Background: When hypoxia is the cause for neonatal encephalopathy, a clinical syndrome has been described known as hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Aim of the Study: This study aimed to determine the magnitude of HIE occurrence, its short-term outcomes, and associated risk factors. Literature review was included for comparing our reported findings with other published ones. Methods: A retrospective, case–control study was conducted at "Abha Maternity and Children Hospital" (AMCH) that included all inborn term and late-preterm newborns with the "admission diagnosis" of HIE during 2016–2017. Healthy newborn babies were taken as controls. Data were extracted from neonatal medical files for HIE cases and maternal medical files for the controls. Results: Of 15,790 livebirths, 124 cases had HIE (7.85/1000 livebirths), of whom 3.98/1000 and 3.86/1000 livebirths were staged as mild and moderate-to-severe HIE, respectively. Short-term outcomes for HIE were 14 deaths (11.3%) and 33 cases with seizures (26.6%), which occurred exclusively among moderate–severe HIE cases; 87 cases (70.2%) required positive pressure ventilation, and 45 cases (36.3%) required mechanical ventilation, with significantly higher rate among moderate–severe HIE than mild cases (P < 0.001). By the 7th day of admission, moderate-to-severe HIE cases showed significantly higher rates for both lack of nutritive sucking reflex and respiratory support than mild HIE ones (P = 0.016 and P < 0.001, respectively). Among HIE cases who required cooling, 96.2% were subjected to it within the "therapeutic window" of ≤6 h. Risk factors associated with HIE were urinary tract infection/vaginitis (P = 0.001), late preterm (P = 0.002), meconium stain (P = 0.003), abnormal cardiotocographic tracing (P < 0.001), prolonged second stage of labor (P = 0.001), assisted delivery (P = 0.011), sentinel events (P = 0.027), and low 1-min APGAR scores (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The burden of moderate-to-severe HIE at AMCH is high with an associated high mortality rate. Early identification of high-risk pregnancy with improved antepartum, intrapartum, and neonatal care can reduce occurrence of HIE.


The free energies of dimer dissociation of the retroviral proteases (PRs) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) were determined by measuring the effects of denaturants on the protein fluorescence upon the unfolding of the enzymes. HIV-1 PR was more stable to denaturation by chaotropes and extremes of pH and temperature than SIV PR, indicating that the former enzyme has greater conformational stability. The urea unfolding curves of both proteases were sigmoidal and single phase. The midpoints of the transition curves increased with increasing protein concentrations. These data were best described by and fitted to a two-state model in which folded dimers were in equilibrium with unfolded monomers. This denaturation model conforms to cases in which protein unfolding and dimer dissociation are concomitant processes in which folded monomers do not exist [Bowie, J. U., & Sauer, R. T. (1989) Biochemistry 28, 7140-7143]. Accordingly, the free energies of unfolding reflect the stabilities of the protease dimers, which for HIV-1 PR and SIV PR were, respectively, delta GuH2O = 14 +/- 1 kcal/mol (Ku = 39 pM) and 13 +/- 1 kcal/mol (Ku = 180 pM). The binding of a tight-binding, competitive inhibitor greatly stabilized HIV-1 PR toward urea-induced unfolding (delta GuH2O = 19.3 +/- 0.7 kcal/mol, Ku = 7.0 fM). There were also profound effects caused by adverse pH on the protein conformation for both HIV-1 PR and SIV PR, resulting in unfolding at pH values above and below the respective optimal ranges of 4.0-8.0 and 4.0-7.0


A set of sodium silicate glass matrices were synthesized to study the influence of Na2O concentration on the optical properties of Eu3+. The samples were characterized by optical absorption (OA), time and energy resolved photoluminescence and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). We observed that decreasing sodium oxide concentration affects the absorption of OH radicals in the host matrix. Adjusting the obtained FTIR spectra by Gaussian functions, we observed the existence of two possible non-radiative transfer channels with the transition from the 5D0 to the 7F2 state of the Eu3+ ions. The first was produced by resonance with the 5th harmonic vibration of OH bonded radicals and the second by resonance with the 14th harmonic vibration of the silicon network. A decrease in OH radicals observed by FTIR was followed by an increase in the lifetime of the 5D0 state of the Eu3+ ions. However, resonance with higher harmonic orders did not affect the optical properties of the Eu3+ ions. Increases in the lifetime of this transition (~3.3 ms) were obtained from the synthesized sample with the lowest sodium oxide concentration. This lifetime is comparable with the well-known YAG system. Molecular dynamic results show that decreasing sodium oxide content in the host matrix produces structural changes such as decreases in non-bridge oxygen species, which may explain the decreases in OH radical absorption seen in the experimental results.


BACKGROUND
This phase II trial evaluated the efficacy of cisplatin and fluorouracil (CF)-based combination neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the outcome of patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We compared the recurrence-free survival (RFS) associated with CF plus Adriamycin (ACF) with that associated with CF plus docetaxel (DCF) to select an alternative regimen in a new phase III trial investigating the optimal neoadjuvant treatment of patients with ESCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with resectable advanced ESCC were randomly assigned to either ACF (Adriamycin 35 mg/m2, cisplatin 70 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, fluorouracil 700 mg/m2 continuous infusion for 7 days) every 4 weeks or DCF (docetaxel 70 mg/m2, cisplatin 70 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, fluorouracil 700 mg/m2 continuous infusion for 5 days) every 3 weeks. Surgery was scheduled after completion of two cycles of chemotherapy. The primary end point was RFS, analyzed by the intention-to-treat.

RESULTS
Between October 2011 and October 2013, 162 patients at 10 institutions were enrolled in the study, all of whom were eligible and randomly assigned to the two groups (81 to the ACF group and 81 to the DCF group). The R0 resection rates for the ACF and DCF groups were equivalent (95.9% versus 96.2%, P = 0.93). The 2-year RFS and overall survival rates for DCF versus ACF were 64.1% versus 42.9% (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.83, P = 0.0057) and 78.6% versus 65.4% (P = 0.08), respectively.

CONCLUSION
Compared with ACF, DCF chemotherapy was associated with prolonged RFS for patients with resectable advanced ESCC. Thus, DCF chemotherapy has potential as a standard neoadjuvant therapy for resectable ESCC.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry of Japan (identification number UMIN000004555/000004616).


ABSTRACT Floods due to intense rainfall are a major hazard to both people and infrastructure in western Norway. Here steep orography enhances precipitation and the complex terrain channels the runoff into narrow valleys and small rivers. In this study we investigate a major rainfall and flooding event in October 2014. We compare high-resolution numerical simulations with measurements from rain gauges deployed in the impacted region. Our study has two objectives: (i) to understand the dynamical processes that drove the high rainfall and (ii) the importance of high grid resolution to resolve intense rainfall in complex terrain. This is of great interest for numerical weather prediction and hydrological modelling. Our approach is to dynamically downscale the ERA-Interim reanalysis with the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). We find that WRF gives a substantially better representation of precipitation both in terms of absolute values as well as spatial and temporal distributions than a coarse resolution reanalysis. The largest improvement between the WRF simulations is found when we decrease the horizontal model grid spacing from 9 km to 3 km. Only minor additional improvements are obtained when downscaling further to 1 km. We believe that this is mainly related to the orography in the study area and its representation in the model. Realistic representations of gravity waves and the seeder–feeder effect seem to play crucial roles in reproducing the precipitation distribution correctly. An analysis of associated wavelengths shows the importance of the shortest resolvable length scales. On these scales our simulations also show differences in accumulated precipitation of up to 300 mm over four days, further emphasising the need for resolving short wavelengths. Therefore, our results clearly demonstrate the need for high-resolution dynamical downscaling for extreme weather impact studies in regions with complex terrain.


ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 12 (2016) pp. 819-834 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The antifungal potential of ozone fumigation was evaluated for growth inhibition of isolated fungi from recurrent mastitis in dairy buffaloes in comparison with some traditional chemical antifungal. One hundred samples were collected from private farm of dairy buffaloes suffering from repeated mastitis affection ( 20 samples of each of litters, swabs of workers hands and rations) and 40 mastitic milk samples from diseased mastitis animals. The predominant fungal isolates that recovered from samples were subjected for ozone fumigation. The effectiveness of ozone treatments on spore germination depended on ozone concentration and treatment duration. The gradual increase in ozone concentration induced progressive retardation of the spore viability and the required time for ozone exposure was decreased. Where, the growth inhibition of mould as A.flavus required exposure to 20 ppm of ozone for 20 minutes ; to 40 ppm for 15 minutes and exposure to 60 ppm of ozone for 10 minutes to be completely inhibited the fungal growth and no mycelia was observed. The ozone exposure of mould at different concentrations for time under 10 minutes not able to inhibit completely their growth and the inhibition was more pronounced with the extension of exposure time. On the other hand, the growth inhibition of yeast was more sensitive for ozone fumigation which required fewer time of exposure (5-10 min). When the treated fungi with ozone fumigation were subjected to scanning by electron microscopy (SEM),showed many destructive changes in morphology and loss of cell integrity and hence its viability and function were inhibited. When ozone concentrations and time of exposure increased, a serious and destructive changes to fungal structure would occur. The field application on selected highly contaminated commercial animal ration with different moulds, evidenced also higher potential antifungal effects of the ozone fumigation. Where, all used concentrations of ozone (20, 40 & 60 ppm) were effective in decontamination when contaminated rations exposed for 20 minutes and more. Therefore, fumigation with ozone gas can be used as a good method for achieving sanitation and decreasing initial microbial load in rations facilities and spoilage on a long term. Otherwise, the animal diseases could be prevented when healthy feed, disinfect storage, processing areas and other utensils which significantly reflected in improving animal health. K e y w o r d s


Deployment of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) on the Island of Hispaniola has been considered since the emergence of the disease in October of 2010. At that time, emergency response focused on the time-tested measures of treatment to prevent deaths and sanitation to diminish transmission. Use of the limited amount of vaccine available in the global market was recommended for demonstration activities, which were carried out in 2012. As transmission continues, vaccination was recommended in Haiti as one component of a comprehensive initiative supported by an international coalition to eliminate cholera on the Island of Hispaniola. Leveraging its delivery to strengthen other cholera prevention measures and immunization services, a phased OCV introduction is pursued in accordance with global vaccine supply. Not mutually exclusive or sequential deployment options include routine immunization for children over the age of 1 year and campaigns in vulnerable metropolitan areas or rural areas with limited access to health services.


"Balladeer" in Stephen Sondheim and Jonathan Weidman's 1990 off-Broadway musical Assassins . The musical features historical figures that either assassinated or attempted to assassinate Presidents of the United States of America. Although there is no linear plot, the scenes progress in approximate chronological order from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald. The special connection between Booth and the Balladeer in terms of staging, song content, and dialogue, is examined in detail. Also examined are the implications of the 2004 Broadway staging, in which the same actor play the Balladeer and Oswald. Analysis of lyrics, music and dialog is presented as evidence.


The exploration of differing historical interpretations has become an area of growing interest to anthropologists and historians alike, who have come to recognize that diverse interpretations of the same events can create as powerful a force for future actions as the events themselves. Following this approach, history becomes not so much a narrative progression of events, as shifts in meaning structures over time. The impact of such a perspective on scholars of Southeast Asian societies has led to both an increasingly critical use of colonial sources as well as to renewed interest in native or indigenous documents. We have also come to expect major divisions not only between colonialist and indigenous views, but among indigenous views themselves. This is particularly true in societies divided by class and ethnicity such as Malaysia where competing political and cultural interests can be expected to produce markedly different versions of past events. Similarly, we can predict that ongoing shifts in political and cultural relations will create continued transformations in interpretations over time.


Abstract. Large-scale mapping and monitoring of agriculture land use are very important. It helps in forecast crop yields, assesses the factors influencing the crop stress and estimate the damage due to natural hazards. Also, more essentially, aids in calculating the irrigation water demand at the farm level and better water resource management. Recent developments in remote sensing satellite sensors spatial and temporal resolutions, global coverage and open access such as Sentinel-2, created new possibilities in mapping and monitoring land use/land cover features. The present study investigated the performance and applicability of Sen2-Agri system in the heterogeneous cropping system for operational crop type mapping at parcel resolution using time series Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite imagery. The parcel level crop type information was collected in the field by systematic sampling and used to train and validate the random forest (RF) classification in the system. The classification accuracy varied from 57% to 86% for different major crops. The overall classification accuracy was 70% with KAPPA index of 61%. The very small agriculture field size and persistent cloud cover are the major constraint to the improvement of classification accuracy. Combination of the time series imagery from multiple earth observation satellites for the monsoon cropping season and development of a robust system for in-situ data collection will further increase the mapping accuracy. Sen2-Agri system has the potential to handle a large amount of earth observation data and can be scaled up to the entire country, which will help in the efficient monitoring of crops.


The presence of erythema migrans offers physicians the best opportunity for diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. Serologic testing has poor sensitivity in patients with early disease. Therefore, aggressive antibiotic treatment initiated solely on the basis of clinical findings is appropriate. A number of recently studied regimens have shown success against the infection.


Leaves are one of the most conspicuous and important organs of all seed plants. A fundamental source of morphological diversity in leaves is the degree to which the leaf is dissected by lobes and leaflets. We used publicly available segmental introgression lines to describe the quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling the difference in leaf dissection seen between two tomato species, Lycopersicon esculentum and L. pennellii. We define eight morphological characteristics that comprise the mature tomato leaf and describe loci that affect each of these characters. We found 30 QTL that contribute one or more of these characters. Of these 30 QTL, 22 primarily affect leaf dissection and 8 primarily affect leaf size. On the basis of which characters are affected, four classes of loci emerge that affect leaf dissection. The majority of the QTL produce phenotypes intermediate to the two parent lines, while 5 QTL result in transgression with drastically increased dissection relative to both parent lines.


In long-term studies testing the Penn State Total Artificial Heart involving 30 calves, seven calves died of pulmonary complications within 2 weeks after receiving the implant (Group 1 [G1]) and seven calves survived from 2 weeks to 3 months without infection (Group 2 [G2]). Comparative studies were performed using multiple variables: cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, cardiac index, central venous pressure, leukocyte count, hematocrit, total protein, albumin, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), creatinine, water balance, and transfused blood volume. In G1, CPB time was longer than in G2 (182 +/- 19 vs 156 +/- 17 minutes, respectively, p = 0.018). Postoperative minimum total protein and albumin in G1 were lower than those in G2 (56.5% +/- 6.0% and 59.0% +/- 5.5% of preoperative values vs 68.4% +/- 8.5% and 67.8% +/- 6.1%, respectively, p = 0.011 and 0.015). Water balance in G2 was more positive than in G1 (11.7 +/- 6.8 vs 1.4 +/- 8.3 L, respectively, p = 0.020). Other variables showed no significant differences. Microscopic findings of the lung in G1 were congestion, hemorrhage, aggregation of neutrophils, and proteinaceous material within the interstitial tissues and alveoli.


This thesis presents the development and application of algorithms for the analysis of pig carcasses. Focus is on the simulation and quality estimation of meat products produced in a Danish slaughterhouse. Computed Tomography scans of pig carcasses provide the data used in the application. Image analysis is applied in order to imitate some of the cutting processes found in a slaughterhouse but also to give a quantitative measure of the composition of each carcass. The basis of the algorithms is non-linear image registration. This method finds the anatomical correspondence between a reference carcass and a template carcass. By iteratively comparing the transformed template with the reference a resulting dense deformation field is found. Propagating a set of landmarks from the reference coordinate system onto the template enables the simulation of slaughtering processes. Non-invasively estimating the quality of the slaughtering products provides a very valuable tool for use in the slaughterhouse in the future.


A novel strategy has been proposed to fabricate a hierarchical Ni–Al LDH platinum nanocatalyst (LDH-Pt). The formation mechanism involves loading of Pt NPs on nanocarbon spheres (NCSs) and calcination of NCSs/Pt/Al2O3 to remove inner NCSs. Then, Ni–Al LDH nanosheets in situ grew from hollow Pt/Al2O3 nanoclusters via a hydrothermal process, eventually fabricating the hierarchical LDH-Pt nanocatalyst. TEM and SEM images were employed to characterize each step of the synthesis process. During the hydrothermal process, most of the Pt NPs in Al2O3 shells were inlaid in the in situ grown LDH nanosheets, exhibiting a higher thermal stability than traditional impregnated LDH catalysts. Lastly, the as-synthesized LDH-Pt was tested with a high temperature reaction (590 °C) of propane dehydrogenation to further demonstrate the enhanced thermal stability of LDH-Pt.


End-to-end speech translation, a hot topic in recent years, aims to translate a segment of audio into a specific language with an end-to-end model. Conventional approaches employ multi-task learning and pre-training methods for this task, but they suffer from the huge gap between pre-training and fine-tuning. To address these issues, we propose a Tandem Connectionist Encoding Network (TCEN) which bridges the gap by reusing all subnets in fine-tuning, keeping the roles of subnets consistent, and pre-training the attention module. Furthermore, we propose two simple but effective methods to guarantee the speech encoder outputs and the MT encoder inputs are consistent in terms of semantic representation and sequence length. Experimental results show that our model leads to significant improvements in En-De and En-Fr translation irrespective of the backbones.


We consider minimizing the average of a very large number of smooth and possibly non-convex functions. This optimization problem has deserved much attention in the past years due to the many applications in different fields, the most challenging being training Machine Learning models. Widely used approaches for solving this problem are mini-batch gradient methods which, at each iteration, update the decision vector moving along the gradient of a mini-batch of the component functions. We consider the Incremental Gradient (IG) and the Random reshuffling (RR) methods which proceed in cycles, picking batches in a fixed order or by reshuffling the order after each epoch. Convergence properties of these schemes have been proved under different assumptions, usually quite strong. We aim to define ease-controlled modifications of the IG/RR schemes, which require a light additional computational effort and can be proved to converge under very weak and standard assumptions. In particular, we define two algorithmic schemes, monotone or non-monotone, in which the IG/RR iteration is controlled by using a watchdog rule and a derivative-free line search that activates only sporadically to guarantee convergence. The two schemes also allow controlling the updating of the stepsize used in the main IG/RR iteration, avoiding the use of preset rules. We prove convergence under the lonely assumption of Lipschitz continuity of the gradients of the component functions and perform extensive computational analysis using Deep Neural Architectures and a benchmark of datasets. We compare our implementation with both full batch gradient methods and online standard implementation of IG/RR methods, proving that the computational effort is comparable with the corresponding online methods and that the control on the learning rate may allow faster decrease.


Interspecific variation in phenology is a key axis of functional diversity, potentially mediating how communities respond to climate change. The diverse drivers of phenology act across multiple temporal scales. For example, abiotic constraints favor synchronous reproduction (positive covariance among species), while biotic interactions can favor synchrony or compensatory dynamics (negative covariance). We used wavelet analyses to examine phenology of community flower and seed production for 45 tree species across multiple temporal scales in a tropical dry forest in Puerto Rico with marked rainfall seasonality. We asked three questions: (1) do species exhibit synchronous or compensatory temporal dynamics in reproduction, (2) do interspecific differences in phenology reflect variable responses to rainfall, and (3) is interspecific variation in phenology and response to a major drought associated with functional traits that mediate responses to moisture? Community-level flowering was synchronized at seasonal scales (∼5–6 mo) and at short scales (∼1 mo, following rainfall). However, seed rain exhibited significant compensatory dynamics at intraseasonal scales (∼3 mo), suggesting interspecific variation in temporal niches. Species with large leaves (associated with sensitivity to water deficit) peaked in reproduction synchronously with the peak of seasonal rainfall (∼5 mo scale). By contrast, species with high wood specific gravity (associated with drought resistance) tended to flower in drier periods. Flowering of tall species and those with large leaves was most tightly linked to intraseasonal (∼2 mo scale) rainfall fluctuations. Although the 2015 drought dramatically reduced community-wide reproduction, functional traits were not associated with the magnitude of species-specific declines. Our results suggest opposing drivers of synchronous versus compensatory dynamics at different temporal scales. Phenology associations with functional traits indicated that distinct strategies for coping with seasonality underlie phenological diversity. Observed drought responses highlight the importance of non-linear community responses to climate. Community phenology exhibits scale-specific patterns highlighting the need for multi-scale approaches to community dynamics.


The K-Cl co-transporter KCC2 plays multiple roles in the physiology of central neurons and alterations of its function and/or expression are associated with several neurological conditions. By regulating intraneuronal chloride homeostasis, KCC2 strongly influences the efficacy and polarity of the chloride-permeable γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A and glycine receptor (GlyR) mediated synaptic transmission. This appears particularly critical for the development of neuronal circuits as well as for the dynamic control of GABA and glycine signaling in mature networks. The activity of the transporter is also associated with transmembrane water fluxes which compensate solute fluxes associated with synaptic activity. Finally, KCC2 interaction with the actin cytoskeleton appears critical both for dendritic spine morphogenesis and the maintenance of glutamatergic synapses. In light of the pivotal role of KCC2 in the maturation and function of central synapses, it is of particular importance to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying its regulation. These include development and activity-dependent modifications both at the transcriptional and post-translational levels. We emphasize the importance of post-translational mechanisms such as phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, oligomerization, cell surface stability, clustering and membrane diffusion for the rapid and dynamic regulation of KCC2 function.


An integrated lateral flow device for flow control and blood separation Veronica Betancur Calle Lateral flow devices (LFD) have been used and are promising in many applications, including point-of-care diagnosis in medical, clinical, food and environmental control and monitoring. In particular, disposable paper-based lateral flow strips utilize low-cost materials and do not require expensive fabrication instruments. Many examples of diagnostic tests have been developed using microfluidics paper analytical devices (μPADs), including tests for the detection of total glucose and protein in urine (colorimetric), detection of β-galactosidase (fluorescence), and liver enzyme tests for monitoring the health of patients been treated with multiple medications for HIV and/or tuberculosis that can cause hepatotoxicity. However, there are constraints on tuning the flow rate and immunoassays functionalization in paper as well as technical challenge in integration of sensors and concentration units for low-abundant molecular detection. In the present work, we demonstrated an integrated lateral flow device that applied the capillary forces with functionalized polymer-based microfluidics as a strategy to realize a portable, simplified, and self-powered LFD with minimizing the need for off-chip equipment. The LFD combined the ability to separate plasma from human whole blood and create controlled and steady flow using capillary forces. Lateral flow relies on surface tension and hydrophilic natural of the flow channel, and controlled flow is also a key variable for immunoassay-based applications for providing enough time for protein binding to antibodies. To render polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface of hydrophilicity as well as to control the flow rate, PDMS was functionalized with different concentrations of Pluronic F127. The results show that, in an integrated LFD, the flow rate was regulated by the combination of multiple factors, including Pluronic F127 functionalized surface properties of microchannels, resistance of the integrated flow resistor, the dimensions of the microstructures and the spacing between them in the capillary pump, the contact angles, and viscosity of the fluids. The resistance of the flow resistor had the greatest effect on the flow rate of the fluids. Plasma flow rates ranging between 0.43 and 18.60 nL/s were achieved in the flow resistor, and between 0.99 and 61.30 nL/s in the whole device. In addition, human plasma was separated from whole blood by using a highly asymmetric plasma separation membrane, which captured the cellular components of the blood (red cells, white cells, and platelets), without lysis, so that only high quality plasma could flow down into the smaller pores on the downstream side of the membrane, and into the first capillary pump. The developed LFD can be used as a flexible and versatile platform and has the potential for detecting circulating biomarkers from whole blood; sandwich-immunoassays can be performed directly on the LFD by patterning receptors for analytes on the glass chip, and detection can be performed using a variety of methods ranging from colorimetric and fluorescence methods to more complex methods such as Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) depending on the limit of detection of the target biomarker. The bio sensing technology being described presents an alternative for point of care testing using small samples of human whole blood; it could benefit regions with limited access to healthcare, where delays in diagnosis can lead to the quick deterioration of the quality of life and increase the morbidity and mortality.


1 used hydrological data and surveys of breeding piping plover (Charadrius melodus) from 1988 to 1997 to assess the relationship of water levels to piping plover breeding distribution, abundance, and habitat use in North Dakota. Piping plover abundance at wetlands surveyed in all years (n = 48) increased significantly as wetness increased (r = 0.93, P < 0.001). However, individual wetland sites often differed in their response to hydrological conditions with some sites showing significant decreases in piping plover abundance during wet periods. The abundance of piping plovers using the Missouri River system (Oahe and Sakakawea reservoirs and the free-flowing reaches of the river) correlated strongly with upland populations of piping plovers during periods of below-average water levels in the riverine system; however, once water levels within the Missouri River system reach a certain point the relationship turned negative with river populations·of piping plovers decreasing and upland populations of piping plovers increasing.


This study examined the differences in health spending within the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe region by comparing the EU15, the EU post-2004, CIS, EU Candidate and CARINFONET countries. The WHO European Region (53 countries) has been divided into the following sub-groups: EU15, EU post-2004, CIS, EU Candidate countries and CARINFONET countries. The study period, based on the availability of WHO Global Health expenditure data, was 1995 to 2014. EU15 countries have exhibited the strongest growth in total health spending both in nominal and purchasing power parity terms. The dynamics of CIS members' private sector expenditure growth as a percentage of GDP change has exceeded that of other groups. Private sector expenditure on health as a percentage of total government expenditure, has steadily the highest percentage point share among CARINFONET countries. Furthermore, private households' out-of-pocket payments on health as a percentage of total health expenditure, has been dominated by Central Asian republics for most of the period, although, for the period 2010 to 2014, the latter have tended to converge with those of CIS countries. Western EU15 nations have shown a serious growth of health expenditure far exceeding their pace of real economic growth in the long run. There is concerning growth of private health spending among the CIS and CARINFONET nations. It reflects growing citizen vulnerability in terms of questionable affordability of healthcare. Health care investment capability has grown most substantially in the Russian Federation, Turkey and Poland being the classical examples of emerging markets.


We propose a novel scanner characterization approach for applications requiring color measurement of hardcopy output in calibration, characterization, and diagnostics applications. The method is advantageous for common practical color printing sys- tems that use more than the minimum of three colorants necessary for subtractive color reproduction; printing with cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) is the most prevalent example we use in our description. The proposed method exploits the fact that for the scenarios in consideration, in addition to the scanner RGB values for a scanned patch, the CMYK control values used to print the patch are also available and can be exploited in characterization. An indexed family of 3D scanner characterizations is created, each characterization providing a mapping from scanner RGB to CIELAB for a fixed value of K, the latter constituting the index for the char- acterization. Combined together, the family of 3D characterizations provides a single 4D characterization that maps scanner RGB ob- tained from scanning a patch and the K control value used for print- ing the patch to a colorimetric CIELAB measurement for the patch. A significant improvement in the robustness of the method to varia- tions in printing is obtained by modifying the K index to utilize the scanned output for a black-only patch printed with the correspond- ing K value instead of directly utilizing the control K value used at the printer. Results show that the proposed 4D scanner character- ization technique can significantly outperform standard 3D ap- proaches in the target applications. © 2007 SPIE and IS&T.


SAP-1 (stomach cancer-associated protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1) is a transmembrane-type protein-tyrosine phosphatase that is abundant in the brain and certain cancer cell lines. With the use of a "substrate-trapping" approach, p130, a major focal adhesion-associated phosphotyrosyl protein, has now been identified as a likely physiological substrate of SAP-1. Expression of recombinant SAP-1 induced the dephosphorylation of p130 as well as that of two other components of the integrin-signaling pathway (focal adhesion kinase and p62) in intact cells. In contrast, expression of a substrate-trapping mutant of SAP-1 induced the hyperphosphorylation of these proteins, indicating a dominant negative effect of this mutant. Overexpression of SAP-1 induced disruption of the actin-based cytoskeleton as well as inhibited various cellular responses promoted by integrin-mediated cell adhesion, including cell spreading on fibronectin, growth factor-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2, and colony formation. Finally, the enzymatic activity of SAP-1, measured with an immunocomplex phosphatase assay, was substantially increased by cell-cell adhesion. These results suggest that SAP-1, by mediating the dephosphorylation of focal adhesion-associated substrates, negatively regulates integrinpromoted signaling processes and, thus, may contribute to contact inhibition of cell growth and motility.


Objective: Magnesium sulfate is used for the treatment of preeclampsia. This study aimed to evaluate effects of magnesium sulfate on heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure variability (BPV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in pregnant rats treated with NG-nitro-.-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME). Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: non-pregnancy and three pregnant groups. From gestational day 2–12, normal pregnancy group (NOR) received sterile water through intravenous injection, LN was injected with L-NAME [25 mg/day] to induce preeclampsia, while LNM group was also treated with magnesium sulfate at 0.3 g/kg at gestational day 13. HRV, BPV and BRS were monitored, and endothelial functions were detected at gestational day 14. Results: Rats with treatment of L-NAME showed significantly increased blood pressure and endothelin-1 concentration and decreased plasma NO concentration; concomitant treatment with magnesium sulfate suppressed blood pressure. Also, rats treated with L-NAME and magnesium sulfate underwent lower heart rate variability (lower absolute and normalized LF) and higher blood pressure variability (lower normalized HF and LF, higher normalized VLF) compared with non-pregnant or normal pregnant rats, whereas normalized LF of HRV in rats co-administered magnesium sulfate returned to normal level. Additionally, rats treated with L-NAME underwent decreased BRS-SP, BRS-NE, BRS LF and HF, and rats with concomitant magnesium sulfate partially reversed the decline (p > 0.05) and had significantly lower BRS-SP, BRS-NE. Conclusion: Sympathetic and parasympathetic impairment exist in preeclamptic rats treated with L-NAME. Magnesium sulfate may ameliorate alterations in the autonomic nervous system noted in preeclampsia.


Calcium Sulfate Dyhidrate/gypsum is a material commonly found in nature which is used at industrial site for making a wall, roof, etc. One of the problems found in material industry is crack deffect, white crack defects is very difficult be identified it visibility. Radiography Non-Destructive Test (RNDT) is non destructive test supported by digital radiographic producing digital image. This work aims to determine the gypsum properties to find out crack defect using RNDT. Radiographic image depends on exposure factors (kV, mA, s, and SID). Digital image can be proceed using OctaveGUI to determine the crack defect area, image processing using Prewitt detection. Radiographicdigitalresultof3gypsumboards(a,bandc)and2gypsumprofilsamples (d and e) were found the crack on each samples. RNDT was perfomed using X-ray voltageat60kVona,b,c,d,andesamples.Eachsamplescrackareavalueare158.13 mm2; 127.43 mm2; 196.81 mm2; 73.97 mm2; dan 18.80 mm2. Others RNDT was using X-ray voltage at 70 kV on samples a, b, c, d, and e. Each samples crack area value are 220.62 mm2; 1,711.57 mm2; 209.33 mm2; 76.50 mm2; dan 11.18 mm2. In conlusion, the crack area values obtained can be used as RNDT.


A need for a systematic measurement of function for upper limb prosthetics has been identified. Using the World Health Organization-International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO-ICF) model, it was clear that no single test was able to cover the entire cycle of prosthetic use from research to application in the field, but it was believed that a unified approach throughout the profession would allow better communication between the contributors to this process. Through a series of meetings, such an approach has been formulated and a special interest group formed that aims to analyze the current literature on the subject, and identify which tools already in existence have the psychometric properties that allow for valid comparison of data between centers and countries. After this analysis, recommendations for a toolkit of different validated tools will be made, along with identifying any gaps within the kit that need additional attention.


The abundance of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs) is a source of uncertainty for numerical representation of ice-phase transitions in mixed-phase clouds. While sea spray aerosol (SSA) exhibits less ice nucleating (IN) ability than terrestrial aerosol, marine INP emissions are linked to oceanic biological activity and are potentially an important source of INPs over remote oceans. Inadequate knowledge of marine INP identity limits the ability to parameterize this complex INP source. A previous manuscript described abundances of marine INPs in relation to several aerosol composition and ocean biology observations during two laboratory mesocosm experiments. In this study, the abundances and chemical and physical properties of INPs found during the same mesocosm experiments were directly probed in SSA, seawater, and surface microlayer samples. Two unique marine INP populations were found: 1) dissolved organic carbon INPs are suggested to be composed of IN-active molecules, and 2) particulate organic carbon INPs are attributed as intact cells or IN-active microbe fragments. Both marine INP types are likely to be emitted into SSA following decay of phytoplankton biomass when 1) the surface microlayer is significantly enriched with exudates and cellular detritus and SSA particles are preferentially coated with IN-active molecules or 2) diatom fragments and bacteria are relatively abundant in seawater and therefore more likely transferred into SSA. These findings inform future efforts for incorporating marine INP emissions into numerical models and motivate future studies to quantify specific marine molecules and isolate phytoplankton, bacteria, and other species that contribute to these marine INP types.


Phraseological phenomena—ranging from idioms to collocations to discourse organizers—have received increasing attention in second language acquisition (SLA), and examinations of such strings are characterized by two distinct perspectives on formulaic language. On the one hand, different speech acts seem to be commonly realized using certain expressions. These conventional expressions are important for the successful realization of everyday interactions and constitute an important target for second language learners. On the other, the pervasiveness of multi-word expressions has been argued to follow from the fact that such sequences are in fact stored as wholes in the lexicon, implying that they are "easier" or "faster" to process. This psycholinguistic definition of formulas is pervasive in the literature, and tests of the veracity of such a proposal have been called for; to date, little such work has been done in SLA. The current dissertation is situated against the backdrop of both of these perspectives, and draws from both in an attempt to offer insights into questions specific to each. To this end, 13 expressions identified as conventional in Pau, France were tested in an online contextualized naturalness judgment task, which was administered to 20 French natives, 20 long stay Anglophone learners of French (>1 year in Pau), and 20 short stay Anglophone learners (3-6 months in Pau). The naturalness judgments provided on this experiment revealed that all groups judged the conventional expressions similarly, whereas the reaction time results suggested that conventional expressions are mentally represented as such for both natives and nonnatives. The reaction time results are argued to be most consistent with a pragmatic competence model of conventional expression processing.


Copolymers of acrylamide (AM) with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPMA) and tris(methoxyethoxy)vinylsilane (TMEVS) with different compositions were synthesized at low conversion by free radical polymerization in dimethylformamide (DMF) using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator. The copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and their thermal properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The copolymers composition was determined by elemental analysis. The monomer reactivity ratios were estimated by linearization methods proposed by Fineman-Ross and Kelen-Tudos, the intersection method proposed by Mayo-Lewis and nonlinear method proposed by curve fitting procedure. The derived reactivity ratios (r1, r2) are: 1.87, 0.80 for TMSPMA-co-AM and 0.22, 1.21 for TMEVS-co-AM. Both copolymers formed blocks of one of the monomer units. The microstructure of copolymers and sequence distribution of monomers in the copolymers were calculated by statistical method based on the average reactivity ratios and found that these values are in agreement with the derived reactivity ratios.


The People's Republic of China is a developing country with all the problems and challenges that face such countries all over the world. Progress has been hampered by scarcity of resources, and a lack of relevant information and appropriate skills, as well as by the stigma traditionally attached to people with intellectual disability. The present rapid economic development has made possible further improvement and expansion of educational opportunities, and health and rehabilitation services. According to a recent census and sample surveys conducted in the People's Republic of China, the overall prevalence rate of people with disabilities was estimated to 4.9%. Thus, China has more individuals with disabilities than any other country in the world. According to these figures, the prevalence of intellectual disability in the population is approximately 1%. For children younger than 14 years of age, the prevalence is around 2%, which accounts for 66% of all handicapped children, making it the most frequent childhood disability. Today, the existing medical facilities, and educational and social welfare organizations cannot meet the tremendous need of care and services. The problems of the large number of disabled children and adults are a major challenge for contemporary Chinese society. This paper is devoted to research pertinent to intellectual disability in China. With a few exceptions, only publications in the English language were included in this review, which makes the overview selective rather than comprehensive. Publications on classification systems and diagnostic criteria, screening methods and assessment instruments, prevalence rates, aetiology and risk factors, prevention and intervention efforts, special education, and families with children with intellectual disability are presented.


This paper introduces a new set of orthogonal moment functions based on the discrete Tchebichef polynomials. The Tchebichef moments can be effectively used as pattern features in the analysis of two-dimensional images. The implementation of moments proposed in this paper does not involve any numerical approximation, since the basis set is orthogonal in the discrete domain of the image coordinate space. This property makes Tchebichef moments superior to the conventional orthogonal moments such as Legendre moments and Zernike moments, in terms of preserving the analytical properties needed to ensure information redundancy in a moment set. The paper also details the various computational aspects of Tchebichef moments and demonstrates their feature representation capability using the method of image reconstruction.


To consider the consistency of the method of calculation of the cost of production based on Article 2(5) of the EU Anti-dumping Basic Regulation, an assessment of the reasoning of the Appellate Body (AB) in EU – Biodiesel case is necessary in the context of the ordinary meaning of the Antidumping Agreement and existing WTO case law; four main situations illustrate how the application of Article 2(5) of the EU Anti-dumping Basic Regulation will be influenced by the EU – Biodiesel case: the issue of input dumping in a distorted market, the problem of possible alternatives for China if recognized as a Market Economy (ME), the question of double remedy, and the EU modernization of trade remedies.


Abstract It is clear that natural entities can be preserved – they can be preserved because they can be harmed or destroyed, or in various other ways adversely affected. I argue that in light of the rise of scientism and other forms of philistinism, the political, religious, mythic, personal and historical meanings that people find in those entities can also be preserved. Against those who impugn disciplines such as fine arts, philosophy and sociology, I contend that this sort of preservation requires the efforts of those whose work exemplifies the core values of the arts, the humanities and the qualitative social sciences.


The primary research question raised in the thesis is how have films been able to construct the identity of ethnic Chinese in the United States? This question is addressed through three sub-questions. First, why is the family narrative so characteristic of films about Chinese Americans in transnational Chinese cinema? In other words, how and why are images of Chinese or Chinese Americans in transnational Chinese cinema different from those in Hollywood movies? Second, how does transnational Chinese cinema define and negotiate the aesthetic conventions of melodrama commonly used to depict Chinese American families? That means in terms of establishing melodrama as an evolving mode of storytelling and the narrative device of the family melodrama, how does Chinese American cinema historically connect with both Hollywood and Chinese cinema? Melodrama is therefore almost used as a tool to explore how conflicts are played out in Chinese families, and to trace social, historical and aesthetic lineages. Third, what has the narrative treatments of Chinese American families in transnational Chinese cinema contributed to the ongoing representation of Chinese culture and construction of ethnic Chinese identities in Western societies? This study adds to current discussions on controversial issues in the field of Chinese studies, American studies, film studies and cultural studies. First of all, given the growing scholarly interest in ethnicity that has marked American Studies, bringing Chinese studies and American studies into dialogue echoes the state-of-the-art debate that the diasporic subject position should not be viewed as a burden imposed on ethnic groups. Chinese American formations are not disconnected with Chinese or Americans. Although marginalized and pushed to be the periphery, to be Chinese American at the same time can be seen as a geocultural space and a rich middle ground, which has dissolved and preserved cultures that are well developed in both China and the United States. A focus on this hybrid space offers the potential of combining Chinese studies and American studies. A mixture of historical, transnational and cultural sensitivity has thus emerged from the interdisciplinary dialogue. My articulation of the Chinese American reveals the historically significant transnational connection among Chinese American, Chinese, and American cultures. This also confirms the point that Chinese culture, rather than being developed in total opposition to Western cultures, has been and is dialectically interactive with Western (American) culture. My exploration of the representation of ethnicity in media and popular culture shows a sense of urgency that is needed in acknowledging the importance of transnational history, which can turn the past almost into a laboratory for studying the present. All the evolving connections that have been analyzed in this thesis show Chinese people being defined and redefined, which includes the Chinese defining and redefining themselves, their culture, and the world around them. It is the transnational and historical connections of ideas, practices, and images that form the special perspective on the representation of ethnic Chinese in this work. My thesis shows that the adoption of historicism and transnationalism is particularly important for cross-cultural analysis or the analysis of cross-cultural content.


The intensive morbidity index in respect of allergic dermatoses has made up 12.07 in 1986, allergic dermatitis being the most prevalent (72%). The morbidity has been the highest among subjects aged 21 to 40. Seasonal changes in the allergic dermatoses incidence rates have been determined: skin itching, urticaria, and neurodermatitis have been the most prevalent in October, whereas eczema occurred mostly in May.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the comsumption of concertrated fruit juice by household, and determine the socio-economic factors that affect the level of comsumption. For this purpose, data was collected from a survey of 225 households in Adana in February 1997. A Tobit model was used in the analysis to determine the effects of various socio-economic variables on consumption. It was con-cluded that four variables are significant on househod fruit juice purchase. These are: the mothers' status, household income, the number of teenagers in the household, and the mother's education level. Two of these factors were found to strongly influence com-sumption: the number of teenagers in the household (a positive effect) and the mother's level of education (negative effect).


Despite the success of the recent nonlinear tensor decomposition models based on Gaussian processes (GPs), they lack an effective way to deal with streaming data, which are important for many applications. Using the standard streaming variational Bayes framework or the recent streaming sparse GP approximations will lead to intractable model evidence lower bounds; although we can use stochastic gradient descent for incremental updates, they are unreliable and often yield poor estimations. To address this problem, we propose Streaming Nonlinear Bayesian Tensor Decomposition (SNBTD) that can conduct high-quality, closedform and iteration-free updates upon receiving new tensor entries. Specifically, we use random Fourier features to build a sparse spectrum GP decomposition model to dispense with complex kernel/matrix operations and to ease posterior inference. We then extend the assumed-densityfiltering framework by approximating all the data likelihoods in a streaming batch with a single factor to perform one-shot updates. We use conditional moment matching and Taylor approximations to fulfill efficient, analytical factor calculation. We show the advantage of our method on four real-world applications.


Twenty-four water samples were taken from twelve sites throughout the Cuyahoga watershed from upstream to downstream within two separate occasions. Twelve samples were taken on May 25th, 2016 with no prior precipitation and the conditions were calm, and twelve samples were taken on July14, 2016 when high precipitation had occurred and water conditions were much more diverse. Using the Automated Discrete Analyzer, the concentrations of phosphorus could be analyzed and differentiated between Total Phosphorus and Soluble Reactive Phosphorus. In comparison to the Environmental Protection Agency whose target concentrations for rivers is .05ppm, in both cases of the experiment the hypothesis has been conclusive with maximum concentrations of .14ppm on May 25th and .20ppm in July14. Although phosphorus levels were lower in May than July, the results were conclusive and consistent with an increase of phosphorus from source points to downstream. SRP is more of an interest because of the properties in which allows the utilization by Cyanobacteria and other types of algae. Excessive growth can lead to issues such as increased dead zones, raising levels of biological oxygen demand and diminishing water quality overall.


This paper is concerned with the accurate numerical approximation of the spectral properties of the biharmonic operator on various domains in two dimensions. A number of analytic results concerning the eigenfunctions of this operator are summarized and their implications for numerical approximation are discussed. In particular, the asymptotic behaviour of the first eigenfunction is studied since it is known that this has an unbounded number of oscillations when approaching certain types of corners on domain boundaries. Recent computational results of Bjørstad & Tjøstheim, using a highly accurate spectral Legendre–Galerkin method, have demonstrated that a number of these sign changes may be accurately computed on a square domain provided sufficient care is taken with the numerical method. We demonstrate that similar accuracy is also achieved using an unstructured finite–element solver which may be applied to problems on domains with arbitrary geometries. A number of results obtained from this mixed finite–element approach are then presented for a variety of domains. These include a family of circular sector regions, for which the oscillatory behaviour is studied as a function of the internal angle, and another family of (symmetric and non–convex) domains, for which the parity of the least eigenfunction is investigated. The paper not only verifies existing asymptotic theory, but also allows us to make a new conjecture concerning the eigenfunctions of the biharmonic operator.


The wide popularity of Kerberos made it the de-facto standard for authentication in enterprise networks Moreover, the lightweight nature of Kerberos makes it a candidate of choice for securing network communications in emerging non-enterprise information systems such as industrial control networks, building automation and intelligent transportation systems. Many of these potential applications of Kerberos involve infrastructures characterized by their large scale and strict dependability requirements. However, such requirements may not be met when crossrealm Kerberos operations are involved. In this paper, we outline the issues with the current Kerberos crossrealm model and present XKDCP (Inter Key Distribution Center Protocol), a new Kerberos cross-realm authentication model that improves on scalability and dependability by (1) relying on public key cryptography to dynamically maintain direct trust relationships between Kerberos realms and (2) adopting a proxy model to offload inter-domain exchanges and processing from the low-end devices to the Kerberos authentication servers.


Strategic decisions are fundamentally tough choices. Theory suggests that managers are likely to display bounded rationality. Empirics on the other hand assume rationality in choice behavior. Recognizing this inherent disconnect between theory and empirics, we try to account for behavioral biases using a theoretically consistent choice model. The traditional approach to modeling strategic choice has been to use discrete choice models and make inference on the conditional mean effects. We argue that the conditional mean effect does not capture behavioral biases. The focus should be on the conditional variance. Explicitly modeling the conditional variance (in the discrete choice framework) provides us with valuable information on individual level variation in decision-making. We demonstrate the effect of ignoring the role of variance in choice modeling in the context of firm's decisions to conduct open market repurchases. We show that when taking into account the heterogeneity in choices, manager's choices of conducting open market repurchases displays considerable heterogeneity and that not accounting for such heterogeneity might lead to wrong conclusions on the mean effects.


'The Time Machine' is a multi-screen, high-performance, generative video art installation based around multiple low cost computer platforms. Using algorithmic selection of palindromic loops of time-lapse video the work contrasts the external, machine perception of time with our internal, phenomenological experience of it. The video feeds, recorded from around the world, tick and tock backward and forward creating a polyrhythmic, 12 screen time-piece. The images loop back and forth on each screen of the installation, creating a large polyrhythmic clock of high definition, full colour motion. Each screen detailing a passage of time from around the world, captured, frozen, forward and reverse. The time-lapse loops slowly switch, selected from over a thousand separate pieces by generative algorithms on each host computer. Creating a Time Machine reflecting the world, gently rocking back and forth with a myriad of sub-cadences, confronting the viewer with the unanswerable challenge of comprehending time.


Reaction probability, cross section and rate constant are studied for polyatomic reaction T+CH4→ CH3+HT using the semirigid vibrating rotor target (SVRT) model. The numerical calculation for the reaction system is carried out using the time-dependent wavepacket method, and the wavepacket is propagated by the split-operator method. The calculation exhibits a variety of features that can be used for comparison with future experimental investigations. The reaction probability as a function of the translational energy shows slight oscillatory structures, similar to those observed in H abstraction reactions H+H2 and H+CH4. The comparisons with the H+CH4 reaction are described.


The humidity sensing behavior of a ceramic oxide based on the ZnO-TiO2-Ta2O5 system was analyzed. Samples were uniaxially pressed and sintered at temperature range from 1000 to 1200oC. Electrical impedance and capacitance measurements were realized in different values of relative humidity (from 11 to 100%). The microstructures of the sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffractions and SEM observations. Mercury porosimetry analyses were carried out to determine the open porosity and the surface area was measured by using the BET nitrogen method. The obtained results were correlated and discussed.


BLDC motors are characterized by electronic commutation, which is performed by using an electric three-phase inverter. The direct control system of the BLDC motor consists of double loops; including the inner-loop for current regulating and outer-loop for speed control. The operation of the current controller requires feedback of motor currents; the conventional current controller uses two current sensors on the ac side of the inverter to measure the currents of two phases, while the third current would be accordingly calculated. These two sensors should have the same characteristics, to achieve balanced current measurements. It should be noted that the sensitivity of these sensors changes with time. In the case of one sensor fails, both of them must be replaced. To overcome this problem, it is preferable to use one sensor instead of two. The proposed control system is based on a deadbeat predictive controller, which is used to regulate the DC current of the BLDC motor. Such a controller can be considered as digital controller mode, which has fast response, high precision and can be easily implemented with microprocessor. The proposed control system has been simulated using Matlab software, and the system is tested at a different operating condition such as low speed and high speed.


In this paper, we present a hierarchical methodology that learns new walking gaits autonomously while operating in an uncharted environment, such as on the Mars planetary surface or in the remote Antarctica environment. The focus is to maintain persistent forward locomotion along the body axis, while navigating in natural terrain environments. The hierarchical strategy consists of a finite state machine that models the state of leg orientations coupled with a modified evolutionary algorithm to learn necessary leg movement sequences. Locomotion behavior is assessed by monitoring the robot's progress toward a specified goal location. Details of the methodology are discussed, and experimental results with a six-legged robot are presented.


Gas turbine combustors are commonly operated with lean premix flames, allowing for high efficiencies and low emissions. These operating conditions are susceptible to thermoacoustic pulsations, originating from acoustic-flame coupling. To reveal this coupling, experiments or simulations of acoustically forced combustion systems are necessary, which are very challenging for real-scale applications. In this work we investigate the possibility to determine the flame response to acoustic forcing from snapshots of the unforced flow. This approach is based on three central hypothesis: first, the flame response is driven by flow fluctuations, second, these flow fluctuations are dominated by coherent structures driven by hydrodynamic instabilities, and third, these instabilities are driven by stochastic forcing of the background turbulence. As a consequence the dynamics in the natural flow should be low-rank and very similar to those of the acoustically forced system. In this work, the methodology is applied to experimental data of an industry-scale swirl combustor. A resolvent analysis is conducted based on the linearized Navier-Stokes equations to assure analytically the low-rank behavior of the flow dynamics. Then, these dynamics are extracted from flow snapshots using spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD). The extended SPOD is applied to determine the heat release rate fluctuations that are correlated with the flow dynamics. The low-rank flow and flame dynamics determined from the analytic and data-driven approach are then compared to the flow response determined from a classic phase average of the acoustically forced flow, which allow the research hypothesis to be evaluated. It is concluded that for the present combustor, the flow and flame dynamics are low-rank for a wider frequency range and the response to harmonic forcing can be determined quite accurately from unforced snapshots. The methodology further allows to isolate the frequency range where the flame response is predominantly driven by hydrodynamic instabilites.


There is a current trend towards the electrification of high force/torque density machines that have traditionally been dominated by diesel engine driven hydraulics. Power dense electric machines tend to favor high operating speeds whereas a hydraulic pump is more efficient at low speed and high torque conditions. The power density of a pump can be increased by decreasing the displacement and increasing the operating speed to provide the flow demand. This miniaturization of the pump allows it to be directly integrated into an electric motor inside a single casing. This integrated pump-motor is free of shaft seals and eliminates a set of bearings otherwise required when coupling an electric motor and pump with a shaft. Additionally, the leakage from the hydraulic pump can be used as coolant for the electrical machine, thereby improving the power density. In this paper, a hydrostatic radial piston pump has been evaluated for integration with an axial flux PM machine. The proposed hydrostatic piston pump uses a spherical head piston that can tilt while reciprocating inside the cylinder, eliminating the need for a joint at the slipper. To reduce the frictional loss between the slipper pad and the cam at high operating speeds, the cam freely rotates. A detailed model of the pump, with focus on the hydrostatic piston slipper, has been developed and a grid search approach has been utilized to select the critical parameters of the pump. Finally, an efficiency map has been presented for this pump at different operating conditions which shows around 86% efficiency at the 12500 rpm speed for 7 MPa pressure differentials.


Abstract The field of bilingual education lacks reliable methods for accurately describing the instructional process in transitional bilingual classrooms. In this article, a four-dimensional pedagogical model of transitional bilingual education was operationalized and an observation tool created. Pilot-testing of the observation tool occurred in four Grade 5 transitional bilingual classrooms, for the initial purpose of judging interrater reliability and stability of observation-based results over time. Finally, several hypotheses were posed about instruction within the four classrooms, and observation results were used to confirm or challenge these hypotheses. Results demonstrated high interrater reliability, but found that adequate stability over time would require more extensive observations. Most of the hypotheses posed about instruction in the target classrooms were disconfirmed by observation data.


The study is based on AHP analysis to identify the feasibility of each level of schooling with respect to peace education. The AHP application presented, provided results of each relative factor or criteria to each respondent as well as the overall weightage for these criteria's given by each individual/ respondent in our study. The findings of the study revealed that, the dominant alternative for academic professionals and field experts that can play impressive role in peace education is the primary schooling, while the central criteria having influence on peace education are norms/values, followed by approaches/standards and knowledge/skills with respect to teacher's judgements. On the other hand, significant factors/criteria for student's choice with respect to peace education is approaches and standards. Students also prefer primary education level as the most effective stage for children to learn/ catch peace education skills and adopt peace values. The quantification of impacting factors-like in our study are; knowledge/skills, approaches/standards and norms/values. Decision making with respect to peace building in young generation will play a significant role in achievement of sustainability in the peace. Therefore, at the grassroots level, providing trainings on peace education to the children in primary school can reduce risk of conflicts in Pakistan. The government and policy implementers should prioritize addition of peace education in devising curriculum and its implementation.


Many researchers tried to improve the tribological and thermal properties of the lubricating oil. The main advantages of using nanolubricants is they are relatively insensitive to temperature and that tribochemical reactions are limited, compared to the traditional additives. For this research, an attempt is made to enhance the tribological behaviour and thermal properties of lubricant (thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity) by adding hybrid cellulose nanocrystal/ copper (II) oxide (CNC-CuO) into the engine oil (SAE 40). CNC-CuO nanoparticle with an average size 80nm was dispersed into the SAE 40 at 0.1%, 0.5% and 0.9%wt concentration. Magnetic stirrer and ultrasonic bath were used to dispersed the nanoparticle in the SAE 40. Friction force and wear rate were measured using a tribometer based on ASTM G181. The results show that frictional force when using the CNC-CuO nanolubricant at 0.1%was reduced by 54% and 22% comparing with the base oil respectively. The wear rate is also reduced when using the nanolubricants. Thermal Conductivity and specific heat capacity are also measured for the nanolubricants. The results showed that the thermal conductivity was increased about 4.2% while specific heat capacity was increase 2.1% when using CNC-CuO nanolubricant respectively. The results indicate that the hybrid CNC-CuO nanoparticles improve the tribological and thermal properties of the lubricant oil.


A 2 × 4 phased array antenna module has been developed for 60-GHz-band short- range high-speed wireless communication terminals. To realize the required vertical distance between the antenna elements, the module is made of five sheets of multi-layered organic substrates vertically stacked with Cu balls, and the 1 x 4 dipole array antenna is placed on both the top and bottom organic substrates. To reduce the mutual coupling between the element antennas, a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is flip-chip mounted on the feed line of each element antenna. The Au-stud bump flip-chip mounting technique helps achieve a lower return loss in the transition section at the MMIC than the Au-wire bonded. The placement accuracy of each antenna element in the vertical direction, 60-GHz signal vertical interconnection between the substrates with Cu balls, and flip-chip mounting of the MMIC are confirmed by 3-D computed tomography (CT) scans.


"Bone Marrow Aspiration (BMA) is one of the methods for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, that now day it is widely used in regenerative medicine. Although this Procedure in adults is usually performed by using local anesthesia, it is associated pain. The purpose of this study is to research into the effect of Distraction Technique (DT) on patients who have undergone BMA for appeasement of pain. This study was a parallel-randomized clinical trial. The 60 patients who underwent BMA were randomly divided into two groups. Intervention group received DT training and control group did not go through any training program. To measure the scope of severity of pain, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used respectively. Comparison of pain variable in study groups revealed that the mean score of VAS average in the intervention group has been lower than that of the control group and this difference was significant (P < 0.001 respectively). Comparison of vital signs before and after BMA showed no any significant differences between groups. However ,no significant change was observed in control group. DT is an effective technique to reduce pain in BMA candidate. Nurses need to be aware pain procedures during BMA."


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of this paper is to present an unusual localization of a chronic compartment syndrome concerning the medial compartment of the foot. It emphasizes surgical treatment, using a fasciotomy procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A thirty year old man was examined for a painful right foot. Pain was situated on the medial plantar aspect of the foot. It appeared following 15 minutes of physical effort, especially after walking and running. It usually disappeared after a few minutes of rest and then, foot and lower leg examination were normal. The patient had comparative tissue pressure measurements at rest and after running, using a digital hand-held monitor (Stryker). A rest, the pressure was about 4 mmhg on both sides and it increased to 55 mmhg against 45 mmhg at the opposite side after exercise. It required more than 7 minutes vs. 30 seconds to return to their preexercise resting values. Thus a fasciotomy of the medial compartment was performed, using a medial approach. RESULTS: The patient had a good result at three months follow-up, recovering normal physical activity without any pain. DISCUSSION: The foot localization of an acute compartment syndrome has been recently described and it concerned only post-traumatic cases. The compartmental structure of the foot has been previously report. The chronic compartment syndrome of the lower leg was the reason for a pressure measurement study, at rest and following physical exercise; thus surgical fasciotomy was indicate when intracompartmental pressure rose above 30 mmHg in the presence of normal diastolic blood pressure, and particularly if delayed normalization of the pressure was greater than 5 minutes. The publications of foot pressure measurement are uncommon and they concerned only pressure at rest. In our observation, the profile of pressure of the patient and the result of fasciotomy, are in favour of chronic compartment syndrome. CONCLUSION: Chronic compartment syndromes require dynamic pressure measurements for an accurate diagnosis. Surgical fasciotomy may be sufficient to restore muscle function. We think this syndrome could happen in all anatomical compartmental structure when there is intensive use of muscles.


At their latest annual summit in Vietnam in November 2006, the leaders of the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum agreed to "seriously consider" negotiating a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). The FTAAP initiative may well turn out to be the best, or perhaps only, way to catalyze a substantively successful Doha Round. If it cannot do that, an FTAAP can still offer a Plan B to restore the momentum of trade liberalization, prevent further proliferation of bilateral and subregional preferential trade arrangements, avoid renewed risk of "drawing a line down the middle of the Pacific," channel the US-China economic conflict into a more constructive, less confrontational context, and revitalize APEC itself. Perhaps most important, an FTAAP could maintain US engagement in Asian, and even global, trade relations by providing a basis for congressional extension of trade promotion authority in mid-2007 and a negotiating momentum that the next US president in early 2009 will feel compelled to maintain.


Purpose. The diagnosis of tuberculosis remains controversial between clinicians and public health officers. Public health officials fear to treat too many patients; clinicians fear that truly diseased will be denied treatment. We wondered whether an analysis of the treatment threshold could help making the often intuitive decision to treat smear-negative cases more evidence based. Methods. Eighteen clinicians and 10 public health specialists were asked for an intuitive estimate of their treatment threshold for tuberculosis and of key determinant factors for this threshold: the magnitude and subjective weight of mortality and morbidity due to both the disease and the treatment and risk and cost of the latter. With these factors, the authors calculated treatment thresholds and compared them to the intuitive thresholds of the interviewees. A prescriptive threshold was calculated based on literature data, omitting cost and subjective factors. Results. The median overall intuitive treatment threshold was 52.5%, the calculated 11.9%, and the prescriptive 2.7%. For 2 factors, public health officers provided significantly lower values than clinicians: cost of treatment (median = $20 v. $300; U = 2.5; P = 0.0002); cost of life (median = $500 v. $5000; U = 17.5; P = 0.009). Conclusion. These results suggest that clinicians and public health officers estimate wrongly the threshold even when using their own subjective estimate of influencing factors. Omitting treatment cost and subjective weight of provoked harm can result in a very low threshold. Sound training in threshold principles and providing tools to correctly assess data might help in making better decisions in tuberculosis in developing countries.


:  Like many African countries, Kenya is vulnerable to avian flu given its position along migratory bird routes and proximity to other high risk countries. This raises concern about the effect of an outbreak on rural livelihoods. We use a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of Kenya to simulate outbreaks of different severities, durations and geographic spreads. Results indicate that even a severe outbreak does not greatly reduce economic growth. It does, however, have larger implications for poverty, since poultry is an income source for many poor farmers and a major food item in poor consumers' baskets. Reducing an outbreak's duration and spatial transmission substantially reduces economic losses, although losses still occur when poultry demand falls, even without a confirmed outbreak. Continued monitoring of poultry production and trade is therefore needed, even if an outbreak has not yet occurred. Efforts to enhance government capacity to respond rapidly to infections and improve farmers' and consumers' awareness of avian flu are also needed.


ABSTRACT Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) is a prime malaria vaccine candidate. Antigenic diversity within parasite populations is one of the main factors potentially limiting the efficacy of any asexual-stage vaccine, including one based on AMA1. The DNA coding for the most variable region of this antigen, domain I, was sequenced in 168 samples from the Wosera region of Papua New Guinea, including samples from symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. Neutrality tests applied to these sequences provided strong evidence of selective pressure operating on the sequence of ama1 domain I, consistent with AMA1 being a target of protective immunity. Similarly, a peculiar pattern of geographical diversity and the particular substitutions found were suggestive of strong constraints acting on the evolution of AMA1 at the population level, probably as a result of immune pressure. In addition, a strong imbalance between symptomatic and asymptomatic infections was detected in the frequency of particular residues at certain polymorphic positions, pointing to AMA1 as being one of the determinants of the morbidity associated with a particular strain. The information yielded by this study has implications for the design and assessment of AMA1-based vaccines and provides additional data supporting the importance of AMA1 as a malaria vaccine candidate.


Promoting environmentally friendly farming products is crucial to meeting consumer demand. Although governments implement policy measures to improve the environmental performance of the agriculture sector, their impacts are difficult to assess. This study analyses the performance of agri‐environmental policies in Japan, by using the OECD's policy impact model and reference level framework. In particular, it identifies the environmental impacts of three simulated agri‐environmental policies based on farms' characteristics. The results suggest that a policy mix of regulation and an incentive payment would reduce environmental impacts, suggesting that targeted approaches could improve the cost‐effectiveness of agri‐environmental policies.


Abstract Early Archaic human skeletal remains found in a burial context in Lapa do Santo in east-central Brazil provide a rare glimpse into the lives of hunter-gatherer communities in South America, including their rituals for dealing with the dead. These included the reduction of the body by means of mutilation, defleshing, tooth removal, exposure to fire and possibly cannibalism, followed by the secondary burial of the remains according to strict rules. In a later period, pits were filled with disarticulated bones of a single individual without signs of body manipulation, demonstrating that the region was inhabited by dynamic groups in constant transformation over a period of centuries.


Endoscopic surgery was first used in Japan in 1990, initially for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a technique for which it has now become established as a standard protocol. Endoscopic surgery has further developed and spread to various other areas of surgery over the last decade. According to the results of the most recent questionnaire conducted by the Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery, this method was employed in over 240 000 patients during the period 1990-99. This total number included operations in the following surgical areas: 149 000 abdominal; 37 000 thoracic; 666 mammary and thyroid gland; 753 cardiovascular surgery; 44 000 obstetrics and gynaecology; 4000 urologic surgery; 693 orthopaedics; and 3100 plastic surgery. Based on the present situation, in which the number of cases in these areas continues to increase each year, it is believed that an increasing number of surgical operations will continue to be performed endoscopically.


Scientists and intelligence analysts are interested in quickly discovering new results from the vast amount of available geospatial data. The key issues that arise in this pursuit are how to cope with new and changing information and how to manage the steadily increasing amount of available data. This paper describes a novel agent architecture that has been developed and tested to address these issues by combining innovative approaches from three distinct research areas: software agents, georeferenced data modeling, and content-based image retrieval (CBIR). The overall system architecture is based on a multi-agent paradigm where agents autonomously search for images over the Internet, then convert the images to a vector used for use in searching and retrieval. Results show that this system is capable of significantly reducing the time and management effort associated with large amounts of image data.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in community subjects with culture-proven bacterial gastroenteritis.

METHODS
This was a prospective, community-based, cohort study, which followed patients with a recent history of culture-proven bacterial gastroenteritis. IBS was diagnosed with the use of the Rome II criteria at 3 and 6 months after bacterial dysentery.

RESULTS
Sixty five cases were included and completed the 6 month follow-up. Thirty four cases (52.3%) were female. Salmonella was the pathogen most frequently identified and seen in 41 patients (63.1%). The cumulative incidence of IBS among patients with microbiologically proven bacterial gastroenteritis within a community was 9.2% and 12.3% at 3 and 6 months of follow-up, respectively. The duration of initial diarrhea (≥ 7 days) was associated with an increased risk for the development of IBS (aOR, 14.50 [95% CI, 1.38-152.72]; p=0.022).

CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggests that the incidence of IBS among patients with culture-proven bacterial gastroenteritis within a community is similar to that reported among Western populations. A large, prospective study is encouraged to confirm our results and to evaluate the influence of the microbial species on the epidemiology of IBS in Asian populations.


This paper concerns the evolution of altruism in a population of autonomous agents. It explores the relation between altruistic behaviours and spatial dispersion in open-ended evolution whenever energetic constraints must be addressed. A method derived from Embodied Evolution is used to model the spatial interactions between agents from an individual perspective. Firstly, results show that spatial dispersion and levels of altruism are strongly correlated, which confirms theoretical results from biology, but also that this relation may be overshadowed by the complex interactions at work in the ecosystem. Secondly, this paper investigates how robust altruistic behaviours able to cope with various environmental pressures may be evolved. In particular, it is shown that there is a trade-off between efficiency and versatility: the ability to perform well accross a wide range of environmental conditions often comes at the cost of sub-optimal performance in terms of survival, especially when compared to more constrained (and less versatile) evolved strategies.


Background: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that often appears
after the age of 50. The characteristic motor impairments of PD result from degenerative loss of
midbrain dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. The treatment of Parkinson's Disease is
symptomatic with a large number of drugs several times a day. This causes complex medication
schedules (complex polypharmacy) by patients with PD. Complex polypharmacy has a negative
influence on medication adherence. Medication non-adherence has physical consequences (increased
symptoms) and financial consequences (increased healthcare costs). A medication review is a way to
simplify complex polypharmacy possibly resulting in an increase of medication adherence which can
lead to positive effects on the symptoms of patients. This eventually can increase the Quality of Life
(QoL) in PD patients.
Objectives: The main goal of this study is to analyze the effects of a structured medication review on
QoL in patients with PD living in the region Twente, The Netherlands. Secondary objectives are the
presence of non-motor symptoms, experience of own health status and disease related QoL in patients
with PD.
Method: This study is designed as a randomized controlled multicenter trial in two regional hospitals.
Patients in the intervention group receive a structured medication review, while the patients in the
control group do not receive the intervention but only usual care. The study is conducted in the
hospitals MST and ZGT. Patients with an age ≥ 18, who express motor and non-motor symptoms due
to the disease, with ≥4 different medications daily at ≥4 different intake moments and living
(semi)independent, were included. The intervention consisted of a medication review performed by a
community pharmacist. With a follow up of three and six months. Outcomes were the scores of PDQ-
39 which measures QoL in patients with PD, NMS-Quest which measures presence of Non-Motor
Symptoms in patients with PD, EQ5D which measures Disease Related QoL and VAS which
measures experience of own health.
Results: In total 105 patients were included with a mean age of 70.5 years for the intervention group
and 72.3 years for the control group. After the intervention, the amount of medication per day in the
intervention group decrease with 0.23 (CI-95% [0.01;0.47]). The intake moments per day increased
after the intervention with 0.03 (CI-95% [-0.20;0.14].The intervention group rated the PDQ-39 on
average 0.9 higher than the control group after 6 months (CI-95%[-6.4;8.2]), the EQ-5D -0.001
lower(CI-95%[-0.09;0.09]), and the NMS-Quest 2.0 higher(CI-95%[-0.3;4.4]), which are equal to a
decrease in QoL. But they rated the VAS 3.4 higher than the control group(CI-95%[-4.2;11.1]), which
means an increase in QoL. But the primary and secondary outcomes did not change significantly
between the intervention group and the control group. The subgroup analyses showed that the women,
patients with H&Y ≥ 3 and patients with age ≥70 rated their QoL lower compared to men, patients with H&Y<3 and patients with age < 70. But there was no significant difference between the intervention and control group in the subgroups gender, age, and H&Y. Conclusion: The results of the primary and secondary outcomes were not as expected. The Quality of Life in patients with PD did not improve after a medication review. Due to the non-significant results and a small study population, a powerful and reliable conclusion cannot be taken.


To further obtain high catalytic activity and durability of Pt catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), we synthesized a robust Pt-on-ZrC nanocomposite catalyst by taking advantage of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to improve the strong metal–support interactions at the atomic level. X-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) results show that ALD-Pt/ZrC catalysts show noticeable change in the electronic structure of Pt due to strong interactions with the ZrC support. Using electrochemical cycling to test durability, we found the ALD-Pt/ZrC nanocomposites to be roughly 5-fold and 3-fold more stable than commercial Pt/C and CW-Pt/ZrC (synthesized by a conventional chemical reduction method), respectively. The ALD-Pt/ZrC nanocomposite showed a mass activity of 0.122 A mgPt−1 at 0.9 V (vs. RHE); much higher than those for Pt/C and CW-Pt/ZrC catalysts (0.074 and 0.041 A mgPt−1, respectively). After durability test, our novel catalyst also exhibited ORR activity 9 times greater than Pt/C. This approach, using ALD to grow the Pt catalyst directly, resulting in strong interactions, will aid the design of new active and stable catalysts for ORR or other chemical reactions.


abstract Seaweeds (macroalgae) accumulate heavy metals from seawater and can therefore serve as biological monitors of marine pollution. In this paper, we present data on the tissue chemistry of seaweeds from the area of Callahan Mine, an intertidal copper and zinc mine in Brooksville, ME, USA, abandoned in the 1970s and now designated as a Superfund site. The mine is located on the Goose Pond estuary, which drains into the ocean via a tidal waterfall at Goose Falls. Seaweed tissue samples from this estuary had the same relative concentrations of metals as had been reported previously in water samples from this location, with Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd. Ascophyllum nodosum, the most common macroalgal species in the area, had comparatively high levels of all four metals in samples from Goose Pond itself, while samples from Goose Falls tended to have substantially lower metal concentrations statistically indistinguishable from samples collected in nearby unpolluted sites. At Goose Falls, where seaweed diversity was highest, Fucus distichus subsp. evanescens tended to accumulate the highest levels of Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd. We discuss the implications of these results for the Callahan Mine environment and, more generally, for using seaweeds as biological monitors of metal pollution in coastal Maine. In an online appendix, we also provide historical and modern floristic data on the seaweeds of the Callahan Mine. The floristic and tissue chemistry data are baseline information which may be useful for the future assessment and remediation of the mine.


PURPOSE
Aldose reductase (AR), an enzyme implicated in diabetic complications of ocular tissues, has been suggested to play a physiologic role in kidney and, possibly, other tissues by elevating the organic osmolytes in conditions of heightened extracellular tonicity. Hypertonicity has been shown to induce AR and alpha B-crystallin in some cells. To examine if similar mechanisms are operating in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), another target tissue of diabetic complications, we studied the effect of hypertonic media on the induction of AR, alpha B-crystallin, myoinositol, taurine, and other free amino acids.

METHODS
Human RPE cells were cultured in normal and hypertonic media containing 150 mmol/l NaCl or 200 mmol/l cellobiose in combination with 30 mmol/l galactose from 0-8 days. Western blot analysis with antibodies were used to measure the expression of AR and alpha B-crystallin. Hybridization of northern blots using AR and alpha B-crystallin complementary DNA probes were employed for the measurement of the respective messenger RNA for these proteins. Changes in the levels of myoinositol, galactitol, taurine, and other free amino acids were determined biochemically.

RESULTS
AR and alpha B-crystallin messenger RNA levels rose 16-fold and 4-fold, respectively, when human RPE cells were cultured for 3 days in media supplemented with either 150 mmol/l NaCl or 200 mmol/l cellobiose. AR and alpha B-crystallin protein levels also increased significantly, as seen by western blots. Consistent with the increased AR, galactitol accumulated to a greater extent when human RPE cells were grown in media containing 30 mmol/l galactose plus 150 mmol/l NaCl compared with cells grown in 30 mmol/l galactose alone. An 11-fold increase in cellular myoinositol and a 1.4-fold increase in taurine was observed in cells exposed to hypertonic media.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that human RPE cells are responsive to hypertonic stress by elevating AR activity and use intracellular organic solutes in an interactive manner to help regulate intracellular tonicity.


Public services are activities service carried out by the organizers as an effort to fulfill public needs, that are profitable in a group and offer satisfaction even though the results are not bound by a physical product. Kubu Raya is a district located in the West Kalimantan province with a vast areas of  6.985,20 km² and a population of 522.174 persons. Every district community of Kubu Raya requieres a public services that provide service facilities for population administrations or permits and other documents. The public services provided by the District of Kubu Raya are various and are offer by their resepective organizer. Most of the time, the sevices needed by the population are located in different places of the district, this forces the person to make multiple different trip to multiple location while carying all the documents. The current organization isn't effective and consume the time and the satisfaction of the user. Therefore, a place that regroupe most of the public services in one or in a near location need to created. A Public Service Mall can be build to regroupe the services, the close building is composed of all the services that can facilitate the distribution and or exchange of goods or sevices for the user. A Public Service Mall will help the user to enjoy and have acces to all the services in one location, this will be more efficient in the time management and will increase the satisafaction of the user.


Despite the importance of dendritic targeting in neural circuit assembly, the mechanisms by which it is controlled still remain incompletely understood. We previously showed that in the developing Drosophila antennal lobe, the Wnt5 protein forms a gradient that directs the ∼45° rotation of a cluster of projection neuron (PN) dendrites, including the adjacent DA1 and VA1d dendrites. We report here that the Van Gogh (Vang) transmembrane planar cell polarity (PCP) protein is required for the rotation of the DA1/VA1d dendritic pair. Cell type-specific rescue and mosaic analyses showed that Vang functions in the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), suggesting a codependence of ORN axonal and PN dendritic targeting. Loss of Vang suppressed the repulsion of the VA1d dendrites by Wnt5, indicating that Wnt5 signals through Vang to direct the rotation of the DA1 and VA1d glomeruli. We observed that the Derailed (Drl)/Ryk atypical receptor tyrosine kinase is also required for the rotation of the DA1/VA1d dendritic pair. Antibody staining showed that Drl/Ryk is much more highly expressed by the DA1 dendrites than the adjacent VA1d dendrites. Mosaic and epistatic analyses showed that Drl/Ryk specifically functions in the DA1 dendrites in which it antagonizes the Wnt5-Vang repulsion and mediates the migration of the DA1 glomerulus towards Wnt5. Thus, the nascent DA1 and VA1d glomeruli appear to exhibit Drl/Ryk-dependent biphasic responses to Wnt5. Our work shows that the final patterning of the fly olfactory map is the result of an interplay between ORN axons and PN dendrites, wherein converging pre- and postsynaptic processes contribute key Wnt5 signaling components, allowing Wnt5 to orient the rotation of nascent synapses through a PCP mechanism.


Focuses on food safety, food quality and nutrition and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food′s (MAFF) responsibility to maintain a complete awareness of developments in order that standards may be maintained. Reviews MAFF priorities and strategy for the period 1992‐1994. The attention is placed on ensuring that food is safe to eat, with consumers protected from all avoidable risk. The research requirement is wide ranging and covers matters such as microbiological safety, chemical safety, nutrient content, adulteration and food authenticity. A major theme is the development of expertise in risk management and the need to be able to deal scientifically with emerging issues.