Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds and motion were recorded during two clinically-derived movements-simple jaw opening and jaw protrusion followed by opening-from ten patients. A new time-frequency method-radially Gaussian kernel distribution-was applied to classify the TMJ clicking sounds into six groups, type I to type VI, based on the time-frequency patterns of energy distribution. The number of clicks and percentage of each type were examined. Relations between the two movements were examined by the prevalence of each type. A detailed classification of TMJ clicking sounds is provided by time-frequency patterns and may provide a better understanding of temporomandibular disorders.


Several monoclonal antibodies raised against a glycoprotein-enriched fraction of adult muscle membranes of Locusta migratoria selectively stain particles within haemocytes and basement membrane in developing locust embryos. Haemocytes containing immunoreactive particles are found associated with areas where basement membrane is being laid down. The underlying ectoderm does not show immunoreactivity. We conclude that haemocytes contribute to basement membrane formation in embryonic locusts.


Air pressure amplitude serves as a critical control parameter in periodic pressure solid state fermentation process. Effects of air pressure amplitudes on thermostable xylanase production by Thermomyces lanuginosus SD-21 were investigated. Under the optimum periodic pressure amplitude, namely: at lower limit of 0.05 MPa and upper limit of 1.5 MPa. Among the lignocellulosic substrates tested, corn cob and wheat bran supported a high xylanase (EC 18.104.22.168) secretion by Humicola lanuginosa in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Enzyme production reached a peak in 96 h followed by a decline thereafter. Enzyme production was very high, xylanase activity 8237 IU /g of dry moldy bran can be obtained in the system compared with 4520 IU/g in conventional tray fermenter, cultivation of the mold in large enamel trays yielded a xylanase titer comparable with that in flasks. Parametric optimization resulted in a 45.13% increase in enzyme production in PPSSF.


This paper assesses the ability of four operational weather forecast models (ECMWF, ARPEGE, RACMO and Met Office) to generate a cloud at the right location and time (i.e. the cloud occurrence) using a two year time series of observations collected by profiling ground-based active sensors (cloud radar and lidar) located at three different sites in western Europe (Cabauw, NL, Chilbolton, UK, Palaiseau, F.). Particular attention is given to potential biases that may arise from instrumentation differences (especially sensitivity) from one site to another and intermittent sampling. It is shown that all models tend to overestimate the occurrence of high-level clouds, while for lower levels the errors are contrasting. The data set is then divided into seasons to evaluate the potential of the models to generate different cloud situations. Strong variations in cloud occurrence are found in the observations from one season to the same season the following year as well as between the seasons of a given year. Overall, the model biases observed using the whole data set are still found at seasonal scale, but the models generally manage to capture the seasonal variation in cloud occurrence well. This study demonstrates the usefulness of long time series in order to monitor and guide changes to a given parametrisation.


The Short Time Exposure (STE) test is a simple and easy-to-perform in vitro eye irritation test, that uses the viability of SIRC cells (a rabbit corneal cell line) treated for five minutes as the endpoint. In this study, our goal was to define the applicability domain of the STE test, based on the results obtained with a set of 113 substances. To achieve this goal, chemicals were selected to represent both different chemical classes and different chemical properties, as well as to cover, in a balanced manner, the categories of eye irritation potential according to the Globally Harmonised System (GHS). Accuracy analysis indicated that the rates of false negatives for organic/inorganic salts (75.0%), hydrocarbons (33.3%) and alcohols (23.5%) were high. Many of the false negative results were for solid substances. It is noteworthy that no surfactant resulted in a false negative result in the STE test. Further examination of the physical property data and performance showed a significant improvement in the predictive accuracy, when substances with vapour pressures over 6kPa were excluded from the analyses. Our results indicate that several substances — i.e. certain solids such as salts, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and volatile substances with a vapour pressure over 6kPa — do not fall within the applicability domain of the STE test. Overall, we are encouraged by the performance and improved accuracy of the STE test.


Ras-like GTPases contain a structurally conserved GTP-binding domain. An important element of the GTP-binding domain is the phosphate-binding loop, which contains two Gly residues (Gly(12) and Gly(13)) in Ras. Because the two Gly residues are crucial for normal Ras function, it is intriguing that they are not conserved in other Ras-like GTPases, including the Rab GTPases; for example, the equivalent residues in Rab5 are Ser(29) and Ala(30). The present study builds on earlier biochemical characterizations of the Rab5 mutants containing substitutions at Ala(30) and provides a comprehensive analysis of the structure-function relationship of the Rab5 phosphate-binding loop. We have generated 19 new mutants containing amino acid substitutions at Ser(29) and determined whether these Ser(29) mutants, as well as the Ala(30) mutants, remain able to stimulate the endocytosis of horseradish peroxidase in baby hamster kidney cells. A total of 11 mutants lose the activity of stimulating endocytosis. Of these 11 mutants, 9 are defective in membrane association. In contrast, 27 mutants remain able to stimulate endocytosis. Five of them induce a novel cellular phenotype: cell rounding and detachment from culture dishes. They also induce super-large early endosomes such as the constitutively activated Rab5:Q79L mutant. Biochemical results suggest that the constitutive activation of Rab5 requires an increased nucleotide exchange rate and/or decreased GTPase activity. This study establishes functional significance for the phosphate-binding loop of Rab5 and shows that mutations in this region lead to either a loss-of-function or a gain-of-function phenotype, indicating a structure-function relationship distinct from that of Ras.


In many computer vision applications, obtaining images of high resolution in both the spatial and spectral domains are equally important. However, due to hardware limitations, one can only expect to acquire images of high resolution in either the spatial or spectral domains. This paper focuses on hyperspectral image super-resolution (HSI-SR), where a hyperspectral image (HSI) with low spatial resolution (LR) but high spectral resolution is fused with a multispectral image (MSI) with high spatial resolution (HR) but low spectral resolution to obtain HR HSI. Existing deep learning-based solutions are all supervised that would need a large training set and the availability of HR HSI, which is unrealistic. Here, we make the first attempt to solving the HSI-SR problem using an unsupervised encoder-decoder architecture that carries the following uniquenesses. First, it is composed of two encoder-decoder networks, coupled through a shared decoder, in order to preserve the rich spectral information from the HSI network. Second, the network encourages the representations from both modalities to follow a sparse Dirichlet distribution which naturally incorporates the two physical constraints of HSI and MSI. Third, the angular difference between representations are minimized in order to reduce the spectral distortion. We refer to the proposed architecture as unsupervised Sparse Dirichlet-Net, or uSDN. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of uSDN as compared to the state-of-the-art.


Objective Infections are a threat to frail patients as they have a higher risk of developing serious complications from bloodstream pathogens. The aim of this study was to determine which factors can predict or diagnose bloodstream infections in patients with an underlying gynecologic malignancy. Materials and Methods Between July 2016 and December 2017, 68 patients visiting the emergency room with an underlying gynecologic malignancy were evaluated. Variables concerning underlying disease, invasive procedures, and laboratory and clinical parameters were analyzed. Patients were divided into three groups based on their blood and urine specimens (positive blood specimens, positive urine specimens, and no positive specimens; patients who had both positive blood and urine specimens were included in the group of positive blood specimens). Risk factors for surgical site infections, recent (<30 days) surgery, and chemotherapy were studied separately. Results 68 patients were included in the analysis. Mean age was 55.6 years (standard deviation 14.1). 44% of patients had ovarian cancer, 35% cervical cancer, 12% endometrial cancer, and 9% had other cancer types. In total, 96% of all patients had undergone surgery. Patients who had been treated with chemotherapy were at a higher risk of developing bloodstream infection (P=0.04; odds ratio (OR)=7.9). C reactive protein, bilirubin, and oxygen saturation (SO2) were significantly different between patients with an underlying infection and those who had none. Only C reactive protein maintained its significance in a linear model, with a cut-off of 180 mg/L (linear regression, P=0.03; OR=4). Conclusions Chemotherapy is a risk factor for the development of bloodstream infections in patients with an underlying gynecologic malignancy; C reactive protein could be a useful tool in making this diagnosis.


Using a method of monitoring information acquisition, 76 subjects were instructed to simulate the information search process in which they selected a behavior from available behavioral alternatives which were expected to occur in a situation where donating behavior was needed. In order to measure the cognitive changes, they were asked to rate the importance of behavioral attributes both before and after the decision task. After the decision task, they were asked to rate the inner states. (1) Defensive cognitive changes were found which increased the importance of behavioral costs and decreased the importance of personal moral obligation feelings. This pattern of changes was consistent with the Schwartz & Howard model (1981, 1982, 1984). (2) The defensive cognitive changes were related to the information search strategies. This pattern of relationship partly confirmed the prediction derived from the Schwartz & Howard model (1981, 1982, 1984). (3) The result that the cognitive changes were not related to the inner states was inconsistent with the model of either Piliavin, Dovidio, Gaertner, & Clark (1981, 1982) or Schwartz & Howard (1981, 1982, 1984). An alternative model was proposed and discussed.


Scientists have incomparable professional advantages in science communication and have the obligation to inform public about what they are doing and what affect their research has to the society. This article in the first place introduced the main forms that scientists communicate with public in China and the extent of their participation. The policy background was also discussed in the first part. The status and forms of how academicians participate in science communication are also stated in this article. They were more willing to communicate with public comparing with other scientists. The main characteristics of how scientists participate in science communication were discussed in the final part of the article. Big differences appeared among scientists with different genders, ages and education background when they participate in science communication. Various countries around the world have consistent understanding of the role that scientists play in science communication. The famous report published by British Public Understanding of Science Committee, "The Public Understanding of Science", [1] mentioned that "it's the professional responsibility of each scientist to promote public understanding of science", and hoped that scientists "truly understand that it is their obligatory work also". The chairman of AAAS Green Wood called on all the American scientists "to do part time job in schools at all levels to participate in science education and promote public understanding of science" in the AAAS Annual Meeting. On the Academician Congress in 2006, President Hu Jintao pointed out that "All the scientists, researchers and engineers, especially the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, should take the responsibility of communicating scientific knowledge, scientific methods, scientific ideology and scientific ethics to the whole society and to form a strong atmosphere and good social graciousness of communicating science, passion for science, learning science and utilizing science."[2] At the 50the anniversary conference of CAST in December 2008, President Hu Jintao emphasized that "the science and technology work consists of two parts which are innovating science and technology and popularizing science and technology, and these two are complementary to each other. All the scientists should take the obligatory responsibility of communicating science and promoting public understanding of scientific and technical knowledge... All the scientists should become the communicators of scientific knowledge, the practitioners of scientific methods, initiators of scientific ideology and the propagators of scientific ethos." Primary Wen Jiabao also expressed his wish at the conference that "scientists should not only make contribution in their own professional area, but also participate in science communication passionately."[3] Scientists are at the high state in science communication. They are the discoverers, producers and creators of scientific knowledge, scientific methods and scientific spirit. They are also the important social force of science popularization resources development. Most of them have got professional training and are aware of the latest trends of science and technology development. [4] So scientists have incomparable professional advantages in science communication with others and have the most professional conditions to popularize science and technology. Because scientists get funds from public, they have the obligation to inform the public what they are doing and what influence their research has for the society and whole country.


The authors derive a method to optimize the sparing of the equipment for a group of substations during a planning period. The amount of spares which have to be stored at the beginning of each year is optimized to achieve the minimum total cost associated with sparing, which includes the investment cost for spares and the load curtailment and loss of revenue costs. Various sparing strategies are evaluated, including common and individual-inventory concepts. The application of the method and the benefits it provides when compared to other sparing concepts are demonstrated for several typical examples. >


Simple Summary Tumor budding is a promising and cost-effective histological biomarker with strong prognostic value in colorectal cancer. It is defined by the presence of single tumor cells or small clusters of cells within the tumor or at the tumor-invasion front. Deep learning based tumor bud assessment can potentially improve diagnostic reproducibility and efficiency. This study aimed to develop a deep learning algorithm to detect tumor buds in cytokeratin-stained images automatically. We used a semi-supervised learning technique to overcome the limitations of a small dataset. Validation of our model showed a sensitivity of 91% and a fairly strong correlation between a human annotator and our deep learning method. We demonstrate that the automated tumor bud count achieves a prognostic value similar to visual estimation. We also investigate new metrics for quantifying buds, such as density and dispersion, and report on their predictive value. Abstract Tumor budding is a histopathological biomarker associated with metastases and adverse survival outcomes in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) patients. It is characterized by the presence of single tumor cells or small clusters of cells within the tumor or at the tumor-invasion front. In order to obtain a tumor budding score for a patient, the region with the highest tumor bud density must first be visually identified by a pathologist, after which buds will be counted in the chosen hotspot field. The automation of this process will expectedly increase efficiency and reproducibility. Here, we present a deep learning convolutional neural network model that automates the above procedure. For model training, we used a semi-supervised learning method, to maximize the detection performance despite the limited amount of labeled training data. The model was tested on an independent dataset in which human- and machine-selected hotspots were mapped in relation to each other and manual and machine detected tumor bud numbers in the manually selected fields were compared. We report the results of the proposed method in comparison with visual assessment by pathologists. We show that the automated tumor bud count achieves a prognostic value comparable with visual estimation, while based on an objective and reproducible quantification. We also explore novel metrics to quantify buds such as density and dispersion and report their prognostic value. We have made the model available for research use on the grand-challenge platform.


Correlation coefficient, as a critical performance metric of multiple antenna systems, can be calculated from the 3D radiation patterns of the antennas for multipath environments with uniform 3D angular power spectrum. A simpler, faster and lower cost approach uses the antennas' scattering parameters to determine correlation coefficient. However, the method assumes lossless antennas, and hence only achieves good accuracy for antennas with high radiation efficiencies. In this work, a method for calculating correlation coefficients in lossy dipole arrays is proposed, using only the scattering parameters and radiation efficiencies. The method is based on the equivalent circuit of antennas, and it gives a significantly better estimate of the correlation coefficient than the existing methods. The proposed method is also applied to two folded monopole antennas in a compact terminal to demonstrate its effectiveness.


Three unknown quantities are all that is required to describe the O2-equilibrium binding curve for fractional saturation of human hemoglobin in red blood cells, under standard conditions: Kα, the O2-binding constant of equivalent α-chains; KC, the equilibrium constant for the T →R conformation change; Kβ, the O2-binding constant of equivalent β-chains. The model for formulation of the equation of state is a 3-stage ordered sequence of reactions. The values of were established by determination of rate constants for the oxygenation reaction and the dithionite-mediated de oxygenation reaction. The rate law for the forward reaction in the presence of excess O2 yields The same rate law yields for the dithionite-mediated de-oxygenation reaction. The rate constants for binding O2 are pseudo-first-order. The rate constants for release of O2 are first-order. Reactions involving O2, are 2-step ordered sequences of equivalent subunits. Progress curves for a 2-step ordered sequence of equivalent chains collapse to a first order reaction. Progress curves for both oxygenation and dithionite-mediated de-oxygenation reactions return is 0.0580 for the oxygenation reaction and 0.0358 for the dithionite-mediated de-oxygenation reaction. The corresponding values from the O2-equilibrium binding curve are: and = 0.02602. Values of determined from rate constants of progress curves for oxygenation and dithionite-mediated de-oxygenation reactions are close to values of determined by analysis of the O2-equilibrium binding curves for whole blood, by the Perutz/Adair equation.


SUMMARY Michelinia balladoolensis, originally described by John Smith, in 1911, from the Lower Carboniferous of the Isle of Man, is an unusual fossil with a distinctive morphology. Smith regarded it as a tabulate coral, but subsequent workers have tentatively assigned it to the conulariids or to the Bryozoa. Restudy of the type specimens, together with material from the Asbian of Armagh, and newly collected specimens from the Bee Low Limestones (Asbian) of Derbyshire, demonstrates that Michelinia balladoolensis is a cystoporate bryozoan referable to Meekoporella. Specimens of Meekoporella balladoolensis comprise small inverted pyramids, open-ended and typically five-sided; compound colonies are constructed of clusters of contiguous pyramids. Colonies were apparently arboreal, living attached to crinoid stems or other cylindrical substrata which supported them some distance above the sediment surface in reefal settings. A lectotype and paralectotype are designated for M. balladoolensis. Meekoporella bancrofti sp. nov. is described from the Hotwells Limestone (early Brigantian) of the Mendips, and differs from M. balladoolensis in having smaller autozooecial apertures and reflexed autozooecial chambers.


Moshe [Moyshe] Levin, talented author and artist, was better known by his pseudonym Ber Sarin, the pen name he used when he wrote short Yiddish books in rhyme for children who were just beginning to read. He wrote the lively texts, illustrated them in color and black and white, and self-published many of them in Vilnius (Vilna) Lithuania in the 1930s. The books were popular and successful with teachers and children. He was a graduate of the Vladimir Medem Teachers' Seminary, a teacher in the TSYSHO school system, and a member of Yung-Vilne .2017 is the 75th anniversary of Levin's murder at the hands of the Nazis. Levin left behind a wife and daughter who also perished during the Holocaust. Levin's literary legacy, the books themselves, survived in limited numbers in only a handful of libraries; some are now available on the web. This article includes a brief biography of Moshe ]Moyshe] Levin (Ber Sarin), an overview and discussion of his work for children, information on the current whereabouts of his works, and a bibliography with brief annotations of the works the author was able to view.


An aquatic fern, Azolla microphylla (strain 175 MI, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium), a natural source of protein, was used in this study to produce low-cost feeds for the omnivorous-phytoplanktonophagous tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L. Fish were grown in a recirculating system and fed with six different diets in triplicate groups. Diets were formulated with approximately similar total protein, ranging from 27.25 to 27.52% dry weight (dw), gross energy content ranging from 85.1 to 96.5 MJ kg(-1) dw, and with different levels of dry meal Azolla (0, 15, 20 30 40, 45% diet dw). All diet levels with incorporated Azolla meal exhibited weight gain, thus it can be assumed that Azolla in good combination with local products can be used to promote fish culture development. The Azolla-free diet and the diet containing 15%Azolla produced the same growth performance. However, the least expensive diet containing 45%Azolla also exhibited growth and can be used as a complementary diet for tilapia raised in fertilized ponds.


Zeste (1-1.0; 3A3) mutations have been known to modify the expression of two gene complexes: white (1-1.5; 3C1.5) and bithorax (3-58.8; 89E1-4) in Drosophila melanogaster. Certain mutations of these complexes have been shown to behave in a synapsis-dependent fashion. That is, certain bithorax and white genotypes exhibit one level of expression when the two copies of these loci are able to synapse in somatic tissues and another level when heterozygosity for chromosomal rearrangements interferes with their ability to pair. Such phenomena are termed transvection effects by LEWIS (1954). In the case of the white locus, asynapsis leads to a more normal state, whereas at bithorax, asynapsis leads to a more mutant phenotype. Recently, a third case of transvection was described at the decapentaplegic (2-4.0; 22F1-3) gene complex (GELBART 1982); phenomenologically, it is very similar to transvection at bithorax. In this report, we demonstrate that zeste mutations can also interact with those decapentaplegic mutations that exhibit transvection effects. In addition, we present more information on the zeste interactions with white and bithorax. Interactions with zeste may be diagnostic of loci that can exhibit transvection effects. However, different groups of zeste alleles interact with each complex. z1 interacts with white, za alleles interact with bithorax and all tested zeste mutants interact with decapentaplegic. These differential effects of zeste mutations may be a reflection of the neomorphic nature of the z1 allele.


Successful development project is crucial to all project stakeholders. Meeting the dateline to complete a project will be an added advantage for both the developer and the land owner. Project development just like construction project will encounter some form of project life cycle (PLC). A typical PLC of developmental project comprise of a initiation and planning phase, construction phase and post construction phase. Further, the implementation of the one-stop-centre (OSC) by Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) nationwide in April 2007 have succesfully improved the delivery system of the planning process. As the result of the MHLG bold step, a more systematic planning process have benefited the developers, consultant and the authorities. In lieu of this, it is imperative that all the consultants and the developer should comply to the guidelines, rules and regulations stipulated in the standard manual drawn by Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and the MHLG to ascertain a smoother planning approval process. Thus, in long run, all these moves implemented by the government should attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).


Project Planning: Bibliography Inside Yale Grants & Contracts Office: http://www.yale.edu/grants/ [1] Grants & Contracts Policies, Procedures, & Forms: http://gcfa.yale.edu/qa [2] Human Subject Research: http://www.yale.edu/hrpp/ [3] Manuscripts & Archives Record Retention information: http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ua_sched_grants.html [4] Policy 1105 Retention of Financial Records http://www.yale.edu/ppdev/policy/1105/1105.pdf [5]


Background and Objectives. The efficacy of a thoracic epidural block was assessed in 12 high‐risk patients scheduled for elective percutaneous cholecystolithotomy. Methods. A thoracic epidural catheter was inserted at level T8‐9. The amount of 0.5% bupivacaine to block two thoracic epidural segments was calculated, adapted to age, height, and epidural level, and administered with 50 μg fentanyl. Hemodynamic and respiratory variables and patients' pain and movement were assessed throughout the procedure. Results. Anesthesia was obtained with a minimal dose of local anesthetic. All patients were satisfied with this method. Neither hemodynamic nor respiratory impairment were observed after epidural injection. However, vagal reactions reported in other studies occurred in two patients upon puncture of the gallbladder. Conclusions. This minimally invasive anesthetic technique seems to be a good alternative for high‐risk patients. However, careful monitoring of heart rate and blood pressure remains mandatory throughout the procedure.


A RECENT survey of ancillary therapies suggests that the current functions of many of these therapies are incongruent with the goals of a modern psychiatric hospital 1 and offers impetus to the question as to whether these various therapies interact in the harmonious and complementary system for which they were intended. It is possible that there may be, as Frank 2 has suggested, some common, underlying therapeutic value in all of the various therapies which may tend to become attenuated by the specialized techniques of each therapeutic procedure; or, conversely, it is possible that each contributes some independent dimension of therapeutic value to the overall treatment program, and the ultimate benefit is obviated to varying degrees by the injudicious utilization at a given time of the relative potential contributions of each of the various therapies. The present paper represents an attempt to assess some of the factors


Epidemiological surveys of the pattern of nutrition in the Chuvash Republic were conducted by the Department of Consumer Supervision of the Chuvash Republic to reveal the regional features of the levels of nutrients in a diet. To accomplish this goal, the authors developed an algorithm for studying the organized and unorganized collectives. A regional dietary trace element database was set up and the endemic problems of an area were specified. Significant dietary selenium deficiency and moderate iron and manganese deficiencies were cardinal problems in the population's nutrition in the Chuvash Republic.


The paper considers the issue of syntactic parallel constructions as stylistic means in artistic prose. Different approaches to the term «style» are dwelt upon. Syntactical stylistics is the main conductor of emotions in the written type of language, so, correspondingly, any change of form will inevitably cause a slight modification of meaning. Sinclair Lewis's novel «Babbit» was chosen to illustrate how syntactic parallel construction performs its stylistic role in prose. The results of the novel's text
analysis showed that parallel constructions of all types are favoured by the author in the descriptive paragraphs. In Sinclair Lewis's «Babbitt» parallel constructions are used on all levels – syntactical wholes, paragraphs and sentences. On the level of paragraphs parallelism is used mostly in descriptive comparisons. In the sentences it is used in extended similies. One more peculiarity of the author's style is a repeated key-word on the macro-level, usually put in capital letter which expresses the
general idea of the syntactical whole the same way the key sentence expresses the main idea of the paragraph. There are two layers of the narration in each chapter – the background and Babbitt's life itself. All the syntactical wholes on their micro level are arranged by means of parallelism.


In this paper, in addition to introduce a hybrid structural system contained local isolators and dampers, its behavior and functional capabilities were studied on a conventional structure. For this purpose, an RC frame building with six-story was designed based on valid codes and then, in four cases based on the number of spans, it was split into two separate adjacent frames. Base isolation was done underneath the columns of one frame, while the bottom connections of the other frame's columns were remained fixed and viscous dampers provided the connection of two adjacent frames on the same floors. Nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA) under three near-fault and three far-fault earthquakes and frequency-domain analysis are performed. Displacement, drift, acceleration and shear forces of the stories in the four proposed hybrid cases with two limited cases, full base-isolated and full base-fixed frames, as well as nonlinear hysteresis behavior of a damper and an isolator are assessed. The results showed that using the novel hybrid control method in most cases can mitigate deteriorating effects of all types of seismic motions observed in the conventional structural systems. However, among them, two cases (2 isolated columns -5 fixed columns and 3 isolated columns -4 fixed columns) had the best significant influence on seismic performance and structural response reduction. Furthermore, frequency response functions of displacement and acceleration with respect to ground acceleration demonstrated that the two proposed cases further suppress the responses of the limited cases, over a wide range of frequencies including all natural frequencies. Due to decrease about 50-70% in the number of base isolators (compared to full isolation) lead to considerable construction cost savings. In spite of the limitation of ASCE7-10 code on separately using base isolators and dampers on structure, applying the proposed combination technique of these two dissipating devices can overcome the limitation.


The author presents a view in which the concept of "nationhood" and its relevance to management play a central role. In the contemporary world two polarised views emerge from this context, namely nationalism and globalism. The nationalist view seeks to emphasise one nation above others and often demands unrealistic changes. The globalist view oversimplifies the situation, often ignoring the realities and validity of nationhood thus adding weight to the nationalist argument and devaluing the value of nations. The author believes that the application of a spiritual understanding of nations has the potential to enable us to find the appropriate middle ground between nationalism and globalisation. This will release us to lead our societies into a balanced and just future together.


Security is a challenging issue in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) due to the dual impact of their inherent constraints and their operation in open and harsh environments. The problem of securing a WSN becomes even more complex when considering group communications. In this paper, we address this problem and propose a new security mechanism for group communications in cluster-tree WSNs. We define a group as a set of sensor nodes in the cluster-tree network sharing the same sensory information (e.g. temperature, pressure, etc.). Our objective is to limit the access to the group data exclusively to the members that have securely joined the group. The main contributions of the paper are (1) the proposal of an efficient and secure group management mechanism for cluster-tree networks, and (2) a secure key distribution between group members. Finally, our security analysis shows that the proposed scheme is efficient and secure.


Introduction Although research over the past decade has resulted in significantly increased knowledge about distal risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about short-term (proximal) factors that predict NSSI thoughts and behaviors. Drawing on contemporaneous theories of NSSI, as well as the concept of ideation-to-action, the present study clarifies (a) real-time factors that predict NSSI thoughts and (b) the extent to which theoretically important momentary factors (i.e., negative affect, positive affect, and self-efficacy to resist NSSI) predict NSSI behavior in daily life, beyond NSSI thoughts. Methods Using experience sampling methodology, intensive longitudinal data was obtained from 30 young adults with frequent NSSI episodes in the last year. Participants completed assessments up to eight times per day for 12 consecutive days (signal-contingent sampling). This resulted in the collection of 2,222 assessments (median compliance = 79.2%) during which 591 NSSI thoughts and 270 NSSI behaviors were recorded. Using the dynamic structural equation modeling framework, multilevel vector autoregressive models were constructed. Results Within the same assessment, negative affect was positively associated with NSSI thoughts, whereas positive affect and self-efficacy to resist NSSI were each negatively associated with NSSI thoughts. Across assessments, higher-than-usual negative affect and self-efficacy to resist NSSI were predictive of short-term change in NSSI thoughts. While fluctuations in both negative affect and positive affect prospectively predicted NSSI behavior, these factors became non-significant in models that controlled for the predictive effect of NSSI thoughts. In contrast, self-efficacy to resist NSSI incrementally predicted a lower probability of engaging in NSSI, above and beyond NSSI thoughts. Discussion This study provides preliminary evidence that affective fluctuations may uniquely predict NSSI thoughts but not NSSI behaviors, and point to the role of personal belief in the ability to resist NSSI in preventing NSSI behavior. These findings illustrate the need to differentiate between the development of NSSI thoughts and the progression from NSSI thoughts to behavior, as these are likely distinct processes, with different predictors.


The single species carrying the three names Citrobacter koseri, Levinea malonatica, and Citrobacter diversus differs by at least eight characteristics from Citrobacter diversum as described by Werkman and Gillen in 1932. It is obviously not the same organism. Accordingly, the species should not carry the name proposed by Werkman and Gillen. I request that the name Citrobacter diversus be placed on the list of nomina rejicienda. Citrobacter koseri is the correct name. Levinea koseri is a correct combination when the genus Levinea is accepted. The epithet malonatica is a later synonym of the epithet koseri.


The biogenesis of a localization-competent mRNP begins in the nucleus. It is thought that the coordinated action of nuclear and cytoplasmic components of the localization machinery is required for the efficient export and subsequent subcellular localization of these mRNAs in the cytoplasm. Using quantitative poly(A) and transcript-specific fluorescent in situ hybridization, we analyzed different nonessential nucleoporins and nuclear pore-associated proteins for their potential role in mRNA export and localization. We found that Nup60p, a nuclear pore protein located on the nucleoplasmic side of the nuclear pore complex, was required for the mRNA localization pathway. In a Dnup60 background, localized mRNAs were preferentially retained within the nucleus compared to nonlocalized transcripts. However, the export block was only partial and some transcripts could still reach the cytoplasm. Importantly, downstream processes were also affected. Localization of ASH1 and IST2 mRNAs to the bud was impaired in the Dnup60 background, suggesting that the assembly of a localization competent mRNP (''locasome'') was inhibited when NUP60 was deleted. These results demonstrate transcript specificity of a nuclear mRNA retention defect and identify a specific nucleoporin as a functional component of the localization pathway in budding yeast.


When a change in rural land use occurs there is generally a period when considerable economic gains are made by those who take the high initial risk. Once viability of land use change is established this advantage tends to disappear. This study gives consideration to the economic viability of dairy conversion of land in forestry production, in the Central North Island of New Zealand, from 1999 to 2005. The physical feasibility of dairy conversion of forestry land is described and the financial viability of conversion in three consecutive time periods is investigated. Discounted cash flow methodology is used to determine return on investment in undeveloped land. Results of the financial models are then compared with prices paid in the market over the study period for developed dairy farms.


This paper proposes a near-optimal day-ahead scheduling of energy storage system based on the mismatch between supply and demand, state-of-charge and real-time electricity price when deciding how much to charge and discharge the energy storage system. An artificial neural network, the extreme learning machine is used for the day-ahead forecast of the mismatch between supply and demand and real-time electricity market price. After the day-ahead forecast is obtained, the scheduling problem is formulated into a mixed-integer linear programming and implemented in AMPL and solved using CPLEX. This paper also considers the impact of forecasting errors in the day-ahead scheduling. Empirical evidence shows that the proposed near-optimal day-ahead scheduling of ESS can achieve lower operating cost and life-cycle.


Lately, there has been much debate within Swedish physical education teacher education (PETE) about 'what a physical education teacher should know' (Backman and Larsson, 2014), or put differently, what content knowledge is useful to teachers in the school subject physical education and health (PEH). This debate is related to a discussion about the purpose of PEH in schools and, importantly, what the role of movement is in PEH. In particular, this discussion has revolved around what students are supposed to learn from participating in PEH (Nyberg and Larsson, 2014).Recent research has shown that the dominating PEH cultures do not emphasize systematic work with specific learning objects such as for example learning movements (Larsson and Karlefors, 2015). One possible reason for this is that PEH teachers lack the necessary content knowledge. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explore PEH teachers' content knowledge of students' capability to move. This issue will be explored through analyzing what teachers have to say about moving students in interviews, in part while viewing video recorded PEH lessons.The empirical data of this study are interviews of eight PEH teachers taken from a larger research project of which the overarching purpose was to explore action in the school subject PEH in Sweden, in particular in relation to issues of knowledge, teaching and learning.Shulman's (2004) theorizing on content knowledge was used to encompass the focus of analysis, namely PEH teachers' subject matter content knowledge regarding the capability to move. Further, a phenomenographic analysis was conducted in order to investigate the teachers' different ways of knowing (or conceptualizing or experiencing) capability to move.The findings show that among the teachers there were five different ways of knowing capability to move which provide a picture of the teachers' total subject matter content knowledge. Additionally, this multifaceted picture of what capability to move can mean for the teachers contributes, we will argue, to a deeper and differentiated understanding of the phenomenon capability to move in the context of education. Further, we will be able to discuss how teachers' different ways of knowing capability to move may influence the teaching and learning movements and capability to move in PEH.


Because of reports of fluroxene toxicity in man, the effect of phenobarbital treatment on the toxicity and metabolism of fluroxene was studied in 9 rhesus monkeys. Six monkeys that were exposed to a mean calculated alveolar fluroxene concentration of 5.8% for 4-hr periods up to a total of 16 hr showed no evidence of toxicity. Two animals were sacrificed after a single 4-hr exposure to obtain control measures of fluroxene metabolites in tissues. Four monkeys that had previously survived received exposures to fluroxene and 3 monkeys that had no exposure to fluroxene died during fluroxene anesthesia after treatment with phenobarbital (mean time, 3 hr). Toxicity was manifested by arterial hypotension, pulmonary edema, and arterial hypoxemia. Phenobarbital treatment enhanced production of fluroxene metabolites, including the highly toxic trifluoroethanol. Concentrations of trifluoroethanol in mixed-expired gas, blood, and urine, and of total nonvolatile fluorine in blood, urine, and tissues of animals treated with phenobarbital were 2 to 10 times as in control animals. The results suggest that the rhesus monkey is a valuable model for the study of fluroxene pharmacology and that inclusion of an enzyme-inducing challenge in the evaluation of potential toxicity of other anesthetics seems warranted.


Organized medicine's modern-day professionalism movement has reached the quarter-century mark. In this article, the authors travel to an earlier time to examine the concept of profession within the work of Abraham Flexner. Although Flexner used the concept sparingly, it is clear that much of his writing on reforming medical education is grounded in his views on physicians as professionals and medicine as a profession. In the first half, the authors explore Flexner's views of profession, which were (1) empirically (as opposed to philosophically) grounded, (2) case based and comparatively framed, (3) sociological in orientation, and (4) systems based, with professionalism conceptualized as dynamic, evolving, and multidimensional. In the second half, the authors build on Flexner's systems perspective to introduce a complexity science understanding of professionalism. They define professionalism as a complex system, introduce a seven-part typology of professionalism, and explore how the organization of physician work and various flash points within medicine today reveal not one but several competing forms of professionalism at work. The authors then develop a tripartite model of professionalism with analysis at the micro, meso, and macro levels. They conclude with observations on how best to frame professionalism as a force for change in 21st-century medical education. Flexner's reforms were grounded in his vision of two particular types of professional—the physician clinician and the full-time academic physician–scientist. The authors propose reform grounded in professionalism as a complex system composed of competing types.


Synesthesia is a phenomenon that has captivated the interest of many researchers, as it is a unique experience of the blending of the senses. The following study was conducted in an effort to understand whether synesthetic experiences can be learned, as Bor, Rothen, Schwartzman, Clayton, & Seth (2014) claimed. While there has been much research demonstrating that synesthesia is more common in the population than previously thought, and likely to develop in young children as a learning mechanism (Watson et al., 2017a), there have not been as many event-related brain potential (ERP) studies conducted on synesthesia. ERP studies are important for synesthesia, since neural phenomena are often best measured through brain monitoring technologies, such as magneto/electroencephalography (MEG/EEG), ERP, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The current study utilizes the measurement of continuous neural data through a preand post-test ERP study monitoring changes occurring at the Pz electrode site for the visual N100, auditory N100, and the P300 ERP components in 15 neurotypical, nonsynesthetic college-age adults. The goal of this study was to understand whether non-synesthetes can have a synesthetic experience or are merely forming a learned association after 4 weeks of grapheme-color task, and chromesthesia task training. The results show that while participants can be trained to form learned associations between letters and colors, and sounds and color as shown by a significantly reduced P300 amplitude, they do not seem to have synesthetic experiences as was previously indicated—as demonstrated by the nonsignificant change in both N100 components.


We propose the first known solution to the problem of correlating, in small space, continuous streams of XML data through approximate (structure and content) matching, as defined by a general tree-edit distance metric. The key element of our solution is a novel algorithm for obliviously embedding tree-edit distance metrics into an L1 vector space while guaranteeing a (worst-case) upper bound of O(log2n log*n) on the distance distortion between any data trees with at most n nodes. We demonstrate how our embedding algorithm can be applied in conjunction with known random sketching techniques to (1) build a compact synopsis of a massive, streaming XML data tree that can be used as a concise surrogate for the full tree in approximate tree-edit distance computations; and (2) approximate the result of tree-edit-distance similarity joins over continuous XML document streams. Experimental results from an empirical study with both synthetic and real-life XML data trees validate our approach, demonstrating that the average-case behavior of our embedding techniques is much better than what would be predicted from our theoretical worst-case distortion bounds. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first algorithmic results on low-distortion embeddings for tree-edit distance metrics, and on correlating (e.g., through similarity joins) XML data in the streaming model.


COVID-19 is not only a health emergency but also a strategic challenge for any politics of resistance, struggle and transformation. Understanding the social and political dynamics associated with morbidity and mortality and the many 'ecologies of disease' associated with the pandemic is necessary if we want to think beyond the limits of the lockdown strategy. It is here that the possibility of a democratic biopolitics emerges as part of a broader strategy for communism.


In the analysis of the proton event observed by energetic particle telescope ERNE onboard the SOHO spacecraft during 16-21 June, 1998, we found two phases of strong anisotropy in the directional intensities of protons in energy range 16-40 MeV. The first one was during the beginning of the event, and the other about 39 hours from the vent onset. The anisotropy at the latter time was stronger than anytime during the major 10-hour plateau type intensity phase. The ratio of intensities in two pitch angle ranges I(0-25o)/ I(60-90o) was ≈1.4, during 10-15 UT. The anisotropy was followed by average intensity enhancement which was roughly about 100 % higher than the intensity decay level of the major peak.


The effects of ammonium ion (NH+4) and ammonia (NH3) on function and morphology of gastric epithelial cells were studied in intact sheets of in vitro frog (Rana catesbeiana) gastric mucosa. Luminal 115 mM NH4Cl at luminal pH 8.0 (calculated [NH3] 2.7 mM), but not at 5.0 (calculated [NH3] 3 microM) induced 1) an increase in intracellular pH (pHi) in oxynticopeptic cells (OPC) and decreases in transmucosal potential difference (PD) and electrical resistance (R) in resting tissues, 2) a decrease in histamine-stimulated H+ secretion and an increase in H+ backdiffusion after removal of luminal NH4Cl, and 3) augmented acidification of OPC during luminal acidification. Serosal 30 mM NH4Cl at serosal pH 7.2 (calculated [NH3] 0.47 mM) induced 1) an increase in pHi in OPC and inhibition of the alkalinization of OPC after removal of ambient Cl-, 2) a decrease in PD associated with the increase in R and decrease in short-circuit current, effects attenuated by serosal 15 mM K+, accentuated by 0.2 mM Ba2+, and abolished by removal of ambient Cl-, 3) a sudden drop of PD in resting, but not in stimulated tissues, effects prevented by high serosal pH (7.8), serosal HCO3-, or removal of luminal Cl-, 4) a decrease in histamine-stimulated H+ secretion and an increase in H+ backdiffusion after removal of NH4Cl, and 5) augmented acidification of OPC during luminal acidification. These results suggest that 1) luminal NH3, but not NH+4, increases backdiffusion of H+ from the lumen to the mucosa, 2) serosal NH3 and/or NH+4 induces depolarization of OPC and decreases electrogenic Cl- transport, thereby attenuating the activity of the basolateral Cl(-)-HCO3- exchanger in OPC, and 3) both of these effects contribute to the augmented acidification of OPC during exposure to high luminal [H+].


CD8 plays an important role in facilitating TCR-MHC interaction, promoting Ag recognition, and initiating T cell activation. MHC-CD8 binding kinetics have been measured in three dimensions by surface plasmon resonance technique using purified molecules. However, CD8 is a membrane-anchored, signaling kinase-linked, and TCR-associated molecule whose function depends on the cell membrane environment. Purified molecules lack their linkage to the membrane, which precludes interactions with other structures of the cell as well as signaling. Furthermore, three-dimensional binding in the fluid phase is biologically and physically distinct from two-dimensional binding across apposing cell membranes. As a first step toward characterizing the molecular interactions between T cells and APCs, we used a micropipette adhesion frequency assay to measure the adhesion kinetics of single mouse T cells interacting with single human RBCs coated with MHC. Using anti-TCR mAb we isolated and characterized the specific two-dimensional MHC-CD8 binding from the trimolecular TCR-MHC-CD8 interaction. The TCR-independent MHC-CD8 interaction has a very low affinity that depends on the MHC alleles, but not on the peptide complexed to the MHC and whether CD8 is an αα homodimer or an αβ heterodimer. Surprisingly, MHC-CD8 binding affinity varies with T cells from different TCR transgenic mice and these affinity differences were abolished by treatment with cholesterol oxidase to disrupt membrane rafts. These data highlight the relevance and importance of two-dimensional analysis of T cells and APCs and indicate that membrane rafts play an important role in modulating the affinity of cell-cell interactions.


Reasonable reliability of the mailed inquiry has been attained by Agricultural Estimates and other agencies whose restricted budgets require them to rely largely on this method of collecting data for their surveys. Reliability is achieved mainly by building up historical series for some surveys that are desired, different techniques must be used to increase their accuracy. This paper is confined to the statistical analysis of one source of bias in estimates--the bias of non-response--in a survey conducted by the North Carolina Field Office of Agricultural Estimates. It is possible in some instances, according t o the author, to estimate totals of agricultural items reliably by using information from successive waves of mailed inquiries. He is convinced from the accumulated evidence that a general law governing reliability is operating but that further research is needed to learn its precise character.


A new type of high-speed cargo vessel could soon be taking some of the burden from our roads. The Partial Air
Cushioned Supported Catamaran, or PACSCAT, is being developed with the aid of funding from the EU Growth
programme. With rapid growth in freight logistics markets throughout Europe, and an already congested landbased
infrastructure, expansion of waterborne modes is considered essential. It is expected that PACSCAT vessels will play a major role in achieving this goal. The high speed, low wash, variable draught vessel is designed for operations on the Rhine and Danube rivers. At a design speed of around 20kt (37 km/ hr), the vessel will be capable of making the 2,200 km trip from Constanza to Passau in three days as opposed to the current
journey time of seven days by barge, thus competing directly with road transport. The payload capacity will be in the order of 2000 t, which is equivalent to around 45 truckloads. The vessel draught can be adjusted from 2.5m to as low as 1.5m in order to cope with shallow conditions and air draught can be similarly altered to allow for bridge height limitations. The air cushion is contained between the sidehulls and end seals, and is
generated by installed lift fans. This reduces the propulsion power requirements and the wash generated, which
is especially important in operations along waterways. It will be designed to operate utilising existing berthing/loading facilities. This paper reports the results of the current EU funded project which is developing the concept for operations on inland European waterways. However, the concept is equally applicable to short sea operations, possibly with a river transit as part of the route to avoid unnecessary transhipment of cargo
between seagoing and river craft. A number of military applications are also under investigation.


The European Welfare Models and Mental Wellbeing in Final Years of Life (EMMY, 2017-19) project covers interdisciplinary and mixed method studies on mental wellbeing among the oldest old in Finland, Italy, Norway and Spain. The overarching aim is to strengthen the understanding of how welfare models and related policies could be adapted to support mental wellbeing in the oldest old. Project results will be incorporated in a new tool for assessing the mental wellbeing impact of welfare policies.

 23 focus group interviews were conducted, including 117 participants aged 80 years or older. Six of these were conducted in Finland (N = 28) and the data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. In a policy analysis, relevant national legislation, plans and programmes were identified from the four countries. Five key stakeholders in each country validated the identified policies in interviews. The policy items were systematically coded (N = 42 in Finland), focusing on their correspondence with older adults' own views on their mental wellbeing and its protective factors.

 The findings highlight that although functional status undeniably plays an important role for experienced wellbeing in general, it is not the principal component of the experienced mental wellbeing among the oldest-old. The Finnish policy case pinpoints both promising policy examples, but also development needs such as the inclusion of issues related to e.g. digitalization and social challenges including loneliness.

 These findings have significant multi-level implications, showcasing the importance of coordinated actions at societal and individual levels alike. Actions to enhance social participation, especially for individuals with reduced social networks are needed, as well as a more holistic approach in general considering the multi-dimensional nature of experienced mental wellbeing in later life.

 Results support the exchange of good policies between EU Member States to incorporate a change of focus from mental disorders to mental wellbeing among older people and its protective factors. Country-specific case studies highlight the relevance of context,pinpointing the various pathways to increased mental wellbeing that could be translated into policy.


Democratic America lacked a titled nobility and a hereditary aristocracy, but, nevertheless, there was a long tradition of leadership. This tradition defined an elite and an aristocracy in the sense of the best , and this in turn involved a sense of values. In American society, what values have been most highly regarded and deemed most worthy of emulation? For a long time the concept of the gentleman , representative of the gentry and exhibiting gentility , served as the standard. The Boston Brahmin comes most readily to mind. But values changed and the composition and standards of the elite changed with them. Professor Persons contrasts the gentry—having its own culture, traditions, education, manners, and talents—with the "social-economic elite"—representing the newly rich— and the "mass man" or the "common man." Persons discusses the interaction of the three groups under various environmental circumstances, eg, the decline of the Old South, Jacksonian democracy, the growth


The Cheops Imaging System is a compact, modular platform for acquisition, processing, and display of digital video sequences and model-based representations of moving scenes, and is intended as both a laboratory tool and a prototype architecture for future programmable video decoders. Rather than using a large number of general-purpose processors and dividing up image processing tasks spatially, Cheops abstracts out a set of basic, computationally intensive stream operations that may be performed in parallel and embodies them in specialized hardware. We review the Cheops architecture, describe the software system that has been developed to perform resource management, and present the results of some performance tests. >


Abundance indices suggest that the moose (Alces alces) population in northern New Hampshire has stabilized despite favorable habitat and conservative harvest. Natural mortality of unknown cause is presumed a primary reason although little is known about moose reproduction and survival in New Hampshire. This study (2002-2005) was designed to investigate the dynamics that impact this population. Analysis of harvest reproductive data (1988-2004) indicated that average field-dressed weight of adult cows increased although corpora lutea count declined from ∼1.41.2/cow in the study area and statewide. Yearling ovulation rate (∼42%) and average weight (<211 >kg) declined about 25% and 4%, respectively. Parturition of radio-marked cows ranged from 8 May-13 July (median=19 May) with 78% of births from 13-27 May. Calving rate of yearlings and adults (>2 yr) averaged 30 and 85%, respectively, whereas twinning rate was 11%. There were 39 mortalities (49% calves) with winterkill/parasite (41%), vehicle collision (26%), and hunting (18%) the leading causes. Radio-marked cow mortality was primarily human-related and survival was 0.87. Unmarked calf (0-2 months of age) survival was 0.71with 76% of mortality in first month of life. Radiomarked calves (∼7-12 months of age) had a survival rate of 0.67 with 74% winterkill/parasite-related mortality. Estimated annual calf survival was 0.45. Although population modeling indicated a positive finite rate of increase (1.03-1.07), substituting lower confidence limits for winter survival of calves and both calves and yearling/adults predicted nearly stable (1.01) and negative (0.95) growth, respectively. A conservative physiological model was used to predict the metabolic impact of adult female winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) on calves over 8-weeks of engorgement. Protein deficit associated with blood loss and regeneration appeared to be the most critical problem for calves with daily losses of 30->100% of daily protein requirement over a 2-week period in moderate-severe infestations. Unseasonably warm and snowless 2001 fall conditions likely increased transmission of ticks, therefore, winter survival of calves was lowest (0.49) and cow survival was reduced >10% in 2002. Currently, the perceived stability likely reflects the variation in survival, recruitment, and possibly low yearling fecundity caused by winter tick and more importantly tick epizootics. However, high fertility, calving rate, and body condition of adult cows, and summer calf survival should ensure local population recovery after epizootics that periodically inhibit population growth.


Crit Care Med 2015 • Volume 43 • Number 12 (Suppl.) cost between regular unit and ICU of $3200, and assuming a 1-day ICU stay after unwarranted transfer, the decrease in ICU transfers equates to a monthly saving of $48,000. Conclusions: Tele-ICU consultation via tablet devices can be used for immediate expert assessment during rapid response calls. Patient care, and allocation of limited ICU resources (personnel and beds), can be positively impacted by tele-ICU support during rapid response calls.


Plants employ sensor-helper pairs of NLR immune receptors to recognize pathogen effectors and activate immune responses. Yet the subcellular localization of NLRs pre- and post-activation during pathogen infection remains poorly known. Here we show that NRC4, from the 'NRC' solanaceous helper NLR family, undergoes dynamic changes in subcellular localization by shuttling to and from the plant-pathogen haustorium interface established during infection by the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Specifically, prior to activation, NRC4 accumulates at the extra-haustorial membrane (EHM), presumably to mediate response to perihaustorial effectors, that are recognized by NRC4-dependent sensor NLRs. However not all NLRs accumulate at the EHM, as the closely related helper NRC2, and the distantly related ZAR1, did not accumulate at the EHM. NRC4 required an intact N-terminal coiled coil domain to accumulate at the EHM, whereas the functionally conserved MADA motif implicated in cell death activation and membrane insertion was dispensable for this process. Strikingly, a constitutively autoactive NRC4 mutant did not accumulate at the EHM and showed punctate distribution that mainly associated with the plasma membrane, suggesting that post-activation, NRC4 probably undergoes a conformation switch to form clusters that do not preferentially associate with the EHM. When NRC4 is activated by a sensor NLR during infection however, NRC4 formed puncta mainly at the EHM and to a lesser extent at the plasma membrane. We conclude that following activation at the EHM, NRC4 may spread to other cellular membranes from its primary site of activation to trigger immune responses. Significance statement Plant NLR immune receptors function as intracellular sensors of pathogen virulence factors known as effectors. In resting state, NLRs localize to subcellular sites where the effectors they sense operate. However, the extent to which NLRs alter their subcellular distribution during infection remains elusive. We describe dynamic changes in spatiotemporal localization of an NLR protein in infected plant cells. Specifically, the NLR protein accumulates at the newly synthesized plant-pathogen interface membrane, where the corresponding effectors are deployed. Following immune recognition, the activated receptor re-organizes to form punctate structures that target the cell periphery. We propose that NLRs are not necessarily stationary immune receptors, but instead may spread to other cellular membranes from the primary site of activation to boost immune responses.


A series of extracavity frequency doubling tests was performed using the 1315-nm output from RotoCOIL, a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL). LiIO/sub 3/ was selected for the doubling medium due to its large nonlinear optical coefficient, its low absorption, and the availability of large crystals. Tests were performed for a variety of beam sizes using 1.1-cm and 2.2-cm crystals. Conversion efficiencies of 8% were achieved resulting in visible (657-nm) CW power levels of nearly 700 W. Catastrophic crystal failure occurred after a 1-s exposure to a focused beam of 6770 W. >


Abstract Penicillin G oversecretion by Penicillium chrysogenum PQ-96 is associated with a strictly adjusted cellular organization of the mature and senescent mycelial cells. Abundant vacuolar phagy and extended cellular vacuolization combined with vacuolar budding resulting in the formation of vacuolar vesicles that fuse with the cell membrane are the most important characteristic features of those cells. We suggest as follows: if the peroxisomes are integrated into vacuoles, the penicillin G formed in peroxisomes might be transferred to vacuoles and later secreted out of the cells by an exocytosis process. The peroxisomal cells of the mycelium are privileged in penicillin G secretion.


At the outset, the primary focus of this Ph.D. project has been directed towards the synthesis of new 2,2'-dipyridylamino(dpa)- and 1,2,4-triazole(trz)- based ligands to be incorporated into spin crossover (SCO) iron(II) complexes.
Initial aims sought the synthesis of a wide and diverse range of SCO compounds containing
novel dpa- and trz-based ligands in order to determine what sort of control could be exercised over magnetic properties. New ligands synthesised for the project incorporated a range of nondpa- or trz-substituents with, for example, different capacities to participate in hydrogen bonding or aryl interactions (such as !-stacking), with different degrees of bulkiness, flexibility, or additional binding sites, for metals or other guests, that are distinct and separate from the dpa or trz coordination sites. This fundamental study also probed the influence of second coordination sphere entities, including the effects of solvation and counter ion species, upon the spin transition. Structure-function correlations for this work were vital to further the understanding of the factors influential in determining the magnetic properties of crystalline SCO compounds, by varying the nature of the ligand, solvent or counter-ion.
As there is currently great interest in the study of multifunctional ('hybrid') molecular materials, a further aspect of this Ph.D. project was aimed towards the synthesis of ligands incorporating a moiety capable of a secondary function, in addition to SCO. This led to two main areas of study, the first of which consisted of the synthesis and coordination of a number of ferrocene-appended ligands and attempts have been made to analyse how one-electron changes at the ferrocene group (located external to the coordination site) influences the spin transition. This includes a system in which a new ferrocene-trz ligand and its 1-D polynuclear complexes were studied using magnetic, electrochemical and Mossbauer measurements (Chapter 6), as well as synthesis of discrete FeII and CoII complexes incorporating ferrocene-based ligands (Chapter 7).
Our second approach at obtaining multifunctional SCO materials has led us to pursue the synthesis and coordination of crown-appended dpa-based ligands which have the potential to show, in addition to SCO, encapsulation of alkali metal ions in the aza-crown ether, which ideally would result in guest dependent magnetic properties. This work appears in Chapter 4.
Throughout this study, where possible, all complexes have been comprehensively characterised, primarily using single crystal X-ray structural determination and variable temperature magnetic
susceptibility measurements, although the vast array of complexes appearing in this thesis have been characterised using a number of other techniques including PXRD, Mossbauer spectroscopy, electrochemical studies, magnetic- and photo-magnetic measurements and to a lesser extent heat-capacity measurements.


In this paper, we develop a methodology for deriving a consistent measure for supply adequacy in the power generation sector. We especially consider the secured generation capacity of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind. Availability of conventional power plants is estimated through stochastic convolution of unscheduled non-usabilities. We employ our methodology to measure supply security in Germany until 2030. A detailed market analysis of power plants that are currently being built or planned provides support to our analysis for the short term. For the long term, we rely on a large-scale dispatch and investment model of the European power sector to account for the embedding of the German electricity sector in the European market. We analyze two scenarios: one with prolongation of nuclear power plants and one with a nuclear phase-out. Our results show that, even though intermittent renewables only provide very limited secured generation capacity, security of electricity supply in Germany can be assured until 2015. In the long term, the need for backup capacity for renewable energy sources increases as well as the need for electricity imports.


Concerns over ground water contamination and other environmental issues have prompted research to reduce synthetic herbicide use. Corn (Zea mays L.) gluten meal, a by-product of wet milling, inhibits germination and the establishment of many annual and perennial weed species. Our objective in the field was to investigate crabgrass control (Digitaria spp.) in Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) turf established on a Nicollet soil (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Aquic Hapludoll). In the greenhouse, we investigated the control of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.] on the same soil with no turfgrass cover. Experiments were conducted with corn gluten meal at 0, 49, 98, and 147 g m -2 combined in a factorial arrangement with pendimethalin [N-(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4-dimethyl-2,6-dinitrobenzenamine] at 0, 29, 59, 88, and 117 mg ai m -2 . The minimum label rate for pendimethalin is 176 mg ai m -2 . Field crabgrass control was improved by application of a sublethal rate of pendimethalin in addition to corn gluten meal. As the application rate of corn gluten meal increased from 49 to 147 g m -2 , the level of pendimethalin required to provide 75 to 85% control for 15 wk decreased from 88 to 29 mg aim -2 . There was no increase in crabgrass control in plots that received amounts of corn gluten meal and pendimethalin exceeding these combined rates.


Acute pancreatitis is a protean disease characterized by wide clinical variation and many pathological alterations. This variability in presentation and clinical course has plagued the study and management of the disease. The lack of accepted definitions for acute pancreatitis and its complications has led to difficulties in devising a clinical classification system useful for case management. An attempt in this direction was made by a diverse group of 40 international authorities from six medical disciplines and 15 countries, joining a Symposium in Atlanta, Ga, in September 1992. From this meeting resulted a clinically based classification system for acute pancreatitis valuable to practicing clinicians and to specialists seeking to compare inter institutional data.


M ultiple studies have suggested the spread of COVID-19 is affected by factors such as climate, BCG vaccinations, pollution and blood type. We perform a joint study of these factors using the death growth rates of 40 regions worldwide with both machine learning and Bayesian methods. We find weak, non-significant (< 3σ) evidence for temperature and relative humidity as factors in the spread of COVID-19 but little or no evidence for BCG vaccination prevalence or PM2.5 pollution. The only variable detected at a statistically significant level (>3σ) is the rate of positive COVID-19 tests, with higher positive rates correlating with higher daily growth of deaths.


Coral reefs, and their associated diverse ecosystems, are of enormous ecological importance. In recent years, coral health has been severely impacted by environmental stressors brought on by human activity and climate change, threatening the extinction of several major reef ecosystems. Reef damage is mediated by a process called 'coral bleaching' where corals, sea anemones, and other cnidarians lose their photosynthetic algal symbionts (genus Symbiodinium) upon stress induction, resulting in drastically decreased host energy harvest and, ultimately, coral death. The mechanism by which this critical cnidarian-algal symbiosis is lost remains poorly understood. Here, we report 'Traptasia', a simple microfluidic device with multiple traps designed to isolate and image individual live larvae of Aiptasia, a sea anemone model organism, and their algal symbionts over extended time courses. Aiptasia larvae are ~100 μm in length, deformable, and highly motile, posing particular challenges for long-term imaging. Using a trap design optimized via fluid flow simulations and polymer bead loading tests, we trapped Aiptasia larvae containing algal symbionts and demonstrated stable imaging for >10 hours. We visualized algal migration within Aiptasia larvae and observed algal expulsion under an environmental stressor. To our knowledge, this device is the first to enable live imaging of cnidarian larvae and their algal symbionts and, in further implementation, could provide important insights into the cellular mechanisms of coral bleaching under different environmental stressors. The device is simple to use, requires minimal external equipment and no specialized training to operate, and can easily be adapted to study a variety of large, motile organisms.


A numerical study of coherent laser pulse evolution in CO2 in the framework of the Maxwell–Schrodinger equations up to the intensity 1013 W/cm2 is presented. The model includes various nonresonant vibrational–rotational transitions usually neglected in low-intensity simulations. Level degeneracy is taken into account, and light-polarization effects are discussed. The limiting intensities up to which various models work are established.


Security attacks targeting smart contracts have been on the rise, which have led to financial loss and erosion of trust. Therefore, it is important to enable developers to discover security vulnerabilities in smart contracts before deployment. A number of static analysis tools have been developed for finding security bugs in smart contracts. However, despite the numerous bug-finding tools, there is no systematic approach to evaluate the proposed tools and gauge their effectiveness. This paper proposes SolidiFI, an automated and systematic approach for evaluating smart contracts' static analysis tools. SolidiFI is based on injecting bugs (i.e., code defects) into all potential locations in a smart contract to introduce targeted security vulnerabilities. SolidiFI then checks the generated buggy contract using the static analysis tools, and identifies the bugs that the tools are unable to detect (false-negatives) along with identifying the bugs reported as false-positives. SolidiFI is used to evaluate six widely-used static analysis tools, namely, Oyente, Securify, Mythril, SmartCheck, Manticore and Slither, using a set of 50 contracts injected by 9369 distinct bugs. It finds several instances of bugs that are not detected by the evaluated tools despite their claims of being able to detect such bugs, and all the tools report many false positives.


Purpose: By using Monte Carlo(MC) dose calculation to investigate the variation of radiation dose with the breast density (tissue composition) in cone beam breast CT, both globally and on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis. Method and Materials: To simulate cone beam breast CTimaging, we first used Rep78 to build an x‐ray spectrum for an x‐ray tube with tungsten target and a HVL of 4.08mm Al. A collimator was defined in BEAMnrc and used to form a half‐cone beam for pendant geometry used in cone beam breast CT. For validation, we compared MC dose calculations with ionization chamber measurements at 4 different locations inside the 11 cm diameter, 12 cm high cylindrical phantom under the same imaging conditions. After normalizing for the iso‐center dose, the deviations were within 3.7%. 3 cone beam CTimages were first corrected and filtered to minimize the cupping artifacts and then filtered to reduce the noise level. The processed images were then segmented using threshold method to separate the dense tissue from the adipose tissue. The segmented image sets were binned into a 100×100×80 image sets with a pixel size of 1mm for MC calculation. DOSXYZnrc was used to track 1×109 incident photons distributed over 300 projection images over 360°. The resulting radiation dose was tallied for each voxel and averaged over all voxels in the breast. Results: Results from MC calculations indicated that radiation dose was significantly higher in dense tissue structures and lower in the adipose tissue. The regions of higher dose were found to match the 3D dense tissue structures. The average breast dose was found to linearly vary with the breast density computed from the breast CT data. Conclusion: Our MC study has shown a close relationship between the radiation dose and the breast density both globally and on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis.


Graphene and metal nanoparticle composites are a promising class of materials with unique electronic, optical, and chemical properties. In this work, graphene is used as a reducing surface to grow gold nanoparticles out of solution-based metal precursors. The nanoparticle formation is found to strongly depend upon the graphene substrate selection. The studied substrates include diamond, p-type silicon, aluminum oxide, lithium niobate, and copper. Our results indicate that the chemical properties of graphene depend upon this selection. For example, for the same reaction times and concentration, the reduction of gold chloride to gold nanoparticles on graphene/lithium niobate results in 3% nanoparticle coverage compared to 20% coverage on graphene/silicon and 60% on graphene/copper. On insulators, nanoparticles preferentially form on folds and edges. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis is used to confirm the nanoparticle elemental makeup.


What is the nature of earthquake ground motions that can be expected in San Diego's
foreseeable future? Although this is the most basic of questions underlying the adequate design
of structures to resist earthquakes, answers to this question are disturbingly uncertain. A
reasonable assumption is that future earthquake ground motions will be similar to those that have
occurred in the past. When compared with San Francisco or Los Angeles, San Diego has
historically experienced relatively mild earthquake shaking. Unfortunately, San Diego's written
history is very short compared to the time scales of earthquake repetition. Are there sources of
earthquakes that may cause damage in San Diego and what is their frequency? Mapping of
geologic structures and the study of patterns of small earthquakes are the primary tools for
recognizing potentially active faults. There are features in both the geologic structure and the
seismicity that are suggestive of major active faults that could pose a serious hazard to San
Diego. Furthermore, there is evidence that the rate of occurrence of small earthquakes has
increased within the last 5 years when compared with the previous 50 years. However, these
features are not well studied or understood.
Even if the potential sources of earthquakes were well understood, the problem of anticipating the
range of future ground motions is difficult. The nature of shaking from earthquakes is strongly
affected by the nature of seismic wave propagation through complex geologic structures (path
effects). Although path effects are likely to be of great importance in San Diego, relatively little
specific information is available.


Mobile-edge computing provides an effective approach to reducing the workload of smart devices and the network delay induced by data transfer through deploying computational resources in the proximity of the devices. In a mobile-edge computing system, it is of great importance to improve the quality of experience of users and reduce the deployment cost for service providers. This article investigates a joint cloudlet deployment and task offloading problem with the objectives of minimizing energy consumption and task response delay of users and the number of deployed cloudlets. Since it is a multiobjective optimization problem, a set of tradeoff solutions ought to be found. After formulating this problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear program and proving its NP-completeness, we propose a modified guided population archive whale optimization algorithm to solve it. The superiority of our devised algorithm over other methods is confirmed through extensive simulations.


Some aspects of the reproductive biology of Hilsa Shad, Tenualosa ilisha from the Persian Gulf and rivers of Khouzestan Province of Iran were analyzed. A total of 485 fish were sampled by gillnet from landing center of Arvand (AR) and Bahmanshir (BR) rivers during period of April 2010 to September 2010. Reproductive characteristic of T.ilisha showed that sex ratio is M: F=1:2, in PG, AR and BR. This means that females predominate than males. Monthly variations in Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of both sexes were quite apparent. In PG, maximum values were recorded in April for male and female. In AR and BR, maximum values were recorded in June and May for male and female, respectively. Changes in GSI indices are considered as a proof that maturation season in AR and BR is started from March and spawning is started from April to July in AR and BR is started from March to August. The Length - Weight relationship was measured for PG as W= 1.459L 2.687 , AR and BR as W=2.189L 3.166 and W=1.840L 2.937 , respectively.


Text revision refers to a family of natural language generation tasks, where the source and target sequences share moderate resemblance in surface form but differentiate in attributes, such as text formality and simplicity. Current state-of-the-art methods formulate these tasks as sequence-to-sequence learning problems, which rely on large-scale parallel training corpus. In this paper, we present an iterative inplace editing approach for text revision, which requires no parallel data. In this approach, we simply fine-tune a pre-trained Transformer with masked language modeling and attribute classification. During inference, the editing at each iteration is realized by two-step span replacement. At the first step, the distributed representation of the text optimizes on the fly towards an attribute function. At the second step, a text span is masked and another new one is proposed conditioned on the optimized representation. The empirical experiments on two typical and important text revision tasks, text formalization and text simplification, show the effectiveness of our approach. It achieves competitive and even better performance than state-of-the-art supervised methods on text simplification, and gains better performance than strong unsupervised methods on text formalization.


This paper is concerned with the existence and uniqueness of pseudo almost-periodic solutions to recurrent delayed neural networks. Several conditions guaranteeing the existence and uniqueness of such solutions are obtained in a suitable convex domain. Furthermore, several methods are applied to establish sufficient criteria for the globally exponential stability of this system. The approaches are based on constructing suitable Lyapunov functionals and the well-known Banach contraction mapping principle. Moreover, the attractivity and exponential stability of the pseudo almost-periodic solution are also considered for the system. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our results.


iAbstract Background: One of the personnel's protection and control measures against injurious noise effects at work environment is the use of hearing protection devices (HPDs). Objective: This study was performed to determine the factors affecting the use of HPDs. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 353 randomly selected industrial workers in Sistan and Baluchestan province who were exposed to more than 85 dB noise in 2009. Data were collected by using a validated questionnaire obtained from British Health and Safety Executive and analyzed by chi-square test. Findings: The mean employment history of participants was 9±5.8 years. Based on our data, 28.3% of industrial workers never used HPDs during their daily activities. The most common cause of failure (29.5%) to wear protection devices was associated with experiencing discomfort while using HPDs. There was a significant association between the workers' risk perception (P=0.05) and their knowledge (P=0.01) over the use of hearing protectors. Conclusion: According to our findings, it seems that promoting the workers' knowledge on risk perception associated with hearing loss and also improving the design of existing devices can lead to increased use of HPDs.


We propose a surface-to-surface (S2S) point registration algorithm by exploiting the Gaussian Process Implicit Surfaces for partially overlapping 3D surfaces to estimate the 6D pose transformation. Unlike traditional approaches, that separate the corresponding search and update steps in the inner loop, we formulate the point registration as a nonlinear non-constraints optimization problem which does not explicitly use any corresponding points between two point sets. According to the implicit function theorem, we form one point set as a Gaussian Process Implicit Surfaces utilizing the signed distance function, which implicitly creates three manifolds. Points on the same manifold share the same function value, indicated as {1, 0, −1}. The problem is thus converted into finding a rigid transformation that minimizes the inherent function value. This can be solved by using a Gauss-Newton (GN) or Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) solver. In the case of a partially overlapping 3D surface, the Fast Point Feature Histogram (FPFH) algorithm is applied to both point sets and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is performed on the result. Based on this, the initial transformation can then be computed. We conduct experiments on multiple point sets to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed approach against existing state-of-the-art methods.


Pharyngocutaneous fistula is a dreaded complication after ablative surgery of the aerodigestive tract including the pharynx and larynx. This is a common problem for the surgeon. Two cases are presented with pharyngocutaneous fistula developing after total laryngectomy and radiation therapy. The fistula was reconstructed using a cork-design radial forearm free flap. Total obliteration of the fistula was obtained without complications. This new design provides the following advantages: extensive contact area between the flap and the inflamed surrounding tissue, discontinuity between the suture lines of the inner lining and the outer cover, and reinforcement of the suture line of the outer covering with skin graft. This method can be useful in reconstructing irradiated pharyngocutaneous fistulas.


The purpose of this thesis will be to explore the relationship between elliptic curves and L-functions. We will start off with a section giving some necessary definitions that will be used throughout the entire paper. Following this will be a section on the Selberg class of L-functions. These two chapters serve as the setup to the rest of the paper. As we will see in the Selberg section, for an L-function to be in the Selberg class it must satisfy a select few properties. So, moving from elliptic curves to modular forms we will show how the L-function associated to a modular form will actually satisfy all these conditions. Thus, the entire point of the paper can be summed up as: the L-function for a modular form belongs to the Selberg class. We will conclude with a section explaining why the Selberg Class L-functions are important.


Learning opportunities outside of traditional school times can be important factors for cognitive and noncognitive development, as well as for gaps between advantaged and less-advantaged students. Although out-of-school time (OST) education is of great significance in research and practice worldwide, less is known about the ways in which OST learning shapes patterns of educational stratification due to the variety of OST programs and the hidden decision-making processes of participation. The current study focused on curriculum-oriented OST math learning and examined its participation patterns and relevance to academic and non-academic skill development among 15-year-old students in the U.S. Utilizing multilevel ordered logistic regression, the study found that African American students, academically struggling students, and students attending schools with certain teacher and school characteristics were more likely to participate in OST math education. Given the endogenous nature of OST math learning, the study incorporated propensity score weighting in the regression analyses to understand the connections between OST math learning and skills. It is revealed that more hours of OST math learning weekly were related to better skill development in positive study behaviors in math. This study situated the findings within the socio-ecological contexts of education and discussed the interconnected relationships between schooling and OST learning. It is concluded that time and space beyond schooling is a critical component of education and should be included in the discourse of educational justice.


After some river embankment failures during recent floods in Germany, major investigation and improvement programs for river embankments have been implemented. Presently, the investigation mainly relies on existing documentation, visual inspection, and drilling and sampling. Geophysical techniques, which are applied non-destructively from the surface, have the potential to cover the gaps between sampling points and to enhance the reliability of subsurface information. This paper describes the evaluation results for resistivity, electromagnetic, seismic and GPR techniques acquired at a test site along the Mulde River in eastern Germany. The work was carried out under the government funded project DEISTRUKT. Each geophysical method has its own specific advantages and limitations. Keeping the requirements posed by current German guidelines for river embankments in mind, 2-D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is the method of first choice. However, all geophysical results have to be calibrated carefully using information, such as material properties and depth of structures, determined from boreholes. Although some recommendations are provided here, a set of detailed recommendations have been compiled in a handbook.


Abstract: Spreading cortical depression (SCD) is a wave of depolarization that spreads across the cortex at 2–5 mm/min and is followed by a 5–10 minute reduction in EEG activity. It is assumed that SCD is involved in the pathophysiology of migraine. We present a new model and a visualization technique for the spread of excitation on realistic brain surfaces. The usefulness of the technique is demonstrated on a rat brain that had been segmented from a three‐dimensional magnetic resonance image data set. With the help of this methodology it is possible to create specific patient models to better understand the mechanisms of SCD.


The general objective of this article is to examine how French versus American national culture impacts upon management of a customer value focus in an organization. After reviewing the customer value literature and examining management issues regarding an organization's customer value focus, France and the United States are compared and contrasted in terms of cultural value dimensions. A conceptual model is employed to propose the influence of culture upon the four keys to managing a customer value focused organization. The article concludes with a discussion and future research directions. Introduction The ability to determine and deliver value to the customer is fundamental to the development of a firm's competitive strategy and market orientation (Narver and Slater 1990). An understanding of customer value has taken on even greater importance today as businesses continue to expand into more heterogeneous markets around the world (Overby, Gardial, & Woodruff 2004). Ironically, globalization is actually demanding greater managerial and marketing adaptation because of the exposure to national culture differences (Palich & Gomez-Mejia, 1999). Though it has been found that successful customer value delivery creates superior business performance irrespective of national origin, the process of determining and managing such value is likely to be culturally sensitive (Norburn, Birley, Dunn, & Payne, 1990). The general objective of this article is to consider how national culture affects management of customer value in an organization. The article begins with a brief review of the literature on customer value management. The concept of culture is introduced and France and the United States are compared and contrasted in terms of the cultural dimensions discussed. Next, a conceptual model is offered along with propositions. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of future research directions. Literature Review Customer Value As far back as 1972, Kotler (1972) extolled the virtues of customer value, stating that "the essential activity of marketing is the creation and offering of value." Later, Narver and Slater ( 1990) asserted that the creation of superior customer value must be the goal of market-oriented businesses. More recently, Woodruff and Gardial (1996) define customer value as "the customer's perception of the extent to which use of a product allows him/her to accomplish some desired purpose or goal." Customer value can only become an important management tool when a customer-focused philosophy spreads throughout the organization (Woodruff 1997). Hence, not just marketers, but accountants, financiers, and all levels of management and operations should be focused on delivering superior customer value. How does this occur? Woodruff (1997) offers several suggestions: 1 ) create a customer value delivery strategy; 2) translate strategy into internal customer value processes and requirements; 3) implement customer value delivery; and 4) track performance of customer value delivery. Similarly, Desatnick and Detzel (1993) offer several keys to building superior service value throughout an organization: 1) create a customer focus throughout the organization; 2) establish employee-based service performance standards; 3) measure service performance against superior benchmarks; and 4) recognize and reward exemplary service behavior. At the same time, both Woodruff ( 1997) and Desatnick and Detzel ( 1993) acknowledge that organizational barriers often stand in the way of implementing such strategies. Organizational barriers include organizational culture, organizational procedures, and managerial learning. Each of these barriers can pose significant barriers for an organization within a single culture, but cross-culturally they can be devastating. Therefore, these areas are where cross-cultural management must pay special attention when attempting to compete on customer value delivery. …


Partible paternity, the belief that a child can have more than one biological father, is widespread in lowland South America. An analysis of demographic data sets from four lowland tribes (Aché, Barí, Ese Eja, and Surui) reveals a systematic variation in the sex ratios of live births with respect to the number of fathers to whom the births are attributed. Births attributed to only one father show a sex ratio that is unexceptional for South America; births with two fathers are highly male biased, while children with three or more fathers are female biased. This pattern may be a manifestation of a phenomenon predicted by the Trivers-Willard hypothesis, which proposes that, in many circumstances, females in good condition might bias their offspring toward males, whereas those in poor condition would produce a preponderance of females. If, as suggested below, a woman with a husband and a single extramarital lover tends to be better cared for before and during a pregnancy than other women, this difference might result in the improved maternal condition required by the Trivers-Willard hypothesis for excess males, whereas women who accept two or more lovers might be preponderantly those who are already in distress, thus tending to produce female-biased offspring.