Power dissipation and thermal issues are increasingly significant in modern processors. As a result, it is crucial that power/performance tradeoffs be made more visible to chip architects and compiler writers, in addition to circuit designers. Most traditional power analysis tools achieve high accuracy by calculating power estimates for designs only after the circuit design, layout, and floorplanning are complete. In addition to being available only late in the design process, such tools are often quite slow, which compounds the difficulty of running them for a large space of design possibilities.
This thesis presents a methodology for estimating power dissipation at a much earlier stage in the design cycle and at a much higher level. Watch and PowerTimer are two working examples of the use of this methodology. Both tools provide a framework for analyzing and optimizing microprocessor power dissipation at the architecture-level. These tools are 1000X or more faster than existing layout-level power tools, and yet maintain accuracy within 10% of their estimates as verified using industry tools on leading-edge designs. These tools can allow architects to explore and cull the design space early on and opens up the field of power-efficient computing to a wider range of researchers by providing a power evaluation methodology within the portable and familiar SimpleScalar framework.
This thesis also considers several applications of architectural-level power modeling to propose specific architectural-level power and temperature saving optimizations—value-based clock gating and dynamic thermal management. Value-based clock gating is a technique which exploits the dynamic bitwidth requirements of typical applications to save power within arithmetic units and the memory hierarchy. We have demonstrated that this technique can save roughly 50% of the power in the integer execution units. With dynamic thermal management, temperature sensors and throttling techniques are combined to adaptively slow down the CPU for extended periods of particularly high-power code sequences. This allows the CPU package and power delivery system to be designed for a much lower maximum power rating, with minimal performance impact for typical applications.
The techniques presented in this thesis represent some of the first work in the area of high-performance, low-power processor design at the architectural level. We hope that this work, and the other research in the area of low-power architectural modeling and design, will help future generations of processor architectures to meet the many new challenges in this area.


In this study, changes in the viscoelastic material properties of brain tissue due to traumatic diffuse axonal injury (DAI) were investigated. The impact acceleration model was used to generate DAI in rat brain stem. The viscoelastic material properties of brain tissue along the corticospinal (CSpT) tract in the brain stem were characterized using an indentation technique and a quasilinear theory. The results show significant reduction in the elastic response of brain tissue due to injury. In regions with significantly more DAI, larger changes in the elastic shear modulus and relaxation function were observed. These findings can improve the injury predictability of computational models of brain injury.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


Esophagectomy is known for its high postoperative morbidity and mortality rates. In case of esophageal cancer, a transthoracic approach is often preferred since this allows for mediastinal lymphadenectomy, removing potential metastases. However this is frequently associated with pulmonary complications, increasing the need for intensive care unit treatment and mortality. Therefore this thesis aims to improve the outcome of esophagectomy. A literature review shows that pulmonary complications are reduced by a minimally invasive approach and starting enteral nutrition early postoperatively. Preoperative optimization of patient performance, administration of anti-inflammatory medication perioperatively and prone-positioning are promising interventions, requiring further investigation. However, valid inter-study comparisons cannot be made since many different definitions are used for pneumonia. Therefore a recently proposed definition, the Utrecht Pneumonia Score (UPS) was revised and internally and externally validated, showing excellent discrimination and calibration. Currently this is the only validated definition for postesophagectomy pneumonia available. Inflammation may be the final common pathway in the multifactorial etiology of pulmonary complications following esophagectomy. Consequently several randomized studies investigated the effect of perioperative glucocorticoid administration, but sample sizes were too small. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis, showing that weight dependent dose of methylprednisolone significantly reduces pulmonary complications, emphasizing the hypothesis that inflammation may be pivotal. Another important regulatory pathway in inflammation and pulmonary function, affected by esophagectomy, runs via the vagus nerve. A vagotomy is performed as part of an esophagectomy due to its course next to the esophagus, but selective sparing of pulmonary branches may be feasible. Since the regional anatomy is complex we performed an anatomical and histological study, a study during thoracoscopic esophagectomies in vivo, a magnetic resonance imaging study in vivo. These show extensive pulmonary innervation, and indicate how these vagal branches can be spared. These also describe the meso-esophagus, a previously undescribed connective tissue layer. This courses from esophagus to aorta, dividing the posterior mediastinum in two compartments. Based on the anatomical mapping, feasibility of thoracoscopic pulmonary vagus nerve branches sparing esophagectomy was studied in human cadavers. This procedure is feasible, but attention should be given to removal of all peribronchial lymph nodes. The vagus nerve can be activated through enteral nutrition leading to dampening of postoperative inflammation. However, a nil-by-mouth strategy following esophagectomy is standard of care in many centers. Through a systematic literature review and retrospective evaluation of routine jejunostomy tube feeding, we demonstrated the need to investigate early oral intake. However, concerns are increased severity of anastomotic leakage and (aspiration) pneumonia. Therefore we performed a single-arm, multicenter trial showing that early oral intake following minimally invasive esophagectomy is feasible and does not increase morbidity. Chyle leakage is an complication of enteral nutrition. Through a large retrospective analysis we have shown that the majority can be managed by dietary measures only. In conclusion in this thesis a technique to spare the pulmonary branches of the vagus nerve during thoracoscopic esophagectomy is validated and the safety and feasibility of early start of oral intake following minimally invasive esophagectomy are shown. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of these interventions.


A geometric shapes recognition algorithm is proposed in this paper. This algorithm is interactive which means that if not all the desired shapes are recognized then the recognition process is repeated by the user to improve the capability of the process. The user can change threshold value when converting the image from gray to binary many times during one program execution to get the required results. The proposed algorithm can select the desired shape individually even if there are different shapes in the image (multi-shapes image). This algorithm is software implemented using Matlab programming language and then implemented program is used to recognize any of the following shapes (the shapes must be distinct and not overlapped): Seven types of triangle; pentagons, hexagons, squares, rectangles, circles, ellipse shapes, rhombus, and parallelogram. The recognition capability of the implemented software is tested for different cases and from these cases many points are concluded.


Recently, the urban regeneration has made various impacts on urban development by social and economic as well as environmental and physical regeneration. Consequently, it has resulted in an holistic approach toward urban rehabilitation projects in more recent times. Therefore, the study aims to develope an application technique of urban regeneration. At the same time, this study suggests some implications to identify various impacts such as cultural, social, and institutional impacts to be estimated for the future urban regeneration through the analysis of economic impacts on various sectors. For this study, using the input-output analysis, economic impacts of urban regeneration were analysed in Korea. Compared with other results of analyses for large scale projects, it was proved that it had made large effects on various industries. As the results of the analysis, about 100 trillion won of production induced effects and 127 trillion won of value-added effects with new creation of 610 thousands of employees, supposed the amount of 50 trillion won of investment for the next 5 years. As a result of the effects of urban regeneration in general, the pre-study and post-analyses of economic impacts are required as a part of the whole impacts of urban regeneration. Also, the economic impacts on all sectors should be applied to urban policies and techniques.


Objective To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants conceived after assisted conception (AC) compared with infants conceived spontaneously (non-AC). Design Population-based retrospective cohort study. Setting Geographically defined area in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia served by a network of 10 neonatal intensive care units. Patients Infants <29 weeks' gestation born between 1998 and 2004. Intervention At 2–3 years corrected age, 1473 children were assessed with either the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales or the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Main outcome measure Moderate/severe functional disability defined as developmental delay (Griffiths General Quotient or Bayley Mental Developmental Index >2 SD below the mean), cerebral palsy (unable to walk without aids), deafness (bilateral hearing aids or cochlear implant) or blindness (visual acuity <6/60 in the better eye). Results Mortality and age at follow-up were comparable between the AC and non-AC groups. Developmental outcome was evaluated in 217 (86.5%) AC and 1256 (71.7%) non-AC infants. Using multivariate adjusted analysis, infants born after in-vitro fertilisation at 22–26 weeks' gestation (adjusted OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.05, p=0.03) but not at 27–28 weeks' gestation (adjusted OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.77; p=0.59) had higher rate of functional disability than those born after spontaneous conception. Conclusions AC is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome among high risk infants born at 22–26 weeks' gestation. This finding warrants additional exploration.


The CMS detector at the LHC has recorded events from proton-proton collisions, with muon momenta reaching up to 1.8 TeV in the collected dimuon samples. These high-momentum muons allow direct access to new regimes in physics beyond the standard model. Because the physics and reconstruction of these muons are different from those of their lower-momentum counterparts, this paper presents for the first time dedicated studies of efficiencies, momentum assignment, resolution, scale, and showering of very high momentum muons produced at the LHC. These studies are performed using the 2016 and 2017 data sets of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV with integrated luminosities of 36.3 and 42.1 fb−1, respectively.


The general problem of level crossing and optical double resonance line shapes is studied under different conditions of pulsed excitation. The theoretical effects of variable pulse shape and duration, of long and short observation periods, and the effects of positive and negative delay between the end of the pulse and the beginning of observation of the emitted fluorescence are investigated by means of a simple classical formulation. Agreement is obtained with line-shape expressions previously derived for more restricted assumptions. It is also shown that under appropriate conditions, pulse-excitation line shapes yield independent information on the mean life τ and g factor of the decaying state that has not been fully exploited in pulsed experiments carried out to date.


The thick-shelled clam Meretrix morphina, previously referred to as Meretrix meretrix, now occurs in the west Indian Ocean region, along the eastern seaboard of Africa, from the Red Sea to the Mlalazi Estuary, close to the Tugela River. Its presence in South Africa is only of recent recording. Meretrix morphina was detected for the first time in Lake St Lucia in 2000. The population declined and was not detected from 2005 until 2011, most likely as a result of a severe drought that resulted in widespread desiccation and hypersalinity in the lake. The system then experienced increased freshwater input resulting in lower salinities from 2011 until 2014, during which time M. morphina reappeared and their population gradually increased. In 2015, M. morphina became abundant in St Lucia, attaining unprecedented densities of 447 ind./m2. Biomass, expressed as a fresh weight, varied in the different basins of St Lucia, ranging from 195 g/m2 at Lister's Point to 1909.8 g/m2 at Catalina Bay. However, in 2016, when drought conditions returned, M. morphina disappeared. This species appears to thrive under brackish salinities and high temperatures. It is able to establish large populations with high biomass and can become dominant. However, M. morphina is sensitive to desiccation and hypersaline conditions. This clam has substantial commercial value and is exploited along the African east coast, particularly in Mozambique. In future, it may feature more prominently in South African estuaries. However, the ecology of M. morphina is still largely unknown.


During the last 30 years, dental researchers have been searching for the ultimate restorative material and attempting to make Dr. Ralph Phillips' prediction come true. He predicted in 1969 that in the future there would be an adhesive material that would restore the tooth to its original strength and color. Direct resin composites have come a long way since being introduced in 1962 but have not yet become the panacea for which we are searching.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate differences in response to ID injection of histamine, phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and Aspergillus organisms between clinically normal horses and horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).

ANIMALS
5 healthy adult horses and 5 adult horses with RAO.

PROCEDURE
Intradermal testing (IDT) was performed on the neck with 2 positive control substances (histamine and PHA) and a mixture comprising 5 Aspergillus species. Four concentrations of each test substance plus a negative control substance were used. Equal volumes (0.1 mL) of each test substance were prepared to yield 15 syringes ([4 concentrations of each test substance plus 1 negative control substance] times 3 test substances) for each side of each horse (ie, 30 syringes/horse). Intradermal injections were administered; diameter of wheals was recorded 0.5, 4, and 24 hours after injection.

RESULTS
Hypersensitive responses to ID injection of histamine were detected 0.5 hours after injection, and a delay in wheal formation after ID injection of Aspergillus mixture 24 hours after injection was detected in RAO-affected horses but was not observed in clinically normal horses. No differences were detected between the 2 groups after ID injection of PHA.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
RAO-affected horses are hypersensitive to histamine, suggesting that RAO is associated with a heightened vascular response to histamine. Higher concentrations of Aspergillus mixture may be needed to detect horses that are sensitive to this group of antigens. Wheal reactions to Aspergillus may be a delayed response, suggesting that IDT results should be evaluated 0.5, 4, and 24 hours after ID injection.


The Protein Surplus Myopathies (PSM) are characterized by accumulation of protein aggregates, identifiable ultrastructurally, resulting due to mutations of the encoding genes. Desmin-related myopathies (DRM) are a form of PSM characterized by mutations of the desmin gene resulting in the formation of protein aggregates comprising mutant protein desmin and disturbance of the regular desmin intermediate network in the muscle fibers. We describe a rare case of DRM in a 23-year-old man who presented with complaints of difficulty in climbing stairs and running since the age of 5 years. EMG studies revealed a myopathic pattern. Muscle biopsy showed the features of muscular dystrophy with bluish rimmed vacuoles and sarcoplasmic inclusions, which were immunoreactive to desmin. Ultrastructural examination showed sarcoplasmic bodies and granulofilamentous inclusions. Although rare, the possibility of DRM/desminopathy should be considered in the presence of bluish rimmed vacuoles on light microscopy and characteristic ultrastructural inclusions. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of DRM/desminopathy reported from India.


In order to meet the requirements of high speed turning, modern power operated jaw-chucks with centrifugal force compensation (CFC) were developed by some chuck producers. Based on the force and deformation analysis of the clamping system, a new analytic computation model of dynamic clamping force for modern chuck with CFC was developed, and verified by means of experimental investigations. The clamping behaviours during high speed turning, such as the loss of dynamic clamping force, centrifugal force compensation efficiency and clamping force hysteresis are investigated. Some problems of design and application of modern chuck with CFC are discussed. The study results provide reliable theoretic and technical supports to reasonably utilize the potential of modern chucks at higher rotational speed and guarantee a safe high speed turning process.


PURPOSE
To present data on the MR imaging appearance of lumbar intraspinal juxtafacet cysts (JFC) and to assess the importance of additional CT arthrography.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Twenty-eight patients (16 women, 12 men) with a mean age of 64 years (range: 43 - 82), who underwent MR imaging because of radicular pain or spinal claudication, were found to have an intraspinal cyst associated with the facet joint. In 14 patients, additional CT-arthrography was performed to determine whether a communication exists between the cyst and the facet joint and to try to rupture the cyst.

RESULTS
In T(2)-weighted images, juxtafacet cysts show a typical pattern consisting of a hyperintense center and hypointense rim. The center is likely to be inhomogeneous because of recurrent hemorrhage in the cyst. In T1-weighted images, the cysts are hypo/isointense. Irregular hyperintensity may indicate subacute hemorrhage, which may aggravate the clinical symptoms. MR allows superior visualization of the cyst in all anatomical planes. It also enables assessment of typical accompanying changes, such as degenerative spondylolisthesis and facet hypertrophy. All patients, who had CT-arthrography, were found to have a direct communication between joint space and cyst. Transarticular rupture of the cyst was possible in five patients. Two of these five patients had good to excellent improvement, and the remaining three patients underwent surgery.

CONCLUSION
MR imaging is the method of choice for diagnosing lumbar intraspinal juxtafacet cysts. CT-arthrography of the facet joint is helpful in cases with difficult differential diagnosis, and in the preoperative planning. Furthermore, it assists in the primary interventional treatment.


In this letter, a diversity-based two-description image coding scheme is firstly presented and analyzed, for which a two-stage coding is introduced to facilitate the tuning of central/side distortion tradeoff. By subsampling the central decoded errors from the first stage to constitute the second part for each description, respectively, we show that not only the central distortion but also the side distortion can be reduced with the second stage information. We further generalize the proposed scheme to 4-description coding. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of both central and side coding performance.


Incoherent alignment has been the main focus in the matching process since 2010. Incoherent means that there is semantic or logic conflict in the alignment. This condition encouraged researches in ontology matching field to improve the alignment by repairing the incoherent alignment. Repair mapping will restore the incoherent to coherent mapping, by deleting unwanted mappings from the alignment. In order to minimize the impacts in the input alignment, repair process should be done as as minimal as possible. Definition of minimal could be (1) reducing the number of deleted mappings, or (2) reducing the total amount of deleted mappings' confidence values. Repair process with new global technique conducted the repair with both minimal definitions. This technique could reduce the number of deleted mappings and total amount of confidence values at the same time. We proposed A∗ Search method to implement new global technique. This search method was capable to search the shortest path which representing the fewest number of deleted mappings, and also search the cheapest cost which representing the smallest total amount of deleted mappings' confidence value. A∗ Search was both complete and optimal to minimize mapping repair size.


A conductive pyrolytic carbon fiber (CF) has been found to serve as an alternative material to metal electrodes, since it forms an Ohmic contact to CdS crystals. The methods of preparation of polycrystalline layers and nanocrystalline arrays of CdS are described that allow formation of an ohmic or quasi‐ohmic contact to CF. It is shown that the ohmic contact between the CF and polycrystalline CdS layer is stable for at least several months and its exploitation characteristics are not worse than the indium contact. Advantages of the CF electrode, such as thermostability to extremely high temperatures and low cost are discussed.


The infectious agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies is believed to consist of an oligomeric isoform, PrPSc, of the monomeric cellular prion protein, PrPC. The conversion of PrPC to PrPSc is characterized by a decrease in alpha-helical structure, an increase in beta-sheet content, and the formation of PrPSc amyloid. Whereas the N-terminal part of PrPC comprising residues 23-120 is flexibly disordered, its C-terminal part, PrP(121-231), forms a globular domain with three alpha-helices and a small beta-sheet. Because the segment of residues 90-231 is protease-resistant in PrPSc, it is most likely structured in the PrPSc form. The conformational change of the segment containing residues 90-120 thus constitutes the minimal structural difference between PrPC and a PrPSc monomer. To test whether PrP(121-231) is also capable to undergo conformational transitions, we analyzed its urea-dependent unfolding transitions at neutral and acidic pH. We identified an equilibrium unfolding intermediate of PrP(121-231) that is exclusively populated at acidic pH and shows spectral characteristics of a beta-sheet protein. The intermediate is in rapid equilibrium with native PrP(121-231), significantly populated in the absence of urea at pH 4.0, and may have important implications for the presumed formation of PrPSc during endocytosis.


The two schools, Rationalism and Empiricism have been at loggerheads over what constitutes the ultimate source of knowledge. This is the focal point of epistemology, the branch of philosophy devoted to studying the nature, sources and limits of knowledge. However, in medical practice, these concern ways of thinking in diagnosis and therapeutics. The Empirical and the Rationalist philosophies are two logical and consistent thought structures which are in all respects entirely antagonistic to one another, one favoring the senses and the other favoring the mind. This paper is therefore concerned with the existence of a conflict in therapeutics between what are called the Empirical and the Rationalist philosophies.


Higher education has generally been excluded from the welfare discourse, especially in transition countries. This article addresses existing research gaps by applying the ideas of decommodification and stratification to higher education in post-Soviet countries, within the comparative framework of welfare regime typology. The purpose of this study is to analyse the extent to which higher education relates to welfare state models in such countries. The research demonstrates that institutional settings and outcomes of higher education provision in Estonia, Georgia and Russia are evolving toward patterns of social-democratic, liberal and conservative models, respectively. Although the correspondence is incomplete, we argue that post-Soviet states are more similar to groups of countries representing these welfare regimes than to each other. This study argues against the assumption of a uniform post-Soviet pattern of higher education policy and shows that its structuring is embedded in the wider context of national welfare state models.


In this thesis, we give an analysis of fixed point algorithms involving projections onto closed, not necessarily convex, subsets of finite dimensional vector
spaces.
These methods are used in applications such as imaging science, signal processing, and inverse problems. The tools used in the analysis
place this work at the intersection of optimization and variational analysis. Based on the underlying optimization problems, this work is devided into two main parts. The first one is the compressed sensing problem. Because the problem
is NP-hard, we relax it to a feasibility problem with two sets, namely,
the set of vectors with at most s nonzero entries and, for a linear mapping M
the affine subspace B of vectors satisfying Mx=p for p given.
This problem will be referred to as the sparse-affine-feasibility problem. For the Douglas-Rachford algorithm, we give the proof of linear convergence to a fixed point in the case of a feasibility problem of two affine subspaces.
It allows us to conclude a result of local linear convergence of the Douglas-Rachford algorithm in the sparse affine feasibility problem.
Proceeding, we name sufficient conditions for the alternating projections algorithm to converge to the intersection of an affine subspace with lower level sets
of point symmetric, lower semicontinuous, subadditive functions.
This implies convergence of alternating projections to a solution of the sparse affine feasibility problem.
Together with a result of local linear convergence of the alternating projections algorithm, this allows us to deduce linear convergence after finitely many steps
for any initial point of a sequence of points generated by the alternating projections algorithm. The second part of this dissertation deals with the minimization of the rank of matrices satisfying a set of linear equations.
This problem will be called rank-constrained-affine-feasibility problem.
The motivation for the analysis of the rank minimization problem comes from the physical application of phase retrieval and a reformulation of the same as a
rank minimization problem. We show that, locally, the method of alternating projections must converge at linear rate to a solution of the rank
constrained affine feasibility problem.


The misuse ofantibiotics is a factor contributing to the rise of resistance particularly incountries where there is a lack of procedures for restricting and auditingantibiotic prescriptions. There are very limited data from Kuwait exploring thecommunity pharmacists' role in reducing antibiotic misuse and resistanceand so the aim of this study is to assess community pharmacists' knowledge andpractice towards antibiotic resistance in Kuwait. A cross-sectional study wasconducted among the primary care centres' pharmacists in Al-Asema and Hawallydistricts in Kuwait between June-July 2018, using a self-administered onlinequestionnaire. Out of 274, 156 pharmacists completed the questionnaire. A totalof 148 pharmacists (95%) strongly agreed/agreed that antibiotics can cause an allergic reaction. Moreover, results showed that a significant proportion ofthe participants (n= 42, 27.6%) never take part in antimicrobial awarenesscampaigns to promote the optimal use of antibiotics. Pharmacists in primarycare settings in Kuwait have excellent knowledge and good practice towardantibiotics resistance. These findings will aid in encouraging collaborativework between pharmacists and other health care professional to limit antibioticresistance in Kuwait and provide further insight in designing futureinterventions to reduce antibiotic resistance in Kuwait.


A robust impedance microscopy technique is presented. This optical tool enables high resolution imaging of electrical properties with promising biophysical applications. The underlying principle is that surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are able to measure perturbations of surface charge density and therefore can be used to compute the impedance of surface-adhered cells. However, the ability to perform reliable quantitative impedance imaging is affected by the optical heterogeneity of the cell-sensor interface. To address this issue, a novel method for quantitative time-resolved resonance angle tracking is developed and applied to correct for the effect of the optical properties. To demonstrate the capability of this technique, impedance microspectroscopy of bovine serum albumin (BSA) patterns was performed enabling measurements of capacitance with submicroscopic resolution. The work presented offers an impedance microspectroscopy method that will create new avenues in studying the electrical properties of single cells and biomolecules as well as bio-electrical currents.


Received: Jul. 2010 Accepted: Jan. 2011 Corresponding author: Firoozi M e-mail: email@example.com Background & Objective: Labor pain management is one of the most important procedures of midwifery cares. Acupressure, a nonpharmacological method of labor pain relief, is an available, easy to use, inexpensive, and without side effect method of pain relief. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of LI-4 acupressure on labor pain in women during first stage of labor. Methods & Materials: A single blind randomized clinical trial study was carried out on 83 primipara women. The inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancy in 38-42 weeks of gestation, cephalic presentation, and spontaneous uterine contractions. Participants were divided into three groups including acupressure group, touch group, and the usual care (control group). The intensity of labor pain was measured using visual analog scale with the rating from 0-100 mm immediately, 30 minutes, and one hour after the intervention during the first stage of labor. Data were analyzed using statistical tests of ANOVA, Chi-square, and Exact chi-square. Results: Findings indicated that acupressure group had lower labor pain in the active phase of the first stage of labor immediately after intervention than the other groups (P=0.026). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that LI4 acupressure reduced the intensity of labor pain in the first stage of labor without any side effects to mother and infant. This procedure can be used as a simple, safe and inexpensive method to relief labor pain.


In a competitive market with free information flows, spatial arbitrage will ensure that average prices at geographically separate markets will move in unison. The speed of adjustment is related to information flows between markets; if adjustment lags exist, there may be opportunities for arbitragers to gain. The transmission of price information is modelled using Johansen's procedure and the existence of long-run arbitrage opportunities is investigated. An innovation analysis is used to examine the varying responses to changes in prices at spatially separate markets.


The aim of preparation of patients for operation is restoration as near to the integral state as possible, and this consists in correction of physiologic and chemical abnormalities and in increasing reserve capacities. Thanks to the many experimentalists who have provided theory basal to the clinical management of the sick person, modern treatment rests largely on a logical basis, and empiric practices each year become fewer. It is axiomatic that greater certainty and predictability, and hence efficiency, attend management based on the correction of pathologic mechanisms, with irrational and intuitive method eliminated as far as possible. A second desideratum is simplification of therapy, since it is obvious that more abracadabra accompanies unduly complex procedures. The following methods of treatment, then, are intended to be as simple as the correction of chemical aberrations due to disease will permit. It is hoped that no impression of finality will be derived from the


Context. Eta Carinae is a highly eccentric, massive binary system (semimajor axis ~15.5 au) with powerful stellar winds and a phase-dependent wind-wind collision (WWC) zone. The primary star, η Car A, is a luminous blue variable (LBV); the secondary, η Car B, is a Wolf-Rayet or O star with a faster but less dense wind. Aperture-synthesis imaging allows us to study the mass loss from the enigmatic LBV η Car. Understanding LBVs is a crucial step toward improving our knowledge about massive stars and their evolution.
Aims. Our aim is to study the intensity distribution and kinematics of η Car's WWC zone.
Methods. Using the VLTI-MATISSE mid-infrared interferometry instrument, we perform Brα imaging of η Car's distorted wind.
Results. We present the first VLTI-MATISSE aperture-synthesis images of η Car A's stellar windin several spectral channels distributed across the Brα 4.052 μm line (spectral resolving power R ~ 960). Our observations were performed close to periastron passage in February 2020 (orbital phase ~ 14.0022). The reconstructed iso-velocity images show the dependence of the primary stellar wind on wavelength or line-of-sight (LOS) velocity with a spatial resolution of 6 mas (~14 au). The radius of the faintest outer wind regions is ~26 mas (~60 au). At several negative LOS velocities, the primary stellar wind is less extended to the northwest than in other directions. This asymmetry is most likely caused by the WWC. Therefore, we see both the velocity field of the undisturbed primary wind and the WWC cavity. In continuum spectral channels, the primary star wind is more compact than in line channels. A fit of the observed continuum visibilities with the visibilities of a stellar wind CMFGEN model (CMFGEN is an atmosphere code developed to model the spectra of a variety of objects) provides a full width at half maximum fit diameter of the primary stellar wind of 2.84 ± 0.06 mas (6.54 ± 0.14 au). We comparethe derived intensity distributions with the CMFGEN stellar wind model and hydrodynamic WWC models.


Abstract Interest groups face many choices when lobbying: when, who, and how to lobby. We study interest group lobbying across two stages of regulatory policymaking: the congressional and agency rulemaking stages. We investigate how the Securities and Exchange Commission responds to interest groups at the end of these stages using a new, comprehensive lobbying dataset on the Dodd-Frank Act. Our approach examines citations in the SEC's final rules which reference and acknowledge the lobbying activities of specific interest groups. We find that more than 2,900 organizations engaged in different types of lobbying activities either during the congressional bill stage, the agency rulemaking stage, or both. Meetings with the SEC and hiring former SEC employees are strongly associated with the citation of an organization in a final rule. Comments submitted by trade associations and members of Congress are cited more in a final rule compared to other organizations. While there is more variety in the types of organizations who lobby the bureaucracy than those who lobby Congress, presence does not necessarily lead to recognition or influence.


Single crystal MgO can be used as the substrates to deposit HTS films. The subsurface damage (SSD) generated in processing has great effect on the strength and performance of the substrates. However, the characteristics of MgO SSD and its formation mechanism have not been understood fully. In this paper, the surface and subsurface damage caused by saw cutting, rough lapping and fine lapping of MgO substrates were studied by cross-section of microscopy and SEM. The formation mechanism was discussed; and a SSD model was presented.


ABSTRACT A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the purification of yeast cell wall (YCW) preparations on broiler performance and immunogenic and metabolic pathways under microbial challenge. A total of 240 (day old) chicks were distributed among two battery brooder units (48 pens; 5 birds/pen; 8 replicates/treatment). A basal starter diet was divided into 5 batches to create 6 dietary treatments; non‐challenge (NCh‐C) and challenge (Ch‐C) controls, semi‐purified YCW containing cytosol contents (SPYCW; 250 mg/kg), purified YCW (PYCW; 250 mg/kg), 50% purified beta‐glucan (BG; 130 mg/kg), and 99.9% purified mannan‐oligosaccharide (MOS; 53 mg/kg). All birds were immunocompromised with infectious bursal disease vaccine (10× the recommended dose) on day 10 and then all birds except NCh‐C birds were challenged with Clostridium perfringens (Cp) (107 cfu/mL) via oral gavage on days 16 and 17. On day 21, tissue samples were collected from the jejunum and duodenum for analysis with chicken‐specific, peptide arrays to study the influence of YCW supplementation on immune and metabolic kinase pathways. On day 16, SPYCW had significantly lower body weight (BW) and weight gain (WG) than other treatments except BG (P < 0.05). The productivity index (PI) was lower in SPYCW and BG than in NCh‐C, Ch‐C, and PYCW. On day 21, after the Cp challenge, NCh‐C was higher than Ch‐C, SPYCW, and BG in BW, WG, and PI (P = 0.03). The PI of PYCW was similar to NCh‐C. The addition of purified YCW to the starter broiler diets influenced the immune and metabolic pathways in the gut. A total of 459 and 367 peptides in the duodenum and jejunum, respectively, were changed due to the Cp challenge. The YCW treatments had different degrees of influence on these peptides for both the duodenum and jejunum. These results suggest that relative purification of YCW and specific fractions of the YCW can influence broiler performance differently during microbial challenges and can alleviate the impact of these stressors.


The axilla is a small anatomical space located between the upper thoracic wall and the arm. The main contents include the brachial plexus, axillary artery and vein, and axillary lymph nodes. Lymph nodes contain a range of immune cells, including lymphocytes and macrophages. These remove damaged cells, foreign material, and microorganisms from the lymphatic fluid before returning it to the venous circulation. The axillary lymph nodes arrange into five groups based on their anatomical relations. Collectively, they drain the wall of the thorax, breast, arm, and upper abdominal wall above the umbilicus. The axillary lymph nodes are of particular clinical significance as they are often the first site of breast cancer metastasis. Axillary node involvement is the single most significant prognostic variable for breast cancer patients. Axillary lymphadenopathy is also associated with hematological malignancies, infection, and various autoimmune etiologies. It is, therefore, crucial to have a thorough understanding of this region.In this article, we will focus primarily on the axillary lymph nodes respective to their anatomical features, relations, drainage, surgical considerations, and clinical significance.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a genetically complex disease with heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Recent studies have greatly expanded the number of established SLE risk alleles, but the distribution of multiple risk alleles in cases versus controls and their relationship to subphenotypes have not been studied. We studied 22 SLE susceptibility polymorphisms with previous genome-wide evidence of association (p<5×10−8) in 1919 SLE cases from 9 independent Caucasian SLE case series and 4813 independent controls. The mean number of risk alleles in cases was 15.1 (SD 3.1) while the mean in controls was 13.1 (SD 2.8), with trend p = 4×10−128. We defined a genetic risk score (GRS) for SLE as the number of risk alleles with each weighted by the SLE risk odds ratio (OR). The OR for high-low GRS tertiles, adjusted for intra-European ancestry, sex, and parent study, was 4.4 (95% CI 3.8–5.1). We studied associations of individual SNPs and the GRS with clinical manifestations for the cases: age at diagnosis, the 11 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria, and double-stranded DNA antibody (anti-dsDNA) production. Six subphenotypes were significantly associated with the GRS, most notably anti-dsDNA (ORhigh-low = 2.36, p = 9e−9), the immunologic criterion (ORhigh-low = 2.23, p = 3e−7), and age at diagnosis (ORhigh-low = 1.45, p = 0.0060). Finally, we developed a subphenotype-specific GRS (sub-GRS) for each phenotype with more power to detect cumulative genetic associations. The sub-GRS was more strongly associated than any single SNP effect for 5 subphenotypes (the above plus hematologic disorder and oral ulcers), while single loci are more significantly associated with renal disease (HLA-DRB1, OR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.14–1.64) and arthritis (ITGAM, OR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.59–0.88). We did not observe significant associations for other subphenotypes, for individual loci or the sub-GRS. Thus our analysis categorizes SLE subphenotypes into three groups: those having cumulative, single, and no known genetic association with respect to the currently established SLE risk loci.


SUMMARY
Simulated data is crucial for evaluating epistasis detection tools in genome-wide association studies. Existing simulators are limited, as they do not account for linkage disequilibrium (LD), support limited interaction models of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and only dichotomous phenotypes, or depend on proprietary software. In contrast, EpiGEN supports SNP interactions of arbitrary order, produces realistic LD patterns, and can generate both categorical and quantitative phenotypes.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
EpiGEN is implemented in Python 3 and is freely available at https://github.com/baumbachlab/epigen.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
A detailed user guide for EpiGEN is available at Bioinformatics online.


Introduction: In response to a request from the Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, a project for the external evaluation of the six editions of the initiative "Contract for short term courses for health professionals from Portuguese Speaking African Countries and East Timor" organized between 2011 and 2016, was carried out.
Objectives: The objectives were to characterize the demography of the trainees, identify their professional route and characterize the way they became agents of change after the course.
Methods: Two descriptive studies were carried out: a quantitative study of the characterization of the trainees using secondary data, and a predominantly quantitative evaluative study, based mainly on data collected through a questionnaire addressed to the trainees.
Results: A total of 99 professionals from the PALOP and Timor-Leste, with a mean age of 36 years, mostly female and medical doctors, were trained. The 42 trainees responding to the questionnaire all returned to their country of origin after the internship, and almost all to the same health institution and service. Most admitted positive learning and capacity building results, and recognized a positive behavior change attributable to the course.
Conclusions: In spite of the limitations of the study, in particular the potential low representativeness of the trainees, the initiative seems to have had positive results, suggesting the development of impact evaluation studies to establish definitive conclusions.


While over the past decades the population of younger drivers has been decreasing, their crash rates have increased. Past research has associated their higher crash rates to societal influences and youthful behavior. The objective of this research is to identify the specific driving maneuvers whose unsuccessful undertaking results in specific types of crashes involving these drivers. Four types of crashes were identified as the most prominent for young drivers including crashes at intersections, rear end, crashes resulting from passing maneuvers and single vehicle crashes. The analysis was performed examining the Kentucky crash database for the 1994-1996 period using the quasi-induced exposure method. The results showed that for all crashes there is a general trend of decreasing involvement with increasing age, which indicates that their inexperience is the largest single contributor to their increased crash rates. Of significance is the fact that for all crashes a dramatic decrease of involvement after the first year of driving between the years of 16 and 17 is observed. This may be indicative of a steep learning curve in the first years of driving regarding the ability to control a vehicle. Therefore, very little can be done to improve this phenomenon. Increasing the level of awareness among young drivers about these issues and their likely crash involvement seems to be the only viable approach. However, preliminary efforts from graduated licensing show that some of these trends seem to be reduced, indicating a possible impact on the crash rates of young drivers.


SUMMARY: Fifty-five strains of the genus Mycoplasma were isolated from sputam of 95 patients suffering from various respiratory tract diseases. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic method was used to identify the isolated strains, in addition to the conventional biochemical methods and growth-inhibition by antisera. The electrophoretic patterns of the isolated strains were compared with those of known human mycoplasmas. The electrophoretic patterns obtained were species specific and highly reproducible. The results of the identification of the isolated strains by the gel electrophoretic method correlated well with those of the growth inhibition test. It is suggested that polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of whole cell proteins might become a useful routine method for identification of mycoplasmas.
The most prevalent Mycoplasma found in the sputa was Mycoplasma salivarium, only four strains were identified as M. orale type 1 and one strain as M. pneumoniae. One strain was similar to, but not identical with, M. salivarium. The three oral anaerobic mycoplasmas (M. salivarium, M. orale types 1 and 2) showed a certain similarity when examined by the gel electrophoretic method, they may be genetically related to each other.


Immunological diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are infrequent in less developed countries, possibly because helminths provide protection by modulating host immunity. In IBD murine models, the helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri prevents colitis. It was determined whether H. polygyrus bakeri mediated IBD protection by altering dendritic cell (DC) function. We used a Rag IBD model where animals were reconstituted with IL10−/− T cells, making them susceptible to IBD and with OVA Ag-responsive OT2 T cells, allowing study of a gut antigenic response. Intestinal DC from H. polygyrus bakeri-infected Rag mice added to lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) isolated from colitic animals blocked OVA IFN-γ/IL-17 responses in vitro through direct contact with the inflammatory LPMC. DC from uninfected Rag mice displayed no regulatory activity. Transfer of DC from H. polygyrus bakeri-infected mice into Rag mice reconstituted with IL10−/− T cells protected animals from IBD, and LPMC from these mice lost OVA responsiveness. After DC transfer, OT2 T cells populated the intestines normally. However, the OT2 T cells were rendered Ag nonresponsive through regulatory action of LPMC non-T cells. The process of regulation appeared to be regulatory T cell independent. Thus, H. polygyrus bakeri modulates intestinal DC function, rendering them tolerogenic. This appears to be an important mechanism through which H. polygyrus bakeri suppresses colitis. IFN-γ and IL-17 are colitogenic. The capacity of these DC to block a gut Ag-specific IFN-γ/IL-17 T cell response also is significant.


The objective of this paper was to compare and to analyze three portfolio selection models: Mean-Variance, Minimax and Minimax Weighted. These models were evaluated using historical data (September 1999 to August 2000, January 2001 to December 2001 and February 2002 to January 2003) obtained from the Brazilian Stock Market (Bovespa). They were selected optimal portfolios to each month based on the returns of the last twelve months. The results show that the returns obtained through the Mean-Variance model were superiors in certain circumstances and inferiors in others when compared to the Ibovespa index. The Minimax model obtained the best accumulated returns when compared with the others models and the Ibovespa index.


Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by deficits in three core behavioral domains: reciprocal social interactions, communication, and restricted interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Several hundreds of risk genes for autism have been identified, however, it remains a challenge to associate these genes with specific core behavioral deficits. In multiplex autism families, affected sibs often show significant differences in severity of individual core phenotypes. We hypothesize that a higher mutation burden contributes to a larger difference in the severity of specific core phenotypes between affected sibs. We tested this hypothesis on social behavioral deficits in autism. We sequenced synaptome genes (n = 1,886) in affected male sib-pairs (n = 274) in families from the Autism Genetics Research Exchange (AGRE) and identified rare (MAF ≤ 1%) and predicted functional variants. We selected affected sib-pairs with a large (≥10; n = 92 pairs) or a small (≤4; n = 108 pairs) difference in total cumulative Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) social scores (SOCT_CS). We compared burdens of unshared variants present only in sibs with severe social deficits and found a higher burden in SOCT_CS≥10 compared to SOCT_CS ≤ 4 (SOCT_CS≥10: 705.1 ± 16.2; SOCT_CS ≤ 4, 668.3 ± 9.0; p = 0.025). Unshared SOCT_CS≥10 genes only in sibs with severe social deficits are significantly enriched in the SFARI gene set. Network analyses of these genes using InWeb_IM, molecular signatures database (MSigDB), and GeNetMeta identified enrichment for phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) (Enrichment Score [eScore] p value = 3.36E−07; n = 8 genes) and Nerve growth factor (NGF) (eScore p value = 8.94E−07; n = 9 genes) networks. These studies support a key role for these signaling networks in social behavioral deficits and present a novel approach to associate risk genes and signaling networks with core behavioral domains in autism.


Model compounds of benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA)-modified polyethersulfone, polyetheretherketone, and polyetheroctafluorobiphenyl were synthesized to analyze the degradation mechanism in alkaline fuel cell and water-splitting cell applications. From the degradation behavior of the model compounds, it was found that the BTMA-modified polyethersulfone and polyetheretherketone membranes were decomposed via ether cleavage-triggered simultaneous degradation of the backbone and the anion-exchange group. In contrast, polyetheroctafluorobiphenyl anion-exchange membranes were deteriorated by the direct nucleophilic substitution of fluorine groups in the main chain by hydroxide groups. To enhance the alkaline stability of polyarylene ether anion-exchange membranes, it is critical to not introduce electron-withdrawing groups and increase electron density around the ether linkages. The degradation rate of the model compounds was considerably accelerated in alkoxide solution compared with aqueous solution, indicating that the alkaline stability of the membrane was significantly more important in methanol or ethanol fuel cells than in hydrogen fuel cells.


SUMMARY Since 1960, experiments have shown that perturbations of the ionosphere can occur after earthquakes, by way of dynamic coupling between seismic surface waves and the atmosphere. The atmospheric wave is amplified exponentially while propagating upwards due to the decrease of density, and interaction with the ionospheric plasma leads to clearly identified signals on both ground-based or satellite ionospheric measurements. In 1999 and 2000, after an upgrade of the HF Doppler sounder, the Commisariat ` '´ Energie Atomique systematically recorded these effects in the ionosphere with the Francourville (France) network, by measuring vertical oscillations of ionospheric layers with the Doppler technique. Normal-mode theory extended to a solid Earth with an atmosphere allows successful modelling of such signals, even if this 1-D approach is probably too crude, especially in the solid Earth, where 20 s surface waves see large lateral variations in the crust. The combination of observations and simulations provides a new tool to determine acoustic gravity wave propagation characteristics from the ground to ionospheric height. Observed velocity and amplification of the atmospheric waves show good agreement from the ground up to moderate sounding altitudes (140‐150 km); however, at higher altitudes the propagation speed is found to be much smaller than predicted and attenuation is underestimated. This shows that the standard formalism of acoustic gravity waves in the atmosphere cannot efficiently describe propagation in the ionized atmosphere. Further work is needed to characterize the propagation of acoustic waves in this altitude range: we believe that seismic waves can provide a well-constrained source for such study.


In linear regression, SLOPE is a new convex analysis method that generalizes the Lasso via the sorted L1 penalty: larger fitted coefficients are penalized more heavily. This magnitude-dependent regularization requires an input of penalty sequence $\lambda$, instead of a scalar penalty as in the Lasso case, thus making the design extremely expensive in computation. In this paper, we propose two efficient algorithms to design the possibly high-dimensional SLOPE penalty, in order to minimize the mean squared error. For Gaussian data matrices, we propose a first order Projected Gradient Descent (PGD) under the Approximate Message Passing regime. For general data matrices, we present a zero-th order Coordinate Descent (CD) to design a sub-class of SLOPE, referred to as the k-level SLOPE. Our CD allows a useful trade-off between the accuracy and the computation speed. We demonstrate the performance of SLOPE with our designs via extensive experiments on synthetic data and real-world datasets.


Tuberculosis (TB) in Indonesia is at the third level in the world. The effectiveness of TB vaccine in lung TB. prevention varies, thus, this has motivated the researcher to explore based material of vaccine with a higher effectivity. One of the alternate vaccines that has developed, is the sub unit one made from adhesin protein. The aim of this study was to know the kind of oral administration of 38 kDa adhesin protein of M. tuberculosis in determining so that it can increase the level of macrophage in lungs of BALB/c mice. This study was an experimental work using BALB/c male mice that were immunized with 38 kDa adhesin protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis orally. The samples were chosen at random and divided into six (6) groups that consisted of: "100 μg protein +adjuvant Immunostimulating Complex (ISCOM)" group (n=5), "50 μg + adjuvant ISCOM" group (n=5), "100 μg" group (n=5), "50 μg" group (n=5), "ISCOM" group (n=5) and "negative control" group (n=5). The measurement of the variable in this study was the number of macrophages . The results showed that the increasing number of macrophage had significant differences between each group. ANOVA test showed a significant level at p<0.05. The conclusion of this study was that 38 kDa adhesin protein of M. tuberculosis peroral could increase the level of macrophage in the lung of BALB/c mice. The highest level of macrophages was the group induced by 100


Strategies and information for interdisciplinary research in medicine, science and the humanities, particularly for students and researchers in the MSH program.


We use data from the Stanford Education Data Archive to describe district-level trends in average academic achievement between 2009 and 2019. Although on average school districts' test scores improved very modestly (by about 0.001 standard deviations per year), there is significant variation among districts. Moreover, we find that average test score disparities between nonpoor and poor students and between White and Black students are growing; those between White and Hispanic students are shrinking. We find no evidence of achievement-equity synergies or trade-offs: Improvements in overall achievement are uncorrelated with trends in achievement disparities. Finally, we find that the strongest predictors of achievement disparity trends are the levels and trends in within-district racial and socioeconomic segregation and changes in differential access to certified teachers.


This study attempts to identify the potential determinants of advertising avoidance in the context of personalized advertising media, including unsolicited commercial e-mail, postal direct mail, telemarketing, and text messaging. Using a self-administered survey (n = 442), the proposed model is tested with structural equation modeling analysis. The findings indicate that while ad skepticism partially mediates the relationship between ad avoidance and its three determinants (perceived personalization, privacy concerns, and ad irritation), both privacy concerns and ad irritation have a direct positive effect on ad avoidance. However, increased perceived personalization leads directly to decreased ad avoidance.


A subsurface resistivity model is important in hydrocarbon exploration primarily in the controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method. CSEM forward modelling workflow uses resistivity model as the main input in feasibility studies and inversion process. The task of building a shaly sand resistivity model becomes more complex than clean sand due to the presence of a shale matrix. In this paper, a new approach is introduced to model a robust resistivity property of shaly sand reservoirs. A volume of seismic data and three wells located in the K-field of offshore Sarawak is provided for this study. Two new seismic attributes derived from seismic attenuation property called SQp and SQs are used as main inputs to predict the volume of shale, effective porosity, and water saturation before resistivity estimation. SQp attribute has a similar response to gamma-ray indicating the lithological variation and SQs attribute is identical to resistivity as an indicator to reservoir fluids. The petrophysical predictions are performed by solving the mathematical step-wise regression between the seismic multi-attributes and predicted petrophysical properties at the well locations. Subsequently, resistivity values are estimated using the Poupon-Leveaux (Indonesia) equation, an improvised model from Archie's to derive the mathematical relationship of shaly sand's resistivity to the volume and resistivity of clay matrix in shaly sand reservoirs. The resistivity modeled from the predicted petrophysical properties distributed consistently with sand distribution delineated from SQp attribute mainly in southeast, northeast, and west regions. The gas distribution of the net sand modeled by 5% and 90% of gas saturation scenarios also changed correspondingly to SQs attribute anomaly indicating the consistent fluid distribution between the modeled resistivity and SQs attribute.


The 1999-2006 versions of the Italian Domestic Stability Pact had many shortcomings and a modest impact with respect to the aim of aligning the fiscal behaviour of sub-national government units with the national commitments under the European Stability and Growth Pact. The Domestic Pact was revised in 2007 and 2008 to tighten the monitoring and sanctions framework and prevent some inefficient behaviour. However, some undesirable features still mar the new regime: no coordination exists between the Domestic Pact and the debt and tax constraints applied to local governments; a clear definition of the contribution of sub-national governments to aggregate compliance with the external rule is still lacking; flexibility has been introduced by means of an artificial reference budget balance; side effects on resource redistribution are ignored; and monitoring and sanctioning remain weak. Remedies for the above shortcomings can possibly be found in the domestic pacts of the other EMU countries. Most of all, the Domestic Pact should be adjusted to the specific characteristics of fiscal decentralization in Italy, where a large fiscal gap exists, revenue autonomy is constrained and a large share of the responsibility for spending is rigid and politically sensitive.


Three novel TADF materials, 10-(6-(2,6-diphenylpyrimidin-4-yl)pyridin-3-yl)-9,9-diphenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DPAc-4PyPM), 9,9-diphenyl-10-(4-(2-phenyl-6-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidin-4-yl)phenyl)-9,10-dihydroacridine (DPAc-6PyPM) and 10-(4-(2,6-diphenylpyrimidin-4-yl)phenyl)-9,9-diphenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DPAc-TPPM) have been designed and synthesized. CH⋯N intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions were introduced into pyrimidine–pyridine hybrid acceptors, then the TADF properties can be tuned by skillful manipulation of the positions of CH⋯N in the acceptor moiety. Both DPAc-4PyPM and DPAc-6PyPM exhibit a higher PLQY than DPAc-TPPM. Simultaneously, the kRISC realized for DPAc-4PyPM is nearly 5 or 10 fold higher than that of its analogues. The optimized sky-blue device using DPAc-4PyPM as a dopant demonstrated the maximum external quantum efficiency, current efficiency and power efficiency of 24.34%, 53.89 cd A−1 and 36.79 lm W−1, respectively, which is comparable to most of the previously reported pyrimidine-based TADF OLEDs.


Visible light communication (VLC)-based Internet of Things (IoT) designs are rapidly gaining attention due to their unique communication-friendly features such as the ability to support high data rates, free-spectrum usage, and inherent security. In addition, the same infrastructure used by the VLC system can be exploited to support optical wireless power transmission (OWPT). The Light-based IoT (LIoT) concept encompasses both wireless data and power transmission. Recently, the use of printed electronics (PE) technology has been considered as a highly attractive approach to implementing the LIoT concept, as PE will allow manufacturing energy-autonomous, low-cost and sustainable nodes that can be attached to virtually any object. In this paper, we study the problem of communication and power transfer purposes in the uplink direction. In particular, we carry out a feasibility study comparing the use of OLEDs and conventional LEDs for the mentioned tasks. The performance of actual state-of-the-art printed optical components are measured, evaluated, and contrasted with that of similar conventional (non-printed) components. We found that printed OLEDs, though exhibiting sub-optimal performance, offer a robust performance to be used as key components in the implementation of the LIoT concept.


ABSTRACT Stress has been shown to negatively impact early childhood teachers' abilities to provide high quality, responsive environments for young children. Previous studies of early childhood teacher stress have focused on the tasks and responsibilities inherent in the job as well as on structural conditions within the field of early childhood education. The present study explored inter- and intra-personal dimensions of early childhood teacher stress and applied the Stress Process model to teachers' experience of work-related stress. Results from this qualitative study suggest that teachers experience primary stressors associated with the work itself and interactions with others within the workplace. They also experience secondary stressors when their work interferes with other domains of their lives. Despite these stressors, teachers have developed a variety of coping strategies and created networks of social support to buffer the impact of stressors on their practice. These findings use teachers' own experiences to inform the types of pre-service training, professional development, and policy interventions that have the greatest potential to reduce ECE teacher stress and enable them to provide the highest quality early care and education for all children.


Numerous recent studies have addressed how the investment choices of firms depend on elite perceptions of the quality of national regulatory regimes. Likewise, other studies show that government structures can help to support credible commitments that protect market mechanisms. The authors provide the first analytic discussion of elite perceptions of national regulatory quality as a function of the independence of regulators in a country's political system. Their central claims are that market operations depend on perceptions of regulatory quality and that independent regulators facilitate elite perceptions of regulatory quality because they check actors in domestic political systems. Cross-national statistical evidence suggests that regulatory independence supports elite perceptions of high regulatory quality. This article also provides evidence that regulatory independence is more likely where political competition shapes incentives to intervene in business markets.


Deep reinforcement learning (RL) has been successfully applied to a variety of game-like environments. However, the application of deep RL to visual navigation with realistic environments is a challenging task. We propose a novel learning architecture capable of navigating an agent, e.g. a mobile robot, to a target given by an image. To achieve this, we have extended the batched A2C algorithm with auxiliary tasks designed to improve visual navigation performance. We propose three additional auxiliary tasks: predicting the segmentation of the observation image and of the target image and predicting the depth-map. These tasks enable the use of supervised learning to pre-train a major part of the network and to reduce the number of training steps substantially. The training performance has been further improved by increasing the environment complexity gradually over time. An efficient neural network structure is proposed, which is capable of learning for multiple targets in multiple environments. Our method navigates in continuous state spaces and on the AI2-THOR environment simulator surpasses the performance of state-of-the-art goal-oriented visual navigation methods from the literature.


Objective: To establish the analytical performance of a heart fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) method suitable for routine clinical use and examine its role for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction. Methods: Analyses of HFABP were performed on an Advia 2400 (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics). Imprecision, limit of detection (LOD), limit of blank (LOB), and linearity were assessed using standard methods. Stability was assessed at 4 °C, −20 °C, and with 3 repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Clinical diagnostic performance was assessed using chest pain in patients, with a final diagnosis according to the universal definition of myocardial infarction with cardiac troponin I (cTnI) measured on the Siemens Advia Centaur (cTnI Ultra method, 99th percentile 50 ng/L, 10% CV 30 ng/L). Ischemia was detected using sampling pre- and postangioplasty. Results: LOD and analytical imprecision exceeded the manufacturer9s specification (LOD 1.128 μg/L, 20% CV 1.3 μg/L, 10% CV 2.75 μg/L). Clinical diagnostic efficiency was less than cTnI. Addition of HFABP to cTnI produced a modest increase in diagnostic sensitivity at a cost of significant loss of specificity. Conclusions: Although the test had excellent analytical performance, it did not contribute to the clinical diagnosis of patients with chest pain. HFABP appears to be a marker of myocardial infarction not myocardial ischemia.


The most prevalent cancer diagnosed in the world is sunlight-induced skin cancer. In addition to being a complete carcinogen, UV radiation, the causative agent of skin cancer, induces immune suppression. Because UV-induced immune suppression is a well-recognized risk factor for skin cancer induction, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms underlying UV-induced immune suppression. Mast cells, which have recently emerged as immune regulatory cells, are particularly important in UV-induced immune suppression. UV exposure does not induce immune suppression in mast cell-deficient mice. We report that UV irradiation blocks germinal center (GC) formation, Ab secretion, and T follicular helper (Tfh) cell function, in part by altering the expression of transcription factors BCL-6 and BLIMP-1. No suppression of GC formation, Tfh cell IL-21 expression, or Ab secretion was observed in UV-irradiated mast cell-deficient (KitW-sh/W-sh) mice. When mast cell-deficient mice were reconstituted with wild type mast cells, immune suppression was restored. Reconstituting the mast cell-deficient mice with bone marrow-derived mast cells from IL-10–deficient mice failed to restore the ability of UV radiation to suppress GC formation. Our findings demonstrate a function for mast cells, suppression of Tfh cell production, GC formation, and Ab production in vivo.


Aontia: an ancient toponym from the Aragon mapsThe Aragon geographical maps represent the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Naples. they date back to the second half of the fifteenth century, probably some of them or some copies were subsequently modified or updated. These ancient maps were rediscovered about thirty years ago in the State Archives of Naples and in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, and they have been under study for some years. They are unfortunately still little used in the scientific field, although several contributions have demonstrated their validity as an investigation tool thanks to their undoubted information potential. In fact, thanks to the very high degree of characterization of these maps it is possible to advance hypotheses and considerations of a historical-archaeological nature of the territories they represent. It is often toponymic analysis that offers insights and guides the early stages of research: toponyms relating to natural and anthropic elements inform about landscapes rich of medieval and classical references. The case study proposed here relates to the toponym Aontia, located on the Aragon maps near the centers of the Basilicata of Cirigliano and Gorgoglione. It is a place currently unidentified and not attested in any medieval or modern source; its toponym may refer to some references relating to an epithet of the well-known Greek divinity Artemis and to the presence of a sanctuary dedicated to it or to an ancient settlement. Starting from the analysis of the toponym Aontia, a localization proposal will be carried out based on the etymological and historical study, on the topographic survey and on the remote sensing analysis.


The credit default swap (CDS) market increasingly has become a key source of relative value among traditional money managers in recent years. In this article, the authors focus on one form of CDS relative value: basis packages. A basis package is the purchase (sale) of a specific credit exposure in the cash market and the simultaneous sale (purchase) of the same risk in the CDS market—ideally, but not necessarily, at two different prices. Specifically, the basis can be defined as the CDS spread minus the cash bond spread. The authors describe key considerations regarding the construction of basis packages, and evaluate five sources of value aside from spread that can have a significant impact on returns. The key considerations in the construction of basis packages are: 1) what exactly the basis is and 2) how to hedge economic exposure properly. The five sources of value aside from spread are: 1) many variations of the same economic exposure that can be hedged via a default swap, 2) differences in credit risk across markets, 3) a funding option, 4) a sub-LIBOR skew, and 5) liquidity premiums. After discussing these factors, the authors review them in two case examples.


: In an effort to determine the plasticity of the proliferative matrix of the hippocampus in an adult rat to environmental manipulation, the following study was conducted. Fifteen adult male Long-Evans rats (6 months old at the start of the experiment) were placed into two different environments for 3 months. Seven animals represented the enriched condition and 8 represented the condition of isolation. At the conclusion of exposure to the different environments, the animals were sacrificed by transcardial perfusion and the dorsal hippocampi examined in matched sections for all animals. Results indicated heavier total brain weights and larger numbers of granule cells in the dorsal hippocampus for animals exposed to the enriched environment. Implications for CNS plasticity were discussed.


A 22-year-old woman presented to the emergency department (ED) after suffering injuries as a restrained driver in a head-on motor vehicle accident. Upon presentation to the ED, her Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) was 15. A computed tomography (CT) of the head and neck was negative. She was taken to surgery for orthopedic injuries. Recovery from general anesthesia was somewhat prolonged due to somnolence. Roughly two hours after transfer, her family noticed that she was not moving her left arm. Trauma staff noted she had a new left hemiparesis. She was promptly taken for a repeat head CT which showed a dense area of ischemia in her right cerebral hemisphere, in the distribution of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA). A CT angiogram of the head and neck revealed a large dissection of the right carotid artery below the level of C2-C3, complete occlusion of the right internal carotid artery beginning 2 cm superior to the bifurcation, and developing cerebral edema with subsequent leftward shift.


Sunarto. 2013. As a freshwater formation, Reservoir Mulur is also a habitat for freshwater organisms. This includes a variety of plankton and benthos. The life of these organisms will be closely linked to environmental conditions, including water pollution levels. Sensitivity of aquatic organisms such as plankton and benthos make it as a good bio indicator for pollution. The purpose of this study was to determine the diversity level of plankton and benthos in Reservoir Mulur as well as to determine the pollution level of the waters of the reservoir. The analysis of pollution level is done by using the formula Shannon-Weiner diversity index. Water pollution level is determined by the amount of Shannon Weiner diversity index of plankton and benthos. The three sample locations of Reservoir Mulur generates Shannon Weiner ID values for plankton 2,219 (Station I), 2.427 (Station II) and 2.356 (Station III). As for the benthos Shannon Weiner ID values obtained 1,665 (Station I), 1.529 (Station II) and 0.975 (Station III). Based on the Shannon Weiner ID plankton, the entire site is being considered impure. This condition is different from the level of contamination based on Shannon Weiner ID benthos. The results based on a comparison of pollution levels in a row ID benthos were continuously polluted, moderate and severe.


Goal: Motor imagery-related mu/beta rhythms, which can be voluntarily modulated by subjects, have been widely used in EEG-based brain computer interfaces (BCIs). Moreover, it has been suggested that motor imagery-specific EEG differences can be enhanced by feedback training. However, the differences observed in the EEGs of naive subjects are typically not sufficient to provide reliable EEG control and thus result in unintended feedback. Such feedback can frustrate subjects and impede training. In this study, a hybrid BCI paradigm combining motor imagery and steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) has been proposed to provide effective continuous feedback for motor imagery training. Methods: During the initial training sessions, subjects must focus on flickering buttons to evoke SSVEPs as they perform motor imagery tasks. The output/feedback of the hybrid BCI is based on hybrid features consisting of motor imagery- and SSVEP-related brain signals. In this context, the SSVEP plays a more important role than motor imagery in generating feedback. As the training progresses, the subjects can gradually decrease their visual attention to the flickering buttons, provided that the feedback is still effective. In this case, the feedback is mainly based on motor imagery. Results: Our experimental results demonstrate that subjects generate distinguishable brain patterns of hand motor imagery after only five training sessions lasting approximately 1.5 h each. Conclusion: The proposed hybrid feedback paradigm can be used to enhance motor imagery training. Significance: This hybrid BCI system with feedback can effectively identify the intentions of the subjects.


Wireless indoor localization systems and especially signal strength fingerprinting techniques have been the subject of significant research efforts in the last decades. However, most of the proposed solutions require a costly site-survey to build the radio map which can be used to match radio signatures with specific locations. We investigate a novel indoor localization system that addresses the data collection problem by progressively and semi-autonomously creating a radio-map with limited interaction cost. Moreover, we investigate how spatiotemporal and hardware properties-based variations can affect the RSSI values collected and significantly influence the resulting localization. We show the impact of these fluctuations on our system and discuss possible mitigations.


Bilzingsleben is internationally known as a palaeontological, palaeoanthropological and archaeological reference site of a Middle Pleistocene Interglacial (Holstein). From 1969 until 2003 Dietrich Mania excavated almost 1800 m2 and retrieved several tons of faunal material which he interpreted as remains of human hunting. In order to confirm this interpretation, three areas were excavated between 2004 and 2007. The aim of the present study is to add to an understanding of the site formation processes by an analysis of the stratigraphy and taphonomy of the faunal remains of these recent excavations. In addition, the already published results of the faunal investigations of the former excavations were assembled and are presented. The stratigraphic relationships of the former excavation were confirmed. In addition, the relative abundance of the different species is very similar for the former and recent excavations, with the predominance of rhinoceros and red deer, followed by beaver and bear with significantly fewer remains, while bovid, horse and elephant remains are very rare. Also very rare are bird and fish remains, while mid-sized mammals are absent. The frequencies of the skeletal elements demonstrate, at least for the two dominant species, that all elements were present and became incorporated into the find bearing layer. Traces on the surfaces of the bones that, according to their morphology and position on the bones, must be identified as human-made cut-marks, are very rare. Taken together this indicates that the faunal remains have to be considered as natural components of the Interglacial palaeo-landscape. However, incorporated in the find-bearing layer are also local stones including flint, as well as pre-Pleistocene ostracods and fish remains. This means that parts of still older sediments were also reworked. The non-selective recovery and three-dimensional recording of all faunal remains during the recent excavations revealed a vertical distribution of over 1 m in depth, independent of animal species and size. Furthermore, in areas where the find-bearing layer is inclined the obliquely embedded elements show a preferred orientation towards the slope of the layer. This all points towards an embedding of the faunal remains under the influence of fluvial, terrestrial and limnic processes.


BACKGROUND
Postoperative seizures (PSs) after neurosurgical operations are common but little is known about the role of surgical brain incision on their genesis. This topic has not been addressed so far.

OBJECTIVE
To verify if the corticotomy affects the risk of PSs and postoperative epilepsy (PE) in children.

METHODS
One hundred forty-three consecutive pediatric cases operated on for supratentorial lesions at the same institution in the last 15 yr have been retrospectively reviewed by dividing them into group A, 68 children who required brain corticotomy mainly for hemispheric tumors, and group B, 75 children treated through extracortical approaches mainly for suprasellar and optic tumors. Patients with possible "epileptic" biases, like preoperative seizures, were excluded.

RESULTS
No significant differences have been found between group A and B as far as incidence of PSs (11.7% vs 14.5%) and PE (4.5% vs 6.5%), timing, and type of seizures are concerned after a mean 6.8 yr follow-up. The size of corticotomy in group A (<3 cm2 vs >3 cm2) had no impact on epileptogenesis as well as the other variables considered in both groups (age, sex, extent of lesion resection).

CONCLUSION
This study shows that the surgical cortical "trauma" would not represent a risk factor for PSs and PE. According to the present analysis and the literature, other causes seem to be involved (namely, electrolytic imbalance and brain gliosis). This information is important for preoperative surgical planning and postoperative management. A validation by both adult series and prospective studies is needed.


FoxO transcription factors are important regulators of cell survival in response to a variety of stress stimuli and play vital functions in tumor progression. However, the functions and underlying regulators of FoxO3a in colorectal cancer (CRC) have not been fully elucidated. The aim of the current study was to identify the functions of FoxO3a in CRC and characterize the transcription elements within the promoter region of FoxO3a. The expression of FoxO3a was upregulated in response to hypoxic and oxidative stress stimuli. Furthermore, knockdown of FoxO3a significantly reduced cell proliferation and migration ability, while it promoted the response to cetuximab treatment. In addition, it was revealed that knockdown of FoxO3a reduced tumor progression in vivo. A mechanistic study found that plenty of putative SP1 sites were identified in the FoxO3a promoter. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that a region corresponding to the SP1 binding sites located between ‑2,000 and ‑1,037 bp of FoxO3a promoter was essential for the transcriptional activity. Co-transfection of a SP1 expression vector with the reporter constructs markedly increased luciferase activity. Collectively, these results indicated that SP1‑dependent promoter elements drive FoxO3a gene transcription in colorectal CRC, and indicated that SP1 upregulated FoxO3a is critical for CRC progression.


In this article we explore the issue of memory transmission by considering it along the two temporal planes on which it occurs: vertically, through time; and horizontally, in time. It is because we regard memory transmission as involving the mutual interaction of these two planes that we introduce the concept of the mnemonic imagination. The value of the concept is that it enables us to see, inter alia, how communities of memory emerge. Our route into this is the sociology of generations and most particularly the evidence of mnemonic transmission provided by second-generation Holocaust narratives. The purpose of the article is to bring together a range of work relevant to the sharing and inheritance of memory across and within time, to explore the application of collective mnemonic frames in processes of personal remembering, and so move us closer to understanding the mechanism by which experience derived from others becomes integrated into our own life-stories.


The influence of anthropomorphism in wildlife film and documentary is often misconstrued and underestimated. Critics of anthropomorphic techniques simplify them as pandering to an audience"s cultural ideologies and expectations. Anthropomorphism, including personification, characterisation and narrative structure, are nevertheless inseparable from the wildlife filmmaking process. Inherently subjective, nature on screen is depicted as per the production and post-production choices of the wildlife filmmaker. Furthermore, film, as a medium for entertainment, has ensured that representations of animals reflect those that are popular and will provide entertaining viewing for a particular audience. This anthropomorphism has great importance and potential influence in increasing audience numbers and has the potential to inspire conservation action through greater awareness and science communication. Understandings of anthropomorphism need to move away from criticism of its validity as a filmmaking technique and be reframed towards its potential to inspire audiences.


A 40-year-old roofer called the medical emergency team because of sudden dyspnea and chest constriction. He was suffering from bronchial asthma that exacerbated probably due to the inhalation of a solvent while at work. Because of status asthmaticus he was intubated immediately after arrival in the hospital and breathing had to be assisted artificially for ten hours. After extubation he complained of chest pain. In view of an elevated creatinkinase of 4368 U/1 this was interpreted as rhabdomyolysis of the respiratory muscles due to the status asthmaticus. As a cause of chest pain and elevation of creatinkinase after severe respiratory work under hypoxic conditions rhabdomyolysis of the involved musculature has to be considered.


In this experience report, we apply deep active learning to the field of design optimization to reduce the number of computationally expensive numerical simulations. We are interested in optimizing the design of structural components, where the shape is described by a set of parameters. If we can predict the performance based on these parameters and consider only the promising candidates for simulation, there is an enormous potential for saving computing power. We present two selection strategies for self-optimization to reduce the computational cost in multi-objective design optimization problems. Our proposed methodology provides an intuitive approach that is easy to apply, offers significant improvements over random sampling, and circumvents the need for uncertainty estimation. We evaluate our strategies on a large dataset from the domain of fluid dynamics and introduce two new evaluation metrics to determine the model's performance. Findings from our evaluation highlights the effectiveness of our selection strategies in accelerating design optimization. We believe that the introduced method is easily transferable to other self-optimization problems.


Morphological models are commonly used to describe microstructures observed in heterogeneous materials. Usually, these models depend upon a set of parameters that must be chosen carefully to match experimental observations conducted on the microstructure. A common approach to perform the parameters determination is to try to minimize an objective function, usually taken to be the discrepancy between measurements computed on the simulations and on the experimental observations, respectively. In this article, we present a Bayesian approach for determining the parameters of morphological models, based upon the definition of a posterior distribution for the parameters. A Monte Carlo Markov Chains (MCMC) algorithm is then used to generate samples from the posterior distribution and to identify a set of optimal parameters. We show on several examples that the Bayesian approach allows us to properly identify the optimal parameters of distinct morphological models and to identify potential correlations between the parameters of the models.


Medical illustration traditionally evaluates a successful illustration based on the effectiveness of information transmission: did the audience learn the material? This study expands that view of success by examining not only effective information transmission, but also the influence of the information on the audience's beliefs and behaviors by affecting their implicit theory of intelligence.
Implicit theories are the unexamined beliefs we hold about the world around us. Psychology research indicates that instruction on neuroplasticity can affect implicit theories of intelligence -- whether we believe intelligence to be a fixed or dynamic quality. Implicit theories have been widely shown to impact behavior and performance in conflict, challenge, and failure.
This study involved the creation of a visually rich interactive eLearning module teaching about the dynamic changes happening within the brain. The module was tested for both traditional learning outcomes (didactic results) and formative outcomes (change in implicit theory) through a pre/post-test design. Didactic results were assessed with multiple choice questions. Implicit theories were assessed using an established set of statements and Likert-style scales. Subjects were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform.
The average knowledge test score went from 51% pre-test to 82% post-test (n=47, p<0.0001, Cohen's d = 1.53) and the average implicit theory score increased by 0.55 pre- to post-test (n=47, p<0.0001, Cohen's d = 0.64). These results strongly support the hypothesis. Not only did participants learn the material presented in the interactive, but it changed their implicit beliefs about the nature of intelligence. This study invites an ongoing data-driven discussion about how visualizing science affects beliefs and therefore behavior.


Microorganisms that adhere to surfaces in order to protect themselves from many adverse environmental conditions form a layer called biofilm. Biofilms protect bacteria from changing environmental conditions such as starvation, antibiotics, disinfectants, pH and temperature fluctuation, dryness and UV rays. In this study, biofilms were formed on surfaces of glass coupons in a cooling tower model system over a period of 180 days. The biofilms were treated with various stress factors monthly. These stress factors were: exposure to temperatures of 4°C and 60°C, pH of 3, 5, and 11, 3 M aqueous NaCl and distilled water, as well as, monochloramine at 2, 500, and 1 000 mg/L (ppm). Following the treatment with stress factors, both the numbers of actively respiring bacteria and the total bacteria in the biofilms were determined by CTC-DAPI staining. The aerobic heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) in the biofilms were determined by the conventional culture method of spread plating on R2A agar. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of these stressors on the model coolingtower biofilms. Of the stressors tested, those that had the greatest impact were a temperature of 60°C, pH of 3, 3 M NaCl, and monochloramine at both 500 and 1 000 mg/L. However, when using a non-culture-based viability assay (CTC-DAPI staining), an extremely high number of live bacteria were detected even after applying the most effective stress factors (with the exception of pH 3) of 60°C, 3 M NaCl, monochloramine at 500 and 1 000 mg/L. Results showed that biofilm protects the bacteria from extreme physical and chemical stress conditions. Additionally, the conventional culture technique cannot detect the presence of bacteria that have entered the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) phase; the use of different techniques, such as microscopy and cytometry (flow and solid-phase), is therefore important to obtain more accurate results. Keywords : biofilm, stress factors, monochloramine, CTC-DAPI staining


Type 1 diabetes (T1D) , a prototypic autoimmune disease, creates several serious complications of which atherosclerosis is the major co-morbid condition. Atherosclerosis is defined by arterial plaque deposition due to coagulation blood products, lipid deposition, and inflammation. The latter has been known for more than a decade but only recently have inflammatory mediators proven to be a beneficial target once traditional treatment has been exhausted. T-cell mediators associated with the CD40-CD154 inflammatory dyad are found in autoimmune diseases such as T1D and rheumatoid arthritis and may be a cause of the added atherosclerotic risk which these disease states maintain. This study seeks to explore the role of T cells in atherogenesis through the use of pro-atherogenic ApoE-/- mice bred to create T cell deficiency (ApoE-/- TCRα-/-) for analysis of the overall effect of T cells in atherogenesis. Mice are sacrificed at 8 months of age and dissected to obtain the aortas and hearts. The aorta is used for en-face Sudan IV staining analysis while serial aortic valve cross sections are used to characterize the lesion in terms of area and content. Analyses of aortic valve cross sections (A-D) and whole aortas (E-F) of this novel model not only demonstrated a significant reduction in overall plaque, but also revealed a change in plaque composition due to T cell deficiency. Future aims are to define the specific subset of pathogenic T cells.

 A.J.Shepherd: None. M.Yussman: None. D.H.Wagner: Other Relationship; Op-T, LLC. G.M.Vaitaitis: None.

 National Institutes of Health (4R42DK115296-02)


The aim of this thesis was the study of respiration in ocean margin
sediments and the assessments of tools needed for this purpose.

The first study was on the biological pump and global respiration
patterns in the deep ocean using an empirical model based
on sediment oxygen consumption data. In this thesis the depth
dependence of respiration patterns was modelled using a compiled data
set of sediment oxygen consumption rates. We showed that the depth
relationship can best be described by a double exponential model. By
assuming a uniform flux laterally across the global ocean the depth
attenuation of POC could be derived. The results from this study imply
a more efficient biological pump.

The second study was on the short-term fate of phytodetritus,
investigated across the Pakistan margin of the Arabian Sea. Stations
ranged in water depths from 140 to 1850 m, encompassing the oxygen
minimum zone. Phytodetritus sedimentation events were simulated by
adding 13C-labelled algal material to surface sediments. The labelled
carbon was subsequently traced into bacterial lipids as a proxy of
bacterial biomass, foraminiferan and macrofaunal biomass as well as
into dissolved organic and inorganic pools. The largest pool of
processed carbon was found in dissolved inorganic carbon, attributed
to respiration. Macrofaunal influence was most pronounced at the lower
part of the oxygen minimum zone.

The third study was on benthic respiration rates in the Gulf of
Finland, Baltic Sea. Rates were based on in situ incubations
using benthic chamber landers. Three contrasting stations with
different sediment accumulation regimes were visited. The effect of
changes in water masses on the benthic fluxes was investigated with a
dynamic diagenetic model. Fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon were
highest at the station with accumulation bottom, intermediate at the
station with transport bottom and lowest at the station with erosion
sediments.

The fourth study was primarily a theoretical investigation of how well
a certain model parameter can be constrained based on a certain
dataset. A model of bio-irrigation was used as a good example of this.
The interpretation is based on fitting observed data with a model
containing several parameters, where some parameters are a
 priori unknown. In this chapter, it was tested under what
conditions the results obtained through this fitting are robust. The
results from this study imply that using only the concentration
change in the overlying water, it is not possible to constrain both
the rate and the mechanism of bio-irrigation, thus, sampling the
porewaters at the end of the incubation is a necessity.

The fifth study was an an evaluation of the performance of an oxygen
optode. The performance of the sensor was evaluated and compared with
data obtained by other methods. The principal conclusion was that,
owing to high accuracy, long-term stability (more
than 20 months), lack of pressure hysteresis and limited
cross-sensitivity, this method is overall more suitable for oxygen
monitoring in the aquatic environment than other methods.