[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If a newer form of electronic data interchange (EDI), XML or remote deposit capture (RDC) can't break the paper habit when it comes to making corporate payments, maybe, the greening of America will finally bring change on. Nobody is certain, but hope abounds. "Electronification" is one term discussed in payment circles. Loosely, it refers to electronic origination through settlement, or, as a secondary definition, conversion as quickly into the process as possible. Some experts say corporate creativity in this country might instead be inspired by the overseas (but not-too-distant) efforts around the Single Euro Payments Area, involving the creation of a zone for the Euro in which all-electronic payments are considered domestic. Not that the U.S. business community will change overnight when it comes to how it manages its finances-it certainly hasn't yet. Well into events around Web 2.0, supply chain finance still revolves around ample manual workarounds, laser printers, and "the check is in the mail." Boston-based research firm Aite recently issued a report indicating 70% of the business payment stream was handled by check for a total of $4 billion annually. "Until recently, the attitude in business-to-business payments here was one of an 'if it ain't broke'..." says Cynthia Von Hollen, industry principal, financial services industry, SAP, Newton Square, Penn. "For cultural and practical reasons, executives tend to be attached to traditional, paper-based methods." Bruce Parker, vice-president strategic planning, ACI Worldwide, New York, also understands the technical and cultural challenges, but thinks the big blockade with supply chain finance has to do with the unavoidable obstacle of Net-30 pay arrangements. (Certain B2B niches work differently but Net 30 is the norm, because, as Parker explains it, "it takes 30 days in the typical firm to figure out if you got what you ordered and if it meets specifications.") "Banks," Parker says, will be taking on the costly, time consuming and 'dangerous' conversion to electronic when the drivers pile up and it pays to manage that risk. But the bank and corporate customer need visibility into corporate cashflows to make that transition." The benefits, at a high level, of a more-automated payment chain are clear: better visibility into cashflows, better risk measurement, and when you are on the paying side of the b2b transaction, the ability to move quicker and benefit from perks like early pay discounts. Banks will attract loyal corporate customers if they can help them cope with a less-than-perfect back office environment. Von Hollen adds: "It's only started to change in the last year, perhaps because companies are finally starting to think of the idea of closer to real-time visibility into cashflows as a must-do, not merely a nice-to-do." Linda Coven, senior vice-president, head of global cash management, $6.3 billion assets Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, Calif., says the subtle aspects of b2b payments make the transition to electronic flows a slow-and-steady thing. She points out that, as with every bank, each customer has unique payment flows, strategic priorities around payments timing, and capital spending limitations. (So while all would like a perfectly outfitted enterprise resource planning system and clean links between payments engines and accounting equipment in a perfect world, not everyone is in the position to do it.) Then there are the payment practices dictated by a given industry. SVB, for instance, deals with vineyards, high-tech firms, and other clients in industries that require international transactions. "Our client base does a tremendous amount of wire transfers," says Coven, as an example. While the Federal Reserve and others are looking into greater standardization for cross-border use of ACH, Coven notes that there are some problems with the scheme. …


Stimuli-responsive in situ self-assembly of small molecule probes into nanostructures has been promising for the construction of molecular probes for in vivo imaging. In the past few years, a number of intelligent molecular imaging probes with fluorescence, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron electron tomography (PET) or photoacoustic imaging (PA) modality have been developed based on the in situ self-assembly strategy. In this minireview, we summarize the recent advances in the development of different modality imaging probes through controlling in situ self-assembly for in vivo imaging of enzymatic activity. This review starts from the brief introduction of two different chemical approaches amenable for in situ self-assembly, including (1) stimuli-mediated proteolysis and (2) stimuli-triggered biocompatible reaction. We then discuss their applications in the design of fluorescence, MRI, PET, PA, and bimodality imaging probes for in vivo imaging of different enzymes, such as caspase-3, furin, gelatinase and phosphatase. Finally, we discuss the current and prospective challenges in the stimuli-responsive in situ self-assembly strategy for in vivo imaging.


We study nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation of a log-concave probability density and its dis tribution and hazard function. Some general properties of these estimators are derived from two charac terizations. It is shown that the rate of convergence with respect to supremum norm on a compact interval for the density and hazard rate estimator is at least (log(?)/w)1//3 and typically (log(?)/rc)2/5, whereas the difference between the empirical and estimated distribution function vanishes with rate Op(n~1^) under certain regularity assumptions.


The first published description of intraovarian platelet-rich plasma (PRP) appeared in mid-2016, when a new experimental technique was successfully used in adult human ovaries to correct the reduced fertility potential accompanying advanced maternal age. Considering the potential therapeutic scope of intraovarian PRP would likely cover both menopause and infertility, the mainstream response has ranged from skeptical disbelief to welcome astonishment. Indeed, reports of intraovarian PRP leading to restored menses in menopause (as an alternative to conventional hormone replacement therapy) and healthy term livebirths for infertility patients (from IVF or as unassisted conceptions) continue to draw notice. Yet, any proper criticism of ovarian PRP applications will be difficult to rebut given the heterogenous patient screening, varied sample preparations, wide differences in platelet incubation and activation protocols, surgical/anesthesia techniques, and delivery methods. Notwithstanding these aspects, no adverse events have thus far been reported and ovarian PRP appears well tolerated by patients. Here, early studies guiding the transition of 'ovarian rejuvenation' from experimental to clinical are outlined, with mechanisms to explain results observed in both veterinary and human ovarian PRP research. Current and future challenges for intraovarian cytokine treatment are also discussed.


Connexin alpha1Cx43 has previously been shown to bind to the PDZ domain-containing protein ZO-1. The similarity of the carboxyl termini of this connexin and the lens fiber connexins alpha3Cx46 and alpha8Cx50 suggested that these connexins may also interact with ZO-1. ZO-1 was shown to be highly expressed in mouse lenses. Colocalization of ZO-1 with alpha3Cx46 and alpha8Cx50 connexins in fiber cells was demonstrated by immunofluorescence and by fracture-labeling electron microscopy but showed regional variations throughout the lens. ZO-1 was found to coimmunoprecipitate with alpha3Cx46 and alpha8Cx50, and pull-down experiments showed that the second PDZ domain of ZO-1 was involved in this interaction. Transiently expressed alpha3Cx46 and alpha8Cx50 connexins lacking the COOH-terminal residues did not bind to the second PDZ domain but still formed structures resembling gap junctions by immunofluorescence. These results indicate that ZO-1 interacts with lens fiber connexins alpha3Cx46 and alpha8Cx50 in a manner similar to that previously described for alpha1Cx43. The spatial variation in the interaction of ZO-1 with lens gap junctions is intriguing and is suggestive of multiple dynamic roles for this association.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Retinoblastoma, a prototype of hereditary cancer, is the most common intraocular tumor in children and a potential cause of blindness from therapeutic eye ablation, second tumors in germ line mutation carriers, and even death when untreated. The molecular scanning of RB1 in search of germ line mutations in 213 retinoblastoma patients from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia, has led to the detection of 106 mutations whose knowledge is important for genetic counselling and characterization of phenotypic-genotypic relations.

PATIENTS AND METHOD
Mutational study (PCR-sequentiation and microsatellites analysis) in patients with retinoblastoma, from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia.

RESULTS
45% of mutations, including most of the frame shift (FS), missense (MS) and splicing (SP), were new, while all nonsense mutations (NS) corresponded to hypermutable sites in RB1. Germ line mutations were found in 22% of unilateral sporadic patients. The incidence of SP plus MS mutations in this group of patients was greater (p = 0.018) than in bilateral patients. The frequency of SP mutations was higher (p = 0.0003) in Spain and France than in Germany and United Kingdom, while the incidence of NS mutations was lower (p = 0.0006). SP mutations were associated with the low penetrance phenotype and were also overrepresented (p = 0.018) in patients with delayed retinoblastoma onset.

CONCLUSIONS
Mutational scanning of unilateral patients is important for genetic counselling and may help decipher the molecular mechanisms leading to low penetrance or expressivity. The functional characterization of mutations associated with low-penetrance or expressivity phenotypes and the molecular classification of tumors using multiple expression profiling is important for a better understanding of the retinoblastoma pathogenesis.


On the basis of Taylor-Bishop-Hill's theory, many previous theoretical investigations have predicted that, at high rolling reductions, most of orientations should rotate along theβfiber from {110}<112> to {123}<634> and finally into the {112}<111> stable end orientations. Although some exceptions exist, experimental observations have shown, on the other hand, that the maximum on the β fiber is located still at about {123}<634> even after 97 % cold rolling. In the present paper, high purity Al containing 50 ppm Cu was cold rolled up to 99.4 % reduction in thickness and examined whether {112}<111> stable end orientation could be achieved experimentally. It was found that, with increasing rolling reduction above 98 %, {110}<112> decreased, while orientations in the range between {123}<634> and {112}<111> increased, suggesting that crystal rotation along the βfiber from {110}<112> toward {123}<634> and {112}<111> in fact took place. At higher rolling reductions, however, further rotation of this peak toward {112}<111> was extremely sluggish, and even at the highest rolling reduction, it could not arrive at {112}<111>. Such discrepancies between theoretical predictions and experimental observations should be ascribed to the development of dislocation substructures, which were formed by concurrent work hardening and dynamic recovery. Since such development of dislocation substructures are not taken into account in Taylor-Bishop-Hill's theory, it seems that they can not correctly predict the development of rolling textures at very high rolling reductions, i. e. stable end orientations. On annealing specimens rolled above 98 % reduction in thickness, cube textures were very weak, suggesting that cube bands were almost completely rotated into other orientations during cold rolling. {325}<496>, which lay at an intermediate position between {123}<634> and {112}<111> along theβfiber, developed strongly in the recrystallization textures.


Objective: To investigate the associations of cytochrome p450 1A1 (CYP1A1) gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to psoriatic arthritis in Taiwan. Methods: CYP 1A1 gene polymorphisms were determined in 52 patients with psoriatic arthritis and in 90 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The genotype frequency of CYP1A1 4889A/G was significantly increased in patients with psoriatic arthritis in comparison with healthy controls. The phenotype frequency of CYP1A1 4889G was also significantly increased in patients with psoriatic arthritis. The genotype frequency of CYP1A1 4887C/A was significantly higher in patients with psoriatic arthritis than in controls. The allele and phenotype frequencies of 4887A were also significantly increased in patients with psoriatic arthritis. We also found that the association of CYP1A1 4887A with psoriatic arthritis was independent of 4889G but a synergistic effect was present between CYP1A1 4887A and 4889G. The CYP1A1 4889A/G and 4887C/A polymorphisms were not associated with the manifestations and severity of psoriatic arthritis. Conclusion: CYP1A1 4887A and 4889G may be precipitating factors for susceptibility to psoriatic arthritis in Taiwan. An additive effect was found between CYP1A1 4887A and 4889G.


Language-in-education planning in the form of materials planning has an important role to play in achieving a society's social goals. Gender stereotyping has been found in previous language textbook studies. Although gender bias has declined, some recent studies suggest that it still exists. This study analysed the content and language of a recently published Hong Kong English language textbook series for grade one students to explore its gender representation. The results of the study showed that males and females were almost equally represented and were portrayed in a similar range of activities. Females were also more visible in both illustrations and texts. The phenomena of females being underrepresented and male dominance that occurred in the previous textbook studies did not exist in the textbook series examined, though males were still mentioned first when two nouns were paired for gender. One implication that can be drawn from the results is that gender stereotyping or how gender is represented in textbooks should be an important factor to be considered when school teachers select textbooks for their students, and this aspect should be highly emphasized in the government's policy manual for selection of textbooks for use in schools, given the fact that textbooks may have strong influence on children's development of values and attitudes.


Prepared by the manager of a virtual reality (VR) laboratory at North Carolina's Haywood Community College, the three papers collected in this document are designed to help instructors incorporate VR into their classes. The first paper reviews the characteristics of VR, defining it as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment, the contents of which can be viewed and manipulated by users. This paper also discusses the range of immersion that users can feel in the environment and methods for achieving that immersion, methods for tracking user and environment position and orientation, VR input devices, the use of sound and tactile feedback, and professional applications of VR. The second paper describes the following steps in planning a VR system: (1) defining the desired application--including the level of immersion desired, viewing and input devices, and position and orientation tracking capabilities; (2) assessing institutional resources and capabilities; (3) choosing VR development software, taking into consideration geometry creation and editing, programming requirements, peripheral and network support, system requirements, and portability; and (4) selecting appropriate hardware to manage peripheral devices, such as graphics cards, head-mounted displays, and tracking devices. The final paper describes VR courses taught at HCC, reviews past projects, and discusses current and future VR development. A list of Web addresses for VR-related companies is attached. (BCY) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Using Virtual Reality to Bring Your Instructiom to Life


The paper will include an introduction of dissolvable plug and its development in oil & gas upstream business. Dissolvable plug is a customized tool, and it could be modified by controlling its chemical compound to adjust its dissolving rate. In addition, high clearance dissolvable plug is a plug solution with dissolvability originally brought out to overcome the downhole restriction challenge (ID of SSD), namely to pass the downhole restriction then to set in the original casing ID. A case study of its application in offshore squeeze cementing job will be analyzed in this paper, from the plug designing perspective to operational data recap to prove its benefits. Conventional plugs will leave the bottom of the plug body downhole after plugs slip losing integrity during the milling operation, and the remainder leaving downhole will choke the well production or even block the well, however, dissolvable plug remainders will dissolve itself downhole, which will not have an impact on the production.


The purpose of this chapter is to describe a menu of experimental games that are useful for measuring aspects of social norms and social preferences. Economists use the term 'preferences' to refer to the choices people make, and particularly to tradeoffs between different collections ('bundles') of things they value-food, money, time, prestige, and so forth. 'Social preferences' refer to how people rank different allocations of material payoffs to themselves and others. We use the term 'self-interested' to refer to people who do not care about the outcomes of others. While self-interest can be a useful working assumption, experimental research of the 1980s and 1990s have shown that a substantial fraction of people in developed countries (typically college students) also care about the payoffs of others. In some situations, many people are willing to spend resources to reduce the payoff of others. In other situations, the same people spend resources to increase the payoff of others.


Increasing insight into the mechanism of fibrinolysis and particularly into the formation and release of plasminogen activator has led to more effective thrombolytic therapy. The understanding of the mechanism of thrombolysis has provided the possibility to improve the therapeutic effects of the fibrinolytic agents streptokinase and urokinase. Further advances in thrombolytic therapy are expected by the use of the plasminogen activator from tissue endothelium and pro-urokinase. Acylation of fibrinolytic enzymes will lead to beneficial effects (depot effect, protection from intrinsic inhibitors). Due to the extensive research into substances with fibrinolytic and thrombolytic effects a new generation of activators of fibrinolysis is expected that interfere with the biosynthesis and release of plasminogen activator of the vessel wall and that are suited for treatment of hypofibrinolytic states.


We consider estimation of a total causal effect from observational data via covariate adjustment. Ideally, adjustment sets are selected based on a given causal graph, reflecting knowledge of the underlying causal structure. Valid adjustment sets are, however, not unique. Recent research has introduced a graphical criterion for an 'optimal' valid adjustment set (O-set). For a given graph, adjustment by the O-set yields the smallest asymptotic variance compared to other adjustment sets in certain parametric and non-parametric models. In this paper, we provide three new results on the O-set. First, we give a novel, more intuitive graphical characterisation: We show that the O-set is the parent set of the outcome node(s) in a suitable latent projection graph, which we call the forbidden projection. An important property is that the forbidden projection preserves all information relevant to total causal effect estimation via covariate adjustment, making it a useful methodological tool in its own right. Second, we extend the existing IDA algorithm to use the O-set, and argue that the algorithm remains semi-local. This is implemented in the R-package pcalg. Third, we present assumptions under which the O-set can be viewed as the target set of popular non-graphical variable selection algorithms such as stepwise backward selection.


The breakdown of sarcomeres of frog's twitch skeletal muscles during Zenker's (spreading) degeneration has been studied. The speed of propagation of the destruction process was accelerated by increasing CaCl2 concentration in Ringer's solution up to 8mM. An hour after local injury, the fibres were fixed just before separation of the next retraction clot or at the stage of granular destruction (Fig. 1). The dominating features of the ultrastructure of a fibre at the necrotic boundary are the coagulation of small bundles of supercontracted myofibrils and breakdown of uncontracted sarcomeres into separate A- and I-bands and then into small bundles of A- and I-protofibrils (Fig. 2,3). The same breakdown of sarcomers is observed in several small regions at a distance of about 100 micron from the necrotic boundary (Fig. 5). Besides this, fusion of a few myofibrils followed by the disappearence of M- and Z-bands occurs in the same region of the fibre (Fig. 4, 6). The diameter of the majority of myofibrils decreases towards the necrotic boundary due to longitudinal splitting and loss of peripheral protofibrils, presumably, as a result of lysis (Fig. 7).


'What a nation or society chooses to remember and forget speaks to its contemporary priorities and sense of identity. Understanding how that process works enables us to better imagine a future with a different, or wider, set of priorities.' History has rarely felt more topical or relevant as, all across the globe, nations have begun to debate who, how and what they choose to remember and forget. In this BWB Text addressing 'difficult histories', a team of five researchers, several from iwi invaded or attacked during the nineteenth-century New Zealand Wars, reflect on these questions of memory and loss locally. Combining first-hand fieldnotes from their journeys to sites of conflict and contestation with innovative archival and oral research exploring the gaps and silences in the ways we engage with the past, this group investigates how these events are remembered – or not – and how this has shaped the modern New Zealand nation.


Cystic adventitial disease (CAD) is a rare vascular disorder that involves the arteries and rarely the veins, most commonly found in the popliteal artery of male patients. Etiology of CAD is uncertain and currently without a consensus agreement. Clinically, the most common presenting symptom is claudication. Diagnosis requires a strong clinical suspicion in patients with intermittent claudication, but without other risk factors for atherosclerotic disease. Angiography, ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can all be used for diagnosis. Treatment of CAD can be done via surgical resection or percutaneous intervention such as aspiration. CAD can rarely recur after treatment.


Recent technological advances in small semi-rigid and flexible ureteroscopes, combined with the development of ancillary instruments, have made retrograde ureteroscopy a viable treatment option for calculi in the ureter. This review will present the technique for ureteroscopic treatment of ureteral calculi above and below the iliac vessels.


An object-oriented simulation-in-the-loop C-written tool for power electronic apparatus in a dual (AC and DC) voltage prototype railway locomotive is proposed. By considering also the hardware elements of the control board, the simulator structure ensures the straightforward portability of the control codes from simulation to implementation, thus allowing to check the control algorithms and codes via realistic numerical tests. Each component of the locomotive is modeled as an object, by using state space dynamic models for the dynamic subsystems. The two line-side converter configurations, the field oriented controlled induction motors with Kalman filter as flux estimator and the space-vector modulated voltage source inverters are considered as examples. A new control strategy for the line-side converter ensuring voltage regulation and harmonic active filtering is also proposed and simulations show the effectiveness of the controller. The digital implementation of the control algorithms on an electronic control unit equipped with a DSP and a microcontroller is detailed, showing the time relationship between the control board tasks and the converters switching functions.


A lossless compression scheme for the data acquired from three-axial microelectromechanical (MEMS) accelerometer is presented. Time delay estimation (TDE) was applied in conjunction with differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) as the preprocessor to entropy coding, to perform lossless compression on an embedded sensor device with limited memory and speed in real time. The essence of this method is to check if the signal exhibits certain level of periodicity, and code the differences between samples one signal period apart if it does. Limited choice of feasible mathematical operations was an important constraint implied by the architecture of the embedded sensor device. Algorithm execution time was improved by programming in assembler and avoiding unnecessary operations. Experiments have confirmed that considerable compression ratio gains can be achieved if the signal is quasiperiodic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eie.22.2.7646


Abstract. In eleven propositions the article surrounds an ambivalent theme. It is related to the conditions found in Departments of Geography in German-speaking countries. – On the one hand it pleads for a diseiplinary strategy to integrate various human and physical geographies to constitute a neo-holistic geography. This could contribute to shape geography as a centre of competence for current issues of regional and urban development. The complex concept of sustainability – taken in its threefold meaning as ecological. economic and social sustainability-lends itself as asound basis for this integrative strategy. – On the other hand well-established career routines of young scientists are a strong hindering factor. These career paths require a degree of topical specialization which runs counter to serious Steps of integration.


This paper looks at the plausibility of using wastewater from a single first floor bathroom to generate energy in a household. It was found that the average two person household would only generate enough energy over a year to power a 100 Watt light bulb for around 6 hours. This is not a considerable amount but in higher buildings with larger populations of people it could be a very cost effective method of power generation.


A new method is presented which allows the design of a medium power MESFET amplifier stage in the 3.7 - 4.2 GHz communication band using a simple and universal feedback network. Using a commercially avalaible Nippon Electric Co. NE-464194 MESFET, an amplifier stage has been constructed using-thick-film microstrip circuitry. A gain of 8±0.3 dB has been obtained, with input and output VSWR less than 2. Power output at 1 dB compression is 22.5 dBm with an 3er O.I.P. of 33 dBm. Noise figure is 4.7 dB. The method is applicable to other types of MESFET.


The paper represents an optimization algorithm for reinforced concrete retaining wall design. The proposed method, called Rao-3 optimization algorithm, is a recently developed algorithm. The total weight of the steel and concrete, which are used for constructing the retaining wall, were chosen as the objective function. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-05) and Rankine\'s theory for lateral earth pressure were considered for structural and geotechnical design, respectively. Number of the design variables are 12. Eight of those express the geometrical dimensions of the wall and four of those express the steel reinforcement of the wall. The safety against overturning, sliding and bearing capacity failure were regarded as the geotechnical constraints. The safety against bending and shear failure, minimum and maximum areas of reinforcement, development lengths of steel reinforcement were regarded as structural constraints. The performance of proposed algorithm was evaluated with two design examples.


Radiation-induced injury to the normal esophagus, stomach, and duodenum in patients with advanced cervical carcinoma who received high para-aortic lymph-node irradiation to an average tumor dose of 5,000 rads is discussed. Radiation esophagitis is usually the result of mediastinal irradiation for bronchogenic carcinoma. The most consistent radiological finding is abnormal motility, with esophageal stricture and/or ulceration occurrring less frequently. Radiation gastritis usually presents as pyloric ulceration or irregular contractions of the antrum, simulating gastric carcinoma. Postbulbar duodenal mucosal thickening, ulceration, and strictures may occur. Pertinent clinical features, pathogenesis, and pathological correlations are discussed.


: Molluscs, like other invertebrates, have primitive defense systems. These are based on chemotaxis, recognition and facultative phagocytosis of foreign elements. Previously, we have described one of these systems: A cellular reaction involving infiltrated granulocytes against Perkinsus sp. parasitizing the Manila clam Tapes semidecussatus, in which the parasites are encapsulated by a defensive host product, the polypeptide p225. The aim of this study is to determine the similarities between the defense mechanisms of two venerid clams, T. semidecussatus and T. decussatus, when they are infected by Perkinsus sp. The hemocytes of both species infiltrate the connective tissue, redifferentiate, and ultimately, express and secrete the polypeptide which constitutes the main product of the capsule that surrounds the parasites. The main secretion product of T. decussatus shows a high degree of homology to that of T. semidecussatus, since it has a similar electrophoretic mobility and the polypeptide is recognized by the polyclonal serum against p225 from T. semidecussatus, as confirmed by Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. In conclusion, we demonstrate the existence of two polypeptides that are closely related at the molecular and functional level, and are specific in the defense of some molluscs against infection by these protozoan parasites.


Scleroderma is a chronic systemic disease that leads to fibrosis of affected organs. Transforming growth factor (TGF) β has been implicated in the pathogenesis of scleroderma. Smad proteins are signaling transducers downstream from TGF-β receptors. Three families of Smads have been identified: (i) receptor-regulated Smad2 and -3 (R-Smads); (ii) common partner Smad4 (Co-Smad); and (iii) inhibitory Smad6 and -7 (I-Smads, part of a negative feedback loop). We have investigated the signaling components for the TGF-β pathway and TGF-β activity in scleroderma lesions in vivo and in scleroderma fibroblasts in vitro. Basal level and TGF-β-inducible expression of Smad7 are selectively decreased, whereas Smad3 expression is increased both in scleroderma skin and in explanted scleroderma fibroblasts in culture. TGF-β signaling events, including phosphorylation of Smad2 and -3, and transcription of the PAI-1 gene are increased in scleroderma fibroblasts, relative to normal fibroblasts. In vitro adenoviral gene transfer with Smad7 restores normal TGF-β signaling in scleroderma fibroblasts. These results suggest that alterations in the Smad pathway, including marked Smad7 deficiency and Smad3 up-regulation, may be responsible for TGF-β hyperresponsiveness observed in scleroderma.


Background— Epicardial coronary injury is by far the most feared complication of epicardial ablation. Little information is available regarding the chronic effects of delivering radiofrequency in the vicinity of large coronary vessels, and the long-term impact of this approach for mapping and ablation on epicardial vessel integrity is poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the acute and chronic histopathologic changes produced by in vivo epicardial pulses of radiofrequency ablation on coronary artery of porcine hearts. Methods and Results— Seven pigs underwent a left thoracotomy. The catheter was sutured adjacent to the left anterior descending artery and left circumflex artery, and 20 pulses of radiofrequency energy were applied. Radiofrequency lesions located no more than 1 mm of the vessel were used for this analysis. Three animals were euthanized 20 days (acute phase) after the procedure and 4 animals after 70 days (chronic phase). The following parameters were obtained in each vessel analyzed: (1) internal and external perimeter; (2) vessel wall thickness; (3) tunica media thickness, and (4) tunica intima thickness. The presence of adipose tissue around the coronary arteries, the distance between the artery and the epicardium, and the anatomic relationship of the artery with the coronary vein was also documented for each section. Sixteen of 20 (80%) sections analyzed, showed intimal thickening with a mean of 0.18±0.14 mm compared with 0.13±0.16 mm in the acute phase (P=0.331). The mean tunica media thickness was 0.25±0.10 mm in the chronic phase animals compared with 0.18±0.03 mm in the acute phase animals (P=0.021). A clear protective effect of pericardial fat and coronary veins was also present. A positive correlation between depth of radiofrequency lesion and the degree of vessel injury expressed as intimal and media thickening (P=0.001) was present. A negative correlation was identified (r=−0.83; P=0.002) between intimal thickening and distance between epicardium and coronary artery. Conclusions— In this porcine model of in vivo epicardial radiofrequency ablation in proximity to coronary arteries leads to acute and chronic histopathologic changes characterized by tunica intima and media thickening, with replacement of smooth muscle cells with extracellular matrix, but no significant stenosis was observed up to 70 days after the ablation. The absence of acute coronary occlusion or injury does not preclude subsequent significant arterial damage, which frequently occurs when epicardial radiofrequency applications are delivered in close vicinity to the vessels.


We present a high spatial resolution (≈20 pc) of 12CO(2 −1) observations of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4526. We identify 103 resolved giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and measure their properties: size R, velocity dispersion σv, and luminosity L. This is the first GMC catalog of an early-type galaxy. We find that the GMC population in NGC 4526 is gravitationally bound, with a virial parameter α ∼ 1. The mass distribution, dN/dM ∝ M−2.39 ± 0.03, is steeper than that for GMCs in the inner Milky Way, but comparable to that found in some late-type galaxies. We find no size–line width correlation for the NGC 4526 clouds, in contradiction to the expectation from Larson's relation. In general, the GMCs in NGC 4526 are more luminous, denser, and have a higher velocity dispersion than equal-size GMCs in the Milky Way and other galaxies in the Local Group. These may be due to higher interstellar radiation field than in the Milky Way disk and weaker external pressure than in the Galactic center. In addition, a kinematic measurement of cloud rotation shows that the rotation is driven by the galactic shear. For the vast majority of the clouds, the rotational energy is less than the turbulent and gravitational energy, while the four innermost clouds are unbound and will likely be torn apart by the strong shear at the galactic center. We combine our data with the archival data of other galaxies to show that the surface density Σ of GMCs is not approximately constant, as previously believed, but varies by ∼3 orders of magnitude. We also show that the size and velocity dispersion of the GMC population across galaxies are related to the surface density, as expected from the gravitational and pressure equilibrium, i.e., σv R−1/2 ∝ Σ1/2.


Feature based modelling represents the future of CAD systems. However,
operations such as modelling and editing can corrupt the validity of a feature-based
model representation. Feature interactions are a consequence of feature
operations and the existence of a number of features in the same model. Feature
interaction affects not only the solid representation of the part, but also the
functional intentions embedded within features. A technique is thus required to
assess the integrity of a feature-based model from various perspectives,
including the functional intentional one, and this technique must take into
account the problems brought about by feature interactions and operations. The
understanding, reasoning and resolution of invalid feature-based models
requires an understanding of the feature interaction phenomena, as well as the
characterisation of these functional intentions. A system capable of such
assessment is called a feature-based representation validation system.
This research studies feature interaction phenomena and feature-based
designer's intents as a medium to achieve a feature-based representation
validation system. [Continues.]


Efficient catalytic hydrotreatment of Kraft lignin to yield aromatic monomers was demonstrated in supercritical methanol using a variety of NiW and NiMo catalysts on acidic, basic and neutral supports. It was found that NiW catalysts on neutral or basic supports are highly suitable for depolymerization of Kraft lignin to methanol soluble organics in high yields at 320 °C and 35 bar H2 pressure. An extensive analysis of the product mixtures was carried out using GC-MS-FID, GC × GC-FID, 2D HSQC NMR, GPC and elemental analysis, and several techniques were used for the characterization of the prepared catalysts in order to determine the acidity and basicity of the support and morphological changes after the catalytic reaction. The best results were obtained with sulphided NiW catalysts supported on activated carbon. Efficient depolymerization of Kraft lignin and a total 28 wt% monomer yield was obtained within 8 h and 76% of the products were alkylphenolics and guaiacolics. Over prolonged reaction times, the total monomer yield reached 35 wt%, containing up to 26 wt% alkylphenolics. During catalytic processing, deoxygenation was the most prevalent reaction and, importantly, no competing aromatic ring hydrogenation or undesired repolymerization to insoluble char was observed. The catalytic system described here represents a highly efficient and selective method for the production of alkylphenolics and guaiacolics from Kraft lignin.


We report the fabrication of hyperbranched hollow crystals of 1,2-bis(2,5-dimethyl-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene on a concave surface of the spherical glass substrate by sublimation and their practical photomechanical behaviors. The number of units of the branched structure of the hollow crystals composed of this compound are proportional to the substrate curvature of the substrate. Compared with the sublimation process of the same compound on the flat glass substrate, two kinds of the thin film domains are generated separately in the center and around the edge of the spherical glass substrate. Especially under the high relative humidity condition, the boundaries between these thin film domains move gradually around the edge through the center during as long as 6 h of sublimation time so that the hyperbranched hollow crystals are densely produced on the entire surface of the substrate. These hyperbranched hollow crystals can be prepared with the highly ordered molecular packing due to the very slow formation process of the crystalline walls of the hollow structures. Furthermore, the photo-induced bending behaviors in the few- and highly-branched hollow crystals have the practical roles in moving and bending the minute objects according to their characteristics of these branched shapes.


This dissertation explores works by Mona Hatoum, Jenny Holzer and Doris Salcedo produced in response to recent wars in which subjectivity is examined as a precarious condition rather than fixed certainty. Following in the footsteps of their feminist predecessors and previous efforts of artistic resistance to war, these artists continue to investigate the capacity of subjective experience to intervene in authoritative war and art discourse. Through the productive dialogue between art and psychoanalysis this thesis examines the deep fantasy investment these works demand from their viewers and how spectatorship is considered as a politically charged experience. Insisting on the importance of the psychic dimension of war, these works deploy identification as an artistic strategy that produces an interval for reflection in which silence emerges as resistance to dominant, patriarchal historical narratives.
These artists position the table as a specific object of interest in representations of violence, capable to produce informed insights on the subjects that gather around it and the relationships formed between them. The table's structural and theoretical capacity traces a rising artistic awareness of the horizontal axis of lateral relations and the need to negotiate difference beyond the vertical, Oedipal paradigm that results in unyielding debates on war and subjectivity. Specifically, by tracing war to the unconscious and examining the intricate relationship between individual and state aggression, the artists interrogate the perpetrator, the victim and the witness as interchangeable positions that the viewer is called to occupy. Turning tables and the domestic and familial or bureaucratic and institutional associations that they invoke, these works examine the protagonists of war as subjects that emerge from relationships based on interdependency and kinship rather than rigid opposition. This thesis argues that the effort for a collective understanding of the war phenomenon is dependent on assuming individual responsibility for one's own violence.


It is unknown whether loss of skeletal muscle mass and function experienced by astronauts during space flight could be augmented by ionizing radiation (IR), such as low-dose high-charge and energy (HZE) particles or low-dose high-energy proton radiation. In the current study adult mice were irradiated whole-body with either a single dose of 15 cGy of 1 GeV/n 56Fe-particle or with a 90 cGy proton of 1 GeV/n proton particles. Both ionizing radiation types caused alterations in the skeletal muscle cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) homeostasis. 56Fe-particle irradiation also caused a reduction of depolarization-evoked Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). The increase in the [Ca2+]i was detected as early as 24 h after 56Fe-particle irradiation, while effects of proton irradiation were only evident at 72 h. In both instances [Ca2+]i returned to baseline at day 7 after irradiation. All 56Fe-particle irradiated samples revealed a significant number of centrally localized nuclei, a histologic manifestation of regenerating muscle, 7 days after irradiation. Neither unirradiated control or proton-irradiated samples exhibited such a phenotype. Protein analysis revealed significant increase in the phosphorylation of Akt, Erk1/2 and rpS6k on day 7 in 56Fe-particle irradiated skeletal muscle, but not proton or unirradiated skeletal muscle, suggesting activation of pro-survival signaling. Our findings suggest that a single low-dose 56Fe-particle or proton exposure is sufficient to affect Ca2+ homeostasis in skeletal muscle. However, only 56Fe-particle irradiation led to the appearance of central nuclei and activation of pro-survival pathways, suggesting an ongoing muscle damage/recovery process.


Human embryonic stem (ES) cells have been proposed as a renewable source of pluripotent cells that can be differentiated into various cell types for use in research, drug discovery and in the emerging area of regenerative medicine. Exploitation of this potential will require the development of ES cell culture conditions that promote pluripotency and a normal cell metabolism, and quality control parameters that measure these outcomes. There is, however, relatively little known about the metabolism of pluripotent cells or the impact of culture environment and differentiation on their metabolic pathways. The effect of two commonly used medium supplements and cell differentiation on metabolic indicators in human ES cells were examined. Medium modifications and differentiation were compared in a chemically defined and feeder-independent culture system. Adding serum increased glucose utilisation and altered amino acid turnover by the cells, as well as inducing a small proportion of the cells to differentiate. Cell differentiation could be mitigated by inhibiting p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK activity). The addition of Knockout Serum Replacer also increased glucose uptake and changed amino acid turnover by the cells. These changes were distinct from those induced by serum and occurred in the absence of detectable differentiation. Induction of differentiation by bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), in contrast, did not alter metabolite turnover. Deviations from metabolite turnover by ES cells in fully defined medium demonstrated that culture environment can alter metabolite use. The challenge remains to understand the impact of metabolic changes on long-term cell maintenance and the functionality of derived cell populations.


Automated systems can improve the stability of controlled variables and reduce the workload in clinical practice without increasing the risks to patients. We conducted this review and meta-analysis to assess the clinical performance of closed-loop systems compared with manual control. Our primary outcome was the accuracy of closed-loop systems in comparison with manual control to maintain a given variable in a desired target range. The occurrence of overshoot and undershoot episodes was the secondary outcome. We retrieved randomized controlled trials on accuracy and safety of closed-loop systems versus manual control. Our primary outcome was the percentage of time during which the system was able to maintain a given variable (eg, bispectral index or oxygen saturation) in a desired range or the proportion of the target measurements that was within the required range. Our secondary outcome was the percentage of time or the number of episodes that the controlled variable was above or below the target range. The standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for continuous outcomes, whereas the odds ratio and 95% CI were estimated for dichotomous outcomes. Thirty-six trials were included. Compared with manual control, automated systems allowed better maintenance of the controlled variable in the anesthesia drug delivery setting (95% CI, 11.7%–23.1%; percentage of time, P < 0.0001, number of studies: n = 15), in patients with diabetes mellitus (95% CI, 11.5%–30.9%; percentage of time, P = 0.001, n = 8), and in patients mechanically ventilated (95% CI, 1.5%–23.1%; percentage of time, P = 0.03, n = 8). Heterogeneity among the studies was high (>75%). We observed a significant reduction of episodes of overshooting and undershooting when closed-loop systems were used. The use of automated systems can result in better control of a given target within a selected range. There was a decrease of overshooting or undershooting of a given target with closed-loop systems.


In the last few decades, much of queer theory and sexuality studies has been engaged in analyzing and resisting the – often partial and exclusionary – assimilation of queer subjects into the cultural and economic fabric of the nation-state. As illiberal anti-gender rhetoric and politics (re)surface across Europe, it might seem as though queer theory ought to reconsider its critiques of queer liberalism and homonationalism – in the face of neo-fascist threats and LGBT-free zones, recourse to liberal ideals of human rights and national acceptance may assume increasing credibility and even urgency. But can anti-gender politics really be so neatly opposed to "progressive" values of gender equality and gay rights, as supposedly modeled by Nordic countries? This article seeks to complicate this apparent opposition between anti-gender politics and homonationalist rhetoric by tracing the racist and nationalist tendencies that transverse both projects. I argue that not only does the homonationalism or anti-gender politics binary disintegrate under scrutiny, but the binary framing itself works to further narratives of national exceptionalism that are parasitic upon, and reproduce, racialized exclusions. In particular, I rethink Norwegian homonationalism as a neoliberal assemblage in light of contemporary anti-gender rhetoric and policies, so as to understand how homonationalism and anti-gender politics not only coexist, but co-constitute each other in these times which are at once profoundly queer and deeply homophobic.


Exchange rate protectionism usually refers to the idea that a country's exchange rate might be undervalued, causing the country to import less and export more than it would with a stronger exchange rate. I would like to discuss exchange rate protectionism in a different context. The Primary Meaning of Exchange Rate Protectionism I think most of the trade impact of an exchange rate policy is overwhelmed by the policy's impact on economic development. In practice, therefore, the primary meaning of exchange rate protectionism is that an unstable currency tends to cause underdevelopment, limiting a country's imports and exports. The converse also holds: countries with stable exchange rates have seen imports and exports grow rapidly, with China a clear example. Needed: A Stable Dollar Policy In my address at Cato's 1999 monetary conference, entitled "Replacing the Vacuum in International Economic Policy," I presented the view that exchange rates, rather than reflecting economic fundamentals, cause them. An extract follows: In recent years [as of October 1999], the United States has seemed to build its entire exchange rate view on the sound bite that "a strong dollar is in the national interest." Yet it has declined to explain how a currency's strength should be measured or whether unlimited strength is good. Clearly, a "stable" currency, not strong or weak, is appropriate during most of a country's economic life. A "strong dollar" policy made good sense after a period of currency weakness and inflation as the United States experienced in 1993 and 1994. President Clinton and Secretaries Rubin and Summers deserve credit for this constructive 1994 shift in U.S. policy. By continuing the policy into 1997 and 1998, however, the administration has created a giant momentum play into the U.S. dollar, adding to our asset values and our growth rate, but subtracting from those abroad and increasing the difficulty of the transition to currency stability. Meanwhile, the jingoistic "strong dollar" policy of the United States confused foreign countries. Since 1997, the world has suffered from a global competition to see who could have the strongest currency. The Japanese played the game, deepening their deflation spiral and prolonging their economic stagnation. Germany let the mark get too strong in 1998, setting the stage for a "euro crisis" earlier this year as the euro moved back to an appropriate value. The confusion sown by the United States in international economic policy has resulted in a world of momentum-based volatility in which exchange rates drastically overshoot a stable norm. At the core of the economic confusion is the prevailing, and harmful, view that the value of a currency should change with the business cycle to reflect economic fundamentals. When an economy slumps, the argument is that the currency should weaken, and vice versa. This was the market logic that pushed the euro to extreme weakness in early July when there was talk of it breaking par with the dollar. The same logic pushed the yen to 147 yen per dollar in May 1998 and has now strengthened it to 106 yen per dollar, so strong that it will choke off Japan's recovery. These wild swings in exchange rates are anti-growth and are the responsibility of government. Businesses don't devalue their accounting unit when they lose money. Nor do they increase their unit of account when their profits rise. Suppose auditors advised companies to report earnings in frequent flyer miles if profit growth slowed. Not only would investors have to analyze the earnings slowdown, they would also have to analyze the uncertainty caused by a new unit of account. The United States and the IMF actively promote this illogic, causing economic decline across Latin America, Africa, Russia, and parts of Asia. …


PKD3 prevents triglyceride and cholesterol accumulation in the liver in response to insulin. A limit for liver lipid overload Hepatocytes respond to insulin by accumulating triglycerides and cholesterol. Excessive lipid accumulation in the liver can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the more severe forms of which are risk factors for the development of liver cirrhosis and cancer. Mayer et al. found that activation of PKD3 by insulin signaling served as a negative feedback mechanism to prevent hepatic lipid accumulation. Mice lacking PKD3 in the liver showed increased insulin signaling, triglyceride and cholesterol synthesis, and steatosis in response to a high-fat diet. In contrast, overexpression of a constitutively active form of PKD3 attenuated insulin signaling in the liver and resulted in insulin resistance. Thus, PKD3 activity curtails insulin signaling and, therefore, lipid synthesis and accumulation in the liver. Hepatic activation of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms by diacylglycerol (DAG) promotes insulin resistance and contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The closely related protein kinase D (PKD) isoforms act as effectors for DAG and PKC. Here, we showed that PKD3 was the predominant PKD isoform expressed in hepatocytes and was activated by lipid overload. PKD3 suppressed the activity of downstream insulin effectors including the kinase AKT and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 and 2 (mTORC1 and mTORC2). Hepatic deletion of PKD3 in mice improved insulin-induced glucose tolerance. However, increased insulin signaling in the absence of PKD3 promoted lipogenesis mediated by SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) and consequently increased triglyceride and cholesterol content in the livers of PKD3-deficient mice fed a high-fat diet. Conversely, hepatic-specific overexpression of a constitutively active PKD3 mutant suppressed insulin-induced signaling and caused insulin resistance. Our results indicate that PKD3 provides feedback on hepatic lipid production and suppresses insulin signaling. Therefore, manipulation of PKD3 activity could be used to decrease hepatic lipid content or improve hepatic insulin sensitivity.


The three tribes of Heteropteryginae Kirby, 1896 occurring in Borneo are nocturnal, and ground dwelling species, easily found in both primary and secondary rainforest. The subfamily is reviewed, with keys and redescriptions of all Bornean species; one new species of a predominantly Bornean genus is described from the Philippines. Lectotypes have been selected for a number of species. The eggs of 17 species are described and illustrated. Distribution maps are given for all species. Many of the species have been collected by the author and reared in the United Kingdom; some observations on their natural history and behaviour are included. In the tribe Heteropterygini the synonymy has been re-examined with a revision to the status of several taxa. The five syntypes of Haaniella grayii (Westwood) were found to belong to two different species. In the tribe Datamini new terms are introduced for the spines and tubercules. A new genus, Spinodares, is described with S. jenningsi spec. nov. as the type species. All recorded Bornean specimens of Dares Stal, 1875 have been re-examined and the synonymy revised. Seven new species of Dares are described, six from Borneo: D. kinabaluensis, D. mjobergi, D. multispinosus, D. murudensis, D. navangensis, D. planissimus, and one from Palawan: D. philippinensis; this is the only record of the tribe Datamini from the Philippines. Acanthoderus otys Westwood, 1859 has previously been placed in the genus Dares Stal, 1875, it is found to belong in Datames Stal, 1875 with Pylaemenes infans Redtenbacher, 1906 as a new junior synonym; the female is described for the first time from a specimen in the Nationaal Natuurhistorische Museum, Leiden (RMNH). Two new species of Datames are described, one with three subspecies: D. muluensis, D. borneensis borneensis, D. b. sepilokensis and D. b. waterstradti. Of the twelve new taxa described eight are represented in the RMNH collection.


The endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal approach can decompress the traumatized and swollen optic nerve without brain retraction. Three cases of traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) were treated by this endoscopic approach. We performed 58 endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal approaches in 52 patients between April 2006 and December 2007. Three patients, 2 men and a woman aged 42-66 years, with TON were treated by endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal optic nerve decompression. Adequate decompression of the optic canal was observed in all three patients. Two experienced improved visual function, but the third did not. No surgical complications were observed in any patient. We were able to reach the optic canal above the opticocarotid recess near the orbit. Endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal optic canal decompression using a navigation system may be a safe and effective surgical strategy in carefully selected patients with TON.


Human fibroblast interferon (IFN-beta) was administered by serial lumbar puncture to ten patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Their clinical courses were compared with those of ten MS control patients who did not receive IFN-beta. As of this writing, the recipients have been followed up for 1.8 to 2.0 years (mean, 1.9 years), and the controls for 1.5 to 1.7 years (mean, 1.6 years). During the study, two recipients suffered four exacerbations, and six controls suffered 11 exacerbations. The recipients' rates of exacerbation during the study were significantly less than their rates both for the entire prestudy duration of the disease and for the 1.8 to 2.0 years immediately preceding entry into the study. The controls' rates of exacerbation before the study and during the study period did not differ significantly. Clinically, the conditions of five recipients and two controls improved, those of three recipients and four controls were unchanged, and those of two recipients and four controls worsened. Headaches, sometimes accompanied by fever and rarely by nausea and vomiting, occurred after injections of IFN-beta. Toxic symptoms usually disappeared within 24, hours; rarely, they persisted for seven to ten days. Each recipient had transient CSF pleocytosis and elevated levels to total protein (the latter remaining elevated in seven). These findings show that intrathecal administration of IFN-beta is feasible in patients with MS, warrant cautious optimism that intrathecal IFN-beta may be effective in altering the course of the disease, and support concepts of a viral or dysimmune cause of MS.


This paper presents, in five sections, a comparison of conferencing strategies used in two different supervisory dyads and the effects of the strategies on teachers' classroom management behavior. The first section is an overview of a larger study that sought to determine if the improvement of management practices cf supervisees is associated with conferencing (principal-led intervention) or with research-verified knowledge about classroom management taught by supervisors trained in conferencing techniques (a "common language" approach). The second and third sections present case studies of each dyad. The first dyad is composed of a high conceptual level (CL) principal interacting with a low CL teacher; the second, of a low CL principal interacting with a low CL teacher. The fourth section compares the two different dyads in terms of the conferencing strategies used by the high and low CL principals, and in terms of the associated effects that were evident in the teacher's classroom management practices. The final section offers some concluding observations about the nature of the dyadic interactions. Findings revealed that a teacher's conceptual level and the role that the teacher's responses play in the dynamic of conference interaction, the principal's knowledge of pertinent content (in the case of this study. classroom management), the principal's ability (cr lack thereof) to observe classroom events accurately, the principal's ability to transform a facilitating approach into an enabling one, and certain aspects of organizational life that act as constraints on both principal and teacher enhance or inhibit the teacher's classroom management processes. (JAM) A COMPARISON OF CONFERENCING STRATEGIES USED IN TWO DIFFERENT SUPERVISORY DYADS AND THE EFFECTS ON TEACHERS' CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOUR


The size and quality of nest influence mate choice and parental behaviour in several birds. Previous works in Penduline Tits showed that females prefer to mate with males that build large nests, and females desert small nests whereas they incubate eggs in large nests. We tested whether female preference may be related to the benefits of having large nests by investigating the influence of nest size (height, volume and thickness) on cooling rates of eggs and terminal egg temperatures in the laboratory using two ambient temperatures (10 degrees C and 25 degrees C), and clutch sizes (3 and 9 dummy eggs). Cooling rate of eggs was slower at 25\degrees C than at 10 degrees C, and 9 eggs cooled slower than 3 eggs. In addition, cooling rates decreased with nest thickness, although they were unrelated to nest height and volume. The influence of nest thickness on egg cooling rates was stronger at 10 degrees C than at 25 degrees C indicating that nest thickness is particularly important to insulate the eggs in relatively cold environment. Our results are thus consistent with a previous field study that showed a stronger female preference for large nests early in the breeding season, when ambient temperatures are low, than late in the season.


This essay focuses on the "survival drama" in the Bunker, an experiential theme park located underground near the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Visitors to the Bunker participate in—and "survive"—several interactive performances of mock kgb interrogations, dental examinations, Soviet-era shopping, and so forth. These performances interest me as commemorative acts where socialism is represented using discourse, imagery, and sensory effects. I inquire into how participants respond to the Bunker's dramatization of socialism as morally engaged persons who recall it as a biographical and national past. By critiquing dominant "nostalgia" perspectives, the essay points to the complexities and ambiguities of socialist remembrance in today's Lithuania.


A grazing-incidence sample stage was designed for realizing grazing-incidence scattering measurements, especially in the ultra-small-angle regime, in a modified Xenocs Xeuss system in the laboratory. The designed sample stage, which is composed of four separate motorized positioning stages, allows the sample to be moved along four different directions to locate it in the proper position for scattering measurement. In an effort to realize grazing-incidence ultra-small-angle scattering (GIUSAXS) measurements, both the separation of the collimation slit systems and the sample-to-detector distance have been lengthened. At a separation of the collimation slit systems of 2400mm and a sample-to-detector distance of 6558mm, the effective smallest scattering vector magnitude q(min) reaches 0.01nm(-1). A colloidal crystalline thin film obtained from drying a polystyrene latex dispersion on silicon substrate was measured in the setup in GIUSAXS mode at different beam sizes. The resultant GIUSAXS patterns at smaller beam sizes reveal fine crystalline structures in the film.


In temperature changing environments, solder joints often experience fatigue failure due to cyclic mechanical stresses and strains induced by mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion. These stresses and strains lead to damage accumulation and contribute to the crack initiation, crack propagation, and eventually to failure. In this study, we have investigated the cyclic stress-strain behavior of SAC305 and SAC_Q reflowed lead free solders that occur at various testing temperatures and with various prior aging conditions. Lead free solder uniaxial test specimens with circular cross-section have been prepared using vacuum suction method and then were aged for 0 to 20 days at 125 °C. The samples were then subjected to cyclic stress-strain loading using a Micro-mechanical tester at different testing temperatures from T = 25 C to T = 100 C. The evolution of hysteresis loops with duration of prior aging was characterized by measuring the strain energy density dissipated per cycle (loop area), peak stress, and plastic strain range. It was observed that aging degrades the mechanical fatigue properties due to microstructural coarsening. At elevated temperatures, a drop in the loop area and peak stress and an increase in the plastic strain range for both lead free reflowed solder materials were obtained. In addition, SAC_Q samples had a higher loop area and peak stress compared to SAC305.


Sexual dimorphism in body size (sexual size dimorphism) is common in many species. The sources of selection that generate the independent evolution of adult male and female size have been investigated extensively by evolutionary biologists, but how and when females and males grow apart during ontogeny is poorly understood. Here we use the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, to examine when sexual size dimorphism arises by measuring body mass every day during development. We further investigated whether environmental variables influence the ontogeny of sexual size dimorphism by raising moths on three different diet qualities (poor, medium and high). We found that size dimorphism arose during early larval development on the highest quality food treatment but it arose late in larval development when raised on the medium quality food. This female-biased dimorphism (females larger) increased substantially from the pupal-to-adult stage in both treatments, a pattern that appears to be common in Lepidopterans. Although dimorphism appeared in a few stages when individuals were raised on the poorest quality diet, it did not persist such that male and female adults were the same size. This demonstrates that the environmental conditions that insects are raised in can affect the growth trajectories of males and females differently and thus when dimorphism arises or disappears during development. We conclude that the development of sexual size dimorphism in M. sexta occurs during larval development and continues to accumulate during the pupal/adult stages, and that environmental variables such as diet quality can influence patterns of dimorphism in adults.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Lifestyle improvements including dietary changes are important for CVD prevention. This thesis aimed to advance insights in the role of phytosterols, lipid-like compounds present in foods or plant origin, in the management of blood lipid risk factors for CVD. Phytosterols include plant sterols and their saturated form, plant stanols. These compounds resemble cholesterol in both structure and function, but cannot be produced by the human body. The intake of phytosterols occurs through plant-based foods and/or enriched foods like margarine. Elevated blood low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major risk factor for CVD, especially for coronary heart disease (CHD) resulting from atherosclerosis. We studied the dose-response relationship between dietary phytosterols and blood LDL-C in two meta-analyses (Chapters 2 and 3). A meta-analysis of 81 randomized controlled trials (Chapter 2) demonstrated a non-linear, continuous dose-response relationship for the LDL-C-lowering effect of phytosterols. Based on this dose-response curve, it may be predicted that phytosterols at a dose of 2 g/d lower LDL-C by 0.35 mmol/L or 9%. The dose-response curve reached a plateau at phytosterol doses of ~3 g/d, above which there is limited additional LDL-C-lowering effect. In another meta-analysis of 124 randomized controlled trials (Chapter 3), we showed that plant sterols and plant stanols up to ~3 g/d are equally effective in lowering LDL-C by a maximum of 12%. No conclusions could be drawn for phytosterol doses exceeding 4 g/d because of the limited number of studies. Elevated blood triglycerides (TGs) may also be involved in the onset of CVD, although its role is less established than for LDL-C. The effect of plant sterols on blood TG concentrations was assessed in a meta-analysis of individual subject data from 12 randomized controlled trials (Chapter 4). We showed that plant sterols, at a dose of ~2 g/d, modestly reduce TG concentrations by on average 0.12 mmol/L or 6%. The TG-lowering effect of plant sterols was larger in subjects with higher initial TG concentrations. Our double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial with 332 subjects (Chapter 5) showed more pronounced TG-lowering effects of 9-16% when plant sterols (2.5 g/d) were combined with low doses of omega-3 fish fatty acids (0.9 to 1.8 g/d). Dietary phytosterols are, after initial absorption by intestinal cells, actively excreted back into the intestinal lumen. Nevertheless, small amounts reach the circulation. We assessed the effect of plant sterol intake on blood plant sterol concentrations in a meta-analysis of 41 randomized controlled trials (Chapter 6). The intake of plant sterols, at a dose of ~1.6 g/d, increased blood sitosterol concentrations by on average 2 μmol/L (31%) and campesterol concentrations by 5 μmol/L (37%). At the same time, total cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations were reduced by on average 0.36 mmol/L (6%) and 0.33 mmol/L (9%), respectively. After supplemental intake, plant sterol concentrations remained below 1% of total sterols circulating in the blood. Whether phytosterols, due to their LDL-C-lowering properties, affect the risk of CVD events is at present unknown. The relation between phytosterol intake from natural sources (e.g. vegetables, cereals, nuts) and CVD risk in the population was examined in a large prospective cohort of 35,597 Dutch men and women with 12 years of follow-up (Chapter 7). The intake of phytosterols from natural sources (~300 mg/d) was not related to risk of CVD (total of 3,047 events) with a relative risk ranging from 0.90 to 0.99 across quintiles of phytosterol intake. Also, no association with incident CHD and myocardial infarction were found. In a cross-sectional analysis using baseline data of this cohort, phytosterol intake was associated with lower blood LDL-C in men (-0.18 mmol/L per 50 mg/d; 95% CI: -0.29; -0.08) but not in women (-0.03 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.08; 0.03). Most randomized trials with enriched foods have tested phytosterol doses between 1.5 and 2.4 g/d. In practice, however, users of such foods consume much lower amounts (~1 g/d), which is about 3 times higher than obtained from a regular Western diet. Individuals who consume diets with emphasis on plant-based foods (e.g. vegetarians) may reach phytosterol intakes between 0.5 and 1 g/d. Health authorities recommend various types of diets for CVD prevention, almost all rich in plant-based foods and, consequently, relatively rich in phytosterols. In conclusion, a high intake of phytosterols with enriched foods was shown to lower LDL-C in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a high intake of plant sterols with enriched foods modestly lowered TG concentrations and increased plasma plant sterol concentrations. A low intake of naturally occurring phytosterols in the general population did not show a clear association with CVD risk. Based on these findings, the intake of phytosterols may be considered in the management of hypercholesterolemia. Whether a high intake of phytosterols can play a role in CVD prevention in the population at large remains to be established.


Medical Relation Extraction (MRE) task aims to extract relations between entities in medical texts. Traditional relation extraction methods achieve impressive success by exploring the syntactic information, e.g., dependency tree. However, the quality of the 1-best dependency tree for medical texts produced by an out-of-domain parser is relatively limited so that the performance of medical relation extraction method may degenerate. To this end, we propose a method to jointly model semantic and syntactic information from medical texts based on causal explanation theory. We generate dependency forests consisting of the semantic-embedded 1-best dependency tree. Then, a task-specific causal explainer is adopted to prune the dependency forests, which are further fed into a designed graph convolutional network to learn the corresponding representation for downstream task. Empirically, the various comparisons on benchmark medical datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.


This research aims to improve student physics learning result of class XII MIPA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Bone through Connected type integrated learning model. The subjects of this study are the students of class XII MIPA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Bone Lesson Year 2014/2015 odd semester as many as 30 students consisting of 14 male students and 16 female students. This research is conducted in 2 cycles, each cycle consists of components, namely: action planning, action implementation, observation and reflection. The data collection techniques used are the final test of Cycle I, the final test of Cycle II and the observation sheet. The result of quantitative and qualitative descriptive analysis is the result of physics study of class XII MIPA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Bone on Cycle I average score obtained 67 or (67%) and standard deviation 9.72 from ideal score 100, subject "Straight Motion". In Cycle II the average score is 71.14 or 71.14% with the standard deviation of 11.18 from the ideal score of 100, the subject of "Circular Motion". The increase of student physics learning result from Cycle I to Cycle II is 6 students that is 56,67% or 17 people experience Cycle I completeness become 76,67% or 23 people in Cycle II from 30 students. From the results of the above analysis can be concluded that through integrated learning model type Connected to improve student physics learning outcomes class XII MIPA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Bone.


UNLABELLED
We describe a case of a 30-year-old woman who suffered a traumatic injury of the right brachial plexus, developing severe complex regional pain syndrome type II (CRPS-II). After clinical treatment failure, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) was indicated with initial positive pain control. However, after 2 years her pain progressively returned to almost baseline intensity before SCS. Additional motor cortex electrode implant was then proposed as a rescue therapy and connected to the same pulse generator. This method allowed simultaneous stimulation of the motor cortex and SCS in cycling mode with independent stimulation parameters in each site. At 2 years follow-up, the patient reported sustained improvement in pain with dual stimulation, reduction of painful crises, and improvement in quality of life. The encouraging results in this case suggests that this can be an option as add-on therapy over SCS as a possible rescue therapy in the management of CRPS-II. However, comparative studies must be performed in order to determine the effectiveness of this therapy.

KEY WORDS
Chronic neuropathic pain, Complex regional pain syndrome Type II, brachial plexus injury, motor cortex stimulation, spinal cord stimulation.


Strategies abound for the setting of analytical goals in clinical chemistry. Many, especially those more recently proposed br particular clinical situations, are concerned with tests used in diagnosis. We suggest a general theory for the setting of goals in situations that specifically involve the monitoring of individuals. Goals are calculated from the bormula CVA < [(i 2/2Z2)-CV51"2, where CVA is the analytical imprecision (as coefficient of variation, CV); &is the percentage change in serial results that is considered clinically significant; Z is the Z-statistic, which depends only on the probability selected for statistical significance; and CVB is the average inherent within-subject biological variation (as CV). Examples given show applications in hematology and in monitoring diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, and hepatitis. The derived goals are for total random analytical error (imprecision and intermittent systematic variation), and provide objective criteria that should be achieved in practice. The effect of analytical variability on both variability in test results and the probability that a stated change can be considered significant should be calculated whether or not the goals are attained.


Application development for mobile computing devices has been greatly developed. The design of user interface is a complex and time-consuming job. In a pervasive computing environment, the program might be shown in different kinds of mobile computing devices. So an efficient method of interface development has become necessary. In this paper, we analyze shortcomings of traditional user interface design methods and propose a new software reuse technology to enhance the reusability and extensibility of mobile computing devices user interface which is based on XML. We use DTD to provide definitions of XML document type and define a XML document only to implement a unified user interface. The pages could be generated dynamically by using XSLT to analyze the XML documents and be shown in mobile client browsers. This reuse technology could select suitable XSLT styles for transforming an XML user interface description into different shapes to reduce the complexity of interface development and improve the efficiency of development.


Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) suffer from domain shift when the test dataset follows a distribution different from the training dataset. Domain generalization aims to tackle this issue by learning a model that can generalize to unseen domains. In this paper, we propose a new approach that aims to explicitly remove domain-specific features for domain generalization. Following this approach, we propose a novel framework called Learning and Removing Domain-specific features for Generalization (LRDG) that learns a domain-invariant model by tactically removing domain-specific features from the input images. Specifically, we design a classifier to effectively learn the domain-specific features for each source domain, respectively. We then develop an encoder-decoder network to map each input image into a new image space where the learned domain-specific features are removed. With the images output by the encoder-decoder network, another classifier is designed to learn the domain-invariant features to conduct image classification. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our framework achieves superior performance compared with state-of-the-art methods.


The regularities of cathodic hydrogen evolution from a 30 % KOH solution at an electrolytic Co-V alloy, an electrolytic cobalt coating as well as at cobalt and vanadium with smooth surface in the temperature range 25-85 i'°C have been studied. The Co-V alloy and cobalt coating were deposited on stainless steel from a nonaqueous electrolyte. It has been found that at the least negative potentials and with the lowest overpotential hydrogen evolves at the Co-V alloy. The exchange currents and real activation energies of hydrogen evolution at the investigated electrodes as well as the Tafel coefficients have been determined. On the basis of an analysis of the angular Tafel coefficient values, it has been shown that the rate of cathodic hydrogen evolution at cobalt and cobalt coating is controlled by the rate of formation of adsorbed hydrogen atoms while at vanadium and electrolytic Co-V alloy by the rate of their electrochemical desorption.


Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts take land out of production for at least ten years, hindering production flexibility in exchange for a guaranteed annual payment. This article analyzes the question of whether having a CRP contract on a parcel of land changes that parcel's value by employing a hedonic model using data from 2005-2014 on agricultural land sales in Kansas. Results indicate CRP contracts reduce sale price by an average of 11 percent. However, the reduction in sale price is larger in periods of high farm profitability and smaller in periods of low farm profitability.


Electrostatic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based torsional micromirrors are a fundamental building block for many optical network applications, such as optical wavelength-selective switches, configurable optical add-drop multiplexers and optical cross-connects. Although the device architecture, materials and fabrication processes determine the micromirrors' functioning space, one major technical challenge to achieving their full performance potentials is the controllability and stability of the tilting angle. In this paper, an electrostatic micromirror is designed and fabricated using a standard MEMS silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process. Active control approaches including gain scheduling and nonlinear proportional and derivative (PD) control are proposed. Both approaches can improve the performance of the mirror tilting and enhance the robustness of the structures to any stochastic perturbations. Furthermore, the nonlinear PD control can eliminate the micromirror "pull-in" phenomenon, hence significantly expanding the mirror tilt range, and as a result achieving enhanced device performance and functionality. The nonlinear PD control method is experimentally implemented and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.


Spin-labelled compounds are widely used in chemistry, physics, biology, and material sciences, but the directed synthesis of some functionalized organic radicals is still a challenge. We succeeded in the preparation of a tetrazolyl-substituted nitronyl nitroxide radical in pure crystalline form. According to the single-crystal X-ray data, intra- (NH…O, 2.43 Å) and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds (NH…O, 1.91 Å) are formed between NH groups of the tetrazole cycles and O atoms of the paramagnetic moieties. The intermolecular H-bonds connect the molecules forming chains along the a-axis. Moreover, there are short intermolecular contacts between the O atoms (3.096 Å) and between the O and C atoms (3.096 Å) of the nitronyl nitroxide moieties within the chain. The spin-unrestricted broken-symmetry calculations performed at the BS-UB3LYP/def2-TZVP level of theory predicted a sufficient ferromagnetic interaction (J ≈ 20 cm–1) between the adjacent radicals inside the chain, but a weak antiferromagnetic interaction (−J ≤0.2 cm−1) between the nearest radicals belonging to the different chains. Thus, a rare case when stable radicals, the tetrazolyl-substituted nitronyl nitroxides, are ordered into ferromagnetic chains was revealed; an investigation of the magneto-structural correlations inherent in the nitroxide radical will demand a special experiment in the sub-Kelvin regime.


Simple Summary Claw conformation is commonly measured in cattle. It can be measured at cow-side or, by using digital images, on a computer. This study compared, for five conformational features of the claw, measurements made directly from the hoof with those made from a digital image of the same claw. Of the five measures, only one, toe angle, had results where agreement was good enough for the two measurements to be used interchangeably. The variation in differences between the digital and manual results for the other four measures was too great for them to be used interchangeably. When measuring claw conformation, more attention needs to be paid to the method used and it should not just be assumed that a different technique would have produced the same result. Abstract Five measurements of claw conformation (toe angle, claw height, claw width, toe length and abaxial groove length) taken directly from the hoof were compared with the measurements taken from digital images of the same claws. Concordance correlation coefficients and limits-of-agreement analysis showed that, for four of the five measures (claw height, claw width, toe length and abaxial groove length), agreement was too poor for digital and manual measures to be used interchangeably. For all four of these measures, Liao's modified concordance correlation coefficient (mCCC) was ≤0.4, indicating poor concordance despite Pearson's correlation being >0.6 in all cases. The worst concordance was seen for toe length (mCCC = 0.13). Limits-of-agreement analysis showed that, for all four measures, there was a large variation in the difference between the manual and digital methods, even when the effect of mean on difference was accounted for, with the 95% limits-of-agreement for the four measures being further away from the mean difference than 10% of the mean in all four cases. The only one of the five measures with an acceptable concordance between digital and manual measurement was toe angle (mCCC = 0.81). Nevertheless, the limits-of-agreement analysis showed that there was a systematic bias with, on average, the manual measure of toe angle, being 2.1° smaller than the digital. The 95% limits-of-agreement for toe angle were ±3.4°, probably at the upper limit of what is acceptable. However, the lack of data on the variability of individual measurements of claw conformation means that it is unclear how this variability compares to measurement of toe angle in the same animal using the same or a different manual technique.


This study looks at the two different traffic data sources available for traffic management: stationary sensors and probe vehicles. The strengths and weaknesses of each type of data collection system were briefly investigated in the literature review. A microscopic model using historical SRA (Swedish Road Administration) Motorway Control System data (MCS) from 23 March 2010 was created using a stretch of the E4 motorway in Stockholm as a study case. Two different traffic situations were examined: free-flow conditions between 12.00 and 13.00, and morning peak congestion, between 7.30 and 9.30. Models were calibrated by checking out the one-to-one relationship between observed and simulated values for two variables, average speed from each MCS detector station, and vehicle flows. MCS average speeds were calculated using the harmonic mean. The validation of the models was done using Theil's inequality coefficient, as well as absolute and percentage errors. Two parameters that are inferred to have an effect on probe data quality, penetration and sampling rates, are shown to have an impact on the accuracy of travel time predictions. Probe vehicle fleets with a 60-second sampling rate and 1-percent penetration rate were shown to be adequate to retrieve traffic information from free-flow conditions. Probe fleets with a 5-second sampling rate and a penetration rate higher than 2% were shown to be sufficient to capture traffic information from congested conditions, and be competitive with the implementation of stationary sensors. Travel time predictions based on MCS data improve with increasing the number of detectors present in the system, for traffic going through morning peak congestion It is thereby concluded that probe vehicle data is an effective and cost-efficient method for collecting traffic data in both types of traffic conditions and can therefore provide useful input to traffic management systems.


Despite genetic similarities between man and other anthropoids, the cognitive abilities of man are distinct. Inaccessible and concealed external female genitals are one of the morphological characteristics distinguishing humans from other higher primates. External female sexual organs in subhuman primates are visible and accessible in the habitual quadrupedal and occasional bipedal posture, whereas these organs in the human female are inaccessible and concealed in any posture. A prospective consequence of gradual bipedalism of hominids during evolution was a shifting of the external female genitals in an anterior direction. In the completely bipedal Homo sapiens, this resulted in the vulvo-cryptic phenomenon, i.e. concealed female genitals in humans. The unique morphology of the human female pelvis served as an obstacle to easy access of the male in the process of copulation, necessitating the female's conscious decision for sexual intercourse. This circumstance might have created a psychological basis for female propellant psychosexual manipulation of the male as a natural consequence. Also, through the process of positive selection it could have formed a basis for linking reproductive success with the development of cognitive and emotional capacities. Female consent to copulation is a conscious and complex act that would be impossible without the involvement of highly developed emotional-cognitive and memoric brain systems. Thus the extraordinary evolutionary strategy might imply a teleological link between concealed female genitals and the emotional-cognitive characteristics of man, creating a permanent promoter of further development of emotional and cognitive brain systems with an impact on all domains of everyday life.


The quail is the chimeric and parabiotic counterpart of the chicken, thus increasing the value of quail in the field of developmental biology. Quail bursa of Fabricius was studied by light microscopy, electron microscopy, and immunocytochemical methods. The basic cellular composition and structural framework are comparable with those of the chicken bursa. One of the major structural differences is the absence of the continuous cortico‐medullary arch. In addition to the epithelial reticular cell the bursal secretory dendritic cell is the other medullary‐specific bursal cell. The bursal secretory dendritic cell is a highly elongated cell which expresses vimentin intermediate filaments and produces secretory granules. The substance of the granules can be visualized by NIC2 monoclonal antibody, which was produced against guinea fowl bursal secretory dendritic cell. The released granular content appears on the lateral surface of the bursal secretory dendritic cell and is gradually solubilized. Thus, the NIC2‐positive substance may occur in membrane‐bound and solubilized forms in the isolated environment of the medulla. The bursal secretory dendritic cell establishes membrane contact areas with the B cells; therefore, they may influence B‐cell maturation by cell contact and chemical (humoral) product. During embryogenesis bursal secretory dendritic cell precursors enter the epithelium and 1) induce epithelial bud formation, and 2) produce an NIC2‐positive substance. Senescent bursal secretory dendritic cells can be phagocytic and migrate into the follicle‐associated epithelium. This physiological turnover of the bursal secretory dendritic cell represents a novel pathway of macrophage formation from dendritic cells. J. Morphol. 259:328–339, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this paper we describe a system for creating and exposing relationships between documents: a user's interaction with digital objects (like documents) is interpreted as links - to be discovered and maintained by the system. Such relationships are created automatically, requiring no priming by the user. Using a very simple set of heuristics, we demonstrate the uniquely useful relationships that can be established between documents that have been touched by the user. Furthermore, this mechanism for relationship building is media agnostic, thus discovering relationships that would not be found by conventional content based approaches. We describe a proof-of-concept implementation of this basic idea and discuss a couple of natural expansions of the scope of user activity monitoring.


The post-encounter and circa-strike fear states define two of the neurological states that can cause changes in cognition, specifically changes in breadth of attention, when in the presence of a threat. Post-encounter represents the neurological and physiological changes that are experienced after the initial detection of a potential threat and aligns with higher activity in forebrain regions including the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC). Conversely, circa-strike represents the neurological and physiological changes experienced upon interaction with an immediate threat, and results in higher activity in the midbrain and the mid-dorsal ACC, as well as inhibited activity in the sgACC, amygdala, and hippocampus. While certain studies have shown that fear narrows attention, allowing for a smaller range of focus, other studies have suggested the opposite: that fear allows for widened attention and a broader range of focus. We sought to inform this debate by using maze simulations in order to elicit post-encounter and circa-strike fear in subjects. A within-subjects experiment was used in which human participants (N=30) were tasked with navigating throughout 2-dimensional simulated mazes, designed as the game Pac-Man®. Participants were asked to respond to visual stimuli (central and peripheral) within three different maze conditions: a control maze (no threats were present), a passive threat maze (threats were programmed to navigate randomly throughout the maze), and an active threat maze (threats were programmed to constantly pursue participant throughout maze). Results of the study revealed a lower accuracy when responding to peripheral vs central stimuli during the active threat maze, suggesting a narrowed breadth of attention. In addition, there was higher accuracy when responding to peripheral stimuli vs central stimuli during the passive threat maze, suggesting a broadened breadth of attention. These findings support the prediction that post-encounter and circa-strike fear have different effects on attention.


A lead lid designed for sealing drug jars is kept in the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum of Zlatograd. The diameter of the lid is 23–24 mm and the side rim is 2 mm. The figure of a running wolf is engraved on the lid. An inscription in Italian is visible on the periphery of the lid: ALLA-SPECIARIA-( DE )-LUPO-VENEZIA (The wolf 's pharmacy in Venice) (Fig. 1).
The Venetian pharmacy of "Del Lupo" is not known for the production of theriac. However, it became famous with the production of Although "empiastro emolliente magistrale omogeneo", translated as "homogenous softening cream", known colloquially as "Cerroto del Sig. Antonio" or Segnor Antonio's cream. The drug comprised resins, oils, litharge, turpentine and other minor ingredients. The pharmacy that produced the drug was registered on 13 April1682 in Saint Fillipo and Giacomo Square situated next to Saint Marko Square and was owned by the Corady family until 1745. The pharmacy is still in operation today, and it can be found in the same place. However, its name is different – "Al Lupo coronato".
The pharmacy was sold in 1745 to Franccesco Montagna, but he was not allowed to produce the drug mentioned above. After the death of Niccolo Corady, his wife obtained the rights for the production and the sale of the salve. There is no information about the "Del Lupo" pharmacy after 1745. In 1785 a newspaper wrote about a drugstore on the same address but with a different name – "Spezieria del Lupo coronato". At that time the pharmacy was owned by Pietro Arigio. There is no information whether the name of the drug store changed immediately after it had been sold in 1745 or later in 1785. An interesting fact is that the pharmacy's logo was also changed. The wolf is crowned and looking to the left (Figs. 3, 4). The pictures are almost identical. The only differences are the crown and the inscription. The logo was either modernized similarly to others in this period (Fig. 5) or it was modified after the sale in 1745. The lead lid is dated back to 1682–1785, and the period can be narrowed to 1745–1785.
The official market price of the drug was 10 soldi per 1 ounce. This was a relatively low price compared to the prices in the Ottoman Empire during the first decade of the 18th century when it would have cost 7 or 8 akCes. If the price of one oka of bread (between 1700 and 1730) was between 3 and 5 akCes including transportation fees and the dealer's profit, the price of the drug would have still been affordable.
The salve was aimed for external use, for tumors and buboes treatment. Treatments for buboes were particularly relevant during the bubonic plague, a bacterial infection which killed many people in the 18th century.


The relational model is the most commonly used data model for storing large datasets, perhaps due to the simplicity of the tabular format which had revolutionized database management systems. However, many real world objects are recursive and associative in nature which makes storage in the relational model difficult. The hypergraph model is a generalization of a graph model, where each hypernode can be made up of other nodes or graphs and each hyperedge can be made up of one or more edges. It may address the recursive and associative limitations of relational model. However, the hypergraph model is non-tabular; thus, loses the simplicity of the relational model. In this study, we consider the means to convert a relational model into a hypergraph model in two layers. At the bottom layer, each relational tuple can be considered as a star graph centered where the primary key node is surrounded by non-primary key attributes. At the top layer, each tuple is a hypernode, and a relation is a set of hypernodes. We presented a reference implementation of relational operators (project, rename, select, inner join, natural join, left join, right join, outer join and Cartesian join) on a hypergraph model. Using a simple example, we demonstrate that a relation and relational operators can be implemented on this hypergraph model.