It is common for romantic partners to influence one another's health maintenance behaviors. Previous research has examined positively and negatively framed social control messages to understand health behavior outcomes and relational affect; however, this study confirms and extends previous research by studying the associations between health transformations (from interdependence theory, health behaviors enacted for the partner) and relationship satisfaction. Data from a cross-sectional dyadic survey of heterosexual couples were analyzed using actor–partner independence models. As expected, dyadic results showed that positive social control was associated with greater healthy and fewer unhealthy partner transformations, whereas negative social control was associated with lower relationship satisfaction and more unhealthy transformations. Further, the breadth of partner health behaviors that individuals attempt to influence moderated the associations between social control and relationship satisfaction and health transformations. We discuss how the results from this study underscore the health implications associated with the nature and breadth of social control communication in romantic relationships.


The synthesis of liquid crystalline 3,4,5-tris(11-methacryloylundecyl-1-oxybenzyloxy)benzoic acid, 2-methyl-(1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxacyclopentadecane)-3,4,5-tris[4-(11-methacryloylundecyl-1-oxy)benzyloxy] benzoate and its 1:1 complex with sodium triflate is described. The observed mesophases were identified, by polarized optical microscopy and contact preparation techniques, to be of hexagonal columnar disordered structure. The amphiphiles form lyotropic columnar phases in concentrated methacrylate solvents, while at low solute contents supramolecular organogels emerge.


Limb threatening ischemia is a challenge for the vascular surgeon. Recent progress in revascularization procedures allow to minimize the primary amputation rate in the management of chronic critical limb ischemia. The authors discuss the prevalence and causes of chronic critical limb ischemia, with a special interest for diabetic arteriopathy. The technique of crural and pedal vessel revascularization is described, as well as the innovative tourniquet technique for distal bypass surgery. A review of published series of infrapopliteal bypass surgery is made. The experience of the authors during last decade with crural and pedal bypass surgery is analyzed.


Spontaneous pneumothorax is a relatively frequent acute medical problem. Acute chest pain, sudden dyspnea, and a sensation of discomfort are the usual clinical symptoms: these manifestations also occur in coronary occlusion, with which the condition my easily be misdiagnosed. This is especially true in cases of spontaneous pneumothorax of the left side because the ECG anomalies that arise could be erroneously confused with a coronary condition. The literature on the subject is reviewed and a case of left spontaneous pneumothorax is presented, pointing out the electrocardiographic disturbances: decrease of the amplitude of the QRS complex and R waves, inversion of the T wave in AVL and flattening of the T wave in most of the derivations, slight deviation of the electric axis of QRS toward the right, and phasic variation of voltage (very slight in this case). The importance of ECG studies in these cases is stressed in order to establish the differential diagnosis and avoid unnecessary delays in the application of the proper therapy.


From the Permian through to the modern day, stalagmites are an important archive of environmental change. Annually laminated stalagmites provide both a precise chronology and a paleoclimate proxy. The rate of annual vertical growth of stalagmites is recorded in changes of calcite fabric, annual fluxes of fluorescent organic matter or annual variations in trace element composition. The processes governing stalagmite growth are the flux of water, the CO2 saturation of drip water relative to the cave atmosphere, and the temperature. Although these processes are well understood, they depend on the specific hydrogeological flow routing of individual stalagmites. Therefore, although past climates are recorded in the vertical growth lamina thickness, the climatic signal is perturbed by noise related to local hydrologic factors. To separate local from global factors, we used geostatistical tools to analyze annual growth rate data from eleven stalagmites located on four continents. Variogram analyses permit the quantification of the signal content contained within the growth rate records. The information content ranges from 23 to 87%. Analysis of the growth derivative shows a negative correlation at a 1 year lag, meaning that acceleration in growth rate tends to be systematically followed by deceleration in growth rate and vice versa. We call this behavior "flickering" growth, and argue that it is related to the size of the store feeding the stalagmite. Variogram analysis and flickering are used to screen which types of signals can potentially be recorded in a given speleothem.


The title compound, [Co(C10H8N2)3][Fe(C2O4)3]·H2O, consists of two discrete tris(chelate) metal ions (CoIIIN6 and FeIIIO6 chromophores) and a water molecule. The structure is highly symmetrical; the CoIII and FeIII ions occupy positions with site symmetry 3.2. The coordination polyhedra of the metal atoms have a nearly octahedral geometry with noticeable trigonal distortions. The Co—N and Fe—O bond lengths are equal by symmetry, viz. 1.981 (2) and 1.998 (4) Å, respectively. The cations and anions are arranged alternately along their threefold rotation axes parallel to [001], forming chains that are packed in a hexagonal manner. The water molecules occupy voids between the chains. The crystal under investigation was an inversion twin.


Cardiovascular disease associations with chronic liver disease are identified. The effect of these cardiovascular diseases on the natural history of the underlying liver disease is considered. Their recognition and management is important in the long term care of patients with chronic liver disease, especially those being considered for liver transplantation.


Sir—In reply to the letter from Dr P. Silley, the authors THE SENSITIVITY OF ESCHERICHIA COLI 0157 TO were aware that conductance curves give only an indication SOME ANTIMICROBIALS BY CONVENTIONAL AND of the sensitivity of E. coli O157 strains to cefixime and CONDUCTANCE ASSAYS tellurite. As stated in the results and Discussion section, it was possible that these antimicrobials were affecting the M. MacRae, T. Rebate, M. Johnston and I. D. Ogden reduction of TMAO and the metabolism of glucuronate (1997) Letters in Applied Microbiology 25, 135–137. alone. However, when the sensitive strains were plated on CTSMAC, growth inhibition was observed. Other work Sir—Whilst the conclusions may be correct there is no way not presented here shows that strain 613 is not simply a of knowing that from the data. Figures 1 and 2 are unhelpful slow growing organism, except in the presence of cefixime. to the reader without showing any control curves for a zero level of cefixime and tellurite. Strain 613 may simply have The conductance curves conveniently demonstrate a range a slower doubling time than the other strains. It may also of sensitivities that are confirmed by the traditional techbe that cefixime affects TMAO reductase activity. Why was nique of plating. the work not done in standard media? I.D. Ogden Dept of Medical Microbiology P. Silley Research Director Foresterhill Don Whitley Scientific Ltd Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK


An efficient MPEG-2 video decoder architecture together with several effective bus-arbitration schemes designed to meet the main profile at main level (MP@ML) real-time decoding requirement is presented. The overall architecture, as well as the design of major function-specific processing blocks (variable-length decoder, inverse two-dimensional discrete cosine transform unit, and motion-compensation unit), is discussed. A hierarchical and distributed controller approach is used, a bus-monitoring model for different bus-arbitration schemes to control external DRAM accesses is developed, and the system is simulated. Practical issues and buffer sizes are addressed and evaluated. With a 27 MHz clock, our architecture uses many fewer than the 667 cycles, the upper bound for the MP@ML decoding requirement, to decode each macroblock with a single external bus and DRAM.


A unified acocunt of all known diatoms in the genus Novicula, class Bacillariophyceae, of the Philippines from 1886 to 1987 is presented. A total of 226 taxa are listed. Included herewith are the references that originally described or cited the taxon and the ecological/habitat records for each taxon. As much as possible, a list of exsciccata materials is given together with their repository places.


Background: Pregnancy mobile applications (apps) have grown in popularity over the past decade, with some being used to promote study recruitment or health behaviors. However, no app serves as an all-in-one solution for collecting general data for research purposes and providing women with useful and desirable features. Aim: To create and develop a Swiss pregnancy mobile app as an innovative means to collect research data and provide users with reliable information. Methods: Determining the key features of the app involved a review of the literature and assessment of popular apps in the Swiss AppStore. A team of engineers developed the app, which includes a pregnancy timeline, questionnaires for data collection, medical and psychological articles and a checklist with appointment reminders. The content was written and reviewed by healthcare providers considered experts in the topics adressed. The questionnaires are distributed based on the user's gestational age, by a chatbot. The project was authorized by the ethics commission in the canton of Vaud. An online survey of ten questions, advertised on Datamama's home screen, was conducted to assess the users' use of the app (27.11- 19.12.2022). Results: A review of 84 articles and 25 popular apps showed the need for a comprehensive pregnancy app. The development of Datamama took 2 years and included the creation of 70 medical and psychological articles and 29 questionnaires covering 300 unique variables. Six months after the launch, there were 800 users with a 73% average participation rate in the questionnaires. Sixty-five women completed the survey, with 70.8% using the app once to multiple times per week. The primary reason for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires, followed by access to reliable medical information. The reason most frequently ranked first for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires (42/65, 67% of women rated it first), followed by access to reliable medical information (34/65, 54% women rated it second). Women rated the information as clear, understandable, and interesting with a trust rating in data handling at 98.5%. The average grade for recommending the app was 8/10, with suggestions for increasing the amount of medical content and tailoring it based on gestational age. Conclusion: Datamama is the first pregnancy app to address the needs of both patients and researchers. Initial feedback from users was positive, highlighting future challenges for success. Future work will consist in improving the app, validating the data and use it to answer specific pregnancy-related research questions.


Daucus carota L. was first used for medical purposes and gradually used as a food worldwide and it has been endorsed in relic Ayurvedic scriptures in India and is being used in many Ayurvedic formulations as a chief ingredient. The present study was designed to evaluate the antiurolithiatic activity of D. carota L. extract against ethylene glycol (EG) and Vitamin D3 induced urolithiasis rats. The protective effect of D. carota L. root extract was studied in a dose-dependent manner by using 200 and 400 mg/kg in rats for four weeks and the anti-urolithiatic potentiality was accessed by measuring the parameters like calcium, sodium, potassium, oxalate, inorganic phosphate, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid were estimated in both serum and urine by using commercial diagnostic kits. The in vivo antioxidant activity of D. carota L. was also evaluated and histopathological changes that occurred in the kidney observed. Serum and urinary levels of calcium, creatinine, oxalate, blood urea and blood urea nitrogen level were found to be decreased significantly in groups pre-treated with D. carota L. extract. The animals treated with test drug showed much improvement in physical parameters like body weight, urine volume and pH of urine. Histopathology of kidney showed almost normal kidney architecture in treated groups compared to disease control rats. The biochemical and histopathological parameters studied in rats have revealed the presences of antiurolithiatic property in the roots of Daucus carota L. This property was dose-dependent.


There is still an unmet need for the discovery and development of neuroactive drugs to treat psychiatric illness. The list of compounds used for treatment today is long, yet the often times reported lack of efficacy and the broad spectrum of unpleasant side effects are concerning. With my work presented in this thesis I aim to explore new routs of drug discovery using the zebrafish model system as valuable tool to bridge the gap between bench and bedside.
In the first and second study I exploit the transparency of zebrafish to test the utility of synthetic photochemical compounds to modify behavior in a targeted fashion. Small molecules that can be activated and inactivated by light are attractive targets for drug development since they offer spatiotemporal control and their dose can potentially be calibrated instantly and interactively during treatment. I explored remote optical control of neuronal activity and behavior and implemented a rapid behavioral assay that is designed to provide a readout of neurotropic effects in zebrafish larvae (Barber et al., 2016; Trads et al., 2017).
In the third project I studied the grs357 zebrafish mutant as a tool for drug discovery. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is highly correlated with depression and is thought to contribute to the etiology and progression of the disease. The grs357zebrafish mutant has a missense mutation that abolishes glucocorticoid receptor transcriptional activity and results in a chronically elevated stress axis together with behavioral endophenotypes of depression. This mutant therefore provides an entry point for research into the pathogenesis of depression and for the development of potential drug treatments. To examine how known antidepressant compounds affect brain activity of larval zebrafish, I employed brain- wide, cellular-resolution light-sheet microscopy. With a graph-theoretical approach, I extracted network parameters of neuronal activity in both wildtype and grs357 mutant fish, following treatment with fluoxetine, ketamine and cycloserine.
Consistent with broad expression of the glucocorticoid receptor throughout the brain, I showed that the mutant fish exhibit an altered correlational structure of resting- state brain activity. Antidepressants differentially affected particular metrics of functional connectivity. Intriguingly, in grs357 mutant fish, an increased 'modularity', which represents the degree of segregation of the network into highly clustered modules, with fewer functional connections among them, was restored by fluoxetine to wildtype levels. With this project I showed that light-sheet imaging of zebrafish brain activity combined with graph-theoretical analysis of functional connectivity provides a content-rich and scalable approach for studying the neural consequences of drug x genotype interactions (Burgstaller et al., 2019).
In summary, the work presented here took advantage of cutting edge methods like photopharmacology and cellular-resolution light-sheet microscopy for drug discovery in the larval zebrafish. Importantly, apart from the biological findings, these methods can be applied to study various compounds and animal models of psychiatric disorders.


Sustainability through replacement of non-renewable fibers with renewable fibers is an ecological need. Impact of transportation costs from South-east Asia on the life cycle analysis of the composite is detrimental. Kenaf is an easily grown crop in America. Farm based processing involves placing the harvested crop in rivers and ponds, where retting of the fibers from the plant (separation into fibers) can take 2 weeks or more. The objective of this thesis is to analyze industrially viable processes for generating fibers and examine their synergistic impact on mechanical performance, surface topography and chemistry for functional composites. Comparison has been made with commercial and conventional retting process, including alkali retting, enzymatic retting, retting in river and pond water (retting occurs by natural microbial population) with controlled microbial retting. The resulting kenaf fibers were characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), polarized optical microscopy (POM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) optical fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and carbohydrate analysis. DMA results showed that pectinase and microbe treated fibers have superior viscoelastic properties compared to alkali retting. XPS, Raman, FT-IR and biochemical analysis indicated that the controlled microbial and pectinase retting was effective in removing pectin, hemicellulose and lignin. SEM, optical microscopy and AFM analysis showed the surface morphology and cross sectional architecture were preserved in pectinase retting. Experimental results showed that enzymatic retting at 48 hours and controlled microbial retting at 72 hours yield uniform and superior quality fibers compared to alkali and natural retting process. Controlled microbial retting is an inexpensive way to produce quality fibers for polymer composite reinforcement.


Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) establishes latent infections in sensory ganglia such as the trigeminal ganglia (TG), and periodically reactivates to cause repeated corneal infections. These may trigger an immune-mediated corneal disease known as herpes stromal keratitis (HSK), which results in corneal scarring, and eventually blindness. HSK is the most common infectious cause of blindness in the US, affecting over a quarter of a million people annually. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) latent infections in trigeminal ganglia (TG) are associated with persistent CD8+ T cell infiltrate. The ability of such CD8+ T cells to block HSV-1 reactivation from ex vivo ganglionic cultures establish the potential to control reactivation in vivo. As such, targets of CD8+ T cells in the TG will guide vaccination strategies aimed to block reactivation. In latently infected C57BL/6 mice, ~50% of the CD8+ T cell infiltrate in the TG is directed to an immunodominant epitope (residues 498-505) on viral glycoprotein B (gB-CD8). gB-CD8 can block reactivation from latency. Remaining CD8+ T cells in the TG are virus specific, can block reactivation, but are directed to unknown antigens. Given that CD8+ T cells contribute to maintenance of the HSV-1 latent state, it is important to understand viral antigens targeted by these cells and factors influencing dominance hierarchy. Here, we assessed the CD8+ T cell target specificity in TG of C57BL/6 mice infected with HSV-1 lacking and ectopically restored for the gB498-505 epitope. Epitope mutants with near wild type pathogenicity were isolated, and found to induce TG associated CD8+ T cell infiltrates of size similar to that induced by wild type HSV-1, but with little gB498-505-specificity. The nature of the compensated response reflected increase of CD8+ T cell populations directed to most known subdominant epitopes seen in wild type HSV-1 infection. However, a gB498-505 dominated CD8+ T cell response developed following infection with HSV with gB498-505 epitope-mutation that expressed short gB494-509 peptides at an ectopic (gC) locus. We conclude that loss of the HSV dominant epitope does not alter the size of the HSV-specific CD8+ T cell response nor broaden the TCR repertoire, but rather results in a broader dominance hierarchy of subdominant epitopes rising to co-dominance. We further conclude that immunodominance is not a result of properties of the HSV-1 gB protein itself or its genomic locus.


Abstract This article reports and discusses the results of a study that investigated photographic images of children in five online terrorist magazines to understand the roles of children in these groups. The analysis encompasses issues of Inspire, Dabiq, Jihad Recollections (JR), Azan, and Gaidi Mtanni (GM) from 2009 to 2016. The total number of images was ninety-four. A news value framework was applied that systematically investigated what values the images held that resulted in them being "newsworthy" enough to be published. This article discusses the key findings, which were that Dabiq distinguished different roles for boys and girls, portrayed fierce and prestigious boy child perpetrators, and children flourishing under the caliphate; Inspire and Azan focused on portraying children as victims of Western-backed warfare; GM portrayed children supporting the cause peacefully; and JR contained no re-occurring findings.


This article analyzes, under several dimensions, whether collaboration contributes to the production of high-quality scientific results. It examines the proportion of scientific quality (measured by impact and relevance) gained by ISI publications considering the presence of a particular form of collaboration. As an application case, this paper offers a micro-level analysis of the academic research groups (ARGs) of a technical university. Results indicate that there are positive and significant benefits in scientific quality received by ARGs as product of international and inter-sector collaboration, and in a broader sense, from the presence of inter-institutional collaboration. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.


Surface quality, machining time, and precision of the final workpiece are key criteria of optimization in CNC machining. These criteria are influenced by multiple factors, such as path interpolation, feed drive system settings, machine dynamics, and the manufacturing process. The properties of the output of the interpolator indirectly influence all subsequent phases of the machining process, thus influencing the quality of the end product. This paper focuses on the effects of interpolator settings on toolpath quality and precision in corner neighborhoods for the commercial Heidenhain iTNC interpolator. A novel method of toolpath quality evaluation suitable for interpolator output toolpaths is proposed, and the effect of multiple CNC parameters on toolpath quality and precision in corner neighborhoods is quantified based on results obtained on a testing toolpath and verified on a toolpath composed of linear segments only. Both toolpath quality and precision were found to depend primarily on the parameters of limit frequency, contour tolerance, and corner jerk settings with precision additionally depending on angle size. The results show that both toolpath quality and precision in corner neighborhoods can be successfully controlled by the corner jerk limit parameter settings. The presented methodology provides a practical guide for CNC parameter settings in Heidenhain interpolators aimed at predicting toolpath quality and precision in corner neighborhoods.


The article analyzes the psychological and social impacts that the 1918 influenza epidemic had within Rio de, Janeiro, as registered in the city'spress - a choice perspective from which to reconstruct the history of this experience. The epidemic is explored as a cultural and social phenomenon having to do with collective attitudes and representations regarding disease and death.


An experiment has been carried out to investigate the effect of lighting on the perception of atmosphere in a living room, using three types of light sources: halogen, fluorescent and LED lamps. In a psychophysical experiment, 29 native Chinese observers assessed eight lighting conditions having different luminances and correlated colour temperatures. For each condition, 71 scales were employed using the categorical judgment method. Factor analysis identified two underlying dimensions: liveliness and cosiness. This agrees with those found by Vogels who used Dutch observers to assess atmosphere perception. Both observer groups also agreed that an increase of luminance would make the room more lively. However, there were also some disagreements such as a higher CCT source would make the room more lively for Chinese observers but less lively for Dutch observers.


BACKGROUND
The present study was designed to provide an analysis of factors for angiogenesis and proliferation.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
We analyzed tumor tissues from 37 rectal cancer patients with concurrent or subsequent liver metastasis underwent preoperative radiotherapy, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Immunohistochemistry was used for expression of proliferation (staining with anti-Ki67: MIB-1) and for detection of microvessel density (MVD, expressed by CD34). Clinicopathological findings were compared with outcome with emphasis to IHC.

RESULTS
A vascular enumeration and pN status and the time of presence of the metastases has shown prognostic role along with the factors above. Increased proliferative activity of the tumor as expressed by MIB-1 staining has no prognostic value, similarly to the localization of tumor, gender, age or grading.

SUMMARY
Different prognostic and predictive factors in colorectal cancer have been reported. Higher pN status and tumor vascularisation has been linked to poor prognosis in overall survival and tumor recurrence.


ABSTRACT:In declaring, finally, the superfluity or disposability of "prayers and words and lights" before the presence or memory of a dead loved one, Charles Reznikoff's "Kaddish" exemplifies a break with the traditional kaddish, and appears to mediate a self-consciously secular memorialization. Yet it does not merely reflect or represent a secular regime as it has developed outside the world of the poem; rather, it labors to articulate an uncertain, yet recognizably Jewish, sensibility of the secular. This sensibility should be understood in the context of the poet's broader concerns with the modern significance of biblical and post-biblical Judaism, concerns that can be read in the very cycle of which "Kaddish" is the conclusion, the 1941 "Going To and Fro and Walking Up and Down." In addition, George Oppen's own poem in memory of Charles Reznikoff enables us to identify an aesthetics of the humble that, intertwined with an ethics of humility, is distinctive of Reznikoff's work, and that leads to the conclusion that the secular sensibility in "Kaddish" amounts to more than a simple act of negation, a simple disregard or scorn for the trappings of traditional ritual.


The Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a complex system tasked with ensuring the safety of navigation within specified areas known as VTS areas. Earlier research in the domain has often focused on the decision support systems and other tools employed by the VTS operators to provide the vessels in the area with VTS services. Consequently, less effort has gone into looking at the system itself and the human factors aspects of the system.This study uses the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) to create a functional model of the VTS. It looks at how a VTS works, what the different components are and how these components are related. The main purpose of the FRAM model is to serve as a basis for future application by identifying the functions that constitute the system, and to illuminate the potential variability therein. To demonstrate how it might be used, an instantiation of an observed scenario will be presented. A structural description of the VTS is also presented, which aims to serve as an introduction to the domain for readers who are previously unfamiliar with it.The functional model shows that a lot of the potential variability seems to lie in the functions that rely heavily on human interaction, which is to be expected, as human performance is highly variable. It also shows that the availability and reliability of relevant information is crucial in order to be able to provide the VTS services, and if the information for some reason is unavailable or insufficient it seems likely to cause variability.


A time-delay neural network (TDNN) for phoneme recognition is discussed. By the use of two hidden layers in addition to an input and output layer it is capable of representing complex nonlinear decision surfaces. Three important properties of the TDNNs have been observed. First, it was able to invent without human interference meaningful linguistic abstractions in time and frequency such as formant tracking and segmentation. Second, it has learned to form alternate representations linking different acoustic events with the same higher level concept. In this fashion it can implement trading relations between lower level acoustic events leading to robust recognition performance despite considerable variability in the input speech. Third, the network is translation-invariant and does not rely on precise alignment or segmentation of the input. The TDNNs performance is compared with the best of hidden Markov models (HMMs) on a speaker-dependent phoneme-recognition task. The TDNN achieved a recognition of 98.5% compared to 93.7% for the HMM, i.e., a fourfold reduction in error.<<ETX>>


Managerialism and Nursing examines the effect of new management strategies on nurses, their morale and the profession as a whole. Using an innovative study of nurses conducted by the Royal College of Nursing, Michael Traynor analyses the relationship between nurses and their managers, looking at the contrasting ways in which each group argues its case and presents its identity. Managerialism and Nursing will be stimulating reading for anyone interested in the future of the health service and also serves as a highly readably introduction to postmodern approaches to analysis.


This paper reports on a longitudinal field study of accounting systems and their relationship to accountability in a UK restaurant chain. It is based on interviews and observations involving restaurant managers, the operations management hierarchy, and head office managers. In contrast to earlier studies of accounting and accountability this paper presents evidence to suggest that local managers' uses of central performance reports may serve to disseminate head office's strategic vision to operating units. It also suggests that the contests of accountability around performance measurement systems that have previously been reported in connection with major organisational transformations are a feature of everyday organisational management. With reference to structuration theory three modalities of such contests of accountability (signification, legitimation, domination) are distinguished and some of their interrelationships explained. Within an overall frame of strict hierarchical relationships, restaurant chain management exhibited considerable diversity with respect to the uses of performance measures, reflecting diverse local and central factors.


[reaction: see text] We have found new conditions for the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction applicable to pentafluorophenylboronic acid (C(6)F(5)B(OH)(2)) (1), which is an inactive substrate under normal conditions. The reactions of 1 with phenyl iodide or bromide under Pd(PPh(3))(4)/CsF/Ag(2)O or Pd(2)(dba)(3)/P(t-Bu)(3)/CsF/Ag(2)O catalytic system conditions gave 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro-1,1'-biphenyl (3a) in more than 90% yields. Combination of CsF and Ag(2)O was essential for promoting these reactions.


This article discusses Wang tiles from an artistic point of view. Mathematically Wang tiles are unit squares with colored edges and a local rule saying that two edges may only be adjacent, if they have the same color. We will present some known methods to use and abuse this concept, ultimately to force aperiodic tilings of arbitrary size, optionally containing irregular tiles and continuity at the tile corners. This paper also introduces a previously unpublished aperiodic set of 30 Wang tiles with colored corners. This is the smallest such set known today.


E-learning is a form of Technology Supported Education where the medium of instruction is through Digital Technologies, particularly Computer Technology. An instance is the use of search engines like Google and Yahoo, which aid Collaborative Learning. However, the widespread provision of distributed, semi-structured information resources such as the Web has obviously brought a lot of benefits; but it also has a number of difficulties. These difficulties include people getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available, making it hard for them to filter out the junk and irrelevancies and focus on what is important, and also to actively search for the right information. Also, people easily get bored or confused while browsing the Web because of the hypertext nature of the web, while making it easy to link related documents together, it can also be disorienting. To alleviate these problems, the Web Information Food Chain Model was introduced. How effective has this been with the dynamic nature of computing technologies? Pervasive computing devices enable people to gain immediate access to information and services anywhere, anytime, without having to carry around heavy and impractical computing devices. Thus, the bulky PCs become less attractive and being slowly eroded with the development of a new generation of smart devices like wireless PDAs, smart phones, etc. These embedded devices are characterized by being unobtrusively embedded; completely connected; intuitively intelligent; effortlessly portable and mobile; and constantly on and available. This paper presents the use of embedded systems and Intelligent Agent-Based Web Information Food Chain Model in Multi-Agent Information and Retrieval Framework (IIFCEMAF), to realizing full potentials of the internet, for users' improved system of collaborative e-learning in education.


[1] A potential vorticity (PV) budget method has been used to attribute vertical transport across the near-tropopause (1 PVU surface) in extratropical weather systems to radiative, latent heating and cooling, and mixing processes. Sources and sinks of PV due to nonconservative processes are calculated online and advected as passive tracers. There is reasonable agreement between the spatial distribution of transport determined from the PV budget method and the transport across the 1–2 PVU zone from a passive tracer and trajectories, but different aspects of exchange can be diagnosed with each method. Stratosphere-to-troposphere transport occurred in the broad upper level PV anomalies and was attributed mainly to latent heating and cooling processes; troposphere-to-stratosphere transport occurred toward the tail of a PV filament and in a ridge region and was attributed mainly to radiative processes. The contribution of mixing processes to transport was comparatively small. Using the PV budget method, the domain integrated exchange across the 1 PVU surface was from stratosphere to troposphere, and the magnitude of 1 × 1015 kg over a 2 day winter integration in a large North Atlantic domain is consistent with stratosphere-troposphere exchange calculations from other studies. This exchange arises from an approximate balance between the dominant stratosphere-to-troposphere transport due to latent heating and cooling processes and troposphere-to-stratosphere transport due to radiative processes. The direction of transport across the tropopause in a fold was found to be critically dependent on the PV surface considered to represent the tropopause.


Functional parallelism can be supported on SIMD machines by interpretation. Under such a scheme, the programs and data of each task are loaded on the processing elements (PEs) and the Control Unit of the machine executes a central control algorithm that causes the concurrent interpretation of the tasks on the PEs. The central control algorithm is, in many respects, analogous to the control store program on microprogrammed machines. Accordingly, the organization of the control algorithm greatly influences the performance of the synthesized MIMD environment. Most central control algorithms are constructed to interpret the execution phase of all instructions during every cycle (iteration). However, it is possible to delay the interpretation of infrequent and costly instructions to improve the overall performance. Interpreters that attempt improved performance by delaying the issue of infrequent instructions are referred to as variable issue control algorithms. This paper examines the construction of optimized variable issue control algorithms. In particular, a mathematical model for the interpretation process is built and two objective functions (instruction throughput and PE utilization) are defined. The problem of deriving variable issue control algorithms for these objective functions has been shown elsewhere to be NP-complete. Therefore, this paper investigates three heuristic algorithms for constructing near optimal variable issue control algorithms. The performance of the algorithms is studied on four different instruction sets and the trends of the schedulers with respect to the instruction sets and the objective functions are analyzed.


The first two chapters contain introductory courses. Chapter 1 presents the theory of Sobolev-type spaces H (s ∈ R) on R, on a smooth closed manifold, and on a smooth bounded domain. Chapter 2 outlines the foundations of the theory of general linear elliptic equations on smooth closed manifolds and the theory of general elliptic boundary value problems in smooth bounded domains in the spacesH. Chapter 3 presents the theory of basic boundary value problems for second-order strongly elliptic systems in the same spaces in a bounded Lipschitz domain; its boundary can generally be very nonsmooth. Chapter 4 is of review character. Here we briefly consider the more general Bessel potential spaces H p and the Besov spaces B s p = B s p,p, 1 < p < ∞, and describe their applications to the same problems.


Community detection algorithms create a dynamic graph as an internal data structure for tracking agglomerative merges. This community (block) graph is modified heavily through operations derived from moving vertices between candidate communities. We study the problem of choosing the optimal graph representation for this data structure and analyze the performance implications theoretically and empirically. These costs are analyzed in the context of Peixoto's Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for stochastic block model inference, but apply to agglomerative hierarchical community detection algorithms more broadly. This cost model allows for evaluating data structures for implementing this algorithm and we identify inherent properties of the algorithm that exclude certain optimizations.


Introduction: An extensive research in the medical education has brought a paradigm shift from a routine traditional lecturing to new innovative methods of teaching which are more student-centered. Use of crossword puzzles provides a simple and creative way to incorporate active learning in human anatomy, a subject which introduces the students to core knowledge of human body with newer terms and concepts which are totally different from their pre-existing knowledge. Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of crossword puzzles as a learning tool at the level of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Objectives: To evaluate the student's perceptions regarding the usefulness of crosswords as an effective mode to reinforce the essential concepts and vocabulary, and to design, and evaluate the use of crossword puzzles as an educational tool in anatomy teaching and learning. Materials and methods: The research study was carried out at Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, India. The study sample included 150 students of 1st-year MBBS of batch 2015-2016, which were divided into 25 groups. These groups were given an exercise of total 8 crossword puzzles, one each after the completion of all sessions in each region of the human anatomy. Results: Majority of the students agreed that the use of the crossword was an innovative method of learning, whereas few students suggested that more time should be allotted and these activities should be given individually rather than in small groups. Conclusion: Using crossword puzzles provides an opportunity for the students to develop approaches to critical learning for understanding human anatomy. Students perceive the crossword puzzles as an active learning exercise.


The application of large antenna arrays for space missions in VHF band is hindered by the dimension and weight of the single radiating element from a conventional design approach. Satellites used for this kind of applications are typically micro/mini platforms and cannot accommodate large antennas. To this purpose, element volume minimization and mass reduction are considered performance drivers, even considering the array deployment and satellite mass requirements. The important size reduction properties of Artificial Magnetic Materials (AMM) / Meta Materials (MM) made this approach a natural choice for the development of miniaturized antennas. A multipurpose, dual polarized array element with highly reduced dimensions and weight was developed to overcome these obstacles. This paper describe the design, manufacturing and testing of a dual polarized array element considering application in a low orbit Automatic Identification System (AIS) mission.


The Data Management System (DMS) of the Page21 EU project operates towards providing a web-based resource for the essential climate variables (ECV) permafrost of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), aiming to enable the assessment of the relation between ground temperature, gas fluxes and the Earth's climate system. The database contains time series for borehole temperatures and grids of active layer thickness (TSP, CALM) plus air and surface temperature and moisture (DUE Permafrost, MODIS) measured in the terrestrial Panarctic, Antarctic and Mountainous realms.
This DMS will provide, for the first time, a dynamic and comprehensive database for permafrost monitoring parameters where permafrost researchers and other stakeholders will be able to download data and detailed metadata for a specific site or region following international standards for geospatial metadata ISO 19115/2 and TC/221. As an open-source spatio-temporal database it is implemented with PostGIS, the spatial version of PostgreSQL, following the object-oriented logic. Carefully designed user interfaces, tutorials, templates, and the nomination of National Correspondents (NCs) provide the tools to facilitate the smooth input and extraction of data.
Ad hoc visualizations of different automatically calculated statistics of the uploaded data will guide the user to an optimal data overview. The output is provided in most of the popular formats including csv, xml, NetCDF, kml, and shapefiles. This data management product will outlive the PAGE21 project and is therefore being conceived in collaboration within international networks for permafrost research (GTN-P, IPA).


Apoptosis, cell death executed by caspases, is essential to normal breast development and homeostasis. Pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic signals are tightly regulated in normal breast epithelial cells. Dysregulation of this balance is required for breast tumorigenesis and increases acquired resistance to treatments, including molecularly targeted therapies, radiation and chemotherapies. The pro-apoptotic or anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members interact with each other to maintain mitochondrial integrity and regulate cellular commitment to apoptosis. Among the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, Mcl-1 is uniquely regulated by numerous oncogenic signaling pathways. This review will focus on the role of Bcl-2 family proteins in normal breast development, breast tumorigenesis and acquired resistance to breast cancer treatment strategies, while highlighting Mcl-1 as a promising target to improve breast cancer tumor cell killing.


BACKGROUND
The spine is the most common site of skeletal metastases. The evolution of surgical methods, medical treatment, and radiation therapy has led to improved survival, functional status, and quality of life for patients with cancer. The role of surgery in the treatment of patients with spinal metastases has evolved over time.

METHODS
A review of publications describing the role of open surgery and vertebroplasty was performed and the results are summarized.

RESULTS
The treatment goals of spinal metastases include the preservation and restoration of neurologic function and spinal stability. Modern imaging modalities provide accurate methods of tumor diagnosis. A variety of approaches and stabilization techniques are available and should be tailored to the location of the tumor and systemic comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS
As part of multidisciplinary treatment that includes radiation therapy and chemotherapy, surgery provides an effective method of restoration and preservation of neurologic function and spinal stability for patients with metastatic spinal tumors.


The studies aim to evaluate the effect from agrotechnical methods on yield and quality of vegetative young plants that are used with new experimental facility. It provides for different modes in tops and roots zones of the same grafts, which dramatically increases the yield of circular-callus grafts. When using our facility at the end of stratification, when eyes of graft begin to sprout on shoots, they do not stretch out that provides nutrients preservation inside a plant, and grafts are not dried up. The experimental facility is used to grow young plants with a pre-vine trunk in a stratification chamber. A special polymeric-materials support was developed that allows to grow plants in its lower part, to plant them out in a permanent place, to place and hold the sleeves providing by it the yield increase trellis zone. The new method combines previously separated elements of vine-growing technology, starting from growing planting material to using fruit-bearing plantations into a single technological cycle in order to exclude a number of plant care activities, inter alia, protection plants from adverse weather factors, pests and diseases, and mechanical damage [20].


Introduction Identification of predicted sepsis-related mortality is important for patient stratification. We evaluated the significance of presepsin in predicting sepsis-related mortality. Patients and Methods We enrolled 83 patients with sepsis according to the SCCM/ESICM/ACCP/ATS/SIS International Sepsis Definitions Conference in a prospective observational study. Results After excluding 28 patients owing to different exclusion criteria, 55 continued the study. Their age was 58 (47–65) years old and comprised 33 (60%) males. We measured serum presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) on admission and 24 and 72 h later. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score and capillary leak index were estimated. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The median (Q1–Q3) presepsin24 and presepsin72 levels were 127.5 (835.75–2137.5) and 883 (429–1214.5) pg/ml, respectively, in survivors compared with 2321 (1264–3456) and 3421 (1900–5432) pg/ml, respectively, in nonsurvivors (P=0.01 and 0.000, respectively). The serum CRP24 and CRP72 were 123 (76–154) and 94 (42.5–127) mg/l, respectively, in survivors compared with 156 (101–201) and 187 (139–233) mg/l, respectively, in nonsurvivors (P=0.02 and 0.000, respectively). PCT72 was 111.5 (66–186.25) pg/ml in survivors compared with 231 (187–324) pg/ml in nonsurvivors (P=0.000). Presepsin0, CRP0, PCT0, and PCT24 were not significantly different between survivors and nonsurvivors (P=0.4, 0.7, 0.5, and 0.2, respectively). The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 18 (15–20.8) in survivors compared with 21 (19–24) in nonsurvivors, (P=0.02), whereas the capillary leak index was 42 (27.6–57.7) and 42.4 (33.3–62.3) in survivors and nonsurvivors, respectively (P=0.8). The area under the curve was the highest for presepsin72 (0.918). Presepsin72 of 1262 pg/ml was seen to be 92.3% sensitive and 81.3% specific for mortality prediction. Conclusion This study showed that the serum presepsin could be a valuable biomarker for predicting in-hospital mortality in sepsis.


Actin-based protrusions driving cell migration are reinforced through positive feedback, but it is unclear how the cell restricts the eventual size of a protrusion or limits positive signals to cause splitting or retraction. We have identified an evolutionarily conserved regulator of the protrusion machinery, which we name CYRI (CYFIP-related Rac interacting) protein. CYRI shows sequence similarity to the Scar/WAVE complex member CYFIP in a Domain of Unknown Function, DUF1394. CYRI binds specifically to activated Rac1 via a common motif shared with CYFIP, establishing DUF1394 as a new Rac1 binding domain. CYRI-depleted cells have broad, Scar/WAVE-enriched lamellipodia and enhanced Rac1 signaling. Conversely, CYRI overexpression suppresses spreading and dramatically sharpens protrusions into unproductive needles. CYRI proteins use dynamic inhibition of Scar/WAVE induced actin to focus positive protrusion signals and regulate pseudopod complexity. CYRI behaves like a "local inhibitor" predicted and described in widely accepted mathematical models, but not previously identified in living cells.


Topical tretinoin formulation is still unavailable in Japan. Because topical retinol, which is less potent but may cause less irritation, is available here, we have performed a randomized, blinded, vehicle-controlled study on the face using a once-nightly regimen for the treatment of mild photoaging in middle-aged Japanese females. First, a 26-week study was conducted in 57 subjects with a 0.075% retinol cream and its vehicle on each half side of the face. Three of the 57 subjects withdrew from the study due to irritation, although this rate was much smaller than that noted in our previous study with topical tretinoin. After 26 weeks, the rates of photoaging improvement were significantly higher on the retinol side: 27 out of 54 (50%) versus 13 (24%) for the fine wrinkling and 15 out of 54 (28%) versus 1 (2%) for deep wrinkling. A similar trial with a 0.04% retinol cream for 13 weeks revealed less prominent improvements in fine wrinkling but minimal irritation. From these data, we think that retinol creams, especially 0.04% cream, are suitable for daily use in the general population because of the low irritancy, even for those with sensitive skin.


Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are bespoke fusion molecules that couple the binding of a tumor-associated cell surface target to the delivery of a tailored T-cell activating signal. CAR T-cells targeting CD19 have demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in the treatment of patients with refractory B-cell malignancy although solid tumors present several additional hurdles to the development of CAR T-cell immunotherapy. One such hurdle is identifying suitable target antigens to maximise tumor targeting and minimise toxicity to healthy tissue. A highly promising candidate is the epithelial-specific integrin, αvβ6. Here, we demonstrate that CAR T-cells targeting αvβ6 have potent anti-tumor activity across a wide range of solid malignancies in pre-clinical models. The αvβ6 integrin is over-expressed in solid tumors derived from pancreas, head and neck, skin, uterine cervix, lung, colon, breast and fallopian tube/ovary and is generally associated with worsened prognosis. It exerts several pro-tumorigenic activities including activation of TGF-β1, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, cellular migration and matrix metalloproteinase activity. By contrast, αvβ6 is minimally expressed in normal tissue and expression is largely restricted to wound healing. We have evaluated two peptide-targeting moieties to direct specificity of an αvβ6-specific CD28+CD3ζ-based second generation CAR (A20-28z). We show that a 20mer peptide derived from viral protein 1 of foot and mouth disease virus achieves highly effective targeting. This 20mer peptide (termed A20) contains two αvβ6-binding motifs (RGD and DLXXL) and binds with >1000-fold more specificity to this integrin than other family members such as αvβ3, αvβ5 and α5β1. To evaluate anti-tumor activity we compared A20-28z with two control CAR constructs. An αvβ6 non-binding peptide was generated in which the RGDL motif within A20FMDV2 was substituted with AAAA (termed C20) and a non-signaling CAR constructed whereby A20 was fused to a truncated CD28 endodomain (termed A20-Tr). A20-28z T-cells destroy and undergo activation by a range of pancreatic, breast and ovarian tumor cell lines in-vitro. By contrast, cells that express low but detectable levels of this integrin are ignored. To expand CAR T-cells preferentially during ex-vivo culture, an IL-4-responsive fusion gene (4βα) was co-expressed which delivers a potent and selective mitogenic signal only to the genetically modified T-cells. In-vivo efficacy of αvβ6 re-targeted human CAR T-cells was demonstrated in SCID Beige mice bearing established Panc04.03 pancreatic and SKOV-3 ovarian tumor xenografts, that express high and intermediate levels of αvβ6 respectively. Ovarian tumor response was significant, but was ultimately limited by transient in-vivo CAR T-cell expansion followed by progressive loss thereafter. In contrast, pancreatic tumours with high αvβ6 expression demonstrated significant tumor regression in response to A20-28z T-cells and exhibited durable responses. Although the CAR targeting moiety engages murine αvβ6, minimal toxicity was observed in these mouse models, which can fully recapitulate lethal cytokine release syndrome in response to human CAR T-cells. Taken together, these data provide strong support for the clinical evaluation of αvβ6 re-targeted CAR T-cell immunotherapy in solid tumors that express this integrin. Citation Format: Lynsey May Whilding, Ana C. Parente-Pereira, Tomasz Zabinski, David M. Davies, Roseanna Petrovic, Shelia Violette, Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami, Sabari Vallath, John Marshall, John Maher. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells targeting the αvβ6 integrin demonstrate potent antitumor activity in multiple solid tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B129.


This article seeks to clarify the role of the image in video game representation. I argue that virtuality is incompatible with depictive representation and that the distinction between virtual environments and interactive depiction is important in game theory and analysis. In the first part, I combine a critical modification of Kendall Walton's concept of reflexive representation with Edmund Husserl's concept of image consciousness, in order to clarify the ontological difference between physical models and depictive images. In the second part, I discuss the relationship between physical models and virtual things, and the difference between photographic depiction and screen-mediated prosthetic vision. Finally, I show how this theoretical framework can help clarify the nature of interactive depiction in games.


This review describes the epidemiology of group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection in infants in Japan and discusses unresolved issues and future perspectives. Guidelines for the prevention of vertical transmission in Japan were implemented in 2008. The incidence of early-onset disease in Japan has remained stable at approximately 0.10/1000 livebirths or less, which is lower than in Europe and North America. The incidence of late-onset disease is also low, but has increased over the last decade, with an estimated 0.29/1000 livebirths in 2020. National surveillance studies in 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 reported case fatality rates of 4.5% and 6.5% for early-onset disease and 4.4% and 3.0% for late-onset disease, respectively. Sequelae of neurodevelopmental impairments were considerably associated with infants who developed meningitis. Predominant neonatal invasive strains have remained in the following order of serotypes: III, Ia, Ib and V, for the past 30 years. Conversely, the predominant serotypes of maternal colonization strains markedly changed from serotypes VI and VIII around 2000 to serotypes Ia, Ib, III and V over the last decade. Recurrence rates among infants < 1-year-old were estimated to be 2.8%-3.7%, and preterm birth and antenatal maternal GBS colonization were risk factors for recurrence. Several unresolved issues remain. First, the exact disease burden remains unclear because Japan does not have a nationwide system to register all infants affected by invasive GBS disease, and even population-based surveys are limited to up to 10 of the 47 prefectures. Others include low adherence to prevention guidelines of vertical transmission and the development of strategies based on Japanese epidemiological evidence rather than the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The effectiveness of introducing maternal vaccines in Japan, where the disease incidence is low, needs to be carefully verified.


The anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) orchestrates various aspects of the eukaryotic cell cycle. One of its co-activators, Cdh1, is subject to myriad post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Herein we identify the O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification that occurs on Cdh1. Cdh1 is O-GlcNAcylated in cultured cells and mouse brain extracts. Mass spectrometry identifies an O-GlcNAcylated peptide that neighbors a known phosphorylation site. Cell synchronization and mutation studies reveal that O-GlcNAcylation of Cdh1 may antagonize its phosphorylation. Our results thus reveal a pivotal role of O-GlcNAcylation in regulating APC/C activity.


Variant or Prinzmetal's angina pectoris due to coronary artery spasm has gained recognition as an important clinical diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Laboratory investigations worldwide have given us a better understanding of this disorder; this knowledge has resulted in uncovering new, effective therapeutic regimens. Coronary spasm has been implicated in a variety of clinical anginal syndromes and most importantly as a potential contributing cause of myocardial infarction. Chahine, one of the early investigators of coronary spasm, has edited and written a multiauthored text on the subject of coronary artery spasm. While not an exhaustive scientific treatise on the subject, the book is well organized, well balanced, and covers all of the important aspects of the subject. The highlight of the book is the chapter by MacAlpin, who presents, in clear terms, the dilemmas that face a clinician in defining what coronary spasm is and how it should be classified. The chapters


Are we at the eve of a transformation in our economic system? "Yes", according to several visionary scientists and policymakers. They predict the rise of an economy that is based on biological materials, the so-called bio-based economy. The key challenge is that due to several socio-economic developments, the world is expected to consume vastly more resources than today. The total demand for energy is projected to almost double in the next century. Increased scarcity will be accompanied by a constant struggle for supply to meet demand. Sometimes successful, sometimes less so, but always with rising and highly volatile prices as a consequence. New forms of feedstock, bio-based feedstock, will be embraced. This lecture describes some of the hurdles and challenges that the transition to the bio-based economy faces. It also describes the impact this transition will (need to) have on chemical engineering education. Finally, an first area of research focus is defined: bio aromatics. Ad de Kok studied Chemical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He joined Dow Benelux in Terneuzen in 1977, where he held several positions in R&D and Technology Management in Polymers, Chemicals and Hydrocarbons in Europe, USA and the Pacific. During his career at Dow he earned a Master's and Doctorate degree in Business Administration. In 2012 he retired from Dow Chemical and joined Research Centre Mainport Innovation at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he assumed responsibility for the Renewable Resources in Process Industry area as part of the Innovation in Process Industry cluster.


Remote observations of the light scattered by dust particles in comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) (photometry and imaging polarimetry) allow us to compare the deduced physical properties of these particles with in situ measurements provided by the Rosetta mission. Onboard experiments on the dust confirm properties inferred from polarimetric observations and from laboratory experiments, namely the existence of large dark particles in the size range 10–500 μm, which could be fluffy and compact aggregates of smaller grains (submicron- to micron-sized) and possibly of compact particles. The 2008–2009 apparition of comet 67P/C-G allowed us to observe the comet with two telescopes under a French–Indian collaboration. From the photometric and polarimetric observations, we inferred the presence of slow-moving, large compact particles in the coma before perihelion and eventually after. The additional ejection of fluffy aggregates of submicron-sized grains was consistent with observations after perihelion. In 2014–2015, as part of a worldwide campaign, observations of 67P/C-G were carried out in order to follow the evolution of the dust coma during the Rosetta mission. The campaign included observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, and photometric observations with the Himalayan Chandra Telescope in India. The comet was very active for about three months after perihelion, showing collimated jets, the structure of which changed over time, and a long dust tail. Using new published polarization values for observations in 2010, we were able to compare pre- and post-perihelion data and also to build partial phase curves for 67P/C-G (limited to phase angles smaller than 40°).


Health for all is considered as a sign of well-being and inclusive growth. New healthcare technologies are contributing to the quality of human lives by promoting health education and awareness, leading to the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the symptoms of diseases. Healthcare technologies have now migrated from the medical and institutionalized settings to the home and everyday life. This paper explores these new technologies and investigates how they contribute to health education and awareness, promoting the objective of high-value health system for all. The methodology used for the research is literature review. The paper also discusses the opportunities and challenges with futuristic healthcare technologies. The combined advances in genomics medicine, wearables and the IoT with enhanced data collection in electronic health record (EHR) systems, environmental sensors, and mobile device applications can contribute in a big way to high-value health system for all. The promise by these technologies includes reduced total cost of healthcare, reduced incidence of medical diagnosis errors, and reduced treatment variability. The major barriers to adoption include concerns with security, privacy, and integrity of healthcare data, regulation and compliance issues, service reliability, interoperability and portability of data, and user friendliness and convenience of these technologies. Keywords—Bigdata, education, healthcare, ICT, patients, technologies.


The aim of this research is to empirically examine the effect of supply chain integration on operational performance. In order to address the research objective, a quantitative survey approach is used to collect the relevant data from the target population of the study which includes Chemical and Chemical product manufacturing firms in Ethiopia. A questionnaire was administered to target respondents to collect a primary data for the study. To analyze the data this study applied a descriptive and non parametric statistics including Kendall's correlation and Kruskal Wallis test to see the significant relationship between hypothesized variables as well as to measure the direction and strength of the relationship. The result from study shows a significant positive effect of supply chain integration construct on the operational performance of firms. However, this research investigation did not found statistically significant evidence on the effect of internal integration on external integrations.


Focused Ion Beam (FIB) circuit edit allows for rapid prototyping of potential semiconductor design changes without the need to run a full manufacturing cycle in a semiconductor Fab. By FIB editing a completed module, thorough testing on the bench or in a full system can be achieved. Logic can be toggled, validation of speed enhancements performed, and constructive and destructive failure analysis can be enabled. In order to fulfill all the needs of clients in a rapidly evolving SOC driven market, simply modifying existing devices by "rewiring" circuits is becoming insufficient. Often the team is tasked with making very repeatable structures to aid the circuit analysis group. These include relatively precise resistors for tuning RF circuits (part of an RC network), adding known loads or delays, et cetera. Naturally resistive FIB deposited metal lines connected to the existing circuitry can be used in this capacity.
 FIB chip edit is considered to be a "Direct Write" process. The beam pattern in conjunction with process gases defines the regions of milling and deposition. Unfortunately, FIB edit is rarely an exact science. In many cases, a number of characteristics seem to be outside the realm of precise repeatable control. This is evident not only in individual tool operational logs but also in FIB tool matching, where maintaining identical system performance within the lab is difficult or nearly impossible. These characteristics are highly dependent on precursor reservoir composition and flow, surface adsorption conditions, beam patterning integrity, and the total interaction space of competing back sputtering during the new material structure formation. Due to these factors, the shape, composition and electrical performance of metal and insulator depositions vary over an often unacceptable range. As a result, we were not meeting the needs of some critical customer applications.
 Direct written precision resistive structures displayed several issues for which iterative edits were required to compensate for variability. When attempting to create an exact resistance, this process was not reliable, nor was it repeatable enough for accurate circuit performance trimming. Space-constrained serpentine resistors or multiple discrete resistors side-by-side showed the greatest process variability. Metal deposition processes tend to be somewhat self-limiting, so thick boxprofile lines are difficult to form. Conductive material deposited outside of the pattern definition (overspray) results in line-to-line leakages. Attempts to remove the overspray thru ion beam assisted etch-back tends to damage the deposited conductors and underlying insulators. The low-k region between lines can become cross-linked, experience gallium doping, and become tungsten impregnated. This lowered the resistivity of the insulator, increased the resistivity of the conductor, and produced variability in the device which was especially an issue when dealing with varying initial substrates.
 GLOBALFOUNDRIES began a project to create a more robust repeatable resistive structure by removing several variables. Rather than direct writing lines onto a top surface layer, a confined deposition based on the concepts of dual damascene processing used with copper layers in modern semiconductor fabrication will be employed. The damascene process begins with the definition of a box to be filled with a conductive material.
 The process of ion beam gas assisted anisotropic etching/milling has a far more predictable outcome than ion beam induced deposition. It is possible to create a surface box mill or even a deep drilled via of desired dimensions with a more consistent repeatability. Deposition of tungsten into a confined region using, for example, a W(CO)6 precursor and a Ga+ ion beam results in an excellent via fill. Using this behavior, precision resistors can be created with metal deposition within the trenches which are created by the gas assisted mill. An enclosed space can be filled nearly void-free, and has repeatable electrical parameters. The self-limiting factors with tungsten deposition go away as sputtered material becomes trapped within the well resulting in a near limitless Zheight potential.
 The constant dielectric with a uniform and contained tungsten fill can allow for a well-defined resistivity for the FIB deposited tungsten material. Having a known resistivity, calculation of dimensions for resistive and inductive structures during the design process becomes feasible. With process variability under control, structures can be formed reliably enough to offer this as a service to customers.


We report on 3 siblings (2 females and 1 male) with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), compatible with inherited mitochondrial cytopathy. The younger of the two sisters died at the age of 37 due to progressive respiratory failure. The older one presented with a status epilepticus at the age of 39 and was treated with valproate. Five months after the start of treatment, she developed fulminant liver failure and died. The brother has suffered from CPEO since early childhood but has had so far no other symptoms of a mitochondrial disease. A muscle biopsy from the younger sister revealed ragged-red fibers and decreased activities of complex I and IV of the respiratory chain but no pathogenic mutations in the mitochondrial tRNA genes or in several locations in the coding region of the mitochondrial genome. In the older sister's liver (obtained post-mortem), mitochondrial DNA was fragmented and could not be investigated. The clinical presentation and the biochemical findings suggest that all 3 siblings suffered from a mitochondrial cytopathy. Since mitochondrial cytopathies and valproate-induced fulminant liver failure are both rare events, an association between them is likely. Mitochondrial diseases should therefore be considered as a risk factor for valproate-induced liver failure and be excluded before treatment with valproate.


Complete versus Partial Visuo-Spatial External Representations of Abstract Physics Concepts Satyugjit Virk Teacher's College, Columbia University John Black Teacher's College, Columbia University Abstract: Students were presented with a module on circuits in text and diagram format only (control-text condi- tion), text and diagram with an animation of the voltage and currents in parts of series and parallel circuits (partial external visual representation condition), or they were given the an animation of the voltage and current throughout the entire circuit (full external visual representation condition). Students in the full external visual representation conditions performed significantly better than the control-text and partial external visual representation conditions on questions of free recall but significantly higher on multiple choice and drawing questions than the control-text group only. This evidence suggests providing complete visual external representations is most beneficial to students for reconstructing and manipulating a mental model of the abstract system without being given any hints or clues from external sources like question stems but also more beneficial than traditional textbook methods for answering standard multiple choice questions.


OBJECTIVE Surgical approaches described for resection of clival tumors have been complicated, extensive, traumatic, and invasive. They are also associated with significant mortality and morbidity rates. We describe a minimally invasive, endoscopic transsphenoidal surgical treatment for clival tumors. METHODS Three men, aged 43, 46, and 66 years, each presented with a history of headaches, diplopia, and multiple cranial nerve deficits. All preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans showed large clival tumors. A neuronavigational image-guided endoscopic transnasal-sphenoethmoidal approach was performed to resect the clival tumors. RESULTS All three patients had near-total removal of clival tumors using this method, and the histology revealed chordomas. They underwent postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. No complications were encountered. All patients were able to resume their usual activities on the same day after surgery. Furthermore, this technique greatly reduced patient discomfort, hastened recovery, and shortened the hospital stay. CONCLUSION The neuronavigation image-guided transsphenoidal approach is a viable, minimally invasive alternative for surgical treatment of clival tumors.


Static code analysis offers a number of tools for the assessment of complexity, maintainability, modularity and safety of industry-size source code bases. Typically, such scenarios include three main phases. First, the code is parsed and 'raw' data is extracted and saved, such as syntax trees, possibly annotated with semantic (type) information. In the second phase, the raw data is queried to check the presence or absence of specific code patterns which supports or invalidates specific claims on the code. In the third and last phase, the query results are presented (visualized) such that correlations between code structure and query results are emphasized in an easily understandable way. Whereas parsing source code is largely standardized, using several existing parsers, querying the outputs of such parsers is still a complex task. The main problem resides in the difficulty of easily translating high-level, cross-cutting concerns in the problem domain into queries in the raw data domain. We present here an open framework for constructing and executing queries on industry-size C++ code bases. Our query system adds several so-called query primitives atop a flexible C++ parser, offers options to combine these primitives into arbitrarily complex expressions, has a highly efficient way to evaluate such expressions on syntax trees of millions of nodes, and presents the query results in a visual, compact, intuitive way. We demonstrate our query framework, integratd in the SOLIDFX C++ reverse-engineering environment, with several real-world analyses on industrial codebases.


A multi-institutional retrospective study of 103 dogs in which hypoplasia of the trachea was diagnosed was conducted. Bulldogs (55%) and Boston Terriers (15%) were most commonly affected. Age at diagnosis ranged from 2 days to 12 years, with a median of 5 months. Hypoplasia of the trachea was diagnosed more frequently in males (66%) than females (34%). Congenital anomalies in dogs with hypoplasia of the trachea included elongated soft palate (n = 44), stenotic nares (n = 23), cardiac defects (n = 12), and megaesophagus (n = 10). Ratios between tracheal lumen diameter and depth of the thoracic inlet or width of the third rib did not correlate with dyspnea. Of 42 dogs reexamined greater than 6 months after diagnosis, 25 (60%) were clinically normal. The remaining 17 were dyspneic and 15 (88%) had concurrent respiratory or cardiovascular disease that could account for their clinical signs. Hypoplasia of the trachea appears to be tolerated well in the absence of concurrent respiratory or cardiovascular disease.


This paper presents a multi-channel Extended Depth of Field (EDF) method for digital cytology based on the stationary wavelet transform. With a coefficient selection rule adapted to a precise color recovery, a sharp image can be reconstructed even on images with transparent overlapping cells. The precision and the color fidelity of the proposed method is analyzed. Moreover, an experiment demonstrating the necessity of volume analysis in cytology to achieve precise segmentation on cell clumps is conducted, and the importance of color fidelity in this context is asserted. The proposed method was tested on pap-stained urothelial cells and gray-scale cervical cells with important overlapping.


Introduction Extreme right strategies are focused above all else on the construction of a stark division between the included and the excluded, but the formulation of such a division is often taken to be between a narrowly defined 'nation' versus 'outsiders'. This might lead some to conclude that extreme right parties (ERPs) are opposed to each other, based as they are on competing nationalisms. However, the short formation of a parliamentary group of extreme right MEPs in 2007, under the name of Independence, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS), and featuring members of both the PRM and the VB, casts serious doubt on the notion that the ideologies of extreme right parties are so mutually antagonistic. That still leaves the question of what these parties have in common ideologically, and this is the question explored in our study. I draw upon research on the Vlaams Belang and the PRM--using party manifestos and other public documents (2)--and show that the European context of this new cooperation is all-important. To put it simply, the PRM and VB share a positive orientation towards 'Europe', but deep suspicion of--if not outright antagonism towards--the European Union. These standpoints are derived from the parties' overriding commitment to the nation, and their historical understanding thereof. I begin by exploring the context of extreme right European cooperation, and then present the two cases for comparison. In the main part of the study, I examine three key features of PRM and VB ideology--the centrality of 'the nation', the relationship between the nation and 'Europe', and the view of the European Union--and demonstrate the important similarities between the two parties. This examination is facilitated by the deployment of some of the conceptual tools of discourse theory, (3) which allow us more easily to come to grips with the 'political grammar' (4) according to which the ideology of these parties is organised. The cases for comparison: the PRM and VB In this section, I provide a brief overview of each of the parties under discussion, emphasising what unites and what divides them. Both similarities and differences are relevant in their selection as case studies for this research. The Partidul Romania Mare emerged in 1991 following the collapse in 1989 of the Ceau?escu regime. Some critics have labelled it a neo-communist party, and there is debate as to whether it can be categorised as far left or far right. Given its ultra-nationalism, racism, history of antisemitism and its similarity to other parties of the extreme right in Europe, we classify it as extreme right. Although the party leader is an erstwhile follower of the Ceau?escus, the ideological links are scarce. The only common feature is an evident nostalgia for the pro-national policies of the late leader, and the party leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor's personality cult. PRM advocates a number of 'pro-Romanian' measures, and has identified in the past and the present a number of enemies of the Romanian nation, including the political class /(establishment), corruption, Gypsies, Hungarians, and Jews (5). Its fortunes took off around 2000 when it merged with the Partidul Unitatii Nationale Romane (6), allowing it to break out of its limited support base in the South of Romania and to become a national party. (7) In that year it took second place in the parliamentary elections, winning 23% of the vote, and Tudor made it through the run-off in the presidential contest. As Andrei Tiut has pointed out, the PRM has undergone a series of ideological transformations since it was formed in 1991. (8) Most notably, it has adopted key elements of western European extreme right discourse, combining a dislike of outsiders with a critique of the political establishment and corruption. Now, in the national election (December 2008), the PRM failed after some great struggles to get in national parliament (only 3 per cent of the votes). …


Polymerization shrinkage of composites bonded to cavity preparations generates stress on the tooth/restoration interface. The purpose of this study was to verify the influence of degree of conversion and speed of polymerization reaction on contraction stress. We prepared experimental composites with different curing rates by varying the concentration of inhibitor (butylated hydroxytoluene). We verified the effect of degree of conversion by submitting one of the composites to different photo-activation times. Contraction stress was monitored for 10 minutes in a tensilometer. Fourier-transformed infrared spectrometry was used for assessment of the degree of conversion. Volumetric shrinkage was determined by means of a mercury dilatometer. Degree of conversion and volumetric shrinkage showed a non-linear relationship with energy density. Degree of conversion showed a pronounced influence on stress. Increased inhibitor concentration reduced curing rate and contraction stress in composites, without compromising the final degree of conversion.


The goal of this work is to describe the importance of environmental education in the energy conservation and energy efficiency process. Besides the various technical proposals aimed at minimizing energy waste, environmental education has been a primordial tool in the search of a more responsible character with respect to the environment. This article attempts at showing some reflections concerning the role environmental education plays in that process, as well as putting in evidence the educational actions of the National Program for Energy Conservation, with its emphases in diminishing the energy waste and pull towards its efficient use.


Elderly in the age of 60 or above is a natural process that can not be avoided where the life of man as a human being is limited by a rule of nature. As a result of the aging process, the blood vessels become stiff and affect the left ventricular wall reduce its elasticity, resulting in a progressive increase of blood pressure. The treatment of hypertension in addition to pharmacological therapy could also use non-pharmacological therapies such as reflexology massage. Method: The research design used in this study was pre-experimental using one group pretest-posttest approach. In this research, the researchers measured blood pressure before and after the treatment (reflexology massage). The sample of this study was 20 respondents using purposive sampling. This research used statistical t-test analysis test, because it had a scale ratio data . Result : The result of t-test showed that p <0.0001, means that there was significantly different result before and after treatment with reflexology massage on the feet with a medium timber. Discussion : It is expected that people with hypertension do the feet reflexology massage in order to taking medication because can lower systolic blood pressure .


BACKGROUND
The neurobiology of social dysfunction in schizophrenia is unknown, but smell identification deficits (SIDs) exist in schizophrenia, and olfaction is related to social affiliation in other mammals. The SIDs have been linked with negative symptoms and the deficit syndrome, but any specificity of SIDs for social dysfunction is unstudied. Low intelligence might explain this relationship, if it is associated with both negative symptoms and SIDs. We examined whether SIDs in schizophrenia were related broadly to negative symptoms, as are a number of other neuropsychological measures, or whether they might show a more specific relationship with social drive.

METHODS
Smell Identification Test scores, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised IQ, symptomatology assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the deficit syndrome were determined in 70 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia.

RESULTS
The SIDs were related to negative symptoms and the deficit syndrome, but the association of SIDs with diminished social drive explained both relationships. Smell identification was also related to Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised IQ, but intelligence was independent of the relationship of SID and social drive. The worse Smell Identification Test scores in male patients were attributable to a greater preponderance of men with the deficit syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS
These analyses demonstrated independent relationships of Smell Identification Test scores to social drive and intelligence that together accounted for almost 50% of the variance in Smell Identification Test scores. There may be common neural substrates for the low social drive and SIDs in schizophrenia.


Mutualistic interspecific interactions, including Müllerian mimicry and division of labor, are common in nature. In contrast to antagonistic interactions, where faster evolution is favored, mutualism can favor slower evolution under some conditions. This is called the Red King effect. After Bergstrom and Lachmann (2003) proposed Red King effect, it has been investigated in two species models. However, biological examples suggest that the mutualisms can include three or more species. Here, I modeled the evolutionary dynamics of mutualism in communities where there exist two or more species, and all species mutually interact with one another. Regardless of the number of species in the community, it is possible to derive conditions for the stable equilibria. Although there exist nonlinear relationship between the evolutionary rates and the evolutionary fate of each species in the multi-species communities, the model suggests that it is possible to predict whether the faster evolution is favored or disfavored for the relatively fast species; on the other hand, it is difficult to predict the evolutionary fate of relatively slow species because the evolutionary dynamics of the slow species is affected by the evolutionary fate of the fast species.


An acoustics parametric analysis of the effect of fuselage drag and pitching moment on the Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) noise radiated by a medium lift helicopter (S-70/UH-60) in a descending flight condition was conducted. The comprehensive analysis CAMRAD II was used for the calculation of vehicle trim, wake geometry and integrated air loads on the blade. The acoustics prediction code PSU-WOPWOP was used for calculating acoustic pressure signatures for a hemispherical grid centered at the hub. This paper revisits the concept of the X-force controller for BVI noise reduction, and investigates its effectiveness on an S-70 helicopter. The analysis showed that further BVI noise reductions were achievable by controlling the fuselage pitching moment. Reductions in excess of 6 dB of the peak BVI noise radiated towards the ground were demonstrated by compounding the effect of airframe drag and pitching moment simultaneously.


Subsequent to the Rio Earth Summit both the engineering industry and the profession alike recognized the need for shifting towards sustainable practices. Similarly literature is mushrooming with sustainability definitions, themes and descriptions in many complex shapes and sizes, thus, presenting an immense diversity of opinion. This research defines the concept and principles of sustainability from an engineering perspective. It also addresses how sustainability philosophy or culture in engineering may one day drive net positive development.

In recent times going 'green' has been the focus of governmental agencies, non‐ governmental organizations, private sector and society at large with a modest universality between these efforts. By way of example the overabundance of sustainability definitions and assessment tools found in literature, poses a unique set of challenges: first and foremost differing values describing how ideal criteria and indicators in sustainability assessment 'should be'. The surplus of definitions causes perplexity from an operational engineering perspective. This research probed sustainability operational issues experienced by engineers in the course of a series of consultative interviews with experts to account for generic criteria and indicators used in engineering sustainability assessment. This research presents a synopsis of these expert interviews. Furthermore, it reviewed and critiqued existing mechanisms, rating schemes and assessment methods frequently used by the engineering profession, in order to examine current practices purporting to enable or facilitate sustainability in engineering practice.

The study makes a contribution to sustainability science in the sense that it illustrates the concept diagrams of social, economic, environmental, technology and time criteria based on results from expert interviews. It also highlights the limitation of the rampant practice of minimizing negative impacts on the environment and society.

The research will benefit members of the engineering profession by providing them with a background on the development of sustainability within engineering, thus allowing them to make informed sustainability decisions. It is intended to outline non‐specific relations between sustainability indicators and criteria for any given engineering project despite the definitional ambiguities indicators and criteria displayed.

Finally scale is important for defining sustainability approach to measurement and the outcomes in decision‐making, since the majority of environmental and economic issues cut across several scales. The thesis argues for a transdisciplinary approach to achieve sustainability in engineering and sets out a typology of contexts in which this research finding could be applied and developed further.


This study explicates emotions as specific meanings that are encoded by means of signs. Thus, emotions are the semiotically structured counterparts of inner feelings that can be perceived by means of introspection. In semantic terms, emotions can be treated as predications: they assign to the person that experiences a feeling the property of having particular subjective psychological experiences and employing particular forms of motor behaviour in certain situational conditions. The basic concepts needed for a semiotic, in particular linguistic and literary explication were set out in detail in the first part of the study. An experiencer is the semantic argument in a predication to which the psychological experience characterized by that predication is assigned. A stimulus is the semantic argument in a predication that is assigned by that predication the property of being the trigger or subject matter of the psychological experience in question. The descriptive concept of emotional attitudes is employed to explicate generalizable properties of clusters of subjective psychological experiences and motor behaviour. The concept of emotional scenes is used to provide a systematic representation of clustered situational conditions. After a brief overview of these theoretical foundations (section 1), the present, second part of the study focuses on how emotional meanings are specified in texts. The meanings encoded lexically and by means of grammatical and textual structures in a language are treated as underspecified, which means that linguistically encoded meanings are semantically and conceptually formed and specified in stages on a series of descriptive levels that build on one another. This involves interpretation routines that require information about, for example, lexical features, the formation of grammatical structures, orthographic and phonetic (rhythmic, prosodic) forms, the structuring of texts and conversations, non-linguistic forms of expression (such as facial expression and gestures or the formatting of a text), and the contexts of statements and their reception. This investigation is concerned primarily with the linguistic encoding of emotions, which is associated with the grammatical and transgrammatical descriptive levels. It provides a foundation for more far-reaching interpretations that employ the methods of literary and cultural studies in drawing on knowledge about cultural and historical factors and pre-texts. One of the main concerns of the article is therefore to consider the concept of underspecification and some of the factors that help to shape meanings (section 2). The focus of attention then shifts to the transgrammatical encoding and specification of emotional meanings (section 3). The possible ways of presenting linguistic signals and communicating information with them differ from one medium to the other: spoken language manifests itself as a continuum of sound that unfolds in time and is aurally perceived, whereas written language manifests itself in the form of discrete units that extend through space and are visually perceived. Many of the examples are drawn from Georg Büchner's Lenz, with attention being given to the circumstances of its production and reception; in an illustration of how an analysis can proceed, it is shown what the most important emotions in Lenz are and what narrative means are used to encode them. On the one hand, the emotions encoded by Büchner distinguish the text from the comments in Oberlin's diary, one of his historical sources. On the other hand, the techniques used to structure the text in this way mean that Lenz is comparable with modern transcriptions of exchanges between doctors and patients.


We analyze extensive ground- and space-based ultraviolet–infrared observations of the variable white dwarf BOKS 53856. Photometry and spectroscopy were obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Kepler and Swift satellites, Palomar Observatory, and Kitt Peak National Observatory. Time series data spanning the entire four-year Kepler mission are used to refine the photometric rotation period of the white dwarf to 0.2557292(9) days. The associated periodic variability, with full (minimum to maximum) amplitudes of ≈5% and ≈10% in the optical and ultraviolet, respectively, is consistent with the presence of several dark spots on the white dwarf surface. A fit to the observed ultraviolet–infrared spectral energy distribution of BOKS 53856 using a grid of non-LTE synthetic spectra gives best values of effective temperature, TWD = 31,056(19) K, surface gravity, log g = 7.913(5), mass, MWD = 0.603(2) , radius, RWD = 0.0142(4) , reddening, EB–V = 0.0533(1), and distance, d = 277(10) pc. The Hubble ultraviolet spectrum does not show a detectable signature of accreted metals, and the Spitzer infrared photometry does not reveal an excess attributable to a circumstellar dust disk. Nonetheless, the ground-based optical spectra show a very weak, variable Ca ii K absorption line that is phased with the Kepler light curve, being strongest at minimum brightness. We discuss BOKS 53856 and similar objects in the context of a localized enhancement of absorption from metals in dark (possibly magnetic) spots on the white dwarf surface.


Following sport-related concussion (SRC), athletes have 2 times increased risk for lower extremity musculoskeletal injury. Perceptual-motor control may be a contributory factor, as motor control deficits have repeatedly been demonstrated in athletes with recent SRC even after clearance for return-to-play. Specifically, deficits in accuracy and actualization of action boundary perception (ABP), or the ability to perceive the limits of available actions to a given athlete, have been demonstrated in collegiate athletes who reported an SRC an average of 264 days prior to testing. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate changes in ABP behavior in more acutely concussed young athletes (Concussed), as well as to further characterize contributing factors to the Perception Action Coupling Task (PACT), a novel test of ABP behavior. Recently concussed (≤21 days prior) 12-18 year old athletes (n=48) and healthy controls (n-24) were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional testing protocol, consisting of the PACT, Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), Vestibular-Ocular Motor Screen (VOMS), Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART), and surveys to measure mental effort for each of the above tests, as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and perceived physical development. Concussed was presented the option to return for follow-up testing of all measures after clearance for return-to-play. Concussed demonstrated deficits in ABP accuracy (~5%). Concussed reported significantly higher impulsivity (~9%). At follow-up, Concussed had significantly improved PACT accuracy and response time. Post-hoc analyses revealed an association between higher mental effort for BART and higher anxiety with increased PACT movement time. Conversely, higher impulsivity reduced movement time. Higher effort for VOMS reduced initiation time, whereas higher effort for neurocognition reduced accuracy. This is the second study to demonstrate decreased ABP accuracy in concussed athletes, using the PACT. This study also demonstrated the multifactorial nature of ABP, as mental effort during BART, VOMS, and ImPACT, as well as feelings of anxiety and impulsivity, impacted several components of ABP behavior. ABP accuracy has a relationship with SRC, likely through the constellation of symptoms that result from SRC.