In the present work, a technique for establishing multiple black lipid membranes (BLMs) in arrays of micro structured ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) films, and supported by a micro porous material was developed. Rectangular 8 × 8 arrays with apertures having diameters of 301 ± 5 µm were fabricated in ETFE Teflon film by laser ablation using a carbon dioxide laser. Multiple lipid membranes could be formed across the micro structured 8 × 8 array ETFE partitions. Success rates for the establishment of cellulose-supported BLMs across the multiple aperture arrays were above 95%. However, the time course of the membrane thinning process was found to vary considerably between multiple aperture bilayer experiments. An airbrush partition pretreatment technique was developed to increase the reproducibility of the multiple lipid bilayers formation during the time course from the establishment of the lipid membranes to the formation of bilayers. The results showed that multiple lipid bilayers could be reproducible formed across the airbrush-pretreated 8 × 8 rectangular arrays. The ionophoric peptide valinomycin was incorporated into established membrane arrays, resulting in ionic currents that could be effectively blocked by tetraethylammonium. This shows that functional bimolecular lipid membranes were established, and furthermore outlines that the established lipid membrane arrays could host functional membrane-spanning molecules.


The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of free trade between Canada and the U.S. has intensified over the past months. Reluctance towards such an option in trading policy has increased and views differ more and more on the subject, particularly concerning its sector-based and regional consequences. Following a survey of the findings of earlier economic studies, the consequences of free trade between Canada and the U.S. are assessed as regards job distribution in the manufacturing industry. Estimates are derived from studies made by Harris and Cox which allow comparison to be made between the consequences of bilateral and multilateral free trade s. Contrary to the views expressed by the Royal Inquiry Commission, the results lead to the conclusion that bilateral free trade will bring about a marked relocation of the labour force. It turns out that job opportunity in areas with high level of employment would grow, as would the specialization of Quebec in these areas, as compared to Ontario.


In this article, an attempt is made to enrich the conventional archaeological picture of the much-discussed Early Iron Age (EIA) weapon burials at Athens and Lefkandi, largely reverting to a comparative approach. The presence in some of these burials of working tools that can be connected with carpentry, raises the question of the relationship of the Greek evidence with that of the European koine of the period, where the hybridization of the system of symbols referring to war and to carpentry spread in the cemeteries according to differentiated geographic models, and culminated in the course of the 8th century BC, in parallel with the emerging of a new social order determined by the urban phenomenon. On the other hand, the occurrences of toilet implements, and personal adornments of various kinds point to the weapon bearers beautifying themselves, following an earlier Bronze Age tradition. In the mortuary contexts examined here, there is some evidence for sub-adult individuals receiving the honour of the weapon ritual: an uncommon legged vessel from Lefkandi as well as a unique bronze pin ending with a booted foot from Athens are discussed, to uncover the significance of this symbolism in connection with the male sphere and with adolescence. The analysis of the evidence, and the valorisation of objects rather neglected until now, led to the tracing of multiple male identities, and shows the complexity of the social background behind what was once called 'warrior graves'.


Genes and environments do not entirely explain variation in biological traits. Discrete and complex traits manifest distinctly in isogenic organisms in homogenous environments. One cause of variation in traits is variation in the expression of genes. We do not understand how variation in gene expression arises among isogenic individuals, nor do we fully understand the consequences. Here, for the first time in a metazoan, we quantified sources of cell-to-cell variation in gene expression to understand how it arises in the cells of Caenorhabditis elegans. We adapted an experimental approach and analytical framework we used previously in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We measured cell-to-cell variation in gene expression attributable to: 1) stochastic molecular events in transcription and translation (a.k.a. intrinsic noise) and/or allele access, 2) pathway-specific signaling noise, and 3) general differences in protein dosage resulting from global differences in protein production or turnover. Surprisingly, and in contrast with single celled organisms, in C. elegans cells, general differences in protein dosage constitute the major source of variation. Cells with high protein dosage came from animals with high protein dosage. These differences in protein dosage were consequential. Animals that made more reporter proteins had discrete traits consistent with higher dosage of unrelated neomycin resistance and Ras gain-of-function proteins, consistent with global variation in protein dosage. Our results suggest that the natural axis of protein dosage underlies nongenetic, nonenvironmental differences in complex and discrete traits, including penetrance and expressivity of hypomorphic and hypermorphic alleles. They also raise the possibility that differences in penetrance caused by differences in protein dosage might be responsible for some of the missing heritability in genome wide association studies.


The oil and gas industry's increased focus on efficiency in recent times, encourages development of new technologies. Technologies such as; hydrate based desalination, hydrate based gas capture, hydrate based gas transport and hydrate based gas storage, are proposed to have the potential to reduce costs and improve safety, compared to conventional alternatives. Hydrate phase equilibria models for hydrate promoters (additives that promote hydrate formation) are believed to be a useful tool for hydrate based technologies. There are few available hydrate promoter models known to us. Development of hydrate inhibitor models have had great success for their use, and it is believed that the development of hydrate promoter models may have the same. A model for phase equilibria of CO2 hydrates in aqueous solutions of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) has been developed. TBAB is a hydrate promoter. Experimental CO2/ TBAB hydrate phase equilibria data and CSMGem simulation data for pure CO2, were the basis for modelling. The starting point was the hypothesis that CO2/ TBAB phase equilibria is a horizontal shift of CO2 phase equilibria. This resulted in the development of Model 1. Model 1 is implicit and inaccurate, meaning that a horizontal shift is not a valid approximation. Further modelling resulted in an explicit model, Model 2, which modelled a more complex shift by expressing the promotion temperature (¢T) as a function of temperature and TBAB concentration. The accuracy of Model 2 was satisfactory. With the development of Model 2 the aim of this master thesis had been reached. The developed models and experimental data show that maximum promotion effect occurs at 25 weight% TBAB, and not at the concentration corresponding to maximum cavity occupation (o40 weight% TBAB). Model 2, an explicit model for CO2/ TBAB hydrate phase equilibria, may be seen as a small step towards commercialization of hydrate based technologies. Development of phase equilibria models for other hydrate promoters, and later software, is strongly encouraged.


The paper examines the nature of indigenous identity among Bedouin Arabs in Negev/Naqab, Israel, against a background of conceptual, legal and political controversy. It traces theoretically and comparatively the rise of indigeneity as a relational concept, deriving from colonial and postcolonial settings. The concept is shown to be part of the globalization of human rights struggle, with a potential of the indigeneity discourse to empower colonized and exploited minorities, as well as provide a platform for transitional justice. The heart of the paper provides a rebuttal of several arguments made by a group of scholars associated with the Israeli state, named here "the deniers", who have worked to reject Bedouin (and general Palestinian) claims for indigenous status, thereby denying their entitlement to a range of human and communal rights. The paper offers a systematic examination of historical and geographic evidence and reveals that "the deniers" have raised several relevant questions and dilemmas. However, these do not undermine the typical indigenous characteristics of the Naqab Bedouin Arabs. Research shows clearly that Bedouins belong within the group of indigenous societies according to accepted international definitions and norms. This understanding obliges the Israeli state to protect Bedouin Arabs from further removals, dispossession and marginalization, as well as correct, where possible, the profound damage caused by their past dispossession, eviction and marginalization.


In this paper, a pattern-based approach to process identification is presented. The process identification problem is formulated using a nonlinear regression model. An algorithm is proposed based on the modified Gauss-Newton search for a least squares estimate, and the condition for the identification is derived. The algorithm is extended via the instrumental variable method to cater for possible correlation of residual error with a Jacobian function. Simulation results are presented to support the theoretical development for a typical range of industrial processes. The proposed method is also compared favorably with methods existing in the literature.


As music unfolds in time, structure is recognised and understood by listeners, regardless of their level of musical expertise. A number of studies have found spectral and tonal changes to quite successfully model boundaries between structural sections. However, the effects of musical expertise and experimental task on computational modelling of structure are not yet well understood. These issues need to be addressed to better understand how listeners perceive the structure of music and to improve automatic segmentation algorithms. In this study, computational prediction of segmentation by listeners was investigated for six musical stimuli via a real-time task and an annotation (non real-time) task. The proposed approach involved computation of novelty curve interaction features and a prediction model of perceptual segmentation boundary density. We found that, compared to non-musicians', musicians' segmentation yielded lower prediction rates, and involved more features for prediction, particularly more interaction features; also non-musicians required a larger time shift for optimal segmentation modelling. Prediction of the annotation task exhibited higher rates, and involved more musical features than for the real-time task; in addition, the real-time task required time shifting of the segmentation data for its optimal modelling. We also found that annotation task models that were weighted according to boundary strength ratings exhibited improvements in segmentation prediction rates and involved more interaction features. In sum, musical training and experimental task seem to have an impact on prediction rates and on musical features involved in novelty-based segmentation models. Musical training is associated with higher presence of schematic knowledge, attention to more dimensions of musical change and more levels of the structural hierarchy, and higher speed of musical structure processing. Real-time segmentation is linked with higher response delays, less levels of structural hierarchy attended and higher data noisiness than annotation segmentation. In addition, boundary strength weighting of density was associated with more emphasis given to stark musical changes and to clearer representation of a hierarchy involving high-dimensional musical changes.


ABSTRACT Our understanding of social experiences is central to our social understanding more generally. But this sphere of epistemic practice can be structurally prejudiced by unequal relations of power, so that some groups suffer a distinctive kind of epistemic injustice—hermeneutical injustice. I aim to achieve a clear conception of this epistemicethical phenomenon, so that we have a workable definition and a proper understanding of the wrong that it inflicts.


Background The South African department of health recently introduced subdermal Implanon contraceptive implant with the aim to reduce teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality. First used in all public healthcare facilities across the country since early 2014, this method of contraception has been described as highly effective. However, some women have reported unbearable side effects, forcing them to remove the contraceptive implant early before its expiry date. Negligible emphasis has been placed on staff training and development to equip the nurses with new protocol and policies on Implanon. Objectives The objective of this study was to explore experiences of women using Implanon as method of contraception at a selected primary healthcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Methods A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study design was used. A purposive sampling technique was used and a sample of seven women aged between 15 and 50 years was selected for this study. Semi-structured interviews were used in the data collection process. The Tesch's method for data coding and data analysis was utilised. Necessary ethical measures were taken to ensure that the study is trustworthy. The study was conducted at Community Health Centre, KwaZulu-Natal between June 2017 and December 2018. Results The findings showed that some participants were still willing to continue using this method of contraception regardless of the unwanted side effects. Major side effects reported were heavy menstrual bleeding, pain and discomfort, weight loss, insomnia and decreased sexual interest, which resulted in most participants stopping the use of Implanon. Conclusion Most of the participants' experience unwanted side effects because of poor screening, counselling and support. There is a clear demand to develop a screening tool and facilitate training of healthcare workers when initiating the use of Implanon.


The study of high-entropy materials has attracted enormous interest since they could show new functional properties that are not observed in their related parent phases. Here, we report single crystal growth, structure, thermal transport, and magnetic property studies on a novel high-entropy oxide with the spinel structure (MgMnFeCoNi)Al2O4. We have successfully grown high-quality single crystals of this high-entropy oxide using the optical floating zone growth technique for the first time. The sample was confirmed to be a phase pure high-entropy oxide using x-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Through magnetization measurements, we found (MgMnFeCoNi)Al2O4 exhibits a cluster spin glass state, though the parent phases show either antiferromagnetic ordering or spin glass states. Furthermore, we also found that (MgMnFeCoNi)Al2O4 has much greater thermal expansion than its CoAl2O4 parent compound using high resolution neutron Larmor diffraction. We further investigated the structure of this high-entropy material via Raman spectroscopy and extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) measurements. From Raman spectroscopy measurements, we observed (MgMnFeCoNi)Al2O4 to display a combination of the active Raman modes in its parent compounds with the modes shifted and significantly broadened. This result, together with the varying bond lengths probed by EXAFS, reveals severe local lattice distortions in this high-entropy phase. Additionally, we found a substantial decrease in thermal conductivity and suppression of the low temperature thermal conductivity peak in (MgMnFeCoNi)Al2O4, consistent with the increased lattice defects and strain. These findings advance the understanding of the dependence of thermal expansion and transport on the lattice distortions in high-entropy materials.


In monolithic photonic integrated circuits (PICs), an optimized active/passive integration is needed to provide efficient coupling and low amount of interface reflections between amplifiers and passive components. A 1300 nm semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) on InP substrate and optimized for butt-joint reflections is investigated. Material performance were assessed from measurements of broad area lasers. Room temperature operation reveals 1.2 W single facet output power with threshold current around 100 A/cm2 per well. Characteristic temperatures of T0 = 75 K and T1 = 294 K were obtained. A compact model description of the SOA, suitable for the design of PICs and rate equation analysis, was applied to parametrize the unsaturated gain measurements. Current injection efficiency of 0.65, transparency carrier density of 0.57 1018 cm−3, and free carrier absorption losses up to 15 cm−1 were extracted from fitting the data. The model is verified with measurements of optical gain saturation. A modal gain of 15 dB for a 600 μm long narrow ridge SOA leads to output saturation power higher than 30 mW at 7 kA/cm2. This building block contributes to the development of an InP monolithic integration technology in the 1300 nm range, which can enable the use of photonic integrated circuits in many kind of applications.


A description is given of the periodic structure ray method (PSRM), an efficient variant of the geometric theory of diffraction (GTD) for the determination of coupling (scattering) coefficients in large arrays on concave surfaces with slowly varying curvature and/or periodicity. The method is particularly suitable for applications involving low-side-lobe lens arrays and feed-through radomes. In such arrays the coefficients of coupling between array elements can be evaluated as a superposition of a small number of contributions from the periodic structure. A typical contribution consists of a number of constituents, each expressing a specific physical process occurring during the ray's travel from the transmitting to the receiving element. The periodic structure ray formalism applies equally well to two- and three-dimensional array geometries and to a broad class of radiating elements. The final results are presented in an application-oriented form. >


Arrhythmias and cardiac arrest have been reported during amphotericin B administration but no effective technique has been described to prevent them. I saw two patients with kala-azar resistant to sodium stibogluconate who developed cardiac arrest after amphotericin infusion (in spite of tolerating a test dose). Both had low levels of serum sodium, potassium and calcium. After these were corrected the amphotericin B was restarted and the course of treatment completed successfully. I suggest that prior to giving amphotericin B to patients with resistant kala-azar their electrolyte imbalance should be corrected.


The O VI ion observed in quasar absorption-line spectra is the most accessible tracer of the cosmic metal distribution in the low-redshift (z < 0.5) intergalactic medium (IGM). We explore the nature and origin of O VI absorbers using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations including galactic outflows with a range of strengths. We consider the effects of ionization background variations, non-equilibrium ionization and cooling, uniform metallicity and small-scale (sub-resolution) turbulence. Our main results are as follows. (1) IGM O VI is predominantly photoionized with T ≈ 10 4.2±0.2 K. A key reason for this is that O VI absorbers preferentially trace overenriched (by ∼ x 5) regions of the IGM at a given density, which enhances metal-line cooling such that absorbers can cool to photo-ionized temperatures within a Hubble time. As such, O VI is not a good tracer of the warm-hot intergalactic medium. (2) The predicted O VI properties fit observables if and only if sub-resolution turbulence is added, regardless of any other model variations. The required turbulence increases with O VI absorber strength. Stronger absorbers arise from more recent outflows, so qualitatively this can be understood if IGM turbulence dissipates on the order of a Hubble time. The amount of turbulence is consistent with other examples of turbulence observed in the IGM and galactic haloes. (3) Metals traced by O VI and H 1 do not trace exactly the same baryons, but reside in the same large-scale structure. Our simulations reproduce observed alignment statistics between O VI and H I, yet aligned absorbers typically have O VI arising from cooler gas, and for stronger absorbers lower densities, than H I. Owing to peculiar velocities dominating the line structure, coincident absorption often arises from spatially distinct gas. (4) Photo-ionized O VI traces gas in a variety of environments, and is not directly associated with the nearest galaxy, though is typically nearest to ∼0.1 L * galaxies. Weaker O VI components trace some of the oldest cosmic metals. (5) Very strong absorbers (EW ≤100 mA) are more likely to be collisionally ionized, tracing more recent enrichment (≥2 Gyr) within or near galactic haloes.


Data sampling acts as a pivotal role in training deep learning models. However, an effective sampling schedule is difficult to learn due to the inherently high dimension of parameters in learning the sampling schedule. In this paper, we propose an AutoSampling method to automatically learn sampling schedules for model training, which consists of the multi-exploitation step aiming for optimal local sampling schedules and the exploration step for the ideal sampling distribution. More specifically, we achieve sampling schedule search with shortened exploitation cycle to provide enough supervision. In addition, we periodically estimate the sampling distribution from the learned sampling schedules and perturb it to search in the distribution space. The combination of two searches allows us to learn a robust sampling schedule. We apply our AutoSampling method to a variety of image classification tasks illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed method.


: Dynamic correction of orthopedic deformities of the foot and ankle may be performed by epiphyseal growth retardation, or arrest. These procedures lend themselves to the management of juvenile hallux abducto valgus with metatarsus primus adductus, and ankle valgus in particular. Historical review, indications, timing, and technique are addressed in this manuscript.


This research was based on fenomenon of decreasing lecturer 's organizational commitment is a crucial matter for the management of human resources. Leadeaship style will affect the level of employee trust and commitment of the organization and induce certain outcome in work with theory and empiric reviewed from outcome prior studies. This research was aimed analyze the effect of leadership style and organizational culture on organizational trust and organizational commitment. This studies use survey approach with cross sectional design on 13 private university stratum one in Malang City. The respondents are 127 lecturer. To test of relationship in the resulting model is analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) which is facilitated by Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) program. The results indicated that leadership style and organizational culture has a significant and positive effect on organizational trust, but has not significant effect on organizational commitment. Organizational trust has a significant and positive effect on organizational commitment. and leadership style has positive and significant effect on organizational commitment with organizational trust mediation.

Keywords: Organizational culture, contingency leadership style, organizational trust, organizational commitment.


Community detection is a key task to further understand the function and the structure of complex networks. Therefore, a strategy used to assess this task must be able to avoid biased and incorrect results that might invalidate further analyses or applications that rely on such communities. Two widely used strategies to assess this task are generally known as structural and functional. The structural strategy basically consists in detecting and assessing such communities by using multiple methods and structural metrics. On the other hand, the functional strategy might be used when ground truth data are available to assess the detected communities. However, the evaluation of communities based on such strategies is usually done in experimental configurations that are largely susceptible to biases, a situation that is inherent to algorithms, metrics and network data used in this task. Furthermore, such strategies are not systematically combined in a way that allows for the identification and mitigation of bias in the algorithms, metrics or network data to converge into more consistent results. In this context, the main contribution of this article is an approach that supports a robust quality evaluation when detecting communities in real-world networks. In our approach, we measure the quality of a community by applying the structural and functional strategies, and the combination of both, to obtain different pieces of evidence. Then, we consider the divergences and the consensus among the pieces of evidence to identify and overcome possible sources of bias in community detection algorithms, evaluation metrics, and network data. Experiments conducted with several real and synthetic networks provided results that show the effectiveness of our approach to obtain more consistent conclusions about the quality of the detected communities.


In order to provide baseline information on the fish in groundwater‐fed ecosystems in two Pilbara rivers, the fish fauna of Bilanoo Pool and Mungajee Pool on the Fortescue River, and Li Lin Pool and Jelliabidina Pool on the Yule River were sampled for fish using a variety of methods that included: gill netting, seine netting and, angling and visual surveys. The majority of the fish (i.e. 95.64%) were captured with seine nets with the remainder captured in gill nets (4.28%) or via hand line (0.08%). Population demographics of each species at the different sites were determined and comparisons made within and between systems. A total of 6650 individual fish from 17 species were captured during this study. This includes 13 species from the Fortescue River sites and 10 species from the Yule River sites; with seven species common to both systems. The sampling and analysis of previous research revealed that the Fortescue River is the most diverse, in terms of freshwater fishes, of the Pilbara (Indian Ocean) Drainage Division.

A total of six native freshwater species had previously been recorded from the freshwaters of the Yule River, including Melanotaenia australis, Nematalosa erebi, Amniataba percoides, Leiopotherapon unicolor, Neosilurus hyrtlii and Anguilla bicolor (Morgan et al. 2003, Morgan & Gill 2004). During this study we recorded four of the above species in the target pools. A further eight marine/estuarine species are known from the river, including H. compressa (which is often referred to as a freshwater species) (Morgan et al. 2003, Morgan & Gill 2004). During this study we recorded seven marine/estuarine species in the Yule River pools, including two species that were previously unrecorded from the river, M. cephalus and S. multifasciata.

Within the Fortescue River pools sampled during this study, we recorded nine freshwater species, each of which has previously been recorded from the river (Morgan et al. 2003, Morgan & Gill 2004, Beesley 2006). Although during this study we sampled only two sites, we recorded all of the known freshwater fish species from this system. However, there are potentially two further undescribed species that were recorded during this study, i.e. Neosilurus sp. and Terapontid sp. (see Table 2). A further four marine/estuarine species were recorded from the freshwaters of river, which represents all but two species previously recorded from it, i.e. S. multifasciata and Hypseleotris compressa, both of which were previously known from only one site reported in Morgan et al. (2003). Thus, the pools sampled within the Fortescue River during this study collectively provide habitat for all known fishes in the entire catchment. On comparing with all rivers in the Pilbara Drainage Division, it is important to note that the Fortescue River has the highest diversity of freshwater fish species of all the rivers of the region.

Utilising data collected both during this study and in those of Morgan et al. (2003) and Morgan & Gill (2004), it was revealed that the diversity of fishes in both the Yule and Fortescue Rivers is considerably greater in the lower sections of these rivers compared to the middle and upper reaches. While this can partly be attributed to the presence of species that are of marine/estuarine origin in the lower reaches, these downstream most riverine sections are ecologically important as they are the only sections of these rivers that house all of the freshwater species of each catchment. Within each system, there is an overall significant difference between riverine reach with the upper sections providing habitat for few species compared to the middle and lower reaches.

Within the Yule River system, the lower section acts as a nursery for at least eight species of marine/estuarine origin, compared to the middle section which houses only one of these species. The mean number of the fish species in the lower Fortescue River is higher but not significantly greater than the middle section of the river. The upper section of the river is significantly lower in terms of species diversity.

Pool connectivity to the estuary and also pool stability (i.e. depth) and habitat complexity are important in maintaining the diversity of fishes in at least the Fortescue system (see Beesley 2006). However, other mechanisms may also influence the diversity of fishes, particularly within the upper Fortescue River, where waterfalls would limit the dispersal throughout the system. The upper pools on the Fortescue River, namely, Hamersley Gorge and Fern Pool are also important refuges for the restricted and endemic Fortescue Grunter (L. aheneus).

Beesley (2006) demonstrated a significant linear relationship between pool persistence and fish species diversity and also habitat heterogeneity and species diversity within the lower and middle reaches of the Fortescue River. Most notably, permanent pools afford fishes permanent habitat, and it is likely that the intrusion of groundwater is crucial in maintaining the assemblages in the middle and lower sections of the Yule and Fortescue Rivers. Within Jelliabidina Pool in the Yule River, it is important to note that there was little difference between the assemblage of fishes captured in spring 2001 (Morgan et al. 2003) compared to spring 2008 (this study). For example, four freshwater species and one marine species were recorded on each sampling event, with a further marine/estuarine species recorded during 2008.

The maintenance of higher water levels, during flooding or through links to groundwater are likely to be important in the survivorship and therefore rates of recruitment of off‐spring, and this is particularly important in desert fish communities where rainfall is sporadic. Higher water levels generally provide larval and juvenile fishes with lower levels of predation and permanent waters are often associated with increased vegetation growth and thus increased egg laying and larval habitats. It is known that while some species breed year round (see Allen et al. 2005, Beesley 2006), others have less protracted breeding periods that often coincide with high water levels during flood events (see Beesley 2006, Morgan & Gill 2006).

There is also likely to be strong relationships between stream order and species occurrences, with lower diversities typical of tributaries compared to main channel waters (see Morgan & Gill 2004). For example, tributaries are more likely to contain L. unicolor, M. australis and A. percoides over larger bodied species such as N. erebi, N. graeffei and the marine/estuarine species.

The study suggests that groundwater intrusion is maintaining pool stability and is critical in sustaining the fish assemblages in these systems.


The ability to program recombinant gene expression in cardiac myocytes in vivo holds promise for the treatment of many inherited and acquired cardiovascular diseases. In this report, we demonstrate that a recombinant P-galactosidase gene under the control of the Rous sarcoma virus promoter can be introduced into and expressed in adult rat cardiac myocytes in vivo by the injection of purified plasmid DNA directly into the left ventricular wall. Cardiac myocytes expressing recombinant /3-galactosidase were detected histochemically in rat hearts for at least 4 weeks after injection of the f3-galactosidase gene. These results demonstrate the potential of this method of somatic gene therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. (Circulation 1990;82:2217-2221)


The East Australian Current (EAC) is the complex and highly energetic western boundary current of the South Pacific Ocean gyre. Low frequency (>2 year) variability of the EAC reflects the changes in the wind and buoyancy forcing over the South Pacific. However, local and regional wind and buoyancy forcing drives higher frequency variability (< 1-2 year) of the EAC. Due to the narrow shelf, the EAC-jet  meandering has an immediate impact on the continental shelf circulation. Here we use the IMOS EAC mooring array between May 2015 to September 2019 and satellite observational data to quantify the quantify the EAC variability and assess the potential drives and impact of the on-shelf meandering of the EAC jet on the properties of the Coral and Tasman Seas.

We find that there is considerable variability of Sea Surface Height (SSH) and Sea Surface temperature (SST) that at times co-vary, but at  other times the anomalies are opposed. We compare the surface anomalies with the EAC velocity and transport timeseries. The mean along-slope velocity vectors show poleward velocity dominates from 0-1500 m at the five mooring locations from the 500 m isobath to the deep abyssal basin with the strongest southward flow at the continental shelf. The variance ellipses show that the largest variability in EAC transport is in the along-shore direction. This indicates that the EAC variability is dominated by the movement of the EAC on- and off-shore. The EAC thus maintains its jet structure as it meanders onshore and offshore adjacent to the continental slope. While the mean along-shore velocity vectors provide a picture of the mean EAC, the time-series shows that the EAC has a complex and highly variable structure. Strong southward flow is associated with off-shore flow (positive across-slope velocity). While mostly measuring the EAC core we see times where the flow is northward (positive along-slope velocity). This northward velocity is due to the shelf flow extending from the coast to the shelf, and is generally associated with on-shore flow (negative across-slope velocity). These changes in the direction and strength of the velocity are driven by cyclonic eddies inshore of the jet, and have significant influence on the exchange between the open and shelf ocean.


The Robotic Systems Technology Branch at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is currently developing robot systems to reduce the Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) and planetary exploration burden on astronauts. One such system, Robonaut, is capable of interfacing with external Space Station systems that currently have only human interfaces. Robonaut is human scale, anthropomorphic, and designed to approach the dexterity of a space-suited astronaut. Robonaut can perform numerous human rated tasks, including actuating tether hooks, manipulating flexible materials, soldering wires, grasping handrails to move along space station mockups, and mating connectors. More recently, developments in autonomous control and perception for Robonaut have enabled dexterous, real-time man-machine interaction. Robonaut is now capable of acting as a practical autonomous assistant to the human, providing and accepting tools by reacting to body language. A versatile, vision-based algorithm for matching range silhouettes is used for monitoring human activity as well as estimating tool pose.


Mobile devices such as smart phones are becoming popular, and realtime access to multimedia data in different environments is getting easier. With properly equipped communication services, users can easily obtain the widely distributed videos, music, and documents they want. Because of its usability and capacity requirements, music is more popular than other types of multimedia data. Documents and videos are difficult to view on mobile phones' small screens, and videos' large data size results in high overhead for retrieval. But advanced compression techniques for music reduce the required storage space significantly and make the circulation of music data easier. This means that users can capture their favorite music directly from the Web without going to music stores. Accordingly, helping users find music they like in a large archive has become an attractive but challenging issue over the past few years.


In "Don Juan", Peter Handke offers his take on the famous seducer. Don Juan's story - 'his own version' - is filtered through the consciousness of an anonymous narrator, a failed innkeeper and chef, into whose solitude Don Juan bursts one day. On each day of the week that follows, Don Juan describes the adventures he experienced on that same day a week earlier. The adventures are erotic, but Handke's "Don Juan" is more pursued than pursuer. What makes his accounts riveting are the remarkable evocations of places and people, and the nature of his narration. This is, above all, a book about storytelling and its ability to burst the ordinary boundaries of time and space. In this brief and wry volume, Handke conjures images and depicts the subtleties of human interaction with an unforgettable vividness. Along the way, he offers a sharp commentary on many features of contemporary life.


The essential oil analysis of Artemisia minor Jacq. ex Bess. has been done for the first time from Trilokinath (3020m) of Lahaul & Spiti (Cold Desert) region of North Indian higher altitude Himalayas in the month of July, 2007. Essential oil was isolated by hydro distillation from the aerial parts of the plants collected from the wild sources. The extraction yield for the essential oil of A. minor Jacq. ex Bess. was 0.40%. The oil was analyzed by GCMS; the components of the essential oil were identified by comparing their retention indices and mass spectra fragmentation patterns with those stored on the MS-computer library and also from the published literatures. The essential oil analysis led to the identification of 18 out of 22 constituents representing 65.37% of the composition of oil. The major constituents of the oil were: 1, 8- cineole (22.30%), camphor (12.64%), davanone (12.33%), ascaridole (11.11%) and a-phellandrene (5.23%). The presence of artedouglasia oxide-C in A. minor has not been reported earlier in the same species and therefore acts as a new chemotype from this study area. The present study describes the phytochemical profile and anti-microbial activity of essential oil of A. minor. Furthermore, anti-microbial activity of oil was evaluated using agar well diffusion method. The anti-microbial test results showed that the oil had a potential anti-microbial activity against all seven Gram+ve and Gram-ve bacterial strains such as: Pseudomonas fluorescence, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermis and Acenetobactor calcoaceticus. Essential oil showed maximum zone of inhibition and minimal inhibition concentration against Bacillus subtilis (MTCC-2451) and Pseudomonas fluorescence (MTCC-664) bacterial strains. These results permitted the conclusion to be made that, it is the first report of the GCMS analysis and anti-microbial activity on a new chemotype of A. minor Jacq. ex Bess., a naturally growing species from Trilokinath (3020m) of Lahaul & Spiti- a cold desert region of North India.


We study hedonic coalition formation games in which cooperation among the players is restricted by a graph structure: a subset of players can form a coalition if and only if they are connected in the given graph. We investigate the complexity of finding stable outcomes in such games, for several notions of stability. In particular, we provide an efficient algorithm that finds an individually stable partition for an arbitrary hedonic game on an acyclic graph. We also introduce a new stability concept -in-neighbor stability- which is tailored for our setting. We show that the problem of finding an in-neighbor stable outcome admits a polynomial-time algorithm if the underlying graph is a path, but is NP-hard for arbitrary trees even for additively separable hedonic games; for symmetric additively separable games we obtain a PLS-hardness result.


Proactive Event-Driven Computing is a new paradigm, in which a decision is not made due to explicit users' requests nor is it made as a response to past events. Rather, the decision is autonomously triggered by forecasting future states. Proactive event-driven computing requires a departure from current event-driven architectures to ones capable of handling uncertainty and future events, and real-time decision making. We present a proactive event-driven architecture for Scalable Proactive Event-Driven Decision-making (SPEEDD), which combines these capabilities. The proposed architecture is composed of three main components: complex event processing, real-time decision making, and visualization. This architecture is instantiated by a real use case from the traffic management domain. In the future, the results of actual implementations of the use case will help us revise and refine the proposed architecture.


ABSTRACT The world's highest energy consumer (HC) countries currently constitute around 62% of the world energy consumption. Therefore, it is highly important to model their energy consumption to obtain an estimated profile of future world energy consumption. In this study the HCs' energy consumptions are modeled using artificial neural networks (ANNs). The models are developed based on economic and demographic variables, which are gross domestic product, population, import, and export of the countries selected. Performance of the derived models is assessed using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) for the testing data. The contribution rate of each variable to the HCs' energy consumption are also determined to demonstrate the governing variables on the energy consumption. The results show that the correlation coefficients between the ANN predictions and actual energy consumptions are higher than 90%. This indicates a high reliability of the models for forecasting future energy consumption of the HC. Additionally, MAPE, MAE and RMSE values indicate that the ANN models can give adequate forecasting for the HCs' energy consumption. Furthermore, contribution rates of input variables on energy consumption also indicate that energy consumption of each country studied is governed by different variables. It is expected that this study will be helpful for developing highly applicable energy policies for the HC countries. Furthermore, the results of this study can also be used for determining future trends in the global energy demand.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, painful condition and is of major concern to both human and veterinary medicine. This degenerative joint disorder is characterised by pathological changes in articular cartilage, the underlying subchondral bone and synovial membrane. To date, treatment modalities are generally limited to 'symptom-modifying' therapies that only address joint pain. The primary aim of this project was to develop a targeted, 'structure-modifying' gene-based therapy for the future treatment of OA in the dog, with the prospect of developing an animal model for human disease. To modify disease progression at the molecular level therapeutic genes can be introduced into arthritic joints to regulate those enzymes responsible for extra-cellular matrix (ECM) turnover. Since the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a central role in the development of OA, gene-based therapeutics should include mediators for controlling the synthesis and activity of these enzymes at the transcriptional and/or post-translational levels. Candidate proteins that may be of therapeutic benefit in treating OA include interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-lRa), soluble tumour necrosis factor receptors (sTNFR) and various tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs). The cDNA encoding the canine homologue of IL-lRa was isolated using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RNA harvested from canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as a template. Sequence analysis of the canine IL-lRa demonstrated an open reading frame of 531 base pairs (bp) encoding a protein of 177 amino acids showing considerable sequence similarity with the homologous sequences published for other species. The canine-specific therapeutic proteins including IL-lRa (19.5 kDa), TIMP-1 (22.8 kDa) and TIMP-2 9(24.3 kDa) were expressed using the in vitro transcription and translation techniques, however, sTNFRI (23.2 kDa) was unable to be expressed using this system. Levels of therapeutic gene expression are strictly controlled at the transcriptional level by promoter regions of DNA. Candidate promoters that have potential for driving disease-specific expression in arthritic joints include those that are upregulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors associated with the pathogenesis of OA. The canine homologues of MMP-9 and -13 promoters were cloned for use in a homologous species-specific targeted gene transfer study for canine disease. The 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) were obtained by genome walking upstream of the canine MMP-9 and -13 translation start sites using genomic DNA (gDNA) as template. DNA fragments of 1894 and 1494 bp were isolated and on analysis demonstrated regions of sequence homology with the equivalent promoter sequences already determined for other species. In general, conserved regions correlated with numerous putative DNA binding motifs including Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) sites and a Nuclear Factor (NF)-KB binding domain. A consensus TATA-(like) box was identified in each case and shown to direct transcription initiation from specific positions upstream of the translation start site. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


In adults, personality disorders are associated with a low quality of life and high societal costs. To explore whether these findings also apply to adolescents, 131 adolescent patients were recruited from a mental health care institute in The Netherlands. Axis I and Axis II disorders were diagnosed using semi-structured interviews. The EuroQol EQ-5D was used to measure quality of life and costs were measured by the Trimbos and Institute for Medical Technology Assessment Questionnaire on Costs Associated with Psychiatric Illness. The mean EQ-5D index value was 0.55. The mean direct medical cost in the year prior to treatment was €14,032 per patient. The co-occurrence of Axis I and Axis II disorders was a significant predictor of a low quality of life. Direct medical costs were higher for the depressive personality disorder. This study shows that the burden of disease among adolescents with personality pathology is high. This high burden provides evidence to suggest that further research and development of (cost-)effective treatment strategies for this population may be worthwhile.


An original linear time varying system with matched and unmatched disturbances and uncertainties is replaced by a finite set of dynamic models such that each one describes a particular uncertain case including exact realizations of possible dynamic equations as well as external unmatched bounded disturbances. Such a trade-off between an original uncertain linear time varying dynamic system and a corresponding higher order multi model system containing only matched uncertainties leads to a linear multi-model system with known unmatched bounded disturbances and unknown matched disturbances as well. Each model from a given finite set is characterized by a quadratic performance index. The developed minimax integral sliding mode control strategy gives an optimal minimax LQ-control with additional integral sliding mode term. The design of this controller is reduced to a solution of an equivalent mini-max LQ problem that corresponds to the weighted performance indices with weights from a finite dimensional simplex. The additional integral sliding mode controller part completely dismisses the influence of matched uncertainties. Two illustrative numerical examples are presented.


A review of hemoglobinopathies in the Caribbean basin, shows a clear association with race: In Costa Rica, evidence suggests two geographic origins for populations of African origin.


Little efforts have been made on mango genetic resource assessment in Ethiopia though it is one of the major fruit crops. This study was conducted to assess the diversity of 69 mango cultivars of different growing regions of the country based on 44 phenotypic descriptors. The results of both univariate and multivariate analysis of variance computed for quantitative data, and results from descriptive statistics for qualitative characters indicated the presence of phenotypic variation among the cultivars. Further analysis of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated the first four components explained more than 75% of the total variation in which most fruit, seed and leaf characters contributed much to the observed variation. The cultivars were grouped into 13 clusters by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Means clustering method from the Euclidean distances estimated from phenotypic characters. The three clusters (II, X, and XIII) constructed each by one cultivar while others encompass more than one irrespective of their geographic regions. This indicated the presence of diversity among cultivars in Ethiopia which can be exploited for further improvement, use, and conservation of mango genetic resources.

 Key words: Cluster, Euclidean distances, genetic resources, principal component.


Background Potentially preventable chronic diseases are the greatest contributor to the health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. Preventive care is important for earlier detection and control of chronic disease, and a number of recent policy initiatives have aimed to enhance delivery of preventive care. We examined documented delivery of recommended preventive services for Indigenous peoples across Australia and investigated the influence of health center and client level factors on adherence to best practice guidelines. Methods Clinical audit data from 2012 to 2014 for 3,623 well adult clients (aged 15–54) of 101 health centers from four Australian states and territories were analyzed to determine adherence to delivery of 26 recommended preventive services classified into five different modes of care on the basis of the way in which they are delivered (e.g., basic measurement; laboratory tests and imaging; assessment and brief interventions, eye, ear, and oral checks; follow-up of abnormal findings). Summary statistics were used to describe the delivery of each service item across jurisdictions. Multilevel regression models were used to quantify the variation in service delivery attributable to health center and client level factors and to identify factors associated with higher quality care. Results Delivery of recommended preventive care varied widely between service items, with good delivery of most basic measurements but poor follow-up of abnormal findings. Health center characteristics were associated with most variation. Higher quality care was associated with Northern Territory location, urban services, and smaller service population size. Client factors associated with higher quality care included age between 25 and 34 years, female sex, and more regular attendance. Conclusion Wide variation in documented preventive care delivery, poor follow-up of abnormal findings, and system factors that influence quality of care should be addressed through continuous quality improvement approaches that engage stakeholders at multiple levels (including, for example, access to care in the community, appropriate decision support for practitioners, and financial incentives and context appropriate guidelines).


This book is based on a large collection of published and unpublished tablets concerning the textile economy in the cultic sphere of the Ebabbar temple at Sippar during the Neo-Babylonian period. First, the question of the organization of the textile industry is dealt with. Further parts of the book discuss the shape, weight, colour and functions of particular items of garments belonging to gods and goddesses. The conclusions reached are compared with the regulations from the time of Nabu-apal-iddina. Finally, the "garment texts" and animal offering lists provide the basis for a discussion of the pantheon of Neo-Babylonian Sippar and the king's involvement in cultic matters, especially at the time of Nebuchadnezzar II.


This article analyzes opinions expressed by Italian naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani on the origin and constitution of fossils on three of his travels, which punctuated three courses in mineralogy he gave in the natural history discipline at the University of Pavia. These trips to Portovenere, the island of Cerigo and the Two Sicilies enabled him to address important topics, such as the discovery of fossilized shells inside volcanic rocks, the discovery of human fossils, and the existence of fossils of species that had 'been lost', incorporating knowledge being developed at the time that drew on mineral chemistry. His concern with fossils is demonstrative of how Spallanzani, in true eighteenth century fashion, integrated studies from the three kingdoms of nature.


Iron(III) ions play a vital role in living biological systems, while organic pollutants including pesticides and antibiotics pose a great threat to the ecological environment. Effective detection for these species is crucial for human health and environmental protection. In this work, we designed and synthesized a new amino-decorated bridging ligand H2APDA and employed it to react with the environmentally friendly Mg(II) ions to construct a novel magnesium luminescent metal-organic framework (Mg-LMOF), namely [Mg2(APDA)2(H2O)3]·5DMA·5H2O (Mg-APDA). The as-synthesized Mg-LMOF is a three-dimensional framework with one-dimensional hexagonal channels. These microporous channels are decorated with Lewis-base amino sites and uncoordinated O atoms, which facilitate the Mg-APDA to anchor and recognize various analytes. Mg-APDA can be used as a multiresponsive luminescent sensor to detect Fe(III) ions, pesticides, and antibiotics effectively. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first amino-decorated Mg-LMOF as an efficient fluorescent sensor for detecting metal ions, pesticides, and antibiotics simultaneously.


You're viewing a past newsletter from the Whole Communities-Whole Health Grand Challenge team at The University of Texas at Austin.


AIM
Chatbot Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) software based on large language models (LLMs), designed to simulate human conversations and generate novel content based on the training data it has been exposed to. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consistency and accuracy of ChatGPT-generated answers to clinical questions in endodontics, compared to answers provided by human experts.

METHODOLOGY
Ninety-one dichotomous (yes/no) questions were designed and categorized into three levels of difficulty. Twenty questions were randomly selected from each difficulty level. Sixty answers were generated by ChatGPT for each question. Two endodontic experts independently answered the 60 questions. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS program to calculate the consistency and accuracy of the answers generated by ChatGPT compared to the experts. Confidence intervals (95%) and standard deviations were used to estimate variability.

RESULTS
The answers generated by ChatGPT showed high consistency (85.44%). No significant differences in consistency were found based on question difficulty. In terms of answer accuracy, ChatGPT achieved an average accuracy of 57.33%. However, significant differences in accuracy were observed based on question difficulty, with lower accuracy for easier questions.

CONCLUSIONS
Currently, ChatGPT is not capable of replacing dentists in clinical decision-making. As ChatGPT's performance improves through deep learning, it is expected to become more useful and effective in the field of endodontics. However, careful attention and ongoing evaluation are needed to ensure its accuracy, reliability and safety in endodontics.


Locus of control is a personality variable that is employed by researchers from diverse disciplines. This article examines the limits of the construct's usage in industrial and organizational psychology. Although locus of control is documented to predict a wide array of workplace behavior such as job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intention, some important conceptual, methodological and empirical flaws raise suspicions on the explanations proposed by researchers. Considering the shortage of experimental and longitudinal evidence, it is argued that the causal direction of the well-established correlations between locus of control and other organizational behavioral variables might be the opposite of the theory's expectation. It is also claimed that some related constructs such as self-efficacy and belief in a just world might provide further explanations for observed correlations.


Competitive learning activities are among the various learning activities that play a significant role in online learning environments. A competitive learning environment obviously stimulates different feelings in winners and losers, and it is imperative to consider how to design such an environment so as to motivate users. This work describes the design of an online competitive learning environment that involves three basic competitive forms and 16 competitive activities. A system called 'Joyce' has been implemented, in which users can compete with either a computer agent or real life user(s) on a single computer or alternatively can play via the Internet. Because of the format of the item bank being sets of multiple-choice questions, the system is not restricted by the age of its target users. In a game-learning environment, learning is a side-effect of participating in the game. In the present example, learners are motivated to read more materials to win the game. The system attempts to involve students in a competitive gaming-learning environment that stimulated their motivation to learn. Three studies have been conducted to examine how users responded to the novel system and obtained the following analytical results: first, users were found to be highly motivated to use the Joyce system; second, more able users had a greater chance of winning the game, while less able users still had some chance of winning; and third, users are inclined to take risks and have the control of the game in their own hands.


The self-organized critical state exhibited by a sandpile model is shown to correspond to motion on an attractor characterized by an invariant distribution of the conserved variable. The largest Lyapunov exponent is equal to zero. Yet over time scales of the order of the linear size of the system, the model displays intermittent chaos. The divergence of local histories is found to exhibit intermittency in both time and space.


New lanthanide-containing ionic liquids (ILs) based on thiocyanate complexes of the type [BMIM]x–3[Ln(NCS)x(H2O)8–x] (BMIM = 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium; x = 6,7,8) have been reported in recent studies. These complexes are highly efficient for dissolving lanthanide complexes within ILs. Until now, only partial characterization of their properties has been reported. The present work describes the characterization of this type of complexes in both their pure liquid phase and in solution with EuIII and SmIII as the lanthanide ions. The number of water molecules as ligands was determined by luminescence measurements in the UV/Vis region. The composition of the complexes in solution was found to be similar to those in the solid state. The electrochemical behavior of the EuIII/EuII redox couple for [BMIM]5[Eu(NCS)8] at a glassy carbon electrode has been investigated in acetonitrile and in the [BMIM][SCN] IL. This couple is electrochemically quasireversible with E1/2 = –0.23 V [vs. normal hydrogen electrode (NHE)]. The diffusion coefficients of the complexes in solution were determined by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry and were found to be D = 1.1 ± 0.1 × 10–5 and 2.5 ± 0.3 × 10–8 cm2/s in acetonitrile and [BMIM][SCN], respectively. The diffusion coefficients of the reduced species were found to be D = 8.2 ± 0.4 × 10–6 and 2.1 ± 0.4 × 10–8 cm2/s in the two solvents, respectively. The standard rate constants of the single electron reduction were determined by cyclic voltammetry and found to be k0 = 1.2 ± 0.1 × 10–3 and 5.4 ± 0.8 × 10–5 cm/s in the two solvents, respectively.


Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Pancreatic cancer is often dubbed the silent killer because it seldom causes symptoms until advanced. As a result, few pancreatic cancers are operable at diagnosis. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer is often resistant to conventional radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and the morbidity rate almost equals the mortality rate. Therefore, search for effective regimens with moderate side effects for pancreatic cancer therapy and prevention is an urgent necessity. Chinese herbal medicines have been used for centuries with demonstrated safety profiles, thus their bioactive ingredients may be effective candidates for the prevention and/or treatment of pancreatic cancer. Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) has been widely adopted in the traditional Chinese medicinal preparations for treatment of cardiovascular disease with minimal side effects. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of several major Danshen components, tanshinone IIA (T2A), tanshinone I (T1) and cryptotanshinone (CT) on pancreatic cancer cells. We found that CT, T2A and T1 all showed inhibitory effects on the growth of human pancreatic cancer cell lines MIA PaCa-2 and ASPC-1 with IC50 around 30μM, 3–8μM and 3–5μM, respectively. The drug-resistant human pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1 showed less sensitivity to CT and T2A treatment but was very sensitive to T1 treatment with IC50 around 3.5μM. The potent T1 activity against pancreatic cancer cells was associated with downregulation of several protein markers related to cell cycle (cyclin D and cyclin B) and anti-apoptosis (Bcl2 and survivin), c-myc and Aurora A and B kinases in both MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cells. To further identify more potent synergistic combination effect of natural bioactive compounds against pancreatic cancer, we determined the anti-growth activity of the combination between T1 and resveratrol, a natural compound found in the skin of red grape and other fruits. T1 and resveratrol combinations consistently showed synergistic effect on inhibiting the growth of MIA PaCa-2, ASPC-1 and PANC-1 cells. Protein assays showed that the synergistic combination effect of T1 and resveratrol was associated with combined downregulation of c-myc and Aurora A protein levels, suggesting that T1 and resveratrol may inhibit the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in part via combined inhibition on the functions of c-myc and Aurora A. Aurora A is the kinase that plays a critical role in controlling mitosis and cell growth. We further confirmed if Aurora A was a functional target for the synergistic combination effect of T1 and resveratrol. Knockdown of Aurora A dramatically inhibited PANC-1 cell growth and decreased the T1 and resveratrol combination activity, suggesting that Aurora A could be one of the targets by the T1 and resveratrol combination effect. Aurora A gene promoter contains the c-myc binding site, suggesting that Aurora A may be regulated by c-myc and the inhibition of c-myc expression may be one of the causes of reduced Aurora A expression following T1 treatment. To confirm this, we treated PANC-1 cells with a c-myc inhibitor and found decreased Aurora A gene expression in a time-dependent manner, indicating the regulation of c-myc on Aurora A gene expression. Our results suggest that the T1 and resveratrol combination may serve as a novel chemopreventive regimen for effective prevention of pancreatic cancer. Supported in part by DOD (PC073988) and NCI/NIH (R21CA127794) Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2011;4(10 Suppl):B63.


This article explores the concept and practice of the missional leadership from three perspectives: the biblical worldview, cultural mandate and narratives of biblical examples. The research explores two elements of missional leadership, which is comparable to the leadership theory as it delves into the concept of 'missional'. This research also unearths understanding the relationship between missional leadership in intercultural environments to the biblical worldview that is based on biblical theology. Furthermore, the exploration seeks to find a relationship between the intercultural missional leadership and the cultural mandate endowed by the triune God to mankind as God's image. In addition, the research also carefully looks into the following biblical models that exemplify intercultural missional leadership: Moses, Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul. Narratives of the Bible show that God reveals his leadership through his providence to accomplish his goal according to his pleasing will, as God is the only resource to intercultural missional leadership. This study seeks to demonstrate how missional leadership in missiology coincides with theological common concepts of the biblical worldview and the cultural mandate in the biblical theology, which will be exemplified through biblical narratives. Both have the same goal to accomplish God's kingdom according to the timeline of the historical phases in biblical worldview: creation, fall, redemption and restoration. It investigates present-time applicable principles through three biblical narratives, providing a reasonable basis of correlation between culture and the gospel.


Sensitization of fulvic acid (FA) on photoreduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by TiO2 photocatalyst has been studied. Parameters influencing the sensitization, i.e., pH of medium, as well as FA concentrations, TiO2 concentrations and initial Cr(VI) concentrations were critically evaluated. Extraction of FA from peat soil sampled in Gambut, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, was performed using Amberlite XAD-7 resin. The FA extract then was purified by cation exchange method using Amberlite IRA-120 resin. The TiO2 produced by Merck was used as semiconducting photocatalyst and two 30-W UV lamps (Philips model TUV) were used as photon source. The results showed that presence of FA on TiO2 suspensions could sensitize the photoreduction of Cr(VI), enhancing of the amount of reduced Cr(VI) more significantly than the sensitization by humic acid. The effectiveness of this sensitization increased with increasing initial concentrations of FA, TiO2, or Cr(VI) until certain concentration, but no further improvement can be observed in excess FA, TiO2, or Cr(VI) concentrations. On the contrary, the effectiveness of this sensitization decreased with increasing of the medium pH.


Abstract Microhabitat selection by reptiles can be affected by a complex interplay of abiotic and biotic factors. The Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) is an efficient nocturnal predator that hunts in the tropical forest canopy and on the ground, using visual and chemical cues. To identify the factors influencing Brown Treesnake microhabitat use, we experimentally manipulated an abiotic factor, moonlight level, and a biotic factor, prey presence. We hypothesized that (1) moonlight would affect microhabitat use and (2) the presence of prey would alter microhabitat use in various moonlight levels. Trials were conducted in a large laboratory chamber with artificial trees in simulated new, half, and full moonlight. In each trial, the snake's location in canopy, subcanopy, or open ground was recorded at 60-sec intervals for 100 min. Treesnake microhabitat use was determined in three moonlight levels without prey present and in two moonlight levels with a mouse (adult Mus musculus) or a Mangrove Monitor (juvenile Varanus indicus) present. The treesnakes used open ground areas more as moonlight decreased, and they used the canopy more as moonlight increased. No significant differences existed within a moonlight level between trials with or without prey. Thus, moonlight appeared to supercede prey availability in affecting Brown Treesnake microhabitat use. Additionally, the effect of nocturnal illumination on Brown Treesnake habitat use may also have important conservation implications regarding trapping techniques and deterring the snakes from specific areas.


Purpose - The objective of this paper is to explore undergraduate students' self-efficacy of their generic skills in an attempt to identify whether a student's choice of a major in accounting develops these types of skills. Design/methodology/approach - The present paper collected its data from a survey administered in September, 2007 to undergraduate students studying at an Australian university located in the nation's capital. The questionnaires were distributed to students who were enrolled in both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. In these degrees, students can major in any business-related subject including business administration, human relations, finance, financial planning, and accounting. From a total response of 174 students, 165 students were identified as effective respondents. Findings - The findings have indicated that accounting programs produce a limited impact on improving students' self-efficacy in relation to what is required in today's accounting profession. An improvement is found in one's self-efficacy of analytical skills only. Further analysis confirmed that there are other stronger predictors such as job experiences and the native language of English, which will affect students' higher self-efficacy of generic skills. Originality/value - This paper successfully contributes to the literature on students' self-efficacy by providing the first empirical evidence on the effect that an undergraduate accounting curriculum in Australia has on developing students' self-efficacy of generic skills. Tertiary educators, by revamping current accounting programs, will assist future graduates develop a full range of generic skills that are necessary for them to compete in today's competitive accounting environment.


Background: Impaired lung function is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. Whether circulating factors are responsible for this association is unknown. A study was undertaken to determine whether leptin, a hormone that can promote atherothrombosis, is raised in individuals with impaired lung func- tion. Methods: Data from non-obese participants in the Third National Health, Nutrition, and Examination Survey (n=2808) were analysed to determine the relationship between circulating leptin levels and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ) values divided into quintiles (quintile 1, FEV 1 predicted < 85.2%; quintile 2, 85.3–94.3%; quintile 3, 94.4–101.4%; quintile 4, 101.5–110.0%; and quintile 5, > 110.1%). Results: Serum leptin levels changed along the FEV 1 gradient. The highest leptin levels were found in quintile 1 (geometric mean (GM) 5.42; interquartile range (IQR) 3.00–9.60 fg/l) and the lowest in quintile 5 (GM 4.94; IQR 2.80–9.10 fg/l). Adjustments for age, body mass index, and other confounders strengthened this relationship. Compared with quintile 5, the odds of having an increased serum leptin level in quintiles 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 2.26 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.54 to 3.31), 2.20 (95% CI 1.52 to 3.17), 1.46 (95% CI 1.01 to 2.09), and 1.28 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.83), respec-tively. Conclusion: Individuals with impaired lung function have raised serum leptin levels. Leptin may play a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality related to impaired lung function. indicate


Abstract T-cadherin (CDH13) is an adiponectin receptor. Genome-wide association studies have identified the CDH13 gene as one of the most important candidate genes in influencing plasma adiponectin levels. Several studies recently reported single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CDH13 gene were associated with T2DM. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between T2DM and 6 SNPs (rs11646213, rs12596316, rs3865188, rs12444338, rs12051272, and rs7195409) in the CDH13 gene in a Han Chinese population. A total of 674 subjects with T2DM and 588 subjects without T2DM were genotyped using the TaqMan method. Our data showed that there was an association between the SNP-rs12596316 genotype and T2DM (P < .05). Moreover, an overdominant model of inheritance showed that being an rs12596316AG heterozygote increased the risk of T2DM (P = .0041, odds ratio = 1.39; 95% confidence interval 1.11–1.73) in comparison with rs12596316AA-GG. The other 5 SNPs did not show associations with T2DM, either in the allele levels or in different inheritance models. The haplotype analysis showed that there were no associations between any haplotypes and T2DM. Our results revealed that genetic variations in the CDH13 gene were associated with T2DM susceptibility in a Han Chinese population. These results highlight the need to study the functional effects of these CDH13 gene variants in relation to the risk of developing T2DM.


Ranolazine (R) is a non-haemodynamic anti-anginal agent used as adjunctive therapy in patients with chronic coronary heart disease (CHD) whose symptoms are unadequately controlled by conventional treatment. R decreases calcium overload in the ischemic myocytes through the inhibition of late sodium channel current in the myocardium; induces myocardial relaxation and improves myocardial blood flow. In addition to its anti-angina effect, other possible clinical applications of R have also been explored, including treatment of atrial arrhythmias, chronic heart failure and diabetes. With regard to diabetes R has been shown to significantly improve glycemic control in diabetic patients with CHD in post-hoc analysis of large-scale clinical trials. Moreover reduction of glycated hemoglobin and fasting serum glucose levels have been also observed prospectively in small clinical trials conducted on diabetic subjects without CHD by using R alone or in combination with other oral glucose-lowering drugs. Lastly R improved insulin resistance in non-diabetic overweight/obese patients with CHD. Hypothetical mechanisms of this metabolic action are: inhibition of secretion of glucagon from pancreatic islets, preservation of beta cells and increase of insulin delivery to tissues. In light of these observations R appear to be a potential multifaceted drug that offers the opportunity to treat glyco-metabolic disorders alone or in association to CHD. However, prospective studies are too small to be conclusive and new trials are needed to clarify which is the exact role of R in the treatment of glyco-metabolic disorders.


This chapter highlights recent trends in transport development in Asia and identifies priority areas for future policy research. In the face of rapid and sustained economic growth, one of the most urgent research topics is on transport infrastructure planning and development policies. Better methodologies for analyzing both localized and cross-border impacts of infrastructure projects, as well as from the perspective of environmental sustainability, are needed. Another important area for research is the expansion of private sector involvement in the transport sector, and the changing role of government under different models of private participation in transport infrastructure and services. A third area is on policies to address the negative externalities associated with rapid motorization, particularly congestion, air pollution, carbon emissions, and traffic accidents, including policies to promote public transportation and curb private vehicle use. A fourth and related area is transport safety, particularly policies to promote a culture of road safety. A fifth area is on how transport infrastructure and systems can adapt to climate change and disaster risks, including the role of transport in responding to natural disasters. A sixth research area is socially inclusive transport policies, particularly in rural areas where a large proportion of the poor population live. Lastly, many new mobility services and transport technologies are now being rolled out in Asia. As they evolve, research will be needed to define government roles and design policies to manage their impact and diffusion.


The T cell receptor (TCR) zeta chain was attached to the TCR alpha and beta extracellular domains to induce efficient expression of alpha beta heterodimers that can recognize complexes of antigen with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Chimeric constructs expressed in RBL-2H3 cells were efficiently transported to the cell surface uniquely as disulfide-linked heterodimers. Transfectants were activated by specific antigen-MHC complexes, which demonstrated that the expressed alpha beta was functional and that CD3 was not required for antigen-MHC binding. Constructs with thrombin cleavage sites were efficiently cleaved to soluble disulfide-linked heterodimers. Thus, attachment of TCR zeta domains and protease cleavage sites to TCR alpha and beta induces expression of demonstrably functional heterodimers that can be solubilized.


The alpha adrenoceptors modulate renal blood flow, electrolyte balance, and metabolism. In most species both alpha 1 and alpha 2 subtypes are present. The alpha 1 adrenoceptors control blood flow and increase sodium reabsorption and gluconeogenesis. Radioligand studies indicate that the majority of alpha 1 adrenoceptors are located on proximal tubules. The alpha 2 adrenoceptors inhibit adenylate cyclase, and their density varies among species as do the molecular characteristics. In rat but not guinea pig some alpha 2 adrenoceptors are associated with glomeruli, but in both species most receptors are found on proximal tubules.


BACKGROUND
Management of allergic rhinitis with oral antihistamine and steroid nasal spray are the standard treatment which is recommended by Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma guidelines. In addition, nasal irrigation as an adjuvant therapy also provides a satisfactory result.

OBJECTIVE
To compare the treatment outcome in adults majority with intermittent allergic rhinitis who receive different concentrations of nasal irrigation.

METHODS
The prospective randomized double-blind study was performed in 80 patients. All patients were prescribed oral antihistamine and nasal irrigated solution between 3% NaCl and 0.9% NaCl. Nasal congestion and rhinorrhea were evaluated at baseline, first and second weeks after treatment. Assessments were measured by nasal congestion visual analog scale rhinorrhea visual analog scale, inferior turbinate size, and peak nasal expiratory flow rate (PNEFR). A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS
There were 40 patients in each group of the study. Patients reported satisfactory experience after using saline irrigation at first and second weeks in both solutions (p value < 0.001). However, when compared between groups, no significant differences for all parameters were reported. PNEFR showed good results after the first week of 3% NaCl irrigation (p value = 0.001), while 0.9% NaCl had good results after the second week (p value < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Both add-on treatments have a significant improvement of all 4 parameters assessed in the study: nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, inferior turbinate size and PNEFR. Of note, 3% NaCl but not 0.9 NaCl had improved the PNEFR earlier from 1 week of the treatment.


Commercial air carrier performance is a multivariable function, uniquely and substantially impacted by passenger's perception of negative employee behavior. High industry visibility, coupled with exponential social media growth, has provided the incredible potential to either widen or narrow the perception-performance gap. The present research conducts a rare longitudinal evaluation of objective airline performance quality in contrast with consumer perceptions of perceived airline performance and the dynamic changes occurring therein. Additionally, the implications regarding air carriers facing both objective and perceived performance challenges, as well as implications for the industry as a whole, are discussed. Utilizing nearly 30 years of objective airline performance data gathered by the annual Airline Quality Rating, integrated with a decade of passenger perception and behavioral research from the Airline Passenger Survey, a longitudinal model of disparity is created analyzing performance perceptions versus reality through the identification of relational patterns in the data sets. The change in the degree of disparity, between actual and perceived performance, as it relates to the dissemination of highly visible performance events (both positive and negative) are assessed. The objective and perceived performance gap has the potential to widen over time and is likely to continue to expand in the near future. The development of this longitudinal model provides an improved understanding of passenger perceptions and behaviors relating to negative employee behavior, which, previously a micro-level experience, now has the ability to be disseminated to a global consumer audience, potentially resulting in far-reaching consequences. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF AIRLINE PERFORMANCE 3 Longitudinal Analysis of Perceived and Objective Airline Performance Quality In the current age of new and improving technology, the airline industry faces uncharted challenges regarding performance and overall quality, and the consumer perceptions thereof. With social media growing exponentially both globally and domestically, many sectors are now enormously impacted by much greater consumer visibility. The ease of posting company reviews on the internet for a global audience has not just changed company-customer interaction, but it has also impacted customer expectations. A simple search on a review forum conducted in less than five minutes can impact a consumer's decision to fly on a particular airline. Similarly, a consumer who experienced a less than friendly airline agent could leave a review before even leaving the terminal. High industry visibility, coupled with intensely perceptive consumers, has propelled customer service to the forefront, making it more transparent than ever. Previous research into air-traveling consumer's perceptions has struggled to provide little more than a brief glimpse of the average air traveler. This research, however, is uniquely capable of providing not just a detailed analysis of air-traveling consumers' perceptions, but also an examination of the perception-performance gap. This research will utilize nearly 30 years of objective airline performance data gathered in the annual Airline Quality Rating report, and a decade's worth of passenger perceptions of airline performance collected in the annual Airline Passenger Survey. The resulting study will produce a longitudinal evaluation of the disparity between objective performance results and subjective performance perceptions. From this research, an improved understanding between passenger perceptions and customer-servicerelated airline performance will emerge. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF AIRLINE PERFORMANCE 4


RWPRRDAS is a wireless
Photoplethysmography (PPG) and respiration measurement system which allows user
to monitor the measured heart rate, blood pressure wave, respiration cycle and
any other kind abnormality related to heart and its corresponding system. It
uses a battery powered transducer to collect biomedical data and an android
application to visualize the data in a proper manner and in a graphical way.
This is a non-invasive type measurement procedure. This is a truly a mobile
system which is easy to carry and operate. Since this device is not connected
to power lines of AC applications and totally battery operated so there is no
possibility of any electrical hazard in any case.

 Nowadays, many biomedical transducers come with a
custom-made processor with an inbuild display, which offers very low processing
power to visualize the biomedical data properly and with an ease of access to
almost every age. RWPRRDAS collects the data using transducer and uses the
processing power of a modern android mobile phone so that visualization and
determination of heart disease and abnormality in respiration mechanisms become
easy and reliable. And the measurement of data through a wireless media
provides hassle-free & user friendly usable limit to almost every person.


: Mesoamerica, the area we focus for this paper, is a section of Latin America that extends from Central Mexico to Panama. The deliberations of international committees are the primary bases for their nutrient-based recommendations. To a smaller extent, the unique particularities of the bioavailability for one or another nutrient have been considered. The nutrient recommendations throughout the region are "relatively" uniform and mutually consistent with respect to: iron, iodine and most of the B-complex vitamins. discrepancies exist among the various sets of recommendations for other nutrients. A valid basis of harmonization would not be unification of recommendations across all nationalities, but rather assuring a consistency in the nutrient profile that is recommended provides the nutrient exposures and/or fills the body's reserves as best suits the goals of survival, growth, well-being and function within the ecological niche of the population. That the recommendations for nutrients must be satisfied from foods, foods that are accessible and culturally acceptable, and that approximate the parallel demands of food-based dietary guidelines, add additional constraints onto the process of enunciating the former.


In laser micromachining and laser defect repair of a first material, a first set of one or more laser wavelengths is selected in accordance with the first material's absorption characteristics and is combined and delivered concurrently with a second set of one or more laser wavelengths which is selected in accordance with the absorption characteristics of a second material generated by and remaining from the ablating interaction of the first material with the first set of laser wavelengths. The concurrent presence of the second set of one or more laser wavelengths removes the residual second material.


sigma E and sigma 32 are two heat- and ethanol-inducible sigma-factors in Escherichia coli. The sigma 32 regulon is also induced by unfolded and misfolded proteins in the cytoplasm, and the function of many of the proteins in the sigma 32 regulon is to bind to cytoplasmic proteins and assist them in folding or unfolding. To further understand the function of the sigma E regulon, we searched for mutants that affected sigma E activity. Our results indicate that a signal generated by expression of outer membrane proteins modulates sigma E activity. Specifically, sigma E activity is induced by increased expression of OMPs and is reduced by decreased expression of OMPs. In addition, mutations that cause misfolded OMPs induce sigma E activity. This signal is generated after the fate of OMPs and periplasmic proteins diverge in the secretory pathway and is not the result of an accumulation of OMP precursors in the cytoplasm. Our results indicate that this effect of OMPs is specific to the sigma E regulon, because none of the above mutations affect sigma 32 activity. We propose that the sigma E regulon is involved in processes that occur in extracytoplasmic compartments and that these two heat-inducible regulons may have distinct but complementary roles of monitoring the state of proteins in the cytoplasm (sigma 32) and outer membrane (sigma E).


We have defined the structure of the Osteoclast Functional Antigen (OFA) by immunological and biochemical means. OFA is an abundant surface antigen in human and animal osteoclasts and has been characterized previously by monoclonal antibodies 13C2 and 23C6, one of which mimicks the inhibitory activity of calcitonin on osteoclastic bone resorption. By the following criteria we show that OFA is a member of the integrin family of extracellular matrix receptors and is identical, or at least highly related, to the vitronectin receptor (VNR) previously isolated from placenta and melanoma cells. Immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrates that OFA from osteoclasts and a monkey kidney cell line Vero is a heterodimeric molecule of 140 kD (alpha chain) and 85 kD (beta chain) under nonreducing conditions; on reduction at least one low molecular mass (alpha') species (of approximately 30-kD size) is released, resulting in a 120/100-kD dimer. Immunoblots of OFA isolated from osteoclasts and Vero cells and VNR purified from placenta and probed with heterosera to OFA and monoclonal antibodies to platelet gp111a (VNR beta chain) show immunological cross- reactivity between the alpha chains of OFA and VNR and the use of gp111a as a beta chain by both. OFA from Vero cells binds to an Arg-Gly- Asp containing peptide (GRGDSPPK) isolating a heterodimer recognized by anti-OFA monoclonal antibodies, 13C2 and 23C6. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a similar tissue distribution in humans for the antigen recognized by anti-OFA antibodies, a monoclonal antibody, LM142, raised to melanoma VNR, polyclonal antibodies to the placental VNR and a monoclonal antibody to the presumptive VNR beta chain, platelet glycoprotein 111a. Finally, NH2 terminal amino acid sequencing showed that the amino-terminus of the monkey alpha chain was identical in the 12 assigned residues to that of human VNR alpha chain. The beta chain sequence of OFA differed at least 1 (and up to 4) positions from platelet gp111a (VNR beta) in the first 18 amino acids sequenced. These, and other, data provide the first indication of a function for the VNR and suggest that cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions involving integrins may play an important role in bone physiology.


In 2008 the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor set out to investigate the prevalence and sources of entrepreneurship education and training, and the effect of this training on starting a business. Thirty-eight national teams participated in this study, adding specialized questions to the standard GEM Adult Populations Surveys (APS). In addition, 30 countries added questions to the National Expert Surveys (NES). This report expands on the eight-page education and training section found on pages 41-48 of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2008 Executive Report. After a brief literature review, we present expert opinions on the current state of entrepreneurship education and training in 30 countries. The report then details the level and sources of training received by the adult population (18-64) in the 38 countries surveyed by GEM. By examining data from the APS, GEM is able to develop profiles of individuals most and least likely to have received training. Additionally, we present new information on the effects of training on an individual's entrepreneurial awareness, attitudes, intentions and activity in each of the participating countries. Then, five GEM countries provide insights about the types of advisors used by entrepreneurs. The report concludes with possible implications of these new findings and suggests areas for further research.