Although pre-swirlers play a determinant role in the transport of air from stationary parts to rotating holes, knowledge about their actual performance is limited. Therefore, this paper aims to relate how the pre-swirler pressure drop affects the performance of different pre-swirlers in terms of discharge coefficient, adiabatic pre-swirl effectiveness, and swirl ratio. The results are extracted from numerical simulations carried out on three different designs, two guide vanes, and a nozzle. When available, the results are compared to experimental data.The guide vanes have shown similar responses to the pressure drop variations. Their discharge coefficients remain relatively insensitive with an average value of 97%. The swirl ratio range from 0.704 to 1.013 and 0.703 to 1.023 respectively for a pressure drop varying from 3 to 7 bars. The adiabatic pre-swirl effectiveness is of 96% and 94%, respectively, under steady state operation.The nozzle design has shown inferior performance as compared to the guide vane designs. Its discharge coefficient remains around 91% and the swirl ratio varies between 0.678 and 1.121 for a pressure drop ranging from 3 to 10 bars. Under steady state operation, the adiabatic pre-swirl effectiveness is 1.22.The influence of through-flows on the aforementioned parameters was also analyzed. It was observed that the through-flow deteriorates the performance of the pre-swirlers, whether in terms of dimensionless pre-swirl effectiveness, or swirl ratio. The discharge coefficient was however not affected.


Software security is increasing in importance, linearly with vulnerabilities caused by software flaws. It is not possible to spend all the project's resources on software security. To spend the resources given to security in an effective way, one should know what is most important to protect. By performing a risk analysis the project know which vulnerabilities they face. A risk analysis will prioritise the vulnerabilities, and when the vulnerabilities are prioritised the project know where they should focus their security measures. In software development, risk is usually defined as probability times consequence of an exposed vulnerability. This Master's Thesis investigate the current state of practice for risk assessment in software project. While doing so, it also investigate the effect risk assessments have on software projects and what is perceived as benefits and drawbacks. During the project a survey were sent out to 200 different organisations, were 21 decided to answer. The survey provided initial data for the current state of practice for risk assessment in software project. At the end of the survey participants could choose to continue to contribute by volunteering to an interview. 8 of the survey participants volunteered to an interview. Results show that 61.9% of the survey participants performed risk assessments for information security in their project. Further, 46.6% reevaluated the risk continuously and the biggest difficulties were lack of time and budget. The interviews resulted in an understanding of the problems organisations face when it come to the risk assessments, such as economical shortcomings. Interviews also showed variation in training of the developers in the projects. Based on the survey results and the interviews I conclude that it is mostly the larger organisations who perform risk assessments, while the smaller do not want to spend resources on it. Interviews show that the effect of the risk assessment go beyond the software and have a positive effect on the mindset of developers and the culture of the organisation, while the biggest drawback is the economical aspect. Most importantly is the ability to solve problems when they occur, and risk assessment is a great tool for the organisation to be prepared.


Three-echelon maintenance support process of warship is a dynamic and complex process. Combining with the advantages of Extendsim and UML, the UML models of warship maintenance support process were built, which including entity collaboration diagram, class diagram and activity diagrams, and a method of transforming UML models into Extendsim models was proposed. Based on these, warship maintenance support simulation software architecture named MVC (Model-View-Controller) was designed and realized. Finally, by the integration and simulation experiment of a three-echelon maintenance support simulation system of warship, the paper made an analysis of the influence factors on the capability of support system, and the simulation results proved that simulation system can simulate accurately the process of warship maintenance support.


Objective To investigate the effect of heat inactivation (56 ℃ for 30 min) of SARS-CoV-2 on the results of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of voriconazole by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) Methods We collected clinical blood samples from voriconazole-treated patients in heparinized tubes and sterilized the surface of the tubes with 75% ethanol The whole blood samples were centrifuged to separate the plasma with or without prior heat inactivation, or only the separated plasma was heat inactivated Heat inactivation of the samples was carried out at 56 ℃ for 30 min followed by protein precipitation with acetonitrile or ethanol The plasma standard and quality control samples were inactivated in an identical manner and tested with LC-MS/MS along with the treated samples Results The optimized method showed a high imprecision (with mean intra- and inter-day imprecisions of 3 59% and 2 81%, respectively) and a high accuracy (mean 97 37%) for detecting voriconazole in the inactivated samples at different concentration levels Sample preparation with acetonitrile or ethanol resulted in a high mean recovery (100 56% or 95 90%) with minimal mean matrix effect (102 85% or 93 62%) The measured voriconazole concentrations in inactivated whole blood, inactivated plasma and the samples without inactivation all showed good linear correlations with correlation coefficients all greater than 0 99 Conclusion Heat inactivation at 56 ℃ for 30 min combined with ethanol sample preparation only has limited effects to affect LC-MS-based voriconazole concentration measurement in whole blood samples collected in heparinized tubes, and can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic


Lignin degradation is of critical importance in biomass utilization of woody plants, because the presence of lignin limits hydrolytic enzyme access to cellulose and hemicellulose. To date, strategies for lignin removal have ranged from treatment with lignin-degrading fungi to genetic manipulations that reduce lignin content or modify monolignol composition. However, reducing lignin content without compromising tree fitness can be difficult. An alternate approach to modify lignin composition by introducing in situ peptide cross-links is reported here. The hypothesis was that introducing in situ peptide cross-links would not change overall lignin content or distribution in the cell wall, yet should render the lignin more susceptible to protease digestion. To test this, a transgene encoding a high tyrosine-content peptide was designed to express in lignifying tissues of hybrid poplar. Relative to wildtypes, the transgenics had no change in total lignin content or overall plant morphology, although the wood in a number of lines had reduced storage modulus. As predicted, a number of transgenic lines were more susceptible to protease digestion than wildtypes, resulting in a higher polysaccharide release from the lignocellulose complexes. Although preliminary, these results suggest that this may be a viable means to facilitate lignin removal and potentially advance the utilization of woody biomass as a biofuel feedstock.


BACKGROUND
 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the upper and lower motor neurons. Currently, only riluzole and edaravone are approved as drugs to treat ALS and new agents with larger effect sizes are warranted. Exploratory analyses in our previous study (study ID #E0302-J081-761) have suggested that high-dose methylcobalamin (E0302) prolonged the overall survival of ALS patients and suppressed ALS progression in patients with a disease duration of less than 12 months.

 OBJECTIVE
 This clinical trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of E0302 for treatment of ALS patients within one year of onset.

 METHODS
 The Japanese early-stage trial of high-dose methylcobalamin for ALS (JETALS) is a prospective, multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized phase III study conducted at 24 tertiary neurology centers and is funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. A total of 128 ALS patients within one year of onset were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive intramuscular injection with E0302 50 mg or placebo twice a week for 16 weeks. The primary endpoint is changes in the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) total score at 16 weeks. If patients wish to receive E0302 50 mg after the double-blind administration period, E0302 will be provided to them until March 2020 during the continuous administration period.

 RESULTS
 This study began in October 2017 and is being conducted at 24 participating institutions in Japan. The study is in progress and the patient enrollment period is scheduled to end in August 2019, with follow-up scheduled to end in March 2020.

 CONCLUSIONS
 This study is being performed to revalidate the efficacy and safety of E0302 in patients with early-stage ALS in the first year of symptom onset. If positive results are obtained, the aim is to apply for E0302 approval as a new drug for the treatment of ALS.

 CLINICALTRIAL
 ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548311; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03548311 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/74Fw3rDzb)

 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR
 PRR1-10.2196/12046


Objective To evaluate if weaning from high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) directly to a non-invasive mode of respiratory support is feasible and results in successful extubation in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. Patients One hundred and eight ELBW infants of 26.2±1.4 weeks of gestational age (GA) directly extubated from HFOV. Interventions All infants were managed with elective HFOV and received surfactant after a recruitment HFOV manoeuvre. Extubation was attempted at mean airways pressure (MAP) ≤6 cm H2O with FiO2 ≤0.25. After extubation, all infants were supported by nasal continuous positive airway pressure (6–8 cm H2O). Main outcome measures Extubation failure (clinical deterioration requiring reintubation) was defined as shorter than 7 days. Results Ninety patients (83%) were successfully extubated and 18 (17%) required reintubation. No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of birth weight, day of life and weight at the time of extubation. Multivariable analysis showed that GA (OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.04, 2.08) and higher MAP prior to surfactant (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.06, 2.15) were associated with successful extubation. Conclusions In ELBW infants, direct extubation from HFOV at MAP ≤6 cm H2O with FiO2 ≤0.25 is feasible. Our extubation success rate (83%) is higher than conventional mechanical ventilation in this very vulnerable class of infants.


Nanoparticles are regarded as promising transfection reagents for effective and safe delivery of nucleic acids into a specific type of cells or tissues providing an alternative manipulation/therapy strategy to viral gene delivery. However, the current process of searching novel delivery materials is limited due to conventional low-throughput and time-consuming multistep synthetic approaches. Additionally, conventional approaches are frequently accompanied with unpredictability and continual optimization refinements, impeding flexible generation of material diversity creating a major obstacle to achieving high transfection performance. Here we have demonstrated a rapid developmental pathway toward highly efficient gene delivery systems by leveraging the powers of a supramolecular synthetic approach and a custom-designed digital microreactor. Using the digital microreactor, broad structural/functional diversity can be programmed into a library of DNA-encapsulated supramolecular nanoparticles (DNA⊂SNPs) by systematically altering the mixing ratios of molecular building blocks and a DNA plasmid. In vitro transfection studies with DNA⊂SNPs library identified the DNA⊂SNPs with the highest gene transfection efficiency, which can be attributed to cooperative effects of structures and surface chemistry of DNA⊂SNPs. We envision such a rapid developmental pathway can be adopted for generating nanoparticle-based vectors for delivery of a variety of loads.


In the last decade, Hybrid Electric Vehicles have spread worldwide in passenger cars applications, for their capability to decrease fuel consumption and emissions. However, in the Medium and Heavy Duty market this technology is not as common, while it could represent a valid solution to increase the overall efficiency of these vehicles. Since Heavy Duty vehicles' lifespan is typically above one million kilometers, and their fuel consumption is much greater than passenger cars' vehicles, mainly because of their considerable mass and their higher aerodynamic coefficient, it is clear how even a slight increase in efficiency could represent a substantial economic advantage throughout the life cycle of the vehicle. The purpose of this Thesis is to explore the possibilities of electrification for medium/heavy duty service vehicles, and to highlight the advantages that this technology can provide, especially in terms of fuel economy and, therefore, carbon dioxide emissions. Two "Through the Road" HEV configurations will be modeled and evaluated, consisting of a standard Internal Combustion Engine mounted on the front axle and powering two axles of the vehicle, and one or two electric motors mounted on the third rear axle. The term "Through the Road" indicates that the connection between the ICE and the electric motors is provided by the constraints imposed by the road, and not by a mechanical transmission, as it often happens in standard Parallel Hybrid Configurations. Regarding the electric axle, two solutions will be discussed: -??Single electric motor coupled with a differential. In this configuration, an electric motor is coupled through conical gears to the differential crown. This configuration requires an electric motor capable of delivering a relatively low torque at higher speeds. -??Two in-wheel electric motors. In this configuration, two electric motors are directly coupled to the wheels, without gear reductions. The motors are two frameless motors capable of delivering high torque at low speed. The two hybrid configurations will be modeled using "TruckSim" software by "Mechanical Simulations", coupled with Matlab-Simulink environment. The two configurations and the standard ICE-only layout will be simulated in different real driving scenarios and the results will be compared in order to highlight the behavior of the systems, especially in terms of fuel consumption advantages. Finally, for both configurations, a feasibility study will be conducted. In this phase, different design approaches for the configurations will be discussed. This step is necessary to evaluate whether the solutions could be engineered without any critical issue, or if they have to be previously discarded because of obvious design difficulties.


[1] The local heat content and formation rate of the cold intermediate layer (CIL) in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence are examined using a combination of new in situ wintertime observations and a three-dimensional numerical model. The field observations consist of five moorings located throughout the gulf over the period of November 2002 to June 2003. The observations demonstrate a substantially deeper surface mixed layer in the central and northeast gulf than in regions downstream of the buoyant surface outflow from the Saint Lawrence Estuary. The mixed-layer depth in the estuary remains shallow (<60 m) throughout winter, with the arrival of a layer of near-freezing waters between 40 and 100 m depth in April. An eddy-permitting ice-ocean model with realistic forcing is used to hindcast the period of observation. The model simulates well the seasonal evolution of mixed-layer depth and CIL heat content. Although the greatest heat losses occur in the northeast, the most significant change in CIL heat content over winter occurs in the Anticosti Trough. The observed renewal of CIL in the estuary in spring is captured by the model. The simulation highlights the role of the northwest gulf, and in particular, the separation of the Gaspe Current, in controlling the exchange of CIL between the estuary and the gulf. In order to isolate the effects of inflow through the Strait of Belle Isle on the CIL heat content, we examine a sensitivity experiment in which the strait is closed. This simulation shows that the inflow has a less important effect on the CIL than was suggested by previous studies.


Risk management in commercial processes is among the most important procedures affecting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their innovativeness and potential contribution to global sustainable development goals (SDGs). The ecosystem of commercial processes is the prerequisite to manage risk faced by SMEs. Commercial risk assessment and management using elements of artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning technologies could be developed and maintained as external services for a group of SMEs allowing to share costs and benefits. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework of commercial risk assessment and management solution based on elements of artificial intelligence. This conceptualization is done on the background of scientific literature, policy documents, and risk management standards. Main building blocks of the framework in terms of commercial risk categories, data sources and workflow phases are presented in the article. Business companies, state policy, and academic research focused recommendations on the further development of the framework and its implementation are elaborated.


The analysis of the authors' observations has proved that the surgery in case of the recurrence of cancer of the rectum and colon is a quite justified method of treatment (the average survival period is about 2.5 years). But according to the authors' data, the operability and late results in the treatment of primary multiple metachronal cancer of the colon are higher than in case of the recurrence of cancer and practically do not differ from the operability and late results in solitary cancer (59.1% of cases survived more than 5 years). The authors have come to the conclusion that in such cases the differential diagnosis is a very important prognostic criterium.


Adipose tissue is the largest organ in the human body and, in excess, contributes to dyslipidemias and the dysregulation of other vascular and metabolic processes. Adipose tissue is heterogeneous, comprised of several cell types based on morphol-ogy, cellular age, and endocrine and paracrine function. Adipose tissue depots are also regional, primarily due to sex differences and genetic variation. Adipose tissue is also characterized as subcutaneous vs. visceral. In addition, fatty deposits exist outside of adipose tissue, such as those surrounding the heart, or as infiltra-tion of skeletal muscle. This review focuses on adipose tissue and its contribution to dyslipidemias. Dyslipidemias are defined as circulating blood lipid levels that are too high or altered. Lipids include both traditional and nontraditional species. Leaving aside traditional definitions, adipose tissue contributes to dyslipidemias in a myriad of ways. To address a small portion of this topic, we reviewed (a) adipose tissue location and cell types, (b) body composition, (c) endocrine adipose, (d) the fat-brain axis, and (e) genetic susceptibility. The influence of these complex aspects of adipose tissue on dyslipidemias and human health, illustrating that, once again, that adipose tissue is a quintessential, multifunctional tissue of the human body, will be summarized.


Against the backdrop of the current hyperconnected and highly virialised postCOVID-19 societies, we, 'pandemic citizens', wherever we are located now, have already become tiny chips inside an algorithmic giant system that nobody understands. Furthermore, over the last decade, the increasing propagation of sensors and data collections machines and data collections machines in the so-called Smart Cities by both the public and the private sector has created democratic challenges around AI, surveillance capitalism, and protecting citizens' digital rights to privacy and ownership. Consequently, the demise of democracy is clearly already one of the biggest policy challenges of our time, and the undermining of citizens' digital rights is part of this issue, particularly when many 'pandemic citizens' will likely be unemployed during the COVID-19 crisis. This book suggests reverting the intertwined mainstream paradigm of the technocratic policy scheme popularised as Smart City. The Smart City paradigm has increasingly been influenced (and even shifted) by the debate regarding urban liberties, digital rights, and cybercontrol by leading us to the consideration that actually the Smart City incarnates a society of techno-political control, which in itself has flourished abundant critique from cybernetic urbanism. To provide a constructive standpoint and acknowledging that since 2018 GDPR may have well contributed to open up a pertinent debate, this book asks whether it is possible to alter existing data governance extractivist models to incentivize further democratic citizenship through data ownership and technological sovereignty. As such, the book highlights citizen's perspective and social accountability in both transitional and experimental frameworks by pointing out the importance of creating platform-based alternative urbanism such as data and platform co-operatives. To examine citizenship is always important but perhaps never more urgent than right now in the fragile post-COVID-19 hyperconnected societies. Amidst the AI-driven algorithmic disruption and surveillance capitalism, this book sheds light on the way citizens take control of the Smart City, and not vice-versa, by revolving around the new book entitled Smart City Citizenship recently published by Elsevier. By following the methodological and conceptual proposal of the book, this review article will introduce nine key ideas including how to (1) deconstruct, (2) unplug, (3) decipher, (4) democratise, (5) replicate, (6) devolve, (7) commonise, (8) protect, and (9) reset Smart City Citizenship. This article is an open access


This paper explores the role of women empowerment and labour on enabling farmers to cross two hurdles: adopt and intensify soil fertility management (SFM), coming after six decades of SFM research that disseminated several technologies. Despite the assertion that productivity gains cannot be realized unless drivers of soil degradation are addressed, SFM usage is low. We collected data from a systematically drawn random sample of 238 farmers, representing 30% of farming households in five villages in Malawi's Rift Valley escarpments and analysed using a double‐hurdle model. Descriptive results show that 90% of the respondents used inorganic fertilizers, 72% planted legumes and 57% applied organic manure. The empirical analysis shows that one percentage point increase in dependency ratio reduces probability to apply organic amendments by 0.4 percentage points and erodes the positive influence of increasing labour on application of inorganic fertilizer. As women become increasingly empowered in decision‐making, there are significant trade‐offs: a percentage point increase in women empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) potentially leads to a one‐third percentage point increase in the area allocated to legumes but reduces the amount of organic manure applied with higher elasticity of two percentage points. Considering the trade‐offs, sustainable intensification could be achieved by harnessing the positive influences while concurrently reducing the negative ones over a decision space. Notably, addressing the negative effect associated with women empowerment on manuring could unlock potentials for integrated SFM as women are already engaged in legume cropping.


The purpose if this master's thesis is to study and develop a new algorithmic framework for Collaborative Filtering to produce recommendations in the top-N recommendation problem. Thus, we propose Lanczos Latent Factor Recommender (LLFR); a novel "big data friendly" collaborative filtering algorithm for top-N recommendation. Using a computationally efficient Lanczos-based procedure, LLFR builds a low dimensional item similarity model, that can be readily exploited to produce personalized ranking vectors over the item space. A number of experiments on real datasets indicate that LLFR outperforms other state-of-the-art top-N recommendation methods from a computational as well as a qualitative perspective. Our experimental results also show that its relative performance gains, compared to competing methods, increase as the data get sparser, as in the Cold Start Problem. More specifically, this is true both when the sparsity is generalized - as in the New Community Problem, a very common problem faced by real recommender systems in their beginning stages, when there is not sufficient number of ratings for the collaborative filtering algorithms to uncover similarities between items or users - and in the very interesting case where the sparsity is localized in a small fraction of the dataset - as in the New Users Problem, where new users are introduced to the system, they have not rated many items and thus, the CF algorithm can not make reliable personalized recommendations yet.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to develop two indices for quantifying common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and respective capabilities (RC) of countries in mitigating climate change. These composite indices can help facilitate fair allocation of GHG emission reduction responsibilities across countries. Indices are formulated by taking into account the economic, environmental, social, and technical indicators of a given country. These indicators are usually highly correlated. An index using these indicators must take this high correlation into account, otherwise it will either over or underestimate the responsibility and the capability of a country. This study takes the correlation between the indicators into account in developing the CBDR and RC indices via the principal components method. However, the novelty of this study arises from measuring and using economic, social, technical, and environmental indicators together in creating the composite indices. The CBDR and RC are constructed for 50 countries that are responsible for at least 81% of global GHG emissions, including OECD countries and emerging economies. The Cluster Analyses are employed to classify the countries according to their CBDR and RC scores. The results suggest revision of current responsibility and capability classifications of the UNFCCC.


The use of open-source microcontroller platforms in building design facilitates new responsive building systems and intelligent facades. Adaptive designs and intelligent spaces are at the forefront of the current architectural and artistic discourse. They engage users in interactive dialogue, allow for public domain authoring, and are critical factors in sustainable designs where buildings monitor their own performance and respond to environmental factors.
 This course explores the intersection of microcontroller-based physical computing with emergent material technologies. The presenters take a step further beyond current electronic paradigm and discuss the impact of smart materials on the electronically dominated world of computing. Smart materials not only complement or replace the need for electrically operated sensors or actuators, but can also eliminate microcontrollers altogether. Since in this arrangement the material itself takes on computational functions, sensing and actuation are processed locally and on an as-needed basis. Material-based computation can be achieved on very small scales (nanoscale) and can be truly embedded and ubiquitous within our built environment. The material response is direct and exhibits an extremely high-resolution.
 At the same time, the software-hardware integration inherent in smart-material computing sets limitations for dynamic readjustment of behavioral properties and functional configurations. In most instances, smart materials are specifically designed to perform a particular function within well-defined trigger conditions. However, these trigger properties are not easily re-configurable once integrated into building assemblies.
 This course will look at various ways in which performative materials can respond in an environment that is controlled by, and interfaced with the digital realm. Participants will be introduced to a range of nanotech-enabled emergent and smart materials that can respond to changes in their environment. They will also learn principles of feedback-based interactions that are essential for the realization of adaptive spaces.


Hybrid carbon membranes were prepared by adopting phenolic resin (PR) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blended polymer as precursor, and zeolite 5A as additives through pyrolysis. Thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and gas permeation technique were used to characterize the precursor and carbon membranes. The results have shown that the thermal stability of hybrid polymeric membranes is enhanced by incorporating with 5A and defect-free hybrid carbon membranes were successfully prepared. The H2 permeability of 2125.40 Barrer and the H2/N2 selectivity of 55.9 are achieved when hybrid carbon membranes were fabricated at 700 oC.


High hydrostatic pressures affect chemical reactions and phase changes of matter, denaturing proteins, solidifying lipids and disrupting biological membranes. The consequences of this in food systems has importance in killing spoilage microbes without the need for heat. Some applications of high pressure treatment to the processing of citrus juices are included herein. Effective pressures for pasteurization of yeasts and yeast ascospores in citrus juice fall in the range of 43,000–72,000 psi. The corresponding Dp (time for 1 log cycle reduction) values for inactivation of ascospores were 10 min at 43,000 psi or 8 sec at 72,000 psi. Pressure treatments of orange and grapefruit juices to by-pass thermal processing for pectinesterase (PE) inactivation were in the range of 72,000–130,000 psi. Dp values for orange PE inactivation at 72,000 and 87,000 psi were 83.3 minutes and 2.4 minutes, respectively. Pressures ≥87,000 psi caused instantaneous inactivation of the heat labile form, but did not inactivate the heat stable form of PE. Heat labile grapefruit PE was also more sensitive than orange to pressure. Orange juice pressurized at 100,000 psi for 1 minute had no cloud loss for >50 days.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME


Classic theory predicts species richness scales as the quarter-power of area, yet species-area relationships (SAR) vary widely depending on habitat, taxa, and scale range. Because power-law SAR are used to predict species loss under habitat loss, and to scale species richness from plots to biomes, insight into the wide variety of observed SAR and the conditions under which power-law behavior should be observed is needed. Here we derive from the maximum entropy principle, a new procedure for upscaling species richness data from small census plots to larger areas, and test empirically, using multiple data sets, the prediction that up to an overall scale displacement, nested SAR lie along a universal curve, with average abundance per species at each scale determining the local slope of the curve. Power-law behaviour only arises in the limit of increasing average abundance, and in that limit, the slope approaches zero, not (1/4). An extrapolation of tree species richness in the Western Ghats to biome scale (60,000 km(2)) using only census data at plot scale ((1/4) ha) is presented to illustrate the potential for applications of our theory.


OBJECTIVE
Involuntary treatment of any psychiatric disorder has always been controversial, especially for eating disorders. Patients with an eating disorder of life-threatening severity frequently refuse hospitalization. In this study, the authors compared individual characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients admitted to an inpatient program for voluntary or involuntary treatment of their eating disorder.

METHOD
This study examined 397 patients admitted to an inpatient treatment program over 7 years. Demographic measures, length of illness, weight history, and treatment response of patients admitted for voluntary treatment and those legally committed for involuntary treatment were compared.

RESULTS
The two groups were similar in age, gender ratio, and marital status, but those legally committed for involuntary treatment had a longer illness duration and significantly more previous hospitalizations. At admission, the patients legally committed for involuntary treatment were lower in weight and required a significantly longer hospitalization to attain a healthy discharge weight. However, there was no statistically significant difference between involuntary and voluntary patients in rate of weight restoration (2.6 versus 2.2 lb/week, respectively). The groups did not differ in history of comorbid substance abuse or clinical depression but did differ significantly on all admission IQ measures. Eating disorder severity, as assessed by the Eating Attitudes Test-26, Eating Disorder Inventory, and MMPI-II, was similar for both patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that a substantial minority of patients with severe eating disorders will not seek treatment unless legally committed to an inpatient program. Despite the involuntary initiation of treatment, the short-term response of the legally committed patients was just as good as the response of the patients admitted for voluntary treatment. Further, the majority of those involuntarily treated later affirmed the necessity of their treatment and showed goodwill toward the treatment process. Only a long-term follow-up study will indicate whether these two populations differ in the enduring nature of their treatment response.


This study investigates which CYP forms are responsible for the conversion of tamoxifen to its putative active metabolite alpha-hydroxytamoxifen and irreversible binding to DNA. We have used eight different baculovirus expressed recombinant human CYP forms and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to show that only CYP3A4 is responsible for the NADPH-dependent alpha-hydroxylation of tamoxifen. Surprisingly, this CYP did not catalyse the formation of 4-hydroxytamoxifen. We demonstrate for the first time, by means of accelerator mass spectrometry, that CYP3A4 also catalysed the activation of [(14)C]tamoxifen to intermediates that irreversibly bind to exogenous DNA. Incubation of [(14)C]tamoxifen (20.6 kBq, 100 micro M) with CYP3A4, in the presence of NADPH for 60 min led to levels of DNA binding of 39.0+/-9.0 adducts/10(8) nucleotides (mean +/- SE, n = 6). While CYP3A4 converted tamoxifen to N-desmethyltamoxifen (38.3 +/- 7.20 pmol/20 min/pmol CYP, n = 4), the polymorphic CYP2D6 showed the highest activity for producing this metabolite (48.6+/-1.52pmol/20 min/pmol CYP). CYP2D6 was also the most active in catalysing 4-hydroxylation of tamoxifen, although an order of magnitude lower level was also detected with CYP2C19. With tamoxifen as substrate, no 3,4-dihydroxytamoxifen could be detected with any CYP form. CYP2B6 did not catalyse the metabolism or the binding of tamoxifen to DNA. It is concluded that CYP3A4 is the only P450 of those tested that converts tamoxifen to alpha-hydroxytamoxifen and the only one that results in appreciable levels of irreversible binding of tamoxifen to DNA.


CDK8/19 inhibitors can convert naïve and memory/effector T cells into Treg cells capable of treating immunological diseases. Pharmacological retraining for T cells Regulatory T (Treg) cells expressing the Foxp3 transcription factor play a critical role in dampening overactive immune responses including autoimmune diseases. Akamatsu et al. screened a library of small molecules and identified a compound that promotes Treg differentiation on the basis of its ability to inhibit the cyclin-dependent kinases CDK8 and CDK19. The Treg-promoting activity of the CDK8/19 inhibitor did not require transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) and reduced disease activity in mouse models of autoimmune diabetes and encephalomyelitis. These findings indicate that CDK8/19 inhibitors are a new class of immunomodulatory drugs capable of generating Treg cells with potential clinical applications in promoting tolerance and squelching autoimmunity. A promising way to restrain hazardous immune responses, such as autoimmune disease and allergy, is to convert disease-mediating T cells into immunosuppressive regulatory T (Treg) cells. Here, we show that chemical inhibition of the cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) and CDK19, or knockdown/knockout of the CDK8 or CDK19 gene, is able to induce Foxp3, a key transcription factor controlling Treg cell function, in antigen-stimulated effector/memory as well as naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. The induction was associated with STAT5 activation, independent of TGF-β action, and not affected by inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, in vivo administration of a newly developed CDK8/19 inhibitor along with antigen immunization generated functionally stable antigen-specific Foxp3+ Treg cells, which effectively suppressed skin contact hypersensitivity and autoimmune disease in animal models. The results indicate that CDK8/19 is physiologically repressing Foxp3 expression in activated conventional T cells and that its pharmacological inhibition enables conversion of antigen-specific effector/memory T cells into Foxp3+ Treg cells for the treatment of various immunological diseases.


A not very recent, but widely documented, event whose echo still resounds, the discovery of artificial radioactivity, might still cause some historians to lose a little sleep. The topic of this article recounts a noble attempt by historians of science to make known to the general public a woman who managed - in a backward country like România Mare -  to ascend the ranks of the university hierarchy and enter the hallowed halls of Academe. We could talk about a Romanian Madame Curie, similar to Lise Meitner (1878-1968), who embodied the same figure for the German world; but Romanian historians add other ideas.Stephanie (Ştefania) Mărăcineanu (1882-1944) - the correct spelling of her name is in brackets - according to some would be nothing less than the discoverer of artificial radioactivity as well as the chemical transmutation of lead into gold and mercury, and of artificial rain. The discovery of induced or artificial radioactivity is universally attributed to the daughter and the son-in-law of Marie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906). Furthermore, Irene Joliot-Curie (1897-1956) and her husband, Frederic Joliot (1900-1958) were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry 1935 for this work. This study is divided into both an historic framing of the real and presumptive discoveries and in an analysis of the original data in light of our current knowledge of physics. An initial historic study, albeit partial, and with the aim of shedding light on the female personalities in the field of radioactivity, has already been done. Other scholars have examined Ştefania Mărăcineanu's work focusing on its social, political, cultural and ideological aspects. But no matter how much scientists try to be objective, they must always struggle between their beliefs and their human prejudices, including all of their habits of thought more or less imposed, and often inadvertently, by the society and the country in which they are formed.  It will therefore be our task to take account of the difficulties hitherto reported, and for that it will be absolutely necessary to exercise judicial restraint.


Quantum chemical studies on functional (bio)molecular assemblies are hampered by two basic problems: (i) The computational effort can be prohibitively large, and (ii) the analysis is complicated by the fact that properties of the entire aggregate are calculated. For the purpose of interpretation, however, it is often desirable to determine the contributions of certain subsystems to the calculated property. An example are theories of energy-transfer following absorption processes in pigment aggregates. Such theories work with effective parameters like site energies of pigments, excitonic coupling parameters, and solvent screening factors. In this talk, recent progress in the description of spectra and response properties of large molecular aggregates based on a subsystem approach to time-dependent density functional response theory will be discussed, which allows for an interpretation in terms of fragment properties. A special focus will be on environmental effects on excitonic coupling parameters in solvated pigment dimers and in protein-pigment complexes


Large wildfires in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California occur when low levels of live and dead fuel moisture coincide with Santa Ana wind events. Declining live fuel moisture may reach a threshold that increases susceptibility to large wildfires. Live fuel moisture and fire history data for the Santa Monica Mountains from 1984 to 2005 were used to determine a potential critical live fuel moisture threshold, below which large fires become much more likely. The ability of live fuel moisture, remote sensing, and precipitation variables to predict the annual timing of 71 and 77% live fuel moisture thresholds was assessed. Spring precipitation, measured through the months of March, April, and May, was found to be strongly correlated with the annual timing of both live fuel moisture thresholds. Large fires in the Santa Monica Mountains only occurred after the 77% threshold was surpassed, although most large fires occurred after the less conservative 71% threshold. Spring precipitation has fluctuated widely over the past 70 years but does not show evidence of long-term trends. Predictive models of live fuel moisture threshold timing may improve planning for large fires in chaparral ecosystems.


Remote Sensing Open Access Journal (RS OAJ) is an international leading journal in the field of remote sensing science and technology. It was first published in the year 2009 and is currently celebrating tenth year of publications. In this research, a bibliometric analysis of RS OAJ was conducted based on 5588 articles published during the 10-year (2009–2018) time-period. The bibliometric analysis includes a comprehensive set of indicators such as dynamics and trends of publications, journal impact factor, total cites, eigenfactor score, normalized eigenfactor, CiteScore, h-index, h-classic publications, most productive countries (or territories) and institutions, co-authorship collaboration about countries (territories), research themes, citation impact of co-occurrences keywords, intellectual structure, and knowledge commutation. We found that publications of RS OAJ presented an exponential growth in the past ten years. From 2010 to 2017 (for which complete years data were available), the h-index of RS OAJ is 67. From 2009–2018, RS OAJ includes publications from 129 countries (or territories) and 3826 institutions. The leading nations contributing articles, based on 2009–2018 data, and listed based on ranking were: China, United States, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Canada, England, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Austria. The leading institutions, also for the same period and listed based on ranking were: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, The university of Maryland, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, China University of Geosciences, United States Geological Survey, German Aerospace Centre, University of Twente, and California Institute of Technology. For the year 2017, RS OAJ had an impressive journal impact factor of 3.4060, a CiteScore of 4.03, eigenfactor score of 0.0342, and normalized eigenfactor score of 3.99. In addition, based on 2009–2018, data co-word analysis determined that "remote sensing", "MODIS", "Landsat", "LiDAR" and "NDVI" are the high-frequency of author keywords co-occurrence in RS OAJ. The main themes of RS OAJ are multi-spectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, LiDAR scanning and forestry remote sensing monitoring, MODIS and LAI data applications, Remote sensing applications and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Through author keywords citation impact analysis, we find the most influential keyword is Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), followed, forestry, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), terrestrial laser scanning, airborne laser scanning, forestry inventory, urban heat island, monitoring, agriculture, and laser scanning. By analyzing the intellectual structure of RS OAJ, we identify the main reference publications and find that the themes are about Random Forests, MODIS vegetation indices and image analysis, etc. RS OAJ ranks first in cited journals and third in citing, this indicates that RS OAJ has the internal knowledge flow. Our results will bring more benefits to scholars, researchers and graduate students, who hopes to get a quick overview of the RS OAJ. And this article will also be the starting point for communication between scholars and practitioners. Finally, this paper proposed a nuanced h-index (nh-index) to measure productivity and intellectual contribution of authors by considering h-index based on whether the one is first, second, third, or nth author. This nuanced approach to determining h-index of authors is powerful indicator of an academician's productivity and intellectual contribution.


This paper addresses the problem of designing the CBR transmission schedule (CTS) for jitter-free media playback. Comparing to the VBR transmission schedule (VTS), CTS is known to have advantages in low overhead and complexity for managing real-time communications. However, media data are usually compressed as VBR streams with noticeable bit-rate variabilities. Conventional CTS approaches usually require large buffer size or workahead to resolve this problem. In this paper, a linear-time CTS algorithm with the minimum system resources is proposed to transmit VBR media for jitter-free playback. Different from the conventional approaches, the obtained CTS is with the ON-OFF switch behavior. As the ATM transport mechanism used in current high-speed networks, it transmits fixed size cells in the ON period and zero cells in the OFF period. In 1993, Sohraby has shown that the general ON-OFF resource has a simple multiplexer queue length distribution function. It is very easy to do the call admission control (CAC) for real-time networks. In this paper, empirical studies to different VBR media streams are explored. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and efficient.


A performance bit rates of more than 6 Gb/s is deemed as a common standard in high-speed interconnect system in conjunction with the recent enhancement of high-speed serial interface (HSSI). In industry, receiver (Rx) jitter tolerance (JTOL) measurement required to characterize the high-speed interconnect. Time required for conventional methods to complete Rx JTOL measurement for low bit error rate (BER) values normally took a week's time depending on the data rate. In addition, a large number of bits is required to be transmitted hence resulting measurement cost as inefficient. This research project implements a method known as Q-factor linear fitting method to reduce the measurement time of the Rx JTOL at low BER by using high BER data. The result shows that the measurement of Rx JTOL using Q-factor linear fitting method using BER 10 data achieved 11x speed-up in comparison to direct measurement of Rx JTOL. The proposed methods of combined different level of BER values and increase more data points of higher BER able to significantly improve the accuracy of the Rx JTOL measurement result. The proposed method is successfully established in the experiment where the results obtained indicated relative error of Rx JTOL using Q-factor linear fitting method of BER 10 data are reduced from 9.47% to 3.31% after combining with the BER 10 data and relative error for Rx JTOL extrapolation measurement using BER 10 10 data at low temperature (-25 ̊C) is reduced from 9.47% to 5.43% by increasing the measurement data point from 20 data points to 30 data points.


Continental red bed sequences are host, on a worldwide scale, to a characteristic style of mineralisation which is dominated by copper, lead, zinc, uranium and vanadium. This study examines the features of sediment-hosted ore deposits in the Permo-Triassic basins of Western Europe, with particular reference to the Cu-Pb-Zn-Ba mineralisation in the Cheshire Basin, northwest England, the Pb-Ba-F deposits of the Inner Moray Firth Basin, northeast Scotland, and the Pb-rich deposits of the Eifel and Oberpfalz regions, West Germany. The deposits occur primarily but not exclusively in fluvial and aeolian sandstones on the margins of deep, avolcanic sedimentary basins containing red beds, evaporites and occasionally hydrocarbons. The host sediments range in age from Permian to Rhaetian and often contain (or can be inferred to have originally contained) organic matter. Textural studies have shown that early diagenetic quartz overgrowths precede the main episode of sulphide deposition. Fluid inclusion and sulphur isotope data have significantly constrained the genetic hypotheses for the mineralisation and a model involving the expulsion of diagenetic fluids and basinal brines up the faulted margins of sedimentary basins is favoured. Consideration of the development of these sedimentary basins suggests that ore emplacement occurred during the tectonic stage of basin evolution or during basin inversion in the Tertiary. ð34S values for barite in the Cheshire Basin range from 13.8% to 19.3% and support the theory that the Upper Triassic evaporites were the principal sulphur source for the mineralisation and provided the means by which mineralising fluids became saline. In contrast, δ34S values for barite in the Inner Moray Firth Basin (mean δ34S = + 29%) are not consistent with simple derivation of sulphur from the evaporite horizons in the basin and it is likely that sulphur-rich Jurassic shales supplied the sulphur for the mineralisation at Elgin. Possible sources of sulphur for the mineralisation in West Germany include hydrothermal vein sulphides in the underlying Devonian sediments and evaporites in the overlying Muschelkalk. Textural studies of the deeply buried sandstones in the Cheshire Basin reveal widespread dissolution and replacement of detrital phases and support the theory that red bed diagenetic processes are responsible for the release of metals into pore fluids. The ore solutions are envisaged as being warm (60-150%C), saline (9-22 wt % equiv NaCl) fluids in which metals were transported as chloride complexes. The distribution of δ34S values for sulphides in the Cheshire Basin (-1.8% to + 16%), the Moray Firth Basin (-4.8% to + 27%) and the German Permo-Triassic Basins (-22.2% to -12.2%) preclude a magmatic source for the sulphides and support the contention that sulphide precipitation is thought to result principally from sulphate reduction processes, although a decrease in temperature of the ore fluid or reaction with carbonates may also be important. Methane is invoked as the principal reducing agent in the Cheshire Basin, whilst terrestrial organic debris and bacterial reduction processes are thought to have played a major part in the genesis of the German ore deposits.


There is a lack of research documenting the weight-making practices of mixed-martial-arts (MMA) competitors. The purpose of the investigation was to quantify the magnitude and identify the methods of rapid weight loss (RWL) and rapid weight gain (RWG) in MMA athletes preparing for competition. Seven athletes (mean ± SD, age 24.6 ± 3.5 yrs, body mass 69.9 ± 5.7 kg, competitive experience 3.1 ± 2.2 yrs) participated in a repeated-measures design. Measures of dietary intake, urinary hydration status, and body mass were recorded in the week preceding competition. Body mass decreased significantly (p < .0005) from baseline by 5.6 ± 1.4 kg (8 ± 1.8%). During the RWG period (32 ± 1 hr) body mass increased significantly (p < .001) by 7.4 ± 2.8 kg (11.7 ± 4.7%), exceeding RWL. Mean energy and carbohydrate intake were 3176 ± 482 kcal・day-1 and 471 ± 124 g・day-1, respectively. At the official weigh-in 57% of athletes were dehydrated (1033 ± 19 mOsmol・kg-1) and the remaining 43% were severely dehydrated (1267 ± 47 mOsmol・kg-1). Athletes reported using harmful dehydration-based RWL strategies, including sauna (43%) and training in plastic suits (43%). Results demonstrated RWG greater than RWL, this is a novel finding and may be attributable to the 32 hr duration from weigh-in till competition. The observed magnitude of RWL and strategies used are comparable to those which have previously resulted in fatalities. Rule changes which make RWL impractical should be implemented with immediate effect to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of competitors.


The aims of this paper are to debate and raise awareness about the use of systematic, interconnected approaches for biodiversity collection curation by exploring the multi-disciplinary relevance of quality management tools developed by clinical biobanks. An appraisal of their best practices indicated the need for improved sample and process chain annotation as a significant number of historical collections used in medical research were of inadequate quality. This stimulated the creation of a new discipline, biospecimen science to develop quality management tools for clinical biobanks, two of which, Biospecimen Reporting for Improved Study Quality (BRISQ) and the Standard PRE-analytical Code (SPREC) report critical information about samples and process chain variables. Unprecedented advances in molecular-genetic and in silico technologies applied across the tree of life require international conservation networks to generate and share knowledge. This is used in biodiversity and systematics research, and to address the accelerating loss of species, including the sustainable use of bioresources. This review investigates the application of BRISQ and SPREC for biodiversity research and conservation using natural history, museum and living culture collections as case studies. The distinction between preservation and conservation is discussed with regard to process and storage treatments and how they impact on the usability of biospecimens and cultures. We conclude: (i) more rigorous approaches are needed for the quality management of biospecimens, bioresources and their associated sample and processing data to assure their fitness-for-purpose; and (ii) biospecimen science tools developed by clinical biobanks can be adapted to future-proof the quality of biodiversity collections and the reliability of molecular data generated from their use.


Medical technology broadly defined to include all aspects of the process of treating disease (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and surgical procedures) is profoundly important for individual health and, consequently, also for general welfare. Advances in medical technology convey the prospect of both improved population health and increased general welfare. However, because of the extensive regulation of the markets for healthcare goods and services, the development and application of medical technologies differs fundamentally from non-medical technological advances. In this volume of the "Advances in Health Economics and Health Services Research" series we present several papers that provide theoretical and empirical evidence about the market for medical technology.


between the two heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle, and bulging of the medial ligament: in some otherwise normal elbows diminution of capacity in the flexed-elbow position is such as to cause transitory "sleep palsy."''-3 The cubital tunnel syndrome may usefully be classified as follows3: physiological ("sleep palsy"), acute and subacute (the cubital tunnel external compression syndrome), and chronic, which may in turn be divided into space-occupying lesions and tardy ulnar palsy associated with cubitus valgus following injury to the capitular epiphysis (the sequence of events being damage to the trochlearcapitular ossific link, lateral shift of the ulna, and approximation of the arcuate ligament to the floor of the tunnel). From my experience, I cannot agree that one-third of cases of the cubital tunnel syndrome are of unknown aetiology: I respectfully suggest that many of these cases may be due to external compression. Cases of the subacute form of the cubital tunnel external compression syndrome are not uncommonly seen in hospital practice'-'; all those concerned with caring for patients in the operating theatre and in the ward need to be aware of the syndrome, and external pressure over the cubital tunnel should be avoided. In those cases of the cubital tunnel syndrome requiring surgery, the usual choice is between simple division of the arcuate ligament, which is then sewn together deep to the ulnar nerve, and anterior transposition. However, the latter procedure is mandatory for the dislocating, hypermobile nerve that is the subject of neuropathy. The elbow flexioni test, which I have described,3 is a useful clinical sign for the cubital tunnel syndrome, particularly where the differential diagnosis is confusing: the elbow is kept fully flexed for five minutes and the test is positive when there is initiation or aggravation of numbness or paraesthesiae, or both, in the ulnar nerve distribution. As explained, there is tautening of the arcuate ligament, bulging of the medial ligament, and consequent intraneural hypertension. THOMAS G WADSWORTH


The contribution provides partial results of the research focused on organic food, a product from organic farming. The total area of ecologically farmed areas in the Czech Republic permanently increases, however the offer of organic food is insufficient, in particular in view of their structure. Deficiency in organic food is being solved by imports. Distributors play an important role in the organic food market. In the Czech Republic the largest share from them is occupied by retail chains. Their share continues to grow to the detriment of other sales channels. One of the main factors affecting consumers' interest in organic food is its price. The comparison of organic food prices and prices of conventional food in the selected retail chains, Globus Czech Republic, limited partnership, SPAR Czech business company Pte., Tesco Stores CZ JSC, AHOLD Czech Republic JSC, BILLA Pte., and in organic food and healthy nutrition stores showed significantly higher prices. The smallest difference in prices can be monitored in the milk and milk products. On the contrary, the largest difference is in fruits, vegetables, eggs and jams. However, the consumers' awareness of organic food quality is at the same time increasing and the consumers are willing to pay for them a higher price.


The Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is part of the Inner Detector. It is designed as a robust and powerful gaseous detector that provides tracking through individual drift-tubes (straws) as well as particle identification via transition radiation (TR) detection. The straw tubes are operated with Xe-CO2-O2 70/27/3, a gas that combines the advantages of efficient TR absorption, a short electron drift time and minimum ageing effects. The modules of the barrel part of the TRT were built in the United States while the end-cap wheels are assembled at two Russian institutes. Acceptance tests of barrel modules and end-cap wheels are performed at CERN before assembly and integration with the Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) and the Pixel Detector. This thesis first describes simulations the TRT straw tube. The argon-based acceptance gas mixture as well as two xenon-based operating gases are examined for its properties. Drift velocities and Townsend coefficients are computed with the help of the program Magboltz and used to study electron drift and multiplication in the straw using the software Garfield. The inclusion of Penning transfers in the avalanche process leads to remarkable agreements with experimental data. A high level of cleanliness in the TRT's acceptance test gas system is indispensable. To monitor gas purity, a small straw tube detector has been constructed and extensively used to study the ageing behaviour of the straw tube in Ar-CO2. A variety of ageing tests are presented and discussed. Acceptance tests for the TRT survey dimensions, wire tension, gas-tightness, high-voltage stability and gas gain uniformity along each individual straw. The thesis gives details on acceptance criteria and measurement methods in the case of the end-cap wheels. Special focus is put on wire tension and straw straightness. The effect of geometrically deformed straws on gas gain and energy resolution is examined in an experimental setup and compared to simulation studies. An overview of the most important results from the endcap wheels tested up to this point is presented.


Interactive image segmentation is a process that extracts a foreground object from an image based on limited user input. In this paper, we propose a novel interactive image segmentation algorithm named Perfect Snapping which is inspired by the presented method named Lazy Snapping technique. In the algorithm, the mean shift algorithm with a boundary confidence prior is introduced to efficiently pre-segment the original image into homogeneous regions (super-pixels) with precise boundary. Secondly, Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering algorithm is used to describe and to model the super-pixels. Finally, a Monte Carlo based Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm is used to perform parametric learning of mixture model for priori knowledge. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm can achieve higher segmentation quality with higher efficiency.


Patients with advanced illness such as advanced stage cancer presenting with the need for possible surgical intervention can be some of the most challenging cases for a surgeon. Often there are multiple factors influencing the decisions made. For patients they are facing not just the effects of the disease on their body, but the stark realization that the disease will also limit their life. Not only are these factors a consideration when patients are making decisions, but also the desire to make the decision that is best for themselves, the autonomous decision. Also included in this process for the patient facing the possible need for an intervention is the surgeon. While patient autonomy remains one of the main principles within medicine, guiding treatment decisions, there is also the surgeon's autonomy to be considered. Surgeons determine if there is even a possible intervention to be offered to patients, a decision making process that respects surgeons' autonomous choices and includes elements of paternalism as surgeons utilize their expertise to make decisions. Included in the treatment decisions that are made and the care of the patient is the impact patients' outcomes have on the surgeon, the inherent drive to be the best for the patient and desire for good outcomes for the patient. While both the patient's and surgeon's autonomy are a dynamic interface influencing decision making, the main goal for the patient facing a palliative procedure is that of making treatment decisions based on the concept of shared decision making, always giving primary consideration to the patient's goals and values. Lastly, regardless of the decision made, it is the responsibility of surgeons to their patients to be a source of support through this challenging time.


Abstract:  Forest ecosystems in the western United States evolved over many millennia in response to disturbances such as wildfires. Land use and management practices have altered these ecosystems, however, including fire regimes in some areas. Forest ecosystems are especially vulnerable to postfire management practices because such practices may influence forest dynamics and aquatic systems for decades to centuries. Thus, there is an increasing need to evaluate the effect of postfire treatments from the perspective of ecosystem recovery. We examined, via the published literature and our collective experience, the ecological effects of some common postfire treatments. Based on this examination, promising postfire restoration measures include retention of large trees, rehabilitation of firelines and roads, and, in some cases, planting of native species. The following practices are generally inconsistent with efforts to restore ecosystem functions after fire: seeding exotic species, livestock grazing, placement of physical structures in and near stream channels, ground‐based postfire logging, removal of large trees, and road construction. Practices that adversely affect soil integrity, persistence or recovery of native species, riparian functions, or water quality generally impede ecological recovery after fire. Although research provides a basis for evaluating the efficacy of postfire treatments, there is a continuing need to increase our understanding of the effects of such treatments within the context of societal and ecological goals for forested public lands of the western United States.


Yeasts are the mainstay in ethanol production industry. Search for efficient yeast strains that are salt tolerant and utilize both hexoses (glucose) and pentoses (xylose and arabinose) is important in fermentation industry. In this regard,12 yeast strains, viz., CDBT1-12, were isolated from various sources and characterized. Molecular characterization of the yeast strains was done by sequencing 26S rRNA gene, D1D2 region. Out of 12 isolates, 10 were found to be Saccharomyces cerevisiae , CDBT7 was Wikerhamomyces anomalous , and CDBT8 was Cyberlindnera fabianii . The yeast isolates were characterized in terms of their ethanol production efficiency, salt tolerance and ability to utilize of glucose and xylose. All the strains were found to be good ethanol producers. Yeast strain CDBT2 was found to have tolerance for high salt (up to 15%) and ethanol (up to 16%) concentrations. Yeast strain CDBT7 was found to utilize both glucose and xylose without compromising on ethanol production efficiency. The CDBT7 strain was also salt tolerant (up to15%).Yeast strain CDBT2 when grown in an electrochemical cell with low levels of applied external voltage, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC1) mRNA levels were increased by 2.78 ± 0.80 and 1.12 ± 0.37 fold, respectively. We believe, the latter observation is novel and it has not been reported previously. It also further supports our previous observation of increase in level of alcohol production by CDBT2 strain in the presence of applied electrical current.


BACKGROUND
Many people living with chronic stroke are not involved in any form of ongoing rehabilitation, despite having ongoing impairments and limitations in activity and participation. The approach to structuring practice of functional tasks, as part of ongoing rehabilitation, can incorporate diverse techniques. Current texts advocate that physiotherapists construct stroke rehabilitation programmes that incorporate Motor Learning principles, however the evidence to support this is limited. No evidence related to stroke exists as to whether functional tasks should be practised in their entirety (whole practice) or in component parts (part practice). The primary aim of the work reported in this thesis was to investigate the effects of a home exercise programme based on Motor Learning principles of part practice (PP) or whole practice (WP) of selected functional tasks for people at least six months after a stroke.
METHODOLOGY
A single blind, randomised controlled trial was undertaken, with participants allocated to either a part practice experimental group (PP), a whole practice experimental group (WP) or a control (Con) group. Both experimental groups followed a four week exercise intervention programme of functional tasks based on PP or WP. Outcome measures were undertaken at baseline, at the end of a four week intervention (wk 4), at short-term follow-up (wk 4.5) and at long-term follow-up (wk 16). Outcome measures utilised were the Barthel Index (BI), Motor Assessment Scale (MAS), Timed Up and Go over 2 metres (TUG2m), Step Test, Frenchay Arm Test (FAT), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Frenchay Activities Index (FAI)and the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS). Differences between the groups at each measurement point were examined using a Kruskal Wallis test. Differences within each group over time were analysed using a Friedman's Anova, followed up by a Wilcoxon's Signed Ranks test using a Bonferroni correction where a significant difference was found.
RESULTS
Sixty four people with late-stage stroke were recruited and provided informed consent. Data were available for analysis for 60 participants (median time since stroke 21 months). No statistically significant differences were found between the three groups at any point for any of the dependent outcome variables. A number of statistically significant within group changes were found in all groups. Most statistically significant changes were demonstrated by PP including on the BI from baseline to wk 4.5; on the MAS from baseline to weeks 4, 4.5 and 16; on the Step Test from baseline to weeks 4, 4.5 and 16 and on the FAT from baseline to week 4. On more global measures the PP group reported statistically significant improvements on the SIS in the domains of strength, mood and mobility from baseline to wk 4; and in the SIS participation domain from baseline to wk 16; as well as a statistically significant within group improvements on FAI from baseline to wk 4.
CONCLUSIONS
People with late-stage stroke demonstrated capacity for improvements in a number of measures of impairment, activity, participation and mood. The PP group demonstrated improvements, over time, in more of the outcome measures relating to physical ability than either WP or Con groups. Implications for clinical practice and further research are discussed.


The antibiotic ciprofloxacin [systematic name: 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-4-oxo-7-(piperazin-4-ium-1-yl)-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylate], has been crystallized as a 2:3 solvate with 2,2-difluoroethanol, 2C(17)H(18)FN(3)O(3)·3C(2)H(4)O(2), (I), and as a 3:14.5 hydrate, 3C(17)H(18)FN(3)O(3)·14.5H(2)O, (II). The structure of (I) was determined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and refined as a two-component nonmerohedral twin. Both structures contain several independent molecules in the asymmetric unit: (I) contains two zwitterionic ciprofloxacin molecules and three difluoroethanol solvent molecules, while (II) contains three zwitterionic ciprofloxacin molecules and a mixture of ordered and disordered water molecules. The intermolecular interactions were analysed using fingerprint plots derived from Hirshfeld surfaces, providing a detailed description of the unique environment of each independent ciprofloxacin molecule.


Restriction enzyme and Southern gel analyses were used to determine the number and location of endogenous ecotropic retroviruses in the germ line of several mouse strains congenic at the Fv-2 gene locus. A new endogenous ecotropic provirus was observed in the germ line of B6.S (Fv-2ss) mice, in addition to the resident provirus found in its congenic partner C57BL/6 (Fv-2rr). This new provirus was similar in structure to the C57BL provirus. The SIM strain of mice, the donors of the Fv-2s allele in B6.S mice, does not contain ecotropic proviruses, suggesting that the new provirus in the B6.S mouse strain arose by germ-line reintegration during the construction of this strain. Mendelian segregation analysis indicated that this new provirus was linked to the Fv-2 gene locus on chromosome 9. In three other Fv-2s congenic mouse strains--B10.C (47N), B6.C (H-7b), and C57BL/6J Trfa, Bgsd--no additional ecotropic endogenous viruses were detected, suggesting that the reinsertion event that occurred during the construction of B6.S is not essential for the acquisition of the Fv-2s phenotype in the C57BL genetic background. Although numerous reports of germ-line reinsertions of ecotropic virus in high-virus mouse strains have been received, the present results provide definitive evidence that similar germ-line amplifications of endogenous ecotropic virus can occur in a low-virus mouse strain.


We propose a general method to maximize the polarimetric contrast between an object and its background using a predetermined illumination polarization state. After a first estimation of the polarimetric properties of the scene by classical Mueller imaging, we evaluate the incident polarized field that induces scattered polarization states by the object and background, as opposite as possible on the Poincar e sphere. With a detection method optimized for a 2-channel imaging system, Monte Carlo simulations of low flux coherent imaging are performed with various objects and backgrounds having different properties of retardance, dichroism and depolarization. With respect to classical Mueller imaging, possibly associated to the polar decomposition, our results show a noticeable increase in the Bhattacharyya distance used as our contrast parameter.


In a major disaster such as wildfire or earthquake, large numbers of buildings will be damaged. One central theme of the research is the reality of building deconstruction as a green approach for post-disaster waste management and recovery. As a green approach to demolition, the deconstruction of a building is applied by disassembling building structures and segregating the materials for reuse or recycling with the goal of increasing the amount of components to be reused or materials to be recycled and minimizing the amount of materials going to landfills. This study of post-disaster building deconstruction begins with background and implication of building deconstruction and research questions. Chapter two is a review of scholarly and non-scholarly literature and the current practices in the deconstruction field to provide a snapshot of the emerging industry. With the research question of whether the governments of USA, PR China, and Japan are different in initiating and leading related areas under their unique political systems and political cultures, Chapter three discussed the most representative cases in each country, followed by the analysis of important factors such as political system, funding issue, and insurance systems, etc.. The green deconstruction best practice recommendations are made in Chapter four, including planning issues, techniques, and job creation. Summary and conclusions are drawn in Chapter five.


In the past two decades there has been a considerable amount of research conducted into the international price and trade effects of government intervention in the dairy industries of several countries. Recently, the conclusions of those studies have been questioned owing to the rising concentration in the processor sector. Since processors are increasingly multinational in nature and a few of them are operating around the globe, there is a possibility that the processors will influence both the farm and retail prices through their having market power.


ABSTRACT Previous studies have evidenced cognitive difficulties across various domains in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) children, but the implicit memory system has not yet been systematically explored. Taking into account that the interplay between memory and perception may be modulated by the semantic category of the stimuli and their salience, we explored explicit and implicit memory using both object and food stimuli to verify whether for T1DM children there is a feebleness in performing the function of memory as a function of the stimuli used. Eighteen T1DM children and 47 healthy children performed an explicit recognition task in which they were requested to judge whether the presented image had already been shown ("old") or not ("new") and an identification priming task in which they were asked to name new and old pictures presented at nine ascending levels of spatial filtering. Results did not reveal any differences between controls and T1DM children in the explicit memory recognition task, whereas some differences between the two groups were found in the identification priming task. In T1DM children, the priming effect was observed only for food images. The dissociation between implicit and explicit memory observed in children with diabetes seems to be modulated by the category of the stimuli, and these results underscore the relevance of taking into account this variable when exploring cognitive functions.


This report discusses the challenges and costs involved in meeting the future needs for family planning in developing countries. Estimates of current expenditures for family planning go as high as $4.5 billion. According to a UNFPA report, developing country governments contribute 75% of the payments for family planning, with donor agencies contributing 15%, and users paying for 10%. Although current expenditures cover the needs of about 315 million couples of reproductive age in developing countries, this number of couples accounts for only 44% of all married women of reproductive age. Meeting all current contraceptive needs would require an additional $1 to $1.4 billion. By the year 2000, as many as 600 million couples could require family planning, costing as much as $11 billion a year. While the brunt of the responsibility for covering these costs will remain in the hand of governments and donor agencies (governments spend only 0.4% of their total budget on family planning and only 1% of all development assistance goes towards family planning), a wide array of approaches can be utilized to help meet costs. The report provides detailed discussions on the following approaches: 1) retail sales and fee-for-services providers, which involves an expanded role for the commercial sector and an increased emphasis on marketing; 2) 3rd-party coverage, which means paying for family planning service through social security institutions, insurance plans, etc.; 3) public-private collaboration (social marketing, employment-based services, etc.); 4) cost recovery, such as instituting fees in public and private nonprofit family planning clinics; and 5) improvements in efficiency.


Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the associations between hospital management support for patient safety, registered nurses' trust in hospital management, and their overall perception of patient safety, considering aspects of safety communication as possible mediating variables. Background: Limited research exists regarding how key elements of a patient safety culture, that is, leadership, safety communication, and trust, are interrelated. Methods: This study used cross-sectional nurse survey data from 1,633 registered nurses working in 35 acute care hospitals participating in the Swiss arm of the RN4CAST (Nurse Forecasting in Europe) study. Results: A path analysis revealed that the indirect associations between "management support for patient safety" and "overall perception of patient safety" were more prominent than the direct association. Conclusion: Our findings confirm that safety communication plays a partially mediating role between "management support for patient safety" and nursing professionals' assessments of patient safety. This suggests that hospital leader-unit exchanges might improve patient safety.


In order to investigate the extrusion characteristics of magnesium alloy (AZ31), a computer simulation was attempted. Tensile properties of as-cast billet with different strain rates were incorporated into the simulation. The results showed a great change in distribution of stress and strain at near die region by the ram travel. It was found that the average gain size at longitudinal edge of the extruded sheet was smaller than that at center region, which might be attributed to recrystallization caused by severe plastic deformation.


The mechanisms that regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) dormancy and self-renewal are well established and are largely dependent on signals emanating from the HSC niche. Recently, we found that prostate cancer (PCa) cells target the HSC niche in mouse bone marrow (BM) during metastasis. Little is known, however, as to how the HSC niche may regulate dormancy in cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1) on PCa dormancy in the BM niche. We found that binding with niche osteoblasts induces the expression of TBK1 in PCa cells PC3 and C4-2B. Interestingly, TBK1 interacts with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and inhibits its function. Rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, induces cell cycle arrest of PCa cells and enhances chemotherapeutic resistance of PCa cells. As a result, the knockdown of TBK1 decreases PCa stem-like cells and drug resistance in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, these results strongly indicate that TBK1 plays an important role in the dormancy and drug resistance of PCa.


Human annotation and chart review is an important process in biomedical informatics research, but which humans are best suited for the job? Domain expertise, such as medical or linguistic knowledge is desirable, but other factors may be equally important. The University of Utah has a group of 20+ reviewers with backgrounds in medicine and linguistics, and 10 key traits have surfaced in those best able to annotate quickly and with high quality. To identify reviewers with these key traits, we created a hiring process that includes interviewing candidates, testing their medical and linguistic knowledge, and having them complete an annotation exercise on realistic medical text. Each step is designed to assess the key traits and allow the investigator to choose the skill set required for each project.


Determining mitochondrial genomes is important for elucidating vital activities of seed plants. Mitochondrial genomes are specific to each plant species because of their variable size, complex structures and patterns of gene losses and gains during evolution. This complexity has made research on the soybean mitochondrial genome difficult compared with its nuclear and chloroplast genomes. The present study helps to solve a 30-year mystery regarding the most complex mitochondrial genome structure, showing that pairwise rearrangements among the many large repeats may produce an enriched molecular pool of 760 circles in seed plants. The soybean mitochondrial genome harbors 58 genes of known function in addition to 52 predicted open reading frames of unknown function. The genome contains sequences of multiple identifiable origins, including 6.8 kb and 7.1 kb DNA fragments that have been transferred from the nuclear and chloroplast genomes, respectively, and some horizontal DNA transfers. The soybean mitochondrial genome has lost 16 genes, including nine protein-coding genes and seven tRNA genes; however, it has acquired five chloroplast-derived genes during evolution. Four tRNA genes, common among the three genomes, are derived from the chloroplast. Sizeable DNA transfers to the nucleus, with pericentromeric regions as hotspots, are observed, including DNA transfers of 125.0 kb and 151.6 kb identified unambiguously from the soybean mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes, respectively. The soybean nuclear genome has acquired five genes from its mitochondrial genome. These results provide biological insights into the mitochondrial genome of seed plants, and are especially helpful for deciphering vital activities in soybean.


This paper is an introduction to applying geographic information systems (GIS) technology specifically to rural villages in the Philippines. GIS is a relatively new and valuable tool in decision making that is useful in managing organizations and applicable in a wide range of disciplines including agriculture, public health, natural resource management, and local governance. Rural village governance, although well-established, has been largely untouched by GIS technology. This paper lays out steps to develop a GIS that is uniquely villagebased and home-grown. The ultimate goal is to empower villagers to set the direction and implementation of their own village's development efforts. The steps discuss how to build an inexpensive GIS for rural villages with the help of a GIS expert-coach. Village participation, interest of GIS technician-trainees, and village financial capability are some important considerations in village GIS capability building. A simple GIS for an actual village is also hypothetically illustrated. Keywords - Geographic Information system, rural villages


The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which Aruba meets the key factors of an international financial center (IFC). The attempt of diversifying Aruba's economy by becoming an IFC is not a new one; in fact this has been an attempt of more than two decades.
However from early stages of this assignment it became clear that becoming an IFC in the traditional sense would not be a possible option for Aruba. The literature review made distinctions between IFCs and offshore financial centers (OFCs), indicating that Aruba's efforts should be directed in the latter category.
Therefore this assignment's objective is an effort to understand the shortcomings of Aruba's current situation, by assessing it against key factors of OFCs. To fully comprehend the reasons for the shortcomings a deductive approach was taken. The first step was to identify key factors through a literature study, which resulted in the identification of five key factors. These were consequently assessed against Aruba's current situation, resulting in the detection of Aruba's shortcomings with regard to the key factors. To gain further insight into these shortcomings, a cause and effect analysis was executed. The analysis revealed common denominators present in Aruba's current situation which result from several faulty mechanisms present that prevent Aruba from meeting all the key factors of an OFC today.
The analysis revealed common denominators which frequently presented themselves throughout the analysis of each shortcoming. The frequency in which these appear confirm their role in the shortcomings and represent problems that exist in Aruba's current situation.
The common denominators identified were namely, government agencies that mainly focus on own objectives, shortage of qualified personnel on various fields, a lack of knowledge when it comes to future developments due to a lack of planning. In turn these point towards a combination of Aruba's history and culture which resulted in the way things are done today. However, the scope of the assignment only permits and offers solutions regarding Aruba's OFC. Therefore, remedies suggested focus on meeting the key factors of an OFC, instead of attempting to solve all problems in Aruba's current situation. With its existing products and services in combination with stakeholders taking part of the existing process, Aruba already has a basis for its further development as an OFC. Therefore the first step would be to develop and execute a strategic plan, focusing on objectives considered to be important. These objectives include, increase the availability of professionals to fulfill the need on various fields, enhance the communication and collaboration between stakeholders to avoid the loss of information and other essential resources and transparency with regards to objectives to minimize trust issues between stakeholders. These objectives are considered essential in addressing the shortcomings identified in order to fulfill all the key factors of an OFC.
The limitations that presented themselves during the assignment were the lack of data concerning some aspects of the key factors in Aruba's current situation. Therefore some of the aspects that initially formed part of the key factors could not be assessed. However the remaining aspects of the key factors give sufficient depth to represent Aruba's shortcomings.
Overall the thesis offers remedies which can be utilized to improve Aruba's current situation towards the key factors of OFCs. Additionally recommendations are made for the future development of Aruba's OFC industry. These remedies and recommendations can be useful for the stakeholders involved, shedding light on their particular role in the industry's further development.


This study evaluated fatigue-induced disbond areas in carbon fiber–reinforced polymer double-lap joints using embedded fiber Bragg grating sensors. When the disbond grew by cyclic loading, the embedded fiber Bragg grating sensors yielded reflection spectra having two peaks representing a step-like strain distribution generated by the disbond; the peak at the shorter wavelength corresponded to the unloaded disbond region. The ratio of the peak intensity at the shorter wavelength to that at the longer wavelength increased gradually with increasing disbond length. The relationship between the peak intensity ratio and the disbond length was analyzed by coupled structural–optical analysis and was validated by comparing analytical peak intensity ratio with the experiment results. The disbond length was then estimated from the measured spectra based on this analytical calibration relationship, but the estimated disbond area exceeded that observed using the ultrasonic C-scan technique. Additional experiments including destructive observation of the adhesive suggested that an embedded fiber Bragg grating sensor could detect a moving disbond tip earlier than conventional nondestructive techniques.


Insertions of parasitic DNA within coding sequences are usually deleterious and are generally counter-selected during evolution. Thanks to nuclear dimorphism, ciliates provide unique models to study the fate of such insertions. Their germline genome undergoes extensive rearrangements during development of a new somatic macronucleus from the germline micronucleus following sexual events. In Paramecium, these rearrangements include precise excision of unique-copy Internal Eliminated Sequences (IES) from the somatic DNA, requiring the activity of a domesticated piggyBac transposase, PiggyMac. We have sequenced Paramecium tetraurelia germline DNA, establishing a genome-wide catalogue of ∼45,000 IESs, in order to gain insight into their evolutionary origin and excision mechanism. We obtained direct evidence that PiggyMac is required for excision of all IESs. Homology with known P. tetraurelia Tc1/mariner transposons, described here, indicates that at least a fraction of IESs derive from these elements. Most IES insertions occurred before a recent whole-genome duplication that preceded diversification of the P. aurelia species complex, but IES invasion of the Paramecium genome appears to be an ongoing process. Once inserted, IESs decay rapidly by accumulation of deletions and point substitutions. Over 90% of the IESs are shorter than 150 bp and present a remarkable size distribution with a ∼10 bp periodicity, corresponding to the helical repeat of double-stranded DNA and suggesting DNA loop formation during assembly of a transpososome-like excision complex. IESs are equally frequent within and between coding sequences; however, excision is not 100% efficient and there is selective pressure against IES insertions, in particular within highly expressed genes. We discuss the possibility that ancient domestication of a piggyBac transposase favored subsequent propagation of transposons throughout the germline by allowing insertions in coding sequences, a fraction of the genome in which parasitic DNA is not usually tolerated.


Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a deleterious chemical reaction affecting the durability and service life of concrete structures worldwide. Specifications and recommendations were produced in many countries to ensure that non-reactive aggregates are used in concrete construction or, when reactive aggregates must be used, appropriate preventive measures are implemented. Such recommendations, especially those related to the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) to prevent ASR, are generally based on laboratory investigations, but preferably on field performance surveys of concrete structures where such measures have been implemented. Over the past 50 years, outdoor exposure sites have been developed in several countries with the objective of validating data obtained from laboratory testing for various combinations of reactive aggregates and SCM, as well as for determining long-term performance of specific mix designs. This paper reviews worldwide efforts regarding outdoor exposure site testing for ASR prevention.


Display of antibody fragments (Fab) on the surface of filamentous bacteriophage and selection of phage that bind to a particular antigen has enabled the isolation of Fab with numerous specificities. We have examined the possibility of isolating RNA-binding Fab by constructing and screening combinatorial libraries of phage displaying Fab derived from the antibody repertoires of autoimmune humans. The genes and corresponding Fabs will allow for examination of the mechanism by which antibodies recognize RNA. Patients selected exhibit mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), which is a subset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), MCTD patients contain antibodies reactive against various nucleic acid, protein, and nucleoprotein complexes, most notably those involved in RNA processing. The cDNA libraries were constructed from total RNA derived from leukophoresed patient samples and the resulting Fab genes were expressed in E. oli using the pComb system1. Affinity selection procedures have been designed to isolate anti-RNA Fabs from these libraries. Results demonstrate the ability to enrich for anti-RNA Fabs using biotinylated RNA-streptavidin capture methodologies.


Abstract. We use 24 years (1992–2016) of high-quality meteorological observations at
Neumayer Station, East Antarctica, to force a surface energy balance model.
The modelled 24-year cumulative surface melt at Neumayer amounts to 1154 mm
water equivalent (w.e.), with only a small uncertainty (±3 mm w.e.)
from random measurement errors. Results are more sensitive to the chosen
value for the surface momentum roughness length and new snow density,
yielding a range of 900–1220 mm w.e. Melt at Neumayer occurs only in the
months November to February, with a summer average of 50 mm w.e. and large
interannual variability (σ=42 mm w.e.). This is a small value
compared to an annual average (1992–2016) accumulation of 415±86 mm w.e. Absorbed shortwave radiation is the dominant driver of temporal
melt variability at Neumayer. To assess the importance of the
snowmelt–albedo feedback we include and calibrate an albedo parameterisation
in the surface energy balance model. We show that, without the
snowmelt–albedo feedback, surface melt at Neumayer would be approximately
3 times weaker, demonstrating how important it is to correctly represent this
feedback in model simulations of surface melt in Antarctica.


Agriculture produces jointly market and non-market outputs, and their supply depends on the nature of production. The role of agriculture as an economic activity and its consequences are essential for the Lithuanian case study, as agricultural land covers more than a half of the Lithuanian land. The market does not consider the positive and negative externalities created in agroecosystems. Therefore, specific techniques such as stated preferences methods are used for evaluation of non-market outputs in agriculture. Works by foreign researchers provide a comprehensive analysis of the aspects of nontradable agricultural aspects, usually focusing on evaluation of the benefit or damage to society from agricultural activity. There is lack of an integrated evaluation of farming system outputs in view of the specifics and intensity of farming. The main aim of this paper is to present construction of the methodology for integration of evaluation of farming system outputs in Lithuania, with the main focus on non-market outputs, as the values of agricultural market outputs are clear and fully revealed in official statistics. The conventional and organic farming has been selected for the Lithuanian case study. For the both farming systems, the research covers crops (including both cereals and industrials crops) and livestock (including dairy and cattle) production. The choice experiment (CE) method was selected as appropriate for evaluation of non-market outputs of different farming systems in Lithuanian agriculture. The nested logit was selected for econometric modelling of the value of non-market agricultural outputs. Applying the constructed and checked methodology, consumers' willingness to pay for agroecosystem public goods of different farming systems will be elicited during the main survey.


This paper presents a new protocol named "Link State Over MAC" (LSOM) for Optical Ethernet switches to allow the use of active loop topologies, like meshes, in Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) or even Wide Area Networks (WAN) backbone. In this respect, LSOM is an alternative to a ring topology as proposed in draft IEEE 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) or a tree topology using IEEE802. 1D Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP). LSOM provides higher scalability and is able to achieve better bandwidth utilization and lower latency than RSTP and RPR. Simulation results for 4-node and 9-node topologies show that LSOM can improve throughput over RPR by a factor of up to 1.7. Furthermore, full freedom to choose any MAN active topology allows an effective use of the available dark fiber resources.