ABSTRACT The glycoprotein (G) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is responsible for binding of virus to cells and for mediating virus entry following endocytosis by inducing fusion of the viral envelope with the endosomal membrane. The fusion peptide of G is internal (residues 116 to 137) and exhibits characteristics similar to those of other internal fusion peptides, but recent studies have implicated the region adjacent to the transmembrane domain as also being important for G-mediated membrane fusion. Sequence alignment of the membrane-proximal region of G from several different vesiculoviruses revealed that this domain is highly conserved, suggesting that it is important for G function. Mutational analysis was used to show that this region is not essential for G protein oligomerization, transport to the cell surface, or incorporation into virus particles but that it is essential for acid-induced membrane fusion activity and for virus infectivity. Deletion of the 13 membrane-proximal amino acids (N449 to W461) dramatically reduced cell-cell fusion activity and reduced virus infectivity approximately 100-fold, but mutation of conserved aromatic residues (W457, F458, and W461) either singly or together had only modest effects on cell-cell fusion activity; recombinant virus encoding these mutants replicated as efficiently as wild-type (WT) VSV. Insertion of heterologous sequences in the juxtamembrane region completely abolished membrane fusion activity and virus infectivity, as did deletion of residues F440 to N449. The insertion mutants showed some changes in pH-dependent conformational changes and in virus binding, which could partially explain the defects in membrane fusion activity, but all the other mutants were similar to WT G with respect to conformational changes and virus binding. These data support the hypothesis that the membrane-proximal domain contributes to G-mediated membrane fusion activity, yet the conserved aromatic residues are not essential for membrane fusion or virus infectivity.


Few studies explore the micro-cap market of stocks and mutual funds. As a result, little is known about these securities' characteristics, risks and performance. This study analyzes the risk and risk-adjusted performance of microcap mutual funds with mid-cap and large-cap mutual funds. The study finds that micro-cap mutual funds are riskier and produce a lower Jensen's alpha than those of mid-cap and large-cap mutual funds. In addition, the author provides a comprehensive literature review and suggests potential explanations for the growing evidence that micro-cap mutual funds are poor investments.


ABSTRACT Based on a participatory study design, this article describes how a group of family members of people deprived of liberty (PDL) experienced the COVID-19 control measures implemented in Mexico's prisons. We conducted 28 in-depth interviews and analyzed them using ATLAS.ti. We found that the measures implemented in Mexican prisons to avoid the spread of COVID-19 focused mainly on suspension of visitation and PDL confinement. The isolation imposed on PDL impacted their living conditions, making them more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 due to lack of access to essential services, food, and hygiene supplies. Visit restrictions and PDL isolation also impacted PDL relatives' health and socioeconomic conditions. Our findings indicate that the consequences of COVID-19 control actions in Mexican prisons differ according to the gender and jurisdiction of PDL. Women in federal prisons were more isolated, while those in local ones were more deprived of basic supplies. Imprisoned women's isolation has especially severe effects on the mental and physical health of their elderly parents and children. The results show how the measures adopted to control COVID-19 outbreaks in Mexican prisons have exacerbated the preexisting systemic violence experienced by PDL and their families and how they have failed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in these settings. These findings provide support for the health-informed penal reform of Mexican prisons.


BACKGROUND
 Changeful seasonal influenza activity in subtropical areas such as Taiwan causes problems in epidemic preparedness. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control has maintained real-time national influenza surveillance systems since 2004. Except for timely monitoring, epidemic forecasting using the national influenza surveillance data can provide pivotal information for public health response.

 OBJECTIVE
 We aimed to develop predictive models using machine learning to provide real-time influenza-like illness forecasts.

 METHODS
 Using surveillance data of influenza-like illness visits from emergency departments (from the Real-Time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance System), outpatient departments (from the National Health Insurance database), and the records of patients with severe influenza with complications (from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System), we developed 4 machine learning models (autoregressive integrated moving average, random forest, support vector regression, and extreme gradient boosting) to produce weekly influenza-like illness predictions for a given week and 3 subsequent weeks. We established a framework of the machine learning models and used an ensemble approach called stacking to integrate these predictions. We trained the models using historical data from 2008-2014. We evaluated their predictive ability during 2015-2017 for each of the 4-week time periods using Pearson correlation, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and hit rate of trend prediction. A dashboard website was built to visualize the forecasts, and the results of real-world implementation of this forecasting framework in 2018 were evaluated using the same metrics.

 RESULTS
 All models could accurately predict the timing and magnitudes of the seasonal peaks in the then-current week (nowcast) (ρ=0.802-0.965; MAPE: 5.2%-9.2%; hit rate: 0.577-0.756), 1-week (ρ=0.803-0.918; MAPE: 8.3%-11.8%; hit rate: 0.643-0.747), 2-week (ρ=0.783-0.867; MAPE: 10.1%-15.3%; hit rate: 0.669-0.734), and 3-week forecasts (ρ=0.676-0.801; MAPE: 12.0%-18.9%; hit rate: 0.643-0.786), especially the ensemble model. In real-world implementation in 2018, the forecasting performance was still accurate in nowcasts (ρ=0.875-0.969; MAPE: 5.3%-8.0%; hit rate: 0.582-0.782) and remained satisfactory in 3-week forecasts (ρ=0.721-0.908; MAPE: 7.6%-13.5%; hit rate: 0.596-0.904).

 CONCLUSIONS
 This machine learning and ensemble approach can make accurate, real-time influenza-like illness forecasts for a 4-week period, and thus, facilitate decision making.


Evolution of long-distance communication in equids may correspond with species-specific types of social organization. To compare harem-forming species (type I) with those that do not establish permanent social units (type II), we conducted a comparative analysis of stallion long-range calls in seven species/breeds of equids: two breeds of domestic horses (archaic and modern breeds) and five wild species: Przewalski's horse, kiang, Somalian ass, Grevy's zebra, Grant's zebra). Acoustic features allowed assigning calls of stallions with 92% average classification success to the correct species. The duration of the call clearly separated horses (type I) from type II species: kiang, Somalian ass and Grevy's zebra. Accordingly to its harem social system (type I), the pattern of long-range call in Grant's zebra deviates from that of its relatives in the direction of horses. Frequency of the first dominant band that was associated with body size separated modern horses from the archaic breed and Przewalski's horse. Playback experiments confirmed that equids, especially the type II species, respond strongly to conspecific calls but also to calls of other equids.


Many global catastrophic risks threaten major disruption to global food supplies, including nuclear wars, volcanic eruptions, asteroid and comet impacts, and plant disease outbreaks. This paper discusses options for increasing the resilience of food supplies to these risks. In contrast with local catastrophes, global food supply catastrophes cannot be addressed via food aid from external locations. Three options for food supply resilience are identified: food stockpiles, agriculture, and foods produced from alternative (non-sunlight) energy sources including biomass and fossil fuels. Each of these three options has certain advantages and disadvantages. Stockpiles are versatile but expensive. Agriculture is efficient but less viable in certain catastrophe scenarios. Alternative foods are inexpensive pre-catastrophe but need to be scaled up post-catastrophe and may face issues of social acceptability. The optimal portfolio of food options will typically include some of each, and will additionally vary by location as regions vary in population and access to food input resources. Furthermore, if the catastrophe shuts down transportation, then resilience requires local self-sufficiency in food. Food supply resilience requires not just the food itself, but also the accompanying systems of food production and distribution. Overall, increasing food supply resilience can play an important role in global catastrophic risk reduction. However, it is unwise to attempt maximizing food supply resilience, because doing so comes at the expense of other important objectives, including catastrophe prevention. Taking all these issues into account, the paper proposes a research agenda for analysis of specific food supply resilience decisions.


The sharing economy — a marketplace made up of businesses that profit by connecting providers of goods and services with users of those goods and services — challenges us to reevaluate our anti-discrimination laws. This Essay considers one such challenge: how should public accommodation laws such as Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act apply to the housing sector of the sharing economy? Such laws, the Essay explains, should apply in full to the housing sector. Moreover, legislators should act to remove the current statutory exemption for landlords who rent a small number of housing units and live on the premises from which they rent. While some might raise concerns that closing the exception will infringe upon small-scale landlords' First Amendment right to free association, such concerns have no doctrinal basis. Moreover, closing the exception will in fact have the effect of advancing interests related to both freedom of speech and of association, particularly with respect to the people of color whom public accommodation laws were originally designed to protect.


The thesis attempts to revise our view of Georgian poetry, and thus to rescue it from the
critical disregard and disdain it has suffered since the 1930s. Georgian poetry will be
redefined as a strong traditional poetry contemporaneous with, and yet different from,
literary Modernism. An historical overview of the critical literature from the 1920s
onwards will reveal the original co-existence of those now known as 'Georgians' and
'Modernists', stress their mutual break with Edwardian conventions, and will sketch the
process by which Georgianism and Modernism became oppositional. Georgianism will
be re-evaluated as a brave and creditable attempt to continue the Romantic and
humanistic impulse in poetry at a time when younger and ostensibly more radical
writers were forsaking it for the values of Modernism. The thesis will further suggest
that the Georgian poets had a rather more socially aware and progressive agenda than
many of the fledgling Modernists. Georgian poetry is reread, therefore, in order to bring
out, as major themes, its concern with the poor and with work, with the changing
environment of the nation, with the position of women in Georgian society, and with its
response to the First World War. This reappraisal will lead to the contention that
Georgianism should not be viewed as a low point in British poetry, but instead as
supplying the formal foundations and political sensibility which mark the achievement
of Great War poetry. While the thesis is careful not to overbid its claims for reviewing
the Georgians' own achievement (especially in respect of their relative lack of formal
experimentation compared to the Modernists), it hopes nevertheless to persuade its
readers that the poets of 'Liberal England' had a more humane and realistic vision of
their world than they have hitherto been credited with.


The success of an academic journal depends on many factors. Let us, however, only mention two of them: its high-quality editing and its continuity. The Anthropological Journal of European Cultures is prosperous because it fulfils both of these criteria. This means it has been published periodically, nonstop for nearly three decades under the supervision of editors with significant dedication to the journal.


Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative Background: condition that causes degeneration of neurons in the brain, ultimately leading to death. The root cause of HD is an expanded trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat in the "huntingtin gene" ( ). While HTT there is a rough correlation between the number of CAG repeats and disease onset, the development of clinical symptoms can vary by decades within individuals and little is known about this pre-symptomatic phase. Using peripheral blood samples from HD patients and healthy Methods: controls we used TM, a validated high-resolution industrial platform for EpiSwitch the detection of chromosome conformations, to assess chromatin architecture in the immediate vicinity of the   gene. We evaluated chromatin HTT conformations at 20 sites across 225 kb of the   locus in healthy controls, HTT verified symptomatic HD patients (CAG, n>39) and patients with CAG expansions who had not yet manifested clinical symptoms of HD. Discrete chromosome conformations were observed across the Results: patient groups. We found two constitutive interactions (occurring in all patient groups) and seven conditional interactions which were present in HD, but not in healthy controls. Most important, we observed three conditional interactions that were present only in HD patients manifesting clinical symptoms (symptomatic cases), but not in presymptomatic cases. Of the patients in the symptomatic HD cohort, 86% (6 out of 7) demonstrated at least one of the specific chromosome conformations associated with symptomatic HD. Our results provide the first evidence that chromatin architecture Conclusion: at the   locus is systemically altered in patients with HD, with conditional HTT differences between clinical stages. Given the high clinical need in having a molecular tool to assess disease progression in HD, these results strongly suggest that the non-invasive assessment of chromosome conformation signatures can be a valuable addition to prognostic assessment of HD patients. 1 1 1 1


Intravenous administration of 1.5 X 10(8) syngeneic spleen cells from immune animals resulted in the complete eradication of established Meth A soft tissue sarcomas in (C57BL/6 X BALB/c) F1 mice. In mice receiving a single injection of immune spleen cells 4 days after tumor implantation in the abdominal wall, the tumors continued to grow for approximately 1 week before undergoing regression. This delay before adoptive immunity is expressed is thought to represent the time needed for the passively transferred cells to give rise to a host response of sufficient magnitude to destroy the tumor. None of the mice receiving a similar number of control spleen cells were cured of their sarcomas. Successful therapy was dependent upon the transfer of viable, immune T lymphocytes and required prior irradiation of the tumor-bearing host in order to remove suppressor T cells. Utilizing sequential histologic and immunohistochemical techniques, we attempted to characterize the cellular events of tumor regression. The earliest histologic difference between animals treated with immune and nonimmune lymphocytes was in the number of lymphocytes detected at the perimeter of the tumor in specifically immunized mice on day 6. There was also a striking difference between animals treated with immune versus nonimmune lymphocytes in the intensity and timing of the acute inflammatory response beginning on day 8. The "front" of immunologically mediated tumor destruction appeared at the lateral and deep borders of the implanted sarcomas and progressed inward. During the period of active tumor regression T lymphocytes reactive with a biotinylated mouse anti-Thy 1.2 monoclonal antibody were increased in frozen sections of tumors in mice receiving immune cells relative to the controls. During the first 3 weeks following adoptive transfer of lymphocytes, T cells reactive with Lyt-1 biotinylated mouse monoclonal antibody (helper/inducer phenotype) outnumbered their Lyt-2 (suppressor/cytotoxic) counterparts in frozen sections of tumor from both specifically immunized and control mice. By the end of the 4th week of the experiment, the sarcomas were completely eradicated in all mice receiving immune cells. The previous tumor beds were occupied by collections of lipid-laden macrophages, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and fibroblasts. Despite vigorous but delayed acute and chronic inflammatory responses at the tumor perimeters in the control mice, these tumors all progressed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Abstract As the liberal optimism of the long 1990s has faded into a world of growing inequality and resurging nationalism, there is less certainty about the prospects of economic convergence and global integration. Beyond the formidable human cost of maintaining a divided world, the possibility of incomplete globalisation also gives rise to a number of environmental risks. While environmental political theory generally sees strength in localism, history rather shows that a robust world trade system is crucial to offset local resource scarcities and that cosmopolitan norms of solidarity are essential for helping communities to rebuild after environmental catastrophe. In relation to climate change, statist thinking has led to a focus on non-scalable technologies and a silent acceptance of chronic poverty abroad as a way of avoiding a climate emergency. Contrary to such views, this paper argues that accelerating the transition to a fully integrated high-energy planet may more effectively mitigate Anthropocene risks.


Viticulture and wine production in challenging environments such as cold and humid areas has substantially expanded in recent years, mostly due to the development of grapevine varieties that show high resistance to fungal diseases and cold temperatures. These interspecific hybrid Vitis (IHV) varieties result from multiple crosses between Vitis vinifera varieties and North American native species such as V. riparia and V. labrusca. Limited scientific information is available on the aroma and winemaking of IHV, and about the relationships between grape and wine composition in regard to compounds of enological interest. In this work, the profile of volatile compounds of grapes and wines from five white IHV varieties largely grown in cold-climate viticulture (Frontenac blanc, Frontenac gris, Seyval, St. Pepin and Vidal) was determined by GC-MS-SPME. Compound classes detected in juice and wine included fatty acid degradation products that represented the largest part of volatile compounds, fatty acid ethyl esters, terpenes, C13-norisoprenoids, and volatile phenols and other phenyl derivatives. The flavor profile of Vidal showed the largest diversity of compounds in both juice and wine, and the overall highest amount of volatile compounds of all varieties. Principal component analysis showed relationships between the presence of certain C6 compounds, terpene and volatile phenols in musts and in the finished wines.


The concept of name and naming is not just a tool for constructing identity; it is an important signification system in African cosmology. It is imbued with the people's perception of life and being. This explains why certain individuals who are discontented with their names either change them or adopt nicknames to reflect their sense of dignity, reinvented individuality and humanity. This paper explored nicknaming as a signification tool for identity reinvention from a socio-semiotic dimension. Data for the study was sampled purposively from students' halls of residence at the University of Ibadan and analysed using insights from socio-semiotic theory of sign. The use of irony in names was observed to be a common tool for reinvention, especially with those instances where the nicknames were given as derogatory labels to redesign the identities of the concerned personalities. It was observed also that others use nicknames to project a sense of reinvented self, especially in instances where the nicknames were the creations of the individuals concerned.


Despite many innovations and restructuring in the last years, the securities clearing and settlement industry in Europe is still said to be highly inefficient for cross-border transactions. This paper provides a fact based overview of the market, regulation, and recent developments that aim to improve the efficiency of clearing and settlement in Europe. The European code of conduct for clearing and settlement and TARGET2-Securities are identified as primary concerns in this industry. The code of conduct for clearing and settlement, initiated by the European Commission, intends to improve price transparency, interoperability, and service unbundling. The phased course of action of the code of conduct is presented. An analysis of the current implementation status of the code of conduct shows potentials for improvements. TARGET2-Securities, as technical platform for settlement of securities in Europe, provided by Eurosystem, could have a significant impact on the settlement of securities in Europe. The importance of the participation of all central securities depositories for the success of the platform is shown by a simulation. The different approaches for improving efficiency in cross-border clearing and settlement are compared with each other. TARGET2-Securities could create a monopolistic infrastructure for settlement which stands in contrast to the code of conduct.


Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoS2 and WS2, are promising alternative non-noble metal catalysts to drive the electrocatalytic H2 evolution reaction (HER). However, their catalytic performance is inherently limited by the small number of active sites as well as their poor electrical conductivity. Here, we grow vertically aligned 2H-WS2 on different substrates to expose their edge sites for the HER and introduce a scalable approach to tune these active sites via defect engineering. In a thermal hydrogen treatment procedure, sulfur vacancies and metallic tungsten nanoparticles are formed. The extent of desulfurization, and thus the HER activity, can be tuned via controlling the H2 annealing conditions. The obtained W/WS2-x electrocatalysts are evaluated experimentally and theoretically to arrive at a better understanding of how to modify the inherently inert 2H-WS2 for more efficient HER.


Failed attempts at amalgamation of a gold/osmiridium concentrate, recovered behind pebble mill liners during re-lining, led to the discovery that the gold particles were coated and that nitric acid only could remove the coatings. Following this treatment amalgamation was rapid and resulted in a complete recovery of the gold that otherwise would have been lost in plant residues. Investigations into the nature and formation of the coatings led to the realization that the coatings were impregnations of harder elements, associated with the gold during grinding and driven into the softer gold surface by high pressure, impact and attrition. It was further realized that this phenomenon could be part of gold ore milling, world-wide. With these thoughts in mind the question is asked whether concentration down to micron sizes prior to cyanidation, should not play a greater role in gold recovery.


constructed by saline dilution of normal plasma and prothrombin is estimated in a dicoumarol plasma using venomlecithin as thromboplastin,' the result will be higher than when brain emulsion' is used and very much higher than the result obtained with ox-lung extract.4 If the prothrombin is estimated by the two-stage method5 the result will probably differ from all three of those obtained by the one-stage procedures, though it will be -nearest to that found by using venom-lecithin as thromboplastin.4 Not only is the reference curve obtained when prothrombin-free plasma is used for diluting normal plasma entirely different from that obtained when saline is used, but curves obtained with different prothrombin-free plasmas differ from one another, depending on the method used for the removal of the prothrombin.3 It is therefore important that any criteria for the limits of safety in dicoumarol therapy should be accompanied by a precise definition of the method used for the estimation of prothrombin. Differences in technique probably account for the apparent discrepancy which appears in your report between the recommendations of Dr. Wood and Mr. Dickson Wright.I am, etc.,


With the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards, K-12 teachers are required to utilize primary sources as tools to promote inquiry-based learning. This dissertation used ethnographic methods to investigate how teachers integrate primary sources into classroom instruction by gathering qualitative data on their information practices and the forms of knowledge they draw on when finding, evaluating, and using primary sources to promote inquiry-based education. The investigation resulted in a rich description of the information practices and forms of scholarly and professional knowledge used throughout different stages of the integration process. The first phase of the study consists of semi-structured interviews with teachers from four different school districts. The interviews were used to gather data on teachers' beliefs surrounding inquiry-based education and experiences teaching with primary sources. The second phase of the study consists of a nine-month participant observation period at a laboratory school. The study was designed to observe daily activities and collect implicit experience-based information, including the types of tacit knowledge associated with the act of teaching with primary sources. The investigation largely focused on understanding the practices related to how teachers find, evaluate, and use primary sources. By examining the practices of teachers who are actively teaching with primary sources, this dissertation disentangles the complex relationship between unstated educational practices, national educational standards, and the archival processes that are undertaken as part of classroom instruction, such as locating primary sources for lesson planning. The study values the experiences of teachers as a source of practical knowledge that can inform theoretical knowledge and promote intelligent practice among both teachers and archivists. Ultimately, this study is an opportunity to perform proof of concept work for the field of archival studies that can improve information services for K-12 teachers and allow information professionals to play an enhanced role in promoting collaborative efforts between schools, libraries, and archival repositories.


Existing studies aimed at identifying individuals or economic agents that suffer more from crime than others are based on the incidence of crime or the proportion of agents within a group that experience one or more incident of crime during a given period of time. This paper shows that studies based solely on the incidence of crime may provide a misleading picture as to who suffers more from crime. In a sample of about 6,000 manufacturing firms in 14 Latin American countries, we find that large firms are more likely to experience an incident of crime than the small firms in a given year. However, the burden of crime measured by losses due to crime as a percentage of firms' annual sales is heavier on the smaller firms.


Location affordability is a policy concept that links housing costs with transport costs, recognizing that assessing affordability should consider the combined costs incurred by a given location choice. As a more holistic perspective on affordability than traditional thresholds of housing costs alone, location affordability opens new possibilities for applied analyses that suggest a need for stronger coordination between housing and transport sectors in policy, planning, and project development.
A range of housing and transport system configurations can result in affordable locations. For example, it may be that high housing cost burdens in densely developed urban markets can be softened by the use of low-cost transportation services, such as public transit, cycling, or walking. Intensely urban areas are usually more compatible with low-cost transport modes because distances are shorter and density concentrates people so as to make public transit feasible. Conversely, in areas where there is little pressure on land markets and development is at low densities, housing prices are usually lower. Yet such areas are inefficient and expensive to serve by public transit; at the same time, long distances between work and residential locations make walking or cycling infeasible. As a result, households rely on private automobiles for transport, which require substantial investment to purchase, maintain, and operate one or more vehicles. Between these two extremes are a variety of patterns where households? housing and transport costs reflect the joint configuration of the land development and transport systems in a city. This joint configuration, or urban form, creates an influential backdrop for household location decisions and affects household cost structures.
In recent decades, scholars have focused on the phenomenon of urban sprawl, broadly understood to be ex-urban, low-density development, with segregated land uses and an orientation toward automobile use. Although there is general agreement on what sprawl is, there is weak consensus on a consistent definition appropriate for use in empirical studies. This is not merely an academic problem: If research is to provide evidence on location affordability to policy- and decision-makers, a coherent and clear conceptualization of the relevant dimensions of urban form is needed to identify specific strategies that support affordability.
This paper makes two contributions to the affordability literature. First, it operationalizes location unaffordability using Census tract-level mortgage foreclosure rates during the recent housing crisis as an outcome measure. From this perspective, foreclosures are an observable effect of some combination of factors that resulted in a dwelling unit becoming unaffordable such that the homeowner defaults on a home mortgage. This is in contrast to typical methods that accept normative thresholds for affordability (i.e. 30% of household income). Second, it uses multi-dimensional measures of urban form--recently developed by Andrea Sarzynski, George Galster, and Lisa Stack (2014)-to estimate the effect of particular patterns of development on affordability. These data are combined with demographic and household cost data in a series of spatial regression models for 35 US cities that exhibited the greatest changes in their development patterns over the preceding decade (1990s).


Fusion of rubella virus-infected cells was induced by their brief treatment at pH below 6.0. Exposure of rubella virus to pH 5 caused an irreversible conformational change of the viral envelope glycoproteins, E1 and E2. The change was manifested in the marked reduction in both infectivity and haemagglutinating activity of the virus, the increased resistance of E1 and decreased resistance of E2 polypeptides to proteolytic digestion with trypsin, and the acquisition of liposome-binding activity of the virus. The above changes are presumed to mimic the events occurring in the acidic environment within endosomes following endocytosis of the virus.


Peptides present in the skin secretion of the South African frog, Xenopus laevis, have been analysed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and h.p.l.c. in the mass range 500-3200 Da. We have investigated the effects of successive glandular secretions induced by noradrenaline injections on these peptide levels and have found that the replenishment of the whole range of peptides is complete within 2-6 days. Intact secretory vesicles free of cellular contaminants contain a relatively large number of peptides with molecular masses in the range 2400-2700 Da. We have termed these peptides primary products or spacer peptides, since they originate from spacer regions of the precursors to xenopsin and caerulein. However, if the secretory vesicles are disrupted during the collection procedure and the solution containing the secretion is kept at room temperature for up to 2 h, relatively little of the larger peptides remain. By comparing the relative levels of the various peptides present in these secretions we have found that the larger peptides are proteolytically cleaved into smaller fragments by a novel cleavage at the N-terminal side of a lysine residue (at Xaa-Lys bonds where Xaa is Leu, Gly, Ala or Lys). Preliminary evidence has been obtained suggesting that the larger intact peptides possess lytic activity whereas the smaller proteolytic fragments appear relatively inactive. This may represent a mechanism by which the secretions are rendered harmless to the frog itself, since prolonged exposure would be expected to result in toxic effects. The dorsal glands of X. laevis thus appear similar to endocrine glands, since they are involved in peptide biosynthesis, secretion and subsequent proteolytic degradation.


Type 2 diabetes represents a major health problem worldwide, with immigrants strongly contributing to the increase in diabetes in many countries. Norway is not immune to the process, and immigrants in the country are experiencing an increase in the prevalence of diabetes after arrival. However, the dynamics of these transitions in relation to the duration of residence in the new environment in Norway are not clearly understood. From this background, a cross-sectional quantitative study using a respondent-driven sampling method was conducted among 302 Somali women living in Oslo area. The results show that 41% of the study participants will be at risk for developing diabetes in the coming 10 years, which coincides with 85% of the study participants being abdominally obese. Significant associations were found between years of stay in Norway and the risk for diabetes with those who lived in Norway >10 years, having twofold higher odds of being at risk for developing diabetes compared to those who lived in Norway ≤5 years (OR: 2.16, CI: 1.08–4.32). Understanding the mechanisms through which exposure to the Norwegian environment leads to higher obesity and diabetes risk may aid in prevention efforts for the rapidly growing African immigrant population.


This is the first interdisciplinary effort to study friendship in late imperial China from the perspective of gender history. Friendship was valorized with unprecedented enthusiasm in Ming China (1368-1644). Some Ming literati even proposed that friendship was the most fundamental relationship among the so-called "five cardinal human relationships". Why the cult of friendship in Ming China? How was male friendship theorized, practiced and represented during that period? These are some of the questions the current volume deals with. Coming from different disciplines (history, musicology and literary studies), the contributors thoroughly explore the complexities and the gendered nature of friendship in Ming China. This volume has also been published as a special theme issue of Brill's journal NAN NUE, Men, Women and Gender in China.


122 Background: The incidence of cancer in patients older than 65 is nearly tenfold higher than in their younger counterparts. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is recommended for cancer patients > 65 years, as it can more reliably assess underlying function and predict tolerance to anticancer therapy. We reviewed data for patients with lung cancer and hematologic malignancies who completed comprehensive geriatric assessment by the Senior Oncology Section within the Levine Cancer Institute. Methods: From 2015 to 2019 Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) providers performed 96 CGAs in lung cancer patients and 58 in patients with hematologic malignancy, many of the latter being evaluated for bone marrow transplantation. Data was incorporated into an LCI Senior Oncology Clinic Database using the REDCap secure web application, allowing both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Results: Median ages were 80 in lung cancer and 67 in hematologic malignancy. The lung cancer patients had a slower gait than patients with hematologic malignancy (0.8 m/s versus 1.3 m/s). Lung cancer patients also had a longer median timed up and go (TUG) test of 13 seconds, versus 8 seconds in hematologic malignancy. Considerably more lung cancer patients had experienced a fall within the preceding six months (32 (33%) versus 9 (16%)). The median Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric (CIRS-G) total score was significantly higher in lung than in hematologic malignancy (14 versus 8), indicating a higher degree of comorbid illness. Cognitive functioning was comparable between the two groups, with median Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores of 25 in lung and 26 in hematologic malignancy. Conclusions: Lung cancer patients undergoing CGA had more comorbid illnesses, slower gait speed and timed up and go, and more falls in the preceding 6 months than hematologic malignancy patients. Overall cognitive functioning was not significantly different between the two groups. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly lung cancer patients. [Table: see text]


This article aims at highlighting new design issues coming from the increasing sensitivity of digital circuits towards process variability. CAD tools and current design methodologies are not anymore efficient to tackle such aspects. In particular variability is increasing the difficulty to identify setup and hold time violations. This paper is a study of failure probabilities considering device process variations on several long and short paths extracted from a RTL MAC Multiplier-Accumulator physical synthesis. This study is based on a Statistical Static Timing Analysis method, used on combinatory cells, mixed with Monte Carlo Analysis applied on sequential cells. This allows the manipulation of probability distribution functions and thus, to keep all the variability information. Setup time, hold time, and delay propagation variation figures are extracted thanks to this methodology. Several results on combinatory paths and flip-flop cells are given to underline the variability impacts.


The C–F bond cleavage and C–C bond formation (i.e., carbodefluorination) of readily accessible (per)fluoroalkyl groups constitutes an atom-economical and efficient route to partially fluorinated compounds. However, the selective mono-carbodefluorination of trifluoromethyl (CF 3 ) groups remains a formidable challenge, due to the notorious inertness of C–F bond and the risk of over-defluorination arising from C–F bond strength decrease as the defluorination proceeds. Herein, we report a carbene-initiated rearrangement strategy for the carbodefluorination of fluoroalkyl ketones with β,γ-unsaturated alcohols. The reaction starts with formation of a silver carbene from a fluoroalkyl ketone N -triftosylhydrazone, followed by nucleophilic addition of a β,γ-unsaturated alcohol to form a key oxonium ylide intermediate, which triggers selective C–F bond cleavage by HF elimination and C–C bond formation through Claisen rearrangement of in situ generated difluorovinyl ether. This method described here is versatile and enables the conversion of fluoroalkyl ketones into skeletally and functionally diverse α-mono- and α,α-difluoro-γ,δ-unsaturated ketones. The reaction mechanism and the origin of chemoselectivity were established by experimental and computational approaches. Collectively, current strategy integrates successive C–F bond cleavage and C–C bond formation on a single molecule entity by an intramolecular cascade process, thereby offering significant advances over existing stepwise strategies in term of selectivity, efficiency, functional group tolerance, etc.


This project is focus on developing a web based wedding event which is B2C (Businessto-
Customer) online marketplace for the buyers to find or search and purchase the
suitable services and products that offered in the website by the sellers. The type of B2C
e-marketplace of this website is B2C exchanges and the business will be name Y omeiri
Xcessories.com. The future brides and grooms have an option to survey or research all
information and resources to prepare for their wedding. This website will give an
opportunity to the sellers which are the business people to promote or advertise the
packages that suitable with the future brides and grooms criteria. The packages will
include the boutiques, make-up & hair stylist, performance & emcee, photography &
videography, wedding planner, hall & canopy, audio & visual, invitation card & printing
and souvenir. The function of this website is where buyers and sellers can meet online so
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With the focus on business continuity management success, there are challenges that recur in the environment and cannot be ignored. Such challenges come in form of risk or threats from the environment; both internal and external. Business disruptions whether natural or human made, can lead to discontinuity and interruptions of normal operations in an organization. This can adversely affect BCM processes if there is lack of effective policy instruments. Delays may impact negatively on realization of business continuity management practices and ultimately the ongoing continuity of the business. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the moderating effect of policies and regulations on business continuity management in private security firms in Kenya. The study collected data from 200 respondents using interviews and questionnaires. This data was analyzed and presented in form of averages, percentiles and frequencies. Therefore, the study revealed that effective use of the policies in order to seize opportunities and have the ability to contain possible risks and threats existing in the external business environment.


Abstract In this paper, gravimetric work performed in the territory of Serbia is shown chronologically from the end of the nineteenth century until present. The first work, which was based on data from pendulums, is presented briefly. Details are provided on the establishment of the first order gravimetric network from 1952 and a basic gravimetric network created 10 years later. A review of a detailed gravimetric measurement, performed simultaneously with these works for establishing the networks, is also given. Special attention is dedicated to the first measurements using absolute gravimeters that were performed in 2007, but also to establishing a new basic gravimetric network as a basis for a future detailed gravimetric survey. From all of the shown data, it is to be noted that ex-Yugoslavia and then Serbia followed to a great extent modern trends of gravimetric network development. Unfortunately, the network maintenance was inadequate, and a database was not established due to the political and economic changes in the society, which caused suspension of some institutions that were authorised for these types of jobs.


Introduction: Road rage and aggressive driving is a prevalent condition in today's society due to motorists' frustrations during heavy traffic volumes. Objective: This study was done to assess the level of anger amongst the drivers of public transport vehicles in Indore, using Driving Anger Scale (DAS by Deffenbacher et. al.) and various factors affecting it. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 135 drivers of Public transport vehicle drivers (Star bus, City-van and star cab drivers) in Indore to assess their anger level using Driving Anger Scale. The participants were required to record the amount of anger they would experience in response to each item in the scale (1=not at all angry, 2=a little angry, 3=some anger, 4=much anger, 5=very much angry). Results: The mean DAS score in Indore was found to be 3.013 and in the three organizations namely Star bus drivers, City van drivers and Star cab drivers was 2.92, 3.08 and 3.04 respectively. The DAS score of drivers with respect to the 6 sub-scales were: hostile gestures (Star bus -3.42,City van -3.67,Star cab -3.38), slow driving (Star bus -2.73,City van driv-2.78,Star cab-3.17), traffic obstructions (Star bus-2.85,City van -3.25,Star cab-3.18), discourtesy (Star bus -3.23,City van-3.33,Star cab -3.25)and police presence (Star bus -2.15,City van -1.99,Star cab -2.78), illegal driving (Star bus -3.04,City van -3.14,Star cab -2.89). The DAS scores of the drivers did not vary significantly with age group, experience, and educational qualification. Conclusion: Though DAS scores did not vary between the three groups of drivers, however average level anger for various given circumstances commonly found in the Indian traffic scenario was on the higher side.


In previous studies we have shown that perphenazine inhibits the metabolism of nortriptyline and imipramine. In this study the metabolism of 14C-imipramine and 14C-desipramine was studied before and during treatment with perphenazine. Studies on the imipramine and desipramine metabolites in urine showed that the major effect of perphenazine is an inhibition of the 2-hydroxylation of imipramine and desipramine. This causes a decreased formation and excretion of non-conjugated and glucuronide bound hydroxy metabolites and accumulation of imipramine and desipramine. There was some relationship between the dose of perphenazine and the decrease in total urinary excretion but the individual variations in response were pronounced (2-3-fold).


A simple mathematical formalism for describing arbitrary hysteresis processes is presented. The information required to apply this formalism to a given magnetic material can be obtained with relatively little effort from experimental hysteresis curves such as normal loops or, in special cases, from just the initial curve. The basic physical model is that of Preisach. A more convenient, less widely known, treatment of this modes by Everett to which we have applied magnetic symmetry constraints leads to a succinct description of hysteresis processes. We have applied this procedure to calculate losses in nonoriented electrical steel laminations. The fully non-linear electromagnetic field equations were solved on the computer for this simple geometry with no restrictions on the hysteresis paths. The calculated losses agreed at the 5% level with experimental losses for a wide range of frequencies and inductions.


Video of the Complicite production of 'A Disappearing Number' for which I was Associate Director.

Winner of the 2008 Olivier Award for Best New Play, 'A Disappearing Number' tells the true story of the extraordinary collaboration between Cambridge professor G.H. Hardy and self-taught mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who made some of the most significant mathematical discoveries of the 20th century.

This production was devised by Complicite and directed by Simon McBurney and is accompanied by an in-depth conversation about the show and the company, between Co-Founder Annabel Arden and Associate Director Catherine Alexander.

Visit the Complicite website for A Disappearing Number's Resource Pack.


The largest participation in causing the disease of herbal plants have fungi. Studies on their occurrence on plants of the family Apiaceae are conducted in the Lublin region since 2001. The observations of plant healthiness are carried out directly on the plantations. Plants with symptoms of disease are studied in the laboratory. Identification of the fungi is performed based on etiological symptoms and on the base of fungal cultures isolated from plants. Among the many species of fungi obtained from diseased plants to the particularly harmful belong: Septoria carvi, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. dematium, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Passalora puncta (Cercosporidium punctum) and Erysiphe umbelliferarum .


There has been little investigation for the automatic extraction of power lines from aerial images due to the low resolution of aerial images in the past decades. With increasing aerial photogrammetric technology and sensor technology, it is possible for photogrammetrists to monitor the status of power lines. This letter analyzes the property of imaged power lines and presents an algorithm to automatically extract the power line from aerial images acquired by an aerial digital camera onboard a helicopter. This algorithm first uses a Radon transform to extract line segments of the power line, then uses the grouping method to link each segment, and finally applies the Kalman filter technology to connect the segments into an entire line. We compared our algorithm with the line mask detector method and the ratio line detector, and evaluated their performances. The experimental results demonstrated that our algorithm can successfully extract the power lines from aerial images regardless of background complexity. This presented method has successfully been applied in China National 863 project for power line surveillance, 3-D reconstruction, and modeling.


Abstract The new, large, frondose and stalked, Ediacaran (late Neoproterozoic) 'petalonamid' Pambikalbae hasenohrae gen. et sp. nov. is preserved in a three-dimensional manner within sandy channel fills occurring directly below the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite on the 'Nilpena' pastoral property at a western outlier of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Pambikalbae hasenohrae was made up of numerous chambered vanes supported by a tapering axial stem and an anchoring stalk. Chambers forming the vanes were commonly infilled with sediment, though variably flattened; groups of vanes representing individual specimens can extend as much as c. 3.7 cm deep through the hosting sandstone matrix. Several series of chambers present in each vane abut at zigzag sutures. Pambikalbae is clearly not a cnidarian sea pen, but nevertheless exhibits characteristics suggestive of an evolutionary grade comparable to that of known modern cnidarian divisions. Though the serial geometric configuration of its thin integument seems ideally suited to house symbiotic microbial photoautotrophs, our appraisal of the palaeoecology of Pambikalbae is supportive of its being a heterotrophic suspension feeder. Pambikalbae may plausibly be a highly derived hydrozoan, part of the ancestral stock of the Siphonophorida, or a sister group to the early Chondrophorina.


We report on a Ti-diffused near-stoichiometric (NS) LiTaO3 strip waveguide fabricated by diffusion of an 8 μm wide, 160 nm thick Ti-strip followed by Li-rich vapor transport equilibration. It is found that the waveguide surface caves in ∼60  nm below the crystal surface. X-ray single-crystal diffraction shows that the indentation is due to Ti-induced lattice contraction. Optical studies show that the waveguide is in an NS composition environment, supports TE and TM single-mode propagation at 1.5 μm wavelength, is polarization insensitive, and has a shallow mode field profile and a loss of 0.2/0.3 dB/cm for the TE/TM mode. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis shows that the Ti profile follows a sum of two error functions in the width direction and a Gaussian function in the depth direction of the waveguide. With the optimized fabrication condition, the waveguide is promising for developing an optical-damage-resistant device that requires a shallow mode field profile.


Abstract Introduction: Maternal infections likely are an important cause of stillbirths, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, where the burden is highest. Due to the lack of routine testing for infection, which can be complex and often expensive, the prevalence of infection during pregnancy and the association of many infections with stillbirth are not well-documented, especially in low-resource countries. Methods: Following an extensive literature review of infection and stillbirth initially published in 2010, we conducted a review of literature in the last 10 years to identify infections associated with stillbirth, focused on those in low-resource settings. Results: During the last 10 years, over 40 bacterial, viral and other pathogens have been associated with stillbirth. Newly emerging viral infections such as Denge as well as several well-established, but not yet eliminated infections such as rubella have been associated with stillbirth. Two of the maternal infections most strongly associated with stillbirth, each with about a 2-fold risk, are malaria and syphilis but others have been associated with risk in a range of studies. With a lack of routine antenatal screening, many pathogens are identified as associated with stillbirth only through case reports. Infection remains an important, yet understudied, cause of stillbirth. Conclusion: Research studies to determine definitive associations between various infections and stillbirth are important to better understand the role of infections and strategies to reduce infection-related stillbirth. Summary This review explores the association between infections and stillbirths focusing on low-income country studies published in the last 10 years. Much information about these relationships comes from case reports. Research resulting in a better understanding of the causes and strategies to reduce infection-related stillbirth is necessary.


A brief period of starvation (2-3) depletes the hepatic glycogen stores but results in only a limited reduction of the muscle glycogen depots. In this situation insulin resistance contributes to the glucose intolerance, but it is not known which tissue or tissues are responsible for the decreased insulin sensitivity. The present study was therefore undertaken to examine the influence of a 60-h fast on insulin sensitivity in splanchnic and peripheral tissues in normal humans. Euglycemic (95 mg/dl) 1-mU insulin and hyperglycemic (215-225 mg/dl) glucose clamp studies were conducted for 2 h in overnight (12 h) and prolonged (60 h) fasted nonobese subjects. Splanchnic exchange of glucose and gluconeogenic precursors was measured using the hepatic vein catheter technique. During the euglycemic clamp, insulin infusion resulted in similar steady state insulin levels in 60-h and 12-h fasted subjects (73 +/- 7 vs. 74 +/- 5 microU/ml). Total glucose disposal was reduced by 45% after 60 h of fasting (4.0 +/- 0.3 vs. 7.6 +/- 1.1 mg/kg per min, P less than 0.05) and the splanchnic glucose balance reverted from a net release in the basal state (12 h fast, -1.7 +/- 0.2, and 60-h fast, -0.9 +/- 0.1 mg/kg per min, P less than 0.01) to a net uptake during the clamps that was similar after 60 h and 12 h of fasting (0.6 +/- 0.1 vs. 0.6 +/- 0.2 mg/kg per min). During the hyperglycemic clamp, insulin levels rose rapidly in all subjects. In the 12-h fasted group this rise was followed by a further gradual one, reaching significantly higher values than in 60-h fasted subjects during the second hour (67 +/- 15 vs. 25 +/- 2 microU/ml, P less than 0.05). Total glucose disposal was lower, though not significantly so, after the 60-h fast (2.6 +/- 0.4 vs. 5.4 +/- 1.3 mg/kg per min, 0.05 less than P less than 0.10), and as with the euglycemic clamp, the splanchnic glucose balance was altered from a basal net release to a net uptake during the clamp (1.3 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.2 mg/kg per min). After an overnight fast, splanchnic lactate uptake fell and the arterial lactate concentration rose in response to both hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, whereas these variables were unchanged in the 60-h fasted subjects during both types of clamp studies.


In Volume 1 of Game Theory and the Social Contract, Ken Binmore restated the problems of moral and political philosophy in the language of game theory. In Volume 2, Just Playing, he unveils his own controversial theory, which abandons the metaphysics of Immanuel Kant for the naturalistic approach to morality of David Hume. According to this viewpoint, a fairness norm is a convention that evolved to coordinate behavior on an equilibrium of a society's Game of Life. This approach allows Binmore to mount an evolutionary defense of Rawls's original position that escapes the utilitarian conclusions that follow when orthodox reasoning is applied with the traditional assumptions. Using ideas borrowed from the theory of bargaining and repeated games, Binmore is led instead to a form of egalitarianism that vindicates the intuitions that led Rawls to write his Theory of Justice. Written for an interdisciplinary audience, Just Playing offers a panoramic tour through a range of new and disturbing insights that game theory brings to anthropology, biology, economics, philosophy, and psychology. It is essential reading for anyone who thinks it likely that ethics evolved along with the human species.


The discussion of mobile multimedia broadcasting technologies and service implementation in this chapter is limited to the broadcasting network based scheme can be received by portable or hand-held devices with a small screen. Similar to DTTB systems, digital mobile multimedia broadcasting systems are designed for high-data-throughput (to support multiple low-data-rate services) transmission through wireless channels (VHF/UHF bands in terrestrial, S- or L-band for satellite networks). The chapter summarizes the features of DVB-H, Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)-M/H, China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB), and the new released DVB Next Generation Broadcasting System to Handheld (NGH) standards with the focus on the technical merits of reliable transmission under wireless, mobile environment and the robust reception using the portable or hand-held devices. ATSC-Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) is the standard for the DTV mobile transmission developed by the ATSC in 2007. The ATSC-M/H system shares the same RF channel of the traditional ATSC broadcast services.


We examined characteristics of den structures and den sites used by female American marten (Martes americana) for natal and maternal dens in the Sierra Madre Range, Wyoming. During 1988--95, we located 18 natal dens (parturition sites) and 97 maternal dens (sites where kits were present exclusive of parturition) used by 10 female marten. Important den structures included rock crevices (28%), snags (25%), red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) middens (19%), and logs (16%). Resource selection function (RSF) analysis showed that an individual selection model provided a significantly better fit than a null model or pooled selection model, indicating that the sample of marten selected maternal den sites that differed from random sites, and that individual animals did not select maternal den sites in the same manner. Six marten individually exhibited significant selection for maternal den sites within home ranges. Overall selection coefficients for maternal dens indicated the number of squirrel middens was the most important variable, followed by number of snags 20-40 em diameter at breast height (dbh), number of snags 2:41 em dbh, and number of hard logs 2:41 em in diameter. Selection of natal den sites was also significant via comparison between selection and noselection models, with number of middens, number of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) >20 em dbh, and number of hard logs 2:41 em in diameter the most important variables in descending order of importance. Large logs, large snags, and large, live spruce and fir trees are important characteristics for marten den sites in the central Rocky Mountains. The prominence of middens at den sites suggests red squirrels provide important denning structures as well as prey for marten. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 62(2):663-673


© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Individuals in groups can suffer costs through interactions with adversarial or unknown conspecifics. Social niche construction allows individuals to buffer such potential costs by only engaging in preferred associations. This may be particularly beneficial in insect aggregations, which are often large and highly fluid. However, little is known regarding the structuring of such aggregations. Here we use social network analyses to test for fine-scale social structure in resting aggregations of the sub-social cockroach Diploptera punctata and to explore the social pressures that contribute towards such structure. We showed that females were significantly more gregarious than males and formed the core of the proximity network, thus demonstrating a higher level of social integration. This fine-scale structure is likely to result from females displacing males; females initiated most displacements whilst males received the majority. We explain this behaviour in terms of social niche construction by showing that females received significantly fewer approaches and investigations at more female-biased local sex ratios. We therefore suggest that female social clustering occurs in this, and presumably other, species to reduce potential costs associated with male harassment. This demonstrates how social niche construction can lead to higher level social structure; we suggest this approach could be used across a range of species in order to improve our understanding of the evolution of sociality.


Tooth development has been studied in the upper jaw and tongue of a series of rainbow trout embryos (Salmo gairdneri). The sequence of tooth ontogeny in the maxillary bone differs significantly from that seen in the premaxillary bone. In the maxillary bone the teeth developed in an almost perfect alternating sequence from front to back, the teeth occupying the odd-numbered tooth positions developing ahead of those occupying the even-numbered tooth positions. However an alternating sequence was not encountered in the premaxillary bone of the rainbow trout where, from tooth position 4, teeth developed in sequence, and at approximately the same rate, in both directions. The significance of this difference was discussed. The teeth on the tongue developed in an alternating sequence, the fourth tooth developing first followed by the second tooth. The teeth in positions one, three and five later developed simultaneously. Evidence was presented which indicated that resorption of a tooth may commence from its pulpal surface in association with the appearance of multinucleated giant cells and not from the external surface in relation to a successional tooth. This was particularly so in the case of lingual teeth where the successor was laterally positioned or in midline teeth which lacked successional teeth.


OF DISSERTATION MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AND CLASSROOM RELATIONSHIPS This dissertation examines the relational implications of the presence of mobile technology within the basic communication course. To guide the research and interpret the results Mottet, Frymier, and Beebe's (2006) rhetorical and relational goals theory is utilized. To investigate this phenomenon a survey design was employed, and participants were asked to respond to open-ended, closed-ended, and descriptive questions. Results of this study shed light upon how and when university students use technology, as well as the positive and detrimental results such usage has upon the development and quality of their relationships in the classroom, both with instructors and other students. Results from this dissertation revealed that students are frequent and heavy users of mobile technology (particularly "social" applications), but generally do not feel as if they are dependent upon their devices. In open-ended responses, students described ways in which mobile technology facilitated out of class relationships with peers and instructors, but hindered the development of relationship with peers in the classroom; these descriptions aligned with the fact that students who exhibited or experienced phubbing (snubbing someone with one's phone) described less classroom connectedness than their peers. While differing perceptions of classroom connectedness among students were correlated with differing experiences of phubbing, perceptions of rapport with instructors did not differ significantly among participants. Further, students who were more relationally oriented experienced higher perceptions of classroom connectedness than their more rhetorically oriented counterparts. Finally, students in this study generally prioritized rhetorical instructor attributes over relational ones. These results are further explored in the discussion portion of this dissertation.


Genetic mutation, 1691G> A common polymorphism in a gene that is inherited
coagulation Factor 5 is associated with increased risk of thrombosis. This mutation in different
populations can develop in the prognosis of thrombotic disorders, cardiovascular disorders; recurrent
miscarriage and other thrombotic factors are useful. Study using appropriate strategies such as review of
medical and epidemiological information will be helpful for future studies.In this study, the frequency of
the mutation 1691G> A in the gene for clotting factor 5 in a healthy population of East Azerbaijan
province was investigated.
Materials & Methods: This study was conducted on 200 normal individuals with no history of
cardiovascular disease by eliminating patients with a history, as an example of Northwest's population.
After obtaining blood and ARMS-PCR to determine the frequency of alleles with G1691A, mutation of
coagulation factor 5 was attempted.
Results: The frequency of G allele in 86% of females and males was 91%, while the A allele frequency in
females and 14 males was 9%. Allelic frequency of G>A mutation in factor V for GG, GA and AA
genotypes were 0.94, 0.06 and 0, respectively.
Conclusion: In our country, according to several ethnic members including a variety of native Persians,
Turks, Kurds, Lors, Baluchis, Arabs, Bakhtiari, Turkmen, and Armenians, the allele frequencies for
Factor 5 Leiden part of the region Ethnicity is a different disease.


The melting curve of NaCI is studied up to 200 kbar by means of the shell-model molecular dynamics method, usiug massive shell core interaction potentials. The model for the interatomic interaction is shown to produce reasonable results at a wide range of pressures in bulk transitions. The pressure dependence of the melting curve of NaCl was calculated and the result was modified on the assumption of overheating due to the small system size and small time scale simulation. The final result is in good agreement with the corrected experimental values, accounting for melting mechanisms such as surface heating or superheating. Therefore, it is believed that bulk transition simulation at constant pressure indeed provides a useful tool for studying the melting transition.


In this paper, we present the Gauss-Newton method as a unified approach to estimating noise parameters of the prevalent non-linear compensation models, such as vector Taylor series (VTS), data-driven parallel model combination (DPMC), and unscented transform (UT), for noise-robust speech recognition. While iterative estimation of noise means in a generalized EM framework has been widely known, we demonstrate that such approaches are variants of the Gauss-Newton method. Furthermore, we propose a novel noise variance estimation algorithm that is consistent with the Gauss-Newton principle. The formulation of the Gauss-Newton method reduces the noise estimation problem to determining the Jacobians of the corrupted speech parameters. For sampling-based compensations, we present two methods, sample Jacobian average (SJA) and cross-covariance (XCOV), to evaluate these Jacobians. The proposed noise estimation algorithm is evaluated for various compensation models on two tasks. The first is to fit a GMM model to artificially corrupted samples, and the second is to perform speech recognition on the Aurora 2 database. The significant performance improvements confirm the efficacy of the Gauss-Newton method to estimating the noise parameters of the non-linear compensation models.


We have discovered a severe problem with the current theory of species-area curves (SPARs). This theory claims that we should expect SPARs with z-values of about 0.26. However, that is wrong. The correct prediction turns out to be approximately 0.77. To make this prediction, we used a stochastic sampling scheme, and constructed species-area curves from a lognormal abundance distribution, exactly as previous theory meant to do. We arrived at our prediction using two independent methods: we performed computer simulations of the scheme and we derived its analytical equation. SPARs that result from the simulations are the same as those from the equation, validating the logic of our analysis. We explain what went awry with the previous theory. However, although logically accurate, the new theory has an empirical problem: real SPARs do not have z-values near 0.77. Rather, they tend to lie in the interval 0.1-0.2. To obtain these, we added an assumption to the lognormal abundance distribution. We assumed that range size and abundance are positively correlated. This new assumption is qualitatively similar to Hanski's (1982; Oikos 38: 210-221) pattern. Finally, we derive a simple relation connecting average point diversity, average range size and species diversity for a province.


The concept of a fitness landscape is a powerful metaphor that offers insight into various aspects of evolutionary processes and guidance for the study of evolution. Until recently, empirical evidence on the ruggedness of these landscapes was lacking, but since it became feasible to construct all possible genotypes containing combinations of a limited set of mutations, the number of studies has grown to a point where a classification of landscapes becomes possible. The aim of this review is to identify measures of epistasis that allow a meaningful comparison of fitness landscapes and then apply them to the empirical landscapes in order to discern factors that affect ruggedness. The various measures of epistasis that have been proposed in the literature appear to be equivalent. Our comparison shows that the ruggedness of the empirical landscape is affected by whether the included mutations are beneficial or deleterious and by whether intragenic or intergenic epistasis is involved. Finally, the empirical landscapes are compared to landscapes generated with the rough Mt Fuji model. Despite the simplicity of this model, it captures the features of the experimental landscapes remarkably well.


The authors present an algorithm for computation of input-output descriptions. Characteristic sets can be considered as generalization of state space descriptions. Input-output descriptions can also be regarded as characteristic sets under a different ranking. This forms the basis of the differential algebraic algorithm for computation of input-output relations. For polynomial state-space descriptions the calculations are easier than the general computations of characteristic sets.<<ETX>>


Objective Medical practitioners have different causal explanations for depression, and may have greater difficulty in explaining causality of depression in the palliative care setting. The objective of this study was to investigate and describe the causal explanations of depression in the palliative care setting, from the perspective of palliative medicine specialists. Methods Palliative medicine specialists practising in Australia were recruited and purposively sampled. Individual semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted to explore their explanatory models of depression, including a focus on causal explanations. Nine participants were interviewed to reach data saturation. Interview transcripts were analysed for themes. Results Six themes for causal explanations of depression were identified: (1) Depression is inexplicable; (2) Biological explanations—primarily neurotransmitter depletion; (3) Psychological explanations—including reaction to circumstances, inability to accept illness and dying, diminished self, and coping mechanisms; (4) Social explanations—including inadequate social support, and contribution from modern medicine and societal norms; (5) Interrelationships between causal factors—mainly multifactoriality; (6) Different explanation for de novo and pre-existing depressions. Participants also articulated a link between causal explanations and clinical interventions. Conclusions Palliative medicine specialists hold causal explanations of depression that align with the biopsychosocial and vulnerability-stress models. They use multiple individual explanations with diverse theoretical underpinnings, and largely view depression as multifactorial in causality. Given that causal explanations are linked to clinical interventions, these findings have implications for clinical practice and medical education.


The cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) multigene family in planta encodes proteins catalyzing the reductions of various phenylpropenyl aldehyde derivatives in a substrate versatile manner, and whose metabolic products are the precursors of structural lignins, health-related lignans, and various other metabolites. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the two isoforms, AtCAD5 and AtCAD4, are the catalytically most active being viewed as mainly involved in the formation of guaiacyl/syringyl lignins. In this study, we determined the crystal structures of AtCAD5 in the apo-form and as a binary complex with NADP+, respectively, and modeled that of AtCAD4. Both AtCAD5 and AtCAD4 are dimers with two zinc ions per subunit and belong to the Zn-dependent medium chain dehydrogenase/reductase (MDR) superfamily, on the basis of their overall 2-domain structures and distribution of secondary structural elements. The catalytic Zn2+ ions in both enzymes are tetrahedrally coordinated, but differ from those in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase since the carboxyl side-chain of Glu70 is ligated to Zn2+ instead of water. Using AtCAD5, site-directed mutagenesis of Glu70 to alanine resulted in loss of catalytic activity, thereby indicating that perturbation of the Zn2+ coordination was sufficient to abolish catalytic activity. The substrate-binding pockets of both AtCAD5 and AtCAD4 were also examined, and found to be significantly different and smaller compared to that of a putative aspen sinapyl alcohol dehydrogenase (SAD) and a putative yeast CAD. While the physiological roles of the aspen SAD and the yeast CAD are uncertain, they nevertheless have a high similarity in the overall 3D structures to AtCAD5 and 4. With the bona fide CAD's from various species, nine out of the twelve residues which constitute the proposed substrate-binding pocket were, however, conserved. This is provisionally considered as indicative of a characteristic fingerprint for the CAD family.


Static and dynamic behaviour of thin surfactant films in aqueous solution of hexadecyltrimethylammonium salicylate (C16TASal) were investigated using the tribological surface force apparatus. Normal force measurements show that 0.15 mM C16TASal builds up an innermost film of approximately 8–11 A ̊ thickness at each mica surface, indicating that the surfactant adsorbs in a flat conformation. Furthermore, the height of the force barrier at approximately 60A ̊ is low (ca 2 mN/m) indicating that the second adsorbed layer is easily pushed out. Addition of salicylate salt to 0.15 mM C16TASal give rise to a more close packed structure, with a total thickness of 62–65 A ̊ , indicative of a micellar or bilayer arrangement at the surfaces. Furthermore, the frequency dependence of the shear modulus was investigated both at close separation at the innermost force barrier and at larger separations (up to 300–400 A ̊ ). The visco-elastic measurements show that the elasticity modulus, G , dominates over the loss modulus, G , for all studied cases, indicative of a more solid-like than liquid-like film. Finally, it is shown that shear at high contact pressures induces new aggregate structures at the surface.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


PATHOLOGICAL AND PROGNOSTIC ROLE OF MDIG IN PANCREATIC CACER By SRINIVAS ASHOK KUMAR JULY 2017 Advisor: Dr. Fei Chen Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences Degree: Master of Science Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignant disease having very limited therapeutic options that ultimately results in its poor prognosis. It is still elusive on the etiology and tumorigenic mechanisms of pancreatic cancer. In the present report, we provide evidence showing involvement of the mineral dust-induced gene (mdig) in the pathogenesis and prognosis of the pancreatic cancer. Using immunohistochemistry approach on human pancreatic cancer tissue microarray, we found differential expression of mdig in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and normal pancreas. Based on the staining intensities of mdig in these tissue samples, we found that 12% of the cancer tissues were strongly positive for mdig, 39% and 31% were moderately and weakly positive respectively. Several alternatively spliced mdig mRNAs were detected in the selected pancreatic cancer cell line. Through R2 platform for the patient survival analysis (http://r2.amc.nl), we found that enrichment of some specific exon of mdig predicates different survival rate of the pancreatic cancer patients. In summary, our findings may help in assessing the role of mdig in the pathogenesis of the pancreatic cancer and the prognosis of the pancreatic cancer patients.


Flexible optical disks (FOD) have a feasibility of their high data-transfer rate and large capacity for archival storage. We have been developing the FOD in order to replace as the media with a current professional video cassette recorder (VCR) of HD-D5 format which have a data-transfer rate of more than 250 Mb/s. Here, we developed the FOD with the high recording sensitivity for high-speed recording, and succeeded to record the 252 Mb/s data with the high-speed tracking control method and optimized write strategy. We also employed the partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) read channel for playback data. We could get and achieve the low byte-error rate (BER) below 2 times 10-4 at the recording speed of 252 Mb/s, enough to record the video signals of HD-D5 VTR for professional broadcast use.


We empirically investigate learning from partial feedback in neural machine translation (NMT), when partial feedback is collected by asking users to highlight a correct chunk of a translation. We propose a simple and effective way of utilizing such feedback in NMT training. We demonstrate how the common machine translation problem of domain mismatch between training and deployment can be reduced solely based on chunk-level user feedback. We conduct a series of simulation experiments to test the effectiveness of the proposed method. Our results show that chunk-level feedback outperforms sentence based feedback by up to 2.61% BLEU absolute.


Abstract:This article analyzes how the Argentinean art magazine Ver y Estimar received the art exhibitions spanning from 1948 to 1955, in Buenos Aires, by the Argentinean-Galician artist Luis Seoane. During those years, the magazine, led by art critic Jorge Romero Brest, advocated for the imposition of geometric abstraction as the hegemonic trend to be followed in order for Argentinean art to engage with the international development of modernity. This essay shows the fictional quality of those accounts meant to institute hegemonic models for the consumption of cultural productions. These are processes leading to the configuration of a canon, composed by choices and omissions. And the main purpose of this canon is to legitimize a given discourse—rather than creating knowledge about an art object in relation to the conditions of its production. This article shows how, in analyzing Seoane's paintings, the first omission is related to his belief in an idea of a popular art as one meant to be effective beyond museums' walls. Critics of the time also disregarded Seoane's conception of his own work as a process based on an idealization of art's potential for building a transatlantic dialogue with both Galician history and culture. At the same time, Seoane's shapes are a result of his effort to establish a dialogue on art techniques, interacting with the different voices present in the metropolitan art scene of postwar Buenos Aires.


As the importance of mathematics in the global market increased, various governments have focused on training creative and competent human resources. A country that has creative and innovative workforce in the industry and technology travels the road of development and evolution faster which leads to better education and welfare, appropriate sanitation, and generally more comfortable life. From the sciences which are the bases of technology and development is mathematics, and the most appropriate way to teach mathematics is using its application and  mathematical modelling. In the present article we introduce mathematical modelling and its applications, review similarities and differences with problem solving, and consider how to  introduce it in elementary levels (since we believe that mathematical modelling and applications should be taught in early years of school). We also state some advantages and challenges of introducing mathematical modelling to elementary school students (and generally to school students). The main aim of the present article is to encourage developing countries and the Third World to introduce mathematical modelling into their pedagogical systems, especially elementary schools. We believe that this could lead these nations to develop faster.


Background and Objectives No study has compared cervical interlaminar epidural steroid injection (CIESI) with epidural catheter advancement to the side and level of pathology versus standard C7-T1 CIESI. This study investigated whether cervical radicular pain is more effectively treated by CIESI with a targeted epidural catheter versus a standard C7-T1 approach. Methods Prospective, randomized, single-blinded trial. Primary outcome: Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain at 1 month. Secondary outcomes: Oswestry Neck Disability Index (ONDI), Pain Disability Index (PDI), McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC), daily morphine equivalents (DME), and Medication Quantification Scale (MQS) III scores. Results Seventy-six participants with a median age of 48 years (IQR, 40–56 years), 59% female, with C4 (n = 2), C5 (n = 27), or C6 (n = 47) radicular pain were enrolled. At 1 month in the catheter and no catheter groups, respectively: 26 (72%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 57%–87%) and 23 (60%; 95% CI, 45%–75%) participants reported 50% or greater NRS reduction; 24 (67%; 95% CI, 52%–84%) and 23 (58%; 95% CI, 42%–73%) participants reported 30% or greater ONDI reduction. There were no group differences in median NRS, ONDI, PDI, MPQ, PGIC, DME, or MQSIII scores (P > 0.05). Intergroup differences were not observed at any follow-up interval. Conclusions This trial showed no significant difference in clinical outcomes with CIESI using a targeted epidural catheter compared to a standard C7-T1 approach for the treatment of unilateral cervical radicular pain at the C5 or C6 level. Both techniques were associated with clinically meaningful improvement across outcome domains of pain, function, disability, and medication use. These effects persisted to 6-month follow-up. The study was registered at Clinical Trials.gov (NCT02095197).


ABSTRACT Experiences of ageism are associated with poorer health outcomes. Sexual activity and interest are areas in life where the impact of ageism may also be evident as popular culture often depicts the older body as asexual, undesirable or sexually impotent. We explore the possible links between experiences of ageism and sexual activity/interest in later life using data from a study of Australians aged 60+. We explored characteristics of those who were more likely to have experienced ageism (measured using the Ageism Survey) and the relationships between experiences of ageism and measures of sexual interest/activity in later life (N = 1,817). Experiences of ageism were greater among those without a partner, unemployed participants, those with lower incomes and poorer self-rated health. Adjusting for these differences, experiences of ageism were more likely to be reported by those who had not had sex in the past two years and were not sure about their hopes/plans for sex in the future. Those who reported their sexual interest had increased or decreased since 60 also reported greater levels of ageism experience, as did those who wanted to have sex more frequently in the future. Ageism appears to impact sexual activity and interest in different ways. It is critical that social policy aims to reverse attitudes that reinforce the view of the ageist asexual and unattractive older body or person.


In an attempt to develop a new beverage from pistachio nuts, the effect of different methods of making paste, which involved grinding soaked kernels (method 1) and milling roasted kernels (method 2), as well as the blending time (20 or 30 min) and pH (6.5, 7.5 or 8.5) of the slurry on the pistachio milk compositions (protein, fat, total dry matter and total soluble solid), was evaluated. The taste and flavor of the pistachio milk were improved by the addition of sugar, vanillin and salt. The overall acceptability of the products was evaluated by 25 untrained panelists using hedonic test. The best processing conditions were milling the roasted kernels and blending the pistachio paste with water at pH 8.5 for 30 min. The most preferred flavor of pistachio milk is made by the addition of 5.0% sugar, 0.02% vanilla and 0.0% salt. This study describes a process for preparing pistachio milk from small-sized and unsplit pistachio nuts that cannot be used for direct human consumption. This product can be served as a substitute for animal milk.


The paper presents the research results concerning the rolling resistance of a wheel on agricultural surfaces. Research on traction was carried out in field conditions with the use of a mobile stand; a wheel with 9.5-24 tyre was investigated; values of the rolling resistance and the pulling force were analysed with reference to the wheel slip. A type of surface (soil, sod), its compaction and the vertical load of a wheel were assumed as factors. Based on the obtained results, it was proved that the rolling resistance was by approx. 30% higher on soil than on sod. Differences resulting from the variety of surfaces were higher than the differences caused by various values of their compaction (did not exceed 25%). No significant impact of compaction changes on the rolling resistance and pulling force values were proved but a considerable increase of the rolling resistance value along with the decrease of its compaction were determined. Moreover, it was proved that the increase of the vertical load of a wheel resulted in the increase of the rolling resistance and the pulling force on both grounds but these changes were higher on soil than on sod.


The ability of operators and managers to benchmark farm performance with those in their region is a great starting point for cost management. This study expands on the traditional one-tier stratification of farm-level data and uses a two-tier approach using farm income and expense allocation as categories of performance. Farm managers, consultants, and landowners can utilize this framework to provide more insights and management opportunities for their self or their clientele. More specifically, they can identify expenditure characteristics and the capital allocation of the top managers for benchmarking against their own operations.


This study analyzes the potential synergies and conflicts of interest between farmers and insurers in the selection of an optimal crop insurance contract. Special attention is given to how climate information influences this decision-making process. To do so, we consider a representative 40 hectares, rainfed, cotton-peanut farm located in Jackson County in Florida. Our results show that year-to-year ENSO-based climate variability affects farmers' income and insurers' gains according to crop insurance contracts. Additionally, introduction of ENSO-based climate forecasts presents a significant impact on the selection of a particular contract. We conclude that insurers and farmers can bridge their divergent interests by improving their understanding of the effect of climate conditions on the development of sustainable business plans.


The detection of near-infrared (NIR) excess at the position of a star can indicate either a substellar companion or a disk around the respective star. In this work we probed whether a 2.5σ H -band flux enhancement at the position of the isolated neutron star RX J0806.4–4123 can be confirmed at another NIR wavelength. We observed RXJ0806.4–4123 in the J -band with Gemini South equipped with FLAMINGOS-2. There was no significant detection of a J -band source at the neutron star position. However, similarly to the H -band we found a very faint (1.4σ) flux enhancement with a nominal magnitude of J = 24.8 ± 0.5. The overall NIR-detection significance is 3.1σ. If real, this emission is too bright to come from the neutron star alone. Deeper near-infrared observations are necessary to confirm or refute the potential NIR excess. The confirmation of such NIR excess could imply that there is a substellar companion or a disk around RXJ0806.4–4123. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


B cell-specific activator protein (BSAP)/Pax-5 is a paired domain DNA-binding protein expressed in the developing nervous system, testis, and in all B lineage cells, except terminally differentiated plasma cells. BSAP regulates transcription of several genes expressed in B cells and also the activity of the 3 * IgH enhancer. As it has binding sites within or 5 * to the switch regions of nearly all Ig heavy chain C region genes and also is known to increase transcription of the germline e RNA, BSAP has been hypothesized to be involved in regulation of Ab class switch recombination. To directly examine the effects of BSAP on isotype switching, we use a tetracycline-regulated expression system to overexpress BSAP in the surface IgM 1 I.29 m B cell line, a mouse cell line that can be induced to undergo class switch recombination. We find that overexpression of BSAP inhibits switching to IgA in I.29 m cells stimulated with LPS 1 TGF- b 1 1 nicotinamide, but enhances switching to IgE in cells stimulated with LPS 1 IL-4 1 nicotinamide. Parallel to its effects on switching, overexpression of BSAP inhibits germline a RNA expression and the transcriptional activity of the germline a promoter, while enhancing activity of the germline e promoter. Proliferation of I.29 m cells is not affected in this system. The possible mechanisms and significance of the effect of BSAP on isotype switching are discussed. The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 161: 2906–2918.


A carbon-isotope study of the various carbon phases during an annual productivity cycle in eutrophic Lake Greifen, Switzerland, indicates that values for the photosynthetic isotopic fractionation (ϵp) between dissolved CO2 and particulate organic carbon (POC) and δ13CPOC increase in response to decreasing concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide ([CO2(aq)]) due to increased carbon demand during photosynthesis. Seasonal changes in the dominant biological assemblage may also be related to [CO2(aq)] and may influence the fractionation as a consequence of changes in the dominant photosynthetic mechanism (CO2 vs. HCO3- Utilization). A logarithmic relation between ϵp and [CO2(aq)] may be useful for evaluating partial pressures of paleoatmospheric CO2.


This paper presents a literature review of the application of cement, lime and polymer emulsion in road construction. The focus is mainly on the soil candidates, binding mechanism, the reported strengths and weaknesses for each chemical stabiliser used in soil stabilisation. While it is generally agreed that cement is best suited for sand-sized to gravel-sized soil mixtures (well-graded), lime is mainly used for wet heavy-clay soil mixtures. Polymer emulsion is more suitable for silt-sized to fine gravel-sized soil mixtures (well-graded). Organic soils are the most difficult soil type to stabilise, and for any kind of chemical stabiliser used, the strength gain is relatively minimal. Cement undergoes hydration reaction which is rapid, and results in high compressive strength, while lime undergoes a slower pozzolanic reaction is slower, and provide lower compressive strength. Polymer emulsion depends on the rate of evaporation for the film formation to complete, and results in ductile polymer-soil matrix. Like lime, polymer does not provide significant compressive strength but does provide great flexural strength that prevents crack propagations. The outcomes from this paper provide an insight into recent and upcoming research trend using chemical soil stabilisers on local soil mixtures to improve the engineering properties of pavement layers made of these soil mixtures.


The quality of learning is linked with authentic meaningful learning based on experience and on subordination of physical, psychical and spiritual powers. Creating educational interaction, a teacher presupposes a transition from educational technology to a learner as a subject and empowers his or her intellectual, emotional and practical activity.Pedagogical interaction is founded on pedagogical power, pedagogical love, pedagogical humour, tact and optimism, which are referred to as teacher's personal aids and serve as mediators between the familiar reality and a learner.Pedagogical power is centred around the teacher's internal and spiritual power, which evokes a learner to mobilise own powers for attainment of (self-)education goals. In daily practice pedagogical power unfolds through linking of the taught subject content and personal relations with the supreme values and spiritualisation.Pedagogical love is grounded on the act of self-donation as the supreme expression of authentic relations. However, it is necessary to avoid psychologism, which eliminates the spiritual essence of love that educates rather than rules.Pedagogical humour and tact is a perfect means of tension prevention contributing to strengthening of learners' self-control mechanisms.Pedagogical optimism reaches origins of existence, which enables to believe in each individual's capability of being educated, as the key methodological approach, considering the level of learners' knowledge and abilities, learning pace, methods and orientation.Efficient use of pedagogical means is founded on pedagogical interaction. Therefore, a mature personality of a teacher becomes a measure, which presupposes success and meaning of learning.


Gear wear is a common fault that occurs in a gear transmission system that degrades the operating efficiency and may cause other catastrophic failures such as tooth breakage and fatigue. The progressive wear of a helical gear and its influences on vibration responses are rarely investigated due to the combined effects of the complicated lubrication state and the time-varying characteristic. To fill this gap, a numerical study was put forward to investigate the interactions between gear wear and dynamic response. In this study, an Archard's wear model with elastohydradynamic lubrication (EHL) effect is adopted to simulate the helical gear wear, which is incorporated with an eight-degree of freedom dynamic model for understanding the gear dynamic at different wear degrees. The wear model shows that the gear wear mainly happens at the gear root due to the relative high slide-to-roll ratio. The dynamic modelling results demonstrate that the wear causes a reduction in time-varying gear mesh stiffness further leads to more vibration. Besides, the simulated vibration responses and experimental validation show that the wear cause increases in the amplitudes of the gear mesh frequency and its harmonics, which can reflect the evolution of progressive gear wear and can be used as monitoring features of gear wear.