Liu, Yanping, Aaron H. Bubolz, Yang Shi, Peter J. Newman, Debra K. Newman, and David D. Gutterman. Peroxynitrite reduces the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor component of coronary flow-mediated dilation in PECAM-1 knockout mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 290: R57–R65, 2006. First published September 15, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00424.2005.—Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1) is capable of transducing signals in endothelial cells exposed to shear; however, the biological consequences of this signal transduction are unknown. Because shear stress elicits flow-mediated dilation (FMD), we examined whether steady-state FMD in mouse coronary arteries (MCAs) is affected in the PECAM-1 knockout (KO) mouse. MCAs were isolated from wild-type (WT) or KO mice and prepared for videomicroscopy, histofluorescence, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. FMD was examined in the absence and presence of N -nitro-Larginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and L-NAME indomethacin (INDO). FMD was reduced in KO relative to WT MCAs, but the L-NAME-inhibitable portion of FMD was similar between the two. The INDO-sensitive component of FMD was diminished in KO MCAs. In contrast, the residual component of dilation, presumably because of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF), was abolished in KO MCAs. Histofluorescence showed relatively more superoxide (O2 ; oxy-ethidium fluorescence) and peroxide production (dihydrochlorofluorescene fluoresecence) in KO MCAs at rest. Flow augmented O2 and peroxide production in WT MCAs but had little effect on KO MCAs. Enhanced nitric oxide generation was observed in arteries from KO mice, accompanied with increased eNOS S1177 phosphorylation. In vessels from KO mice, treatment with ebselen decreased peroxynitrite (ONOO ) formation and improved the reduced FMD, largely due to restoration of the presumed EDHF component. These results suggest that PECAM-1 is necessary for normal FMD in the mouse coronary circulation. In the absence of this adhesion and signaling molecule, ONOO production is increased concomitant with a reduction in both the EDHF and INDO-sensitive components of FMD.


In the following thesis I examine the performance effects of merger within the German cooperative banking sector on the basis of agency, synergy and market power related changes. Furthermore, from a strategic management perspective the role of strategic similarities is analyzed. Performance enhancing effects are found from a synergy and market power theory perspective in terms of a reduction in interest costs. Furthermore, problems with synergy gains in the area of personnel costs are discovered. These are so serious that they have hampered a significant change in overall bank performance. A change in market power is also measured in terms of a significant increase in other operating income. It is not possible to detect any significant change in agency related costs. Further, I describe that strategic similarities and size differences are not leading to increased profitability. Instead, differences in diversity of earnings are found to be performance enhancing. Therefore, the previously described increase in other operating income can also be facilitated by economies of scope: services that are originally only provided to the customers of one bank are in the post-merger period provided to the united institute's combined customer base.


We conduct two studies to test three hypotheses: (1) Competition increases a firm's customer satisfaction; (2) Rivals' customer satisfaction increases a firm's customer satisfaction; (3) Rivals' customer satisfaction reduces a firm's sales. First, we use store-level customer satisfaction data from a supermarket chain. Next, we consider a range of industries, using brand-level customer satisfaction ratings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Results from both studies provide support for the latter two hypotheses, while we only find support for the first hypothesis in the second study.


Summary. To investigate the role of retinoblastoma susceptibility (RB) gene inactivation in leukaemogenesis, we evaluated 36 bone marrow specimens of acute leukaemia for RB protein expression by immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis. 15 patients had no detectable RB protein at initial screening. However, nine of them were subsequently excluded due to evidence of protein degradation. Of 27 valid cases, six (22%) were repeatedly shown to lack expression of the RB protein with three different anti‐RB antibodies. Five were patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) and one, mixed‐lineage acute leukaemia. The RB inactivation was noted more frequently in AML (5/18, 28%) than in acute lymphoid leukaemia (0/7, 0%). By karyotyping, none of these six patients exhibited cytogenetic changes involving chromosome 13q14, the RB locus. There is no correlation between inactivation of the RB gene and FAB subtypes or cytogenetic changes. Four patients achieved complete remission with standard chemotherapy for 6, 12, 20 and 26+ months, respectively. Southern and Northern blot analyses further indicated that the RB genes were grossly intact and the level of RB transcripts did not decrease in the majority of these six patients. These results suggest that the absence of RB products in some of acute leukaemia might be regulated at the post‐transcriptional level, and it imposes no significant effect on treatment response and prognosis.


Sulphur emissions have been acknowledged in recent decades as a significant cause of damage to our environment and human health, especially to persons inhabiting coastal areas operated by merchant ships. To counteract the negative effects, IMO has stipulated through the MARPOL Convention the maximum levels of sulphur that may occur in marine fuels. Over the years, a number of amendments have been made to the Sixth Annex of the Convention, the Annex that regulates emissions to the atmosphere. The latest amendment was passed in 2016 which limits the maximum permitted sulphur content to 0.5% mass/mass from January 1, 2020. As this is a significant tightening of the previous global sulphur directive, it means that several players in the maritime cluster will be affected as they must adapt their activities per the new legislation.

This bachelor's thesis is a case study that has analysed how the refineries on the Swedish west coast will be affected by the sulphur directive. In particular, the strategies they intend to implement to optimally adapt their activities to the new conditions were assessed. In addition, the parameters which affect the bunker market were also studied in order to understand how they affect the refineries' strategies in relation to the changing regulatory conditions.

The method by which the thesis was written was through a qualitative case study and a search for literature on the subject as well as four semi structured interviews with the refineries, Preem and St1, the maritime consulting company Maritime-Insight, and the bunker supplier Topoil. The semi structured interviews which the results were based on, were conducted to collect primary data, partly on how the refineries intend to act before and after 2020, and partly to understand the mechanisms behind their strategies.

The results showed that both Preem and St1 are well prepared for the upcoming sulphur directive. This is mainly due to the fact that they have modern facilities which means that they have the ability to produce gas oils that will correspond to the increased demand that the directive will lead to.


In this paper, an enhanced linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM) and a gait planning algorithm are proposed. The LIPM is a widely used concept for gait reference generation, and it provides a simplified model for planning a center of mass trajectory when given a proper zero moment point trajectory. However, one of the assumptions of LIPM is that the legs of the robot are massless, so that the mass of the supporting leg can be neglected for simplification, and it conflicts with the mass distributions of human beings and most humanoid robots. Hence, this paper proposes a double-link LIPM (DLIPM) to eliminate the conflict about mass distribution. In addition, a gait planning algorithm is proposed for natural walking reference generation. In the simulation results, the proposed method is implemented based on a model of a teen-sized humanoid robot named David Junior. The simulation results validate the feasibility and practicability of the proposed method. Moreover, comparisons between conventional LIPM and DLIPM demonstrate the performance of the proposed DLIPM method. Eventually, the proposed method is implemented on David Junior for the weight-lifting event in the 2015 FIRA RoboWorld Cup, an event which David Junior won first place.


Abstract Important uncertainties persist regarding the genetic architecture of adaptive trait evolution in natural populations, including the number of genetic variants involved, whether they are drawn from standing genetic variation, and whether directional selection drives them to complete fixation. Here, we take advantage of a unique natural population of Drosophila melanogaster from the Ethiopian highlands, which has evolved larger body size than any other known population of this species. We apply a bulk segregant quantitative trait locus mapping approach to 4 unique crosses between highland Ethiopian and lowland Zambian populations for both thorax length and wing length. Results indicated a persistently variable genetic basis for these evolved traits (with largely distinct sets of quantitative trait loci for each cross), and at least a moderately polygenic architecture with relatively strong effects present. We complemented these mapping experiments with population genetic analyses of quantitative trait locus regions and gene ontology enrichment analysis, generating strong hypotheses for specific genes and functional processes that may have contributed to these adaptive trait changes. Finally, we find that the genetic architectures indicated by our quantitative trait locus mapping results for size traits mirror those from similar experiments on other recently evolved traits in this species. Collectively, these studies suggest a recurring pattern of polygenic adaptation in this species, in which causative variants do not approach fixation and moderately strong effect loci are present.


The Lindbergh Case is a painstakingly researched, immensely readable account of the "Crime of the Century" from the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932 to Richard Hauptmann's conviction and execution some four years later. It's author, Jim Fisher, Professor of Criminal Justice at Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, states that he spent over four years on researching the case, and I can believe it. The vast amount of background material that he reviewed and catalogued by computer includes some 7500 pages of trial transcripts and literally thousands of other documents maintained in the Lindbergh case archives in West Trenton, New Jersey, such as affidavits, memos, letters, logs, statements, photographs, press clippings, trial exhibits, and material from the Governor Hoffman file. Fisher also examined the physical evidence itself including the fourteen ransom notes, Hauptmann's known handwriting, the kidnap ladder, and the baby's sleeping suit.


Studies show that 30% of 189 tumors sequenced to date express variants of the polymerase beta (pol beta) protein that are not present in normal tissue. This raises the possibility that variants of pol beta might be linked to the etiology of cancer. Here, we characterize the I260M prostate-cancer-associated variant of pol beta. Ile260 is a key residue of the hydrophobic hinge that is important for the closing of the polymerase. In this study, we demonstrate that the I260M variant is a sequence context-dependent mutator polymerase. Specifically, I260M is a mutator for misalignment-mediated errors in dipyrimidine sequences. I260M is also a low-fidelity polymerase with regard to the induction of transversions within specific sequence contexts. Our results suggest that the hinge influences the geometry of the DNA within the polymerase active site that is important for accurate DNA synthesis. Importantly, characterization of the I260M variant shows that it has a functional phenotype that could be linked to the etiology or malignant progression of human cancer.


In January 2020, county state administration offices, as first-line state administration offices in Croatia, were abolished and their competences transferred to county second-level units of local self-government. This organizational change represents administrative decentralization. The purpose of this article is to examine whether there are any differences in the predictions regarding the effects of this organizational change between two groups of civil servants: state civil servants (heads of county state administration offices and heads of their internal organizational units) and county civil servants (heads of county organizational units), and which are the factors that shape their predictions. A questionnaire was sent to the respondents in June 2019. The statistical analysis of the data (response rate 52%) shows a statistically significant difference between the predictions of the two groups in relation to all four categories of effects of this organizational change (inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes). There is only one point where there is no difference: both groups agree that the county governor's role will grow. The difference in predictions is explained by two factors of cognitive biases: the organization's interest to survive and expand its power, and uncertainty (strategic, structural, and job-related). The paper offers an academic contribution to the field of administrative decentralization by giving insights into the predictions of different actors on the effects of such change before its implementation and by introducing factors of cognitive biases as explanations for discrepancies in the predictions.


The water activity of carrageenan gels with incorporated solutes was determined by cryoscopic osmometry. Kappa (k), kappalambda (kλ) and iota (κ) carrageenan were utilized at concentrations of from 0.1 2% solids producing a sol, viscous sol, and gel. The solutes used were sucrose, NaCl, Na2SO4, KCl, NH4Cl and urea at concentrations ranging from 0.05–1.0 kinetic units per kg H2O. All the solutes were found to give aw values as measured cryoscopically withhin 0.0005 units of literature values. The water activity of pure carrageenans at 0.1–2% solids was greater than 0.999. Addition of some solutes increased the water binding of the carrageenan-solute-water system as was found by a lower aw than expected. This interaction effect increased with increasing concentration of solute and carrageenan and was greater for solutes with lower activity coefficients. The interaction effect increased in the following order: Na2SO4, NaCl, KCl, and NH4 Cl. The force required to rupture the gel was measured using the Instron Universal Testing Machine. Solutes were found to influence the gel strength of k and kλ carrageenans, but not ι carrageenan. The solutes increased kλ carrageenan's gel strength in increasing order: urea, sucrose, Na2SO4, NaCl, NH4Cl, and KCl and k carrageenan's gel strength in increasing order: sucrose, Na2SO4 and NaCl. There appears to be no simple relationship between gel strength and water-binding when solutes are added to carrageenan.


The recent advances in the lithium-ion battery concept towards the development of sustainable energy storage systems are herein presented. The study reports on new lithium-ion cells developed over the last few years with the aim of improving the performance and sustainability of electrochemical energy storage. Alternative chemistries involving anode, cathode and electrolyte components are herein recalled in order to provide an overview of state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery systems, with particular focus on the cell configurations currently proposed at the laboratory scale. Hence, the review highlights the main issues related to full cell assembly, which have been tentatively addressed by a limited number of reports, while many papers describe materials investigation in half-cells, i.e., employing lithium metal anodes. The new battery prototypes here described are evaluated in terms of their electrochemical performances, cell balance, efficiency and cycle life. Finally, the applicability of these suitable energy storage systems is evaluated in the light of their most promising characteristics, thus outlining a conceivable scenario for new generation, sustainable lithium-ion batteries.


Measurements of the yield of important trace gas species such as ozone, evolved during photolytic reactions have been made under Martian environmental conditions in one of the The Open University's Mars simulation chambers. The simulation chamber can mimic Martian temperatures and pressures and a UV solar simulator can be added to irradiate a Marslike gas mixture within the chamber to drive chemical reactions. The concentration of trace gases is measured in situ using a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The data obtained will be invaluable in improving the qualitative and quantitative representation of chemical species calculated using Mars global circulation models (MGCMs) and in interpreting a new suite of observational data such as from ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).


The disappearance of the Sowjet- Union resulted in the loss of the image of an enemy, precondition for the construction and definition of the otherness of the "We". The lack of a collective threat was rapidly and systematically replaced by a new image of the enemy: Islam. The old – racist - orientalist characterization of the "genetic" inferiority of Semitic people was re-invented as the "cultural specificity" of "Islam", which became the new aggressive, irrational threat of Western culture and its "rational modernity". The invention of the "clash of civilizations" not only became constitutive for the construction of Western identity in the post cold-war world, it is used as well for legitimizing the demolition of the norms of international and humanitarian law. The "war on terrorism", justified as the struggle against the fanatic and irrational evil, consequently destroys the humanitarian principles on which civilization has been based since the Age of Enlightenment, provoking what it intends to combat: terrorism.


Dance is an important human art form, but creating new dances can be difficult and time-consuming. In this work, we introduce Editable Dance GEneration (EDGE), a state-of-the-art method for editable dance generation that is capable of creating realistic, physically-plausible dances while remaining faithful to the input music. EDGE uses a transformer-based diffusion model paired with Jukebox, a strong music feature extractor, and confers powerful editing capabilities well-suited to dance, including joint-wise conditioning, and in-betweening. We introduce a new metric for physical plausibility, and evaluate dance quality generated by our method extensively through (1) multiple quantitative metrics on physical plausibility, beat alignment, and diversity benchmarks, and more importantly, (2) a large-scale user study, demonstrating a significant improvement over previous state-of-the-art methods. Qualitative samples from our model can be found at our website.


This paper analyses intra- and extra-euro area (EA) trade flows for the five largest EA countries in order to gauge the importance of value chains. We bridge findings from input-output table analysis with a time series approach. Evidence of value chains is found for all trade patterns and is most pronounced within the EA. Imports from EA and RoW are not only domestically absorbed, but also re-exported. Exports to EA depend on demand in both the importing country and the rest of the world (RoW), indicating the importance of re-exports to RoW. Demand factors play a large role in all trade patterns.


Effects of three plant densities and two nitrogen rates on leaf areas and nitrogen uptake by tobacco plants were studied during 1961 and 1962. A study was also made on the economics of these treatments.Leaf area indices (LAI's) for both years increased with time until the reduction in total leaf area through loss of senescent lower leaves became greater than the gain in leaf area of the active upper leaves. The highest maximum LAI of 5 in 1961 was obtained for the high nitrogen rate and the 25-cm spacing. The lowest maximum LAI of 2.5 was obtained for the low nitrogen rate and the 76-cm spacing. LAI's increased with high nitrogen and at both levels of nitrogen the LAI's were in the order of 25 > 51 > 76-cm spacings in 122-cm beds.Relationships between leaf area and leaf weight per plant were very similar during 1961 and 1962. Correlation coefficients for leaf areas and weights varied from 0.95 to 0.99 in 1961 and from 0.92 to 0.99 in 1962. In both years, better correlation appeared between leaf areas and weights at the high nitrogen rate than at the low nitrogen rate, with spacing treatments having little effect on the relationships.Nitrogen uptake was much higher with the high nitrogen treatment than with the low nitrogen treatment.The yield of flue-cured tobacco increased with closer plant spacing and the higher nitrogen rate. However, leaf quality decreased with the high nitrogen rate and offset the higher yields in total dollar value per hectare. The quality of tobacco appeared to be influenced more by the nitrogen application than by the different plant spacings~ The most profitable treatment combination appeared to be the 76-cm spacing at the low nitrogen rate.


Dense pixel matching is required for many computer vision algorithms such as disparity, optical flow or scene flow estimation. Feature Pyramid Networks (FPN) have proven to be a suitable feature extractor for CNN-based dense matching tasks. FPN generates well localized and semantically strong features at multiple scales. However, the generic FPN is not utilizing its full potential, due to its reasonable but limited localization accuracy. Thus, we present ResFPN - a multi-resolution feature pyramid network with multiple residual skip connections, where at any scale, we leverage the information from higher resolution maps for stronger and better localized features. In our ablation study, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our novel architecture with clearly higher accuracy than FPN. In addition, we verify the superior accuracy of ResFPN in many different pixel matching applications on established datasets like KITTI, Sintel, and FlyingThings3D.


Despite being recognised for over two millennia and having an increasing incidence in many countries, the management of childhood empyema remains controversial. This review examines the recent literature on its causes and investigation then focuses on its treatment. Following a trial of appropriate intravenous antibiotics, the evidence would currently support the use of chest drain insertion with urokinase instillation as first line treatment with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery to be used for failure of medical management. A treatment algorithm is proposed to guide clinical practice.


Abstract: Modern understanding and care of head injuries began in the 1960s when artificial ventilation, originating in use in polio, was applied to severely injured victims. The impetus to research and advances in management is still evolving. Better understanding of the pathology and patho-physiology of traumatic brain damage identified the fundamental structural and functional components. The distinction between primary and secondary damage pointed to the reduction of avoidable deaths and disability as the target of many efforts in management. Reliable clinical assessment and with the Glasgow Coma Scale, advances in intracranial imaging and their combination in guidelines such as those of SIGN and NICE have had clear success in the early diagnosis and surgery for intracranial haematoma. Outcome has also been improved by better management of extra cranial complications through trauma systems and intensive care. Despite extensive fundamental research, less progress has been made in the "neuroprotective" management of primary diffuse damage resulting from axonal shearing or from the consequences of ischaemic insults. The recognition that survivors of intensive care could face substantial subsequent problems led to the need to move beyond mortality as an index of outcome. The multi-dimensional consequences of brain damage, spanning mental, physical and social fields led to the creation of many descriptive systems and classifications. It is important to recognise the purpose for which each was introduced. The Glasgow outcome scale was developed to provide a short, simple overview categorisation, particularly applicable to groups of patients. The approach has proved valuable in research linking outcome to early severity, in developing predictive systems and in comparing series of patients managed in different ways. Its utility has been advanced by the development of an extended and structured, more consistent approach. Although initially introduced for severe injuries, a prospective study of a representative cohort of all head injuries admitted to hospital showed that it is able to portray the consequences of even so called mild injury, including the remarkably high incidence and persistence of incomplete recovery. The factors leading to this, the influence of adverse "emotional indices" and their potential amelioration are a priority for further research, as is the high rate of mortality, which continues for many years after the acute stage.


The present report is part of a larger study on the helminth fauna of Neotropical Cormorants, Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Gmelin, 1789) in Brazil, particularly, in the southernmost State of Rio Grande do Sul. The nematodes which were found loose in the proventriculus/ventriculus or in groups of adults of different ages and of L 3 and L 4 larval stages, forming eosinophylic granulomas had a prevalence of 100% in 47 Neotropical cormorants from Lago Guaiba, Municipality of Guaiba. The morphology of the labia/interlabia, the distribution pattern of the caudal papillae in males examined under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the tips of the spicules allowed determination of the species as Contracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 sensu lato ( s. l. ). This is the first record of C. rudolphii in southern Brazil.


Abstract. This paper proposes the estimation of high return period quantiles using upper bounded distribution functions with Systematic and additional Non-Systematic information. The aim of the developed methodology is to reduce the estimation uncertainty of these quantiles, assuming the upper bound parameter of these distribution functions as a statistical estimator of the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF). Three upper bounded distribution functions, firstly used in Hydrology in the 90's (referred to in this work as TDF, LN4 and EV4), were applied at the Jucar River in Spain. Different methods to estimate the upper limit of these distribution functions have been merged with the Maximum Likelihood (ML) method. Results show that it is possible to obtain a statistical estimate of the PMF value and to establish its associated uncertainty. The behaviour for high return period quantiles is different for the three evaluated distributions and, for the case study, the EV4 gave better descriptive results. With enough information, the associated estimation uncertainty for very high return period quantiles is considered acceptable, even for the PMF estimate. From the robustness analysis, the EV4 distribution function appears to be more robust than the GEV and TCEV unbounded distribution functions in a typical Mediterranean river and Non-Systematic information availability scenario. In this scenario and if there is an upper limit, the GEV quantile estimates are clearly unacceptable.


Despite the steady increase of computing power and speed, the complexity of many of today's engineering analysis codes seems to keep pace with computing advances. Furthermore, the design and development of complex systems typically requires the integration of multiple disciplines and the resolution of multiple conflicting objectives. A departure from the traditional parametric design analysis and singleobjective optimization approaches is necessary for the effective solution of multidisciplinary, multiobjective complex design problems that rely on computer analyses. Statistical design of experiments and response surface modeling have been used extensively to create inexpensive-to-run approximations of expensive-to-run computer analyses and combat the problem of size associated with large, multidisciplinary design problems. However, these statistical approaches also break down because of the curse of dimensionality, wherein the number of design variables becomes too large to build accurate response surfaces efficiently. Speculations have been offered in the literature regarding the manageable problem size when these approaches are employed. In this paper, the limitations of these approaches are investigated and demonstrated explicitly by pushing the limits in a large-scale design problem. The design of a high-speed civil transport aircraft wing is used to illustrate 1) the use of these statistical techniques to facilitate multidisciplinary design optimization and 2) the resulting curse of dimensionality associated with large variable design problems. Our current research efforts in system partitioning and hierarchical modeling, and kriging (an alternative statistical approximation technique) are discussed as remedies for the problem of size.


The present research was conducted to check the presence of Listeria spp. in some meat and chicken products purchased from retail supermarkets in Assiut (Egypt). A total of 100 samples including 25 samples each of minced frozen beef, luncheon, frozen chicken legs and frozen chicken breast fillets were collected over a 7-month period between January and July 2009 and analyzed for the presence of Listeria spp. In addition, 28 stool cultures examined for Listeria spp. from hospitalized children resident in Assiut Pediatric University Hospital with diarrhea or fever. Out of the total 100 meat samples examined, Listeria spp. were detected in 8 (32%) of minced frozen beef, 8 (32%) of luncheon, 13 (52%) of frozen chicken leg and 14 (56%) of frozen chicken fillet samples analyzed, respectively. Regarding the examined 28 stool cultures from hospitalized children with underlying disease in Assiut Univ. hospital, 2 (7.14%) were found positive for Listeria spp. For
identification of L. monocytogenes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), two primers were selected to detect 217-pb fragment ofthe prfA (transcriptional activator of the virulence factor) gene for L. monocytogenes. 13 selected Listeria isolates displayed beta-haemolysis on sheep blood agar and positive CAMP test were further identified using PCR. PCR results showed that L. monocytogenes were confirmed in one of minced imported frozen meat examined, two of luncheon samples and two of frozen chicken legs with the total incidence of 5 isolates (5%) from the total 100 examined food samples. This suggests the presence of a significant public health hazard linked to the consumption of these meat and chicken products sold in Assiut city contaminated with L. monocytogenes. The public health significance of these pathogens as well as recommended sanitary measures was discussed.


The design and fabrication of 2D nano-porous architectures with controllable porosity and pore structure, as well as unique properties at the nanoscale are critical for applications such as separation, sensing, energy and catalysis. Perforation strategies across 2D materials, primarily graphene, have shown promising opportunities to develop nanostructures with tunable ranges of pore size distribution, pore density and uniformity. In addition, the perforated graphene structures exhibit improved properties in terms of plasmonic diffusion, catalytic activity and thermo-electrical properties compared to dense 2D materials and are opening new avenues for the development of responsive or reactive materials. This review presents and discusses the very recent developments in the synthesis of perforated graphene-based materials and correlates the morphology and other properties of such 2D nano-porous materials to their performance in applications such as separation, sensing and energy. Challenges related to the controlled engineering and manufacturing of such nanostructures particularly from a scalability point of view, as well as potential avenues for performance improvements through alternative 2D perforated materials are also critically evaluated.


The experience of anxiety when performing music is considered
problematic for musicians of various levels. Feelings of fear and nervousness
when perform music in front of audience also happened in pianist. By knowing
the concept of anxiety, hopes both lecturer and students can reduce this
syndrome. This article aims to determine the characteristics of anxiety that
appear in undergraduates piano majors. Literature review method was conduct to
search information related to MPA on undergraduates piano majors. The results
of this study are MPA in undergraduates piano majors occurs due to internal
factors including gender, lack of practice, perfectionist student character and
piano students' perceptions of the audience and the future careers and external
factors which include the piano learning process mostly uses a teacher centered
approach, teacher and audience evaluations of piano student performances, and
room conditions.


This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the influence of fiscal decentralization measures on the management of innovative country development. The main purpose of the research is to test the hypothesis that expenditure and revenue decentralizations have a positive impact on the management of innovative country development. Testing the hypothesis considers realization of panel data regression analysis, and consists of several stages, such as: 1) elimination of control variables multicollinearity based on the correlation analysis; 2) identification of the regression model specification (fixed or random effects model) with the help of Hausman test; 3) realization of the regression analysis and characteristic of its results (confirmation or rejection of the hypothesis). It also should be noted that country sample consists of 12 unitary European countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Ukraine). Time horizon – 2008-2018. Global Innovation Index is a measure of innovative country development. At the same time, the ratio of local budget revenue to consolidated budget revenue, the rate of domestic budget expenditure to consolidated budget expenditure, the proportion of local budget tax revenue to gross local budget revenue are measures of fiscal decentralization in the research. There are also selected a set of control variables that often used in economic growth models and reflect macroeconomic perspectives of country development. However, the practical realization of the stages, as mentioned above, allow identifying that fixed effect specification of the model is more appropriate in all three cases (for three different measures of fiscal decentralization). Panel data regression analysis allows confirming the hypothesis on the positive impact of revenue fiscal decentralization and the negative impact of expenditure decentralization on innovative country development. In turn, there is no statistically significant cohesion between ratio of local budget tax revenue to gross local budget revenue and Global Innovation Index. These findings in terms of fiscal decentralization reform might be considered in order to ensure a balance between power (expenditures) redistribution from central to sub-central governments and local budget financial capacity. While in terms of innovative country development, it should be considered that the lack of local budget financial resources to cover all redistributed from central government level powers makes it impossible to invest in the development of innovation. However, the increase of local government financial capacity creates opportunities not just for essential functions financing but also advanced features investment such as innovative development.


The development objective of the Second Regional Development Project for Georgia is to improve infrastructure services and institutional capacity to support increased contribution of tourism in the local economy of the Imereti region. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) the surrounding environment (sidewalks, roads) shall be kept free of debris to minimize dust; (2) during operations the engine covers of generators, air compressors, and other powered mechanical equipment shall be closed, and equipment placed as far away from residential areas as possible; (3) the site will establish appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as hay bales and or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; (4) the records of waste disposal will be maintained as proof for proper management as designed; (5) stored topsoil should be used for reinstatement and landscaping; and (6) traffic management system and staff training, especially for site access and near-site heavy traffic.


This paper introduces a novel amperometric immunosensor consisting of hemin (Fe(III)-protoporphyrinIX) layers formed by layer-by-layer assembly for determination of clenbuterol (CLB). Layer-by-layer assembly of hemin with Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) is achieved on the electrode surface which is modified by single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based on the electrostatic attraction between negatively charged hemin and positively charged Poly(allylamine hydrochl- oride). The modified electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray photo electron spectrum (XPS). The decrease of current results from the increasing concentration of CLB antigen, which leads to a linear decrease in CLB antigen concentration ranges from 0.5 ~ 10 ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.2 ng/mL (3σ).


BACKGROUND & AIMS
The oral Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 agonist GS-9620 has antiviral effects in woodchuck and chimpanzee models of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We investigated, in a clinical trial, the capacity of this agent to reconstitute protective immunity in patients with chronic HBV infection.

METHODS
We performed a prospective study of 28 patients with suppression of HBV infection by nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy and who tested negative for hepatitis B e antigen at 4 medical centers in Italy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:3:3:3) to groups given placebo or different doses of GS-9620 (1, 2, and 4 mg, weekly for 12 weeks). We added data from 8 patients receiving nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy to the placebo group (controls); 13 treatment-naïve patients with chronic HBV infection and 15 subjects who spontaneously recovered from an acute HBV infection served as additional controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected at baseline, during administration of GS-9620 or placebo, and 12 weeks afterward. Phenotype and function of natural killer (NK) and HBV-specific T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. T cells were expanded by incubation with peptides from the entire HBV proteome and studied after overnight or 10 days culture. NK-cell inhibition of T-cell responses was measured by assessing cytokine production by T cells stimulated with peptides in the presence or absence of NK cells.

RESULTS
T cells collected at baseline before addition of GS-9620, when patients were receiving only nucleos(t)ide therapy, had greater responses to HBV than T cells from treatment-naïve patients, based on cytokine production in response to HBV peptides. However, during or after administration of GS-9620, T cells produced higher levels of cytokines compared to baseline. NK-cell activation and function increased after patients were given GS-9620, but the ability of NK cells to suppress T-cell responses was lower during GS-9620 therapy than before. Changes in T-cell or NK-cell function did not correlate with levels of hepatitis B surface antigen. Serum levels of hepatitis B surface antigen did not decrease significantly compared to baseline in patients given any dose of GS-9620.

CONCLUSIONS
Twelve weeks administration of GS-9620 had no significant effect on serum hepatitis B surface antigen levels, but did appear to increase T-cell and NK-cell responses and reduce the ability of NK to suppress T cells. GS-9620 might therefore be included in therapies to increase the immune response to HBV.


This month's issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics is a special issue devoted entirely to the ethics of infant male circumcision—an elective surgical practice that is currently performed on around a third of the world's male population.1

The last time the Journal ran a symposium on this issue was in 2004, and there has been relatively scant discussion of the practice in the ethical literature since then. Three events that took place in the past year have brought the ethics of infant male circumcision back into the global spotlight.

First, in April of 2012, controversy erupted after it was reported that a baby had died in New York City after contracting Herpes Simplex virus during the Orthodox Jewish variant of circumcision known as metzitzah b'peh , which involves the oral suction of blood from the infant's penis following the circumcision procedure.2

Later that year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement which suggested that the health benefits of ordinary forms of male circumcision outweigh the risks and …


In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the protectionist conservatism influenced by colonialism, which exploited African countries for the prosperity of the colonizing countries, still has a high visibility in the Salonga National Park (PNS). If, in theory, the Central Africans seem to free themselves from the colonial powers on their land, in practice they are still there. The hostility of settlers who have become neo-colonists to the development of Central Africa remains intact, he adds (Ndinga, 2003). This reflects a "logic from above" that has disregarded local values. Yet, in the era of sustainable development and globalization, African protected areas appear to be essential tools for States to reposition themselves in a complex set of actors with the aim of capturing and using the new environmental rent (Giraut, Guyot, & Houssay-Holzschuch, 2003). This is a "bottom-up logic", placing people at the heart of all activities and aiming to reorganize their long-term relationships with the environment. From these two logics, a third "logic from the other side" emerges, reflecting a collective awareness of the fragility of the planet. The restoration of the rights of Africans in the various national frameworks constitutes a major challenge for the contemporary management of African protected areas. Because the protected areas inherited from the different colonial systems must accompany the change in management methods and the redefinition of their functions in order to better serve the local community in the long-term.


The book by Alice Dreger reviewed by Dr Kessel in the December 2004 JRSM1 is a wonderful portrayal of the painful curiosity, acclaim, and social stigma variously associated with conjoined twins, as well as the role of the heroic operations developed for their separation. Yet no single volume can include all cases of conjoined twins. Indeed, one set is regrettably underappreciated by modern sciences—the Blazek sisters of Bohemia (1878–1922). They represent an extreme manifestation of the terminal monogenital pygopagus subset of conjoined twins, with fusion of sacrum/pelves and a combined (septated) vagina. Indeed, the Blazek sisters stand out as the only known conjoined twins who themselves conceived and delivered a baby (a normal healthy male). Truly unique in the archive of medicine, one sister continued to menstruate through a shared vagina until the 32nd week of her conjoined twin's pregnancy. While the better known 'Siamese twins' Chang and Eng Bunker left historians a vast cultural legacy in all manner of poetry, portraiture and song, traces of the Blazek sisters (who likwise toured and exhibited extensively) have now all but vanished. Why has their story been forgotten? Although the Blazek's weaker marketing strategy might be to blame, the paucity of formal reports describing these twins in the medical literature certainly contributes to their present obscurity.2,3 Surprisingly, many 'comprehensive' obstetrics textbooks still miss this highly unusual reproductive accomplishment even in their footnotes. Nevertheless, in physiology it is from observations of the extreme where most is learned about what is possible among the ordinary. As the Blazek story slips into oblivion, our field risks losing another reminder that, even in the era before complex surgery, conjoined twins were not always consigned to an incomplete reproductive career.


It is often assumed that Jefferson—acquainted with the writings of Scottish thinkers such as Adam Ferguson, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Lord Kames, Adam Smith, and John Millar—was a stadialist of some persuasion, as several of his writings are at least consistent with stadialism. If so, was he a cyclicalist, committed to a society having a life-cycle, or a linearist, committed to the possibility of continued convergence toward some ideal of perfection? An important letter to William Ludlow and several writings where Jefferson writes of human progress as imprescriptible suggest linear stadialism. Numerous other writings, point to urbanization as a stage of social decay, and suggest cyclicalism. The correct answer, I argue, is that Jefferson was neither a linearist nor a cyclicalist, but a medialist. He viewed movement toward increased urbanization as symptomatic of social decline, but always believed any society, by rooting itself in an agrestic manner—a normative mean between the excesses of subsistence living and urbanization—could avert decline and even work toward continued advance.


The current investigative interviewing model for police officers in England and Wales recommends the use of the cognitive interview (CI). However, there is much to suggest that police officers do not regularly fully apply the procedure and that when they do, it is often poorly applied. Research has indicated that this is particularly the case with non-specialist police investigators who believe the CI is too cumbersome, complex and time consuming for the types of witness interviews they conduct. With this in mind the present study investigated a CI procedure that had been substantially modified in an attempt to enhance its forensic practicability while retaining the demonstrated superiority of the CI. Employing the mock witness paradigm, the modified procedure was compared to both the current CI model and a structured interview (SI). Results revealed that the modified CI was more effective than the SI, while being as effective as the current CI, despite being significantly shorter in duration and, we argue, less demanding for the interviewer. Hence, the proposed modified CI may well be an effective practical alternative for frontline investigators.


Galaxolide is the most used fragrance since the early 1990s, and it has been largely detected in environmental and biological matrices. This polycyclic musk is present in almost all of our daily products, so the risk of human exposure is substantial, as it had been proved by its detection in human tissues and fluids. Due to the lack of information about the concentrations found in consumer products, monitoring data is needed for exposure assessment purposes. Dermal contact, mostly by personal care products, seems to be the major route of human exposure to galaxolide, and, due to the immaturity of young children's skin, exposure consequences can be worse in this population. The main objective of this study was to evaluate galaxolide levels in personal care products used by children of Oporto (Portugal), aged 0–5 years, and relate it with consumer habits. Consumer patterns were obtained through 250 questionnaires to caregivers of Oporto children. The 79 most used products were extracted by a dispersive solid phase extraction methodology known as QuEChERS and galaxolide was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The concentrations ranged between 0.001 ± 0.001 mg·kg−1, on a baby wipe, and 300.480 ± 8.819 mg·kg−1, on glycerin soap, which may correspond to an estimated daily dermal exposure of 277.10 ± 0.02 µg·day−1 on the population of Oporto children. This value is in the range of the results observed for adults, although no information of toxicological risk for children is available.


If one looks for a copy of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in a chain or suburban mall bookstore he is not likely to find it. More often than not, however, the clerk will produce one of the author's memoirs, such as Pentimento or An Unfinished Woman. The ready availability in bookstores of what critic John Lahr describes as Hellman's "quasi autobiography" testifies to the success with which, beginning in the late 1960s, she transformed herself from a playwright into a prose writer, thus gaining in the final stage of her career "both a new public and new fame" (Lahr 93). By contrast, the relative scarcity of her plays reflects the decline of her reputation in this genre during the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years there has been a modest resurgence of interest in Hellman's plays. For example, during its 1993-94 season, the Royal National Theater in England mounted a very successful production of The Children's Hour. Still Lillian Hellman's reputation as a playwright in the 1990s remains markedly lower than it was in the late sixties, when she abandoned Broadway and its increasingly dismissive critics and launched into her thoroughly successful autobiographical venture. Robert Heilman, in his analysis of Tragedy and Melodrama on the Modern Stage, represented a substantial body of scholarly opinion in 1973 when he observed that The Little Foxes, Hellman's most acclaimed and most frequently revived play, "teeter[ed] between the slick and the substantial" (301), with the slick ultimately predominating. Elizabeth Hardwick, however, mounted the most provocative and stimulating, as well as the most damaging, critique of Hellman's plays. In a brief but powerful essay for the New York Review of Books, Hardwick used the occasion of the 1967 Lincoln Center revival of The Little Foxes for nothing less than a complete reassessment of its author's place in the hierarchy of modern American drama. In her essay Hardwick observed that Hellman's plays exhibited "an unusual mixture of the conventions of fashionable, light, drawing room comedy and quite another convention of realism and protest" (5). She judged this combination of conventional dramatic technique and equally modish 1930s radicalism to be awkward and unfortunate. Turning to a more specific examination of The Little Foxes, Hardwick argued that over the years the play had metamorphosed from a melodrama attacking the rapaciousness of capitalism into a melodrama concerned with "a besieged Agrarianism, a lost Southern agricultural life, in which virtue and sweetness had a place, and more strikingly, where social responsibility and justice could, on a personal level at least, be practiced" (4). In Hardwick's view, a play that in the 1930s had seemed to strike a stylishly leftist pose now evoked in the 1960s a more fundamental, if subtle, nostalgia for an idealized Southern past, a past rooted ultimately in the antebellum plantation system. Although Hardwick's observations on the conventional nature of Hellman's dramatic approach are apt and penetrating, there is good reason to question her contention that the interpretation of the South's past conveyed in The Little Foxes is essentially sentimental, pervaded by nostalgia for a plantation golden age. Indeed, as her research notes for the play clearly indicate, Hellman was concerned almost to the point of obsession with the factual accuracy of her dramatic portrayal of the turn-of-the-century South. She compiled over 100 pages of amazingly detailed material covering every conceivable aspect of both American and Southern economic and social history between 1880 and 1900, with particular emphasis on the South's agricultural and economic development during these decades. In compiling her notes Hellman drew from period descriptions and commentaries on the South, such as Julian Ralph's Dixie, or Southern Scenes and Sketches (1896), Philip Alexander Bruce's The Rise of the New South (1905), and Clifton Johnson's Highways and Byways of the South (1913). …


The inability of diagnostic ultrasound to detect low contrast lesions deep inside the body has limited its success in cancer diagnosis. To enhance low contrast detectability, two-dimensional, very large arrays (VLA's) providing greatly improved spatial resolution have been proposed. Due to discontinuous acoustic windows into the body, however, a significant fraction of such an array might be blocked resulting in degraded detectability in clinical situations. To compensate for this degradation, an object dependent method utilizing multiple receive beams has been proposed and shown to effectively reduce undesired beamforming artifacts. To further explore the method's capabilities, simulations have been done quantifying improvements in contrast resolution. Using the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) as a performance measure, results show that low contrast detectability is determined by sidelobe energy in the point spread function if the total aperture size is not reduced. Moreover, contrast resolution can be restored using the object dependent method if the number of blocked elements is not very significant. If the number of blocked elements is large, however, the method breaks down and performance improvements are minimal.


Random forest (RF) is a popular ensemble learning method that is widely used for the analysis of remote sensing images. RF also has connections with the kernel-based method. Its tree-based structure can generate an RF kernel (RFK) that provides an alternative to common kernels such as radial basis function (RBF) in kernel-based methods such as support vector machine (SVM). Using an RFK in an SVM has been shown to outperform both RF and SVM-RBF (i.e., using an RBF kernel in an SVM) in classification tasks with a high number of features. Here, we explore new designs of RFKs for remote sensing image classification. Different RF structural parameters and characteristics are used to generate various RFKs. In particular, we explore the use of RFs depth, the number of branches between terminal nodes of trees, and the predicted class probabilities for designing and evaluating new RFK. Two depth-based kernel are proposed: an RFK at the optimal depth, and a multiscale one created by combining RFKs at multiple depths. We evaluate the proposed kernels within an SVM by classifying a time series of Worldview-2 images, and by designing experiments having a various number of features. Benchmarking the new RFKs against the RBF shows that the newly proposed kernels outperform the RBF kernel for the experiments with a higher number of features. For the experiments with a lower number of features, RFKs and RBF kernel perform at about the same level. Benchmarking against the standard RF also shows the general outperformance of the proposed RFKs in an SVM. In all experiments, the best results are obtained with a depth-optimized RFK.


OBJECTIVES
We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador.

METHODS
Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants.

RESULTS
Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies.

CONCLUSIONS
Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly.


Objective Appropriate timing of mitral valve surgery in asymptomatic mitral regurgitation (MR) remains controversial. Peak mitral inflow velocity (peak E wave velocity) has been reported as a simple and easy predictor of quantitative MR severity; however, its prognostic significance in asymptomatic MR remains unclear. Therefore, we sought to investigate the prognostic impact of peak E wave velocity in asymptomatic MR. Methods Among 529 consecutive patients with degenerative MR of grade 3+ (moderate to severe) or 4+ (severe), 188 asymptomatic patients in sinus rhythm without left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (end-systolic dimension ≥40 mm or ejection fraction <60%) or pulmonary hypertension were studied. Cardiovascular events were defined as a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death or events that indicated mitral surgery including congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, LV dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension. Results Average peak E wave velocity was 1.05±0.26 m/s, and was significantly higher in grade 4+ than grade 3+ (1.20±0.28 vs 0.98±0.21 m/s, p<0.001). Peak E wave velocity was associated with quantitative MR severity, as well as clinical characteristics of advanced MR (higher brain natriuretic peptide, larger LV and left atrium, higher tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient and dilated inferior vena cava). During a median follow-up of 4.3 years, 66 (35%) patients developed cardiovascular events. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that peak E wave velocity was an independent predictor of cardiovascular events (adjusted HR 1.245 (95% CI 1.126 to 1.378) per 0.1 m/s, p<0.001). Conclusions Peak E wave velocity was an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in asymptomatic degenerative MR with preserved LV function.


We introduce the use of qualitative analysis and active learning to photo album construction. Given a heterogeneous collection of photos, we organize them into a hierarchical categorization tree (C-tree) based on qualitative analysis using quartets instead of relying on conventional, quantitative image similarity metrics. The main motivation is that in a heterogeneous collection, quantitative distances may become unreliable between dissimilar data and there is unlikely a single metric that is well applicable to all data. Our qualitative analysis utilizes multiple distance measures and applies them where reliable comparisons are possible. Then from the C-tree, we develop an active learning scheme for fine-grained photo scene classification, allowing the selection of representative photos for layout construction which better reflects user intent. Finally, the selected photos are laid out in a comic-like arrangement based on a style template library and layout optimization. Experiments demonstrate that our method is efficient, user-centered, and produces photo albums that are more preferable in comparison with previous approaches.


Soybean flour was fermented with Aspergillus usamii to improve the availabilities of dietary zinc and iron through the degradation of phytate. Three kinds of experimental diets that differed in protein sources were prepared: one consisting of 40% fermented soybean flour (RS diet), one consisting of 40% fermented soybean flour (FS diet), and one consisting of 20% regular soybean flour and 20% fermented soybean flour (RF diet). Zinc solubilities in the upper and the lower segments of the small intestine were higher in rats fed the FS diet than in rats fed the RS diet. The FS group showed higher solubility of iron in the lower small intestine than the RS group did. Zinc concentrations in the femur and plasma and iron concentrations in the liver and plasma were higher in the FS group than in the RS group. These results suggested that the fermentation of soybean flour improved the availabilities of dietary zinc and iron, which may be induced by increasing the solubilities of these minerals in the small intestine through the reduction of phytate content. Femoral and plasma zinc concentrations in the RF group were higher than in the RS group, but lower than in the FS group. No difference was noted in liver and plasma iron concentrations between the RF group and the FS group. Although phytase activity in FS degrades phytate in the RF diet, higher activity may be needed to degrade phytate completely.


"All diabetics don't fast. If you fast you will die." Either he or the TV programme was misquoting the letter of Dr S G Barber and others (7 July, p 46). Dr Barber and his colleagues write, "Muslims who have diabetes mellitus should be advised not to fast during Ramadan, unless their diabetes is controlled on diet alone." It is difficult to understand why they give this advice, as they show in the first half of their letter that Muslims with diabetes mellitus come to no harm by observing the fast of Ramadan. But they wisely point out that there are theoretical dangers of provoking ketosis by fasting without adequate medical advice. The patient with diabetes mellitus and obesity who is on a low-calorie diet should find the fast of Ramadan highly beneficial. Those on oral hypoglycaemic agents should take a half or a quarter their usual dose just before sunrise. Those on twice-daily insulin should set their alarm clocks for three quarters of an hour before sunrise. They should have a half or a third of their usual dose of morning insulin, have a meal, and go back to bed. After sunset they should have their usual evening dose of insulin before they break their fast. It might be advisable to change those on a single daily dose of insulin to a twicedaily dose of short-acting insulin for the period of Ramadan. They should ideally be seen weekly during Ramadan and also taught to test for ketones. They should report to their doctor if they have ketonuria or hypoglycaemia. Dr Barber and his colleagues have produced good evidence that it is quite safe for a Muslim with diabetes mellitus to fast during Ramadan. Helping a patient to practise his set of ideals leads to a good-doctor patient relationship. R N EBBING


Animation has often involved some degree of drawing, but 'boiling' and animated sketching are two unique forms of drawn animation that overtly foreground the process of drawing. In this article, the author looks at these two specific approaches to drawn animation, paying special attention to the history, process, and evolutionary qualities of animated sketching; he focuses on the processes and material essence of the 'boiling' image. Both of these approaches produce forms that are at once immobile and mobile and, within this dichotomy of movement, the process of drawing is further accentuated. These will be discussed in light of broader discussions of the theory and process of animation and drawing. Additionally, these discussions will be set against a (somewhat informal) backdrop of process philosophy in an effort to further underscore the importance of the drawing process in the production and presentation of these two methods of animation.


The incorporation of acetate 1-C-14 into fatty acids by whole blood and platelets from insulin independent diabetics has been determined. Whole blood from insulin independent diabetics incorporates significantly less C-14 into fatty acids than does whole blood from controls. As in previously reported studies done with blood cells from ketotic and nonketotic insulin dependent diabetics, a decreased percentage of fatty acid C-14 in palmitic acid (16:0) is found. This, however, exists as an isolated abnormality in whole bLiod from insulin independent diabetics. This abnormality may persist in some patients even when the fasting blood sugar is normal. The incorporation of acetate C-14 into fatty acids by platelets from insulin independent diabetics is quite similar to that of the control group. However, the pattern of incorporation of C-14 into fatty acids is abnormal. Percentage of C-14 in both myristic and palmitic acids is decreased, while percentage of C-14 in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with retention time corresponding to 20:0 or greater is increased. These abnormalities bear no relationship to the fasting blood sugar at the time of study. These findings apparently mean that de novo synthesis of fatty acids is impaired in blood cells from both insulin dependent and insulin independent diabetics, while chain lengthening is relatively little affected.


The objective in this study is to evaluate thermal environment of a room with an advanced ceiling hidden type air-conditioner using numerical simulation. As the characteristic of the air-conditioner, it supplies a weak airflow from a large inlet to a room. Circulator fans are fixed on the ceiling. Numerical simulation is performed to a room with the air-conditioner. PMV [1] is calculated from the obtained data and thermal sensation of the people is investigated. From the PMV distribution, it was found that this sensation was improved by the advanced air-conditioner.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles have been synthesized using a reverse micelle technique combined with metal alkoxide hydrolysis and condensation. The size of the particles can be controlled by manipulating the relative rates of the hydrolysis and condensation reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and titanium isopropoxide (TIP) within the micro-emulsion. The average size of synthesized TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles was about in the size range of 20-100 nm. The effects of synthesis parameters, such as the molar ratio of water to precursor and the molar ratio of water to surfactant, are discussed.


We define vulnerability here as the extent to which climate change may damage or harm a system, depending not only on a system's sensitivity, but also on its ability to adapt to new climatic conditions. Current climate change has already affected the Earth's biodiversity, and the rate of change is likely to accelerate in the future. It is expected that climate change will affect the performance, structure and distribution of ecosystems, species and genetic constituents. Changes in temperature and precipitation, and in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, can directly influence ecosystem functioning. To determine the vulnerability or fragility of different species to climate change, we used the envelope function method, because of its capacity to analyze the variables that directly affect different species; by measuring the effect of climate variables on stomatal conductance, this provided an effective analysis of the diversity of ecophysiological responses. Using this method to assess vulnerability helped us predict the extreme values that the species could tolerate; and also gave information about the species' sensitivity. We analyzed the effects of air temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, vapor pressure deficit and leaf water potential on the stomatal conductance in 4 tree species (Alnus acuminata, Quercus xalapensis, Liquidambar styraciflua and Pinus ayacahuite) from different altitudinal ranges in the central region of Veracruz, Mexico, in Las Grandes Montañas. Knowing how vulnerability affects the species and ecosystems is a key element of maintaining regional biodiversity.


The effect of polyethylene hutches wrapped in aluminized reflective covers (ARC) on health and performance of pre-weaned Holstein heifers during summer was evaluated. Ambient and hutch temperature and temperature-humidity index (THI) were also assessed. The study was conducted from June to October 2016 where temperature, humidity, and THI ranged from -1.3 to 38.4°C, 9.8 to 99.7%, and 33.6 to 81.1 units, respectively. Heifers enrolled at 1 d of life and housed in individual polyethylene hutches with (covered) or without (control) ARC were monitored until 60 d of life in 2 study groups (SG1, n = 94, monitored from June to September; and SG2, n = 101, monitored from August to October 2016). Calves were assessed twice per week for health status, behavior, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate. Similarly, hutch inner wall and sand bedding temperatures were determined for comparison between covered and control hutches housing calves. Four empty hutches per treatment group were continuously monitored for temperature and THI. The odds (95% confidence interval) of presenting diarrhea were 1.30 (1.01-1.60) times greater for calves housed in covered hutches than for those in the control group. Similarly, the odds of an abnormal ear score were 1.40 (1.03-2.00) times greater for calves in covered hutches compared with calves in control hutches. The odds of nasal discharge, eye discharge, and clinical dehydration did not differ between treatment groups. Rectal temperatures and respiratory rates were also similar in both groups. No differences were found in average daily gain between calves housed in covered and control hutches. Calf location determined at a fixed time during the day (starting at 1200 h) was associated with the use of ARC. The odds of remaining inside the hutch were 1.33 (1.03-1.70) times greater for calves housed in control compared with covered hutches. Overall, the average of hutch interior temperature was higher in covered compared with control hutches in both studies (SG1, 23.2 ± 0.06 vs. 22.8 ± 0.06°C; SG2, 17.1 ± 0.07 vs. 16.9 ± 0.07°C). Hutch THI was higher in covered empty hutches compared with control hutches in both study groups (SG1: 68.6 ± 0.06 vs. 67.6 ± 0.06°C; SG2: 60.2 ± 0.08 vs. 59.6 ± 0.08°C). Average temperature (measured at 1200 h) of the inner surface of the hutch wall was lower in covered compared with control hutches by 1°C (24.4 ± 0.13 vs. 25.4 ± 0.13°C), whereas the temperature of the sand bedding did not differ between groups. Our results suggest that the use of ARC did not generate a hutch microclimate that resulted in significant improvements on health and performance of pre-weaned dairy calves under these specific study settings.


Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active compounds are attractive fluorescent materials for applications in chemical and biological sensing. The AIE effect of such materials amplifies changes in the fluorescence signal due to the physical state transformation from aggregation to disaggregation, which can be employed for detecting various analytes with high sensitivity. In particular, specific bio-active analyte recognition is not only very interesting but also challenging. In this paper, we report a set of novel AIE-active fluorescent probes containing pyridiniums and boric acid groups (TPA-PP, TPA-PPA-1, TPA-PPA-2, TPA-PPA-3), which has been developed for adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) recognition. These probes with two types of interaction modes and multiple connection sites toward ATP molecules are able to selectively discriminate ATP among other bioactive anions with a significant enhancement in fluorescence emission. In particular, in the application of cell imaging, as the number of positive charges and boric acid group increased further, the probes could penetrate into cells, and then enter into the nucleus very specifically. These results clearly demonstrate that the newly developed sensors are suitable for specific tracing of different cell organelles with a height visualization and retention ability. Therefore, all of them are confirmed as promising alternatives for live cell imaging in the future.


Results of extensive computations of moments of the Riemann zeta function on the critical line are presented. Calculated values are compared with predictions motivated by random matrix theory. The results can help in deciding between those and competing predictions. It is shown that for high moments and at large heights, the variability of moment values over adjacent intervals is substantial, even when those intervals are long, as long as a block containing 109 zeros near zero number 1023. More than anything else, the variability illustrates the limits of what one can learn about the zeta function from numerical evidence. It is shown the rate of decline of extreme values of the moments is modelled relatively well by power laws. Also, some long range correlations in the values of the second moment, as well as asymptotic oscillations in the values of the shifted fourth moment, are found. The computations described here relied on several representations of the zeta function. The numerical comparison of their effectiveness that is presented is of independent interest, for future large scale computations.


The published work on which this submission is based examines the ways in
which deaths of popular musicians are represented in the media, offering a
critical and problematic spotlight on social values conveyed through media
discourse. In the title the term 'representation' is used deliberately,
acknowledging a conceptual debt to Stuart Hall (1997: 15) who articulated the
complexity of the relationship between language, culture and meaning. Going
on to set out three theories - 'reflective', 'intentional' and 'constructionist' - Hall's
latter perspective is one used here to argue that media discourse is distinct in
relation to this data set. That is, that popular musicians are treated in several
distinct ways in the coverage of their deaths. These narratives reflect social
views and reinforce dominant discourses of lifestyles stereotypically associated
with popular music. Underneath these recurring narrative devices operates a
covert layer of morality and judgement, which is sometimes inaccurate, often
misleading and potentially communicates unhelpful messages to distressed and
vulnerable members of the public. At its most extreme, irresponsible reporting of
suicide and acts of self-harm may be of risk to the public (Samaritans. 2013: 7).


The talk presented at 29th Annual General Meeting Of Materials Research Society Of India And National Symposium On Advances In Functional And Exotic Materials.


This paper discusses emerging demographic patterns and its opportunities and challenges for India. It investigates the specificities in the demographic transition in terms of various demographic parameters and the lack of homogeneity in the transition across states in the country. It presents some opportunities that can arise from having demographic changes, particularly the demographic dividend and interstate migration to overcome labor shortage in some parts. At the same time, there are serious challenges in the form of enhancing human capital development, addressing the issue of skewed sex ratio, and the possible rise in social and political unrest and conflict.


Trust is such a nebulous and elusive concept that has fascinated social scientists for decades. It is a truism that no human society can exist and develop without a good foundation of trust. Trust deals with citizens' beliefs and expectations and encapsula tes notions of integrity, credibility and dependability of an individual or institution. The relationship between trust and pertinent development issues such as environmental activism, pro-environmental behavior and climate change have not been widely investigated. Even when they are investigated, the focus is on developed countries, especially the United States. In the available literature, there is virtually no research that is focused on the correlates of trust and engagement in environmental activism, especially in the context of African countries. In that regard, this article fills the lacunae using nationally-representative data focusing on the following main research questions: to what extent do trust measures (intimate trust, distant trust, trust vs being careful, take advantage of vs be fair), together with institutional confidence, democratic satisfaction, democratic aspiration, globalization, social network embeddedness, socio-demographics, country of residence, etc. determine engagement in environmental activism and are there some commonalities in relation to the predictors of generalized trust and environmental activism? Data for the paper is based on Wave 6 of the World Values Survey, focusing on the following nine African countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Based on the binary logistic regression models, generalized trust, distant trust (outside familiar circles) institutional confidence, media use, age and country of residence (Ghana, Zimbabwe and Rwanda) are significantly and positively associated with participation in a demonstration for an environmental cause, whereas democratic satisfaction, globalization, gender equality, being male, residing in South Africa and Nigeria are negatively and significantly associated with participation in a demonstration for an environmental cause. Institutional confidence and distant trust are the main consistently common predictors of both environmental activism and generalized trust.


The pig endometrial arylsulphatase A was purified 3322-fold to a specific activity of 150 mumol/min per mg. The purification involved (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose and DEAE-Sepharose, gel filtrations on Sephadex G-200 at pH 7.4 and 5, and a new preparative gel-electrophoresis technique. The homogeneous enzyme is a glycoprotein containing 20% carbohydrate. The purified enzyme has Mr about 120 000 and it contains subunits of Mr 63 000. The pig endometrial arylsulphatase A shows many properties in common with those of arylsulphatases A purified from other sources. The similarities include their low isoelectric points, the anomalous time-activity relationships, multi-pH optima, inhibition by SO3(2-), SO4(2-), phosphate ions, metal ions and nucleoside phosphates, pH- and ionic-strength-dependent polymerization and amino acid composition.


The article highlights historical and pedagogical aspects of the development of real secondary educational institutions that functioned in the territory of the Subcarpathian Rus (1919-1939). After World War I the Czechoslovak Republic undertook a commitment to arrange Transcarpathia as an administrative unit entitled the "Subcarpathian Rus". The situation with Ukrainian schools in the Subcarpathian Rus was very poor. Only two town schools were Ukrainian. In spite of the language chaos in the land, Rus (Ukrainian) town schools started to be set up and Hungarian ones started being re-organized. In the 20ies – 30ies in the Subcarpathian Rus as there appeared real national secondary schools (real grammar schools) in which students were mainly Ukrainians. In real grammar schools with their utilitarian nature of the content of education there could be traced the growth in the number of students due to improved access to those institutions. However, gradually, the trend towards Czechization could be traced, a number of forms with Czech as the language of teaching were opened. The Academy of Sciences in Prague, having researched the language issue, decided that the language the "Subcarpathian Rus people" were speaking was identical to the Ukrainian language of the Halychyna people, therefore Ukrainian was acknowledged to be the language of teaching at Ukrainian real grammar schools. All in all, as of 1933 Ukrainian real grammar schools in Berehovo, Khust, Mukachevo and Uzhhorod had 46 forms, parallel Czech units in Khust, Mukachevo and Uzhhorod had 20 forms, parallel Hungarian units in Berehovo had 12 forms, the reformed Jewish grammar school in Mukachevo had 8 forms. In total there were 9 secondary schools.


In this study, a new image inpainting approach using multiscale salient structure propagation is proposed. The proposed approach consists of four stages, namely, (1) detection of salient structure(s), (2) inpainting of salient structure(s), (3) inpainting of surrounding areas of salient structure(s) by modified ant colony optimization (ACO), and (4) inpainting of remaining missing regions. Based on the experimental results obtained in this study, as compared with four comparison approaches, the proposed approach provides the better image inpainting results. Image inpainting can be roughly defined as: for an image containing missing regions, we want to fill the missing regions so that a visually plausible outcome is obtained. Image inpainting has developed very quickly and becomes one of the important contents of Digital Image Processing. Image inpainting can be employed in various applications, such as repairing aged images and multimedia editing. It is highly valuable in the protection of culture relic, movie and video special effect making.


Certain organic compounds can exist in two variations, known as enantiomers. Such compounds are characterized as being "chiral". Enantiomers can exist in either R or S configurations, and the relative proportions of one configuration to another can be expressed in terms of something known as enantiomeric excess. When analyzing a particular sample of a compound, determination of the enantiomeric excess is important because enantiomers can display different effects biologically. For example, sometimes an enantiomer can have harmful effects while the other enantiomer has beneficial effects. The types of compounds we are focusing on in this project are known as primary amines. Primary amines play a critical role in various drugs, such as in L-Dopa that is commonly used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
 This project sought to develop a method of determining the enantiomeric excess of chiral primary amines. This was to be accomplished by treating the amine with a specific reagent and then analyzing the product of that reaction by means of a technique known as NMR. Synthesis of the reagent has been successful and this reagent was treated with a primary amine to test if it had the ability to determine the enantiomeric excess of the amine.


Abstract—Event-related potential (ERP) is one of the useful tools for investigating cognitive reactions. In this study, the potential of ERP components detected after auditory and visual stimuli was examined. Subjects were asked to respond upon stimuli that were of three categories; Target, Non-Target and Standard stimuli. The ERP after stimulus was measured. In the experiment of visual evoked potentials (VEPs), the subjects were asked to gaze at a center point on the monitor screen where the stimuli were provided by the reversal pattern of the checkerboard. In consequence of the VEP experiments, we observed consistent reactions. Each peak voltage could be measured when the ensemble average was applied. Visual stimuli had smaller amplitude and a longer latency compared to that of auditory stimuli. The amplitude was the highest with Target and the smallest with Standard in both stimuli.


In recent years, a number of studies have suggested a positive linkage between public service broadcasting and public knowledge about current affairs. Most studies are, however, based on aggregate, cross-sectional data. On the individual level they fall short of establishing any causal linkage between TV news exposure and public knowledge. In addition, studies which investigate whether the intensity of the political information environment matters for learning effects from watching TV news, are missing. Against this background, this study compares knowledge effects from watching public service and commercial TV news in three contexts that vary in the intensity of the political information environment: a national election campaign, a European parliamentary election campaign and a non-election period. Among other things, the results show stronger knowledge effects from watching public service than commercial TV news.


Moving around seems to make us feel better...but why? In this dissertation I draw from research on affect, approach motivation, and embodied cognition suggesting that locomotion (i.e., walking) facilitates positive affect because it increases sensitivity to rewards, a key aspect of approach motivation. Approach motivation is an organismic tendency, either dispositional or induced, to pursue needed resources or rewarding experiences. To test the mediational hypothesis that approach motivation mediates the impact of locomotion on positive affect, two studies were conducted and mediational hypotheses were tested using statistical bootstrapping procedures. In Study 1, locomotion in the form of a walk increased incentivized performance on a card-sorting task. According to the results of the bootstrapping analyses, performance on the card-sorting task partially mediated the relationship between locomotion and positive affect change, although the overall effect did not reach significance. In Study 2, locomotion increased self-reported approach motivation, partially mediating the impact of locomotion on positive affect, backing the results of Study 1. However, another proposed measure of approach motivation in Study 2, object desirability, was not impacted by locomotion. Taken together, the results of these studies support the hypothesis that approach motivation mediates the causal relationship between locomotion and positive affect when approach motivation is measured behaviorally as reward-sensitivity (Study 1) or as self-reported readiness to respond to rewards (Study 2). In short, locomotion increases our readiness to invest effort in obtaining rewards that make us feel better.


In this paper, Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene matrix composites reinforced with Nano-silica dioxide particles were examined and prepared to study their mechanical properties. The composite sheets were pre-prepared using the hot extrusion process. Due to its wide characteristics, silica dioxide additions can strengthen the usability and mechanical features of composite thermoplastics and polymers. Furthermore, introducing silica dioxide as a filler in various attributes can help to maintain the smooth flow of sufficient powders, reduce caking, and manage viscoelasticity. Despite its advantages, 3D printing generates a significant amount of waste due to limited prints or destroyed support structures. ABS is an ideal material to use because it is a thermoplastic and amorphous polymer with outstanding thermal properties that is also applicable with the FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) technique. The findings showed that increasing the silica dioxide content reduces the tensile strength to 22.4 MPa at 10 wt%. Toughness, ductility, and yield stress values of ABS/silica dioxide composites at 15 wt% increased, indicating that the composite material reinforced by the silica dioxide particles improved material characteristics. It is essential to consider the impact of recycling in polymer reinforcement with fillers. Furthermore, the improved mechanical qualities of the composite material encourages successful ABS recycling from 3D printing, as well as the possibility of reusing it in a similar application.


The present work describes a new method for modeling 3-D motion capture data of speech movements. 27 markers on the face of a speaker uttering 27 VCVs were tracked by a Vicon motion capture system. The 3-D coordinates of the markers in all frames of the recording were modeled in four ways: 1) a plain PCA, 2) a guided PCA where each component is determined on a subset of markers that represent an articulator and the component is used to reconstruct the data by linear regression, 3) a cubic model where the components are determined by a PCA and the components are used to reconstruct the data by a polynomial of third order, and 4) a guided cubic model where each component is determined by a PCA on a subset of markers and the components are used to reconstruct the data by a polynomial of third order. Results show that the latter method – called guided non-linear model estimation (gnoME) with cubic regression leads to meaningful articulatory parameters like the guided PCA while the variance explanation equals that one of the plain PCA and the accuracy of the 3-D data reconstruction is higher compared to the plain PCA.


This paper presents PRESTO, a novel two-tier sensor data management architecture comprising proxies and sensors that cooperate with one another for acquiring data and processing queries. PRESTO proxies construct time-series models of observed trends in the sensor data and transmit the parameters of the model to sensors. Sensors check sensed data with model-predicted values and transmit only deviations from the predictions back to the proxy. Such a model-driven push approach is energy-efficient, while ensuring that anomalous data trends are never missed. In addition to supporting queries on current data, PRESTO also supports queries on historical data using interpolation and local archival at sensors. PRESTO can adapt model and system parameters to data and query dynamics to further extract energy savings. We have implemented PRESTO on a sensor testbed comprising Intel Stargates and Telos Motes. Our experiments show that in a temperature monitoring application, PRESTO yields one to two orders of magnitude reduction in energy requirements over on-demand, proactive or model-driven pull approaches. PRESTO also results in an order of magnitude reduction in query latency in a 1% duty-cycled five hop sensor network over a system that forwards all queries to remote sensor nodes.


Background: In spite of the great effort that has been made in recent years in Castilla - La Mancha to control brucelosis, a lack of awareness on the part of producers and consumers leads to major epidemic outbreak, such as the one described below.
Methods: A description of the outbreak is described and a study is conducted of cases and controls to determine the factors which are responsible for the epidemic. Unadjusted and adjusted Odds Ratios (O.R.) are obtained together with their confidente intervals, for the main epidemiological factorsstudied.
Results: A total of 81 cases of brucelosis were recorded in a period of 25 weeks. Al1 the cases occurred in the same borough or were in some way linked to it. In the case and controls study no differences were found with regard to age, sex, contact with livestock or the consumption of pasteurised milk or cheese. A strong link was established between the illness and the consumption of home-made cottage cheese prepared by a small-scale producer in the borough, (O.R. = 311 .9; C.I. = 95% = 41.48-12735),, whose livestock tumed out to be infected
with Brucella Mellitensis.
Concusions: This outbreak showed that in Spain, there is a risk of contracting brucelosis by consuming non-pasteurised dairy products, particularly cheese, when these are not subjected to the normal sanitary and health controls. The benefits of epidemiological research in the search for cases and determining the factors responsible for the outbreak are also demonstrated. An intensification of controls, the cleansing of the herds and flocks and health education in general, are suitable instruments for controlling this zoonosis in Spain.


Hydrological information analyses based on Digital Elevation Models (DEM) provide hydrological properties derived from high-resolution topographic data represented as an elevation grid. Flow direction is one of the most computationally intensive functions in the current implementation of TauDEM, a broadly used high-performance hydrological analysis software in hydrology community. Hydrologic flow direction defines a flow field on the DEM that directs flow from each grid cell to one or more of its neighbors. This is a local computation for the majority of grid cells, but becomes a global calculation for the geomorphologically motivated procedure in TauDEM to route flow across flat regions. As the resolution of DEM becomes higher, the computational bottleneck of this function hinders the use of these DEM data in large-scale studies. This paper presents an efficient parallel flow direction algorithm that identifies spatial features (e.g., flats) and reduces the number of sequential and parallel iterations needed to compute their geomorphologically motivated flow direction. Numerical experiments show that our algorithm outperformed the existing parallel D8 algorithm in TauDEM by two orders of magnitude. The new parallel algorithm exhibited desirable scalability on Stampede and ROGER supercomputers.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the value of international prostate symptom scoring (IPSS) system in management of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Jos, Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a prospective study of 104 newly diagnosed patients with BPH from June 2006 to July 2007. Patients' symptoms were initially evaluated by administering a pretreatment IPSS/Quality of Life Score (QOLS). This categorized patients into mild, moderate, and severe symptom groups. The mild symptom group had watchful waiting as mode of management. The moderate symptom group received doxazosin, an alpha blocker, while the severe symptom group had prostatectomy. A post-treatment IPSS/QOLS was administered 3 months after. Mean changes in IPSS/QOLS was calculated and subjected to paired student's t- test for significance in changes. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to test significance between correlations.

RESULTS
Mean age of patients was 64.3 years. 3 patients (2.9%), 53 patients (51.0%), and 48 patients (46.1%) fell into the minor, moderate, and severe symptom categories, respectively. The QOLS correlated with IPSS. There was a mean change in symptom scores of +2.3 for the minor symptom category, -8.1 (P < 0.001) for IPSS and -1.7 (P < 0.001) for QOLS in the moderate symptom category, and -24.6 (P < 0.001) for IPSS and -4.0 (P < 0.05) for QOLS in the severe symptom category.

CONCLUSION
The study has shown that IPSS is a valuable tool in management of patients with BPH.


SIR,-Your most interesting leading article on myasthenia gravis (3 April, p. 1) prompts me to refer to earlier work indicating the presence of a hormone in the thymus influencing neuromuscular transmission. Torda and Wolff1 showed plasma in myasthenia gravis inhibited acetylcholine synthesis, and in 1944 we2 published a paper showing that normal thymus increases acetylcholine synthesis and thymus tumour in myasthenia gravis inhibits synthesis of acetylcholine. We concluded that the replacement of stores of acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction was the deficiency in myasthenia gravis, and you indicate the same with the production of lower quanta of acetylcholine at the motor endplate.3 I also pointed out4 this correspondence in muscle weakness in thyrotoxicosis with "lymphorrhages" in muscle and myasthenia gravis, and suggested these lymphoid collections produced a similar substance.-I am, etc.,


Zinc is the second most abundant essential trace element in the human body with important regulatory functions in cellular and subcellular levels in several tissues. Zinc deficiency is associated with the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its complications. With the progression of CKD to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and initiation of dialysis, zinc is further removed from the body, potentiating the zinc deficiency. Dietary intake plays a major role in zinc-deficiency-related risks and progression of CKD. By taking into account the evidence from clinical studies depicting the mutual correlations between zinc and CKD, and the plausibility based on animal studies, it can be deduced that zinc deficiency has a causative role in CKD and its progression. This review highlights the role of zinc deficiency in kidney disease and the possible indication for supplementation of zinc at various stages of CKD.  DOI: 10.52547/ijkd.6702.


In an intermittent random search, in which slow motion to detect the target is discretely separated from the motion to migrate to another feeder, the high efficiency of the Levy strategy is generally found, meaning that the time interval of phase switching is chosen from the Levy distribution. Though the Levy strategy is consistent with the searching behavior of real animals, some researchers claim that the Levy-like distributions exhibited by animals are not necessarily produced by a Levy process. Here, we propose an intermittent two-phase search model that does not include a Levy process. In this model, the agent is basically a correlated random walker (CRW), but it memorizes its trajectory and counts the number of crossovers in a trajectory. If the number exceeds a threshold, the agent resets the memory of trajectories and makes ballistic movement in the direction uncorrelated to the past. We also show that this model can optimize the trade-off between macro search (exploration) and micro search (exploitation), which is shown by the CRW. Finally, we demonstrate that another intermittent search model that uses an ambiguous rule to switch the two phases can show a Levy-like distribution of time intervals.