastic to local businesses and conscious consumers. In response, this project sought to determine the effectiveness of a plastic bag ban, supported by targeted education and outreach, at several local businesses in northeast Ohio. Results suggest that the initial implementation and non-enforcement phase of the bag ban did not lead to a reduction in the use of plastic bags. However, survey respondents indicate they are supportive of policies reducing accessibility and unlimited availability of plastic bags. Results further show most people have access to their own reusable bags and support businesses who charge for, or no longer offer, plastic bags. In conclusion, voluntary reduction of bag use by customers is not effective and store policies or legislation is needed to reduce the use of plastic bags.


This dissertation consists of several projects designed to further our understanding of galaxies and galactic structures associated with intervening quasar absorption lines -- i.e., those selected via gas cross section.Surveys for MgII absorption were conducted utilizing QSO spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and data collected at the 6.5m Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory on Mount Hopkins, AZ. The first survey expands the number of studied MgII systems by an order of magnitude, while the second extends the statistics to weaker systems and lower redshifts. The results provide high-precision measurements of the statistics and evolution of MgII absorbers. It is shown that the distribution of rest equivalent width steepens with decreasing redshift, especially at redshifts z<1, such that the total absorption co-moving cross section decreases at a rate proportional torest equivalent width. This is interpreted as an evolution in the kinematic properties of the absorbing galaxy population. Evidence for multiple physical populations comprising MgII absorbers is presented and discussed.Early survey results were used to investigate the cosmic neutral-gas-phase metallicity and dust content. QSO spectra selected due to the presence of strong intervening MgII absorption were stacked in the absorption rest frame to create high signal-to-noise ratio composites with which to measure Zn and Cr abundances. It was found that metallicity of high-N(HI) gas is highly correlated with the kinematic properties of galaxies and both metallicity and dust content for these systems increase with decreasing redshift.Two projects were completed that involved the imaging of six low-redshift damped Lyman-alpha galaxies. Detailed properties of the identified absorber galaxies are described. They are shown to be drawn from a variety of morphological types with a range of luminosities, environments, and impact parameters.


Formation of CO32- and HCO3-
species without participation of the framework oxygen atoms upon chemisorption
of CO2 in zeolite |Na12|-A is revealed. The transfer of O
and H atoms is very likely to have proceeded via the involvement of residual H2O
or acid groups. A combined study by solid-state 13C MAS NMR, quantum
chemical calculations, and in situ IR
spectroscopy showed that the chemisorption mainly occurred by the formation of
HCO3-. However, at a low surface coverage of physisorbed
and acidic CO2, a significant fraction of the HCO3-
was deprotonated and transformed into CO32-. We expect
that similar chemisorption of CO2 would occur for low-silica
zeolites and other basic silicates of interest for the capture of CO2
from gas mixtures.


Abstract Charge Contrast Imaging (CCI) is a low-vacuum scanning electron microscope (LV-SEM) technique that can be induced through partial surface charge suppression of uncoated nonconductive samples, imaged with a suitable detector such as a gaseous secondary electron detector (GSED). The technique commonly produces results similar in style to that of SEM-cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL), providing information on zoning, twinning, annealed fractures, and subtle chemical changes. The current work outlines an example from a Brazilian Lower Cretaceous coquina limestone, in which both optical and SEM-CL imaging produces a limited response from much of the sample. Backscattered electron (BSE) imaging typically suggests only a hint of the cement present, whereas CCI clearly displays a rich and varied cement stratigraphy. The earliest cement displays strong CCI, but appears mainly dark under CL imaging conditions (SEM-CL and optical CL). Later-stage manganese-"enriched" carbonate cement displays luminescence with both optical and SEM-CL, as well as a CCI response. Therefore CCI can provide additional information on cement zonation in an area where CL cannot.


Review
"The time is ripe for Displacing Christian Origins. Over the past two or more decades, there has been a growing interest among many biblical scholars in continental philosophy. At the same time, there seems to be growing interest among some philosophers in moving beyond simply reading biblical texts without reference to or engagement with biblical scholarship. This brings much to the table, pushing biblical scholars and philosophers to engage one another with higher levels of literacy in the other's field." - Timothy K. Beal, Case Western Reserve University"
Product Description
Recent critical theory is curiously preoccupied with the metaphors and ideas of early Christianity, especially the religion of Paul. The haunting of secular thought by the very religion it seeks to overcome may seem surprising at first, but Ward Blanton argues that this recent return by theorists to the resources of early Christianity has precedent in modern and ostensibly secularizing philosophy, from Kant to Heidegger.

Displacing Christian Origins traces the current critical engagement of Agamben, Derrida, and Žižek, among others, back into nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century philosophers of early Christianity. By comparing these crucial moments in the modern history of philosophy with exemplars of modern biblical scholarship—David Friedrich Strauss, Adolf Deissmann, and Albert Schweitzer—Blanton offers a new way for critical theory to construe the relationship between the modern past and the biblical traditions to which we seem to be drawn once again.

An innovative contribution to the intellectual history of biblical exegesis, Displacing Christian Origins will promote informed and fruitful debate between religion and philosophy.


A molecularly imprinted polymer is presented as a screen printed electrode (SPE) coating for determining the presence of fenitrothion in environmental samples for selective and in situ analysis. The polymeric film was obtained by electropolymerization of Ni(II)-phtalocyanine in presence of the template molecule, through the use of cyclic voltammetry. The electropolymerization process as well as the measurement of the fenitrothion by square wave voltammetry (SWV) were studied and optimized. The response of the modified SPE was linearly proportional to concentration of fenitrothion over the range of 3 × 10−6 to 10−4 mol L−1, with a LOD of 8 × 10−7 M and good stability and reproducibility (RSD < 14%). The selectivity of the sensor was tested by measuring fenitrothion in the presence of some possible interferent compounds such as metamitron, fenitrothion-oxon and methyl-parathion obtaining satisfactory results. The device used favours the portability of the equipment which can be used to carry out "in situ" analysis of fenitrothion in forest matrices.


This comparative review of age as a protected ground in discrimination law explores the underpinning questions and themes related to two main dimensions of age discrimination. The first dimension is structural, economic and labour market driven, whereby age is used to allocate a range of rights, obligations and benefits within society. The second is the social justice and equality dimension, in which age is understood as an aspect of individual identity that is worthy of protection against indignity or detriment. The review then considers the law on age discrimination in a number of jurisdictions, the EU law, the UK, Sweden, USA, Canada and South Africa, and assesses the extent to which the underpinning questions explain the developing case law.


Does speaking more than one language help a child perform better on certain types of cognitive tasks? One possibility is that bilingualism confers either specific or general cognitive advantages on tasks that require selective attention to one dimension over another (e.g. Bialystok, ; Hilchey & Klein, ). Other studies have looked for such an advantage but found none (e.g. Morton & Harper, ; Paap & Greenberg, ). The present study compared monolingual and bilingual children's performance on a numerical discrimination task, which required children to ignore area and attend to number. Ninety-two children, ages 3 to 6 years, were asked which of two arrays of dots had 'more dots'. Half of the trials were congruent, where the numerically greater array was also larger in total area, and half were incongruent, where the numerically greater array was smaller in total area. All children performed better on congruent than on incongruent trials. Older children were more successful than younger children at ignoring area in favor of number. Bilingual children did not perform differently from monolingual children either in number discrimination itself (i.e. identifying which array had more dots) or at selectively attending to number. The present study thus finds no evidence of a bilingual advantage on this task for children of this age.


As a key measure for safety and environmental protection during offshore well operations, drill rigs are equipped with Emergency Quick Disconnect (EQD) systems. However, an EQD operation is in itself considered a risky operation with a major economic impact. For this reason, it is of great importance to aid the operators in their assessment of the situation at all times, and help them make the best decisions. However, despite the availability of such systems, accidents do happen. This demonstrates the vulnerability of our human decision-making capabilities in extremely stressful situations. One way of improving the overall human-system performance with respect to EQD is to increase the level and quality of the automation and decision support systems. Although there is plenty of evidence that automated systems have weaknesses, there is also evidence that advanced software systems outperform humans in complex decision-making. The major challenge is to make sure that EQD is performed when necessary, but there is also a need to decrease the number of false EQDs. This paper applies an existing framework for levels of automation in order to explore the critical decision process leading to an EQD. We provide an overview of the benefits and drawbacks of existing automation and decision support systems vs. manual human decision-making. Data are collected from interviews of offshore users, suppliers, and oil companies, as well as from formal operational procedures. Findings are discussed using an established framework for the level of automation. Our conclusion is that there is an appropriate level of automation in critical situations related to the loss of the position of the drill rig, and that there is the promising potential to increase the autonomy level in a mid- and long-term situation assessment.


Abstract Although 85% of children with spina bifida survive to adulthood, there is little information and few proven service practices to guide their healthcare transition (HCT) to adult care. Our objective was to deepen our understanding of the factors that facilitate the HCT experience of these patients. Individual interviews with patients with spina bifida (n = 15) and their parents (n = 14) were performed to investigate levels of HCT readiness, attitudes, and practices. Data were analyzed for themes that mapped to theory-based constructs and synthesized as strategic directions for tailoring services. Patient age averaged 18.0 ± 2.8 yr (range 14–28 yr). Factors common to youth who were progressing toward HCT included individual factors: higher cognitive functioning, strong interest in being independent from parents; family factors: exposure to a parenting style that fostered independence; service factors: success negotiating primary care responsibilities with familiar adult healthcare providers. Factors common to youth who were not progressing towards HCT included individual factors: lower cognitive ability, impaired physical ability; family factors: lack of parent awareness of medical transition needs, and, service factors: strong dependence on pediatric providers for care coordination, and negative experiences with adult specialists perceived as not anticipating their needs. Tailoring HCT for individuals with spina bifida may be best done in conjunction with HCT readiness assessments conducted at intervals throughout the HCT period. These assessments should include current and projected cognitive functioning; dyadic support to align patients and parents around HCT goals and care coordination tasks; and methods to familiarize patients and families with adult providers.


Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to refine the items of a preference-based amyotrophic lateral sclerosis health-related quality of life scale (PB-ALS HRQL scale) based on domains generated in a previous study. Methods: Survey methodology was used to assess item importance rating (IR) and independence. Median importance was calculated for each item and a rating of "very important" was required for the item to remain. Correlations were used to examine item independence. Highly correlated items (rs > 0.7) were considered for removal. Cognitive debriefing (CD) interviews, conducted by Zoom, telephone, or email based on participant preference and communication needs, were used to identify potential issues. Participants provided feedback about wording, clarity, response options, and recall period on randomly selected items. Items were considered finalized when three sequential CD participants approved the item with no revisions. Results: Thirty-four people with ALS (PALS, n = 16 females; age range 44–78 years; ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised [ALSFRS-R] range 0–48) in Canada completed the survey; a subset of 18 PALS completed CD interviews (n = 8 female; age range 44–71 years; ALSFRS-R range 0–48). Four items were highly correlated with one or more items, were not rated as very important, or were not approved via CD and were removed. Conclusions: The final four-response option PB-ALS Scale includes eight items: recreation and leisure, mobility, interpersonal interactions and relationships, eating and swallowing, handling objects, communicating, routine activities, and mood. The next step is to translate the PB-ALS Scale into French and develop a scoring algorithm based on PALS' preferences.


The massive explosion of mobile applications with the ensuing data exchange over the cellular infrastructure is not only a blessing to the mobile user but also has a price in terms of regular discharging of the device battery. A big contributor to this energy consumption is the power hungry wireless network interface. We leverage a measurement kit to perform accurate physical energy consumption measurements in a third generation (3G) telecommunication modem thus isolating the energy footprint of data transfers as opposed to other mobile phone-based measurement studies. Using the measurement kit we show how the statically configured network parameters, i.e., channel switch timers, and buffer thresholds, in addition to the transfer data pattern and the radio coverage, impact the communication energy footprint. We then demonstrate that being aware of static network parameters creates room for energy savings. This is done by devising a set of algorithms that (a) infer the network parameters efficiently, and (b) use the parameters in a new packet scheduler in the device. The combined regime is shown to transfer background uplink data, from real world traces of Facebook and Skype, with significant energy saving compared to the state-of-the-art.


A research  to synthesis and characterizes nanosized TiO2 particles on activated carbon (AC) were prepared by deep coating. Nanotechnologies are a set of methods and techniques for the treatment of matter and aimed at obtaining materials with novel functionalities and improved characteristics. In this research, the preparation TiO2/AC composites was carried out in several stages, the first stage was prepared active carbon from empty palm oil bunches, then synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles and last step was synthesis nanosized TiO2 particles on activated carbon (AC) using deep coating method. The TiO2/AC composites were characterized  by various methods such as Fourier Transmission Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The XRD pattern of synthesized of the TiO2 nanoparticles shown one strogest peak, that indicative the prepared sample is single crystal  structure.  The crystallite size of the Titanium dioxide nanoparticles is 79,6 nanometer. SEM photo analysis of the morphology of TiO2 particles with uneven white clumps on the surface of activated carbon in the form of porous bars of non-uniform size. Based on this study  has reported the properties of TiO2/AC has been considered  used in photocatalysis  of the degradation of substances in an aqueous solution and the reduction of inorganic ions


Objective.

To determine the effect of the tinctorial properties of microorganism on the nutritional status and the early outcome in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) of bacterial origin.
Materials and Methods.

A retrospective statistical analysis of case histories of 137 patients with signs and symptoms of SIRS and bacterial infections (caused by a single pathogen) was performed. The following clinical and laboratory parameters of protein-energy undernutrition (PEU) were determined and assessed: body mass index, body weight deficit, total protein, serum albumin, absolute peripheral blood lymphocyte count. Basic metabolic rate indicators (daily energy demand, macronutrient demand) were calculated by indirect calorimetry. The severity of patients at hospital admission is assessed using the SOFA.
Results.

The statistically significant effect of the tinctorial properties of microorganism on the nutritional status and the early outcome in patients with SIRS of bacterial origin was confirmed.
Conclusions.

The type of microorganism determined by tinctorial properties has a different effect on patient's metabolic status. Patients with Gram-negative infections have an increased protein and protein caloric intake. Patients with Gram-positive infections have an increased energy requirements and macronutrient intake. The indicators of the baseline PEU in patients with SIRS of bacterial origin have a significant effect on the disease outcome. The study results stress the importance of nutritional therapy directed to adjustment of daily caloric intake and the percentage of protein calories in patients with systemic bacterial inflammation.


BACKGROUND
Babesia infections in dogs can result in a wide range of clinical and laboratory presentations, including coagulopathy. Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) in dogs with babesiosis is unknown.

OBJECTIVES
Whether inflammation in babesiosis triggers activation of ICAM-1 and the coagulation system.

ANIMALS
Twelve and 10 dogs with naturally occurring babesiosis before and after antiparasitic treatment, respectively, were compared with 10 healthy dogs.

METHODS
In this prospective study, diagnosis was made by blood smear examination and confirmed by PCR. C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), and von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels were measured by a canine ELISA kit, fibrinogen (FIB) and factor VIII activity levels were measured by coagulometric methods, and blood cell counts (WBC, RBC, PLT) were determined with an automatic analyzer.

RESULTS
Compared to healthy dogs, the CRP, sICAM-1, and FIB concentrations were significantly increased before therapy and remained high for 3 days after therapy in dogs with babesiosis. vWF activity was significantly decreased in dogs with babesiosis before treatment. FVIII activity did not differ between dogs with babesiosis and healthy dogs. WBC; RBC and PLT were significantly lower before treatment and normalized by 3 days after treatment.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
A proinflammatory condition in babesiosis appears to influence endothelial dysfunction and hemostatic activity. Although clearly beneficial for the parasite, sequestered blood cells can obstruct blood flow in small vessels, promote an inflammatory state, and could increase the severity of babesiosis.


This effort aims to obtain some accurate statistics of the Duffing Equation subjected to white noise through Monte Carlo simulation. The results obtained can be used to check the accuracy of known or new approximate answers and to help provide insights into the true behavior of the system. Ensemble size of 200,000 records are used to ensure small variances in the statistics collected. The coefficient of cubic nonlinearity is varied, and both positive and negative values of the nonlinear coefficient are used in the investigation. Statistics collected are the time histories of the second and fourth moments of displacement, and the first passage probability densities and survival probabilities for the double barrier type.


This paper presents a wavelet image denoising method by Threshold optimal based on wavelet transform and genetic algorithm (GA). First, using wavelet transition to a original signal and selecting a wavelet and a level of wavelet decomposition, Then the optimized thresholds of every level of wavelet decomposition will be obtained by genetic algorithms. The high coefficients at every level will be quantized. At last, inverse transition of the coefficients will be processed and we will get the final signals. An optimal image threshold using Genetic Algorithm is proposed. Compared with traditional threshold methods, the proposed method has advantages that it can implement quickly optimal threshold and have good capability and stabilization. The results show that using the proposed method can obtain satisfactory denoising effect.


In this paper, the concept of Linear Programming (LP) was applied to Multigrow Insurance Company in Ghana which had a portfolio problem. The company had obtained GH₵ 200000 cash but had a difficulty in determining how much to invest in each of five investment areas in order to maximize return. Based on the data collected, the problem was formulated as a Linear Programming Problem and solved using Management Scientist Version 5 Software. Optimal portfolio mix was obtained for the Insurance Company. Finally, the total optimal return on the investments of the company was found to be GH₵ 15980. It is strongly recommended that the Company should adhere to the proposed optimal portfolio mix and also employ at least one operations researcher to assist the Company in its activities.


The authors present herein their findings obtained in bench-test and experimental studies, which made it possible to work out an original technology of creating an endothelial covering of the inner surface of vascular grafts made of polytetrafluorethylene. The new technology includes the definite sequential processes which are as follows: 1) creation of vascular endotheliocytes; 2) stimulation of growth and reproduction of endotheliocytes; 3) preparation of the graft, including creation of stable positive potential on its inner surface in order to create optimal conditions for endothelization; 4) graft endothelization itself. In order to assess efficacy of endothelial vascular grafts, we carried out a total of 105 experiments on dogs. The experimental conditions made it possible to comparatively study the standard and endothelialized grafts using them in the position of the aortic abdominal portion, carotid and femoral arteries. The new grafts turned out to possess satisfactory performance properties, which precluded formation of thromboses and hyperplasia of the noeintima, simultaneously providing good implantability.


: The most apparent immunologic role of the mammary gland is supply to antibodies to the neonate. In cattle the gland must be able to secrete large quantities of IgG antibodies over a short time period to supply the offspring with protection against systemic pathogens. This is accomplished by selective transfer of IgG from serum to the gland followed by eventual absorption by the neonate gut. In all mammals, the mammary glands provide IgA antibodies specific for pathogens or antigens which enter or invade the neonatal gut. An entero-mammary cell circulation provides the mechanism for conveying such specificity to the lacteal IgA antibodies. Some IgA antibodies may also be derived from the circulation so that the quantitative significance of serum derived versus locally produced IgA in different species requires clarifications. IgG and IgG lacteal antibodies ingested by the neonate, provide short-term systemic and long-term enteric humoral immunity to the neonate. In addition to providing passive immunity, at least swine IgG appears to have a regulatory role in the development of the systemic humoral immune system of the neonate. Such a phenomenon may be general for IgG antibodies transferred in colostrum or in utero. While passive antibodies and immunoglobulins may be most important for the neonate, the many other potentially anti-infectious elements transferred in colostrum and milk may also play important roles. 'Bifidus' factor particularly, but also lysozyme and lactoferrin are probably all important although more convincing experimental data will be needed to support this assumption. Studies of cells of the lymphoid and reticuloendothelial systems in milk are more recent and their role in the neonate remains to be convincingly demonstrated. In summary, the immunologic and anti-infectious roles of the mammary glands are (1) Supply of IgA antibodies against enteric antigens to the neonate on a 'long-term' basis throughout lactation; (2) Short-term supply of IgG (and IgA) in Group II and III mammals for eventual absorption into neonatal serum; (3) The supply of numerous nonspecific factors such as 'bifidus factor,' lactoferrin, and lysozyme throughout lactation; (4) Regulation of the development of humoral immunity by an apparent feedback mechanism involving maternal IgG; (5) Self-protection of the gland by sensitized T-lymphocytes acting directly or using lymphokines on macrophages; and (6) Self-protection of the gland by secreted antibodies that may act in complement-independent cytolysis, as opsoins for polymorphonuclear-leukocytes or directly as agents preventing colonization.


An annotated list of harvestmen species (six species in two families) of the Katunsky Biosphere Reserve and adjacent territories in the Altai Republic, Russia is provided. A new species, Sabacon zateevi sp. nov. (♂ ♀ from the Altai Mountains, Russia), is described. Liropilio stukanovi Gritsenko, 1979 is recorded from Russia for the first time, and appearance and diagnostic features of its male are described. The appearance of a living specimen of the female of Homolophus nordenskioeldi (C.L. Koch, 1879) is also provided. For all the studied species, biotope preferences and distribution are discussed. Additional information on morphology and distribution of Sabacon sergeidedicatum Martens, 1989 is given.


Engineering bioinspired peptide-based molecular medicine is an emerging paradigm for the management of traumatic coagulopathies and inherent bleeding disorder. A hemostat-based strategy in managing uncontrolled bleeding is limited due to the lack of adequate efficacy and clinical noncompliance. In this study, we report an engineered adhesive peptide-based hybrid regenerative medicine, sealant 5, which is designed integrating the structural and functional features of fibrin and mussel foot-pad protein. AFM studies have revealed that sealant 5 (55.8 ± 6.8 nN adhesive force) has higher adhesive force than fibrin (46.4 ± 7.3 nN adhesive force). SEM data confirms that sealant 5 retains its network-like morphology both at 37 and 60 °C, inferring its thermal stability. Both sealant 5 and fibrin exhibit biodegradability in the presence of trypsin, and sealant 5 also showed biocompatibility in the presence of fibroblast cells. Engineered sealant 5 efficiently promotes hemostasis with enhanced adhesiveness and less blood-loss than fibrin. In vivo data suggests that in heparinized conditions, sealant 5 ceases bleeding at 212.3 ± 15.1 s, whereas fibrin halts bleeding at 294.3 ± 21.4 s and blood-loss is ∼4-fold less in sealant 5 than in fibrin. In a heparinized system, sealant 5 facilitates faster blood-clotting than fibrin (∼82 s faster) and RADA-16, a reported peptide-based sealant (∼113 s faster). Additionally, in the case of sealant 5, the process of clotting mimicry-like fibrin is independent of the body's own coagulation system. Sealant 5 efficiently halts bleeding for both external and internal wounds, even for a heparinized system overcoming the bacterial infection. ELISA data and PMBC cell proliferation data support the non-immunogenic feature of sealant 5. Though fibrin and sealant 5 have exhibited comparable efficacy in suture-free wound closure, in vivo H&E staining images have revealed infiltration of very few immune cells as well as the presence of abundant collagen formation in the case of sealant 5-treated wound. Such nature-inspired non-immunogenic sealants offer exciting possibilities for the treatment of uncontrolled bleeding vis-à-vis wound closure.


The purpose of the present study was to develop a simple, accurate and precise method for the simultaneous estimation of Ceftolozane and Tazobactum in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form by RP-HPLC. Chromatograms were run isocratic way through the synchronis C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5μm) using the mobile phase consists of methanol and 1% sodium perchlorate in the ratio of (80:20) and pumped through the column with pressure 10.5±5MPa at a flow rate of 1ml/min. The temperature was maintained at 30°C. The optimised wavelength for Ceftolozane and Tazobactum was 254 nm. Retention times of Ceftolozane and Tazobactum were found to be 4.65 min and 8.86 min respectively. % RSD of the Ceftolozane and Tazobactum were found to be 0.523 and 0.599 respectively. The % Recovery of Ceftolozane and Tazobactum at each level was found to be not less than 98.11 %, 98.03 and not more than 99.84%, 100.10% respectively. The percentage purity of Ceftolozane and Tazobactum in combined dosage form were found to be 98.13% and 98.67% respectively. The coefficient of variance for both the drug was more than 0.999. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, limits of detection, limits of quantification, and robustness according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The proposed method can be used for routine quality control analysis of Ceftolozane and Tazobactum in bulk and combined dosage forms.


Occasioned by reflections on the 50th anniversary of the publication of Festinger et al.'s When Prophecy Fails, this book examines social scientific prophecy research in the second half of the twentieth century, with particular attention to the question of the dynamics that inspired people to engage actively in such end-time activities.


STUDY QUESTION
What is the degree of intrinsic insulin resistance (IR) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the relative contribution of BMI to overall IR based on meta-analysis of gold standard insulin clamp studies?

SUMMARY ANSWER
We report an inherent reduction (-27%) of insulin sensitivity (IS) in PCOS patients, which was independent of BMI.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN
PCOS is prevalent, complex and underpinned by IR but controversies surround the degree of intrinsic IR in PCOS, the effect of BMI and the impact of the different diagnostic criteria (NIH versus Rotterdam) in PCOS.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
A systematic review and meta-analysis of Medline and All EBM databases was undertaken of studies published up to 30 May 2015. Studies were included if premenopausal women diagnosed with PCOS were compared with a control group for IS, measured by the gold standard euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp. The systematic review adheres to the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Meta-analyses were performed using mixed modelling and magnitude-based inferences expressed as mean effect ±99% CI. We inferred the effect was small, moderate or large relative to a smallest important change of -3.7% or 3.8% derived by standardisation. Effects were deemed unclear when the CI overlapped smallest important positive and negative values. Effects were qualified with probabilities reflecting uncertainty in the magnitude of the true value (likely, 75-95%; very likely, 95-99.5%; most likely, >99.5%).

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHOD
A total of 4881 articles were returned from the search. Of these, 28 articles were included in the meta-analysis.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Overall IS was lower in women with PCOS compared with controls (mean effect -27%, 99% CI ±6%; large, most likely lower). A higher BMI exacerbated the reduction in IS by -15% (±8%; moderate, most likely lower) in PCOS compared with control women. There was no clear difference in IS between women diagnosed by the original National Institutes of Health  (NIH) criteria alone compared with those diagnosed by the Rotterdam criteria. Low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were associated with reduced levels of IS (-10%, ±10%; small, very likely negative), which was not confounded by BMI.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
This systematic review and meta-analysis inherited the confounding problems of small sample sizes, missing data (e.g. some hormones, waist and hip girths) and the lack of Rotterdam criteria phenotype reporting, limiting the evidence synthesis and meta-analysis.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
BMI has a greater impact on IS in PCOS than in controls. SHBG appears a potentially valuable marker of IR in PCOS, whereas testosterone after adjustment for BMI demonstrated an unexpected interplay with IS which warrants further investigation.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
This work was supported by grants from the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC), grant number 606553 (H.J.T., N.K.S.), as well as Monash University. H.J.T. is an NHMRC Research Fellow. N.K.S. is supported through the Australian Government's Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) programme. The funding bodies played no role in the design, methods, data management or analysis or in the decision to publish. All authors declare no conflict of interests.

REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A.


Objectives Utilization of hospital emergency departments (EDs) is continuously increasing. Though nurses and physicians are ultimately responsible for the definite triage decisions, initial ED patient triage is frequently performed by hospital admission staff. This study analyzes the quality of assessment of the severity of emergencies and the choice of treatment unit made by hospital admission staff. Methods One thousand fifty-nine consecutive surgical and medical patients entering the ED of the University Hospital Basel during an 11-day period were independently assessed by hospital admission staff without formal medical training, ED nursing staff, and ED physicians. Emergencies were classified by severity (intervention within minutes/hours/days) or by severity and resource utilization (immediate intervention with/without life-threatening condition, delayed intervention with high/low/no demand of resources). Emergency assessment and triage decision (surgical/medical, outpatient/inpatient treatment) were documented independently by all three ED staff groups. Results In 64% of the cases, initial assessment by admission staff corresponded with the final assessment by the ED physician. Concordance was, however, poor (κ=0.23). Underestimation of the severity occurred in 7.5% of cases without severe or lethal consequences. Ninety-four percent of patients were treated in the unit to which they were originally triaged by the admission staff. Conclusion Triage quality regarding the choice of treatment unit was found to be excellent, whereas the quality of the assessment of the severity of the emergency by nonmedical ED admission staff was acceptable. ED patients have to be assessed by medical staff early after admission to ensure adequate and timely interventions.


Recently, deep learning techniques have been successfully applied to automatic speech recognition (ASR) tasks. Most current speech recognition systems use Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to deal with the temporal variability of speech and Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) are exploited to model the emission probability of the HMM. Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) and Deep Belief Networks(DBNs) have recently proven though to outperform GMMs in modeling the probability of emission in HMMs. Deep architectures such as DBNs with many hidden layers are useful for multilevel feature representation thus building a distributed representation at different levels of a certain input. These networks are first pre-trained as a multi-layer generative model of a window of feature vector without making use of any discriminative information in unsupervised mode. Once the generative pre-training is complete, discriminative fine-tuning is performed to adjust the model parameters to make them better at predicting. Our aim is to study different levels of representation for speech acoustic features that are produced by the hidden layers of DBNs. To this end, we estimate phoneme recognition error and use classification accuracy evaluated with Support Vector Machines (SVMs) as a measure of separability between the DBN representations of 61 phoneme classes. In addition, we investigate the relation between different subgroups/categories of phonemes at various representation levels using correlation analysis. The tests have been performed on TIMIT database and simulations have been developed to run on a graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster at PDC/KTH.


The delivery of nucleic acids remains the major obstacle for nucleic acid-based therapies such as gene therapy and gene silencing therapies based on RNA interference. In this dissertation we have developed and studied nucleic acid delivery vehicles based on cationic diblock glycopolymers that contain glucosamine and trehalosamine. Practical procedures were developed to synthesize 2-methacrylamido-2-deoxy glucose and 6-methacrylamido-6-deoxy trehalose starting with commercially available carbohydrates and utilizing trimethylsilyl protecting group chemistry. These monomers were polymerized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to yield glycopolymers with the desired lengths and low polydispersity indexes. Glycopolymers were chain-extended with aminoethylmethacrylamide to produce cationic diblock copolymers. The ability of cationic diblock copolymers to bind nucleic acids was demonstrated with gel electrophoresis and heparin exclusion assays. Complexes of the synthesized polymers with nucleic acids were studied with dynamic light scattering to reveal nanoparticles of 100-250 nm that were stable in the presence of serum proteins. Quartz crystal microbalance experiments showed that serum proteins adsorb on polytrehalose coated gold surfaces and it was suggested that these interactions may help mask the polytrehalose coated nanoparticles from potential actions of the immune system. iv Polytrehalose was also shown to suppress water crystallization similarly to trehalose by lowering the energies associated with the water/ice phase transition. The property was utilized to freeze-dry siRNA containing polyplexes which could be re-dissolved in water after lyophilization to yield nanoparticles. The polyplexes formulated with cationic diblock copolymers were shown to efficiently enter cervical cancer cells (HeLa cell line) and glioblastoma cells (U-87 cell line) and to deliver their nucleic acid cargo. Polyglucose-containing polymers were efficient mediators of exogenous gene expression in HeLa cells, and polytrehalosecontaining polymers were effective in promoting the target gene down-regulation via RNA interference by delivered siRNA.


We have synthesized an amphiphilic triblock coil-rod-coil molecule consisting of a rigid aromatic building block and poly(ethylene oxide). The coil-rod-coil molecule was observed to assemble into a cylindrical micelle structure in aqueous solution. Notably, addition of a small amount of a rod-coil-rod molecule into the cylindrical micellar solution can induce the anisotropic gelation due to dynamic interconnection of adjacent cylindrical micelles via hydrophobic and pi-pi interactions. Depending on the concentration of the rod-coil-rod molecule, the nematic gel can be reversibly switched into an isotropic solution of cylindrical micelles.


Geomorphologic mapping is specially difficult in areas with scarce deposits of uncertain chronology and with multiage and multiorigin forms. This is the case of Galicia. This paper is an attempt to reconstruct the geomorphologic history of Galicia during the Cenozoic in an area especially relevant because of its geodynamic situation. It has been made an exhaustive inventory of the erosive and accumulation terrace levels in a specific section of the Mino, the main river course of the region. Here it is presented the terrace levels list between Chantada and As Neves, their relation to the three etched surfaces R800, R600 and R400, wich are the most relevant because of their areal extent. It is also analyzed their relationship with the longitudinal profile of the river. Using the only existing criteria, i.e., topographic continuity and altitude, it is proposed an evolutionary model substantially determined by the river incision associated with the Paleogene collision among the Euro-Asian and the Iberian Plates. This process geomorphologically begun after the generation of R600 surface which is equivalent in Galicia to the Peninsular Fundamental Surface.


Objectives This cross-sectional survey explored the characteristics and outcomes of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC)–associated nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs) by analyzing a large nationwide Japanese discharge database. Methods We analyzed data from 2,245 patients who experienced ICHs while taking anticoagulants (DOAC: 227; warfarin: 2,018) and were urgently hospitalized at 621 institutions in Japan between April 2010 and March 2015. We compared the DOAC- and warfarin-treated patients based on their backgrounds, ICH severities, antiplatelet therapies at admission, hematoma removal surgeries, reversal agents, mortality rates, and modified Rankin Scale scores at discharge. Results DOAC-associated ICHs were less likely to cause moderately or severely impaired consciousness (DOAC-associated ICHs: 31.3%; warfarin-associated ICHs: 39.4%; p = 0.002) or require surgical removal (DOAC-associated ICHs: 5.3%; warfarin-associated ICHs: 9.9%; p = 0.024) in the univariate analysis. Propensity score analysis revealed that patients with DOAC-associated ICHs also exhibited lower mortality rates within 1 day (odds ratio [OR] 4.96, p = 0.005), within 7 days (OR 2.29, p = 0.037), and during hospitalization (OR 1.96, p = 0.039). Conclusions This nationwide study revealed that DOAC-treated patients had less severe ICHs and lower mortality rates than did warfarin-treated patients, probably due to milder hemorrhages at admission and lower hematoma expansion frequencies.


While deep neural networks have shown powerful performance in many audio applications, their large computation and memory demand has been a challenge for real-time processing. In this paper, we study the impact of scaling the precision of neural networks on the performance of two common audio processing tasks, namely, voice-activity detection and single-channel speech enhancement. We determine the optimal pair of weight/neuron bit precision by exploring its impact on both the performance and processing time. Through experiments conducted with real user data, we demonstrate that deep neural networks that use lower bit precision significantly reduce the processing time (up to 30x). However, their performance impact is low (< 3.14%) only in the case of classification tasks such as those present in voice activity detection.


Forty burn patients were treated in last two years by the method of covering excised or tangentially excised wound with lyophilized glutaraldehyde pigskin, and then planned replacing by autograft skin according to patient's condition. The result showed that the survival rate of the patients was 92.5%. Patients with burn area less than 92% TBSA or third-degree wound less than 81% TBSA survived. This method is effective for stabilizing patient's condition; helping to resolve the problem of limited donor area of extensive burn; extending the usage of meshed skin graft; increasing the taken-rate of autograft skin; improving cosmetic appearance and recovering function. Some disadvantages of this method were also discussed in the paper.


The dispute on four southern islands of Kuril archipelago is one of the oldest, still unresolved territorial disputes of the modern world. This conflict is gaining on it's significance due to the location in North-East Asia which is currently one of the crucial areas for global security. Japan and Russia are big powers with national interests and influence overreaching North-East Asia region. Both countries have not signed a formal peace treaty ending World War II hostilities, despite it is almost 70 years after Japan unconditional surrender to allied powers. The main obstacle that hinders normalization of relations between two nations is unsolved territorial issue of 4 islands that are named in Japan "Northern Territories" (jap. Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, Habomai) and in Russia are just called Southern Kuril Islands.
There are complex reasons behind persistence of this issue between Japan and Russia over such a long period of time. Japan was punished by allied powers after surrender, has lost permanently almost all of it's possessions beyond the main Japanese Islands. Kurile Islands were considered one of these territories. Abridged Japanese sovereignty, communist revolution in China, outbreak of Korean War, stalinist foreign policy of Soviet Union and new American doctrine of containment caused freezing of this conflict. Important factors should be also attributed to national strategies and policies of Japan and Soviet Union (Russian Federation after 1991).
The solution to this border dispute and establishing new framework of bilateral relations between Russia and Japan would significantly change strategic picture of North-East Asia. This could be very beneficial for both Japan and Russia. This conflict has a lot of nationalist symbolism in both nations and would require very bold leadership will to finally resolve it. It is enormous political risk to propose territorial solution that would compromise some well established national imponderables. China and USA – in real policy terms – are not supporting normalization of relations between Japan and Russia, due to their strategic interests in the region. Due to these reasons, it is very unlikely that this issue will be resolved within the foreseeable future.


Background: Quercetin and its derivatives are the most widely distributed flavonoids, which have many pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidation, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory, Quercetin inhibits the occurrence of atherosclerosis (AS) due to its antioxidant activity, but the mechanism is unknown.

Results: Our research found that quercetin plays a role in reducing the formation of atherosclerotic plaque by protecting vascular endothelial cell injury. In an atherosclerotic mouse model, quercetin inhibited the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and downregulated the level of endothelial cell protein C receptors (EPCR), thrombomodulin (TM), von willabrand factor (vWF) and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) in peripheral blood of AS mouse, because of increasing the number of vascular endothelial cells at the atherosclerotic plaque. In vitro model of human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury by H2O2, we found that quercetin significantly reduced endothelial cell apoptosis, and it can prevent vascular endothelial cell injury by inhibiting the secretion of chemokines (CXCL1 and CXCL8) and inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-β, IL-6 and IL-12) factors and reducing macrophage infiltration, at the same time, quercetin promotes the secretion of pro-angiogenic chemokines (CXCL4 and CXCL10) from vascular endothelial cells. Real-time PCR and western-blot assay found that the quercetin protects vascular endothelial cells by inhibiting apoptotic signaling pathway proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) and inflammatory regulatory pathway proteins (IκBα and p65).

Conclusion: Consequently, we concluded that the role of quercetin in the protection of vascular endothelial cells against atherosclerotic plaques may be through the inhibition of vascular endothelial cell apoptosis.


Family violence encompasses a broad range of maltreatment types between family members including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect and financial exploitation. Such violence includes child maltreatment, sibling abuse, intimate partner violence, and elder mistreatment. Family violence is relatively common and represents a significant social, legal, and public health problem. Specifically, research shows that rates of family violence range from 10% to 45% across family relationships in the United States. Moreover, family violence tends to occur in a socioecological context characterized by risk and vulnerability and is related to various negative consequences including psychological distress, health risks, injury, and even death. Despite overlap in the causes and consequences of family violence, work on each type has largely developed independently. However, several theoretical perspectives have been offered that apply broadly to this important social issue. Additionally, existing criminological theories can be utilized to understand the nature and consequences of family violence.


We prove a large deviation principle (LDP) for a general class of Banach space valued stochastic differential equations (SDE) that is uniform with respect to initial conditions in bounded subsets of the Banach space. A key step in the proof is showing that a uniform large deviation principle over compact sets is implied by a uniform over compact sets Laplace principle. Because bounded subsets of infinite dimensional Banach spaces are in general not relatively compact in the norm topology, we embed the Banach space into its double dual and utilize the weak-⋆ compactness of closed bounded sets in the double dual space. We prove that a modified version of our stochastic differential equation satisfies a uniform Laplace principle over weak-⋆ compact sets and consequently a uniform over bounded sets large deviation principle. We then transfer this result back to the original equation using a contraction principle. The main motivation for this uniform LDP is to generalize results of Freidlin and Wentzell concerning the behavior of finite dimensional SDEs. Here we apply the uniform LDP to study the asymptotics of exit times from bounded sets of Banach space valued small noise SDE, including reaction diffusion equations with multiplicative noise and 2-dimensional stochastic Navier-Stokes equations with multiplicative noise. AMS 2010 subject classifications: 60F10, 60H15, 35R60.


Multilayer oriented Langmuir-Blodgett films of bacteriorhodopsin were prepared and their nonlinear optical properties, including second harmonic generation and photoresponse at a two phase-modulated beams mixing, were investigated. The nonlinear component of refractive index of the films was measured.


Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are the most utilized cell type for cellular therapy, partly due to their important proliferative potential and ability to differentiate into various cell types. MSCs produce large amounts of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which carry genetic and protein cargo to mediate MSC paracrine function. Recently, MSC-derived EVs have been successfully used in several preclinical models of chronic kidney disease. However, uncertainty remains regarding EV fate, safety, and long-term effects, which might impose important limitations on their path to clinical translation. This review discusses the therapeutic application of MSC-derived EV therapy for renal disease, with particular emphasis on potential mechanisms of kidney repair and major translational barriers. Emerging evidence indicates that the cargo of MSC-derived EVs is capable of modulating several pathways responsible for renal injury, including inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, fibrosis, and microvascular remodeling. EV-induced modulation of these pathways has been associated with important renoprotective effects in experimental studies. However, scarce clinical data are available, and several challenges need to be addressed as we move toward clinical translation, including standardization of methods for EV isolation and characterization, EV fate, duration of EV effects, and effects of cardiovascular risk factors. MSC-derived EVs have the potential to preserve renal structure and function, but further experimental and clinical evidence is needed to confirm their protective effects in patients with chronic kidney disease.


BACKGROUND
There is an ongoing debate concerning which guidelines and monitoring tools are most beneficial for assessing labour progression, to help prevent use of intrapartum caesarean section (ICS). The WHO partograph has been used for decades with the assumption of a linear labour progression; however, in 2010, Zhang introduced a new guideline suggesting a more dynamic labour progression. We aimed to investigate whether the frequency of ICS use differed when adhering to the WHO partograph versus Zhang's guideline for labour progression.

METHODS
We did a multicentre, cluster-randomised controlled trial at obstetric units in Norway, and each site was required to deliver more than 500 fetuses per year to be eligible for inclusion. The participants were nulliparous women who had a singleton, full-term fetus with cephalic presentation, and who entered spontaneous active labour. The obstetric units were treated as clusters, and women treated within these clusters were all given the same treatment. We stratified these clusters by size and number of previous caesarean sections. The clusters containing the obstetric units were then randomly assigned (1:1) to the control group, which adhered to the WHO partograph, or to the intervention group, which adhered to Zhang's guideline. The randomisation was computer-generated and was done in the Unit of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, and investigators in this unit had no further involvement in the trial. Our study design did not enable masking of participants or health-care providers, but the investigators who were analysing the data were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was use of ICS during active labour (cervical dilatation of 4-10 cm) in all participating women. The Labour Progression Study (LaPS) is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02221427.

FINDINGS
Between Aug 1, 2014, and Sept 1, 2014, 14 clusters were enrolled in the LaPS trial, and on Sept 11, 2014, seven obstetric units were randomly assigned to the control group (adhering to the WHO partograph) and seven obstetric units were randomly assigned to the intervention group (adhering to Zhang's guideline). Between Dec 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2017, 11 615 women were judged to be eligible for recruitment in the trial, which comprised 5421 (46·7%) women in the control group units and 6194 (53·3%) women in the intervention group units. In the control group, 2100 (38·7%) of 5421 women did not give signed consent to participate and 16 (0·3%) women abstained from participation. In the intervention group, 2181 (35·2%) of 6194 women did not give signed consent to participate and 41 (0·7%) women abstained from participation. 7277 (62·7%) of 11 615 eligible women were therefore included in the analysis of the primary endpoint. Of these women, 3305 (45·4%) participants were in an obstetric unit that was randomly assigned to the control group (adhering to the WHO partograph) and 3972 (54·6%) participants were in an obstetric unit that was randomly assigned to the intervention group (adhering to Zhang's guideline). No women dropped out during the trial. Before the start of the trial, ICS was used in 9·5% of deliveries in the control group obstetric units and in 9·3% of intervention group obstetric units. During our trial, there were 196 (5·9%) ICS deliveries in women in the control group (WHO partograph) and 271 (6·8%) ICS deliveries in women in the intervention group (Zhang's guideline), and the frequency of ICS use did not differ between the groups (adjusted relative risk 1·17, 95% CI 0·98-1·40; p=0·08; adjusted risk difference 1·00%, 95% CI -0·1 to 2·1). We identified no maternal or neonatal deaths during our study.

INTERPRETATION
We did not find any significant difference in the frequency of ICS use between the obstetric units assigned to adhere to the WHO partograph and those assigned to adhere to Zhang's guideline. The overall decrease in ICS use that we observed relative to the previous frequency of ICS use noted in these obstetric units might be explained by the close focus on assessing labour progression more than use of the guidelines. Our results represent an important contribution to the discussion on implementation of the new guideline.

FUNDING
Østfold Hospital Trust.


The task of information retrieval is to find documents relevant to the query in a certain collection of documents. The document is a text selected by the author as a single fragment. A query is usually a meaningful phrase or set of words describing the information needed. Instead of searching through the whole document, organizing a search by topic or resume of the document becomes enough. By the term "topic" we refer to a set of small reference texts. Therefore, one of the interesting tasks in information retrieval systems is the task of classifying texts by topic. The whole classification process is carried out in four stages: preprocessing the text, weighing the terms, weighing the sentences, extracting meaningful sentences. In the process of selecting topics, fragments of the text are studied (for example, paragraphs) and compared with the chosen standard. Different fragments can be attributed to different topics. Selected fragments can be combined into a summary on this topic. This paper considers the issues of automatic summarization of text documents taking into account the syntactic relations between words and word forms in sentences that can be obtained at the output of the Link Gramma Parser (LGP) system for the Kazakh and Turkish languages. The authors operate on the results of studies on customizing the LGP parser for agglutinative languages.


Familial emotion socialization practices relate to children's emotion regulation (ER) skills in late childhood, however, we have more to learn about how the context and structure of these interactions relates to individual differences in children's ER. The present study examined flexibility and attractors in family emotion socialization patterns in three different conversational contexts and their relation to ER in 8-12 year olds. Flexibility was defined as dispersion across the repertoire of discrete emotion words and emotion socialization functions (emotion coaching, dismissing, and elaboration) in family conversation, whereas attractors were defined as the average duration per visit to each of these three emotion socialization functions using state space grid analysis. It was hypothesized that higher levels of flexibility in emotion socialization would buffer children's ER from the presence of maladaptive attractors, or the absence of adaptive attractors, in family emotion conversation. Flexibility was generally adaptive, related to children's higher ER across all contexts, and also buffered children from maladaptive attractors in select situations. Findings suggest that the study of dynamic interaction patterns in context may reveal adaptive versus maladaptive socialization processes in the family that can inform basic and applied research on children's regulatory problems.


Abstract : The 'Language Studies' contract is divided into four project areas, all of which are directed to the problems of effectively, reliably and efficiently using modern computers in a wide range of applications. Three of the projects deal with methods of communicating with computers. Task 1. Very High Level Programming Systems (P.I: J. A. Robinson). This group is working towards combining the features developed to support work in the area of artificial intelligence and those used in general program development into a new conceptual framework that can be understood and used by a large community of users. Task 2. Proving Program Correctness (P.I: J. C. Reynolds). This group is working towards programming language designs which increase the probability that specification errors will be detected by the compiler or interpreter and to provide the language facilities so that users will more nearly be able to prove that programs perform as they are specified than is currently possible. Task 3. Grammars of Programming (P.I: E. F. Storm). This group is working towards the development of methods which will allow users to communicate with computer programs in terms of more normal to their every day communication forms. Task 4. Systems Studies (P.I: R. G. Sargent). This group is working towards developing more sophisticated and efficient models of computer systems which can predict system performance when given particular parameter values. The current efforts concern models of transaction processing systems (TPS). (Author)


Objectives: To report clinical and functional outcomes following fixation of tibial posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fractures through a modified open posterior approach when combined with a rehabilitation program emphasizing early range of motion. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Level I trauma center. Patients: From March 4, 2000 to May 8, 2003, there were 16 cases of PCL tibial avulsion injuries presented to our institution, with 10 patients available for follow up at 12 to 48 months (mean 28 months). Intervention: Fixation of tibial PCL avulsion fractures was with a lag screw and washer placed through a modified open posterior approach. Range of motion was begun on postoperative day 1. Main Outcome Measurements: Clinical stability, range of motion, gastrocnemius muscle strength, radiographic appearance, and each patient's overall health-related quality of life (using the musculoskeletal functional assessment tool) were evaluated at final follow up. Results: The average musculoskeletal functional assessment score was 14. (Musculoskeletal functional assessment scores range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating poorer function.) All patients achieved union of their fracture and had clinically stable knees at the latest follow-up. Flexion difference greater than 10 degrees (P = 0.16), extension difference greater than 2 degrees (P = 0.38), and heel raise difference more than 8 repetitions (P = 0.23) were not demonstrated in comparison to the normal side. Conclusions: Treatment of tibial PCL avulsion fractures, which includes fixation through a modified open posterior approach and early postoperative range of motion, results in healing of the fracture, good functional outcomes, stability to posterior draw testing, and does not lead to gastrocnemius weakness or significant range of motion deficits at 12 to 48 months postoperatively.


The development of successful tuberculosis control programs requires the people's involvement, hence a study was performed to identify knowledge, perceptions and practices of the population regarding occurrence, transmission, treatment and control of this disease. The focal group technique was used in 6 sets of persons aged 15 years and over from 6 municipalities of the City of Havana. These groups thought that tuberculosis had declined in the last ten years but had increased again in the last 2-3 years, that it was a contagious disease presenting symptoms such as cough, hemoptysis, loss of weight, fever. They considered it as a terrible, undesirable sickness associated with poverty and caught due to malnourishment, poor hygiene of the sick person and his/her relatives and smoking. Some thought that this disease was curable and other that it was not. Several other people believed that patients should be isolated in hospital whereas others stated that they could have a normal life at home, most preferred to be informed about the disease by TV and radio. It was concluded that a quantitative study should be performed based on these results.


In general, submarines are designed to optimize operation below the water surface because they spend most of their time underwater. On the other hand, the performance in the free surface condition is also important because submarines face a variety of scenarios to complete operational missions, and the free surface condition is unavoidable for port departure and arrival. In the case of a submarine, the numerical accuracy of the potential theory for seakeeping analysis is excellent in submerged conditions, but it is poor in free surface conditions because of nonlinear effects near the free surface area. In this study, Star-CCM+ was used as a Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) solver to estimate the seakeeping performance of a Canadian Victoria Class submarine in irregular waves. The results were compared with those of model tests from a published paper. In addition, the potential theory code was also used to assess the seakeeping performance and compare with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) results. From the calculation results, the motion responses in irregular waves using CFD showed similar trends to the experimental results. In contrast, motion responses from potential code showed significantly larger values than the experimental results. In conclusion, CFD simulations with irregular waves can be a good solution to predict the seakeeping performance of submarines in free surface conditions.


The process of multi-wedge cross wedge rolling is an advanced precision technology for forming long shaft parts such as automobile semi-axes. Three-dimensional solid model and the finite element model of semi-axes on automobile and dies of its cross wedge rolling were established. The process of cross wedge rolling was simulated according to the actual dimension of semi-axes on automobile utilizing the finite element method (FEM)software ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The required force parameters for designing semi-axes mill are determined. The appropriate roller width was determined according to the length and diameter of semi-axes on automobile. The results have provided the basis for the design of specific structure of automobile semi-axes cross wedge rolling mill.


Integrating sustainability within institutions of higher education can have a tremendous impact on students, faculty, and the larger community. Sustainability efforts also experience many barriers to implementation within higher education contexts. A change management perspective can help characterize these barriers and ways to overcome them. In this critical case study, we use a process model to examine the kinds of barriers Kennesaw State University (KSU) has faced regarding implementation of academic sustainability and to evaluate change drivers that can advance sustainability during a time of leadership change. The process model evaluates barriers and change drivers according to published frameworks, and provides a way for higher education institutions to identify the most difficult barriers, easily surmountable barriers, and areas where change drivers can have the most impact. At KSU, the process model identified the self-determination of middle-tier change drivers as the most important way to advance sustainable development in higher education institutions (SD in HEI) until new leadership emerges. The process model is iterative and modifiable, because the specific frameworks used in the process model may vary depending upon the needs of each HEI and stage of progression toward SD.


Diamond is known as a promising electrode material in the fields of cell stimulation, energy storage (e.g., supercapacitors), (bio)sensing, catalysis, etc. However, engineering its surface and electrochemical properties often requires costly and complex procedures with addition of foreign material (e.g., carbon nanotube or polymer) scaffolds or cleanroom processing. In this work, we demonstrate a novel approach using laser-induced periodic surface structuring (LIPSS) as a scalable, versatile, and cost-effective technique to nanostructure the surface and tune the electrochemical properties of boron-doped diamond (BDD). We study the effect of LIPSS on heavily doped BDD and investigate its application as electrodes for cell stimulation and energy storage. We show that quasi-periodic ripple structures formed on diamond electrodes laser-textured with a laser accumulated fluence of 0.325 kJ/cm2 (800 nm wavelength) displayed a much higher double-layer capacitance of 660 μF/cm2 than the as-grown BDD (20 μF/cm2) and that an increased charge-storage capacity of 1.6 mC/cm2 (>6-fold increase after laser texturing) and a low impedance of 2.74 Ω cm2 turn out to be appreciable properties for cell stimulation. Additional morphological and structural characterization revealed that ripple formation on heavily boron-doped diamond (2.8 atom % [B]) occurs at much lower accumulated fluences than the 2 kJ/cm2 typically reported for lower doping levels and that the process involves stronger graphitization of the BDD surface. Finally, we show that the exposed interface between sp2 and sp3 carbon layers (i.e. the laser-ablated diamond surface) revealed faster kinetics than the untreated BDD in both ferrocyanide and RuHex mediators, which can be used for electrochemical (bio)sensing. Overall, our work demonstrates that LIPSS is a powerful single-step tool for the fabrication of surface-engineered diamond electrodes with tunable material, electrochemical, and charge-storage properties.


Author(s): Coulter, Jane | Advisor(s): Tonkovich, Nicole; Davidson, Michael | Abstract: By analyzing scenes of instruction and the instructive literary techniques of Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers, Henry Roth's Call It Sleep, and Gertrude Stein's The Making of Americans, I introduce a new connection between ethnic modernism and immigrant education in the Progressive era. I assert this connection by establishing what I call modernist pedagogy—the instructional component these novels share at the level of narrative, style, and reading practice. Thematically and formally, these three novels educate scholars and lay readers about immigrant experiences, and my analysis of education in these novels crosses public (Metropolitan museum, university, city streets, immigrant night school) and private (Hebrew school or heder, governesses in the family home) spheres. I demonstrate how Jewish immigrant modernist Bildungsromanen—constructed through formal experiments with English, Yiddish, and Hebrew as well as thematic experiments with immigrant education—enrich our understanding of assimilative discursive formations that shaped education and reform in the Progressive era. In addition to examining the pedagogical themes and practices these novels engage, I consider how these works and the meta-discourse of their creators exemplify generational modernism—the synthesis of formal experimentation and the older literary theme of family history. All three modernists purported to take immigrant experiences—their own fictionalized stories as Jewish emigres or the stories of their ancestors—and represent those experiences with new forms. My interlocking analytical frameworks of generational modernism and modernist pedagogy connect literature known for its experimental aesthetics to representations of immigrant experiences that engage readers in unfamiliar reading experiences that inspire readers to question the certainty of what makes them American—and how they learned to be that way. Thus, Modernist Pedagogy provides a framework to examine imaginative experimentation as a proxy for societal restraints on immigrant education; explores the construction of American identities; and invites interdisciplinary scholarship that bridges literary studies, Judaic studies, immigration studies, pedagogical practice, educational theory, and American cultural history.


"Leisure Services Financial Management" equips students and professionals with the knowledge and skills to plan, implement, analyze, and report on the financial operations of leisure service agencies, businesses, and organizations. This unique text examines financial management systems, standards, and practices in recreation, leisure, tourism, and related fields, making it an essential reference for both future and current professionals. "Leisure Services Financial Management "prepares students for the roles and responsibilities of entry-level to middle managers in public, private, and nonprofit sectors of the leisure service industry. Readers will learn - foundational knowledge used in economics, accounting, finance, and marketing; - the technical and technological skills involved in managing the financial aspects of a leisure service agency, organization, or business; - how to develop a financial management philosophy and practice ethical financial management; and - interpersonal skills useful for financial managers interacting with various stakeholders on fund-raising and development initiatives. "Leisure Services Financial Management" presents current financial management approaches, giving students an understanding of the differences in accounting methodologies and financial report methods across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. By examining and working with varied examples of financial reports and analyses, students gain experience in creating and interpreting a range of financial report models. A comprehensive package of online ancillaries, including an instructor guide, presentation package, and test package, assists instructors in delivering engaging lectures, facilitating class discussion, and creating effective assessment tools. The instructor guide includes chapter overviews, learning objectives, glossary terms and definitions, learning activities, critical thinking questions, case studies, web links to additional resources, and sample financial reports to assist instructors in planning lectures and student assignments. A student web resource offers a range of learning resources, including learning activities that replicate the work professionals do on the job. The student web resource also contains examples of management case studies, which offer insights into the realities of the economic, political, and financial workings of the leisure service industry. Both the instructor guide and student web resource contain sample financial reports from each sector (private, public, and nonprofit). Included with each of these reports are problem-solving activities, which provide students with practice in reading, understanding, and analyzing financial reports similar to those they will encounter as professionals. Problem-solving activities in each sample report help students show their understanding of how to interpret these financial reports. "Leisure Services Financial Management" offers students in-depth discussion of the knowledge and skills necessary for beginning a career in the varied and dynamic leisure service industry. This foundational guide to financial management will serve as an essential resource to both future and current professionals in the leisure industry.


During trials jurors are increasingly using cell phones and other devices capable of accessing the Internet. Courts are responding by amending court rules to explicitly ban these devices. This Article points out problems with those new rules. This Article also reviews scientific literature on the effect of pretrial publicity on jury decision-making to conclude the fear of outside Internet research may be unwarranted. By challenging the arguments against allowing jurors to conduct outside research, this Article seeks to broaden the discussion about what it takes to keep the American jury system working capably.


Polysialic acid (PSA) is a developmentally regulated glycan made of repeating sialic acid monomers with α2-8 linkages. PSA has very limited expression in adults, and modifies only a few cell-surface proteins. However, PSA is overexpressed in several human cancers and is associated with metastasis and poor prognosis. We have described a derivative of PSA containing a mixture of de-N-acetyl and N-acetyl neuraminic acid residues (dPSA) found intracellularly in many normal human tissues but expressed at much higher levels on the cell surface of many human cancer cell lines. The proteins modified with dPSA and dPSA function in normal and abnormal human biology are unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify protein(s) modified with PSA and possible dPSA-dependent functions in cancer cell lines that express dPSA antigens. Using co-immunoprecipitation with the anti-dPSA monoclonal antibody SEAM 2 and mass spectroscopy, we identified membrane-associated nucleolin that is either directly modified or associated with dPSA. In addition, knocking down expression of the polysialyltransferase ST8SiaII (STX) in SK-MEL-28 human melanoma cells nearly eliminated dPSA and nucleolin from membranes but had no effect on the levels of nuclear nucleolin, and resulted in aberrant cell morphology, cell adhesion, and motility. The data suggest that cell-surface nucleolin depends on modification with dPSA, and that dPSA-modified nucleolin has an important role in cell adhesion and migration.


Although existing flooding protocols can provide efficient and reliable communication in wireless sensor networks on some level, further performance improvement has been hampered by the assumption of link independence, which requires costly acknowledgments (ACKs) from every receiver. In this paper, we present collective flooding (CF), which exploits the link correlation to achieve flooding reliability using the concept of collective ACKs. CF requires only 1-hop information at each node, making the design highly distributed and scalable with low complexity. We evaluate CF extensively in real-world settings, using three different types of testbeds: a single-hop network with 20 MICAz nodes, a multihop network with 37 nodes, and a linear outdoor network with 48 nodes along a 326-m-long bridge. System evaluation and extensive simulation show that CF achieves the same reliability as state-of-the-art solutions while reducing the total number of packet transmission and the dissemination delay by 30%-50% and 35%-50%, respectively.


Argumentation in school mathematics is an important but demanding practice that supports important learning goals. Much of the research to date has focused on students' cognition but researchers are paying attention to students' affective experiences that influence their learning, and particularly in socio-cultural settings. In this qualitative case study, we drew on an emotion coding scheme to investigate students' emotions during a cyclic sequence of small-group argumentation tasks on graphing and critiquing graphs of real-life situations. Insights into the emotional experiences of argument construction, critique, and reaching agreement were gained by analyzing observations, written reflections, video data, and interviews of six 9th-grade students (aged 14-15 years). A wide range of emotions were observed and expressed throughout the sequence. We found examples of emotions, including tension and frustration, playing a productive role in the students' mathematics learning because of their experience of argumentation. The emotion of tension experienced by some students when receiving and giving critique of their mathematical ideas seemed to trigger productive attention to misconceptions. The emotion of frustration experienced by some students seemed to trigger productive co-construction of arguments and 'aha' moments of mathematical understanding. We also found examples of non-deliberative argumentation (disrespectful interactions, lack of final consensus) influencing emotions in the moment (distress) and in the longer term after the lesson sequence (disappointment). Implications and considerations for future research on argumentation for learning are discussed.