Abstract Regulation of progesterone receptor (PR) in uterine stroma (endometrial stroma plus myometrium) by estrogen was investigated in estrogen receptor-α (ERα) knockout (αERKO) mice. 17β-Estradiol (E2) increased PR levels in uterine stroma of ovariectomized αERKO mice, and ICI 182 780 (ICI) inhibited this E2-induced PR expression. Estrogen receptor-β (ERβ) was detected in both uterine epithelium and stroma of wild-type and αERKO mice by immunohistochemistry. In organ cultures of αERKO uterus, both E2 and diethylstilbestrol induced stromal PR, and ICI inhibited this induction. These findings suggest that estrogen induces stromal PR via ERβ in αERKO uterus. However, this process is not mediated exclusively by ERβ, because in ERβ knockout mice, which express ERα, PR was up-regulated by E2 in uterine stroma. In both wild-type and αERKO mice, progesterone and mechanical traumatization were essential and sufficient to induce decidual cells, even though E2 and ERα were also required for increase in uterine weight. Progesterone receptor was strongly expressed in decidual cells in αERKO mice, and ICI did not inhibit decidualization or PR expression. This study suggests that up-regulation of PR in endometrial stroma is mediated through at least three mechanisms: 1) classical estrogen signaling through ERα, 2) estrogen signaling through ERβ, and 3) as a result of mechanical stimulation plus progesterone, which induces stromal cells to differentiate into decidual cells. Each of these pathways can function independently of the others.


The objective of the current study is to evaluate the fidelity of load cell reading during impact testing in a drop-weight impactor using lumped parameter modeling. For the most common configuration of a moving impactor-load cell system in which dynamic load is transferred from the impactor head to the load cell, a quantitative assessment is made of the possible discrepancy that can result in load cell response. A 3-DOF (degrees-of-freedom) LPM (lumped parameter model) is considered to represent a given impact testing set-up. In this model, a test specimen in the form of a steel hat section similar to front rails of cars is
represented by a nonlinear spring while the load cell is assumed to behave in a linear manner due to its high
stiffness. Assuming a given load-displacement response obtained in an actual test as the true behavior of the
specimen, the numerical solution of the governing differential equations following an implicit time integration scheme is shown to yield an excellent reproduction of the mechanical behavior of the specimen
thereby confirming the accuracy of the numerical approach. The spring representing the load cell, however,predicts a response that qualitatively matches the assumed load-displacement response of the test specimen with a perceptibly lower magnitude of load.


New devices combining the Bragg reflection from periodic multilayer structures with Fraunhofer or Fresnel diffraction arising from lateral patterning of the multilayer are now available for x-ray optics. Using the Green's-function method, we establish an integral equation for the scattered amplitude that is valid in the framework of both Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction. The scattered amplitude is given in the first and the second Born approximations for multilayer mirrors, laminar and sawtooth-profile multilayer gratings, and linear multilayer zone plates. The main diffractive properties of these devices are deduced. The efficiencies are computed in the first and/or in the second Born approximation and are compared with efficiencies obtained from a rigorous electromagnetic theory when they are available.


Despite the usefulness of the macrocyst cycle for genetic analysis of slime mould cells, a great difficulty has been the extremely poor germination of the macrocysts. We describe culture conditions for reliable, high-frequency macrocyst germination, using Dictyostelium mucoroides 7 (Dm7) and a mutant MFl derived from it. Irradiation with relatively short-wavelength light (blue-near-UV) was particularly important for the induction of germination, and only a short period of irradiation was required to obtain a high percentage of germination. There was a critical temperature between 19 and 22 "C for efficient induction of germination; a relatively high pH, around 8-0, also favoured germination. Germination competence increased with the age of the macrocysts.


This article develops a strategic management model which is intended to serve as a prescription for any CEO involved in strategic planning. The model was developed as a result of interviews with CEOs of mostly public and some private organisations and ultimately redirected to benefit CEOs in examining major elements/ processes within their own organisations. The nine components of the model which are inextricably interwoven in the planning process examined in this article include: mission and strategy, Board of Governors, organisational and managerial performance, strategic planning, goals/objectives, communicating goals and decentralisation, commitment, rewards/resources, culture and communication, participation management, role of CEO and changes in the environment.


Introduction: Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is a rare respiratory disease whose main treatment is the whole-lung lavage. This could be a challenging procedure in small children. Objective: The aim of this report is to show our experience coping with a 21-month-old girl with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, who needed a whole-lung lavage due to persistent hypoxemia. Case report: Our patient was a healthy girl until she was 7 months, when she was diagnosed with myeloblastic leukemia. At the age of 13 months, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant was undergone after no response to chemotherapy. After a sepsis when she was 20 months, she had respiratory distress and hypoxemia that persisted for more than 2 weeks, so a chest CT was ordered; it showed bilateral ground-glass opacities. A bronchoalveolar lavage plus a pulmonary biopsy were undergone, confirming the diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. A whole-lung lavage was done, using simultaneously 2 endotracheal cuffed tubes: one (3.5 mm diameter) placed in the trachea to ventilate one lung and another of 3 mm (modified to make it longer) to instill heated saline into the bronchus to perform the lavage. This procedure was done in 2 different days: firstly on the right lung and secondly on the left one, with a total of 2.5 L saline in every lung. The procedure was well tolerated with a good clinical response, and the girl was discharged 2 weeks later. Conclusions: We found a solution to a challenging situation which is to perform a whole-lung lavage in a toddler by placing concurrently 2 tubes into the airway. We believe it is possible to perform a whole-lung lavage in small children despite not having specific double-lumen tubes for children aged below 8 years.


Enhanced luminance (L) and luminous efficiency (LE) of polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) is demonstrated using poly(bis(tetraphenyldiamino)biphenyl-perfluorocyclobutane), poly(BTPD-Si-PFCB), as the hole injection layer. The monomer is cast directly onto the indium-tin-oxide anode and thermally polymerized in situ. Hole injection from poly(BTPD-Si-PFCB) into the "super yellow" derivative of poly(phenylene vinylene) and into several blue-emitting polymers is comparable to or better than that from poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSSA). With poly(BTPD-Si-PFCB) as the hole injecting layer into "super yellow," the performance is identical to that obtained with PEDOT:PSSA (LE≈8 cd/A with little fall-off, even at L>104 cd/m2).


UNLABELLED
Few studies have assessed the links of violence, desire and death with psychiatry in a scientific way. Doctors are nonetheless regularly confronted with these situations which are particularly difficult to manage. It is not evident that psychiatrists are properly prepared to deal with them. This paper proposes an original analysis of the scientific literature related to violence, desire and death, and compares the attitudes of European and American doctors.

RESULTS
1) Violence: there is definitely a relationship between violence and mental disorder. Psychiatrists are particularly at risk of being assaulted by patients, especially at the beginning of their carrier (almost 50%). Violence also includes verbal and non-verbal threats, particularly in the emergency department. Psychiatrists are poorly trained to deal with this. 2) Desire: desire is widespread in psychiatry, and can lead to sexual contact between the patient and the therapist in 7 to 10% of cases. The outpatient setting carries the greater risk. Professional associations unanimously disapprove of such conduct but the ethics of posttermination sexual contact remains controversial. Sexual harassment of female doctors by patients is another form of desire (and of violence). Psychiatrists are also poorly trained to deal with desire. 3) Death: acute death occurs in psychiatry (e.g., suicide, substance intoxication and withdrawal, delirium, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, anorexia nervosa, dementia, lethal catatonia), and there is also a link between mental disorder and a higher incidence of natural mortality. Psychiatrists may thus be confronted with death, and the inpatient setting carries the greater risk. They are nonetheless poorly trained in thanatology.

DISCUSSION
Psychiatric residents need better training to manage violence, desire and death. Poor training results in their exposure to dangerous situations and in inappropriate reactions. Acute management and primary prevention are needed. Acute management should include a collegiate approach, in order to avoid being the "target" of the patient or his/her family. Primary prevention comes through the breaking of the taboos which are still too frequent in Europe, even though the situation is different from the USA. It is important to lay down limits between psychiatry and violence, desire and death. Those situations should before all be better understood, and thereby research in this field have to be stimulated. The holding of consensus conferences in Europe is also important.

CONCLUSION
There is an intimate relationship between violence, desire, death and psychiatry. This relation is too often neglected, as the poor training of psychiatrists underlines. The nature of the patient-doctor relationship have to be redefined according to those considerations.


In this paper we prove that every periodic homeomorphism on a tree-like continuum can be strongly induced on an inverse sequence composed of a certain kind of graph that we call "bellows". We introduce the concepts of "#-graph" of a periodic homeomorphism and of "perfect" homeomorphism. A theorem concerning the parallel inducing of two periodic homeomorphisms having orbit spaces with the same multiplicity structure is also proved. The results are related to conjugacy and to the pseudo-arc.


Due to recent technical developments, urban systems generate large and complex data sets. While visualizations have been used to make these accessible, often they are tailored to one specific group of users, typically the public or expert users. We present Touching Transport, an application that allows a diverse group of users to visually explore public transit data on a multi-touch tabletop. It provides multiple perspectives of the data and consists of three visualization modes conveying tempo-spatial patterns as map, time-series, and arc view. We exhibited our system publicly, and evaluated it in a lab study with three distinct user groups: citizens with knowledge of the local environment, experts in the domain of public transport, and non-experts with neither local nor domain knowledge. Our observations and evaluation results show we achieved our goals of both attracting visitors to explore the data while enabling gathering insights for both citizens and experts. We discuss the design considerations in developing our system, and describe our lessons learned in designing engaging tabletop visualizations.


Various types of policies related to economic promotion and population growth have been implemented for regional revival. The economic effects of these policies are generally estimated using an intra-regional input-output model, and these policies are evaluated by indexes such as production, value added, and labor income. However, one major issue with the intra-regional model commonly used is how to endogenize private household consumption that can be linked to labor income. Labor income estimated by the conventional model is not the net regional income, but rather, the gross regional income. That is, the gross regional income is distributed to the other region due to interregional commuting, and some part of the consumption demand of households living in a region is allocated to the other region. Therefore, the conventional model may overestimate the economic effects of the own region. In this study, we developed an interregional input-output model with interregional commuting and consuming regions and considered a new method for analyzing the economic effects of such promotion policies for a small region. As an example, we analyzed the effects of some regional policies for Fuji City using this model and found that analysis using the conventional model overestimates the economic effects of Fuji City.


Audience Development remains a topic of interest in determining social and cultural policy. Public cultural subsidies have declined and to the degree there is subsidy, there are questions as to the legitimacy and efficacy of those subsidies (Hadley, 2017). Despite these declines, there remains within the system of public subsidy a moral imperative to continue to promote cultural inclusion. One method of continuing the democratisation of cultural events is through the construct of audience development. A report on audience development issued by the European Commission was promulgated in 2017 and featured several case studies that, in combination or separately, attempted to create a series of attributes that facilitated an organisation's ability to foster audience development (European Commission, 2017). These case studies had a variety of features in common, one of which was the commonality of data relevance (European Commission, 2017). This paper focuses on the use of data to determine if current efforts are effective in engaging audiences, particularly those who are otherwise under-represented and under-engaged. Understanding the role of data in examining audience development helps to promote standards in data collection, data analysis and assimilation into an overall strategy, both at the organisational level and at the public policy level. Specifically, this analysis revealed that engagement behaviour varied by audience segments. Participation rates amongst segments were influenced by organisations utilising public subsidies. However, this impact did not extend to the underrepresented and under-engaged. Understanding the motivations of segments across various art forms may facilitate a better application of public subsidies that furthers the continuing democratisation of cultural events.


In order to provide a fully-autosmutic parullelzing compiler with the furiction of both automatic datu partitioning and distribution, we propose a compilercontrolled cache only memory architecture (cc-COMA). The cc-COMA runtime system as based on a softwure-emulated COMA which covers a variety of parallel architectures from NUMA to NOW. The compiler generates both the user code and control code for the emulated cache based on the Entry Consistency model. The runtime system of cc-COMA executes the generated code following the suggestions of the compiler. In this paper we present an outline of what we call the cc-COMA system. Also described is an implementation of the cc-COMA, runtime system for networks of workstations, named Laurasia.


Absorption by soil of water supplied at constant pressure and at constant rate is described. Particular attention is paid to the process when the surface water potential is greater than that at which the soil saturates. Analyses, which directly integrate Darcy's law for both saturated and unsaturated regions using the flux-potential relation (related to the flux-concentration relation of Philip through the appropriate moisture characteristic), predict behavior in accord with experimental data. Analyses which treat the unsaturated region as a problem of diffusion-of-θ are "correct" only if the soil water diffusivity, measured using the method of R. Bruce and A. Klute, is interpreted with care. To avoid erroneous prediction it is imperative that the measurement of diffusivity be preceded by an independent measurement of the moisture characteristic. This latter relation is a necessary specification of the soil water system. It should always be presented in a test of flow theory, and it identifies the suction at which the soil saturates and hence the suction at which Bruce and Klute type experiments should be performed.


We examine the firm-level impact of the use of free trade agreement (FTA) schemes on import prices by employing firm-level import data that enables us to identify the use of different tariff schemes, such as FTA schemes and most favoured nation (MFN) schemes. Unlike the previous studies, we estimate the firm-level effects of FTA use on import prices by controlling for firms' characteristics. We find that, on average, the use of FTA schemes raises (tariffexclusive) import prices by 3 percent in total. Interestingly, the use of FTA schemes raises import prices even if FTA rates are same as MFN rates. We also find that the large-sized firms in terms of import values reduce the positive effects of the use of FTA schemes on import prices.


State-of-the-art fault-based cryptanalysis methods are capable of breaking most recent ciphers after only a few fault injections. However, they require temporal and spatial accuracies of fault injection that were believed to rule out low-cost injection techniques such as voltage, frequency or temperature manipulation. We investigate selection of supply-voltage and temperature values that are suitable for high-precision fault injection even up to a single bit. The object of our studies is an ASIC implementation of the recently presented block cipher PRINCE, for which a two-stage fault attack scheme has been suggested lately. This attack requires, on average, about four to five fault injections in well-defined locations. We show by electrical simulations that voltage-temperature points exist for which faults show up at locations required for a successful attack with a likelihood of around 0.1%. This implies that the complete attack can be mounted by approximately 4,000 to 5,000 fault injection attempts, which is clearly feasible.


The thermodynamic model which quantificationally described the behavior of cerium in heavy rail steel was proposed. From the model, the effects of cerium on the composition, sequence and transformation condition of inclusions and the content of cerium dissolved in heavy rail steel were studied principally. When the cleanliness of heavy rail steel is low, the sequence of inclusions precipitation in heavy rail steel is Ce2O3, Ce2O2S, Ce2S3 and CeS. With increasing the cleanliness of steel, the sequence of inclusions precipitation is Ce2O2S and CeS. At 1783 K, the necessary condition of Ce2O3 precipitation in heavy rail steel is ao/as≥0.186, for Ce2S3 precipitation is ao/as≤0.394. The content of cerium dissolved in heavy rail steel is mainly affected by Ce2S3 inclusion. With the precipitations of all inclusions being stable, the curve between the dissolved cerium content and cerium addition becomes linear.


The decoupling capacitor location in DC power bus design is a critical design choice for which proven guidelines are not well established. The mutual inductance between two closely spaced vias can have a great impact on the coupling between an IC and a decoupling capacitor. This coupling is a function of the spacing between the IC and capacitor, and spacing between power and ground layers. The impact of the mutual inductance on decoupling, i.e., local versus global decoupling, was studied, using a circuit extraction approach based on a mixed-potential integral equation. Modeling indicates that local decoupling has benefits over global decoupling for certain ranges of IC/capacitor spacing and power layer thickness. Design curves for evaluating local decoupling benefits were generated, which can be used to guide surface mount technology (SMT) decoupling capacitor placement.


Small rur/iinants have received very little attention in research and development as they are usually owned by smallholders and pastoralists with little influence and buying power. Moreover, they are often produced for subsistence purposes, their products are rarely marketed, and they are often cared for by women and children. Smallstock in pastoral systems in Africa have been similarly . neglected. The paper presents a case study of smallstock production in Mukogodo Division, Laikipia District, based on 14 months of fieldwork in the area in 1987/8, Mukogodo producers are poor in comparison with other pastoralists and the proportion of smallstock in their flocks is high. Data presented cover both the productive performance of smallstock and their utilization by owners. Special attention is given to the influence of wealth on productive performance and on the socioeconomic strategies employed by producers, which are shown to differ considerably. It is maintained that without the knowledge of producer strategies that underlie aggregated figures (e.g. of commercial offtake or mortality), realistic planning and targeting of development interventions is not possible.


Background Partners of breast cancer survivors experience the effects of a spouse's cancer years after treatment. Partners of younger survivors (YPs) may experience greater problems than partners of older survivors (OPs), just as younger survivors experience greater problems than their older counterparts. Objectives The aims of this study were to (1) compare quality of life (QoL) in YPs and OPs and (2) determine contributing factors to each group's QoL. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected from YPs (n = 227) and OPs (n = 281) through self-report. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine differences between YPs and OPs on QoL while controlling for covariates. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine what contributes to each group's QoL. Results Partners of younger survivors reported better physical function (effect size [ES], −0.57), lower marital satisfaction (ES, 0.39), and lower overall QoL (ES, 0.43) than OPs. Predictors of QoL also differed between partner groups. For YPs, overall QoL was predicted by greater physical functioning, fewer depressive symptoms, higher marital satisfaction, higher parenting satisfaction, and more personal resources (R2 = 0.47, F5,195 = 35.05, P < .001). For OPs, overall QoL was predicted by fewer depressive symptoms, higher parenting satisfaction, higher spirituality, and greater social support from the breast cancer survivor spouse (R2 = 0.33, F4,244 = 29.80, P < .001). Conclusion Partners of older survivors reported greater QoL than YPs. Common factors contributing to QoL between YPs and OPs were fewer depressive symptoms and higher parenting satisfaction. Implications for Practice Partners of breast cancer survivors may need support coping with their spouse/partner's cancer. Partners of younger survivors may require more support than OPs.


A series of π-extended polydiketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrroles with a varying degree of fluorination on the thiophene–phenyl–thiophene comonomer was synthesized by Stille polycondensation. The influence of the degree of fluorination was studied with regard to the polymer properties, such as absorption, electrochemical redox potentials, the solid state structure as well as depth-dependent molecular alignment in thin films. Additionally, their performance in organic field effect transistors was evaluated. Whereas fluorination slightly increases the alkyl lamella and shrinks the π–π spacings, the coherence lengths were found to improve significantly in both directions. All polymers were found to be p-type materials when employed in organic field effect transistors (OFET). These devices can be tuned towards ambipolarity in the case of the tetrafluorinated copolymer upon thermal annealing.


Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a relatively common condition with susceptibility to early onset benign childhood seizures, which manifests primarily with autonomic and mainly emetic symptoms. It predominantly affects children of 3-6 years of age (13% of those with one or more non-febrile seizures). EEG shows great variability, with occipital, extra-occipital spikes or brief generalised discharges alone or in combination; it may also be consistently normal. Occipital spikes do not occur in one third of children. Despite the high prevalence of autonomic status epilepticus, the prognosis of Panayiotopoulos syndrome is usually excellent. Remission usually occurs within 1-2 years from onset, one third have a single seizure but 5-10% may have more than 10 seizures or a more prolonged course. Atypical evolutions with absences, atonic seizures and intellectual deterioration are exceptional; only two cases have been previously reported. We present a girl who initially had a prolonged autonomic status epilepticus typical of Panayiotopoulos syndrome, followed by seizures, with concurrent symptoms of Rolandic epilepsy. She then had an atypical evolution with atypical absences, absence status epilepticus, atonic seizures and mild impairment of scholastic performance. The case emphasises the close links between Panayiotopoulos syndrome and Rolandic epilepsy, both of which probably represent different clinical phenotypes of a maturational-related benign childhood seizure susceptibility syndrome [published with videosequences].


One of the goals of higher education is to enable students to become autonomous independent learners. To achieve this goal it is necessary to shift our emphasis from teaching to facilitating effective learning and to promote the concepts of ownership and 'reflection on learning'. Reflection is a nebulous concept not necessarily amenable to simple translations articulated in the abstract. Rather, it is necessary to provide a framework for reflection over which students themselves have a level of control. In the context of a postgraduate Environmental Studies Diploma/MSc programme professional development workshops were contextualized within the disciplinary based programme to promote a sense of ownership with respect to the learning outcomes and criteria for excellence associated with a group based special studies project. This was achieved through the development of project management logbooks which are presented on a website alongside the special studies project report.


Double integration of the longitudinal acceleration of a sounding rocket is useful as a simple means of determining its trajectory. Reasonably accurate altitude calculations can be made by this method except when surface winds alter the launch angle of the rocket. Surface wind velocity corrections can be introduced to correct velocity and position information in the horizontal direction, but accurate wind correction data is difficult to obtain for all rockets. A special solar aspect sensor was designed to be used with a commercially available magnetic aspect sensor for rocket attitude determination. This attitude data allows the longitudinal acceleration to be broken more accurately into three vector components. A feasibility study of the aspect system was made using three Aerobee-150 rockets. A digital computer trajectory program was written to utilize aspect and acceleration data for trajectory analysis. It is evident that rocket attitude data is a useful supplement to the longitudinal acceleration data for trajectory determination. More accurate magnetic aspect data is necessary, however, to refine the longitudinal acceleration technique.


AbstractWe study the chiral transformation properties of all possible local (non-derivative) interpolating field operators for baryons consisting of three quarks with two flavors, assuming good isospin symmetry. We derive and use the relations/identities among the baryon operators with identical quantum numbers that follow from the combined color, Dirac and isospin Fierz transformations. These relations reduce the number of independent baryon operators with any given spin and isospin. The Fierz identities also effectively restrict the allowed baryon chiral multiplets. It turns out that the non-derivative baryons' chiral multiplets have the same dimensionality as their Lorentz representations. For the two independent nucleon operators the only permissible chiral multiplet is the fundamental one,
$(\frac{1}{2},0)\oplus(0,\frac{1}{2})$
. For the Δ, admissible Lorentz representations are
$(1,\frac{1}{2})\oplus(\frac{1}{2},1)$
and
$(\frac{3}{2},0)\oplus(0,\frac{3}{2})$
. In the case of the
$(1,\frac{1}{2})\oplus (\frac{1}{2},1)$
chiral multiplet, the
$I(J)=\frac{3}{2}(\frac{3}{2})$Δ field has one
$I(J)=\frac{1}{2}(\frac{3}{2})$
chiral partner; otherwise it has none. We also consider the Abelian (UA(1)) chiral transformation properties of the fields and show that each baryon comes in two varieties: (1) with Abelian axial charge +3; and (2) with Abelian axial charge −1. In case of the nucleon these are the two Ioffe fields; in case of the Δ, the
$(1,\frac{1}{2})\oplus(\frac{1}{2},1)$
multiplet has an Abelian axial charge −1 and the
$(\frac{3}{2},0)\oplus(0,\frac{3}{2})$
multiplet has an Abelian axial charge +3.


This article focused on the study of irregular "Donki" migration of refugees from South Asia to Greece in Europe. The study is based on the field survey which was conducted in August 2017 in Athens, Greece. The primary data was collected by method of qualitative study design. The finding of study show that "Donki" migration is associated with unauthorised migration of refugees from South Asia to Europe due to hopes of better life in Europe compared to South Asia. The "Donki" migration is synonyms with the hurdles and bravery in the views of South Asian refugees because South Asian refugees face political, economic and geographical challenges with psychological distress in the entire journey of migration from South Asia to Europe. This study encourages academics, researchers and policy makers to understand the meaning, determinants and consequences of "Donki" migration. It is hoped to be useful for better policies for management of the challenges faced by South Asian refugees in Europe.


We present a general method for incorporating an external electromagnetic field into descriptions of few-body systems whose strong interactions are described by integral equations. In particular, we address the case where the integral equations are those of quantum field theory and effectively sum up an infinite number of Feynman diagrams. The method involves the idea of gauging the integral equations themselves, and results in electromagnetic amplitudes where an external photon is effectively coupled to every part of every strong interaction diagram in the model. Current conservation is therefore implemented in the way prescribed by quantum field theory. We apply our gauging procedure to the four-dimensional integral equations describing a system of three distinguishable relativistic particles. In this way we obtain the expressions needed to calculate all possible electromagnetic processes of the three-body system. An interesting aspect of our results is the natural appearance of a subtraction term needed to avoid the overcounting of diagrams.


The issue of "why, when and how" some people, but not others, discover opportunities is
central to our understanding of entrepreneurship. Although there is a growing body of
research in this area, opportunity identification remains an ongoing phenomenon of interest
as many questions remain unanswered. One important question concerns the effects of
experience on opportunity identification. Research suggests that entrepreneurs become
more adept at identifying opportunities as they gain experience, but the cognitive processes
underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study explores this gap in the literature
by addressing the following research question: To what extent can the relationship
between entrepreneurial experience and opportunity identification be explained by
cognitive strategy? Guided by sound theoretical principles (Cognitive-Experiential Self-
Theory) and by a critical review of the scholarly literature, this study argued first, that
intuition is a key process that links experience to an enhanced ability for opportunity
identification, and second that intuition is most effective when used together with analysis
in a versatile cognitive strategy – an approach characterised by high levels of both intuition
and analysis, and an ability to switch between them as needed. Building on these
arguments, this study develops and tests a model in which intuition and cognitive
versatility are hypothesised to mediate the relationship between experience and opportunity
identification. Seventy-four technology-entrepreneurs completed a think-aloud protocol
analysis exercise in which they generated potential business ideas for three innovative
technologies. In addition, they completed an online survey that was designed to control for
factors which may influence intuition, cognitive versatility and/or opportunity
identification, namely cognitive style, risk perception, risk propensity, and entrepreneurial
experience. The model was tested by integrating the survey data with the coded and
quantified protocol data in a series of regression and mediation analyses. Consistent with
prior research, this study found that experienced entrepreneurs are more proficient than
novices at identifying opportunities. Extending previous research, this study shows that
intuition and cognitive versatility mediate the relationship between experience and
opportunity identification. Not only do experienced entrepreneurs use their intuition to
help them identify potentially lucrative opportunities, they also employ a process of
analysis to complement their intuition and to ensure that this intuition is not leading them
astray. Overall, these results suggest that scholars need to consider cognitive versatility,
rather than simply looking at intuition or analysis in isolation, and to think about how this
can be shaped to benefit opportunity identification.


This study provides a theoretical analysis to determine application of Mckinsey 7s model Approach in effective monitoring of revenue collection in TRA: Case of Kinondoni municipality. The study was justified based on the fact that effective monitoring on revenue collection in TRA; through application of 7's models approach. Survey population of 78. A sample of 65 was drawn. CI, 95%, ME, 5%. Primary and secondary data has been used. To study relations between variables independent and dependent multiple linear regression model were used. Descriptive statistics were analyzed by SPSS. Theories that were used Mckinsey 7s models Approach and System theory. Questionnaires administered to sixty five (65) to TRA employee responded (62). Findings on the Factors that influence effective monitoring on revenue collection in TRA starting with 7s only three variables which are statistically significant over the other four variables at the 95% level. Challenges facing effective monitoring on revenue collection in TRA through application of Mckinsey7s models Approach, 53.22% of the respondents agreed, 11.29% strongly agreed, 16.12% undecided, 12.90% and 6.45% were disagreed and strongly disagreed. Conclusion, the fundamental issues to be addressed in the context of effective monitoring on revenue collection are to reach the design of current revenue organization and to strengthen TRA management. 7s models is valuable tool to initiate changes processes and to give the direction. Recommendation, There is the need of putting more emphasize on effective monitoring on revenue collection through all cycle of the organization has been screened on 7s Mckinsey models approach such as Strategy, structure, system, skills, style and shared values.


Quinolinic acid (QUIN), a well known excitotoxin that produces a pharmacological model of Huntington's disease in rats and primates, has been shown to evoke degenerative events in nerve tissue via NMDA receptor (NMDAr) overactivation and oxidative stress. In this study, the antioxidant selenium (as sodium selenite) was tested against different markers of QUIN‐induced neurotoxicity under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. In the in vitro experiments, a concentration‐dependent effect of selenium was evaluated on the regional peroxidative action of QUIN as an index of oxidative toxicity in rat brain synaptosomes. In the in vivo experiments, selenium (0.625 mg per kg per day, i.p.) was administered to rats for 5 days, and 2 h later animals received a single unilateral striatal injection of QUIN (240 nmol/µL). Rats were killed 2 h after the induction of lesions with QUIN to measure lipid peroxidation and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in striatal tissue. In other groups, the rotation behavior, GABA content, morphologic alterations, and the corresponding ratio of neuronal damage were all evaluated as additional markers of QUIN‐induced striatal toxicity 7 days after the intrastriatal injection of QUIN. Selenium decreased the peroxidative action of QUIN in synaptosomes both from whole rat brain and from the striatum and hippocampus, but not in the cortex. A protective concentration‐dependent effect of selenium was observed in QUIN‐exposed synaptosomes from whole brain and hippocampus. Selenium pre‐treatment decreased the in vivo lipid peroxidation and increased the GPx activity in QUIN‐treated rats. Selenium also significantly attenuated the QUIN‐induced circling behavior, the striatal GABA depletion, the ratio of neuronal damage, and partially prevented the morphologic alterations in rats. These data suggest that major features of QUIN‐induced neurotoxicity are partially mediated by free radical formation and oxidative stress, and that selenium partially protects against QUIN toxicity.


Colorectal cancer (CRC)-associated mortality is primarily caused by lymph node (LN) and distant metastasis, highlighting the need for biomarkers that predict LN metastasis and facilitate better therapeutic strategies. We used an Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantification (iTRAQ)-based comparative proteomics approach to identify novel biomarkers for predicting LN metastasis in CRC patients. We analyzed five paired samples of CRC with or without LN metastasis, adjacent normal mucosa, and normal colon mucosa, and differentially expressed proteins were identified and subsequently validated at the protein and/or mRNA levels by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, respectively. We identified 55 proteins specifically associated with LN metastasis, from which we selected ezrin for further analysis and functional assessment. Expression of ezrin at both the protein and mRNA levels was significantly higher in CRC tissues than in adjacent normal colonic mucosa. In univariate analysis, high ezrin expression was significantly associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis, which was consistent with our in vitro findings that ezrin promotes the metastatic capacity of CRC cells by enabling cell invasion and migration. In multivariate analysis, high levels of ezrin protein and mRNA in CRC samples were independent predictors of LN metastasis. Our data thus identify ezrin as a novel protein and mRNA biomarker for predicting LN metastasis in CRC patients.


High performance for numerical linear algebra often comes at the expense of stability. Computing the LU decomposition of a matrix via Gaussian Elimination can be organized so that the computation involves regular and efficient data access. However, maintaining numerical stability via partial pivoting involves row interchanges that lead to inefficient data access patterns. To optimize communication efficiency throughout the memory hierarchy we confront two seemingly contradictory requirements: partial pivoting is efficient with column-major layout, whereas a block-recursive layout is optimal for the rest of the computation. We resolve this by introducing a shape morphing procedure that dynamically matches the layout to the computation throughout the algorithm, and show that Gaussian Elimination with partial pivoting can be performed in a communication efficient and cache-oblivious way. Our technique extends to QR decomposition, where computing Householder vectors prefers a different data layout than the rest of the computation.


As the research community inclines toward adopting increasingly complex techniques for future networks, and simple methods are often ignored, being labeled as trivial. In this paper, we argue that simple methods can sometimes outperform more sophisticated ones. We demonstrate that by evaluating two prediction mechanisms to forecast mobile user's handovers exploiting user-network association patterns. We perform a series of experiments on real-world data, evaluating the performance characteristics of such methods over more sophisticated and complex prediction techniques. Furthermore, we discuss how to easily bootstrap these mechanisms into the 5G network architecture. We suggest the use of these methods associated with Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) scenarios, as a mean to identify favorable edge nodes to host the mobile applications, to best provide continuous and QoS-aware service for mobile users.


Multilingual learning for Neural Named Entity Recognition (NNER) involves jointly training a neural network for multiple languages. Typically, the goal is improving the NER performance of one of the languages (the primary language) using the other assisting languages. We show that the divergence in the tag distributions of the common named entities between the primary and assisting languages can reduce the effectiveness of multilingual learning. To alleviate this problem, we propose a metric based on symmetric KL divergence to filter out the highly divergent training instances in the assisting language. We empirically show that our data selection strategy improves NER performance in many languages, including those with very limited training data.


Drought-related problems of crop establishment occur in many of the world's rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.) growing areas. Little effort has been made to breed improved cultivars for these chronically drought-prone areas. In this note, we report investigations on the feasibility of controlled-environment evaluation of seedling stage drought resistance among rice cultivars. Rice cultivars were grown in a glasshouse to the three leaf stage and then placed in a growth chamber with programmed diurnal changes in light, temperature, and humidity. After a 10-day exposure to growth chamber conditions without irrigation, the trays were moved back to the glasshouse, watered, and after 3 days the seedling survival percentage determined. A wide spectrum of seedling survival percentages was found among the 206 rice cultivars screened by this method. The technique illustrated its capability to identify well-adapted, traditional cultivars from areas where seedling stage drought is a chronic problem. Thus the technique can identify donors of this trait for hybridization purposes and can monitor the trait through a varietal improvement process.


Because the glycosylation of proteins is known to change in tumor cells during the development of breast cancer, a glycomics approach is used here to find relevant biomarkers of breast cancer. These glycosylation changes are known to correlate with increasing tumor burden and poor prognosis. Current antibody-based immunochemical tests for cancer biomarkers of ovarian (CA125), breast (CA27.29 or CA15-3), pancreatic, gastric, colonic, and carcinoma (CA19-9) target highly glycosylated mucin proteins. However, these tests lack the specificity and sensitivity for use in early detection. This glycomics approach to find glycan biomarkers of breast cancer involves chemically cleaving oligosaccharides (glycans) from glycosylated proteins that are shed or secreted by breast cancer tumor cell lines. The resulting free glycan species are analyzed by MALDI-FT-ICR MS. Further structural analysis of the glycans can be performed in FTMS through the use of tandem mass spectrometry with infrared multiphoton dissociation. Glycan profiles were generated for each cell line and compared. These methods were then used to analyze sera obtained from a mouse model of breast cancer and a small number of serum samples obtained from human patients diagnosed with breast cancer or patients with no known history of breast cancer. In addition to the glycosylation changes detected in mice as mouse mammary tumors developed, glycosylation profiles were found to be sufficiently different to distinguish patients with cancer from those without. Although the small number of patient samples analyzed so far is inadequate to make any legitimate claims at this time, these promising but very preliminary results suggest that glycan profiles may contain distinct glycan biomarkers that may correspond to glycan "signatures of cancer."


What amount of extra energy can be generated after subtracting the total energy consumed to produce the biomass energy? Knowing the ratio between energy output and input is a valid question when highly mechanized systems that consume fossil fuels are used to harvest and transport forest biomass for energy. We estimated the net energy generated from mechanical fuel reduction thinning treatments on pure ponderosa pine stands in Arizona. The mechanized system (felling, skidding, loading, grinding, and hauling) was monitored for energy consumption. Potential energy output from harvested forest biomass was calculated based on hog fuel moisture content and heating value. A 9-day study showed positive net energy output of 3,471,376,292 BTUs. The net energy ratio between energy output and input was 10.41, and the energy cost from stump to energy plant was $4.65/million BTUs. Energy used for hauling hog fuel represented the largest part (36.27%) of the total energy input. The net energy ratio decreased 0.11 with each additional transportation mile. Energy cost increased by $0.04/million BTUs, $0.13/million BTUs, and $1.48/million BTUs for each additional mile of highway, unpaved road, and spur road, respectively. A one dollar per gallon diesel price increase added $0.34/million BTUs to the energy cost. Forest biomass energy has an encouraging net energy ratio compared with other biomass sources, but the high production cost and energy cost can impede the use of forest biomass for energy.


Cryptographic hash functions are used in many cryptographic applications, and the design of provably secure hash functions (relative to various security notions) is an active area of research. Most of the currently existing hash functions use the Merkle-Damgard paradigm, where by appropriate iteration the hash function inherits its collision and preimage resistance from the underlying compression function. Compression functions can either be constructed from scratch or be built using well-known cryptographic primitives such as a blockcipher. One classic type of primitive-based compression functions is single-block-length : It contains designs that have an output size matching the output length n of the underlying primitive. The single-block-length setting is well-understood. Yet even for the optimally secure constructions, the (time) complexity of collision- and preimage-finding attacks is at most 2n/2, respectively 2n ; when n = 128 (e.g., Advanced Encryption Standard) the resulting bounds have been deemed unacceptable for current practice. As a remedy, multi-block-length primitive-based compression functions, which output more than n bits, have been proposed. This output expansion is typically achieved by calling the primitive multiple times and then combining the resulting primitive outputs in some clever way. In this thesis, we study the collision and preimage resistance of certain types of multi-call multi-block-length primitive-based compression (and the corresponding Merkle-Damgard iterated hash) functions : Our contribution is three-fold. First, we provide a novel framework for blockcipher-based compression functions that compress 3n bits to 2n bits and that use two calls to a 2n-bit key blockcipher with block-length n. We restrict ourselves to two parallel calls and analyze the sufficient conditions to obtain close-to-optimal collision resistance, either in the compression function or in the Merkle-Damgard iteration. Second, we present a new compression function h: {0,1}3n → {0,1}2n ; it uses two parallel calls to an ideal primitive (public random function) from 2n to n bits. This is similar to MDC-2 or the recently proposed MJH by Lee and Stam (CT-RSA'11). However, unlike these constructions, already in the compression function we achieve that an adversary limited (asymptotically in n) to O (22n(1-δ)/3) queries (for any δ > 0) has a disappearing advantage to find collisions. This is the first construction of this type offering collision resistance beyond 2n/2 queries. Our final contribution is the (re)analysis of the preimage and collision resistance of the Knudsen-Preneel compression functions in the setting of public random functions. Knudsen-Preneel compression functions utilize an [r,k,d] linear error-correcting code over 𝔽2e (for e > 1) to build a compression function from underlying blockciphers operating in the Davies-Meyer mode. Knudsen and Preneel show, in the complexity-theoretic setting, that finding collisions takes time at least 2(d-1)n2. Preimage resistance, however, is conjectured to be the square of the collision resistance. Our results show that both the collision resistance proof and the preimage resistance conjecture of Knudsen and Preneel are incorrect : With the exception of two of the proposed parameters, the Knudsen-Preneel compression functions do not achieve the security level they were designed for.


The Ni(II)-based metallosupramolecular polymer with carboxylic acid groups (polyNi) was synthesized via a 1:1 complexation of Ni(II) salt with (4,4′-(9,9-dihexyl-9H-fluorene-2,7-diyl)bis(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid) for the first time. The divalent state of Ni(II) in the polymer was confirmed by the X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. Smooth loading of imidazole molecules into polyNi proceeded with the help of the carboxylic acid groups to form the imidazole-loaded polyNi (polyNi-Im). Thermogravimetric analysis of polyNi-Im revealed that approximately three imidazole molecules were incorporated per repeating unit of polyNi. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum of polyNi-Im showed a new peak at 3219 cm–1, which shows an ∼73 cm–1 enhancement to −N–H of pristine imidazole. The peak suggests the formation of an imidazolium cation in the polymer. Powder X-ray diffraction indicated no degradation of the polymer structure during the imidazole loading because the diffraction pattern of polyNi-Im was almost the same as that of polyNi except for the presence of peaks corresponding to the imidazole molecules. Interestingly, the scanning electron microscopy measurement showed a large morphological change to uniform spherical particles by loading imidazole to the polymer. PolyNi-Im exhibited good proton conductivity (1.05 × 10–2 mS/cm) at a high temperature (120 °C), which is around 7 orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine polyNi because of the proton conduction pathway formation along the polymer chains by the incorporated imidazole molecules.


We have carried out the characterization of local critical current distribution in a 113-m-long multifilamentary coated conductor (CC) based on reel-to-reel scanning Hall-probe microscopy. Patterning multifilamentary structure on CCs is a key technology for the reduction of ac losses due to magnetization. Recently, this advantage has also been expected for the reduction of the magnetization in a coil winding which has been recognized as a critical problem for HTS magnet applications such as accelerators, MRI, and NMR from the viewpoint of field homogeneity and temporal stability. However, it has been difficult for the conventional techniques such as four-probe method, TAPESTAR, etc., to make diagnostics for multifilamentary CCs due to the limitation of spatial resolution. On the other hand, our measurement has an advantage in taking two-dimensional field image. This enabled us to confirm that multifilamentary structure as well as the corresponding magnetization reduction was successfully achieved in a long-length CC. At the same time, by the estimation of local critical current distribution for each filament, it was also found that there were still some local defects, which affected the global performance of the multifilamentary CC, even if the probability density of such defects was only in the order of $10^{- 5}$ . These findings will become crucial information for the optimization of fabrication processes of multifilamentary CCs and for their nondestructive quality assurance.


Virtualization technology in the form of cloud computing is on progressive deployment as more companies adopt it. The innovative technology and its adoption, however, have something in common: reducing challenges associated with managing the operations of conventional in-house systems in firms. This is because, in the conventional form of computing, companies require dedicated IT resources to manage all systems (Networks, Hardware, Software, and IT Services). However, with cloud networking, the cloud network provider thereby offloading internal IT workers to focus on other useful IT functions handles the work of network operations and management. The benefits of using cloud networking cannot be overstated. They include improved security, productivity, scalability, mobility, cost management, and system updating among others. The cloud administrators ensure that the management of fault, accounting, performance, security and configuration are handled for all cloud clients, which allows companies work without worrying about them anymore. The proposed hybrid cloud model ensures maximum benefits from virtualization, fault tolerance, and cost reduction. The model promotes realtime and anywhere access to applications in the cloud with improved performance and reduced overhead costs on scheduling.


This purpose of this study was to investigate and examine the attitudes of therapists who treat HIV-positive (HIV+) clients. Specifically, therapists' perceptions of their own preparedness in dealing with specific issues and emotions of HIV+ clients were examined. Also, therapists' evaluation of their own efficacy of specific therapeutic approaches with HIV+ clients was examined. These therapists' perceptions and evaluations of all their clients in general were compared to their HIV+ clients. Comparisons were also made within the two groups.


Technological innovation, social and economic changes, and globalization are forcing the education system to prepare school graduates to integrate successfully into the rapidly changing world. Along with teaching basic subjects such as the humanities, languages, mathematics and science, schools should expose all students to new technologies, impart knowledge and skills to them to use these technologies effectively, and foster their motivation to integrate into the world of research and innovation in technology and engineering. Schools need also to prepare students to integrate into a world in which the vast majority of business organizations are not bureaucratic but rely instead on work teams, shared decision making and a great deal of risk-taking in the effort to compete in the global market. One of the main tools available to schools to achieve these goals is the teaching of subjects in technology and engineering as an integral part of the curriculum from kindergarten to high school. One challenge
for technological education worldwide is to change what we have been teaching in the technological class. While in the past, technology education dealt with teaching subjects such as crafts, auto-mechanics or electronics, technology studies today have to focus more on developing students' computational thinking, for example, in the context of computerized control systems and robotics. A second challenge to technological education today is to change how we teach in the technological classroom. We must move from the traditional chalk-and-board teaching method to
teaching that develops students' learning skills, for example, project-based learning. In this article, I will elaborate on these issues and present examples of the implementation
of these ideas in the Israeli education system.


We point out that the standard formulation of the cosmological constant problem itself is problematic since it is trying to apply the very large scale homogeneous cosmological model to very small (Planck) scale phenomenon. At small scales, both the spacetime and the vacuum stress energy are highly inhomogeneous and wildly fluctuating. This is a version of Wheeler's "spacetime foam". We show that this "foamy" structure would produce a large positive contribution to the average macroscopic spatial curvature of the Universe. In order to cancel this contribution to match the observation, the usually defined effective cosmological constant $\lambda_{\mathrm{eff}}=\lambda_B+8\pi G\langle\rho\rangle$ has to take a large negative value. The spacetime dynamics sourced by this large negative $\lambda_{\mathrm{eff}}$ would be similar to the cyclic model of the universe in the sense that at small scales every point in space is a "micro-cyclic universe" which is following an eternal series of oscillations between expansions and contractions. Moreover, if the bare cosmological constant $\lambda_B$ is dominant, the size of each "micro-universe" would increase a tiny bit at a slowly accelerating rate during each micro-cycle of the oscillation due to the weak parametric resonance effect produced by the fluctuations of the quantum vacuum stress energy tensor. In this way, the large cosmological constant generated at small scales is hidden at observable scale and no fine-tuning of $\lambda_B$ to the accuracy of $10^{-122}$ is needed. This at least resolves the old cosmological constant problem and suggests that it is the quantum vacuum fluctuations serve as the dark energy which is accelerating the expansion of our Universe.


As an emerging training model with neural networks, federated learning has received widespread attention due to its ability to update parameters without collecting users' raw data. However, since adversaries can track and derive participants' privacy from the shared gradients, federated learning is still exposed to various security and privacy threats. In this paper, we consider two major issues in the training process over deep neural networks (DNNs): 1) how to protect user's privacy (i.e., local gradients) in the training process and 2) how to verify the integrity (or correctness) of the aggregated results returned from the server. To solve the above problems, several approaches focusing on secure or privacy-preserving federated learning have been proposed and applied in diverse scenarios. However, it is still an open problem enabling clients to verify whether the cloud server is operating correctly, while guaranteeing user's privacy in the training process. In this paper, we propose VerifyNet, the first privacy-preserving and verifiable federated learning framework. In specific, we first propose a double-masking protocol to guarantee the confidentiality of users' local gradients during the federated learning. Then, the cloud server is required to provide the Proof about the correctness of its aggregated results to each user. We claim that it is impossible that an adversary can deceive users by forging Proof, unless it can solve the NP-hard problem adopted in our model. In addition, VerifyNet is also supportive of users dropping out during the training process. The extensive experiments conducted on real-world data also demonstrate the practical performance of our proposed scheme.


Does a wet winter recharge deep aquifers in California? In a study by Murray and Lohman (M&L), the authors suggest that remote sensing data are useful for monitoring land subsidence due to aquifer system compaction. We agree. To infer aquifer dynamics, we provide a more detailed and joint analysis of deformation and groundwater data. Investigating well data in the Tulare Basin, we find that groundwater levels stabilized before 2015 and show that M&L's observed continued subsidence through July 2016 is likely caused by the delayed compaction of the aquitard. Our analysis suggests the observed 2017 transient uplift is not due to recharge of the aquifer system after heavy winter rainfall because it requires an unrealistic vertical hydraulic gradient nearly five orders of magnitude larger than that typical of Tulare Basin. We find that, regardless of the amount of rainfall, transient annual uplifts of ~3 cm occur in May to June. Using an elastic skeletal storage coefficient of 5 × 10−3, we link this ground uplift to annual groundwater level changes.


About 70 years ago, machines and chemistry played an important role for human beings. That was the realization of harmonious life between man and machine. Now, the theme is realization of harmonious life between man and environment. We can witness irregularities regarding proper nourishment of population which affects the health and well-being of people in the world. Highly developed countries have problems in the area of rational consumption and health safety of food. In this paper authors analyze the actual condition of the problems concerning organic production in the world and EU. Also, they focus their attention on ecomarketing mix. Low wages and increased cost of living have contributed to continuous negative trends regarding nourishment in Serbia. Authors analyze market chances and barriers in Serbia in accordance with organic production. This paper will provide theoretical and practical contribution for those responsible to carry out adequate actions to improve organic production in Serbia.


Background: Mitochondria are remnants of a eubacterial endosymbiont and may elicit untoward inflammation. Results: MBL, L-ficolin, and M-ficolin recognize mitochondria. MBL binding activates complement. Upon mitochondrial challenge, C3 is consumed in vivo in the absence of overt inflammation. Conclusion: The lectin pathway may be involved in homeostatic clearance of mitochondria. Significance: This is the first indication of lectin pathway involvement in mitochondrial immune handling. Mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, are remnants of a eubacterial endosymbiont. Notwithstanding the evolutionary time that has passed since the initial endosymbiotic event, mitochondria have retained many hallmarks of their eubacterial origin. Recent studies have indicated that during perturbations of normal homeostasis, such as following acute trauma leading to massive necrosis and release of mitochondria, the immune system might mistake symbiont for enemy and initiate an inappropriate immune response. The innate immune system is the first line of defense against invading microbial pathogens, and as such is the primary suspect in the recognition of mitochondria-derived danger-associated molecular patterns and initiation of an aberrant response. Conversely, innate immune mechanisms are also central to noninflammatory clearance of innocuous agents. Here we investigated the role of a central humoral component of innate immunity, the lectin pathway of complement, in recognition of mitochondria in vitro and in vivo. We found that the soluble pattern recognition molecules, mannan-binding lectin (MBL), L-ficolin, and M-ficolin, were able to recognize mitochondria. Furthermore, MBL in complex with MBL-associated serine protease 2 (MASP-2) was able to activate the lectin pathway and deposit C4 onto mitochondria, suggesting that these molecules are involved either in homeostatic clearance of mitochondria or in induction of untoward inflammatory reactions. We found that following mitochondrial challenge, C3 was consumed in vivo in the absence of overt inflammation, indicating a potential role of complement in noninflammatory clearance of mitochondria. Thus, we report here the first indication of involvement of the lectin pathway in mitochondrial immune handling.


Diarylpentanoid is an incredible family of curcuminoid derivatives which had gained increasingly attention recently for its excellent biological importance such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. 2,6-Bis-(4-hydroxy-3- methoxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone, a diarylpentanoid analog synthesized by our group previously which derived from curcumin with the lack of ethylene unit from the heptane bridge has displayed outstanding anti-inflammatory properties through its inhibition on monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) indicates that structural modification on diarylpentanoid could be a promising strategy in discovery of highly potent anti-inflammatory agents.
In this study, one hundred and twenty-five diarylpentenediones and fourteen heterocyclic compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities through cell based nitric oxide assay and 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging analysis, respectively. The antiinflammatory
evaluation showed that seventy-three compounds were successfully inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production on IFN-γ/LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages with the IC50 range of 4.18 to 79.87 μM. Among the active candidates, twelve compounds (9, 25, 28, 63, 64, 81, 83, 84, 86, 88, 106 and 115) displayed similar or greater NO inhibitory activity compared to curcumin (14.69 ± 0.240 μM) of which compounds 88 and 106 demonstrated the most significant NO suppression activity with IC50 values of 4.89 ± 0.312 and 4.18 ± 0.221 μM , respectively. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) study revealed that the presence of hydroxyl group in both rings is critical for bioactivity of these molecules. Besides, with the exception of polyphenolic derivatives,
low electron density in ring-A and high electron density in ring-B are important for NO inhibition enhancements. Furthermore, pharmacophore mapping showed that hydroxyl
groups substituent at both meta- and para- position of ring-B could be the finger print for highly active diarylpentanoid derivatives.
On the other hand, the anti-oxidant evaluation showed that nine compounds (83, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 96, and 106) were significantly inhibit DPPH free radical scavenging
with 2- to 4-fold better than curcumin (23.56 ± 1.112 μM) of which compound 92 demonstrate the most potent antioxidant activity with the IC50 value of 5.58 ± 0.257 μM.
Simple SAR study revealed that the remarkable anti-oxidant properties of diarylpentenediones is only depends on the presence of 2',5'- or 3',4'-dihydroxy phenyl rings which indicates the structure skeleton doesn't affect the activity. Therefore, it is conceivably concluded that the diarylpentenediones and their respective heterocyclic
derivatives are potent families as anti-inflammatory agents.


SCOPE
Cell defenses regulating homeostatic control of postprandial stress are influenced by interindividual variation, food composition and health status. This study investigates effects of food composition on individual postprandial responses and associations with health.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Volunteers (n = 16) consumed four food formulations (50% unsaturated/saturated fat, with/without beetroot extract 10 g/100 g) on separate occasions. GeXP assay measured whole blood postprandial gene expression profiles of 28 cell defense markers at baseline and postprandial time points 1, 2, 4, 6, 24 h. Plasma markers of metabolic lipids, hormones, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, and DNA damage/repair were also assessed. SIRT 1, UCP2, HO1, GSS, PTGS2, TP53, CDKN2A, PPIA, SOCS3, and APE1 expression profiles revealed distinct stratified subgroups associated with plasma HDLs, TNF-α and postprandial responses of SOCS3, and PPIA. Leptin, IL6, and DNA strand breaks revealed differing responses to fat type consumed.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates postprandial immune, inflammatory, redox, metabolic, and DNA repair responses that are largely independent of fat type consumed (unsaturated/saturated) or addition of beetroot extract, in apparently healthy individuals. However, postprandial responses can be characterized by regulation of gene expression associated with markers linked to health status and are subject to interindividual variation that can influence postprandial responses.


As more studies are needed to gain detailed insight in the pathologic processes during the transition from SQ epithelium to BE and EAC, the first aim of this thesis is to address the functional effect of aberrantly expressed proteins and non-coding RNA molecules and to explore if there are differences in circulating miRNAs between groups of patients with BE (Part 1). In addition, to optimize current surveillance and treatment strategies, the second aim of this thesis is to evaluate in detail the risk of malignant progression in different histological groups of BE patients (Part 2). Part 1 In Chapter 2 we address the effect of aberrant BMP4 signaling in the pathogenesis of EAC using in vitro cell culture experiments. Chapter 3 summarizes current knowledge of the function of differently expressed miRNAs in esophageal cancer. MiRNAs play important regulatory roles in cancer development and we describe various ways for developing new treatment modalities. In Chapter 4 we focus on miRNA-203. MiRNA-203 is known to be downregulated in BE and EAC compared to SQ and we therefore evaluate the role of miRNA-203 in the development of BE. In Chapter 5, the focus shifts from tissue specific miRNAs to circulating miRNAs. We explore if there are differences in circulating miRNAs between healthy controls, patients with BE and EAC, which is the first step in order to evaluate if circulating miRNAs could be used as biomarker. In Chapter 6 we explore if circulating miRNAs can be used to identify patients at risk for malignant progression. We describe miRNA expression profiles in patients with long- and short- segment BE, as patients with long-segment BE are known to be at a higher risk for malignant progression. Part 2 In Chapter 7, we describe the risk of malignant progression in BE patients diagnosed with IND in order to tailor surveillance protocols as current available progression rates for IND are only based on small (sub)cohort analyses. In Chapter 8, we evaluate the interobserver variability in the diagnosis of IND in BE as interobser variability is a wellknown problem in other histological categories of BE. In addition, we evaluate the use of P53 immunohistochemistry in patients with IND to identify patients at risk of malignant progression. In Chapter 9 we shift from IND to LGD and report on the effect of persistent LGD (LGD in repeated biopsy samples) on the risk of malignant progression, in order to Introduction 15 1 identify a subgroup of LGD patients that could benefit from endoscopic treatment or intensified endoscopic follow-up. Part 3 Last, the significance of the results of this thesis are discussed in Chapter 10, and, in addition, the main findings are summarized in Chapter 11.


The c-Myc protein (Myc) is involved in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death. It has considerable structural similarity to transcription factors, including a helix-loop-helix and a leucine zipper (both known dimerisation motifs), a basic region able to bind sequence-specifically to DNA and a region in the N-terminus that can activate transcription when fused to a heterologous DNA-binding domain. A related protein (Max) was identified as a dimerisation partner for Myc; both Myc/Max and Max/Max can bind to DNA of sequence CACGTG. I show herein that Myc can activate transcription in mammalian cells in a sequence-specific manner and show that the basic region, N- terminal regions and dimerisation domains are essential for transactivation, as is dimerisation with Max.

I have investigated the DNA-binding properties of Myc and Max and have determined the preferred binding sites for the Myc/Max and Max/Max dimers. Although both bind to CACGTG, the Myc/Max complex is more discriminatory than the Max homodimer at positions flanking this core sequence. In particular a 5' flanking T residue (or a 3'A) is disfavoured. A model for gene regulation by the Myc family of proteins is discussed.

In an effort to understand the means by which Myc acts, I have also investigated possible target genes for Myc that mediate proliferation and show that cyclin E, but not cyclin Dl, is induced by Myc independently of new protein synthesis. Moreover, Myc induces cyclin E associated kinase activity. This regulation occurs at two levels: increased transcription of the cyclin E gene and activation of the kinase activity of cyclin E complexes, at least partly due to loss of the inhibitor p27Kip1. Induction of cyclin E protein alone is sufficient to induce apoptosis but not proliferation. The role of cyclin E in Myc function is discussed.


Motivated by fair division applications, we study a fair connected graph partitioning problem, in which an undirected graph with m nodes must be divided between n agents such that each agent receives a connected subgraph and the partition is fair. We study approximate versions of two fairness criteria: \alpha-proportionality requires that each agent receive a subgraph with at least (1/\alpha)*m/n nodes, and \alpha-balancedness requires that the ratio between the sizes of the largest and smallest subgraphs be at most \alpha. Unfortunately, there exist simple examples in which no partition is reasonably proportional or balanced. To circumvent this, we introduce the idea of charity. We show that by "donating" just n-1 nodes, we can guarantee the existence of 2-proportional and almost 2-balanced partitions (and find them in polynomial time), and that this result is almost tight. More generally, we chart the tradeoff between the size of charity and the approximation of proportionality or balancedness we can guarantee.


Welcome - Merhaba - أهلا وسهلا - Hosgeldiniz - خوش آمدید ! This guide focuses on historical, archival and primary sources for the history of the Middle East. It is tailored to the courses offered by the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies.


After the introduction of the euro in 1999, the debate on the financial stability architecture in the EU focused on the adequacy of a decentralised setting based on national responsibilities for preventing and managing crises. The Financial Services Action Plan in 1999 and the introduction of the Lamfalussy process for financial regulation and supervision in 2001 enhanced the decentralised arrangements by increasing significantly the level of legal harmonisation and supervisory cooperation. In addition, authorities adopted EU-wide MoUs to safeguard cross-border financial stability. In this context, the financial crisis has proved to be a major challenge to the ongoing process of European financial integration. In particular, momentous events such as the freezing of interbank markets, the loss of confidence in financial institutions, runs on banks and difficulties affecting cross-border financial groups, questioned the ability of the EU financial stability architecture to contain threats to the integrated single financial market. In particular, the crisis has demonstrated the importance of coupling to micro-prudential supervision a macro dimension aimed at a broad and effective monitoring and assessment of the potential risks covering all components of the financial system. In Europe, following the de Larosiere Report, the European Commission has put forward proposals for establishing a European System of Financial Supervision and a European Systemic Risk Board, the latter body to be set up under the auspices of the ECB. While the details for the implementation of these structures still need to be spelt out, they should reinforce significantly – ten years after the introduction of the euro – the financial stability architecture at the EU level.


Scientific evidence suggests that a vegan diet might be associated with impaired bone health. Therefore, a cross-sectional study (n = 36 vegans, n = 36 omnivores) was used to investigate the associations of veganism with calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measurements, along with the investigation of differences in the concentrations of nutrition- and bone-related biomarkers between vegans and omnivores. This study revealed lower levels in the QUS parameters in vegans compared to omnivores, e.g., broadband ultrasound attenuation (vegans: 111.8 ± 10.7 dB/MHz, omnivores: 118.0 ± 10.8 dB/MHz, p = 0.02). Vegans had lower levels of vitamin A, B2, lysine, zinc, selenoprotein P, n-3 fatty acids, urinary iodine, and calcium levels, while the concentrations of vitamin K1, folate, and glutamine were higher in vegans compared to omnivores. Applying a reduced rank regression, 12 out of the 28 biomarkers were identified to contribute most to bone health, i.e., lysine, urinary iodine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, selenoprotein P, vitamin A, leucine, α-klotho, n-3 fatty acids, urinary calcium/magnesium, vitamin B6, and FGF23. All QUS parameters increased across the tertiles of the pattern score. The study provides evidence of lower bone health in vegans compared to omnivores, additionally revealing a combination of nutrition-related biomarkers, which may contribute to bone health. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.


Even though inflation has been low in the last years in Albania and inside the target rate of about 3 percent determined by Bank of Albania, considering the relevance of this variable for economic activity there is room for careful analysis in order to make evident the potential threatens of domestic price stability. The main objective of this paper is twofold, first analyzing sub-indexes of CPI basket in order to determine the major volatile components, and second aim is to qualify the relative importance of different transmission mechanisms of monetary policy, by using VAR approach.
The main finding of this work is that rent fuel and power that constitute the second large sub-indexes of CPI with the weight 24 percent have been the most volatile categories for time period 2000-2008, followed by food sub-index that has the highest weight in Albania CPI basket of about 43 percent. Econometric model has found evidence that money supply is important determinant factor for domestic inflation. There is an immediate response of inflation to shocks in the exchange rate. Even though the exchange rate continues to be an important variable for explaining inflation in Albania, with the development of financial market its importance will decrease. Total loans to GDP ratio in Albania have increased substantially in the last year, and we believe that the importance of lending channel will further increase in Albania with the development of financial market.


Targeted to children as young as 3 months old, there is a growing number of baby media products that claim to teach babies to read. This randomized controlled trial was designed to examine this claim by investigating the effects of a best-selling baby media product on reading development. One hundred and seventeen infants, ages 9 to 18 months, were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Children in the treatment condition received the baby media product, which included DVDs, word and picture flashcards, and word books to be used daily over a 7-month period; children in the control condition, business as usual. Examining a 4-phase developmental model of reading, we examined both precursor skills (such as letter name, letter sound knowledge, print awareness, and decoding) and conventional reading (vocabulary and comprehension) using a series of eye-tracking tasks and standardized measures. Results indicated that babies did not learn to read using baby media, despite some parents displaying great confidence in the program's effectiveness.


Several studies investigate the relationship between government debt/deficit ratios and the real long-term interest rates, but the empirical evidence is not conclusive enough for consensus building. Evidence for statistically weak or mixed association is as much as the evidence for a strong positive relationship, which means rising debt/deficit ratios are estimated to increase real yields. My research extends the existing literature by using a large panel of European countries covering the years 1990 and 2012. I find a very strong positive relationship between the debt to GDP ratio and real long-term interest rates in linear specifications. Quadratic specifications yield a U-curve structure in explaining the association between debt ratios and the real long-term yields, supporting evidence for a positive association once the debt ratio surpasses a threshold in the range of 49-54%.


The existence of lengthy wait lists, a not uncommon condition found in many public community mental health services, prompted a small team that was performing the intake function for its clinic to launch a pilot project of Brief Therapy. Amidst a traditionally oriented service and in the face of understandable skepticism, this team constructed a coherent plan of action founded upon the solution focused model of brief therapy. Not only did the results more than validate the team's initial expectations, they so impressed their management team with their data, that even in times of marked fiscal restraint, the Brief Therapy Program was expanded.


A novel variable reactor based on magnetic flux control is proposed in this paper. The system configuration of the novel variable reactor is presented, while its operational principle and dynamic performance are analyzed. Based on the developed variable reactor, a novel integrated power quality controller (IPQC) suitable for microgrid is proposed, which can cater for the peculiar requirements of microgrid power quality, such as the harmonic high penetration, frequent voltage fluctuation and overcurrent phenomenon, and bidirectional power flow and small capacity. For the fundamental, the equivalent impedance of the primary winding is a variable reactor or capacitor. For the nth-order harmonic, the equivalent impedance is very high impedance and acts as a "harmonic isolator." The system control strategy is also analyzed in detail. A set of three-phase IPQC has been constructed. The experimental test results verify the validity of the novel variable reactor and the IPQC.


Inoculation of mice from appropriate crosses with two strain A tumours and one dba (subline 2) tumour showed close linkage of such a gene with the locus for 'fused'. With the A strain it was shown that the gene was identical with that for antigen II present in the erythrocytes. The gene is therefore labelled $H_{2}$. Of sixty-nine backcross mice tested, both serologically and by tumour inoculation, sixty-five gave concordant results, four discordant results. In general, it appears that serological tests are preferable to tumour inoculation in the identification of genotypes. On serological grounds it is suggested that the dba gene is an allele of the above and should be called $H_{2}{}^{d}$. It is possible that there is a long series of alleles at this locus. The indicated genotype of the strains used is as follows: $A,H_{2}H_{2}$; $dba,H_{2}{}^{d}H_{2}{}^{d}$; CBA, C57 and $P,h_{2}h_{2}$; $CA,Fu$ $h_{2}/fu$ $h_{2}$. Further tests may show differences in the $h_{2}$ allele in the last four strains. It is uncertain whether any cross-overs occurred in 257 backcross mice tested.


Arousal is an important defense against hypoxia during sleep. Rat pups exhibit progressive arousal impairment (habituation) with multiple hypoxia exposures. The mechanisms are unknown. The medullary raphe (MR) is involved in autonomic functions, including sleep, and receives abundant GABAergic inputs. We hypothesized that inhibiting MR neurons with muscimol, a GABA(A) receptor agonist, or preventing GABA reuptake with nipecotic acid, would impair arousal and enhance arousal habituation and that blocking GABA(A) receptors with bicuculline would enhance arousal and attenuate habituation. Postnatal day 15 (P15) to P25 rat pups were briefly anesthetized, and microinjections with aCSF, muscimol, bicuculline, or nipecotic acid were made into the MR. After a ∼30-min recovery, pups were exposed to four 3-min episodes of hypoxia separated by 6 min of normoxia. The time to arousal from the onset of hypoxia (latency) was determined for each trial. Latency progressively increased across trials (habituation) in all groups. The overall latency was greater after muscimol and nipecotic acid compared with aCSF, bicuculline, or noninjected controls. Arousal habituation was reduced after bicuculline compared with aCSF, muscimol, nipecotic acid, or noninjected pups. Increases in latency were mirrored by decreases in chamber [O2] and oxyhemoglobin saturation. Heart rate increased during hypoxia and was greatest in muscimol-injected pups. Our results indicate that the MR plays an important, not previously described, role in arousal and arousal habituation during hypoxia and that these phenomena are modulated by GABAergic mechanisms. Arousal habituation may contribute to sudden infant death syndrome, which is associated with MR serotonergic and GABAergic receptor dysfunction.


Lidars are commonly used on autonomous vehicles, but their performance can be significantly affected by adverse weather. A number of studies have been devoted to analyzing and improving lidars' performance in rain, fog, and snow. Yet, relatively little attention has been paid to road spray which occurs when vehicles travel on wet surfaces at high speed. Road spray produced by the vehicles causes false positive point measurements in lidar scans. To evaluate the performance of lidar perception systems or train learning-based perception models, a large amount of data collected in various weather conditions are needed. Unfortunately, collecting spray data is challenging due to the requirements for certain weather conditions (e.g., heavy rain), and vehicles with high speed. In this paper, we propose the first data-driven method combined with simulation to reconstruct and synthesize spray data. The proposed pipeline can be applied to data augmentation by adding spray effects to existing lidar data collected under good weather conditions. We compare the performance of vehicle detection models trained with and without augmented data. The model trained with augmented data achieve significant performance improvement given real-world spray-affected point cloud data.


We examined the response of normal and p53-deficient mouse astrocytes to the alkylating agent l,3-bis(2-chloroethvl)-l-nitrosourea (BCNU), a clinically useful DNA-damaging drug to which some human astrocytomas are resistant and some are sensitive. Astrocyte cultures were isolated from the cerebrums of wild-type, heterozygous, and knockout pS3 neona tal mice and treated with various concentrations of BCNU. Wild-type p53 astrocytes were significantly more resistant to BCNU than were knockout pS3 astrocytes, with heterozygous astrocytes exhibiting an intermediate level of resistance. Cell cycle analysis showed that wild-typep53 astrocytes treated with BCNU demonstrated a decline in the percentage of cells in G, and an increase in the percentage of cells in G2. Similar cell cycle re sponses to BCNU occurred in knockout p53 astrocytes, suggesting that this effect was p53 independent. In contrast, G, arrest was observed in wild-type astrocytes exposed to ionizing radiation and was not observed in knockout astrocytes, indicating a p53-dependent response. Our findings point to an as yet uncharacterized p53-associated mechanism of resistance to BCNU in mouse astrocytes.


In recent years, the number of exploits targeting software applications has increased dramatically. These exploits have caused substantial economic damages. Ensuring that software applications are not vulnerable to the exploits has, therefore, become a critical requirement. The last line of defense is to test before hand if a software application is vulnerable to exploits. One can accomplish this by testing for the presence of vulnerabilities.
This dissertation presents a framework for deriving verification and validation (V&V) strategies to assess the security of a software application by testing it for the presence of vulnerabilities. This framework can be used to assess the security of any software application that executes above the level of the operating system. It affords a novel approach, which consists of testing if the software application permits violation of constraints imposed by computer system resources or assumptions made about the usage of these resources. A vulnerability exists if a constraint or an assumption can be violated. Distinctively different from other approaches found in the literature, this approach simplifies the process of assessing the security of a software application.
The framework is composed of three components: (1) a taxonomy of vulnerabilities, which is an informative classification of vulnerabilities, where vulnerabilities are expressed in the form of violable constraints and assumptions; (2) an object model, which is a collection of potentially vulnerable process objects that can be present in a software application; and (3) a VV and provides approaches for testing software applications for the presence of vulnerabilities. This dissertation also presents a step-by-step process for using the framework to assess software security.


The famous result of Landesman and Lazer [10] dealt with resonance at a simple eigenvalue. Soon after publication of [10], Williams [14] gave an extension for repeated eigenvalues. The conditions in Williams [14] are rather restrictive, and no examples were ever given. We show that seemingly different classical result by Lazer and Leach [11], on forced harmonic oscillators at resonance, provides an example for this theorem. The article by Williams [14] also contained a shorter proof. We use a similar approach to study resonance for $2 \times 2$ systems. We derive conditions for existence of solutions, which turned out to depend on the spectral properties of the linear part.


Medical diagnostic robot systems have been paid more and more attention due to its objectivity and accuracy. The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered an effective means to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD). Doctors diagnose MCI based on various clinical examinations, which are expensive and the diagnosis results rely on the knowledge of doctors. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a robot diagnostic system to eliminate the influence of human factors and obtain a higher accuracy rate. In this paper, we propose a novel Group Feature Domain Adversarial Neural Network (GF- DANN) for amnestic MCI (aMCI) diagnosis, which involves two important modules. A Group Feature Extraction (GFE) module is proposed to reduce individual differences by learning group- level features through adversarial learning. A Dual Branch Domain Adaptation (DBDA) module is carefully designed to reduce the distribution difference between the source and target domain in a domain adaption way. On three types of data set, GF-DANN achieves the best accuracy compared with classic machine learning and deep learning methods. On the DMS data set, GF-DANN has obtained an accuracy rate of 89.47%, and the sensitivity and specificity are 90% and 89%. In addition, by comparing three EEG data collection paradigms, our results demonstrate that the DMS paradigm has the potential to build an aMCI diagnose robot system.


Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the most important pulse crops grown by farmers in Hula Woreda, southern Ethiopia. However, the actual farm yield of 1.2-1.6 t ha-1 is much lower than the potential yield, which is 1.5-3.5 t ha-1 on farmers' fields under improved management and 2-5 t ha-1 in research station. This lower yield is due to poor management of the crop including lack of proper weed control, planting methods and fertilizer application. Hence, a field trial was conducted in Hula Woreda, during 2011 cropping season to determine the effect of integrated crop-management packages on yield and yield components of Gebelcho and local faba bean varieties. Varieties were factorially combined with nine management packages in RCBD design with three replications. Varieties were significantly different for days to flowering, days to maturity, leaf area index, nodule number, nodule dry weight, crop biomass, grain yield and yield components. Variety Gebelcho exceeded the local variety by 11% for leaf area index, 14% for nodule number, 21% for nodule dry weight, 7% for crop biomass, and 24% for grain yield. Gebelcho also gave more number of pods plant-1, number of seeds pod-1 and 100 seed weight than local variety. Varieties did not differ significantly for crop stand count, plant height, weed count and weed biomass. Management packages differed significantly for crop growth attributes, weed count, weed biomass, grain yield and yield components. More number of pods plant-1, number of seeds pod-1, 100 seed weight and grain yield were obtained from the improved (package 1) than control (package 9). Economic analysis showed that, Gebelcho (improved cultivar) and package 1 (row planting, twice weeding and application of 100 kg DAP ha-1) gave higher net benefits of Birr 12400 and 12715 ha-1 with 980% and 109% marginal rates of return, respectively, and these were identified to be the best options.


Power system blackouts are very infrequent, but they have a Brobdingnagian effect on the system performance and devices. The present research work offers remarkable techniques for the assessment of temporary overvoltages all through the re-energization of network lines. The main goal of this research work is to first-rate and reenergize the network lines for the purpose of restoration. In the later stage, the magnitudes and durations of the Temporary Overvoltages (TOVs) that occurred during the energization of unloaded transformer are estimated.The assortment and re-energization of network lines is done on the basis of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and conceptual method respectively. The assessment of TOVs is done on the basis of MATLAB/Simulink and Feed Forward Neural Networks (FFNNs). The proposed models are verified on IEEE 30 bus test system for the analysis purpose. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (%MAPE) obtained through various forecasting methods is examined to check the robustness of the proposed approaches. The simulation and FFNN results presented in this research work helps in designing the exact withstand voltage rating for various network components employed at the moment of re-energization.


3D chromatin organization plays a critical role in regulating gene expression, DNA replication, recombination, and repair. While initially discovered for its role in sister chromatid cohesion, emerging evidence suggests that the cohesin complex (SMC1, SMC3, RAD21, and SA1/SA2), facilitated by NIPBL, mediates topologically associating domains (TADs) and chromatin loops through DNA loop extrusion. However, information on how conformational changes of cohesin-NIPBL drive its loading onto DNA, initiation, and growth of DNA loops is still lacking. Using high-speed AFM (HS-AFM) imaging, we show that cohesin-NIPBL captures DNA through arm extension, followed by transfer of DNA to its globular domain and DNA loop initiation independent of ATPase hydrolysis. Additional shorter protrusions (feet) from cohesin-NIPBL transiently bind to DNA, facilitating its loading onto DNA. Furthermore, HS-AFM imaging reveals distinct forward and reverse DNA loop extrusion steps by cohesin-NIPBL. These results provide critical missing links in our understanding of DNA binding and loop extrusion by cohesin-NIPBL.


Using a qualitative approach based on aninstitutional ethnography of social organization ofwork inclusion for disabled persons, the currentpaper addresses the specifi c ways in which theindividual experiences of the Romanian disabledpersons, in society and on the labor market, areinfl uenced and shaped by the social relations oftextually mediated discourse. It draws on the resultsof a larger study, conducted between 2014and 2015 in Romania, as part of a research projectfocusing on the dysfunctionalities that impedethe labor market access of disabled personsin Romania and the institutional arrangementsand structural mechanisms that underpin thesedysfunctionalities. The paper reveals a particulartype of consonance between the Romanianlegislative provisions, institutional arrangementsand local practices, that allows for the concept of'protection' of the disabled persons to transcendits initial purpose and philosophy and start workingagainst the disabled persons. The article alsosheds some light on the way in which the fragmentationand parallelism that currently governthe system of protection for the disabled personshamper the development of a consistent vision,backed by a homogenous approach, in dealingwith or managing the multiple negative issuesassociated with disability in Romania.