Aiming at this characteristic that the cable force identification precision is influenced by factors such as stiffness, boundary conditions and length, especially when the length of cable is short, boundary conditions cannot be simplified as fixed or pinned directly. Therefore, the method of adding virtual supports on the structure was proposed for cable force identification. The method of adding virtual supports on cable is based on the Substructure Isolation, through the change rule of natural frequency realize the structure damage identification. The virtual supports were constructed by the Substructure Isolation method using the liner combination of responses. By adding virtual supports realized that the substructures of cable were constructed, using the method can be additional virtual support in different position of the cable and get more virtual structures, combined with the frequency variation law of all virtual structures, the damage identification of cable can be carried out quickly and accurately.


Substance use amongst learners in South Africa has become a significant problem, with relationships between educators and learners being seriously challenged. Educators are often in a position to notice changes in the behaviour of learners and are able to provide support and assistance. A phenomenological, explorative study was undertaken and in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 educators from a secondary school in a high-risk community in the Western Cape. In addition, a World Cafe group discussion was used in order to tap the participants' collective wisdom. The data was analysed thematically – using positive psychology as a conceptual framework. This focuses not only on what is wrong or pathological, but rather on what is positive, attempting to nurture resilience and strengths in individuals and communities. Two main themes emerged: challenges to the educator-learner relationships, and the educators' skills and strengths in nurturing positive relationships. It was found that educators' personal well-being is important in order for them to deal with these challenging interactions. Educators used a number of skills and strengths in order to overcome challenges and to foster positive educator-learner relationships. A recommendation for future research is to explore the experiences of learners who have used drugs, and sought support from educators, focusing in particular on what aspects hindered and/or facilitated the relationship between them. Keywords: adolescents; drug use; educator-learner relationships; positive psychology; relational well-being


The COVID-19 crisis has had enormous costs. The effects on financial markets were exacerbated by panic, fear of the unknown, fear of the end of the world as we knew it. This panic obfuscated our ability to make rational predictions on future cash flows and asset values. Overall though, our economic system is bouncing back. We can learn from this experience and build more flexible models which can help us to better manage severe systemic risks.


In the Norwegian building sector, we are currently witnessing the transition from a realization gap the gap between availability of solutions and their implementation to a reliability gap: the gap between the building's potential performances as it is commissioned to its users and its actual performance in daily use. When new solutions do not live up to their promises, not only the performance of the individual building is at stake. The reliability gap can easily grow into a credibility gap with consequences for the ongoing efforts to realize buildings with high energy ambitions. To achieve energy efficiency in buildings, concepts, methods and measures which promise to close this gap are crucial for facilities managers and users. In this conceptual paper we present the theoretical discussion behind the structure and first findings of a newly established interdisciplinary research project: Methodologies for Improvement of Nonresidential buildings' Day-to-day Energy-efficiency Reliability (MINDER). The research aims to reduce the reliability gap in non-residential buildings. The paper describes the international state of the art regarding such diverse concepts, methods and measures as energy performance contracting, continuous briefing, continuous commissioning, and soft landings, and suggests how these may be brought further to interlink the design and operation phase of non-residential buildings. S. 75-82 i EuroFM Journal International Journal of Facilities Management ( ISSN 2211-4467) Check journal for final version


Echocardiography is a portable technology that can be used to assess myocardial, pericardial, and valvular structure and function. Doppler echocardiography provides the ability to evaluate blood flow in large vessels and within cardiac chambers. Recently, the advent of microbubble contrast agents, which can opacify the systemic circulation, has improved the ability of echocardiography to evaluate left-ventricular function by improving delineation of the left-ventricular endocardial border. Furthermore, these microbubbles can be used to assess myocardial perfusion and quantify myocardial blood flow. Myocardial contrast echocardiography has been studied in multiple clinical situations, including the acute evaluation of patients presenting with suspected cardiac ischemia. Ongoing research is focused on the development of microbubbles that are capable of detecting molecular and cellular events within the circulation, which may allow distinction of acute vs. remote ischemic insults to the myocardium. This multifaceted technology promises to be of increasing clinical utility--not only for the heart, but for any organ accessible to ultrasound.


Latest developments in computer hardware, sensor technologies, and artificial intelligence can make virtual reality (VR) and virtual spaces an important part of human everyday life. Eye tracking offers not only a hands-free way of interaction but also the possibility of a deeper understanding of human visual attention and cognitive processes in VR. Despite these possibilities, eye-tracking data also reveal privacy-sensitive attributes of users when it is combined with the information about the presented stimulus. To address these possibilities and potential privacy issues, in this survey, we first cover major works in eye tracking, VR, and privacy areas between the years 2012 and 2022. While eye tracking in the VR part covers the complete pipeline of eye-tracking methodology from pupil detection and gaze estimation to offline use and analyses, as for privacy and security, we focus on eye-based authentication as well as computational methods to preserve the privacy of individuals and their eye-tracking data in VR. Later, taking all into consideration, we draw three main directions for the research community by mainly focusing on privacy challenges. In summary, this survey provides an extensive literature review of the utmost possibilities with eye tracking in VR and the privacy implications of those possibilities.


An expression derived for hologram exposures made along the straight-line portion of an H–D curve of a photographic plate gives the first-order transmittance of a hologram made of several object points exposed simultaneously (conventional holograms). This expression is compared with a similar expression derived previously for holograms made of several object points exposed sequentially (synthetic holograms). Theory and experiments show the effect of the nonlinearity of the photographic process on the contrast of the reconstruction of conventional holograms. Synthetic and conventional holograms are studied theoretically and experimentally to determine how the total amount of light in the reconstruction image depends upon the number of object points when the total amount of light in the object is constant. It is shown that the reconstructed image formed by a conventional hologram contains more light than the image formed by a synthetic hologram of the same number of object points. Both synthetic and conventional holograms are also studied to determine the ratio of reference-beam illuminance to object-beam illuminance that maximizes the amount of light in the reconstructed image.


As university supervisors at a large, urban university in the southern US, we examined the ways that the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) shaped the pedagogic relationships and decision-making processes of our students and ourselves during the spring of 2016. We situated this study of edTPA within the framework of critical policy scholarship (Grace, 1984, cited in Lipman, 2010) by reviewing the role of tests in licensing teachers in the context of the perpetual reform of U.S. education. We drew upon Biesta's (2009) notion that neoliberal accountability trades democratic relationships for consumer relationships and Attick and Boyles' (2016) argument that edTPA resituated student teaching as a marketplace activity. Applying self-study methodology (Samaras & Freese, 2009), we documented our experiences of supervising preservice teachers as they underwent the edTPA submission process. We found the assessment strongly controlled our relationships with our candidates. As supervisors, we became part of our candidates' transaction towards certification. Likewise, our candidates viewed us as arbitrators who could help them align themselves and their work to edTPA's specifications. Nevertheless we found moments that superceded the control of edTPA. We conclude with recommendations that teacher education programs attend closely to their social justice missions and develop new critical pedagogies in the face of the pressure of edTPA.


Organizations are moving their workforce to guarantee matters of trade and profit where accounts are expected to be less expensive and provide better quality products with the accessibility of skilled labor. With the evident benefits, distributed teams often face challenges with reliable and efficient communication coordination patterns that lead towards project failure. In the rapidly growing software industry, it becomes critical for any business to have better management activities to acquire right processes and practices. Agile methods are considered as a remedy for mitigating distributed teams' challenges, with their consistent focus on communication. Here, we intend to propose a tailored Scrum based solution for distributed teams that empowers anticipated communication and coordination throughout the development process. In the first phase of framework development we have evaluated the state of agile practices from both literature and industry; based on collected evidence and suggestive guidelines a scrum based agile framework was formulated. The Scrum is a project management method in Agile Methods family. Scrum is an iterative process that asks for incremental development of the product, includes cross functional development and testing teams. Evaluation results show that the proposed framework contributes positively to improve development process quality. We have performed theoretical as well as empirical evaluation to validate proposed framework. We have eight project managing rising aspects in DSD (Distributed Software Development) to evaluate the proposed framework.


The aim of the present study was to examine knowledge and experience about sport psychology consulting among coaches for Swedish male and female premier soccer teams, and to identify barriers and possibilities that a sport psychology consultant (SPC) encounters in joining a team. All 28 coaches within Swedish male and female premier soccer leagues answered the "Psychology for Football Questionnaire". In addition, coaches from two male and two female teams were interviewed. The main findings showed that about half the teams had contacted an SPC. Skills favored by coaches were goal setting and team building, and the biggest barriers to using SPCs were lack of knowledge/skepticism about the field, unclear descriptions of services, and problems integrating with the team. Possibilities for entry were feasible time available, and accessing positive role models. Conclusions pertain to the practical implications for applied research and the provision of sport psychology services within premier soccer.


In April 1970, the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress and Yale University, in conjunction with the Ford Foundation, sponsored in Washington an international symposium on Cuban research materials. The Cuban Revolution had attracted the attention of an international scholarly community and, quite suddenly, a new and vast corpus of literature had come into existence. By 1970 this prodigious enterprise showed no sign of coming to an end; on the contrary, it gave every indication of expanding. In 1970 the Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh launched Cuban Studies Newsletter, a publication that the editors described as "designed to provide comprehensive and timely communication among those interested in Cuban studies." The development of Cuban study centers in Europe and the United States further served to stimulate interest in Cuba. The moment was propitious, then, for an international symposium to review the state of research collections and library holdings on Cuba. Some fifteen participants, mainly scholars with research interests in Cuba and librarians and bibliographers with specializations in the Caribbean and Latin America, presented a variety of papers dealing with various aspects of library and archival collections possessing materials on Cuba.


In a classical risk model under constant interest force, we study the probability that the surplus of an insurance company reaches an upper barrier before a lower barrier. We define this probability as win-first probability. Borrowing ideas from life-insurance theory, hazard rates of the maximum of the surplus before ruin, re-garded as a remaining future lifetime random variable, are studied, and provide an original derivation of the win-first probability. We propose an algorithm to effi-ciently compute this risk-return indicator and its derivatives in the general case, as well as bounds of these quantities. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is compared with adaptations of other existing methods, and its interest is illustrated by the computation of the expected amount of dividends paid until ruin in a risk model with a dividend barrier strategy.


The calibration of manipulator kinematics subject to both geometric and nongeometric variations is addressed. A general definition of calibration is introduced, based on the concept of the group action. A specific calibration method is proposed, called calibration by diffeomorphisms. For calibration by diffeomorphisms, the existence of calibrating transformations has been shown to be equivalent to the structural stability of the nominal kinematics. In the case of parametric variations of kinematics of either geometric or nongeometric origin, the calibration by diffeomorphisms has yielded approximate affine calibrating transformations defined as solutions to a homological equation. For structurally stable nominal kinematics, the homological equation is solvable and provides calibrating transformations defined globally, applicable to both nonsingular and singular kinematics. The affine calibrating transformations have been illustrated with examples including general 2R position kinematics. >


Building databases are important assets when estimating and planning for national energy savings from energy retrofitting. However, databases often lack information on building characteristics needed to determine the feasibility of specific energy conservation measures. In this paper, machine learning methods are used to enrich the Swedish database of Energy Performance Certificates with building characteristics relevant for a chosen set of energy retrofitting packages. The study is limited to the Swedish multifamily building stock constructed between 1945 and 1975, as these buildings are facing refurbishment needs that advantageously can be combined with energy retrofitting. In total, 514 ocular observations were conducted in Google Street View of two building characteristics that were needed to determine the feasibility of the chosen energy retrofitting packages: (i) building type and (ii) suitability for additional façade insulation. Results showed that these building characteristics could be predicted with an accuracy of 88.9% and 72.5% respectively. It could be concluded that machine learning methods show promising potential to enrich building databases with building characteristics relevant for energy retrofitting, which in turn can improve estimations of national energy savings potential.


We propose to automate the assessment of novelty during the early design stages, where the number of solution alternatives is high, and these alternatives are flexible. The novelty of a solution is measured as its distance from a reference product database. The distance is calculated by comparing the solution and a reference at different levels of abstraction, as defined by a casuality model called SAPPhIRE. The fundamental instrument of this comparison is a text similarity metric, which is integrated with the novelty score, a support for which is developed as an Android application, named IdeA-Novelty. The application of the algorithm upon 20 solutions reveals that the measurement is computationally expensive. The expert's ratings for the same solution set seem to vary drastically. We take this observation as the basis for an extensive discussion on novelty, an operational definition for which is proposed toward the end.


In this paper, the microstructure and microhardness of laser shock processed (LSP) Ti-6Al-2.5Mo-1.5Cr-0.5Fe-0.3Si titanium alloy with and without annealing were examined and compared. The titanium alloy samples were LSP processed with 3 layers at 4.24GW/cm2. Some of the samples were vacuum annealed at 623K for 10 hours. The microscopic structure with and without annealing were tested and analyzed by SEM, TEM. The results indicated that after LSP, the shock wave provided high strain rate deformation and led to the formation of ultra-fine grain. Comparing with the samples without annealing, the dislocation density was lower and the grain-boundary was more distinct in the annealed samples, but the sizes of the ultra-fine grain didn't grow bigger after annealing. On the other hand, the microhardness measurement was made on the cross-section. It is obviously that the laser shock processing improved the microhardness of the Ti-6Al-2.5Mo-1.5Cr-0.5Fe-0.3Si for about 12.2% at the surface, and the hardness affected depth is about 500 microns. The microhardness after annealing is 10 HV0.5 lower, but the affected depth is not changed. The titanium alloy after LSP is thermostable at 623K; thus break the USA standard AMS2546, in which titanium parts after LSP are subjected in subsequent processing should not exceed 589K.


Emerging evidence demonstrates functional contributions of microRNAs (miRNAs) to μ-opioid receptor (MOR) signaling, but the information so far has been mostly limited to their intracellular regulatory mechanisms. The present study aimed to investigate changes in plasma miRNA profiles elicited by opioid treatment in blood samples collected from clinical studies. Healthy male subjects were orally administered with hydromorphone or oxycodone and blood samples were collected at a specified time after the drug treatment. A total of 179 plasma miRNAs were measured using multiplex qRT-PCR. Nine and seventeen miRNAs were commonly upregulated (let-7a-5p, miR-423-3p, miR-199a-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-23b-3p, miR-24-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-223-3p, and miR-146b-5p) and downregulated (miR-144-3p, miR-215, miR-363-3p, etc.), respectively, following opioid treatment. The MOR signaling-associated miRNAs, namely let-7 family miRNAs (i.e., let-7d-5p, let-7f-5p, let-7c, let-7e-5p), miR-103a-3p, miR-339-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-23b-3p, miR-23a-3p, and miR-181a-5p, were differentially expressed following drug treatment. These differentially expressed miRNAs are circulating biomarker candidates that can be used to evaluate MOR stimulation and serve as novel clinical diagnostic tools for improving clinical outcomes.


OBJECTIVES
To assist family physicians in stratifying women with a family history of breast cancer as being at low, moderate, or high risk of hereditary breast cancer (HBC). To present guidelines for managing each of these risk groups.

QUALITY OF EVIDENCE
A MEDLINE search was conducted from January 1976 to December 1997 using key words related to breast cancer risk factors, risk assessment, prevention, and screening. Risk stratification criteria were derived empirically and assessed using retrospective chart review.

MAIN FINDINGS
Although up to 20% of women in the general population have a family history of breast cancer, less than 5% are at high risk for HBC. Certain features in a family history suggest increased risk. Women with none of these features are at low risk for HBC and should have annual clinical breast examinations and mammography at least every 2 years starting at age 50. Women with one or more features of increased risk who do not meet criteria for referral to a familial cancer clinic are at moderate risk for HBC and should begin annual mammography and clinical breast examination at age 40. Women who meet referral criteria are at high risk for HBC and should be counseled regarding referral to a familial cancer clinic for more detailed risk assessment and consideration for genetic testing. All women should be taught proper breast self-examination technique and encouraged but not pressured to practise it monthly for life.

CONCLUSION
A simple algorithm can assist physicians in stratifying women into low, moderate, and high HBC risk groups. Management strategies for each group are given in this article and the two following (Heisey et al page 114 and Carroll et al page 126).


Saxifraga callosa Sm. is an evergreen perennial species distributed from Eastern Spain, through the Western Alps and the Apennines, to southern Italy. The existence of high morphological variation within different subspecies indicates that phenotypic characters are useful but not sufficient taxonomic tools. Indeed, available morphological data already suggested that S. callosa subentity lantoscana may be an outcross between S. callosa and S. cochlearis. In this work, by analyzing ITS (Internal Transcribed Sequences), AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms), and cpDNA (chloroplast DNA) markers, a comprehensive study of the genomic relationships among S. callosa and related species has been carried out. The sequence of the ITS region of S. callosa subentity lantoscana gave no conclusive results on the taxonomy status of S. callosa subentity lantoscana. On the other hand, the use of the "NewHybrids" software to analyze an AFLP data-set (208 polymorphic amplified fragments) supported a significant posterior probability that S. callosa subentity lantoscana individuals are natural hybrids between S. callosa and S. cochlearis. The level of introgression of genes from alien genomes was confirmed by a simpler and quick methodology that analyze length variation in cpDNA sequences.


This dissertation describes methods for the synthesis of bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes and their reactions. The bicyclo[1.1.0]butyl skeleton was first assembled by intramolecular, amide directed Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of propargyl amides and cyclopropenes. However, a more general approach applicable to the synthesis of amines, alcohol, esters, and amides was developed. This method is based on the generation of bicyclo[1.1.0]butyllithium from gem-dibromocyclopropanes via sequential transmetallation reactions with alkyllithium reagents and addition to electrophilic acceptors.Studies on the reaction of bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes were focused on thermal and metal-catalyzed transformations. Bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes activated by an aromatic group underwent highly chemo- and diastereoselective intramolecular pericyclic reactions under mild conditions. The outcome of these processes was controlled by the selection of the allylating reagents, and N-allyl amides gave exclusively formal ene products. On the other hand, cinnamyl amides participated in an intramolecular cycloaddition reaction. The postulated presence of radical in the mechanism of these reactions was supported by chemical and spectroscopic (ESR) studies.In the metal-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions, an intramolecular cyclopropanation of allyl amides catalyzed by complexes of Rh(I) is described. These reactions proceeded via metal carbene intermediates, which were selectively generated by applying phosphine additives with different steric and electronic properties. Based on the mechanistic proposal, the synthesis of pyrroles from bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes was achieved using a Rh(I)/bidentate ligand catalytic system and hindered amides. Finally, cycloisomerization reactions of propargyl amides and ethers as well as electron-deficient bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes catalyzed by Pt(II) are described. These reactions proceeded via a series of carbene intermediates to give polycyclic nitrogen- and oxygen-containing heterocycles, which could be of utility in research and development.


Laparoscopy is used for most surgical procedures in gynaecology. In general complications are rare. However, one of the most critical steps is the initial laparoscopic entry into the peritoneal cavity. According to the literature serious complications occur in approximately 1-2/1 000 cases. Whereas major vascular injuries are mainly recognised immediately, delayed recognition of bowel injuries is frequent. Complication rates of different entry procedures used in gynaecological laparoscopy are similar even in high risk patients (intraperitoneal adhesions, obesity). Utilising an open - instead a closed - entry (either by Veress needle or first trocar) technique or alternativ entry positions are suggested by some authors. This review presents data available in the literature and highlights that open laparoscopy is no gold standard.


This paper studies the identification and estimation of treatment response with heterogeneous spillovers in a network model. We generalize the standard linear-in-means model to allow for multiple groups with between and within-group interactions. We provide a set of identification conditions of peer effects and consider a 2SLS estimation approach. Large sample properties of the proposed estimators are derived. Simulation experiments show that the estimators perform well in finite samples. The model is used to study the effectiveness of policies where peer effects are seen as a mechanism through which the treatments could propagate through the network. When interactions among groups are at work, a shock on a treated group has effects on the non-treated. Our framework allows for quantifying how much of the indirect treatment effect is due to variations in the characteristics of treated peers (treatment contextual effects) and how much is because of variations in peer outcomes (peer effects).


This paper describes the review of a design project devised to pilot a student community learning experience at a heightened level of social responsibility. There is evidence around the world that degree level programmes are beginning this process, albeit through initial discussions (Swan, 2000). The project involved students in the use of open-space technology to promote creative team working and reflective practice reporting on the design project. The review involved a programme of qualitative research into the evidence and outputs created by the students and staff and compared these with interviews with the; participants, industrial sponsor, independent academic staff and professional designers. It was not possible to determine in the review whether the project had led to a greater level of creativity, but those involved described it as a profoundly creative experience. The findings showed that the project engendered truly effective teamworking, complete consensus to solutions amongst the students and a heightened sensitivity to societal issues. The review makes recommendations for the future development of this form of design practice learning at appropriate levels of study.


BACKGROUND
The conduct of randomized, controlled trials of nonpharmacologic treatments presents specific challenges that are not adequately addressed in trial reports.

OBJECTIVE
To develop an extension of the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement for trials of nonpharmacologic treatments.

DESIGN
A consensus meeting was organized to develop an extension of the CONSORT Statement that addresses randomized trials of nonpharmacologic treatments. To prepare for the meeting, a survey was conducted to identify the specific issues for discussion.

SETTING
Consensus meeting in Paris, France.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 33 experts attended the meeting. The experts were methodologists (n = 17); surgeons (n = 6); editors (n = 5); and clinicians involved in rehabilitation (n = 1), psychotherapy (n = 2), education (n = 1), and implantable devices (n = 1).

MEASUREMENTS
Experts indicated which of the 22 items on the CONSORT checklist should be modified or which additional items should be added specifically for nonpharmacologic treatments. During a 3-day consensus meeting, all items were discussed and additional methodological issues related to nonpharmacologic research were identified.

RESULTS
The consensus was that 11 items on the CONSORT checklist needed some modifications for nonpharmacologic trials: item 1 (title and abstract), item 3 (participants), item 4 (interventions), item 7 (sample size), item 8 (randomization), item 11 (blinding), item 12 (statistical methods), item 13 (participant flow), item 15 (baseline data), item 20 (discussion: interpretation), and item 21 (generalizability). In addition, the meeting participants added 1 item related to implementation of the intervention.

LIMITATION
Evidence was not always available to support the inclusion of each checklist item.

CONCLUSION
The methods and processes used to develop this extension could be used for other reporting guidelines. The use of this extension to the CONSORT Statement should improve the quality of reporting randomized, controlled trials assessing nonpharmacologic treatments.


To investigate the effects of anthropogenic activity, namely, land use change and reservoir construction, on particulate organic carbon (POC) transport, we collected monthly water samples during September 2007 to August 2009 from the Longchuanjiang River to understand seasonal variations in the concentrations of organic carbon species and their sources and the yield of organic and inorganic carbon from the catchment in the Upper Yangtze basin. The contents of riverine POC, total organic carbon and total suspended sediment (TSS) changed synchronously with water discharge, whereas the contents of dissolved organic carbon had a small variation. The POC concentration in the suspended sediment decreased non‐linearly with increasing TSS concentration. Higher molar C/N ratio of particulate organic matter (average 77) revealed that POC was dominated by terrestrially derived organic matter in the high flows and urban wastewaters in the low flows. The TSS transported by this river was 2.7 × 105 t/yr in 2008. The specific fluxes of total organic carbon and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were 5.6 and 6 t/km2/yr, respectively, with more than 90% in the high flow period. A high carbon yield in the catchment of the upper Yangtze was due to human‐induced land use alterations and urban wastes. Consistent with most rivers in the monsoon climate regions, the dissolved organic carbon–POC ratio of the export flux was low (0.41). Twenty‐two percent (0.9 t/km2/yr) of POC out of 4 t/km2/yr was from autochthonous production and 78% (3.1 t/km2/yr) from allochthonous production. The annual sediment load and hence the organic carbon flux have been affected by environmental alterations of physical, chemical and hydrological conditions in the past 50 years, demonstrating the impacts of human disturbances on the global and local carbon cycling. Finally, we addressed that organic carbon flux should be reassessed using adequate samples (i.e. at least two times in low‐flow month, four times in high‐flow month and one time per day during the flood period), daily water discharge and sediment loads and appropriate estimate method. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Herder et al. (IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, 2017) designed a new computational fuzzy extractor and physical unclonable function (PUF) challenge-response protocol based on the Learning Parity with Noise (LPN) problem. The protocol requires no irreversible state updates on the PUFs for security, like burning irreversible fuses, and can correct for significant measurement noise when compared to PUFs using a conventional (information theoretical secure) fuzzy extractor. However, Herder et al. did not implement their protocol. In this paper, we give the first implementation of a challenge response protocol based on computational fuzzy extractors. Our main insight is that "confidence information" does not need to be kept private, if the noise vector is independent of the confidence information, e.g., the bits generated by ring oscillator pairs which are physically placed close to each other. This leads to a construction which is a simplified version of the design of Herder et al. (also building on a ring oscillator PUF). Our simplifications allow for a dramatic reduction in area by making a mild security assumption on ring oscillator physical obfuscated key output bits.


Sildenafil citrate is a type-5 phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDE-5), able to inhibit type-6 phosphodiesterase (PDE-6) as well, providing clinical benefits and paraeffects, some of them potentially related to the retina. The effects of the sildenafil on the retrobulbar and retinal circulation were studied in 27 adult male rabbits of the White New Zealand breed. The electric activity of the retina was evaluated before and at the end of the treatments, and immunohistochemistry studies were conducted. An amplitude increase of the b wave was found in the mixed response of cones and rods after 7 days of treatment with sildenafil citrate. However, in the other evaluations and periods, the values did not differ from the basal ones. Through immunohistochemistry, no significant decrease of the expression of PDE-5 and PDE-6 proteins was observed. Based on the results obtained, it is possible to admit that the sildenafil citrate did not change the expression of PDE-5 and PDE-6, neither the electroretinographic activity of the retina of male rabbits of the White New Zealand breed.


Fluorine plays an important role in dental protection and formation of enamel materials, however the intrinsic effect of fluorine on the formation mechanism of fluoridated hydroxyapatite still needs to be known. In this work, pure fluoridated hydroxyapatite (FHA) with a hierarchical architecture was produced by a simple one-pot method using CaF2, Ca(OH)2 and Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O. It was found that the hierarchical fluoridated hydroxyapatite showed a unique orientation structure and different phase transformation mechanism compared with hydroxyapatite (HA). In the phase transition process from DCPD (CaHPO4·2H2O, brushite) to DCPA (CaHPO4, monetite), and then to FHA, hierarchical FHA was formed with the c-axis-oriented nanowires perpendicular to the planes of DCPA plates. More importantly, the crystal orientation relationship between FHA and DCPA was found for the first time to be FHA [010]//DCPA [001] and FHA (001)//DCPA (010), which is quite different from the crystal orientation relationship of HA [10]//DCPA [110] and HA (12)//DCPA (112). It was found that the phase transition process from (100)DCPA to (100)FHA was occurred with a good crystal lattice match. F− on (100)FHA had a small ionic radius and high electronegativity, decreased the crystal lattices of (100)FHA and might enhance their negativity and reactivity. This result may help better understand the effect of fluorine on the crystal growth process of natural enamel and the preparation of pure FHA with a hierarchical architecture is informative for the synthesis of enamel-like biomaterials.


In this monograph, Dr. Cohn has provided us with an overview of a most important subject, acute myocardial ischemia. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, entitled "Pathophysiology of Myocardial Ischemia," presents a brief resume of the biochemical, morphologic, and physiologic consequences of acute myocardial ischemia. Although this section does not have a direct bearing on surgical treatment, the thoracic surgeon should have a working knowledge of the disease process in order to effect proper therapy and interpret results. The second chapter is a discussion of Dr. Cohn's current surgical techniques for emergency coronary revascularization, with a view toward alternate techniques. The next section deals with the treatment of preinfarctional angina, first from the medical viewpoint then from a surgical aspect. The final section deals with the surgical treatment of acute myocardial infarction that concerns both emergency coronary artery bypass and the resection of infarcted areas. It


Computational biology uses tools from different fields, including computer science, to solve the challenges in the field of molecular biology and engages in the interpretation, classification and understanding of biological datasets. These datasets may involve RNA, DNA and protein sequences, comparison of genes and genomes of organisms, prediction of protein structures and creation of models for biological systems and molecules. Among these, building models for biological molecules, especially proteins, is of great importance. Proteins have different functions as chemical receptors, messengers, catalysts, etc. Most of these tasks are achieved via conformational changes in the proteins. For some proteins, this change in conformation is compared to the opening and closing of doors. The proteins that undergo this open-close conformational change are called hinge proteins because they act as if they have relative hinge joints between the opening and closing bodies of the protein. Since the conformational change in hinge proteins involves movement of different protein parts, we modeled proteins as structures understood by rigidity theory. While we hypothesized that this might lead to the identification of hinge proteins, we found that current rigidity theory models do not retain enough information to predict protein motion. In particular, rigidity theory does not model steric hindrance. Computational experiments indicate that the motions identified by the rigidity theory analysis may actually result in collisions between atoms. This research was initially motivated by our successful analysis of mechanical models after which the proteins are modeled. Incorporating steric hindrance into our current protein model will most likely provide the additional information that we are missing.


of cigarette'-and have also shown that smoking behaviour is influenced by personalitv characteristics.' Alterations in smoking behaviour involve changes both in puffing rate and in depth of inhalation, each of which may modify the amount of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide absorbed. The present subjects decreased their puffing rate as pregnancy progressed but presumably inhaled more deeply, with the result that they managed to obtain the same amount of nicotine but apparentlv less carbon monoxide. The cause of these changes is not clear, but the findings illustrate the dangers of extrapolation of data obtained during structured smoking regimens to real-life situations.


Existing techniques for the evaluation of single graphite fiber tensile properties are reviewed. Several problems associated with these techniques are identified and evaluated. Alternate procedures are demonstrated which significantly reduce the uncertainty introduced in denier measurement and operator selectivity. In a separate approach to improved tensile property evaluation, dry bundle tension test procedures and analysis techniques are developed and demonstrated. With this approach average fiber tensile properties for the entire bundle can be generated by coupling the bundle breaking energy with the modulus determined by electrical resistivity. Moreover, analysis of the bundle stress-strain curve enables one to generate cumulative strength distribution data for the fibers involved. Both the average and cumulative data agree very well with results obtained via extensive single fil evaluation.


With the growing popularity of internet-capable devices commonly known as the Internet of Things (IoT), and the risks these devices pose for consumer data privacy and security (P&S), it is worthwhile to examine how consumers perceive P&S risks. By understanding how IoT consumers conceptualize and communicate P&S concerns, researchers and developers can better decide how to secure risks and limit harms. We consider P&S together because privacy and security risks both result in similar harms to a consumer using IoT in the home–our study's subject.
In this study, we seek to understand how IoT consumers conceptualize and communicate their P&S concerns with home-IoT devices such as connected thermostats, security systems, smart watches, and personal assistant hubs. Our approach seeks to specifically understand if and how consumers advertise P&S concerns as they interact with devices in a modern marketplace. In this way, we can better understand the potential efficacy of consumer control mechanisms for P&S.
We collected a corpus of 160,000 consumer posts about 87 popular IoT products on Ama- zon.com. We analyze the corpus with a combination of natural language processing techniques [1] and qualitative human-based methods [2]. Our analysis seeks to (i) determine if PS and (ii) identify what types of P&S issues are salient to consumers and whether that classification is impacted by device category or other market factors.
Preliminary analysis reveals that few consumers discuss IoT P&S issues online, suggesting that consumers are either not concerned or informed about IoT device P&S. Why this is the case–and what it tells us about consumers' role in securing the IoT ecosystem–is relevant for P&S policy. Consumer control mechanisms for improving IoT P&S–like the notice and choice framework–may not secure risks or limit harm. If the market cannot rely on consumers to act in a P&S enhancing way, the development of more private and secure IoT devices should not be left solely to consumer influence. Prior work in the domain shows that consumers tend to be unaware, uninterested, or uninformed [3] of P&S harms, whether due to risk perception [4] or expertise [5]. These results mixed with our initial findings have implications for policy makers, standards organizations, and P&S advocates since it demonstrates a consumer control limitation in the IoT domain.
Efforts to understand consumer sentiment are also key for developers and policymakers who intend to create more usable and secure IoT devices. This project informs a broad policy discussion on effective measures to combat IoT privacy and security challenges. We draw additional conclusions about commonly expressed P&S concerns, the time series nature of these discussions, the relationship between P&S discussions and devices or device types, and the correlations between P&S discussions and publicized P&S events such as the Mirai Botnet. This paper represents the first steps in an endeavor that includes consumer interviews and surveys to draw more definitive conclusions on IoT product demand and consumer P&S concerns.
[1] Steven Bird, Edward Loper, and Ewan Klein. Natural Language Processing with Python. O'Reilly Media Inc., 2009. [2] Michael Quinn Patton. Qualitative evaluation and research methods . SAGE Publications, inc, 1990. [3] Alessandro Acquisti and Jens Grossklags. Privacy and rationality in individual decision making. IEEE Security & Privacy, 2(2005):24–30, 2005. [4] Rick Wash. Folk models of home computer security. In Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, SOUPS '10, pages 11:1–11:16, New York, NY, USA, 2010. ACM. [5] Lee Rainie and Maeve Duggan. Americans' opinions on privacy and information sharing. Technical report, 2016.


The use of axial flow fan is more suitable than that of centrifugal blower, as soon as large mass flow with low pressure fise must be achieved. Nethertheless, the noise level of the first type of these machines is 10 to 20 dB higher at the same operation point. The Metraflu and Neu companies have join their efforts to developp a theoretical study [1] and the build up of a quiet axial fan. The design technique is based on the numerical resolution of the fIuid equilibrium equations. The obtained velocity triangles are used to define the blade shape [6]. The contribution of stationary and unstationary forces is examined. Unstationary forces are analysed with the hypothesis of a quasi-stationary aspect of the problem. The noise component due to stationary forces can be explained by the formulations of page 616. It can be seen that noise reduction can be obtained with a reduction of the terms ΩT, ΩD. As pressure rise is defined, the term ΩD is constant. Only the ΩT term could contribute to the noise reduction. ΩT ~ UΔPS ~ ΔPS ΔPT/ΔVu ΔPT = ΔPS so ΩT ~ Cst /ΔVu The noise reduction could be obtained if important deflections are imposed (associated with low rotation speed). The noise level of a new fan built with this concept is 5 dB lower than that of a reference fan known to be already quiet.


Earthquakes are one of the major natural calamities as well as a prime subject of interest for seismologists, state agencies, and ground motion instrumentation scientists. The real-time data analysis of multi-sensor instrumentation is a valuable knowledge repository for real-time early warning and trustworthy seismic events detection. In this work, an early warning in the first 1 micro-second and seismic wave detection in the first 1.7 milliseconds after event initialization is proposed using a seismic wave event detection algorithm (SWEDA). The SWEDA with nine low-computation-cost operations is being proposed for smart geospatial bi-axial inclinometer nodes (SGBINs) also utilized in structural health monitoring systems. SWEDA detects four types of seismic waves, i.e., primary (P) or compression, secondary (S) or shear, Love (L), and Rayleigh (R) waves using time and frequency domain parameters mapped on a 2D mapping interpretation scheme. The SWEDA proved automated heterogeneous surface adaptability, multi-clustered sensing, ubiquitous monitoring with dynamic Savitzky–Golay filtering and detection using nine optimized sequential and structured event characterization techniques. Furthermore, situation-conscious (context-aware) and automated computation of short-time average over long-time average (STA/LTA) triggering parameters by peak-detection and run-time scaling arrays with manual computation support were achieved.


Examines the growth of the video film industry in Nigeria, focusing on the production & consumption of horror films & their depictions of occultism & the accumulation of wealth. Karl Marx's use of the 'occult aesthetic' in his analysis of the allocation of wealth under capitalism is reviewed, & parallels are drawn to the supernatural nature of wealth accumulation depicted in one Nigerian horror film. The relationship between such imaginative productions & material conditions in Nigeria is demonstrated, also revealing reasons for the wide appeal of this film genre to Nigerian audiences, particularly those of the middle & lower strata. Data from a questionnaire survey conducted in Jos, Plateau State, reveal the predominance of attitudes toward Western society (specifically, the US & UK) as 'lands of opportunity' where work is rewarded, unlike their own society, where wealth is so out of reach for the majority that it is more likely to be attributed to 'supernatural' intervention.


A simple Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on a standard single-mode fiber for simultaneous strain and temperature sensing was proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The interferometer was fabricated by electrical arc discharge method in which a portion of the standard single-mode fiber was heated and stretched. Any special type of fiber or a particular splicer was not required to form the MZI and it indicated high resolution. To find the modes that contributed to the interference spectrum, Fourier analysis was done and the spatial frequency versus normalized intensity plot showed that LP02 was the excited dominant higher order cladding mode. Coefficient matrix was realized for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature ability of such an MZI. For discrete measurements, a resolution of 0.79 °C in temperature and 1.18 micro-strain can be achieved for 10 pm wavelength resolution. This extremely simple, low-cost sensor easily fabricated with good repeatability is a good candidate in diverse sensing applications.


Several methods for analysis of linear time periodic (LTP) systems have successfully been demonstrated using harmonic decompositions. One method recently examined is to create a linear time invariant (LTI) model approximation by expansion of the LTP system states into various harmonic state representations, and formulating corresponding linear time invariant models. Although this method has shown success, it relies on a second order formulation of the original LTP system. This second order formulation can prove problematic for degrees of freedom not explicitly represented in second order form. Specifically, difficulties arise when performing the harmonic decomposition of body and inflow states as well as interpretation of LTI velocities. Instead this paper will present a more generalized LTI formulation using a first order formulation for harmonic decomposition. The new first order approach is evaluated for a UH-60 rotorcraft model, and is used to show the significance of particular harmonic terms; specifically that the coupling of harmonic components of body and inflow states with the rotor states has a significant contribution to the LTI model fidelity in the prediction of vibratory hub loads.


Transcription factors (TFs) are regulatory proteins controlling gene expression by binding specific motifs associated with their target genes and playing essential roles during development and physiological response to stimuli. The evolution of transcriptional regulation is an important source of phenotypic diversity. The genome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans encodes a similar proportion of TFs as the human genome, although TF families show different patterns of expansion in human and in worm. The TF repertoire of C. elegans is well diversified with over 50 TF families. Alternative splicing and gene duplication contribute to the functional diversity of TFs and the rapid evolution of TF protein sequence suggests that TF evolution plays important roles in developmental evolution. Many of the principles that guided the diversification of the worm TFs are likely to be applicable to the evolution of TFs in other organisms.

Key Concepts:

The genome of C. elegans encodes 988 TFs belonging to 50 distinct families based on the type of DNA-binding domain.

The worm and human genomes encode a similar proportion of TFs, and in both species a third of the TFs show tissue-specific gene expression.

Alternative splicing increases the number of TF transcripts by 22%.

Gene duplication contributes significantly to the functional diversification of TFs, and several examples illustrate the different evolutionary trajectories taken by TF duplicates.

Tissue-specific expression, alternative splicing, gene duplication and the combinatorial regulatory activity of TFs reduce the pleiotropic constraints operating on TF sequence evolution.

TF factor sequence evolution plays an unappreciated role in developmental evolution.

TFs can harbour high level of amino acid variation both between species and within populations.

Keywords:

transcription factors;
Caenorhabditis;
gene duplication;
alternative splicing;
gene regulation;
transcription networks


One of the many outcomes resulting from the explosion of international trade is access to lower cost production opportunities through outsourcing. This phenomenon has increased the importance of supply chains, the information technology needed to coordinate them and the need for this relatively complex enterprise to be exceptionally well-managed. There are obviously many cost benefits to be had from maintaining a strong and far-reaching supply chain. However, this opportunity to lower costs entails significant risks, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, political unrest, and economic turbulence. This book will introduce concepts and examples of risk in supply chain management, followed by an identification and discussion of an array of quantitative tools (selection methods, risk simulation modeling, and business scorecard analysis) to help manage these risks. Many books are appearing that address various aspects of supply chain risks. No other book known to the author addresses this set of modeling tools as a means of managing this risk. The target market for this book is practitioners in the supply chain management field. As such, the book will emphasize practical means of assessing supply chain risk and incorporate real-world examples that offer practical solutions to risk management problems in the supply chain.


In the earlier paper, a simple probabilistic model was formulated to predict the reliability of concrete in a structure during construction, a case study of laboratory block for College of Continuing Education, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In this paper, the reliability of the structure is predicted using decision theory based criteria as a tool. The net probability of failure of the structure after assessment was 1.4898E -3 which exceeded the target value of probability of failure of 3.931E -6 for slabs, 4.78E -7 for beams in  exure, 1.591E -4 for beams in shear and 4.8E -5 for columns subjected to both dead and live-load combination.[1] Showing that the structure is not safe and can result in uncommon accidents to persons and damage to properties on collapse. Keywords: probabilistic model, decision theory based criteria, target value, uncommon accidents, collapse


This article argues that the space created by the clearing away of the English regional 'institutional architecture' after 2010 allows local authorities, in particular, to consider new flexible place-based approaches to economic development not possible under the old system. In this context, economic development activities, initiatives and alliances can now be developed to cover geographical areas that 'make sense', rather than being imposed or being chosen through habit: it is an opportunity to rescale or recalibrate traditional spatial approaches to place-based economic development. Here we discuss some implications of that, particularly how local authorities in the North East of England and Cumbria are responding – or could respond – to the potential granting of greater economic and fiscal powers to Scotland resulting from pressures for further devolution and the 2014 referendum on independence. We look at the emerging opportunities for collaborative approaches to cross-border economic development; this is an issue that is virtually absent from any contemporary studies of local economic development in the UK. Drawing upon recent research, the article outlines the case for a 'Borderlands' approach – which brings together the five local authority areas adjacent to the border – to develop joint approaches to economic development in areas such as transport, tourism, business development and superfast broadband. In addition to such cross-border alliances, we also point to opportunities to reinvigorate co-operation between the North East and Cumbria. The prospect of further autonomy for Scotland is stimulating a new interest in the North East, Cumbria and Scotland in working more collaboratively together, but the outcome of that (whatever the referendum result) may depend upon how the Anglo-Scottish border is perceived. We argue that it needs to be seen less as a barrier and more as an enabling mechanism which brings new opportunities for a relationship based on 'co-optition'.


This document explains and demonstrates how to prepare your camera-ready manuscript for Trans Tech Publications. The best is to read these instructions and follow the outline of this text. The text area for your manuscript must be 17 cm wide and 25 cm high (6.7 and 9.8 inches, resp.). Do not place any text outside this area. Use good quality, white paper of approximately 21 x 29 cm or 8 x 11 inches (please do not change the document setting from A4 to letter). Your manuscript will be reduced by approximately 20% by the publisher [. Keep this in mind when designing your figures and tables etc.


Abstract:Through interaction with the natural world children can form an appreciation for the environment as well as interest in the natural sciences. It was with this in mind that a youth neighborhood ecology program was launched in 2009 with a second program offered in 2010. The SEEDS Neighborhood Ecology program aims to link youth in underprivileged neighborhoods to the environment in their own backyards. The program culminates in visits to the local university, linking the summer activities to career possibilities in ecology. This field report documents the early stages of this program and future prospects for SEEDS.


Erythropoietin, the hormone that regulates erythropoiesis in mammals, was 125I-labelled by using the catalytic properties of lactoperoxidase and the H2O2-generating properties of glucose oxidase. This methodology, both rapid and simple, not only produced hormone preparations with high specific radioactivity but also did not substantially alter the biological integrity of erythropoietin when it was assayed in vivo.


Schwann cell precursors can become either neurons or glia. [Also see Reports by Espinosa-Medina et al. and Dyachuk et al.] The autonomic nervous system controls the activity of internal organs such as the heart, lung, and gut, maintaining homeostasis of body functions in response to changing external conditions (1). It is composed of two antagonistic branches, sympathetic and parasympathetic. The former is essential for adapting to activity (i.e., fight-and-flight), whereas the latter is important at rest. Sympathetic neurons form ganglia along the body axis; parasympathetic ganglia are distributed all over the body. On page 87 and page 82 in this issue, Espinosa-Medina et al. (2) and Dyachuk et al. (3) challenge current views on how the parasympathetic nervous system is formed. These ganglia arise from progenitor cells that migrate along nerve fibers to peripheral targets. Known as Schwann cell precursors, these cells had previously been thought to give rise only to non-neuronal cells. Moreover, the nerve tracks include the very nerve fibers that ultimately innervate the parasympathetic neurons once they reach their destination and mature.


We demonstrate a software reconfigurable mixed-signal Printed Circuit Board (PCB) prototype and a custom mixed-signal Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) prototype of a cognitive signal processor using neuromorphic methods to perform adaptive nonlinear filtering based real-time wideband signal processing algorithms. The cognitive processor effectively implements a trending computing paradigm called Reservoir Computer (RC). Hardware implementation of the RC is achieved by a novel analog signal processor architecture called the Asynchronous Pulse Processor (APP).


The display colorimetric accuracy is a key factor to ensure printing quality. The main mission for display's color management is to compute its display color to get accurate colorimetric characterization, namely to ascertain the converting relationship between the RGB color data and their corresponding CIE X Y Z values. The related color values of EIZO, Mac and common PC displays were measured in the experiment, fitted the parameter, and computed the displayed color with gain-offset-gamma(GOG)model.Two-Primary Crosstalk (TPC) model, Piecewise Partition (PP)model. The three models were analyzed and compared with the measurement values. The model performance was assessed using 729 color samples uniformly distributed on the RGB display gamut. Compare the measured values and computed values and then find the more precise way to determine the display's colorimetric characterization.


This work aims to develop a paper authoring support system that helps biomedical scientists to organize their ideas for a specific discourse purpose. As an initial step toward the goal, this study developed an abstract authoring support tool that provides candidate lexical bundles organized according to the introduction, methods, results, and discussion (IMRAD) structure. Lexical bundles were extracted from the sentences in 152,083 structured abstracts of the PubMed Central open access subset and their distribution was analyzed by IMRAD section. To organize lexical bundles according to IMRAD, the Lexical Bundle Ontology was built. A Journal Article Tag Suite compliant authoring support tool was implemented. This tool lists candidate lexical bundles corresponding to authors' discourse purposes in a specific section and thereby helps to complete sentences. We expect this tool be useful, at least in biomedical abstract writing, to organize an author's ideas to achieve a specific discourse purpose. This tool is targeted primarily at biomedical scientists whose mother tongue is not English; however, English native speakers may find it useful as well.


One of the important activities that make up the production process is the change of format (also called changing helpful). The change of tooling can be defined as the set of operations that are performed on production equipment, to prepare them and to produce the new product that is going to enter the new productive phase. This activity should be carried out and monitored under the parameters of efficiency, effectiveness and with the minimum cost, introducing in this article the significance of these operations.


Bali cattle have several advantages such as high fertility and carcass percentage, easy adaptation to the new environment as well. Bali cattle productivity has not been optimal yet. This is due to one of the limitation of feed resources, decreasing of grazing and agricultural land. The aim of this paper is to describe Bali cattle development integrated with oil palm plantations, which is expected to improve productivity and increase Bali cattle population. This integration model is carried out by raising Bali cattle under oil palm plantation through nucleus estate scheme model or individual farmers estates business. Some of Bali cattle raising systems have been applied in the integration of palm plantation-Bali cattle. One of the intensive systems can increase daily weight gain of 0.8 kg/head, calfcrop of 35% per year and has the potency for industrial development of feed and organic fertilizer. In the semi-intensive system, it can improve the production of oil palm fruit bunches (PFB) more than 10%, increase harvested-crop area to 15 ha/farmer and reduce the amount of inorganic fertilizer. The extensive system can produce calfcrop ³70%, improve ³30% of PFB, increase business scale ³13 cows/farmer and reduce weeding costs ³16%. Integrated Bali cattle development may provide positive added value for both, palm oil business and cattle business.


Abstract Examined are the impact of the Atkins diet on the American diet conscious consumer and its impact on the market for consumer oriented diet foods, specifically foods low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Focusing on the fact that studies continue to show that as many as 25% of the American population is clinically obese, at least 100 pounds overweight, the recent obsession with low carbohydrate foods has created entirely new food related markets, markets for consumers products that are significantly different from the traditional food markets that have existed in the past. This paper will address the impact that the Atkins phenomenon has had on groceries, soft drinks, restaurant offerings, beer, fast food and supermarket products. It will show how these industries have been forced to modify their product lines to incorporate an ever escalating consumer demand for low carbohydrate products or risk being left behind in the expanding $42 billion food industry.


Alterations in serotonergic activity have been observed in many pathological conditions, including neuro psychiatric diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, and hypertension. The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) transporter(SERT) in the brain clears 5-HT from extracellular spaces, modulating the strength and duration of serotonergic signaling.Outside the central nervous system, it is also present in platelets, where it takes up 5-HT from plasma, keeping levels very low (i.e., ~1 nM). Importantly, it is generally accepted that SERT protein expressed in platelets is identical to the one found in neurons, displaying similar structural and functional properties in both tissues. At the present time, it is technically difficult to measure SERT binding and function in vivo since imaging methods are limited by a number of factors,especially the cost and the selectivity of the available radioligands. One of the most frequently used molecular imaging techniques to study SERT is positron emission tomography (PET). Although an impressive number of PET radio ligands have been synthesized and validated, there is still a lack of suitable ligands for a large part of the 5-HT system. Interest in determining both the molecular characteristics and the regulation of SERT has been enormous over the last decade, but the difficulty in obtaining human tissues and the ethical limitations in human experiments have turned researchers to look for alternative models. This review summarizes recent clinical and preclinical data relevant to the use of blood platelets asa peripheral marker for the central 5-HT system, and outlines future directions in this field.


Experiments were carried out on 40 adult male Wistar rats weighing 220-240 g, which used 15% ethanol or drinking water at free options during 2 months. Ten intact males using the drinking water ad libitum served as controls. Morphofunctional activity was morphologically and morphometrically studied in the anterior pituitary, adrenals, and testicles. The spermogram of epididymal sperm was examined. The plasma levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, corticosterone, testosterone, and estradiol were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The rats using 15% ethanol for 2 months were observed to have feebly marked signs of the suppressed pituitary-adrenal-gonadal system depending on the dose of used ethanol. It is suggested that the amount of ethanol ingested by the animals depends on the baseline level of androgens.


The IEC 61499 standard provides a possibility to develop industrial embedded systems in a component-based manner. Besides alleviating the efforts of system design, the component-based approach also allows analysis of various system characteristics using system models even before the actual deployment. One of the crucial characteristics in the domain of safety-critical and real-time systems is timing: a failure to execute a specific task on time can have severe consequences. This paper presents a method for compositional model-level analysis of worst-case execution time of IEC 61499 software models. The analysis is performed on one hierarchical level of composition at a time, and the results can be stored together with the software artefact to be used when analysis is performed on the higher hierarchical level, or when the unit is reused in another system. The analysis has been implemented as a plug-in for the 4DIAC tool.


A radically new ICF target design is described that is designed to achieve ultra-high deuterium densities in implosions. This target is based on emerging technology for creating deuterium clusters with densities approaching 1024/cm3 at room temperature in a Pd structure. Our initial studies of such clusters have relied on stress formation of dislocation sites in Pd thin films to the number of cluster sites per unit volume remains low. Here a new method employing nano-structuring of the Pd significantly increases the site density over the target volume. This in turn suggests that a sizable region of the compressed target deuterium can reach densities an order of magnitude higher than possible with prior target designs. This can significantly increase the fusion reaction burn density, hence the target burn-up efficiency.


The article draws on decentred analyses of regulation, which emphasise the fragmentation and hybridisation of regulatory systems, to analyse contemporary financial services regulation, principally in the UK. The analysis focuses on actors, their regulatory capacities, the regulatory functions which they do or could perform, their interrelationships, and the ways in which they are or could be enrolled within the regulatory system. The article contrasts such an analysis with the more familiar "toolkit" analysis, and argues that the enrolment analysis provides a mapping device which facilitates a more nuanced analysis of the nature of regulatory hybridity and fragmentation, and facilitates debates on the development of the regulatory system. It also provides a critical frame in which to assess the likely effectiveness, the adherence to normative values, and the accountability of the regulatory system as a whole.


Digital technology, also known as new media technology, has become an influential tool in this era. This technology is no longer an option anymore but it is a necessity in many fields. As one of the areas that are inextricably linked with technology, the media industry including journalism, cannot escape from being impacted upon by any technological development and changes. In this era, media organizations and journalists have to confront an important challenge which impacted them strongly in the mass media, namely the advent of Internet journalism. With that in mind, this paper will discuss the changing nature of Malaysian newsrooms and identify the digital readiness among them in accordance with the needs of the digital media era. With a questionnaire designed to determine how news organizations try to meet the latest demands from the convergence of the newsroom as well as the readiness of the journalists in facing the challenges of the new technolo-gically driven newsrooms, the findings have provided insights into the leadership styles of Malay-sian media organizations and the readiness of Malaysian journalists in facing the current technol-ogical complexities, the retraining of employees, and other skills needed in the twenty first century media organizations.


Agriculture, industry and service sectors take place in the market mechanism. The development of national economies is directly linked to the improvements in these sectors. Turkey is developing various policies to achieve the potential of the agricultural sector. In this context, recent land consolidation, increasing the share of machinery production in agriculture and the initiatives to benefit from the experiences of the European Union can be counted. The aim of this study was to examine the causal relationship between Turkey specially in agricultural development and economic growth. Annual data on the 30-year period (1988-2018) covering 15 years before and after 2003, when one of the most important reforms were made within the framework of the adaptation period to the agricultural policies of the European Union, were discussed. In this context, Toda - Yamamoto (1995) procedure will be used to investigate the long - term causality relationship between agricultural development and gross domestic product.


The aim of this retrospective study was to detect selected pathogens in pneumonic lung tissue of dogs of different age groups by immunohistochemistry (IHC), in situ hybridisation (ISH) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in order to get information about their involvement in pneumonia formation. In archived formalin-fixed and paraffin wax-embedded lung samples from 68 cases with the clinical and histologic diagnosis of pneumonia the histological pattern of pneumonia was re-evaluated and the samples were further investigated for the following infectious agents: canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), Bordetella (B.) bronchiseptica, Pasteurella (P.) multocida, Mycoplasma spp., and Pneumocystis spp. In 47.1% of the samples at least one of the featured respiratory pathogens was detected. In 31.3% of these positive samples more than one pathogen could be found. The correct detection of CDV had been achieved in ten out of eleven positive cases (90.9%) upon initial investigation, but the presence of bacterial pathogens, like B. bronchiseptica (10 cases) and P. multocida (17 cases) had been missed in all but one case. While CDV and CRCoV infections were exclusively found in dogs younger than one year, the vast majority of infections with P. multocida and B. bronchiseptica were both common either in dogs younger than 4 months or older than one year. Thus, this retrospective approach yielded valuable data on the presence, absence and prevalence of certain respiratory pathogens in dogs with pneumonia.


Key Summary Points Motivation: Observational studies that attempt to assess causality between a treatment and an outcome may be subject to unmeasured confounding. Rationale: Sensitivity analysis can assess how strong an unmeasured confounder would have to be to explain away an observed treatmentoutcome relationship. A sensitivity analysis technique that is easy to use, present, and interpret, and does not itself make strong assumptions, is desirable. Definition of E-value: The E-value is the minimum strength of association, on the risk ratio scale, that an unmeasured confounder would need to have with both the treatment and outcome, conditional on the measured covariates, to fully explain away a specific treatmentoutcome association. Calculation: The E-value for an estimate, and for the limit of a 95% CI closest to the null, can be calculated in a straightforward way for risk ratios (Table 1) and for other measures (Table 2). Conclusions: The E-value allows an investigator to make statements of the following form: The observed risk ratio of 3.9 could be explained away by an unmeasured confounder that was associated with both the treatment and the outcome by a risk ratio of 7.2-fold each, above and beyond the measured confounders, but weaker confounding could not do so; the confidence interval could be moved to include the null by an unmeasured confounder that was associated with both the treatment and the outcome by a risk ratio of 3.0-fold each, above and beyond the measured confounders, but weaker confounding could not do so. Much empirical research is concerned with establishing causation. It is well-known, however, that with observational data, association (111) need not imply causation (1222). A central concern with observational data is bias by unmeasured or uncontrolled confounding, that is, that some third factor related to both the treatment and outcome might explain their association, with no true causal effect (1222). With observational data, we can never be certain that efforts to adjust for confounders or common causes are adequate. An important approach to evaluating evidence for causation in the face of unmeasured confounding is sensitivity analysis (or bias analysis) (1422). Sensitivity analysis considers how strong unmeasured confounding would have to be to explain away the association, that is, how strongly the unmeasured confounder would have to be associated with the treatment and outcome for the treatmentoutcome association not to be causal. In this tutorial, we discuss a sensitivity analysis technique that makes minimal assumptions, and we propose that observational studies start reporting the E-value, a new measure related to evidence for causality. The E-value represents the minimum strength of association, on the risk ratio scale, that an unmeasured confounder would need to have with both the treatment and outcome to fully explain away a specific treatmentoutcome association, conditional on the measured covariates. Implementing these sensitivity analysis techniques and obtaining E-values are relatively simple. If reporting E-values for sensitivity analysis were standard practice, our ability to assess evidence from observational studies would improve and science would be strengthened. Example As a motivating example, several observational studies have reported associations between breastfeeding and various infant and maternal health outcomes. A common concern is that the effects of breastfeeding may be confounded by smoking behavior or by socioeconomic status. In a population-based casecontrol study, Victora and colleagues (23) examined associations between breastfeeding and infant death by respiratory infection. After adjusting for age, birthweight, social status, maternal education, and family income, the authors found that infants fed with formula only were 3.9 (95% CI, 1.8 to 8.7) times more likely to die of respiratory infections than those who were exclusively breastfed. The investigators controlled for markers of socioeconomic status but not for smoking, and smoking may be associated with less breastfeeding as well as greater risk for respiratory death. Sensitivity Analysis for Unmeasured Confounding Sensitivity analysis considers how strongly an unmeasured confounder would have to be related to the treatment and outcome to explain away the observed association. Several sensitivity analysis techniques have been developed for different statistical models (1422, 2441). Often, these techniques involve specifying several parameters corresponding to the strength of the effect of the unmeasured confounders on the treatment and on the outcome and then using analytic formulas to determine what the true effect of the treatment on the outcome would be if an unmeasured confounder of the specified strength were present. Such techniques are helpful in determining the strength of the evidence for causality. These techniques sometimes are criticized for being too subjectivethat is, regardless of the estimate obtained, investigators could choose the sensitivity parameters that make the result seem robust to confounding. Another criticism is that sensitivity analysis techniques themselves make simplifying assumptions about the unmeasured confounder. Such assumptions often stipulate that the unmeasured confounder is binary (22, 24, 26) or that only 1 unmeasured confounder exists (2428), or that there is no interaction between the effects of the unmeasured confounder and of the treatment on the outcome (2528). The criticisms then assert that these assumptions are needed to assess the effect of assumptions so that, in fact, the approach is not very useful after all. These criticisms are not unreasonable; however, on the basis of recent developments, addressing them is now possible (37). Specifically, some techniques make no assumptions about the underlying structure of unmeasured confounders and still allow conclusions about the strength the unmeasured confounders must have to explain away an observed association (37). We begin by describing such a technique and then introduce the new E-value measure. Suppose that an observational study controls for several covariates thought to be confounders of the treatmentoutcome association. After adjustment, suppose that the estimated relative risk equals RR. We may, however, still be concerned that this estimate is subject to unmeasured confounding. Suppose that all confounding would be removed if the study had controlled for 1 or more unmeasured confounders U, along with the observed covariates. The sensitivity analysis technique requires 2 parameters to be specified. One corresponds to the strength of the association between the unmeasured confounders U and the outcome D; the other corresponds to the strength of the association between the treatment or exposure E and the unmeasured confounders. Once these parameters are specified, we can calculate the extent to which such a set of unmeasured confounders could alter the observed relative risk. We let B denote the largest factor by which the observed relative risk could be altered by unmeasured confounders of a particular strength. In practice, we do not know the strengths of the unmeasured confounder associations, but we could, in principle, specify many different values and determine how the estimate is affected by each setting. Let RRUD denote the maximum risk ratio for the outcome comparing any 2 categories of the unmeasured confounders, within either treatment group, conditional on the observed covariates. Let RREU denote the maximum risk ratio for any specific level of the unmeasured confounders comparing those with and without treatment, with adjustment already made for the measured covariates. Thus, RRUD captures how important the unmeasured confounder is for the outcome, and RREU captures how imbalanced the treatment groups are in the unmeasured confounder U. For example, if 40% of nonbreastfeeding mothers smoked, as compared with 20% of breastfeeding mothers, we would have RREU = 2. The relationships are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Unmeasured confounder of the treatmentoutcome relationship. The maximum risk ratio for the outcome comparing any 2 categories of the unmeasured confounders, with adjustment already made for the measured covariates, is denoted in the diagram by RRUD . The maximum risk ratio for any specific level of the unmeasured confounders comparing those with and without treatment, with adjustment already made for the measured covariates, is denoted in the diagram by RREU . The measured covariates are allowed to affect the unmeasured confounders, and vice versa. Once these variables are specified, the maximum relative amount by which such unmeasured confounding could reduce an observed risk ratio is given by the following formula (37): To obtain the maximum amount this set of unmeasured confounders could alter an observed risk ratio RR, one simply divides the observed risk ratio by the bias factor B (37). In fact, one also may divide the limits of the CI by the bias factor B to obtain the maximum the unmeasured confounder could move the CI toward the null (37). The formula applies when the observed risk ratio RR is greater than 1. If the observed risk ratio is less than 1, then one multiplies by this bias factor rather than dividing by it. We illustrate this approach with the association between maternal breastfeeding and respiratory death from the study by Victora and colleagues (23), in which RR= 3.9 (CI, 1.8 to 8.7) for infants formula-fed rather than breastfed. Again, we might be worried that this estimate is confounded by smoking status. Suppose that the maximum ratio by which smoking could increase respiratory death is RRUD = 4 and the maximum by which smoking differed by breastfeeding status was RREU = 2. Our bias factor is then B= 42/(4+21)= 1.6. The most that unmeasured confounding could alter the effect estimate is obtained by dividing the observed risk ratio and its CI by


High Concentration Photovoltaics (HCPV) require an optical system with high efficiency, low cost and large tolerance. We describe the particularities of the HCPV applications, which constrain the optics design and the manufacturing techonologies.


In this paper the output regulation problem for sampled-data systems with time-varying measurement matrices and constant exogenous signals is considered. Under the assumption that the regulator equation in the continuous-time case has a solution, a discrete-time output feedback controller is designed which fulfills output regulation. As an application, berthing control of a ship is discussed and simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the controller.


'Denali' (Reg. No. CV-1075, PI 664256) hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and released cooperatively by Colorado State University (CSU) and Kansas State University (KSU) in August 2011 through a marketing agreement with the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. In addition to researchers at CSU and KSU, USDA-ARS researchers at Manhattan, KS, St. Paul, MN, and Pullman, WA participated in its development. Denali was selected from the cross CO980829/'TAM 111' made in 2001 at Fort Collins, CO. CO980829 is an experimental line from CSU with the pedigree 'Yuma' (PI 559720)/PI 372129//CO850034/3/4*Yuma/4/NEWS12. TAM 111 (PI 631352) is a hard red winter wheat cultivar released by Texas A&M University in 2002. Denali was selected as an F 5:6 line in July 2007 and assigned experimental line number CO050303-2. Denali was released because of its superior grain yield under nonirrigated and irrigated production conditions in eastern Colorado, its grain volume weight, and its resistance to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Eriks.).


The effect of differentiated instructional strategies on students' retention in geometry in senior secondary schools was examined. The study employed experimental research design of pretest, posttest control group. The area of this study is Abuja Municipal Area Council, the Federal Capital Territory. The target population was the entire mathematics student in senior secondary class 2 (SS2) in the area. The simple random sampling technique was adopted and used to select two senior schools and 100 subjects for the study. Researcher-designed Geometry Achievement Test (GAT) containing 25 multiple choice items with reliability coefficient of 0.90 was used to measure students' academic achievement before and after treatment. The researcher taught the experimental and control groups for six weeks. At the beginning and end of the six weeks GAT was administered as a pre-test and post-test to the students in the two groups. The result shows among others that differentiated instructional strategies was more effective in promoting meaningful learning and enhancing mathematics students' achievement than the conventional method (Z 98 =11.320, p<.05). The result of the post-post-test administered to the experimental and control group students' four weeks after the first post-test also show that retention ability was significantly higher in the experimental group students than in the control group student (z 98 = 13.876, p<.05). Conclusion from these findings led to the recommendation that Mathematics teachers and educators should adopt the Differentiated instructional strategies as an Innovative, efficient and effective strategy in teaching geometry concepts in Mathematics. Keywords: Differentiated instruction, Lecture , Cognitive Achievement, Retention ability, Geometry


Democratic publics have always struggled to constrain their elected leaders' foreign policy actions. By its nature, foreign policy creates information asymmetries that disadvantage citizens in favor of leaders. But has this disadvantage deepened with the advent of the Internet and the resulting fundamental changes in the media and politics? We argue that it has. The current information and political environments erode constraint by inclining constituents to reflexively and durably back "their" leaders and disapprove of opposition. These changes make it harder for citizens to informationally "catch up" with and constrain leaders because views that contradict citizens' beliefs are less likely to break through when media are fragmented and siloed. These changes have important implications for theories concerning the democratic peace, audience costs, rally effects, and diversionary war. They may also contribute to instability in foreign policy by contributing to sudden and destabilizing changes in public opinion that undercut commitments abroad.


The types and distribution of obligate thermophilic bacteria were found to be similar in a thermal gradient resulting from man-made thermal pollution and the thermal gradients of two natural hot springs located in Colorado.


The complex interaction of the magnetic field with matter is the key to some of the most puzzling observed phenomena at multiple scales across the Universe, from tokamak plasma confinement experiments in the laboratory to the filamentary structure of the interstellar medium. A major astrophysical puzzle is the phenomenon of coronal heating, upon which the most external layer of the solar atmosphere, the corona, is sustained at multi-million degree temperatures on average. However, the corona also conceals a cooling problem. Indeed, recent observations indicate that, even more mysteriously, like snowflakes in the oven, the corona hosts large amounts of cool material termed coronal rain, hundreds of times colder and denser, that constitute the seed of the famous prominences. Numerical simulations have shown that this cold material does not stem from the inefficiency of coronal heating mechanisms, but results from the specific spatio-temporal properties of these. As such, a large fraction of coronal loops, the basic constituents of the solar corona, are suspected to be in a state of thermal non-equilibrium (TNE), characterised by heating (evaporation) and cooling (condensation) cycles whose telltale observational signatures are long-period intensity pulsations in hot lines and thermal instability-driven coronal rain in cool lines, both now ubiquitously observed. In this paper, we review this yet largely unexplored strong connection between the observed properties of hot and cool material in TNE and instability and the underlying coronal heating mechanisms. Focus is set on the long-observed coronal rain, for which significant research already exists, contrary to the recently discovered long-period intensity pulsations. We further identify the outstanding open questions in what constitutes a new, rapidly growing field of solar physics.


Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) which can be defined as chronic, relapsing visceral pain with bloating associated with change in bowel habit. It affects up to 10-15% of the adult population in the UK and is more common in females. The cost of IBS in terms of health care utilisation is substantial, exceeding �45.6 million per year in the UK alone, yet its pathophysiology is incompletely understood. Visceral pain is the main and most difficult symptom to manage in IBS and many IBS female sufferers compare it to labour pain in its severity. Modulating visceral pain in healthy volunteers and IBS patients is therefore an important research area. Non-invasive magnetic stimulation may play a crucial role in this respect. Aim:The aim of this study is to ascertain whether non-invasive repetitive magnetic stimulation applied to the motor cortex and/or lumbosacrum can modulate gastrointestinal pain originating from the anorectum. Methods:Participants: 16 healthy volunteers and 10 IBS patients aged 18 and above were included in the study.Questionnaires: Healthy volunteers and IBS patients were asked to complete anxiety and depression questionnaire and IBS patients were requested to fill in an IBS severity questionnaire.Motor measurements in healthy subjects: Single-pulse lumbosacral magnetic stimulation (LSMS) was applied to the lumbosacral area for the anal sphincter where the largest motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude response was detected. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was then performed at the pre-determined resting motor thresholds (RMT) for the anal sphincter and the hand.Sensory measurements in healthy subjects and IBS patients: Electrical stimulation was used to assess the changes in sensory and pain thresholds in the anorectal area. The subjects were asked to score the pain intensity using five-point categorical rating scales. In addition they were asked to describe the pain experienced using a shortened form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Intervention: Healthy volunteers received 6 paradigms of magnetic stimulation in a randomised order i.e. 3 repetitive LSMSs (1 Hz, 10 Hz and sham) and 3 repetitive TMSs (1 Hz, 10 Hz and sham) to investigate their modulatory effects on visceral sensitivity and to determine which of these interventions is most effective. The most effective active interventions (1 Hz rLSMS and 10 Hz rTMS) together with one sham were then trialled in a randomised fashion on IBS patients.Post intervention: Motor excitabilities were repeated at 30 min after each intervention. The assessment of sensory and pain thresholds at anal sphincter and rectum were done immediately, 30 and 60 min after each intervention. Results:Application of 1 Hz rLSMS led to alterations of anal sphincter motor excitabilities and resulted in a significant increase in the amplitude of lumbosacal-anal motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in healthy volunteers recorded at 30 min post intervention. In healthy volunteers, 1 Hz rLSMS and 10 Hz rTMS caused a significant increase in the rectal pain thresholds experienced immediately, 30 and 60 min after each intervention. 10 Hz rLSMS and 1 Hz rTMS only led to a significant rise in rectal pain thresholds immediately after their application. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the rectal pain thresholds immediately, 30 and 60 min following 1 Hz rLSMS and 10 Hz rTMS in IBS patients. Conclusion:The application of magnetic stimulation to the cortical and lumbosacral areas to modulate visceral pain is a new concept, which reduced rectal sensitivity to painful stimuli and offers a much needed new approach in the management of abdominal pain in patients with IBS.


In the first three articles in this series, we looked at the various components of good governance and how nurse leaders can create cultures and systems to promote and measure good governance. We used the quality governance framework of foundation trust regulator Monitor to explore how an NHS organisation's strategy, systems and process and the measurement of performance are designed to ensure delivery of high quality care.


Citizen participation often faces challenges of transparency and accountability. Visualizations's usability becomes key for public consultation activities. The tree map is frequently used to disseminate data and to give it back to the population. The purpose of this study is to understand how tree maps and stacked barcharts differ in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in tasks, like solving topic categorization and comparison analysis tasks. An experimental design was used to examine user performance based on a task-based usability test. 34 participants interacted remotely with data visualizations from an open 2016 participatory constitution-making process. The ANOVA showed that stacked barcharts work significantly better for comparison tasks than the tree map, but there are no significant differences in regards to categorization tasks. Public participation initiatives should first determine what cognitive operations their users perform before deciding which visualization interfaces will be more useful for the intended public.


Abstract Context: Licochalcone A (Lico A) is a major and biogenetically characteristic chalcone isolated from the root of Xinjiang liquorice, Glycyrrhiza inflata. Objective: We focused on investigating whether Lico A possesses distinct anti-inflammatory activity on a non-infectious mouse model of asthma, and we aimed to elucidate its involvement with the mitogen-activated protein kinases pathway. Methods: BALB/c mice that were sensitized and challenged to ovalbumin (OVA) were treated with Lico A (50 mg/kg) 1 h before they were challenged with OVA. Results: Our study demonstrated that Lico A may effectively inhibit the increase in T-helper type 2 cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and reduced serum levels of OVA-specific IgE and IgG. Furthermore, Lico A substantially inhibited OVA-induced eosinophilia in lung tissue and mucus hyper-secretion by goblet cells in the airway. Meanwhile, pretreatment with Lico A resulted in a significant reduction in mRNA expression of acidic mammalian chitinase, chitinase 3-like protein 4 (Ym2), E-selectin, Muc5ac, CCL11 and CCR3 in lung tissues and airway hyper-responsiveness to methacholine. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Lico A may effectively delay the progression of airway inflammation and could be used as a therapy for patients with allergic airway inflammation.


We present a cross-layer framework for optimizing the performance of wireless networks as measured by applications or upper layer protocols. The approach combines adaptive modulation with network utility maximization. We extend the approach to find optimal source rates and transmitter power and rate policies without explicit knowledge of the distribution of channel states. These optimal power and rate policies balance delay (backlog), transmission rate and energy to maximize network performance under constraints on average transmitter power and link buffer arrival and departure rates. Explicit policies are found for single links, and algorithmic methods presented to find optimal policies for complex interfering networks.