Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the identification of clinically relevant prognostic markers for primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL). The present study investigated whether three morphological features, i.e. necrosis, reactive perivascular T‐cell infiltrate and endothelial hyperplasia, and galectin‐1 and galectin‐3 immunohistochemical expression have prognostic roles in a series of 58 PCNSL samples from 44 immunocompetent and 14 immunocompromised patients. The presence of endothelial hyperplasia (identified in 21% of the assessable cases) was identified as a bad prognostic factor for immunocompetent PCNSL patients, whereas the other morphological features were not associated with any prognostic value. Lymphomatous cells of eight PCNSL cases expressed galectin‐3 without any prognostic value, and lymphomatous cells did not express galectin‐1. In contrast, endothelial expression of galectin‐3 was identified (by means of uni‐ and multi‐variate analyses) as a bad prognostic factor for immunocompetent PCNSL patients. In addition, a combination of endothelial hyperplasia and/or endothelial galectin‐3 expression was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for immunocompetent PCNSL patients treated with methotrexate‐based chemotherapy. In summary, this study suggests that endothelial‐related markers can identify risk groups of PCNSL patients and indicates that galectin‐3 could be involved in PCNSL angiogenesis.


At concentrations that inhibit bacterial growth, some antibiotics including gentamicin completely inhibited virus multiplication in protoplasts, and other antibiotics partially inhibited virus multiplication. The inhibition caused by each antibiotic was largely prevented by adding a divalent metal; MnC1(2) was more effective than CaC1(2) and other salts of divalent metals when added at 10 mM to the incubation medium. When added immediately after infection, 1 mug/ml of gentamicin halved the final virus concentration and 3 mug/ml completely inhibited virus multiplication, although 10 mug/ml was required to stop bacterial growth. Gentamicin inhibited virus multiplication even when added 24 h after virus inoculation. Also, when protoplasts were exposed to gentamicin for only 1 or 2 h, either immediately after inoculation or 2 h later, the virus concentration was considerably decreased. Gentamicin seemed not to affect virus multiplication in whole plants. Sap from Dianthus barbatus also strongly inhibited virus multiplication in protoplasts but, unlike gentamicin, it acted in the presence of MnC1(2). By contrast, chelating agents such as 1 mM-EDTA or 5 mM-potassium citrate was strong inhibitors of virus multiplication that were inactive in the presence of MnC1(2). It is suggested that gentamicin and other antibiotics may chelate metals from the protoplast membranes, thus disorganizing their function and affecting virus multiplication.


The inflationary ΛCDM cosmology currently provides an accurate description of the Universe. It has been tested using several observational techniques over a wide redshift range, and it provides a good fit to most of them. In addition, it is a surprisingly economical model, requiring only six parameters to characterize the background cosmology and its fluctuations. In this model, the Universe is dominated by a cosmological constant Λ driving an accelerated expansion, and by cold dark matter. The strongest constraints on parameters to date come from observations of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background measured by the Planck satellite. There are, however, indications of features in the Planck power spectra, possible differences with high redshift ground-based CMB experiments, and 'tensions' between Planck and low redshift measurements of the Hubble constant and weak gravitational lensing.In this thesis, we review possible tensions and extensions to the Planck cosmology, at both high and low redshifts. We begin with the high redshift analysis, using the Planck data to test models which introduce oscillatory features in the primordial power spectrum. We also study possible departures from slow roll inflation using the generalized slow-roll formalism, which allows for order unity deviations. Although we find models which give marginal improvements on the temperature or polarization power spectra, the combination of temperature and polarization is found to be consistent with a featureless power-law primordial spectrum. We then focus on measurements of the polarized CMB sky by the South Pole Telescope collaboration, who report tension between their measurements and the ΛCDM cosmology and with the cosmological parameters determined by Planck. We find evidence of a high χ2 in the SPTpol spectra which is unlikely to be cosmological. We report consistency between the Planck and SPTpol polarization spectra over the multipoles accessible to Planck (l ∼< 1500).We then investigate tension at low redshifts. We begin with weak gravitational lensing in which a number of surveys have suggested that the amplitude of the fluctuation spectra is lower than the Planck value. We review the small-angle approximations commonly used in galaxy weak lensing analyses and their effect on cosmological parameters. We find that these approximations are perfectly adequate for present and near future experiments. We find internal inconsistencies in the recent KiDS-450 analysis involving photometric redshifts and the KiDS covariance matrix at large scales. Finally, we investigate the difference between measurements of the present day expansion rate of the Universe. We apply a novel parameterization of the inverse distance ladder to determine the present date value of the Hubble parameter H0, which assumes General Relativity but makes no further assumptions about systematic errors or the nature of dark energy. Our analysis uses baryon acoustic oscillation data and Type Ia Supernovae to constrain the expansion history assuming a value of the sound horizon determined from the CMB. Our results are in tension with recent direct determinations of H0. We conclude that this tension, if real, cannot be solved by modifications of the ΛCDM model at late times. Instead, we would require a modification of the theory at early times which reduces the sound horizon.We conclude that at this time there is no compelling evidence that conflicts with the ΛCDM cosmology either at low or at high redshifts.


To better represent organized convection in the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2), a stochastic multicloud model (SMCM) parameterization is adopted and a 15 year climate run is made. The last 10 years of simulations are analyzed here. While retaining an equally good mean state (if not better) as the parent model, the CFS‐SMCM simulation shows significant improvement in the synoptic and intraseasonal variability. The CFS‐SMCM provides a better account of convectively coupled equatorial waves and the Madden‐Julian oscillation. The CFS‐SMCM exhibits improvements in northward and eastward propagation of intraseasonal oscillation of convection including the MJO propagation beyond the maritime continent barrier, which is the Achilles Heel for coarse‐resolution global climate models (GCMs). The distribution of precipitation events is better simulated in CFSsmcm and spreads naturally toward high‐precipitation events. Deterministic GCMs tend to simulate a narrow distribution with too much drizzling precipitation and too little high‐precipitation events.


Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are currently recognized as the most common genetic cause of parkinsonism. Among the large number of LRRK2 mutations identified to date, the G2019S variant is the most common. In Asia, however, another LRRK2 variant, G2385R, appears to occur more frequently. To better understand the contribution of different LRRK2 variants toward disease pathogenesis, we generated transgenic Drosophila over-expressing various human LRRK2 alleles, including wild type, G2019S, Y1699C, and G2385R LRRK2. We found that transgenic flies harboring G2019S, Y1699C, or G2385R LRRK2 variant, but not the wild-type protein, exhibit late-onset loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in selected clusters that is accompanied by locomotion deficits. Furthermore, LRRK2 mutant flies also display reduced lifespan and increased sensitivity to rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor. Importantly, coexpression of human parkin in LRRK2 G2019S-expressing flies provides significant protection against DA neurodegeneration that occurs with age or in response to rotenone. Together, our results suggest a potential link between LRRK2, parkin, and mitochondria in the pathogenesis of LRRK2-related parkinsonism.


Aim: To determine the resistance profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains to first-line antituberculous drugs.
Methods: A total of 138 patients with MTBC growth from 2008-2018 were evaluated retrospectively. The Ehrlich-Ziehl-Neelsen (EZN) staining method was used for direct smear preparations, the BACTEC MGIT 460 TB system the Lowenstein-Jensen medium for culture planting and the BACTEC NAP test for the diagnosis of MTBC. Susceptibility tests were performed using the BACTEC MGIT 460 TB system with the streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol (SIRE) kit in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Results: Of the total 138 tuberculosis (TB) cases, 44 (31.9%) were female and 94 (68.1%) were male. MTBC was most frequently isolated from pulmonary specimens (90.6%). Acid-resistant bacilli (ARB) positivity was detected in 88 (63.8%) samples by EZN staining for culture-positive samples. In our study, without considering single or multiple drug resistance (MDR), total resistance rates in MTBC strains were determined for, isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), and streptomycin (SM); 10.1%, 4.3%, 2.9%, and 12.3% respectively. While the susceptibility to all drugs was 82.6%, multiple drug–resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) was 2.9%.
Conclusion: These results are important since they are the first data reported from our province regarding the determination of the resistance profile to anti-TB drugs. Resistance rates in our study were very close to the 2016 data average of the Ministry of Health of Turkey. Determination of TB resistance profiles, as well as proper and regular treatment, will contribute to the control of MDR-TB.


Interaction describes a range of processes. A previous "On Modeling" article presented models of interaction based on the internal capacity of the systems doing the interacting.1 At one extreme, there are simple reactive systems, such as a door that opens when you step on a mat or a search engine that returns results when you submit a query At the other extreme is conversation. Conversation is a progression of exchanges among participants. Each participant is a "learning system," that is, a system that changes internally as a consequence of experience. This highly complex type of interaction is also quite powerful, for conversation is the means by which existing knowledge is conveyed and new knowledge is generated. We talk all the time, but we're usually not aware of when conversation works, when it doesn't, and how to improve it. Few of us have robust models of conversation. This article addresses the questions: What is conversation? How can conversation be improved? And, if conversation is important, why don't we consider conversation explicitly when we design for interaction? This article hopes to move practice in that direction. If, as this forum has often argued, models can improve design, we further ask, what models of conversation are useful for interaction design? We begin by contrasting "conversation" with "communication" in a specific sense. We then offer a pragmatic but not exhaustive model of the process of conversing and explore how it is useful for design. What Isn't Conversation?


The approval of rofecoxib (Vioxx) by the US Food and Drug Administration has led to the "single greatest drug safety catastrophe in the history of this country or the history of the world," charged one of the agency's own experts, Dr David Graham, in US Senate hearings last Thursday.

Dr Graham, associate director in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, said an estimated 88 000 to 139 000 Americans had heart attacks and strokes as a result of taking rofecoxib. The number, he said, far exceeds earlier disasters such as the 100 children killed in the United States by an elixir of sulfanilamide in the 1930s and the 5000 to 10 000 children born in the 1960s with birth defects related to thalidomide. Both events led to sweeping regulatory changes in the United States.

Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate's finance committee, opened the hearings on the FDA and rofecoxib and its manufacturer, Merck, saying he hoped Congressional investigation would help shed "disinfecting sunlight" on the approval …


PURPOSE
The keratin-12 (K12) protein is essential for the integrity of the corneal epithelium. This study was conducted to investigate the possible involvement of Krüppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) in the corneal regulation of K12 gene expression, in view of the presence of one KLF6 potential binding site in the human K12 promoter and the known role of KLF6 in regulating keratin gene expression.

METHODS
RT-PCR, Western blot analysis, and immunolocalization experiments were used to investigate the expression of KLF6 mRNA and protein in five human total corneas. The same experimental design was used to explore human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells in 20 patients and a HCE cell line. The ability of the KLF6 protein to modulate K12 promoter activity was studied in the HCE cell line, by transient transfections with a KLF6 expression plasmid and promoter-reporter gene assays. Gel-shift assays were performed to confirm the interactions between the KLF6 protein and specific sequences of the K12 promoter.

RESULTS
The presence of KLF6 transcripts and proteins in human total corneal extracts was demonstrated. Immunohistofluorescence experiments showed positive staining specifically present in the corneal epithelial layer. KLF6 transcripts and proteins were also present in corneal epithelial cells in 20 patients and the HCE cell line. Transient transfections of KLF6 showed statistical transactivation of the K12 promoter in HCE cells. The gel-shift assay showed a physical interaction between KLF6 and the K12 promoter.

CONCLUSIONS
The expression of KLF6 in HCE cells and its role in the regulation of K12 gene expression were demonstrated.


Implementing the rigorous governance and ownership standards established in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act3 for derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs) will promote free and open access to clearing and reduce systemic risk within what is now the $700 trillion notional value derivatives market. Such standards are central to and advance the key regulatory tenants of Dodd-Frank: i.e., to restore transparency, capital adequacy, and accountability to what was the unregulated over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market by ensuring that swaps are cleared through financially sound DCOs. Also, these rules will promote competition by curtailing large swap dealers' (SDs) control over these markets to the disadvantage of swaps users. This article focuses on the importance of swaps clearing to Dodd-Frank-mandated market reforms and the need for fair and open access to that clearing. Specifically, it shows that implementing objective governance standards for DCOs that include maximum capital requirements for DCO membership will enhance market stability and efficiency. To this end, the article focuses exclusively on clearing as it lies at the heart of Dodd Frank market reforms. Also, although the article discusses the SEC's proposed rules on DCO governance and ownership, it primarily focuses on the CFTC's rulemaking for DCOs since the CFTC has jurisdiction over 85% of the derivatives market. The article is divided into four parts. First, it shows that Congress intended the CFTC to adopt rigorous rules regarding DCO governance and ownership that eliminate the conflicts of interest that have allowed SDs to stifle competition for clearing services and to charge unnecessarily high transaction fees. Second, it explains how pre-Dodd-Frank market forces have limited access to clearing. Third, it shows that the CFTC's final rule on participant eligibility - particularly the rule establishing a $50 million threshold for DCO membership - promises to both improve swap users' access to clearing and ensure greater stability within the derivatives clearing market. Finally, the article argues that the CFTC should strengthen its proposed governance standards for DCOs in order to safeguard swap users' access to clearing against the possibility that the CFTC's participant eligibility requirements fail to increase DCO membership.


Background Paediatric patients are one of the most vulnerable patient populations. There are many unlicensed medicines and the so-called 'off-label' uses for which they are prescribed may increase the risk of drug-related problems (DRPs) such as lack of efficacy and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Purpose The objective of this study is determine the incidence of DRPs for patients admitted to the hospital's paediatric emergency unit, and provide information about drug use, with the intention of improving the rational use of medicines. Materials and methods A prospective observational study took place in July to September 2011. Pharmacists interviewed the people who were responsible for children up to 15 years old, without race restrictions, from both sexes, to obtain information about medicines the children had been taking. The results were evaluated and the DRPs were related to the admission to the hospital emergency paediatric unit of the State University Hospital of Campinas (UNICAMP). The DRPs obtained were classified as ineffective treatment, ADRs, inappropriate use, compliance, poisoning, drug interactions and technical defects. Results The authors interviewed 348 patients or those responsible for them and the proportion of hospital admissions due to DRPs was 14.7% (51 patients). Among the DRPs identified, 23 (45.1%) were due to ineffective treatment, 11 (21.6%) due to ADRs, 9 (17.6%) to inappropriate use, 4 (7.8%) to non-compliance, 2 (3.9%) to intoxication, 1 (2%) to a technical defect and 1 (2%) to a drug interaction. The respiratory and gastrointestinal systems were the most commonly affected organs, and antipyretics/analgesics were the drugs most commonly associated with ADRs. Conclusions This data may be used to construct the epidemiology profile of paediatric patients, showing that there is a high incidence of DRPs that cause hospitalisation. More study is necessary in both pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance in the paediatrics area to understand the DRPs involved and improve the use medicines in children.


The optical conductivity of charge carriers coupled to quantum phonons is studied in the framework of the one-dimensional spinless Holstein model. For one electron, variational diagonalization yields exact results in the thermodynamic limit, whereas at finite carrier density analytical approximations based on previous work on single-particle spectral functions are obtained. Particular emphasis is put on deviations from weak-coupling, small-polaron or one-electron theories occurring at intermediate coupling and/or finite carrier density. The analytical results are in surprisingly good agreement with exact data, and exhibit the characteristic polaronic excitations observed in experiments on manganites.


Global shifts in perspectives on environmental concerns and the growing significance of large-scale sustainability programs have brought the issue of green financing to the fore of financial research. In terms of volume, this area has demonstrated high growth rates in various types of capital markets. Unfortunately, few studies exist which explore the yields on green bonds in emerging markets in comparison to developed ones.

As such, in this paper, we contribute new evidence to the field of green financing and outline several major differences between green issues in these types of capital markets. We study yield premiums of green bonds on a sample of 2,450 green issues and comparable traditional bonds over the period from 2008 to March 2020. We contribute to the literature by new empirical evidence on green financing. Our results provide evidence of small but statistically significant negative premiums on green bonds of 23,4%1 compared to the expected yields for standard issues. We also show that the negative premium on green bonds is more pronounced in developed markets (- 27%2) than in emerging ones (18%3). Moreover, we provide new evidence on the negative premium-liquidity relationship. Our research concludes that negative premiums are related to a higher level of liquidity: green bonds have lower bid-ask spreads and a higher level of liquidity than traditional ones.

These conclusions can assist investors, potential issuing companies, and public authorities in achieving a better understanding of the current situation of the green bond market in global terms.


Wikipedia is an important instance of "Big Data," both because it shapes people's frames of reference and because it is a window into the construction—including via crowd-sourcing—of new bodies of knowledge. Based on our own research as well as others' critical and ethnographic work, we take as an instance Wikipedia's evolving representation of the field of sociology and sociologists, including such gendered aspects as male and female scholars and topics associated with masculinity and femininity. Both the gender-specific dynamics surrounding what counts as "notability" on the online encyclopedia and Wikipedia's relative categorical incoherence are discussed. If "Big Data" can be said to construct its own object, it is, in this instance, a curious and lop-sided one, exemplifying pitfalls as well as promise with respect to more accurate and democratic forms of knowledge.


This paper analyzes features of perfect taxation also known as optimal taxation when one or more private markets is imperfectly competitive. Governments with perfect information and access to lump-sum taxes can provide corrective subsidies that render outcomes efficient in the presence of imperfect competition. Relaxing either of these two conditions removes the government's ability to support efficient resource allocation and changes the perfect policy response. When governments cannot use lump-sum taxes, perfect tax policies represent compromises between the benefits of subsidizing output in the imperfectly competitive sectors of the economy and the costs of imposing higher taxes elsewhere. This tradeoff is formally identical for ad valorem and specific taxes, even though ad valorem taxation is welfare superior to specific taxation in the presence of imperfect competition. When governments have uncertain knowledge of the degree of competition in product markets, perfect corrective tax policy is generally of smaller magnitude than that when the degree of competition is known with certainty.


This paper presents a new algorithm to estimate electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation velocity (v) with high-frequency 2GHz ground penetrating radar (GPR)'s shielded antenna. The data collection makes use common offset method with particular consideration of antenna's separation distances and its corresponding triangulation geometry. This method calculates the distribution of discrete velocities at each point oblique to the embedded target object, analogous to the similar yet ambiguous curve fitting process of hyperbolas in most software. Validation test in air and a steel bar in concrete media were conducted and the results were satisfactory. Comparison with the tradition hyperbola geometry method was conducted and the results show that error on velocity analysis is significantly reduced by the proposed method. Based on the result, works on next stage will be about differentiation of velocity variations in concrete as a result of water seepage and leakage.


Inspired by the report, Transitioning to a Digital World: Art History, Its Research Centers, and Digital Scholarship, by Diane M. Zorich for the Kress Foundation and CHMN


Passivity-based control is a methodology to design (possibly nonlinear) controllers for nonlinear physical systems modifying its total energy function and damping characteristics. In this paper the basic principles of this technique, and some of the recent results of application for high performance AC drives, are briefly reviewed. Since the target audience of the paper is the drives community, the material is presented emphasizing its immediate practical applicability, with minimal mathematical details. However, it is underscored that in all applications a rigorous stability analysis for the full nonlinear dynamics has been reported in the literature.


Multidecadal shifts in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability have been observed, but it is unclear if this variability is just a random variation in the ENSO cycle or whether it is forced by other modes of climate variability. Here we show a strong influence of the Atlantic on the multidecadal variability of ENSO. The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is the dominant mode of multidecadal sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the Atlantic Ocean. Changes in AMO‐related tropical Atlantic SSTs are known to force changes in the Walker circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Using conceptual and coupled model experiments, we show that these changes to the Walker circulation modify ENSO stability on both annual and multidecadal time scales leading to a distinctive pattern of multidecadal ENSO variability that we find in observations and ocean reanalyses.


This letter deals with the frequency synchronization problem in the uplink of OFDMA communications systems with interleaved or generalized subcarrier allocation. An algorithm to estimate the carrier frequency offsets (CFOs) of all the active users is presented. The estimator relies upon finding the zeros of a suitable designed filter. The design of the filter boils down to the solution of a least squares (LS) problem and thus entails relatively low complexity. While under low subcarrier load conditions the estimation root mean squared error (RMSE) is higher than that of other existing methods, under heavy or full load achieves comparable and even superior performance.


Introduction Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is common, with 50 000 new cases per year in the UK. MPE causes disabling breathlessness and indicates advanced disease with a poor prognosis. Treatment approaches focus on symptom relief and optimising quality of life (QoL). Patients who newly present with MPE commonly require procedural intervention for both diagnosis and therapeutic benefit. Thoracoscopic pleural biopsies are highly sensitive in diagnosing pleural malignancy. Talc poudrage may be delivered at thoracoscopy (TTP) to prevent effusion recurrence by effecting pleurodesis. Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) offer an alternative strategy for fluid control, enabling outpatient management and are often used as 'rescue' therapy following pleurodesis failure or in cases of 'trapped lung'. It is unknown whether combining a TTP with IPC insertion will improve patient symptoms or reduce time spent in the hospital. The randomised thoracoscopic talc poudrage + indwelling pleural catheters versus thoracoscopic talc poudrage only in malignant pleural effusion trial (TACTIC) is the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the benefit of a combined TTP and IPC procedure, evaluating cost-effectiveness and patient-centred outcomes such as symptoms and QoL. The study remains in active recruitment and has the potential to radically transform the pathway for all patients presenting with MPE. Methods and analysis TACTIC is an unblinded, multicentre, RCT comparing the combination of TTP with an IPC to TTP alone. Co-primary outcomes are time spent in the hospital and mean breathlessness score over 4 weeks postprocedure. The study will recruit 124 patients and aims to define the optimal pathway for patients presenting with symptomatic MPE. Ethics and dissemination TACTIC is sponsored by North Bristol NHS Trust and has been granted ethical approval by the London-Brent Research Ethics Committee (REC ref: 21/LO/0495). Publication of results in a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentations are anticipated. Trial registration ISRCTN 11058680.


Suction cups made of poly(tetrafluorethene) (PTFE) are widely used for sampling of soil solution. A brand (Prenart) of PTFE cups was tested for adsorption of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn at low concentrations under different conditions. In a laboratory experiment adsorption from a 10 microg L(-1) heavy metal solution with a 0.01 M NaCl background electrolyte was investigated at pH 3.6, 4.5, and 5.8 by pumping the solutions through the cups. The effect of three different ionic compositions was also investigated using 0.01 M CaCl2, 0.01 M NaCl, and no background electrolyte at pH 4.5. In 0.01 M NaCl electrolyte at pH 5.8 the cups acted as effective filters. At pH 3.6 after 300 mL of solution had passed through the cup, equivalence between the Cd and Ni concentrations in influent and effluent was found. No equivalence between effluent and influent concentrations was found for Zn and Cu at pH 4.5 and 5.8. With Ca as the electrolyte, no adsorption of Cd, Ni, or Zn was found. In Na electrolyte, equivalence between influent and effluent concentrations for Cd, Ni, and Zn was reached. The difference between effluent and influent concentrations of Zn, Ni, and Cd remained significant in the absence of electrolyte. For all pH values and electrolytes the difference between effluent and influent concentrations of Cu was significant. It is concluded that PTFE cups affect the concentrations of heavy metals sampled at low soil solution concentrations. Cadmium, Cu, Ni, and Zn adsorb to the cup at pH > 4.5 and low ionic strength.


As technology scales into the deep submicron regime, noise immunity is becoming a metric of comparable importance to area, timing, and power for the analysis and design of very large scale integrated (VLSI) systems. A metric for noise immunity is defined, and a static noise analysis methodology based on this noise-stability metric is introduced to demonstrate how noise can be analyzed systematically on a full-chip basis using simulation-based transistor-level analysis. We then describe Harmony, a two-level (macro and global) hierarchical implementation of static noise analysis. At the macro level, simplified interconnect models and timing assumptions guide efficient analysis. The global level involves a careful combination of static noise analysis, static timing analysis, and detailed interconnect macromodels based on reduced-order modeling techniques. We describe how the interconnect macromodels are practically employed to perform coupling analysis and how timing constraints can be used to limit pessimism in the analysis.


Creating a digital collection typically requires a lot of time and thoughtful planning. But what would happen if you only had 10 weeks to plan and build a digital collection from scratch? That was the dilemma faced by the University of Texas at Arlington when the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, the Library, and the Department of Modern Languages collaborated on the digital collection "A Continent Divided: The U.S. – Mexico War." This ambitious effort involved scanning and describing dozens of items, writing detailed essays and biographies, translating Spanish language materials, and designing/building a MySQL database and website to access the collection. All of this and more was accomplished in less than 3 months. Digital Projects Librarian, Christy Allen, will discuss the project and offer insights, guidance, and lessons learned, relevant to anyone who may be implementing a digital collection in a brief period of time.


Infection and inflammation are well recognized causes of spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD) (<37 gestational weeks) and adverse infant outcomes. To date, there has been very little investigation into bacterial communities in amniotic fluid using next generation sequencing technology. In particular, it is important to characterize amniotic fluid bacterial profiles in complicated pregnancies as well as in asymptomatic women to identify predictive bacterial DNA signatures. Here, 1198 mid-trimester amniotic fluid samples from a cohort of Swedish women undergoing mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis were screened for bacterial DNA using qPCR protocols specifically designed to reduce the impacts of reagent contamination and human DNA mispriming. The majority of samples were devoid of detectable bacterial DNA; however, approximately a fifth of the cohort (19.9%) were 16S rRNA gene positive in duplicate screening. Among these, nine women had a spontaneous PTD. These nine women were matched with 18 healthy women with a delivery at term. We used PacBio SMRT technology, coupled with appropriate negative extraction and PCR controls, to sequence the full-length 16S rRNA gene in this subset of 27 women. The amniotic fluid samples contained low-abundance and low-diversity bacterial DNA profiles. Species typically associated with spontaneous PTD were absent. We were not able to identify any differences in the amniotic fluid bacterial DNA profiles of women with a subsequent spontaneous PTD compared to women who delivered at term. The findings suggest that, in a minor proportion of pregnancies, DNA from non-pathogenic bacteria may be present in the amniotic fluid far earlier than previously reported. Early detection of bacterial DNA in the amniotic fluid was, in this study, not associated with spontaneous PTD.


The chemical speciation and distribution of potentially toxic metal(loid)s in mine wastes is critical to assessing the risks posed by these wastes and predicting the potential bioavailability of the metal(loid)s present. Of additional potential importance is the role of particle size in the fate, transport, and toxicity of contaminated mining materials. Spectroscopic analyses of size-separated mine tailings and adjacent background samples from the Randsburg Historic Mining District, California were conducted to quantify the speciation and distribution of arsenic (As) as a function of particle size. Micro-X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) mapping of separate size fractions was used to identify multiple populations of particles with different As:Fe ratios, indicating a variety of distinct arsenic-bearing species. Bulk extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy identified phases including arseniosiderite, Ca2Fe3(3+)(AsO4)3O3·3H2O, and As(V) sorbed to iron hydroxides (ferrihydrite, goethite), confirming a strong statistical correlation between arsenic and iron observed in both μXRF studies and bulk chemical analyses. Differences in As speciation between the mine tailings and background samples also suggest that weathering of crystalline As-bearing phases in tailings leads to sorption of dissolved arsenic to iron hydroxides in nontailings background material.


The seed rain of Populus euphratica in Ejina Oasis was continuously studied in the years of 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The duration of P. euphratica seed rain in a community was usually 2 to 3 weeks, with a peak period of 7 to 14 days. Approximately 90% of the total number of seeds were dispersed in the peak period, and for a single day most seeds fell between the hours of 10:00 to 16:00. It was found that the seed rain of P. euphratica was determined by a combination of biological rhythms and weather conditions. Wind speed and atmospheric humidity were the two main meteorological factors influencing seed dispersal. More seeds fell when there was higher wind speed and lower RH. After we completed our comprehensive study of the P. euphratica seed rain, temporal heterogeneity was found not only in different populations but also in different individuals, and not only in different phases of the seed rain but also in different times of the day. P. euphratica extends its seed rain season by these different kinds of temporal heterogeneity to ensure some propagules survive and germinate when floods occur. Furthermore, marked inter-annual fluctuation in the seed rain exists in P. euphratica in the study area. Finally, in relation to the water supply for P. euphratica in Ejina in recent years, we concluded that there is no dislocation in time of water supply and the seed rain of P. euphratica in Ejina Oasis, and the reason for the failure of sexual reproduction of P. euphratica may lie in the human disturbances of channeling and the cement lining of the channels.


The electromagnetic Casimir energies of a spherical and a cylindrical cavity are analyzed semiclassically. The field theoretical self-stress of a spherical cavity with ideal metallic boundary conditions is reproduced to better than 1%. The subtractions in this case are unambiguous and the good agreement is shows that finite contributions from the exterior of the cavity are small. The semiclassical electromagnetic Casimir energy of a cylindrical cavity on the other hand vanishes to any order in the real reflection coefficients, whereas the field theoretic Casimir energy of a cylindrical boundary that is perfectly metallic and infinitesimally thin is finite and negative[18]. Contrary to the spherical case and in agreement with Barton's perturbative analysis[36], the subtractions in the spectral density for the cylinder are not universal when only the interior modes of are taken into account[47]. The Casimir energy of a cylindrical cavity therefore depends sensitively on the physical nature of the boundary in the ultraviolet whereas the Casimir energy of a spherical one does not. The extension of the semiclassical approach to more realistic systems is sketched.


This paper deals with an adaptive multi-robot task planning. When a desired goal state of the task environment is given, backward task planning from the goal state and forward search form the initial condition such as currently available robot and functions and displacement of objects etc., are interactively executed to find a feasible state transition. Nontrivial multi-robot cooperation formation is dynamically generated as a result of the task planning. Experimental results validate the proposed method.


The concept of the temporally extrapolated absorbance method (TEAM) for optical tomography of turbid media has been verified by fundamental experiments and image reconstruction. The TEAM uses the time-resolved spectroscopic data of the reference and object to provide projection data that are processed by conventional backprojection. Optical tomography images of a phantom consisting of axisymmetric double cylinders were experimentally obtained with the TEAM and time-gating and continuous-wave (CW) methods. The reconstructed TEAM images are compared with those obtained with the time-gating and CW methods and are found to have better spatial resolution.


Human food waste in cities presents urban wildlife with predictable, easily accessible high-calorie food sources, but this can be both beneficial and harmful for individual health. We analyzed body condition and serum chemistry (electrolyte levels, markers of kidney and liver function, protein, glucose, and cholesterol) in an urban and rural population of eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) to assess whether proximity to the human food waste that is associated with urban habitats had ill effects on health. We found no differences in body condition between habitats and no evidence of malnutrition at either site. However, urban squirrels had higher blood glucose, lower potassium, phosphorus, chloride, and albumin:globulin ratios. These results align with previous findings of increased dietary sugar in cities, and suggest that urban populations of grey squirrels are under greater environmental stress than rural populations.


In Mobile IPv6, when a mobile node (MN) is far away from home, it is inefficient that all traffic to the MN is tunneled by the remote home agent (HA) to the MN's current location. A scheme based on dynamic home agents in Hierarchy Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6) environments is proposed to address the problem. Since the MN has no static home agent and home address, it is uniquely identified with a network access identifier (NAI). A mobility anchor point (MAP) becomes the MN's current HA when the MN powers up or enters a new domain. A regional CoA (RCoA) configured in the domain becomes the MN's home address through a secure DNS update. Since the HA is always close to the MN, the end-to-end delay can be decreased and transport efficiency can be improved. In addition, we propose a proactive authentication, authorization, accounting (AAA) context transfer scheme to reduce inter-domain handoff delay. The DIAMETER protocol is used to provide AAA functions.


A method to analyze the acoustic signals collected in fully-mechanized caving face is presented in this paper. Through analyzing the marginal spectrum and frequency spectrum of intrinsic mode functions obtained by empirical mode decomposition, acoustic signals' frequency and amplitude characteristics are gotten, that is, high frequency signals about 1000Hz ~2800Hz are produced when the top coal is combined with gangue. Furthermore, the acoustic signals' instantaneous energy spectrums in the frequency range of 1000Hz ~2800Hz can be used to identify the coal-rock interface.


This paper investigates the reasons for and process of portraying time in visual art, using various
theoretical analyses of time. Using the methodology of Paul Ricoeur's narrative hermeneutics
(called Threefold Mimesis) as the foundation, a series of analyses was undertaken in the realms
of pre-understanding, representation and interpretation. Pre-understanding covers a brief review
of time analysis, and representation explores embodied or represented time in visual art. As the
representation acts as mediator and connects the stage of pre-understanding with interpretation, it
becomes a core element of the research. Lastly, the chapter about interpretation describes the
process of portraying time through image. With this theoretical research, I devised a concept I
named 'Surface Layer Time', which is a method of representing and interpreting time in a visual
way. The Surface Layer Time concept is an attempt to abstract the various characteristics of time
from its very small fragments, and my practice in examining it. Thus, this research unveils the
process of delivering time, and suggests a new methodology for representing it. By applying
narrative hermeneutics to visual art, this paper intends to broaden the understanding of time in
text and image.


Preventive treatment of focal and segmental glomerusclerosis (FSGS) allograft recurrence in high risk recipients having a prior history of graft loss caused by FSGS recurrence is still a challenging question. We retrospectively identified four patients who underwent a second renal transplantation because of recurrent FSGS and who received Rituximab therapy as a prophylactic treatment. Loss of their first allograft was directly related to an early (<3 months) recurrence of FSGS that was either resistant to plasmapheresis therapy in two cases or had escaped to this therapeutic management in the two others. After the second renal transplantation, all patients were free of FSGS recurrence during follow‐ups that were between 12 and 54 months long. These preliminary results demonstrate for the first time that Rituximab therapy may constitute an attractive prophylactic option for patients being considered for a second renal transplantation because of recurrent FSGS in their first graft.


The proliferation of counterfeit Integrated Circuits (ICs) poses a big challenge for the electronics industry as today's supply chain of ICs becomes more complex and expensive. For this reason, it is imperative to mitigate these risks by developing counterfeit IC detection techniques, especially at the chip level. In this paper, a novel counterfeit IC detection method is proposed. It is based on the measurement of intrinsic light emission from CMOS ICs that is a strong function of the device threshold voltage (Vt) for a given technology. In contrast to currently available counterfeit IC detection techniques, the proposed method measures IC degradation after it has been used for a long time and does not require a reference IC to provide a baseline signature. A differential technique is used to detect different levels of degradation inside the same chip in order to determine if it is counterfeit. Experimental results presented in this paper show that emission can be effectively used to detect degradation, thus making this technique a very effective way to detect counterfeit ICs.


Field measurements of cross- shore velocities were obtained, using electromagnetic current meters from morphodynamically reflective intermediate and dissipative macrotidal beach sites during high  energy conditions. The dominant velocity moments outside the surf zone were found to predict (1) onshore transport associated with the short wave skewness. (2) onshore transport associated with short wave stirring and transport by a weak mean onshore flow and (3) offshore transport due to short wave stirring in long wave troughs. lnside the surf zone the dominant velocity moments predicted (1) offshore transport caused by both short and long wave stirring and subsequent offshore transport by the undertow, (2) weak onshore transport associated with the short wave skewness, and (3) at the dissipative site, offshore transport associated with the long wave skewness. By plotting the normalised velocity moments for all the field sites against normalised depth, a second order polynomial shape function was produced for the total velocity moment, which predicts onshore  transport seaward of the surf zone decreasing in magnitude towards the breakpoint, and offshore transport inside the surf zone increasing in magnitude towards the shoreline. It is suggested that this shape function represents a quasi-universal cross-shore sediment transport spatial distribution curve for high energy beaches.


Purpose: This review addressed the question of whether minimally invasive surgery after traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures can reduce paraspinal muscle injury, limit changes in muscular structure and function, and lead to better functional outcome. Special emphasis was given to studies using imaging techniques or electromyography to evaluate the lumbar multifidus muscle structure and function. Methods: The authors searched the literature in the PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, by cross-referencing and additional hand search. Included were comparative studies between conventional open and minimally invasive or percutaneous surgical approaches. Twelve studies were included. Results and conclusions: The literature review supports the assumption that minimally invasive surgery preserves muscles for the early post-operative period, even though the level of evidence is still low. The correlation of changes in muscular structure to pain, strength, disability, and quality of life remains ambiguous and should be addressed in further studies with a focus on the surgical approach.


One of the most crucial topics of coup literature as a sub genre of Turkish literature is the matter of political representation. In this respect, literature with its capability to be the representation of a representation and being able to display historical events from different vantage points; becomes of uttermost importance. Specifically, autobiographical narratives have an informative characteristic with respect to the periods of coups. From this point, one can see that the retrospective analyses on these periods, firstly depict these periods as an ultimate state of exception, whilst portraying the subject who has been silenced and subjected to violence as devoid of agency and engulfed in desperation. Thus, it is clear that there is a necessity for a way of analysis that takes different positionalities into consideration and pave way for alternative representation and existence zones instead of totalizing, abstracting and silencing narratives through an inspection of the tension between ideological representation and literature and literature itself. This thesis will investigate literary examples, to first, locate the impact of spatical deprivation and confinement's affect on individuals' political agency. Moving from this point, the issues of conditions of bearing witness in prison setting and possibility of testimony will be discussed, only to reveal the political alternatives these texts signify. In the end, through the analysis of mentioned issues, the relationship between anthropological and autobiographical will be investigated and the possibility of writing as an alternative political project as well as bearing witness in an another way will be questioned.


The Rapid growth of  technology and infrastructure has made our lives more easy . The advent of technology has also increased the traffic hazards and the  road  accident take place frequently which causes huge loss of life and property because of the poor emergency facilities. Our project will provide an optimum solution to this draw back. An accelerometer can be used in a car alarm application so that dangerous driving can be detected . It can be used as a crash or rollover detector of the vehicle during and after a crash. With signals from an accelerometer, a severe accident can be recognized. According to this project when a vehicle meets with an accident immediately Vibration sensor will detect the signal or if a car rolls over, an Micro electro mechanical system(MEMS) sensor will detects the signal and sends it to ARM controller. Microcontroller sends the alert message through the GSM MODEM including the location to police control room or a rescue team. So the police can immediately trace the location through the GPS MODEM, after receiving the information. Then after conforming the location necessary action will be taken. If the person meets with a small accident or if there is no serious threat to anyone`s life, then the alert message can be terminated by the driver by a switch provided in order to avoid wasting the valuable time of the medical rescue team. This paper is useful in detecting the accident precisely by means of both vibration sensor and Micro electro Mechanical system(MEMS) or accelerometer. As there is a scope for improvement and as a future implementation we can add a wireless webcam for capturing the images which will help in providing driver`s assistance. Keywords - Accident ,Automatic Detection, Micro electro Mechanical system , Remote Alarm Device, Vehicle


Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that caused an epidemic in 2015–2016. ZIKV-specific T cell responses are functional in animal infection models, and helper CD4 T cells promote avid Abs in the vaccine context. The small volumes of blood available from field research limit the determination of T cell epitopes for complex microbes such as ZIKV. The goal of this project was efficient determination of human ZIKV CD4 T cell epitopes at the whole proteome scale, including validation of reactivity to whole pathogen, using small blood samples from convalescent time points when T cell response magnitude may have waned. Polyclonal enrichment of candidate ZIKV-specific CD4 T cells used cell-associated virus, documenting that T cells in downstream peptide analyses also recognize whole virus after Ag processing. Sequential query of bulk ZIKV-reactive CD4 T cells with pooled/single ZIKV peptides and molecularly defined APC allowed precision epitope and HLA restriction assignments across the ZIKV proteome and enabled discovery of numerous novel ZIKV CD4 T cell epitopes. The research workflow is useful for the study of emerging infectious diseases with a very limited human blood sample availability.


A final year student of Diploma in Interior Design is required to prepare their own final year project. Each student may have a brand new ideas on designing their proposed project. The project proposal report proposed herein, is a new interior design of Kingsmen Malaysia's new office at Lot 12, Jalan Taming 2, Taman Perindustrian Selesa Jaya, 43300 Balakong, Selangor. Kingsmen Sdn Bhd is a well known communication design and production group in Asia Pacific and in Malaysia. Established in 1983, it providies turnkey solutions in design, project management, roll-out management, custom fixture manufacturing, general contracting, outsourcing and fulfillment, warehousing and logistics management. Currently Kingsmen's number of staff and load of works increase tremendously as a private company with 104 workers, 9 directors and 5 departments. Kingsmen's Malaysia may widen its relationship with clients and they usually visit the office for further discussions or for business purposes. Throughout the proposed new office, Kingsmen's Malaysia will stand tall to its reputation and standard along with its image. With that in mind. They need a bigger area to strive for further success and a site has been determined for this new proposed office which is in accordance to Kingsmen's conditions and needs. In this report, the whole new look and image of Kingsmen's Malaysia are proposed smoothly according to the design process and material presented through readings, lecture and design projects. This proposal which reflects the whole new look of Kingsmen's Malaysia new office covers every department beginning from the reception, workstations to staff lounge. It is proposed for Kingsmen to have the " Transparent through Modernity * concept which is fully based on their company's profile, design portfolio and company's logo which is in grey and red letterings that defines a design-oriented approach to their business yet gives greater visibility in the market


Purpose

Real estate property has been established as a composite good, and its value is determined by many variables. The heterogeneous nature of real estate property has made different stakeholders value these variables differently. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate these sets of variables which influence residential property value in the Lagos metropolis property market, Nigeria, based on professional valuers' perception.

Design/methodology/approach

A list of variables that influences property value was generated through literature review, and the list was used to design an online questionnaire that was administered to valuers practicing in the metropolis. The valuers were asked to rank these variables in order of significance. Their response was analysed to establish the mean score of each variable that depicts their level of significance.

Findings

In order of importance, property location, neighbourhood characteristics, property state of repair, size of property, availability of neighbourhood security and age of property are the most highly significant variables that are influential on the property value in the Lagos metropolis.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will inform all existing and prospective real estate stakeholders, including facility managers of the major determinants of the value of their investments and, at the same time, will be a tool for valuers and researchers in property value modelling.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to develop a framework of property value determinants in this research area in Nigeria.


Tibetan medicine is virtually unknown outside Tibet and India and yet it is probably the most original and clinically oriented traditional system of medicine integrating the finest therapeutic techniques from the Indian and Chinese medical systems. One of the many unique aspects of Tibetan medicine is urinalysis used not only for its clinical value but also for prognosis. Urinalysis is based on clinical observation and theoretical knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to present a basic guideline of the 9 clinical characteristics of urine temperature and show how such variation in these characteristics has clinical significance. Major clinical features of urine associated with specific diseases like malignancy, asthma, osteoarthritis and cholelithiasis are discussed.


SUMMARY. Men have used medicinal plant properties to treat infectious diseases. Both the rise of emerging infectious diseases as the microbial resistance problem has stimulated the searching for new antimicrobial agents. This study evaluated the antibacterial activity and toxicity of crude extracts, fractions and pure compounds from Drimys brasiliensis. The antibacterial activity of five extracts, twelve fractions and five isolated compounds were tested against six Gram-positive and seven Gram-negative bacteria. The methodology used was agar dilution. The extract potential toxicities were evaluated using Artemia salina assay. Antibacterial activity tests showed some promising results, such as bark chloroform extract with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 62.5 μg/mL for Bacillus cereus, fraction G2 with MIC for Staphylococcus aureus of 62.5 μg/mL, and methoxy-polygodial compound with MIC to Bacillus cereus of 31.25 μg/mL. There was no activity against Gram-negative bacteria. The bark dichloromethane extract showed MIC of 1000 μg/mL against Helicobacter pylori. The best results corresponded to fractions E and G2, with a MIC of 500 μg/mL. Among the isolated compounds, polygodial showed better activity with MIC of 250 μg/mL. Artemia salina tests showed that the bark dichloromethane extract and the fractions E and G2 showed toxicity, with LC50 values of 27.51, 25.29 and 139.7 μg/mL, respectively. The results showed the antibacterial activity of Drimys brasiliensis, with potential toxicity, but with possible antimutagenic action.


Code generation in a compiler is commonly divided into several phases: instruction selection, scheduling, register allocation, spill code generation, and, in the case of clustered architectures, cluster assignment. These phases are interdependent; for instance, a decision in the instruction selection phase affects how an operation can be scheduled We examine the effect of this separation of phases on the quality of the generated code. To study this we have formulated optimal methods for code generation with integer linear programming; first for acyclic code and then we extend this method to modulo scheduling of loops. In our experiments we compare optimal modulo scheduling, where all phases are integrated, to modulo scheduling, where instruction selection and cluster assignment are done in a separate phase. The results show that, for an architecture with two clusters, the integrated method finds a better solution than the nonintegrated method for 27% of the instances.


The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the presence and effects, if any, of colorism among African American teachers and their African American students in two public high schools in the Southeast region of the United States. The sample size consisted of 10 study participants. The theory guiding this study was Serge Moscovici's Social Representation Theory. This theory studies people, ideas, and values of institutions in a cultural context. Most recent studies on the phenomenon of colorism have focused on preferential treatment in the workforce and media. These studies concluded that lighter-skinned Black people are frequently provided opportunities and believed to be more capable than their darker-skinned counterparts. This study examined the phenomenon of colorism as it relates to African-American teachers and their AfricanAmerican students. The way in which teachers perceived a student's academic potential, behavioral expectations, and overall capability for success was examined through indepth interviews of each participant. The data collected were then coded, which allowed the researcher to organize the data into a logical group of categories and common themes. The findings of this study identified the existence of colorism in the classroom and as well as the way in which some African American teachers view their African American students as it related to intelligence, behavior, and attractiveness. Further research should be conducted in order to ascertain how colorism affects African American students in the primary classroom. Elementary school is the critical time in which students develop selfesteem, and it is imperative to explore this area. Furthermore, the degree to which colorism may impact the relationship between White teachers and African American students would also be valuable research.


This article presents arguments and evidence that should prompt a rethinking and qualification of the conventional wisdom about the dominance of international markets over national politics. Empirical analysis of OECD data shows that expanding trade, foreign direct investment and liquid capital mobility have not prompted a pervasive policy race to the neoliberal bottom in the past decade. One reason is that there are strong political incentives for governments to cushion the dislocations and risk associated with open international markets. Moreover, countries with large and expanding public economies (when balanced with increasing revenues, even from capital taxes) have not suffered from capital flight or higher interest rates. This may be because income transfers and the public provision of social services generate economically important collective goods that are under-supplied by markets and that actors who are interested in productivity value. These collective goods range from the accumulation of human and physical capital to social stability under conditions of high market uncertainty to popular support for the market economy itself.


From the Publisher:
WHERE WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TODAY -- IF YOU HAD 50 BILLION DOLLARS?
Find out on Bill Gates' Personal Super Secret Private Laptop: A Microspoof. Due to a miraculous twist of fate, the laptop you hold in your hand came into the possession of Henry Beard, John Boswell, and Ron Barrett, a trio of concerned, if computer-illiterate, citizens and authors of such bestselling humor books as O.J.'s Legal Pad and French for Cats. Now that these three have hired precocious preteens to hock into Gates' secret notes, plans, e-mails, and to-do lists, we can all be privy to the intellectual property of the richest man in the world.
Fabulously fabricated in two-color throughout, Bill Gates' Personal Super Secret Private Laptop exhaustively captures the mind, spirit, and nerdiness of Bill Gates -- the guy who owns you, or soon will.


"Improved employee collaboration and communication can be facilitated by social technologies that extend within and beyond organisations. These social technologies have increasingly come to be represented by social media sites, which are used to extend workplace relationships across personal and professional boundaries in a hybrid role. This presents opportunities and risks as those boundaries are collapsed. Using boundary management as a theoretical lens, we evaluate the associations of relationship initiation between colleagues at different levels of organisations with employees' strategies and their well‐being. We also investigate relationships with social media usage, age and propensity to self‐monitor and group employees using cluster analysis. We consider implications of our findings for developing more sophisticated policies, training and guidance for employees on the use of social media as a workplace tool."


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and methods of conflicts of interest (COI) reporting in published dry needling (DN) studies and to determine the frequency of researcher allegiance (RA).

METHODS
A pragmatic systematic search was undertaken to identify DN studies that were included in systematic reviews. Information regarding COI and RA were extracted from the full text of the published DN reports, and study authors were sent a survey inquiring about the presence of RA. A secondary analysis also was undertaken based on study quality/risk of bias scores that were extracted from the corresponding systematic reviews and study funding extracted from each DN study.

RESULTS
Sixteen systematic reviews were identified, containing 60 studies of DN for musculoskeletal pain disorders, 58 of which were randomized controlled trials. Of the DN studies, 53% had a COI statement. None of these studies disclosed a COI. Nineteen (32%) authors of DN studies responded to the survey. According to the RA survey, 100% of DN studies included at least 1 RA criterion. According to the data extraction, 1 RA criterion was met in 45% of the DN studies. The magnitude of RA per study was 7 times higher according to the surveys than in the published reports.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that COI and RA might be underreported in studies of DN. In addition, authors of DN studies might be unaware of the potential influence of RA on study results and conclusions.

IMPACT
Improved reporting of COI/RA might improve credibility of results and help identify the various factors involved in complex interventions provided by physical therapists. Doing so could help optimize treatments for musculoskeletal pain disorders provided by physical therapists.


Introduction: Surgical corrections of fracture using fixation devices made from various alloys (stainless steel, cobalt-chromium alloys, and titanium) carry a risk of these alloys leaching into circulation, potentially causing undesired health effects. Hence, monitoring the levels of metal ions in the serum of postoperative patients with metal implants is mandated. Materials and Methods: Blood samples from seventy patients with orthopedic metal implants was collected after a minimum postoperative period of 1 year. The samples were subjected to triple acid digestion and serum levels of chromium and nickel were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Results: The concentration of chromium (0.13 ± 0.06 μg/L) and nickel (0.39 ± 0.28 μg/L) in serum was within the reference range (chromium: 0.05–0.15 μg/L; nickel: 0.05–1.0 μg/L). Although a relatively high variability in the concentration of nickel was observed compared to chromium. In a subgroup analysis, the concentrations of both metal ions were not influenced by either gender, age groups, site of intramedullary nail, or postoperative duration. Conclusion: The concentration of chromium and nickel in serum of patients with orthopedic metal implants was within the normal reference levels at over 1-year post implant. The concentration of these metal ions was not influenced by gender, age groups, site of intramedullary nail, or postoperative duration.


Transformer-based models have gained large popularity and demonstrated promising results in long-term time-series forecasting in recent years. In addition to learning attention in time domain, recent works also explore learning attention in frequency domains (e.g., Fourier domain, wavelet domain), given that seasonal patterns can be better captured in these domains. In this work, we seek to understand the relationships between attention models in different time and frequency domains. Theoretically, we show that attention models in different domains are equivalent under linear conditions (i.e., linear kernel to attention scores). Empirically, we analyze how attention models of different domains show different behaviors through various synthetic experiments with seasonality, trend and noise, with emphasis on the role of softmax operation therein. Both these theoretical and empirical analyses motivate us to propose a new method: TDformer (Trend Decomposition Transformer), that first applies seasonal-trend decomposition, and then additively combines an MLP which predicts the trend component with Fourier attention which predicts the seasonal component to obtain the final prediction. Extensive experiments on benchmark time-series forecasting datasets demonstrate that TDformer achieves state-of-the-art performance against existing attention-based models.


Retrospective review of 33 patients followed for up to 14 years showed that no signs, symptoms, or histopathologic classification were able to correlate with the long-term fate of the patient. In some cases the histologic pictures were diagnosed differently by different pathologists, pointing up the difficulty encountered in differentiating benign from malignant tumor. Among the interesting clinical findings were: (a) all eight cases of bilateral involvement of the eye or orbital involvement proved to be or developed later systemic lymphomas; (b) one half of the systemic cases (7 out of 15) had ophthalmic involvement from the start; (c) five out of six cases of the medial conjunctival involvement were found to be ultimately malignant. A long-term follow-up and the fate of the patient has to be the final arbiter as to whether the lesion was benign or malignant in a significant number of cases.


Recently the Effective Capacity of multi-user wireless scheduling has been analyzed based on large deviation principle. The users' queue length distribution bound of wireless scheduling algorithm such as round robin and rate maximum was discussed based on Effective Capacity analysis. But for Queue Length Based (QLB) Rate Maximum scheduling algorithm, the analysis result is only limited to system bound performance and not for each user's bound performance. In this paper we consider each user's amount of input traffic and channel statistical characteristics and introduce a new Effective Capacity analysis model for QLB scheduling algorithm. The queue length distribution bound of the QLB scheduling algorithm for each user is then predicted by the proposed analysis model. Based on the predicted queue length distribution bound, we can set different queue length threshold, that is, delay constraint (queue length can be translated to delay) for each user to obtain different queue length violation (or delay constraint violation or queue overflow) probability. Then the effect of each user's amount of input traffic to their queue length (or delay constraint) violation probability in multiuser environment is analyzed. The proposed analysis model and the estimation results have been verified by numerical simulations.


ABSTRACT Background: Most studies examining psychotropic medication use on cognition in older persons with dementia include measures of global cognitive function. The present study examined the relationship between different types of psychotropic medication and specific cognitive functions in older people with dementia. Methods: Two hundred and six institutionalized older adults with dementia (180 women, mean age 85 years) were administered neuropsychological tests. Psychotropic medication use was extracted from their medical status and categorized as: sedatives, antidepressants and antipsychotics. Results: Analysis of covariance revealed that psychotropic consumers, and particularly those who used antipsychotics, performed worse on neuropsychological tests of executive/attentional functioning than non-consumers. There were no differences between consumers of other classes of psychotropic drugs and non-consumers. The number of psychotropic drugs used was inversely related to executive/attentional functioning. Conclusions: These findings show that in institutionalized older adults with dementia, specific impairment of cognitive function, i.e. executive/attentional impairments, are associated with antipsychotic medication use. Future longitudinal studies are recommended.


This study estimates and analyzes the factors affecting profitability performance as well as the implications for stock returns on real estate and property sectors listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the period of 2007-2014. Of the 45 listed property companies in IDX, samples taken 23 companies. Based on the results of the research, obtained empirical findings that bring important implications in the development of the theory of profitability performance of the company associated with the factors that influence it and its implications on the stock return of the company. The study developed four groups of factors that affect the performance of the company's profitability of interest rates, solvency, total asset turnover (TATO), and exchange rate. Factors that do not affect are Liquidity. Factors that affect the company's stock returns are return on assets, liquidity, solvency, TATO, and exchange rate. Factors that do not affect is the interest rate. The panel data regression model to estimate the determinants of the profitability performance of real estate and property companies in Indonesia is based on three models of common effect model, fixed effect model, random effect model. Through paired pair testing for determinant of profitability performance and implication of stock return, that Random Effect model is better. For testing each model on the determinant of profitability performance. The largest fixed-effect model that is R-squared 0,532102 and adjusted R-squared 0,451120. Paired testing of two models for stock returns, that the most satisfactory fixed effect model that is R-squared 0.845078 and Adjusted R-squared 0.816351


The paper proposes an e-learning model which uses the concepts and the methods of the systems theory. The first level of the model is the "black box" representation in which the system is characterized by its input and output terminals. The input terminals correspond to different types of e-learning methods, for instance e-courses, self-study materials, media means, virtual classrooms, interactive e-lessons, video/audio conferences, web-based training, mobile learning, social learning, chat, wiki, blog and personal site, simulation, serious game-based learning. The output terminals correspond to various kinds of examinations, for instance, tests, midterm tests, final exams and results of pairwork and groupwork activities, homework.
 On the second level, the state, input and output variables of the system are defined and one provides the mathematical model in terms of the state and output equations. Finally, the considered variables are organized into three kinds of vectors, which are the states, inputs and outputs of the model and the coefficients of the obtained equations form three matrices of appropriate dimensions. One obtains the state-space representation of the e-learning process in the form of a linear, discrete-time, time-invariant control system.
 This representation, which is at the interface between e-learning, systems theory and mathematics, enables the description of the system behaviour by two formulas, one for the state of the system at any moment of time and another one (called the general response or the input-output map) for the output of the system.
 The main advantage of this model is that one can apply the theory of the linear control systems to solve some problems. For instance, the fundamental concept of controllability and the corresponding techniques give the possibility of establishing a policy of learning so that a student's (or a group of students') state of knowledge comes at a given level at a given time.
 The dual concept of observability provides methods to estimate the state by knowing the values of the input and output. One can apply the optimal control to minimize or maximize an evaluation functional and obtain solutions in the form of a state feedback.
 An application to foreign languages e-learning is provided. The four macro language skills have been considered: the productive skills, i.e. writing and speaking and the receptive ones, i.e. reading and listening. This choice is influenced by their important position in foreign languages e-learning (and generally in learning), by the fact that nowadays they are considered skills in their own right, not only support for learning vocabulary or grammar. Another argument is that these skills are commonly used in combination and their learning processes should work interactively.
 The state-space representation of the e-learning process is obtained, by defining the state variables by the skills acquired at an interval of time.
 The Control Systems Toolbox of the Matlab software is used to generate and to study the corresponding control system. The given model can be extended to time-varying or to stochastic systems.
 The model can also be extended by introducing some micro skills, for instance pre-, while- and post-listening skills, email skills or the understanding and the use of specialized terms in a domain (such as engineering, economics, medicine etc.).
 For the research in the preparation of the paper, the author has received advice within the collective Systems Theory and Optimal Control at the Applied Sciences Faculty, University Politehnica of Bucharest.


When I first became interested in reading about incest behavior, as a result of participating in the evaluation of several families in which father-daughter incest had occurred, 1 I encountered a surprising stumbling block in the university library. The only substantial scholarly work on incest available at that time, S. K. Weinberg's Incest Behavior , 2 was not only a noncirculating book, but it could be looked at only by appointment in a particular room under the watchful eye of a librarian. My arguments that I was a fully credentialed faculty member and clinician who could be counted on not to deface, steal, or become carnally aroused by the book, and who should therefore be allowed to study it at my leisure, were to no avail. Like Lady Chatterly's Lover , the content at that time was apparently considered "too hot" to be released into private hands. The opening words of Weinberg's


As an emerging technology, additive manufacturing (AM) is able to fabricate products with complex geometries using various materials. In particular, cyber-enabled AM systems have recently become widely applied in many real-world applications. It significantly improves the flexibility and productivity of AM but poses the system under high risks of cyber-physical attacks. For example, cyber-physical attack could maliciously tamper the product design and process parameters, which, in turn, leads to significant alteration of the desired properties in AM products. Therefore, there is an urgent need in incorporating advanced technologies to improve the cyber-physical security for the cyber-enabled AM systems. In this study, two common types of cyber-physical attacks regarding the G-code security were investigated, namely, unintended design modifications and intellectual property theft. To effectively secure the G-code against these two attacks, a new methodology is developed in this study, which consists of a novel blockchain-based data storage approach and an effective asymmetry encryption technique. The proposed method was also applied to a real-world AM case for ensuring the cyber-physical security of the face shield fabrication, which is critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the proposed methodology, malicious tampering can be accurately detected in time, and meanwhile, the risk of unauthorized access of the G-code file is greatly eliminated as well. © 2020 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). All rights reserved.


In this paper, we consider the classic problem of accessing coded and precoded intersymbol interference (ISI) channels, and particularly partial response (PR) channels, which are widely used in modeling magnetic recording systems. Previous work has either treated the binary precoder as an exclusive function of the channel characteristics, disregarding possible impact from the channel code, or, in performing the iterative analysis of this concatenated system, assumed an unbounded length. Our approach here is to extend the conventional infinite-length extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts to ISI systems of limited lengths, and to explicitly account for the effect of the channel nonergodicity. We found that short-length channel codes may exhibit distinctively different EXIT behaviors in different rate regions, and it is important to couple the precoder and the channel code. We show that infinite- and finite-length EXIT behaviors do not always agree, and hence the results obtained from the infinite-length analysis may not hold for practical short-length systems.


ABSTRACT This study examines how exposure to network news, partisan opinion talk, and political satire programs during the 2012 Iowa presidential caucuses affected viewers' perceptions of candidate viability (likelihood of capturing the party nomination) and electability (likelihood of winning the general election). Programs representing these genres—ABC World News, Fox News's Hannity, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—all framed the same candidate as the front-runner for the nomination, though each framed this candidate's general election prospects in distinctive ways. A randomized field experiment assigned respondents to view one (or none) of the three programs as they aired. Assessments of the front-runner were significantly shaped by assignment to view television coverage, hence demonstrating the potential importance of all three media genres for the presidential nomination process.


Regions of several dozen to several hundred base pairs of extreme conservation have been found in non-coding regions in all metazoan genomes. The distribution of these elements within and across genomes has suggested that many have roles as transcriptional regulatory elements in multi-cellular organization, differentiation and development. Currently, there is no known mechanism or function that would account for this level of conservation at the observed evolutionary distances. Previous studies have found that, while these regions are under strong purifying selection, and not mutational coldspots, deletion of entire regions in mice does not necessarily lead to identifiable changes in phenotype during development. These opposing findings lead to several questions regarding their functional importance and why they are under strong selection in the first place. In this perspective, we discuss the methods and techniques used in identifying and dissecting these regions, their observed patterns of conservation, and review the current hypotheses on their functional significance.


Abstract At birth, when immune responses are insufficient, there begins the development of the defence capability against pathogens. Leptin and adiponectin, adipokines that are present in breast milk, have been shown to play a role in the regulation of immune responses. We report here, for the first time, the influence of in vivo adipokine supplementation on the intestinal immune system in early life. Suckling Wistar rats were daily supplemented with leptin (0·7 μg/kg per d, n 36) or adiponectin (35 μg/kg per d, n 36) during the suckling period. The lymphocyte composition, proliferation and cytokine secretion from mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes (on days 14 and 21), as well as intestinal IgA and IgM concentration (day 21), were evaluated. At day 14, leptin supplementation significantly increased the TCRαβ + cell proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes, in particular owing to an increase in the TCRαβ + CD8+ cell population. Moreover, the leptin or adiponectin supplementation promoted the early development CD8+ cells, with adiponectin being the only adipokine capable of enhancing the lymphoproliferative ability at the end of the suckling period. Although leptin decreased intestinal IgA concentration, it had a trophic effect on the intestine in early life. Supplementation of both adipokines modulated the cytokine profile during (day 14) and at the end (day 21) of the suckling period. These results suggest that leptin and adiponectin during suckling play a role in the development of mucosal immunity in early life.


OBJECTIVES
To identify the predisposing, enabling, and need factors of the Andersen and Newman (A&N) model and their associations with the pattern of dental service utilization in a sample of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in British Columbia.

METHODS
Participants responded anonymously to a 40-item online questionnaire to explore the patterns of dental service utilization. Following the descriptive statistics, the associations between A&N model factors and main outcome variables (having a dental visit in the last year and reasons for the dental visit) were evaluated using simple and multiple logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS
Out of 600 potential PLHIV participants, 210 responded to the survey and 186 met the inclusion criteria. The experience of being discriminated against by dental professionals (P = 0.005), having dental anxiety (P < 0.001), not having dental insurance (P = 0.001), and having living condition difficulties (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with nonemergency dental visits. In multiple logistic regression analysis, dental anxiety (OR = 0.1; 95 percent CI 0.0; 0.4), having a regular dentist (OR = 3.7; 95 percent CI 1.1; 12.6), and visiting a dental office in the last year (OR = 21.6; 95 percent CI 6.1; 76.5) were the strongest predictors of dental service utilization in this study.

CONCLUSIONS
Several predisposing, enabling, and need factors from the A&N model were associated with dental service utilization by PLHIV. In addition to various psychosocial barriers, a significant number of respondents reported experiencing stigma and discrimination from their oral care providers.


The research path taken in this thesis follows a number of separate yet overlapping topics. Critically I have sought to re-examine the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy as a media phenomenon. This leads me to address the question: to what extent did the creation of the Embassy protest as a media event influence the outcomes? I examine the Aboriginal Embassy as a historic event shaped by the US Black Power movement with its emphasis on urban self-help programs free of 'white' influence. The Embassy protest was also forged around the Aboriginal Land Rights movement originating in non-urban areas, especially in the Northern Territory. These influences, and others, helped create a turning point in the history of the Aboriginal struggle. This thesis also investigates the role of government agencies ASIO in particular in carrying out covert surveillance of Aboriginal organisations and individuals. The information gathered was used undermine and discredit legitimate protest actions. This is revealed through files released by the National Archives of Australia. The radio feature and short film form part of a methodology grounded in practical media work. The radio program is based around the story of Chicka Dixon – who is central not just to the Aboriginal Embassy, but to decades of political activism. The short film covers the experience of the Aboriginal Embassy from the perspective of student activist turned newspaper editor, Jack Waterford. This dissertation reflects on the author's journey as a student of film negotiating various tasks from researching to filming, editing and seeking institutional support for film development. It summarises and assesses research carried out over a five-year period to present a fresh perspective on one of Australia's most important historical events. The thesis accompanies a feature radio program (on CD) and a short film (on DVD) made in my capacity as a journalist working in radio, television and film. The radio program and short film were created as part of the research process for the thesis and for a proposed feature documentary film. The completion of the feature documentary is a separate project; but its development informs the thesis.


A detailed study of the influence of quantum effects in the inversion layer on the random dopant induced threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering in sub 0.1 micron MOSFETs has been performed. This has been achieved using a full 3D implementation of the density gradient (DG) formalism incorporated in our previously published 3D 'atomistic' simulation approach. This results in a consistent, fully 3D, quantum mechanical picture which implies not only the vertical inversion layer quantisation but also the lateral confinement effects manifested by current filamentation in the 'valleys' of the random potential fluctuations. We have shown that the net result of including quantum mechanical effect, while considering statistical fluctuations, is an increase in both threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering.


While it can be argued that elections are not enough for the consolidation of democracy, elections are fast emerging as a significant component of democratization. Not least, because their regularity has enhanced freedom and liberalization, but also because they have been the cause and/or effect of democratic consolidation. As a key component of democracy, elections have become the barometer and template upon which other liberal democratic principles are institutionalised. The paper examines elections in Africa, using the recently concluded 2015 elections in Nigeria to show the significance and effect of credible elections to democratic consolidation by situating its argument within the context of Staffan Lindberg theoretical postulation. The paper adopts a qualitative analysis drawing data from PhD field work conducted in 2014. It also makes use of available texts from INEC document, elections observers' reports, data from Freedom House and Polity scores and other documentary evidences to analyze the election. The study argues that, regularities of elections have potential for democratic improvement and that the 2015 elections have restored Nigeria back on the path of democratic consolidation through elite acceptance of electoral outcome, electoral turnover, elite pact and consensus, coordinated opposition and effective electoral management. It further suggests that more democratic reforms are required to ensure strengthening of the electoral process and institutions in the interest of democratic consolidation in Nigeria.

 Key words: Elections, electoral turnover, democratization, democratic consolidation, Legitimacy.


The economic recession has hit luxury, as most other sectors. Many luxury brands have reeled by lack of clients and cash. Since then, many experts have predicted that post crisis luxury would be of a totally different kind. It was the end of luxury, as we knew it, the end of bling-bling, of prominent logos and high prices excesses. It is chorused everywhere in the media that this new luxury will be modest, bespoke. It should be the demise of conspicuous consumption. For the author, luxury companies would be very cautious in giving faith to this unanimous and trendy opinion, especially if it is backed by cursory polls where respondents tend to give socially acceptable answers. Based on a deep understanding of the dynamics of luxury and on consumer research worldwide, one thing is sure: conspicuousness is here to stay, of course with differences within the luxury population. The future belongs to companies who understand this need for status and adopt a true luxury strategy, very different from a premium strategy. Those who already did it are the ones, which in fact profitably grew during the crisis.


Traditionally, the microbiological quality of waters has been measured by the analysis of indicator microorganisms. The article reviews the sanitary significance of traditional indicators of faecal contamination (total coliforms, faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci) and points out their limits. For some characteristics Escherichia coli may be considered a more useful indicator then faecal coliforms and recently it has been included in all recent laws regarding fresh, marine and drinking water. A clearer taxonomic definition of faecal streptococci evidenced the difficulty into defining a specific standard methodology of enumeration and suggested the more suitable role of enterococci as indicator microorganisms. Several current laws require the detection of enterococci. The resistance of Clostridium perfringens spores may mean that they would serve as a useful indicator of the sanitary quality of sea sediments.


Three experiments were conducted to compare the attraction and repulsion of second-stage juveniles (J2) of the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne graminicola, to rice plants supplied with different forms of nitrogen. The rice plants were hydroponically grown in a full nutrient solution containing different concentrations (0.1 or 10.0 mM) of nitrate (NO3 −) or forms of nitrogen supply (2.85 mM calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2), ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) or ammonium chloride (NH4Cl)) for 2 weeks. Five rice plants were placed with their roots in one corner of a Perspex X or Y-chamber partly filled with agar and J2 were inoculated onto the chambers. The data show that J2 of M. graminicola were significantly attracted towards the roots of rice plants grown in hydroponics containing 0.1 mM NO3 − and 2.85 mM Ca(NO3)2, but repelled by 10.0 mM NO3 −, 2.85 mM NH4NO3 and NH4Cl. The results suggest that the application of ammonia-based nitrogen fertiliser to the rice nursery bed may interfere with nematode attraction and thus reduce invasion, and the application of chemical nitrification inhibitors to rice nursery beds may decrease nematode invasion.


We study optimal monetary policy and welfare properties of a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with a labor selection process, labor turnover costs, and Nash bargained wages. We show that our model implies inefficiencies that cannot be offset in a standard wage bargaining regime. We also show that the inefficiencies rise with the magnitude of firing costs. As a result, in the optimal Ramsey plan, the optimal inflation volatility deviates from zero and is an increasing function of firing costs.


In order to improve the water-solubility of chitosan, N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride (quaternary chitosan) was synthesized by the heterogeneous reaction between glycidyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride and chitosan. The quaternary chitosan was then applied to Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk filaments/fabrics in the presence of 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). The structure and properties of A. pernyi silk before and after treatment were studied. It was found that the quaternary chitosan treatment contributed to enhance the mechanical properties including breaking strength, breaking elongation, initial modulus, rupture work and wrinkle-resistant performance of the A. perny silk filaments. When dyed with acid dyes, the dyeing uptake and shade depth of the quaternary chitosan treated A. perny silk fabrics were greatly improved.


This rich collection of essays explores the dramatic political, economic, and social transformations in Southeast Asia since 1945. Academics and practitioners trace three themes - transformations within Southeast Asian countries, the actors and processes that contributed to these changes, and new dynamics in foreign relations. These diachronic essays examine how engagement among Southeast Asians, and between regional and outside actors have affected patterns of democracy, development, and international relations. By looking back to understand the contemporary political and economic landscape of Southeast Asia, these essays shed light on how modern Southeast Asia has evolved. Special focus centres on U.S. engagement with the region, by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Through its macrohistorical synthesis of changes in the region over time, this book offers an accessible lens to understand contemporary Southeast Asia.


With the support of the Lifelong Learning programme of the European Union "The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."


In Yucatan, maize (Zea mays L.) is considered the main crop in the maize field, followed by squash, beans and pepper. Maize is found in the basic diet because of its contribution of active compounds, vitamins and essential minerals. Thus, the objective of this work is to characterize different maize landraces in terms of mineral composition cultivated in different regions of Yucatan for the selection of maize populations, which could have a potential use for biofortification and genetic improvement. Mineral analysis was performed by μ-X-Ray Fluorescence (μ-XRF, M4 Tornado 100) for the detection of macro- (P, K, S, Ca, Mg and Na) and micro-(Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu and Se) nutrients in 20 maize genotypes from five Yucatan regions (R1: Tixmehuac, R2: Chacsinkin, R3: Peto, R4: Motul and R5: Mani) of the races Nal t'eel (5), Ts´iit bakal (2), Xmejen-nal (5) and Xnuuk-nal (8). An analysis of variance of the quantified minerals was performed, together with Tukey's comparison test and honestly significant difference. A dispersion in the total content of macronutrients and micronutrients in each genotype was established. With the average of minerals obtained, a principal component analysis (ACP) was performed. The results indicated significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in mineral content among the maize genotypes. The mineral dispersion analysis showed that three genotypes of R2 and one of R3 exceeded their own content. The conglomerate analysis showed five groups with different characteristics in their coloration and region. The races Xnuuk-nal and Xmejen-nal cultivated in R2 had the highest mineral content with lilac, orange-red and orange coloration, which could be exploited for maize genetic improvement and biofortification.