The Senate's Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) seeks to substantially amend the Administrative Procedure Act, the law governing federal agency processes. The bill's sponsors argue, in part, that the RAA would improve administrative transparency and accountability. One of the least-discussed provisions, § 3(c)(6), "Prohibition on Certain Communications," would prohibit agencies from advocating for or against a proposed regulation during the comment period, an indispensable component of notice-and-comment rulemaking that affords the public a voice in the rulemaking process. This Note recommends that agencies should be able to exhibit their preferences at all stages of rulemaking, because, as policymakers, agencies should inform the public of their goals, purposes, and methods, as well as defend their reasoning in the face of the potentially dominating narratives of regulated industries. If left uncensored, agencies could also use the Internet to mitigate some of the public participation costs of commenting and increase public participation in the rulemaking process. This Note suggests that § 3(c)(6) runs counter to the RAA's broad justifications of increasing administrative transparency and accountability.


During the last decade, it has become widely accepted that global warming is not simply a natural cycle but that it is being exacerbated by human activity and that the impact of emissions from man-made technologies is substantial and critical. Reduction in the release of greenhouse gasses is therefore very urgent. Rather than direct regulatory action, governments around the world have been convinced to harness the power of markets to the problem. Emission trading schemes (ETS) have been the result, although the process is popularly referred to as 'carbon trading'. This paper considers carbon trading from the perspective of the eCommerce researcher and practitioner. It discusses the nature of the tradable items, and the possible forms of marketspace mechanism in which trading may occur. Both the theory and practice of eCommerce suggest that considerable care will be needed if ETS are to achieve the intended reduction in the global warming effects of industrial technologies.


Future energy technologies will be key for a successful reduction of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. With demand for electricity projected to increase significantly in the future, climate policy goals of limiting the effects of global atmospheric warming can only be achieved if power generation processes are profoundly decarbonized. Energy models, however, have ignored the fact that upstream emissions are associated with any energy technology. In this work we explore methodological options for hybrid life cycle assessment (hybrid LCA) to account for the indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of energy technologies using wind power generation in the UK as a case study. We develop and compare two different approaches using a multiregion input-output modeling framework - Input-Output-based Hybrid LCA and Integrated Hybrid LCA. The latter utilizes the full-sized Ecoinvent process database. We discuss significance and reliability of the results and suggest ways to improve the accuracy of the calculations. The comparison of hybrid LCA methodologies provides valuable insight into the availability and robustness of approaches for informing energy and environmental policy.


Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome is characterized by irregular snoring during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness and in some cases unwanted sleep attacks. The patient has a disturbed night sleep with numerous wakenings. Disturbed sleep at night causes daytime problems with attention, concentration and work performance. Furthermore, it may eventually result in errors and accidents. Excessive sleepiness sometimes necessitates the suspension of the patient's driving license. It is of importance to identify patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and daytime sleepiness, because the condition can be treated effectively. Many Danish patients are still unidentified. Diagnostic and treatment possibilities vary from one part of Denmark to another.


Smoke inhalation injury is frequently accompanied by cyanide poisoning that may result in substantial morbidity and mortality, and methods are needed to quantitatively determine extent of airway injury. We utilized a 3-D endoscopic frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) constructed with a swept-source laser to investigate morphological airway changes following smoke and cyanide exposure in rabbits. The thickness of the mucosal area between the epithelium and cartilage in the airway was measured and quantified. 3-D endoscopic FDOCT was able to detect significant increases in the thickness of the tracheal walls of the rabbit beginning almost immediately after smoke inhalation injuries which were similar to those with combined smoke and cyanide


Ancient systems of knowledge must be initially approached in their own historical, cultural, and social context before any comparison to modern science may be attempted. In this sense, it can be spoken of a "botanical knowledge" in China, although in the available sources there is not a term corresponding neither to the modern meanings of "botany", nor to a specific knowledge of plants. There are not also texts that may be rated as theoretical botanic manuals or flora, but there is a large number of books on materia medica, horticulture, etc. These reveal the existence of botanical knowledge , although it does not seem to have been theorised in any way until the second half of the nineteenth century. The paper approach corresponds to the historical side of the field known as "ethnobotany". In this regard, the "traditional Chinese Botany" should be analysed from an anthropological point of view rather than a teleological approach. This thesis is grounded through the analysis of several examples.


Boosting is a general method for training an ensemble of classifiers with a view to improving performance relative to that of a single classifier. While the original AdaBoost algorithm has been defined for classification tasks, the current work examines its applicability to sequence learning problems, focusing on speech recognition. We apply boosting at the phoneme model level and recombine expert decisions using multi-stream techniques.


Physical inactivity is a growing problem among children of today's society. Whereas levels of physical activity are influenced by motor competence, defined as the ability to execute different motor tasks necessary to manage everyday life and reduce probability of other health risks (over and under nutrition). These skills are developed early in childhood, which can be categorized as fundamental motor skills (FMS), however its acquisition has mostly assessed European children. Normative data on Asian or Malaysian sample are scarce and indigenous or Orang Asli children nonexistent. The main aim of this study was to investigate FMS in the object control skill category among Orang Asli children in the Royal Belum (RB) Forest Reserves of Gerik Perak. All the seven year-olds children (n=28) from two primary schools of Royal Belum participated in the study. Anthropometry of the children was collected prior to the FMS assessment. Children from Sekolah Kebangsaan Banun (n=10) were 5% taller and 21% heavier and their BMI ratios 9% higher than children from SK Tiang (n=18). However, these children were lower than normative height (below -2 SD) and weight (-1 SD) of W.H.O data. FMS scores indicated that 55% more children from SK Tiang (an inner village) have higher scores than children from SK Banun (40%) in the administered test. Differences in the levels of FMS development are influenced by many factors that include the environment, socioeconomic status, parental influences and structured physical education in schools.  The result was based on only one test protocol; there is a battery of tests that may have different outcomes. Nevertheless these initial findings may provide guideline for early identification of disparity between children and provide information to the responsible authorities (schools, JHEO, researchers) to support development of motor competence and lifestyle practices among young children in the community. Keywords: Physical Activity, Motor Competence, FMS - Fundamental Motor Skills, Object Control Skill JEL Classifications: R00


The study explored the contribution of working memory to mathematical word problem solving in children. A total of 69 children in grades 2, 3 and 4 were given measures of mathematical problem solving, reading, arithmetical calculation, fluid IQ and working memory. Multiple regression analyses showed that three measures associated with the central executive and one measure associated with the phonological loop contributed unique variance to mathematical problem solving when the influence of reading, age and IQ were controlled for in the analysis. In addition, the animal dual-task, verbal fluency and digit span task continued to contribute unique variance when the effects of arithmetical calculation in addition to reading, fluid IQ, and age were controlled for. These findings demonstrate that the phonological loop and a number of central executive functions (shifting, co-ordination of concurrent processing and storage of information, accessing information from long-term memory) contribute to mathematical problem solving in children. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Hybrid composite architectures employing traditional advanced composites and carbon nanotubes offer significant potential mechanical and multifunctional performance benefits. The architecture investigated here is composed of aligned fibers with carbon nanotubes grown radially on their surface. A novel process for rapidly growing dense, long, high-quality, aligned carbon-nanotube forests is employed. Two fundamental issues related to realizing hybrid composite architectures are investigated experimentally: wetting of the carbon nanotubes by thermoset polymers and retention of mechanical (stiffness and strength) properties of the fibers after the carbon-nanotube growth process. Wetting of carbon-nanotube forests by two commercial polymers (including a highly viscous epoxy) is demonstrated at rates conducive to creating a fully dispersed carbon-nanotube/matrix region around the fibers in a typical composite. Single-fiber tension tests indicate no mechanical degradation for alumina fibers undergoing the carbon-nanotube growth process. Results indicate that hybrid carbon-nanotube/composite architectures are feasible, and future work focuses on mechanical and multifunctional property characterization of other hybrid architectures and scaling to a continuous carbon-nanotube growth process.


Online learning is the emerging technique in education and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Traditional learning is a complex process as learning patterns, approach, skills and performance varies from person to person. Adaptive online learning focuses on understanding the learner's performance, skills and adapts to it. The use of advanced technology also provides a means to analyze the behavioral learning pattern. As it provides the detailed skill mapping and performance which enables the learner to understand the areas needs to be improved. The information can also be used by assessors to improve the teaching approach. Advanced online learning system using arti=icial intelligence is an emerging concept in the coming years. In this new concept, the classes are not taken face-to-face in a classroom but through an electronic medium as a substitute. These virtual learning approach are gaining importance every day and very soon they are going to be an integral part of our world. Taking up these virtual learning through an electronic medium is termed as online learning. We proposed two new models which are powered by arti=icial intelligence (AI) tools. A number of examples of using these new models are presented.


Introduction We aimed to assess the magnitude, temporal trends and socioeconomic disparity in the global burden of tracheal, bronchus and lung (TBL) from 1990 to 2017, using data extracted from the Global Burden of Diseases study (GBD 2017). Methods We extracted data from the GBD 2017 study. A series of comparative and descriptive analyses of the disease burden between females and males and countries with different socioeconomic development statuses (Social Demographic Index, SDI). We also analysed the temporal trends of age-standardised disability-adjusted life year rates (ASDR) of TBL cancer at the global and super-regional level by means of joinpoint regression. Finally, we also calculated Concentration Index to explore trends of between-country inequality in cancer burden from 1990 to 2017. Results During the past 27 years, the global incidence of TBL cancer cases and death cases has increased by 100% and 82.3% respectively, but the increase number was mainly influenced by population growth and ageing. After adjustment, from 1990 to 2017, the ASDR of TBL has increased by 3% and the age-standardised death rate has decreased by 7%. The global TBL cancer burden fell by 15.3%. The joinpoint analysis revealed that the overall trend of age-standardised TBL cancer burden for both females and males significantly changed twice between 1990 and 2017, and it varied across countries with different SDI values and was also different between females and males. Age-standardised TBL cancer burden was more concentrated in higher socioeconomic development countries, but the development of healthy inequality showed a downward trend in males while showing an upward trend in females. Conclusion The magnitude and temporal trends of TBL cancer burden varied across countries and sex. This study highlighted the importance of crafting health policy to adapt to local conditions to manage the global burden of TBL cancers.


Perfusions of isolated livers from genetically hyperlipoproteinemic Zucker fa/fa and normolipemic Zucker Fa/- rats are performed with loads of ]9,10-3H2] oleic acid and [1-14C] glycerol. The hepatic acylglycerols anabolism from these precursors is higher in the fa/fa rat than in the control Fa/- rats. Synthesis by esterification (of oleic acid) is more increased than de novo synthesis (from glycerol). The increase in lipid anabolism is due to an augmentation of the hepatic cellular mass, but this anabolism is not regulated in the same way than in the normal rat.


Motivated by recent attempts to quantum simulate lattice models with continuous Abelian symmetries using discrete approximations, we define an extended-O(2) model by adding a $\gamma \cos(q\varphi)$ term to the ordinary O(2) model with angular values restricted to a $2\pi$ interval. In the $\gamma \rightarrow \infty$ limit, the model becomes an extended $q$-state clock model that reduces to the ordinary $q$-state clock model when $q$ is an integer and otherwise is a continuation of the clock model for noninteger $q$. By shifting the $2\pi$ integration interval, the number of angles selected can change discontinuously and two cases need to be considered. What we call case $1$ has one more angle than what we call case $2$. We investigate this class of clock models in two space-time dimensions using Monte Carlo and tensor renormalization group methods. Both the specific heat and the magnetic susceptibility show a double-peak structure for fractional $q$. In case $1$, the small-$\beta$ peak is associated with a crossover, and the large-$\beta$ peak is associated with an Ising critical point, while both peaks are crossovers in case $2$. When $q$ is close to an integer by an amount $\Delta q$ and the system is close to the small-$\beta$ Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, the system has a magnetic susceptibility that scales as $\sim 1 / (\Delta q)^{1 - 1/\delta'}$ with $\delta'$ estimates consistent with the magnetic critical exponent $\delta = 15$. The crossover peak and the Ising critical point move to Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition points with the same power-law scaling. A phase diagram for this model in the $(\beta, q)$ plane is sketched. These results are possibly relevant for configurable Rydberg-atom arrays where the interpolations among phases with discrete symmetries can be achieved by varying continuously the distances among atoms and the detuning frequency.


ABSTRACT Friction materials based on several combinations of zinc borate (ZB) and fly ash (FA) were fabricated and characterized for their mechanical and tribological performance. The triboperformance of the friction materials was evaluated on a Chase friction testing machine according to the brake lining quality test procedure as per SAE J661. The composites were manufactured based on a nonasbestos organic-based friction material for an automotive brake system and contained typical ingredients for commercial brake friction materials. The composites had a fixed composition of 15 wt% resin, 15 wt% fibers, and 5 wt% friction additives. ZB and FA as fillers were added to the the raw materials mixture at a total fraction of 65 wt%. The results showed that ZB and FA contents have a significant influence on the mechanical and tribological properties of the friction composites. In particular, the composites containing 0–5 wt% ZB and 65–60 wt% FA showed better friction stability and improved fade resistance compared to those containing 10–35 wt% ZB and 55–30 wt% FA, whereas the composite with 5 wt% ZB and 60 wt% FA showed a maximum friction coefficient. On the other hand, the specific wear rate of the composites decreased with increasing ZB and decreasing FA contents. The morphologies of the worn surfaces as well as wear debris were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy.


This paper introduces a dynamic model of the stochastic repayment behavior exhibited by delinquent credit-card accounts. Based on this model, we construct a dynamic collectability score (DCS) that estimates the account-specific probability of collecting a given portion of the outstanding debt over any given time horizon. The model integrates a variety of information sources, including historical repayment data, account-specific, and time-varying macroeconomic covariates, as well as scheduled account-treatment actions. Two model-identification methods are examined, based on maximum-likelihood estimation and the generalized method of moments. The latter allows for an operational-statistics approach, combining model estimation and performance optimization by tailoring the estimation error to business-relevant loss functions. The DCS framework is applied to a large set of account-level repayment data. The improvements in classification and prediction performance compared to standard bank-internal scoring methods are found to be significant. This paper was accepted by Noah Gans, stochastic models and simulation .


This qualitative study investigates if, and how, both current and middle-class prospective Camden (NJ) residents' housing decisions are impacted by increased school choice through Camden's newly state-imposed Renaissance schools. Recent research suggests greater school choice options can attract and anchor middle-class families within larger, more cosmopolitan cities like New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. Here, with Camden's smaller, post-industrial urban identity, study findings suggest participants' decision to live in Camden is largely unaffected by the offering of more choice school options. Current residents reported choosing to remain in Camden due to the city's affordability and emotional connections to the city. Middle-income prospective residents indicated their decision to move to Camden is impacted by broader quality of life considerations including safety and poverty, and communicated negative perceptions of Camden's newer choice schools. This study highlights the complexity and nuance in the common understanding of urban residential decisions and school choice, particularly within smaller, non-cosmopolitan urban localities.


We propose a novel method for clustering data which is grounded in information-theoretic principles and requires no parametric assumptions. Previous attempts to use information theory to define clusters in an assumption-free way are based on maximizing mutual information between data and cluster labels. We demonstrate that this intuition suffers from a fundamental conceptual flaw that causes clustering performance to deteriorate as the amount of data increases. Instead, we return to the axiomatic foundations of information theory to define a meaningful clustering measure based on the notion of consistency under coarse-graining for finite data.


Warehouse operations in a 3PL company are often very specialized and customer unique.
Thus, estimating the need for manual labor when designing new warehouse solutions can be a
complex procedure. One of the main issues for Schenker Logistics when quoting future
customers is to know the required blue-collar labor and how to distribute operators between
inbound and outbound processes. The purpose of this Master's thesis is to create a calculation
tool that describes different time drivers in warehouse operations and facilitates estimations of
required manual labor at Schenker Logistics. To fulfill this aim, two main sources of data
were needed. Firstly, observations for five different types of customers were performed in
order to gain deep understanding about inbound and outbound processes, which allowed the
development of customer specific process maps. These acted as foundation when determining
relevant standard processes, activities and tasks necessary for further observations and time
recordings. Secondly, time studies were performed for the predetermined elements and the
collected data was analyzed to identify significant time drivers. The results were used to
develop a calculation tool that considers different arrays of data and factors to calculate the
required manual labor, given customer specific inputs. The calculation tool was later tested in
order to assess its validity and calculate time allowances, which are described together with
general recommendations of improvements in current warehouse solutions in the final part of
the thesis.


Setting up an adaptable and flexible simulation model for steel-making process is very important to improve production system design and manufacture automation. To assist the decision-makers in steel-making plants, the Logistical simulator for steel-making has been developed using em-Plant software. The Simulator can be used to rapidly model any steel plant, including the movement of the operation equipments and the changes of production parameters. With the help of Simulator, the influences of lay-out changes, process parameters, and changes in planning could be revealed vividly, and the realistic production planning could be created. Results include production Gantt charts, display of cranes track, utilization figures and production statistics. Simulation cases show that the simulator is valid for simulating different steel-making processes, and production states on different conditions can be investigated by using this model.


Purpose
Railway transport maintenance plays an important role in delivering safe, reliable and competitive transport services. An appropriate maintenance strategy not only reduces the assets' lifecycle cost, but also will ensure high standards of safety and comfort for rail passengers and workers. In recent years, the majority of studies have been focused on the application of risk-based tools and techniques to maintenance decision making of railway infrastructure assets (such as tracks, bridges, etc.). The purpose of this paper is to present a risk-based modeling approach for the inspection and maintenance optimization of railway rolling stock components.

Design/methodology/approach
All the "potential failure modes and root causes" related to rolling stock systems are identified from an extensive literature review followed by an expert's panel assessment. The failure causes are categorized into six groups of electrical faults, structural damages, functional failures, degradation, human errors and natural (external) hazards. Stochastic models are then proposed to estimate the likelihood (probability) of occurrence of a failure in the rolling stock system. The consequences of failures are also modeled by an "inflated cost function" that involves safety-related costs, corrective maintenance and renewal (M&R) costs, the penalty charges due to train delays or service interruptions as well as the costs associated with loss of reputation (or loss of fares) in the case of trip cancellation. Lastly, a time-varying risk-cost function is formulated to determine the optimal frequency of preventive inspection and maintenance actions for rolling stock components.

Findings
For the purpose of clearly illustrating the proposed risk-based inspection and maintenance modeling methodology, a case study of the Class 380 train's pantograph system from a Scottish train operating company is provided. The results indicate that the proposed model has a substantial potential to reduce the M&R costs while ensuring a higher level of safety and service quality compared to the currently used inspection methodologies.

Practical implications
The railway rolling stocks should be regularly inspected and maintained so as to ensure network availability and reliability, passenger safety and comfort, and operations efficiency. Despite the best efforts of the maintenance staff, it is reported that a considerable amount of maintenance resources (e.g. budget, time, manpower) is wasted due to insufficiency or inefficiency of current periodic M&R interventions. The model presented in this paper helps the maintenance engineers to assess the current maintenance practices and propose or initiate improvement actions when needed.

Originality/value
There are few studies investigating the application of risk-based tools and techniques to inspection and maintenance decision making of railway rolling stock components. This paper presents a modeling approach aimed at planning the preventive repair and maintenance interventions for rolling stock components based on risk measures. The author's model is also capable of incorporating real measurement information gathered at each inspection epoch to update future inspection plans.


This paper presents our concepts and initial investigation of a novel construction automation approach using a new layered fabrication process called Contour Crafting (CC). The process aims at automated construction of whole houses as well as sub-components. The potential of CC became evident from the initial investigations and experiments with various materials and geometries. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be automatically constructed in a single run. CC uses computer control to take advantage of the superior surface forming capability of trowels to create large intricate structures with smooth and accurate surfaces.


IMPORTANCE
Brain imaging studies have identified robust changes in brain structure and function during the development of psychosis, but the contribution of abnormal brain connectivity to the onset of psychosis is unclear. Furthermore, antipsychotic treatment can modulate brain activity and functional connectivity during cognitive tasks.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate whether dysfunctional brain connectivity during working memory (WM) predates the onset of psychosis and whether connectivity parameters are related to antipsychotic treatment.

DESIGN
Dynamic causal modeling study of functional magnetic resonance imaging data.

SETTING
Participants were recruited from the specialized clinic for the early detection of psychosis at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

PARTICIPANTS
Seventeen participants with an at-risk mental state (mean [SD] age, 25.24 [6.3] years), 21 individuals with first-episode psychosis (mean [SD] age, 28.57 [7.2] years), and 20 healthy controls (mean [SD] age, 26.5 [4] years).

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE
Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were recorded while participants performed an N-back WM task. Functional interactions among brain regions involved in WM, in particular between frontal and parietal brain regions, were characterized using dynamic causal modeling. Bayesian model selection was performed to evaluate the likelihood of alternative WM network architectures across groups, whereas bayesian model averaging was used to examine group differences in connection strengths.

RESULTS
We observed a progressive reduction in WM-induced modulation of connectivity from the middle frontal gyrus to the superior parietal lobule in the right hemisphere in healthy controls, at-risk mental state participants, and first-episode psychosis patients. Notably, the abnormal modulation of connectivity in first-episode psychosis patients was normalized by treatment with antipsychotics.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Our findings suggest that the vulnerability to psychosis is associated with a progressive failure of functional integration of brain regions involved in WM processes, including visual encoding and rule updating, and that treatment with antipsychotics may have the potential to counteract this.


The search for new strains with good productivity of cellulolytic enzymes is always necessary to improve the processes are usually employed. Screening protocols used for these purposes require a low cost and high throughput assay for determination of endoglucanase activity. However, the test proposed by the IUPAC and other microadaptations not meet this requirement. The aim of our work is to obtain an economical and highperformance proposed by IUPAC for determination of endoglucanase activity assay adaptation. For this we reduced the assay volume and investigate the effect of this reduction on endoglucanase activity determination.As a result aminiaturized assay statistically correlated with the assay proposed by IUPAC reduced 10-fold lower scale was obtained. As a result a new economic and high performance adaptation for endoglucanase activity assay based on the IUPAC protocol was obtained.


Most of the methods available for postoperative monitoring of free transfers depend on an accessible skin island. Monitoring of muscle transfers without skin islands represents a challenge. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences after clinical monitoring of free muscle transfers by the use of microdialysis. The charts of 75 free muscle transfers monitored with microdialysis were evaluated with special emphasis on whether or not complications were predicted by the monitoring system. In 16 of the 75 cases, an ischemic trend was seen. In five of these cases, the ischemic trend was reversed without surgical revascularization. In the remaining 11 cases (14.7%), further ischemic trends were seen, and surgical revision with revascularization was needed for transfer salvage. Six of the 11 transfers were subsequently saved. None of the remaining five transfers were lost due to neglected ischemia. The microdialysis system did not exhibit any negative or positive false alarms. No damage to the muscle flap was experienced while performing the monitoring procedures. Microdialysis is a reliable and safe monitoring method for surveillance of free muscle transfers.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) on the vascular responses of curcumin-treated rats.

METHODS
The experimental groups included the control and curcumin-treated (200 mg/kg/day, p.o., for 4 weeks) group. The concentration response curves to receptor-dependent agent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; 10--3x10- M) and receptor-independent agent potassium chloride (KCl; 5-100 mM) were observed.

RESULTS
The concentration response curves to 5-HT and KCl shifted to the right and the maximal response was significantly decreased in the curcumin-treated rat aortas. A pretreatment of rings with L-NAME (a NOS inhibitor, 10- M) increased both the sensitivity and maximal response to only 5-HT. No apparent histological changes were demonstrated in smooth muscle and connective tissue layers in the aortas of the control and curcumin-treated rat preparations.

CONCLUSION
The results of the present study suggest that NO release from endothelial cells modulates curcumin-treated rat aorta responses to 5-HT, but not to KCl (Tab. 2, Fig. 4, Ref. 25).


The location of study was near Celina, Tennessee on Highway 52, specifically at latitude 36.50263, longitude -85.44836, and elevation 268 meters. The purpose was to collect gamma ray scintillometer data from a channel outcrop and compare the collected data to nearby well logs to search for any methods of identifying what a channel would look like on well log data. We collected our data in a grid with a hand-held scintillometer that measures potassium, uranium, thorium, and dosage rate measurements. To create the grid we used Jacob staffs to measure out and mark 20 cm vertical increments with chalk. The measurements were collected from 2 stratigraphic columns 8 meters apart; the left column had 13 points of measurement and the right column had 25 points of measurement. We were able to successfully collect all of the data from our intended points of measurement. The next step was searching the Tennessee Oil and Gas database for well log data. Although many wells in the area penetrate the targeted Fort Payne Formation, most well logs were collected below our point of elevation. Future work will focus on: (1) searching for well logs with more shallow data to compare to the scintillometer measurements; (2) searching for well logs in Kentucky where the Fort Payne is deeper and was likely logged; and (3) comparing our outcrop scintillometer data to subsurface well log data.


Background: Primary focal or segmental dystonia is a rare clinical condition including early-onset dystonia, which has the tendency to generalize, and late-onset dystonia, which may be focal or segmental. The prevalence of late-onset dystonia ranges from 30 to 7,320 cases per million, but no data are available in Italy. Methods: A service-based study was conducted in the period 1 January 2001 through 31 December 2002 in the administrative district of Foggia, southern Italy (population 541,653). Cases were traced through hospital discharge diagnosis, botulinum toxin services, day hospital access, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery specialists, and territorial outpatient services. Inclusion criteria were age 17 years or older, residency in the study area and a diagnosis of primary focal/segmental dystonia. Results: A total of 69 patients were included, giving a crude prevalence of 127.4 per 1,000,000 (women: 146.4; men: 107.0; age 18–34 years: 39.2; 35–54 years: 98.7; 55–74 years: 273.6; 75+ years: 163.3). The standardized rate was 137.5 (95% confidence interval 107.0–174.6). Blepharospasm was the commonest clinical condition (prevalence 68.2), followed by cervical dystonia (prevalence 44.8). Conclusion: The prevalence of primary focal or segmental dystonia in Italy is in keeping with several other reports, but is lower than in studies performed in northern Europe, Minnesota, USA, and Japan. The difference in our results may be mostly explained by misdiagnosis, underascertainment of cases and a fairly limited observation period.


In this study SiltSaver belted strand reten- tion fence was compared with traditional type C silt fence with the goal of determining if it would be acceptable for use as a sediment barrier in Georgia. ASTM standard methods were used to evaluate flow through and sediment removal efficiency using three different site specific soils. For flow without sediment, there were no statistical differ- ences, although the BSRF showed a slightly higher flow rate than the type C fence that was tested. Flow rates with sediment were generally 30% to 85% lower on the BSRF than the type C fence with the greater differences ob- served with the finer particle sizes and the double concen- tration runs. This indicates the influence of the soil parti- cles on the flow rate and may suggest that the sediment trapped behind the fence is controlling the flow rate more than the fence itself. The results from the analysis of the effluent and sediment removal efficiency indicated that the BSRF was more effective at retaining the sediment behind the fence. Both the suspended solids content and the turbidity of the effluent was lower using the BSRF fence material than the Type C fence material for all test conditions. Sediment removal efficiencies for the BSRF were significantly higher for all three tested soils at both the single and double concentration. Additional tests were conducted using variations of the ASTM standard and these tests showed similar trends. Testing also indicated that the design of the supporting apparatus was sufficient for holding the materials. While no testing program can provide results to prove an application will function under all conditions that will be encountered in the field, our testing indicates that the SiltSaver BSRF should be an effective alternative to standard Type C silt fence.


. Developed method, which is described in this paper, is capable of automated detection of uninitialized values within the scope of full-system emulation. This method is of immediate interest for low-level software, such as BIOS or initial loader, which initializes hardware and loads the operating system. Errors in this kind of software are the most dangerous and lead to system shutdown. This sort of software is difficult to test on real hardware, consequently emulators of different architectures are used for these tasks. In the context of this work a new method of using shadow memory for storing and tracking register states and guest system memory cells. Criteria for detection of uninitialized variables usage and error reporting were defined. For example, these situations fall under the criteria: uninitialized value is the address for loading and unloading values from and to the memory, conditional jump is performed based on uninitialized value or to an uninitialized memory chunk. Developed method was implemented and tested in the guest system of x86 architecture in full-system emulator QEMU. System consists of few instructions, which initialize a processor and transfers control to a user application. Testing was performed on three simple examples for each of the criteria for unitialized values detection. Developed method demonstrated correct results on all examples.


For times greater than the electron transit time, a suitable statistical theory of the total number of electrons in avalanches is presented, and compared with the results simulated by a Monte Carlo method.


Platelet glycoprotein (GP) VI has been proposed as the major collagen receptor for activation of human platelets. Human GPVI belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily and is noncovalently associated with the FcRγ chain that is involved in signaling through the receptor. In mice, similar mechanisms seem to exist as platelets from FcRγ chain-deficient mice do not aggregate in response to collagen. However, the activating collagen receptor on mouse platelets has not been definitively identified. In the current study we examined the function and in vivo expression of GPVI in control and FcRγ chain-deficient mice with the first monoclonal antibody against GPVI (JAQ1). On wild type platelets, JAQ1 inhibited platelet aggregation induced by collagen but not PMA or thrombin. Cross-linking of bound JAQ1, on the other hand, induced aggregation of wild type but not FcRγ chain-deficient platelets. JAQ1 stained platelets and megakaryocytes from wild type but not FcRγ chain-deficient mice. Furthermore, JAQ1 recognized GPVI (approximately 60 kDa) in immunoprecipitation and Western blot experiments with wild type but not FcRγ chain-deficient platelets. These results strongly suggest that GPVI is the collagen receptor responsible for platelet activation in mice and demonstrate that the association with the FcRγ chain is critical for its expression and function.


Integrating user feedback is one of the pillars for building successful products. However, this feedback is generally collected in an unstructured free-text form, which is challenging to understand at scale. This is particularly demanding in the privacy domain due to the nuances associated with the concept and the limited existing solutions. In this work, we present Hark1, a system for discovering and summarizing privacy-related feedback at scale. Hark automates the entire process of summarizing privacy feedback, starting from unstructured text and resulting in a hierarchy of high-level privacy themes and fine-grained issues within each theme, along with representative reviews for each issue. At the core of Hark is a set of new deep learning models trained on different tasks, such as privacy feedback classification, privacy issues generation, and high-level theme creation. We illustrate Hark's efficacy on a corpus of 626 M Google Play reviews. Out of this corpus, our privacy feedback classifier extracts $6 M$ privacy-related reviews (with an AUC-ROC of 0.92). With three annotation studies, we show that Hark's generated issues are of high accuracy and coverage and that the theme titles are of high quality. We illustrate Hark's capabilities by presenting high-level insights from $1.3 M$ Android apps.1an English verb meaning to "pay close attention"


Self-management of HIV is a desirable goal for the millions of adolescent persons living with HIV (PLWH). Adolescent PLWH continue to experience poor HIV care outcomes, primarily due to poor rates of medication adherence and retention in care, highlighting a need to develop adolescent self-management skills. The aim of our study was to examine adolescent, caregiver, and health care provider perceptions of adolescent PLWH self-management roles, barriers, and facilitators. Swendeman et al.'s self-management framework for chronic diseases guided the analyses. Participant narratives highlighted perceptions of their responsibilities and related challenges with regard to self-management of HIV by adolescents. Our findings highlighted the complexity of HIV self-management for adolescents and underscored the need for multifaceted programs to strengthen adolescent-caregiver-health care provider partnerships in order to improve adolescent PLWH health and wellbeing.


In a previous paper [Lim, Park, Jee, Lee and Paik (1999) J. Cancer Res. Clin. Oncol. 125, 493-499], we showed two major forms of active DNA-6-O-methylguanine:protein-L-cysteine S-methyltransferase (MGMT; EC 22.214.171.124) in the liver with N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN)-induced carcinogenesis: these were 26 and 24 kDa species. Here we show that a 2 kDa C-terminal fragment was cleaved from the 26 kDa species in vitro by thrombin or microsomal fractions isolated from DEN-treated rat livers. When Ser(204) of the 26 kDa protein was replaced with Ala by site-directed mutagenesis, phosphorylation of the protein was completely abolished, indicating Ser(204) to be the site of phosphorylation. We also show that the phosphorylation was performed by Ca(2+)-independent protein kinase isoenzymes, and that the phosphorylated rat MGMT protein was resistant to digestion by protease(s) whose activity was increased during DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis and also by digestion with endopeptidase Glu-C (V8 protease).


Nicolò Manucci (or Manuzzi) (ca. 1638-1720) is a well-known figure among scholars: a Venetian adventurer, artilleryman and doctor in Early Modern India. He was a dynamic man, who frequented for a long time both the Mughal courts and the European agents of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century trade companies, leaving meaningful testimonies of his age, and thus becoming an important (and controversial) historical source on South Asia. In spite of the celebrity gained by his biography and his work, Manucci's role as European patron of Indian artists has been undervalued so far, with scholars often preferring to define him as a mere collector of works of Indian miniatures. Through an historic and artistic examination of his work, of other coeval works of art and contemporary sources, the aim of this paper is to show that Manucci was actually an important patron of Indian painting, a paradigmatic precursor of figurative didactic works mainly illustrated by (unfortunately anonymous) Indian artists under his guidance, and at the same time mediated by his bias and his culture, following an interesting and original hybrid format that bridges European figurative culture and Indian art.


Impairment of the intestinal barrier often occurs in inflammatory bowel diseases, and pro-inflammatory factors play a vital role in the pathogenesis of intestinal diseases. In our study, the potential protective effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) against intestinal barrier dysfunction evoked by pro-inflammatory factors and its anti-inflammatory effects were investigated. Caco-2 cells were stimulated with or without tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the presence or absence of LBP. Our findings showed that LBP assuaged the increase of paracellular permeability and the decrease of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) in Caco-2 cells. In addition, LBP also prevented the secretion of pro-inflammatory markers (IL-8, IL-6, ICAM-1 and MCP-1) in TNF-α-challenged Caco-2 cells. Moreover, LBP inhibited the overexpression of tight junction (TJ) proteins (claudin-1, ZO-3, and occludin) and the increase of MLCK, pMLC, p-IκBα and NFκBp65 protein expression evoked by TNF-α was suppressed by LBP pre-incubation. This finding indicated that LBP improve TNF-α-evoked intestinal barrier dysfunction via suppressing the MLCK-MLC signaling pathway mediated by NFκB.


The visitation rate of the Muslimat Nahdatul Ulama Polyclinic (MNUP) in Pamekasan Regency from the year 1997 until 2001 exhibited a high escalation, but for the past 2 years the decline was obvious. In the year 2004 the decrease was 27.99%. Possibly, the visitation rate decline is caused by the low customer perceived value of the discrepancy between the money spent and the benefit received. The purpose of this study was to formulate a customer value improvement effort at MNUP in Pamekasan Regency based on the consumer perceived value and the expected benefit in order to increase the visitation rate of MNUP patients in Pamekasan Regency. This was an observational cross-sectional study using market survey method, conducted in MNUP and in Aisyah Polyclinic (competitor) in May to June 2006. The respondents were visiting patients, comprising of 51 people of MNUP and 23 people of Aisyah Polyclinic patients. Open and closed questionnaires were instrument of the study, whereas indepth interviews were the tool to delve consumer's expectation. The research result showed that the perceived value of MNUP patients was lower than the competitor (Aisyah Polyclinic). From the MNUP consumers: 37.25% had a perception that there was a discrepancy of the benefit received and the expenses paid for MNUP physical facilities; 35.29% of Islamic service, 35.29% of interpersonal perception, and 15.69% of the location accessibility. The biggest difference of the MNUP consumers expected benefit and the service received i.e.: 1) 56.25% was in a complete service facility (functional benefit); (2) 24.49% was in an Islamic service (emotional benefit); 3) 36.96% was in good interpersonal communication (social benefit) and; 4) 23.53% was in an affordable service tariff (economic benefit). The recommendation to elevate the MNUP visitation rate in Pamekasan Regency is through added consumer expectation of functional, emotional, social and economic benefits. Taking into account the MNUP resources and consumer's low social-economic characteristic, it is necessary to focus the way to increase consumer's benefit solely to efforts with few additional cost or even costless, so that the present tariff will not be burdened.


Objective: To identify impediments to the successful transfer and implementation of packaged information systems through large, divisionalized health services. Design: A case analysis of the failure of an implementation of a critical application in the Public Health System of the State of New South Wales, Australia, was carried out. This application had been proven in the United States environment. Measurements: Interviews involving over 60 staff at all levels of the service were undertaken by a team of three. The interviews were recorded and analyzed for key themes, and the results were shared and compared to enable a continuing critical assessment. Results: Two components of the transfer of the system were considered: the transfer from a different environment, and the diffusion throughout a large, divisionalized organization. The analyses were based on the Scott - Morton organizational fit framework. In relation to the first, it was found that there was a lack of fit in the business environments and strategies, organizational structures and strategy-structure pairing as well as the management process-roles pairing. The diffusion process experienced problems because of the lack of fit in the strategy - structure, strategy - structure - management processes, and strategy - structure - role relationships. Conclusion: The large-scale developments of integrated health services present great challenges to the efficient and reliable implementation of information technology, especially in large, divisionalized organizations. There is a need to take a more sophisticated approach to understanding the complexities of organizational factors than has traditionally been the case. n J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1997;4:112 - 124.


Face recognition has been one of the most studied topics in the last decades. Its research has increased in many applications in communications and automatic access control systems. In this paper, a new face recognition method based on face detection technique is introduced. The goal of the propose method is to detect faces that exist in the image and trying to locate each face in a previously prepared database using simple variance calculations and Euclidean distance of extracted facial features. The features under consideration are eyes, nose and mouse. Furthermore, a new method to extract facial features is developed based on feature location with respect to face dimensions. The proposed algorithm has been tested on various images and its performance is found to be good in most cases. Experimental results show that our method of detection and verification achieves very encouraging results with good accuracy and simple computations.


The focus of this paper is on the established observation that the bacteriorhodopsin (BR) photocycle responds to the level of actinic light by altering the proportions of two forms of the M intermediate. The first form of M, called M-fast or MF, decays to the O intermediate. In contrast, the second form of M, called M-slow or MS, decays directly to the ground state, and its decay rate is slower than that of MF. Any proposed scheme for the BR photocycle must account for this light-dependent phenomenon. Several papers have attempted to explain the observation on the basis of photocooperativity, or on the basis of heterogeneous populations. In this paper, we test previously proposed cooperative models with experimental data, and find those models to be inadequate. We show that two new models, one purely cooperative, the other purely heterogeneous, can both fit the data, hence such modelling will not resolve the mechanism. Taking into account the demonstration of heterogeneity, the trimer structure of BR, and certain experimental evidence in favor of cooperativity, it appears likely that both heterogeneity and cooperativity are involved in the adaptation of the BR photocycle to different levels of actinic light.


The present study emphasizes on how Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) affect the consumer's buying behavior specifically customer's perception, for both the parent and acquired brand in IT industry. Two surveys were conducted with university students in South Korea who used Microsoft, Skype, Facebook, and WhatsApp in light of their recent M & A. Formal empirical tests were used for reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results confirm that brand awareness and perceived brand value are important sources of brand equity and the effects of these two components on brand equity in after M&A are significantly larger than before M&A. One major limitation of this study is that only one segment was target of this study so further studies can incorporate other segments and include more professionals of different countries. Secondly, future studies research can be enlarged in different industries apart from IT. The study provides new insights into important issues regarding brand equity and the exact direction in which to strengthen evaluation of M&A of online companies which could also be useful for brand managers.


Abstract The implications of the colonialist discourse, which suggested that the colonized is a person "whose historical, physical, and metaphysical geography begins with European memory" (Thiong'o, 2009), urged postcolonial writers to correct these views by addressing the issues from their own perspectives. The themes of history and communal/national past thus play a prominent role in postcolonial literature as they are inevitably interwoven with the concept of communal identity. In Petals of Blood (1977), the Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o explores the implications of social change as brought about by the political and economic development during the post-independence period. This paper seeks to examine the crucial relation between personal and communal/national history and relate it to the writer's views of principal legacies of colonialism. As Thiong'o states: "My interest in the past is because of the present and there is no way to discuss the future or present separate from the past" (Thiong'o, 1975). Clearly, the grasping of the past and one's identification with it seems fundamental in discussing national development. As Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's narratives are always situated in the realm of political and historical context, blending fiction with fact, this paper also aims to elaborate on the implications of his vision.


InN to 6.2 eV for AlN, which opens possibilities to engineer opto-electronic devices operating from infra-red to deep ultra-violet wavelengths. Al1-xInxN with the alloy composition x~0.2 can also be used as a lattice-matched electron confinement layer for GaN based electronic devices. However, the ternary Al1-xInxN system exhibits a miscibility gap for compositions in the range 0.1<0.9 where a stable alloy cannot be grown under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, which is why low temperature growth techniques such as magnetron sputtering are of advantage for their syntheses. This thesis describes the growth and structural characterization of epitaxial 2h-Al1-xInxN(0001) [0<1] thin films synthesized by dual DC reactive Magnetron Sputter Epitaxy (MSE) in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) deposition system. Growth parameters such as deposition temperature, substrate bias, and magnetron power settings were adjusted in order to control the film stoichiometry and crystallinity. The role of in-situ deposited Ti1-yZryN(111) [0£y£1] seed layers on the Al1-xInxN growth was also investigated. It was found that the ZrN(111) seed layers provide a wider stoichiometric composition region for the wide band-gap nitride at elevated temperatures due to its generally lower lattice mismatch as compared to TiN(111). Microstructural characterization of Al1-xInxN deposited at temperatures from room temperature to 900 °C was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM micrographs revealed a dense and columnar microstructure with column widths ranging from 10 to 200 nm depending on growth temperature and seed layer. In addition, a novel generic growth mode giving rise to extremely curved, though stress-free, crystal lattices was observed and investigated. It was found that these, so called, nano-grass structures arise due to specific kinetic and geometrical limitations during growth. Compositional differences are formed over the columns due to self-shadowing effects, which are partly preserved due to the low surface ad-atom mobility. Thus, extremely curved crystalline columns can be formed. XRD investigations showed thatsingle-phase wurtzite epitaxial Al1-xInxN was obtainable throughout the whole composition range for deposition temperatures of up to 600 °C onto ZrN(111) seed layers. At higher temperatures almost pure hexagonal AlN was formed. XRD and selected area electron diffraction also showed that the Al1-xInxN films were grown hetero-epitaxially onto Ti1-yZryN with the epitaxial relationship: Al1-xInxN(0001) // Ti1-yZryN(111) and Al1-xInxN[11-20] // Ti1-yZryN[110]. Based on the results, pseudo-binary phase diagrams for MSE deposition of 2h-Al1-xInxN, at temperatures up to 1000 °C, onto TiN(111) and ZrN(111) coated MgO(111) could be established. A study on the relationship between the Al1-xInxN mole fraction x, in the range 0.07<0.82, and the lattice parameters was carried out for epitaxial Al1-xInxN(0001)/ Ti1-yZryN/MgO(111) films using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and XRD. A non-linear relationship was found with a maximum deviation as large as 37 % from the commonly used linear Vegard's rule. The highest relative deviations were found at low InN mole fractions, while the largest absolute deviation was found at x=0.63. This shows that Vegard's rule is not directly applicable to determine the compositions in the Al1-xInxN system. Moreover, the post-growth thermal stability of the Al1-xInxN films was investigated by in-situ annealing in an X-ray diffractometer during extensive time periods at temperatures up to 1300 °C. It was found that the thermal stability of the Al1-xInxN films increased with a decreasing In content. Al0.87In0.13N deposited onto ZrN(111) at 300 °C showed to be stable up to 1050 °C, which is about the growth temperature used for GaN in HVPE, thus showing that Al1-xInxN can be used as a template for lattice-matched growth of GaN devices. An optimized growth process for Al0.8In0.2N(0001) onto lattice matched seed layers of Ti0.2Zr0.8N(111) was developed. A mild ion assistance together with a low deposition temperature was found to give the best over-all epi-layer quality. Full-width-at-halfmaximum (FWHM) values of ~40 arc min. was obtained in XRD rocking mode. Furthermore, luminescence at wavelengths as short as 248 nm was observed in these epilayers by cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements performed at 5 K. The corresponding energy of 5.0 eV is the highest reported to date for Al0.8In0.2N. In summary, these results point on the feasibility of metastable Al0.8In0.2N solid solutions as an active luminous material in opto-electronics. It also shows that MSE-grown Al1-xInxN has a high band gap, which make it an excellent choice as a strong charge carrier confinement epi-layer in lattice matched GaN or In1-zGazN hetero-structures.


This paper presents an efficient method for the multi-objective reconfiguration of radial distribution systems in fuzzy framework using adaptive particle swarm optimization. The initial population for particle swarm optimization is created using a heuristic approach and the particles are adapted with the help of graph theory to make feasible solutions. This avoids tedious mesh check and hence reduces the computational burden. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on 83-bus test system. The simulation results show that the proposed method is efficient and promising for multi-objective reconfiguration of radial distribution systems.


This research is carried out to evaluate important community resilience aspects of coastal districts in Sri Lanka and to provide suitable recommendations to strengthen them. After carrying out an indepth literature survey and interviewing key personnel who are involved in the field of Disaster Management and Disaster Risk Reduction, existing status of the coastal hazards, multi-hazard assessments, early warning mechanisms, national policies, guidelines and efforts and regional cooperation were identified. During the literature survey, it was observed that Sri Lanka has developed a Hazard profile for the country and has an Early Warning Dissemination System which seems to function quite well by the book. What is more, the country is in the process of orienting the existing national policies and guidelines with the post 2015 global standards such as the Sendai framework and Sustainable Development Goals. Sri Lanka being a member of Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) and Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) depicts that the country has a good regional cooperation in terms of Early Warning. Even though Sri Lanka lacks efficient and sustainable resilience mechanisms focused on the coastal communities, national efforts are underway to build up the coastal resilience. Training and public awareness campaigns, efficient funds, properly maintained hierarchy and concern to the coastal ecosystems are some of the enablers identified in this study which are associated in building coastal resilience. Developing and updating a multi-hazard map, improving the interagency cooperation and driving towards a people-centred Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) are some of the recommendations given after the analysis


The purpose of the paper under review is to prove the converses of McKinsey's results: It is shown that the modal logics M, S4, and S5 are complete with respect to appropriate classes of "syntactical" models. The author sets out his proof in three stages. First: He recalls the known fact that if a formula is not a thesis of one of the three logics under study, then there is a finite Boolean algebra with an additional unary operator that validates all the theses of the logic but does not validate the formula. Second: He shows how in such cases the unary operator may be defined from a suitable set of automorphisms on the Boolean algebra. Third: He shows that Boolean algebras equipped with automorphisms satisfying certain conditions may be regarded as algebraic analogues of McKinsey's "syntactical" models and may replace them in so far as the validity of formulas is concerned. Reviewer's comment: Section 3 of the paper is correct only for finite Boolean algebras and not for all Boolean algebras as claimed. However, this oversight does not affect the proof as a whole. DAVID MAKINSON


Biological membranes have been under intensive investigation for several decades. Despite very great experimental challenges, membranes are at last beginning to reveal their secrets. In this book, leading investigators of membrane structure and function report on progress in three related fields: specialization of membrane regions, asymmetry in transport properties, and differentiation of cell faces in epithelia. Specialization at the Molecular Level is the subject of the first section; in it, the authors consider such problems as the biogenesis of membranes, the geometry of protein-lipid relationships, and the physical properties of membrane receptor-sites. In the second section, Asymmetry in Transport, such topics as the sodium-potassium pump, proton translocation, and anion transport are covered. The last section is entitled Polar Faces in Epithelia and deals with the complex properties of ion transport across the complex membrane environment maintained by surfaces such as the renal tubular epithelia.


This paper is based on the model of backward linkages from foreign direct investment (FDI) Lin/Saggi (2003), where the market structure of the final goods sector is represented by a monopoly or Cournot oligopoly, and the supplier sector – by a pure monopoly. We extend this model by examining cases of perfect competition and a vertically integrated domestic company in the intermediate goods market. Our analysis shows that coming of foreign companies to the final goods sector provides positive backward linkage effects. Although this result doesn't depend on the market structure in the final goods sector, the latter significantly affects the size of FDI linkage effects – the more competitive is the intermediate goods sector, the larger are the backward linkage effects. They reach their maximum under perfect competition in the intermediate goods market, minimum – under monopoly in this sector, and medium size - when a vertically integrated local firm exists in the market. We have also discovered that a more competitive market structure per se doesn't guarantee larger positive effects of FDI. It is important that in addition to a competitive structure local firms do not significantly lag behind foreign firms in their technological level.


Timely access to diabetes specialty care is often limited by resources, especially within a safety-net health system serving a large under/un-insured and ethnically diverse patient population. Implementation of a diabetes electronic consultation (e-consult) service offers several potential benefits, including timely access to diabetes specialists' input, improvement in patients' glycemic control, decreased need for in-person referral or visit (a potential benefit to patients and providers) , and an opportunity to support primary care providers with targeted education. We performed a retrospective electronic medical record review of completed diabetes e-consults within a 3-year period (2018-2021) at a large safety-net health system in Dallas, TX to determine the effectiveness of e-consult service. A total of 277 e-consult encounters were completed for 266 patients (age 52.8±12 years, 65% female, 46% Hispanic, 56% Caucasian, 39% Black, 91% with type 2 diabetes) . The average specialist response time following an e-consult request was 2 days, with recommendations fully or partially implemented for 78% of the e-consults. For the 145 patients with reliable hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c) data at baseline and within 6 months, the HgbA1c improved from an average of 10.1±2.1% to 9.3±1.8% (paired t-test, p=<0.05) , with an average HgbA1c change of -0.7±1.8%. Only 51% of these patients were subsequently referred for in-person diabetes clinic visit. Moreover, review of the e-consults questions helped identify common knowledge gaps in diabetes care among the primary care providers, and led to the development of monthly educational webinar series for primary care providers.
 In conclusion, implementation of diabetes e-consult service improved timely access to diabetes specialty care as well as patients' glycemic control, and also created an educational opportunity to improve overall diabetes care within a large safety-net health system.

 F.Gunawan: None. S.Ajaz: None. L.Meneghini: Employee; Sanofi. U.Gunasekaran: None.


Almost everyone is acquainted with the name of Charles Darwin, and is aware of his enormous contributions to the life sciences. These resulted, in large measure, from his experiences during the five years he served as naturalist on HMS Beagle during its long voyage around the world. Not so well known, however, are his considerable geological contribution, set forward in his "Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by the Beagle" (1839), in his "Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs" (1842), and his "Geological Observations on South America" (1846).


The aim of this research is to apply deconstructive approach to a short story. For this purpose Daniyal Mueenuddin's short story "Saleema" is selected and analyzed. Through deconstruction the feminist reading of the story is dismantled and the power dynamics of the patriarchal Pakistani society are subverted. The research is anchored in Derrida's concept of unreliability of language and Cuddon's idea of reversal of binary oppositions. The paper finds that the protagonist Saleema is not as weak and oppressed as she is perceived to be, rather she is a resilient, independent woman who uses any means possible to get what she wants. The power and authority reside with her and not with any male character. The study is purely qualitative and exploratory in nature.


Until recently, participatory and conventional approaches to agricultural research have been regarded as more or less antagonistic. This article presents evidence from three sub-projects of a Thai–Vietnamese–German collaborative research programme on 'Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia', in which participatory elements were successfully integrated into conventional agricultural research as add-on activities. In all three sub-projects the costs of studying local knowledge or enhancing farmers' experimentation consisted of additional local personnel, opportunity costs of participating farmers' time, and travel costs. However, these participatory elements of the research projects constituted only a small fraction of the total costs. It may be concluded that conventional agricultural research can be complemented by participatory components in a cost-effective way, while producing meaningful benefits in terms of creating synergies by blending scientific and local knowledge, scaling up micro-level data, and highlighting farmers' constraints affecting technology adoption.


The widely accepted method of determining ages of beluga is to count dentine growth layer groups (GLGs) in median, longitudinal sections of a tooth. It is essential to understand how these growth layers form and to consider developmental factors that can confound their enumeration to be able to provide meaningful age estimates. Here we provide information on, and illustrate, the developmental biology of beluga teeth as it relates to interpreting GLGs. Key factors are: evaluating the presence and occlusal wear of fetal dentine; interpreting early-formed diagnostic features such as the neonatal line; assessing the last-formed growth layer adjacent to the pulp cavity; identifying the presence of nodes at the dentine-cementum interface to assist in counting GLGs; and recognizing  pulp stones and accessory lines in the dentine which may hinder the age estimate process.


Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience problems in those activities of daily living which involve so-called unsupported arm elevations (AE). In this study, possible differences in the metabolic and ventilatory response pattern to three types of arm elevation were compared between 13 COPD patients (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (mean (SD)) 38 (13)% of predicted) and 13 age-matched healthy subjects. Each subject consecutively performed three types of arm elevation for 2 min, with 3 min rest periods in between. Breath-by-breath metabolic and ventilatory parameters and heart rate (HR) were registered during a 3 min baseline period and throughout the measurement period. Adjusted for significantly greater baseline test results in COPD patients, it was found that AE (arm elevation including recovery) tended to be more demanding with respect to metabolic and ventilatory response for patients with COPD than for the age-matched healthy subjects. Arm elevation resulted in an increase in oxygen consumption (V'O2) (COPD 12%; healthy 6%), carbon dioxide elimination V'CO2 (COPD 15%; healthy 10%), minute ventilation V'E (COPD 13%; healthy 7%) and heart rate (COPD 2%; healthy 5%). A pronounced difference was found in the pattern of metabolic and ventilatory response to arm elevation, i.e. there was an earlier but sluggish V'O2 onset in COPD patients, whereas the healthy subjects demonstrated a sudden peak approximately 30 s after arm elevations. Mutual comparison of the three different types of arm elevation demonstrated a comparable response pattern. Knowledge of the specific response to arm elevations in COPD patients seems essential for interpretation of arm elevation tests in upper extremity rehabilitation programmes.


Comparative analysis of effects of neurotensin microinjections into caudate nucleus and substantia nigra on thirst-motivated motor conditioned reactions in rats, was performed. The microinjections facilitated extinction of conditioned reactions in response to negative stimuli and did not affect realization of responses to positive conditioned signals. Behavioral effects of neurotensine in rats are connected with the normalising of motivational and emotional states of animals and may be explained by restoration of monoaminergic systems interaction.


The European Commission has for the first time issued a document expressing its official position on the enforcement of Article 102TFEU which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position on the Common Market. The Commission Guidance on enforcement priorities in applying Article 102TFEU to exclusionary abuses (adopted in December 2008) has ended a review of about four years. Given the increased enforcement of Article 102TFEU at the European level and the fact that many national provisions in the EU on unilateral conduct are modelled after Article 102TFEU, how the Commission intends to enforce Article 102TFEU is crucial for the application of competition law and the undertakings subject to it under European and/or national laws. The review period was preceded by severe criticisms of the Commission's approach to Article 102TFEU for protecting competitors instead of competition and for being insufficiently grounded in modern economic thinking. At the heart of the review and the discussions surrounding it lay the question of the objective of Article 102TFEU. Some, including the Directorate General for Competition claimed the objective to be 'consumer welfare', whereas some argued that 'consumer welfare' cannot be adopted as the objective at the expense of the protection of the competitive process. This article critically reviews the Commission Guidance, with an eye to assessing the ultimate objective of and the test of harm under Article 102TFEU. After discussing whether the Guidance indeed sets priorities, it examines the general approach of the Guidance to exclusionary conduct. It points out that despite there being some welcome novelties in the Guidance, there are also suggestions therein whose legitimacy and legality are questionable. Reflecting on the Guidance as a soft-law instrument, the article argues that although regarding the objective of Article 102TFEU, the Commission's apparent tendency towards 'consumer welfare' is not unlawful, the reform of Article 102TFEU to bring it more in line with modern economic and legal thinking seems to be far from complete.


Context: Stromal myofibroblasts (MFs) are key cells for connective tissue remodeling and interact with epithelial cells and other connective tissue cells to control phenomena as tumor invasion and angiogenesis thereby contributing to their biological behavior. Aims: The study assesses the frequency of stromal MF in solid ameloblastoma (SA), odontogenic keratocyst (OKC), and dentigerous cyst (DC) and relates it to their biological behavior. Settings and Design: Ten cases of each lesion were taken and stained immunohistochemically for alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) which is a marker for stromal MF. Materials and Methods: Ten cases each of SA, OKC, and DC were included in the study. Cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, n = 5) served as the baseline for comparison as they are aggressive lesions expressing increased number of stromal MFs. The frequency of MFs was assessed as the number of α-SMA-positive stromal cells in 10 high-power fields and presented as the mean number of positive cells per field. Statistical Analysis Used: Differences in the mean number of α-SMA-positive cell per field among SA, OKC, DC, and SCC were analyzed using one-way ANOVA test. Results: Counts showed that mean number of α-SMA-positive MFs in SA, OKC, and DC were 24.56 (±4.63), 21.37 (±4.17), and 8.03 (±2.15), respectively. Results showed that the mean number of stromal MFs in SA and OKC was significantly higher than that in DC (8.03 ± 2.15) (P < 0.05). The count of MFs in SA and OKC was not significantly different from that of SCC (25.06 ± 4.61) (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Activated MF participates in the matrix degradation process which is considered to be one of the main forces in tumor growth and invasion. Among odontogenic lesions, ameloblastoma and OKC (presently termed as keratocystic odontogenic tumor) are well known for their higher growth and recurrence potential. They tend to show burrowing growth pattern. Various studies have evaluated the epithelial factors responsible for their growth potential; we in our study have tried to relate the emergence of stromal MF to the biological behavior of these lesions. The frequency of stromal MF in OKC and ameloblastoma was almost similar to that in SCC, thereby implying that MF can contribute to the biological behavior of these odontogenic lesions.


Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (ATD), or Jeune syndrome, is a multisystem autosomal recessive disorder associated with a characteristic skeletal dysplasia and variable renal, hepatic, pancreatic, and retinal abnormalities. We have performed a genome wide linkage search using autozygosity mapping in a cohort of four consanguineous families with ATD, three of which originate from Pakistan, and one from southern Italy. In these families, as well as in a fifth consanguineous family from France, we localised a novel ATD locus (ATD) to chromosome 15q13, with a maximum cumulative two point lod score at D15S1031 (Zmax=3.77 at ϑ=0.00). Five consanguineous families shared a 1.2 cM region of homozygosity between D15S165 and D15S1010. Investigation of a further four European kindreds, with no known parental consanguinity, showed evidence of marker homozygosity across a similar interval. Families with both mild and severe forms of ATD mapped to 15q13, but mutation analysis of two candidate genes, GREMLIN and FORMIN, did not show pathogenic mutations.


: The micropuncture technique and X-ray microanalyses were used to evaluate Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl and fluid transport in the early distal tubule mediated by low-molecular fractions isolated from the intestine of the hibernating ground squirrel (HSI). Perfusion of intertubular capillaries with a solution containing HSI with a molecular weight of 1-10 kD (0.1 mg.ml-1) decreased the relative reabsorption of fluid, Ca and Mg. The other low-molecular fraction 1-10 kD of m.v. (0.1 mg.ml-1) isolated from the intestine of alert ground squirrels (ASI 1-10) caused no significant changes of the ionic concentration and inulin concentration index in the distal tubule. Fraction 1 with molecular weight 1.2-4.5 kD (0.1 mg.ml-1) obtained by further division of HSI 1-10, decreased the reabsorption of fluid and ions under study. Fractions 2 (m.w. 0.98 kD) and 3 (m.w. 0.89 kD) had no effect on the ion and fluid transport in the same tubule. The addition of naloxone (0.4 mg.ml-1) blocked the action mediated by HSI 1-10 or fraction 1. Thus, the substance(s) capable of regulating Ca, Mg, and fluid transport in the distal tubule likely to be mediated by the opiate-dependent process has a molecular weight of 1.2-4.5 kD.


In order to study the effects of nano-fertile fertilizer containing humic acid on uptake of nutrients of two lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars in a nutrient film technique (NFT) system, a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with four replications was conducted. The experiment consisted of two factors, the nano-fertile fertilizer (0, 500 and 1000 mg/L) and cultivar (Great Lake and Super salad). In this experiment, nutrient elements (K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu) concentration in plant shoots and roots were measured. Results showed that concentration of 1000 mg/L of nano-fertile fertilizer increased concentration of these nutrient elements in shoots and roots of the lettuce plants. But, in the treatment of 500 mg/L nano-fertile fertilizer, only Zn, K and Mg in shoots and Zn, K and Ca in roots were higher compared to control. Great Lake cultivar was better than Super salad cultivar in the uptake of Zn in shoots and Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in roots. According to results of this experiment, concentration of 1000 mg/L of nano-fertile fertilizer containing 75% humic substances can have positive effects on improving uptake of nutrient elements in treated plants.


Jambi covers various land uses with different characteristics related to biogeophysical cycle. Land use plays an important role in the atmosphere-surface interaction and energy balance partition, which influenced rainfall pattern. Two proxies widely used to differentiate various land uses are albedo and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). However, study on albedo and NDVI relationship with rainfall in Jambi is still limited. This study aims to analyze the correlation of NDVI and albedo with rainfall and their distribution in Jambi and Muaro Jambi in 2013 and 2017. The research used Landsat 8 OLI TIRS satellite image data to derived NDVI and albedo, and CHIRPS data for rainfall. A simple linear regression was used to calculate the correlation of NDVI and albedo with rainfall. The results showed that the distribution of albedo for each land use class from the lowest to the highest was forest, plantation, cropland, shrubs, and settlements, respectively. On the contrary, the distribution of NDVI and rainfall is the inverse to albedo. Albedo and NDVI had a strong influence on rainfall through surface energy balance partition. This was indicated by the high R-square between albedo and rainfall (0.99) and between NDVI and rainfall (0.97). Increasing upward latent heat flux from the land surface to atmosphere leads to a rainfall increase. In other words, rainfall may also increase with the decrease in albedo, increase in NDVI, or land use change.


In Learning Using Privileged Information (LUPI) paradigm, along with the standard training data in the decision space, a teacher supplies a learner with the privileged information in the correcting space. The goal of the learner is to find a classifier with a low generalization error in the decision space. We consider an empirical risk minimization algorithm, called Privileged ERM, that takes into account the privileged information in order to find a good function in the decision space. We outline the conditions on the correcting space that, if satisfied, allow Privileged ERM to have much faster learning rate in the decision space than the one of the regular empirical risk minimization.


Cell number plasticity is coupled to circuitry in the nervous system, adjusting cell mass to functional requirements. In mammals, this is achieved by neurotrophin (NT) ligands, which promote cell survival via their Trk and p75NTR receptors and cell death via p75NTR and Sortilin. Drosophila NTs (DNTs) bind Toll receptors instead to promote neuronal survival, but whether they can also regulate cell death is unknown. In this study, we show that DNTs and Tolls can switch from promoting cell survival to death in the central nervous system (CNS) via a three-tier mechanism. First, DNT cleavage patterns result in alternative signaling outcomes. Second, different Tolls can preferentially promote cell survival or death. Third, distinct adaptors downstream of Tolls can drive either apoptosis or cell survival. Toll-6 promotes cell survival via MyD88–NF-&kgr;B and cell death via Wek-Sarm-JNK. The distribution of adaptors changes in space and time and may segregate to distinct neural circuits. This novel mechanism for CNS cell plasticity may operate in wider contexts.


When making Information Technology (IT) outsourcing decisions, organizations must decide what to outsource and what to keep in-house. A robust stream of research describes which Information Systems (IS) human resource capabilities are core to exploiting IT successfully. Our core IS capabilities framework, for example, presents nine capabilities: leadership, informed buying, business systems thinking, relationship building, contract facilitation, architecture planning and design, vendor development, contract monitoring, and making technology work. In this article, we focus on how these core IS capabilities can be evolved over time to leverage the external IT services market. We have found that senior executives use three organizational mechanisms to evolve capabilities: process, culture, and structure. We describe how three organizations have used these mechanisms to evolve the nine capabilities in our framework. In two cases, the organizations signed large outsourcing agreements only to discover, down the road, that they lacked the IS capabilities to leverage their agreements. In short, they had to play catch-up. In the third case, IS bolstered its core IS capabilities in preparation for selective outsourcing. We see four factors in successfully evolving core IS capabilities: (1) leverage the three mechanisms to develop IS capabilities, (2) prioritize development of core IS capabilities, (3) outsource lower-risk services while developing core IS capabilities, and (4) to catch up, keep the end goal in mind while evolving the core IS capabilities.


Here we characterized the effect of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis on the genotypic and functional diversity of soil Pseudomonas fluorescens populations and analysed its possible consequences in terms of plant nutrition, development and health. Sixty strains of P. fluorescens were isolated from the bulk soil of a forest nursery, the ectomycorrhizosphere and the ectomycorrhizas of the Douglas fir (Pseudostuga menziesii) seedlings-Laccaria bicolor S238N. They were characterized in vitro with the following criteria: ARDRA, phosphate solubilization, siderophore, HCN and AIA production, genes of N2-fixation and antibiotic synthesis, in vitro confrontation with a range of phytopathogenic and ectomycorrhizal fungi, effect on the Douglas fir-L. bicolor symbiosis. For most of these criteria, we demonstrated that the ectomycorrhizosphere significantly structures the P. fluorescens populations and selects strains potentially beneficial to the symbiosis and to the plant. This prompts us to propose the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis as a true microbial complex where multitrophic interactions take place. Moreover it underlines the fact that this symbiosis has an indirect positive effect on plant growth, via its selective pressure on bacterial communities, in addition to its known direct positive effect.


The High Luminosity (HiLumi) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project has, as the main objective, to increase the LHC peak luminosity by a factor five and the integrated luminosity by a factor ten. This goal will be achieved mainly with a new interaction region layout, which will allow a stronger focusing of the colliding beams. The target will be to reduce the beam size in the interaction points by a factor of two, which requires doubling the aperture of the low-β (or inner triplet) quadrupole magnets. The use of Nb3Sn superconducting material and, as a result, the possibility of operating at magnetic field levels in the windings higher than 11 T will limit the increase in length of these quadrupoles, called MQXF, to acceptable levels. After the initial design phase, where the key parameters were chosen and the magnet's conceptual design finalized, the MQXF project, a joint effort between the U.S. LHC Accelerator Research Program and the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN), has now entered the construction and test phase of the short models. Concurrently, the preparation for the development of the full-length prototypes has been initiated. This paper will provide an overview of the project status, describing and reporting on the performance of the superconducting material, the lessons learnt during the fabrication of superconducting coils and support structure, and the fine tuning of the magnet design in view of the start of the prototyping phase.


In 1979, fundamentalists began a movement to take control of the sixteen million-member Southern Baptist Convention. At the heart of their social agenda was the appropriate place of women in church, home, and society. Using rhetorical analysis, this article examines the resolutions and other key documents produced by the Convention since the 1970s and finds that under fundamentalist leadership, the Convention has developed an ideology that narrowly circumscribes gender roles for women around issues of women's sexuality, reproduction, homes, and careers. Additionally, the resolutions suggest that fundamentalists have particularly targeted women pastors in these resolutions as a singular threat to patriarchal control.


This study developed a device pad that could harvest energy, store it in a battery and power up the stress/strain reliever and foot exerciser in response to applied mechanical stress generated by piezoelectricity. The design focused on the idea of piezo-ceramics which released electric pulse even when the applied pressure is as light as sound pressure. Specifically, the study sought to address the following: (a) energy generation and storing capability, (b) battery voltage level detection, (c) steps indication, and (d) circuitry control and manipulation. Two methods were employed in the study, namely, experimental development for the implementation and experimentation of the device and descriptive approach for the evaluation of the functionality of the design. Ten purposively chosen evaluators were asked to participate in the study. Findings of the study indicated that the device was able to harvest energy and store it in a battery. The device showed capability of detecting the battery voltage level. Furthermore, the device was able to control and manipulate the stress/strain reliever and foot exerciser circuitry, an indication that a certain number of steps were achieved that powered up the device.


CMP crosscorrelation (CMPCC) analysis of surface waves enhances lateral resolution of surface wave analyses. We found the technique of window-controlled CMPCC analysis, which applies two kinds of spatial windows to further improve the lateral resolution of CMPCC analysis. First, a spatial weighting function given by the number of crosscorrelation pairs is applied to CMPCC gathers. Because the number of crosscorrelation pairs is concentrated near the CMP, the lateral resolution in extracting dispersion curves on CMPs can be improved. Second, crosscorrelation pairs with longer receiver spacing are excluded to further improve lateral resolution. Although removing crosscorrelation pairs generally decreases the accuracy of phase velocity estimations, the required accuracy to estimate phase velocities is maintained by considering the wavenumber resolution defined for given receiver configurations. When applied to a synthetic data set simulating a laterally heterogeneous structure, window-controlled CMPCC analysis improved the retrieval of the lateral variation in local dispersion curves beneath each CMP. We also applied the method to field seismic data across a major fault. The window-controlled CMPCC analysis improved lateral variations of the inverted S-wave velocity structure without degrading the accuracy of S-wave velocity estimations. We discovered that window-controlled CMPCC analysis is effective in improving lateral resolution of dispersion curve estimations with respect to the original CMPCC analysis.


OBJECTIVE
This case report describes the use of a combination of a polychromatic resin composite restoration and resin infiltration to achieve a satisfactory esthetic outcome that has lasted over five years.

CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The patient's primary complaint was a desire to replace an existing stained resin composite on the facial and mesial surfaces of the maxillary left central incisor, and a white spot on the facial surface of the maxillary right central incisor. After clinical evaluation, the patient was offered either replacement of the restoration with a polychromatic restoration simulating a white spot, or a combined treatment with polychromatic composite and resin infiltration restorations, which was recommended. The patient selected the latter treatment. A putty matrix was fabricated, and a quick mock-up was done using various enamel and dentin shades of resin composite to determine proper material selection. The previous resin composite restoration was removed, and layers of new dentin, body, and enamel composite were placed. An interproximal matrix was used in order to provide ideal contour and contact. Finishing and polishing procedures were performed. The maxillary right central incisor was treated with resin infiltration in order to subdue the white spot on the facial surface.

CONCLUSIONS
Polychromatic resin composite and resin infiltration restorations to replace a stained restoration and mask a white spot can achieve desired results in the esthetic zone and maintain them for five years.


The intracellular concentrations of the polypeptides encoded by the two enolase (ENO1 and ENO2) and three glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (TDH1, TDH2, and TDH3) genes were coordinately reduced more than 20-fold in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain carrying the gcr1-1 mutation. The steady-state concentration of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA was shown to be approximately 50-fold reduced in the mutant strain. Overexpression of enolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in strains carrying multiple copies of either ENO1 or TDH3 was reduced more than 50-fold in strains carrying the gcr1-1 mutation. These results demonstrated that the GCR1 gene encodes a trans-acting factor which is required for efficient and coordinate expression of these glycolytic gene families. The GCR1 gene and the gcr1-1 mutant allele were cloned and sequenced. GCR1 encodes a predicted 844-amino-acid polypeptide; the gcr1-1 allele contains a 1-base-pair insertion mutation at codon 304. A null mutant carrying a deletion of 90% of the GCR1 coding sequence and a URA3 gene insertion was constructed by gene replacement. The phenotype of a strain carrying this null mutation was identical to that of the gcr1-1 mutant strain.


Myanmar is drawing rapidly increasing attention from the world for its seismic hazard. The Sagaing Fault (SF), an active right‐lateral strike‐slip fault passing through Myanmar, has been being the source of serious seismic damage of the country. Thus, awareness of seismic hazard assessment of this region is of pivotal significance by taking into account the interaction and migration of earthquakes with respect to time and space. We investigated a seismic series comprising10 earthquakes with M > 6.5 that occurred along the SF since 1906. The Coulomb failure stress modeling exhibits significant interactions among the earthquakes. After the 1906 earthquake, eight out of nine earthquakes occurred in the positively stress‐enhanced zone of the preceding earthquakes, verifying that the hypothesis of earthquake triggering is applicable on the SF. Moreover, we identified three visible positively stressed earthquake gaps on the central and southern SF, on which seismic hazard is increased.


The paper deals with sub-evaporite Badenian deposits (Middle Miocene, Paratethys) that display a sudden appearance of globorotaliid taxa showing preferences in the taxonomic set and coiling direction. An interval of sinistrally coiled Jenkinsella mayeri with proportionally coiled Globoconella bykovae is at the bottom of the studied sequence. It is followed by an interval of proportionally coiled Jenkinsella transsylvanica . Proportionally coiled Globoconella bykovae with a small number of proportionally coiled Jenkinsella transsylvanica are at the top of the Moravian (CPN 7) substage ( Orbulina suturalis alias Lagenidae Zone). The sub-evaporite part of the Wielician (CPN 8) substage ( Uvigerina costai alias Spiroplectammina Zone) began with a globorotaliid-barren interval (IIC biozone). It is followed by biozone IID displaying three globorotallid peaks amongst globorotallid-barren deposits. Only globoconellas are present in all these three events. Proportionally coiled Globoconella bykovae appeared first. It is followed by proportionally coiled Globoconella minoritesta and sinistrally coiled Globoconella bykovae at the end of the biozone IID. Coiling preferences of globorotaliids have been compared to changes in the hydrographic regime unfolding during the CPN 7 and CPN 8 in the studied area of the Paratethys. The study discovers that the coiling of globorotaliids responded selectively to the hydrographic changes. Globoconella bykovae is highly opportunistic and can tolerate considerable temperature changes. Specimens of this taxon persist to coil proportionally during the sub-evaporite Badenian, except for the shift to sinistral coiling just prior to the Wielician evaporites. Sinistrally coiled Jenkinsella mayeri is the most sensitive to hydrographic changes. This taxon retreated at the onset of the temperature drop during the mid-Moravian cryptic cooling. This cooling is marked by the new jenkinsellid occurrence – proportionally coiled Jenkinsella transsylvanica . Proportionally coiled Globoconella minoritesta is present in the middle of the IID globorotaliid peaks. The globorotaliid coiling data, presented in this paper, has been calibrated to the global stratigraphy. The integrated data (foraminifera, nannofossils, oxygen and carbon stable isotopes, radiometric measurements) supports the view that the CPN 7/CPN 8 boundary is coeval to the Langhian/Serravalian one. In the Polish part of the Carpathian Foredeep, the boundary runs within the Skawina Formation.


Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Scientific Work at the Missouri State Medical Association. The letter, which is addressed to Dr. Meyer Bodansky, thanks Dr. Bodansky for his submission of titles for the upcoming Annual Session of the Missouri State Medical Association.