Extrusion cooking is a popular means of preparing snack foods and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals using starch-based raw materials. Snacks contribute an important part of many consumers daily nutrient and calories intake. A ready to eat extruded food was developed using a brabender single screw laboratory extruder by incorporation of defatted soy flour with rice flour. The effect of moisture content (12 to 24 per cent (wb)), blend ratio (10 to 26 per cent) and die head temperature (160 to 2000C) on the textural quality such as crispness, hardness and cutting strength of the extruded snacks were studied It was observed that at the lower value of moisture content (15 per cent) of feed and blend ratio (14:86) the crispness of snacks was highest. The crispness decreased up to 180-1850C die head temperature. Beyond 1850C temperature the crispness increased. Similarly the crispness of the product gradually decreased by increasing or decreasing blending ratio beyond 14:86. The lowest hardness was obtained nearly at 14:86 blend ratio and 15 per cent moisture content of feed. As the value of moisture content of feed increased the value of hardness also increased. The minimum cutting strength was observed at 1700C die head temperature. Further it was observed that the maximum value of crispness lay nearly higher side of die head temperature and lowest hardness and cutting strength was obtained at lowest value of moisture content i.e. 15 per cent and 14:86 blend ratio.


The market is inundated with inkjet printers, laser printers, and photocopiers, which are often used in criminal activities. Many of these office machines are built by various manufacturers, hence they are constructed with different hardware designs (e.g. "rolling" and "grabbing" mechanisms) that have changed over the years due to technological advances. Examinations of printed documents that involve the chemical analysis of ink colorants and the identification of physical machine defects such as trash marks are essential for the forensic examiner, but new techniques are needed to more closely identify a machine model or group of models. An electrostatic detection device (EDD) provide forensic examiners with a nondestructive method to examine indentations on a document. In this work, an EDD is used to detect latent physical markings left on documents by printers and photocopiers. Seventeen inkjet printers, 12 laser printers, and 3 photocopy machines were used to produce test documents. Physical markings were detectable in the large majority of the documents and were reproducible 100% of the time.


We show how several concepts that are treated separately in general economics texts - externalities, moral hazard, and collusion - submit to a unified treatment based on a standard analysis of property rights. Most texts recognize externalities as a problem of open access to a resource. We show that moral hazard, which is usually viewed as an information problem, is more usefully viewed as cheating on a common-property resource. We also show that while the efficiency implications differ, the logic of the textbook analysis of monopoly, oligopoly, and competition is identical to the analysis of private, common-property, and open-access resources. Unifying the analysis of these concepts is time-efficient and emphasizes the common economic intuition, reinforcing economic principles while demonstrating the power of basic economic reasoning.


Dinitrogen (N2) was reduced to ammonia at room temperature and 1 atmosphere with molybdenum catalysts that contain tetradentate [HIPTN3N]3– triamidoamine ligands {such as [HIPTN3N]Mo(N2), where [HIPTN3N]3– is [{3,5-(2,4,6-i-Pr3C6H2)2C6H3NCH2CH2}3N]3–} in heptane. Slow addition of the proton source [{2,6-lutidinium}{BAr′4}, where Ar′ is 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3]and reductant (decamethyl chromocene) was critical for achieving high efficiency (∼66% in four turnovers). Numerous x-ray studies, along with isolation and characterization of six proposed intermediates in the catalytic reaction under noncatalytic conditions, suggest that N2 was reduced at a sterically protected, single molybdenum center that cycled from Mo(III) through Mo(VI) states.


&NA; External fixators commonly used in orthopaedic trauma and reconstruction may pose a potential safety hazard to patients exposed to magnetic resonance imaging. This interaction with the scanner depends on fixator composition, magnetism, and geometry. Image artifact produced by devices during scanning may diminish the diagnostic quality of the image. A mail survey of 91 radiologists' and 167 radiological technologists' current practices identified an absence of consensus regarding protocols for scanning patients who had external fixators in place. Eighteen external fixators were tested. Force was measured during exposure to the magnetic field at 30 cm from the magnetic resonance imaging portal, at the portal, and 30 cm inside the portal. The recordings ranged from 0 to 2.2 kg. Three fixators did not generate measurable forces and therefore are considered safe for the magnetic resonance imaging based on previously published safety standards. Ten devices did not produce measurable forces until placed at the portal, indicating that these fixators may be considered safe, providing the scanned area is distant to the fixator. To investigate image artifact, the fixators were placed on a phantom model and scanned. There was substantial variation among the fixators and image quality produced, depending on fixator composition and geometry.


The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly evolving and expanding collection of diverse technologies that interact with the physical world. Many organizations are not necessarily aware of the large number of IoT devices they are already using and how IoT devices may affect cybersecurity and privacy risks differently than conventional information technology (IT) devices do. The purpose of this publication is to help federal agencies and other organizations better understand and manage the cybersecurity and privacy risks associated with their individual IoT devices throughout the devices' lifecycles. This publication is the introductory document providing the foundation for a planned series of publications on more specific aspects of this topic.


In the midst of the push for universal access to counsel in civil cases and the increasing proportion of litigants who represent themselves, a critical barrier to access to justice for children has been overlooked. Federal courts have created a catch-22 for child litigants. Children cannot bring claims themselves, so parents must bring the claims on their behalf. Federal courts refuse to allow parents to pursue these claims pro se, stating that parents cannot provide adequate legal representation. Yet, there is no right to counsel in civil cases, and these same courts typically conclude the children's cases do not warrant appointment. As a result, federal courts routinely dismiss children's claims for lack of counsel in the name of protecting children's interests, leaving some of the most vulnerable patrons of the justice system without legal remedies. Thus, by enforcing a "counsel mandate," courts effectively exclude low-income children and their parents from legal relief, contravening children's fundamental constitutional rights to court access, parents' fundamental constitutional rights and responsibilities toward their children, and democratic norms. To cure this constitutionally questionable practice and protect the rights and interests of child litigants, courts should permit children's claims to proceed and liberally exercise their discretion to appoint counsel to represent them.


Pragia is proposed as a new genus in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Pragia fontium is proposed for the single Pragia species, in which 18 strains are known, all of which were isolated in Czechoslovakia. P. fontium strains give positive tests for Simmons citrate, H2S production, motility, acid production from d-glucose and d-galactose, and gluconate oxidation. The majority of strains are positive in tests for methyl red and esculin. Acid production from glycerol, salicin, and d-xylose varies among strains, whereas all strains are negative in Voges-Proskauer tests and tests for indole production, urea hydrolysis, phenylalanine deaminase, lysine and ornithine decarboxylases, arginine dihydrolase, gelatin hydrolysis, growth in KCN, malonate utilization, gas production from d-glucose, lipase, deoxyribonuclease, tyrosine clearing, and acid production from carbohydrates other than those noted above. The levels of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) relatedness of seven P. fontium strains to labeled DNA from the type strain ranged from 85 to 94% (hydroxyapatite method at 60 and 75°C); the levels of DNA relatedness of P. fontium to other members of the Enterobacteriaceae were 17% or less except for biochemically atypical Budvicia aquatica DRL 23575 (37%). Seventeen P. fontium strains were isolated from wells or water pipes, and one strain was isolated from the stool of a healthy woman. The type strain of P. fontium is strain CNCTC Eb 11/82 (= CDC 963-84 = DRL 20125).


In this paper,a new type(or the second type) of transformation which is used to map the variable coefficient nonlinear Schr(o|¨)dinger(VCNLS) equation to the usual nonlinear Schr(o|¨)dinger(NLS) equation is given.As a special case,a new kind of nonautonomous NLS equation with a t-dependent potential is introduced.Further,by using the new transformation and making full use of the known soliton and rogue wave solutions of the usual NLS equation,the corresponding kinds of solutions of a special model of the new nonautonomous NLS equation are discussed respectively. Additionally,through using the new transformation,a new expression,i.e.,the non-rational formula,of the rogue wave of a special VCNLS equation is given analytically.The main differences between the two types of transformation mentioned above are listed by three items.


Clinical interviewing is viewed here as a social interactional pattern in order to examine the nature and limits of the technique as a means of scientific data acquisition. I defend the technique against criticisms that it is ecologically suspect and prone to systematic biases, mainly due to influence of the interviewer on the interviewee or to unnatural and biasing interactional patterns. The Central Hypothesis of this work is that at least some forms of clinical interviewing are derivative of naturally occurring patterns of activity and interaction. As such, they do not warrant unnecessary a priori suspicion. More importantly, this view leads to avenues of empirical examination that allow determination and checking of the character of the clinical interaction, which bears directly on how and when data extracted in clinical contexts are scientifically valid. Data from an extensive corpus involving a single subject are used to illustrate and substantiate claims.


The proposed dynamically reconfigurable system can support multiple applications running concurrently. An FPGA resource manager is developed to allocate and de-allocate FPGA resources and to pre-load FPGA configuration files. For each individual application, different tasks that require FPGA resources are represented as a flow graph which is made available to the resource manager so as to enable efficient resource management and pre-loading. The impact of supporting concurrency and pre-loading in reducing application execution time is demonstrated.


ABSTRACT We report here the genome sequences of two Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates previously identified in central Los Angeles, CA, in the 1990s using a PacBio platform. Isolate TB282 represents a large-cluster strain that caused 27% of the tuberculosis cases, while TB284 represents a strain that caused disease in only one patient.


In 2003, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) and the Cancer Society of New Zealand commissioned a major nationwide survey to segment adult New Zealanders in terms of physical activity and healthy eating habits. The questionnaire included several transport-related questions. The resulting Obstacles to Action database (with responses from over 8000 people aged 16 or over) thus provides opportunities to analyse transport responses with a larger sample size than is usual with New Zealand surveys. This report analyses the Obstacles to Action database with respect to cycling and walking. A focus is the stage of change questions which can be useful for developing and monitoring active transport promotional strategies, given that behaviour change may often involve a number of process steps being undertaken before individuals are ready to change behaviour. Current cycling and walking, together with stage of change for cycling and walking, were first analysed for demographic differences (age, gender, ethnicity, level of urbanisation, region, effect of children, work status, household income). Differences between stages of change with respect to motivations, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers (physical activity in general) were also briefly considered, as well as readiness to replace car trips with walking and cycling, relevant environmental perceptions, and perceived environmental barriers. (a)


The rapid growth of virtual worlds is one of the most recent Internet trends. Some distinguishing features of virtual environments include the employment of avatars and multimodal communication among avatars. This study examined the effects of the modality (text vs. audio) of message presentation on people's evaluation of spokes-avatar credibility and the informational value of promotional messages in avatar-based advertising inside 3D virtual environments. An experiment was conducted in the virtual Apple retail store inside Second Life, the most popular and fastest growing virtual world. The author designed a two-group (textual advertisement vs. auditory advertisement) comparison experiment by manipulating the modality of conveying advertisement messages. The author also created a spokes-avatar that represents a real-life organization (Apple) and presents promotional messages about its innovative product, the iPhone. Data analyses showed that (a) textual modality (vs. auditory modality) resulted in greater source expertise, informational value of the advertisement message, and social presence; and that (b) high product involvement (vs. low product involvement) resulted in a more positive attitude toward the product, higher buying intention, and a higher level of perceived interactivity. In addition to the main effects of product involvement and modality, results showed significant interaction between involvement and modality. Modality effects were stronger for people with low product involvement than for those with high product involvement, thus confirming the moderating effects of product involvement. Results of a path analysis also showed that social presence mediated the effects of modality on the perceived informational value of the advertisement message.


The field of exoplanetary science is growing rapidly and more than fifteen hundred exoplanets have been confirmed to this day. Most of these planets have been found through the detection of planetary transits and to use this method for finding extrasolar planets was the main focus of the project. From the beginning the goal and purpose for the thesis work was twofold: To learn how to use the Westerlund telescope for detecting and characterizing transiting extrasolar planets. Thereafter trying to detect and confirm a transiting planet which earlier only had been detected with radial velocity measurements. Unfortunately bad weather postponed the initial observations to the point that the latter part hade to be canceled. Instead a more theoretical alternative was chosen. A study on the probabilities for RV planets to transit, based on of the paper "A Posteriori Transit Probabilities" (2013) by Stevens and Gaudi. Observations where performed at two nights in March which resulted in one detected planetary transit. Using the obtained data from the observation certain properties of the planetary system was calculated and compared with the work of Mandushev et al. The results were surprisingly comparable and expected to be even more similar if one would add the effect of limb darkening.


Self-assembled morphologies of grafted Y-shaped ABC triblock copolymers are investigated using a simulated annealing method. The block copolymers are composed of two incompatible arms (A and B) and a short stem (C), with the C-stems grafted onto a flat surface. A rich array of novel morphologies is discovered. The formation of these morphologies is controlled by polymer grafting density, the incompatibility between the A-B-blocks, as well as the quality and selectivity of the solvents. In particular, it is observed that solvent selectivity drives lateral and/or perpendicular microphase separation. A phase diagram for systems with low grafting density is constructed. It is predicted that multiple morphological transitions, such as these from mixed or core-shell micelles to internally segregated micelles, to hamburger-like micelles, to segmented wormlike micelles, to connected micelles, and to split micelles, can be induced by varying either the incompatibility between the two arms or the quality of the solvents. These results are consistent with previous experiments and theories.


The "a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10" (ADAM10) shedding activity is vital for several physiological and pathophysiological processes. Although ADAM10 activity in these processes is comprehensively described, little is known about the mechanism controlling the protease shedding activity. As a transmembrane protease, the plasma membrane itself may play an essential role in the regulation of ADAM10 shedding activity. Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure was shown before to be the major regulatory mechanism of ADAM17 shedding activity, the structural and functional closest relative to ADAM10. In a series of experiments with different cell types, the headgroup of phosphatidylserine (OPS) showed a competitive inhibitory effect on ADAM10-mediated substrate release, presumably by abolishing ADAM10 interaction with PS. This inhibitory effect of OPS on ADAM10-mediated substrate release was shown for multiple ADAM10 substrates and stimuli, indicating that PS exposure is in general essential for ADAM10-mediated substrate release. Overexpression of phospholipid scramblase TMEM16F/ANO6 contributed to PS exposure and led to enhanced ADAM10-mediated substrate release. Hyperactive TMEM16F/ANO6 mutant (human ANO6 D408G) showed enhanced PS exposure in conjunction with increased ADAM10-mediated substrate release, without any stimulation. B-cells from a patient with the Scott syndrome showed TMEM16F/ANO6-related impaired PS scrambling, resulting in the absence of ADAM10 shedding activity. Furthermore, biophysical experiments with a peptide version of the ADAM10 stalk domain indicated a direct interaction of ADAM10 with PS. The mutation of the positively charged amino acids in the stalk domain of ADAM10 significantly reduced the ability of the proteases to release its substrate betacellulin. These results highlight the importance of the positively charged amino acids in the ADAM10 stalk domain for the interaction with PS and substrate shedding.


Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused physicians and surgeons to consider restructuring traditional cancer management paradigms. We aim to review the current evidence regarding the diagnosis and management of head and neck cancer, with an emphasis on the role of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) during a pandemic. Data Sources COVID-19 resources from PubMed, Google Scholar, the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, and the American Head and Neck Society were examined. Review Methods Studies and guidelines related to the multidisciplinary management of head and neck cancer in the COVID-19 setting were reviewed. A total of 54 studies were included. Given the continuously evolving body of literature, the sources cited include the latest statements from medical and dental societies. Results The unpredictable fluctuation of hospital resources and the risk of the nosocomial spread of SARS-CoV-2 have direct effects on head and neck cancer management. Using an MDT approach to help define "essential surgery" for immediately life- or function-threatening disease processes in the context of available hospital resources will help to maximize outcomes. Early enrollment in an MDT is often critical for considering nonsurgical options to protect patients and health care workers. The role of the MDT continues after cancer treatment, if delivered, and the MDT plays an essential role in surveillance and survivorship programs in these challenging times. Conclusion Head and neck cancer management during the COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique challenge for all specialists involved. Early MDT involvement is important to maximize patient outcomes and satisfaction in the context of public and community safety.


The aim was to compare normal overjet versus large overjet cases with clinically healthy temporomandibular joints (TMJ); to establish normative data regarding the difference between condylar positions in centric occlusion (CO) and maximum intercuspation (MI) and deflective CO contacts. Two study groups of normal overjet and large overjet cases consisted each of 33 subjects with no detectable clinical signs of temporomandibular disorder (TMD). CO-MI differences were recorded using the SAM Mandibular Position Indicator. Deflective contacts were examined on models mounted in CO. There was a significant difference between groups in the vertical (P = 0.030) and transverse (P = 0.008) range of movement from CO to MI, but not in the antero-posterior direction. There were no differences in the location of deflective contacts. Results of this study showed that patients with increased overjet show some differences compared with normal overjet patients, even in the non-patients. Further research on TMD patients is needed to find out about the role these features play in the aetiology and treatment of temporomandibular disorder (TMD). This study indicates that the clinician should be paying special attention to the TMJ status of patients with a large overjet.


The objective of this research was to study and cluster of Jatropha germplasm belonging to University of Sriwijaya.  This research was conducted from September 2007 until July 2008. The research used 14 accessions of Jatropha taken from some regions in Indonesia, namely: Komering, Palembang, Yogyakarta, Indralaya, ATP2, Pontianak, Lahat, Pagaralam, Curup, Lampung, Medan Aceh Besar, Pidi and Gorontalo.  Accessions of Jatropha curcas L. were planted at Agro Techno Park (ATP)  Bakung village, Indralaya Utara district Ogan Ilir, South Sumatera using Randomized Complete Block Design.  RAPD analysis using 20 primers was done  at RGCI (Research Group on  Crop Improvement), Bogor Agricultural University.  Dendrogram based on RAPD analysis  produced five groups that were: the first group was Komering, Lahat, Pidi, Indralaya, Aceh Besar, Pontianak and Curup.  The second group was Palembang and ATP2. The third group was Pagaralam, Gorontalo, and Medan.  Lampung was included in to fourth group.  The fifth group was Yogyakarta.  Dendrogram from morphological marker had also five groups.  First group was: Komering, Indralaya, Pontianak. Lahat, and Pagaralam.  Second group was: Palembang, Lampung, Pidi, Medan, and ATP2. Third group was: Curup. Fourth group was: Yogyakarta and Gorontalo.  Fifth group was: Aceh Besar. The difference of member from each groups between dendrogram using RAPD and morphological markers indicated that the bands resulted from RAPD did not have relation with characters observed. Key words: Jatropha curcas L, RAPD analysis, Morphologycal marker, cluster analysis


Abstract Commercially available domperidone orodispersible tablets (ODT) are intended for immediate release of the drug, but none of them have been formulated for sustained action. The aim of the present research work was to develop and evaluate orodispersible sustained release tablet (ODT-SR) of domperidone, which has the convenience of ODT and benefits of controlled release product combined in one. The technology comprised of developing sustained release microspheres (MS) of domperidone, followed by direct compression of MS along with suitable excipients to yield ODT-SR which rapidly disperses within 30 seconds and yet the dispersed MS maintain their integrity to have a sustained drug release. The particle size of the MS was optimized to be less than 200 μm to avoid the grittiness in the mouth. The DSC thermograms of MS showed the absence of drug-polymer interaction within the microparticles, while SEM confirmed their spherical shape and porous nature. Angle of repose, compressibility and Hausner's ratio of the blend for compression showed good flowability and high percent compressibility. The optimized ODT-SR showed disintegration time of 21 seconds and matrix controlled drug release for 9 h. In-vivo pharmacokinetic studies in Wistar rats showed that the ODT-SR had a prolonged MRT of 11.16 h as compared 3.86 h of conventional tablet. The developed technology is easily scalable and holds potential for commercial exploitation.


The phylum Onychophora, also known as 'peripatus', 'velvet worms' or 'walking worms', comprises over 180 described species. Onychophorans are exclusively terrestrial, but are susceptible to desiccation and are restricted to humid microsites. The majority of species inhabit tropical forest litter. Their flexible trunk, retractile limbs and ability to squeeze through small interstices all make them excellently adapted for life in decomposing wood and leaf litter. The head appendages are modified for form sensory antennae, slicing mandibles and slime papillae. The last are a unique trait of onychophorans and eject a rapidly polymerising glue, which is used to entangle their animal prey. Both morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies place the Onychophora at the base of the phylum Arthropoda. Gas exchange via an invaginated tracheal system and water-conserving uricotely represent show convergent evolution with similar terrestrial adaptations in insects.

Key Concepts:

Onychophorans possess typical arthropod traits: a chitinous cuticle, metameric segmentation with paired segmental limbs and periodic moulting regulated by steroid ecdysones.

Gas exchange in onychophorans is accomplished by spiracles scattered over the body surface and which open into fan-like clusters of tracheal tubules.

The flexible trunk functions as a hydrostatic skeleton, deformed by antagonising circular and longitudinal muscle layers beneath the integument.

Onychophorans possess little resistance to desiccation and are mostly confined to humid habitats in the tropics and sub-tropics.

Some species are able to take up water by eversible coxal vesicles at the leg-bases.

The anterior limbs are specialised as sensory antennae, slicing mandibles and slime papillae that eject a fast-polymerising glue to entangle prey.

Most onychophorans possess separate sexes (gonochoristic) and fertilisation involves various mechanisms of spermatophore transfer, often during an elaborate courtship.

Keywords:

Arthropoda;
cuticle;
lobopodia;
peripatus;
phylogeny;
slime papillae;
velvet worms


Semantic Web using ontology-based knowledge model has been largely applied to e-Learning systems. The use of domain ontologies leverages the transformation of the learning contents of serving human to machine understandable formats. The ontology-based approach could further support e-Learning activities related to legal compliances, such as legally validate learners' profiles or protecting intellectual rights in e-Learning courses. This study proposes a novel ontological e-Learning framework including the legal knowledge model, the e-Learning knowledge model and the common knowledge model. A customized ontology engineering method is conducted to construct the preliminary version of these specified knowledge models, while a Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) rule base is constructed to capture knowledge of both laws and domain experts. FOCA based validation is introduced to confirm the feasibility of this proposed framework. Improving the FOCA score of the legal core ontology and enriching both the ontological knowledge model and its SWRL rule base are topics that can be explored in future studies.


A Political Explanation of Economic Growth: State Survival, Bureaucratic Politics, and Private Enterprises in the Making of Taiwan's Economy, 1950-1985, by Yongping Wu. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2005. xx + 410 +[xi] pp. US$49.50/£31.95/euro45.60 (hardcover). Wu Yongping's excellent empirical account is a welcome corrective to common perceptions of how Taiwan achieved its rapid growth rates and became a "tiger" economy. The role of Taiwan's small- and medium-sized private enterprises in creating an export economy on a huge scale is commonly recognized as an important feature of Taiwan's success. However, Wu Yongping questions common perceptions of the Taiwanese developmental state as a robust and determined state bureaucracy creating the right conditions for growth. Instead of economic rationalism in the ministries pursuing aims of economic development, he depicts a militarydominated state where economic development always took a back seat. The overall control of economic decision-making was in the hands of top leaders (Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng and Chiang Ching-kuo), none of whom had economic expertise. The top leaders relied on informal and highly dynamic interaction with leaders of ministries and agencies, who had carved out for themselves roles independent of the major institutions. The differences of opinion between these "strongmen" made sure that no single vision or preference dominated; profound disagreements on economic doctrine and core issues like private ownership of enterprises existed throughout the whole period. Far from presenting a unitary and steadfast view of economic strategy, the policy process was complex and convoluted, relying on the relative persuasive powers of strongmen and the need for top leaders to make decisions in response to specific challenges. Most of the agencies responsible for implementing economic policy were short-lived and unable to establish comprehensive frameworks for directing the economy. Political pressure and the need to create strong links between the KMT and Taiwanese business elites seemed to influence policy-making more than did professional economic judgement. Wu Yongping's evidence is overwhelming, based on interviews with core actors and his use of outstanding source materials, and his conclusions are spelled out with great clarity: the common presumptions underlying most accounts of Taiwan's economic success do not hold. So, was Taiwan's emergence as a major economic power the result of accidents and bungling? That does not seem to be the case either. While there was no clear design, the overall outcome of the economic decisions was what Wu describes as a three-tier economic system. Large, "upstream", state-owned enterprises together with large, "mid-stream", privately owned enterprises (that received preferential treatment) dominated the domestic markets. The "downstream" small- and medium-sized enterprises were only able to expand in the export markets, and did so very competitively, benefiting from the upstream supply of production factors. …


Blind source separation (BSS) is a technique to recognize the multiple talkers from the multiple observations received by some sensors without any prior knowledge information. The problem is that the mixing is always complex, such as the case where sources are mixed with some direction angles, or where the number of sensors is less than that of sources. In this paper, we propose a multi-subspace representation based BSS approach that allows the mixing process to be nonlinear and underdetermined. The approach relies on a multi-subspace structure and sparse representation in the time-frequency (TF) domain. By parameterizing such subspaces, we can map the observed signals in the feature space with the coefficient matrix from the parameter space. We then exploit the linear mixture in the feature space that corresponds to the nonlinear mixture in the input space. Once such subspaces are built, the coefficient matrix can be constructed by solving an optimization problem on the coding coefficient vector. Relying on the TF representation, the target matrix can be constructed in a sparse mixture of TF vectors with the fewer computational cost. The experiments are designed on the observations that are generated from an underdetermined mixture, and that is collected with some direction angles in a virtual room environment. The proposed approach exhibits higher separation accuracy.


In this paper we examine the development of school libraries in Turkey. We have also included general information about the Turkish Education System and the Ministry of National Education which is responsible for improving and developing the status of school libraries in Turkey. Based on the results of a questionnaire and interviews with students, teachers and administrators, we review the highlights of the school library development in Turkey. In the 75.200 education institutions run by the Ministry, there are 518.450 teachers and 14.275.281 students at all levels (TBMM, 1994: 47). The tremendous pressure of this large student population on the education budget of Turkey will bring into sharp focus of providing school library services in an economic sense.


In formating temporal sequences of notes played by the same instrument (referred to as music streams), timbre of musical instruments may be a predominant feature. In polyphonic music, the performance of timbre extraction based on power-related features deteriorates, because such features are blurred when two or more frequency components are superimposed in the same frequency. To cope with this problem, we integrated timbre similarity and direction proximity with success, but left using other features as future work. In this paper, we investigate four features. timbre similarity, direction proximity, pitch transition and pitch relation consistency to clarify the precedence among them in music stream formation. Experimental results with quartet music show that direction proximity is the most dominant feature, and pitch transition is the secondary. In addition, the performance of music stream formation was improved from 63.3% by only timbre similarity to 84.9% by integrating four features.


We investigated the effects of pegylated IFN-alpha2b (PEG-IFN-alpha2b) alone and PEG-IFN-alpha2b plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in vitro on the proliferation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. After the transplantation of RCC cells into nude mice, we administered IFN (PEG-IFN-alpha2b or IFN-alpha2b) alone, 5-FU alone, or IFN (PEG-IFN-alpha2b or IFN-alpha2b) plus 5-FU; and investigated tumor volume, tumor weight, the numbers of apoptotic cells and artery-like blood vessels, relative mRNA expression levels of enzymes which relate to 5-FU metabolism, angiogenesis factor, and type I interferon receptor. RCC cells in vitro were generally and relatively resistant to the anti-proliferative effects of PEG-IFN-alpha2b, but the addition of 5-FU augmented IFN-induced anti-proliferative effects with the induction of apoptosis. PEG-IFN-alpha2b in vivo presented stronger anti-tumor effects than IFN-alpha2b, and its combination with 5-FU augmented the effects. The significant anti-tumor effect of the combination treatment was the increase in apoptotic cell number, but there were no significant differences in the suppression of angiogenesis, expression of IFN receptor, and the actions of metabolic enzymes of 5-FU. In conclusion, PEG-IFN-alpha2b presents stronger anti-tumor effects than non-pegylated IFN, and the effects are augmented in the combination with 5-FU. Our findings suggest the clinical usefulness of PEG-IFN-alpha2b in the treatment of RCC.


The erythrocytes of Wistar rats, subjected to heating at 40 degrees C (4 times, each heating lasting 40 min.) were found to be more immunogenic in mice than the erythrocytes of intact rats. The immunization of intact Wistar rats, in a single injection, with syngeneic erythrocytes obtained from the heated animals did not induce immunological response reaction, whereas 5 injections of these erythrocytes caused an increase in the number of rosette-forming cells. The injection of syngeneic erythrocytes obtained from the heated rats to intact animals also stimulated the development of immune response to sheep erythrocytes.


Air quality is a public concern. This is partly due to the "right to know" principle embodied in European legislation. Despite this common legislation, the way air quality is being interpreted and communicated differs considerably. For specialists raw monitoring data for Europe are available but these are not usable by the general public. Easy to understand and internationally comparable air quality information from one city to another is scarce: there are almost as many air quality indices as air quality monitoring networks. The CITEAIR II project (Common information to European Air, INTERREG IVc) facilitates the comparison of urban air quality in near real-time by introducing common air quality indices at hourly, daily and annual scales and by developing a forecast for those indices for D+0 and D+1.The implementation was based on a common website www.airqualitynow.eu using readily available simple IT-solutions. This paper describes those tools which both aimed at presenting the air quality of the participating cities in a comparable way and not to replace more targeted local information. Their added value is to provide, for the first time, a European and comparable picture of the air quality in near real-time easily accessible through a common platform and presentation of the results. The website is designed to receive and display data from any city wanting to join. The main part is dedicated to compare the cities index values using different time scales (hourly, daily or annual) and two types of exposure thanks to a background and a traffic index. In addition, space is offered to cities for presenting themselves according to a common template, providing background information on their specific air pollution situation and associated reduction measures. Participating is easy: cities upload their data through ftp and the indices calculations are automatically made. The website provides a dynamic picture of the air quality and is updated each hour enticing viewers to make repeated visits. However, participation with only a daily update or with yearly data is feasible as well


Abstract – The aim of this paper is two-folded: Firstly to present and review two relevant case-studies of Umayyad bath-houses from Jordan consolidated and restored under the direction of the author, which illustrate different approaches in design and conception according to their respective urban and suburban contexts; Secondly, to analyze their social and political value, elicited from the supposed use given to them, according to their natural environs and socio-cultural contexts, as well as some relevant technical aspects of the way they were put into service and used.


1. Climate change and extreme events, such as drought, threaten ecosystems worldwide and in particular mountain ecosystems, where species often live at their environmental tolerance limits. In the European Alps, plant communities are also influenced by land-use abandonment leading to woody encroachment of subalpine and alpine grasslands. 2. In this study, we explored how the forest-grassland ecotone of Alpine treelines will respond to gradual climate warming, drought events and land-use change in terms of forest expansion rates, taxonomic diversity and functional composition. We used a previously validated dynamic vegetation model, FATE-HD, parameterised for plant communities in the Ecrins National Park in the French Alps. 3. Our results showed that intense drought counteracted the forest expansion at higher elevations driven by land-use abandonment and climate change, especially when combined with high drought frequency (occurring every 2 or less than 2 years). 4. Furthermore, intense and frequent drought accelerated the rates of taxonomic change and resulted in overall higher taxonomic spatial heterogeneity of the ecotone than would be expected under gradual climate and land-use changes only. 5. Synthesis and applications. The results from our model show that intense and frequent drought counteracts forest expansion driven by climate and land-use changes in the forest-grassland ecotone of Alpine treelines. We argue that land-use planning must consider the effects of extreme events, such as drought, as well as climate and land-use changes, since extreme events might interfere with trends predicted under gradual climate warming and agricultural abandonment.


Bobcat (Lynx rufus) populations throughout the West have reportedly decreased from the high levels of the early sixties. This decrease is also reflected in the annual New Mexico bobcat take of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when based on a bobcat trapped per man-year of effort relationship from 1916 through 1976. Bobcat populations in New Mexico were comparably low from 1916 through 1948. In 1949 through 1950 populations began to increase to triple their highest pre-1948 levels by the late fifties. New Mexico bobcat populations began to decrease in the early sixties to present levels typical before 1948. The same New Mexico bobcat population trends reflected by this data are also reflected throughout the West in the combined bobcat take totals for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the western states. The bobcat population decrease from the early 1960's was not caused by habitat loss, fur trapping, or predator control. The unprecedented bobcat increase in the early fifties was in direct response to the general reduction of coyote numbers throughout the West by the use of sodium monoflouroacetate (1080) as a coyote control tool. After several years, coyotes began to increase their numbers, and bobcat numbers responded inversely by a decrease of their numbers down to present lower levels. Bobcat, skunk, fox, and badger numbers have all responded inversely to that of coyote numbers due to the coyote's role as an efficient competitor and predator upon these other carnivores.


WHO designated 1976 as the year for the prevention of blindness and attention is drawn to the prevalence rate and causes of blindness in Hong Kong. The former as released by WHO is as high as 1392 per 100,000 and the latter tends to suggest Vitamin A deficiency is still an important cause here. This article reviews all the official statistics on blindness published in Hong Kong over the past twenty years and seeks to suggest an appropriate prevalence rate for Hong Kong and demonstrate the changing pattern of causes of blindness in Hong Kong. It concludes that Hong Kong should adopt a statistical definition and classification of blindness accepted internationally and suggests that in the presentation of statistics, the misleading factor of present inclusion of past events should be avoided.


With a recording career spanning five decades and a rep as one of the greatest guitarists to ever tread the planet, Eric Clapton looms large among music fans and musicians. Here at last is the first complete illustrated history of Clapton's career, from the Yardbirds in the early 1960s, up to the present. A chronological text covers all of Clapton's associated acts as well as his collaborations with artists like George Harrison, John Lennon, Frank Zappa, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, and more. Details of his personal life that have informed his music-such as his romance with Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd, his well-publicized battles with addiction, and his subsequent founding of the Crossroads Centre-are also examined. A wealth of sidebars cover the gear Clapton has used through the years while extensive appendices detail his discography. The story is illustrated throughout with candid and performance photography, as well as memorabilia spanning Clapton's entire career.


Actuality. Starting from the presentation of the main issues and trends in rural areas, as the average development of the agricultural sector, it is necessary to reflect the conditions of implementation of social insurance mechanism in this sector. Aim. Following the particularities accentuation of the social insurance system in agricultural sector, with some parts of it, in terms of their evolution and interdependence between economic and social plan, as well as attempts of reformation state's social insurance system. Methodology. Only emphasizing differences, similarities and interactions can be highlighted mechanisms of a specific policy and evaluation of programs and directions of reform needed. The comparative method has a practical significance because knowledge of development can offer clues for adoption and implementation of future policies. In this context comparison method and dynamic analysis are used. Results. The peculiarities of development of state social insurance system in the agricultural sector are highlighted, both in terms of insurance fees applied, and also some considerations (pensions).


Very preterm (VP) survivors are at increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with term‐born children. This study explored whether neonatal magnetic resonance (MR) brain features differed in VP children with and without ASD at 7 years. One hundred and seventy‐two VP children (<30 weeks' gestation or <1250 g birth weight) underwent structural brain MR scans at term equivalent age (TEA; 40 weeks' gestation ±2 weeks) and were assessed for ASD at 7 years of age. The presence and severity of white matter, cortical gray matter, deep nuclear gray matter, and cerebellar abnormalities were assessed, and total and regional brain volumes were measured. ASD was diagnosed using a standardized parent report diagnostic interview and confirmed via an independent assessment. Eight VP children (4.7%) were diagnosed with ASD. Children with ASD had more cystic lesions in the cortical white matter at TEA compared with those without ASD (odds ratio [OR] 8.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5, 51.3, P = 0.02). There was also some evidence for smaller cerebellar volumes in children with ASD compared with those without ASD (OR = 0.82, CI = 0.66, 1.00, P = 0.06). Overall, the results suggest that VP children with ASD have different brain structure in the neonatal period compared with those who do not have ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 543–552. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Molybdenum and tungsten disulfide nanoplates were produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in argon atmosphere. This method provides an easy way to produce MoS2 and WS2 from nanoplates up to single- and several layers. The Raman peak intensities corresponding to in-plane E12g and out-of-plane A1g vibration modes and their shifts strongly depend on the thicknesses of the MoS2 and WS2 platelets indicating size-dependent scaling laws and properties. An electron beam irradiation of MoS2 and WS2 powders leads to an occurrence of pulsed cathodoluminescence (PCL) spectra at 575 nm (2.15 eV) and 550 nm (2.25 eV) characteristic to their intrinsic band gaps. For the combination of MoS2 and WS2 nanopowders, a PCL shoulder at 430 nm (2.88 eV) was observed, which is explained by the radiative electron-hole recombination at the MoS2/WS2 grain boundaries. The luminescence decay kinetics of the MoS2/WS2 nanoplates appears to be slower than for individual MoS2 and WS2 platelets due to a spatial separation o...


Results from a prevwus study indicated that the Johnson & Johnson ACUVUE® disposable lens caused more conjunctival staining than the Bausch & Lomb SEEQUENCETM lens.l The current study was performed in the same manner as the previous study to determine if the third type of disposable lens, the Ciba NewVues®, induced a significantly different amount of conjunctival staining from the Bausch & Lomb SEEQUENCETM lens. Sixty subjects wore a SEEQUENCEn lens on one eye, and a NewVues lens on the other. Prior to dispensing the lenses, subjects were screened by two investigators to insure no conjunctival staining was present and that lens fits were acceptable. After 24 hours, a different investigator, who did not know which lens was worn on which eye, evaluated all subjects to determine the grade of conjunctival staining and the percentage of involvement for each quadrant. Weighted averages for each quadrant and lens type were computed from the grade and percentage of involvement. These weighted averages were used in a Wilcoxin signed-rank test to determine if there was a significant difference in conjunctival staining between lens types, and in a Friedman 4-way analysis to determine if any quadrants were significantly more affected than others. These analyses determined that the NewVues lens caused less conjunctival staining than the SEEQUENCETM lens (p<0.05) and that the inferior quadrant was more affected than other quadrants (p<0.05).


The present paper proposes to offer a detailed presentation of the vocational profile identified among students of Polytechnics University of Bucharest, Romania. Having contact with the students of this University we have identified their need of getting to know themselves but also to identify those activities for which they might be most suitable for. We consider that it is vital within the contact with students to draw their vocational profiles as basis of a constructive collaboration and support needed for them to find potential activities that fit their interests and potential.
We consider that identifying the vocational profile of students we come in contact with as professors or trainers facilitates obtaining optimal results for both sides; therefore, students benefit from educational programs adapted to their needs and developmental potential (sighting personal aspects such as aptitudes, temperamental foundation to vocational aspects such as interests, hobbies, activities in which they seem to be naturally productive in) - a way in which they become more likely to obtain both personal satisfactions and easy to identify, consistent results in their activities. As for professors, having to know the vocational profile of students they collaborate with allows them to adapt faster in relationship with them and to potentiate their own personal traits according to their audience. We may assert that applying identifying such vocational profiles among students will gradually increase their satisfaction towards the educational environement along with the optimism and positive appraisal towards future professional outcome.
In this regard, we propose a cantitative instrument elaborated in order to support our objective and which we consider to be suitable and adaptable for other University domains.


This article examines the role of business and industry NGOs (BINGOs) within the international climate negotiations. It develops a typology of BINGOs operating in the regime, and a framework for assessing the influence of these organizations. The framework is applied to a case study of the negotiation of carbon capture and storage technologies as a Kyoto Protocol mitigation option. In contrast to previous research, the article illustrates the existence of formal and informal networks among BINGOs, a variety of national delegations and international institutions, and demonstrates how these networks are tactically invoked in the effort to influence specific negotiation processes and outcomes. It is argued that BINGO activities influenced negotiations on regulatory design, and that a plausible explanation of business influence in this context lies in the notion of corporate technological power.


Absorbable porcine collagen membrane with a bovine bone graft can be considered for regenerative treatment in periodontal class II furcation defects. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of guided tissue regeneration (GTR) treatment with bovine bone xenograft and a porcine collagen membrane in molars with class II furcations. Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and bone level (BL) were recorded at baseline and at 3, 6, and 9 months postoperatively. Thirty class II furcation defects from the lower and upper molars were assessed. Significant improvements in PD and CAL were observed from baseline to 9 months in all groups (p < 0.01). BL improved in all groups except group A in the upper molars in radiographic assessment (p < 0.05). The lower and upper molars showed PD reduction of 50.5% ± 7.44% and 46.2% ± 11.2%, respectively, at 9 months (p = 0.044). In furcations of 1–3 mm, the lower and upper molars showed PD reductions of 51.2% ± 4.49% and 36.5% ± 16.14%, respectively (p = 0.035). The lower and upper molars showed a CAL gain of 51.1% ± 4.64% and 33.6% ± 18.8%, respectively (p = 0.037). Thus, GTR with bovine bone graft and porcine collagen membrane yielded good results in class II furcations, with better results in the lower than in the upper molars.


Context. In a previous paper we reported a planetary companion to the young and very active K5Ve star BD+20 1790. We found that this star has a high level of stellar activity (log R'_HK = -3.7) that manifests in a plethora of phenomena (starspots, prominences, plages, large flares). Based on a careful study of these activity features and a deep discussion and analysis of the effects of the stellar activity on the radial velocity measurements, we demonstrated that the presence of a planet provided the best explanation for the radial velocity variations and all the peculiarities of this star. The orbital solution resulted in a close-in massive planet with a period of 7.78 days. However, a paper by Figueira et al. (2010, A&A, 513, L8) questioned the evidence for the planetary companion. Aims. This paper aims to more rigorously assess the nature of the radial velocity measurements with an expanded data set and new methods of analysis. Methods. We have employed Bayesian methods to simultaneously analyse the radial velocity and activity measurements based on a combined data set that includes new and previously published observations. Results. We conclude that the Bayesian analysis and the new activity study support the presence of a planetary companion to BD+20 1790. A new orbital solution is presented, after removing the two main contributions of stellar jitter, one that varies with the photometric period (2.8 days) and another that varies with the synodic period of the star-planet system (4.36 days). We present a new method to determine these jitter components, considering them as second and third signals in the system. A discussion on possible star-planet interaction is included, based on the Bayesian analysis of the activity indices, which indicates that they modulate with the synodic period. We propose two different sources for flare events in this system: one related to the geometry of the system and the relative movement of the star and planet, and a second one purely stochastic source that is related to the evolution of stellar surface active regions. Also, we observe for the first time the magnetic field of the star, from spectropolarimetric data.


Smoking is one of the major public health problems and a major cause of preventable diseases. Today there are many ways to combat with tobacco use which is the chief risk factor for avoidable diseases. Pharmacotherapy and other supportive therapies based on motivation and cognitive-behavioral approaches are used in treatment. Among those, concentrating on behavioral changes are gaining more popularity as number of people who stop smoking using behavioral therapies are increasing, so is the interest on psychological models. Transtheoretic model is known as behavioral changes model which is widely used in smoking cessation and developed for the first time by Prochaska and DiClemente. It uses appropriate intervention according to the stage of the individual. According to Transtheoretic model, five stages are to be passed for behavior change. Motivational techniques are important for succesfull passing of a stage and should be structured for preparation to the next stage. Each stage should be evaluated for the transition to the next stage. Transtheoretic model is a significant tool for smoking cessation with its ability to use different models of behavior changes. This flexibilitaly of Transtheoretic model makes the model treatment of choice in different addictions. In this review we focus on the features of Transtheoretic model.


Objective: To review the pharmacology, clinical efficacy and safety of partial agonists of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Data Sources: Primary literature and review articles were obtained via a PUBMED search (1988-August 2006) using the key terms smoking cessation, partial agonist alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, varenicline, cytisine and SSR591813. Additional studies and abstracts were identified from the bibliographies of reviewed literature. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Studies and review articles related to varenicline, cytisine and the partial agonist alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were reviewed. Data Synthesis: Smoking is widely recognized as a serious health problem. Smoking cessation has major health benefits. According to the US Public Health Services, all patients attempting to quit smoking should be encouraged to use one or more effective pharmacotherapy. Currently, along with nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, nortriptyline and clonidine, are the mainstay of pharmacotherapy. More than ¾ of patients receiving treatment for smoking cessation return to smoking within the first year. Nicotine, through stimulating α4β2 nAChR, releases dopamine in the reward pathway. Partial agonist of α4β2 nAChR elicits moderate and sustained release of dopamine, which is countered during the cessation attempts; it simultaneously blocks the effects of nicotine by binding with α4β2 receptors during smoking. Recently, varenicline, a partial agonist at α4β2 nAChR, has been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for smoking cessation. Conclusion: Partial agonist α4β2 nAChR appears to be a promising target in smoking cessation. Varenicline of this group is approved for treatment of smoking cessation by the FDA in May 2006.


This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact the EU Single Market Program has exerted on market power and total factor productivity in a large sample of Italian firms. By splitting the full sample on the basis of the ex-ante likelihood of being affected by the removal of non-tariff barriers within EU boundaries, we are able to control for other economic shocks, provided they affect all firms randomly. Both market power and total factor productivity are estimated by applying several extensions of the methodology developed by Hall. Main findings can be summarized as follows. Firstly, for the sample of "most sensitive" firms market power decreases by 50% in the SMP implementation period compared to previous years, whereas no clear pattern emerges for the other sub-samples of firms. Secondly, and less conclusively, only for the sub-sample of "most sensitive" firms a positive transitory shock to productivity growth rates is observed immediately after the announcement of the reform project. Overall, these results are consistent with the long standing view that economic integration reduces firms' market power and increases productivity via the removal of non-tariff barriers.


Organizations today invest enormous resources in computer-aided software engineering (CASE) technologies with the hope of gaining significant increases in programmer productivity. In an empirical study, eleven three-person teams, composed of undergraduate Information Systems majors, developed versions of the same software system, a Pascal Pretty Printer; four teams used the same CASE tool and seven teams did not use any CASE tools. The major results of this study are: (1) most of the CASE projects were coded in less time than the non-CASE projects; and (2) all of the CASE projects met more of the requirements than the non-CASE projects. Each of these results was a statistically significant effect.<<ETX>>


Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has taken on increased significance in the property sector in recent years, reflecting the global focus on sustainability. This has included all of the dimensions of CSR, including environment, social and governance (ESG) issues, with property companies taking a strong leadership role in the area of implementing CSR practices. The key ongoing issue is whether these CSR practices significantly influence property company performance. Using the ESG factors in the ASSET4 database, REITs and property companies are assessed on whether these CSR practices are key factors influencing their performance in addition to the standard financial factors influencing performance (eg: market cap, BMV etc). This is assessed for REITs and property companies in Europe, US and Asia-Pacific over 2007-2011. The strategic implications for the ongoing implementation of CSR practices by REITs and property companies are also assessed.


Enzymes employ a wide range of protein motions to achieve efficient catalysis of chemical reactions. While the role of collective protein motions in substrate binding, product release, and regulation of enzymatic activity is generally understood, their roles in catalytic steps per se remain uncertain. Here, molecular dynamics simulations, enzyme kinetics, X-ray crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are combined to elucidate the catalytic mechanism of adenylate kinase and to delineate the roles of catalytic residues in catalysis and the conformational change in the enzyme. This study reveals that the motions in the active site, which occur on a time scale of picoseconds to nanoseconds, link the catalytic reaction to the slow conformational dynamics of the enzyme by modulating the free energy landscapes of subdomain motions. In particular, substantial conformational rearrangement occurs in the active site following the catalytic reaction. This rearrangement not only affects the reaction barrier but also promotes a more open conformation of the enzyme after the reaction, which then results in an accelerated opening of the enzyme compared to that of the reactant state. The results illustrate a linkage between enzymatic catalysis and collective protein motions, whereby the disparate time scales between the two processes are bridged by a cascade of intermediate-scale motion of catalytic residues modulating the free energy landscapes of the catalytic and conformational change processes.


Recovery of gold and gold-containing sulfide mineral particles requires multiple-stage recovery processes starting from the grinding circuits to avoid over-grinding of the liberated gold particles. Due to high density, these gold grains tend to follow the hydrocyclone underflow, and a significant amount of metal increases in the circulating load. Therefore, in recent years the grinding circuits have been designed to improve the recovery of free gold/gold-containing particles in the grinding circuit. Gravity separation (centrifugal gravity separators) and flash flotation processes are commonly used for gold recovery in the grinding circuit. This study used a methodology based on modeling-simulation studies to assess various flowsheet configurations involving flash flotation, gravity separation, and the conventional sulfide mineral flotation process. The standard GRG, flash flotation, and rougher kinetic tests were used for the model development of each process. The laboratory tests and simulation studies showed that gold and sulfur recoveries in flash flotation were approximately 7% and 17% higher than that of the gravity separation process. However, the grade of the gravity concentrate was considerably higher. Therefore, one of these unit processes or their combinations can be selected depending on the ore characteristics and the aim of the recovery process. Simulation studies were performed to illustrate the gold recovery performance of various flowsheet configurations. This methodology could be used effectively for flowsheet development, particularly for greenfield projects.


BACKGROUND
Hospitalized patients with diarrhea who have a negative Clostridoides difficile (C. difficile) test are not routinely evaluated for alternative causes of infectious diarrhea. This study assessed for potential infectious causes of diarrhea in hospitalized patients with an order for repeat C. difficile toxin enzyme immunoassay (tEIA) testing after an initial tEIA test was negative.

METHODS
For patients age ≥18 years who had a second C. difficile tEIA test ordered within 96 h after a negative tEIA test, remnant fecal specimens from the first (negative) tEIA test were evaluated using the BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal Panel PCR, C. difficile toxigenic culture, and culture on a blood agar plate (BAP) to identify other potential causes of infectious diarrhea. Growth of organisms on the BAP was also used to assess potential disruptions in the gastrointestinal microbiota.

RESULTS
Among 84 remnant specimens, toxigenic C. difficile was identified in 9 (11%) by culture or PCR, while potential alternative causes of infectious diarrhea, including norovirus, rotavirus, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, and Salmonella, were identified in 11 specimens (13%) by PCR. For the majority of patients, no infectious cause of diarrhea was identified, but 84% exhibited disrupted gastrointestinal microbiota, which may contribute to diarrhea.

CONCLUSIONS
When a hospitalized patient has a negative C. difficile tEIA test but continues to have diarrhea, alternative infectious and noninfectious causes of diarrhea should be considered. If the patient has clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of infection or risk factors for gastrointestinal infection, laboratory testing for other etiologic agents may be appropriate.


ABSTRACT Bayesian Hierarchical models has been widely used in modern statistical application. To deal with the data having complex structures, we propose a generalized hierarchical normal linear (GHNL) model which accommodates arbitrarily many levels, usual design matrices and 'vanilla' covariance matrices. Objective hyperpriors can be employed for the GHNL model to express ignorance or match frequentist properties, yet the common objective Bayesian approaches are infeasible or fraught with danger in hierarchical modelling. To tackle this issue, [Berger, J., Sun, D., & Song, C. (2020b). An objective prior for hyperparameters in normal hierarchical models. Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 178, 104606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmva.2020.104606] proposed a particular objective prior and investigated its properties comprehensively. Posterior propriety is important for the choice of priors to guarantee the convergence of MCMC samplers. James Berger conjectured that the resulting posterior is proper for a hierarchical normal model with arbitrarily many levels, a rigorous proof of which was not given, however. In this paper, we complete this story and provide an user-friendly guidance. One main contribution of this paper is to propose a new technique for deriving an elaborate upper bound on the integrated likelihood, but also one unified approach to checking the posterior propriety for linear models. An efficient Gibbs sampling method is also introduced and outperforms other sampling approaches considerably.


Henri Sterdyniak is a scientific adviser at the OFCE research institute – the Observatoire francais des conjonctures economiques – where he has been working for more than 30 years, among other posts as a director of the department 'economics of globalization'. From 1985 until 2013 he was also a professor of economics at the University Paris Dauphine, France. He is also one of the founding members of the Economistes Atterres (the Appalled Economists), an association of French economists who object to neoliberal policies, formed in 2010. He has written extensively on various topics, including empirical macroeconomics, monetary policies, fiscal policies, globalization, European policies, and more specifically social policies and retirement systems. He has published hundreds of articles and reports, lately with Catherine Mathieu.


In a study of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire instrument (ESCQ; Taksic, 1998) three samples of university students from Balkan countries (Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia) were contrasted with two samples of university students from Nordic countries (Finland and Sweden). In total, 1978 students participated. Effects of country and gender were obtained from the ESCQ total scores, as well as from the subscale scores. The subsequent analyses of item bias, that is, differential item functioning (DIF), revealed a number of DIF items in pair wise comparisons of the samples, thus creating doubts about the fairness in comparing mean scores. Further analyses of the DIF items showed, however, that most of the item curve functions were uniform, and that effect sizes were low. It was also shown that the number of DIF items depended on which countries were compared. Spearman correlations between measures of number of DIF items and cultural values as measured by World Value Survey data were very high. Implications of these findings for future cross-cultural studies of the ESCQ instrument are discussed.


File-system integrity tools (FIT) are commonly deployed to assist forensic investigation after security incidents and as host-based intrusion detections (HIDS) tool to detect unauthorized file-system changes. Basically all the current solutions employ the same tactic: the administrator specifies a list of critical files and directories that needs to be monitored, then uses the FIT to create a base-line database that tracks general parameters about these files. The FIT is then re-run periodically, and if it detects the modifications of the file-system against the information stored in the database, the report on the changed file is generated. However, this strategy is far from perfect: the intrusion detection cannot be done in real-time, which might render the whole scheme useless if the attacker can somehow take over the system with privileged access in the time between. The administrator also has a lot of problems to keep the database updating. Besides, he must do everything he can to protect the database and the FIT itself from compromising by the attacker, which is not an easy task especially if the attacker gains local access. This paper presents a novel approach to address the outstanding problems of the current FIT. We propose a design and implementation of a tool named XenRIM for Xen virtual machines. XenRIM can monitor and fires alarms on intrusion in real-time manner, and our approach does not require to create and update the database like in the legacy methods. As a result, XenRIM is almost effortless to deploy and maintain. Thanks to the advantage introduced by Xen, the detection polices are centralized in a secure virtual machine and resistant to tampering. Even better, if deployed strictly, this tool is able to function very stealthily to avoid the suspect of the attacker. Our experimental result demonstrates that XenRIM incurs very low performance overhead (less than 4%), which makes the solution attractive and practical for production systems


A new method of equivalent pre-stress is suggested by used of methods of equivalent strain and temperature according to different working mechanisms between free segment and consolidated segment of pre-stress anchor cable. The mechanism on reinforcement of pre stress anchor cable is simulated by finite element. Due to enhanced toughness and anti-crack of root effect, anchor cables restrained the rock mass deforming toward surface. Rock mass around consolidated segment sustain tension. The anchor cable of unequal length should be used to avoid the anchor in arrangement of the same rock layer. The space between of anchor cables should be widened under the conditions of satisfying the need of engineering.


The abstracts are grouped under subject chapters such as characteristics of opiate use, treatment, relationship with crime, etc., and each abstract is full and in a standard format. Perhaps the most valuable feature is a condensation of the findings into several factual kernels with very extensive cross-indexing. Clearly it is an important work for those carrying out research into psychosocial aspects of drug use and abuse. For a medical audience it has the usual dominance of special terminology: 'but it is possible that more salient and unmeasured (or unmeasurable) factors such as dispositional or motivational variables may account for the difference'. Many will be impressed by this computerized production, which will clearly grow as a method for encapsulating information. It should be stressed that the work only covers drugs which, by societal definition, are abused. However, within the selections and limitations given above, the drug coverage is comprehensive, from alcohol through opiates to tranquillizers. R KILPATRICK Dean of the Medical School University of Leicester


This paper reports the outcomes of a large study in which the metacognitive processes which take place during test-taking were assessed. The focus is primarily on confidence judgements that people assign to their answers to cognitive test items. There are pronounced individual differences in these judgments defining a Self-confidence factor, the exact nature of which remains unclear due to a lack of psychological correlates. The main findings presented in this paper show that self-confidence is a stable, broad psychological trait, affected by the dynamics occurring during decision-making in test-taking activities. An extensive battery of different thinking dispositions relating to the way in which people react to, and deal with, uncertainty was employed together with measures of personality and self-concepts. Structural Equation Modelling techniques were employed to provide a broad path model summarising the relationship between these measures and the Self-confidence trait. Self-confidence during test-taking was related only to the Metacognitive Beliefs factor as defined by specific self-concepts. These self-concepts assess competence in the fundamental cognitive abilities used by people in test-taking—memory and reasoning.


This paper analyzes the average capacity for a wireless network with joint opportunistic scheduling and wireless network coding. The capacity and the optimal power allocation scheme are derived for a multiuser fading broadcasting channel with perfect channel side information at the transmitter. The packets generated by the source nodes are encoded prior to the transmission to the relay node. The received encoded packets are mixed by XOR operation at the relay node and then broadcasted to the destination nodes. The encoder in the source nodes is designed in such a way that each destination node can give different interpretation of the received packets with their own side information. From the numerical and simulation results, we can see that the proposed simultaneous power and rate adaption for wireless network coding with opportunistic scheduling can significantly improve the average channel capacity.


Windblown dust, an environmental problem in many disturbed arid lands, has the potential to affect the physiological performance of desert shrubs. Physiological parameters of gas exchange for three species (Larrea tridentata, Hymenoclea salsola and Atriplex canescens) were measured at a Mojave Desert site, at which both undisturbed and heavily dusted individual shrubs occurred. Maximum rates of net photosynthesis (A) of dusted organs were reduced to 21% of those of control plants in resinous leaflets of Larrea, to 44% in resinous leaves and photosynthetic stems of Hymenoclea, and to 58% in non-resinous C 4 leaves of Atriplex, which have vesiculated trichomes. Dusted plants of all three species showed reduced maximum leaf conductance (g s ), transpiration (E) and instantaneous water-use efficiency (A/E). Intrinsic water-use efficiency (A/g s ) was also reduced, except in Atriplex, in which it remained unchanged. Temperatures of dusted leaves and photosynthetic stems were 2-3°C higher than those of control plants, due to greater absorptance of infra-red radiation. Dust also significantly increased photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reflectance. Heavily dusted shrubs had smaller leaf areas and greater leaf-specific masses, suggesting that the short-term effects of reduced photosynthesis and decreased water-use efficiency may cause lowered primary production in desert plants exposed to dust during seasons when photosynthesis is occurring.


In the beginning of sociology it was a philosophy for promoting the Good society. Sociology was what we in Feuerbach's terms may call a "philosophy of the future". The German enlightenment is crucial if one wants to go beyond: create an alternative to today's sociology. Kant's notion of experience bridges the abyss created by the empiricists and rationalists by placing knowledge in man. Sociology is very much a heritage of the French Enlightenment, Auguste Comte (1798-1857) and Emile Durkhein (1858-1917). They thought of themselves as positivists, i.e., as doing something "objective". At the same time as heirs of the ideas of Enlightenment they wanted sociology to be used in order to improve society, to create a Good society. Comte had a view of this whole – society - in terms of Man. Lost in Durkheim is this idea of man developing in and through society, reflecting a change in the social context, in the development of the capitalist society. After the death of Durkheim in 1917 sociology holds a marginal position in the French society but then in the late 1940's it rises again and in this new sociology American sociology was dominating, becoming an applied science. Today sociology continues this empiricist tradition. It is claimed that society has become something out-of-control. Instead we should follow its French and German roots. Understanding society as a reflection of ourselves, of man is what we need in order to create a Good society for everyone, this also should be the first principle of sociology as the philosophy of the future.


Welfare state regime typologies have proven useful in analyzing the impacts of various social policy structures on health. Recently, several welfare state regime typologies have been identified as having relevance for the study of health. However, comparative research examining the relationships between population health and welfare states has relied disproportionately upon child-based health measures – in particular, infant mortality rate, under-5 mortality and low birthweight. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, eta, and ANOVA, this paper demonstrates that these commonly-used child-based health measures are more strongly correlated with welfare state regime typologies than other measures of population health. Adult mortality, life expectancy and disease measures are not strongly correlated with welfare state regime typologies, and greater use of such measures in comparative research may problematize the often-observed correlations between welfare states and health. The paper argues that the disproportionate use of child-based health measures may therefore present an incomplete picture of the connections between welfare state regimes and population health. Implications for theorizing the relationship between welfare states and health are discussed.


Alternative treatment methods are increasingly used in the rehabilitation of children with disabilities. One of such methods is canine-assisted therapy, which means therapeutic classes with the assistance of a dog. The combination of therapies with educational elements has been used in the treatment of many diseases and disabilities in children. The most frequent are Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome, Autism-spectrum disorder, and cerebral palsy. The aim of this case study was to evaluate the effects of canine-assisted interventions in the treatment of a child with expressive aphasia. The study examined a girl aged 4 years with diagnosed expressive aphasia. The patient was qualified for a 5-person group participated in dog-assisted classes. The classes were held once a week for a year. The child's progress was evaluated at the beginning of the program, and after 3, 6, 10 and 12 months. Evaluation was made on a scale of 1 to 3 points, with 1 meaning failure to complete the task, 2 half-completion, and 3 correct performance of the task. The following parameters were evaluated: the child's motivation to follow the instructions, reaction time between the instruction given by the instructor and the child's reaction, correctness of performing the exercise, the degree of satisfaction, and the child's statements (answers to the teacher's questions, child's comments). All the parameters studied were significantly improved after the period of 12 months. It was found that motivation and correctness of performing the exercise were improved the fastest. The slowest improvements were observed in communication and degree of satisfaction. Analysis of the entire program of classes revealed a substantial progress made by the child. All therapeutic goals were achieved and therefore the case deserves to be presented and analysed. Spending time with a dog significantly improved the attractiveness of the classes and motivation to work, which was reflected in the therapeutic effects in the case presented.


This paper explores the links between Knowledge Management and new community-based models of the organization from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. From a theoretical standpoint, we look at Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Knowledge Management (KM) and explore the links between the two as they relate to the use of information systems to manage knowledge. We begin by reviewing technologically supported approaches to KM and introduce the idea of Systemes d'Aide a la Gestion des Connaissances SAGC (Systems to aid the Management of Knowledge). Following this we examine the contribution that communal structures such as CoPs can make to intraorganizational KM and highlight some of 'success factors' for this approach to KM that are found in the literature. From an empirical standpoint, we present the results of a survey involving the Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) of twelve large French businesses; the objective of this study was to identify the factors that might influence the success of such approaches. The survey was analysed using thematic content analysis and the results are presented here with some short illustrative quotes from the CKOs. Finally, the paper concludes with some brief reflections on what can be learnt from looking at this problem from these two perspectives.


Patellofemoral arthrosis is one of the most common causes of knee pain in middle-aged patients, and is often associated with patellofemoral malalignment. A correct diagnosis is established by history taking and physical and radiographic examinations of the knee. The initial treatment of choice is conservative treatment, which includes anti-inflammatory drugs, use of a knee brace, quadriceps-strengthening exercises, physical therapy, and modification of activity. Surgery is indicated when patients fail to improve after at least 6 months of conservative treatment and are functionally disabled. Lateral retinacular release and proximal realignment are performed only in selected cases. Distal realignment by anteromedial transfer of the tibial tubercle is the most effective method for treating patients with patellofemoral arthrosis. The magnitude of anteromedial transfer of the tibial tubercle must be individualized, and rigid internal fixation enables immediate postoperative rehabilitation. In knees with patellofemoral arthrosis with no malalignment, a 20-mm anterior displacement without medial transfer of the tibial tubercle is suggested. A 15-mm anterior displacement plus 5 to 10 mm of medial transfer of the tibial tubercle is recommended in knees with patellofemoral arthrosis and mild to moderate malalignment. In knees with severe malalignment, 15 mm of medial transfer and 10 mm of anterior displacement are recommended. A triple osteotomy is considered in knees with patellofemoral osteoarthrosis and patella baja. Patellofemoral resurfacing arthroplasty is only done in carefully selected patients. A patellectomy should be avoided if at all possible. Total knee arthroplasty is indicated in knees with bi- or tricompartmental osteoarthritis.


The Caspian Sea, the largest landlocked body of salty water in the world, is surrounded by five "Caspian States": Russia in the north; Iran in the south; Azerbaijan in the west, and Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the east. Caspian Sea's location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East has kept the region's strategic importance to international geopolitics. Before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Soviet-Iran treaties governed the exploitation of the Caspian Sea, but since then a legislative black hole in governance and delimitation has been created. All littoral states agree that a multilateral treaty is the ideal way to resolve their dispute over the division of the sea bottom and the delimitation of surface waters. For more than two decades, the Caspian littoral states have been working on resolving the Caspian problem in numerous meetings at various levels including the summit conferences of the heads of states and governments. However, despite over 40 ad hoc working group meetings at the level of deputy foreign ministers and four Summits [1]  of Caspian Sea Heads of State, they have been unable to find a solution that would satisfy all. [2] There are great difficulties in resolving this issue since even international laws fail to provide an adequate framework. All the treaties in the past relate to navigation and, to a lesser extent, fishing rights, but not to seabed mining. Navigation and fishing rights should not be confused with the right of using the mineral resources. With mineral resources, the seabed is taken to consideration and not the water layer. Failed consensus due to diverse motives and interests paved the way for unilateral actions, bilateral and trilateral agreements, [3]  and consequent disputes. The legal headache of dividing up the sea continues to pose a serious obstacle to the development of several fields and blocked many projects including trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines. After all, how the Caspian seabed is divided among the littoral states will determine which hydrocarbon fields will fall into whose sector.


Hymenopterans under single-locus complementary sex determination (sl-CSD) face inbreeding costs due to this sex determination mode. Under sl-CSD, homozygote eggs at the sl-CSD locus usually develop into unviable or sterile diploid males. Production of such costly males increases when sib-mating happens because related individuals share half of their genome. In the hymenopteran Venturia canescens (a solitary parasitoid wasp), diploid males are sterile, leading to fitness costs through genetic incompatibility between parents. Whereas the costs of producing diploid males and behavioural strategies that would reduce such costs have been studied in females, the potential fitness costs faced by males have not. Here, we aimed to investigate fitness costs that males endure after a single sib-mating and tested whether they have the ability to avoid sib-mating through kin recognition. Our results show that males have a reduced fitness (i.e. they produce fewer daughters) when mating with their sibs. We also show that males have the ability to distinguish between non-sib and sib females (i.e. kin). They use chemical marks emitted by the females to discriminate kin from non-kin. We discuss the evolution of kin recognition in males in the context of mate choice for genetic compatibility. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 114, 279–286.


What We Already Know about This Topic Anesthesiology board certification is now time-limited, requiring participation in a program to maintain certification It is unknown how physician performance is associated with participation and performance in this program What This Article Tells Us That Is New The introduction in 2000 of certificates that require participation in a program to maintain certification was not associated with a significant change in the incidence of disciplinary license actions Completing maintenance of certification program requirements in a timely fashion was associated with a lower incidence of license actions Background: In 2000, the American Board of Anesthesiology (Raleigh, North Carolina) began issuing time-limited certificates requiring renewal every 10 yr through a maintenance of certification program. This study investigated the association between performance in this program and disciplinary actions against medical licenses. Methods: The incidence of postcertification prejudicial license actions was compared (1) between anesthesiologists certified between 1994 and 1999 (non–time-limited certificates not requiring maintenance of certification) and those certified between 2000 and 2005 (time-limited certificates requiring maintenance of certification); (2) within the non–time-limited cohort, between those who did and did not voluntarily participate in maintenance of certification; and (3) within the time-limited cohort, between those who did and did not complete maintenance of certification requirements within 10 yr. Results: The cumulative incidence of license actions was 3.8% (587 of 15,486). The incidence did not significantly differ after time-limited certificates were introduced (hazard ratio = 1.15; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.39; for non–time-limited cohort compared with time-limited cohort). In the non–time-limited cohort, 10% (n = 953) voluntarily participated in maintenance of certification. Maintenance of certification participation was associated with a lower incidence of license actions (hazard ratio = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.94). In the time-limited cohort, 90% (n = 5,329) completed maintenance of certification requirements within 10 yr of certificate issuance. Not completing maintenance of certification requirements (n = 588) was associated with a higher incidence of license actions (hazard ratio = 4.61; 95% CI, 3.27 to 6.51). Conclusions: These findings suggest that meeting maintenance of certification requirements is associated with a lower likelihood of being disciplined by a state licensing agency. The introduction of time-limited certificates in 2000 was not associated with a significant change in the rate of license actions.


The Altbabylonische Zeichenliste presents a collection of 480 cuneiform signs used in the Sumerian literary texts of the Old Babylonian period. The inventory of sign forms exclusively refers to texts from Nippur and Ur as well as to the relevant tables kept in the collections of the University Museum (Philadelphia), the British Museum (London) and the Hilprecht-Sammlung (Jena). Most of the signs listed have been collated.
The sign list is classified according to Old Babylonian main forms. Each entry consists of a main form and up to 16 variants supposed to cover the spectrum of a sign as far as possible. All forms are listed with their quotations differentiated according to the origin of the tablet.
In addition to the sign forms the list also provided the corresponding values and Diri. Some of the values are explained in detail in a commentary at the end of the sign list.
The book concludes with four indices referencing the main forms, the ambiguous forms, the values and the sign names (with their concordances to other sign lists).


The effect of early treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia with ganciclovir (DHPG) for the prevention of CMV disease was evaluated in 25 patients with hematological malignancy who had received marrow from human leukocyte antigen-matched unrelated donors at our institution. CMV antigenemia occurred in 17 of 25 patients, a high rate of 68%, and was initially detected between 4 and 8 weeks after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (median time 5 weeks). The incidence of CMV antigenemia was statistically higher in those patients given steroids or antithymocyte globulin (P < 0.01). All 17 CMV antigenemia-positive patients were treated with DHPG until antigenemia was cleared, and this treatment was resumed if antigenemia occurred. CMV antigenemia eventually became negative in all cases. One major drawback of DHPG was that leukopenia was observed in six patients (35%). CMV disease occurred in six patients despite early treatment of CMV antigenemia with DHPG (24%, 6 of 25 patients). Four of them developed CMV disease in the early phase (within six months) and two in the late phase (more than six months). All CMV diseases in the early phase were easily cured by treatment with DHPG while monitoring CMV antigenemia, but CMV disease in the late phase did not respond to DHPG and led to the death of one patient. On the other hand, there were no patients who developed CMV disease in the antigenemia-negative group. Thus, although early treatment using our method was effective in clearing CMV antigenemia in unrelated BMT, it did not totally prevent CMV disease. A further method of early treatment for the prevention of fatal CMV disease is required.


Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are secreted regulatory proteins involved in various developmental processes. In vertebrates, the FGF superfamily comprises 22 members. In non-vertebrates, six FGF genes have been identified in Ciona intestinalis, three in Drosophila melanogaster, and two (let-756 and egl-17) in Caenorhabditis elegans. The core of LET-756 shares a 30-50% sequence identity with the various members of the superfamily. The relationships between vertebrate and non-vertebrate FGFs are not clear. We made chimeric FGFs by replacing the core region of LET-756 by the cores of various mammalian, fly, and worm FGFs. LET-756 deleted in its core region was no longer able to rescue the lethal phenotype of a let-756 null mutant, and only chimeras containing the cores of FGFs 9, 16, and 20 showed rescue capacity. This core contains an internal motif of six amino acid residues (EFISIA) whose deletion or mutation abolished both the rescue activity and FGF secretion in the supernatant of transfected COS-1 cells. Chimera containing the core of C. intestinalis FGF9/16/20, a potential ortholog of FGF9 lacking the complete EFISIA motif, was not able to rescue the lethal phenotype or be secreted. However, the introduction of the EFISIA motif restored both activities. The data show that the EFISIA motif in the core of LET-756 is essential for its biological activity and that FGFs 9, 16, and 20, which contain that motif, are functionally close to LET-756 and may be evolutionary related. This non-classical mode of secretion using an internal motif is conserved throughout evolution.


Background/Aims We assessed the bolus transit and motility characteristics in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients with abnormal esophageal pH monitoring. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the combined impedance-esophageal manometry data from consecutive patients who had abnormal acid exposure during 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring. We compared these data to the results from functional heartburn (FH) and asymptomatic volunteers. Results The data from 33 GERD patients (mean age of 51 years, 18 males), 14 FH patients (mean age of 51 years, one male), and 20 asymptomatic volunteers (mean age of 27 years, nine males) were analyzed. Ineffective esophageal motility was diagnosed in 10% of the volunteers, 21% of the FH patients, and 15% of the GERD patients. Ineffective contraction was more frequent in GERD and FH patients than in volunteers (16% and 20% vs 6%, respectively; p<0.05). Additionally, 10% of the volunteers, 21% of the FH patients and 36% of the GERD patients had an abnormal bolus transit. Complete bolus transit was less frequent, and bolus transit was slower in GERD patients than in volunteers for liquid (70% vs 85%) and viscous swallows (57% vs 73%). A longer acid clearance time was associated with abnormal bolus transit in the GERD group. Conclusions Patients with GERD have mild peristaltic dysfunction and incomplete and slower esophageal bolus transit. These conditions predispose them to prolonged acid contact with the esophagus.


1. Rhythmic locomotor activity was evoked in clonidine-treated acute and chronic spinal cats, and the effect of stimulating group I afferents from the plantaris muscle on the timing and magnitude of bursts in medial gastrocnemius (MG) motoneurons was examined. 2. The locomotor rhythm was entrained when group I afferents in the plantaris nerve were electrically stimulated with trains of stimuli presented at rates above and below the intrinsic frequency of the rhythmic activity. During entrainment at rates higher than the intrinsic frequency, a burst of activity in ipsilateral MG motoneurons was initiated approximately 40 ms after the onset of each stimulus train. At lower rates of entrainment the onset of MG bursts preceded the onset of the stimulus trains, and each stimulus train had an excitatory effect on the MG burst with a latency in the range of 30-50 ms. A similar excitatory effect was observed when the stimulus trains were triggered at a preset delay after the endogenous generation of the MG bursts. 3. The excitatory action of plantaris group I afferents on the MG motoneurons was only seen during periods of locomotor activity. In the absence of rhythmic activity, the same stimulus trains reduced any ongoing tonic activity in MG motoneurons. 4. Vibration of the plantaris muscle to preferentially activate group Ia afferents neither entrained the locomotor rhythm nor increased the magnitude of the MG bursts. 5. We conclude that during locomotor activity, input from group Ib afferents of the plantaris muscle has an excitatory action on the system of interneurons generating the extensor bursts, i.e., on the extensor half-center of the central rhythm generator.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)