Issues of plagiarism, intertextuality and authorial presence in academic writing are fundamental to the teaching and learning activities of all university lecturers and their students. Knowing how to assist students, particularly those who speak English as an additional language (EAL), to develop a sense of text/knowledge ownership and authorial presence in the creation of discipline-based scholarly texts can be especially challenging. Clarifying what is encompassed by the notion of 'common knowledge' is also central to this process. The aim of this paper is to explore the political and intertextual nature of text/knowledge construction and emergent student authorship through the analysis of interviews and written assignments from two EAL students, together with interview data from lecturers from relevant disciplinary fields. Drawing on the work of Bakhtin, Kristeva and Penrose and Geisler, I conclude by suggesting that it is by engaging with, rather than fearing, intertextual connections, that we can create a dialogic pedagogy for academic writing that will enable students to articulate an authoritative authorial identity of their own. The importance of lecturer intervention during the drafting stages of text production is also emphasised.

Keywords: plagiarism; intertextuality; emergent authorship; academic writing


Interfacial interaction forces between particulate contaminants and semiconductor wafer surfaces play a key role in the understanding of post-CMP and post-lapping cleaning processes. In order to facilitate removal and prevent re-deposition of submicron particles on wafer surface, understanding, measurement, and manipulation of these forces is required. The theory of interaction forces in liquids that includes DLVO forces (van der Waals, electrical double layer) and non-DLVO (solvation, hydration, hydrophobic, steric and bridging forces) is well established and is studied elsewhere.1-4 Short range interaction forces between silica surfaces in alcohols have been successfully measured before using AFM.5-7


Prosocial crowdfunding platforms can work through direct peer-to-peer (P2P) lending or through intermediaries, incurring different costs to borrowers and lenders. This study investigates the incentives of lenders and borrowers' and how they would choose between the two types of platforms. We model the intermediary as a profit maximizer who filters projects, provides high quality borrowers with access to the platform, and ensures repayment rate to lenders. Our initial findings suggest that the introduction of direct P2P lending platform enables the intermediary to reduce its interest rate and to raise its screening threshold on the intermediated platform. The P2P lending platform also incentivizes more altruistic lenders to shift to the direct funding platform, which enables riskier borrowers to get funded. These findings suggest that the introduction of disintermediated P2P platform improves social welfare on the prosocial crowdfunding platforms.


The age at which children acquire words is an important psycholinguistic property for modeling the growth of children's semantic networks. Much work over the years has explored how to effectively exploit statistical models to predict the age at which a word will be acquired, ranging from simple linear regression to LSA and skip-gram. However, thus far no work has explored whether transformers are any better at modeling word acquisition, despite the superior performance they have achieved on a wide variety of natural language processing (NLP) benchmarks. In this paper, we explore using several transformer models to predict the age of acquisition norms for several datasets. We evaluate the quality of our models using various experiments based on prior work and compare the transformers against two baseline models. We obtain promising results overall, as the transformers can outperform the baselines in most cases.


Numerous degenerative diseases are associated with amyloidosis, which can be caused by amyloid proteins. These amyloid proteins are generated from misfolded and denatured amyloid monomers under physiological conditions. Changes in protonation state, pH, ionic strength, and temperature, in addition to mutations, are related to the promotion of amyloidosis. Specifically, an understanding of the mechanical characteristics of amyloid protofibrils is important, since amyloid growth proceeds by a mechanism involving cycles of fragmentation and elongation. However, there remains a lack of knowledge of amyloid structural conformations and their mechanical characteristics, particularly considering end-terminal capping effects. In the present study, we investigated the mechanical characteristics of transthyretin amyloid protein (TTR), which have been implicated in cardiovascular disease, and specifically considered the contribution of end-terminal capping effects. Using steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations, we report different structural behaviors between uncapped and capped TTR amyloid protofibrils. We show that end-terminal capping strengthens the structural stability and improves the mechanical properties of amyloid protofibrils. This study provides useful information concerning the structural and mechanical characteristics of TTR amyloid protofibrils, with a particular emphasis on end-terminal capping effects.


In virtue of Fluent of CFD software, numerical computations of aerodynamics of an air-to-air missile in different mach numbers and different attack angles were carried though. The movement trends of lift coefficient, drag coefficient and pitching moment coefficient with variety of mach numbers and attack angles were gained, meanwhile, distributing trends of pressure, temperature and weather velocity were also obtained. The results indicated that the basis and references could be offered by numerical computation results for shape design of missile and definite preponderances were showed than traditionary numerical computation methods.


Peatlands have specific characteristics, namely irreversible drying, so that become flammable. Peat fires have an impact on changes in soil pH. The study aimed to analyze the soil acidity after peatland fires in oil palm plantation. This study used a survey method on two main plots (low and high fire intensity). Samples were taken at two soil depth including 0-10 cm and 11-30 cm in three zones (fertilization area, harvest path and frond pile zone) and repeated three times. Data were analyzed by ANOVA using the 5% nested test, then LSD test, and analyzed for correlation. The results showed that the soil pH on all land was included in the very acid category. Soil pH in the land B (land with high fire intensity) is higher than those in the land A (land with low fire intensity), both in top soil and sub soil. The micro-nutrient elements of Fe and Al in the land B are lower than land A, while the micro-nutrients of Mn in land B are higher than land A. The correlation of soil pH towards Fe and Al is negative, while for Mn is positive (pH increases, acid cations of Fe and Al will decrease while acid cations of Mn will increase). This was presumably due to competition in occupying the land-


Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare disease previously known as histiocytosis X, is characterised by abnormal cell proliferation. If the CNS is invaded, the hypothalamus is the typical site location. There are virtually no neuropsychological data on hypothalamic LCH sequelae. Memory disorders in the context of posterior but also anterior hypothalamic lesions, regardless of the aetiology, have in most cases been attributed to the involvement of the mammillary bodies (MB). However, Ptak et al reinterpreted a case, acknowledging that "Damage of the anterior hypothalamus, rather than the mammillary bodies, may [ . . .] have been responsible for [the observed] confabulatory amnesia" (page1600). An interesting question is whether neuropsychological deficits are secondary to hypothalamic damage in itself or to a disconnection syndrome. The latter is based on the bilateral hypothalamic nucleus— widespread brain complex connections. Two subsystems are of particular interest in the present case, the hippocampus-fornixhypothalamus-MB circuit, and the amygdalastria terminalis plus caudate nucleushypothalamus circuit. We report the case of a patient who presented with hypothalamic LCH and underwent thorough neuropsychological, radiological, and metabolic assessments.


Trihalomethane (THM) occurrence in reclaimed water and its exposure risk to human health during non-potable reuse was evaluated for a coastal Arabian city. Recycled water was monitored at two representative wastewater treatment facilities: a city-wide activated sludge treatment (AST) plant and a neighborhood membrane bioreactor (MBR). Actual total THM concentrations in the post-chlorinated effluents varied with effluent temperature, peaking at 69.28 ± 2.54 μg/L and 41.15 ± 2.34 μg/L in AST and MBR effluents, respectively, in summer. Higher bromide concentration and favorable Br−/Cl2 ratio during disinfection in the AST resulted in stronger brominated THM speciation. Conversely, the MBR effluent was dominated by chloroform. Salinity fingerprinting indicated the presence of saline water in the AST effluent. Individual excess lifetime cancer risk (IELCR) was calculated using the outdoor box exposure model based on annual peak THM concentrations and peak THM formation potential (THMFP) for each species. Inhalation exposure to chloroform in the MBR effluent using peak THMFP values presented the highest cancer risks of 1.28 × 10−6 and 1.12 × 10−6 to residential adult and child receptors, respectively, exceeding the USEPA IELCR guidance threshold of 1 × 10−6 for carcinogens. Chlorinated THM species are important in determining the health risk from reclaimed water during non-potable water reuse.


Jay and Given-Wilson have recently introduced the Factorisation (or SF-) calculus as a minimal fundamental model of intensional computation. It is a combinatory calculus containing a special combinator, F, which is able to examine the internal structure of its first a rgument. The calculus is significant in that as well as being combinatorially complet e it also exhibits the property of structural completeness, i.e. it is able to represent any function on te rms definable using pattern matching on arbitrary normal forms. In particular, it admits a term that can decide the structural equality of any two arbitrary normal forms. Since SF-calculus is combinatorially complete, it is clear ly at least as powerful as the more familiar and paradigmatic Turing-powerful computational models of λ -calculus and Combinatory Logic. Its relationship to these models in the converse dire ction is less obvious, however. Jay and Given-Wilson have suggested that SF-calculus is strictly more powerful than the aforementioned models, but a detailed study of the connections between these models is yet to be undertaken. This paper begins to bridge that gap by presenting a faithful encoding of the Factorisation Calculus into the λ -calculus preserving both reduction and strong normalisation. The existence of such an encoding is a new result. It also suggests that there is, in some sense, an equivalence between the former model and the latter. We discuss to what extent our result constitutes an equivalence by considering it in the context of some previously defined fram eworks for comparing computational power and expressiveness.


This article analyzes the company's ultimate decision to sell Fair Trade coffee and subsequently work with other NGOs to ensure that small farmers receive a living wage, in an effort to live up to the standards Starbucks set for itself in the area of social responsibility. This article provides a brief overview of the changing environment for corporations and NGOs. It discusses the battle between Global Exchange and Starbucks over Fair Trade, including factors that led to the confrontation between Global Exchange and Starbucks, Starbucks' alternatives in the face of Global Exchange's threat, Starbucks' decision, and ensuing events. This artcle also presents collaboration as a growing and important alternative to confrontation in business-NGO relations and offers seven lessons managers can take away from Starbucks' experience.


Static analysis is often performed on source code where intervals -- possibly the most widely used numeric abstract domain -- have successfully been used as a program abstraction for decades. Binary code on microcontroller platforms, however, is different from high-level code in that data is frequently altered using bitwise operations and the results of operations often depend on the hardware configuration. We describe a method that combines word- and bit-level interval analysis and integrates a hardware model by means of abstract interpretation in order to handle these peculiarities. Moreover, we show that this method proves powerful enough to derive invariants that could so far only be verified using computationally more expensive techniques such as model checking.


Middle to Late Triassic turbidite sequences are exposed in the states of Zacatecas and San Lus Potos in central Mexico. These strata, assigned mostly to the Zacatecas Formation, accumulated in continental slope, toe-of-slope, and basin-plain environments along the passive continental margin of western Pangea. Strata of the Zacatecas Formation are age equivalent to rocks of the Antimonio Formation and Barranca Group in Sonora, the La Boca Formation in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Len, and unnamed strata in Baja California. Based on their age, the Zacatecas turbidites correlate with a drop in sea level during the Permian-Triassic assembly of Pangea. The Triassic paleogeographic setting of Mexico is complex and poorly understood, because only dispersed Triassic outcrops exist across Mexico. However, the biogeographic affinities of the faunas from the Zacatecas Formation in central Mexico with those from equivalent strata in Baja California and Sonora suggest that these three regions were connected through the eastern Pacific, and that the Atlantic Ocean did not exist during the Ladinian-Carnian. The Zacatecas sequences underwent three periods of compressive deformation: one during their obduction onto the continental margin at some time during the latest Triassic-earliest Jurassic (?); a second during the Middle to Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) (?), apparently related to transpression; and a third during the Late Cretaceous to Tertiary Laramide orogeny.


Since the outbreak of COVID-19, face masks have been introduced in the complex strategy of infection prevention and control. Face masks consist of plastic polymers and additives such as phthalates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the migration of microplastics (MP) and phthalates from face masks to water. Four types of masks including FFP2 masks and surgical were studied. Masks were first characterized to determine the different layers and the material used for their fabrication. Then, masks were cut into 20 pieces of 0.5 cm2, including all their layers, placed in water, and the migration of MP and phthalates was evaluated according to the conditions stated in EU Regulation No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. For MP, the morphological analysis (shape, dimension, particle count) was performed using a stereomicroscope, while the identification of both masks and MP released was conducted using μ-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (µ-FT-IR). Migration of phthalates was assessed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). Face masks analyzed in the present study were made of atactic polypropylene (PP) as stated by the manufacturer. The μ-FT-IR confirmed that PP and polyamide (PA) were released as fragments, while both PP and polyester (PES) were released as fibers. In addition, 4 phthalates were identified at concentrations between 2.34 and 21.0 µg/mask. This study shows that the migration study can be applied to evaluate the potential release of MP and phthalates from face masks to water and could give a hint for the potential impact of their incorrect disposal on the aquatic resources.


Modern society is critically dependent on the services provided by engineered infrastructure networks. When natural disasters (e.g. Hurricane Sandy) occur, the ability of these networks to provide service is often degraded because of physical damage to network components. One of the most critical of these networks is the electrical distribution grid, with medium voltage circuits often suffering the most severe damage. However, well-placed upgrades to these distribution grids can greatly improve post-event network performance. We formulate an optimal electrical distribution grid design problem as a two-stage, stochastic mixed-integer program with damage scenarios from natural disasters modeled as a set of stochastic events. We develop and investigate the tractability of an exact and several heuristic algorithms based on decompositions that are hybrids of techniques developed by the AI and operations research communities. We provide computational evidence that these algorithms have significant benefits when compared with commercial, mixed-integer programming software.


The W51 complex hosts the supernova remnant W51C which is known to interact with the molecular clouds in the star forming region W51B. In addition, a possible pulsar wind nebula CXO J192318.5+140305 was found likely associated with the supernova remnant. Gamma-ray emission from this region was discovered by Fermi/LAT (between 0.2 and 50 GeV) and H. E. S. S. (>1 TeV). The spatial distribution of the events could not be used to pinpoint the location of the emission among the pulsar wind nebula, the supernova remnant shell and/or the molecular cloud. However, the modeling of the spectral energy distribution presented by the Fermi/LAT collaboration suggests a hadronic emission mechanism. The possibility that the gamma-ray emission from such an object is of hadronic origin can contribute to solvingthe long-standing problem of the contribution to galactic cosmic rays by supernova remnants. Aims. Our aim is to determine the morphology of the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission of W51 and measure its spectral properties. Methods. We performed observations of the W51 complex with the MAGIC telescopes for more than 50 h. The energy range accessible with MAGIC extends from 50 GeV to several TeV, allowing for the first spectral measurement at these energies. In addition, the good angular resolution in the medium (few hundred GeV) to high (above 1 TeV) energies allow us to perform morphological studies. We look for underlying structures by means of detailed morphological studies. Multi-wavelength data from this source have been sampled to model the emission with both leptonic and hadronic processes. Results. We detect an extended emission of very-high-energy gamma rays, with a significance of 11 standard deviations. We extend the spectrum from the highest Fermi/LAT energies to similar to 5 TeV and find that it follows a single power law with an index of 2.58 +/- 0.07(stat) +/- 0.22(syst). The main part of the emission coincides with the shocked cloud region, while we find a feature extending towards the pulsar wind nebula. The possible contribution of the pulsar wind nebula, assuming a point-like source, shows no dependence on energy and it is about 20% of the overall emission. The broad band spectral energy distribution can be explained with a hadronic model that implies proton acceleration above 100 TeV. This result, together with the morphology of the source, tentatively suggests that we observe ongoing acceleration of ions in the interaction zone between supernova remnant and cloud.


We present a new approach to lightweight intelligent transportation systems. Our approach does not rely on traditional expensive infrastructures, but rather on advanced machine learning algorithms. It takes images from traffic cameras at a limited number of locations and estimates the traffic over the entire road network. Our approach features two main algorithms. The first is a probabilistic vehicle counting algorithm from low-quality images that falls into the category of unsupervised learning. The other is a network inference algorithm based on an inverse Markov chain formulation that infers the traffic at arbitrary links from a limited number of observations. We evaluated our approach on two different traffic data sets, one acquired in Nairobi, Kenya, and the other in Kyoto, Japan.


The rate of metastasis of high differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid glands to the neck lymph nodes was studied in people of Kemerovo Region. The metastatic lesions of pretracheal lymph nodes (VI group) were detected in 49.5% patients with papillary carcinoma and 21.0% of patients with follicular cancer. Metastases in jungular lymph nodes were revealed in 37.3% patients with papillary carcinoma. It was noted that an extension of metastatic lesions of regional lymph nodes was observed in the case of primary tumour foci spread beyond borders of the capsula glandularis in patients with papillary carcinoma. There wasn't such a relation in a case of follicular cancer. Metastases in regional lymph nodes were detected more often (67.6%) in the case of papillary carcinoma in uncontaminated zone of the thyroid gland compared with other thyroid pathology (31.7%).


An analytical expression for the stationary particle charge distribution in dusty plasmas is derived that accounts for the existence of single-particle charge limits. This expression is validated by comparison with the results of Monte Carlo charging simulations. The relative importance of the existence of charge limits for various values of the ratio of electron-to-ion density and ion mass is examined, and the effect of charge limits on the transient behavior of the charge distribution is considered. It is found that the time required to reach a steady-state charge distribution strongly decreases as the charge limit decreases, and that the existence of charge limits causes high-frequency charge fluctuations to become relatively more important than in the case without charge limits.


BACKGROUND
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), due to Leishmania infantum, is a persistent intracellular parasitic infection transmitted by the bite of infected sand flies. Symptomatic VL has been reported in U.S. soldiers with Iraq deployment. Untreated symptomatic VL can be fatal; asymptomatic VL (AVL) may establish a lifelong risk of reactivation. We report prevalence and AVL risk factors in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) deployers during 2002-11.

METHODS
Healthy soldiers exposed to VL endemic areas in Iraq and 50 controls who never traveled to endemic regions were recruited through military healthcare facilities (2015-17). Responses to a risk factor survey and blood samples were obtained. Leishmania research diagnostics utilized included enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), rk39 test strips, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and interferon gamma release (IGRA) assays. Statistical analyses included Fisher exact test, Pearson χ2 test, Mann-Whitney U test, and logistic regression.

RESULTS
200 deployed subjects were enrolled, mostly males (84.0%), of white ethnicity (79.0%), and median age 41 (range 24-61) years. 64% were seropositive for Phlebotomus alexandri saliva antibodies. Prevalence of AVL (any positive test result) was 39/200 (19.5%, 95% confidence interval 14.4%-25.8%). Two (1.0%) PCR, 10 (5%) ELISA, and 28 (14%) IGRA samples were positive. Travel to Ninewa governorate increased risk for AVL (P = .01).

CONCLUSION
AVL was identified in 19.5% of OIF deployers; travel to northwest Iraq correlated with infection. Further studies are needed to inform risk for reactivation VL in US veterans and to target additional blood safety and surveillance measures.


Context. Revealing the mechanisms shaping the architecture of planetary systems is crucial for our understanding of their formation and evolution. In this context, it has been recently proposed that stellar clustering might be the key in shaping the orbital architecture of exoplanets.
Aims. The main goal of this work is to explore the factors that shape the orbits of planets.
Methods. We performed different statistical tests to compare the properties of planets and their host stars associated with different stellar environments.
Results. We used a homogeneous sample of relatively young FGK dwarf stars with radial velocity detected planets and tested the hypothesis that their association to phase space (position-velocity) over-densities ("cluster" stars) and under-densities ("field" stars) impacts the orbital periods of planets. When controlling for the host star properties on a sample of 52 planets orbiting around cluster stars and 15 planets orbiting around field stars, we found no significant difference in the period distribution of planets orbiting these two populations of stars. By considering an extended sample of 73 planets orbiting around cluster stars and 25 planets orbiting field stars, a significant difference in the planetary period distributions emerged. However, the hosts associated with stellar under-densities appeared to be significantly older than their cluster counterparts. This does not allow us to conclude as to whether the planetary architecture is related to age, environment, or both. We further studied a sample of planets orbiting cluster stars to study the mechanism responsible for the shaping of orbits of planets in similar environments. We could not identify a parameter that can unambiguously be responsible for the orbital architecture of massive planets, perhaps, indicating the complexity of the issue.
Conclusions. An increased number of planets in clusters and in over-density environments will help to build large and unbiased samples which will then allow to better understand the dominant processes shaping the orbits of planets.


The Melbourne Water Corporation has funded the University of Melbourne Veterinary School to study the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in animals in water catchment areas of Melbourne and to establish molecular tools for the identification of the parasite to the species and strain levels. In a first epidemiological survey Cryptosporidium was found in high prevalence (17 of 24 species examined; n = 490), whereas Giardia was detected in two animals. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based mutation scanning technique was established for identification of C. parvum to the strain level from oocyst isolates. This so-called single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique allows high-resolution analysis of genetic variability within and between populations of C. parvum . In a blind test, SSCP genotyping of 23 DNA samples representing C. parvum from different host and geographical regions demonstrated that the method could correctly type samples identified previously using a range of other methods, and displayed higher levels of sequence variability compared with conventional approaches. Hence, the method provides a powerful epidemiological tool for diagnosis as well as for identifying the source of waterborne outbreaks. Future molecular epidemiological surveys of cryptosporidosis/ Cryptosporidium will be conducted together with Australian and European collaborators, with a particular emphasis on human cryptosporidosis.


We developed an interactive system of displaying personalized information that uses a combination of a half mirror and an LCD display. The LCD display can provide information and the half mirror can be used as a normal mirror when information is not being displayed. Replacing existing mirrors with these systems also saves space. Personalized information is displayed when a user's face is recognized using a camera to identify the individual. Camera-based face recognition does not require contact and is not intrusive. Moreover, a touch panel on the half-mirror display enables users to select items to find detailed information. Thus, the system is not only a half-mirror display but it is also interactive. An evaluation based on questionnaires was conducted, which clarified advantageous locations and authentication methods, as well as customized information that is appropriate and necessary to display.


: Eighty-six patients with different versions of systemic vasculitis were examined for rheological blood properties and some immunologic characteristics. The relationship between the formation of immune complexes and disorders of rheological characteristics and cell aggregation was established with emphasis on the necessity of correcting these disorders by anticoagulants and deaggregating agents for the treatment of patients with systemic vasculitis to be successful.


In this paper, we prove that the price of a defaultable bond, under a Vasicek short rate dynamics coupled with a Cox-Ingersoll-Ross default intensity model, is a real analytic function, in a neighborhood of the origin, of the correlation parameter between the Brownian motions driving the processes, used to express the dependence between the short rate and the default intensity of the bond issuer. Employing conditioning and a change of numéraire technique, we obtain a manageable representation of the bond price in this non-affine model which allows us to control its derivatives and assess the convergence of the series. By truncating the expansion at the second order, a quadratic approximation formula for the price is then provided. Finally, practical applications of the result are highlighted by performing a numerical comparison with alternative pricing methodologies.


The revolution of biomedical applications has opened new avenues for nanotechnology. Zinc Chromium vanadate nanoparticles (VCrZnO4 NPs) have emerged as an up-and-coming candidate, with their exceptional physical and chemical properties setting them apart. In this study, a one-pot solvothermal method was employed to synthesize VCrZnO4 NPs, followed by a comprehensive structural and morphological analysis using a variety of techniques, including X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These techniques confirmed the crystallinity of the NPs. The VCrZnO4 NPs were tested for their antibacterial activity against primary contaminants such as Enterobacteriaceae, including Shigella flexneri, Salmonella cholerasis, and Escherichia coli, commonly found in hospital settings, using the broth dilution technique. The results indicated a stronger antibacterial activity of VCrZnO4 NPs against Shigella and Salmonella than E. coli. Electron microscopy showed that the NPs caused severe damage to the bacterial cell wall and membrane, leading to cell death. In addition, the study evaluated the anticancer activities of the metal complexes in vitro using colorectal cancer cells (HCT-116) and cervical cancer cells (HELA), along with non-cancer cells and human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293). A vanadium complex demonstrated efficient anticancer effects with half-inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 38.50+3.50 g/mL for HCT-116 cells and 42.25+4.15 g/mL for HELA cells. This study highlights the potential of Zinc Chromium vanadate nanoparticles as promising candidates for antibacterial and anticancer applications. Various advanced characterization techniques were used to analyze the properties of nanomaterials, which may help develop more effective and safer antibacterial and anticancer agents in the future.


Highly oriented Ag(TCNQ) nanowires have been prepared on Si(111) wafer at 100 degrees C by the vapour-transport reaction between silver and TCNQ without any other catalyst. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the composition and crystal structure of the obtained nanostructure were Ag(TCNQ) crystalline. Most Ag(TCNQ) nanowires were grown uniformly and vertically on the substrate with diameters ranging from 50 to 300 nm and the lengths measuring from 2 to 50 μm by scanning electron microscopy. Ag particles were observed on the substrate from pure thin Ag film heated under the same conditions as used in synthesizing the nanowires. Nucleation and short Ag(TCNQ) nanowires were prepared by controlling the reaction time, providing direct evidence of the growth mechanism in a nanometre scale. The growth process was explained according to the vapour–liquid–solid model. The gradient of temperature and the densely distributed Ag particles may contribute to the vertically aligned growth. These results will be helpful for the controllable synthesis of Ag(TCNQ) nanowires.


Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in the bone marrow in specific niches at the border between bone cells and the bone marrow (endosteal niche) or around blood vessels (perivascular niche). In the endosteal niche, HSCs are maintained at low oxygen levels in a quiescent (dormant) state by adhesion to niche cells. We have previously shown that Gfi1b restricts the expansion and proliferation of HSCs as well as their mobilization or re-localization into peripheral blood. We have proposed that Gfi1b exerts this function by regulating the expression of surface molecules such as integrins on HSCs that are required to maintain them in their bone marrow niche at a quiescent state. The objective of this study was to gain more insight into the precise molecular mechanisms by which Gfi1b regulates HSCs dormancy and mobilization and to obtain insights that may be exploited in the future to improve stem cell therapies or the expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells for clinical use. Immune precipitation and mass spectrometry identified a series of Gfi1b interacting proteins, most notably a group of regulators of the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Independent protein IP validation of these findings suggested that Gfi1b can interact with several inhibitors of the canonical Wnt/beta catenin pathway namely with APC (Adenomatous polyposis coli) a tumor suppressor protein and important factor in the beta-catenin destruction complex, with the DNA helicase and chromatin remodeling factor CHD8, which silences beta catenin mediated transcription, with CtBP which antagonizes beta-catenin activity and is part of the LSD1/CoRest histone demethylase complex and with the direct beta-catenin inhibitors TLE1 and TLE3 (also called Groucho). Of particular interest was that the interactions between the Groucho proteins and Gfi1b were dependent on a previously unidentified Groucho binding domain (GBD) in Gfi1b. This is a well-conserved six-amino acid stretch that is found in the middle part of the Gfi1b protein. In addition, the binding of CtBP was dependent on the presence of the 20 amino acid N-terminal SNAG domain in Gfi1b that also mediates LSD1 binding. Using luciferase reporter gene assays (TOP/FOP reporter assay), we found that Gfi1b was able to significantly up-regulates TCF/beta-catenin-dependent transcription upon activation by LiCl or Wnt3A in HEK293 cells. This activity of Gfi1b was dependent on both the presence of the SNAG domain and the newly identified Groucho binding domain. Also, Gfi1b was able to reverse partially the inhibitory effect of CtBP and TLE3 on beta-catenin activity in the TOP/FOP reporter assays. To obtain further evidence that Gfi1b is indeed implicated in regulating the Wnt/beta catenin signaling pathway in hematopoietic stem cells, we FACS sorted Lin-Kit1+Sca+ hematopoietic progenitors (LSK cells) from wt and Gfi1b deficient mice and tested them for expression of Wnt effector genes using a Wnt signaling specific PCR array. We observed that the majority of Wnt target genes were significantly down regulated in Gfi1 deficient LSKs compared to wt LSKs. Among the genes affected the most were typical Wnt targets such as Axin2, Frz7, Tcf4, Klf5, Vegfa and Ccnd1. To show that Gfi1b is able to regulate Wnt pathway effectors in vivo in HSCs, we crossed Gfi1b flox/flox, Mx-Cre mice with animals that carry a NLS-lacZ reporter gene under the control of the endogenous Axin2 promoter/enhancer region. Treatment with pIpC, which deletes Gfi1b correlated with a significant decrease of Axin2 expression in HSCs and MPP1, which are high Gfi1b expressing cells. The Axin2 reporter was not affected by Gfi1b deletion in MPP2 or GMPs, which express low levels or no Gfi1b. The canonical Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway is recognized as one of the elements that are critically important in the regulation of HSC function. Here we have identified Gfi1b as a potential new player in the Wnt-beta catenin signaling pathway. Our data suggest that Gfi1b acts on at least two inhibitory complexes of this pathway, on the TLE family of Groucho proteins and the CtBP/LSD1 complex and regulates effectors of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling cascade. We propose therefore that Gfi1b may titer the level of activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in HSCs, which offers an explanation of the hematopoietic stem cell phenotype seen in mice lacking Gfi1b. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The effect of halothane on synthesis of retained and secreted proteins was investigated using isolated perfused rat livers. Anesthetic exposure rapidly inhibited synthesis of total liver proteins in a dose-dependent manner by a mechanism which appeared to involve reduced rates of both peptide chain initiation and elongation. While halothane concentrations comparable to the clinical dose resulted in small changes in protein metabolism, higher concentrations (4%) of the anesthetic had marked effects. At early time points, relative rates of albumin synthesis were unaffected by halothane, but, as anesthetic exposure was prolonged, production of albumin and of total secreted plasma proteins was inhibited more extensively than that of retained liver proteins. Thus, halothane appeared to exert differential inhibitory effects on synthesis of these two classes of liver proteins.


Through experimental study on three HRB400 steel bar reinforced concrete columns subjected to low cyclic reversed loading, the failure patterns, hysteretic curves and skeleton curves were obtained. The influence of longitudinal high-strength reinforcement ratio upon the hysteretic characteristics, ductile behavior and ability of energy dissipation were analyzed. The results show that the main failure pattern was bending failure; and with the increscent of the longitudinal high-strength reinforcing steel bar ratio, the columns can endure larger seismic loads and displacement; the seismic performance of the whole reinforced concrete columns can be effectively improved by arranging reasonable high-strength steel bars.


An approach to discrete-time sliding-mode (SM) current control and conventional SM with smoothing filter is presented for field-oriented induction motor (IM) drives. Design of both proposed SM controllers is based on space vector PWM scheme by introducing some parts of the stator model as control input, which may correspond to voltage vector command. The control input was obtained employing the error between measured and reference currents of the stator. In order to compare the performance of proposed two SM current controllers with each other and with a conventional PI controller, they were simulated and also experimentally implemented for the indirect field oriented drives of an IM. The results verified to validity of proposed both SM current controllers and superiority of discrete time SM controller to conventional PI controller and SM with low pass filter (LPF)


Recent advances in microbial ecology have highlighted the importance of intercellular interactions in controlling the development, composition, and resilience of microbial communities. In order to better understand the role of these interactions in governing community development, it is critical to be able to alter them in a controlled manner. ABSTRACT Microorganisms live in dense and diverse communities, with interactions between cells guiding community development and phenotype. The ability to perturb specific intercellular interactions in space and time provides a powerful route to determining the critical interactions and design rules for microbial communities. Approaches using optogenetic tools to modulate these interactions offer promise, as light can be exquisitely controlled in space and time. We report new plasmids for rapid integration of an optogenetic system into Saccharomyces cerevisiae to engineer light control of expression of a gene of interest. In a proof-of-principle study, we demonstrate the ability to control a model cooperative interaction, namely, the expression of the enzyme invertase (SUC2) which allows S. cerevisiae to hydrolyze sucrose and utilize it as a carbon source. We demonstrate that the strength of this cooperative interaction can be tuned in space and time by modulating light intensity and through spatial control of illumination. Spatial control of light allows cooperators and cheaters to be spatially segregated, and we show that the interplay between cooperative and inhibitory interactions in space can lead to pattern formation. Our strategy can be applied to achieve spatiotemporal control of expression of a gene of interest in S. cerevisiae to perturb both intercellular and interspecies interactions. IMPORTANCE Recent advances in microbial ecology have highlighted the importance of intercellular interactions in controlling the development, composition, and resilience of microbial communities. In order to better understand the role of these interactions in governing community development, it is critical to be able to alter them in a controlled manner. Optogenetically controlled interactions offer advantages over static perturbations or chemically controlled interactions, as light can be manipulated in space and time and does not require the addition of nutrients or antibiotics. Here, we report a system for rapidly achieving light control of a gene of interest in the important model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae and demonstrate that by controlling expression of the enzyme invertase, we can control cooperative interactions. This approach will be useful for understanding intercellular and interspecies interactions in natural and synthetic microbial consortia containing S. cerevisiae and serves as a proof of principle for implementing this approach in other consortia.


Insect-Inspired models of visual navigation, that operate by scanning for familiar views of the world, have been shown to be capable of robust route navigation in simulation. These familiarity-based navigation algorithms operate by training an artificial neural network (ANN) with views from a training route, so that it can then output a familiarity score for any new view. In this paper we show that such an algorithm – with all computation performed on a small low-power robot – is capable of delivering reliable direction information along real-world outdoor routes, even when scenes contain few local landmarks and have high-levels of noise (from variable lighting and terrain). Indeed, routes can be precisely recapitulated and we show that the required computation and storage does not increase with the number of training views. Thus the ANN provides a compact representation of the knowledge needed to traverse a route. In fact, rather than losing information, there are instances where the use of an ANN ameliorates the problems of sub optimal paths caused by tortuous training routes. Our results suggest the feasibility of familiarity-based navigation for long-range autonomous visual homing.


A [Fe(II)Fe(II)] dithiolate complex containing acyl and carbonyl ligands was synthesized. The diiron complex reacted with phosphine, cyanide, isocyanide, and CO to give monomeric Fe(II) complexes reproducing the first coordination sphere of the active site of [Fe]-hydrogenase (H(2)-forming methylene-tetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase, Hmd) in various states. All the acyl and carbonyl carbons in the diiron complex underwent facile isotopic exchange with (13)CO via monomeric Fe tricarbonyl intermediates.


Background and Purpose:
 Sodium butyrate (NaB) is recognized as a HDAC inhibitor exhibiting anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in a rat ischemic model of stroke as well as a myocardial ischemia model. Although clinical evidence show that older women are at higher risk for stroke occurrence and greater stroke severity, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of the HDAC inhibitor either in females or in aged animals. Additionally, few studies have used this treatment at a time point > 6 h following stroke, thus the effectiveness of delayed NaB administration is not well understood. Our present study specifically tested the HDAC's neuroprotective effect on middle-aged female rats after ischemic damage.

 Methods:
 Middle-aged Sprague-Dawley female rats (9-11 months old, constant diestrus) were used for all experiments. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) was induced by intracerebral injection of endothelin-1 (600 pmol). Rats were treated with NaB (300 mg/kg, i.p.) at 6 h and 30 h following ET-1 injection. Animals were sacrificed at 5 days after MCAo. Brains were quickly removed and sectioned coronally at 2-mm thickness. The sections were immersed in 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride in DPBS for 30 min at 37°C and processed for imaging. Serum and brain lysates were also collected for biochemical analyses.

 Results:
 Treatment with NaB, a fatty acid HDAC inhibitor, by i.p. injection 6 h after MCAo followed by another injection 30 h later reduced brain infarction determined at 5 day. The effect was consistent both in cortex and striatum with an approximately 40% and 60% decrease, respectively, in infarct volume (n=6-7; p<0.01). The protective effects of NaB against MCAo were associated with the anti-inflammatory effect of this HDAC inhibitor. Specifically, NaB treatment significantly suppressed MCAo-induced increase of IL-1beta, IL-17A, and IL-18 in brain lysates from the ischemic hemisphere. No significant alterations were observed in cytokines and chemokines in circulating serum level at 5 day post MCAo.

 Conclusions:
 These findings support the HDAC inhibitor, NaB, exhibits neuroprotective effects against MCAo-induced brain damage. This is also the first report that NaB treatment post-stroke is neuroprotective in older female rats.


Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone (GHRH) is the main factor, which regulates GH secretion and somatotrope proliferation. However, its chronic effect on anterior pituitary gland is still unknown. It is known that excessive GHRH secretion in patients with gastroenteropancreatic tumors secreting GHRH results in acromegaly and somatotrope hyperplasia. In mice transgenic for GHRH somatotrope tumors develop. Thus, the aim of this paper was to examine the effect of GHRH chronic administration on somatotrope secretion, their percentage and cell proliferation in anterior pituitary gland in rats. The experiment was performed on male Fischer 344 rats weighing 200+/-20 g. The animals were divided into two groups: group I-controls (13 rats) received solvent for GHRH (5% ethanol in demineralized water); group II (10 rats) received GHRH (Growth Hormone Releasing Factor, fragment 1-29 amide) at a dose of 5 microg/day. The substances were given for 1 month via osmotic pump (ALZET), which were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal region under ketamin anesthesia. After 4 weeks all rats were decapitated and the blood was collected. In the microscopic preparations of anterior pituitary gland the morphology of pituitary (Herlant staining) and the percentage of somatotrope cells and proliferation index based on PCNA staining were assessed. It was found that the chronic treatment with GHRH caused a statistically significant increase in serum rGH concentration and in percentage of somatotropes, but did not change proliferation index and did not induce pathological changes in the morphology of the anterior pituitary gland when compared to the control group. Summing up, monthly GHRH administration did not induce somatotrope adenomas but it caused serum GH level elevation, what seems to depend partially on the increase of somatotrope number.


To measure vital parameters, traditional devices are equipped with sensors that need to be used through contact with the subject's skin. In recent years photoplethysmography has been developed as a contactless method to monitor vital signs. Thanks to this method, difficulties concerning the detection of parameters through contact devices can be overcome, especially in elderly subjects. In this work we use remote photoplethysmography to estimate cardiovascular parameters through the use of a contactless device equipped with a reflective mirror and a webcam that captures video frames of people's faces. Besides, we use the clustering technique to automatically estimate the lips colour. Finally, the measured parameters are used as input to fuzzy inference rules integrated into our system, in order to predict cardiovascular risk.


OBJECTIVE
This study demonstrates a method of quantifying facial movements based on distortions of the skin surface.

DESIGN
Landmarks were identified on the faces of five healthy human subjects (2 men and 3 women; mean age, 27.6 years; range, 26 to 29 years), and the distortions were characterized by changes in the separation between 20 pairs of landmark distances during specific maximal facial animations: smile, lip purse, cheek puff, grimace, eye closure, and eye opening. Data were recorded with a video-based tracking system for a period of 3 seconds at a sampling rate of 60 Hz or frames per second. For each subject, we analyzed the change in the separation of 20 pairs of landmarks, of which the majority were bilaterally symmetrical and functionally active.

RESULTS
Characteristic patterns of movement emerged for each animation. We found that smiling involved movements of the lateral orbital, circumoral, and chin regions; grimacing involved the inner orbital, lateral orbital, lateral nasal, and upper-lip regions; eye closure involved the inner orbital, lateral orbital, and, to a lesser degree, lateral nasal regions; eye opening involved the inner and lateral orbital regions; cheek puffing involved the cheek and lower-lip regions; and the lip purse animation involved the nasolabial, cheek, commissure, and lip regions.

CONCLUSION
This measurement of distortion provided a quantitative estimate of facial movement, and this approach is especially applicable to patients with unilateral problems in which the patient can serve as his or her own control.


The effect of zonal and meridional wind on surface ozone variability in Nigeria in the four quarter of the year was
explored using data from Atmospheric Infrared sounder (AIRS) of NASA. Namely, December, January, February
(DJF); March, April, May (MAM); June, July, August (JJA) and September, October, November (SON). The study
revealed that both the day and night time surface ozone distribution in DJF season recorded a significant
correlation of 0.7 with the zonal wind flow pattern, and a less significant correlation of 0.36 with the meridional
wind flow pattern. Average maximum ozone concentration of 281.4DU southward and 260.3DU northward were
observed in DJF. In JJA, the meridional wind pattern recorded strong west to east flow which was non-parallel to
the latitudinal lines. It had a significant negative-correlation of – 0.56 with the ozone distribution for that season.Also the JJA zonal wind flow unlike that of DJF, recorded significant west to east flow resulting in partial
atmospheric blocking which constrained the maximum ozone concentration westward with an average of 307DU
retained within longitudes 2oE - 6oE in western Nigeria, for all the seven years studied. This was contrary to the
direction of the prevailing meridional flow for the season which was predominantly eastward.


Lead is one of the most used metals in various factory activities. The contamination of soil and water with the metal has become a real or major environmental and public health problem or concern. Therefore, removal this toxic metal from wastewaters is a great challenge to protect environment and people. This study aims to assess adsorbing properties by batch procedure of a chelating ion exchange functionalized by iminodiacetic acid group toward Pb and Cd by varying the concentration of these metals at different contact times and at a given p H. In the second step, this adsorbent support is used in dynamic condition in a column for the removal of Pb particularly from effluents from an industrial unit. Finally, the exchange material, packed in bed, is regenerated in order to establish its reusability and efficiency in removing process. The adsorption rate of Pb and Cd onto the chelating adsorbent increases as the initial content and time contact increase and the maximum adsorption capacity is found to be 137.40 and 90.40 mg/g at the plateau of saturation, respectively. In a column, the adsorbing support or material reduce totally the concentration of loaded Pb in effluents during the two first cycles. During the third cycle, the removal power is still good and the content of Pb in the washing is reduced from 22 mg/L to 0.014 mg/L which is lower than the law's discharge levels. The regeneration of the support is achieved by 10 volume bed of 1 M HCl during thirty minutes at least. These results demonstrate clearly the effectiveness of the chelating adsorbent in removing  lead from the effluents of the factory and its reusability in numerous cycles after a regeneration stage.


Low salinity/engineered water injection is an effective enhanced oil recovery method, confirmed by many laboratory investigations. The success of this approach depends on different criteria such as oil, formation brine, injected fluid, and rock properties. The performance of this method in heavy oil formations has not been addressed yet. In this paper, data on heavy oil displacement by low salinity water were collected from the literature and the experiments conducted by our team. In our experiments, core flooding was conducted on an extra heavy oil sample to measure the incremental oil recovery due to the injected brine dilution and ions composition. Our experimental results showed that wettability alteration occurred during the core flooding as the main proposed mechanism of low salinity water. Still, this mechanism is not strong enough to overcome capillary forces in heavy oil reservoirs. Hence, weak microscopic sweep efficiency and high mobility ratio resulted in a small change in residual oil saturation. This point was also observed in other oil displacement tests reported in the literature. By analyzing our experiments and available data, it is concluded that the application of standalone low salinity/engineered water flooding is not effective for heavy oil formations where the oil viscosity is higher than 150 cp and high oil recovery is not expected. Hence, combining this EOR method with thermal approaches is recommended to reduce the oil viscosity and control the mobility ratio and viscous to capillary forces.


The primary aim of postoperative surveillance of patients with carcinoma of the colon and rectum is to detect recurrent tumor when cure is still possible. Most recurrences are detected within 30 months after the initial operation. Patients who have had carcinoma of the colon and rectum must be observed not only because of the risk of recurrence or metastatic disease but also because of the increased risk of subsequent primary carcinomas of the colon and rectum as well as of other sites. Careful history-taking and thorough physical examination provide the first indication of tumor recurrence in as many as 48 per cent of instances. Although the liver is the most common site of metastases from carcinoma of the colon, liver chemistry tests are seldom the first to indicate recurrent disease. Fecal occult blood testing, roentgenography with barium enema and colonoscopy are useful surveillance tools, not for detecting recurrences but for detecting second primary carcinomas. Imaging techniques, such as intravenous pyelography, CT and scintigraphy of liver and spleen are generally not cost-effective in surveillance, but MRI and ultrasonography have shown some promise in detection of recurrence without exposing patients to ionizing radiation. The most effective indicator of recurrent disease is a progressive increase in serial levels of CEA. When CEA levels rise and other methods of imaging cannot account for the change, second-look operation is generally appropriate.


We collected and analyzed breakthrough curve (BTC) data to identify the parameters controlling transport from a series of undisturbed fully saturated soil cores and a field test at the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory in central Pennsylvania. The soil cores were collected in a continuous hole extending across the soil profile vertically at one location to quantify how solute transport behavior changes with physical and chemical weathering. Additionally, we performed a field scale doublet tracer test to determine transport behavior within the weathered shale bedrock. Hydraulic conductivity and porosity are as low as 10-15 m/s and 0.035, respectively, in the shale bedrock and range as high as 10-5 m/s and 0.45, respectively, in the shallow soils. Bromide BTCs demonstrated significant anomalous tailing in soil cores and shale bedrock, which do not fit classical advection-dispersion model equations. To quantify the behavior, numerical simulation of solute transport was carried out with both a mobile-immobile (MIM) model and a continuous-time random walk (CTRW) approach. 1-D MIM modeling results on the soil cores yielded low mass transfer rates (<1/d) coupled with large immobile domains (1.5 2 im m θ θ − ) and revealed that solutes were transported within only 30-40% of the total pore space. MIM modeling results also suggested that immobile porosity is a combination of soil texture, fracture spacing, and porosity development on shale fragments. Similarly, the field scale doublet tracer test between boreholes indicated fractures are controlling transport and the surrounding shale matrix has a large potential to store and retard solute movement. 1-D CTRW results yielded a parameter set indicative of a transport regime that is consistently non-Fickian across the vertical length of the soil profile, identified solute tracer velocities are up to 50 times greater than the average fluid velocity, predicted that anomalous transport behavior could extend for significant periods of time, and identified the need to incorporate a continuum of mass iv transfer rates to accurately predict and describe the observed tailing behavior. These modeling results confirmed the important role of preferential flow paths, fractures, and mass transfer between more-and less-mobile fluid domains, and established the need to incorporate a mass transfer process that utilizes a distribution of mass transfer rates.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim of the study was to analyse differences in mortality from the main cardiovascular diseases (ischaemic heart disease, hypertensive disease, and cerebrovascular disease) among Chinese, Malays, and Indians in Singapore. DESIGN--The study was a survey using national death registration data in Singapore for the five years 1980 to 1984. The underlying cause of death, coded according to the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases, was taken for the analyses. SETTING--The study was confined to the independent island state of Singapore, population 2.53 million (Chinese 76.5%, Malays 14.8%, Indians 6.4%, Others 2.3%). Death registration is thought to be complete. SUBJECTS--All registered deaths in the age range 30-69 years during the study period were analysed by ethnic group. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS--Indians had higher mortality from ischaemic heart disease than the other ethnic groups in both sexes, with age-standardised relative risks of Indian v Chinese (males 3.8, females 3.4), Indian v Malay (males 1.9, females 1.6), and Malay v Chinese (males 2.0, females 2.2). The excess mortality in Indians declined with age. For hypertensive disease Malays had the highest mortality, with age-standardised relative risks of Malay v Chinese (males 3.4, females 4.4), Malay v Indian (males 2.0, females 2.5), and Indian v Chinese (males 1.6, females 1.6). For cerebrovascular disease there was little ethnic difference except for lower rates in Chinese females, with age-standardised relative risks of Malay v Chinese (males 1.1, females 1.9), Malay v Indian (males 1.0, females 1.1), and Indian v Chinese (males 1.1, females 1.7). CONCLUSIONS--There are significant differences in mortality from the three main cardiovascular diseases in the different ethnic groups in Singapore.


While existing work on neural architecture search (NAS) tunes hyperparameters in a separate post-processing step, we demonstrate that architectural choices and other hyperparameter settings interact in a way that can render this separation suboptimal. Likewise, we demonstrate that the common practice of using very few epochs during the main NAS and much larger numbers of epochs during a post-processing step is inefficient due to little correlation in the relative rankings for these two training regimes. To combat both of these problems, we propose to use a recent combination of Bayesian optimization and Hyperband for efficient joint neural architecture and hyperparameter search.


Today's students are faced with stress and anxiety as a result of school or work life and have added pressure from social media and technology. Stress is heavily related to many symptoms of depression such as irritability or difficulty with concentration as well as symptoms of anxiety like restlessness or feeling tired. Some of these students are able to find a healthy outlet for stress, however other students may not be able to. We have created a program where students will be able to destress and explore their emotions with the help of suggestions from our system based on previously explored thoughts. Our program uses machine learning to help students get the most effective stress relief by suggesting different mental health exercises to try based on input given by the user and provides emotional comfort based on the user's preferences.


The results of a recent survey conducted in eight residential areas in the Greater Oslo Region support the hypothesis that there is a connection between land use characteristics and household consumption of energy and transport. Findings from the survey also lend great support to the compact city as a sustainable urban form. However, three distinct findings indicate that decentralised concentration could lead to even lower energy use in households: while the extent of everyday travel decreases in densely populated areas, the central urban areas represent the highest level of leisure-time travel by plane; the access to a private garden limits the extent of leisure travel; and, the difference in energy use for housing between single-family and multifamily housing is reduced in housing built after 1980, indicating that the established conclusions on the most energy-efficient housing should be questioned.


We humans, characterize for our pursuit of a deep understanding of nature and also for our way of using this knowledge in order to alter our environment (sometimes also to protect and preserve it) in the most convenient way for us. Droplets are present in a great variety of natural processes and also in a wide collection of human applications, and thus they have captured the attention of the scientific community already for very long. In particular, the study of some animals and plants strategies, have shown us how to control the adhesion of liquids like oils and water, and these strategies are now used and adapted to many industrial processes and manufactured tools. These strategies that in animals and plants are a result from the evolution of the species, have led to microscopic and intricate geometries and these materials have been taken as inspiration and reproduced by the scientific community. In this thesis, we provide a collection of experimental studies of the fundamentals of the droplet behavior on substrates with different geometries and materials. In all of these studies, the droplet's volume evolves in time by means of natural diffusion and convection and is forced by the properties of the materials in which they sit to adopt changes in topology to minimize their surface free energy. The knowledge acquired through these experiments allows us to understand the behavior of droplets and their contact lines under different conditions imposed by the topology of the substrates. In particular, we have studied the behavior of drying and dissolving drops on substrates engraved with concentric rings and spiral patterns. These experiments show the special motion of the contact line between the rings and spiraling groves that we name zipping-dewetting, as it opens the gap between the grooves with its advance. This zipping-dewetting is shown to be a succession of stable states controlled by the diffusion process and the geometry of the substrates. Additionally, we have studied the effect of chemical heterogeneities of the substrate with elliptical shape. The experimental results compared to the computational calculations show the strengths and weaknesses of our computational methods to predict the behavior of the droplets on real experimental conditions. Finally, we studied a very eye-catching effect that an entrapped bubble causes in some dissolving drops. Its heartbeat-like motion and the waves expelled by the system, besides being amusing to see, highly foment mixing and dissolution. This phenomenon that we call puffing, and that only happens for some combination of liquids, is just the previous step for a convective dissolution of the drops driven by Marangoni tensions which dramatically enhance mixing. The studies in this book offer a step forward in the fundamental understanding of droplets that can open the door to the optimization of processes as, for example, microfluidics mixing components, nano-architecture, advanced printing and 3D-printing technology or droplet-based diagnostics.


Asymmetry in bilateral traits is often used to assess an individual's quality and stress resistance, but stress-induced variation in developmental stability is largely undocumented for free-living populations. Over many years, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribiUs) extensively foraged around garbage dumps in Yellowstone National Park. Abrupt closure of these dumps 26 years ago was a severely stressful event and was followed by excessive mortality and a many-fold increase in grizzly home-range size. I examine how this stress affected developmental stability by comparing dentition of bears born before and after the dump closure. I predicted that (1) asymmetry in dentition should be greater in bears born after dump closure compared to before closure, and asymmetry in sexually selected canines should change more than nonsexually selected premolars following dump closure and (2) the relationship between tooth asymmetry and tooth size should change in the populations following the stressful events as compared with populations before stressful events. I found that developmental stability of canines, which are under directional sexual selection in males, was more responsive to stress compared to that of male premolars or female dentition (both under stabilizing selection), and, because of the increased cost of canine production, fewer animal* were able to achieve both large size and symmetrical development of these teeth, and thus the slope of the relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and canine size increased. I conclude that stress appears to act as an honesty-reinforcement mechanism in sexual selection for symmetrical dentition.


A new technique for fast pattern recognition using normalized grey-scale correlation (NGC) is described. While NGC has traditionally been slow due to computational intensity issues, the introduction of both a pyramid structure and a local estimate of the correlation surface gradient allows for recognition in 10-50 ms using modest microcomputer hardware. The algorithm is designed to analyze the target off-line prior to starting the search. Issues surrounding determining an appropriate depth for the pyramid representation and performing sub-pixel localization of the target instance are discussed. The speed and robustness of the method makes it attractive for industrial applications.


We study whether a particular aspect of language structure, the future-time reference (FTR) of a language, explains variation in corporate earnings management behaviors around the world. Based on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (Whorf 1956), we predict that grammatically referencing the future, which induces humans to perceive the future more sharply distinct from the present, induces myopic management behavior. In support of this idea, we find that firms headquartered in strong-FTR language countries are more likely to engage in accrual and real activities earnings management to meet short-term earning benchmarks.


Lateralized post-chiasmatic lesions to the primary visual pathway result in loss of vision over the visual field retinotopically corresponding to the site of the lesion. Previous studies showed that a systematic audio-visual training could constitute an efficient tool for the rehabilitation of such disturbances as revealed by ameliorated clinical performances in various visual domains. The first part of the present dissertation aim to shed light on the substrates underlying multisensory mediated recovery of visual field defects. Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, demonstrated that a sustained audio-visual training can promote stable plastic neural changes within the cortex, likely reflecting an enhanced activity of those neural circuits connecting superior colliculus to cortical areas within the dorsal stream. The second part of the present dissertation aimed to shed light on the functionality and the characteristics of extrageniculate circuits targeting extrastriate visual areas within the dorsal stream. Experiment 3 and Experiment 4, suggested that these connections remain responsive even when a lesion prevents visual processing within the primary visual channel and that these connections could play a relevant role in the rapid processing of salient visual stimuli.
Overall, the present experimental evidence suggest that visual processing depends on a variety of neural circuits and that a lesion to the primary visual pathway do not abolish the visual processing mediated by alternative routes. Moreover, activity within these routes could be exploited in a rehabilitative perspective, as revealed by ameliorated clinical performances and stable plastic neural changes induced by a systematic multisensory audio-visual training in hemianopic patients.


Tool condition monitoring (TCM) has become a research area of interest due to its potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs while increasing process visibility and efficiency. Machine learning (ML) is one analysis technique which has demonstrated advantages for TCM applications. However, the commonly studied individual ML models lack generalizability to new machining and environmental conditions, as well as robustness to the unbalanced datasets which are common in TCM. Ensemble ML models have demonstrated superior performance in other fields, but have only begun to be evaluated for TCM. As a result, it is not well understood how their TCM performance compares to that of individual models, or how homogeneous and heterogeneous ensemble models' performances compare to one another. To fill in these research gaps, milling experiments were conducted using various cutting conditions, and the model groups were compared across several performance metrics. Statistical t-tests were also used to evaluate the significance of model performance differences. Through the analysis of four individual ML models and five ensemble models, all based on the processes' sound, spindle power, and axial load signals, it was found that on average, the ensemble models performed better than the individual models, and that the homogeneous ensembles outperformed the heterogeneous ensembles.


Soil -born diseases often cause problems in vegetable forcing; this is because growers use greenhouses for the longest time possible. During the years several solutions have been found to displace chemical control. Grafting is a possible chemical free solution that shows several changes in plants thanks to the vigorous rootstock. In this study we examined the effect of gr afting on the yield and fruit characteristics in tomato cultivar. Lemance F 1 was used as scion and Beaufort as rootstock. Earliness, total yield, fruit weight and number of each graft combination were recorded. Moreover, the main fruit components such as B rix°, carbohydrate, acid and the carbohydrate/acid ratio were analysed. We harvested more yield from the grafted plants. The increase of yield was mainly caused by higher average fruit weight. Brix° and carbohydrate content were lower in the fruits on graf ted plants than on ungrafted ones but there was no significant difference in acid content.


Nowadays because of increase in crime activities, higher demand and greater awareness on security problems lead to the study of more secure, high performance, reliable and flexible systems. To reduce such crime activities processing of videos involved in such activities will be necessary. It aims at the surveillance video of payee's abnormal behaviour based on the video denoising algorithm. In this work, we will be able to distinguish the normal and abnormal activities like money snatching, harm to the person by virtue of fight, or attack on the person. The proposed system will detect the unusual event which occurs in the security centre. By developing a system that will give an alarm when something abnormal is occurring it could eliminate the need for extra people to monitor surveillance feeds. It has growing demand for applications to support monitoring indoor and outdoor environments such as ATM center, shopping malls etc. The significant efforts in the field of tracking and moving object detection will have been done to make the security applications robust, reliable and efficient.


The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of Capital Adequacy Ratio, Net Operating Margin, Financing to Deposit Ratio, Non Performing Financing, and Profit Sharing toward profitability of Sharia Commercial Banks of 2011-2015 period. The writer used the data from Quarterly Publication Financial Reports of Sharia Commercial Banks of 2011-2015 period. The populations of the research were 11 Sharia Commercial Banks in Indonesia. However, after passing the purposive sampling stage, there were only 5 samples of Sharia Commercial Banks that were feasible to be investigated, which were Bank Mandiri Syariah, Bank Central Asia Syariah, Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah, Bank Muamalat Indonesia, and Bank Negara Indonesia Syariah. The analitical technic that the writer used in this research was multiple linear regression which purpose was to obtain the whole image of the relation among variables. Classical assumption test that the writer used in this research were multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test, heteroscedasticity test, and normality test. The result of this research shows that CAR variable affects negatively and significantly toward ROA. NOM variable affects positively and non-significantly toward ROA. NPF variable affects negatively and significantly toward ROA. Meanwhile, FDR variable affect negatively and non-sicnificantlu and Profit Sharing affect positively and significantly toward ROA. The prediction ability of the five variables toward ROA is 26,5%, while the rest is affected by other factors that are not investigated in this research.


This article focuses on the way that households respond to 'global pressures' by adapting their social reproduction strategies (SRS). We understand social reproduction strategies to encapsulate the more or less consciously developed day-to-day and inter-generational responses to the social conditions that households confront and their own motivations and aspirations for the future. Yet, due to a range of extant inequalities of accumulated and dynamic resources – some of which are material and some of which are at once ethereal and embodied in the concrete labouring capacities of individuals – we argue that social reproduction strategies, and capacities to pursue them, differ widely. Differences are conditioned by positionality, access to information and the construction of 'economic imaginaries' as well as material resources. By looking at these different expressions of social reproduction strategies, we highlight how they reinforce macro-scale socio-economic pressures, creating what we term 'compound inequality' into the future. Compound inequalities result from different behavioural responses to socio-economic conditions, inequality and (perceived or real) insecurity, which have the potential to exaggerate inequality and insecurity into the future. Inequalities do not just arise from formal economic markets then but also from the realm of social reproduction.


In this paper one dimensional (1D) quantum confinement in a Finite Quantum Well (FQW) is analyzed through a simulator using MATLAB. A particle behavior inside a FQW is discussed and analyzed. The effect of various parameters such as well boundary thickness, depth of the well and width of the well are discussed. The results are compared with the Infinite Quantum Well (IQW). Different types of potential structure's behavior can be analyzed by using this simulator which is very useful before fabrication. Journal of Electrical Engineering The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh Vol. EE 37, No. II, December, 2011


Paleomagnetic data from mainly Miocene igneous rocks in southern California suggest that large crustal regions have undergone clockwise rotation during that time. We propose a model whereby many crustal blocks presently bounded on the north and south by east-west—trending sinistral faults have undergone rotations of about 70° to 80° within the Pacific-American right-lateral shear couple. The data suggest that these crustal blocks include the western Transverse Ranges and parts of the offshore Borderland. Our model predicts that the eastern Transverse Ranges, the central Mojave Desert, and the Tehachapi Mountains region have also rotated. The rotated blocks are nested between blocks bounded by northwest-southeast—trending dextral faults. The rotations probably ceased in late Miocene time when the San Andreas fault system broke through southern California and may have begun when the Pacific plate contacted the North American plate in late Oligocene time. This geometric model for rotated blocks predicts that left-slip, right-slip, and rotation occur simultaneously; that the displacements can be calculated from the rotation (and vice versa); and that during the rotation, deep triangular basins open at the join between the rotated and unrotated blocks. It also suggests that dextral slip can occur on northwest-southeast faults without cutting the Transverse Ranges.


Objective: Larger intracranial tumors require extended operating times and may be associated with increased perioperative complications. There are few reports describing the experience of resecting large meningiomas ≥5cm in a variety of locations. As a group, it remains largely unknown whether these relatively rare lesions are amenable to radical resection, and what factors influence their resectability. Methods: Sixty-seven patients undergoing surgery for a large intracranial meningioma (≥5cm in the longest dimension) between 1998 and 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. The surgeries were performed at a single institution University of California at San Francisco. Predictors of resectability were assessed via multivariate logistical regression analysis. Results: Thirty-nine (58%) patients underwent gross total resection (GTR) (Simpson grades I/II). There were no cases of perioperative mortality. At last follow-up, symptoms improved in 39 (58%) patients, remained unchanged in 20 (30%), and were aggravated in 8 (12%). In the multivariate model for all large meningiomas, age>45 years [OR(95%CI);0.127 (0.026-0.616),p=0.01] and superior sagittal sinus involvement [OR(95%CI);0.160 (0.026-0.976),p=0.05] were negative predictors of GTR, while preoperative embolization [OR(95%CI);8.087(1.719-38.044),p=0.008] was positively associated with GTR. For only supratentorial meningiomas, superior sagittal sinus involvement [OR (95%CI);0.077 (0.010-0.571),p=0.01] and preoperative embolization [OR(95%CI);10.492(1.961-56.135),p=0.006] were independently associated with GTR. Conclusions: This study evaluated a subset of large intracranial meningiomas ≥5cm. The results indicate that GTR can be achieved in the majority of cases with limited morbidity and mortality, where symptoms will likely improve and recurrences seldom occur. This study may provide useful insights for patients undergoing surgery for large intracranial meningiomas.


Background: Genioglossus advancement is a surgical procedure to advance the tongue in some patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.The important step in this procedure is that of accurately capturing the bone segment attached to the genioglossus muscle to avoid complications such as mandibular fracture, devitalization of the inferior incisor roots, and incomplete incorporation of the genioglossus
Materials and Method: Computed tomography scans were taken for 53 Iraqi adult patients (28 male and 25 female) range from (18-35) years with skeletal class I classification and intact anterior mandible dentition included in this study using sagittal and axial sections. The measurements were done for genial tubercle and anterior mandibular region.
Results: The mean values of some measurements weresignificantly higher in males than in females. The effect of gender difference was evaluated as a strong effect. The mean value of the other measurements slightly higher among males compared to females, but the difference fail to reach the level of statistical significance. The effect of gender difference on this parameter was evaluated as a moderately strong effect.The results showed that there was no effect of age on all selected measurements in male and female. All selected measurements showed no statistically significant linear correlation with the age.
Conclusions: The variable position and dimensions of this bone segment among patients suggest the need for CT before attempting genioglossus advancement for exact localization, avoiding the expected surgical complication


This equation can be seen as a many particles limit of discret processes where particles (or individuals) can interact at a large distance, through an interaction potential W (see [27, 20]), and may be subjected to an external potential V . Such equations appear in various biological phenomenons like swarming (see [7, 15]), distribution of actin-filament networks (see [16, 19]), as well as in physical problems, for example in the field of granular media (see [2, 32, 14]). For some interaction potentials, this equation can lead to surprisingly complicated paterns, such as solutions converging to singular steady states, as shown in [4, 29, 17, 18], or more recently in [23, 8, 1]. Many of the above models couple the long-range interaction between particles with a diffusive term. Nevertheless, in this paper we shall not consider a diffusion term, and focus our study on the effect of a long-range interaction. Let us now describe typical interaction potentials W which appear in the models quoted above:


In 2012, a new severe disease was observed that affected zucchini and other cucurbit crops in SE Spain. The identified causative agent was Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), a begomovirus with a bipartite genome of single-stranded DNA that was previously reported to affect various crop species of the Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae in India. To identify sources of resistance in Cucurbita to this virus, we performed a screening of 143 accessions under natural infection with viruliferous whiteflies in a greenhouse at Almeria, Spain. The accessions were mostly C. pepo and C. moschata, selected from the germplasm banks at the University of Almeria in Spain (BSUAL), and the Newe Ya'ar Research Centre in Israel. Symptoms of ToLCNDV were assessed by a scale ranging from 0 to 4 in two replications of 6-8 plants at 21, 28 and 35 days after inoculation (dai). In the most promising accessions, tolerance was also assessed by a PCR-based diagnostic method to identify the presence of the virus in the apical shoot of the plants at 28 and 35 dai. Most of the inoculated accessions were susceptible to ToLCNDV. Severe symptoms were found in most C. pepo accessions at 35 dai, but five accessions showed some tolerance, expressed as a delay in the appearance of symptoms and their reduced incidence. Two C. moschata accessions remained asymptomatic and accumulated no virus in the plant apex during the entire essay.


Organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology is an attractive solar-electric conversion paradigm due to the promise of low cost roll-to-roll production and amenability to flexible substrates. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) exceeding 7% has recently been achieved. OPV cells suffer from low charge carrier mobilities of polymers, leading to recombination losses, higher series resistances and lower fill-factors. Thus, it is imperative to develop fabrication methodologies that can enable efficient optical absorption in films thinner than optical absorption length. Active layers conformally deposited on light-trapping, microscale textured, grating-type surfaces is one possible approach to achieve this objective. In this study, 40% theoretical increase in photonic absorption over flat OPVs is shown for devices with textured geometry by the simulation results. For verifying this theoretical result and improving the efficiency of OPVs by light trapping, OPVs were fabricated on grating-type textured substrates possessing t pitch and -coat PV active-layer on these textured substrates led to over filling of the valleys and shunts at the crest, which severely affected the performance of the resultant PV devices. Thus, it is established that although the optical design is important for OPV performance but the potential of light trapping can only be effectively tapped if the textures are amenable for realizing a conformal active layer. It is discovered that if the height of the underlying topographical more » features is reduced to sub-micron regime (e.g. 300 nm) and the pitch is increased to more than a micron (e.g. 2 μm), the textured surface becomes amenable to coating a conformal PV active-layer. The resultant PV cells showed 100% increase in average light absorption near the band edge due to trapping of higher wavelength photons, and 20% improvement in power conversion efficiency as compared with the flat PV cell. Another factor that severely limits the performance of OPVs is recombination of charge carriers. Thus it becomes imperative to understand the effect of processing conditions such as spin coating speed and drying rate on defect density and hence induced carrier recombination mechanism. In this study, It is shown that slow growth (longer drying time) of the active-layer leads to reduction of sub-bandgap traps by an order of magnitude as compared to fast grown active-layer. By coupling the experimental results with simulations, it is demonstrated that at one sun condition, slow grown device has bimolecular recombination as the major loss mechanism while in the fast grown device with high trap density, the trap assisted recombination dominates. It has been estimated that non-radiative recombination accounts nearly 50% of efficiency loss in modern OPVs. Generally, an external bias (electric field) is required to collect all the photogenerated charges and thus prevent their recombination. The motivation is to induce additional electric field in otherwise low mobility conjugated polymer based active layer by incorporating ferroelectric dipoles. This is expected to facilitate singlet exciton dissociation in polymer matrix and impede charge transfer exciton (CTE) recombination at polymer:fullerene interface. For the first time, it is shown that the addition of ferroelectric dipoles to modern bulk heterojunction (BHJ) can significantly improve exciton dissociation, resulting in a ~50% enhancement of overall solar cell efficiency. The devices also exhibit the unique ferroelectric-photovoltaic effect with polarization-controlled power conversion efficiency. « less


While red cells from individuals with beta thalassemias are characterized by evidence of elevated in vivo oxidation, it has not been possible to directly examine the relationship between excess alpha-hemoglobin chains and the observed oxidant damage. To investigate the oxidative effects of unpaired alpha-hemoglobin chains, purified alpha-hemoglobin chains were entrapped within normal erythrocytes. These "model" beta-thalassemic cells generated significantly (P < 0.001) greater amounts of methemoglobin and intracellular hydrogen peroxide than did control cells. This resulted in significant time-dependent decreases in the protein concentrations and reduced thiol content of spectrin and ankyrin. These abnormalities correlated with the rate of alpha-hemoglobin chain autoxidation and appearance of membrane-bound globin. In addition, alpha-hemoglobin chain loading resulted in a direct decrease (38.5%) in catalase activity. In the absence of exogenous oxidants, membrane peroxidation and vitamin E levels were unaltered. However, when challenged with an external oxidant, lipid peroxidation and vitamin E oxidation were significantly (P < 0.001) enhanced in the alpha-hemoglobin chain-loaded cells. Membrane bound heme and iron were also significantly elevated (P < 0.001) in the alpha-hemoglobin chain-loaded cells and lipid peroxidation could be partially inhibited by entrapment of an iron chelator. In contrast, chemical inhibition of cellular catalase activity enhanced the detrimental effects of entrapped alpha-hemoglobin chains. In summary, entrapment of purified alpha-hemoglobin chains within normal erythrocytes significantly enhanced cellular oxidant stress and resulted in pathological changes characteristic of thalassemic cells in vivo. This model provides a means by which the pathophysiological effects of excess alpha-hemoglobin chains can be examined.


2017) Abstract Some proteins in latex products may cause allergic reactions to human. This research was to investigate protein profiling in Hevea brasiliensis clone RRIM 600 rubber particles. Protease from Bacillus subtilis MR10 and non-protease treated rubber particles were prepared from seven-year old rubber trees to evaluate proteomics by using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) analysis in IPG pH 3 – 10, 7 cm and 12.50% gel conditions with silver staining. There were three protein extraction methods, first method (50 mM HEPES-Tris pH 7.60), second method (0.50 % SDS) and third method (0.10 % SDS and 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 6.80). Results showed that three extraction methods in non-protease treated rubber were estimated to 20 spots (22-175 kDa, pI 3-9), 40 spots (22-175 kDa, pI 4-10) and 200 spots (14-95 kDa, pI 3-9), respectively and protease treated rubber were estimated to 10 spots (42-175 kDa, pI 4-7), 30 spots (22-175 kDa, pI 4-7) and 160 spots (14-95 kDa, pI 3-10), respectively. Thus, protease treatment could decrease some proteins in rubber particle and third method was suitable protein extraction procedure because of highest protein expression. Protein identification in some spots on Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 staining of this extraction method with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS MS –1 ) was also found four allergenic proteins (allergen Hev b 7, putative latex allergen Hev b 7.02, Hev 2.20 and small rubber particle protein Hev 3, respectively) on latex


Stable compositions of calcium hypochlorite containing selected hydrated inorganic salts having a sufficiently high enthalpy and the ability to provide water release to sufficiently quench reactions and reduce the potential for conflagration.


Berlin Heart Inc. EXCOR is an extracorporeal pneumatically pulsatile ventricular assist device approved for use in pediatric age group since 2011 in the United States. It is a well-established life-saving therapy for the bridge to heart transplant or to provide circulatory support in a transplanted patient. The most commonly reported problem was "membrane defect" in a postmarketing major device reporting. In general, the filling and emptying of the pump can be easily visualized, but the interobserver variability exist. In this first novel report, we used the iPhone slow motion video to quantify and compare the differences in filling and emptying that positively impacted the management of the Berlin Heart. This is an initial exploratory concept that will need further studies to validate this bedside tool.


In this paper, based on flume experimental data, the velocity distribution in open channel flows is re-investigated. From the analysis, it is proposed that the wake layer in outer region may be divided into two regions, the relatively weak outer region and the relatively strong outer region. Combining the log law for inner region and the parabolic law for relatively strong outer region, an explicit equation for mean velocity distribution of steady and uniform turbulent flow through straight open channels is proposed and verified with the experimental data. It is found that the sediment concentration has significant effect on velocity distribution in the relatively weak outer region. Keywords—Inner and outer region, Log law, Parabolic law, Richardson number.


The language is lively, changeable, rich in expressions constituted from the socio-cultural context of a given society, of a given linguistic community. These expressions go through an expansion of meaning and become consecrated by the frequency of their use. They play an important role in discursive processing because they are an expressive resource that translates feelings, customs, and values, characteristic of a language-culture. The objective of this paper is to point out the African influence in Cuban and Brazilian language expressions, once both countries have had the legacy of various African ethnic groups due to the black traffic of slaves during the 19th century.


Text, ConText, and HyperText presents recent developments in three related and important areas of technical communication: the design of effective documentation; the impact of new technology and research on technical writing; and the training and management of technical writers.The contributors are all authorities drawn from universities and industry who are active in defining and analyzing the role of computing in technical documentation and the role of documentation in the development of computing technology. This first synthesis of their diverse but related research provides a unique conceptualization of the field of computers and writing and documentation.The book first examines techniques for writing online documentation and the value of usability testing. It presents new research into the impact of human factors in screen design and designing online help, and looks at the impact of desktop publishing on documentation, and at visual literacy and graphic design.Artificial intelligence and documentation processing are then addressed with discussion of data acquisition, automated formatting in expert systems, and document databases; the uses of HyperText in documentation; and the future of technical writing in this new environment.Text, ConText, and HyperText concludes by examining the training and management of documentation groups: how they "learn to write" in industry, management of large-scale documentation projects and their effect on product development; and the "two cultures" of engineering and documentation.Edward Barrett is a Lecturer in the Writing Program at MIT. Text, ConText, and HyperText is included in the Information Systems series, edited by Michael Lesk.


The renal osmoregulatory function was studied in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The renal response to water loading (0.7% b.w.) and simultaneous exenatide (byetta) injection (5 microg) exhibited variation and was dependent on the degree of hyperglycemia. Effective solute-free water excretion was observed in patients with well-controlled DM (HbAlc 6.0 +/- 0.1%), in which CH20 changed from -0.67 +/- 0.2 mL/min to 0.72 +/- 0.2 mL/min. This reaction was absent in patients with poorly controlled DM (HbAlc 8.8 +/- 0.6%) and the process of solute-free water reabsorption prevailed: -CH20 = -1.06 +/- 0.1 mL/min in control period vs. -0.99 +/- 0.1 mL/min after treatment. Thus, byetta increases the efficiency of osmoregulation and accelerates the excretion of excess water in patients with compensated carbohydrate metabolism.


A 36-month study of Campylobacter and Salmonella in retail raw whole chicken was carried out to measure baseline rates at the retail level, establish seasonality, and observe changes in rates over time. In total, 2,228 samples were taken between November 2001 and December 2004. The Campylobacter rate was unchanged over the 3 years of the study, but the Salmonella rates declined significantly between 2001 and 2004. There was also some seasonality in Campylobacter rates in fresh samples. The overall conclusion from the study was that the Salmonella rate in raw chicken available to consumers in Wales fell significantly between 2001 and 2004, while the Campylobacter rate remained unchanged and is still by far the greater problem.


Various damage index (DI) algorithms of detecting changes such as a loosen bolt and a delamination development in a composite structure were examined using ultrasonic Lamb waves generated by embedded piezoelectric active sensors. The DI is a single value that is a function of response signal's attenuation due to any damage or changes in a structure. Various DI algorithms such as active damage interrogation (ADI), time domain root men square (RMS), short time Fourier Transform (STFT) and time reversal (TR) were discussed. For experimental validation, a composite stiffened panel was used, and loosen bolt damage and low-velocity- impact damage were tested. In order to pitch and catch Lamb waves, surface mounted PZTs (lead zirconate titanate) were used. According to the DI algorithms, appropriate ultrasonic guided Lamb waves were selected for actuators. Each set of DI algorithm and drive signal showed different characteristics to detect the damage.