Low-frequency acoustical responses are naturally position dependent across wide listening areas. This is predominantly due to room modes in small, closed spaces. Numerous methodologies have been proposed targeting room mode compensation to give an objectively even response across all listening locations. These techniques cannot guarantee, however, that every listener receives an equally pleasing subjective response. Chameleon subwoofer arrays (CSA) were originally developed to minimize low-frequency spatiotemporal variations by addressing frequency response errors at multiple listening locations using a subwoofer system consisting of multiple degrees of freedom. The CSA system can alternatively be utilized to control listening locations independently, allowing each listener to adjust their localized low-frequency response to their liking. This alternate CSA implementation is evaluated using a bespoke finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm for small home theater applications.


Microfinance supports mainly informal activities that often have a low return and low market demand. It may therefore be hypothesized that the aggregate poverty impact of microfinance is modest or even nonexistent. If true; the poverty impact of microfinance observed at the participant level represents either income redistribution or short-run income generation from the microfinance intervention. This article examines the effects of microfinance on poverty reduction at both the participant and the aggregate levels using panel data from Bangladesh. The results suggest that access to microfinance contributes to poverty reduction; especially for female participants; and to overall poverty reduction at the village level. Microfinance thus helps not only poor participants but also the local economy.


Our study is based on the traditional Becker-Ehrlich deterrence model, but we analyse the model in the face of currently discussed factors of crime like demographic changes, youth-unemployment and income inequality. We use a panel of the German Laender (states) that allows us to exploit different experiences in densely and sparsely populated areas as well as in East and West Germany. Our results are based on static and dynamic panel econometrics/criminometrics. They confirm the deterrence hypothesis for crime against property. Only weak support can be observed for crime against the person. Economic and demographic factors reveal important and significant influences. Being young and unemployed increases the probability of committing crimes.


Fiberglass reinforced flexible pipe (FRFP) is a kind of composite thermoplastic pipe, which has many advantages compared to boned flexible pipes. This paper describes an analysis of the mechanical behavior of FRFP under bending. The bending behavior of FRFP was investigated by experimental, analytical and numerical methods. Firstly, this paper presents experimental studies of three 10-layer FRFP in a typical four-point bending test. Curvature-bending moment relations were recorded during the test. Then, based on the nonlinear ring theory and the principle of virtual work, a simplified method was proposed to study the mechanical behavior of FRFP. In addition, a finite element model (FEM) including reinforced layers and high density polyethylene (HDPE) layers was established to simulate the HDPE layers and reinforced layers, respectively. The result of Curvature-bending moment relations obtained from three methods agree well with each other, which proves that the simplified analytical model and FEM are accurate and reliable. The conclusions of this paper could be useful to manufacturing engineers.


The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan presents a paradox. While international efforts to stabilise the country have been steadily increasing since 2001, the same period has been marked by a return to violence and constant escalation of the conflict. The Taliban's growing strength is often attributed to the weakness of the Afghan state in extending authority and delivering public goods. Less attention has been paid to the ways in which power and authority are exercised and experienced in Afghanistan. In the current system of governance, abuse of power has become endemic and has emerged as a major driver of persistent conflict. This paper examines some of the key actors and forms of abuse and identifies a set of mechanisms by which abuse of power stimulates conflict persistence.


In the antioxidant defense system, superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the breakdown of superoxide into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. In the cecum, the influence of intestinal microflora on SOD activity is unknown. In this study, we used germ-free (GF) mice to examine the effect of intestinal microflora on SOD activity in the cecum, and SOD activity was compared between GF and conventional (CV) mice. The activity of CuZnSOD and MnSOD was determined using the SOD Assay Kit-WST. Expressions of CuZnSOD mRNA and protein were determined by real-time PCR and western blot analyses, respectively. The activities of CuZnSOD and MnSOD were significantly higher in the ceca of GF IQI and FVB/N strain mice than in CV mice (P<0.01-0.05). The gene expressions of CuZnSOD mRNA in the ceca of GF mice were significantly higher than those in CV mice (P<0.05), and CuZnSOD protein expression showed similar tendencies. Consistent with the abovementioned results, the total SOD activity in conventionalized mice decreased to the level of total SOD activity observed in the ceca of CV mice. Furthermore, no differences between GF and CV mice were observed in the SOD activities in the liver and thymus. Our results suggest that the antioxidant defense system in the mouse cecum is influenced by the intestinal microflora that downregulate SOD activity.


The way of firm clustering of Small and Medium Enterprise is categorized into horizontal division and vertical division, and horizontal division is the most typical category of firm clustering for Small and Medium Enterprise. But extant theories such as transaction cost and transaction relationship have no power to explain why horizontal division firms cluster at first. Considering information as analytical units and borrowing from informational economics, this article finds that: â—‹1information production and information transfer are the main differences between firm cluster and other market organizations; â—‹2firm cluster is one kind of regulation arrangement which can reduce information cost.


In this paper, a new blind selected mapping (BSLM) scheme is proposed for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. The proposed BSLM scheme embeds the side information identifying a phase sequence into itself by giving the optimal phase offset to the elements of each phase sequence, which are determined by the biorthogonal vectors for the partitioned subblocks. When U phase sequences and maximum likelihood decoder are used, the proposed BSLM scheme reduces the decoding complexity by (U-2)/U compared with the conventional BSLM scheme. Also, pairwise error probability (PEP) analysis for the proposed BSLM scheme is performed over the fading channel. Based on the PEP analysis, the bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed BSLM scheme is shown to be determined by the subblock partitioning and phase offset. Finally, it is shown that for QPSK and 16-QAM, the detection failure probability and the BER of the proposed BSLM scheme are almost the same as those of the conventional BSLM scheme through numerical analysis.


Decision making is the physician's major activity. Every day, in doctors' offices throughout the world, patients describe their symptoms and com plaints while doctors perform examinations, order tests, and, on the basis of these data, decide what is wrong and what should be done. Although the process may appear routine-even to the physicians in volved-each step in the sequence requires skilled clinical judgment. Physicians must decide: which symptoms are important, whether any laboratory tests should be done, how the various items of clinical data should be combined, and, finally, which of several treatments (including doing nothing) is indicated. Although much of the information used in clinical decision making is objective, the physician's values (a belief that pain relief is more important than potential addiction to pain-killing drugs, for example) and subjectivity are as much a part of the clinical process as the objective findings of laboratory tests. In recent years, both physicians and psychologists have come to realize that patient management decisions are not only subjective but also prob abilistic (although this is not always acknowledged overtly). When doc tors argue that an operation is fairly safe because it has a mortality rate of only 1 %, they are at least implicitly admitting that the outcome of their decision is based on probability."


A method for isolating transcriptionally competent RNA from fresh, frozen, and lyophilized plant storage tissues containing high levels of starch and phenolics is described. The protocol avoids the use of guanidium salts, which often lead to the formation of a viscous gel during extraction of high starch-containing tissues, and instead uses a borate-Tris buffer in combination with high concentrations of NaCl, Na2SO3, and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the extraction medium. RNA was extracted from fresh, frozen, and lyophilized tissues of potato tubers, storage roots of sweet potato, radish, and turnip, and rhizomes of ginger. The yield of RNA from potato tubers averaged 281 microg g fresh weight(-1) and 1584 microg g dry weight(-1) from frozen and lyophilized samples, respectively. A260/A230 ratios of potato RNA extracts were 2.2 or greater, indicating minimal contamination by polyphenols and carbohydrates. Similarly, A260/A280 ratios exceeded 1.9, demonstrating minimal contamination of the RNA by tuber protein. While A260/A280 ratios of extracts from the other plant species were somewhat lower than those for potato (average = 1.56 and 1.80 for fresh and lyophilized samples, respectively), A260/A230 ratios averaged more than 2.0, and the RNA extracted from fresh and lyophilized samples of all species was intact, as demonstrated by denaturing agarose-formaldehyde gel electrophoresis. The protocol yielded RNA suitable for downstream molecular applications involving reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from all five species. Transcriptionally competent RNA was also recovered from lyophilized potato tuber tissue stored for 6 years (ambient temperature) by a simple modification to the protocol involving extraction in cold acetone. Lyophilization can thus be used to preserve RNA in high starch- and phenolic-containing plant tissues for studies on gene expression.


There is considerable interest in hydrodynamic instabilities in dead zones of protoplanetary disks as a mechanism for driving angular momentum transport and as a source of particle-trapping vortices to mix chondrules and incubate planetesimal formation. We present simulations with a pseudo-spectral anelastic code and with the compressible code Athena, showing that stably stratified flows in a shearing, rotating box are violently unstable and produce space-filling, sustained turbulence dominated by large vortices with Rossby numbers of order ∼0.2–0.3. This Zombie Vortex Instability (ZVI) is observed in both codes and is triggered by Kolmogorov turbulence with Mach numbers less than ∼0.01. It is a common view that if a given constant density flow is stable, then stable vertical stratification should make the flow even more stable. Yet, we show that sufficient vertical stratification can be unstable to ZVI. ZVI is robust and requires no special tuning of boundary conditions, or initial radial entropy or vortensity gradients (though we have studied ZVI only in the limit of infinite cooling time). The resolution of this paradox is that stable stratification allows for a new avenue to instability: baroclinic critical layers. ZVI has not been seen in previous studies of flows in rotating, shearing boxes because those calculations frequently lacked vertical density stratification and/or sufficient numerical resolution. Although we do not expect appreciable angular momentum transport from ZVI in the small domains in this study, we hypothesize that ZVI in larger domains with compressible equations may lead to angular transport via spiral density waves.


BACKGROUND
Supportive therapy is often used in everyday clinical care and in evaluative studies of other treatments.

OBJECTIVES
To estimate the effects of supportive therapy for people with schizophrenia.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's register of trials (January 2004), supplemented by manual reference searching and contact with authors of relevant reviews or studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All randomised trials involving people with schizophrenia and comparing supportive therapy with any other treatment or standard care.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We reliably selected studies, quality rated these and extracted data. For dichotomous data, we estimated the relative risk (RR) fixed effect with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Where possible, we undertook intention-to-treat analyses. For statistically significant results, we calculated the number needed to treat/harm (NNT/H). We estimated heterogeneity (I-square technique) and publication bias.

MAIN RESULTS
We included 21 relevant studies. We found no significant differences in the primary outcomes between supportive therapy and standard care. There were, however, significant differences favouring other psychological or psychosocial treatments over supportive therapy. These included hospitalisation rates (3 RCTs, n=241, RR 2.12 CI 1.2 to 3.6, NNT 8) but not relapse rates (5 RCTs, n=270, RR 1.18 CI 0.9 to 1.5). We found that the results for general functioning significantly favoured cognitive behavioural therapy compared with supportive therapy in the short (1 RCT, n=70, WMD -9.50 CI -16.1 to -2.9), medium (1 RCT, n=67, WMD -12.6 CI -19.4 to -5.8) and long term (2 RCTs, n=78, SMD -0.50 CI -1.0 to -0.04), but the clinical significance of these findings based on few data is unclear. Participants were less likely to be satisfied with care if receiving supportive therapy compared with cognitive behavioural treatment (1 RCT, n=45, RR 3.19 CI 1.0 to 10.1, NNT 4 CI 2 to 736). The results for mental state and symptoms were unclear in the comparisons with other therapies. No data were available to assess the impact of supportive therapy on engagement with structured activities.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There are insufficient data to identify a difference in outcome between supportive therapy and standard care. There are several outcomes, including hospitalisation and general mental state, indicating advantages for other psychological therapies over supportive therapy but these findings are based on a few small studies. Future research would benefit from larger trials that use supportive therapy as the main treatment arm rather than the comparator.


The stability of μc-Si:H materials for solar cells was well researched. The light induced degradation of intrinsic μc-Si:H single layer material with different crystal volume fraction deposited were studied. The dependence of light-sensitivity as well as sub gap absorption on light soaking time was monitored. The results clearly showed that the magnitude of relative light induced degradation is closely related to material structure. Amorphous fraction is the key determining factor to light induced degradation. The results showed clearly that the magnitude of relative efficiency degradation is increase with amorphous fraction. The more amorphous fraction located in material, the more degradation was been found. With better structure and optical properties, microcrystalline silicon with transition region is more suitable for the manufacturing of stable Microcrystalline silicon solar cells due to the structure and optical properties.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Refractory stage M neuroblastoma (NB) is associated with a poor prognosis and a progressive course of disease. Here, we describe a unique group of patients with a discrepant clinical course. Seven histologically confirmed ganglioneuroblastoma (GNB) (n=6) and differentiating NB (n=1) patients were identified who were diagnosed with stage M disease based on iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine avid bone metastases. Six patients started on high-risk treatment, without tumor response (stable disease). Treatment was discontinued before the start of consolidation treatment because of refractory response in all patients. Unexpectedly, after cessation of treatment no progression of disease occurred. In 2 patients, the primary tumors expanded (>25%) very slowly during 1.5 and 3 years, and remained stable thereafter. Metabolically, a slow decrease of urinary homovanillic acid and vanillylmandelic acid levels and iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine avidity was observed. All patients are alive with presence of metastatic disease after a median follow-up of 17 years (range: 6.7 to 27 y). Interestingly, at diagnosis, 6 patients were asymptomatic, 6 patients had GNB morphology, and 5 patients had meningeal metastases. These are all features seen in only a small minority of stage M patients. This GNB entity illustrates the clinical heterogeneity of neuroblastic tumors and can be used to further study the developmental origin of different NB subtypes.


A new regulation technique based on duty cycle control of the average currents in the multi-phase switched capacitor converters (SCC) is proposed, analyzed, and verified experimentally for the No effective Charging (NC) case, also known as the fast switching limit (FSL). The regulation is accomplished by adjusting the value of the SCC equivalent resistor. To this end the time slots allotted to each of the SCC topologies are adjusted, while the total switching period is kept constant. The time slots are represented by master and slave duty cycles. By this, the SCC output voltage is expressed analytically as a function of the master duty cycle. In a similar way, analytical expressions for the voltages across the flying capacitors and for the average currents in each of the topologies can be obtained. Excellent agreement was found between the theoretical and experimental results.


Abstract. The Caribbean is a biodiversity hotspot due to its rich biodiversity and wholesale loss of primary vegetation. Yet, there is a paucity of studies on the status and trends of terrestrial avifauna populations in the region. We combined survey data from six habitats (Quill and Gilboa Hill, Town, Botanical Garden, Garden Road, and Venus Bay) on a small Lesser Antillean island over a seven-year period. Species abundance and richness varied among habitats, with Town having the highest species richness. Logistic regressions revealed significant differences among habitat and year (P = 0.008), but not foraging guild, season, rainfall or elevation (P > 0.05). The Quill (P = 0.0003) and Town (P = 0.001) differed significantly from the other habitats surveyed. Granivorous + frugivorous and omnivorous species were most commonly detected in the Quill, whereas nectarivores and granivores were most commonly detected in Town. The influence of total annual precipitation on bird detection rates was unsubstantial. However, site-specific climate data for the different habitats are not available. Though resident landbird populations on St. Eustatius were stable over the survey period, we recommend that annual monitoring continue in the same habitats, especially following extensive vegetation damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 and in light of predicted global climate change. The results of our monitoring proved useful in evaluating protected areas and Important Bird Areas compared with non-protected areas. We encourage island researchers and conservation stewards to initiate similar long-term monitoring in order to determine the status of their resident landbird populations.


Refractive-index variations in the atmosphere cause errors in radar measurements. This paper presents the results of a theoretical study of the elevation-angle error due to the refraction of electromagnetic waves in the troposphere. The study is based upon ray theory, using standard meteorological data reported by the United States Weather Bureau for the surface and the standard pressure levels. Computed errors are tabulated for thirty-four monthly mean refractive-index profiles selected as being representative of various type air masses for different seasons and latitudes. In order to get an indication of the spread in propagation errors to be expected during a particular season for fixed locations, computations have been carded out based on the 0300Z soundings for the odd days of January (1950-1954) and July (1950-1953) for nine U. S. locations. The diurnal influence is investigated by analyzing the variations in surface refractive index for January and July, 1953, and also for nine U. S. locations.


Abstract The Welcome Swallow was first recorded breeding in New Zealand in 1958, but is now common and widespread. Using nest record cards collected throughout New Zealand between 1962 and 1996 we investigated whether measures of breeding success showed temporal trends consistent with the effects of density dependence due to increased population densities. Controlling for potentially confounding factors, we found that: (i) breeding has occurred earlier in more recent years, (ii) nests in more recent years were more likely to produce fledglings, and (iii) there are no temporal trends in clutch size or the probability of at least one offspring failing to fledge. These results suggest that population densities have not yet reached the threshold at which density dependence limits breeding success. Earlier laying in more recent years is compatible with a response to global warming. As predicted for multiple-brooded species, clutch size exhibited a mid-season peak, the timing of which is consistent with the decline in the second half of the season being due to reduced foraging time. There was no evidence for a latitudinal gradient in clutch size within New Zealand.


Background STOPP/START is recognised as a simple and efficient tool for detecting potentially inappropriate drug prescriptions (PIP) in persons aged 65 or older. In our hospital, no screening tool allows us to detect these prescriptions. Purpose The purpose of this study was to estimate the quality of the drug prescriptions given to patients admitted to the geriatric department. It also analysed the prescriptions to ensure patients were given a safe prescription that complied with current recommendations when they were discharged. Material and methods Between June and August 2016, patients included were at least 65 years old, with multiple pathologies, and hospitalised in the geriatric department of a university hospital centre. Patients were excluded if they did not have a personal treatment when they were admitted to the service. When the patient was admitted, a prescription analysis was made using 115 STOPP/START criteria and clinical/biological data extracted from the electronic patient record (Axigate). When a drug was not in accordance with the recommendations, a pharmaceutical opinion (PO) was written on computerised prescriptions from PHARMA software to alert the prescriber and to suggest an alternative medication. Other prescription errors were also reported: patient weight not specified, contraindications and poor transcription of the patient's personal medication. When the patient was discharged, the prescription was analysed a second time to evaluate the appropriateness of the drugs prescribed. Results 127 patients were included in the study. 57 prescriptions needed one or more POs, and a total of 76 POs were written. 53 POs (70%) corresponded to non-compliances related to the prescription. 32 were addressed and rectified by the prescriber. The remaining 23 POs (30%) dealt with products from the STOPP/START list. Prescribers re-evaluated and adapted treatment in 48% of cases, representing 11 of the 23 POs. The STOPP/START tool detected PIP in 11 patients and enabled treatment optimisations. Finally, 60% of POs were reassessed and modified by prescribers. Of the 127 patients included, 104 (82%) left the hospital with an appropriate prescription. Conclusion The use of the STOPP/START tool allowed quick and easy optimisation of the prescriptions for a significant number of patients. The detection of PIP avoided the occurrence of side effects in older people. References and/or acknowledgements STOPP/START. v2 criteria: PO Lang No conflict of interest


A behavior model for screw connections is developed to provide a better representation of the nonlinear response of thin steel plate shear walls (TSPSWs) with infill plates attached to the boundary frame members via self-drilling screws. This analytical representation is based on the load-bearing deformation relationship between the infill plate and the screw threads. The model can be easily implemented in strip models of TSPSWs where the tension field action of the infill plates is represented by a series of parallel discrete tension-only strips. Previously reported experimental results from tests of two different TSPSWs are used to provide experimental validation of the modeling approach. The beam-to-column connection behavior was also included in the analyses using a four parameter rotational spring model that was calibrated to a test of an identical frame as used for the TSPSW specimens but without the infill plates. The complete TSPSW models consisting of strips representing the infill plates, zero length elements representing the load-bearing deformation response of the screw connection at each end of the strips and the four parameter spring model at each beam-to-column connection are shown to have good agreement with the experimental results. The resulting models should enable design and analysis of TSPSWs for both new construction and retrofit of existing buildings.


Smart environments that can adapt based on the current context are extremely useful for automating even simple, mundane tasks. The key components of such an environment are sources that can extract the raw context, a synthesizer that can draw inferences by aggregating the context from different sources, and a set of policies that drive the adaptation. In this paper, we describe a context-based adaptation system to alleviate the distraction caused by one of the most ubiquitous devices of modern day - the mobile phone. Our system makes use of sources, such as RFID devices, that employ near-field communication technology to extract raw context. We describe how we adapt the roles of these devices to extract both environmental and personal context. To reduce the distraction caused by mobile phones, we have developed a policy-based mechanism to enable context-based adaptation of these devices. We have implemented a prototype of our system and conducted some usage studies. We describe the details of our implementation and present the lessons learned from the usability experiments


This study investigated the role of Human Resource Management practices in age discrimination and employee commitment in the Nigerian banking sector. The study was motivated by the need to understand how the configuration of Human Resource (HR) practices in terms of age inclusivity are related to perceptions of discrimination on the grounds of age, and the relationship between perceived age discrimination, affective commitment and turnover intentions in culturally diverse and developing countries like Nigeria. An empirical quantitative approach was adopted for this study, based on six hundred and fifty-six employees from seventeen wholly-owned Nigerian banks. A number of hypothesised relationships were developed and tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) while PROCESS was used to test the moderating effects on the relationships. This thesis extends the knowledge in diversity management, specifically in a diverse sample, first by revealing how [age] discrimination is manifested, and how and why commitment might be perceived, expressed and experienced in different contexts. The implications of these findings for context-specific diversity management are presented.

The findings show that in organisations with no age-inclusive HR practices, employees perceived greater age discrimination and were less committed to their organisations and low employee commitment was associated with higher turnover intentions. Furthermore, diversity management practices were found to moderate the main effect between perceived age discrimination and employee commitment in such a way that the relationship was weaker when a high level of diversity management was introduced. This thesis makes important contributions to both theory and literature in the field of Human Resource Management research by extending the empirical application of Social Exchange Theory. It demonstrates how the predicted relationships also hold in a previously unstudied context by evidencing the moderating effect of diversity management on the relationship between perceived age discrimination and employee commitment. This study offers practical information to managers and policymakers regarding the impact of age discrimination during recruitment that may not put their organisations at a competitive advantage. Finally, this study will encourage policymakers to put measures in place to enforce existing laws on discrimination which will help in improving performance and reduce the number of unemployed youths, thus boosting the country's economy.


The Glaserne Kette ('Glass' or 'Crystal' Chain, depending on the translation) is also referred to as the utopian correspondence. In 1919 Bruno Taut organised an exhibition for unbekannte Architekten (unknown architects) at a gallery in Berlin. Following critical acclaim for this show, Taut asked like-minded exhibitors to exchange letters and designs for a better society. A dozen architects and artists answered his call to 'break up and undermine all former principles' via pseudonymous letters, and in just over a year created a pivotal moment in Expressionist creativity. They were fervent about the transformative power of architecture to effect moral regeneration. Throughout the sixty or so illustrated letters exchanged between the correspondents, there are prescient visions of spontaneous growth and autogenetic materials that anticipate the advanced fabrication technologies available to us only now.

After a century dominated by rational modernism, the Glaserne Kette's visionary modus operandum is a model for collaboration between artists and designers now. Leading up to the centenary of that seminal experiment in collectivity, sculptors, architects, filmmakers, glass artists and animators have taken inspiration from the Glaserne Kette's call for autogenous creativity and spontaneous invention. This book arises from a contemporary Glass Chain who have exchanged ideas, creating and co-authoring work that celebrates the ethos of those utopian Expressionists. We have used digital communications as a contemporary equivalent of the Glaserne Kette's epistolary exchanges, and have utilised both traditional and digital fabrication methods to develop new modes of collaborative practice across our individual disciplines. Our aim, like theirs, was to wonder about the ideal worlds that future technologies might enable, acknowledging that our visions, like theirs, would inescapably reflect our historical and contextual starting point.


My thesis project positions the fiction of South African author J.M. Coetzee as a critical investigation into the tradition of the European Enlightenment, which subtends, anticipates, and reifies the excesses of colonial and neocolonial imperialism. I will examine Coetzee's treatment of speech while situating his critique of capital-r reason within a larger discussion of ethical responsibility toward the Other. Using Gayatri Spivak's interrogation of the work of Immanuel Kant, I will argue that Kant's construction of reason as superior to imagination in its perception of imaginative lack when confronted with the unpresentable, sublates the lack of control that emerges if the colonist perceives the 'savage' mass of colonial territory as anything other than infinitely beyond his imaginative capacity, and therefore beyond ethical obligation. I will also present an exegesis of J.L. Austin's speech act theory that will illuminate the alliance between reason and speech in the colonial arena, drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida and Judith Butler to locate a similarly poststructuralist impulse in two of Coetzee's early novels, Waiting for the Barbarians and Foe. Finally, I will argue that in one of Coetzee's later works, Disgrace, the power of the rational speech act gives way to a respect for the Other's suffering through an emphasis on nonverbal sound, which vectors ethical responsibility away from a model of obligation and towards a model of care that must, as Spivak contends, be alive to "the intuition that ethics are a problem of relation before they are a task of knowledge."


The author outlines the major principles and structure of post-graduate training in the USSR. There are 16 special post-graduate institutes for physicians in the USSR, with 14 chairs of psychiatry. For special branches of psychiatry post-graduate training is accomplished in Psychiatric Research Institutes. The training of professionals in institutes for post-graduate training is implemented through training courses oriented in line with the level of professional skills of the trainees (primary courses, for psychiatrists with a background, for professors) One of the forms of post-graduate training are visiting courses of the teacher-body of the Central Institute for Advanced Medical Training to various regions of the country. Teaching is conducted according to detailed elaborated programmes.


The protracted global COVID-19 pandemic urges the development of new drugs against the causative agent SARS-CoV-2. The clinically used glycopeptide antibiotic, teicoplanin, emerged as a potential antiviral, and its efficacy was improved with lipophilic modifications. This prompted us to prepare new lipophilic apocarotenoid conjugates of teicoplanin, its pseudoaglycone and the related ristocetin aglycone. Their antiviral effect was tested against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cells, using a cell viability assay and quantitative PCR of the viral RNA, confirming their micromolar inhibitory activity against viral replication. Interestingly, two of the parent apocarotenoids, bixin and β-apo-8′carotenoic acid, exerted remarkable anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Mechanistic studies involved cathepsin L and B, as well as the main protease 3CLPro, and the results were rationalized by computational studies. Glycopeptide conjugates show dual inhibitory action, while apocarotenoids have mostly cathepsin B and L affinity. Since teicoplanin is a marketed antibiotic and the natural bixin is an approved, cheap and widely used red colorant food additive, these readily available compounds and their conjugates as potential antivirals are worthy of further exploration.


PURPOSE
To develop a safe and effective technique for laparoscopic partial nephrectomy without need for hilar occlusion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Laparoscopic transperitoneal lower-pole partial nephrectomy was performed in five 45- to 50-kg female farm pigs using a 980-nm diode laser. Standard transperitoneal access was obtained, and a four-port approach was used to perform a laparoscopic right partial nephrectomy using a diode laser (23 W) without hilar occlusion. The pigs were allowed to recover and 2 weeks later underwent a left laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Postoperatively, renal function was monitored by serial serum creatinine measurements. Both kidneys and ureters were removed for ex-vivo retrograde pyelograms and histologic analysis.

RESULTS
The 980-nm diode laser resulted in successful lower-pole partial nephrectomy without hilar occlusion in all 10 of the kidneys. In three cases, laser hemostasis was insufficient, and adjunctive hemostatic clips were necessary to stop bleeding. The mean operative time was 126 minutes, and the mean laser time was 84 minutes. An average of 23% (range 13%-33%) of the kidney parenchyma was resected. The mean blood loss was 150 mL (range 50-300 mL). There was no evidence of urinary extravasation on ex-vivo retrograde pyelograms at 2 weeks in any of the kidneys.

CONCLUSION
Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy without hilar occlusion using the 980-nm diode laser is feasible in the porcine model. Because adjunctive hemostatic measures may be necessary in some cases, clinical trials in humans should be limited to small exophytic tumors.


The localization of Na+,K+-ATPase in cardiomyocytes of white rats at the ultrastructural level and the dependence of enzyme activeness on electronic density of structures, were studied. Na+,K+-ATPase activity was revealed in plasmalemma, Z-membranes and in nuclei. The enzyme activity is distributed discretely both within the tissue and within separate cells. It is, probably, due to the heterogeneity of structural-functional condition of cells and their ultrastructures as revealed by means of electronic microscopy in terms of their different electronic density. The maximal Na+,K+-ATPase activeness was revealed at the average electronic density of structures.


Background Health and social care workers (HSCWs) are at risk of experiencing adverse mental health outcomes (e.g. higher levels of anxiety and depression) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This can have a detrimental effect on quality of care, the national response to the pandemic and its aftermath. Aims A longitudinal design provided follow-up evidence on the mental health (changes in prevalence of disease over time) of NHS staff working at a remote health board in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigated the determinants of mental health outcomes over time. Method A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted from July to September 2020. Participants self-reported levels of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) at baseline and 1.5 months later. Results The analytic sample of 169 participants, working in community (43%) and hospital (44%) settings, reported substantial levels of depression and anxiety, and low mental well-being at baseline (depression, 30.8%; anxiety, 20.1%; well-being, 31.9%). Although mental health remained mostly constant over time, the proportion of participants meeting the threshold for anxiety increased to 27.2% at follow-up. Multivariable modelling indicated that working with, and disruption because of, COVID-19 were associated with adverse mental health changes over time. Conclusions HSCWs working in a remote area with low COVID-19 prevalence reported substantial levels of anxiety and depression, similar to those working in areas with high COVID-19 prevalence. Efforts to support HSCW mental health must remain a priority, and should minimise the adverse effects of working with, and disruption caused by, the COVID-19 pandemic.


Abstract. The calving fronts of many tidewater glaciers in
Greenland have been undergoing strong seasonal and interannual
fluctuations. Conventionally, calving front positions have been manually
delineated from remote sensing images. But manual practices can be
labor-intensive and time-consuming, particularly when processing a large
number of images taken over decades and covering large areas with many
glaciers, such as Greenland. Applying U-Net, a deep learning architecture,
to multitemporal synthetic aperture radar images taken by the TerraSAR-X
satellite, we here automatically delineate the calving front positions of
Jakobshavn Isbræ from 2009 to 2015. Our results are consistent with the
manually delineated products generated by the Greenland Ice Sheet Climate
Change Initiative project. We show that the calving fronts of Jakobshavn's
two main branches retreated at mean rates of -117±1 and
-157±1 m yr−1, respectively, during the years 2009 to 2015. The
interannual calving front variations can be roughly divided into three
phases for both branches. The retreat rates of the two branches tripled and
doubled, respectively, from phase 1 (April 2009–January 2011) to phase 2
(January 2011–January 2013) and then stabilized to nearly zero in phase 3
(January 2013–December 2015). We suggest that the retreat of the calving
front into an overdeepened basin whose bed is retrograde may have
accelerated the retreat after 2011, while the inland–uphill bed slope behind
the bottom of the overdeepened basin has prevented the glacier from
retreating further after 2012. Demonstrating through this successful case
study on Jakobshavn Isbræ and due to the transferable nature of deep
learning, our methodology can be applied to many other tidewater glaciers
both in Greenland and elsewhere in the world, using multitemporal and
multisensor remote sensing imagery.


In the event of a nuclear weapon detonation or a power plant accident radionuclides will deposit on the ground. It is then important to identify and quantify the radionuclides to obtain information necessary for radiation protection efforts like relocation and decontamination.

Radiation protection instruments with beta probes can be used as search instruments but the small surface of the probe and the lack of separation of beta energy are limitations concerning identification and quantification of the important radionuclide Sr-90. The present alternative for Sr-90 analysis is to collect grass and soil samples and perform time consuming radiochemistry and measurements.

Using a plastic scintillation detector, Sr-90 and the daughter radionuclide yttrium-90 can be identified and quantified. Sr-90 is of special interest due to its uptake and accumulation in the human skeleton. The high beta energy from Y-90 can be utilised to discriminate this radionuclide from other pure beta emitting radionuclides with lower beta energies.

Photomultiplier tubes (PMT) have been the common choice for light collection from scintillating materials for a long period of time. The development of alternatives has been successful the last years in form of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). Silicon photomultiplier is a photodiode consisting of multiple cells operating in Geiger mode.

The setup consisted of a 15 mm thick plastic scintillator disc where a 1.5 meter long wavelength shifting fibre was wired around the edge surfaces and coupled to a SiPM mounted in a power supply and amplification unit. The signal was processed by a digitizer and the data was analysed using a laptop PC. The measurements were performed with a Sr-90/Y-90 source, a Cs-137 source and a Co-60 source. Uniformity, protection from ambient light, temperature dependence was investigated. The SiPM sensitivity to beta particles was tested by exposing the SiPM to Sr-90/Y-90 without a detector. The evaluation of the CAEN SP5600 kit was done by using the mini spectrometer and the three detectors for collection of spectra from Sr-90/Y-90 and Cs-137.

The setup was not totally light tight, but the ambient light wouldn't disturb the measurements of radionuclides. The setup was uniform regarding collection of beta particles from a Sr-90/Y- 90 source, but the SiPM could yield a signal if it was hit by beta particles directly. The detection limit is currently relatively high, but there is a potential for considerable
improvements.

Regarding the evaluation of the CAEN SP5600 kit, the associated mini spectrometer
containing a 3 x 3 mm2 SiPM and three different types of detectors were used. This resulted in low detection limits and easy identification and quantification of Sr-90/Y-90. The conclusion is that it is possible to measure Sr-90/Y-90 using a plastic scintillator and a SiPM under laboratory conditions.


Our studies of blood loss in response to various preparations of salicylates, corticosteroids, and other antirheumatic drugs have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Meanwhile we feel that, despite its signal value in the management of the joint pains and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis, aspirin has serious and unpredictable disadvantages in a minority of patients, and is responsible for more iatrogenic disease than can be regarded with complacency. The situation calls for renewed efforts on the part of drug firms to produce an effective preparation which is free from these undesirable effects.-We are. etc. ALLAN ST. J. DIXON. J. T. ScOrr. Hammersmith Hospital. E. A. HARVEY-SMITH. London, W.12. REFERENCES Porter, I. H., Lewis, M., and Dixon, A. St. J., Ann. rheurn. Dis., 1959, 18, 62. Hagberg, B., Wallenius, G., and Wranne, L., Scand. J. clin. Lab. Invest., 1958, 10, 63.


Using polarizable (AMOEBA) and non-polarizable (CHARMM) force fields, we compare the relative free energy stability of two extreme conformations of the HIV-1 NCp7 nucleocapsid that had been previously experimentally advocated to prevail in solution. Using accelerated sampling techniques, we show that they differ in stability by no more than 0.75-1.9 kcal/mol depending on the reference protein sequence. While the extended form appears to be the most probable structure, both forms should thus coexist in water explaining the differing NMR findings.


Sirlei Terezinha Bennemann, S. T.; Casatti, L. and Oliveira, D.C. Fish feeding: a proposal for analysis of the stomach content. Biota Neotrop. May/Sep 2006 vol. 6, no. 2, http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v6n2/pt/abstract?article+bn01206022006. ISSN 1676-0603 This study aimed to test a simplified protocol for feeding fish analysis. For this, the food items found in the gastric contents of six freshwater fish species (Astyanax paranae, Phalloceros caudimaculatus, Loricariichthys platymetopon, Moenkhausia intermedia, Schizodon intermedius, and Plagioscion squamosissimus) were quantified by weight (%) and dominance (%). Using the quantification by weight for each food item, the IAi (Feeding Index) was calculated and further compared with the dominance (D) using the Morisita-Horn similarity coefficient. The food items with higher values of IAi were also those with the largest dominance values. The general similarity between IAi and dominance (D) was high, varying of 87% (A. paranae) to 99% (P. caudimaculatus, L. platymetopon, S. intermedius, and P. squamosissimus), showing that dominance can replace composed indexes calculation. The graphic representation of weight and dominance against the frequency of occurrence showed that both are adequate to identify the most important food items, revealing that dominance may alternatively be used instead of prey items weighting, simplifying the data collection and analysis. When the objective of the trophic study is to identify the food items that stand out in quantitative terms or investigate specialization/generalization tendencies, we recommend the use of the dominance in combination to graphic methods.


Thermodynamic parameters have been obtained for the complexes formed between protons, first Transition Series metal ions and the asparaginate ion in aqueous solution at 25°C in an ionic background of 3.00 M (sodium) perchlorate. The metal ions under consideration are manganese(II), iron(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II). The techniques employed were potentiometry to obtain the formation constants (and hence ΔG°) for the complexes, and aqueous titration calorimetry to obtain the corresponding ΔH° (and hence Δs°) values. The results show that iron, cobalt, nickel and zinc are capable of binding up to three asparaginate ligands, whereas for manganese and copper the maximum number of bound ligands is two. All the complexes reported one simple AnB species: no hydroxy, protonated or polynuclear species were detected. The results are used (l) to discuss an unusual "homologue" effect whereby the trends among homologues for bonding to protons and to metal ions are opposite to each other, this apparently being a repercussion of solvation differences between homologues and (2) to show that quite a large proportion of asparaginate in blood plasma may be complexed to Zn(II), Fe(II), and Co(II), as well as the expected Cu(II). The techniques of potentiometry and calorimetry are further employed to determine the thermodynamic parameters for three ternary systems, one, copper(II)-histidinate-threoninate, which is known to exist in vivo, and two others, copper(II)-asparaginate-histidinate and copper(II)-asparaginate-threoninate, which have not yet been detected. Structures are suggested for the complexes Cu.asn.his,H+, Cu.asn.his.thr. , Cu.asn.thr. Cu.his.thr. and Cu.his.thr.H+ . In these complexes histidinate is tridentate to Cu(II), threoninate is bidentate and asparaginate is intermediate between bi and tridentate. The site of proton attachment in the protonated complexes is the primary amine site of the histidinate ligand. Throughout the work extensive use was made of computer programs, all of which are described in the chapter entitled "Computational Aspects".


Abstract We examined a 63-year data set of dates of first spring sightings for 96 species of migrant birds at Delta Marsh, Manitoba, and considered the influence of local climate change on those arrival dates. Mean monthly spring temperatures increased (0.6–3.8°C) for all four months considered; however, trends for February and March were stronger than those for April and May. Over the 63-year period, 27 species significantly altered their arrival dates. Most of those species arrived significantly earlier; whereas only two species, Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) and Lesser Yellowlegs (T. flavipes), arrived significantly later over time. About half of the migrants showed significant relationships between arrival dates and mean temperature for their month of arrival. Fifteen species showed significantly earlier arrivals over time and a significant relationship between arrival date and temperature. We also characterized migrants by taxon, breeding status, and wintering location to determine whether there were any trends for altered arrivals within certain groups. Waterfowl, species that breed at Delta Marsh, and short-distance migrants showed slightly higher incidences of advancing arrival dates compared with other groups. Our results provide evidence that climate warming has influenced spring migration arrival dates of several species in Manitoba. Tendances à Long-terme des Dates d'Arrivée Printanières des Oiseaux Migrateurs dans le Delta Marsh, Manitoba, en Relation avec les Changements Climatiques


Since its 2008 start, G20 summit performance has grown across a widening, more demanding, more domestically intrusive agenda, and across all the governance functions that such bodies have. This growing performance is due to proliferating shocks that exposed the new, equalizing vulnerabilities of all countries, the failure of older international institutions to cope, the rising capabilities and increasing openness of the non-G7 members, the domestic political cohesion that participants brought, and their rational attachment to a compact G20 club at the hub of a global governance network in an interconnected world.


This paper revisits a classical task of learning probabilistic mixture models. Our major goal is to sparsely learn the mixture weights to automatically determine the right number of clusters. The key idea is to use a novel Bernoulli prior on the mixture weights in a Bayesian learning framework, and formalize the task of determining the mixture weights as an `0-regularized optimization problem. By leveraging a specific mathematical structure, we derive a quadratic time algorithm for efficiently solving the non-convex `0-based problem. In experiments, we evaluate the performance of our proposed approach over existing methods in recovery capability and anomaly detection for synthetic as well as realworld data sets.


Chemerin is a novel chemo-attractant and adipokine involved in leukocyte recruitment, inflammation, adipogenesis, lipid/carbohydrate metabolism, and reproduction. Based on the bioinformatic search for putative small peptides in the conserved region of pre-pro-chemerin, an evolutionary conserved region flanked by potential convertase cleavage sites was identified and we named it as C-20. The binding capacity of C-20 to chemerin receptors and its potential bioactivities were investigated in this study.


Replication-defective human adenovirus (Ad) group C transducing vectors, most of which have the E1A, E1B, and E3 genes deleted, are highly inflammatory despite the fact that the parental viruses typically cause subclinical or mild infections. To investigate this paradox, the roles that the E1A, E1B, and E3 genes play in inflammation were tested by using replication-incompetent viruses carrying a deletion of the preterminal protein gene. The viruses were injected into BALB c mouse ears, and edema was monitored as a sensitive surrogate marker of inflammation. A virus deleted for the E1A 289R (transcription activating) protein was noninflammatory, and inhibited edema induced by empty virus particles. The E1A 243R and E1B 55-kDa (p53 binding) proteins play the most important roles in inhibition of inflammation by the noninflammatory virus. The E1B 19-kDa antiapoptotic protein inhibited edema when both the E1A 243R and E1B 55-kDa proteins were expressed but strongly induced edema when only one was expressed. E3 proteins had their greatest effect on the inhibition of edema induced by the E1A 289R protein. The results support a model in which inflammation is countered through a mechanism that involves complex genetic interactions between Ad early region proteins and offer promise for the design and construction of noninflammatory Ad gene therapy vectors that are relatively easy to grow and purify.


A growing popularity in the consumption of foods with low nutritional value is increasing amongst the preschool age groups worldwide, which is partially responsible for the increase of childhood obesity rates globally. Thus, it is vital to examine the eating behavior of preschool aged children, as these are known to effect the daily energy intake. On the contrary, gender differences could possibly also influence the food intake and therefore health-related outcomes in children. In order to investigate the relationship between the children's eating behavior and their gender, a survey was conducted amongst the parents of children aged between 3-7 in Hungary, which included Wardle et al.'s (2001a) 35-item instrument, the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, together with questions concerning possible food allergies and demographics. The sample of size N=365 was then analyzed using SPSS via the INDSCAL method. The initial creators of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire found only one gender difference, namely that the incidence of eating fussiness was slightly higher in boys, the findings of the current study were able to verify this result together with other dissimilarities. The findings indicate that other eating behaviors can be linked to gender, including that girls' desire to drink, which is generally higher than that of boys and that boys tend to eat slower than girls. Boys also lean towards emotional undereating, while girls have a tendency towards emotional overeating. The information above can be of great use to marketers in the food and beverage industry as well as the healthcare industry.


The control of transcription and translation is of fundamental importance in cell biology. In this regard, the nuclear envelope is in a unique position to contribute to the regulation of these events, by directing macromolecular exchanges between the nucleus and cytoplasm. Such exchanges occur through the nuclear pore complexes, mainly by signal-mediated processes. Different signals are required for import and export. Specific cytoplasmic or nuclear receptors initially bind the signal-containing substrate, and the complex subsequently interacts with the pores. Additional factors then assist in translocation across the envelope. Current research is focused mainly on further characterization of transport receptors, translocation factors, as well as components of the nuclear pore complex, i.e., the nucleoporins. The ultimate goal is to understand the molecular interactions that occur among the different components of the transport apparatus, the energy sources for transport, and how variations in transport capacity are generated.


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The introduction of surgical mesh to create a tension free repair in inguinal hernia surgery in the 1990s, was quickly implemented worldwide, because recurrence rates dropped dramatically. Debate on the best surgical approach for this tension-free mesh repair is ongoing . The first part of this thesis presents outcomes on endoscopic mesh repair compared to open mesh repair of inguinal hernia. Our research focused mainly on postoperative pain and other quality of life related outcomes. Chronic postoperative inguinal pain (CPIP) is the current most common complication after inguinal hernia repair. In the second part of this thesis we focused on CPIP. Studies on risk factors for CPIP are presented together with a score-chart to predict patient's individual risk on CPIP.


Abstract— The recently discovered Jiddat al Harasis (JaH) 073 strewn field is the largest found so far in the Sultanate of Oman, covering an area of 19 × 6 km. The 3463 single stones collected range in weight from 52.2 kg down to <1 g (total weight 600.8 kg) and show a pronounced mass sorting. The strewn field shape can be approximated by a NW‐SE‐oriented ellipsoid, indicating an atmospheric entry from SE at a low angle relative to the surface. The meteorite belongs to the L6 ordinary chondrite group and shows S4 average shock grade. Smaller stones generally show a higher weathering grade resulting in a spread from W2 and W4. Enhanced weathering of the stones causing fragmentation after the fall is observed in sandy depressions. Five 14C measurements on stones of variable size and weathering grade yielded 14C from 3.8 to 49.9 dpm/kg. Three samples give a 14C/ 10Be age consistent with about 14.4 ka. For two samples the cosmogenic, trapped, and radiogenic noble gases were measured. The ratio of the 4He and 40Ar gas retention ages of 0.29 ± 0.10 and that of the 3He and 21Ne cosmic ray exposure ages of 0.36 ± 0.08 Ma indicate that JaH 073 experienced a complex exposure history and lost 4He and 40Ar due to a major collision. Fragmentation statistics indicate a single major atmospheric disruption and an originally relatively spherical shape of the object. Assuming the material collected represents the majority of fallen mass, and 90–99% of the original weight was lost by ablation, the pre‐atmospheric minimum radius of the meteoroid with density 3.4 g cm−3would have been at least 75 cm.


This paper presents a novel approach to the problem of finding all subgraph isomorphisms of a (pattern) graph into another
(target) graph. A relational formulation of the problem, combined with a representation of relations and graphs by Boolean
functions, allows to handle the combinatorial explosion in the case of small pattern graphs and large target graphs by using
Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs), which ar= e capable to represent large relations and graphs in small data structures.
Examples are presented that show how all subgraph isomorphisms (120303) of = a small graph into a large graph can be
efficiently computed and represented with a small BDD (57980 nodes).


ABSTRACT Potent second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as brodifacoum have been used as more effective alternatives to first-generation anticoagulants, such as warfarin. A combination of diphacinone at 0.005% and cholecalciferol at 0.06% produces a slow-acting bait that is effective at killing possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and rodents. Cage trials with groups of possums and ship rats (Rattus rattus) achieved a mortality of 87% and 86% for possums and ship rats, respectively. Two field trials, each 200 hectares in size, targeting possums, ship rats and mice achieved an average reduction in the abundance of 94% for possums, 94% for ship rats and 80% for mice. The combination of diphacinone and cholecalciferol appears effective and has a favourable risk profile compared with second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, such as brodifacoum. Approval of this new bait by the New Zealand Environmental Protection Agency was granted in 2018 and final registration obtained from the Ministry of Primary Industries in 2019.


Covid 19 has dramatically changed people's lives around the world. It has shut down schools, companies and workplaces, forcing individuals to stay at home and comply to quarantine orders. Thus, individuals have resorted to the Internet as a means for communicating and sharing information in different domains. Unfortunately, some communities are still unserved by commercial service providers. Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) can be used to fill this gap. One of the core issues in MANET is the authentication of the participating nodes. This mechanism is a fundamental requirement for implementing access control to network resources by confirming a user's identity. In recent years, security experts worldwide proposed distributed authentication for MANET due to the lack of a central authority to register and authenticate nodes. In this article, decentralized authentication based on the technology of fog computing and the concept of the blockchain is proposed. The evaluation of this mechanism satisfies the diverse security requirements and strongly protects the networks from attacks.


Cell cycle is one of the biological processes that has been investigated the most in the recent years, this due to its importance in cancer studies and drug discovery. The complexity of this biological process is revealed every time a mathematical simulation of the processes is carried out. We propose an automated approach that mathematically simulates the cell cycle process with the aim to describe the best estimation of the model. We have implemented a system that starting from a cell cycle model is capable of retrieving from a specific database, called Cell Cycle Database, the necessary mathematical information to perform simulation using a grid approach and identify the best model related to a specific dataset of experimental results from the real biological system. Our system allows the visualization of mathematical expressions, such as the kinetic rate law of a reaction, and the direct simulation of the models with the aim to give the user the possibility to interact with the simulation system. The parameter estimation process usually implies time-consuming computations due to algorithms of linear regression and stochastic methods. In particular, in the case of a stochastic approach based on evolutionary algorithms, the iterative selection process implies many different computations. Therefore, a large number of ODE system simulations are required: the grid infrastructure allows to distribute and obtain the best model that fits the experimental data. The computation of many ODE systems can be distributed on different grid nodes so that the execution time for the estimation of the best model is reduced. This system will be useful for the comparison of models with different initial conditions related to normal and deregulated cell cycles.


In 4 patients with mycosis fungoides in the praemycotic, infiltrative and tumour stage of the disease, a differentiation and functional characterization of the infiltrate cells, obtained from cell suspensions and cutaneous smears, was carried out by means of enzyme cytochemical and immunological methods. The lymphocyte-associated acid esterase is considered to be a marker for mature T-cell populations. Apart from monocytes and histiocytes, acid esterase-positive small lymphocytoid cells with T-cell properties are found in the praemycotic stage. In the tumour stage, large lymphocytoid cells become increasingly prevalent, they show no acid esterase activity, but an intracytoplasmatic-localized reaction in the acid phosphatase activity. On the basis of the cytochemical pattern, it is assumed that these cells represent proliferating lymphoblasts.


ABSTRACT This paper estimates the impacts of opening of borders and intensity of cross-border cooperation (CBC) on regional growth across European border regions. The difference-in-difference estimations show that the opening of national borders for free movement of people is associated with a 2.7% increase in regional gross value added (GVA) per capita for the border regions of Europe. Using an extension of this estimation based on European Commission-supported CBC projects data for the 2007–13 period (through the INTERREG programme), the results suggest that the doubling of the number of CBC project partners (per 100,000 population) is correlated with an increase of 2.3% in regional GVA per capita. These results confirm the positive economic benefits of European integration by means of CBC. For future research efforts, these findings also encourage the research community to investigate more deeply the channels through which CBC affects the socioeconomic development of border regions.


In Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" the house where the events unfold is described as a sentient being, and its first description forebodes the occurrence of dark events. In addition, Poe utilizes the house of Usher to show how the fate of the house and its inhabitants are connected. The House of Usher stands for the building itself as well as the family, and Usher himself believes that the house is alive and can also exert its influence on the people living in it. The house of Thomas Sutpen in Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! is equally significant and is used to symbolize Sutpen's will to establish his dynasty. The house is furnished luxuriously to establish his reputation in society, and Sutpen finally succeeds in bringing home a wife to the completed house. However, after the war the house is in ruins and Sutpen is unable to defy his fate anymore: he cannot rebuild the house, which – several years later – is burnt down by his own daughter, the partly black Clytemnestra. This paper compares and contrasts the houses and their function in the two works.


This paper presents a brief assessment of the recent futures and options literature with reference only to agricultural markets. The discussion centers on the markets' social value and economic value to firms. Issues currently unresolved are highlighted, in some cases by presenting hypotheses contrary to standard positions. Overall, the current literature describes these markets as having positive social value and serving useful functions at the firm level, but existing theory and empirical methods are criticized for many weaknesses.


A variation of the Jelinski/Moranda model is described. The main feature of this new model is that the variable (growing) size of a developing program is accommodated, so that the quality of a program can be estimated by analyzing an initial segment of the written code. Two parameters are estimated from the data. The data are: a) time separations between error detections, b) the number of errors per written instruction, c)the failure rate (or finding rate) of a single error, and d) a time record of the number of instructions under test. This model permits predictions of MTTF and error content of any software package which is homogenous with respect to its complexity (error making/finding). It assists in determining the quality, as measured by error contents, early on, and could eliminate the present practice of applying models to the wrong regimes (decreasing failure rate models applied to growing-in-size software packages). The growth model is very tractable analytically. The important requirement for applications is that the error-making rate must be constant across the entire software program.


Following the injection of Plasmodium sporozoites by a female Anopheles mosquito into the dermis, they become engaged on a long journey to hepatic tissue where they must migrate through different types of cell to become established in parasitophorous vacuoles in hepatocytes. Studies have shown that proteins such as cell traversal protein for Plasmodium ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS) play a crucial role in cell-traversal ability. Although CelTOS has been extensively studied in various species and included in pre-clinical assays it remains unknown which P. vivax CelTOS (PvCelTOS) regions are key in its interaction with traversed or target cells (Kupffer or hepatocytes) and what type of pressure, association and polymorphism these important regions could have to improve their candidacy as important vaccine antigens. This work has described producing a recombinant PvCelTOS which was recognized by ~30% P. vivax-infected individuals, thereby confirming its ability for inducing a natural immune response. PvCelTOS' genetic diversity in Colombia and its ability to interact with HeLa (traversal cell) and/or HepG2 cell (target cell) external membrane have been assessed. One region in the PvCelTOS amino-terminal region and another in its C-terminus were seen to be participating in host-pathogen interactions. These regions had important functional constraint signals (ω < 0.3 and several sites under negative selection) and were able to inhibit specific rPvCelTOS binding to HeLa cells. This led to suggesting that sequences between aa 41–60 (40833) and 141–160 (40838) represent promising candidates for an anti-P. vivax subunit-based vaccine.


This paper shows that, with (partial) irreversibility, higher uncertainty reduces the impact effect of demand shocks on investment. Uncertainty increases real option values making firms more cautious when investing or disinvesting. This is confirmed both numerically for a model with a rich mix of adjustment costs, time-varying uncertainty, and aggregation over investment decisions and time, and also empirically for a panel of manufacturing firms. These cautionary effects of uncertainty are large-going from the lower quartile to the upper quartile of the uncertainty distribution typically halves the first year investment response to demand shocks. This implies the responsiveness of firms to any given policy stimulus may be much lower in periods of high uncertainty, such as after major shocks like OPEC I and 9/11. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank in particular two anonymous referees, and also Jerome Adda,


OBJECTIVE
This in vitro study evaluated the effects of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation on root surfaces for adhesion of blood components and morphology.

BACKGROUND DATA
No previous research has evaluated the biocompatibility of root surfaces irradiated by Er,Cr:YSGG laser.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifteen teeth were studied from nonsmoking patients with severe periodontal disease. Sixty root surface specimens were obtained by selecting four from each tooth. Specimens were divided into three groups of 20 each, according to treatments. Group 1 (G1) was treated by scaling and root planing (SRP), group 2 (G2) was irradiated by Er,Cr:YSGG laser, and group 3 (G3) was treated by SRP and Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation. Blood was placed on each of 10 specimens from each of the three groups, to evaluate adhesion of blood components to the root surfaces. A morphological analysis was made of the root surfaces of the other 10 specimens from each group. All were photomicrographed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and classified according to the index of blood component adhesion and modified index for analysis of morphology. Statistical processing was done with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (p < 0.05).

RESULTS
No statistical differences for adhesion of blood components to root surfaces were found between the groups (p = 0.359). However, morphological analysis disclosed that all root surfaces irradiated by Er,Cr:YSGG laser (100%) were rougher than surfaces that were not irradiated (G1-G2: p = 0.0003 and G1-G3: p = 0.0003).

CONCLUSION
Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation produced rougher root surfaces than treatment by SRP. However, it did not interfere with the adhesion of blood components to the root surfaces.


Modification of membrane groups by N -ethylmaleimide (NEM) differentially inactivates the binding of the [3H]-labeled opioid peptide agonist [D-Ala2-Met5]-enkephalinamide (Dala2met5amide) and the opiate antagonists [3H]naltrexone and [3H]naloxone to NG108-15 opiate receptors. There appear to be at least two different NEM-sensitive groups involved. Alteration of one group by NEM prevents equally the binding of opiate agonists and antagonists and is seen as a reduction in the number of opiate binding sites. Furthermore, this process is first-order, and alteration of one of these groups is therefore sufficient to inactivate the receptor completely. The second group affected by NEM is at least 4-fold more sensitive to NEM, and in its altered state causes a selective reduction in the affinity of opiate agonists for these receptors. The affinity of at least one of the two antagonists tested (i.e., naloxone) actually is increased by 50% after modification of this group. With the opioid agonist Dala2met5amide these losses in affinity have been confirmed by both 3H-labeled peptide saturation studies and by studying the peptide competition against the [3H]naloxone binding. Both analyses indicate a 7-fold loss in affinity accompanying the modification of this group by NEM. All of the opiate agonists, including the enkephalins, β-endorphin, oxymorphone, normorphine, and etorphine, exhibit losses in affinity. The magnitude of these losses is not constant, but a property of the particular agonist, and is found with even the mixed agonist-antagonist pentazocine. Therefore these losses are proposed to be a general property of opiate agonists in this system; pure opiate antagonists along with the mixed antagonist-agonist cyclazocine do not show this loss. Modification of this second site is accompanied by (a) an increased sensitivity to the selective effects of cations (rank order Na+ > Li+ > K+ = choline) to decrease preferentially the agonist affinity and (b) a loss in sensitivity of the affinity of Dala2met5amide to GTP. The second NEM-sensitive site is therefore distal to the ligand binding domain and is proposed to be involved selectively in the formation of high-affinity agonist-receptor complexes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank R. J. Lefkowitz and A. De Lean, Duke University, for providing their computer program. Their assistance, along with that of A. Alexander, Management Information Service, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., in implementing this program is also gratefully acknowledged.


Psammosilene tunicoides. In this study, the stems, leaves and buds of P. tunicoides were used as explants, adding growth regulators (NAA, 2,4-D and 6-BA) in MS basic medium, and by adjusting the concentrations of growth regulators and the illumination intensity in culture room to induce callus, then the proliferated callus were used to extract anthocyanins. The results showed that the callus induction rate was the highest using buds as explants; it was about 1 to 2 times high of others (stems and leaves). NAA or 6-BA contributed to induce anthocyanins synthesis in the white callus. With the increase of 6-BA concentration, the anthocyanins content increased after slightly decreased, and the anthocyanins synthesis was promoted by increasing NAA concentration from 0.5 mg·L-1 to 1.5 mg·L-1 but decreased thereafter up to 2.5 mg·L-1. The combination screening of growth regulators indicated that the combination of 1.5 mg·L-1 NAA+0.5 mg·L-1 6-BA was the appropriate condition in the range of 0.5 mg·L-1 to 2.5 mg·L-1. The illumination intensity of 2000 lx was fit for anthocyanins formation in callus. The anthocyanins synthesis in callus was repressed when 2,4-D was added into medium. The results will provide reference for the pigments production in callus culture of P. tunicoides.


The interaction of L. pneumophila with lymphoblastoid cell cultures H9 and H9/IIIB and epithelial cell cultures HEp-2 mutual influence have been noted. L. pneumophila penetrates into cells HEp-2 and multiplies there due the so-called "spin phagocytosis". The study of the influence of the preparations of interferon, Leukinferon and Reaferon, on the adhesive capacity of bacteria and their penetration into eukaryotic cells has revealed that the preliminary treatment of both bacteria and cells HEp-2 with the preparations of interferon prior to their infection with Legionella leads to a decrease in the number of microorganisms associated with cells.


Deep hole honing is the primary way of finishing, the main problems existing now are the low efficiency, high surface roughness, especially in the processing of difficult to cut materials. In this study, the test is on the titanium alloy and uses the self-developed ultrasonic vibration honing equipment. The results show that in the same conditions, the ultrasonic vibration in deep-hole honing can improve the efficiency about 1 times, and meanwhile the surface roughness can reach below 0.8μm, the oilstone is uneasy to block, and the technical effects are better than traditional honing process.


The right to self-determination has become an increasing legitimate demand of peoples seeking recognition and autonomy. In the beginning, this right was conceived in favor of peoples that depended on colonial powers, but today it has become a claim of any people that considers itself a people, as in the case of indigenous peoples or non-colonized peoples. This concept of the right to self-determination seems to be the path leading to a more heterogeneous world. Conversely, the rise of various problems that affect us globally seems to require the creation of international political institutions capable of solving these problems, which would most likely lead us toward a more homogeneous global order. Although both tendencies have powerful reasons that make them irreversible, it is not clear how they can co-exist. In this article, the author discusses whether a broad notion of the right to self-determination is compatible with three different models of global order proposed by Thomas Christiano, Rafael Domingo, and James Bohman, respectively.


This article provides an overview of neuropsychological research into sexual desire. A state that, in men and women, is aroused by stimuli from outside, and by erotic fantasy. Not an inner need that seeks an outlet. The sensitivity of the sexual response system and interoceptive consciousness together determine the threshold for sexual desire. The first varies constantly, under the influence of dopamine, serotonin, testosterone and kisspeptin, among others. The interoceptive consciousness is vulnerable to personal and cultural beliefs about body and sexuality such as shame and guilt. Medicalisation of sexual desire turns these processes upside down. Intimacy, sensuality and erotic fantasy are not the result, but the cause of sexual desire. To promote sexual appetite, improving interoceptive consciousness is more effective than medication.


Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a facultative intracellular pathogen and the causative agent of several infectious and contagious chronic diseases, including caseous lymphadenitis, ulcerative lymphangitis, mastitis, and edematous skin disease, in a broad spectrum of hosts. In addition, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infections pose a rising worldwide economic problem in ruminants. The complete genome sequences of 15 C. pseudotuberculosis strains isolated from different hosts and countries were comparatively analyzed using a pan-genomic strategy. Phylogenomic, pan-genomic, core genomic, and singleton analyses revealed close relationships among pathogenic corynebacteria, the clonal-like behavior of C. pseudotuberculosis and slow increases in the sizes of pan-genomes. According to extrapolations based on the pan-genomes, core genomes and singletons, the C. pseudotuberculosis biovar ovis shows a more clonal-like behavior than the C. pseudotuberculosis biovar equi. Most of the variable genes of the biovar ovis strains were acquired in a block through horizontal gene transfer and are highly conserved, whereas the biovar equi strains contain great variability, both intra- and inter-biovar, in the 16 detected pathogenicity islands (PAIs). With respect to the gene content of the PAIs, the most interesting finding is the high similarity of the pilus genes in the biovar ovis strains compared with the great variability of these genes in the biovar equi strains. Concluding, the polymerization of complete pilus structures in biovar ovis could be responsible for a remarkable ability of these strains to spread throughout host tissues and penetrate cells to live intracellularly, in contrast with the biovar equi, which rarely attacks visceral organs. Intracellularly, the biovar ovis strains are expected to have less contact with other organisms than the biovar equi strains, thereby explaining the significant clonal-like behavior of the biovar ovis strains.


Free fatty acids (FFA) are a primary fuel source for heart and skeletal muscle, particularly during fasting. In addition, both high fat feeding and insufficient sleep have been shown to increase nocturnal FFA in animal and human models, respectively. However, findings from studies of insufficient sleep have been limited by a focus on male subjects. Furthermore, the impact of ad libitum food intake during insufficient sleep on FFA has not been examined. We therefore examined potential sex differences in circulating 24-hour FFA profiles during habitual sleep and insufficient sleep under ad libitum feeding conditions. Healthy adults (7 females: 23.6±3.2 y, BMI 22.1±1.1 kg/m 2 ; 7 males: 25.7±4.6 y, BMI 22.5±1.2 kg/m 2 ; mean±SD) were studied after five inpatient days consisting of 9h scheduled sleep per night at habitual bedtime and five inpatient days consisting of 5h scheduled sleep beginning 2 hours later than habitual bedtime in a crossover design. On the 5 th day in each condition, blood was sampled hourly beginning one hour after scheduled wake-time for 24 hours. In both conditions, participants were provided 3 scheduled meals and 2 snacks designed to provide approximately 130-150% of energy requirements, and had free access to snacks during scheduled waketime. Females showed a more robust FFA response to food intake during both habitual and insufficient sleep vs. men, likely due to positive energy balance for men in both conditions. In addition, both men and women displayed altered FFA patterns during insufficient sleep such that the nocturnal peak was later in the 24hour profile. We provide evidence of sex differences in 24-hour FFA profiles in response to overeating with and without insufficient sleep. The significance of these differences and how they may affect responses to sleep and/or metabolic perturbations is unknown. Future studies are necessary to determine whether differences in FFA may lead to sex differences in metabolic impairments in response to insufficient sleep. Disclosure J.L. Broussard: None. C.M. Depner: None. R. Markwald: None. R.H. Eckel: Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. L. Perreault: Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. Advisory Panel; Self; Merck & Co., Inc.. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Merck & Co., Inc., AstraZeneca, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Sanofi. J. Higgins: None. E. Melanson: None. K. Wright: Research Support; Self; Philips Respironics, CurAegis Technologies, Inc., Somalogics, National Institutes of Health, Pac-12, Office of Naval Research. Consultant; Self; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, CurAegis Technologies, Inc., Circadian Therapeutics, LTD. Board Member; Self; Sleep Research Society. Consultant; Self; American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American College of Chest Physicians.


1. Plots of local versus regional species richness are an exciting new tool for testing for species saturation in ecological communities. In this method, the local richness of a community is plotted as a function of its regional richness for different biogeographical regions. A proportional relationship between local and regional richness is interpreted as evidence for an unsaturated community, that is, a community with strong evolutionary limits to local richness. There will be no correlation between local and regional richness in a saturated community, that is, a community whose local species richness is limited largely by ecological processes.

2. Although at least 36 data sets have now been analysed using local–regional richness plots, there has not been much critical evaluation of the method. This paper provides such a critique, focusing on the selection of communities for comparison, the prevalence of pseudoreplication and multiple null models, and the effects of differing region size.

3. Local–regional richness plots are best suited for comparing similar habitats between different regions, not different habitats in a single region. In the latter, taxa effects and species pool effects are confounded.

4. Four very different types of local–regional richness plots have been published. Each type of plot has important underlying assumptions which are often not addressed by ecologists.

5. Of the 36 data sets reviewed in this paper, 13 were spatially pseudoreplicated, and 2 were temporally pseudoreplicated. Furthermore, ecologists differ in their choice of null model, with the result that the same local–regional plot could be interpreted as evidence for saturation by one ecologist, and for lack of saturation by another.

6. Differences in region size can result in pseudosaturation, the appearance of saturation by an unsaturated community. A simple model demonstrates this phenomenon. Other sources of error in estimating the regional species pool are also of concern.

7. In conclusion, local–regional richness plots are a potentially useful tool for distinguishing saturated from unsaturated communities, but should be used cautiously, and in conjunction with other supporting evidence (such as the presence or absence of competitive exclusion, resource limitation, density compensation and the effects of species invasions).


Malignant cancer is one of the many skin most cancers types. Melanoma treatment relies upon the stage of detection. Several techniques which includes clinical and automatic are popular in prognosis of melanoma. Image-based digital diagnosis systems facilitate early cancer detection. The kingdom of the artwork in pc aided analysis device look at recent practices of the above cited systems the use of different processes which includes k-clustering, fuzzy good judgment etc. Research demanding situations related to the different processes concerned in computer aided prognosis of pores and skin cancer are also highlighted. Statistical traits of the dermoscopy picture may be used as efficient discriminating features for detection. Different parameters like texture capabilities, coloration space, form and asymmetry can in addition the expertise of upcoming researchers in the discipline of digital skin prognosis. Keywords— Skin cancer detection; dermoscopy; laptop aided diagnosis; category; melanoma detection;


Background: Dentin degradomics are the enzymes found in dentin endogenously and are aimed at attacking organic compounds of the relevant tissue. During dentin demineralization, these enzymes could turn into the reaction phase and may step up the degradation. Thus, their connection with dentin erosion and tissue loss should be explained. Objective: The aim of this review was to describe the mechanisms of dentin degradomics, their relation to dentin erosion, and recent approaches on inhibiting their action. Data sources: A narrative review was performed with a literature search in the PubMed and Google Scholar electronic databases. Study selection: Reference lists included full papers of any study design, published in peer-reviewed journals in English till November 2021. Data extraction: Current literature indicates the term of dentin degradomics, and the mechanism of dental erosion of both enamel and dentin tissues. The inhibition of matrixmetalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes, which constitute the subgroup of dentin degradomics, was gained from the recent papers listed in the reference section. Data synthesis: Biocorrosion covers more of the pathological process of the tissue loss however, most of the dentin degradomics such as MMPs are not covered by the term, biocorrosion. So, the definitions of biocorrosion and dentin degradomics were discussed in detail. Green tea, chlorhexidine and fluorides have the ability to inhibit the reaction of MMPs during dentin demineralization with a different state of mechanisms. Nowadays, other naturally-derived compounds were included in studies such as polyphenols and flavonoids. Still, more


This study adopted a descriptive correlational design to identify organ transplant athletes' motivational behaviour and level of physical activity enjoyment during the 2019 World Transplant Games. The causal relationship between motivational behaviour and enjoyment was also determined. Data was collected through questionnaires during the event that tapped participants' demographic information and responses to the Task and Ego Orientation Questionnaire, Sport Motivation Scale-2 and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. Descriptive statistics revealed that transplant athletes (n = 119; Mage = 52.92 years, SD = 13.51) find sport mostly enjoyable whilst holding a strong task-oriented approach towards sport participation with high approximations of intrinsic, integrated and identified motivation. Male and female athletes also shared a relatively similar motivational profile with male athletes reporting significantly higher levels of sport enjoyment compared to their female counterparts. Inferential statistics further revealed significant associations between most dimensions of motivation and level of enjoyment, of which gender and certain aspects of motivation were exposed as significant predictors of athletes' reported enjoyment in sport. It is advised that autonomous regulatory behaviours be garnered in transplant recipients looking to start/continue sport participation as it proved to be prime correlates and determinants of enjoyment in sport.


Historical metal mining has caused extensive landscape disturbance and the delivery of vast quantities of contaminated waste sediments to fluvial systems. The higher erosion rates typical of former mining landscapes also means that the geomorphological legacy of historical mining extends well beyond the active period of extraction. Although channel responses to sediment loading from mining are often well-documented, the scale and distribution of associated catchment disturbance and coupling with the fluvial system are poorly understood and rarely quantified. This study therefore assesses variability in landscape disturbance and sediment production resulting from historical lead mining in the North Pennines, UK. Regional trends in the distribution and geomorphic significance of historical sediment production were reconstructed for the period 1700-1948. Post-abandonment erosion (1868-2014) was quantified in detail at Whitesike and Bentyfield mines, using nested scales of geomorphic change detection and a sediment budget approach.
The results show that ~7.2 Mt of waste sediment were produced by historical mining in the study area but only ~2.3 Mt of this waste is still stored in depositional landforms; resulting in a net sediment output of >4.8 Mt. Waste sediment output from hushing (~4.6 Mt) was significantly higher than that from subterranean mining (~2.6 Mt). Considerable complexity in spatial and temporal patterns of historical mining was also recorded. The intensity of mine sediment production was highest within the Nent (~79000 t km-2), compared with the South Tyne (~20000 t km-2), Upper Tees (~19000 t km-2) and Black Burn (~4000 t km-2). Modelled sediment connectivity was also highest for the Nent, making this the catchment with the most significant level of disturbance and the most efficient slope-channel coupling.
Analysis of post-abandonment change at Whitesike and Bentyfield indicates that fluvial processes are the key drivers of erosion at historical mines, including gullying (187 t a-1) and bank erosion (93 t a-1). Pronounced temporal variation in erosion rates was also recorded, with 76% of the total net change to the main gully system occurring within one monthly interval (May 2013) and associated with a high intensity storm. Large-scale changes at abandoned mines are driven by high magnitude, low frequency rainfall events, although frequent low magnitude changes play an important preparatory role in determining overall sediment yields. This research emphasises the complex interactions between geomorphology and archaeology within intensively mined upland landscapes and the need for interdisciplinary approaches to their understanding and management.


Relation classification is a crucial component in many Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems. In this paper, we propose a novel bidirectional recurrent neural network architecture (using Long Short-Term Memory, LSTM, cells) for relation classification, with an attention layer for organizing the context information on the word level and a tensor layer for detecting complex connections between two entities. The above two feature extraction operations are based on the LSTM networks and use their outputs. Our model allows end-to-end learning from the raw sentences in the dataset, without trimming or reconstructing them. Experiments on the SemEval-2010 Task 8 dataset show that our model outperforms most state-of-the-art methods.


: The development of cell clones was studied in the retinal pigment epithelium of chimaeric mice or/or----AKR. The clonal analysis suggests that on the 13th day of gestation the cells in the retinal pigment epithelium are distributed almost randomly while in the adults they are grouped in small coherent clones. In the retinal pigment epithelium the AKR cell predominated over the or/or cells. The interaction of mutant and normal clones during the eye development leads, in most cases, to the normalization of eyes in chimaeras. Cases of microphthalmia and asymmetry in distribution of clones suggest irregular and random distribution of these clones in the embryo.


Success in working process to reach the objectives which have been
decided is highly influenced with working morality among people work to. All
companies expecting their employees to have high working morality to get high
productivity. As expected of Region Office Perum Pegadaian Semarang to their
employees. Employee's working morality can be improved through various ways
among other through good leadership and formalization. Through good leadership
and formalization, its will motivate the employees of Region Office of Perum
Pegadaian Semarang to have high working morality. Research type applied in this research is explanatory research, which
describes relation among research variables. The method of sample decision on
this research was using sensus method, meanwhile the data collecting technique
was using questioner, interview, bibliography research. Based on data processing with SPSS tool, it slows regression equality Y =
8,534 + 0,362X1 + 0,416X2. So there is significant influence and positive
between formalization and leadership towards employee's working morality in a
simultaneous manner. Research illustrated that high working morality of Region Office of Perum
Pegadaian Semarang is mostly because the presence of formalization and
leadership which appraise by the employees in good category. Therefore, the
Region Office of Perum Pegadaian Semarang should maintain and improve the
formalization and good ledareship in order to keep and maintain their employees
working maorality which have been very high and will not falling down.


Dysmenorrhea is one of the cyclical processes in chronic pelvic pain. Dysmenorrhea in women causes a high psychosocial and economic impact. For this reason, we conducted a study to assess the prevalence, impact and use of drugs for the treatment of dysmenorrhea among workers of an Educational and Research Institute. A prevalence of dysmenorrhea of 57.2% was found. About a half (49.4%) of women with dysmenorrhea reported that it limited their daily activities in 4.1 ± 2.4 cycles per year. 29.3% reported absenteeism by at least 2.7 ± 1.4 (range 1-5) cycles per year. Of the women with dysmenorrhea, only 34.9% consulted a doctor and the most prescribed drugs were over the counter medications with metamizol and butylscopolamine (25.0%), another medicine with paracetamol, pamabrom and pyrilamine (Syncol®, 16.7%) naproxen (12.5%) and mefenamic acid (12.5%). On the other hand, self-medication was practiced by 54.2% of women with dysmenorrhea and the most used drugs were Syncol® (28.9%), naproxen (17.8%), metamizol with butylscopolamine (13.3%) and dipyrone (6.7%). Our data suggest a significant prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea and dysmenorrheic women used many drugs for self-medication, but rarely come to medical services.