Purpose Difficulty exists in interpreting the significance of atypical urine cytology. This study was performed to assess the diagnostic utility of nuclear matrix protein-22 (NMP-22) testing when atypical cells are detected during urine cytology. Materials and Methods Among patients whose urine cytology was reported as atypical between January 2004 and December 2009, a total of 275 who also underwent NMP-22 testing were enrolled in the present study. These patients were further divided into the screening group (143 patients examined as outpatients for hematuria) and the follow-up group (132 patients followed up for previously diagnosed bladder cancer). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were assessed for atypical cytology alone and in conjunction with NMP-22. Results Of the 275 patients exhibiting atypical urine cytology, cancer was confirmed in 85, yielding a positive predictive value of 30.9% (85/275). Of the 96 patients testing positive for NMP-22, 58 were diagnosed with bladder cancer. The positive predictive value in conjunction with NMP-22 was 60.4% (58/96). The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 68.2% (58/85), 80.0% (152/190), 84.9% (152/179), and 76.2% (210/275), respectively. Testing for NMP-22 in the screening and follow-up groups increased the positive predictive value from 30.0% (43/143) to 64.0% (32/50) and from 31.3% (42/132) to 56.5% (26/46), respectively; there was no significant difference between the screening and follow-up groups (p=0.106). Conclusions When only cases with atypical urine cytology were examined, NMP-22 testing increased the detection rate of bladder cancer regardless of whether the test was used in screening hematuria or in following up patients.


The numismatic industry has been dealing with the problem of counterfeit coins for centuries. With the growth of technology in counterfeiting, untrained users cannot distinguish fake from genuine coins, especially for rare and precious coins. Using coin experts is also very expensive, and even with them, in some cases, detecting counterfeit coin is not guaranteed. Consequently, the demand for a computer-aided system that can detect counterfeit coins and be robust and reliable has increased. This thesis proposes a new fake coin detection method that focuses on image mining approaches instead of extracting only statistical features from the coin image, as suggested by other researchers.
In this research, a novel framework called PrFA is proposed for counterfeit coin detection that shows the effectiveness of image mining techniques. We develop a new image mining system on top of the fuzzy concept that helps us to discover the implicit information from the images in the way closer to the human's viewpoint. The advantage of the fuzzy set concept is that it can deal with uncertain objects, and we take this advantage for the decision-making problem by implementing an associative classifier model.
Our proposed framework is developed in two modules, and the principle of least privilege of it is a compressed system that can be considered as a knowledge attainment tool. In the first module, a method to detect the region of interests (ROIs) is applied that focuses on blob detection. In the second module, image mining is applied to find image patterns present in coin images using fuzzy association rules mining.
Image data are generally high dimensional due to a wide range of resolution levels. According to state of the art, the rule-based association methods demonstrated their efficiency by generating defensible solutions at an acceptable level of accuracy when dealing with small and medium-size samples. Regrettably, to cope with a large amount of data such as the image database, these methods were not robust enough. To tackle the above
iv
challenge, we propose a new algorithm for feature selection to reduce the dimensions of features via analyzing the relationships among different features.
Image classification is imperative to search for more available and appropriate information. In recent years, various methods based on image mining approaches for classification tasks have been explored. Apart from their usefulness, the available classifiers are often vulnerable to low accuracy. Accordingly, we present a pruned based fuzzy associative classifier algorithm to create a robust counterfeit coin detector system. This classifier is a mixture of the association rules method and the fuzzy set concept.
In this research, we preserve the full power of fuzzy association rule mining to reduce the amount of redundant and insignificant rules by focusing on pruning methods. By comparing the achieved results with some other methods obtained from the same dataset, we demonstrate that our framework surpasses in terms of lower feature dimensions, and smoother boundaries while maintaining satisfactory accuracy. Besides that, we show that our proposed classifier is more accurate compared to other associative classifiers.
In this research, the problem with a general form will be described to provide a common framework for issues appearing in other domains.


We examined cross-sectional differences and longitudinal changes in episodic memory performance related to impending death among a group of very old people, aged 90–101 years. Participants were assessed at 3 measurement points across a 6-year interval. Three groups were identified: those who survived the entire follow-up period (n =40), those who died before the first follow-up (n =44), and those who died after the first follow-up (n =14). Participants completed a battery of episodic memory tasks consisting of face recognition, word recognition, word recall, and object recall with selective reminding. Those who survived performed better than those who were going to die in object recall at baseline. A Cox regression analysis, controlling age, revealed that object recall performance was significantly related to subsequent mortality status. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated significant 3-year decline for both face recognition and object recall, but no evidence of differential decline as a function of mortality group. Thus, longitudinal changes in memory preceding death were not as pronounced as the corresponding cross-sectional differences in this very old sample. In general, the results suggest that mortality-related memory deficits are present in extreme old age, although these deficits are relatively small and task-specific.


Background Families' various problems are reflected in the everyday life of children and young people. In order to help them, low-threshold services based on multi-professional collaboration between the various authorities are required. Within the framework of the 'Code of caring' project (www.välittämisenkoodi.fi), a new operational model and communications system will be developed, providing responses to children's and young people's challenging life situations, preventive marginalisation and violence and promoting the safety of children and young people. Methods The impact of the new operational model on aid provision to children and young people aged 12–17 will be studied with the help of a three-phase research process. The first phase (2014) will comprise the gathering of national data on the marginalisation of children and young people. The second phase (2014–2015) will study the current situation as assessed by the various authorities themselves and as experienced both by the children and young people. The third phase (2014–2015) will describe the views and experiences expressed by the various authorities and children and young people of working under the new model. The experiences of children and young people will be studied with the help of thematic interviews as well as queries sent to the actors involved. The data thus gathered will be analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results The results obtained from the first survey indicate that the representatives of the authorities were almost unanimous in believing that common conversations aid in understanding the overall process aimed at helping children and young people. Themes represented in development suggestions included the need for common training, in order to better understand the roles of the different helpers and the goals set for their work. The challenges of multi-professional work most emphasised were lack of time, personnel turnover and communication issues. Research findings on the views of the various actors were supported by the interviews with the children and young people. These interviews were taken into consideration in the development of the model. Research finding obtained from the third research phase will be presented at the Safety 2016 World Conference. Conclusions When attending to the concerns of children and young people, account must be taken of the views expressed by those who need help as well as by those parties that are engaged in collaboration.


With the increasing needs for self-localisation of mobile systems in the areas of mobile robots, virtual reality and augmented reality, more and more emphasis is given to the problem of localisation and orientation in space. Particularly interesting are the solutions that use only visual information. Most of this methods are based on a geometric 3D model gained from special depth sensors or from correspondence estimation and tracking over periods of time. Recent biological evidence however suggests that position and orientation can be estimated from an adequately compressed set of environment snapshots and their relationships. Localisation can be then performed as recognition of the momentary snapshot in terms of the sensor position.

In our work we studied the possibilities of combining such an approach with the technique of compressing a set of panoramic snapshots in the eigenspace. Because of the special characteristics of cylindric panoramic images in means of their changing when the sensor is being rotated, we propose some rotational-invariant representations which allow us to represent a position in space with just one image or its representation. From the results of localisation in eigenspace we can conclude which are the preferred characteristics for a rotational invariant representation of panoramic images. As an alternative option we also test the localisation based on eigenspaces built from panoramic snapshots in multiple orientations.


Management of multi-owned housing (MOH) is often complicated so it is very common that third-party property management agents (PMAs) are engaged in the management process. However, not all the PMAs perform well. This article aims to develop a protocol for evaluating and comparing the performance of PMAs in managing MOH developments in Hong Kong. Based on the literature reviewed, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was developed for the evaluation of PMA performance. The model used a number of input-based and output-based indicators to generate the performance indices for different PMAs. Data were collected through building assessment and structured questionnaire surveys in 37 MOH developments in Hong Kong. The article demonstrates that the DEA-based benchmarking approach can have applications which are beneficial to all stakeholders in the field of property management. Moreover, the research findings imply that staff training or development played an important role in determining the performance of PMA. Even when a PMA was good at building capacity for property management, its service delivery might be not satisfactory if its staff were not well-trained. The study is the first attempt to empirically evaluate and benchmark the performance of PMAs in Hong Kong using the DEA technique.


Solar cells incorporating III-V nanowires have attracted much attention recently to increase the window of spectral absorption of the current photovoltaic technology based on silicon. This work uses a novel template-assisted selective epitaxy (TASE) to grow III-V nanowires on Si by filling a pre-defined hollow SiO2 template. We discuss the developed template fabrication steps and demonstrate the integration of GaAs and InGaP nanowires on Si with well-controlled shape, dimensions and composition. This work demonstrates a new step towards the realization of III-V/Si tandem solar cells.


Let F be a discrete uniform subgroup of a connected simply connected solvable Lie group S. It is shown how S is essentially determined by F, using the point of view of group extensions. Let r be a discrete uniform subgroup of a connected simply connected solvable Lie group S. The main purpose of this work is to study how S is essentially determined by T from the point of view of group extensions. In [5], Mal'cev proved that T determines 5 uniquely if S is nilpotent. However, for a general solvable group, the situation seems less favorable. Nevertheless, L. Auslander (Theorem 2 in [1]) has obtained some results when T is the fundamental group of a nilmanifold, and in the subsequent works of Auslander and Tolimieri ([2], [8], [9]), stronger results were proved by using the notation of semisimple splittings, from which one can obtain the generalization of the result in [1] to arbitrary discrete uniform subgroups T. It is the purpose of this paper to revisit and prove directly this generalization by making use of the theory of group extensions as Auslander originally did in [1]. The author is indebted to the referee for pointing out the above results of Auslander and Tolimieri. 1. Let G and H be topological groups. An extension of G by H is a pair (E, rr) consisting of a topological group E which contains G as a closed normal subgroup and a continuous open homomorphism it of E onto H whose kernel is G. Two extensions (Et, 7r,-) of G by H are said to be equivalent if there exists an isomorphism a : Ex-+E2 of topological groups which leaves elements of G fixed and is such that tt2o=ttx. If (E, it) is an extension of G by H, then this determines a homomorphism Tr°:H—>0(G), where 0(G) denotes the group A(G) of all automorphisms of G modulo the inner automorphism group 1(G) of G. If (Ex, irx) and (E2, tt2) are equivalent, then 77^=712. For any homomorphism <p :H->-0(G), let Ext(G, H, cp) denote the set of all equivalence classes of the extensions (E, it) of G by H Received by the editors July 12, 1971 and, in revised form, November 17, 1971. AMS 1970 subject classifications. Primary 22E15, 22E20, 22E40.


Forty-one advanced seminoma patients with normal biochemical markers and a complete or partial radiographic response after cisplatin-based chemotherapy had a complete reevaluation of all known sites of disease. Twenty-three patients had a residual mass, and in 14 the mass was greater than or equal to 3 cm. Nineteen patients with a residual mass, including 13 with a mass greater than or equal to 3 cm in diameter, had surgical excision or biopsy. Four patients had viable seminoma and one patient had teratoma; all five of these patients had residual masses greater than or equal to 3 cm. Four patients with a residual mass were observed without surgery. One patient with a residual mass greater than or equal to 3 cm progressed with biopsy-proven seminoma. Therefore, six of 14 patients (42%) with a residual mass greater than or equal to 3 cm had viable residual tumor. Eighteen patients had no residual mass after chemotherapy. Ten of these patients had surgery or biopsy; none had viable tumor, but two have relapsed. Eight patients were observed and none have relapsed. Advanced seminoma patients with a residual mass greater than or equal to 3 cm after chemotherapy are at high risk for residual viable tumor. Additional therapy is indicated for these patients. For patients with normal imaging studies or a residual mass less than 3 cm, close observation without surgery is generally possible.


This work purports to analyse the process of the harmonisation of the law of international commercial arbitration with particular reference to the drafting and diffusion of uniform rules. In the first chapter a theoretical framework is developed to investigate the effects of globalisation on law and international relations, introducing the concepts of legitimacy of global governance, epistemic communities and norm diffusion as elaborated in International Relations theory. The second chapter analyses the debate on the harmonisation of international trade law and outlines the main techniques, means and actors of this process, with particular reference to their membership, statutory purposes and most of all the decision-making methods followed in the production of uniform rules. The following chapters analyse the travaux preparatoires of the main harmonisation tools of the law of international commercial arbitration, namely the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, and the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, with a view to assessing their impact on national jurisdictions, national courts and arbitral tribunals. The main findings of this survey are twofold. First, a common decision-making method within the "formulating agencies" in charge of drafting the uniform rules of the law of international commercial arbitration is emerging. Although formally inter-governmental bodies made up of state representatives, these formulating agencies do not follow the traditional decision-making process founded on bargaining and unanimity (or majority) voting, which is typical of international law-
making. Their membership resembles more that of an "epistemic community", i.e. a group of experts who are constantly attempting to reach a consensus rather than a majority or unanimity and whose interests, proposals and positions are not fixed, but are susceptible to being changed whenever a better argument founded on reasonable grounds is put forward. Second, these uniform rules are characterised by a strong level of hybridation, in which the distinction between hard and soft law tends to blur. Accordingly, the increasing level of harmonisation of the law of international commercial arbitration can be read as a process leading to the creation of a hybrid legal order, combining both a state-centric system (organized essentially around the New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the various national arbitration laws) and a multi-centric system made up of a complex network of private contracts, non-national norms elaborated by formulating agencies and international arbitral institutions, as well as customs and general principles of law.
Finally, this work briefly examines the issue of the legitimacy of this hybrid legal order by applying the two different approaches to legitimacy outlined in the first chapter. It is argued that accountability of international commercial arbitration is ensured through the instrument of delegation: the increasing use of soft law and the wide scope of party autonomy in arbitration are indicators that states are delegating to international organisations and non-state actors the task of determining the most appropriate standards for the conduct of arbitration, but at the same time they continue to play an important supportive and supervisory function at various moments in the arbitration process. Moreover, the involvement of a wide range of outside experts and stakeholders not belonging to state bureaucracy in the drafting process of the main formulating agencies is an attempt to strengthen the legitimacy of their harmonisation tools and facilitate their reception in practice. Thirdly, the particular decision-making method followed by these formulating agencies, largely based on consensus and in which the various stakeholders' interests are taken into consideration, allows the adoption of widely acceptable solutions founded on rational arguments and therefore represents an example of legitimate governance in habermasian terms.


This study purposes to evaluate the government efforts in dealing with the dynamics of "selembayung" use through social activities to preserve "selembayung" as the architectural symbol of Riau Malay. The evaluation includes exploring the efforts and social activities as well as how far the result and the continuation are. This research applies qualitative approach in analyzing "selembayung" as the strategy to preserve Riau Malay culture. Based on this approach, the writer conducted rooted interview and observation to each unit of analysis in order to find out accurate data which meet with research's plot. The research finding shows that "selembayung" as Riau Malay architecture, can be preserved if the society support it, but with the dynamism of multi ethnical Riau society, the government gives freedom to modify it as long as it is appropriate with the philosophy values. The culture and architecture experts in Riau can give explanation concerned the concept and the meaning of "selembayung", and refuse the application of "selembayung" inappropriately. It is since going to lose on both sides, either the meaning of "selembayung" itself and the modern building which applicates "selembayung" on it. They also emphasize that "selembayung" is only one small part of a whole Malay buildings which are also various including the shape of Limas house, Lontiok, and Lipat Kajang. The government is expected to be more open and accomodative toward other buildings.


represents the dominant virus subtype. It does not provide sufficient information to resolve transmission events particularly for rapidly spreading viruses. However, changes in the composition of minor variants between hosts and the pattern of minor variants fixation during outbreaks, could provide additional high-resolution data on who is infecting whom. The same data could also potentially inform the extent of within-host virus diversity as well as the proportion of diversity that is transmitted between individuals. We have developed a reproducible semi-automated whole genome variant calling pipeline to explore the role of minority variants in resolving transmission patterns and within host viral evolution. The pipeline is available as modular Bash scripts that run on a Linux cluster environment.


HGR4113 is a novel compound that was discovered by Glaceum Inc. through a Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) study on Glabridin and its derivatives. HGR4113 showed competitive antihyperglycemic effects in db/db mice without any adverse event of obesity. The test consisted of a vehicle control group (db/db mice), a test group (HGR4113 150mg/kg), and two positive control groups (Metformin 300mg/kg and Pioglitazone 75mg/kg). HGR4113 was given orally once daily for 7 days for 8 consecutive weeks (qd×7×8). During the course of this study, HGR4113 exhibited a level of efficacy highly comparable to Pioglitazone, one of the oral antihyperglycemic agents available. More importantly, however, HGR4113 demonstrated weight maintenance effects similar to Metformin in db/db mice, whereas Pioglitazone caused db/db mice to develop significant signs of obesity as a critical adverse effect. In conclusion, our test results suggest HGR4113 as a safe and effective drug for T2DM along with further clinical development. Disclosure K. Kim: None. S. Yoo: Employee; Self; Glaceum. I. Jo: Employee; Self; Glaceum Incoporation. K. Lim: Employee; Self; Glaceum Inc..


BACKGROUND: A considerable amount of money is invested annually in workplaces to promote creative, comfortable and safe work environments. The processes and effects of these investments are however not sufficiently studied. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to examine work environment investment processes and identify organizational critical elements for optimizing investment in terms of occupational health and safety effects for employees. METHODS: Twelve case studies were conducted in different sectors. The data was collected through interviews, by studying available documents, and, in several cases, observations and measurement of hazards by means of the PIMEX-method. RESULTS: The empirical results yielded seven different critical elements for work environment investment processes. The critical elements identified were: identifying the need, risk assessment, involvement of staff, consultation with OHS expertise, procurement and delivery, implementation and training of workers, and evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The critical elements have wide similarities with steps outlined in Swedish Work Environment Management processes, and ideas described in the Plan-Do-Act-Check model. If organizations follow this process, they are provided with improved possibilities for maximizing invested money for a safer working environment.


In this work we have investigated the correlation existing between a short-term genotoxicity test (DNA repair in rat liver cells) and carcinogenicity in rodents. The work is in the framework of a line of thinking that considers as a possibility the utilization of the quantitative component of the information obtained from genotoxicity tests. In a preliminary report for 25 compounds belonging to different chemical classes, a correlation coefficient of 0.36 was found between carcinogenic potency in small rodents and potency in autoradiographic repair. This level of correlation is comparable with similar levels found for many other short-term tests: Ames test, alkaline DNA fragmentation in vivo, DNA adducts in vivo, morphological transformation in vitro and SCE induction in vivo. Obviously, since only 25 compounds were examined, assessment was rather uncertain, and the subdivision of the set into subsets for different chemical classes would have generated groups too small for a meaningful statistical analysis. With a much larger set (80 compounds) we hoped to be able to discriminate different predictivities for different chemical classes. This seems important because the test could be much more suitable for one given class than for another. Previous investigations with different short-term tests have shown that these differences can indeed exist and be very great. In this respect it is potentially very encouraging that the test considered here showed a fair correlation with carcinogenic potency for aromatic amines. Many other tests that we have examined so far have shown little or no predictivity for this important class of chemicals.


The interface between mental health and schools has become a major focus of policy and practice. School attendance is important and impacts a range of outcomes, from academic performance, to children and young people's mental health. In this book, experts from the education and mental health sectors have collaborated to produce a practical guide to mental health and attendance at school that will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners across this inter-disciplinary field. The book covers topics such as the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, terminology and socio-political considerations, school attendance problems in relation to emotional, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders, special educational needs, school factors and influences and attendance of vulnerable children. Its aim is to offer practical advice and key information to practitioners from both clinical and educational sectors so that they can work more effectively to enable children and young people to thrive.


In the period before Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 the founding Six set up agricultural and budgetary policies which worked to Britain's disadvantage and caused friction over a long time. After a lengthy battle to obtain a rebate on contributions to the EU budget, which came to a close with the Fontainebleau Agreement of 1984, the UK contributed to a more liberal, open Europe, especially with regard to the single market and trade and foreign policy. There were sporadic bursts of leadership, as exemplified by Margaret Thatcher's work to complete the single market and Tony Blair's on European security. Britain has been a successful and influential member of the EU, except in a few areas where it has showed reluctance or opted out, most notably treaty change and Economic and Monetary Union. In spite of this, and of the problems that lie ahead in these areas, the balance sheet on both sides is positive.


Megan Beck Américanité and Québécité: The Converging Form of Québec Identity as Illustrated in Une histoire américaine and Le déclin de l'empire américain (Under the direction of Dr. Dominique Fisher) This paper explores the presentations of identity as they relate to the post-referendum Québec society of the 1980s. Specifically, it uses Jacques Godbout's novel Une histoire américaine and Denys Arcand's film, Le déclin de l'empire américain, to underscore the relationship of Québec to North America, and the cultural and geographical influences of the province and the United States in particular. Using américanité as a filter, the two works provide images of québécois society that reflect the province-wide sentiment following the failed nationalist agenda. This paper efforts to relate the competing notions of américanité and québécité through the social constructions of marriage, family, love and relationships as well as the crisis of identity of individual characters, all of which inform the overall presentations of what it meant to be a citizen of Québec in the post-referendum society. iv To the wanderlust and soul searchers everywhere.


A micro electrostatic actuator with three degrees of freedom, which can be applied to a micromanipulator is discussed. This actuator has a flat surface with quad electrodes, all of which can be regulated by voltages. Two types of microactuators made from different processes but consisting of similar structure and function are reported. This actuator has a millimeter order of size, but will be able to be miniaturized to a much smaller size without any changes to the fabrication methodology. A micro-probe made of silicon is attached at the tip of the actuator. The motion of the actuator tested in the static mode is described.<<ETX>>


Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) are non-invasive foodborne diarrhoeal pathogens that are a leading cause of infant death in the developing world. As antibiotic resistance increases amongst pathogens, new treatments are required to reduce infant mortality. Probiotic bacteria could offer a solution, and Lactobacillus reuteri have been shown to alleviate diarrhoea and reduce EPEC colonisation in clinical studies. Here, we utilised mucus and non-mucus producing human intestinal epithelial cell lines as well as human duodenal biopsies to investigate the effects of L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 and ATCC 53608 on EPEC infection, with particular focus on pathogen adherence, host mucin production, and innate immune response.
Short-term protection assays demonstrated that pre-incubation with an excess of L. reuteri inhibited EPEC epithelial binding, independently of secreted products and probiotic epithelial adhesion. Increased pre-incubation times enhancing L. reuteri adhesion reduced EPEC binding to HT-29 cells by ATCC PTA 6475. While this strain did not inhibit EPEC adhesion to LS174T cells, ATCC PTA 6475 significantly reduced cell to cell spread of EPEC, a characteristic which has not previously been described.
In addition to reducing EPEC adherence, incubation with L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 increased MUC2 protein production in LS174T cells. In contrast, EPEC infection reduced MUC2 protein levels and this effect was diminished by co-incubation with ATCC PTA 6475, suggesting that L. reuteri protect against EPEC-mediated MUC2 degradation. L. reuteri also demonstrated anti-inflammatory characteristics, as ATCC PTA 6475 and ATCC 53608 inhibited EPEC-induced interleukin-8 protein expression in HT-29 cells.
Taken together, our findings suggest that L. reuteri protects against EPEC infection by reducing pathogen binding and modulating host mucus production and inflammation. These effects are strain-specific and dependent on the host model system used. Therefore, the probiotic potential of L. reuteri strains needs to be carefully evaluated in relevant systems before application in clinical practice.


A model for solving isothermal solid-solid phase transformations in multicomponent aluminium alloys is presented. A multiphase-field model for the dissolutions of various phases in an aluminium matrix during homogenization is presented. Driving forces for phase transformations are calculated using data obtained from the commercial software JMatPro and an aluminium database. An integrated concept of the multiphase-field model with solute diffusion is used. A onedimensional model for the simultaneous dissolution of the Mg2Si and Si phases in the aluminium matrix of ternary Al-Mg-Si alloys is introduced. An explicit central finite difference numerical scheme is used for the solution of the time transient phase-field equations and the solute diffusion equations.


This is a reply to Caponigro 2019, which argues that the phrase structure theory proposed in Donati and Cecchetto 2011 and Cecchetto and Donati 2015 falls short of accounting for the attested patterns of free relative clauses. Caponigro questions the reliability of the data supporting D&C's hypothesis that ever-relatives introduced by a phrase (ever+NP relatives) should not be assimilated to free relatives. This reply reports the findings of four controlled experiments in English and Italian and discusses five properties that set free relatives apart from full relatives (occurrence with a complementizer, occurrence with a relative pronoun, infinitival use, absolute use, adverbial use). Crucially, ever+NP relatives do not pattern like free relatives in any of these five domains, either in Italian or in English. This clearly shows that ever-relatives are not a counterexample to D&C's phrase structure theory. Another potential counterexample, Romanian free relatives, is also discussed. As for ever+NP relatives, in Italian they are shown to be garden-variety headed relatives, while in English they are headed relatives that involve a D-to-D movement that is responsible for the syntactic formation of the complex determiner what+ever.


Background: Combining various essential oils (EOs) for developing pharmaceutical formulations has been the focus of attention in recent years. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the antioxidant effect of the combination of three Eos obtained from clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.), lemon peel (Citrus limon L.), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) by using mixture design. Methods: The EOs of lemon peel (EOL), clove (EOC), and thyme (EOT) as well as their combination were analyzed using a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The antioxidant activities of the EOs from EOL, EOC, and EOT as well as their combination were measured adopting DPPH assay. The construction and statistical analysis of the experiment were designed using the NemrodW (LPRAI, version 2000) software. Results: EOL, EOC, and EOT were found capable of neutralizing DPPH radical. EOC was distinguished by its strongest antiradical activity with IC50=15.02±0.02 µg/mL. EOT had an IC50=29.20±0.12 µg/mL while EOL had 188.69±0.95 µg/mL. The positive standard BHT was detected to be IC50=24±0.02 µg/ mL. The optimal, combinative mixture of essential oils may have been determined based on these isoresponse curves which allowed fixing the ideal combinations of ingredient in terms of quantity to obtain an EO mixture possessing appreciable and optimal antioxidant characteristics. The predicted antioxidant properties determined by the mixing plan model were retained and the experiments were carried out respecting the contents of proposed ingredients of 25.7% EOT, 32.3% EOL, and 41.9% EOC equivalent to 15.42 mg, 19.38 mg and 25.14 mg, respectively. This resulted in arriving at an essential oil mixture with an experimental IC50=11.023±0.145 µg/mL which was similar to those of the predicted antioxidant properties with an order of 10.907±0.212 µg/mL and a non-significant difference of P<0.05, based on which the validity of the proposed mixing plan model was determined. The combined EO was also found to be rich in eugenol (32.35±1.13%), thymol (25.49±0.03%), and limonene (21.30±0.02%). Conclusion: Statistical planning and the development of utility profiles for mixtures of essential oils may have been used to predict the optimal composition as well as to determine their antioxidant profile.


Abstract. The EMEP MSC-W Eulerian chemical transport model, and its predictions of deposition of acidifying and eutrophying pollutants over Europe, play a key role in the development of emission control strategies for Europe. It is important that this model is tested against observational data. Here we compare the results of the EMEP model with measured data from 160 sites of the European Union/ICP Forest (Level II) monitoring network, for the years 1997 and 2000. This comparison comprises: (a) Precipitation amount, (b) Total deposition of SO2−4 to coniferous and deciduous forests, (c) Wet deposition of SO2−4, NO3− and NH4+ in open field sites, and (d) Concentrations of SO2−4, NO3− and NH4+ in precipitation. Concerning precipitation, the EMEP model and ICP network showed very similar overall levels (within 4% for 1997 and 11% for 2000). The correlation was, however, poor (r2=0.15–0.23). This can be attributed largely to the influence of a few outliers, combined with a small range of rainfall amounts for most points. Correlations between modelled and observed deposition values in this study were rather high (r2 values between 0.4–0.8 for most components and years), with mean values across all sites being within 30%. The EMEP model tends to give somewhat lower values for SO2−4, NO3− and NH4+ wet deposition to ICP, but differences in mean values were within 20% in 1997 and 30% in 2000. Modelled and observed concentrations of SO2−4, NO3− and NH4+ in precipitation are very similar on average (differences of 0–14%), with good correlation between modelled and observed data (r2=0.50–0.78). Differences between the EMEP model and ICP measurements are thought to arise from a mixture of problems with both the observations and model. However, the overall conclusion is that the EMEP model performs rather well in reproducing patterns of S and N deposition to European forests.


This study examines the link between ethanol markets in the United States and Brazil. Vector autoregression is used to explore the relationship between ethanol prices in the United States and Brazil and the primary feed stocks used in production for January 2005 through February 2011. Vector autoregression is also used to explore the relationship between the two ethanol markets and the Brazilian real/United States dollar exchange rate. Causality tests, impulse responses, and forecast error decomposition are used to determine the economic implications. Results indicate the markets are not as closely linked as many have hypothesized.


In this work, high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) method based spray coatings namely Cr3C2-25NiCr and WC-10Co-4Cr have been deposited on AISI304 turbine steels. An attempt has been made to analyze the coatings under accelerated slurry erosion conditions by employing a laboratory-developed slurry erosion testing set-up. The testing has been performed under varied conditions of slurry concentration, impact velocity and impact angle using the Taguchi approach. The microstructure of coating powder, erodent particles and deposited coatings have been studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Erosion tests indicated that HVOF-spray Cr3C2-25NiCr and WC-10Co-4Cr coatings have been deposited on AISI304 steel exhibited significant improvements in the erosion resistance of AISI304 steel. The possible reason for such behaviour could be higher microhardness of HVOF-spray coatings in comparison with AISI304 bare steel. From SEM images of the samples taken prior and post slurry erosion tests, it has been observed that Cr3C2-25NiCr coating exhibited mixed (ductile and brittle) behaviour, though the WC-10Co-4Cr coating mostly demonstrated ductile behavior under conditions for erosion from the slurry. Apart from that, an attempt has been made to develop a functional equation based on the regression approach which could be employed to assess the erosion wear rate under a set of conditions. The predicted erosion wear results under varied conditions are in close relationship to experimental values.


A single nucleotide polymorphism in APOBEC3C (serine to isoleucine in position 188) is present in ~10% of African populations and greatly enhances restriction against HIV-1 and SIV by improving dimerization and DNA processivity of the enzyme. In this study, we demonstrated in culture and in infected patients that HBV could be edited by APOBEC3CS188I. Using next generation sequencing, we demonstrated that APOBEC3CS188I led to an enhanced editing activity in a more specific 5'TpCpA->5'TpTpA context. This constitutes a new hallmark of this enzyme which could be used to determine its impact on HBV or nuclear DNA.


Organizations are showing an increasing interest in incorporating external data into their business intelligence solutions. Such data allows for advanced analytics and enables more comprehensive and inclusive decision-making. However, external data incorporation is relatively unexplored in the literature, and scientifically published details on up-and-running BI solutions are very sparse. In addition, published literature concerning the incorporation of external data into BI solutions is often rather synoptic or rather old (originating from data warehouse related literature). Therefore, the authors present the results of an action case study at a public waste management organization, illustrating detailed aspects of external data incorporation related to the back-end of the solution such as data selection, source characteristics, acquisition technologies and frequencies, and integration approaches. Given that the external origin of the data poses specific problems that must be overcome in order to allow for successful incorporation initiatives, special attention was paid to such problems.


Summary As an analogue of phosphorus, arsenic (As) has a biogeochemical cycle coupled closely with other key elements on the Earth, such as iron, sulfate and phosphate. It has been documented that microbial genes associated with As biotransformation are widely present in As‐rich environments. Nonetheless, their presence in natural environment with low As levels remains unclear. To address this issue, we investigated the abundance levels and diversities of aioA, arrA, arsC and arsM genes in estuarine sediments at low As levels across Southeastern China to uncover biogeographic patterns at a large spatial scale. Unexpectedly, genes involved in As biotransformation were characterized by high abundance and diversity. The functional microbial communities showed a significant decrease in similarity along the geographic distance, with higher turnover rates than taxonomic microbial communities based on the similarities of 16S rRNA genes. Further investigation with niche‐based models showed that deterministic processes played primary roles in shaping both functional and taxonomic microbial communities. Temperature, pH, total nitrogen concentration, carbon/nitrogen ratio and ferric iron concentration rather than As content in these sediments were significantly linked to functional microbial communities, while sediment temperature and pH were linked to taxonomic microbial communities. We proposed several possible mechanisms to explain these results.


Excitability functions were determined by measuring the threshold luminance of a circular test flash (43′, 5 msec) at various temporal intervals before and after the onset of a larger concentric 25-msec conditioning flash. The paired stimuli were presented in maxwellian view to the right eye, either centrally, or 7° or 15° in the nasal field. The conditioning flash was either 57′, 1°50′, 2°43′, or 3°30′ in diameter, and was either scotopic, or one of two photopic luminances. The results show that (1) luminance is the most powerful nontemporal determinant of the increment threshold, (2) as the conditioning diameter increases, test threshold decreases with central or 7° photopic stimuli, but with scotopic peripheral stimuli, the test threshold increases and then decreases. For photopic stimuli at 15°, increasing the CF diameter generally raises the increment threshold. In general, the diameter for maximal increment threshold becomes progressively larger as luminance is decreased or as stimulation occurs farther in the periphery. These results are discussed in terms of the neural organization under different conditions of luminance and retinal position.


: The free radical forms of oxygen resulting from disorders in brain blood supply and accumulated by subsequent reperfusion modify neuron metabolism in two different ways. On the one hand, free oxygen radicals activate the breakdown and destruction of neuronal membranes caused by ischemia and provide the oxidative attack at the key neuronal receptors and enzymes involved in excitation. On the other hand, they can play a role of specific messengers regulating vasodilation and adjusting neurons to the changed conditions of functioning. As a consequence, the antioxidant protection of the brain provided by hydrophobic antioxidants characterized by a lag period appears to be less effective than the protective effect of natural hydrophilic antioxidants having a direct action.


OBJECTIVES: In Ireland, psychosocial care for the person with cancer is recognised in the National Cancer Strategy (2006). However, psychosocial oncology service provision is currently ad hoc and healthcare professionals working in the oncology setting have often received minimal education in psychosocial aspects of cancer care. The Graduate Diploma/MSc in Psycho-oncology aims to provide an international standard third level accredited programme of education in psycho-oncology to help to drive the development of psycho-oncology services in Ireland. METHOD: The pilot with seven students began in October 2009, one day per week. The first year focused on the development of students' knowledge and skills relevant to assessment of distress and pain in patients with cancer, along with appropriate interview and referral skills. Other subjects covered were the science of cancer, communication skills for empathic listening, explaining cancer treatments in lay terms and recruiting patients to clinical trials, as well as research skills for psycho-oncology. RESULTS: Each lecture/workshop was evaluated by students on a weekly basis using the LecTrain evaluation form, comprising a Likert scale and a pre post self evaluation of learning outcomes and qualitative comments. At the end of each semester a more detailed School of Nursing module evaluation form was completed by each student. Students were continuously assessed with both written and practical assignment (video and self assessment of communication and assessment skills; classroom presentation) components. CONCLUSIONS: So far the psycho-oncology programme has been evaluated positively by students, particularly the provision of online Moodle and general support, assessment and CBT workshops, as well as video and classroom practicals. Students' learning outcomes are reflected in the high standard of their assignments. The motivation and enthusiasm of students to transfer psycho-oncology knowledge to the clinical setting will assist their preparation for the research dissertation for the Masters degree in Psycho-oncology next academic year.


Projections of the world's petroleum supply point to acute shortages by the end of this century which could impair air transportation. Syntheti^ fuels will undoubtedly be needed to relieve this shortage. One form of synthesized fuel will be liquid methane, which can be manufactured from any of the hydrocarbon sources such as coal, shale, biomass, and organic waste. Because there are so many potential sources of this fuel, including natural and synthetic sources, it should be considered as a petroleum replacement. In this paper a simple cycle analysis is carried out for a turboprop engine flying at Mach 0.8 and 10,688 meters (35,000 ft.) alti^ude. Cycle performance comparisons are rendered for four cases in which the turbine cooling air is cooled or not cooled by the methane fuel. The a^vantages and disadvantages of involving the fuel in the turbine cooling system are discussed. Methane combustion characteristics are appreciably different from Jet A and will require different combustor designs. Although a number of similar difficult technical problems exist, a highly fuel efficient turboprop engine burning methane appears to be feasible.


Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV) technology, as an energy saving method which can directly generate electricity from the Sun, has attracted an ever-increasing attention with the deepening worldwide energy crisis. However, operating temperature is one of the main concerns that affect the CPV system. Excess cell temperature causes electrical conversion efficiency loss and cell lifespan decrease. Thus, reasonable cooling methods should decrease the operating temperature and balance the flare inhomogeneity. They also need to display high reliability, low power consumption, and convenient installation. This paper presented the architectural, commercial, and industrial usage of CPV system, reviewed the recent research developments of different cooling techniques of CPV systems during last few years, including the spectral beam splitting technology, cogeneration power technology, commonly used and promising cooling techniques, active and passive cooling methods. It also analysed the design considerations of the cooling methods in CPV systems, introduced the classification and basic working principles and provided a thorough compilation of different cooling techniques with their advantages, current research limitations, challenges, and possible further research directions. The aim of this work is to find the research gap and recommend feasible research direction of cooling technologies for CPV systems.


Abstract. Use of a compact, low power commercial lidar onboard a small aircraft for aerosol studies is demonstrated. A Micro Pulse Lidar fitted upside down in a Beech Superking aircraft is used to measure the vertical distribution of aerosols in and around Hyderabad, an urban location in the central India. Two sorties were made, one on 17 February 2004 evening hours and the other on 18 February 2004 morning hours for a total flight duration of four hours. Three different algorithms, proposed by Klett (1985), Stephens et al. (2001) and Palm et al. (2002) for deriving the aerosol extinction coefficient profile from lidar data are studied and is shown that the results obtained from the three methods compare within 2%. The result obtained from the airborne lidar is shown more useful to study the aerosol distribution in the free troposphere than that obtained by using the same lidar from ground. Using standard radiative transfer model the aerosol radiative forcing is calculated and is shown that knowledge on the vertical distribution of aerosols is very important to get more realistic values than using model vertical profiles of aerosols. We show that for the same aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter but for different vertical profiles of aerosol extinction the computed forcing values differ with increasing altitude and improper selection of the vertical profile can even flip the sign of the forcing at tropopause level.


The effect of ethanol on serum cholesterol concentration has been studied in normal male dogs subsisting on diets of low cholesterol content. Daily administration of 1.65 Gm. ethanol/Kg, of body weight produced significant increases of serum cholesterol in dogs when fed either a low-fat diet (4 per cent of fat calories) or a high-fat (40 per cent) diet. The mean cholesterol increase after 2 weeks of ethanol administration was 52 mg./100 ml. (SE, 8.2) for 8 dogs on the low-fat diet, and 75 (SE, 6.6) for 24 dogs on the high-fat (lard) diet. No significant difference was found between the mean increases of serum cholesterol produced by ethanol administration, using either the high-fat diet of saturated fat (lard) or that of unsaturated fat (sunflower oil). Serum cholesterol concentration decreases rapidly after discontinuing the administration of ethanol, reaching the prealcohol levels in 2 to 3 weeks. The higher levels of serum cholesterol are maintained as long as the administration of ethanol continues. Sodium acetate, when given at the same molar quantity as ethanol, failed to produce any change of serum cholesterol concentration in the dog. The effect of ethanol administration on serum cholesterol concentration in man was tested in 2 switchback experiments, comparing the effects of alcohol and those of a supplement of syrup of equal calorie value while the men were eating a normal diet containing 38 per cent of fat calories. When 0.45 Gm. ethanol/ Kg./day were given to 59 normal men for 3 weeks, no significant difference of serum cholesterol concentration was observed between the values on syrup and on alcohol. However, the administration of 1.35 Gm./Kg./ day to 14 men produced a mean increase of serum cholesterol concentration of 18 mg./100 ml. (SE, 5.0) within 1 week. The individual increases of serum cholesterol are correlated with the intrinsic cholesterol levels of the subjects (r = + 0.67, p > 0.01). It is concluded that ethanol increases serum cholesterol concentration in the dog and man. The response in the dog is much greater than that observed in the human subjects.


Context. Oe stars possibly form an extension to higher temperatures of the Be phenomenon, but it is still unclear whether these stars have disks. Aims. X-ray spectra could provide hints for interactions of the star with a putative surrounding disk. Methods. We obtained XMM-Newton observations of two Oe stars, HD 45314 and HD 60848. Spectra and light curves were extracted and analysed. Optical spectra were also obtained to support the X-ray observations. Results. We find that both stars display very different X-ray properties. Whilst HD 60848 has an X-ray spectrum and emission level typical for its spectral type, HD 45314 displays a very hard X-ray emission, dominated by a thermal plasma with kT ∼ 21 keV. Furthermore, HD 45314 displays count rate variations by a factor 2 on timescales of ∼ 103 s and a high log LX Lbol = −6.10 ± 0.03. Conclusions. The X-ray properties of HD 45314 indicate that this star is a new member of the class of γCas analogs, the first one among the original category of Oe stars.


Natural killer (NK) cell activity is severely impaired in untreated patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). In an attempt to investigate whether this impairment is related to a defect at the target cell binding and/or at the post target cell binding level, we evaluated the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HCL patients for their ability to: (1) bind and kill K-562 NK-sensitive targets at the single cell binding level; (2) release the NK cytotoxic factor (NKCF) under different in vitro stimuli, including K-562 and phytohemoagglutinin; and (3) kill K-562 targets in a lectin-dependent cellular cytoxicity (LDCC) assay. This study demonstrates that untreated HCL patients' PBMC show a low ability to form conjugates with K-562 targets at the single cell binding level (5.7% +/- 1.0%) with respect to patients studied after treatment (9.3% +/- 1.3%) and controls (15.0% +/- 4.0%); P less than .05 and P less than .001, respectively. A decreased ability to kill the bound target was demonstrated in untreated cases (1.2% +/- 1.1%) versus patients studied after treatment and controls (12.3% +/- 1.6%, 17.0% +/- 3.1% respectively); P less than .001 in both conditions. After activation of effector cells with interleukin-2 (IL-2) in vitro, an increase in the ability of PBMC to form conjugates with K-562 targets and kill the bound target was demonstrated in each group of patients. Moreover, IL-2 was able to increase the cytotoxicity against NK-sensitive targets in all patients tested. Evaluation of NKCF production showed that untreated patients release low levels of NKCF when PBMC were incubated in the presence of K-562 stimulators (1.8% +/- 0.7%) with respect to patients after interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy (7.6% +/- 2.1%) and controls (12.9% +/- 2.2%); P less than .02 and P less than .001, respectively. When the recognition mechanisms were bypassed by triggering the cells with lectins in an LDCC assay, we demonstrated an increase of the lytic activity in both groups of patients with respect to the baseline values. However, the cytotoxic capacity observed in untreated patients was significantly lower than that observed in subjects after IFN-alpha therapy and controls (P less than .001). These findings suggest that the impaired NK activity observed in patients with HCL is related to defects both at the target and posttarget cell binding levels.


The results of the study of 65 Brucella strains isolated from myomorphous rodents in the Northern Caucasus are presented. The study was made with the aim of finding out additional characteristics for the identification of these strains. Using the main tests recommended by the FAO/WHO Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Brucella, as well as some additional tests, we have revealed that the strains under study are very similar to B. suis. At the same time their capacity for agglutination with anti-melitensis monospecific serum, their high sensitivity to pyronin B, safranine T and gentian violet, their low urease activity and their oxidizing activity in respect to L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-glutamic acid, L-arginine, DL-ornithine, DL-citrullin and L-livin make it possible to consider them the fifth independent biotype of B. suis.


Objective Forced swimming test (FST) in rodents is a widely used behavioural test for screening antidepressants in preclinical research. Translational value of preclinical studies may be improved by appraisal of the quality of experimental design and risk of biases, which remains to be addressed for FST. The present protocol of a systematic review with meta-analysis aims to investigate the quality of preclinical studies employing FST to identify risks of bias in future publications. In addition, this protocol will help to determine the effect sizes (ES) for primary and secondary outcomes according to several aspects of the FST study design. Search strategy, Screening annotation, Data management Publications reporting studies testing different classes of antidepressants in FST will be collected from Medline, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases. A broad list of inclusion criteria will be applied excluding those studies whereby FST is used as a stressor or studies reporting data from co-treatments. For assessing the quality of the included publications, the quality checklist adapted by Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies will be used. If the meta-analysis seems feasible, the ES and the 95% CI will be analysed. The heterogeneity between studies will be assessed by using the χ2statistic with n−1 degrees of freedom. Subgroup meta-analysis (meta-regression, and if necessary, stratified regression) will be performed when possible according to characteristics of study design and study quality to assess their impact on efficacy of the treatments. In addition, funnel plotting, Egger regression, and 'trim and fill' will be used to assess the risk of publication bias. Results of this protocol will help to create rational methodological guidelines for application of FST in rodents and improve the quality and translational value of preclinical research on antidepressant discovery. Reporting A preliminary version of the present protocol has been preregistered with Systematic Review Facility (http://syrf.org.uk/). A preprint version of the current protocol has been registered with Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/9kxm4/). Results will be communicated in scientific meetings and peer-reviewed journals. We plan to conduct an anonymous and online survey within the scientific community to ask researchers about their perception of risk of bias and their experience with the publication of negative results.


Exposure to total particulate matter from urban air pollution (UP) or biomass burning (BP) has been associated with lung impairment. We investigated the time-dependency of lung functional recovery in BALB/c mice exposed to UP or BP particles. During 4 weeks they weekly received 3 nose-only instillations of 15 μL of distilled water (C) or UP or BP (15 μg/15 μL saline). Mice were weighed weekly. 1 (C1, UP1, BP1), 2 (C2, UP2, BP2), 7 (C7, UP7, BP7) or 14 (C14, UP14, BP14) days after the last instillation, pulmonary mechanics, FRC and histology were measured; catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were evaluated in lung homogenates. Body mass gain was similar among the groups. Pulmonary elastance and its viscoelastic component (cmH 2 O/mL), resistive and viscoelastic pressures (cmH 2 O) were higher in UP1 (31.1±1.6, 7.2±0.3, 0.8±0.04; 1.5±0.1, respectively) and BP1 (31.0±0.4, 6.6±0.3, 0.8±0.04, 1.4±0.1) than in C1 (23.5±1.6, 4.3±0.1, 0.6±0.04, 0.8±0.1, respectively). These parameters returned to control values at day 2, except for resistive pressure that normalized at 7 days. Alveolar collapse (%) was larger in UP1 (21.8±5.9) and BP1 (23.2±1.9) than in C1 (1.7±0.3) and returned to baseline at 7 days, while bronchoconstriction index and alveolar and bronchial lesion scores increased in UP1 (2.3±0.2, 3.0±0.3 and 2.3±0.4, respectively) and BP1 (2.3±0.2, 2.8±0.3 and 2.3±0.4, respectively) in relation to C1 (1.5±0.2, 1.0±0.3 and 0.8±0.4, respectively) and normalized in 2 days. No differences were found in FRC and oxidative stress. Thus, a 4-week exposure to UP and BP induced lung impairment that resolved 7 days after the last exposure. Supported by: FAPERJ, CNPq, MCT.


Throughout the world, alum is the most widely used coagulant in drinking water treatment. The waste stream from water treatment is alum-derived water treatment sludge and in most localities large quantities of this material are deposited in waste disposal areas. Reuse of this waste stream in an environmentally sustainable manner is therefore a priority. Research has shown that the material is an effective adsorbent of phosphate from aqueous solutions, but its use as an adsorbent for heavy metals has not been investigated. Our research showed that water treatment sludge was an effective adsorbent for Pb(II), Cr(III) and Cr(VI). Adsorption isotherm data fitted equally well to Freundlich and Langmuir equations and kinetic data correlated well to a pseudosecond-order kinetic model, suggesting that the mechanism involved was chemisorption. Adsorption was pH-dependant with percentage sorption of Pb(II) and Cr(III) increasing greatly with increasing pH and that of Cr(VI) decreasing. Cr(VI) could be removed from sludge surfaces with 0.1 M NaOH. At a concentration of 0.1M, HNO3 was effective at removing adsorbed Cr(III) and Pb(II) from the sludge surfaces and regeneration was successful for eight sorption/removal cycles. Other work showed that water treatment sludge had adsorbent properties for Cu, Zn, Cd, As and Se. It was concluded that water treatment sludge is a suitable material from which to develop a low-cost adsorbent for removal of both heavy metal cations and anions from wastewater streams.


The widespread use of imaging has led to an unprecedented increase in the diagnosis of small renal masses. Incidence rate has increased worldwide and most notable in older population (more than 75 years). There has been an evident revolution in the management of patients with small renal masses. Treatment strategies include active surveillance, partial nephrectomy, radical nephrectomy and focal ablative therapies. Nephron sparing surgery for small renal tumours offers comparable cancer-specific survival and better overall survival when compared to radical nephrectomy. Nevertheless, complications related to extirpative surgery must be taken into consideration. Thermal ablative therapies were developed in an attempt to provide a reproducible treatment option with low risk of complications. Energy based renal ablation therapy offers treatment flexibility, technically less challenging procedure with acceptable oncological outcomes.


Intensive farming may involve the use of diets, environments or management practices that impose physiological and psychological stressors on the animals. In particular, early weaning is nowadays a common practice to increase the productive yield of pig farms. Still, it is considered one of the most critical periods in swine production, where piglet performance can be seriously affected and where they are predisposed to the overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens. Pig producers nowadays face the challenge to overcome this situation in a context of increasing restrictions on the use of antibiotics in animal production. Great efforts are being made to find strategies to help piglets overcome the challenges of early weaning. Among them, a nutritional strategy that has received increasing attention in the last few years is the use of probiotics. It has been extensively documented that probiotics can reduce digestive disorders and improve productive parameters. Still, research in probiotics so far has also been characterized as being inconsistent and with low reproducibility from farm to farm. Scientific literature related to probiotic effects against gastrointestinal pathogens will be critically examined in this review. Moreover, the actual practical approach when using probiotics in these animals, and potential strategies to increase consistency in probiotic effects, will be discussed. Thus, considering the boost in probiotic research observed in recent years, this paper aims to provide a much-needed, in-depth review of the scientific data published to-date. Furthermore, it aims to be useful to swine nutritionists, researchers and the additive industry to critically consider their approach when developing or using probiotic strategies in weaning piglets.


B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) is an antiapoptotic protein known to be important in the regulation of apoptosis in various cell types. However, its role in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis of human lung cells is not well understood. We previously reported that chronic exposure of human lung epithelial cells to the carcinogenic hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) caused malignant transformation and Bcl-2 upregulation; however, the role of Bcl-2 in the transformation is unclear. Using a gene silencing approach, we showed that Bcl-2 plays an important role in the malignant properties of Cr(VI)-transformed cells. Downregulation of Bcl-2 inhibited the invasive and proliferative properties of the cells as well as their colony forming and angiogenic activities, which are upregulated in the transformed cells as compared to control cells. Furthermore, animal studies showed the inhibitory effect of Bcl-2 knockdown on the tumorigenesis of Cr(VI)-transformed cells. The role of Bcl-2 in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis was confirmed by gene silencing experiments using human lung carcinoma NCI-H460 cells. These cells exhibited aggressive malignant phenotypes similar to those of Cr(VI)-transformed cells. Knockdown of Bcl-2 in the H460 cells inhibited malignant and tumorigenic properties of the cells, indicating the general role of Bcl-2 in human lung tumorigenesis. Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) revealed potential effectors of Bcl-2 in tumorigenesis regulation. Additionally, using IPA together with ectopic expression of p53, we show p53 as an upstream regulator of Bcl-2 in Cr(VI)-transformed cells. Together, our results indicate the novel and multifunctional role of Bcl-2 in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis of human lung epithelial cells chronically exposed to Cr(VI).


Context - The main focus of education in most pathology residency and subspecialty pathology fellowships is the light microscopic examination of pathology specimens. Classes with multiheaded scopes are the most popular among pathology trainees. Until recently, it was difficult to us to imagine that this educational approach could change. In the beginning of March 2020 our country faced a serious challenge, which all of us now known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The rules of social distancing and work from home were applied. These types of restrictions were implemented in almost all parts of our life including work and pathology education. Objective - To share our experience in the Department of Hematopathology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center during COVID-19 pandemic. We describe our experience in modifying our approaches to education. We show how we overcame many obstacles to learning by building one of the largest virtual hematopathology educational platforms via Cisco WebEx and using social media, in particular Twitter. These tools facilitated the learning of hematopathology by medical students, pathology trainees, and practicing pathologists from all over the world. Data Sources - During the three months of the pandemic (April, May and June 2020), we evaluated the visitors' attendance to MD Anderson Cancer Center Hematopathology Virtual Educational Platform using data collected by Cisco WebEx website. For examination of the impact of the hematopathology community on Twitter on medical education the analytic metrics obtained from Symplur LLC (www.symplur.com, 04/27/2020) were used via its Symplur Signals program. Conclusions - Our experience using the MD Anderson Hematopathology Virtual Platform showed that there is substantial, global interest and desire for virtual hematopathology education, especially during the pandemic time.


A parallel processor system and its mode of operation are described. A notation for writing programs on it is introduced. Methods for iterative solution of a set of linear equations are then discussed. The well-known algorithms of Jacobi and Gauss–Seidel are parallelized despite the apparent inherent sequentiality of the latter. New, parallel methods for the iterative solution of linear equations are introduced and their convergence is discussed. A measure of speedup is computed for all methods. It shows that in most cases the algorithms developed in the paper may be efficiently executed on a parallel processor system.


Some selected concepts of the solar activity cycle are reviewed. Cycle modulations through a stochastic α effect are being identified with limited scale separation ratios. Threedimensional turbulence simulations with helicity and shear are compared at two different scale separation ratios. In both cases the level of fluctuations shows relatively little variation with the dynamo cycle. Prospects for a shallow origin of sunspots are discussed in terms of the negative effective magnetic pressure instability. Tilt angles of bipolar active regions are discussed as a consequence of shear rather than the Coriolis force.


Dear Editor Dermatological manifestations can be seen in many infectious diseases which can serve as diagnostic clues for such disorders. In dermatology, studying the dermatological manifestations of new emerging infectious diseases can be useful in clinical practice. For example, studying the dermatological manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV)in its early emerging period yielded several useful clinical data that is still helpful in cases infected with HIV. Bird flu (H5N1 influenza virus infection) is a new emerging infectious disease. It has recently been documented in medical literature for only a few years. Our knowledge on the dermatological manifestations of the bird flu is limited. It is an interesting topic to assess and summarize data regarding the dermatological manifestations of the bird flu. The author hereby performed a retrospective study to answer this research question. This brief study was a retrospective research which was done through review of the available literature. In this study, the author reviewed reports concerning human bird flu infection from Thailand available in Index Medicus and Science Citation Index. The author also reviewed published papers in all 256 local Thai journals which are not indexed in international data bases. The reports that contained incomplete data were excluded for further analysis. The focus of attention in each paper was the reported dermatological manifestations due to the bird flu infection. Summarization of all determined findings was performed using the basic descriptive statistical analysis. According to this retrospective study, there were 6 included reports on 12 indexed casesl,5. Based to the literature, there was no dermatological manifestation in the reported cases of human H5N1 infection. The prevalence rate of dermatological manifestations in the bird flu infected cases in this study was equal to 0 %. Naturally, H5N1 virus is a kind of influenza virus. In dermatology, human influenza virus may have some dermatological manifestations6. However, the author found no report or evidence regarding the


This paper proposes a new design and implementation method for a class of multiplier-less 2-channel 1D and 2D non-separable perfect reconstruction (PR) filter banks (FB). It is based on the structure proposed by Phoong et al. and the use of multiplier block (MB). The latter technique allows one to hrther reduce the number of adders in implementing these multiplier-less FB by almost 50%, compared to the conventional method using sum of powers of two coefficients (SOPOT) alone. Furthermore, by generalizing the 1D to 2D transformation of Phoong et al., new 2D PR FBs with quincunx, hourglass, and parallelogram spectral support are obtained. These nonseparable FBs can be cascaded to realize new multiplier-less PR directional FE3 for image processing and motion analysis. Design examples are given to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method.


This study aims to analyze and determine the cost of goods manufactured using the full costing method and the selling price using the cost plus pricing method in the Usaha Kerupuk Ikan Bunda Oca. Full costing is a method of determining production costs consisting of raw material costs, direct labor costs, variable factory overhead costs, and fixed factory overhead costs. Cost plus pricing is a method of determining the selling price of a product by accumulating total cost and desired profit. The method used in this research is descriptive quantitative. Data were collected by direct observation and interviews in the field so that the types of data used were primary data and secondary data obtained from literature reviews. The results show that the basic production costs per kilogram for original and otak-otak fish crackers are approximately Rp23.667,93 and Rp27.596,95 respectively. In addition, the total selling prices including 50% profit per kilogram were estimated to be Rp36.361,17 and Rp42.265,07 for original and otak-otak fish crackers respectively. Our study suggested that the calculation of cost production using full costing method and the selling price using the cost plus pricing method are more effective and accurate compared with conventional methods. This is because the calculation is carried out by considering many cost elements during the production process.Keyword: Cost of Production, Full Costing, Cost Plus Pricing.


BACKGROUND
Patients with deficit schizophrenia differ from nondeficit patients with schizophrenia relative to several neurobiological correlates and relative to the risk factors of family history and season of birth. Exposure to human herpesviruses is a possible risk factor for schizophrenia. We hypothesized that there would be deficit/nondeficit difference in the prevalence of serum antibodies to human herpesviruses.

METHODS
In deficit (N = 88) and nondeficit (N = 235) schizophrenia patients, we measured IgG class antibodies to the 6 known human herpesviruses: herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpes virus 6, and varicella-zoster virus.

RESULTS
Deficit categorization was associated with the presence of serum antibodies to cytomegalovirus (odds ratio = 2.01, p = .006). This association remained significant after covarying for positive psychotic symptoms and demographic features known to be associated with cytomegalovirus seropositivity and after correcting for multiple comparisons. An association between herpes simplex virus type 1 and deficit status was not significant after covarying for potentially confounding variables. No other human herpesvirus was significantly associated with deficit versus nondeficit categorization.

CONCLUSIONS
The association between deficit schizophrenia and cytomegalovirus antibody seropositivity provides further evidence for differences in etiopathophysiology between deficit and nondeficit schizophrenia.


Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR) lead to the integration of production and export decisions of rice. The main objective of the study is to determine the main factors influencing Egypt's rice exports. This model can also be used to study the prospects of Egyptian rice exports. The results of variance decomposition confirm that the most important variables influence the value of Egyptian rice exports is Egyptian export price, and the empirical analysis of Vector Error Correction Model relieves the possibility of improving the competitiveness of Egyptian exports of rice in global markets in the forecast period (2015:2025).


Background Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. Objectives The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. Methods A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three 'underlying causes' of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change, vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Results Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Conclusions Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and policies and actions formulated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Improved multi-sectoral coordination and political will is required to integrate nutrition-sensitive actions into climate-resilient sustainable development efforts in the UNFCCC work and in the post 2015 development agenda. Placing human rights at the center of strategies to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and international solidarity is essential to advance sustainable development and to create a climate for nutrition security.


Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most common knee injuries requiring surgical intervention. Current treatments rely on the use of tendon grafts, harvested from other parts of the knee, and can result in increased pain and instability of the joint, causing osteoarthritis later in life. This thesis explores a tissue engineering approach to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Highly porous, biodegradable polymers have been synthesised and seeded with human cells in order to assess the formation of ligament tissue in a lab environment.


Introduction. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in aluminum reduction cells (see Fig. 1) have been the subject of several studies, since the pioneering work of Urata et al. [1]. The interaction between the electrolysis current in the cell and the background magnetic field due to remote currents gives rise to a strong magnetic force acting on the fluids inside the cell. Different kinds of waves thus appear at the interface between a liquid aluminum layer and an electrolytic bath lying on its top. These disturb the current distribution inside the cell so that certain modes become unstable. It has been shown by means of linear analysis [2, 3] that the longest waves tend to be more unstable, and that resonance may occur between waves propagating along perpendicular horizontal directions and coupled together by the magnetic force. On the other hand, numerical simulations were performed either with industrial codes [4] or a research code using finite elements [5]. These authors mainly focused on obtaining the well-known metal pad roll, a particular instability of which manifests itself as a rotating wave at the aluminum–electrolyte interface. In order to solve the non-stationary magnetohydrodynamic equations in a three-dimensional two-fluid system such as the aluminum reduction cell, we have designed a novel numerical method by combining a level set technique together with a finite volumes discretization. Moreover, our equations are written in terms of the magnetic vector potential, thus ensuring the magnetic field to remain exactly divergence-free. Not only we found, as was done already by [4, 5], that the metal pad roll becomes unstable for some critical value of the background vertical magnetic field but we also simulated a different configuration which resulted in a vertical jet of aluminum. These new results are backed up by a physical explanation of the instability mechanism.


We analyzed the functional fragrant components of three species of Cymbidium oriental orchids using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). For the comparative analysis, C. goeringii 'Minchunran', 'Jugeumhwa', C. forrestii 'Chwigae', 'Songmae', 'Yongja', and C. faberi 'Choemae', 'Namyangmae', 'Hwaja' were investigated. Major fragrant components detected by GC/MS were selected on the basis of more than 3% value according to the analysis of peak area (%). We found that α-bergamotene, which has a cytotoxic effect on breast cancer, cervical cancer, and glioblastoma, and nerolidol, which induces apoptosis of human hepatoma cells (HepG2), inhibits the growth of Streptococcus mutans and babesiosis, and has antibacterial properties, are common substances produced by C. goeringii L. Nerolidol and β-bisabolene, which is cytotoxic and suppresses the growth of malignant melanoma cells (B16-F10), HepG2, and leukemia cells (HL-60, K562), are major substances in C. forrestii R. Furthermore, α-pinene, which inhibits the growth of gliobastoma cells (SF-767) and inhibits the anti-inflammatory action of hepatoma cells (BEL-7402); 1,8-cineole, which is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of gastric ulcers; and 1,3,7-octatriene, which functions as a pheromone, are the most common substances in C. faveri R. Thus, substances identified as major fragrant components in oriental orchid species have multiple beneficial applications in human health. This research forms the basis for further studies of the roles of major fragrant components in oriental orchids.


This paper examines the relationship between board gender diversity and corporate risk taking within 403 US non-financial firms listed on the S&P 500 over the period 2002-2014. In the existing literature the impact of board gender diversity on firm outcome (e.g. risk taking) is still indistinct. It is argued that female directors may differ from male directors with regard to their risk attitude and this, in turn, may influence board's monitoring ability and its decision-making process. However, even after employing numerous robustness tests, I find no significant evidence that an increase in female representation within the board of directors will affect firm risk. It is also exhibited that the relationship is subject to unobserved heterogeneity that leads to biased OLS results. Firms should take this evidence into account during the composition of its board of directors.


The evolution of a Taylor–Green forced magnetohydrodynamic system showing dynamo activity is analyzed via direct numerical simulations. The statistical properties of the velocity and magnetic fields in Eulerian and Lagrangian coordinates are found to change between the kinematic, nonlinear and saturated regime. Fluid element (tracer) trajectories change from chaotic quasi-isotropic (kinematic phase) to mean magnetic field aligned (saturated phase). The probability density functions (PDFs) of the magnetic field change from strongly non-Gaussian in the kinematic to quasi-Gaussian PDFs in the saturated regime so that their flatness give a precise handle on the definition of the limiting points of the three regimes. Also the statistics of the kinetic and magnetic fluctuations along fluid trajectories changes. All this goes along with a dramatic increase of the correlation time of the velocity and magnetic fields experienced by tracers, significantly exceeding one turbulent large-eddy turn-over time. A remarkable consequence is an intermittent scaling regime of the Lagrangian magnetic field structure functions at unusually long time scales.


1. The antitryptic titer of the serum can be increased by subcutaneous injections of serum lipoids (antitrypsin) and of the lipoids from egg yolk. 2. Animals so injected show a relative immunity to acute anaphylactic shock (two minimum lethal doses). 3. Extraction of lipoids contained in antigens increases the toxicity of the antigen when injected into a sensitized animal. 4. Sublethal doses of soap solutions injected simultaneously with the antigen (purified horse serum albumen) prevent anaphylactic shock. 5. The refractory state following anaphylactic shock is related in part to an increase in the antitryptic titer of the serum.


Myosin is the molecular motor in muscle that generates torque and transiently reacts with actin. The mechanical work performed by the motor occurs by successive decrements in the free energy of the myosin-nucleotide system. The seat of these transitions is the globular "head" domain of the myosin molecule (subfragment 1 or S1). A very useful (hitherto empirical) signal of these transitions has been optical, namely, detection of state-dependent changes in absorbance or fluorescence of S1. This effect has now been found to arise in a particular myosin residue (Trp510 in rabbit skeletal muscle), enabling the study of its intimate mechanism. In this work, based on measuring time-dependent signals, we find that the signal change upon nucleotide binding is adequately explained by assuming that nucleotide binding to a remote site causes a transition from a situation in which Trp510 is strongly statically quenched to a situation in which it is weakly statically quenched. The Trp510-static quencher interaction is also responsible, in part, for the changing tryptophan optical density in S1 upon nucleotide binding. Using crystallographically based geometry, calculation of the Trp510 electronic wave function indicates that Tyr503 is the static quencher.


OBJECTIVES
Stress systems may be altered in the long term in preterm infants for multiple reasons, including early exposure to procedural pain in neonatal intensive care. This question has received little attention beyond hospital discharge. Stress responses (cortisol) to visual novelty in preterm infants who were born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; < or =28 weeks), very low gestational age (VLGA; 29-32 weeks), and term were compared at 8 months of age corrected for prematurity (corrected chronological age [CCA]). In addition, among the preterm infants, we evaluated whether cortisol levels at 8 months were related to neonatal exposure to procedural pain and morphine in the neonatal intensive care unit.

METHODS
Seventy-six infants, 54 preterm (< or =32 weeks' GA at birth) and 22 term-born infants who were seen at 8 months CCA composed the study sample, after excluding those with major sensory, motor, or cognitive impairment. Salivary cortisol was measured before (basal) and 20 minutes after introduction of novel toys (post 1) and after developmental assessment (post 2).

RESULTS
Salivary cortisol was significantly higher in ELGA infants at 8 months, compared with the VLGA and term groups before and after introduction of visual novelty. Term-born and VLGA infants showed a slight decrease in cortisol when playing with novel toys, whereas the ELGA group showed higher basal and sustained levels of cortisol. After controlling for early illness severity and duration of supplemental oxygen, higher basal cortisol levels in preterm infants at 8 months' CCA were associated with higher number of neonatal skin-breaking procedures. In contrast, cortisol responses to novelty were predicted equally well by neonatal pain or GA at birth. No relationship between morphine dosing and cortisol response was demonstrated in these infants.

CONCLUSIONS
ELGA preterm infants show a different pattern of cortisol levels before and after positive stimulation of visual novelty than more maturely born, VLGA preterm and term-born infants. Exposure to high numbers of skin-breaking procedures may contribute to "resetting" basal arousal systems in preterm infants.


From the Publisher:
Unlike other books on artificial intelligence which emphasize theory,Artificial Intelligence in the Capital markets is eminently practical. Not only does it describe actual applications,it provides a wealth of information about systems design,software products,and leading consulting firms in the industry. Comprehensive and authoritative,the book covers the entire AI field from the perspective of an existing or prospective user of AI technologies. Some of the applications highlighted in the breakthrough book include: fidelity investments applying neural networks to stock selection; hedge fund manager James O'Sullivan using neural networks to filter information and identify investment opportunities; Lehman Brothers designing an "intelligent infrastructure" for its front office.


Scholars and local planners are increasingly interested in tourism contribution to economic and social development. To this regard, several European cities lead the world rankings on tourist arrivals, and their governments have promoted tourism activity. Mobility is an essential service for tourists visiting large cities, since it is a crucial factor for their comfort. In addition, it facilitates the spread of benefits across the city. The aim of this study is to determine whether city planners respond to this additional urban transport demand pressure by extending supply services. We use an international database of European cities. Our results confirm that tourism intensity is a demand enhancing factor on urban transport. Contrarily, cities do not seem to address this pressure by increasing service supply. This suggests that tourism exerts a positive externality on public transport since it provides additional funding for these services, but it imposes as well external costs on resident users because of congestion given supply constraints.


Oogenesis depends on close interactions between oocytes and granulosa cells. Abnormal signaling between these cell types can result in infertility. However, attempts to manipulate oocyte-granulosa cell interactions have had limited success, likely due to the blood-follicle barrier (BFB), which prevents the penetration of exogenous materials into ovarian follicles. Here, we used adenoviruses (AVs) to manipulate the oocyte-granulosa cell interactions. AVs penetrated the BFB and transduced granulosa cells through ovarian microinjection. Although AVs caused transient inflammation, they did not impair fertility in wild-type mice. Introduction of Kitl-expressing AVs into congenitally infertile KitlSl-t/KitlSl-t mutant mouse ovaries, which contained only primordial follicles because of a lack of Kitl expression, restored fertility through natural mating. The offspring showed no evidence of AV integration and exhibited normal genomic imprinting patterns for imprinted genes. These results demonstrate the usefulness of AVs for manipulating oogenesis and suggest the possibility of gene therapies for human female infertility.


Mineralized bone forms when collagen-containing osteoid accrues hydroxyapatite crystals. This process has two phases: a rapid initiation (primary mineralization), followed by slower accrual of mineral (secondary mineralization) that continues until that portion of bone is renewed by remodelling. Within the bone matrix is an interconnected network of cells termed osteocytes. These cells are derived from bone-forming osteoblasts. Osteoblast differentiation requires expression of ephrinB2, and we were intrigued about why ephrinB2 continues to be expressed in mature osteocytes. To determine its function in osteocytes, we developed an osteocyte-specific ephrinB2 null mouse and found they exhibited a brittle bone phenotype. This was not caused by a change in bone mass, but by an intrinsic defect in the strength of the bone material. Although the initiation of osteoid mineralization occurred at a normal rate, the process of secondary mineralization was accelerated in these mice. The maturing mineralized bone matrix incorporated mineral and carbonate more rapidly than controls, indicating that osteocytic ephrinB2 suppresses mineral accumulation in bone. No known regulators of mineralization were modified in the bone of these mice. However, RNA sequencing showed differential expression of a group of autophagy-associated genes, and increased autophagic flux was confirmed in ephrinB2 knockdown osteocytes. This indicates that the process of secondary mineralization in bone makes use of autophagic machinery in a manner that is limited by ephrinB2 in osteocytes, and that this process may be disrupted in conditions of bone fragility.


Until 1967, s 127 of the Australian Constitution excluded Aboriginal people from being counted constitutionally. This article demonstrates that it was largely practical problems with counting itinerant or even unknown Aboriginal peoples that lay behind this provision. Sir Samuel Griffith, its drafter, did not think it inconsistent even with voting rights for Aboriginal people. At the same time, a few people in the 1890s appreciated the possible symbolic meaning that could be conveyed by s 127 and objected to it on that basis - such principled resistance should not be forgotten. By the 1960s the practical problem dealt with by s 127 had not quite finally disappeared, but was much smaller than it had been in the 1890s; only s 127's symbolic meaning was available to contemporaries. It was therefore rightly repealed, but not before it made one final appearance on the stage of Australian electoral politics as part of the background to the rejection of the 1962 federal redistribution.


Active noise control is a technique to cancel unwanted sound using adjustable secondary sound. In active sound profiling, the target is to obtain a certain sound field or profile and the power over specific frequencies can be altered in a desired way, even by amplifying it. Active sound profiling can be used for increasing the sound quality in a passenger car, for example, by modifying the engine noise inside the car cabin. A fundamental algorithm in active sound profiling is the command-FXLMS (CFXLMS) algorithm, which is an extension of the famous FXLMS algorithm widely used in active noise control. The computational demand of the C-FXLMS algorithm becomes excessive in multiple-channel systems with engine noise components to be controlled using several loudspeakers and microphones. The most time-consuming part of the C-FXLMS algorithm is the filtering of the reference signals. In order to reduce the computational burden, a new way to modify the reference signals in narrowband systems has been developed in this work. Instead of conventional filtering operations, the new method is based on delaying the sinusoidal reference signals and modifying their amplitude. The algorithm should work reliably and maintain stability in all operating points. In this work, an adaptive leakage has been developed for the C-FXLMS algorithm to increase its robustness. The objective is to limit the adaptive filter coefficients at frequencies where the phase shift of the plant is large. Such phase shifts occur at resonances, for example, and the performance of the algorithm is drastically degraded. In this work, the C-FXLMS algorithm has also been combined with the EEFXLMS algorithm so that frequency-independent step sizes can be used. This increases robustness and enables faster tuning of the algorithm. The developed algorithm has been tested in a simulation model and in an experimental active sound profiling system installed in a car. The results prove that the algorithm works with sufficient accuracy. The convergence is fast and stability is maintained in all operating points.