Objective: An in-patient with portal hypertension PH was used in a trial conducted to determine the levels of vasoconstrictors endothelin-1 (ET- 1), Atrial natriuretic peptid (ANP), Angiotensin-ll, aldosterone and vasopressin, and to investigate the correlation between ET-1 and the other hormones. Methods: The trial included 40 patients with chronic active hepatitis B (CAH-B) ( n=10), cirrhosis with portal hypertension (PH ) (n=14), cirrhosis (n=6) and extrahepatic PH (n=10). The patients were followed up for one year in the pediatric clinic of the Cerrahpasa School of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. Nineteen of them were female and 21 of them were male, with a mean age ± Standard deviation (sd) SD of 10.2 ± 6.2 years. The control group included 10 healthy children, all of whom were male with a mean age of 9.2 ± 6 years. Plasma ET-1, ANP, Angiotensin-ll, aldosterone and vasopressin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) method in Istanbul University, Medical School, Experimental Research Institute (DETAM). Results : Plasma ET-1 levels in chronic liver patients were higher than in the healthy control group according to One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) (p=0.0001). In chronic liver disease patients, there was a positive correlation between ET-1 and aldosterone, ANP and ADH respectively r=0.45 (p=0.003), r=0.37 (p=0.003), r=0.40 (p=0.0001 ). In the same group, there was No correlation between ET-1 and angiotensin-ll (r=0.22, p=0.07). Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that ET-1 levels were higher in group I and IV than in the control group. Plasma ET-1 levels increase in patients diagnosed as having chronic liver disease with an undefined mechanism. This could be explained by either an increase in production or decrease in metabolic clearances or probably by both of these mechanisms. Key Words: Chronic liver disease, Endothelin-1, Childhood


We investigate the mechanical and microstructural properties of a diamond-like carbon coating (DLC) which is deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) onto an alumina/aluminosilicate glass composite used for biomedical applications. Ball-on-ring tests yield a fracture strength that is essentially influenced by the surface topology/roughness. The surface topology of the coating is investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Tribology tests and nanoindentation represent the wear resistance and hardness; these are properties that are mainly influenced by the microstructural properties of the DLC coating. This microstructure is investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and analyzed by parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS). For the general applicability of the coated composite, the interfacial adhesion of the DLC coating on the comparably rough substrate (roughness amplitudes and wavelengths are in the micrometer range) is important. Therefore, we focus on TEM investigations that show the interface to be free of gaps and pores that we, together with a characteristic microstructure adjacent to the interface, relate to the excellent adhesion. The interlayer consists of a high density of SiC grains, part of them directly bound to the substrate, and part of them bound to other SiC grains. This interlayer is followed by an essentially different region of the coating as concerns the microstructure; this region consists of nanocrystalline diamond particles embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix. It is this heterogeneous microstructure to which we attribute (i) the good adhesion based upon the interface stabilizing SiC grains, and (ii) the high hardness and wear resistance based upon the diamond nanocrystals in the coating.


Abstract : Results of stability calculations for three types of high current betatron (modified betatron, stellatron, solenoidal lens betatron) are presented. For the modified betatron, stability is strongly dependent on the internal poloidal rotation frequency of the beam. When this frequency is close to zero, high-mode numbers are easily stabilized. For the NRL betatron parameters, the beam is predicted to become unstable when it accelerates above 1 MeV. For a 10 kA beam, several kiloamps remain circulating after saturation of the instability. High energy simulations of the modified betatron show saturation without loss of current. Calculations for the stellatron show that background ions have a strong stabilizing effect on the negative mass instability, due to increased transverse focusing. The energy threshold for onset of instability agrees with experimental observation. An electromagnetic three wave interaction is found to occur in the stellatron. Its growth rate can be very large, but parameters can be chosen to move it to short wavelengths where thermal effects should stabilize it. An anlaytic dispersion relation for the solenoidal lens betatron is obtained using a multiple length scaled averaging method. The betatron is predicted to be stable at and slightly above its injection energy. Simulation for higher energy show a strong instability which substrates with some loss of current. Simulations of 10 kA beams in a solenoidal lens betatron show similar results, suggesting that most of the current can survive the instability.


Indices showing Krebs cycle functioning in the hearts of adult and old rats subjected to 30-minutes immobilization were studied in order to find out the causes of age-related increase of heart sensitivity to stress. The studies have shown that compensatory changes of energy metabolism promoting limitation of stress-induced decrease of energy supply of the heart muscle took place in the myocardium mitochondria in adult and old rats during immobilization stress. The changes are associated with maintenance of high rate of redox reactions in the Krebs cycle and increase of myocardium respiration in old rats, and with an increase of the FAD-dependent processes in tissue respiration in adult rats.


Abstract Stromatolites have been a major focus in the search for ancient microbial life, however, the organic carbon biosignatures of dolomitized stromatolites have not yet been fully characterized or correlated with their dolomitizing conditions. Although dolomitization rarely preserves microbial morphology, the presence of organic carbon can provide valuable information for characterization of fossils' biogenicity, syngenicity, and indigeneity to their host rock. The Cambrian Allentown Formation in New Jersey, USA, is an excellent example of dolomitized stromatolites and thrombolites containing diagenetically modified microbial biosignatures. Based on XRD and EPMA data, the dolomite composition is typically stoichiometric, with varying degrees of cationic ordering. The outcrop underwent early dolomitization in a marginal-marine setting and later burial diagenesis resulting in multi-generational dolomite formation: (1) microspar dolomite formed by early diagenetic replacement at or near the surface, (2) zoned dolomite formed penecontemporaneously with the microspar phase as rhombohedral crystals by infilling primary pore spaces within the microspar matrix. The rhombic crystals continued to grow outward in alternating stages of Fe-enriched and -depleted fluids, which were preserved in zoned rims and revealed by cathodoluminescence, and (3) saddle dolomite formed during late stage deep burial with Fe- and Mn-rich fluids, and occurs as a void-filling, high-temperature phase. Organic carbon, characterized using confocal Raman microscopy, has an exclusive distribution within the microspar dolomite, and the D and G bands' characteristics reveal similar thermal alteration to the host rock, indicating that the mapped organic carbon is indigenous and syngenetic with the Cambrian carbonates. The findings presented in this study reveal organic matter found within microspar of various dolomitized facies deriving from different source pools of organic carbon. This study sheds light on biosignatures in secondary dolostones and may aid biosignature detection in older carbonate rocks on Earth and Mars.


We have cloned a genomic region of the murine fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor 1 (FGFR1) gene that includes three alternative exons for the third immunoglobulinlike domain in the extracellular region of the receptor. The mRNA of one of these splice variants encodes a secreted receptor that lacks transmembrane and cytoplasmic sequences as well as a portion of the third immunoglobulinlike domain. Highest levels of mRNA encoding this variant were found in brain, skeletal muscle, and skin. We expressed this form of FGFR1 in CHO cells and showed that the recombinant secreted protein binds acidic FGF. We also discovered a novel alternative exon in the third immunoglobulinlike domain that encodes part of a transmembrane FGFR1 mRNA. This exon is highly homologous to the corresponding region of the keratinocyte growth factor receptor. Transcripts including this exon were present at highest levels in the skin. We cloned an FGFR1 cDNA which includes this exon and expressed this receptor variant in L6 rat skeletal muscle myoblasts. The new receptor variant had a 50-fold-lower affinity for basic FGF than does the published FGFR1 variant, whereas both forms of receptor bound acidic FGF with high affinity. These results show that the third immunoglobulinlike domain plays an important role in determining the binding specificities for different FGFs. Our data provide the first evidence that differential splicing in the extracellular region of a receptor gene generates receptor variants with different ligand-binding specificities.


The experiments on mongrel white rats studied toxicity of the products appearing during thermal destruction of conveyer tape TK-200 based on polyvinyl chloride and used in coal mines. The studies helped to define parameters of acute toxicity and the MACs for products of the conveyer tape burning, considering the main contents and the exposure intensity for 30-120 minutes; to determine jeopardy class; to calculate specific volatilization; to design recommendations for prevention of poisoning during fire in the mines. Language: ru


We propose a new flip-flop configuration which saves about 60% of total clocking power using a half-swing clock. To use the half-swing clock, level converters or special clock drivers are traditionally required and the power consumptions of this logic cannot be ignored. In the proposed scheme, only NMOS devices are clocked with a half-swing clock in order to make it operate without the level converter or any other additional logics, and the random logic circuits except for the clock and flip-flops are supplied by V/sub cc/ while the clock network is supplied by V/sub cc//2. Compared to the conventional scheme, a great amount of power consumed in clocking which is responsible for a large portion of total chip power can be saved with the proposed new flip-flop configuration.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the hematologic, serum biochemical, rheological, hemodynamic, and renal effects of IV administration of lactated Ringer's solution (LRS) to healthy anesthetized dogs.

DESIGN
4-period, 4-treatment cross-over study.

ANIMALS
8 healthy mixed-breed dogs.

PROCEDURES
Each dog was anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, instrumented, and randomly assigned to receive LRS (0, 10, 20, or 30 mL/kg/h [0, 4.5, 9.1, or 13.6 mL/lb/h]), IV, on 4 occasions separated by at least 7 days. Blood hemoglobin concentration and serum total protein, albumin, lactate, and electrolyte concentrations; PCV; colloid osmotic pressure; arterial and venous pH and blood gases (Po2; Pco2); whole blood and plasma viscosity; arterial and venous blood pressures; cardiac output; results of urinalysis; urine production; glomerular filtration rate; and anesthetic recovery times were monitored. Oxygen delivery, vascular resistance, stroke volume, pulse pressure, and blood and plasma volume were calculated.

RESULTS
Increasing rates of LRS administration resulted in dose-dependent decreases in PCV; blood hemoglobin concentration and serum total protein and albumin concentrations; colloid osmotic pressure; and whole blood viscosity. Plasma viscosity; serum electrolyte concentrations; data from arterial and venous blood gas analysis; glomerular filtration rate; urine production; heart rate; pulse, central venous, and arterial blood pressures; pulmonary vascular resistance; and oxygen delivery did not change. Pulmonary artery pressure, stroke volume, and cardiac output increased, and systemic vascular resistance decreased.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Conventional IV infusion rates of LRS to isoflurane-anesthetized dogs decreased colligative blood components; increased plasma volume, pulmonary artery pressure, and cardiac output; and did not change urine production or oxygen delivery to tissues.


Pestiviruses initiate infection of susceptible cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Cellular plasma membrane or endosomal molecules involved in translocation of these viruses into the cytosol have not been unequivocally identified. We reported previously that a mutant cell line derived from Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells, termed CRIB-1, was resistant to infection with bovine viral diarrhoea virus. CRIB-1 cells were also resistant to infection with classical swine fever virus and border disease virus of sheep, suggesting that entry of these three different pestiviruses into bovine cells requires a common cell membrane function. The resistance is pestivirus-specific: CRIB-1 cells were as susceptible as the parental MDBK cells to 14 other viruses of cattle and swine belonging to unrelated families. The resistance of CRIB-1 cells to pestivirus infection involves a block in virus entry since transfection of virus RNA or virus inoculation in the presence of PEG resulted in productive infection. Furthermore, quantitative analyses of the outcome of PEG-mediated infection of CRIB-1 cells indicated that the intracellular milieu was fully permissive for pestivirus replication. Binding studies revealed that virus attachment to CRIB-1 cells was not completely abrogated. These results indicate that entry of pestiviruses into MDBK cells depends on a common plasma membrane or endosomal function, which is lacking in CRIB-1 cells.


Spatio-temporal forecasting is challenging attributing to the high nonlinearity in temporal dynamics as well as complex location-characterized patterns in spatial domains, especially in fields like weather forecasting. Graph convolutions are usually used for modeling the spatial dependency in meteorology to handle the irregular distribution of sensors' spatial location. In this work, a novel graph-based convolution for imitating the meteorological flows is proposed to capture the local spatial patterns. Based on the assumption of smoothness of location-characterized patterns, we propose conditional local convolution whose shared kernel on nodes' local space is approximated by feedforward networks, with local representations of coordinate obtained by horizon maps into cylindrical-tangent space as its input. The established united standard of local coordinate system preserves the orientation on geography. We further propose the distance and orientation scaling terms to reduce the impacts of irregular spatial distribution. The convolution is embedded in a Recurrent Neural Network architecture to model the temporal dynamics, leading to the Conditional Local Convolution Recurrent Network (CLCRN). Our model is evaluated on real-world weather benchmark datasets, achieving state-of-the-art performance with obvious improvements. We conduct further analysis on local pattern visualization, model's framework choice, advantages of horizon maps and etc. The source code is available at https://github.com/BIRD-TAO/CLCRN.


The National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended.


An investigation of the electronic structure of some transition metal clusters comprising anti-ferromagnetically coupled, heterometallic arrays of eight metal ions that are wheel-shaped, is reported.The compounds were synthesized and provided by Dr. Grigore Timco of The University of Manchester and are formulated by their metal content as Cr7M, where M = a divalent 3d metal. Two families of wheels are the subject of this research, defined ?green? and ?purple? from their physical appearance. Within each family, the compounds are all isostructural.From simulation using a single Hamiltonian for Cr7M-purple compounds, where M = Zn, Mn, or Ni, it is shown that with only two exchange parameters, one JCr-Cr and one JCr-M, data from bulk magnetization, neutron scattering, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at multiple frequencies and specific heat measurements can be modelled and that there is transferability of parameters. Preliminary attempts to measure electron spin relaxation times for two of the purple wheels have shown values of T1 and T2 that are comparable with those of the more extensively studied green wheels and hence further studies in this area are warranted.Variable temperature Q- and W-band EPR spectra for a series of nine heterodimers comprising one green and one purple wheel, M=Zn, Mn or Ni in each case, are reported. For Cr7Zn-purple there is no magnetic exchange detected, whereas weak and quantifiable exchange is required to interpret the spectra from the other six dimers.EPR studies of three trimers of the form purple-green-purple are reported and the presence of magnetic exchange is identified by comparison with the spectra of the component single and double wheel compounds, although this is not quantified because of the numerical size of the simulations that are required. The process of comparing simulated to experimental spectra is a complex problem and one which is central to the work reported in this thesis. The problem of fitting has been investigated and two novel solutions, one based upon pixel mapping and the other based on wavelet transformation are proposed.


Consumers make purchasing decisions in various markets every day. Contrary to common belief, such decision-making is often not the result of deliberate analysis of information or of rational thinking. Rather, it is frequently based on feelings, sensations and intuition. Purchasing decisions are not made in a vacuum and are regularly influenced by sellers' manipulation and selling tactics.It is well documented that people receive a substantial part of the information they possess via non-verbal communication. One of the most alarming aspects of this reality is that consumers are mostly unaware of non-verbal cues and the ways they can influence them. Therefore, consumers can hardly correct their mistakes and protect themselves against such influence. This stands in sharp contrast to the increasing efforts invested by marketers in employing non-verbal marketing methods. Despite the enormous impact of non-verbal communication on consumers' purchasing decisions, current law neglects to address the encoding and decoding of wordless cues exchanged between consumers and businesses. Instead the law mainly focuses on defending the public against misleading verbal information. This opens a challenging gap between the law's intention to protect consumers from deceptive practices and its ability to do so effectively; this contributes to a false consciousness in consumers of proper protection. It provides consumers with an artificial sense of effective legal protection while leaving them exposed to far more sophisticated manipulations of which they mostly unaware.Non-verbal manipulations are a robust phenomenon, extensively employed by sellers who are well versed in marketing research. Yet legal scholars, judges and legislatures lack a systematic understanding of how non-verbal cues influence consumers, let alone how the law should respond. This Article, while focusing on the psychology of non-verbal manipulations, aims to narrow this gap descriptively and normatively.


Fast Fourier transform (FFT) processor is a prevailing tool in converting signal in time domain to frequency domain. This paper provides signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) study on 16-point pipelined FFT processor implemented on field-programable gate array (FPGA). This processor can be used in vast digital signal applications such as wireless sensor network, digital video broadcasting and many more. These applications require accuracy in their data communication part, that is why SNR is an important analysis. SNR is a measure of signal strength relative to noise. The measurement is usually in decibles (dB). Previously, SNR studies have been carried out in software simulation, for example in Matlab. However, in this paper, pipelined FFT and SNR modules are developed in hardware form. SNR module is designed in Modelsim using Verilog code before implemented on FPGA board. The SNR module is connected directly to the output of the pipelined FFT module. Three different pipelined FFT with different architectures were studied. The result shows that SNR for radix-8 and R4SDC FFT architecture design are above 40dB, which represent a very excellent signal. SNR module on the FPGA and the SNR results of different pipelined FFT architecture can be consider as the novelty of this paper.


A highly atom economical, efficient and environmentally friendly iodoperoxidation of alkenes with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) and iodide/iodine is reported in this paper. This method afforded a convenient path to obtain two different configurations of iodoperoxidates from the same starting materials. Notably, the regiodivergent iodoperoxidation reaction was achieved by using different iodide reagents. A series of control experiments were performed, which suggested the involvement of a radical pathway for the anti-Markovnikov type iodoperoxidates (α) in the combination of ammonium iodide (NH4I)/TBHP, and an active cationic iodine pathway for the Markovnikov type adduct (β) with iodine (I2) and TBHP.


A variety of Ce3+ and Tb3+ doped Ba3P4O13 phosphors were synthesized via the solid state reaction method. Their photoluminescence properties, decay lifetime, thermal stability and luminous efficiency were investigated. The possible energy transfer mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results and detailed luminescence spectra and decay curves of the phosphors. The critical distance between Ce3+ and Tb3+ was calculated by both the spectral overlap method and the concentration quenching method. The energy transfer mechanism from Ce3+ to Tb3+ is determined to be dipole–quadrupole interaction. Furthermore, Ba3P4O13:Ce3+,Tb3+ exhibits relatively excellent thermal stability and its intensity remains 92.7% of the initial intensity at 150 °C.


Ceramide signaling has been implicated in such processes as programmed cell death, differentiation, and cell proliferation. Hanna et al. provide evidence that ceramide may be one of the mediators of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) signaling that results in the formation of stress fibers in Rat2 fibroblasts. Treatment of the cells with TNF-α, a cell-permeable ceramide, or sphingomyelinase led to the formation of stress fibers and the tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin. TNF-α and ceramide both stimulated the interaction of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3K) with FAK. The formation of stress fibers and paxillin phosphorylation were completely inhibited in cells exposed to ceramide or sphingomyelinase by treatment of the cells with the PI 3K inhibitor LY 294002 and partially inhibited in cells exposed to TNF-α. TNF-α and ceramide stimulate sphingosine kinase activity, which phosphorylates sphingosine, forming the active compound sphingosine 1-phosphate. If sphingosine kinase activity is inhibited, then stress fiber formation is inhibited in response to TNF-α or ceramide. Inhibition of sphingosine kinase also leads to the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton to form a dense cortical network. Additional experiments indicate that RhoA and Ras guanosine triphosphatases are also involved downstream of the ceramide-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements and that dominant-negative Ras can inhibit the activation of sphingosine kinase. Thus, ceramide and bioactive sphingolipids appear to be involved in the pathway from TNF-α to stress fiber formation. A. N. Hanna, L. G. Berthiaume, Y. Kikuchi, D. Begg, S. Bourgoin, D. N. Brindley, Tumor necrosis factor-α induces stess fiber formation through ceramide production: Role of sphingosine kinase. Mol. Biol. Cell 12, 3618-3630 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Each of 11 tumors tested produced a factor that markedly suppressed the ability of macrophages to release H2O2 or O.2- in response to phorbol myristate acetate or zymosan. Four of seven normal cell types produced a similar activity, which was 3.5-7 times lower in titer than that in tumor cell-conditioned medium (TCM), and which was much more rapidly reversible in its effects. TCM caused 50% inhibition of H2O2 release when it was present in the medium for 48 h at a concentration of 13%, or when 100% TCM was present in the medium for 18 h. The H2O2-releasing capacity of macrophages incubated in TCM only returned to control levels by 6 d after its removal. TCM prevented augmentation of H2O2- releasing capacity by lymphokines. The titer of suppressive activity in TCM depended on both the concentration of tumor cells and the duration of their incubation. TCM did not augment the activity of catalase, myeloperoxidase, glutathione peroxidase, or glutathione reductase or the content of glutathione within macrophages, suggesting that decreased synthesis rather than increased catabolism was responsible for reduced secretion of H2O2. Suppression of the release of H2O2 or O.2- by TCM appeared to be a relatively specific effect, in that TCM increased macrophage spreading and adherence to glass while exerting little influence on rates of phagocytosis, synthesis of protein, or secretion of lysozyme, plasminogen activator, or arachidonic acid and its metabolites. Thus, tumor cells and some normal cells can secrete a factor that selectively deactivates macrophage oxidative metabolism.


The book examines how individual differences in candidates' levels of extraversion interact with facets which have been shown to affect scores obtained on oral performance tests. Three major studies are presented: the first is concerned with the individual candidate in the model; the second study investigates the role of the rater in the oral test process; the final study is concerned with the degree of interactivity required of pairs of candidates, each of whom also acts as an interlocutor in the performance of an oral test task. Results of the studies confirm that when an appropriate instrument is used to assess personality, and when theoretically sound hypotheses derived from the psychological literature are tested, significant differences can be observed in the responses of introverts and extraverts on particular oral test tasks.


Purpose: to modify the calculated parameters of the refractive operation - extraction of the lenticle through small access (Smile), evaluate its safety and clinical effectiveness in correcting high-grade myopia. Material and methods. 34 patients (68 eyes) were operated by the modified Smile technology under local anesthesia. In all cases, patients had a high degree of myopia, in 37 % - in combination with astigmatism. Uncorrected visual acuity before surgery was on average 0.05 ± 0.11, Best corrected visual acuity was 0.94 ± 0.1, preoperative spherical refractive component -7.23 ± 0.75, cylindrical component -0.48 ± 0.59. During the surgery, in order to obtain the maximum possible refractive result according to the proposed method (patent No. 2018113414 of April 13, 2013), the standard parameters of the operation were changed: the thickness of the corneal flap was reduced to 100 μm, the neutral optical layer was 5 μm, the diameter of the optical zone depended on the residual thickness of the cornea, which should exceed 290 microns. The increase in corneal access was 15-20 degrees. Results. During the surgical intervention and in the postoperative period there were no complications. The next day after surgery, monocular uncorrected visual acuity in the distance in 73 % of patients was 0.8 and above, and in 41 % of cases it was equal to or exceeded 1.0. The spherical equivalent in the first day after the operation had a small hypermetropic shift, which was completely leveled by the year of observation. Conclusion. Using the proposed algorithm for calculating the refractive effect of the SMILE operation in high degree myopia allows obtaining a high refractive effect and avoiding possible complications.


Abstact In this study, radio frequency heat treatment at varying temperatures (50, 55, and 60°C) was applied to investigate its impact on the nutritional quality and protein solubility of corn. The nutritive value was measured in terms of crude protein content, in vitro protein digestibility, bioavailability of Fe and Ca, and antinutritional factors, tannins and total polyphenols contents. No significant change in total and digestible protein of corn flour was observed after treatments. On the other hand, the availability of Ca and Fe was significantly increased, whereas the antinutritional factors, tannins and total polyphenols contents were decreased after radio frequency heating. Moreover, protein solubility was found significantly (P < 0.05) higher in treated corn than in control sample. Regarding these results, radio frequency heating at controlled temperature up to 60°C might be used as postharvest method to enhance the nutritional quality of corn.


Mutations in the CLN1 gene encoding palmitoyl-protein thioesterase (PPT) underlie the recessive neurodegenerative disorder, infantile Batten disease, or infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL). The CLN1 gene was mapped to chromosome 1p32 in the vicinity of a microsatellite marker HY-TM1 in a cohort of Finnish INCL families, and mapping of the PPT gene to the CLN1 critical region (and the discovery of mutations in PPT in several unrelated families) led to conclusive identification of PPT as the disease gene. PPT is a lysosomal thioesterase that removes fatty acids from fatty-acylated cysteine residues in proteins. The accumulation of fatty acyl cysteine thioesters can be reversed in INCL cells by the exogenous administration of recombinant PPT, which enters the cells through the mannose 6-phosphate receptor pathway. Over two dozen PPT mutations have been found in PPT-deficient patients worldwide. In the United States, all PPT-deficient patients show "GROD" histology but the age of onset of symptoms is later in some children due to the presence of missense mutations that result in enzymes with residual PPT activity. Now that INCL is known to be caused by a defect in a soluble lysosomal enzyme, appropriate therapies may be forthcoming. Prospects for therapy include enzyme replacement, stem cell transplantation, gene therapy, and metabolic therapy aimed at depleting the abnormal substrate accumulation in the disease.


This study aims to obtain empirical evidence of the influence of experience
and perceived usefulness on trust and to obtain empirical evidence of the
influence of trust in online purchasing preferences in Semarang City.
The population used in this study are consumers who shop online in
Semarang. Samples in this study were 200 respondents and the techniques used
are non-probability sampling with purposive sampling approach. The data in this
study through a questionnaire survey method with the Disagree-Agree Scale 1-10.
The data that meet the validity test, reliability test, and classical assumptions test
that form a regression equation. The independent variable of this study include
experience and perceived usefulness. With online purchasing preferences as
dependent variable and trust as intervening variable. Hypothesis testing using ttest
showed that two independent variables have positive and significant impact
on intervening variable and dependent variable, too. Then through the F test can
be seen that the two independent variables is feasible to test the dependent
variable.
Adjusted R Square Model I value shows that 53,4% of trust can be
explained by the two independent variables in the regression equation. While the
remaining 46,6% is explained by other variables used outside this study. Then the
value of Adjusted R Square Model II is equal to 0,551, which means that the
ability of trust to explains online purchasing preferences is 55,1%, so there is still
44,9% remaining require any other mediating outside this study


Objective: Hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids (HDLS) is caused by autosomal-dominantly inherited mutations in the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) gene, and is clinically characterized by a progressive cognitive and motor decline leading to death within several years. Methods: In a continuous series of 25 patients with adult-onset leukoencephalopathy of unknown cause, we genetically confirmed HDLS in 6 families. Affected and nonaffected individuals were examined clinically and by brain MRI studies. Results: HDLS presented as prominent dementia and apraxia, often with extrapyramidal and pyramidal signs, rarely with ataxia. White matter MRI changes were detectable early in the disease course. Family history was negative in 4 of 6 index patients. In 2 of 6 index patients, we could confirm the occurrence of de novo mutations in the CSF1R gene. One family showed possible incomplete penetrance: the 69-year-old father of the index patient carried a CSF1R mutation but was clinically unaffected. In one family, the parents were apparently unaffected and not available for genetic testing. Conclusions: Typical clinical phenotype and early brain MRI alterations can help to guide the diagnosis of HDLS. Because we confirmed de novo mutations in one-third of patients with CSF1R mutations, this diagnosis should be considered even in the absence of a family history. Furthermore, we present evidence for reduced penetrance of a CSF1R mutation. These results have substantial impact for genetic counseling of asymptomatic individuals at risk and should foster research into disease-modifying factors.


Musgrave L Kizirian N, Gordon A University of Sydney, Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NHMRC Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence Email: email@example.com Background: Pregnancy is thought of as a "teachable moment" where women often make healthy changes to optimise the health of their baby. Information about healthy pregnancy is available through multiple sources. Our study aimed to assess understanding of pregnancy health and preferences for provision of information in pregnant women. Methods: A web-based survey was designed to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice related to pregnancy health. The survey included a mix of open and closed ended questions plus demographic data including validated scales of social support and self esteem. Knowledge questions were based on the recently updated pregnancy care guidelines. Attitude and practice questions related to pregnancy risks, preferences for provision of healthy pregnancy information as well as any actions taken to improve pregnancy health. The survey was distributed through selected pregnancy websites, facebook and local networks including PSANZ and ACNN from the 10 June to end of Dec 2017. Results: Of 606 respondents, 133 were currently pregnant. 79% stated it was important to talk to their healthcare provider about risks of pregnancy including preterm birth and stillbirth. 67% had taken 2 or more actions to prepare for pregnancy. Although the most commonly used sources of pregnancy information were the internet, social media and mobile applications, if women wanted to find out more about their pregnancy they would prefer to see their GP, obstetrician or midwife. Conclusions: There is relatively high public awareness about pregnancy health and use of multiple sources of information however a preference to receive trusted information from care providers.


Recycling glass is chosen as an alternative raw material in upgrading ceramic into glass ceramic. The main objectives are to determine the effect of sintering temperature and the recycled glass to ball clay weight ratio on glass ceramic produced from recycled glass. The recycled glass powders are prepared by crushing and grinding waste glass bottles to a particles size distribution below than 75 µm. The raw materials (recycled glass powder and ball clay) are characterised by Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and its composition is determine by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The recycled glass powder are then mixed with the ball clay according to the ratio of SLSG to ball clay of 95:5 wt.%, 90:10 wt.% and 85:15 wt.%. Green samples of glass ceramic are then fabricated using Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) with constant pressure at 40 MPa. Sintering process is conducted at three different temperatures at 750°C, 850°C and 950°C with 1 h holding time. The sintered glass ceramic were then characterised using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. Results of physical analyses and microhardness testing conducted according to ASTM C 373 and ASTM C 1327 showed that better properties is achieved at batch composition compromised of 85:15 wt.% ratio of recycling glass to ball clay and sintered at 850 °C. SEM micrographs showed that samples produced from this optimum batch composition provide more homogeneous and dense surface. Furthermore, XRD analysis indicates that crystalline phases evolved during sintering contributes to the final strength of the glass ceramic. These encourage further development on the glass ceramic samples which intended for structural applications.


The risk factors associated with low dietary fiber intake and the synergy with its role in colon prebiotic activity has stimulated a re-awakening in the scientific research. Dietary fiber intake has reduced all over the world, and so it has been labelled as a major shortfall nutrient of important in public health. Changes in lifestyle and improved standard of living have affected the diet of consumers in so many ways. Observation of these facts have spurred a special interest in the search for functional foods that contains essential nutrients like dietary fiber whose nutritional value improves the health of the consumer, enhances their physical and mental state and prevent lifestyle diseases. Fruits and vegetables are a modest source of total dietary fiber with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, including polyphenols, which provide support for their biological plausibility and enhance their health benefits. This chapter therefore reviews existing literature on the utilization of fruits and vegetables as rich sources of fiber; their fiber concentration, their appropriateness in meeting the adequate fiber intake for daily consumption and their overlapping roles as a fiber source and as nutraceuticals.


Sewage sludge (SS), a residue from wastewater treatment can be a hazard to the environment because it may contain trace elements and other toxic substances. But it is also rich in organic matter and plant nutrients so that an attractive destination for the residue is its use in agriculture as fertilizer and soil conditioner. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of doses of SS from the textile industry on sorghum plant growth. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions using typic Haplorthox soil occurring at Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. The experiment design was totally randomized with 7 treatments (absolute control, without fertilization and SS, mineral control, with mineral fertilization based on soil analysis, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 t ha -1 SS, dry basis) in 3 replications and sorghum as the test plant. At the end of the plant cycle, plant dry matter and grain production were estimated, and soil samples were analyzed for soil chemical fertility. Textile sewage sludge improved soil fertility, except in relation to K and Mg, plant dry matter and grain production. It also caused symptoms of K deficiency and other symptoms of unknown origin. The SS rates caused the same grain production and the highest doses caused delay in the panicle emission.


It can be assumed that if any part of our mental life is innate it could in principle be developed in private, i.e. is not of necessity a social product. According to de Sousa' s 1980 account emotions can be subjected to rationality assessments, making them a part, albeit special (borderline), of our ' rational life' . Contribution of emotions to conduct of ' rational life' is important, as the characteristics of belief and action most commonly associated with rationality do not provide sufficient grounds to guide an organism towards any particular course of action. By asking whether emotions (such that are still subjectable to minimal rationality assessments) can be developed in private (in a sense of Wittgenstein' s Philosophical Investigations) we are asking whether there can be any part of our ' rational life' that could be innate, and thus not a result of social conditioning. A brief survey of the related issue of interpretation of Wittgenstein' s arguments against private language and rule-following reveals that the issue is not whether socially non-conditioned emotions could be experienced (exist), but whether we would ever, given the absence of ' investigation independent standards of correctness' , be able to know that they are or are not.


Making it Count: Statistics and State-Society Relations in the Early People's Republic of China, 1949-1959 Arunabh Ghosh This dissertation offers new perspectives on China's transition to socialism by investigating a fundamental question—how did the state build capacity to know the nation through numbers? With the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, jubilant Chinese revolutionaries were confronted by the dual challenge of a nearly nonexistent statistical infrastructure and the pressing need to escape the universalist claims of capitalist statistics. At stake for revolutionary statisticians and economists was a fundamental difficulty: how to accurately ascertain social scientific fact. Resolving this difficulty involved not just epistemological and theoretical debates on the unity or disunity of statistical science but also practical considerations surrounding state-capacity building. The resultant shift toward a socialist definition of statistics, achieved by explicitly following the Soviet Union's example, was instrumental in shaping new bureaus, designing statistical work, and training personnel. New classificatory schemes and methods of data collection also raised issues of authority and policy, ultimately not just remolding state-society relations but also informing new conceptions of everyday life and work. By the mid-1950s, however, growing disaffection with the efficacy of Soviet methods led the Chinese, in a surprising turn of events, to seek out Indian statisticians in an unprecedented instance of Chinese participation in South-South scientific exchange. At the heart of these exchanges was the desire to learn more about large-scale random sampling, an emergent statistical technology, which, while technically complex, held great practical salience for large countries like China and India. "Making it Count" engages with and contributes to scholarship on the history of modern China and on the global and Cold War histories of science and social science. While the historiography on statistics and quantification has focused primarily on the early-modern and nineteenth century world, the dissertation brings this history into the twentieth century, when states, multi-national institutions, and private actors, regardless of their ideological hue, mobilized statistics on behalf of positivist social science and statecraft. By examining the collection and deployment of data, a process critical to the ambitions of the revolutionary PRC state but one that has largely been overlooked in the historical literature, the dissertation also provides an alternative account for a decade often portrayed as lurching from one mass campaign to another. Finally, the examination of the Sino-Indian statistical links reveals that pioneering innovation took place in many contexts after 1945 and challenges Cold War paradigms that are predisposed to assume the United States or the Soviet Union as the primary nodes from which scientific and other forms of modern knowledge emanated.


Convergence of life sciences, engineering, and basic sciences has opened new horizons for biologically inspired innovations, and a considerable number of organ‐on‐a‐chip platforms have been developed for mimicking physiological systems of biological organs such as the brain, heart, lung, kidney, liver, and gut. Various biophysicochemical factors can also be introduced into such organ‐on‐a‐chip platforms to study metabolic and systemic effects spanning from drug toxicity to different pathologic manifestations. There is also a pressing need to develop better disease models for common pathologies using variations of these platforms. This can be achieved by recapitulating the unique microenvironment of a disease to investigate the cause and development of abnormal conditions as well as the structural and functional changes resulting from such a pathology. In this review, the organ‐on‐a‐chip platforms that have been developed to model different pathologies of neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, and digestive systems, along with cancer are summarized. Although the field is still in its infancy, it is anticipated that developing disease model‐on‐a‐chip platforms will likely be a valuable addition to the field of disease modeling, pathology studies, and improved drug discovery.


Here we have presented a project on display numerous information using a special purpose LED display i.e. propeller display. This entire project is based on the mechanism of persistence of vision (illusion effect of human eye i.e. if anything appears in the same spot constantly, the human eye will perceive all of the display is at once and viewer can read the data associated with it. In the construction, we have used a 40 pin microcontroller with a display of 16 bright LEDs to display the message as VIT STC ETC.ENGG. All the synchronizing part is implemented using software(C language and Keil Compiler).


In this paper we show that for discrete concave functions, a local maximum need not be a global maximum. We also provide examples of discrete concave functions where this coincidence holds. As a direct consequence of this, we can establish the equivalence of local and global profit maximizers for an equivalent well-behaved production function that is generated by a (not necessarily discrete concave) production function.


A powerful portfolioinvolves so much more than just a strong grasp of the technical aspects of photographyits a complex mix of style, techniques, and intriguing ideas. Many photographers struggle to achieve a high-impactportfolio, feeling that they lack the creative spark to invigorate them andmove their work forward. Creative 52is that sparkand your guide to a new and more creative portfolio in just one year! A remedy for that average portfolio, this collection of innovative projects will help portrait, wedding, and fashion photographers build a portfolio that draws the attention of editors and clientsleaving the competition behind. While other how-to books often use bland imagery simply to prove a technical point, and many fine art books are filled with beautiful imagery but contain minimal (if any) educational insights to help working photographers, this book blends both: inspiration and knowledge that you can use to create images that attract potential clients. Divided into three partsconcept, technique, and post-processingauthor Lindsay Adlers 52 challenges each contain a description of the project, potential inspiration and suggestions of other artists to check out, and her own unique solution to the challengeall to push you beyond your comfort zone to explore new ideas and approaches to your work. Includes a years worth of weekly projects that motivate you to experiment with new concepts, techniques, and software tools like Adobe Photoshop to achieve more eye-catching images Offers the cure for expected imagery, showing how to produce memorable photographs that are distinct from the competition, enabling you to reach new clients Empowers you with the encouragement and expertise necessary to create spectacular images


To the Editor: —I read with considerable interest your article in the August issue regarding school testing of vision. It is my belief that this is a necessary and a vital step forward. In Oregon, and I presume in the majority of states, physicians are encountering more and more difficulty with optometrists who are trying with great effort to enhance their prestige and position by virtue of political maneuvers. During the past year the Oregon ophthalmologists encountered an extremely hard fight in the Legislature when the optometrists attempted to place a member of their profession on the Board of Health. During the hearings it became quite evident that they look upon the school testing of vision as something falling within their province. We soon became aware of their energetic drive and intense desire to exclude others from this particular field of endeavor. Unfortunately, the lay public and the members of


Multiple sclerosis is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease characterized by an interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes that usually result in neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. In MS, regulatory T cells and CD56bright NK cell exert an immunomodulatory role. We were particularly interested in characterizing the CD56bright NK cell subset in MS because of their significant association with clinical remissions and reduced brain lesions after treatment with daclizumab.

In MS, an increase in the frequency of CD56bright after treatment with daclizumab or IFNβ-1a are known, but a phenotypical and functional characterization of this cell population has not been reported. We therefore carried out a cross-sectional analysis in healthy controls and RRMS patients, either untreated or treated with IFNβ1a, daclizumab or natalizumab. The purposes of our study were to identify patterns of NK
cell surface markers expression, cytokine production and the mechanism and dynamics of CD56bright expansion.

We found that in addition to anti-CD25 mAb and IFNβ-1a, natalizumab also expands CD56bright NK cells in MS. Treatment with anti-CD25 mAb exerted the most prominent effect on the expression of NK cell markers on the CD56bright population. The expanded CD56bright cells overexpressed the surface molecules CD26, CD2, CD11b and CD6,
which indicate an activated cellular pattern. The high expression of CD94 and CD62L in treated patients, indicates an intermediate state of NK cell maturation and an egress from lymph nodes to the periphery.

Our findings of similar levels of cytokine production by the CD56dim and the CD56bright cells, confront the classical definition of the CD56dim subset as only cytotoxic and the bright subset as exclusively capable to secrete cytokines. The remarkably elevated frequency of IFNγ- and TNFα-producing cells in MS without treatment, which is clearly brought to healthy donor baseline levels after treatment, supports the described
pathogenic role of these cytokines in MS.

This study offers a wide phenotypical characterization of NK cells in MS that can potentially offer novel biomarkers useful for the clinical assessment of the disease as well as a potential use of NK cell-directed therapeutic approaches in autoimmune diseases such as MS.


In this article, an analytical approach to American option pricing under stochastic volatility is provided. Under stochastic volatility, the American option value can be computed as the sum of a corresponding European option price and an early exercise premium. By considering the analytical property of the optimal exercise boundary, the formula allows for recursive computation of the American option value. Simulation results show that a nonlattice method performs better than the lattice‐based interpolation methods. The stochastic volatility model is also empirically tested using S&P 500 futures options intraday transactions data. Incorporating stochastic volatility is shown to improve pricing, hedging, and profitability in actual trading. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:417–448, 2006


CO2 differs from most other odors by being ubiquitously present in the air animals inhale. CO2 levels of the atmosphere, however, are subject to change. Depending on the landscape, temperature, and time of the year, CO2 levels can change even on shortest time scales. In addition, since the 18th century the CO2 baseline keeps increasing due to the intensive fossil fuel usage. However, we do not know whether this change is significant for animals, and if yes whether and how animals adapt to this change. Most insects possess olfactory receptors to detect the gaseous molecule, and CO2 is one of the key odorants for insects such as the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster to find food sources and to warn con-specifics. So far, CO2 and its sensory system have been studied in the context of rotting fruit and other CO2-emitting sources to investigate flies' response to significantly elevated levels of CO2. However, it has not been addressed whether flies detect and potentially react to atmospheric levels of CO2. By using behavioral experiments, here we show that flies can detect atmospheric CO2 concentrations and, if given the choice, prefer air with sub-atmospheric levels of the molecule. Blocking the synaptic release from CO2 receptor neurons abolishes this choice. Based on electrophysiological recordings, we hypothesize that CO2 receptors, similar to ambient temperature receptors, actively sample environmental CO2 concentrations close to atmospheric levels. Based on recent findings and our data, we hypothesize that Gr-dependent CO2 receptors do not primarily serve as a cue detector to find food sources or avoid danger, instead they function as sensors for preferred environmental conditions.


BACKGROUND
Ethanol may be consumed for reasons such as reward, anxiety reduction, or caloric content, and the opioid enkephalin (ENK) appears to be involved in many of these functions. Previous studies in Sprague-Dawley rats have demonstrated that ENK in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is stimulated by voluntary consumption of ethanol. This suggests that this opioid peptide may be involved in promoting the drinking of ethanol, consistent with our recent findings that PVN injections of ENK analogs stimulate ethanol intake. To broaden our understanding of how this peptide functions throughout the brain to promote ethanol intake, we measured, in rats trained to drink 9% ethanol, the expression of the ENK gene in additional brain areas outside the hypothalamus, namely, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) and core (NAcC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA).

METHODS
In the first experiment, the brains of rats chronically drinking 1 g/kg/d ethanol, 3 g/kg/d ethanol, or water were examined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In the second experiment, a more detailed, anatomic analysis of changes in gene expression, in rats chronically drinking 3 g/kg/d ethanol compared to water, was performed using radiolabeled in situ hybridization (ISH). The third experiment employed digoxigenin-labeled ISH (DIG) to examine changes in the density of cells expressing ENK and, for comparison, dynorphin (DYN) in rats chronically drinking 3 g/kg/d ethanol versus water.

RESULTS
With qRT-PCR, the rats chronically drinking ethanol plus water compared to water alone showed significantly higher levels of ENK mRNA, not only in the PVN but also in the VTA, NAcSh, NAcC, and mPFC, although not in the CeA. Using radiolabeled ISH, levels of ENK mRNA in rats drinking ethanol were found to be elevated in all areas examined, including the CeA. The experiment using DIG confirmed this effect of ethanol, showing an increase in density of ENK-expressing cells in all areas studied. It additionally revealed a similar change in DYN mRNA in the PVN, mPFC, and CeA, although not in the NAcSh or NAcC.

CONCLUSIONS
While distinguishing the NAc as a site where ENK and DYN respond differentially, these findings lead us to propose that these opioids, in response to voluntary ethanol consumption, are generally elevated in extra-hypothalamic as well as hypothalamic areas, possibly to carry out specific area-related functions that, in turn, drive animals to further consume ethanol. These functions include calorie ingestion in the PVN, reward and motivation in the VTA and NAcSh, response-reinforcement learning in the NAcC, stress reduction in the CeA, and behavioral control in the mPFC.


: Presented in a case in which calcification of the adrenal gland was roentgenographically evident on the first day of life. The earliest previously reported case of adrenal calcification was at 8 days of age and was attributed to an intrapartum hemorrhage. It is proposed that an intrauterine third trimester insult was responsible for prepartal hemorrhage which resulted in adrenal calcification present at birth.


In light of the financial turmoil most home health providers experienced over the past two years, a new payment system brings a sense of hope. The prospective payment methodology will provide different incentives than a cost-based reimbursement system. These new incentives will open the way for new approaches to deliver home health care. However, this new hope is accompanied by a sense of anxiety because the system is new and untested.


With an increasing number of robotic and prosthetic devices, there is a need for intuitive interfaces which enable the user to efficiently interact with them. The conventional interfaces are generally bulky and unsuitable for dynamic and unstructured environments. An alternative to the traditional interfaces is the class of Muscle-Machine Interfaces (MuMIs) that allow the user to have an embodied interaction with the devices they are controlling. In this work, we present a wearable, lightweight, Forcemyography (FMG) based armband for Human-Machine Interaction fabricated entirely out of 3D-printed parts and silicone components. The armband uses six force sensing units, each housing an Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) sensor. The capabilities of the armband are evaluated while decoding four different gestures (pinch, power, tripod, extension) and rest state and its performance is compared with a state-of-the-art Electromyography (EMG) bioamplifier. The decoding performance of the decoding models trained on the data acquired from the armband is significantly better than the performance of the models trained on raw EMG data. The hardware design and the related processing software, are disseminated in an open-source manner.


Tensor factorization is a fundamental framework to analyze high-order interactions in data. Despite the success of the existing methods, the valuable temporal information are severely underused. The timestamps of the interactions are either ignored or discretized into crude steps. The recent work although formulates event-tensors to keep the timestamps in factorization and can capture mutual excitation effects among the interaction events, it overlooks another important type of temporal influence, inhibition. In addition, it uses a local window to exclude all the long-term dependencies. To overcome these limitations, we propose a self-modulating nonparametric Bayesian factorization model. We use the latent factors to construct mutually-governed, general random point processes, which can capture various shortterm/long-term, excitation/inhibition effects, so as to encode the complex temporal dependencies into factor representations. In addition, our model couples with a latent Gaussian process to estimate and fuse nonlinear yet static relationships between the entities. For efficient inference, we derive a fully decomposed model evidence lower bound to dispense with the huge kernel matrix and costly summations inside the rate and log rate functions. We then develop an efficient stochastic optimization algorithm. We show the advantage of our method in four real-world applications.


The pathogenesis of short segment Barrett's esophagus (SSBE) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) of the gastroesophageal junction (IMGEJ) are poorly understood. Also, these conditions are difficult to distinguish from one another based solely on endoscopic and pathologic criteria. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the immunophenotypic features of SSBE and IMGEJ and to compare the results with lesions of known etiologies: long segment BE (LSBE) caused by reflux disease and Helicobacter pylori-induced IM of the gastric antrum (IMGA). Routinely processed mucosal biopsy specimens from 11 patients with LSBE, 17 with SSBE, 10 with IMGEJ, 16 with IMGA, 17 with a normal nonmetaplastic GEJ, and 7 patients with a normal gastric antrum were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibodies to: Das1, an antibody shown to react specifically with colonic goblet cells; 45M1, an antibody that recognizes the M1 gastric mucin antigen; and cytokeratin (CK) 7 and 20, antibodies that have previously been reported to show specific staining patterns in BE versus IMGA. Also evaluated was nonintestinalized mucinous epithelium from LSBE, SSBE, and also the normal GEJ and gastric antrum. LSBE, SSBE, and IMGEJ showed similar prevalences of Das1 (91% versus 88% versus 100%) and 45M1 reactivity (100% versus 100% versus 100%), and a similar pattern of CK7/20 reactivity (diffuse strong CK7 staining of the surface and crypt epithelium, and strong surface and superficial crypt CK20 staining) (91% versus 94% versus 90%). In contrast, although 45M1 reactivity in IMGA (93%) was similar to that of the other three groups, IMGA showed a significantly lower prevalence of Das1 positivity (13%, p < 0.001), and only a 14% prevalence of the CK7/20 staining pattern that was predominant in the other three groups (p < 0.001). Das1, 45M1, and CK7/20 staining were similar in nonintestinalized "cardia-type" mucinous epithelium from LSBE, SSBE, and the GEJ, but all were distinct from the normal gastric antrum. In summary, the immunophenotypic features of SSBE and IMGEJ are similar and closely resemble those seen in classic LSBE, but are distinct from IMGA. This may indicate that IM in LSBE, SSBE and at the GEJ have similar biologic properties. Based on our data, SSBE and IMGEJ cannot be distinguished on the basis of their immunophenotype.


A decentralized variable structure control algorithm is developed for robotic manipulators to cause sliding modes to exist. New approaches are used to reach the sliding mode and to reduce non-ideal characteristics while in the sliding mode. Both position control and trajectory following are examined through two-link and three-link digital simulations.


Across the years 1887 to 1926, at a time when the British Empire was at its height, nine governors and their wives took up vice-regal office in New Zealand. This study is concerned with the public enactment of the position of vice-regal wives' in New Zealand in these years. It explores what it meant for a woman to be a public figure with a prominent profile and at the same time a wife within a marriage during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In doing so, the thesis looks at three distinct aspects of vice-regal life, as played out in public: official vice-regal ceremony and social life; involvement in voluntary welfare and women's imperialist organisations; and the display of vice-regal life through governors' wives' appearance and the furnishing of Government House. Of key concern is the way in which these aspects of vice-regal life are conveyed to the public through newspapers, and so Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity is considered as a way to think about the position occupied by governors' wives.  As women married to men in public office, governors' wives occupied a particular position and space within the British Empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The position was defined and created through marriage and through the enactment of the duties of vice-regal office. Governors' wives were present at vice-regal ceremonies and social events as both witnesses and wives; they involved themselves with voluntary welfare and imperialist organisations with a particular focus on women as mothers and contributors to Empire; and through their dress and the decoration of Government House governors' wives presented a display of their suitability for holding vice-regal office. The enactment of these duties over the period from 1887 to 1926 was remarkably consistent. Alongside this a degree of change occurred in the recognition afforded to governors' wives in the fulfilment of vice-regal office.


1. Most temperate rivers are heavily regulated and characterised by incised channels, aggradated floodplains and modified hydroperiods. As a consequence, former extensive aquatic/terrestrial transition zones lack most of their basic ecological functions. 2. Along large rivers in Europe and North America, various floodplain restoration or rehabilitation projects have been planned or realised in recent years. However, restoration ecology is still in its infancy and the literature pertinent to river restoration is rather fragmented. (Semi-) aquatic components of floodplains, including secondary channels, disconnected and temporary waters as well as marshes, have received little attention, despite their significant contribution to biological diversity. 3. Many rehabilitation projects were planned or realised without prior knowledge of their potential for success or failure, although, these projects greatly contributed to our present understanding of river-floodplain systems. 4. River rehabilitation benefits from a consideration of river ecosystem concepts in quantitative terms, comparison with reference conditions, historical or others, and the establishment of interdisciplinary partnerships. 5. We present examples from two large European rivers, the Danube and the Rhine, in which the role of aquatic connectivity has been extensively studied. The Danube delta with its diversity of floodplain lakes across an immense transversal gradient (up to 10 km) serves as a reference system for restoration projects along lowland sections of large rivers such as the Rhine in the Netherlands.


It has been demonstrated that the direct and/or indirect stimulation of hematopoiesis is one of the effects of the growth hormone (GH) in vitro. In order to study the effect of GH on erythropoiesis in vivo, the variation of hemochrome in a group of 8 subjects with GH deficiency (GHD) were monitored during a substitutive therapy with biosynthetic GH (rhGH) at dose of 0.4 U/kg/week. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), number of red blood cells (RBC) were analysed in all subjects at the beginning and after 9 months of treatment. The effectiveness of therapy was demonstrated by statistically significant variations in height, height SDS, growth velocity, serum levels of IGF-I. After 9 months of rhGH therapy, a significant increase was observed in all values considered with exception of MCV. In conclusion Gh would appear to stimulate erythropoiesis, directly or indirectly, and these results would appear to indicate an in vivo confirmation.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Angiosperms display remarkable diversity in flower colour, implying that transitions between pigmentation phenotypes must have been common. Despite progress in understanding transitions between anthocyanin (blue, purple, pink or red) and unpigmented (white) flowers, little is known about the evolutionary patterns of flower-colour transitions in lineages with both yellow and anthocyanin-pigmented flowers. This study investigates the relative rates of evolutionary transitions between different combinations of yellow- and anthocyanin-pigmentation phenotypes in the tribe Antirrhineae.

METHODS
We surveyed taxonomic literature for data on anthocyanin and yellow floral pigmentation for 369 species across the tribe. We then reconstructed the phylogeny of 169 taxa and used phylogenetic comparative methods to estimate transition rates among pigmentation phenotypes across the phylogeny.

KEY RESULTS
In contrast to previous studies we found a bias towards transitions involving a gain in pigmentation, although transitions to phenotypes with both anthocyanin and yellow taxa are nevertheless extremely rare. Despite the dominance of yellow and anthocyanin-pigmented taxa, transitions between these phenotypes are constrained to move through a white intermediate stage, whereas transitions to double-pigmentation are very rare. The most abundant transitions are between anthocyanin-pigmented and unpigmented flowers, and similarly the most abundant polymorphic taxa were those with anthocyanin-pigmented and unpigmented flowers.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings show that pigment evolution is limited by the presence of other floral pigments. This interaction between anthocyanin and yellow pigments constrains the breadth of potential floral diversity observed in nature. In particular, they suggest that selection has repeatedly acted to promote the spread of single-pigmented phenotypes across the Antirrhineae phylogeny. Furthermore, the correlation between transition rates and polymorphism suggests that the forces causing and maintaining variance in the short term reflect evolutionary processes on longer time scales.


The Community of Inquiry framework posits that a meaningful educational experience consists of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Garrison, Anderson, and Archer intentionally labeled the act of direct instruction, facilitating discourse, and designing instruction as teaching presence instead of teacher presence. This was largely due to the fact that teachers are not the only one's who engage in "teaching" activities in online courses. This nomenclature also supports the belief that ideal educational experiences are centered on learners and not teachers. As ideal as this is, it fails to highlight the unique role teachers play in online courses. There is an effective teacher behind every successful online course. Students are particularly interested in their teacher's social presence (which we refer to as instructor social presence). We posit that the Community of Inquiry framework does not clearly articulate or validate this important aspect of communities of inquiry. Here we describe what instructor social presence is, explain its importance, highlight its role in the community of inquiry framework, and summarize research others have conducted on instructor social presence.


The Annual Carrell-Krusen Neuromuscular Symposium is a unique conference attended by more than 200 each year at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Its name honors Dr. Brandon Carrell who retired as physician-in-chief at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in 1978 and Dr. Ed Krusen who organized the first Muscular Dystrophy Association clinic in Dallas. This Symposium began in 1978 under the leadership of Dr. Jay Cook as a Muscular Dystrophy Clinic Directors' meeting and is now jointly sponsored by the hospital, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Childrens' Medical Center of Dallas, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The Symposium has grown to be the most popular clinical meeting for neuromuscular specialists in the country. During the three day meeting, attendees participate in lively discussions while meeting interesting and challenging patients. Attendees are invited to contribute interesting electrodiagnostic and histopathologic cases to review with the group. The visiting professor, the recipient of the Carrell-Krusen Award, gives the keynote lecture. The list of awardees represents the development of neuromuscular research for the past 35 years. Currently, the Program Directors are Dr. Susan T. Iannaccone. Journal of CLINICAL NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE


Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) studies the possibilities and effects of technological support for agents involved in cooperative work processes. Many technologies dedicated to cooperative work environments such us cooperative requirements engineering or cooperative information systems have emerged in the past decade. For many organisations, structured and unstructured cooperative activities coexist in work processes and must be managed in the final solution. It is necessary to emphasise the specificities of these processes in order to take them into account as soon as possible during design. This work presents a model which is a synthesis of the concepts we believe essential for cooperative work place analysis.


The MCNP5 code was employed to simulate the γ-ray shielding capacity of tungstate composites. The experimental results were applied to verify the applicability of the Monte Carlo program. PbWO4 and Bi2WO6 were prepared and added into ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) to obtain the composites, which were tested in the γ-ray shielding. Both the theoretical simulation and experiments were carefully chosen and well designed. The results of the two methods were found to be highly consistent. In addition, the conditions during the numerical simulation were optimized and double-layer γ-ray shielding systems were studied. It was found that the γ-ray shielding performance can be influenced not only by the material thickness ratio but also by the arrangement of the composites.


Deliberate firesetting is an international problem with significant personal and economic cost. Interest in fire has previously been identified as a unique predictor of deliberate firesetting, however little is known about how fire interest interacts with other factors to produce firesetting. This research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the role of fire interest by exploring how this construct interacts with previous exposure to fire and aspects of self and emotional regulation, and how this relates to firesetting behaviour. Two anonymous online studies were conducted among New Zealand adult community samples: Study 1 examined the relationship between fire interest, previous exposure to fire, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and sensation seeking (N = 146); Study 2 replicated the first study and explored the relationship between these factors and engagement in deliberate firesetting (N = 149). Results from both studies showed that only previous exposure to fire and sensation seeking were consistently positively correlated with fire interest, however, when other variables were controlled for via multiple regression analysis, the thrill/adventure seeking facet of sensation seeking was the only significant predictor of fire interest. In Study 2, logistic regression showed that only fire interest and impulsivity were significant predictors of deliberate firesetting. Moderation analyses indicated that thrill/adventure seeking moderates the relationship between fire interest and firesetting behaviour, while impulsivity does not. These findings extend previous research and theory by providing an initial understanding of how various factors may influence an individual's level of fire interest and their engagement in deliberate firesetting.


ABSTRACT Miot da Silva, G. and Shulmeister, J., 2016. A review of coastal dunefield evolution in Southeastern Queensland. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 308–312. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Southern Queensland subtropical coastline represents a major depositional system containing 3 of the largest sand islands in the world. The surface of these sand masses comprises foredune ridges and predominantly large transgressive dunefields, deposited episodically during the Quaternary. The chronological sequence of these dunefield phases, however, is still poorly understood. This paper summarizes the information available regarding dunefield transgression events on the southern coast of Queensland and indicates that both marine and climate effects are important controlling factors for dunefield evolution but that an understanding of the relative thresholds of each factor as the main trigger of dune emplacement phases remains a challenge.


Teaching in multigrade classes can be stressful, especially in rural areas caused by factors such as displacement and lack of resources. This study identified stressors at work, evaluated the stress, anxiety and coping behaviors, correlating with personal and work variables. We studies 21 teachers who were responsible for 2-3 series/class, with 16.4 students, on average. Stress was identified in 57% of the sample correlated with anxiety (moderate to severe in 30%). More common stressors were: little family monitoring and motivational and behavioral problems of students. Coping behaviors based on problem solving was predominant, especially among teachers without stress and/or more series/class, followed by search for religious practices. These are correlated with seeking social support and time of service, especially among married people and those with fewer grades/classes. There is a need for more studies on the impact of multigrade teaching in the context of teachers ́ mental health. Krywords: Stress; teaching; teachers. Indicadores de estrese y estrategias de enfrentamiento en profesores de enseñanza multiseriada


Prospects for better therapy of neoplastic disease have been stimulated by the suggestion of a surgical approach (regional perfusion) to a chemical method of treatment of malignant neoplasms. 1-3 Ideally, an area such as the pelvis, the frequent seat of a large percentage of nonresectable but still localized malignant disease, is temporarily separated from the rest of the body by surgical techniques and then perfused with high carcinocidal concentrations of anticancer drugs that would be extremely toxic if given systemically. In practice, however, a major problem has been the "leak" out of the perfused area into the systemic circulation. This "leak" has been of such a magnitude that both the dosage of medication and the time of perfusion have been limited by the systemic toxicity. This paper reports the development of a pelvic tourniquet which permits the extracorporeal perfusion of the pelvis in the dog with only a relatively small


Large animal models are required for preclinical prevention and intervention studies related to osteoporosis research. The challenging aspect of this requirement is that no single animal model exactly mimics the progression of this human‐specific chronic condition. There are pros and cons associated with the skeletal, hormonal, and metabolic conditions of each species that influence their relevance and applicability to human physiology. Of all larger mammalian species, nonhuman primates (NHPs) are preeminent in terms of replicating important aspects of human physiology. However, NHPs are very expensive, putting them out of reach of the vast majority of researchers. Practical, cost‐effective alternatives to NHPs are sought after among ungulate (porcine, caprine, and ovine) and canine species that are the focus of this review. The overriding caveat to using large lower‐order species is to take the time in advance to understand and appreciate the limitations and strengths of each animal model. Under these circumstances, experiments can be strategically designed to optimize the potential of an animal to develop the cardinal features of postmenopausal bone loss and/or yield information of relevance to treatment.


Bipedal robots in previous research work were unable to independently modify the elements of a walking pattern on uneven terrain without any extra footstep for adjusting the center of mass (COM) motion. To solve this problem, this paper extends the modifiable walking pattern generator (MWPG). The MWPG can independently modify the elements of the walking pattern without any extra footstep on flat terrain only. The extended MWPG can be applied on uneven terrain. In the extended MWPG, a 3-D command state is defined to generate the walking pattern on uneven terrain. Instead of using the constant COM height, the vertical COM trajectory is generated to satisfy the foot height of the swing leg. Also, an additional trajectory, generated by the cubic spline interpolation, is supplied to the vertical foot trajectory of the MWPG. The proposed MWPG is implemented on the small-sized bipedal robot, HanSaRam-IX (HSR-IX) and the effectiveness of the proposed MWPG is demonstrated through the experiment.


Vast majority of active tuberculosis patients seeks treatment, do so promptly, still many patients spend a great deal of time and money "shopping for health" and too often they do not receive either accurate diagnosis or effective treatment, despite spending considerable resources. Objective: To find out the time taken to, for diagnosis of tuberculosis and to put patient on DOTS from the onset of symptoms and pattern of health seeking behavior of new pulmonary tuberculosis patients. A cross-sectional rapid assessment using qualitative (FGD) and quantitative (Interview) methods conducted at DOTS center of tertiary care hospital from rural Wardha. Participants: 53 pulmonary tuberculosis patients already on DOTS, in intensive phase. Main outcome measure: Delay in initiation of DOTS & health seeking behavior Results: Median total delay for starting DOTS was 111 days, (range: 10 to 321 days). Patient delay was more than provider delay. Patients delay was more in patients above 60 years, illiterate, per-capita income below 650 Rupees and HIV TB co-infection. Pattern of health seeking behavior was complex. Family physician was the preferred health care provider. Patient visited on an average four providers and spent around 1450 rupees (only direct cost) before DOTS begin. Time taken from the onset of symptoms and start of DOT is a cause of concern for the tuberculosis control program. Early case detection is important rather than mere achieving target of 70% new case detection. Program manager needs to implement locally relevant & focused strategies for early case detection to improve the treatment success, especially in rural area of India.


While 2% of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exhibit narrow emission lines with line-of-sight velocities that are significantly offset from the velocity of the host galaxy's stars, the nature of these velocity offsets is unknown. We investigate this question with Chandra/ACIS and Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 observations of seven velocity-offset AGNs at ; all seven galaxies have a central AGN, but a peak in emission that is spatially offset by <kpc from the host galaxy's stellar centroid. These spatial offsets are responsible for the observed velocity offsets and are due to shocks, either from AGN outflows (in four galaxies) or gas inflowing along a bar (in three galaxies). We compare our results with a velocity-offset AGN whose velocity offset originates from a spatially offset AGN in a galaxy merger. The optical line flux ratios of the offset AGN are consistent with pure photoionization, while the optical line flux ratios of our sample are consistent with contributions from photoionization and shocks. We conclude that these optical line flux ratios could be efficient for separating velocity-offset AGNs into subgroups of offset AGNs—which are important for studies of AGN fueling in galaxy mergers—and central AGNs with shocks, where the outflows are biased toward the most energetic outflows that are the strongest drivers of feedback.


believe I am right in saying that the increase since 1963 has been very small, and, bearing in mind the large number of relatively inexperienced drivers who have taken to the road, the figures are really not as unsatisfactory as they are made to appear. We generally like medically to assess the problem which we are trying to solve before advising solutions for it, and it might be as well if the Ministry of Transport followed this precept.-I am, etc.,


The self-organization of pyramidal PbSe islands that spontaneously form during strained-layer epitaxial growth of PbSe/Pb1-xEuxTe (x = 0.05 to 0.1) superlattices results in the formation of three-dimensional quantum-dot crystals. In these crystals, the dots are arranged in a trigonal lattice with a face-centered cubic (fcc)-like A-B-C-A-B-C vertical stacking sequence. The lattice constant of the dot crystal can be tuned continuously by changing the superlattice period. As shown by theoretical calculations, the elastic anisotropy in these artificial dot crystals acts in a manner similar to that of the directed chemical bonds of crystalline solids. The narrow size distribution and excellent control of the dot arrangement may be advantageous for optoelectronic device applications.


Groundwater overdraft has led to cone of depression formation in Jining City, China. This paper investigates spatial groundwater overdraft severity by an index and Geographic Information System (GIS) method, and impact of artificial recharge on groundwater quality, by a 3-D groundwater flow finite difference numerical model code MODFLOW, and a solute transport model code MT3D. Hydrogeological and anthropogenic factors were evaluated. Groundwater concentration of chloride ions and total hardness (THD) as a result of artificial recharge were evaluated. The hydro-geochemical formation of the aquifer and recharge water quality greatly impact the groundwater quality. The recharge water must be within high groundwater quality standards.


Pancreatic fistula may occur as a complication of chronic pancreatitis [1–3]. However, a communicating fistula between the pancreatic ductal system and the portal vein is a rare and difficult-to-treat complication [4]. We present the first report of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided main pancreatic duct rendezvous treatment of a symptomatic case of pancreaticoportal fistula. The case was complicated by a partial portal vein thrombosis, related to a pancreatic pseudocyst from chronic pancreatitis. A 69-year-old man presented with abdominal pain and weight loss during the previous 6 months. Laboratory tests revealed anemia (hemoglobin 7.7g/dL) an increased amylase (7759U/L) and an albumin of 3.4g/L. Clinical history and abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) led to a diagnosis of pancreatic pseudocyst related to underlying alcoholic chronic pancreatitis. The MRI further showed a dilatation of the portal vein related to partial thrombosis (●" Fig.1). We performed an endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) that revealed a cystic collection in the head of the pancreas with stenosis and dilatation of the main pancreatic duct and secondary ducts. We were unable to pass a guidewire through the pancreatic duct stricture (●" Fig.2). However, it was passed through a pancreaticoportal fistula, and the portal vein was visualized immediately after contrast injection. We then attempted an EUS-guided rendezvous maneuver. We accessed the main pancreatic duct through the stomach with a 19G needle, obtained pancreatography, and passed a 0.035-inch guidewire along themainduct through theminorduodenal papilla into the duodenum (●" Fig.3).With the duodenoscope it was possible to grasp the guidewire and reposition it in the tail of the pancreas. We finally introduced a fully covered biliary self-expandable metallic stent (8cm×10mm) across the pan-


This paper aims to develop a hybrid model for forecasting electrical energy consumption of households based on a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm associated with the Grey and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). This paper proposes a new Grey-ANFIS-PSO model that is based on historical data from smart meters in order to estimate and improve the accuracy of forecasting electrical energy consumption. This accuracy will be characterized by coefficients such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). The PSO will allow to optimally design the Neuro-fuzzy forecasting. This method is implemented on Cameroon consumption data over the 24-years period in order to forecast energy consumption for the next years. Using this model, we were able to estimate that electricity consumption will be 1867 GWH in 2028 with 0.20158 RMSE and 0.62917% MAPE. The simulation results obtained show that implementation of this new optimized Neuro-fuzzy model on consumption data for a long period presents better results on prediction of electrical energy consumption compared to single artificial intelligence models of literature such as Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN).


Recently, InP-based quantum dots (QDs) have received significant attention due to their usefulness in display applications, and the search for good optical properties has led to numerous reports on the testing of reaction variables. However, most researchers have precluded the most important anion precursors in their studies, instead of focusing only on tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine(P(SiMe3)3, TMS3P) precursors. Due to its vulnerability to moisture, TMS3P is unstable and difficult to handle. In the current study, a new anionic precursor, tris(hexylthio)phosphine(THTP), is introduced for use with InP-based QDs. Owing to its activated phosphine and sulfur atoms, the THTP molecule is a dual anionic precursor for both InP and ZnS QDs. When THTP is reacted with indium and zinc precursors, InPZnS alloy QDs can be fabricated. To observe the synthesis mechanism and probe the intermediate, FAB-mass and 31P-NMR analyses were conducted, resulting in the identification of an intermediate of MW 504. Finally, the surface was coated with a ZnS shell to obtain the emission wavelength from 530 nm to 570 nm and a maximum quantum efficiency of 42% when a ZnI2 precursor was used.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


ABSTRACT The study area is located 4 km east of Haymana, Ankara, Turkey. Major and rare earth element (REE) contents in samples collected from siltstone, carbonaceous claystone, and marl of the Haymana formation in the studied region and their distribution with respect to lithology and correlation relations yield important data on the evaluation of forming conditions of basin. Regarding the abundance of elements in various lithologies, the first and second group elements (SiO2, Al2O3, Na2O, TiO2, P2O5 and Fe2O3, K2O, REE) are more abundant in carbonaceous claystone and siltstone than that in marl, indicating that they are of detrital origin and controlled by clays. The abundance of CaO and TOT/C is lesser in siltstone than that in carbonaceous claystone and marl, implying that they are in marine origin. This is also supported by the correlation of elements. Based on REE abundances, lithologies are ranked in the order of claystone > siltstone > marl, which indicates that clays play an important role in REE enrichment. Correlation of REEs with major elements is indicative of detrital source and association with clay minerals. All the samples are represented by slightly negative Ce anomaly and positive Eu anomaly. Negative Ce and positive Eu anomalies are mostly typically of high oxygenated environments. Since negative Ce anomaly restricts oxygen enrichment to some extent, deposition environment might reflect oxic-anoxic conditions.


Pitch perception plays a central role in processing speech prosody. Since f0 varies from speaker to speaker and from context to context, effective pitch-range normalization is thus important to uncover intended linguistic pitch targets. It has also been speculated that voice quality may play a role in pitch-range perception. Our previous study demonstrated that spectral balance indeed effectively affected the perception of pitch height: "tense voice", implemented as stimuli with spectral balance tilted towards higher frequency, was perceived as higher in pitch. Our previous study used non-speech stimuli, raising the possibility that listeners might not be in the speech mode; this current study therefore replicates the previous experiment using speech stimuli resynthesized with the same range of f0 contours and a similar spectral manipulation, and the same forced-choice pitch classification experiment with four spectral conditions. The results are consistent with our previous experiment: the pitch classification function was significantly shifted by differences in spectral balance. Listeners generally hear higher pitches when the spectrum includes more high-frequency energy (i.e., tenser phonation). Moreover, there is a salient perceptual bias: When the second peak is tenser, the effect is stronger. These new results further support the hypothesis that voice quality cues are strong indicators of pitch-range.


Abstract Measuring direct and indirect effects of extending health insurance coverage in developing countries is a key issue for health system development and for attaining universal health coverage. This paper investigates the role played by health insurance in the relationship between parental morbidity and child work decisions. We use a propensity score matching technique combined with hurdle models, using data from Rwanda. The results show that parental health shocks have a substantial influence on child work when households do not have health insurance. Depending on the gender of the sick parent, there is a substitution effect not only between the parent and the child on the labor market, but also between the time the child spends on different work activities. Altogether, results reveal that health insurance protects children against child work in the presence of parental health shocks.


Solvency II has been introducing new ways for calculating the technical provisions. The book deals with life insurance. These new techniques are shared within EU and nevertheless they are destined to influence the insurance market worldwide during the next years because there are plenty of new ideas. Technical provisions are shaped in a way that makes easy the analysis of risks, their contributions to the capital required in order to manage the business, their diversifications within a portfolio of different types of assets and insurance liabilities. Solvency II is changing the pricing of life products and the actions that the management bodies of the Undertakings put in place for facing risks and the volatility of profits. The book explains the best estimate and the risk margin, the underlying principles and proposes solutions for the calculations. It deals with stochastic runs, policyholder behaviour, risk mitigation provided by reinsurance. It introduces the loss functions as tool for projecting profits and potential losses. The book describes as well as how the taxes affect the balance sheet through their links with the technical provisions.


This case study describes the whole procedure followed for the creation of a specific service structure to manage the promotion of the use of ICT and e-learning in the educational processes of a large, traditional, five century-old university, the University of Granada in Spain. The finally decided structure for its Virtual Learning Center as regards the institution needs is described, as well as the academic staff ICT formation program, the technology choice and the online courses developed. Finally, the new challenges faced by the institution are identified.


Climate change is of concern for both marine biodiversity and the human societies that are supported by it. Predictive models are required to assess potential responses of socio-ecological systems to climate change, implement measures to enhance their adaptability, and ensure the persistence of marine species and the livelihoods that depend on them. This requires a combination of modelling techniques, making use of a variety of data while dealing with uncertainty at many stages of the modelling procedure. This thesis explores the impact of climate change on a marine socio-ecological system, in particular through climate-induced shifts in species' distributions. It further aims to explore sources of uncertainty in projecting models under climate change. Ecological and economic research techniques are applied to a set of species predominantly inhabiting UK waters, using projections of climate change for 2050. Ensemble projections suggest polewards shifts in species at an average rate of 27 and 42 km per decade for demersal and pelagic species respectively. Uncertainties concerning alternative, valid data sources and modelling procedures, notably species distribution models, contribute variation to predictions, and a multi-model approach is advocated to incorporate uncertainties and prevent bias through model selection. Predictions help identify increased risk of over-fishing through bycatch and indicate likely changes in environmental suitability of protected areas. Results also demonstrate how an index of agreement may be used to promote the tractability and application of projections by non-specialist communities. Furthermore, total maximum catch potential within UK waters is predicted to decrease by 2050, resulting in a median decrease in profitability between 2005 and 2050 of 10%, dependent on alterations in key costs such as fuel price. This thesis highlights the tight link between climate change impacts at ecological and socio-economic levels. Although adaptive capacity might be enhanced by switching gear or altering fishing patterns, rebuilding fish stocks to sustainable level will both improve their resilience to multiple threats and improve the resilience of fishers to withstand changes in distribution and catch.


A device to carry out all types of vacuum infiltration in a wide temperature range. The device is easy to use and allows you to simultaneously conduct the infiltration of a large number of tissue samples. The main element of the device is a temperature-controlled cuvette, the temperature of which is set in the range of 23-65 °C. The design of the cell allows pumping air from the cell to the 50-100 mm Hg. In practice, histological methods are used to remove the vacuum infiltration of air from the tissue fixation (plant tissue), to accelerate the penetration of fasteners into the tissue. To carry out such a procedure, syringes, water pump and other hand-held devicesare used. Only vacuum infiltration allows a fill lyophilized tissue in paraffin. Efficiency of the described device is checked during the experiments at various fixing plant tissue and nervous tissue filling lyophilized in paraffin.