The purpose of this research was to test the validity of the Bathazard equation (sinθ = (W/L) on nonporous, passive, blood-spattered surfaces. The Bathazard equation was formulated and tested solely on porous surfaces. Nonporous and porous surfaces have different properties and react differently affecting the size and shape of the blood spatter. To test the validity of the Bathazard equation, I tested passive drops of blood from average female and male fingertip heights at 90̊, 60̊, and 45̊ angles on porous and nonporous surfaces. Blood drop height and width were measured after immediate impact and again after an hour. An hour was selected because it is the average time from a crime being committed until it is investigated by police in West Virginia. Results show that the angle variation of the porous standards did not typically yield accurate impact angles when using the Bathazard equation. Nonporous surfaces did not yield accurate impact angles for any test using the Bathazard equation. The Bathazard equation is not a suitable formula to use when analyzing passive blood spatter on nonporous surfaces because it yields inaccurate results of blood evidence in criminal cases.


As high-volume nexuses between different modes of transportation interfacing with various other employment, retail, residential and recreational land-uses, mobility hubs are a key component of expected future improvements in Toronto's transit infrastructure. Transit-oriented considerations have increasingly become a central factor guiding urban development and growth. The inherent challenge of engaging a diverse urban population in decisions about the built environment can be further compounded when seeking to animate communities with marginalized populations while using 'one size fits all' engagement methods. Nonetheless, the dynamic nature of sustainability creates a need to revise community visions frequently. This paper draws on interviews with community arts professionals and art educators, as well as representatives from transportation, urban planning, urban design and architecture to explore the potential of community art as a transformative tool and as a way of fostering more inclusive urban regeneration. The potential for community art as a more central element in the planning and development of mobility hubs is also examined. The results identified that community arts and arts-based engagement strategies have the potential to help overcome many of the pervasive barriers to participation associated with traditional engagement methods. A host of process- and outcome-oriented benefits were identified by participants, including the potential for fostering inter- and intra-neighbourhood dialogue, building a stronger sense of neighbourhood identity, and developing capacity towards community-led neighbourhood regeneration. The results have implications for the transformative and capacity-building potential of community art and arts-informed engagement strategies as perceived and utilized by urban planners.


Cranes pierce the blue sky, Western businessmen walk the streets, and capable militiamen and police officers patrol daily. It might be Dubai, if Dubai were landlocked, a few thousand kilometers northwest, and still possessed oil--but this is not the case. It is a snapshot of a new Iraq. Not the Iraq glimpsed in news reports, an Iraq of car bombings, government corruption, and a political shift towards Iran, but an Iraq of business, social, ana political opportunity. It's an Iraq of hope, the Iraq the United States hoped to leave behind. The tranquil peace does not always go uninterrupted, however. Bombs still go off. US soldiers remain in a few isolated camps. Corrup-tion continues--albeit at a much-reduced level. It is not a perfect picture of a new Iraq, as deep scars still mar the pleasant exterior. But the economic development, relative peace, and the functioning, largely cohesive governing system behind Kurdistan's success hold the keys, and reveal many of the potential obstacles, to Iraq's success. Oil continues to drive the push for business growth in Kurdistan, and business is booming. Ashti Hawrami, Kurdistan's Oil Minister, has publicly announced that oil exports are expected to hit 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of October, and 1 million bpd by 2015. He has also announced the construction of a new oil pipeline across the Turkish border. Expected completion: 2014. Expected capacity: 1 million bpd. Two multinational Dutch trading companies recently brokered a deal with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to open up exports by trucking crude through Turkey, and major energy giants are hot on their heels. Chevron purchased 490 square miles north of Erbil this past July, a big move for the historically cautious company. ExxonMobil proposed a partnership with the KRG over a year ago, seeking larger profits than those found by doing business in mainland Iraq. With business friendly practices, openness to the West, and 45 billion barrels of oil hidden just beneath the desert sands, such deals are likely to continue--much to the chagrin of the federal Iraqi government. Tired of receiving a smaller piece of the pie, the Iraqi government, led by Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, attempted to stop a deal between ExxonMobil and the KRG earlier this year. After months of negotiations, ExxonMobil abandoned their previous oil development project in mainland Iraq, opting to sell it off and pursue greater profits in Kurdistan. The subsequent fallout from the deal places Western oil giants in a tough position. Oil exploration in Kurdistan began shortly after Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003, with the region's total reserves estimated at 40 billion barrels. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although that is a modest number when compared to Baghdad's 143 billion barrels of reserves, short-term profit in Kurdistan greatly exceeds the offerings to be had with the Iraqi government. Wood Mackenzie, a Scottish consulting firm familiar with the Middle East, estimates that for every dollar earned through contracts with the Iraqi government, three to five dollars can be earned through more lenient contracts with the Kurdish Regional Government. The current outlook for many companies is thus: Kurdistan equals profit, Iraq equals risk. No matter the long-term consequences for Western business, one thing is assured: oil will continue to flow for the Kurds. But oil prosperity is short-lived, and the KRG knows this - somewhat. Oil revenues continue to be pumped back into the country's educational systems and infrastructure, at least in theory. In 2011, the Kurdish Regional Government released a pamphlet entitled: "Invest in Democracy." While largely a propaganda and advertising ploy, "Invest in Democracy" contained a detailed plan on moving the autonomous region away from a hydrocarbon-dominated economy. "We are well aware of building an economy so dependent upon one source," states Prime Minister Barham SaEh in the pamphlet's opening interview, "and we need to do everything we can to embrace the benefits of this and nullify its problems. …


This paper assesses the scale of the potential co-benefits for residents of developing countries of protecting forest ecosystems in order to mitigate climate change. The objective is to improve understanding among development practitioners of the ways in which services provided by forest ecosystems can also make important contributions to achieving development objectives such as improvements to health and safety, and maintenance of food and energy security. This is achieved by reviewing empirical studies that estimate the value of specific ecosystem services derived from forests in order to evaluate and describe the current state of knowledge on how the wellbeing of local people is likely to be affected by the introduction of global mechanisms for avoided deforestation in developing countries. There are four main ways in which wellbeing can be affected: 1) forests provide soil protection and water regulation services, which in turn reduce waterborne diseases, maintain irrigation water supply, and mitigate risks of natural disaster; 2) forests provide habitat for birds, fish, mammals and insects that affect human health and income generation opportunities; 3) clearing forest through use of fire can lead to respiratory illness and property damage, particularly if the fires spread accidentally; and 4) tropical forests are particularly high in biodiversity, making them important locally as well as globally as a potential source of genetic material for new crop varieties and pharmaceuticals. Evidence on the size of these benefits suggests that while they are highly variable, households in or near forests and poor households benefit most from forest ecosystem services.


The genus Dendrokingstonia (Annonaceae) is taxonomically revised and palynologically studied. Three species are recognized, one of which, D. gardneri, is described as new to science. One new combination, D. acuminata, is made. The genus occurs from southern Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. On the basis of macromorphology and pollen characters, it is considered to be related to Monocarpia. Both genera show a combination of macromorphological characters that is rare in the family, i.e. considerably enlarged stigmas, leaves with percurrent tertiary veins, a highly reduced number of carpels per flower and relatively large monocarps with a thick, hard wall. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy show that the pollen grains of Dendrokingstonia and Monocarpia are monosulcate monads with a columellate infratectum and a more or less bulging intine at the sulcus. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 168, 76–90.


In this paper, a third-order waveguide bandpass filter (BPF) based on slotted spherical resonators with a wide spurious-free stopband is presented. The resonator consists of a spherical cavity with slots opened at the top and bottom. Compared with a non-slotted spherical resonator, the slotted resonator suppresses the two spurious modes (TM 211 and TE 101 ) whilst maintaining the fundamental TM 101 mode. The unloaded quality factor of the TM 101 mode is not significantly degraded. This is achieved by interrupting surface current and radiating the unwanted spurious modes with the slots. The BPF is designed at a center frequency of 10 GHz with a fractional bandwidth of 1%. Two filter prototypes are fabricated one by using metal-based selective laser melting (SLM) and the other by polymer-based stereolithography apparatus (SLA) techniques. The slots also facilitate the copper electroplating process for the SLA-printed filter. The measured result shows that the average passband insertion losses of the SLM-and SLA-printed filters are 0.33 and 0.2 dB, respectively. The corresponding passband return losses are better than 22 and 20 dB. The filters demonstrate excellent passband performance and wide spurious-free stopbands up to 16 GHz with stopband rejections of over 20 dB.


. Space Shuttle Columbia's catastrophic failure, the separation of a piece of spray-on-foam insulation (SOFI) from the external tank (ET) in the Space Shuttle Discovery's flight in 2005 and crack detected in its ET foam prior to its successful launch in 2006 emphasize the need for effective nondestructive methods for inspecting the shuttle ET SOFI. Millimeter wave nondestructive testing methods have been considered as potential and effective inspection tools for evaluating the integrity of the SOFI. This paper presents recent results of an investigation for the purpose of detecting vertical cracks in SOFI panels using a focused millimeter wave (150 GHz) reflectometer. The presented images of the SOFI panels show the capability of this reflectometer for detecting tight vertical cracks (also as a function of crack opening dimension) in exposed SOFI panels and while covered by a piece of SOFI ramp simulating a more realistic and challenging situation.


Should there be free trade? This question finds different, and often contradicting answers in philosophy and economics. Among economists, there is a remarkable consensus that free markets are desirable. It is this curious consensus that motivates this study.
This dissertations aims to explain, reconstruct and contest the neoclassical vision in mainstream trade theory. It is argued that economic justifications for free trade policies rely on an array of implicit and explicit normative premises,and that economists take positions on topics that are usually dealt with by political philosophers. Taken together, these premises and positions amount to what will be called the neoclassical vision. It is argued that throughout the history of economics, economic doctrines were inescapably normative. Tracing the intellectual and historical origins of this neoclassical vision, it is shown how a specific view of what justice demands in the economy came to be constitutive of today's economic arguments. I hence attempt to treat economics today as it has historically been: as a branch of political philosophy, and as inextricably normative.
Normative trade theory and the theoretical arguments put forward by international economists will serve as the case study on which basis the neoclassical vision is reconstructed. In turn, the vision will be critically assessed from a liberal egalitarian perspective. Particular attention will be paid to the question of the role of politics in how losers from economic activity are treated.
Following this critical analysis, I argue for the need of a normative 'countervision'that is most convincingly provided by John Rawls's early work. It will then be outlined how Rawls could respond and overcome the pitfalls of the neoclassical vision – even though Rawls is deeply influenced by conventional economic thought himself. (...)


Federalism appears as a figure already in ancient times, when alliances had existed by which cities and states were connected with each other for the purpose of defending themselves against the conquest ambitions of Macedonia, Rome and Sparta 1 . In addition to that, in the Middle Ages also confederations were established, thus alliances of independent states or, as they are mostly considered, only reinforced alliances of states by which however no "super-state" ("superior state") was created. By a confederation, merely an international association of states is being established, representing a contractual relationship between independent and sovereign states. Even upon establishment of a confederation, these states keep their own sovereignty. Federalism is an idea, movement and a form of state organizing. Unlike a confederation, a federation or federal state is an institutional union. A union of this kind entails formation of a new state which differs from its Member States. In a federation, a superior state exists, having its legislative, executive and judicial power. In contrast to a confederation, a federation is neither an international union, nor a structure of international law, the constitutive act of which is an international treaty. On the contrary, a federation is a structure of national law being based on the constitution, i.e. constitutional law. In a federation, "primacy" belongs to the federal constitution, particularly as the Member States, when adopting their constitutions, decide on the basic principles of the federal constitution. According to this, sovereignty belongs to the central government, but not to the Member States, while a confederation, by contrast, does not have any state subjectivity, and the federation is a sovereign state, respectively, whereas in a confederation, the sovereign states are comprised in it. Hence, a federation is a federal state, a confederation, however, an association of states, or in other words, a federation is a state, whereas in case of a confederation, a union of states is concerned. If one takes into consideration that a federation, in comparison to confederations, has proven to be the form of government which is by far more vital and more solid, today the largest and most populated countries of the world are organized as federations (for instance, the USA, Canada, the Russian Federation, India, Brazil, Nigeria). Considering this background, a confederation in practice has turned out as a loose formation, and the best known confederations at that time were the Swiss, American and German confederation. However, they all belong to the past.


Two self-report scales--the Cognitions Questionnaire (Fennell & Campbell, 1984) and the Attitudes to Self Scale (Carver & Ganellen, 1983)--which attempt to measure overgeneralization in depression are described. In line with previous research, both measures correlated with levels of depression, but the lack of a direct relationship between them implies that the construct of overgeneralization may not be a homogeneous one. Suggestions are made for future research which include elaboration of the construct and the development of new methods for measuring it.


Traditional monitoring methods of cellular status, such as reproductive viability studies and optical density measurements tend to be time consuming and unable to give any insight into the physiological state of the cell beyond culturability. Multiparameter flow cytometry, a powerful investigative tool that allows the rapid, optical, quantitative measurement of cellular physiology via intrinsic and evoked optical signals from single cell or cell-sized particles in a moving fluid stream, was used as an alternative to provide valuable insights into the effects of bioprocesses on E. coli. Batch fermentation processes and batch and fed batch biocatalytic processes were investigated for this thesis. Multiparameter flow cytometry was used in the characterisation of batch fermentations of E. coli IL-13 during the production of the recombinant human interleukin 13, in conjunction with fermentation profiling by traditional means and recombinant protein characterisation. It was established, via flow cytometric analysis of cell samples stained with a combination of three fluorescent stains, propidium iodide, PI; Bis- (1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol, BOX, and Syto Red 63, SR; that induction with IPTG during the exponential phase, with controlled dissolved oxygen (above 30%) and pH (7 0.2) were the optimum conditions for this fermentation. The changing physiological and metabolic state of the whole cell biocatalyst E. coli TOP 10 pQR239 during the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase mediated stereo-selective oxidation of bicyclo (3.2.0.) hept-2-en-6-one to yield (-)-l(S) 5(R)-2-oxabicyclo (3.3.0) oct-6-en-3-one and (-) 1 (R) 5(S)-3-oxabicyclo (3.3.0) oct-6-en-2-one was investigated in batch and fed-batch biocatalytic processes as well as in shake flask bioconversions. The effects of bioconversion media, storage temperature, reaction pH, substrate and product concentration and the influence of the co-substrate glycerol on cell quality and enzyme activity were investigated. Whole cell biocatalyst quality was found to be affected by all of the above mentioned investigated parameters and the presence of the co-substrate was established to be essential for optimum enzyme activity. Multiparameter flow cytometry was successfully applied to an industrially significant fermentation and biocatalytic process and facilitated the rapid analysis of cell quality in both instances to monitor the changes to cell cytoplasmic membrane integrity and polarisation, cell respiration capacity, the production of a recombinant therapeutic protein and a biocatalytic enzyme; thus establishing its feasibility as a tool for process definition and optimisation, during both the research and developmental stages of a bioprocess.


Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's second most common cause ofdeath from infectious disease, next to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). TB has become an increasing health problem since emergence of HIV; TB/HIV coinfection adds further complications in treating the disease. It is also a major concern for industrialized nations because of emergence of drug resistance, alcohol / drug abuse, growth of immigrants and other factors.Method employs formation andsolving of simultaneous equation using 263 nm and 292 nm as two analytical wavelengths for both drugs inDistilled water. Isoniazidand Pyridoxine at their respective λmax 263 nm and 292 nm showslinearity in a concentration range of 1-11μg /mL and 5-30μg /mL. Recovery studies for Isoniazid 99.56 % and100.14% for Pyridoxine in case of simultaneous equation method confirming the accuracy of the proposed method. Theproposed method is recommended for routine analysis since it is rapid, simple, accurate and also sensitive and specific.


The goals of this paper are to describe the grammatical properties of nouns and number in Dâw (Naduhup family, Northwestern Amazonia, Brazil) using Lima & Rothstein's questionnaire (this volume) on mass versus count nouns and to contribute to the typological and semantic literature on nouns and number. Our results show that Dâw is a bare argument language, with no plural on nouns or numeral classifiers, in which all nouns can be counted directly without the need of a measure or container phrase. A difference between notionally count and mass nouns can be found only when different sets of quantifiers are combined with mass and count nouns and in comparatives.


Abstract Topeng, one of Bali's most important theatrical forms, has always been identified as a masked dance theatre enacting Balinese chronicles (babad). Some have perceived the babad story as the most essential element and the cultural identity of topeng more than the use of masks. Using the production of Topeng "Mr. Tepis" as a focus of discussion, this paper presents an artistic endeavor to experiment a modern story to Balinese topeng masked dance theatre. The primary goal of this paper is to show that introducing modern stories into traditional theatre such as topeng may change the old image of the art form without destroying its aesthetic principle and cultural identity. The use of modern story may help topeng to maintain its popularity amidst the ever changing culture of Bali.


Following rising demands in positioning with GPS, low-cost receivers are becoming widely available; but their energy demands are still too high. For energy efficient GPS sensing in delay-tolerant applications, the possibility of offloading a few milliseconds of raw signal samples and leveraging the greater processing power of the cloud for obtaining a position fix is being actively investigated. In an attempt to reduce the energy cost of this data offloading operation, we propose Sparse-GPS: a new computing framework for GPS acquisition via sparse approximation. Within the framework, GPS signals can be efficiently compressed by random ensembles. The sparse acquisition information, pertaining to the visible satellites that are embedded within these limited measurements, can subsequently be recovered by our proposed representation dictionary. By extensive empirical evaluations, we demonstrate the acquisition quality and energy gains of Sparse-GPS. We show that it is twice as energy efficient than offloading uncompressed data, and has 5-10 times lower energy costs than standalone GPS; with a median positioning accuracy of 40 m.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prognostic value of analyzing lymph node (LN) DNA from patients with mycosis fungoides for the presence of a monoclonal T-cell population.

DESIGN
Inception cohort study.

SETTING
A tertiary care referral center in Seattle, Wash.

PATIENTS
Fifty-five uniformly staged patients with the diagnosis of mycosis fungoides and who had a lymph node biopsy, 21 with clinically abnormal nodes and 34 with normal nodes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Lymph nodes were evaluated by Southern blot analysis for T-cell receptor beta-chain (TCRB) gene rearrangement and by histopathologic examination for the LN classification using the National Cancer Institute system. Patients were observed clinically for a mean (+/- SD) of 4.7 +/- 3.4 years.

RESULTS
Patients with detectable TCRB gene rearrangement in lymph node DNA had an increased likelihood of a poor clinical outcome and a decreased probability of survival (P < .001 for both) compared with patients with the TCRB germline. Although patients with clinically enlarged nodes were more likely to have the TCRB gene rearranged, those with normal nodes and the TCRB gene rearranged also had a poor clinical outcome and a decreased probability of survival. Similar to those with the TCRB gene rearranged, most patients with advanced histopathologic changes (LN3 and LN4) had a poor prognosis. The presence of a rearranged TCRB gene, however, correctly predicted some patients with intermediate LN scores (LN2) who had a poor clinical outcome.

CONCLUSIONS
Detection of a monoclonal T-cell population, as demonstrated by a rearranged TCRB gene on Southern blot analysis, in LNs of patients with mycosis fungoides is predictive of a poor clinical outcome and a reduced probability of survival. Lymph node TCRB gene analysis provides additional prognostic information for patients with mycosis fungoides with intermediate LN histopathology.


Microdevices for microbial culture may better capture the evolution of antibiotic resistance in real-world environments. James Bond preferred vodka martinis shaken, not stirred, displaying impressive discriminatory power. Bacteria may be similarly discerning. Zhang et al. (1) abandoned the standard lab practice of growing bacteria in shaking homogeneous liquid cultures in favor of fabricated microenvironments and report, on page 1764 of this issue, that bacteria can tell the difference. They evolve antibiotic resistance far more rapidly in the structured environment. Evolution seems to work differently in the microenvironment, and perhaps more like evolution in the real world.


Multifunctional agriculture is favoured by EU rural policy and considered as a tool for integrated and sustainable rural development. Recent approaches to define the multifunctional practices of rural farm households (different from those of 'conventional' agriculture) according to the use of their resources result in three dimensions: deepening, broadening and regrounding. In this paper, the multifunctional practices of farm households in six rural areas of Greece with different characteristics of agricultural production are examined. Data were obtained from interviews with farmers about the practices of their households. The findings indicate that regrounding practices are encountered more often in all areas and are not associated with the degree of the 'professionalisation' of agriculture in each area. Broadening and deepening practices are less common for two reasons: some of these practices take place at a level independent from most Greek farmers, and demand appears to shape some of these practices.


Neutralizing antibodies that target the hemagglutinin of influenza virus either inhibit binding of hemagglutinin to cellular receptors or prevent the low-pH-induced conformational change in hemagglutinin required for membrane fusion. In general, the former type of antibody binds to the globular head formed by HA1 and has narrow strain specificity, while the latter type binds to the stem mainly formed by HA2 and has broad strain specificity. In the present study, we analyzed the epitope and function of a broadly neutralizing human antibody against H3N2 viruses, F005-126. The crystal structure of F005-126 Fab in complex with hemagglutinin revealed that the antibody binds to the globular head, spans a cleft formed by two hemagglutinin monomers in a hemagglutinin trimer, and cross-links them. It recognizes two peptide portions (sites L and R) and a glycan linked to asparagine at residue 285 using three complementarity-determining regions and framework 3 in the heavy chain. Binding of the antibody to sites L (residues 171 to 173, 239, and 240) and R (residues 91, 92, 270 to 273, 284, and 285) is mediated mainly by van der Waals contacts with the main chains of the peptides in these sites and secondarily by hydrogen bonds with a few side chains of conserved sequences in HA1. Furthermore, the glycan recognized by F005-126 is conserved among H3N2 viruses. F005-126 has the ability to prevent low-pH-induced conformational changes in hemagglutinin. The newly identified conserved epitope, including the glycan, should be immunogenic in humans and may induce production of broadly neutralizing antibodies against H3 viruses.


Performance evaluation techniques of manufacturing systems are powerful decision support tools especially at system design stage. In this paper, an approximate technique based on decomposition method is proposed for performance evaluation of serial homogeneous transfer lines with unreliable machines and finite transfer-delay buffers. The characteristic of transfer-delay buffers means that it takes some transit time to transfer the parts through buffers, which increases the complexity of transfer lines. In order to address the problem, we firstly transform the initial transfer line into an equivalent transfer line, a serial non-homogeneous transfer line with unreliable machines and finite buffers. Then another transformation which replaces the equivalent line by an approximate homogeneous line is introduced. Finally, decomposition method is used to deal with the approximate model. The accuracy and efficiency of the method are validated by simulation results.


A comparative field investigation was conducted on release and transport of bacteria from plots treated with cowpies, turkey litter, and liquid dairy manure. Rainfall conditions were simulated and runoff samples were collected to determine concentrations of E. coli, FC, and enterococcus present in runoff. The turkey treatment had the highest percentage of source bacteria released by rainfall, ranging from 1.3% for enterococcus to 14.5% for FC. The cowpie follows with percentages ranging from 0.3 to 0.6%. Runoff samples collected from the transport plots treated with cowpies averaged 137,000 cfu/100 ml for E. coli and over 165,000 cfu/100 ml for FC during two rainfall simulations. Bacteria concentration in runoff from plots treated with liquid dairy manure decreased between the two simulations, while the bacteria concentration from the plots treated with turkey litter increased. The percent of the bacteria that is initially released by rainfall that is transported to the edge of the field in overland flow was highest for the cowpie treatment (95 to 121%), followed by the turkey (41 to 138 %) and liquid dairy treatments (32 to 86%). Results indicated that among the animal waste types investigated, cowpies have the greatest potential to contributed E. coli, FC, and enterococcus to streams and waterways.


AIM
To investigate whether emodin has any effects on circular smooth muscle cells of rat colon and to examine the mechanism underlying its effect.

METHODS
Smooth muscle cells were isolated from the circular muscle layer of Wistar rat colon and the cell length was measured by computerized image micrometry. Intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]i) signalling was studied in smooth muscle cells using Ca(2+) indicator Fluo-3 AM on a laser-scanning confocal microscope.

RESULTS
Emodin dose-dependently induced smooth muscle cells contraction. The contractile responses induced by emodin were inhibited by preincubation of the cells with ML-7 (an inhibitor of MLCK). Emodin caused a large, transient increase in [Ca(2+)]i followed by a sustained elevation in [Ca(2+)]i. The emodin -induced increase in [Ca(2+)]i was unaffected by nifedipine, a voltage-gated Ca(2+)-channel antagonist, and the sustained phase of the rising of [Ca(2+)]i was attenuated by extracellular Ca(2+) removal with EGTA solution. Inhibiting Ca(2+) release from ryanodine-sensitive intracellular stores by ryanodine reduced the peak increase in [Ca(2+)]i. Using heparin, an antagonist of IP(3)R, almost abolished the peak increase in [Ca(2+)]i.

CONCLUSION
Emodin has a direct excitatory effect on circular smooth muscle cells in rat colon mediated via Ca(2+)/CaM dependent pathways. Furthermore, emodin-induced peak [Ca(2+)]i increase may be attributable to the Ca(2+) release from IP(3) sensitive stores, which further promote Ca(2+) release from ryanodine-sensitive stores through CICR mechanism. Additionally, Ca(2+) influx from extracellular medium contributes to the sustained increase in [Ca(2+)]i.


The use of electronic health (eHealth) technologies in healthcare improves the quality of health services furnished to patients. The application of these technologies helps physicians and other health professionals to pursue early detection of abnormal status on patients' health. Body sensor networks are a type of wireless sensor networks aimed to be deployed on persons in order to collect physiological parameters for healthcare monitoring purposes. These BSNs are composed by several small sensors placed along patient's body, and capable to send (wirelessly) the collected health parameters to remote providers. BSNs need to operate every time and everywhere to transmit these important parameters to healthcare providers or automatic system to detect any anomaly in the patient health status. To provide this continuous monitoring of patients, it is mandatory to provide mobility support for the BSN so it can always be connected to some gateway to the Internet and therefore to back-end health providers. Several mechanisms with mobility support for mobile devices have been provided. However, the mobility support of a whole BSN has not been fully addressed. This article overviews available handover mechanisms used for wireless sensors mobility and proposes a new ubiquitous mobility approach for BSNs in healthcare. A case study with this new handover mechanism developed for a hospital infirmary is presented and highlights the gain of performances of the proposed solution.


1. The sterile Berkefeld filtrates of broth cultures of certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus have a selective poisonous action for the skin of rabbits. 2. The poison is thermolabile, being completely destroyed when heated to 55°C for 1 hour. 3. The poison when injected intradermally into rabbits stimulates the production of antitoxin. We therefore conclude that the poison is a soluble toxin.


Husbands, Wives, and Lovers 1 CAN-CAN: Arturo Vivante Literary Elements: Irony, Symbol Language Elements: Gerunds and Present Participles, Short Expressions Using And, Definitions 2 THE STORY OF AN HOUR: Kate Chopin Literary Elements: Epiphany, Metaphor and Simile, Personification Language Elements: Suffixes, Prepositions 3 EPICAC: Kurt Vonnegut Literary Elements: Personification, Colloquialism and Humor Language Elements: Lie/Lay, Two-Word Verbs, Idioms Containing Body Parts 4 THE LEGACY: Virginia Woolf Literary Element: Point of View Language Element: Adjectives Describing Character 5 THE KUGELMASS EPISODE: Woody Allen Literary Elements: Dialogue, Characterization: Flat Characters, Anachronism and Humor Language Elements: Verbs that Introduce Dialogue, Idioms 6 AN INTRUDER: Nadine Gordimer Literary Elements: Imagery: Simile and Metaphor Language Elements: Adjective Clauses, Adjectives in Context Parent and Child 7 POWDER: Tobias Wolf Literary Elements: Repetition and Alliteration Language Elements: Participial Phrases, Dangling Modifiers, Sentence Fragments, Alliteration, Prepositions 8 MOTHER: Grace Paley Literary Element: Flashback Language Elements: Past Tenses, Symbols 9 A SHORT DIGEST OF A LONG NOVEL: Budd Schulberg Literary Elements: Imagery: Simile and Metaphor Language Elements: Prefixes, Similes and Metaphors, Word Sets 10 THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER: D.H. Lawrence Literary Elements: Symbol, Fable Language Elements: Proverbs, Idioms 11 THE BOARDING HOUSE: James Joyce Literary Elements: Tone: Irony and Humor, Imagery: Adjectives, Oxymorons Language Elements: Oxymorons, Adjectives, Antonyms, Idioms 12 MY OEDIPUS COMPLEX: Frank O'Connor Literary Element: Humorous Effects Language Elements: Denotation and Connotation, Idioms Loneliness and Alienation 13 THE MODEL: Bernard Malamud Literary Element: Inference Language Elements: Euphemism, Using About in Different Ways, Expressions with Two Meanings 14 DISAPPEARING: Monica Wood Literary Elements: Ellipsis, Imagery Language Elements: Vocabulary, Definitions 15 MISS BRILL: Katherine Mansfield Literary Elements: Synecdoche, Simile Language Elements: Verbs of Movement, Adjectives 16 TEENAGE WASTELAND: Anne Tyler Literary Elements: Point of View: Third-Person Narration, Inference Language Elements: Conditionals, Idioms Social Change and Injustice 17 LIKE A WINDING SHEET: Ann Petry Literary Elements: Colloquialism and Dialect, Imagery Language Elements: Adverbial Clauses, Synonyms 18 THE LILY-WHITE BOYS: William Maxwell Literary Elements: Allusion and Connotation, Setting and Atmosphere Language Elements: Appositives, Placement of the Subject, Irregular Verbs 19 THE CATBIRD SEAT: James Thurber Literary Elements: Understatement and Humor Language Elements: Noun Clauses, Two-Word Verbs, Expressions Using Color, Legal Expressions 20 EVERYDAY USE: Alice Walker Literary Elements: Characterization: Round Character, Point of View: First-Person Narrative Language Elements: Prepositional Phrases, Verbs of Movement, Two-Word Verbs, Used To Ecplanation of Literary Terms


Spoken language understanding (SLU) is a component of goal-oriented dialogue systems that aims to interpret user's natural language queries in system's semantic representation format. While current state-of-the-art SLU approaches achieve high performance for English domains, the same is not true for other languages. Approaches in the literature for extending SLU models and grammars to new languages rely primarily on machine translation. This poses a challenge in scaling to new languages, as machine translation systems may not be reliable for several (especially low resource) languages. In this work, we examine different approaches to train a SLU component with little supervision for two new languages - Hindi and Turkish, and show that with only a few hundred labeled examples we can surpass the approaches proposed in the literature. Our experiments show that training a model bilingually (i.e., jointly with English), enables faster learning, in that the model requires fewer labeled instances in the target language to generalize. Qualitative analysis shows that rare slot types benefit the most from the bilingual training.


"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?" (Albert Einstein). In Diversity Issues in Special Education: Theory, Research, and Practice I will define the diversity perspectives within the context of research, then I will develop an understanding and understand theory as it is related to research, and inform personal stance on the merits of various traditions and their use in multicultural education. Thus, I will consider numerous topics such as, social construction of disability, multicultural education, and race. Moreover, in this paper, I will address multicultural education as a knowledge production movement by discussing Rosenqvist's theories in inclusive and diverse special education classes and adopting the idea of the enhancement of competence and the extension of independence. The enhancement of competence, for example, needs recognition of what the child brings to school, accepting his/her skills, attitudes, ways of thinking and social and language experience. Similarly, the extension of independence concentrates on cultural differences. However, the idea of independence may vary in different cultures.


Understanding the psychological processes that underpin the limited self-control resource could have important consequences for health behavior change interventions. The present study employs a 2 × 2 (autonomous/controlling × depleted/not depleted) experimental design to investigate whether an initial act of self-control influences participants' ability to employ counteractive control strategies that help to resist temptation and stick to a focal physical activity (PA) goal. Experimental instructions manipulated the environments to generate autonomy-supportive and controlling conditions. After completing either a depleting or a not-depleting Stroop task, undergraduate students' (N = 77) counteractive evaluations toward a temptation (to complete a sedentary trial with no information) and a focal goal (to complete a physically active trial that provided valuable information) were measured. Despite the successful manipulation of the experimental conditions, results indicated no significant effect of the motivational support condition or depletion condition on the value that the participants placed on a temptation or a focal goal. A significant interaction between depletion condition, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation was observed for subjective vitality. Participants high in autonomous motivations and low in controlling motivations maintained levels of subjective vitality whether depleted or not. We discuss the importance of future experimental work into the effects of temptations on self-control resources in the PA domain.


Prior research based on representative samples drawn from the general population suggests persons tend to follow a common developmental pathway from use of alcohol as youths through possible use of marijuana as teens potentially leading to use of more serious substances as adults. Based on this model, alcohol and marijuana act as gateways, whereby persons who do not onset to alcohol rarely onset to marijuana; similarly, non-marijuana users rarely onset to more serious substance use and abuse. This study examines whether a sample of serious drug abusers recruited from New York City in 1988-89 followed the same developmental pathway as observed in general populations. The results suggest that alcohol is not a prerequisite for progression to marijuana, but marijuana use nearly always precedes use of more serious substances such as cocaine, crack and heroin. Furthermore, with the growing prevalence of marijuana (since 1965) the importance of alcohol as a gateway to marijuana use appears to have declined and marijuana's role as a gateway to serious drug use appears to have increased.


Introduction: Patient's self-perceived handicap inventory is an important tool for modern's health care management including hearing loss. The HHIA is a self-reporting outcome measurement invented to identify hearing-impaired patients' complaints for appropriate client-centred rehabilitation program. HHIA has been reported among one of the valid self-perceived hearing handicap measures, and could even addressed issues for patient with mild and unilateral hearing loss.  This study aims to translate HHIA into Malay language (HHIA-M) and to adapt the questionnaire culturally for clinical use among Malaysian population.
Methods: Ten participants involved in this preliminary study. The questionnaire was initially translated using forward-backward techniques by four-panelists (2 panels for each level). The translated questionnaire was then reconciled and harmonized for cultural and content validations by the authors and two expert panels. Next, the harmonized version of the questionnaire was piloted among 10 hearing-impaired patients and 10 normal hearing participants for face and discriminant validation. All participants were recruited from IIUM Hearing and Speech Clinic.
Results: The finding shows that the HHIA-M was easy to understand and took a short time to complete. Statistical analysis identified significant mean differences in HHIA scores between normal and hearing-impaired participants.
Conclusions: This preliminary finding concluded that the HHIA-M has the potential to be an effective tool to evaluate the hearing handicaps among hearing-impaired patients in Malaysia and further study to investigate its psychometric property is warranted.


In the field of light weight frame structures the assurance of dimensional accuracy and the prediction of structural properties especially during and after welding processes are of great importance. The problem in this regard mostly arises from the used welding technique which is characterised by complex interactions of various parameters. A simulative approach is useful in order to predict the structural behaviour and to improve the geometrical quality of joined light weight components after welding. As such, it contributes to reduce process adjustments in the early stage of the product life cycle, and therefore helps to save time and costs. In this paper an approach for modelling the innovative joining process of composite extruded profiles by friction stir welding is presented.


Epigenetics or imprinting refers to the process of 'chemically' marking the central A, C, G, T double-stranded DNA code. In the past several decades a deeper understanding has been gained of a wide range of mechanisms that have been invoked in biology for the purpose of regulating gene expression and dosage of protein products that are effectively translated and functional in the cells. We mostly carry two copies of a gene (one per non-sex chromosome inherited from each of our parents) in each of our somatic cells; however, some genes are required to have two functional copies in each cell, while others require no less than one copy, but are tolerant of more than one copy. There are very specific genes, often dealing with growth and development, which are, however, only ever needed in a single copy; any more or any less is problematic and even lethal. Epigenetics is the process of reversibly 'marking' genes, either driven by endogenous processes or through exposure to environmental factors, such that they may be effectively silenced. Human development requires an orderly and systematic means of switching on and off of genes; understandably, if there is a mutation affecting this process, it leads to disease, while exposure to chemicals or other experiential stimuli may have a similar effect. This review provides a broad outline of epigenetics and genetic imprinting on human and mammalian development and disease.


Public sector regimes in Australasia are reforming their operations to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. Competition and contracts are presented as mechanisms facilitating such reform in areas such as costs, productivity and quality. This paper argues that short‐term contractual arrangements such as compulsory tendering do not live up to such reformist expectations. Unresolved questions thus preclude any final judgement about the benefits claimed for contracts and tendering in public management. In pursuing "best value" procurement policies, the public sector should consider delivery of services as a facilities management issue. Furthermore, business practice suggests that success is linked to an ability to be flexible in environments noted for change more than constancy. However, the preference given to competitive tendering and contracting (CTC) and more specifically to compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) by state and federal governments in Australia limits the growth of networks at community levels. The policy arena from which CCT derives is more transitory and limited in scope. The notion of compulsory tendering through market competition is discussed and challenged. The authors conclude that good procurement of facilities is a result of strategic linkages.


We analyzed the replicon types, sizes, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing of plasmids carrying extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from Taiwan. Fifty-one Escherichia coli transconjugant strains with plasmids from ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae from the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance III Program in 2002 were included. All the 51 plasmids carried a blaCTX-M gene, the majority of which were blaCTX-M-3 (28/51 [54.9%]). Plasmids ranged in size from 126 to 241 kb by S1 nuclease digestion and subsequent pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and the most common plasmid size (37.3%) was 161-170 kb. The most common replicon type of plasmids was incompatibility group (Inc)A/C (60.8%). The IncA/C plasmids all carried blaCTX-M (blaCTX-M-3, -14, -15), and some also carried blaSHV (blaSHV-5, -12) genes. All 51 plasmids could be typed with PstI, and 27 (52.9%) belonged to 10 clusters. Thirty-eight of the 51 plasmids were typable with BamHI, and 21 plasmids (55.3%) fell into 7 clusters. Plasmids in the same cluster belonged to the same incompatibility group, with the exception of cluster C6. In conclusion, IncA/C plasmids are the main plasmid type responsible for the dissemination of ESBL genes of K. pneumoniae from Taiwan. RFLP with PstI possessed better discriminatory power than that with BamHI and PCR-based replicon typing for ESBL-carrying plasmids in K. pneumoniae in this study. Greater than 50% of plasmids fell into clusters, and >60% of cluster-classified plasmids were present in clonally unrelated isolates, indicating that horizontal transfer of plasmids plays an important role in the spread of ESBL genes.


We study the structure of nilpotent subsemigroups in the semigroup M(n, F) of all n × n matrices over a field, F, with respect to the operation of the usual matrix multiplication. We describe the maximal subsemigroups among the nilpotent subsemigroups of a fixed nilpotency degree and classify them up to isomorphism. We also describe isolated and completely isolated subsemigroups and conjugated elements in M(n, F).


A clock energy model is incorporated into a cycle-accurate energy simulator for an embedded architecture, which also resembles processor cores present in System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. This framework is used to study and quantify the influence on clock energy of several architectural-level decisions and their relative impact on the overall system energy. The design cases include various cache architectures and support for clock gating at different levels (global and local). At the software level, the influence on clock energy of power-oriented memory compiler optimizations is assessed.


Nowadays, more researches focus on protecting the environment. Present investigation concern with the effectiveness of oxygen enriched hydrogen-HHO gas addition on performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a direct injection diesel engine. Here the oxygen enriched hydrogen-HHO gas was produced by the process of water electrolysis. When potential difference is applied across the anode and cathode electrodes of the electrolyzer, water is transmuted into oxygen enriched hydrogen-HHO gas. The produced gas was aspirated into the cylinder along with intake air at the flow rates of 1 lpm and 3.3 lpm. The results show that when oxygen enriched hydrogen-HHO gas was inducted, the brake thermal efficiency of the engine increased by 11.06%, carbon monoxide decreased by 15.38%, unburned hydrocarbon decreased by 18.18%, carbon dioxide increased by 6.06%, however, the NOx emission increased by 11.19%.


This paper introduces an encoding of Model Based Diagnosis (MBD) to Boolean Satisfaction (SAT) focusing on minimal cardinality diagnosis. The encoding is based on a combination of sophisticated MBD preprocessing algorithms and SAT compilation techniques which together provide concise CNF formula. Experimental evidence indicates that our approach is superior to all published algorithms for minimal cardinality MBD. In particular, we can determine, for the first time, minimal cardinality diagnoses for the entire standard ISCAS-85 benchmark. Our results open the way to improve the state-of-the-art on a range of similar MBD problems.


Gravity's Rainbow contains so many jokes and puns that a typology might make a helpful doctoral dissertation. Here, only two of the best-known examples will serve as models: "The Disgusting English Candy Drill" (114–20) and "For De Mille, young fur-henchmen can't be rowing" (557–63). Each is lovingly set up. Steven Weisenburger calls "De Mille" the "most elaborately staged pun in all of GR …. Note that Pynchon has fashioned an entire narrative digression about illicit trading in furs, oarsmen in boats, fur-henchmen, and De Mille-all of it in order to launch this pun" (240). The Candy Drill similarly takes considerable narrative digression to get Slothrop with an English Nurse (Darlene), her landlady (Mrs. Quoad)–a self-described witch–and a jar of candies reflecting a fiendish sensibility. Neither De Mille nor Darlene ever reappears: indeed, it is questionable whether Darlene ever existed; and a Mrs. Quoad is mentioned again only to cast doubt on Darlene's existence. So we might assume these sections have no other purpose than amusement.


The dry season in Batam brings the threat of drought. The dry season has an impact in the form of the threat of fires in settlements and protected forests in the Rempang and Galang Islands, Batam. Based on the survey and analysis activities in 2018, it is known that residential areas in Pasir Panjang Village often experience fires, however, residents do not yet have the knowledge and ability to handle early fire disasters. In the 2018 community service activities, socialization was carried out with the Batam City Fire Service, but it had not yet reached the technical realm. Fire handling training is required for residents with fire extinguishers, however, residents' access to this tool is still limited and the price is quite expensive. This activities has produced an application prototype based on augmented reality to simulate the use of a fire extinguisher as a media for educating citizens. The application prototype has been tested and can serve as a training medium for residents. In addition, this community service program also provides training and assistance in handling in a fire disaster.


Exposure of the organism to a hostile stimulus results in a series of coordinated reactions that aim to avoid the aversive effect and maintain or restore homeostasis of the organism. In response to noxious stimuli corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), the primary mediator of stress responses is released from the paraventricular nucleus resulting in activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and coordination of the endocrine, autonomic, behavioral and immune responses to stress. Several other neuropeptides, released in a coordinated way are also involved in the regulation of the stress response. However, besides the development of adaptive physiological, beneficial reactions, pathological, non-desired somatic and psychic responses can also develop, among others: gastric mucosal damage, erosion and ulceration. The mechanism of stress-related gastric mucosal injury is not fully understood; both mucosal injurious and protective mechanisms are activated in response to stress. Decreased mucosal circulation due to redistribution of blood flow from the visceral region toward the vital organs seems to be the primary mechanism of gastric mucosal damage. Mucosal hypoperfusion can result in mucosal ischemia, free radical formation and gastric hypomotiliy. On the other hand, several stressrelated neuropeptides, such as CRF, SP, N/OFQ, opioids, oxytocin and prolactin have been reported to inhibit the stress- and other ulcerogenic stimulus-induced mucosal lesions independently on their effect on other stressrelated symptoms. Consequently, neuropeptides released during stress, besides their numerous physiological and pathophysiological functions, may initiate adaptive mechanisms as well as counteract the stress-induced gastric mucosal injury.


Studies of games, rhetoric, and pedagogy are increasingly common in our field, and indeed seem to grow each year. Nonetheless, composing and designing digital games, either as a mode of scholarship or as a classroom assignment, has not seen an equal groundswell. This selection first provides a brief overview of the existing scholarship in gaming and pedagogy, much of which currently focuses either on games as texts to analyze or as pedagogical models. While these approaches are certainly valuable, I advocate for an increased focus on game design and creation as valuable act of composition. Such a focus engages students and scholars in a deeply multimodal practice that incorporates critical design and computational thinking. I close with suggestions on tools for new and intrepid designers.


Multidimensional unfolding methods are widely used for visualizing item response data. Such methods project respondents and items simultaneously onto a low-dimensional Euclidian space, in which respondents and items are represented by ideal points, with person-person, item-item, and person-item similarities being captured by the Euclidian distances between the points. In this paper, we study the visualization of multidimensional unfolding from a statistical perspective. We cast multidimensional unfolding into an estimation problem, where the respondent and item ideal points are treated as parameters to be estimated. An estimator is then proposed for the simultaneous estimation of these parameters. Asymptotic theory is provided for the recovery of the ideal points, shedding lights on the validity of model-based visualization. An alternating projected gradient descent algorithm is proposed for the parameter estimation. We provide two illustrative examples, one on users' movie rating and the other on senate roll call voting.


The important role of collagen fibers in LILT has been observed. However there is still unclear information about light characteristics, such as coherence and polarization. Collagens behavior in response to different polarization is presented in this study. We investigate the distribution and structure of collagen bundles in full-thickness human skin in response to laser with different polarization by ellipsometry technique. For this study, we chose skin from the back part of a white man. The light source is HeNe laser. Samples are irradiated by three different polarizations. Sample S|| is irradiated using the electric field vector of the polarized laser radiation aligned in parallel with the human's spinal column direction. Sample S⊥ is irradiated using the electric field vector of the polarized laser radiation aligned perpendicularly to the aforementioned orientation. Sample So is irradiated using circularly polarized laser. Sample C is not irradiated and consider as a control. Our findings indicate that the Sample S|| shows higher birefringence. In comparison with other polarizations this amount is closer to sample C. Birefringence in sample So is higher than sample S⊥. Also by increasing the time duration of irradiation, the birefringence is decreasing which indicates more collagen denaturation.


Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) is a rare autosomal dominant channelopathy characterized by skeletal muscle weakness or paralysis when there is a fall in potassium levels in blood. Weakness may be mild and limited to certain muscle groups or more severe causing generalized paralysis. During an attack, reflexes may be diminished or absent. Attacks may last for a few hours or persist for several days, ultimately resulting in complete recovery. Some patients may develop chronic muscle weakness later in life. Recurrent muscle weakness accompanied by hypokalemia and exclusion of other causes help establish the diagnosis. Potassium supplementation is the mainstay of treatment of acute illness. Lifestyle modification with or without pharmacotherapy in the form of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and/ or spironolactone can prevent future attacks. Here, we present two cases of HPP, the first one had no positive family history and responded to oral potassium and spironolactone, while the second case had family history suggestive of HPP and was managed with potassium and eplerenone.
Birdem Med J 2019; 9(1): 74-79


The exponential increase on the internet of indecent images of children (IIOC) has been followed by a transformation within criminal justice. The scale, nature and rapid technological evolution of such crimes—often of distant initial geographical origin—requires collaborative justice and harm reduction arrangements with internet companies and NGOs. The diminished reach (declining criminal justice interventions) and power (even in identifying crimes for intervention) of state authority with the current collaborative model, however, has resulted in inadequate social regulation and policing in response to IIOC crimes on the surface web. There is a considerable risk that the Online Harms White Paper proposals to establish overarching government authority to generally reduce harmful conduct will not fully resolve problems that go much wider than the technological, commercial and consumer protection on the surface web issues emphasised in that document. Only political choices about funding and fundamental rights compliant legislation can (a) prevent the hollowing out of criminal justice capacity and capabilities to deal with IIOC offenders and (b) ensure an essential compatibility and consistency in police operational ability—including the access sought to anonymised communication data via an encryption key—and legal principles when dealing with IIOC crimes across all levels of the internet, including 'the dark web'. These issues are examined as a case study in civic epistemology about the influence of neoliberalism in technologically focused policy making.


One boy, given radiotherapy and cytostatic drugs for a rhabdomyosarcoma died nine years later of acute leukaemia. A girl, who had received radiotherapy for an inoperable suprasellar tumour and also given cytostatic drugs, fell ill seven years later with a glioblastoma. Among a total of 750 children with malignant neoplasm observed by the authors, a permanent cure rate of about 50% is to be expected among about 300 children treated recently. If this rate applies to the entire Federal Republic of Germany, about 1,000 children are likely to be cured annually. In these circumstances it is likely that 80-160 children treated in any one year will develop a second neoplasm or leukaemia 20 years later, most commonly as a late sequela of the treatment.


Linear viscoelasticity of two kinds of wormlike micelles in aqueous solutions, one is nonionic surfactants and the other one is cationic surfactant with organic salt, was measured over a wide frequency range with Brownian motion tracking microrheology (BMTR) using optical tweezers and a conventional rheometer. In BMTR measurements, the Brownian motion of a small particle embodied in the sample is traced and the complex modulus is calculated from the trajectory. The wideband linear viscoelastic spectra thus obtained for each of wormlike micelles were classified into the following three relaxation types as already known. Type A is similar to the spectrum of the nonentangle polymer solutions, type B similar to that of the entangle polymer systems, and type C has a single Maxwell relaxation at low frequencies. In the high-frequency region, spectra of all types showed a common power-law relaxation, which reflects the reorientation of the viscoelastic segment of the wormlike micelles, indicating that the dynamics of wormlike micelles is identical with that of the ordinary polymeric systems. For type A solutions, the molar mass of wormlike micelles was estimated by fitting the beads-spring models to the viscoelastic spectra. For type B solutions, the molar mass was estimated by using the universality of entangled system. For the case of nonionic micelles, thus determined molar mass is in good agreement with the reported result with the light scattering measurement.


The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an area sensitive to global climate change, and land use/land cover change (LUCC) plays a vital role in regulating climate system at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial trend of precipitation and the characteristics of LUCC on the QTP. Meanwhile, we also used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as an indicator of LUCC to discuss the relationship between LUCC and precipitation. The results show the following: (1) Annual precipitation showed a fluctuant upward trend at a rate of 11.5 mm/decade in this area from 1967 to 2016; three periods (i.e., 22 years, 12 years, and 2 years) of oscillations in annual precipitation were observed, in which expectant 22 years is the main oscillation period. It was predicted that QTP will still be in the stage of increasing precipitation. (2) The LUCC of the plateau changed apparently from 1980 to 2018. The area of grassland decreased by 9.47%, and the area of unused land increased by 7.25%. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the transfer of grassland to unused land occurred in the western part of the QTP, while the reverse transfer was mainly distributed in the northwestern part of the QTP. (3) NDVI in the northern and southwestern parts of the QTP is positively correlated with precipitation, while negative correlations are mainly distributed in the southeast of the QTP, including parts of Sichuan and Yunnan Province. Our results show that precipitation in the QTP has shown a fluctuating growth trend in recent years, and precipitation and NDVI are mainly positively correlated. Furthermore, we hope that this work can provide a theoretical basis for predicting regional hydrology, climate change, and LUCC research.


Purpose
For writing instruction, reflection has been an essential tool. Typically, educators ask students to reflect in a structured written, individual format. Less explored is the role that small and whole group reflective conversations have in fostering students' understandings about writing. The purpose of this paper is to explore several conversations from a young writers' camp to examine how three high school students engaged in four different kinds of reflective talk during the writing process.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws from a larger qualitative study about how campers constructed and enacted their writer identities in a two-week young writers' camp. Five researchers observed, video/audio recorded, engaged in interviews and collected artifacts with 58 campers for ten consecutive days. Qualitative analysis was used to examine how young writers (Grades 9-12) engaged in reflective talk to develop understandings about writing.

Findings
Data illustrated that students engaged in four types of reflective talk: prospective, reflective-in-action, introspective and retrospective. The paper provides one example for each kind of reflective conversation and provides analysis related to how those conversations shaped campers' understandings about writing.

Originality/value
This paper illustrated how adolescent writers used prospective, reflective-in action, introspective and retrospective talk during conversations to tell their stories of learning about writing, a topic less studied in the field. This work offers insight into teaching students how to have such reflective conversations so that they are productive and supportive during writing practices.


Muscovite and biotite separated from Moine schists close to the Moine Thrust Zone yield a range of K-Ar ages incompatible with the simple cooling regime previously proposed for the Caledonides of northern Scotland. Differences of only 1 Ma between muscovite and biotite of the same grainsize contrast with differences of 12–13 Ma between the 125–200 μm and 250–500 μm grainsize fractions. This is contrary to the normally accepted dominance of mica type over grainsize effects. Dynamic recrystallization of the micas during early deformation associated with the Moine Thrust Zone is thought to play a role as important as temperature in determining the K-Ar ages. The conclusions drawn have important implications for the use of uplift and cooling rates derived from the absolute K-Ar closure temperatures of micas close to thrust zones. Although the K-Ar ages from micas with diameters greater than 200 μm are not reproducible, the data can be used to show that deformation associated with thrusting commenced between c. 443 Ma and c. 435 Ma, and that the thrust zone was active until at least 422 Ma ago.


This investigation traces the history and development of music theory in Mexico from the date of the first Mexican treatise available (1776) to the early second half of the nineteenth century (1866). This period of ninety years represents an era of special importance in the development of music theory in Mexico. It was during this time that the old modal system was finally abandoned in favor of the new tonal system and that Mexican authors began to pen music treatises which could be favorably compared with the imported European treatises which were the only authoritative source of instruction for serious musicians in Mexico.


A solid-state molecular beacon using a gold support as a fluorescence quencher is combined with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channel to construct an optical sensor for detecting single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSBP) and histone protein. The single-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe or double-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe immobilized on the gold surface is prepared for the detection of SSBP or histone, respectively. Due to the different quenching ability of gold to the immobilized single-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe and the immobilized double-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe, low fluorescence intensity of the attached single-stranded DNA-Cy3 is obtained in SSBP detection, whereas high fluorescence intensity of the attached double-stranded DNA-Cy3 is obtained in histone detection. The amounts of SSBP in sample solutions are determined from the degree of fluorescence recovery of the immobilized single-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe, whereas that of histone in sample solutions is determined from the degree of fluorescence quenching of the immobilized double-stranded DNA-Cy3 probe. Using this approach, label-free detection of target proteins at nanomolar concentrations is achieved in a convenient, general, continuous flow format. Our approach has high potential for the highly sensitive label-free detection of various proteins based on binding-induced conformation changes of immobilized DNA probes.


Background: Maternal health behavior is a set of behaviors that are practiced on the basis of knowledge and awareness, which enables the mother to help herself in the health field. Baduy tribe is a group of indigenous sub-ethnic Sundanese in Lebak District, Banten Province, which implements isolation from the outside world and maintains a traditional way of life, belief, and culture. This study aimed to examine the social factors associatedwith maternal health behavior among Baduy women in Lebak, Banten.

Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Kadungketung village, Lebak, Banten, in Januari 2018. A sample of 60 mothers was selected for this study by purposive sampling from Kadungketung village, Lebak, Banten Province. The dependent variable was maternal health behavior. The independent variables were maternal education and belief in traditional healer. The data were collected by questionnaire and interview. The data were analyzed by logistic regression.

Results: 90% of all mothers under study were 20-34 years of age, 50% were primiparous, 100% were uneducated, 37% were working as weaver and farmer, 80% did not have access to health services, 90% believed intraditional healer, 60% had poor maternal health behavior, 80% did not use antenatal care, 90% gave birth with traditional birth attendence assistance, 60% did not practice exclusive breastfeeding, 70% did not weigh their infants at the health service facilities, and 60% did not use basic immunization service for the infants. Poor health behavior increased with poor maternal education (OR= 1.45; 95% CI = 0.5 to 4.4; p= 0.010) and belief in traditional healer (OR = 2.67; 95% CI= 1.2 to 5.9; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Mothers in Kadungketug Village, Banten Province, have poor health behavior due to trust in traditional healers in seeking treatment.

Keywords: education, belief, traditional healer, health behavior, mother


Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) responses to supplemental irrigation need to be reassessed in humid, short-season environments. We conducted a 4-year study on a Typic Hapludalf at Jackson TN, to measure yield and maturity responses of contemporary cultivars to supplemental irrigation; to describe boll retention and distribution patterns associated with maturity responses; and to estimate the percentage of years in which yields may respond to irrigation. Treatments consisted of three rates of supplemental drip irrigation (nominally 3.81, 2.54, and 1.27 cm wk -1 , adjusted for rainfall and prior irrigation), plus a nonirrigated check. Irrigation increased lint yields significantly in 3 of 4 years, with quadratic rate responses. The average yield increase was 38% at the 2.54-cm wk -1 rate. Yields were maximized with 35 to 37 cm of total water (irrigation + rainfall) between 40 and 120 days after planting. Yields were limited more by the accumulation of heat units than water supply in 2009. Irrigation delayed crop maturity by an average of 0.56 days for every additional cm water from irrigation or rainfall. Full irrigation expanded the effective fruiting zone on the plant from about 6.6 to 8.5 sympodial branches, increasing first position boll retention, but it delayed crop maturity mainly by shifting the location of the highest harvestable boll. Response to water supply showed that a yield response to irrigation could be expected in years with <28 cm rainfall between 40 and 120 days after planting. Assuming a planting date of 3 May, this condition occurred in 60% of years of historical rainfall data for this environment.


Abstract This paper presents the role of IT protection in the quality management of the technical operation process of military aircraft. The methodology of the statistical analysis of characteristics of the dominant states, on the basis of analysing the performance indicators of damage detection in technical services, was proposed. It was shown that a properly conducted statistical analysis of the indicators, which characterise the technical operation process of aircraft, is capable of disclosing the problems that occur during the implementation of this process.


A feature of the telencephalic vocal control system in the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) that has been hypothesized to represent a profound difference in organization from the oscine vocal system is its reported lack of an inherent circuit through the anterior forebrain. The present study reports anatomical connections that indicate the existence of an anterior forebrain circuit comparable in important ways to the "recursive" pathway of oscine songbirds. Results from anterograde and retrograde tracing experiments with biocytin and fluorescently labeled dextran amines indicate that the central nucleus of the anterior archistriatum (AAc) is the source of ascending projections upon the oval nuclei of the anterior neostriatum and ventral hyperstriatum (NAo and HVo, respectively). Efferent projections from the latter nuclei terminate in the lateral neostriatum afferent to AAc, thereby forming a short recurrent pathway through the pallium. Previously reported projections from HVo and NAo upon the magnocellular nucleus of the lobus parolfactorius (LPOm), and from LPOm onto the magnocellular nucleus of the dorsal thalamus (DMm; G.F. Striedter [1994] J. Comp. Neurol. 343:35–56), are confirmed. A specific projection from DMm onto NAom is also demonstrated; therefore, a recurrent pathway through the basal forebrain also exists in the budgerigar vocal system that is similar to the anterior forebrain circuit of oscine songbirds. Parallels between these circuits and mammalian basal ganglia‐thalamo‐cortical circuits are discussed. It is hypothesized that vocal control nuclei of the avian anterior neostriatum may perform a function similar to the primate supplemental motor area. J. Comp. Neurol. 377:179–206, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In our rapidly changing world, information and communication technologies have been influential in the development of education. Both teaching and learning can benefit from new IT-based applications that save time and cost and provide practical solutions for teachers and students. This article introduces a prototype for a video search system called Video PowerSearcher. The system provides the capabilities of searching inside video lectures using text-based search queries. Video PowerSearcher separates audio from video contents and performs preprocessing activities to identify indexing features for the video which can be utilized at a later stage for search operations. Experiments were conducted on various lecture videos using Video PowerSearcher to demonstrate desirable features for e-learning systems such as simplicity, speed, and accuracy.


Influenza viruses are one of the most prevalent respiratory pathogens known to humans and pose a significant threat to global public health each year. Annual influenza epidemics are responsible for 3–5 million infections worldwide and approximately 500,000 deaths. Presently, yearly vaccinations represent the most effective means of combating these viruses. In humans, influenza viruses infect respiratory epithelial cells and typically cause localized infections of mild to moderate severity. Neutrophils are the first innate cells to be recruited to the site of the infection and possess a wide range of effector functions to eliminate viruses. Some well-described effector functions include phagocytosis, degranulation, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). However, while these mechanisms can promote infection resolution, they can also contribute to the pathology of severe disease. Thus, the role of neutrophils in influenza viral infection is nuanced, and the threshold at which protective functions give way to immunopathology is not well understood. Moreover, notable differences between human and murine neutrophils underscore the need to exercise caution when applying murine findings to human physiology. This review aims to provide an overview of neutrophil characteristics, their classic effector functions, as well as more recently described antibody-mediated effector functions. Finally, we discuss the controversial role these cells play in the context of influenza virus infections and how our knowledge of this cell type can be leveraged in the design of universal influenza virus vaccines.


The author presents his views on the essential ingredients of development, comparing the development ideal with its reality. Development is about change for the better, which must be appropriate (culturally, economically, technologically etc.) if change is to take root, and gain the participation of beneficiaries. Equity and justice are at the heart of any change for the better, as is sustainability. True development cannot be measured in solely economic terms, but must also include changes in the quality of lives, which are less tangible. Development as a process is not just a `Third World' issue but a universal concern, encompassing responses to over-development as well as under-development. This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.


Using a kinetic model for smectite to illite transformation in a basin model, we evaluate the potential role of the fluid produced by the dehydration phenomenon in the overpressure generation and then we explore a way to account for diagenetic effects in the evaluation of the permeability of argilleous sandstones during the numerical reconstruction process. As we simulate the deposition sequences, by representing the heterogeneous sediment loading and the burial during time, we access to the evolution of past fluid migrations and thermal regimes. Clay dehydration is introduced as a mechanism providing a source term for the flow mass-balance equation. Specific surfaces in the Koseny-Carman laws used for flow are modified to account for the evolving illite content. As an application, we consider a 80 km square area in the western margin of the Viking Graben, North Sea, from Statfjord period (219 MY) to present day. This part of the basin exhibits sandstone/shale alternances and is affected by NNW-SSE trending faults. Neighbouring oil fields, known as Alwyn, Dunbar or Hild, present different abnormal pressure developments, with overpressures as large as 20 to 35 MPa in Jurassic sandstone reservoirs. Illitisation is reported, which can be accompanied by a sharp decrease in hydraulic properties. A morphological characterisation of this illite is available and implications for the hydraulic behaviour of the porous material are simulated. Geochemical interactions, fluid speciation and stability of the mineral assemblage, are controlled at each time step and various locations using a local thermodynamic equilibrium model.


Mononuclear phagocytes (MP) are a quite unique subset of hematopoietic cells, which comprise dendritic cells (DC), monocytes as well as monocyte-derived and tissue-resident macrophages. These cells are extremely diverse with regard to their origin, their phenotype as well as their function. Developmentally, DC and monocytes are constantly replenished from a bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor. The ontogeny of macrophages is more complex and is temporally linked and specified by the organ where they reside, occurring early during embryonic or perinatal life. The functional heterogeneity of MPs is certainly a consequence of the tissue of residence and also reflects the diverse ontogeny of the subsets. In this review, we will highlight the developmental pathways of murine MP, with a particular emphasis on the transcriptional factors that regulate their development and function. Finally, we will discuss and point out open questions in the field.


Objective: Little is known about the cardiac contractility recovery after exercise. The objective of the study was to explore a method to evaluate the extent and speed of cardiac function up-regulation during exercise and the recovery course of cardiac contractility and heart rate after exercise. Methods: Ten student athletes and ten student non-athlete voluntarily participated in this controlled study. Three indicators were selected: 1) amplitude ratio of the first to second heart sound (S1/S2); 2) heart rate (HR); 3) power output (W). Phonocardiogram exercise test (PCGET) was adopted. A four-stage workload increment protocol was used. Phonocardiograms were recorded in the sitting position at rest and immediately after each test stage. The time taken for completing the workloads 1750 J, 3500 J, 5250 J, and 7000 J was recorded, respectively. During recovery heart sound signals were recorded immediately after exercise, and at 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes after exercise. S1/S2, HR, and W were calculated from the measured data. Cardiac function change trend graphs were constructed. Results: During exercise, HR and S1/S2 ratio increased with the increase in workload from 1750 J to 7000 J; the level and speed of increase in power output and S1/S2 ratio of the athletes were higher than the general students; power done by the general students decreased earlier than the athletes. During recovery course, the recovery course of the general students was slower than the athletes. Conclusion: This method for evaluating cardiac function up-regulation and recovery course is safe, easy, reliable, and effective, which is beneficial for selecting athletes, training, and matchmaking.


Dynamic range compression is useful for displaying and enhancing images. It is common to subtract a mask from a given image to enhance the details. The trick is how to obtain a good mask. The authors describe how an edge-preserving filter can be used to generate a mask that is smooth over areas with fine details, yet preserves most of the edges. Experiments with real images show that the scheme is effective for this task.<<ETX>>


Introduction: Over the last several decades, the concern of environmental exposures to certain carcinogens and mutagens found in hair products, particularly hair dyes, have been explored for evidence of an association with breast cancer risk, yielding equivocal results. However, little is known about this association among African American (AA) women, who are common users of these products. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and patterns of use of hair products in AA and European American (EA) women in the Women9s Circle of Health Study (WCHS), and their associations with breast cancer risk, overall and by estrogen receptor (ER+, ER-) and triple negative (TN) status. Methods: Data collection for the WCHS, a case-control study of breast cancer in New York City and several counties in New Jersey, was conducted through in-person interviews, with anthropometric and body composition measurements taken, and review of pathology records. At study entry, participants were asked on use of hair dyes, chemical relaxers/straighteners and cholesterol- and/or placenta-containing conditioning creams. Chi-square tests were used to compare differences in hair product variables by case-control status among AAs and EAs. Race-stratified, age-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted unconditional logistic regression models controlling for age, race, education, family history of breast cancer, oral contraceptive use, and body mass index were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between hair product use and risk among 4,285 women with breast cancer and controls (AA, n=2,798 and EA, n=1,487). Results: Among controls, 30.23% of AAs and 57.76% of EAs regularly used hair dye. Compared to light hair dye shades (blonde, light brown) use of darker shades (dark brown, black) was associated with increased odds of breast cancer among AA women (OR 1.64, 95% CI: 1.19-2.27), although there did not appear to be a dose response association with frequency of use. There were no associations between hair dye use and breast cancer risk among EA women. Use of chemical relaxers was more common among AAs than EAs (87.13% vs. 4.62% of AA and EA controls, respectively). Compared to AA women who used chemical relaxers without lye, those using products with lye were at increased risk (OR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.22-1.94). Among EA women although use of relaxers was not very common, compared to never users, those using relaxers (OR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.11-2.74) and using lye-containing relaxers (OR 4.37, 95% CI: 1.65-11.88) were at increased risk. Regular hair dye use (OR 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03-1.39), use of darker hair dye shades (OR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.05-1.77), and use of relaxers that contain lye (OR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.03-1.55) were associated with increased risk of ER+ BC. Regularly using both hair dyes and relaxers was associated with increased risk of ER+ BC (OR 1.20, 95% CI: 1.00-1.44). Regular hair dye use was not associated with risk of ER- or TNBC. The use of deep conditioning creams that contain cholesterol or placenta was also more common among AAs than EAs (56.12% vs. 6.01% of controls, respectively). However, there were no associations between use of these products and breast cancer risk. Conclusions: These findings from a large case-control study of AA and EA women provide additional epidemiological data to support a relationship between the use of some hair products, namely hair dyes and chemical relaxers, and risk of breast cancer. As use of various hair products and other cosmetics continue to increase among women in the U.S., particularly those at increased risk of breast cancer, improved awareness of the potential effects of exposures to their chemical ingredients are needed. Citation Format: Adana A.M. Llanos, Anna Rabkin, Gary Zirpoli, Cathleen Y. Xing, Bo Qin, Brian D. Gonzalez, Chi-Chen Hong, Kitaw Demissie, Elisa V. Bandera, Christine B. Ambrosone. Hair product use and breast cancer risk by hormone receptor status in the Women9s Circle of Health Study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B81.


Abstract We describe Alvinocaris komaii, new species, from hydrothermal fields at the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC). Adults of this species are distinguished in the field from other alvinocaridids at the ELSC by their larger size and orange-white carapace. Additionally, they appear to preferentially inhabit mussel beds composed of Bathymodiolus brevior. Alvinocaris komaii differs from all known species in the genus by a distinctive deep notch mesially on the telson and accessory spinules on the dactyli of the third to fifth pereopods arranged in 2 rows. A suite of morphological characters separates A. komaii from other alvinocaridids. We analyze the degree of morphological variation in A. komaii and discuss affinities of the Pacific species of Alvinocaris. Molecular data from the mitochondrial COI gene is used to compliment this description, and a key to the species of the family Alvinocarididae is included with locality information.


In the prevaccine era pertussis and diphtheria were responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in children. In the United States of America more than 125,000 cases of diphtheria with 10,000 deaths were reported annually in the 1920s. In the same period about 1.7 million cases of pertussis with 73,000 deaths were also reported. Vaccination against these two diseases has caused remarkable reduction in the morbidity and mortality from these diseases both in developed and developing countries. The initial vaccines were the combined diphtheria toxoid and whole cell pertussis vaccine. The recent reported increases in the incidence of these two diseases in countries, which maintain high childhood vaccination coverage is a source of concern not only to these countries but also for developing countries with weak immunization programmes. Nigeria for example reported 11,281 cases of pertussis, the second highest number of cases worldwide in 2009. Waning immunity in adult and adolescent populations has been reported and epidemiologically, more cases are being reported in adults and adolescents. Also a high proportion of pertussis cases are being reported in infants and most of these infant cases are linked to adult/adolescent sources. Recent approaches to control of these diseases include booster doses of combined diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine while the cocooning strategy (which is immunizing every person who is likely to have contact with a given infant such as mother, father, grandparents and health care workers) is being used in a number of countries. For developing countries including Nigeria where the capacity for making the diagnosis of both diseases is limited, strengthening of routine immunization as well as diagnostic capacity is imperative. Research to determine current levels of immunity in children, adolescents and adults is required. This will enable the determination of the need for booster doses and the age at which such boosters should be administered. Improved surveillance will be needed to delineate current epidemiological profiles of both diseases.


Climatic chambers are of great importance in research and development to conduct tests of components in closed environmentally controlled conditions. The growing demand from the industry to fulfill stricter international standards creates the necessity to ensure that the thermofluidic behavior of climatic chambers guarantees high-quality consistency in their interior domain. At present, scientific research on climatic chambers available in the literature is scarce and is mostly based on lumped modeling, hence not addressing the heterogeneities that arise in the interior of the chamber. In this work, an in-depth 3D model of the velocity and temperature fields that develops in the interior of climatic chambers was developed in computer fluid dynamics (CFD) and validated with the experimental data from a new prototype. The key objective of this research was to establish a validated framework for model-based design optimization of climatic chambers. The proposed model showed good agreement with the experimental data with a difference of 0.6 m/s and 9.65 °C in the velocity and temperature fields, respectively, thus validating its applicability to perform model-based design optimization of climatic chambers.


An edge emitting quantum dot (QD) laser at 1430 nm is demonstrated with a structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrate. The active region is based on three InAs bilayer QDs embedded in a conventional AlGaAs/GaAs waveguide. The threshold current density is 134 A/cm/sup 2/. Output power of 23 mW per facet is achieved.


Radionuclide therapies are an important tool for the management of patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). Especially [ 131 I]MIBG and [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE are routinely used for the treatment of a subset of NENs, including pheochromocytomas, paragangliomas and gastroenteropancreatic tumors. Some patients suffering from other forms of NENs, such as medullary thyroid carcinoma or neuroblastoma, were shown to respond to radionuclide therapy; however, no general recommendations exist. Although [ 131 I]MIBG and [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE can delay disease progression and improve quality of life, complete remissions are achieved rarely. Hence, better individually tailored combination regimes are required. This review summarizes currently applied radionuclide therapies in the context of NENs and informs about recent advances in the development of theranostic agents that might enable targeting subgroups of NENs that previously did not respond to [ 131 I]MIBG or [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE. Moreover, molecular pathways involved in NEN tumorigenesis and progression that mediate features of radioresistance and are particularly related to the stemness of cancer cells are discussed. Pharmacological inhibition of such pathways might result in radiosensitization or general complementary antitumor effects in patients with certain genetic, transcriptomic, or metabolic characteristics. Finally, we provide an overview of approved targeted agents that might be beneficial in combination with radionuclide therapies in the context of a personalized molecular profiling approach.


Modeling of stellar radiative intensities in various spectral passbands plays an important role in stellar physics. At the same time, direct calculation of the high-resolution spectrum and then integration of it over the given spectral passband is computationally demanding due to the vast number of atomic and molecular lines. This is particularly so when employing three-dimensional (3D) models of stellar atmospheres. To accelerate the calculations, one can employ approximate methods, e.g., the use of opacity distribution functions (ODFs). Generally, ODFs provide a good approximation of traditional spectral synthesis, i.e., computation of intensities through filters with strictly rectangular transmission functions. However, their performance strongly deteriorates when the filter transmission noticeably changes within its passband, which is the case for almost all filters routinely used in stellar physics. In this context, the aims of this paper are (a) to generalize the ODFs method for calculating intensities through filters with arbitrary transmission functions, and (b) to study the performance of the standard and generalized ODFs methods for calculating intensities emergent from 3D models of stellar atmospheres. For this purpose we use the newly developed MPS-ATLAS radiative transfer code to compute intensities emergent from 3D cubes simulated with the radiative magnetohydrodynamics code MURaM. The calculations are performed in the 1.5D regime, i.e., along many parallel rays passing through the simulated cube. We demonstrate that the generalized ODFs method allows accurate and fast syntheses of spectral intensities and their center-to-limb variations.


Numerous papers have been published associated with the development of thin hard coatings having diverse architectures (e.g., multicomponent, multilayer, graded, nanocomposite etc.) and deposition of these thin coatings on cutting tools to enhance their performance and life. While considerable success has been reported on enhancing the cutting process (i.e., increasing productivity, reducing manufacturing costs, improving product quality and competitiveness) by the application of coatings such as TiN, TiC, TiAlN, TiCrN etc., there are also number of cases where coatings have failed to improve the performance and life of the cutting tools. Often the coating itself is blamed for the poor performance of the coated cutting tools, but in practice the characteristics and condition of the cutting edges prior to coating deposition might have even greater impact in failure of the system. For example, if the cutting edges are very sharp, the coating will start to break off from that sharp point and the whole purpose of coating application on the cutting tool would be undermined. The paper presents the results of success and failure stories of coated cutting tools and the necessary steps should be taken to achieve the objective of improved performance from the coated tools. In majority of cases, the commercial coaters will coat the cutting tools without having any prior knowledge of the condition of the cutting tool (i.e., surface roughness, edge sharpness, burr on the cutting edges etc.), end application, cutting conditions and associated wear mechanisms of the cutting tool. The necessity of adopting a systematic approach to bridge the communication gap amongst the cutting tool manufactures, tool coaters and the end users of the coated tools is addressed in this paper.


A.B. Calvo and D.H. Marks (1973) formulated the problem of locating various types of health facilities, and allocating different types and levels of demand to these facilities, as a zero-one integer programming model. Although the model has been widely referenced in the literature no solution algorithm has been developed to date. It is shown in this work that the model is actually only locally inclusive and that it can be solved as a special case of another general, successively exclusive, model that is formulated and solved. A second model is presented that corrects for a shortcoming in the A.B. Calvo and D.H. Marks model and solves for the successively inclusive hierarchical location-allocation problem.